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From Buddha-Nature
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Cortland Dahl teaches a four-part series on buddha-nature during the month of October 2019 at the Tergar Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Each talk begins with a brief 15–20 minute meditation session. +
Khenpo Dudjom Dorjee Rinpoche speaks on the inherent buddha-nature of beings using traditional metaphors: like a jewel, free from any impurities and powerful to relieve suffering; like the sky, unchanging and free from clouds; and like water, naturally pure. +
Books/Buddha-Nature: The Mahayana Uttara Tantra Shastra: Maitreya's Root Text and Asanga's Commentary +
This is a transcription of a series of teachings on the ''Uttaratantrashastra'' from a somewhat traditional Geluk teacher, the 13th Zasep Tulku Rinpoche. The teaching is focused on Maitreya’s root text and Asaṅga’s commentary, which he gave during a retreat at Lake Cowichan, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, from May 10-17, 1985. The text is based on the translation by E. Obermiller, chapter 1, "On the Essence of Buddhahood," verses 1-165 and covers the first Four Vajra Topics. Hosted by Zuru Ling (formerly Gaden Rimé Zong Ling) Dharma Centre. +
''Phuntsho, Karma. "Buddha-Nature: Theoretical Understanding and Practical Application." Recorded at Dharma Gate Buddhist College in Budapest, Hungary, Sep 22, 2022. Video, 1:52:27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wUSjjvsdFg.'' +
'''Abstract'''<br>
<br>
This dissertation explores the evolving interpretation and understanding of the Buddha-nature in Fifteenth-Century Tibet, through the eyes of Go rams pa Bsod nams seng ge (1429-1489), a prominent scholar of the Sa skya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The previous work of European and American scholars in this field have led to our general understanding of Buddha-nature as an innate potential for enlightenment that lies within all sentient beings. The concept of Buddha-nature provides the primary answer to a question with which all Mahāyānists have been philosophically concerned, throughout history: are all sentient beings capable of attaining Buddhahood? The Mahāyāna, more specifically, Madhyamaka theory of Buddha-nature answers the question unequivocally: "Since all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature they are guaranteed to achieve the state of Buddhahood." This research has been mostly limited to the interpretations of Indian and Chinese texts and to a study of only certain Tibetan schools. This dissertation seeks to fill the gap in present scholarship by analyzing the systematic thought of Go rams pa, who set out to provide a critical analysis, explain the internal coherence, and map out the organization of diverse Indian and Tibetan interpretations of this complex idea. I demonstrate in two fundamental ways that Go rams pa developed an unique view of Buddha-nature in two ways: First, I explore the facts Go rams pa's interpretation of Buddha-nature that contribute to his unique perspective. Second, I analyze his opponents' views on the subject thereby illuminating its distinctive features in an historical context. Throughout this study, I deploy a comparative apparatus considering the different views that Go rams pa thought was wrong. Given this fifteenth-century debate, we realize that the understanding of Buddha-nature is subtle and complicated; yet this study is vital to explicate its implications. I conclude that according to Go rams pa, Buddha-nature is to be understood as unity of the emptiness of the mind and clarity which is the nature of mind.
This article begins with a reflection on why medieval Chinese Buddhist thought has not been more conspicuous in recent comparative work on Buddhism and Western philosophy. The Japanese proponents of "Critical Buddhism" (''hihan bukkyō'' 批判仏教), Matsumoto Shirō 松本史朗 and Hakamaya Noriaki 袴谷憲昭, would see this neglect as merited since, in their view, East Asian Buddhism in general, and Chinese Chan in particular, is philosophically crippled owing to its embrace of ''tathāgatagarbha'' and buddha-nature thought. Indeed, Matsumoto singles out Shenhui 荷澤神會 (670-762), one of the architects of the Southern School of Chan, as an example of the early Chan advocacy of buddha-nature doctrine.<br> This article is not concerned with whether buddha-nature and ''tathāgatagarbha'' thought is actually deleterious to critical philosophical work. Rather, the concern is to demonstrate that, far from embracing buddha-nature doctrine, the eighth-century founders of Southern Chan had serious concerns with it. Evidence for this is found in: (1) the writings of Shenhui, notably in his opposition to the doctrine of the "buddha-nature of insentient objects" (''wuqing foxing'' 無情佛性); and (2) the ''Platform Scripture of the Sixth Patriarch'' (''Liuzu tanjing'' 六祖壇經), particularly in the variant versions of Huineng's famous "enlightenment verse." Thus the Southern School may be viewed as a forerunner of the Critical Buddhist anti-''dhātuvāda'' polemics. The article closes with comments on the ongoing problems Chinese Buddhist exegetes had in marrying the metaphysical monism of Yogācāra and ''tathāgatagarbha'' teachings with the anti-foundationalist thrust of Madhyamaka and ''Prajñāpāramitā'' literature. +
Extensive typological and structural studies in Indian religions and philosophies, or in the traditions of Buddhism, have been few. Little attention has been given to the problems in intercultural transmission raised by the spread of Indian thought and civilization northwards and eastwards, and even less to discovering comparable elements in the different Indian religious and philosophical traditions.
In this book the author investigates a pair of themes in Buddhist thought by considering, in historical and comparative outline, their treatment in some traditions of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. He refers also to parallels in non-Buddhist Indian thought and in Chinese Buddhism. The two themes are 'nature' and 'nurture' in the twin realms of soteriology and gnoseology. (Source: inside jacket) +
In the original of its so-called Mahāyāna version the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra bears the Sanskrit title Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"' The Sanskrit original of this text has come down to us only in fragments. For the reconstruction of the Sanskrit text from these fragments, it is essential to compare the text with the word-for-word Tibetan translation completed at the beginning of the 9th century by Jinamitra, Jñānagarbha and Devacandra. Fǎxiǎn 法顯 translated it into Chinese under the title ''Dà bānnihuán jīng'' 大般泥洹經 in 6 fascicles (''juàn'' 卷), and Dharmakṣema 曇無讖 translated it as ''Dà bānnièpán jīng'' 大般涅槃經 in 40 fascicles. Both translations were completed at the beginning of the 5th century. The Chinese translations of this sūtra played an important role in the history of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The sūtra is famous especially for the formula "切眾生西有佛性 ''yíqiè zhongshēng xī yǒu fóxìng''," "Every living being has the Buddha-nature." The skill of the Chinese translators is evident from their use of the word ''fóxing'' 佛性, which is commonly translated into English as "Buddha-nature." While the underlying Sanskrit term and its intended meaning poses difficulties, as will be shown below, the Chinese term ''fóxing'', although not resulting from a very literal translation, has been accepted in dogmatical and philosophical interpretations in China and Japan.
Comparing the Sanskrit fragments and the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', which quotes the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra'' (that is the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra''), the original Sanskrit word ''fóxìng'' is ''buddhadhātu'', ''tathāgatadhātu'' or ''tathāgatagarbha''. Takasaki Jikidō's research on the tathāgatagarbha theory led him to conclude that the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra'' is the first known text in which the word ''buddhadhātu'' is used in this meaning.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000002-QINU`"'
I have been studying the original text of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra'' for some time, analyzing the Sanskrit fragments in comparison with the Tibetan and Chinese translations. From the viewpoint of the original text, the meaning of the formula "Every living being has the Buddha-nature" reveals nuances slightly different from the interpretations adopted in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. (Habata, introduction, 176–77)
''Buddhahood Without Meditation'', widely known by its subtitle, ''Nang-jang'' (''Refining Apparent Phenomena''), presents the view of the Great Perfection through the approach known as ''t'hreg-chhod'' (cutting through solidity). It is a direct transmission so powerful that just hearing it read aloud ensures that the listener will escape the suffering of cyclic existence. The nineteenth-century master Dudjom Lingpa received these teachings in visionary dialogue with fourteen enlightened beings, including Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani, Longchenpa, and Saraha.
The Dudjom lineage, based on the terma, or hidden treasures, revealed by Dudjom Lingpa and his immediate rebirth, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–1987), late head of the Nyingma school of
Buddhism, is one of the principal modern lineages of Dzogchen transmission.
This new paperback edition includes the Tibetan text as edited by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and features an expanded glossary that incorporates equivalent English terms of present-day teachers and translators of Dzogchen. (Source: Back Cover) +
Buddhist traditions express our potential for awakening in diverse ways: natural luminous mind; suchness; nondual awareness; basic goodness; ''dharmakaya''; the unity of emptiness, self-existing wakefulness; unconfined capacity; and so forth, all under the rubric of "buddhanature" (''tathagatagarbha''). Mahayana Buddhists understand this dimension of our mind to be an innate source of joy, compassion, courage, and wisdom. It is always operative and always available. ([https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhanature-beyond-mere-concept/ Read more here]) +
Why feel bad about yourself when you are naturally aware, loving, and wise? Mingyur Rinpoche explains how to see past the temporary stuff and discover your own buddhanature. +
''Barnhill, David L. "Buddhism and Nature—East Asian." In Vol. 1 of ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature'', edited by Bron Taylor, 236–39. London: Continuum, 2008. https://www.uwosh.edu/facstaff/barnhill/244-intro/buddhism-ern.'' +
Buddhism's buddha-nature and Confucianism's idea of inherent goodness are different in that Buddhism's "nature" is emptiness while that of Mencius and Xunzi means a person's character or disposition, which is something substantial. Buddhism teaches us to engage in spiritual practice in order to rid ourselves of vexations, thereby manifesting our original buddha-nature, while Mencius and Xunzi both advocated the importance of education: Education can turn good into evil and evil into good. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv2qlACVB8I Source Accessed Nov 17, 2020]) +
Jamgön Kongtrül’s ten-volume ''Treasury of Knowledge'' is a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were preserved in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhist teachers expected their students to study Buddhist philosophical texts as well as practice reflection and meditation; present-day students have also realized that awakening has its source in study as well as in reflection and practice. ''Buddhism’s Journey to Tibet'' presents Kongtrül's masterful history of Buddhism in India and Tibet. Beginning with the appearance of the Buddha in our world (Book Two), it describes the Buddha's life, his enlightenment, and what he taught (Book Three) from a multitude of Buddhist viewpoints. Buddhism's transmission to and preservation in Tibet is the focus of the main part of this volume (Book Four), which describes the scriptural transmissions and lineages of meditation practice as well as the Buddhist arts that together make up the world of Tibetan Buddhism. (Source: [https://www.shambhala.com/the-treasury-of-knowledge-books-two-three-and-four-2410.html Shambhala Publications]) +
In ''Buddhism'', His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out with clarity the convergences and the divergences between the two major strains of Buddhism—the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the Pali traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. +
Media/Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions: Chapter 14: Buddha Nature: A Talk by Thubten Chodron (Part 1 of 4) +
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. +
The ''Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivart'' is a short Mahāyāna sūtra extant in its entirety only in Chinese translation. To judge from its use as a proof-text in the seminal philosophical treatise ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', which quotes roughly half of the sūtra, it is a fundamental scripture expressing ideas about the unitary nature of saṁsāra and nirvāṇa, and each individual’s innate capacity for awakening, called in this text and elsewhere ‘tathāgatagarbha,’ ‘embryo of the tathāgatas.’<br> Although the text has hitherto drawn the attention primarily of Japanese scholars, this is the first critical edition of the sūtra, aligning its Chinese text with the available Sanskrit, offering a richly annotated English translation, a detailed introduction which places the work in its historical and doctrinal context, and a number of appendices exploring key notions, providing a reading text shorn of annotation, and enumerating the prolific quotations of the work found in Chinese Buddhist literature. This volume is thus an important contribution to studies of developing Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist doctrine and the textual history of scriptures.<br>(Source: [https://blogs.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup/products-page/publikationen/128/ Hamburg University Press]) +
''Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment'' explains how sudden enlightenment occurs through the awakening of patriarchal faith. This is the non-dual affirmation that one is already Buddha as opposed to the doctrinal, dualistic faith that one can become Buddha. The essence of the presentation is that patriarchal faith forms the basis for sudden enlightenment in Zen meditation. For the practitioner, this book establishes the Zen method of mind-cultivation on a higher level by introducing a new understanding of awakening right faith.
Included is extensive material on the history of faith in Buddhism with the main attention devoted to Ch'an (Zen) and Hua-yen. There are also substantial discussions of Buddhist antecedents to these schools and of the Pure Land School.
This is the first book in English to examine the central role of faith in Mahayana Buddhism. The author's approach develops from his personal experiences as a son (Zen) monk of the Chogye order, which was heavily influenced by the integration of meditation and scriptural study established by Chinul. (Source: [https://www.sunypress.edu/p-71-buddhist-faith-and-sudden-enlig.aspx Suny Press]) +
This publication presents the academic papers presented at the 2nd International Association of Buddhist Universities Conference which took place at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, in 2012. The theme of this large conference was "Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation Practice" and it brought together over 33 Buddhist studies scholars. Of particular relevance to the topic of buddha-nature is Tadeuz Skorupki's paper, "Consciousness and Luminosity in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism" (43–64). +
When Buddhism first entered China from India and Central Asia two thousand years ago, Chinese favourably disposed towards it tended to view it as a part or companion school of the native Chinese Huang–Lao Daoist tradition, a form of Daoism rooted in texts and practices attributed to Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) and Laozi. Others, less accepting of this ‘foreign’ incursion from the ‘barbarous’ Western Countries, viewed Buddhism as an exotic and dangerous challenge to the social and ethical Chinese civil order. For several centuries, these two attitudes formed the crucible within which the Chinese understanding of Buddhism was fashioned, even as more and more missionaries arrived (predominantly from Central Asia) bringing additional texts, concepts, rituals, meditative disciplines and other practices. Buddhists and Daoists borrowed ideas, terminology, disciplines, cosmologies, institutional structures, literary genres and soteric models from each other, sometimes so profusely that today it can be difficult if not impossible at times to determine who was first to introduce a certain idea. Simultaneously, polemical and political attacks from hostile Chinese quarters forced Buddhists to respond with apologia and ultimately reshape Buddhism into something the Chinese would find not only inoffensive, but attractive.
In the fifth century A.D., Buddhism began to extricate itself from its quasi-Daoist pigeonhole by clarifying definitive differences between Buddhist and Daoist thought, shedding Daoist vocabulary and literary styles while developing new distinctively Buddhist terminology and genres. Curiously, despite the fact that Mahāyāna Buddhism had few adherents in Central Asia and was outnumbered by other Buddhist schools in India as well, in China Mahāyāna became the dominant form of Buddhism, so much so that few pejoratives were as stinging to a fellow Buddhist as labelling him ‘Hīnayāna’ (literally ‘Little Vehicle,’ a polemical term for non-Mahāyānic forms of Buddhism). By the sixth century, the Chinese had been introduced to a vast array of Buddhist theories and practices representing a wide range of Indian Buddhist schools. As the Chinese struggled to master these doctrines it became evident that, despite the fact that these schools were all supposed to express the One Dharma (Buddha’s Teaching), their teachings were not homogenous, and were frequently incommensurate.
By the end of the sixth century, the most pressing issue facing Chinese Buddhists was how to harmonize the disparities between the various teachings. Responses to this issue produced the Sinitic Mahāyāna schools, that is, Buddhist schools that originated in China rather than India. The four Sinitic schools are Tiantai, Huayan, Chan and Pure Land (Jingtu). Issues these schools share in common include Buddha-nature, mind, emptiness, ''tathāgatagarbha'', expedient means (''upāya''), overcoming birth and death (''saṃsāra''), and enlightenment. (Source: [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/overview/buddhist-philosophy-chinese/v-1 Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 1])
