Media/Anne Burchardi: On the Sutra Sources for the Uttaratantra and Her Work on the Dharanishvarajasutra

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Sources Mentioned

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Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra

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Also known as Questions of Dhāraṇīśvararāja Sūtras (Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra), this lengthy sūtra is stated to be the primary source for the Ratnagotravibhāga since it touches upon all seven vajra topics discussed in the treatise.

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Maitreya, Asaṅga: Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

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The Ratnagotravibhāga, commonly known as the Uttaratantra, or Gyu Lama in Tibetan, is one of the main Indian scriptural sources for buddha-nature theory. It was likely composed during the fifth century, by whom we do not know. Comprised of verses interspersed with prose commentary, it systematizes the buddha-nature teachings that were circulating in multiple sūtras such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, and the Śrīmaladevisūtra. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the commentary to Asaṅga, and treats the two as separate texts, although this division is not attested to in surviving Indian versions. The Chinese tradition attributes the text to *Sāramati (娑囉末底), but the translation itself does not include the name of the author, and the matter remains unsettled. It was translated into Chinese in the early sixth century by Ratnamati and first translated into Tibetan by Atiśa, although this text is not known to survive. Ngok Loden Sherab translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita Sajjana, and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently into French. See the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, read more about the Ratnagotravibhāga, or take a look at the most complete English translation in When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnholzl.

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Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

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The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (TGS) is a relatively short text that represents the starting point of a number of works in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism centering around the idea that all living beings have the buddha-nature. The genesis of the term tathāgatagarbha (in Tibetan de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, in Chinese rulai zang 如來藏, the key term of this strand of Buddhism and the title of the sūtra), can be observed in the textual history of the TGS. (Zimmermann, A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, p. 7)

Secondary Publications Mentioned

About the video

Featuring	Anne Burchardi, Karma Phuntsho
Creator	Tsadra Foundation
Director	Perman, M.
Producer	Tsadra Foundation
Event	The Purpose of the Buddha-Nature Teachings by Anne Burchardi: Conversations on Buddha-Nature (18 December 2021, Denmark and Bhutan)
Related Website	Buddha-Nature
Creation Date	18 December 2021
Citation	Burchardi, Anne. "On the Sutra Sources for the Uttaratantra and Her Work on the Dharanishvarajasutra." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 18, 2021. Video, 8:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htbHopiQeYg.

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

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Uttaratantra'

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Uttaratantra'

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

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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

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Ratnagotravibhāga'

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Ratnagotravibhāga'

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Ratnagotravibhāga'

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'

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

Go to the page with the definition of 'Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'

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

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An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

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"This sūtra became an important scriptural source for the discussion of buddha-nature in China and is famous for associating the term buddhadhātu with tathāgatagarbha.

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Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt. बोधिसत्त्व Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch. 菩薩

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TGS - Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

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Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt. महायान Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། Ch. 大乘

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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

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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

Go to the page with the definition of 'de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po'