Books/When the Clouds Part

When the Clouds Part

Book

Book

 Search online

"Buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha) is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. This book discusses a wide range of topics connected with the notion of buddha nature as presented in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and includes an overview of the sūtra sources of the tathāgatagarbha teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. It includes new translations of the Maitreya treatise Mahāyānottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhāga), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagyü tradition. Most important, the translator’s introduction investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the Mahāyānottaratantra as a basis for Mahāmudrā instructions and the Shentong approach. This is supplemented by translations of a number of short Tibetan meditation manuals from the Kadampa, Kagyü, and Jonang schools that use the Mahāyānottaratantra as a work to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

[[ | ]]

---

EmbedVideo is missing a required parameter.

Citation	Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.

Different Ways of Explaining the Meaning of Tathāgatagarbha

Book Excerpt

The ''Uttaratantra'' and Mahāmudrā

Book Excerpt

The Emptiness Endowed with All Supreme Aspects

Book Excerpt

The Meanings of the Titles Ratnagotravibhāga and Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Book Excerpt

The Meditative Tradition of the Uttaratantra and Shentong

Book Excerpt

The Sūtra Sources of the ''Tathāgatagarbha'' Teachings

Book Excerpt

Table of Contents About the Book Texts Translated Quotes

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum interdum lobortis eros non iaculis. Curabitur dui nulla, finibus ut luctus molestie, egestas quis lacus. Sed eros odio, semper pharetra magna nec, dictum fermentum mi. Nullam pharetra turpis non commodo fringilla. In felis lacus, tristique gravida mauris maximus, laoreet venenatis nunc. In tincidunt cursus mi nec fermentum. Morbi nec magna elit. Cras congue feugiat mauris, eget feugiat libero posuere ut. Integer nec est lacinia, pulvinar velit id, gravida purus. In malesuada, erat nec facilisis finibus, lacus nulla interdum nisi, maximus vestibulum elit magna ac dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed quis neque eget massa sodales mattis gravida sit amet sem. Cras tempus nisl quis nulla elementum, vel faucibus odio sollicitudin. Quisque congue faucibus dapibus. Aenean volutpat pharetra eros ut interdum.

Pellentesque vitae scelerisque ligula, a dictum felis. Nam malesuada malesuada justo. Morbi ligula risus, commodo elementum congue id, tempor at urna. Aenean tempus ante at lacus vulputate, non egestas erat porta. Nulla convallis vehicula ex a porta. Nunc dignissim dui sem, sit amet tincidunt risus rhoncus at. Nam tristique iaculis felis id commodo. Sed suscipit orci diam, quis imperdiet sem pellentesque non. Aenean sit amet orci ex. Praesent semper sem volutpat est pretium, cursus finibus est molestie. Morbi ut sapien dolor. Nunc bibendum odio viverra, mollis nibh quis, consequat ipsum. Vivamus faucibus, lorem ac consectetur aliquet, eros dui euismod mauris, id pulvinar lorem felis vel ante.

1. Maitreya. An Analysis of the Jewel Disposition, A Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna - mahāyānottaratantraśāstra-ratnagotra-vibhāga (theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos). (D 4024) sems tsam, phi 54b1-73a7. (Q 5525) sems tsam, phi 54b7-74b6 (vol.108, p.24-32); (N 4293) sems tsam, phi 48b3-69a3. In bstan 'gyur (sde dge), Vol. 123: 107-146. Delhi: delhi karmapae choedhey, gyalwae sungrab partun khang, 1982-1985. Columbia AIBS
2. Sajjana. Pith Instructions on “The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna” - Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa. Sanskrit edition in Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab’s Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine" 513-18. PhD diss., University of Hamburg, 2006.
3. Vairocanarakṣita. Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī (rgyud bla ma'i tshig don rnam par 'grel pa. Sanskrit edition in Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab’s Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine" 552–75. PhD diss., University of Hamburg. 2006.
4. Dümo Tashi Öser (bdud mo bkra shis 'od zer). A Commentary on “The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna,” The Heart of the Luminous Sun - Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel ba gsal ba nyi ma'i snying po. In gsung 'bum rang byung rdo rje. Vol. 7 (ja): 126–263. Zi ling: mtshur phu mkhan po lo yag bkra shis, 2006.
5. Kyotön Mönlam Tsültrim (Skyo ston smon lam tshul khrims). Instructions on “The Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna” - theg chen rgyud bla ma'i gdams pa. In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum phyogs sgrig thengs gnyis pa, Vol. 50: 147-156. Chengdu: si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007.
6. _____. The Repository of Wisdom - ye shes kyi bzhag sa? ye shes kyi 'jog sa?. In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum phyogs sgrig thengs gnyis pa, Vol. 50: 293-304. Chengdu: si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007.
7. _____. The Heart of the Matter of Luminosity - 'od gsal snying po'i don. In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum phyogs sgrig thengs gnyis pa, Vol. 50: 421-424. Chengdu: si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007.
8. _____. Pith Instructions on the Wisdom at the Point of Passing when about to Die - 'da' ka ye shes kyi 'chi kha ma'i man ngag. In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum phyogs sgrig thengs gnyis pa, Vol. 50: 183-186. Chengdu: si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007.
9. Mikyö Dorje, the 8th Karmapa, (mi bskyod rdo rje). The Lamp That Excellently Elucidates the System of the Proponents of Shentong Madhyamaka - dbu ma gzhan stong smra ba'i srol legs par phye ba'i sgron me. Rumtek (Sikkim), India: Rumtek Monastery, 1972.
10. Jamgön Kongtrül ('jam mgon kong sprul). Guiding Instructions on the View of Great Shentong Madhyamaka—Light Rays of the Stainless Vajra Moon - gzhan stong dbu ma chen po'i lta khrid rdo rje zla ba dri ma med pa'i 'od zer. In 'khor lo tha ma'i dgongs don gces btus, 179–204. Kathmandu: Rigpe Dorje Publications, 2008.

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt. सूत्र Tib. མདོ། Ch. 佛经

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

Tsen Tradition - Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana. Tib. བཙན་ལུགས་

Mahāmudrā - Mahāmudrā refers to an advanced meditation tradition in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna forms of Into-Tibetan Buddhism that is focused on the realization of the empty and luminous nature of the mind. It also refers to the resultant state of buddhahood attained through such meditation practice. In Tibet, this tradition is particularly associated with the Kagyu school, although all other schools also profess this tradition. The term also appears as part of the four seals, alongside dharmamūdra, samayamudrā, and karmamudrā. Skt. महामुद्रा Tib. ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།

gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

Jonang - The Jonang tradition was established by Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a thirteenth-century Sakya monk famous for his Zhentong teachings. The Jonang teachings and monasteries were suppressed in Tibet in the seventeenth century but survived in Amdo. Tib. ཇོ་ནང་

Uttaratantra - The Ultimate Continuum, or Gyü Lama, is often used as a short title in the Tibetan tradition for the key source text of buddha-nature teachings called the Ratnagotravibhāga of Maitreya/Asaṅga, also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra. Skt. उत्तरतन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་ Ch. 寶性論

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Tsen Tradition - Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana. Tib. བཙན་ལུགས་

sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt. सूत्र Tib. མདོ། Ch. 佛经

tantra - Tantra, when juxtaposed with Sūtra, generally refers to the scriptures and texts which discuss esoteric topics. While the term is used to refer to texts on other topics, it is mostly used to refer to the genre of scriptures and texts on themes and topics associated with Vajrayāna Buddhism. Skt. तन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད། Ch. 密宗

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.