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Taishō 353<br>
Volume 12
The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā of the Lion's Roar
''The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā of the Lion's Roar'', generally known by its abbreviated title of ''Śrīmālā-sūtra'', was expounded by Śrīmālā, the daughter of King Prasenajit of Śrāvasti, under the inspiration of Śākyamuni. Its important subjects include the theory of the “One True Vehicle” and the ''dharmakāya''. Distinguished from other sūtras with the leading role played by a woman, and with the guarantee given by Śākyamuni therein, the text celebrates the potential of all people to become Buddhas and provides textual authority to counteract cultural gender bias.
In Japan this sūtra is further distinguished by the commentary (Taishō 106) attributed to Prince Shōtoku, included in his “Commentaries on Three Sūtras” (Jp. ''San-gyō gi-sho'').
Source:<br>Skt. ''Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanāda-sūtra'', translated into the Chinese by Guṇabhadra as ''Shengman shizihou yisheng defang bianfang guang jing'' (勝鬘師子吼一乘大方便方廣經). 1 fascicle.
Taishō 475<br>
Volume 14
The Vimalakīrti Sutra
In ''The Vimalakīrti Sutra'' the protagonist is a layman by the name of Vimalakīrti, well-versed in the profundities of Mahāyāna Buddhism. He happens to fall ill, and the sūtra starts from the point where Śākyamuni, hearing of his illness, asks his disciples to go to visit him. However, since each of the disciples has in the past been got the better of by Vimalakīrti in some way or other, they all refuse to go; so in the end it is Mañjuśrī who agrees to visit him in their stead. As a result a discussion on the profound teachings of the Mahāyāna unfolds between Vimalakīrti and Mañjuśrī. This sūtra is held in high regard in Japan, not least because Prince Shōtoku included a commentary on it (Taishō 107) in his Commentaries on Three Sūtras (''San-gyō-gi-sho''). Beyond that, the text has considerable appeal due to its dramatic contents, and is an important key to an understanding of the profound thought of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Source:<br>Skt. ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra''. Translated into the Chinese by Kumārajīva as ''Weimojie suoshuo jing'' (維摩詰所説經). 3 fascicles. (Source: [https://bdkamerica.org/product/the-sutra-of-queen-srimala-of-the-lions-roar-and-the-vimalakirti-sutra/ BDK America])
The aim of Mahayana teachings is for everyone, out of compassion for all sentient beings, to attain Buddhahood. The reason one can attain Buddhahood is that one possesses the Tathagata store (tathagata-garbha), which is one's inherent pure mind or Buddha nature.
The Introduction chapter of this book, Rulu's seventh, explores the origin of the concept of the Tathagata store, and discusses how teachings on the Tathagata store have come to be accepted in China as the mainstream of Mahayana teachings and a distinct school of thought, standing apart from and along with the Madhyamaka School and the Yogacara School. Highlights of teachings on the Tathagata store presented in this chapter include why all sentient beings possess the Tathagata store, meanings of the dharma body and its four virtues, a comparison between the self claimed by those on non-Buddhist paths and a true self taught by the Buddha, meanings of one's Buddha nature, and how one's Tathagata store and alaya consciousness (alaya-vijnana) are unified.
This book presents the English translations of six sutras selected from the Chinese Buddhist Canon. The ''Mahavaipulya Sutra of the Tathagata Store'' gives a basic teaching and describes by nine analogies that one's Tathagata store is shrouded by one's afflictions. The ''Sutra of Neither Increase Nor Decrease'' reveals that the Tathagata store is a Tathagata's dharma body, and that the realm of sentient beings neither increases nor decreases. The ''Sutra of Shrimala's Lion’s Roar'' gives teachings on one's afflictions that shroud one's Tathagata store and inspires all sentient beings to ride the One Vehicle to attain Buddhahood. The Mahayana version of the ''Sutra of Angulimalika'' reveals that as one's Tathagata store transcends all dharmas, all dharmas are one's Tathagata store. The ''Sutra of the Unsurpassed Reliance'' teaches one to rely on one's Tathagata store in order to walk the bodhi path to Buddhahood. The ''Sutra of the Vajra Samadhi'' reveals that one's inherent awareness, the pure awareness of one's true mind, has a mass of benefits. This book will benefit readers at all levels and can serve as a basis for scholarly research. (Source: [https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/727045-The-Tathagata-Store Author House])
'''Abstract'''
In this thesis the author firstly investigates various terms related to tathāgatagarbha in the Śrīmālāsūtra. Secondly he focuses on the languages features of its Sanskrit fragments in the Schøyen Collection. It turns out that none of their noticeable language features can ultimately suggest the school-affiliation of the Śrīmālāsūtra. Thirdly he analyzes its paleographical features. Besides, the author conducts an initial study of textual history the Śrīmālāsūtra, and discusses the older recension(s) of the Śrīmālāsūtra based on the Sanskrit morphology, criteria of lectio difficilior and lectio facilior, ascertainment of later contents in the course of transmission, and the development of Buddhist doctrine. Finally he provides a careful textual collation, and makes an annotated translation. +
Books/The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata: Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa (Burchardi, A.) +
''The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata'' opens with the Buddha presiding over a large congregation of disciples at Vulture Peak. Entering a special state of meditative absorption (''samādhi''), he magically displays a pavilion in the sky, attracting a vast audience of divine and human Dharma followers. At the request of the bodhisattva Dhāraṇīśvararāja, the Buddha gives a discourse on the qualities of bodhisattvas, which are specified as bodhisattva ornaments, illuminations, compassion, and activities. He also teaches about the compassionate awakening of tathāgatas and the scope of a tathāgata’s activities. At the request of a bodhisattva named Siṃhaketu, Dhāraṇīśvararāja then gives a discourse on eight ''dhāraṇīs'', following which the Buddha explains the sources and functions of a dhāraṇī known as ''the jewel lamp''. As the text concludes, various deities and Dharma protectors praise the sūtra’s qualities and vow to preserve and protect it in the future, and the Buddha entrusts the sūtra and its propagation to Dhāraṇīśvararāja. (Source: [https://read.84000.co/translation/toh147.html 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha]) +
This presentation will address the influences of the Tathāgatagarbha (“buddha nature”) model of reality in the three Yogācāra texts of the Maitreya Works (i.e., the ''Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra'', ''Madhyāntavibhāga'', and ''Dharmadharmatāvibhāga''). It will be argued that the integration of a particular understanding of buddha nature contributes to remedy the flaws Yogācāra has in the eyes of Mādhyamikas, namely that a considerable group of sentient beings is completely cut off from liberation, and that a dependently arising mind exists on the level of ultimate truth.<br> Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Mathes is a professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. His research interests include the Indian origin of the Tibetan Mahāmudrā traditions, buddha nature and the Tibetan ''gzhan stong'' tradition. He spoke with students at RYI on April 3, 2018. ([https://soundcloud.com/rangjung-yeshe-institute/prof-dr-klaus-dieter-mathes-the-three-nature-trisvabhava-theory-in-the-yogacara-texts Source Accessed Aug 13, 2020]) +
Rigzin Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798) was one of the most important masters of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He and the great fourteenth century master Longchen Rabjam (1308–1363), with whom he was closely linked through visionary experience, are known as the "two omniscient masters, father and son." The root of the Khyentse lineage, Jigme Lingpa was a tertön, or discoverer of treasure teachings, and revealed the ''Longchen Nyingtik'', one of the most important cycles of meditative practice in the Nyingma school. ''The Treasury of Precious Qualities'' is one of his universally respected scholarly compositions. (Source: Back Cover) +
The Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature (''Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra'') was transmitted from the bodhisattva Maitreyanātha to Āryā Āsaṅga, the fourth-century Indian Buddhist scholar-adept. The most foundational of the set of the famous ''Five Teachings of Maitreya'', the ''Discourse Literature'' is considered the wellspring of what the Tibetans call the "magnificent deeds trend of the path," the compassion side, which balances the "profound view trend of the path," the wisdom side. The Discourse Literature is also considered to be metaphysically aligned with and foundational for the Idealist (''Vijñānavādin'') school of Mahāyāna thought. Translated from Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese by Lobsang Jamspal, Robert Thurman, and the AIBS team, the present work contains a fully annotated, critical English rendition of the Discourse Literature along with its commentary (''bhāṣya'') by Āsaṅga’s brother, Vasubandhu. It also includes an introduction covering essential historical and philosophical topics, a bibliography, and a detailed index. This long-awaited work is the founding cornerstone of the AIBS ''Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences'' series. (Source: [http://aibs.columbia.edu/books.html AIBS]) +
Books/The Use of, and Controversy Surrounding, the Term Atman in the Indian Buddhist Tathagatagarbha Literature +
'''Abstract'''<br>
<br>
The ''tathāgatagarbha'' doctrine of Mahāyāna Buddhism affirms the existence of some permanent, significant content of sentient beings that is of the same character as a Buddha. While this alone was an important innovation within Buddhist thought, some of its authors ventured further to deem this significant content an ''ātman'': a ‘self’, in apparent contradiction to the central Buddhist teaching of the absence of self (''anātman'') in the constitution of all beings.
The aims of this thesis are two. Firstly, to examine usage of the term ''ātman'' in the Indian ''tathāgatagarbha'' sources which develop use of this expression. This entails a close reading of relevant sources (primarily Mahāyāna sūtra literature), and attention to how this term is used in the context of each. These sources present different perspectives on the ''tathāgatagarbha'' and its designation as a self; this study aims to examine significant differences between, and similarities across, these texts and their respective doctrines.
The second aim is to attempt an account of why authors of these texts ventured to designate the ''tathāgatagarbha'' with the term ''ātman'', especially when some of our sources suggest that this innovation received some opposition, while others deem it in requirement of strong qualification, or to be simply inappropriate. It is not my objective to account for whether or not the ''tathāgatagarbha'' is or is not implicitly what we may deem ‘a self’ on the terms of Buddhist tradition; rather, I am concerned with the manner in which this expression itself was adopted, and – in light of clear difficulties raised by it – what may have motivated those authors responsible.
I argue not only that we can trace the development of this designation across the ''tathāgatagarbha'' literature, but also that those authors responsible for its earliest usage adopted an attitude towards non-Buddhist discourses on the self that requires special attention. This, I believe, had its roots in an account of the Buddha and his influence that advances our understanding of one tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhology, and its ambition to affirm its superiority over other Indian religious traditions. ([https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4f7ce66e-6ac1-4bcd-9c98-10f5f087599e Source Accessed October 29, 2019])
The ''Uttar Tantra'' like many other texts of the time was written in very terse, compact language with extremely deep and subtle references which makes the text accessible to only an extremely erudite scholar. This book follows an oral tradition used by lamas for the last ten centuries which meant that every point was numbered, placed in a category, stated, restated, emphasized, and then summarized. Thrangu Rinpoche spent several months giving a line by line commentary on this ''Uttar Tantra''. Had the transcript simply been typeset, the commentary would have been about 700 pages long and would have been very difficult to follow. So with the help of chapters, headings, and extensive elimination of repetition and categorization, the ''Uttar Tantra'' was brought down to a manageable size which could be easily read by Westerners. A glossary and appendix of Tibetan terms were also added for the reader not familiar with Buddhist terms. A commentary have also been made so that the reader could read it without having to refer to the root text. The result is quite extraordinary. We have a complete rendering of an intact text of the period by someone who not only has studied it for a lifetime, but who has done the same meditative practices that Asaṅga did to reach the realization described in the text. ln addition to this we have Thrangu Rinpoche’s line by line exposition explaining every word of the text. The covering of a text with this precision with the guide of Kongtrul's ''shastra'' which has to be one of the greatest commentaries on any religious text of this period is something which has been available to only a few rare individuals living over the past centuries in monasteries in Tibet. (Source: [https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/uttara-tantra-treatise-on-buddha-nature-commentary-on-uttara-tantra-sastra-of-asanga-NAC240/ Exotic India]) +
Books/The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage +
'''Abstract'''<br><br>This dissertation examines the intellectual history of the ''Uttaratantra'' in Tibet from the 12th century to the early 15th century. It is between these centuries that the text, which is one of the most authoritative works on the notion of tathāgata-essence, takes its shape in Tibet through the writings of some of the most formidable Tibetan thinkers of the time. Their works that directly relate to the discourse of the ''Uttaratantra'' may have one theme—the concept of tathāgata-essence—in common, but the ways in which they expound on the ''Uttaratantra'' strongly diverge from each other and often stand as polar opposites. Some of the major questions that I address in the dissertation are as follows: Does the Uttaratantra primarily explain the ultimate truth or not? Is it a Mind-Only treatise or a Middle Way treatise? Is it a Middle Wheel or Last Wheel text? Does it explicate other-emptiness or self-emptiness? How is the relationship between the ''Uttaratantra'' and Candrakīrti's ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' delineated? How do the Tibetan scholars mentioned below justify their respective positions on the ''Uttaratantra'' and criticize the claims made by other scholars? In answering these questions I read and translated many Tibetan sources in order to ascertain and portray the best possible context, that is, the field in which the battle of scholastic debates emerged.<br> The first two chapters of my dissertation explore some of the above questions by analyzing Tibetan texts written by Ngok, Chapa, Sapen, Jayānanda, Chomden Rigrel, Rinchen Yeshi, the Third Karmapa, and others, between the 12th and early 14th centuries. Although these scholars argued intensely over the significance or insignificance of the ''Uttaratantra'' within the Mahāyāna literature, the ''Uttaratantra'' had yet to see the climax of the argumentation, which takes place in the 14th and early 15th centuries, the era that I call the argumentation period of the ''Uttaratantra''. For this era, I analyze the works by Dolpopa, Buton, Dratsepa, Gyalse Thogmey, Longchenpa, Sazang, Rendawa, Tsongkhapa, and Gyaltsab. Thus, this dissertation examines the intellectual history of a text that has, to some extent, been overshadowed by the ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' in the contemporary Tibetan scholastic tradition.
With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the ''Uttaratantra'' is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the ''Uttaratantra'' literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the ''Uttaratantra'', Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet. (Source: [https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Uttaratantra-in-the-Land-of-Snows2 SUNY Press]) +
This book is in four parts. The first part consists of ''Introduction'' by H.S. Prasad. He argues for sempiternal, dynamic and substantive reality underlying all appearances. He shows that as one rises to a higher level of consciousness, the various ''yānas'', like ''śrāvakayāna'', ''pratyekabuddhayāna'', ''bodhisattvayāna'' and ''mahāyāna'', all merge into ''ekayāna''; for each contributes to the gradual realisation of the oneness of ultimate reality, thus paving the way for the emergence of universal culture. On Prasad's view the much talked-about negativism of the Mādhyamika—''sarvadṛṣṭiśūnyatā''—is not an end in itself, rather it is a basis for the realisation of the essential unity of all beings, sentient as well as insentient, leading to the cultivation and promotion of universal good, compassion and friendliness.<br>
In the ''second'' part is reprinted the Sanskrit text of Maitreya's ''Uttaratantra'' (''Ratnagotravibhāga''). The ''third'' part includes corrections and emendations suggested by Jikido Takasaki in the Sanskrit text in the light of Tibetan and Chinese versions. The ''fourth'' part is an English translation of the text from its Tibetan version by E. Obermiller.<br>
This book is a radical departure from the traditional interpretations of Buddhism and the Mādhyamika philosophy in particular. It aims at reviving
philosophy as cultural activity, a path to enlightenment and spiritual discipline. (Source: [https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/uttaratantra-of-maitreya-NAC464/ Exotic India]) +
Books/The Zen Master Dōgen’s Understanding of the Buddha-Nature in Light of the Historical Development of the Buddha-Nature Concept in India, China, and Japan +
. . . The present study will have a twofold purpose: 1) to examine the history of the Buddha-nature concept in an attempt to discover a central core of meaning inherent in the concept, and 2) to evaluate Dōgen's view of the Buddha-nature in the light of that central core of meaning. Parts I and II of this work, which examine the doctrinal history of the Buddha-nature concept in India and China, are devoted to the former task, and Part III, which examines Dōgen's thought concerning the Buddha-nature, is devoted to the latter. It is hoped that through the examination of Dōgen's conception of the Buddha-nature in the light of the previous articulation of the concept, it will be possible to form conclusions concerning the significance of Dōgen's thought in Buddhist doctrinal history. (Grosnick, introduction, 7–8) +
Books/The Ālayavijñāna in the Context of Indian Buddhist Thought: The Yogācāra Conception of an Unconscious +
'''Abstract'''<br><br>The thesis focuses on the relations between mind and ''karma'' and the continuity of life in saṃsāra based upon a concept of mind, the ''ālayavijñāna'', as presented in the texts of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu of the Yogācāra school of Indian Buddhism, A.D. 4-5th centuries. It has been the topic of many sectarian disputes as well as the springboard for several far-reaching doctrinal developments, so it is desirable to examine it within its early Indian Buddhist context.<br> The first section presents the multivalent ''viññāṇa'' of the Pali Canon and related concepts. It demonstrates that the major characteristics later predicated of the ''ālayavijñāna'' were present in an unsystematized but implicit form in the ''viññāṇa'' of the early discourses.<br> The next section describes the systematic psychological analysis developed by the Abhidharma and its consequent problematics. It argues that the incongruity of Abhidharmic analysis with the older unsystematized doctrines led to major theoretical problems concerning the key concepts of ''kleśa'' and ''karma'', to which the Sautrāntika school offered the concept of seeds (''bija'').<br> The third section, based primarily upon the texts translated herein, depicts the origination and gradual development of the ''ālayavijñāna'' within the Yogācāra school from a somatic "life principle", to an explicitly unconscious mind, to its final bifurcation into an unconscious afflicted mind (''kliṣṭa-manas'') and a passive respository of karmic seeds, the latent loci of ''kleśa'' and ''karma'', respectively.<br> The last section compares the ''ālayavijñāna'' systematically with Freud's and Jung's concepts of the unconscious, concluding that their respective philosophical milieus led both traditions to conceptions of unconscious mental processes as necessary compensations for strictly intentional epistemological models.<br> In the appendix the major texts presenting the ''ālayavijñāna'', Chaps. V and VIII.37 of the ''Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra'', part of the ''Viniścaya-saṃgrahaṇī'' of the ''Yogācārabhūmi'', and Ch. 1 of the ''Mahāyāna-saṃgraha'', are translated and extensively annotated in order to contextualize the minutiae of this concept of mind with its canonical precursors and its Abhidharmic contemporaries. (Source: ProQuest)
'''Abstract'''<br><br>
This thesis explores the thought of one of Tibet's preeminent scholars, 'Jam mgon 'Ju Mi pham rnam rgyal (1846-1912), focusing on one of his most important texts, the ''Precious Lamp of Certainty''. The critical philosophical traditions of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism inculcate a developmental or gradualist interpretation of the path towards enlightenment based on philosophical study and critical reasoning. The ''Precious Lamp of Certainty'' uses critical philosophical methods to establish the viability of the Great Perfection (''rdzogs chen''), a philosophical and meditative oriented towards subitism or sudden enlightenment. +
'''Abstract'''<br><br>
Buddhism, as a religion arose in ancient India and developed in various parts of the world, aims at the unique goal that is providing welfare and happiness for human beings. The real happiness brought to mankind by Buddhism is not a satisfaction of self-requirement, but a spiritual benefit
coming from enlightenment of the absolute truth, emancipation of the ego of things and persons, and free from the hindrances of passion and ignorance. Buddhism that is mainly based on teachings of the Buddha delivered at different places on different occasions continues to develop and adapt to the new challenges in the form of thought, different cultures, religions, customs and tradition of the people wherever it went. However, all the Buddha’s teachings originate in the enlightenment of the Buddha.<br>
All traditions of Buddhism accept that the Buddha attained enlightenment through stages of meditation that led to the Buddhahood endowed with transcendent wisdom and compassion. According to some Mahāyāna scriptures, the Buddhahood is nothing other than the Buddhanature which is the inherent essence within all beings. The doctrine of the Buddha-nature presented in several Mahāyāna scriptures of the so-called Tathāgatagarbha literature was formed in about the third century CE. There is no evidence that the doctrine of Buddha-nature formed a school in India like the ''Śūnyatā'' (Emptiness) of the Mādhyamika or the ''Vijñaptimātratā'' (Consciousness-only) of the Yogācāra School, but the Buddha-nature plays an important role in the religious life of Mahāyāna Buddhism in the East and Southeast Asian countries because it provides a faith of the permanence and immortality due to a declaration that all sentient beings possess the innate Buddha-nature and have a potentiality of becoming the Buddhas.<br>
Although most of the followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism believe the doctrine of the Buddha-nature and constantly try their best endeavor to attain the goal of Buddhahood, there were a lot of opinions that criticize the doctrine of the Buddha-nature by asserting that it is not Buddhist because this idea of the Buddha-nature seems to be akin to the permanent Self
(''ātman''/''brahman'') presented in the Vedānta of Brahmanism. Conversely, according to some other scholars, the Buddha nature or ''Tathāgatagarbha'' referred in some Mahāyāna Sūtras does not represent a substantial self or ego; it is rather a positive language to express the thought of ''śūnyatā'' and to represent the potentiality of realizing the Buddhahood through Buddhist
practices. Modern scholars today fall into an unending discussion about the similarity or difference between the Buddha-nature and ''Brahman'' but no one compares the date of these doctrines. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is an attempt to clarify the Buddhist orthodoxy of the doctrine of the Buddha-nature through chronological comparison of the date of Buddha-nature with that of ''Brahman''. Based on the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'' and other scriptures, the work attempt to elucidate that the Buddhist thought of the Buddha-nature had existed prior the Vedāntic thought of ''Brahman''. Indeed, the thesis shows that while the doctrine of the Buddha-nature had come into existence in the third century CE in the Tathāgatagarbha literature, the
Vedāntic doctrine of ''Brahman'' appeared for the first time in the sixth century CE. Consequently, although the Buddha-nature is closely akin to ''Brahman''/''ātman'' of the Vedānta, the doctrine of the Buddha-nature is originally a thought of Buddhism. For this reason, the writer chose the topic
entitled “''Thought of Buddha-nature as Depicted in the LaṅkāvatāraSūtra''” for the Ph.D. thesis.<br>
Study on the Buddha-nature is a task which cannot be carried out without the important texts, teachings, practices and historical movements of Buddhism. This study is mainly based upon the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'', a Buddhist text of the later period of the Tathāgatagarbha literature, in which
the thought of the Buddha-nature is depicted in relationship with most of the Mahāyāna concepts such as the ''Buddhatā'', ''Tathāgatagarbha'', ''Ālayavijñāna'', ''Dharmakāya'', Mind-only, etc. Especially, the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'' emphasizes the practice of self-realization and sudden enlightenment of the Buddha-nature. It is also said that the Sūtra was handed down by Bodhidharma to his heir disciple Hui-ke 慧可 as the proof of enlightenment in Chan (Zen) Buddhism.<br>
This thesis is an attempt to investigate and criticize the philosophical and religious thought of the Buddha-nature as depicted in the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra''. In so doing, we have taken into consideration the following principle themes:<br>
1. Evolution of the Buddha-nature Concept<br>
2. The Buddha-nature in the Tathāgatagarbha Literature<br>
3. The Laṅkāvatārasūtra and Hindu Philosophy<br>
4. The Thought of Buddha-nature in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra<br>
5. The Practice of Buddha-Nature in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra<br>
6. Further Development of the Concept of Buddha-nature in<br> China<br>
Structurally, therefore, excluding the introduction and conclusion, the thesis consists of six major chapters in accordance with the above six main themes respectively.
This book presents the three most renowned genres of contemplation in Mahayana Ch’an Buddhism. They are: Kong-an, Hua-to, and the Seven Enquiries about the Mind.
As for Kong-an, the subject matter employed here are all concerning Master Bodhidharma, the first Patriarch of Chinese Ch’an Buddhism and the 28th Patriarch of in India. These three Kong-ans are:<br>
1. The Mind is Nowhere to be found<br>
2. The Patriarch’s Quatrain for advanced practice<br>
3. Bodhidharma’s Skin, Flesh, Bones, and Marrow<br>
After reading these, you would have a pretty clear picture about Kong-an and how to make contemplation on it, as well as about the over-all quintessence of fountainhead of Ch’an Buddhism.
The second renowned genre of contemplation in Ch’an Buddhism is Hua-to. Hua-to is, as it were, a diminutive of Kong-an. Or to put it this way, Kong-an is a novel, a long story, while Hua-to is a novelette, a short story. But both of them are stories. By the same token, the Kong-an is a long contemplative material, containing a story with a complete plot––the beginning, the middle, and the denouement (ending)––for its body. Whereas the Hua-to would not have a plot; it consists only of a sentence, or a phrase. Therefore, in comparison with Kong-an, it is similar to a Kong-an in miniature, or a compressed Kong-an, for the general effect resulted in contemplating on Hua-to was supposed to be the same in contemplating on Kong-an. The instance of Hua-to scrutinized here is “Who is saying ‘Namo Amito-Fo’ (or 'Namo Amitabha Buddha')?”
The third genre of contemplation in Ch’an Buddhism is one based on the Text of the Sutras. And under this rubric, the one cited and examined here is just a very prestigious one, if not the most renowned; it is called “The Seven Inquiries to locate the Mind,” from The ''Surangama Sutra''. With the knowledge and skills built up in learning to contemplate on the first two genres, the Kong-an and Hua-to, one would then be able to go on to learn and practice the contemplation of this genre. And having learned about the three genres of contemplation presented in this book, one would virtually have covered the most predominant contemplations in Ch’an Buddhism. ([https://www.amazon.com/Contemplations-toward-Buddha-Nature-Trilogy/dp/1729845592/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=9781729845592&qid=1584050213&sr=8-1 Source Accessed Mar 12, 2020])
Taishō 1609
Volume Volume 31
'''A Mahayana Demonstration on the Theme of Action'''<br>
Despite its brevity, ''A Mahayana Demonstration on the Theme of Action'' (''Karmasiddhi-prakaraṇa''), attributed to Vasubandhu and translated into Chinese by the scholar-monk Xuanzang, is a densely packed philosophical argumentation on the correct interpretation of scriptural references about the three kinds of actions of body, speech, and mind. The text reflects Yogācāra philosophy, including discussion of the storehouse consciousness (''ālayavijñāna'').
Source
Skt. ''Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa'', translated by Xuanzang into the Chinese as Dasheng chengye lun (大乘成業論). 1 fascicle.
Translator(s): John P. Keenan
Taishō 1858
Volume Volume 45
'''Essays of Sengzhao'''<br>
Sengzhao’s ''Essays'' (''Zhao lun'') comprise an introductory chapter, four essays, and an exchange of letters. The work can be seen as an extended meditation on sagehood, a perennial theme in Chinese religio-philosophical thought. These writings offer an original response to a set of concerns unique to Sengzhao, his community, and his times, and are an important voice in the religious speculation of early medieval China. Includes Zongmi’s annotations.
Source
Ch. ''Zhao lun'' (肇論).1 fascicle.
Translator(s): Rafal Felbur
Taishō 1886
Volume Volume 45
'''Treatise on the Origin of Humanity'''<br>
''The Treatise on the Origin of Humanity'' (''Yuanren lun'') by the Huayan patriarch Zongmi classifies various teachings of Buddhism on a scale of relative profundity, and specifically critiques the weaknesses of the teachings of Confucianism and Daoism, which he regards as inferior to Buddhism. This work formed the basis for some of the arguments in later East Asian history on the relationship of the three teachings.
Source
Ch. ''Yuanren lun'' (原人論). 1 fascicle.
Translator(s): Jan Yün-hua
(Source: [https://www.bdkamerica.org/product/three-short-treatises-by-vasubandhu-sengzhao-and-zongmi/ BDK America]) +
Madhyamaka Philosophy of Shakya Chokden (gSer-mdog pan-chen sha-kya mchog-ldan) 1428–1507, translated by Komarovski laroslav includes three major treatises on Madhyamaka philosophy.
i. The Wish-fulfilling Meru: A Discourse Explaining the Origination of Madhyamaka (dBu-ma'i byung-tshul rnam-par bshad-pa'i gtam yid-bzhin lhun-po),
ii. Drop of Nectar of Definitive Meaning: Entering the Gate to the Essential Points of the Two Truth[s] (bDen-pa gnyis-kyi gnas-la 'jug-pa nges-don bdud-rtsi thigs-pa), and
iii. Great Ship of Discrimination that Sails into the Ocean of Definitive Meaning: A Treatise Differentiating the Tenets of Prāsaṅgika and Svātantrika Madhyamaka (sBu-ma thal-rang gi grub-mtha'i rnam-par dbye-ba'i bstan-bcos nges-don gyi rgya-mtshor 'jug-pa'i rnam-dpyod kyi gru-chen).
The Wish-fulfilling Meru attempts in presenting in a lucid and concise way the Madhyamaka view including the Tantrik-madhyamaka, and its spread in India and Tibet. Drop of Definitive Meaning, through its brief yet succinct explanation guides us in entering the spheres of definitive meaning by means of understanding the two truth[s]—the conventional truth and the ultimate truth. Great Ship of Discrimination that sails into the Ocean of Definitive Meaning extensively explains the divergence of Madhyamaka into Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka, their philosophical views, and their interpretation of various concepts. In all, this anthology gives a general presentation of Madhyamaka schools and their views according to the great Sakyapa master. (Source: back cover) +
Thupten Jinpa: Emptiness and Buddha-Nature: A Creative Tension Between Two Fundamental Concepts of Mahayana Thought +
Please join us online for a special event at the start of 2022 with the world-renowned speaker, author, and translator, Thupten Jinpa.
Thupten Jinpa is a former Tibetan monk and a Geshe Lharampa with B.A. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in religious studies, both from Cambridge University. Since 1985, he has been the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and has translated and edited numerous books by the Dalai Lama, including the New York Times Bestsellers Ethics for the New Millennium and The Art of Happiness. Jinpa’s own publications include works in Tibetan, English translations as well as books, the latest being Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows and Illuminating the Intent, a translation of Je Tsongkhapa's commentary on Entering the Middle Way. Jinpa is the general series editor of the 32-volume Bod kyi tsug lag gces btus series, whose translations are published in English as The Library of Tibetan Classics. His current projects include the editing of classical Indian Buddhist texts from Tengyur for a special anthology known as Rgya gzhung gnad che bdam bsgrigs (Selected Indian Buddhist treaties). He is the main author of CCT (Compassion Cultivation Training), an eight-week formal program developed at Stanford University, and co-founder and president of the Compassion Institute. He is the Chair of Mind and Life Institute, founder of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, and an adjunct professor at the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. Jinpa lives in Montreal and is married with two daughters. +
