Contemporary Masters on Buddha-Nature
From Buddha-Nature
Watch & Learn
Shenpen Hookham at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Lama Shenpen Hookham discusses the Rangtong (rang stong) and Shentong (gzhan stong) interpretations of Buddhism and how the seeds of the controversy around Tathāgatagarbha and the Shentong interpretation of Buddhism was present even at the time of the Buddha.
Hookham, Shenpen. "The Impact of a Shentong Interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine from the Point of View of a Western Buddhist Practitioner." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:03. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM93AeQIR4I.
Hookham, Shenpen. "The Impact of a Shentong Interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine from the Point of View of a Western Buddhist Practitioner." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:03. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM93AeQIR4I.;Shenpen Hookham at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;Rangtong;Zhentong;Contemporary;History of buddha-nature in India;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;The Path;Terminology;Shenpen Hookham;The impact of a Shentong interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha doctrine from the point of view of a western Buddhist practitioner
Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions: Chapter 14: Buddha Nature: A Talk by Thubten Chodron
Thubten Chodron guides viewers through her book, Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions in this video series produced by Sravasti Abbey. This talk addressing Chapter 14 discusses buddha-nature by way of emptiness. Venerable Thubten Chodron presents that emptiness is the reason that the mind's afflictions and obscurations can be purified and that purification process reveals buddha-nature inherent in the minds of all beings.
Chodron, T. "Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Chapter 14: Buddha Nature." Pt. 1 of 4. Produced by Sravasti Abbey, November 15, 2017. Video, 1:15:30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XpyXg7sAnw.
Chodron, T. "Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Chapter 14: Buddha Nature." Pt. 1 of 4. Produced by Sravasti Abbey, November 15, 2017. Video, 1:15:30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XpyXg7sAnw.;Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions: Chapter 14: Buddha Nature: A Talk by Thubten Chodron;Buddha-nature as Emptiness;Contemporary American Buddhist;Defining buddha-nature;Thubten Chodron;Chapter 14: Buddha Nature
Ken Holmes on Buddha Nature
The final talk in a six-part series on the Dharma. In this installment Ken discusses the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma with a special focus on the third turning and the associated topic of buddha-nature.
Holmes, Ken. "The Dharma, Part Six: Buddha Nature." Filmed February 16, 2013 in La Ciotat, France. Video, 22:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn4MbfU2KMA.
Holmes, Ken. "The Dharma, Part Six: Buddha Nature." Filmed February 16, 2013 in La Ciotat, France. Video, 22:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn4MbfU2KMA.;Ken Holmes on Buddha Nature;Ken Holmes;Ken Holmes on Buddha Nature
We Are Frozen
If you remove the cold from the ice, it becomes what it has always been - water. Our buddha nature is like water under the influence of the cold, the poisons of the mind.
Everest, Tsering. "We Are Frozen." Pt. 1 of 2. Filmed April 28, 2019 at Chagdud Gonpa Odsal Ling, Brazil. Video, 8:39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcsNP5fumks.
Everest, Tsering. "We Are Frozen." Pt. 1 of 2. Filmed April 28, 2019 at Chagdud Gonpa Odsal Ling, Brazil. Video, 8:39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcsNP5fumks.;Lama Tsering: We Are Frozen;Contemporary American Buddhist;Metaphors for buddha-nature;Two Truths;Tsering Everest;Lama Tsering: We Are Frozen, Part 1
From the Masters
Khyentse, Dilgo
As you progress through these three steps, spiritual qualities will naturally arise, and you will see the truth of the teachings. Those qualities will bloom spontaneously because the buddha nature within you is being revealed. The buddha nature, or tathagatagarbha, is present in all beings, but is hidden by obscurations, in the same way that buried gold is hidden by the earth under which it lies. As you listen to, reflect, and meditate on the Dharma, all the inherent qualities of your buddha nature will be actualized.~ The Heart of Compassion (2006), Wikiquote.org.
Dudjom Jikdral Yeshe Dorje
In the mind of everyone, of every living, sentient being, there is a fundamental nature or ground, the so-called sugatagarbha. This is the seed of Samantabhadra, the seed of buddhahood. Although this is something we all have, we do not recognize it. It is unknown to us. This ground, which is our spontaneous awareness, has been with us "from the beginning." It is like a mirror. When someone with a happy face looks in a mirror, the reflection of a happy face appears. When someone with a sad face looks into it, a sad face appears. The primordial ground is just like a mirror. The reflection of a person with a happy face looking into a perfectly clear mirror, the primordial ground, is like Samantabhadra, who awoke to his ultimate nature. Samantabhadra, it is said, "captured the citadel of the primordial ground, awoke, recognized his own nature, and was free." But we ordinary beings fail to recognize this nature, the mirrorlike primordial ground. For us, the situation is like someone with a downcast face looking into the mirror: a sad reflection appears!~ Dudjom Rinpoche. Counsels from My Heart. Shambhala Publications: 2003, p. 17.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
When you have completely accomplished the shamatha-vipashyana practice, you have a sense of reward. You experience joy in the possibility of buddha nature, but you may still feel skeptical. Although you begin to feel that buddha nature is a possibility, you think the whole thing may be a hoax. You begin to doubt the teachings. The idea that you already have a built-in buddha in you is something that you cannot quite imagine. It seems to be too good to be true, and you begin to feel that maybe it is not true. You think that the whole thing may be a big put-on, a big joke, a lie. The birth of mahayana spirit begins with a combination of distrust and the possibility of good news. It is a very powerful emotional experience, a sweet-sour feeling. That quality of joy and delight is wisdom, or jnana, and the doubt or distrust is compassion. Doubt and compassion are both very direct. Compassion is somewhat more spacious, but the pain of doubt and compassion is the same. There is a sense of something touching your heart, and it is painful. At this point, you have the possibility of wisdom and compassion, but they are not completely finalized. It is like a fetus whose limbs are not quite formed. It is as though you are pregnant with buddha nature: you realize that something is happening even before the baby begins to kick. However, this pregnancy is different from ordinary pregnancy. Unlike a fetus, buddha nature is not a foreign body, it is a part of your whole being. You cannot have an abortion because it is too powerful to get rid of. You have to accept the whole thing.~ The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion (2014). "Quotes by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche", Tzal.org.
Lama Tharchin Rinpoche
We are sentient beings. This means that our mind's fundamentally confused. Still at the essence level, we are buddhas because our essence is the buddha-nature which is always free of causes and conditions. Our buddha-nature can never be dissected into many parts and it cannot be said to be singular. It is beyond singularity and plurality. It is uncompounded like the sky and never changes. Therefore, there is no way for suffering to arise within the experience of the buddha-nature.
[...]
The solution is to realize our buddha-nature, the esence of our mind, the undeluded state that never leaves us even for a single moment. But, even though we can understand that this is the solution, we still have a problem because our confused mind cannot recognize our buddha-nature. And why is that? It's simply because confused mind doesn't believe in buddha-nature. It believes in itself, in its own power, and in the power of circumstances. If it tries to see the buddha-nature, it says do it this way, don't do it that way; this is right, this is wrong. Using this approach, no matter how hard confused mind tries to see the buddha-nature, it never will because it is fundamentally confused and deluded. Of course, confused mind can create temporary happiness and success but that will, sooner or later, become suffering. So, to solve the problem, what must be identified, one way or the other, is the unchangeable, uncompounded buddha-nature, the essence of deluded mind.~ Guru Yoga In the Foundational Practices, Austin, Texas 2009, Scribd.
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
One should first recognize the Buddha-Nature, then train in it, and finally attain stability. In order to recognize the Buddha-Nature, we must identify exactly what is preventing us from realizing it now and what needs to be cleared away - all the passing stains of confusion. Where did these passing stains come from? The ground itself, the Buddha-Nature, is without impurity or confusion, but the temporary defilements, the stains of confusion, result from not having recognized the state of the ground.~ "Quotes by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche", Tzal.org.
Thrangu Rinpoche
The Uttara Tantra belongs mainly to the sutra classification, the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, because the text contains sections concerning the view, path, and fruition as well as many other topics. In combination, they are classified as sutra because the word 'sutra' literally means 'confluence' or 'that which has many parts gathered together.' Since it emphasizes the enlightened essence, the sugatagarbha, and because it is inseparable from the very basis of Mahamudra, this teaching is considered of great importance in the Kagyu tradition.~ Thrangu Rinpoche. Buddha Nature: Ten Teachings on the Uttara Tantra Shastra. Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe, 1988: p. 16.
Further Readings
[Our Human Potential]
What is nirvana? The basis due to which it is possible to attain nirvana is called the Buddha nature, or the naturally abiding lineage.The individual systems of Buddhist tenets have different interpretations of what the Buddha nature is; thus, there come to be many Buddha natures in terms of their level of subtlety.
~ Dalai Lama, 14th. Our Human Potential: The Unassailable Path of Love, Compassion, and Meditation - The Harvard Talks. Boulder: Shambhala Publications, 2019: pp. 92-98.
[Path to Buddhahood: Teachings on Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation]
The seed refers to our buddha nature. We can attain enlightenment because we already possess the nature of a buddha. All living beings have this buddha nature. One might wonder how we know this. Traditionally we are presented with three distinct types of evidence.
~ Ringu Tulku Rinpoche. Path to Buddhahood: Teachings on Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Edited by Maggy Jones, Briona Nic Dhiarmada, and Corinne Segers. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2003. Originally published in French as Et si vous m'expliquiez Ie bouddhisme? Paris: Nil Editions, 2001.
[Mind at Ease]
WE COME NOW TO A DISCUSSION OF GROUND MAHAMUDRA and some of the more philosophical elements of Mahamudra meditation. The notion of the ground-also called the basis-is a key concept for Mahayana and later forms of Buddhism. Ground of being refers to the Mahamudra itself, or to our true nature, our authentic state of being. In Mahayana Buddhism, this ground is also known as buddha-nature. I will begin with this more widely known concept from the perspective of the exoteric approach and then proceed to link the idea of buddha-nature to the mystical notion of the ground of being, or ground Mahamudra.
~ Kyabgon, Traleg. Mind at Ease: Self-Liberation Through Mahamudra Meditation. Boston: Shambhala, 2004.
