Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long

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Relevance to Buddha-nature

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Description from When the Clouds Part

Gö Lotsāwa is well known for his historical work The Blue Annals, and he also translated a number of works in the Tibetan canon. Beginning his monastic training at age nine in a Kadampa monastery, he later studied with all of the important masters of his time, including the Indian Paṇḍita Vanaratna (1384–1468), the Fifth Karmapa, Teshin Shegpa (1384–1415), Rongtön Shéja Günsi, Tsongkhapa, and several Nyingma and Sakya teachers, thus becoming a master in all fields of Buddhist knowledge. He also was a teacher of the Seventh Karmapa, the Fourth Shamarpa, Chötra Yeshé (1453–1524), the Second Drugchen, Kunga Baljor (1428–1476), and many others. Some of Gö Lotsāwa’s translations of Indian tantric works are found in the Tengyur, and it is said that his own collected writings once covered ten volumes. At present, only a few of his works are preserved— besides BA and GC, there are a biography of Vanaratna and a collection of Gö Lotsāwa’s letters and statements to others.

Despite his strong Kagyü affiliations, Gö Lotsāwa maintained a nonsectarian approach to all Buddhist schools throughout his life. For example, he received instructions on the six-branch yoga of the Kālacakratantra from both Vanaratna and Jonang masters, as well as on "the trilogy of bodhisattva commentaries" from the latter (both the six-branch yoga and these commentaries form the basis of the Jonang tantric Shentong approach). He was also advised by one of his early Kagyü teachers, Rimibabpa Sönam Rinchen (1362–1453), not to abandon either the Mahāmudrā or the Gelugpa views. This is also confirmed by the Eighth Karmapa’s saying that Gö Lotsāwa accepted Tsongkhapa’s view as valid but also wished to uphold the tradition of the Tagpo Kagyü. The colophon of Gö Lotsāwa’s commentary on the Uttaratantra (GC) says that he explained this text based on (1) the exegetical tradition of Ngog Lotsāwa, (2) Gampopa’s Mahāmudrā interpretation of the Uttaratantra, and (3) the explanations coming from Dsen Kawoché as well as the meaning of the three dharma wheels, both of which are in accordance with Mahāmudrā. Thus, Gö Lotsāwa is another example of someone who explicitly combined Shentong and Mahāmudrā teachings (though the term shentong itself is absent from GC). Although Gö Lotsāwa at times agrees with Ngog Lotsāwa on some more technical or scholastic points, there are also numerous differences, in particular his explanations of crucial passages of the Uttaratantra from a Mahāmudrā point of view and his denial that the tathāgata heart is merely emptiness in the sense of a nonimplicative negation, while affirming rather that it is mind’s natural luminosity or basic awareness free from all reference points. In any case, GC does not mention Tsongkhapa or any typical Gelugpa interpretations of buddha nature and the Uttaratantra.

Gö Lotsāwa’s massive commentary (698 folios in dbu med; composed in 1473) is a commentary on both the Uttaratantra and RGVV that contains many valuable explanations on a broad range of topics. A comprehensive survey or translation of this highly interesting work is beyond the scope of this study, but I use significant excerpts from GC throughout. The following is just a brief sketch of some major features of this commentary. Similar to RYC, GC hardly uses the characteristic Tibetan outline system but follows the Indian exegetical style of first quoting a portion of the text to be explained and then commenting on it. GC also retains the Indian division of RGVV into five chapters. Being an expert in Sanskrit, Gö Lotsāwa had access to a Sanskrit version of the text, which is obvious from occasional Sanskrit quotes of RGVV as well as critical remarks on Ngog Lotsāwa’s translation and comparisons with Nagtso Lotsāwa’s. Indeed, many passages of the Uttaratantra and RGVV quoted in GC correspond better to the currently available Sanskrit version. GC also cites numerous mahāyāna sūtras and treatises (both Yogācāra and Madhyamaka), as well as tantric sources and the teachings of Indian and Tibetan siddhas, in particular Saraha, Maitrīpa, his student Sahajavajra, and early Kagyü masters such as Gampopa and Lama Shang.

However, it is surprising that GC does not cite many typical tathāgatagarbha sūtras found in other commentaries. Among these sūtras, GC mainly cites the Śrīmālādevīsūtra but otherwise relies heavily on the Laṅkāvatārasūtra (about sixty references and quotations, some of them lengthy). The Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra as well as the other four Maitreya works besides the Uttaratantra are also quoted frequently, and Nāgārjuna’s Dharmadhātustava is represented by quoting about half of its 101 verses. As mentioned above, Gö Lotsāwa’s comments on some of these verses link them to Mahāmudrā and its key notion of ordinary mind.

GC begins with paying homage to Maitreya, Maitrīpa, Dampa Sangyé, and Gampopa, and this is followed by a short introduction about the validity of the teachings of the Buddha, the transmission of the five works of Maitreya in India and Tibet, and eight different ways of explaining the meaning of "tathāgata heart" (see above). Thereafter, GC is divided into three main sections: (1) the brief explanation of the title for those of sharpest faculties, (2) the explanation of the first three verses of the Uttaratantra for those of medium faculties, and (3) the explanation of the entire remainder of the text for those of lesser faculties.

GC says that, in general, the Uttaratantra teaches the meaning of all yānas and that all words of the Buddha are authentic. However, the primary meaning of the Uttaratantra concerns the last or unsurpassable turning of the wheel of dharma, and it also shows the difference between the expedient and the definitive meanings of the Buddha’s words. Uniquely among all commentators on the Uttaratantra, Gö Lotsāwa explicitly links this text to the Mahāmudrā in the tradition of Maitrīpa, Sahajavajra, Gampopa, and other Kagyü masters. Following the hermeneutical approach of the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, he says that the bhūmis are completely perfected only through the third dharma wheel but not through the second. The fruitional bhūmis of the third dharma wheel are the last three pure bhūmis, while those of the second wheel are only the bhūmis up through the seventh. Gö Lotsāwa also justifies the superiority of the third dharma wheel through the Mahāmudrā instructions of several Indian and Tibetan masters, which are primarily included in the detailed analysis of the seven vajra points in section (2) of GC. In addition, he explains that the four yogas of Mahāmudrā are contained in a hidden form in both the Laṅkāvatārasūtra and the Uttaratantra. However, he also implies that in their being a gradual approach, even these four yogas are inferior to the actual realization of Mahāmudrā in an instantaneous manner because he says that this realization cannot be calculated in terms of different paths and bhūmis.

Besides establishing the connection of these four yogas with the Uttaratantra directly as above, Gö Lotsāwa also includes them in his detailed comments on the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga’s entire section on the nature of phenomena that is included in GC. As already stated above, he says that this section of the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga represents a commentary on the fifth vajra point of the Uttaratantra. For "stainless suchness" in the Uttaratantra corresponds to "the nature of phenomena" in the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga, with both texts explaining that stainless suchness consists of the fundamental change, whose cause is nonconceptual wisdom. The conclusion of GC’s comments on the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga states that the distinction between the existent nature of phenomena (suchness or mind’s luminosity) and nonexistent phenomena in this text matches the explanation in the Uttaratantra that the ultimately existent tathāgata heart is empty of adventitious stains but not empty of buddha qualities.

Thus, in both the Uttaratantra and the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga, the fundamental change indicates a primordial ultimate that is described in positive terms and is revealed by eliminating ultimately nonexistent adventitious stains (as illustrated by the examples of primordially pure space, gold, and water). By extension, this also means that the section on phenomena in the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga is a commentary on the adventitious stains as discussed in the Uttaratantra. Thus, the contents of these two texts are very closely related, which is also supported by the concluding part of Vasubandhu’s Dharmadharmatāvibhāgavṛtti ’s explaining the examples of space, gold, and water in the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga as illustrating the manner in which there is a fundamental change in terms of permanent natural luminosity, without this luminosity’s being changed in its own nature but only becoming free from adventitious stains.

As mentioned above, GC compares several times the two different approaches to meditation by Kamalaśīla and Maitrīpa (analytical meditation versus direct realization of mind’s luminosity), with the latter’s being said to be superior. In addition, GC’s section on the four yogas of Mahāmudrā in relation to the Uttaratantra and the Laṅkāvatārasūtra refers even to Atiśa’s Madhyamakopadeśa as well as Kamalaśīla’s three Bhāvanākramas and his commentary on the Avikalpapraveśadhāraṇī ’s saying that once all phenomena have been found to be nonexistent through analysis, one needs to rest in luminous nonconceptuality without mental engagement. In this vein, Gö Lotsāwa repeatedly states that the tathāgata heart—basic awareness beyond affirmation and negation—is not a nonimplicative negation and that it cannot be found anywhere else than right within our own mental afflictions. (pp. 310-314)

Philosophical positions of this text

Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?

  

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Does this text belong to definitive or provisional meaning?

  

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Do all beings have buddha-nature?

  

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To which "turning of the wheel" do the buddha-nature teachings belong?

  

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Is buddha-nature equated with emptiness or alayavijnana?

  

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Do buddha-nature teachings belong to the zhentong or rangtong view of emptiness?

  

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Are there one or three vehicles on the path to buddhahood?

  

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Do the author's writings belong to the analytic or meditative tradition of Uttaratantra exegesis?

  

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What is Buddha-nature?

  

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Does the author advocate the Svatantrika or Prasangika view of emptiness?

  

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Nyingma - The Nyingma, which is often described as the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, traces its origin to Padmasambhava, who is said to have visited Tibet in the eighth century. Tib. རྙིང་མ་

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Sakya - The Sakya tradition developed in the eleventh century in the Khön family of Tsang, which maintained an imperial-era lineage of Vajrakīla and which adopted a new teaching from India known as Lamdre. Tib. ས་སྐྱ་

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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་

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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་

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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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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་

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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་

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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་

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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་

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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།

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Geluk - The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama. Tib. དགེ་ལུགས་

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

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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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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་

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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་

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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་

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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་

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śūnyatā - The state of being empty of an innate nature due to a lack of independently existing characteristics. Skt. शून्यता Tib. སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་ Ch. 空,空門

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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RGVV - Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā

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According to the Tibetan tradition this is Asaṅga's commentary to the Uttaratantra.

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Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā - This is the title of Asaṅga's commentary to the Gyü Lama that is given by Tibetan sources instead of the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā. Skt. महायानोत्तरतन्त्रशास्त्रव्याख्या Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པ།

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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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Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt. योगाचार Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་ Ch. 瑜伽行派

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Madhyamaka - Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Skt. मध्यमक Tib. དབུ་མ་ Ch. 中觀見

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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

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Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

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neyārtha - Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. Skt. नेयार्थ Tib. དྲང་དོན་

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neyārtha - Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. Skt. नेयार्थ Tib. དྲང་དོན་

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bhūmi - A plateau of spiritual development. Skt. भूमि Tib. ས་

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tathatā - Suchness itself, absolute reality, or thusness, as in the ultimate state of being of phenomena. Skt. तथता Tib. དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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niṣprapañca - Freedom from conceptual elaborations. Skt. निष्प्रपञ्च Tib. སྤྲོས་བྲལ་

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kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt. क्लेश Tib. ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch. 煩惱

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neyārtha - Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. Skt. नेयार्थ Tib. དྲང་དོན་

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neyārtha - Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. Skt. नेयार्थ Tib. དྲང་དོན་

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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་

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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་

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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་

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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་

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rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib. རང་སྟོང་

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rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib. རང་སྟོང་

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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་

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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་

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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་

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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་

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rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib. རང་སྟོང་

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rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib. རང་སྟོང་

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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

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

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