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From Buddha-Nature
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In the summer of 1957, the revered Buddhist teacher and scholar Khenpo Gangshar foresaw the difficulties that would soon fall upon Tibet and began teaching in a startling new way that enabled all those who heard him to use the coming difficulties as the path of Dharma practice. The teaching consisted of the essential points of mahamudra and dzogchen, both view and practice, presented in a way that made them easy for anyone to use, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche was one of the grateful recipients of these teachings, which he regards as among the most important he has ever been given. He transmits them here, for the benefit of all of us who strive to practice in challenging times. They include contemplations on the ephemeral nature of both joy and suffering, meditations for resting the mind, and guidance for cultivating equanimity in any situation. (Source: [https://www.shambhala.com/vivid-awareness-1632.html Shambhala Publications]) +
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Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche provides encouragement that we are all enlightened by nature, and the path is a process of discovering that enlightened nature. Meditation practice serves to help us contact the nature directly. If we are in retreat and are making progress in that discovery process, we can relax because we are moving towards our goal. +
In this video Elizabeth Callahan discusses the meaning of buddha-nature, a term that, she describes, refers to who sentient beings really are. Buddha-nature is not something that we have to acquire. Rather it is always present as our best qualities. She goes on to discuss how buddha-nature is sometimes made manifest or recognizable during moments of great suffering and tragedy. +
Karl Brunnhölzl provides a brief definition of buddha-nature. +
In describing the meaning of buddha-nature, Ringu Tulku explains that the point to be understood is that there is no essential difference between an enlightened being and an ordinary being, as both are the same. The enlightened being only recognizes who he/she is and the other does not. He goes on to explain how the buddha-nature teachings indicate that the enlightened state is possible for everyone, not just for a select few. The seeds of the idea of Buddha-nature, he continues, are present even in the early sūtras, and gradually such teachings became more explicit over time, especially in the Vajrayana. +
Wulstan Fletcher explains buddha-nature as the deepest aspect of oneself, a wellspring of goodness and wisdom that is always present. One only needs to uncover it in order to experience true happiness. He describes it as something that can be relied upon in times of great suffering, as it can remind one that the suffering that is experienced is impermanent and is something that can be removed. +
Karl Brunnhölzl discusses the concept of luminosity within the context of buddha-nature. While such an idea suggests a sense of light or something that is visual, he explains that it more accurately refers to the natural clarity of the mind that is there all the time. +
Karl Brunnhölzl talks about the purpose of buddha-nature teachings by drawing from the primary Indian source in which they are found, the ''Uttaratantra''. He describes the purpose of such a teaching as eliciting a transformation in outlook, an outlook in which sentient beings do not recognize the true nature of reality. The teachings on buddha-nature point out the unreality of the adventitious stains while also serving to help one uncover the naturally abiding qualities of the mind. From a disclosure model perspective, this has a tremendous impact in terms of practice, in that one only needs to deal with the adventitious stains to reveal what is already there, rather than having to create something anew. +
This is a special issue of ''Acta Asiatica'' devoted to the topic of ''tathāgatagarbha''. It contains articles by Akira Saitō, Kazuo Kano, Michael Zimmermann, Christopher V. Jones, and Masahiro Shimoda. +
"Buddha nature" (''tathāgatagarbha'') is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. This book discusses a wide range of topics connected with the notion of buddha nature as presented in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and includes an overview of the sūtra sources of the ''tathāgatagarbha'' teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. It includes new translations of the Maitreya treatise ''Mahāyānottaratantra'' (''Ratnagotravibhāga''), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagyü tradition. Most important, the translator’s introduction investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the ''Mahāyānottaratantra'' as a basis for Mahāmudrā instructions and the Shentong approach. This is supplemented by translations of a number of short Tibetan meditation manuals from the Kadampa, Kagyü, and Jonang schools that use the ''Mahāyānottaratantra'' as a work to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature. (Source: [https://www.shambhala.com/when-the-clouds-part-3265.html Shambhala Publications]) +
Karl Brunnhölzl discusses the various Tibetan figures who addressed and wrote about buddha-nature teachings and the ''Uttaratantra''. Among the Tibetans he mentions include: the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje; Dölpopa; Tāranātha; the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje; Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen; Jamgön Kongtrul; Mipam Gyamtso; Longchenpa; Gö Lotsāwa; and Śākya Chokden. +
Karl Brunnhölzl briefly discusses why one might engage with the teachings on buddha-nature. In contrast to the Judeo-Christian concept of Original Sin, he explains that buddha-nature teaches that all beings are essentially good. +
Media/Why Was Buddha-Nature Taught as Part of the Third Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma? by Ringu Tulku +
Ringu Tulku explains why buddha-nature teachings appear during the third turning of the wheel of the Dharma. He contends that the Buddha taught it later on in order to avoid confusion over whether buddha-nature was similar to the Hindu notion of ''ātman''. This is why, he implies, the Buddha taught about emptiness first, so that buddha-nature teachings would not be understood to be positing a kind of substantial self. +
''Wisdom of Buddha: The Samdhinirmochana Sutra'' was translated from the Tibetan by John Powers as a PhD thesis in Buddhist Studies.
The Samdhinirmochana Sutra demonstrates how our common modes of viewing reality and our habitual ways of living are fundamentally mistaken. It details how the full force of our mental and physical faculties can be harnessed for the task of clearing up the ignorance that clouds the continuum of every being who is not a Buddha, describing in detail the views, stages, and practices necessary for this transformation.
This Sutra presents the Buddha's dialogues with ten great Bodhisattvas on such topics as ultimate reality, base-consciousness, the threefold character of phenomena, the teachings of definitive meaning, the ten stages of the Bodhisattva Path and the six perfection, and the union of wisdom and compassion at the Buddha level. Read, studied, outlined, and meditated upon, this Sutra can reveal the architecture of enlightenment and open awareness to the profound and expansive vision that informs the third turning teachings. Correctly understood, it can guide the reader on a path that leads to mental balance, insight into the view of sunyata, and deep commitment to work selflessly for the benefit of others. To encourage students to investigate the text more closely, this publication contains the complete typeset Tibetan text on facing pages, extensive notes, glossary, and index. (Source: [https://shop.dharmapublishing.com/collections/books-sutras/products/wisdom-of-buddha Dharma Publishing]) +
In contrast to, for example, the Christian canon and the Confucian canon, the Buddhist canon is unusually difficult to define, because the Buddhist scriptures are several thousands in nurnber.[1] One who wishes to gain knowledge of this canon cannot be asked or expected to read all or even most of them, so the Buddhist who wishes to present the essence of the teaching to others is immediately faced with the problem of having to pick a representative text to serve as introduction, survey, summary or outline to this vast body of material. This problem is compounded, especially in East Asia, by the existence of many Buddhist schools, most of them having a particular text which served as their bases.[2] For example, the T'ien-t'ai school is based on the ''Saddharma-paṇḍarīka-sūtra'', the Hua-yen school on the ''Avataṃsaka-sūtra'', and so on. Accordingly, to choose a representative text from the several thousand Buddhist scriptures is unavoidably to come very close to accepting some sort of sectarian perspective. Thus, those who enquire after the essence of Buddhist teaching, yet who wish at the outset to avoid sectarian affiliation, will hesitate to approach the canon.<br> The problem is compounded even further by the existence of one influential school of Buddhism, the Zen (Ch'an) school, not a few of whose teachers have openly insisted on the harmfulness of reading the scriptures for those intent on achieving Enlightenment. For these teachers and their followers, the scriptures might just as well be burned as read.[3]<br> This is not simply a modern problem; it existed in sixth century China.[4] This was the period that saw the appearance of ''Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna'' (hereafter referred to as ''AFM''). Once ''AFM'' appeared, it very quickly became popular. There seem to be two reasons for this: first, it satisfied the demand of people who wanted one volume that could comprehensively embrace all Buddhist doctrines; second, it is a non-sectarian text.[5] As a matter of fact, ''AFM'' was welcomed not only by non-sectarian people but by sectarian people as well. This occasioned another problem: members of some Buddhist sects who welcomed the appearance of ''AFM'' tried to use ''AFM'' to glorify their own sects. Many of the traditional commentators betrayed such tendencies, the most famous of these being Fa-tsang (643-712 A.D.), the third patriarch of the Hua-yen school in China.[6] One of his characteristic tactics was to anticipate the attack on his sectarian attitude by his opponents, the adherents of the Fa-hsiang school,[7] by using the doctrine of ''AFM'' to justify what was specifically the Hua-yen doctrine.<br> Fa-tsang's commentaries on ''AFM'' exerted a strong influence on his own and succeeding generations, the result being that ''AFM'' has sometimes been considered a Hua-yen text.[8] This is certainly unfortunate. But it underscores the hermeneutical problem of how to read a text. Ui Hakuju, one of the most noted of modern Japanese Buddhologists, responded to this problem in his ''Daijō kishin ron'' by cautiously suggesting that the text be read apart from its commentaries in order that its real message be grasped.[9] This suggestion is valid only insofar as it screens out those commentaries, such as Fa-tsang's, which already bring a point of view to the text and read the text as confirming that point of view. If, however, the commentary is truly exegetical in nature, then Ui's suggestion is invalid since it cuts off a prospective medium by which one's understanding of the text may be deepened. The commentaries on ''AFM'' written by the Korean monk Wǒnhyo (617-686 A.D.) are such a medium.[10]<br> Wǒnhyo is regarded as one of the three great commentators on ''AFM''; the other two are Hui-yüan (523-592 A.D.) and Fa-tsang (643-712 A.D.).[11] Wǒnhyo's commentaries are very different from Fa-tsang's: Wǒnhyo is emphatic in characterizing ''AFM'' as a text embodying a principle by which all sectarian disputes may be harmonized. According to Wǒnhyo's understanding, if one interprets ''AFM'' as a sectarian teaching, one will betray the original intent of its author.[12] Unfortunately, in East Asia, including his home country of Korea, Wǒnhyo's commentaries
are simply famous; they are not well-studied.[13] They have generally been neglected in favor of Fa-tsang's.<br> Wǒnhyo is, undoubtedly, one of the foremost thinkers that Korea has produced; he wrote much else besides his commentaries on ''AFM''. Yet, although he influenced both Chinese and Japanese thinkers,[14] he is almost unknown in the West. This thesis represents a preliminary attempt at remedying this situation. (Park, preface, 2–5)
<h5>Notes</h5>
#A number of books have been written about the Buddhist canon. For the Pali canon see Maurice Winternitz, ''A History of Indian Literature'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1933, especially Vol. II, Section III, pp. 1-423. For the Sanskrit texts see Yamada Ryūjō, ''Bongo Butten no shobunken'', Kyoto: Heirakuji shoten, 1977. For the history of the formation of the original Buddhist texts in general, see Maeda Egaku's ''Genshi Bukkyō seiten no seiritsushi kenkyū'', Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 1964. This is the most comprehensive book of its kind.<br> The following books on the Chinese Buddhist canon are reliable: Prabodh Chandra Bagchi, ''Le Canon Bouddhique en Chine; les Traducteurs et les Traductions'', Vols. 1 and 4, Paris: Sino-Indica Publications de l'université de Calcutta, 1927-1938; Paul Demiéville, "Sur les Éditions Imprimées du Canon Chinois," ''Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient'', Tome XXIV, Hanoi, 1924; Ono Gemmyō, "Bukkyō kyōten sōron," vol. 12 of ''Busshō kaisetsu daijiten'', Tokyo: Daitō shuppansha, 1931-1936; Kenneth Ch'en, ''Buddhism in China'' {Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), pp. 365-386.
#For the schools of Buddhism in China, see Kenneth Ch'en, ibid., pp. 297-364.
#As Yanagida Seizan, one of the most energetic of contemporary Japanese Zen scholars, says in his discussion of the origin of Ch'an Buddhism in China, the early Ch'an masters such as Bodhidharma (arrived in China in 521 A.D.) and Hui-neng (638-713) did not neglect the importance of canonical instruction. The negligence shown towards the canon was a fairly late development in Ch'an Buddhism, after it had become popular and powerful. Extreme condemnation of scriptural studies began with Kung-an (Koan) Ch'an masters such as Ta-hui (1088-1163). See Yanagida Seizan, ''Zen shisō'' (Tokyo: Chuo koronsha, 1975), pp. 9-106 and Yanagida Seizan, Shoki Zenshū shisho no kenkyū (Kyoto: Hozokan, 1967), pp. 419-484.
#In the second chapter of ''AFM'', "Reasons for Writing the Treatise," there are two pairs of questions and answers; the second one of them is a discussion of this problem. See T. 1666, vol. 32, p. 575c, lines 7-17. Wǒnhyo discusses this in his commentary also: see T. 1844, vol. 44, p. 205c, line 5 - p. 206a, line 16.
#It is undeniable that ''AFM'' became popular very quickly because of the many early records which mention ''AFM'' and comrnenbaries on it. However, I disagree with previous scholars such as Mochizuki Shinko and Ui Hakuju about the reasons for its popularity. They claimed that its popularity was due to the fame of Asvaghoa and Paramārtha. This may be true, but it can be only partially true. Many texts bear the names of Aśvaghoṣa and Paramārtha, but none have been as influential as ''AFM''. Therefore, one may say that it was the doctrinal content of ''AFM'' which guaranteed its success; only this can explain its prominent historical role in sixth century Chinese Buddhism. Although Wǒnhyo did not doubt the authenticity of the text, he did not discuss the author and translator, whereas Hui-yuan and Fa-tsang did discuss them. See the preface to Mochizuki Shinko's ''Daijō kishin ron no kenkyū'' (hereafter referred to as ''DKK-M'') (Tokyo: Kanao bunendo, 1922), pp. 1-5. See also the postface to Ui Hakuju's Daijō kishin ron (hereafter referred to as ''DK-U'') (Tokyo: Iwanami bunko, 1936), pp. 131-132. See also T. 1843 vol. 44, p. 175c, line 11 - p. 176a, line 8 and T. 1846, vol. 44, p. 245c, line 25 - p. 246a, line 8.
#For the nature of Fa-tsang's commentaries, see ''DK-U'', p. 132. An excellent overall survey of commentaries on ''AFM'' is given in Mochizuki Shinko's ''DKK-M'', pp. 203-346. Mochizuki's survey includes detailed and annotated explanations of 176 commentaries on ''AFM''. For the most recent comprehensive survey see Hirakawa Akira's ''Daijō kishin ron'' (Tokyo: Daizō shuppan kabushiki kaisha, 1976), pp. 390-413.
#Murakami Senshō gives a good review of the criticism of ''AFM''. See his Daijō kishin ron kōgi (Tokyo: Tōyō daigaku shuppanbu, 1912), pp. 19-31.
#See ''DK-U'', pp. 138-139.
#See ibid., p. 140.
#Wǒnhyo wrote nine commentaries on ''AFM''; only two are extant: T. 1844 and T. 1845 (see Part Two, "Introduction to Translation"). For the titles of the seven missing commentaries see the third section of Part One, "Wǒnhyo's Bibliography."
#Almost all the books and records about ''AFM'' mention the three great commentaries. The earliest attested one to do so is the preface by the Japanese monk Kakugen. It is included in T. 1844, vol. 44, p. 202a, lines 3-4. See my translation of Kakugen's preface in the Appendix.
#T. 1845, vol. 44, p. 226b, line 12.
#Many books and papers have been published about Wǒnhyo, but few of them are critical. There have been three translations of Wǒnhyo's commentaries into modern Korean, but none of the three is reliable. See Note 3 to the translation in Part Two.
#See Motoi Nobuo's paper, "Shiragi Gangyo no denki ni tsuite," ''Ōtani gakuhō'' XLI, No. 1 (1961), p. 37.
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Books/Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters +
'''Abstract'''
This dissertation argues that the Yogâcāra Buddhism transmitted by the Indian translator Paramârtha (Ch. Zhendi 真諦) underwent a significant transformation due to the influence of his later Chinese interpreters, a phenomenon to which previous scholars failed to paid enough attention.<br> I begin with showing two contrary interpretations of Paramârtha's notion of ''jiexing'' 解性. The traditional interpretation glosses ''jiexing'' in terms of "original awakening" (''benjue'' 本覺) in the ''Awakening of Faith'' and hence betrays its strong tie to that text. In contrast, a contrary interpretation of ''jiexing'' is preserved in a Dunhuang fragment Taishō No. 2805 (henceforth abbreviated as T2805).<br> The crucial part of this dissertation consists in demonstrating that T2805 and the ''Awakening of Faith'' represent two competing lineages of the interpreters of Paramârtha. The first clue is that modern scholars have voiced objection to the traditional attribution of the ''Awakening of Faith'' to Paramârtha. In addition, I discovered that striking similarities exist between T2805 and Paramârtha's corpus with respect to terminology, style of phrasing, and doctrine. I further draw attention to the historical testimonies about two different doctrinal views held by Paramârtha's interpreters. Therefore, I argue that there were two lineages in the name of Paramârtha's disciples around 590 CE: the indirect lineage interpreted Paramârtha through the lens of the ''Awakening of Faith''; and the direct lineage—represented by T2805—preserved Paramârtha's original teachings but died out prematurely. Later Chinese Buddhist tradition mistakenly regards the indirect lineage as Paramârtha's true heir and attributes the ''Awakening of Faith'' to Paramârtha.<br> This implies that Paramârtha may have agreed with Xuanzang 2T5c (600–664) much more than scholars used to assume. For example, Xuanzang's characterization of the notion of "aboriginal uncontaminated seeds" looks very similar to how Paramârtha depicts ''jiexing''. It also implies that we should distinguish the strong sense of the notion of "tathāgatagarbha" in the ''Awakening of Faith'' from its weak sense. The fact that even Vasubandhu endorses the weak sense of "tathāgatagarbha" strongly challenges the received wisdom that Yogâcāra and Tathāgatagarbha were two distinct and antagonistic trends of thought in India.
In this short video, Tibetan meditation teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche teaches how our true nature is fundamentally pure and good. When we take refuge in the Buddha, he explains, we are ultimately taking refuge in our own Buddha nature. This video is excerpted from a series of teachings entitled, Ngöndro: The Foundational Practices, Parts I & II. +
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Zen mind is one of those enigmatic phrases used by Zen teachers to throw you back upon yourself, to make you go behind the words themselves and begin wondering. "I know what my own mind is," you tell yourself, "but what is Zen mind?" And then: "But do I really know what my own mind is?" Is it what I am doing now? Is it what I am thinking now?" And if you should then try to sit physically still for a while to see if you can locate it—then you have begun the practice of Zen, then you have begun to realize the unrestricted mind.
The innocence of this first inquiry—just asking what you are—is beginner's mind. The mind of the beginner is needed throughout Zen practice. It is the open mind, the attitude that includes both doubt and possibility, the ability to see things always as fresh and new. It is needed in all aspects of life. Beginner's mind is the practice of Zen mind.
This book originated from a series of talks given by Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki to a small group is Los Altos, California. He joined their meditation periods once a week and afterwards answered their questions and tried to encourage them in their practice of Zen and help them solve the problems of life. His approach is informal, and he draws his examples from ordinary events and common sense. Zen is now and here, he is saying; it can be as meaningful for the West as for the East. But his fundamental teaching and practice and drawn from all the centuries of Zen Buddhism and especially from Dogen, one of the most important and creative of all Zen Masters.
This book is about how to practice Zen as a workable discipline and religion, about posture and breathing, about the basic attitudes and understanding that makes Zen practice possible, about non-duality, emptiness, and enlightenment. Here one begins to understand what Zen is really about. And, most important of all, every page breathes with the joy and simplicity that make a liberated life possible. (Source: inside jacket)
To listen to the audio book, [[Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Audio Book)|click here]]
Zen mind is one of those enigmatic phrases used by Zen teachers to throw you back upon yourself, to make you go behind the words themselves and begin wondering. "I know what my own mind is," you tell yourself, "but what is Zen mind?" And then: "But do I really know what my own mind is?" Is it what I am doing now? Is it what I am thinking now?" And if you should then try to sit physically still for a while to see if you can locate it—then you have begun the practice of Zen, then you have begun to realize the unrestricted mind.
The innocence of this first inquiry—just asking what you are—is beginner's mind. The mind of the beginner is needed throughout Zen practice. It is the open mind, the attitude that includes both doubt and possibility, the ability to see things always as fresh and new. It is needed in all aspects of life. Beginner's mind is the practice of Zen mind.
This book originated from a series of talks given by Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki to a small group is Los Altos, California. He joined their meditation periods once a week and afterwards answered their questions and tried to encourage them in their practice of Zen and help them solve the problems of life. His approach is informal, and he draws his examples from ordinary events and common sense. Zen is now and here, he is saying; it can be as meaningful for the West as for the East. But his fundamental teaching and practice and drawn from all the centuries of Zen Buddhism and especially from Dogen, one of the most important and creative of all Zen Masters.
This book is about how to practice Zen as a workable discipline and religion, about posture and breathing, about the basic attitudes and understanding that makes Zen practice possible, about non-duality, emptiness, and enlightenment. Here one begins to understand what Zen is really about. And, most important of all, every page breathes with the joy and simplicity that make a liberated life possible. (Source: inside jacket)
To follow along with the text, [https://archive.org/details/shunryusuzukizenmindbeginnersmind_242_x click here]
The first Tibetan commentary written on the ''Uttaratantra'' by the translator of the only extant Tibetan translation of the treatise. Furthermore, since the author is also the namesake of the Ngok tradition (''rngog lugs'') of exegesis of the ''Uttaratantra'', known for its analytic take on the work, this text was highly influential in the conception of a uniquely Tibetan approach to the ''Uttaratantra'' and the notion of buddha-nature. +
