The Zen Master Dōgen’s Understanding of the Buddha-Nature in Light of the Historical Development of the Buddha-Nature Concept in India, China, and Japan

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. . . The present study will have a twofold purpose: 1) to examine the history of the Buddha-nature concept in an attempt to discover a central core of meaning inherent in the concept, and 2) to evaluate Dōgen's view of the Buddha-nature in the light of that central core of meaning. Parts I and II of this work, which examine the doctrinal history of the Buddha-nature concept in India and China, are devoted to the former task, and Part III, which examines Dōgen's thought concerning the Buddha-nature, is devoted to the latter. It is hoped that through the examination of Dōgen's conception of the Buddha-nature in the light of the previous articulation of the concept, it will be possible to form conclusions concerning the significance of Dōgen's thought in Buddhist doctrinal history. (Grosnick, introduction, 7–8)

Citation	Grosnick, William. "The Zen Master Dōgen’s Understanding of the Buddha-Nature in Light of the Historical Development of the Buddha-Nature Concept in India, China, and Japan." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1979.

- - Preface and Acknowledgementiii
  - List of Abbreviationsviii
- Introduction: The Nature and Purpose of the Present Study1
Part One: The Indian Origins of the Buddha-Nature Doctrine15
- Chapter I: The Origins of the Buddha-Nature Concept16
  - A. The Original Sanskrit Term for the Buddha-Nature17
  - B. The Origins of the Buddhadhātu Concept in the Tathāgatagarbha
    Literature22
  - C. The Ekayāna Origins of the Tathāgatagarbha and Buddhadhātu
    Concepts26
- Chapter II: The Twofold Meaning of the Buddhadhātu38
  - A. The First Meaning: The Buddhadhātu as the "Store" of the
    Buddhadharmas39
  - B. The Second Meaning: The Buddhadhātu as the Basis (Āśraya) of the
    Buddhadharmas48
  - C. Tathatā and the Non-Origination of Discrimination51
  - D. Cittaprakṛti and Non-Origination59
  - E. The Buddhadhātu as the Realm of the Buddha's Wisdom61
  - F. The Positive Character of the Buddhadhātu66
- Chapter III: The Amalgamation of the Tathāgatagarbha and Buddhadhātu Concepts with Yogācārin Teachings76
  - A. Evidence of Yogācārin-Tathāgatagarbha Syncretism76
  - B. Differences Within the Yogācārin School81
  - C. The Positive Evaluation of the Absolute in Both Yogācārin and
    Tathāgatagarbha Texts: Something "Left Over" in Emptiness85
  - D. The Buddhadhātu and Subject-Object Non-Duality89
  - E. The Tathāgatagarbha and the Three Svabhāvas100
- Conclusion: The Central Features of the Buddhadhātu Concept in India105
Part II: The Buddha-Nature Concept in China112
- Chapter IV: The Introduction of the Buddha-Nature Concept to China113
  - A. The Popularity of the Buddha-Nature Concept in China113
  - B. Early Reactions to the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra123
  - C. Chih-yi132
  - D. T'ien-t'ai and Hua-yen Disagreements over the Buddha-Nature135
- Chapter V: The Ekayāna-Triyāna Controversy over the Buddha-Nature144
  - A. A Short History of the Controversy144
  - B. A Critical Appraisal of the Issues Involved in the Controversy154
- Chapter VI: Ch'an Buddhist Understandings of the Buddha-Nature161
  - A. T'ang Dynasty Ch'an: The Treatment of the Buddha-Nature in its
    Scriptural Context162
  - B. Confusion and Corruption in Sung Dynasty Ch'an172
- Conclusion: The Main Characteristics of the Buddha-Nature Theory
  in China181
Part III: Dōgen's Understanding of the Buddha-Nature187
- Chapter VII: The Formation of Dōgen's Understanding of the Buddha-
  Nature188
  - A. The Tendai Concept of Original Enlightenment189
  - B. Reactions Against the Idea of Original Enlightenment194
  - C. Dōgen's Dilemma and Its Subsequent Resolution198
- Chapter VIII: Dōgen's Understanding of the Buddha-Nature208
  - A. The Basic Premise of Dōgen's Idea of the Buddha-Nature:
    What is it?209
  - B. "All-Being" and the Buddha-Nature: the Phenomenal as the
    Absolute210
  - C. "All-Being" as a Realm of Subject-Object Non-Duality213
  - D. Subject-Object Non-Duality and the Enlightenment of the
    Insentient218
  - E. Enlightenment as a Bodily Attainment220
  - F. The Dynamic Quality of All-Being221
  - G. The Buddha-Nature and Eternality223
  - H. Time and the Buddha-Nature224
- Chapter IX: Dōgen's Understanding of Practice and the Buddha-Nature228
  - A. The Need to Practice the Buddha-Nature228
  - B. The Rejection of Stages in Practice and Striving for
    Enlightenment233
  - C. Practice as the Completed Activity of the Buddha236
  - D. Everyday Life as the Stuff of Practice240
  - E. Wrong Practice244
  - F. Practice and the Conception of Original Enlightenment248
- Conclusion: The Significance of Dōgen's Thought Concerning

the Buddha-Nature257

- Appendix: An Annotated Translation of Dogen's Shōbōgenzō Busshō265
- Bibliography323

Dōgen. 正法眼蔵 (Shōbōgenzō), T2582, 82: https://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT/ddb-bdk-sat2.php

Manuscript Editions:
- 75 fascicles, "original" edition, edited by Dōgen.
- 12 fascicles Yōkōji edition.
- 60 fascicles Eiheiji edition, edited by Giun (1253-1333).
- 84 fascicles edition, edited by Bonsei (d. 1427) in 1419.
- 89 fascicles edition, edited by Manzan Dōhaku (1636-1715) in 1684 at Daishōji.
- 95 fascicles edition, edited by Kōzen (1627-1693) in 1690 at Eiheiji.