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In this online interview, the second in a series titled "Conversations on Buddha-Nature," Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Media/Robert Thurman: On Buddha-Nature as a Potential Unifying Concept among the World's Religions +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Media/Robert Thurman: On the Different Conceptions of Buddha-Nature within the Various Schools of Tibetan Buddhism +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman. +
Set within the broader framework of Buddhist world view, the fundamental concern of the ''Tathāgatagarbha'' literature is to show that all sentient beings, without exception, can attain freedom from every kind of suffering and unease, and, ultimately, actualise the state of a fully awakened buddha. According to these scriptures, all sentient beings are by their very nature either empowered to attain buddhahood, or essentially already buddhas (depending on the interpretation). This innate quality of all sentient beings is given the name “buddha-nature” (Skt. ''tathāgatagarbha''; Tib. ''de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po'').<br> This doctrine has played an important role in the history of Buddhism. Although rudimentary elements of this doctrine can be identified already within the Pāli canon,[1] those passages relating to the natural luminosity of the mind, which is said to be temporarily stained by adventitious mental afflictions, required the emergence of the Mahāyāna movement before developing into a fully fledged doctrine in its own right. Since it is supported by a number of sūtras[2] and śāstras (i.e. the Buddhist canon composed of the Buddha’s sermons and the Indian commentarial literature), it can be regarded as a third school of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, the other two being Madhyamaka and Yogācāra. However, the concept of buddha-nature reached its apogee not in India but in East Asia and Tibet where it became a cornerstone for Buddhist philosophy and religious practice. In Tibet, in particular, this concept was treated diversely by many scholars, all of whom were ambitious to fit it into the philosophical framework of their own respective schools. Rong-ston Shes-bya kun-rig (1367–1449) of the Sa-skya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism figures among the most influential of these scholars. In general, his commentary on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', the main Indian śāstra on buddha-nature, and in particular, a translation of his exposition of the subject by means of ten categories, will be the focus of this work.<br> In the first chapter I will introduce the doctrine of buddha-nature, giving a brief account of its sources and formation. The second chapter will deal with the main treatise on buddha-nature, the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''. Here, I will present the text itself, discuss the question of its authorship, as well as its transmission in India and early reception in Tibet. This chapter will also include a brief overview of previous studies on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and the doctrine of buddha-nature. The third chapter will be devoted to the author of our treatise and his presentation of the subject. The final and main part of the work will consist of an annotated translation of a selected passage of his abovementioned commentary.<br> Throughout this work I have used the transliteration system of Turrell Wylie for the Tibetan. (Bernert, introduction, 5–6 )
<h5>Notes</h5>
#For example in AN I.v, 9: “This mind, O monks, is luminous! But it is defiled by adventitious defilements.” (After Mathes 2008: ix.) See also Takasaki 1966: 34–35.
#A prevalent doxographical classification of Buddhist sūtras distinguishes between the so called “three turnings of the Dharma-wheel” (a concept introduced in the ''Sandhinirmocanasūtra''). Scriptures of the first turning fundamentally discuss the four noble truths as expounded in Nikāya Buddhism which represents the common ground for all traditions and the basic framework for all Buddhist teachings. Sūtras from second turning emphasise the doctrine of emptiness (''śūnyatā'') as expounded in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, and those of the third teach the about the three natures (''trisvabhāva''), the latter two being classified as belonging to the Mahāyāna corpus. The sūtras on buddha-nature are generally regarded as belonging to the third turning.
#As Seyfort Ruegg (1969: 2) remarks, the language used in the ''tathāgatagarbha'' treatises differs noticeably from that of the other two schools, and even comes suspiciously close to that of the Vedānta. Indeed, a number of modern scholars have accused this doctrine to be alien to Buddhist thought, an accusion refuted by others. For a collection of articles on this topic see Hubbard and Swanson 1997.
#Cf. Wylie 1959.
The present study looks into the investigation of buddhology<sup>1</sup>—that is, conceptions of Buddhahood found in various traditional Buddhist systems and scriptures—by the eleventh-century rNying-ma author and translator Rong-zom Choskyi-bzang-po (henceforth Rong-zom-pa). The bulk of attention will be devoted to his work titled ''Sangs rgyas kyi sa chen mo'' (henceforth ''Sangs sa chen mo'') (''An Extended'' [''Exposition on''] ''the Stage of a Buddha''). This treatise—the only known Tibetan (and, as far as I am aware, indeed pan-Indian) work of its kind on buddhology—discusses its subject at length, focusing on the controversy about whether gnosis exists—on the conventional level—at the stage of a ''buddha''.<sup>2</sup> My attention was first drawn to this controversy when I was working on my Master's thesis, titled "The Life and Works of Rong-zom Paṇḍita," for which I critically edited and translated Mi-pham-rgya mtsho's (1846–1912) ''Rang zorn gsung 'bum dkar chag me tog phreng ba'' (''Garland of Flowers: A Catalogue to Rong-zom's Collected Works''), and prepared a detailed catalogue of Rongzom-pa's three-volume collected works.<sup>3</sup> In his catalogue, Mi-pham devotes an entire passage to this issue, with the aim of refuting what he believed to be the wrongly held view that Rong-zom-pa denied the existence of gnosis at the stage of a buddha. Any denial of the existence of gnosis had obviously been difficult to digest by most Tibetan scholars, and the prevailing position in Tibet was and still is that a ''buddha'' does possess gnosis. Mi-pham attempts to interpret Rong-zom-pa's statements in which he unquestionably maintains that gnosis does not exist at the stage of a ''buddha'' as only referring to gnosis that had been generated on the path but not to gnosis as such, for Rong-zom-pa, Mi-pham argues, is an expounder of rDzogs-chen, a system in which what is called 'self-occurring gnosis' (''rang byung gi ye shes: svayaṃbhūjñāna'') features prominently. Nonetheless, from my examination of Rong-zom-pa's discussions of the whole issue, it has become evident that he did indeed deny the existence of any cognitive element whatsoever at the stage of a ''buddha'', the sole constituent of Buddhahood being for him the purified ''dharmadhātu''. Although he alludes to self-occurring gnosis on numerous occasions in his works, there is a salient difference between his and Mi-pham's understanding of the term: for Mi-pham self-occurring gnosis is something cognitive, whereas for Rong-zom-pa, who equates it with the ''dharmadhātu'', it is not. Rong-zom-pa, however, does not deny that a ''buddha'''s gnosis, as mere appearance, manifests to those who have not yet attained release and thus have not yet eliminated all their delusions. A ''buddha'', on the other hand, whose delusions have been completely exhausted, does not possess such gnosis. This position of Rong-zom-pa's does not seem to be an exceptional case. It can be shown in fact that numerous, if not the majority, of Indian Madhyamaka scholars of the eleventh century took a position similar to that of Rong-zom-pa. Furthermore, several works of early bKa'-gdams scholars that have come to light recently show that Rong-zom-pa was not the only Tibetan of his time to hold such a view. It thus appears that while the latter was indeed current among Tibetan scholars of the eleventh century, for a variety of reasons it was soon superseded by the less radical position which allows for the existence of some kind of cognitive element. (Almogi, preface, 13–14)
<h5>Notes</h5>
#Following Paul Harrison, I employ the term 'buddhology' (written in lower case) to refer to theories on and conceptions of the nature of a "''buddha''" (i.e., Buddhahood), while reserving 'Buddhology' (capitalized) for an alternative designation for Buddhist Studies. See Harrison 1995, p. 24, n. 4.
#In the present study I differentiate between a ''buddha'' (i.e., written in lower case and italicized), a title referring to any unspecified awakened person, and Buddha (i.e., written in roman and capitalized), a title referring to Śākyamuni Buddha or any other particular awakened person. (The same convention has been employed in the case of other titles: for example, ''bodhisattva'' versus Bodhisattva.) This differentiation is particularly important for the discussion of buddhology, or conceptions of Buddhahood, since some such conceptions (particularly the earlier ones) are clearly only associated with the person of the historical Buddha, while others, which commonly represent later developments in which a plurality of ''buddhas'' is affirmed, concern all awakened persons. To be sure, often there is no clear-cut borderline. In such cases I have employed both forms as alternatives.
#A considerably revised and enlarged version of the thesis is currently under preparation for publication in the near future.
Ryogen and Mount Hiei focuses on the transformation of the Tendai School from a small and impoverished group of monks in the early ninth century to its emergence as the most powerful and influential school of Japanese Buddhism in the last half of the tenth century—a position it would maintain throughout the medieval period. This is the first study in a Western language of the institutional factors that lay behind the school's success. At its core is a biography of a major figure behind this transformation, Ryogen (912–985). The discussion, however, extends well beyond a simple biography as Ryogen's activities are placed in their historical and institutional context.</br> Unlike the recluses and eccentrics that have so often attracted Western readers of Buddhism, Ryogen was a consummate politician and builder. Because he lost his major monastic sponsor at an early age, he was forced to find ways to advance his career with little support. His activities reveal much about the path to success for monks during the tenth century. Skill in debate, the performance of Esoteric Buddhist ritual, and strategic alliances with powerful lay and monastic figures were important to his advance. In 966 Ryogen was appointed head of the Tendai School and served until his death nineteen years later. He has been vilified at times for his loyalty to his own faction within Tendai at the expense of other groups. Careful analysis of the political and social factors behind his attitudes, however, places his activities in their appropriate context.</br> The study concludes with a discussion of the ordinations and roles of nuns during the early Heian period. An examination of Ryogen's close relation with his mother helps define the ambiguities of a school that prohibited women from the precincts of its temple yet performed rituals to insure safe childbirth and frequently attracted their patronage. A number of primary sources are translated in the appendices. (Source: [https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/ryogen-and-mount-hiei-japanese-tendai-in-the-tenth-century/ University of Hawai'i Press])
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Media/Sagesses Bouddhistes: Traité de la continuité suprême du grand véhicule, un texte exceptionnel du bouddhisme tibétain (Pt. 1 of 2) +
Traité de la continuité suprême du grand véhicule, un texte exceptionnel du bouddhisme tibétain<br>
Invité : Christian Charrier<br>
Nous avons tous la Nature de Bouddha : énoncée par un traité du 4e siècle de notre ère, cette vérité a passionné des générations de pratiquants, et suscité débats et exégèses durant des siècles. Source d’émerveillement pour tous ceux qui ont pu le lire, ce texte fondamental pour le bouddhisme tibétain est aujourd’hui disponible en français, grâce à l’immense travail d’un traducteur, Christian Charrier, qui sera notre invité deux dimanches, afin de nous éclairer sur la toute puissance de ce texte magnifique. Dans cette première émission, nous découvrirons l’histoire mystérieuse de ce traité, apparu en Inde au VIIe siècle, puis disparu, et réapparu des siècles plus tard, pour devenir une référence dans le bouddhisme tibétain. +
The present work is a valuable edition (in transcription) of the Tibetan text of an early Mahāyāna sūtra of which the original Sanskrit has perished. With this the Chinese versions have been compared and the variants quoted. A most useful feature of the work is the presentation of the Sanskrit equivalents of Tibetan phrases, in particular those with technical meaning. The Sanskritist may thus easily see what precise Sanskrit word corresponded to the Tibetan or to its French translation.
The earliest extant translation of part of the text into Chinese was by Guṇabhadra between A.D. 435 and 443. But, as the text was a source for Asaṅga whose works are known in Chinese in 413–421, a date second to third centuries A.D. is reasonably proposed (p. 24–5)
In his preface M. Lamotte has discussed the texts and commentaries, the title, the importance of the text by reason of its early date and position between the Prajñāpāramitā texts and those of the Vijñānavāda, and has given a detailed analysis of the contents. The author has p. 7 himself rightly recognized how little satisfactory literal renderings of Buddhish technical terms are. (H. W. Bailey, Review of ''Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra. L'Explication des Mystères''. ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' 8 , no. 4 (1937): 1157.) +
Knowledge of buddha nature reveals and reconciles the paradox of how the mind can be the basis for both the duhkha of samsara (the unpurified mind) and the bliss and fulfillment of nirvana (the purified mind). To illustrate this, ''Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature'' first takes readers through Buddhist thought on the self, the four truths, and their sixteen attributes. It then explains afflictions—including how they arise and their antidotes—followed by an examination of karma and cyclic existence, and, finally, a deep and thorough elucidation of buddha nature. ''Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature'' shows us how to purify our minds and cultivate awakened qualities.<br>
<br>
This is the third volume in the Dalai Lama’s definitive and comprehensive series on the stages of the Buddhist path, ''The Library of Wisdom and Compassion''. Volume 1, ''Approaching the Buddhist Path'',contains introductory material that sets the context for Buddhist practice. Volume 2, ''The Foundation of Buddhist Practice'', describes the important teachings that help us establish a flourishing Dharma practice. ''Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature'' can be read as the logical next step in this series or enjoyed on its own. (Source: [https://wisdomexperience.org/product/samsara-nirvana-and-buddha-nature/ Wisdom Publications]) +
The following is an extract from a review of ''Self and Non-Self in Early Buddhism'' by Vijitha Rajapakse published by the ''Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies'' 8, no.1 (1985): 122–25:
Pérez-Remón's book is analytical in nature, and its immediate aim is to provide an interpretative study of the ''anattā'' doctrine as it appears in the earlier parts of the Pali canon, namely the Nikaya literature. He describes the religious views elaborated in these contexts as a soteriology, that is to say a system of moral training which considers salvation to be its prime goal. Buddhist writings on the self, he argues, are not as clear and unambiguous as is often supposed. He does not, in particular, believe that one could regard them in a purely negative light, after the manner of certain Theravada exponents. The use and the import of "self" (''attā'') and "non-self" (''anattā'') are of course central to this study. In order to facilitate his inquiry into these key terms, he introduces some important distinctions which appear for the most part to be philosophical in nature. First, there is the distinction
between the self in its existential and metaphysical signification; and second, between two senses of the term non-self, one qualified and the other absolute. Previous interpretations of the ''anattā'' doctrine have not revolved around distinctions of this kind. Perez-Remon, however, is of the view that it is necessary to focus on them in order to gain a true insight into early Buddhist thinking on the nature and existence of the self.
For the complete review, [https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8656/2563 click here] +
This book seeks to explain carefully and sypathetically the Buddhist doctrine of anatta ('not-self'), which denies the existence of any self, soul or enduring essence in human beings. The author relates this doctrine to its cultural and historical context, particularly to its Brahmanical background, and shows how the Theravāda Buddhist tradition has constructed a philosophical and psychological account of personal identity and continuity on the apparently impossible basis of the denial of self. (Source: [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/selfless-persons/275B89F45BA448E73F5AD8A9F7EAB929#fndtn-information Cambridge University Press]) For relevance to the concept of buddha-nature, see chapter 8, "Momentariness and the ''bhavaṅga''-mind." +
Sarah Harding discusses the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Severance (''chöd'') and, in particular, ''The Big General Guide to Severance'' by Jamyang Gönpo (b. 1208), which is possibly the earliest extant commentary on Severance. The author received the instructions of Machik Lapdrön from her son Gyalwa Döndrup, as well as from visionary experiences of her. He is thus considered one of the main sources of Severance, as well as being a lineage holder of the Lower Drukpa Kagyu tradition. This early system does not place much emphasis on the rituals, but rather goes straight to the heart of Severance, which is the Buddha's teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom. The unique approach of Severance is to arrive at that wisdom by examining and facing our deep-seated fears.
Sarah completed the first three-year retreat for westerners at Kagyu Ling, France, 1976–1980 and later served as a translator at Kagyu Shenpen Kunkyab, Santa Fe, 1980–1992. She was a founding member of Kalu Rinpoche’s International Translation Group in 1987 and has taught the Tibetan language to hundreds of students over the years, including creating a popular Tibetan language correspondence course. She retired from Naropa University in 2018 after twenty-six years of service. She continues her written translation work from her home in Boulder, Colorado. She has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2000. +
Christopher V. Jones discusses the concept of the "true self" as taught in the early Tathāgatagarbha literature. +
A remarkable collection of essays, ''Shōbōgenzō'', "Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching," was composed in the thirteenth century by the Zen master Dôgen, founder of the Sôtô Zen school in Japan. Through its linguistic artistry and its philosophical subtlety, the ''Shōbōgenzō'' presents a thorough recasting of Buddhism with a creative ingenuity that has never been matched in the subsequent literature of Japanese Zen. With this translation of thirteen of the ninety-five essays, Thomas Cleary attempts to convey the form as well as the content of Dōgen's writing, thereby preserving the instrumental structure of the original text. Together with pertinent commentary, biography, and notes, these essays make accessible to a wider audience a Zen classic once considered the private reserve of Sōtō monks and Buddhologists. (Source: [https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/shobogenzo-zen-essays-by-dogen/ University of Hawai'i Press]) +
