Property:Description
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
While the Buddha is residing in the Akaniṣṭha realm, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Ākāśagarbha asks him how to consider the mind of a bodhisattva who is about to die. The Buddha replies that when death comes a bodhisattva should develop the wisdom of the hour of death. He explains that a bodhisattva should cultivate a clear understanding of the non-existence of entities, great compassion, non-apprehension, non-attachment, and a clear understanding that, since wisdom is the realization of one’s own mind, the Buddha should not be sought elsewhere. After these points have been repeated in verse form, the assembly praises the Buddha’s words, concluding the sūtra. (Source: [https://read.84000.co/translation/toh122.html 84000 Reading Room]) +
An annotated commentary written by the fifteenth Karmapa on the Third Karmapa's verses on buddha-nature, The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart. +
Texts/De bzhin gshegs pa snying po'i don rgya bod kyi mkhas pa'i bzhed srol ma 'dres par gsal bar byed pa'i zla gzhon +
In this treatise, a contemporary Geluk scholar Sönam Kunga presents the understanding of the spiritual gene or rigs according to the different Buddhist philosophical schools culminating in the theory of buddha-nature in the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions. He elaborates the transmission of buddha-nature teachings and the interpretation of buddha-nature in the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. +
The 8th Karmapa's commentary on the famous treatise, the Sacred Teaching on the Single Intention (Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa) by Drikungpa master Jikten Gönpo. The Single Intention is a compendium of critical philosophical, soteriological, and moral positions taught by Jikten Gönpo and written down by his disciple and nephew Sherab Jungne. The text contains 150 critical vajra words (རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསུང་) in seven groups (ཚོམས་), along with another 47 appended points (ལྷན་ཐབས་). The root text composed by Sherab Jungne has seen several commentaries, including one by the first Drikung Chungtsang Chökyi Drakpa. This extensive commentary by the 8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje is perhaps the only long commentary by Karma Kagyu master on the Single Intention. +
Texts/Chos dang chos ma yin par rnam par 'byed pa'i gtam chen po zab mor nang don 'khrul par ngo sprod par byed pa grub mtha'i spyi ching +
The Eight Karmapa's general outline of the tenets of the Sacred Teaching on the Single Intention (Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa). +
A brief overview of the philosophical positions and related terminology of other-emptiness (gzhan stong) Madhyamaka with an emphasis on the Jonang perspective developed by Dölpopa. +
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i rnam bshad don dam rnam nges bsdus pa'i snying po'i snying po +
In his commentary [Gendun Özer] mentions that he composed it for his students who had requested that he write something that would differ from the "coarse explanation" (bshad nyog rtsing po) of the Uttaratantra offered by the "early commentators" (snga rabs pa) of the Kadam tradition. While Gendün Özer does not intend to succumb to a "coarse explanation" of the Indian treatise, he follows his early Kadam predecessors' exposition in terms of doctrinal position, even though his literary style is different, with numerous poetic verses of admiration. In this time period it is not surprising that he wrote the commentary primarily in consultation with Ngok's Tibetan translation (rngog 'gyur) of the Uttaratantra, but the author also used the translations made by Naktso and Patsap wherever necessary.
(Source: [[Tsering Wangchuk]]. [[The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows]], 59.) +
In Japanese, “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye”; the magnum opus of the Japanese Zen master Dōgen Kigen (1200-1253); the title refers to the Zen (C. Chan) school, which is considered to be the repository of the insights of the buddha Śākyamuni himself, transmitted through the lineage of the Chan patriarchs (zushi) starting with Mahākāśyapa... Dōgen’s oeuvre contains two works with this title...The second is a collection of essays written in Japanese, known as the Kana [viz., “vernacular”] Shōbōgenzō, which is the better known of the two and which will be the focus of this account. The Shōbōgenzō is a collection of individual essays and treatises that Dogen composed throughout his
eventful career.... Six different editions of the Shōbōgenzō are known to exist: the “original” volume edited by Dōgen in seventy-five rolls, the twelve-roll Yōkōji edition, the sixty-roll Eiheiji edition edited
by Giun (1253-1333), the eighty-four roll edition edited by Bonsei (d. 1427) in 1419, the eighty-nine roll edition edited by Manzan Dōhaku (1636-1715) in 1684 at Daishōji, and the ninety-five roll edition edited by Kōzen (1627-1693) in 1690 at Eiheiji. The seventy-five roll edition is today the most widely
consulted and cited. Many of the essays were originally sermons delivered by Dōgen, such that some are written by him and others were recorded by his disciples. (Source: ''Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 810-811.) +
In this commentary on the Heart Sūtra, Tāranātha starts with the discussion of the different forms of Perfection of Wisdom in relation to the nature of phenomena, the path to enlightenment, the resultant state, and the doctrinal teachings which discuss the topic. He cites Dignāga to claim that the true Perfection of Wisdom is the resultant wisdom of the buddhas. However, the most important point he underscores is that the ultimate message of all three Turning of the Wheels and the Heart Sūtra is the great other-emptiness. All conventional phenomena are primordially empty of their own nature but the ultimate nature is only empty of other conventional phenomena but not empty of its own nature. This, he argues, is the ultimate truth, the reality and the intent of all buddhas.
Commenting on the four statements on form and emptiness in the Heart Sūtra, he presents what he considers to be the interpretations among the proponents of the Mind Only (སེམས་ཙམ་པ་) and Naturelessness (ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པར་སྨྲ་བ་), both of which are acceptable in certain contexts but do not capture the ultimate reality. The ultimate understanding, he reasons, must be obtained by putting the four statements in the context of the three characteristics (མཚན་ཉིད་གསུམ་). He goes on to explain how the four statements should be understood in relation to the imputed nature, the dependent nature and the consummate nature, through which one can grasp the meaning of the emptiness of that which is non-existent (མེད་པའི་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་), the emptiness of that which is existent (ཡོད་པའི་སྟོང་ཉིད་), and the emptiness of true nature (རང་བཞིན་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་) taught by Maitreya. +
The ''Kālacakratantra'' is an early eleventh-century esoteric treatise belonging to the class of unexcelled yoga-tantras (''anuttara-yoga-tantra''). To the best of our knowledge, it was the last ''anuttara-yoga-tantra'' to appear in India.<br>According to the Kālacakra tradition, the extant version of the ''Kālacakratantra'' is an abridged version of the larger original tantra, called the ''Paramādibuddha'', that was taught by the Buddha Śākyamuni to Sucandra, the king of Śambhala and an emanation of Vajrapāṇi, in the Dhānyakaṭaka stūpa, a notable center of Mahāyāna in the vicinity of the present-day village of Amarāvatī in Andhra Pradesh. Upon receiving instruction on the ''Paramādibuddhatantra'' and returning to Śambhala, King Sucandra wrote it down and propagated it throughout his kingdom. His six successors continued to maintain the inherited tradition, and the eighth king of Śambhala, Mañjuśrī Yaśas, composed the abridged version of the ''Parāmadibuddhatantra'', which is handed down to us as the ''Sovereign Abridged Kālacakratantra'' (''Laghukālacakratantrarāja''). It is traditionally taught that it is composed of 1,030 verses written in the ''sradgharā'' meter. However, various Sanskrit manuscripts and editions of the ''Laghukālacakratantra'' contain a somewhat larger number of verses, ranging from 1,037 to 1,047 verses. The term an “abridged tantra” (''laghu-tantra'') has a specific meaning in Indian Buddhist tantric tradition. Its traditional interpretation is given in Naḍapādas (Nāropā) ''Sekoddeśaṭīkā'', which states that in every ''yoga'', ''yoginī'', and other types of ''tantras'', the concise, general explanations (''uddeśa'') and specific explanations (''nirdeśa'') make up a tantric discourse (''tantra-saṃgīti''), and that discourse, which is an exposition (''uddeśana'') there, is an entire abridged ''tantra''.<br>The tradition tells us that Mañjuśrī Yaśas's successor Puṇḍarīka, who was an emanation of Avalokiteśvara, composed a large commentary on the ''Kālacakratantra'', called the ''Stainless Light'' (''Vimalaprabhā''), which became the most authoritative commentary on the ''Kālacakratantra'' and served as the basis for all subsequent commentarial literature of that literary corpus. The place of the ''Vimalaprabhā'' in the Kālacakra literary corpus is of great importance, for in many instances, without the Vimalaprabhā, it would be practically impossible to understand not only the broader implications of the ''Kālacakratantra''' cryptic verses and often grammatically corrupt sentences but their basic meanings. It has been said that the ''Kālacakratantra'' is explicit with regard to the tantric teachings that are often only implied in the other ''anuttara-yoga-tantras'', but this explicitness is actually far more characteristic of the ''Vimalaprabhā'' than of the ''Kālacakratantra'' itself. (Source: Wallace, Vesna A. ''The Inner Kālacakratantra: A Buddhist Tantric View of the Individual''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001: pp. 2-3.)
This is the first tantric text in the Kangyur canon related to the Kālacakra cycle. It is a summary of the third chapter of the longer Kālacakra tantra dealing with the ritual of initiation or empowerment. The Kālacakra teachings presents a unique set of seven initiations to conduct the ordinary/childlike initiate (བྱིས་པ་འཇུག་པའི་དབང་བདུན་) and then the four main initiations of the vase, secret, wisdom and word, which are also divided into two sets of the conventional and superior types. The Kālacakra cycle is considered to be very explicit in revealing the luminous nature of the mind through these initiatory rituals and tantric methods employing bodily energy and fluids. +
In this short work, the famous Sakya scholar Rendawa presents his interpretation of and positions on the main topics covered by ''the Ultimate Continuum''. While summarising the text, he points out how buddha-nature is to be understood as the luminous nature of the mind, and not as an absolute nature separate from the luminous aspect of the mind. He argues that buddha-nature, which is present in all sentient beings, is endowed with the universal quality of luminosity of the mind but not with the specific enlightened qualities of the Buddha. Thus, employing the common hermeneutic tools of reference,་purpose and direct contradiction, he considered the teachings on buddha-nature to be provisional teachings, which are not to be taken literally. +
This short text by Rongtön Sheja Kunrig contains instructions on how to put the topics contained in ''the Ultimate Continuum'' into actual practice. It is among the many practical instructions he has written pertaining to the classical texts which are widely studied in Tibetan scholarly centres. In the course of providing practical instructions, Rongtön makes clear his philosophical understanding of buddha-nature and his interpretation of the teachings on buddha-nature. +
Texts/Kun mkhyen chen pos mdzad pa'i grub mtha'i rnam bzhag don gsal gyi 'grel ba phyogs lhung mun sel +
This is a commentary by the Jonangpa scholar Ngawang Tsoknyi Gyatso on the treatise composed by Dolpopa entitled ''Illuminating the Topics of Tenet Systems''. Dolpopa composed the treatise in verse for the Yuan emperor Toghon Temür, who invited Dolpopa to China but Dolpopa declined. Yet, he wrote the treatise for the emperor and he presents his theory of the Middle Way of Other-Emptiness. Ngawang Tsoknyi Gyatso provides a very clear and incisive commentary in prose for Dolpopa's verse text. +
The Powerful Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra comes from the dGongs pa zang thal or Penetrating Intent cycle of Dzogchen teachings by Rigdzin Gödem. The prayer explains how saṃsāra and nirvāṇa emerge from the same ground of primordial reality through awareness and unawareness. The cognitive glitch of dualistic clinging and ego-grasping is explained to have led to the many afflictive emotions and the corresponding resultant states of rebirth. The prayers instructs practitioners to rest in the natural state of the mind without attachment or aversion. The prayer is very widely chanted in the Himalayan communities. +
The ''Denkōroku'' (''Record of the Transmission of Illumination''), together with Dogen Zenji's ''Shōbōgenzō'' (''Treasury of the True Dharma Eye''), is one of the fundamental texts of the Soto School. It is an exceptional record of the Zen ancestors that begins with Sakyamuni Buddha, extends through twenty-eight generations in India and twenty-three generations in China, and reaches to Dogen Zenji and Ejo Zenji. It provides instruction, in teisho format, about the causes and conditions whereby each awakened to the Way that was individually transmitted by the one Buddha and fifty-two ancestors. (Source: [https://www.sotozen.com/eng/library/denkoroku/index.html Sotozen.com]) +
In his Relaxation in the Nature of Mind and its auto-commentary the Great Chariot, Longchenpa deals with buddha-nature in the opening verse while paying homage to the ultimate truth, in chapter 9 while discussing the generation-stage- and completion-stage practices, and in chapter 10 on the topic of wisdom which comprehends the ground reality free from the two extremes. He presents buddha-nature as the ground maṇḍala, which forms the basis of temporary confusion, while at the same time being the uncontrived, unborn, unchanging nature of the mind to be realized on the path. Ordinary beings do not perceive this buddha-nature, but bodhisattvas on the stages see it partially and the buddhas see it fully. Longchenpa blends the sūtra presentation of buddha-nature with the esoteric exposition of the spontaneous primordial ground in the tantras. He uses terms such as essence, element, spiritual gene, innate mind, pristine wisdom, vajra mind, primordial ground, the ultimate, ground gnosis, sphere of reality, Middle Way, nondual truth, thatness, Perfection of Wisdom, etc., to refer to the same luminous nature of mind which is buddha-nature. +
The root text of the Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel along with its auto-commentary the White Lotus make up one of the main books among the Seven Treasures of Longchenpa. In chapter 1 of his Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel, he expounds the theory of buddha-nature as the primordial ground from which both nirvāṇa and saṃsāra arise. In chapter 18 he discusses the abiding nature of reality, which is the ultimate truth, and presents the experiences of saṃsāra as temporary illusions arising from adventitious misconception. Buddha-nature is understood to be the empty, luminous nature of things which abides as the ontic reality in all sentient beings and is free from all fabrications. Using the terms from the sūtras teaching buddha-nature and the Ultimate Continuum, he characterizes buddha-nature as the ultimate pure, eternal, blissful self. He considers the teachings on buddha-nature which form part of the third wheel as definitive teachings, which expound the same ground nature presented in both the sūtra and tantra literature. In summary, he writes in the Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel:
འོད་གསལ་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་སྟེ། །སྟོང་གསལ་རིག་པ་དབྱེར་མེད་ཆོས་ཉིད་དོ།།
The luminous buddha-nature is indivisible reality
Which is spontaneous, empty, and clear awareness.
His presentation on buddha-nature theory and associated practices in his writings became the most authoritative references which determine the interpretation of buddha-nature theory and practice in the Nyingma tradition to this day. +
Fanwang jing. (J. Bonmōkyō; K Pǔmmang kyǒng 梵網經). In Chinese, "Brahmā's Net Sūtra," the scripture is often cited by its reconstructed, but unattested, Sanskrit title, the *''Brahmajālasūtra''. This scripture is reputed to have been translated by KumārajIva in 406, but it is most likely an indigenous Chinese scripture (see apocrypha) composed during the middle of the fifth century. The ''Fanwang jing'', in its current recension in two rolls, purports to be the tenth chapter of a much longer, 120-roll scripture tided the ''Bodhisattvaśīlasūtra'', which is otherwise unknown. The first roll provides a description of the buddha Vairocana and the ten different stages of the bodhisattva path. Because subsequent Chinese indigenous scriptures that were closely related to the ''Fanwang jing'', such as the Pusa yinluo penye jing, provided more systematic presentations of these soteriological models, this first roll was not widely studied and was typically omitted in commentaries on the scripture. Far more important to the tradition is the second roll, which is primarily concerned with the "bodhisattva precepts" (bodhisattvaśīla); this roll has often circulated independently as Pusajie jing (*''Bodhisattvaśīlasūtra'') "The Book of the Bodhisattva Precepts"). This roll provides a list of ten major and forty-eight minor Mahāyāna precepts that come to be known as the "Fanwang Precepts," which became a popular alternative to the 250 monastic precepts of the Dharmaguptaka vinaya (also known as the
Sifen Lü). Unlike the majority of rules found in other non-Mahāyāna vinaya codes, the bodhisattva precepts are directed not only at ordained monks and nuns, but also may be taken by laymen and laywomen. The ''Fanwang jing'' correlates the precepts with Confucian virtues such as filial piety and obedience, as well as with one's buddha-nature (foxing). Numerous commentaries on this text were composed, and those written by Fazang, Mingkuang (fl. 800 CE), and the Korean monk T'aehyǒn (d.u.) were most influential. As the primary scriptural source in East Asia for the bodhisattva precepts, the ''Fanwang jing'' was tremendously influential in subsequent developments in Buddhist morality and institutions throughout the region. In Japan, for example, the Tendaishū monk Saichō (767-822) disparaged the prātimokṣa precepts of the traditional vinaya as being the precepts of hInayāna adherents, and rejected them in favor of having all monastics take instead the Mahāyāna precepts of the ''Fanwang jing''. In Korea, all monastics and laypeople accept the bodhisattva precepts deriving from the ''Fanwang jing'', but for monks and nuns these are still seen as complementary to their main monastic vows. (Source: "Fanwang jing." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 295. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Tāranātha presents an interpretation of the Heart Sūtra in accordance with his philosophical espousal of the other-emptiness in this short word-for-word commentary. At the very outset, he states in this commentary that the main referent of the term Perfection of Wisdom is buddha-nature, the non-dual wisdom which is the true nature of all phenomena. This, he argues, is not empty of its nature. The Heart Sūtra sufficiently makes it clear that the five skandhas and other conventional phenomena are empty of their nature, but not buddha-nature or the ultimate truth. ‘Form is emptiness’ indicates that form is utterly non-existent and empty. ‘Emptiness is form’ indicates that emptiness, which is the ultimate reality, is what appears as form to ordinary beings. ‘Emptiness is not other than form’ shows there is no emptiness which exists separately from form but reality qua emptiness is rather the true nature of form. ‘Form is not other than emptiness’ states there is no real form that is different from emptiness in the ultimate sense, because emptiness qua reality exists whereas form doesn’t. +
