Property:Description
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
Dumowa Tashi Özer's commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'' that is based on the [[Third Karmapa]]’s topical outline or summary (''bsdus don''). +
In terms of its contents, the ''Lamp'' represents a digest of the ''Uttaratantra'', discussing its seven vajra points. In particular, the text’s structure closely follows the first chapter of the ''Uttaratantra'' and RGVV, explaining the first four vajra points in detail. Thus, the ''Lamp'' refers to both the ''Uttaratantra'' and RGVV throughout, though each one is only quoted explicitly once. In addition, the text cites the ''Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta'', the ''Avataṃsakasūtra'', and the ''Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkārabhāṣya'' (once each). It also refers to the ''Dharmadharmatāvibhāga'', the ''Madhyāntavibhāga'', the ''Kālacakratantra'', and six verses from the ''Dharmadhātustava''.
(Karl Brunnhölzl. ''When the Clouds Part'', 2015: p. 323.) +
An early Tibetan commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'', both the śāstra and the vyākhyā, that purports to represent the teachings passed on by the Kashmiri Parahitabhadra to his Tibetan student Marpa, though it is not entirely clear whether this refers to Marpa Dopa or Marpa Chökyi Lodrö, both of whom were important early Kagyu masters and translators that travelled south to receive teachings which they imported and propagated in Tibet. Nevertheless, the text follows more closely Indian commentarial styles and includes typical Mahāmudrā type instructions in its exegesis. Thus it is a prime example of the lineage that descends from Maitrīpa that came to dominate the Kagyu school's approach to the ''Uttaratantra'' in later generations. +
A detailed explanation of the ''Uttaratantra'' written by one of Dölpopa's chief disciples. +
Four works including an exegesis on the ''Uttaratantra'' by an important Sakya scholar known for taking, at times, controversial stances that challenged the philosophical positions of even his own school. These works, thus, represent a unique view of buddha-nature that is unconfined by the sectarian affiliations that otherwise dominated the Tibetan philosophical landscape. +
This work presents a late (14th century) Kadampa view on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and the associated buddha-nature teachings by an influential representative of this tradition, often referred to as "the second Asaṅga" (''thogs med gnyis pa''). +
Mipam's annotated commentary to the ''Uttaratantra'', a commentarial style in which the root verses of the treatise are embedded in the text and are then explained word by word. This text overlaps significantly with his related work on this subject ''[[bde gshegs snying po'i stong thun chen mo seng+ge'i nga ro|Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature]]''. +
One of the longest works in the entire Buddhist canon, the ''Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra'' is widely considered to be a compilation of independent scriptures, which was expanded upon over the course of time. It was extremely influential in East Asia, where it was preserved in an eighty-scroll recension. The Tibetan translation of this work fills four volumes in the Derge Kangyur. Though only two sections—namely, the ''Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra'' and the ''Daśabhūmikasūtra''—have survived in Sanskrit, both of which have also circulated as independent works. +
Jamgön Kongtrul's commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'' which, according to Brunnhölzl, draws heavily from Dölpopa's work on the same subject. Over the course of time since Kongtrul's passing at the dawn of the 20th century up until the present this text has become the primary commentary to the ''Uttaratantra'' used in the Kagyu tradition. +
One of the so-called tathāgatagarbha sūtras that features teachings on buddha-nature. In this text buddha-nature is possessed by all sentient beings and is described as luminous and pure. It is also attributed characteristics, such as being permanent, eternal, everlasting, peaceful, and a self, that echo the four perfect qualities (''guṇapāramitās'') often ascribed to the dharmakāya when it is treated as a synonym for buddha-nature. It also connects tathāgatagarbha to the notion of a single vehicle and asserts the definitive nature of the buddha-nature teachings in general and within this sūtra in particular. +
There are three translations in the Tibetan canon under this name:
#Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 119)
#Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 120)
#Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 121)
The ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' is one of the main scriptural sources for buddha-nature in China and Tibet. Set around the time of Buddha's passing or ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'', the sūtra contains teachings on buddha-nature equating it with the ''dharmakāya''—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha. It also asserts that all sentient beings possess this nature as the ''buddhadhātu'', or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, the sūtra includes some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the ''dharmakāya'' is endowed with the four ''pāramitās'' of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self.
It may be noted that there are three different texts with similar titles in the Chinese and Tibetan canons. Of the three Tibetan texts with ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'' in their title, a short one (Derge Kangyur, No. 121) called ''Āryamahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' contains prophecies of events in the centuries after the Buddha's ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'' but has nothing on buddha-nature. Thus, this is not the ''Mahāparinirvāṇāsūtra'' which is considered as a Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. The two which deal with buddha-nature are Mahāyānasūtras and contain detailed accounts of the final teachings of the Buddha. The first sūtra, the longer one covering two volumes of Derge Kangyur (mdo sde Nya and Ta) is a translation from Chinese, while the second one is a translation from Sanskrit. They appear to be two different recensions of the same original sūtra as they have similar titles and overlapping content. However, the one translated from Chinese is much longer and also contains information on the events after the Buddha entered ''Mahāparinirvāṇa''. +
The Mahāyāna version of this sūtra, like the earlier Pali sutta of the same name, recounts a sorted tale of jealousy and revenge that spirals out of control, in which a once promising disciple is set on the path to become a vicious murderer in search of a thousand victims in order to create a garland strung with their severed fingers. That is, of course, until he encounters the final victim needed to complete his task, the Buddha. (You can read the story [https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Books/The_Jewel_Ornament_of_Liberation_(Konchog_Gyaltsen)/The_Story_of_Angulimala here]). The Mahāyāna version is routinely included among the lists of so-called tathāgatagarbha sūtras, the reason likely being the extensive discussion the protagonist has with Mañjuśrī on the proper view of emptiness. The position presented in the text has been taken by some to be an early precursor to the view of other-emptiness. +
Also known as ''Questions of Dhāraṇīśvararāja Sūtras'' (''Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra''), this lengthy sūtra is stated to be the primary source for the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' since it touches upon all seven vajra topics discussed in the treatise. +
Heralded by a miraculous flood, the celestial bodhisattva Sāgaramati arrives in Rājagṛha to engage in a Dharma discussion with Buddha Śākyamuni. He discusses an absorption called "The Pristine and Immaculate Seal" and many other subjects relevant to bodhisattvas who are in the process of developing the mind of awakening and practicing the bodhisattva path. The sūtra strongly advises that bodhisattvas not shy away from the afflictive emotions of beings—no matter how unpleasant they may be—and that insight into these emotions is critical for a bodhisattva's compassionate activity. The sūtra deals with the preeminence of wisdom and non-grasping on the path. In the end, as a teaching on how to deal with māras, the sūtra illuminates the many pitfalls possible on the path of the Great Vehicle. (Source: [https://84000.co/translation/toh152?toh=toh152&left=open%3Atoc&right=closed%3Aendnotes&main=open%3Afront 84000]) +
One of the sūtra sources for the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', especially for the first three of the seven vajra topics discussed therein—namely, the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Also known as ''Dṛḍhādhyāśayaparivarta'', the main protagonist is Bodhisattva Dṛḍhādhyāśaya, who sees a beautiful girl on his alms round. He is attracted to the girl and tries to meditate on ugliness but fails and thus runs away to the mountains. The Buddha sees this, manifest as the beautiful girl, and chases him to say: "I should be relinquished in your mind. What use is giving up with your body. Dṛḍha! Running away physically cannot help you abandon attachment." Having said this, she jumps off a cliff and Dṛḍha reports to the Buddha who reminds him that the Buddha does not teach physical escape in order to eliminate attachment, hatred and ignorance. +
One of the sūtra sources for the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', especially in terms of the last of the seven vajra topics discussed therein—namely, the ''activities''. +
The Sūtra of the Questions of Gaganagañja (Gaganagañjaparipṛcchāsūtra, Toh 148) is an important canonical work centering on the bodhisattva Gaganagañja’s inquiries to the Buddha, his display of seven miracles, and dialogue between various figures about core Mahāyāna principles. The sūtra covers topics such as the bodhisattva path, bodhicitta, concentration, buddha activity, wisdom (jñāna), as well as predictions about the future enlightenment of disciples. Throughout the discourse, the sky (gagana) is used as the central metaphor for emptiness (śūnyatā) and nonduality (advaya) to describe the nature of reality. (Source: [https://read.84000.co/translation/toh148.html 84000]) +
The ''Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchā'' ("The Questions of Ratnacūḍa," Tib. ''dkon mchog brtsegs pa'') is a Mahāyāna sūtra preserved in the Tibetan Kangyur (D 91, dkon brtsegs, cha 210a1–254b7, vol. 44) as part of the Ratnakūṭa collection of sūtras. The text is cited extensively by Śāntideva in the ''Śikṣāsamuccaya'', where it appears under the abbreviated title ''Ratnacūḍasūtra'' ("Sūtra on the Jewel at the Crown of the Head"), most prominently in Chapter 13, which is devoted to the four applications of mindfulness (''smṛtyupasthāna''). In that chapter the text is cited in connection with each of the four applications in turn. On the application of mindfulness to the body, it teaches that the body is impermanent and ends in death, and that those who truly understand this become servants of all sentient beings, avoid crookedness and hypocrisy, and give up clinging to possessions; it further teaches that the bodhisattva connects the bodies of all sentient beings to his own, aspiring that all beings attain the body of a Buddha. On the application of mindfulness to feelings, it teaches that bodhisattvas cultivate great compassion for beings caught in pleasant, painful, and neutral feelings, giving up the underlying tendencies to attraction, aversion, and delusion respectively, while experiencing all feelings as impermanent, as suffering, and as without self. On the application of mindfulness to mind, it addresses the impossibility of locating mind internally, externally, in the aggregates, components, or sense-spheres, using the analogy that mind cannot perceive itself just as a sword cannot cut itself. On the application of mindfulness to phenomena (dharma), it teaches that when bodhisattvas look at phenomena they see no phenomena at all—no arising without a cause, and no producer—and that they never give up the recollection of the mind of awakening no matter how deeply they look into the teachings. The abbreviated title ''Ratnacūḍasūtra'' used by Śāntideva is confirmed as referring to this text by comparison with the Kangyur recension. The ''Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchāsūtra'' is also quoted briefly in the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' without mentioning it by name.
References:
Goodman, Charles. ''The Training Anthology of Śāntideva: A Translation of the Śikṣā-samuccaya''. Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 222–229.
Bendall, Cecil, ed. Śikṣāsamuccaya. Bibliotheca Buddhica 1. St. Petersburg, 1897–1902.
An important sūtra source for the ''Uttaratantra'' in its discussion of the third of the seven topics (''buddha'') in which the qualities of awakening are listed. +
Only extant in Chinese and Tibetan translations, this sūtra, which is centered around Buddha Śākyamuni's visit to the pure land of the Buddha Vairocana, is an important source for the Yogācāra notions of the three natures, ''tathāgatagarbha'', and the ''ālayavijñāna''. These latter two terms are often treated as synonyms in the text, especially in their pure form, while in its impure form the ''ālayavijñāna'' is designated as the source from which all ordinary phenomena emerge. +
