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From Buddha-Nature
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No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:<br><br>
====Emulating Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva====
'''''The Quest of the Monk Sōō to Practice Revering Buddha-Nature'''''
The "marathon monks" of Japan are one of the iconic images of Japanese Buddhism, familiar to people the world over. These monks walk excruciating mountain circuits on Mount Hiei near Kyoto and Mount Kinpu in Nara Prefecture for a summer retreat of one hundred days. A handful in the posar period have performed the insufferable thousand-day version of this retreat, and also completed additional ascetic practices to gain the title of Great Acarya. Having achieved the humanly impossible, they are sometimes referred to as living buddhas.<br> Hagiographic sources tell us that the founder of this practice, the Tendai monk Sōō (831-918), was motivated to seek enlightenment when as a novice monk he studied the part of the Lotus Sutra that tells the story of Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva. Sōō set his heart on emulating Never Disrespectful's way of practice, walking about making obeisances to other people as future buddhas. Unfortunately, Sōō's responsibilities to look after his teacher, and the daily task of going into the mountains to harvest anise-tree leaves for the offerings at the monastery's central hall, prevented him from dedicating himself solely to the reverence of other people's buddha-nature. According to tradition, however, Sōō's daily forays into the mountain became the origin of today's marathon-monk practice, in which ascetic monks revere the shrines of Buddhist deities and places where Japanese divinities abide in the mountains. It is often said that the marathon monk's true object of reverence is the buddha-nature of the natural world.<br> The Lotus Sutra's Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva is an archetype of respect for the inherent dignity of sentient beings. As told in chapter 20 of the Lotus Sutra, one time in the past there was a monk who did not practice by chanting sutras but instead went around making obeisance to every person he met, telling them, "I would never dare to disrespect you, because surely you are all to become buddhas!" As the reader can probably anticipate, the Lotus Sutra tells us that Never Disrespectful was oftentimes ridiculed, even physically attacked, but he bore it all patiently and through this practice not only purified his mind and body but also transformed the hearts and minds of the people around him. The Lotus Sutra tells us that performing this practice leads to quickly attaining the Buddha Way. (Scarangello, "Buddha-Nature (1)," 28-29) (Read entire article [https://rk-world.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DW18_7-12.pdf here])
No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:<br><br>
In the last installment of this column we explored the concept of buddha-nature—its meaning, the Lotus Sutra's teaching of revering buddha-nature, and how Buddhists can reveal the buddha-nature of themselves and others by demonstrating respect for people and discovering their goodness. This time we will consider another way of realizing buddha-nature that is inspired by the stories of the Lotus Sutra. Rissho Kosei-kai members speak of awakening to buddha-nature as attaining the conviction that both oneself and others are, in the allegorical language of the Lotus Sutra, "children of the Buddha." Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, held that feelings of worthlessness thwarted people's ability to improve their own lives and brought them much suffering, and for this reason he employed the sutra's allegory of the parent-child relationship to help people see themselves as future buddhas and heirs to all the qualities that the Buddha Shakyamuni possessed. The belief that living beings are children of the Buddha also encourages the appreciation of all human life. As members of the human family, all people are our brothers and sisters, possessing the same inherent dignity and human potential as the Buddha. Today some people may not be entirely comfortable with the gendered language of the Lotus Sutra's allegory, but a close reading of the text can open pathways to an understanding appropriate to contemporary society and twenty-first century social norms. (Scarangello, "Buddha-Nature (2)," 35) (Read the entire article [https://rk-world.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DW19_Spring.pdf here]) +
On September 19, 2020, the Tsadra Foundation celebrated Buddha-Nature teachings and officially launched an online educational resource. Karma Phuntsho hosted the event as the new Writer-In-Digital-Residence, and we learned more about Buddha-Nature teachings from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Alak Zenkar Rinpoche, Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Lama Shenpen Hookham, Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl, and Alex Gardner. +
Articles/Buddha-Nature Is Who We Really Are by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo: Conversations on Buddha-Nature +
''Palmo, Jetsunma Tenzin. "Buddha-Nature Is Who We Really Are." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, September 25, 2021. Video, 1:11:58. https://youtu.be/V4Ajks-goDo.'' +
Articles/Buddha-Nature Theories from Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Tibet by Klaus-Dieter Mathes +
''Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. "Buddha-Nature Theories from Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Tibet." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, May 29, 2021. Video, 1:16:01. https://www.youtu.be/zidB8HqzC5k.'' +
Media/Buddha-Nature according to Zhiyi and the T'ien T'ai Tradition by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson +
Paul Swanson discusses the way in which Zhiyi understood the concept of buddha-nature and goes on to place that theory in the broader context of T'ien T'ai Buddhism. +
Does your mind feel cluttered? Unable to think clearly? Find it difficult to get the creative juices flowing? Buddhist teacher and meditation master Mingyur Rinpoche looks at the close connection between Buddhism and creativity, and how calming down our minds generates space for creativity in our lives. +
An essential study of a key text that presents buddha-nature theory and its transmission from India to Tibet, this book is the most thorough history of buddha-nature thought in Tibet and is exceptional in its level of detail and scholarly apparatus. It serves as a scholarly encyclopedia of sorts with extensive appendices listing every existent commentary on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (''Uttaratantraśāstra''), as well as covering Ngok Lotsawa's commentarial text and his philosophical positions related with other Tibetan thinkers. +
Articles/Buddha-Nature and Personality as the Ground of Ethics: A Metaethical Dialogue between Dōgen and Berdyaev +
This paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing Buddhist-Christian dialogue by bringing together the teachings of Zen Master Dōgen and the Russian Christian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev. This dialogue discusses a metaethical question: What is the foundation of ethical practice? I aim to show that Dōgen's idea of "buddha-nature" and Berdyaev's idea of "personality" can be understood as the foundations of ethical practice in ways that are similar and mutually clarifying in their total affirmation of human temporal existence. We begin by discussing the general contours of Dōgen's practice-realization and Berdyaev's creative ethics, and then proceed to a comparative examination of the foundation of ethics found in Dōgen's notion of Buddha-nature and Berdyaev's notion of personality. The comparison considers four facets of Buddha-nature and personality: being, time, nothingness, and impermanence. First, we show how both thinkers consider the ground of ethics to be something inseparable from the entire being of an individual and the being of all existence as a whole. This refutes the tendency to see the foundation of goodness as a mere fragment of human existence or as restricted to particular existents. Second, we show how both thinkers consider this foundation to be manifest not merely in the future or the past, but in every moment seen as a whole in itself. Third, we examine the collision between this immanent foundation and individuality, and show how the non-substantiality of Buddha-nature and God make room for creative and individual expressions of authenticity. Finally, we consider the problem of impermanence, and show how the ground of ethics is not an escape from impermanence but an acceptance and embracing of this impermanence as the ground of the efficacy and dynamism of ethical practice. (Source: [https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/budhi/article/view/3 Budhi]) +
''Tsomo, Ven. Karma Lekshe. "Buddha-Nature and Social Justice." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, March 27, 2021. Video, 1:10:35. https://www.youtu.be/8LbSKKSjT6E.'' +
A key dissertation on Mipam's interpretation of buddha-nature. +
''Germano, David. "Buddha-Nature and the Great Perfection in the 11-14th Centuries." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 1:31:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5avSvomtFM.'' +
Buddha-nature (''tathāgatagarbha'') is a central topic the in Mahāyāna Buddhist thought. As the pure nature of mind and reality, it conveys the nature of being and the relationship between the buddha(s) and sentient beings. Buddha-nature is that which allows for sentient beings to become buddhas. It is the living potential for awakening.<br>
In this chapter I will look into interpretations of buddha-nature starting with the ''Sublime Continuum'' (''Uttaratantra'', ca. fourth century), the first commentarial treatise focused on this subject. I will then present its role(s) in Mahāyāna Buddhism in general, and in the interpretations of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka in particular. Next I will discuss the role of buddha-nature as a key element in the theory and practice of Buddhist tantra, which will lead into a discussion of this doctrine in light of ''pantheism'' ("all is God"). Thinking of buddha-nature in terms of pantheism can help bring to light significant dimensions of this strand of Buddhist thought. (Duckworth, introduction, 235) +
Articles/Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen by Rev. Kokyo Henkel: Conversations on Buddha-Nature +
''Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 1:23:03. https://youtu.be/j_V3v-oqnNU.'' +
An early foundational text for buddha-nature theory, the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' is an influential teaching in many Buddhist traditions in China and Tibet. There is some controversy surrounding its teaching, and this discussion will illuminate some of the more interesting aspects of the sūtra. Set around the time of Buddha's passing, or ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'', the sūtra contains teachings on buddha-nature, equating it with the ''dharmakāya''—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha. It also asserts that all sentient beings possess this nature as the ''buddhadhātu'', or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, the sūtra includes some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the ''dharmakāya'' is endowed with the four ''pāramitās'' of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self.
Peter Alan Roberts was born in Wales and lives in Hollywood, California. He earned a BA in Sanskrit and Pali and a DPhil in Tibetan Studies from Oxford University (Harris-Manchester College). For more than thirty years he has been working as an interpreter for lamas and as a translator of Tibetan texts. He specializes in the literature of the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions with a focus on tantric practices, and he is the author of ''The Biographies of Rechungpa'' and ''Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions'', along with many other translations, especially for the 84000 Project. See ''The Stem Array'', a translation of the ''Gaṇḍavyuha'' from the Tibetan, ''Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light''—a translation of the ''Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra'', and others online at 84000.co. +
This encyclopedia entry discusses the historical origins and dissemination of the idea that Buddha-nature exists not only in sentient beings but also in insentient things. This doctrine emerged in various ways in medieval China with thinkers such as [[Jingying Huiyuan]] (523-592), [[Jiaxiang Jizang]] (549-623), and most prominently with [[Jingxi Zhanran]] (711-782) of the Tiantai school. This position later spread to Japan, being advocated by figures such as [[Kūkai]] and [[Dōgen]]. The underlying rationale for this position is generally grounded on the principle of nonduality and the idea of the Buddha’s all-pervading and embracing nature. The notion of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings is not only a doctrinal matter but also functions as a meditation technique whereby one learns to view phenomena as direct expressions of ultimate reality and to see oneself and the “outside” world as identical. +
The topic on what the compound ''tathāgata-garbha'' means has indeed a long history of research in the !eld of Mahāyāna Buddhism. However, despite a good number of studies so far executed on this topic, it is most unfortunate for us to recognize that the above question remains unsolved. The present paper, therefore, tries again to solve the question through an analytical inquiry into the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (RGV) in rather a wide perspective. +
This week's topic is Buddha Nature, in Sanskrit: ''tathāgatagarbha'' (如来藏). All sentient beings are considered to be in possession of the Buddha Nature, the potential to attain enlightenment. In this episode we discuss a bit about how to understand this concept, and compare it to philosophical ideas of human nature and its connection with morality. +
Khenpo Tshewang Sonam, the lama of Tharpaling monastery, explains in this video what is buddha-nature or tathāgathagarbha by mentioning the sources of buddha-nature teachings and identifying it with the nature of the mind which is free from conceptual fabrications. He mentions that the practice of recognizing the nature of the mind is a direct way of accessing the buddha-nature latent in all sentient beings. When the pristine nonconceptual nature of the mind is fully realized, such nature is termed as dharmakāya from which emanates all the embodied forms of buddhahood, just like the reflections of the moon appearing in different water bodies.
བཀའ་ཆོས་འདིར་ཐར་པ་གླིང་གི་བླ་མ་མཁན་པོ་ཚེ་དབང་བསོད་ནམས་ནས་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཁུངས་བཀའ་བསྟན་བཅོས་ངོས་འཛིན་དང་། དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཞེས་པ་སེམས་ཀྱི་གནས་ལུགས་འོད་གསལ་མི་རྟོག་པའི་རང་བཞིན་ཡིན་པར་་ངོས་འཛིན་དང་། དེ་ཉིད་སེམས་ངོ་སྤྲོད་པའི་གདམས་པ་དང་ཉམས་ལེན་གྱི་སྒོ་ནས་མངོན་བུ་བྱེད་ཚུལ་དང་། སེམས་ཅན་གྱི་སྐབས་རྣམ་རྟོག་གི་བསྒྲིབས་པའི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་ཉིད། རྣམ་རྟོག་ཞི་ནས་སངས་རྒྱས་པའི་སྐབས་ཆོས་སྐུ་ཡིན་པ་དང་། དེ་ལས་འགྲོ་བའི་བློ་ངོར་གཟུགས་སྐུའི་བཀོད་པ་ཤར་ཚུལ་གནམ་གྱི་ཟླ་བ་ཆུ་ལ་གཟུགས་བརྙན་ཤར་བའི་དཔེའི་སྒོ་ནས་བསྟན་ཡོད་པ་ཡིན། +
Arya Maitreya’s Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra is one of the most important teachings on buddhanature and enlightenment. It is revered by buddhist masters as a very special text, one of the five great teachings given by Lord Maitreya to Asanga, and part of the third turning of the wheel of the Dharma. Within the traditional buddhist shedras for monastic education, it is often taught as the final text in the curriculum, and many masters say it can be considered a bridge between the sutras and tantra. It provides an important philosophical foundation for understanding the workings of the buddhist path, particularly for Vajrayana practitioners. We are particularly fortunate to have these teachings by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, rich with his usual clarity, warmth, humour and wisdom because, despite its beauty and profundity, this text is rarely taught in the West, and there are few translations.
Rinpoche gave these teachings on the Uttaratantra at the Centre d’Etudes de Chanteloube in Dordogne, France during the summers of 2003 and 2004, after completing a four-year teaching cycle on Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara. He has often emphasised the value of a grounding in the Madhyamika or ‘Middle Way’ philosophy of emptiness, as without this foundation beginners can easily misunderstand Buddha’s teaching that all sentient beings have buddhanature. For example, many of us who have grown up in a Western cultural context can easily confuse buddhanature with ideas like God or a personal soul or essence. These teachings allow us to dispel these kinds of misunderstanding. And despite their very different presentations, both the Madhyamika and Uttaratantra are teachings on the buddhist view of emptiness. As Rinpoche says, “You could say that when Nagarjuna explains the Prajñaparamita, he concentrates more on its ‘empty’ aspect (“form is emptiness” in the Heart Sutra), whereas when Maitreya explains the same thing, he concentrates more on the ‘ness’ aspect (emptiness is form).” In showing us how emptiness and buddhanature are different ways of talking about the same thing, this text gives us the grounding we need to understand buddhanature.
In this way, the Uttaratantra gives us another way to understand the Four Seals that comprise the buddhist view, which Rinpoche teaches in his book “What Makes You Not a Buddhist.” It also offers a way to make sense of what modern physics has discovered about the magically “full” quality of “empty” space (e.g. vacuum particles and quantum optics). But like all buddhist philosophy, it is not intended simply to provoke an academic discussion that we leave behind as we return to our everyday lives. It is taught as a path for us to attain liberation. For practitioners, the Uttaratantra clearly explains what it means to accumulate merit and purify defilements, and it offers a safety net to protect our path from falling into all-too-common eternalist or nihilist extremes. It also tackles many of the basic questions that practitioners ask as they consider the nature of the path, questions like: What is the ultimate destination of this path? Who is this person travelling on the path? What are the defilements that are eliminated on the path? What is experience of enlightenment like? Rinpoche answers these questions and many others in this commentary on the Uttaratantra-Shastra. (Source: [https://siddharthasintent.org/publications/buddha-nature/ Siddhartha's Intent])
