A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga

A Direct Path to the Buddha Within

Book

Maitreya’s Ratnagotravibhāga, also known as the Uttaratantra, is the main Indian treatise on buddha nature, a concept that is heavily debated in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. In A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, Klaus-Dieter Mathes looks at a pivotal Tibetan commentary on this text by Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal, best known as the author of the Blue Annals. Gö Lotsāwa, whose teachers spanned the spectrum of Tibetan schools, developed a highly nuanced understanding of buddha nature, tying it in with mainstream Mahāyāna thought while avoiding contested aspects of the so-called empty-of-other (zhentong) approach. In addition to translating key portions of Gö Lotsāwa's commentary, Mathes provides an in-depth historical context, evaluating Gö’s position against those of other Kagyü, Nyingma, and Jonang masters and examining how Gö Lotsāwa’s view affects his understanding of the buddha qualities, the concept of emptiness, and the practice of mahāmudrā. (Source: Wisdom Publications)

Citation	Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.

Ngog Loden Sherab's Analytical Interpretation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''

Book Excerpt

The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''

Book Excerpt

The Zhentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga

Book Excerpt

Abbreviations viii
Preface ix
Introduction 1
- General Remarks i
- Delimitation of the Subject and Methods Employed 3
- The Ratnagotravibhāga and Its Vyākhyā 7
- The Reaction of Mainstream Mahāyāna to the Theory of Buddha Nature 17

Part I:The Tibetan Historical Context
- 1. The Development of Various Traditions of Interpreting Buddha Nature 25
  - Ngog Loden Sherab's Analytical Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga 25
  - Ratnagotravibhāga Commentaries in the Meditation Tradition 32
  - The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga 34
  - The Zhentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga 45
- 2. Various Positions Related to Zhönu Pal's Interpretation 49
  - The Position of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé 51
  - The Position of Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen 75
  - The Position of Sabzang Mati Panchen 84
  - The Position of Lodrö Tsungmé 91
  - The Position of Longchen Rabjampa 98
  - The Position of Barawa Gyaltsen Palzang 113
  - A Comparison of the Positions 125
- 3. A Short Account of the Most Important Events in Zhönu Pal's Life 131
Part II: Translation
- 4. Zhönu Pal's Ratnagotravibhagavyākhya Commentary 151
  - Translator's Introduction 151
  - Technical Notes 154
  - The Commentary on the Treatise "Mahāyāna-Uttaratantra": The Mirror Showing Reality Very Clearly (Introduction and Initial Commentaries) 157
    - Introduction 157
    - The Commentary for Those with Sharp Faculties 169
    - The Commentary for Those with Average Faculties 180
      - The Explanation of RGV I.1 181
      - The Explanation of RGV I.2 204
        The Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha 205
        
        Buddha Nature and Its Purification through the Three Dharmacakras 214
        
        Enlightenment, Buddha Qualities, and Activity 309
      - A Short Explanation of RGV I.3 312
Part III. Zhonu Pal's Views on Buddha Qualities, Emptiness and Mahamudra
- 5. Buddha Qualities 317
  - General Remarks 317
  - Different Views on Buddha Qualities 318
  - The Blossoming of Subtle Qualities 320
  - The Examples Used to Illustrate the Growth of the Qualities 342
  - The Ontological Status of the Buddha Qualities 344
- 6. Two Types of Emptiness 351
- 7. Zhönu Pal's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga 367
  - The Ratnagotravibhāga as a Basis for Mahāmudrā Instructions 367
  - The Three Dharmacakras: Mahāmudrā Hermeneutics 368
  - The Mahāmudrā Approach of Yogic Direct Valid Cognitions 373
  - Sūtra-Based Mahāmudrā Meditation 377
    - The First Mahāmudrā Yoga of One-Pointedness 381
    - The Second Mahāmudrā Yoga of Freedom from Mental Fabrications 382
    - The Third Mahāmudrā Yoga of One Taste 384
    - The Fourth Mahāmudrā Yoga of Nonmeditation 385
    - The Four Mahāmudrā Yogas and the Ratnagotravibhāga 386
  - Zhönu Pal's Justification of a Sudden Mahāmudrā Path 397
  - Pairs of Paradoxes 406
- 8. Conclusion 411
Notes 423
Table of Tibetan Transliteration 555
Bibliography 565
Subject Index 589
Indian Text Index 607

Template:DRL subpage basecategories

A Direct Path to the Buddha Within is one of a handful of recent densely-presented studies of Tibetan attempts to grapple with the Uttaratantra and tathāgatagarbha theory. Klaus-Dieter Mathes takes as his focus Go Lotsāwa Zhonnu Pel's commentary on the sūtra, the translation of which makes up 165 pages out of the 421 of the book (excluding back matter). Preceding the translation are three introductory chapters on the intellectual context of Go's work. The translation is followed by three chapters that individually address Mathes' three questions: What are "subtle" buddha qualities, How is buddha-nature related to prājñaparamitā, and How does Go Lotsāwa read Mahāmudrā into the Uttaratantra and other Yogacāra works? The book assumes a high level of understanding of the issues and is meticulous in its detail and documentation; the footnotes have footnotes. Mathes argues that Go's intention with his commentary was to provide a sūtra basis for Mahāmudrā, the otherwise tantric teaching of the Kagyu tradition. There is some irony in this, as Mathes somewhat blithely dismisses what he claims was Longchenpa's attempt to use the same material to find an Indian basis for Dzogchen, an otherwise tantric teaching of the Nyingma tradition. Both great masters did indeed seem hard-pressed to justify the central teaching of their tradition against criticism of Prājñaparamitā-based Madhyamaka adherents in the Sakya and Kadam/Geluk traditions. These criticisms generally centered on the issue of whether the ultimate could correctly be described as possessing qualities of its own or whether emptiness was in fact a radical denial of all propositions. Sakya, Kadam, and Geluk writers argued either that the Uttaratantra was provisional -- a Yogacāra teaching in need of interpretation -- or its teaching on buddha-nature was in line with a Madhyamaka presentation of emptiness, denying the language-positive elements of the scripture. Go rejected both of these positions, arguing that the Uttaratantra is consistent with other Third-Turning teachings of Yogacāra and that such teachings are definitive. This was a necessary move in order to conflate cataphatic Yogacāra doctrine with Mahāmudrā: buddha-nature for Go is not a synonym for emptiness, but rather for "the unfabricated nature of mind" and "luminosity," core Mahāmudrā doctrine. But Go differentiated his approach from other advocates of a Yogacāra interpretation. He argued against the notion that buddha-nature is fully formed in every sentient being (the "buddha qualities" discussion), advocating instead that buddha-nature is a potential that needs to be developed. We are not like golden statues hidden in mud, but rather like acorns that need water and sunlight to grow into oak trees.

'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal. Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long. In 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā. Nepal Research Centre Publications, 24. Edited by Klaus-Dieter Mathes. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2003.