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Media/Khenpo Tenzin Norgay: When One Gets a Glimpse of Buddha-Nature, Does It Require Effort to Sustain It? +
''Norgay, Khenpo Tenzin. "When One Gets a Glimpse of Buddha-Nature, Does It Require Effort to Sustain It?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 30, 2022. Video, 2:26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsHsKLBxBuE.'' +
In this talk given to students during RYI's Buddhist philosophy class on ''The Sublime Continuum'' by Arya Maitreya, Khenpo Karma Gyurme (also known as Khenpo Tokpa Tulku) covers the following topics:
In the first talk, he explains what marks the beginning of the bodhisattva path and the distinction between a noble bodhisattva and an aspiring bodhisattva. Furthermore, he explains the difference between emotional compassion and wisdom-based compassion. He introduces the four means of magnetizing, a skillful method used by Bodhisattvas to benefit others.
In the second talk, he expands on the four means of magnetizing; generosity, pleasant speech, teaching according to the needs of beings, and being consistent in conduct. He explains how noble bodhisattvas implement these methods and provides practical advice to aspiring bodhisattvas on how to engage with them. The translation is by RYI's translator, Anya Zilman. ([https://www.ryi.org/free-online-resources Source Accessed Sep 30, 2020]) +
'''རྙིང་མ་དང་རྫོགས་ཆེན་ལ་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་བཞེད་ཚུལ་དང་ཉམས་བཞེས།'''<br>'''The Understanding and Application of Buddha-Nature in the Nyingma and Dzogchen Tradition'''
Khenpo starts by thanking the participants, organizers, and attendees for the wonderful gathering and for the hard work to spread the teachings on buddha-nature by hosting this conference. A real patron of Buddhist teachings, he says, is one who supports critical thinking and the promotion of wisdom through such programes and not just someone who sponsors rituals and prayers. He then discusses the concept of ''gotra'', or family/clan, based on activities and based on causes or reasons. He highlightes how the participants gather together as one family, sharing the buddha-nature, and that everyone should cultivate a kindred spirit instead of seeing differences based on region, nationality, gender, status, etc.
Delving into the buddha-nature theories, Khenpo explains that the middle wheel teaches buddha-nature with the nomenclature of the Perfection of Wisdom and the final wheel discusses it as ''tathāgatagarbha''. In the tantric teachings we find other names such as innate mind, Mahāmudrā, and Great Perfection used to refer to buddha-nature. Citing the line from the ''Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines'', he explains what mind, the nonexistence of the mind, and luminous nature of mind refer to. In an ecumenical spirit, he argues that what the Geluk considered as the absence of inherent existence and the Nyingma and other schools as the lack of any foundation refer to the same point of not finding an entity as they appear when thoroughly searched for their existence. Thus, despite the difference in word and presentation, he argues that the different interpretations of buddha-nature in different schools reach the same point.
He also shares that in studying buddha-nature, there is the exegetical intellectual approach and the practical instructional approach to buddha-nature. The difference between sūtra and tantric approaches to buddha-nature also ends when one attains the path of seeing, because at this stage the meditator directly experiences reality or buddha-nature whether the person followed the sūtra or tantric path. At this stage, the practitioner has actualized the actual luminosity through direct perception.
Such direct experience of pure, clear, unperturbed, unconditioned luminosity or buddha-nature is cultivated through intellectual and contemplative meditation in the sūtra system, through the practice of channels and vital energy in father tantras, and through seminal fluid practices and so forth in the mother tantras. However, in the Dzogchen system of the Nyingma, no contrived efforts are made, but buddha-nature is actualized through resting in the natural state, like allowing water to settle down or the sky to be free from clouds. By using the skillful postures and gazes and leveraging the practices of visions and light rays in the transcendent practice of ''todgyal'', one unravels the buddha-nature from within one's heart.
'''མི་ཕམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་སློབ་བརྒྱུད་བཅས་པའི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་བཞེད་ཚུལ།'''<br>'''The Understanding of Buddha-Nature by Mipam Gyatso, His Students, and Scholars on Mipam'''
Khenpo starts his presentation by discussing the transmission of buddha-nature literature, particularly the ''Ultimate Continuum'', to Tibet. Khenpo suspects that Mipam Gyatso might have considered the ''Ultimate Continuum'' and ''Distinguishing Phenomena and Their Nature'' to have been translated during the early diffusion of the dharma in the late eighth and early ninth century. This is different from the general claim that the ''Ultimate Continuum'' reached Tibet only in the later diffusion after Maitrīpa revealed it from a stūpa in the 11th century. It is likely that Mipam used the mention of the five treatises of Maitreya in Ugyen Lingpa's kathang biography of Guru Rinpoche as the main reason for this.
Khenpo then explains how Mipam saw the five works of Maitreya in terms of their doxographical affiliation, which Mipam explains in his commentary on ''Distinguishing Phenomena and Their Nature''. Although Mipam takes the ''Ultimate Continuum'', the main classic on buddha-nature, to be Mādhyamika in its ultimate purport, he does not mention whether it is aligned to Prāsaṅgika or Svātantrika Mādhyamika. It appears he considered it as a primary or root text (''gzhung phyi mo'') of the Mādhyamikas. The students of Mipam, including Zhechen Gyaltsab, Bodpa Trulku, Kaḥthog Situ, and Kunzang Palden also carried on his interpretation and understanding of the ''Ultimate Continuum'' as a Mādhyamika text, some classifying it as a text of the Prāsaṅgika school.
Discussing Mipam's understanding of buddha-nature, Khenpo states that Mipam did not accept buddha-nature to be mere emptiness as the Gelukpas accepted it or a truly established entity as some Tibetan scholars taught. He says Mipam considered buddha-nature to be empty because it is negated by the ultimate analysis. Yet, on the highest conventional level, buddha-nature exists latent in all sentient beings with all the sublime qualities of the Buddha. Thus, in this context, buddha-nature is empty of other afflictive emotions and impurities but not of the sublime qualities which are innate traits of buddha-nature. Before Mipam, Rongzom focused on the emptiness aspect of buddha-nature and Longchenpa on the luminosity of the nature of the mind. Mipam sought a balanced presentation, resulting in the union of emptiness and luminosity.
While Mipam's position may be considered to be ''rangtong'' because he asserted the lack of the true self-existence of buddha-nature, he also defended the ''zhentong'' position, leading many modern scholars to mistakenly think he is an adherent of the ''zhentong'' tradition. Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu explores the position of Mipam in his various writings, of his disciples, and also of the modern scholars who work on Mipam.
༄༅། །ངོ་བོ་སྟོང་པའི་ཆ་བརྗོད་བྱའི་གཙོ་བོར་བྱས་པ་དང་། རང་བཞིན་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་ཀྱི་ཆ་བརྗོད་བྱའི་གཙོ་བོར་བྱས་པ་སྟེ་ཡང་གསལ་བར་བརྗོད་ན་སྟོང་ཉིད་མེད་དགག་དང་མ་ཡིན་དགག་ཏུ་སྨྲ་བའི་ཁྱད་པར་རོ། །ཁ་ཕྱི་བལྟས་དང་ནང་བལྟས་ཀྱི་བཤད་ཚུལ་དཔྱད་པ་དང་སྒོམ་པའི་དོན་གཉིས་སུ་སོང་བ་ཡིན་ནོ་ཞེས་རྒྱུད་འགྲེལ་སེངྒེའི་ང་རོ་ལས་༧རྗེ་འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱིས་གསུངས་པ་ལྟར་ཡིན། བཤད་ཚུལ་གཉིས་པོ་དེ་ལ་བོད་གངས་ཅན་གྱི་ལྗོངས་སུ་དབུ་མ་རང་སྟོང་དང་དབུ་མ་གཞན་སྟོང་ཞེས་གྲགས་ཤིང་། དེ་དག་བོད་སྟོན་རྣམས་ཀྱིས་རང་བཟོར་བྱས་པ་ཡང་མ་ཡིན་ཞིང་གོང་གསལ་གནས་སྐབས་སྤྲོས་པ་གཅོད་པའི་ངེས་དོན་དང་། མཐར་ཐུག་གནས་ལུགས་དོན་དམ་གཏན་ལ་དབབ་པའི་ངེས་དོན་དུ་གནས་པ་འཁོར་ལོ་བར་མཐའ་གསུང་རབ་དགོངས་འགྲེལ་དང་བཅས་པའི་གསུང་སྒྲོས་ཉིད་ལ་གཞན་སྟོང་ཞེས་པའི་མིང་བླ་དྭགས་སུ་བཏགས་པ་ཡིན་ནོ། ། +
Klaus-Dieter Mathes welcomes the attendees of the Tathāgatagarbha Symposium to the University of Vienna, offers brief remarks on his own interest in the topic, and acknowledges those who assisted in creating the conference. +
''Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. "Buddha-Nature in Comparative Perspective, an Interview with Klaus-Dieter Mathes." Interview by Marcus Perman and Alexander Gardner, April 24, 2018. Audio, 53:03. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/Klaus-Dieter_Mathes_Interview_on_Buddha-Nature.'' +
Klaus-Dieter Mathes discusses Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s position on Buddha-nature. He describes how his student Zhangtön Sönam Drakpa defends his teacher's position by arguing that one faces eight undesired consequences if one does not strictly differentiate buddha-nature from the ground consciousness. +
Media/Klaus-Dieter Mathes: Tibetan Traditions of Buddha-Nature in the Light of Its Complex Indian Background +
''Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. "Tibetan Traditions of Buddha-Nature in the Light of Its Complex Indian Background." Old Topic, New Insights: Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice. The 16th IATS Conference, Prague, July 3–9, 2022. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 20:27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT6-yMGKrdA.'' +
''Henkel, Kokyo. "Kokyo Henkel on Buddha-Nature: A Collection of Talks on Buddha-Nature." Recorded at the Santa Cruz Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center (Tassajara) 2011–2012. Audio. "Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel and Buddha-Nature," August 4, 2011, 50:16, http://archives.sczc.org/2011/08/04/three-turnings-of-the-dharma-wheel-and-buddha-nature/; "Buddha Nature, The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Clarity," August 10, 2011, 56:14, http://archives.sczc.org/2011/08/10/buddha-nature-the-inconceivable-inseparability-of-emptiness-and-clarity/; "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature," September 6, 2011, 1:30:01, https://www.sfzc.org/teachings/dharma-talks/cloudless-sky-buddha-nature; "Buddha Nature and Trust," August 1, 2012, 1:00:48, http://archives.sczc.org/2012/08/01/buddha-nature-and-trust/. "Searching for the Sound in the Lute, Three Qualities of Zazen and Three Types of Zazen," December 5, 2012, 52:54, http://archives.sczc.org/2012/12/05/searching-for-the-sound-in-the-lute-three-qualities-of-zazen-and-three-types-of-zazen/.'' +
This article examines an exposition of the Great Madhyamaka of other-emptiness by 'Jam mgon Kong sprul Bio gros mtha' yas (1813-99)'"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"' of the Bka' brgyud school of Tibetan Buddhism, in his ''Stainless Ray of Light of the Adamantine Moon: An Instruction on the View of the Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness'' (''Gzhan stong dbu ma chen po'i Ita khrid rdo rje zla ba dri ma med pa'i 'od zer zhes bya ba'', henceforth ''Instruction on the View''). In it, Kong sprul sets forth the theory and practice of the Great Madhyamaka of other-emptiness, centered upon the doctrine of Buddha-nature. The ''Instruction on the View'' largely consists of three main outlines: (1) the origin of the doctrine of the Great Madhyamaka of other-emptiness (''gang nas byung ba'i khung''); (2) the main part of the Instruction on the View (''Jta khrid dngos''); and (3) an explanation of the benefits (''phan yon bshad pa''). In this article, I will first summarize the contents of the ''Instruction on the View'', according to its topical outlines,'"`UNIQ--ref-00000002-QINU`"' and then discuss a hermeneutical issue related to textual interpretations of authoritative scriptures, comparing Kong sprul's approach with that of Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita (1761-1829) and Mi pham rgya mtsho (1846-1912). (Makidono, introduction, 151–52) +
My monograph explores theories on ''tathāgatagarbha'', ''tathatā'' and ''gotra'' in East Asian Buddhism between the 5th and the 7th centuries, with a focus on the interpretation and influence of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (Ch. ''Jiujing yisheng baoxing lun'' 究竟一乘寶性論). I review and reconsider ''tathāgatagarbha'' and consciousness-only theories in the context of East Asian Buddhism, especially before the return of Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664) to China.<br> There are major differences between our Sanskrit text of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and its classical Chinese translation, which had an immeasurable influence on East Asian Buddhist thought and has yet to be fully explored. No commentary on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' in Chinese Buddhism has survived, so scholars have maintained the opinion that it was not regarded too much in Chinese and East Asian Buddhism. However, the findings of my research show that the Chinese translation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' had more influence than previously imagined in East Asian Buddhist intellectual history.<br> I explore the ideological background of the classical Chinese translation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', with reference to the ''Pusa dichi jing'' 菩薩地持經, several commentaries on the ''Śrīmālā-sūtra'', the ''Da boniepan jing'' 大般涅槃經 and the ''Rulengqie jing'' 入楞伽經. In comparison to the surviving Sanskrit text, the Chinese version of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' downplays the significance of the expression ''gotra'' and instead reflects a strong interest in ''zhenru'' 真如 (Skt. ''tathatā'') and ''foxing'' 佛性 (Buddha-nature) – for instance, '' 'zhenru foxing' '' becomes the foundation or reason for transmigration in the world. In this context, reality (Skt. ''tathatā'') acts like a conditioned dharma, an idea that deeply influenced later understanding of Buddha-nature in East Asian Buddhism. I furthermore discuss the relationship between the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and other significant East Asian authors and teachings, such as Paramārtha 真諦 (499-569), the ''Dasheng qixin lun'' 大乘起信論, Fazang 法藏 (643-712), the Sanjie school 三階教, and trace the influence of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' beyond China into the writings of Wonhyo 元曉 (617-686) in Korea and the Japanese authors Juryō 寿霊 and Chikei 智憬 in Nara era (710-784). ([https://www.soas.ac.uk/buddhiststudies/events/18feb2021-book-launch-revisiting-buddha-nature-in-india-and-china.html Source Accessed May 25, 2021])
Kurtis Schaeffer discusses Jikme Lingpa's view and attitude toward buddha-nature as found in his major philosophical work, the ''Treasury of Precious Qualities,'' and in various other writings. He shows how Jikme Lingpa maintained an antinomian approach to buddha-nature in the context of Great Perfection thought. +
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Le ''tathāgatagarbha'', « embryon » ou « matrice » de Tathāgata, est le genre de la nature de Bouddha qui, selon certains textes du Mahāyāna, est présent en tous les êtres. Cette théorie joua un rôle considérable dans le bouddhisme de la Chine, du Japon et du Tibet. Elle est liée à d'autres points de doctrine importants, que M. Ruegg a examinés également ici, ceux du ''gotra'' ou « lignée » spirituelle, de l'Eveil universel, du Véhicule unique de salut, de la luminosité naturelle de la pensée. Toutes ces théories, étroitement liées entre elles, touchent de très près à l'essence même du bouddhisme du Grand Véhicule, comme l'a montré excellemment M. Ruegg. Celui-ci a pourtant limité le champ de ses investigations à certaines sources, ''sūtra'' sanskrits du Mahāyāna, traités des Mādhyamika et des Yogācāra, commentaires et traités tibétains d'époques diverses, laissant de côté notamment toute l'abondante littérature chinoise et japonaise sur le sujet. Prudemment, il s'en est tenu à une étude doxographique, sans traiter aucun des problèmes de philologie et d'histoire. Cependant, la maîtrise acquise par lui en sanskrit et en tibétain, et sa grande familiarité avec la pensée bouddhique, même dans ce qu'elle a de plus abstrus, permettent à M. Ruegg de se jouer aisément de toutes les difficultés, fort nombreuses et redoutables, dont un tel sujet était hérissé. On regrettera seulement qu'il n'ait guère fait effort pour rendre son livre accessible au lecteur non spécialiste. Pourtant, cet ouvrage, qui est une contribution capitale à notre connaissance de la pensée bouddhique, mérite d'être connu d'un large public de philosophes et d'historiens des religions. Souhaitons que son auteur en donnera bientôt un condensé sous une forme claire. Mais ce défaut, qui ne concerne que l'expression et est en quelque sorte la rançon de la compétence de M. Ruegg, n'enlève rien à la valeur intrinsèque de ce travail, l'un des meilleurs qu'ait produits l'étude du bouddhisme ces dernières années. (Source: [https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhr_0035-1423_1971_num_179_1_9680 Review by André Bareau, ''Revue de l'histoire des religions''])
''The following is an excerpt from the preface'':<br><br>
Une religion comme le bouddhisme est un tout infiniment complexe. Quelque place qu'y tiennent les idées théosophiques, soyons sûrs qu'elles ne la constituent pas tout entière. Elles s'y trouvent amalgamées à des éléments de toute provenance. Est-ce en les isolant artificiellement qu'on les étudiera le mieux dans leur nature et dans leur action ? Ce ne serait ni avantageux, ni même possible. Les contacts qu'elles subissent entraînent pour elles des déterminations dont il faut bien tenir compte : tel le cristal transparent qui se colore par le voisinage d'une fleur d'hibiscus. D'autre part, il serait excessif sous prétexte de théosophie, d'embrasser ici le bouddhisme dans toute son étendue. D'excellents ouvrages, aisément accessibles au public, me permettent de limiter ma tâche sans inconvénient.<br> Ce que je me propose, c'est d'étudier dans quelles conditions, externes et internes, les idées maîtresses du bouddhisme ont agi sur les esprits ; de quelle manière elles se lient les unes aux autres ; quelle influence elles ont exercée sur la conduite des individus et sur la communauté ; comment elles se sont transformées par le travail même de la pensée ; comment elles ont dévié au contact de doctrines hétérogènes ; à quels excès de théorie et de pratique elles ont parfois abouti. Je ne m'occuperai donc du Bouddha et du Sangha que dans la mesure où la personnalité du maître et l'organisation de l'église sont pour quelque chose dans la direction prise par le travail des âmes religieuses. Quant aux doctrines, je laisserai de côté celles qui n'intéressent pas du tout l'élaboration du salut, et passerai rapidement sur celles qui peuvent être considérées comme la simple application des principes essentiels. Si je ne craignais d'exposer mon livre à de redoutables comparaisons, je dirais que j'ai tenté de mettre en lumière !'« esprit » du bouddhisme, un esprit remarquable à la fois par sa continuité et par ses variations.<br> Malgré les restrictions que je viens d'indiquer, ce programme, je le crains, paraîtra trop ambitieux. Peutêtre même le trouvera-t-on irréalisable dans les conditions actuelles de la science. Que d'incertitudes, en effet, et que de lacunes dans l'histoire de la pensée bouddhique! Pouvons-nous seulement dater avec quelque approximation les écrits dits canoniques ? N'est-il pas puéril de vouloir expliquer les aspects successifs du bouddhisme sans tenir le plus grand compte de facteurs qui ne sont ni théosophiques, ni même hindous ? On a cherché du côté de la gnose et du manichéisme l'origine de quelques-unes des nouveautés par lesquelles se distinguent les écoles du Grand Véhicule. Si l'on a eu raison l'évolution de la doctrine cesse d'être exclusivement autochtone. Comme, d'ailleurs, l'influence des religions sectaires s'est fait sentir très vite, qu'elle s'est accentuée avec le temps, qu'elle a fini par devenir presque prépondérante, on trouvera l'explication des dernières déviations, non pas sans doute hors de l'Inde, mais hors du bouddhisme, et dans des formations religieuses dont nous savons fort mal l'histoire ancienne. Ces écueils,et d'autres encore, je savais qu'ils étaient semés sur ma route, et j'espère n'avoir jamais oublié leur présence pendant que je travaillais à cet ouvrage. Mais je n'ai pas eu non plus la prétention de résoudre tous les problèmes. Je me tiendrai pour satisfait, si j'ai quelque peu contribué à une plus entière connaissance du bouddhisme. (Oltramare, preface, xiii–xv)
No abstract given. Here is the first relevant paragraph:<br><br>
Du III au VII siècle de notre ère, selon la chronologie la plus souvent admise, la pensée bouddhique en Inde a trouvé une expression particulièrement brillante dans l'école dite du Vijñānavāda «doctrine de la connaissance». Les premiers ouvrages ressortissant à cette école en tant que telle peuvent être datés du début du Ill siècle. Au cours de ce siècle et du suivant, elle constitue peu à peu ses thèses, notamment à travers les ouvrages de Maitreya-nātha, d'Asaṅga et de Vasubandhu l'ancien. Je désignerai les développements de cette période sous le nom de Vijñānavāda ancien. Au V siècle, Vasubandhu le jeune cherche à fixer et à synthétiser la doctrine; ses travaux ouvrent la période de ce que j'ai appelé le Vijñānavāda classique, caractérisée par une abondante littérature de commentaires qu'illustrent en particulier les noms de Sthiramati, Dharmapāla et Hiuan-tsang. Le present exposé s'attachera à retracer brièvement l'histoire du Vijñānavāda, puis à exposer la doctrine classique. (May, "La philosophie bouddhique idéaliste," 265)<br><br>
English Translation:<br><br>
From the third to the seventh century AD, according to the most commonly accepted chronology, Buddhist thought in India found a particularly brilliant expression in the school known as the Vijñānavāda "doctrine of knowledge". The first works coming out of this school as such can be dated to the beginning of the 11th century. During this century and the following, it gradually built up its theses, notably through the works of Maitreya-nātha, Asaṅga and Vasubandhu the Elder. I will designate the developments of this period under the name of ancient Vijñānavāda. In the fifth century, Vasubandhu the Younger sought to fix and synthesize the doctrine; his works open the period of what I have called the classical Vijñānavāda, characterized by an abundant literature of commentaries that illustrate in particular the names of Sthiramati, Dharmapāla and Hiuan-tsang. This presentation will focus on briefly recounting the history of Vijñānavāda, then explaining classical doctrine.
''Drolma, Lama Palden. "A Guided Tonglen Meditation Practice." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 27, 2021. Video, 15:05. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf4VmQ6eQcI.'' +
''Drolma, Lama Palden. "Is Buddha-Nature a Teaching That Is Universal?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 27, 2021. Video, 4:14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMxLlbsnyZQ.'' +
''Drolma, Lama Palden. On "Bringing Tonglen Practice to New Audiences." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 27, 2021. Video, 6:05. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c6UNBP3yAg.'' +
''Drolma, Lama Palden. "On Doing Tonglen Practice for Oneself." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 27, 2021. Video, 5:37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vx6RYW55MQ.'' +
