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On the Ratnagotravibhāga

Alex Gardner

On the Ratnagotravibhāga

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The History

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The Doctrine

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Study the Sources

The seeds of buddha-nature teachings are sprinkled throughout the sutras and tantras of the Buddhist canon. A core group of scripture that initially taught buddha-nature known as the tathāgatagarbha sūtras date between the second and fourth centuries. These include the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Śrīmālādevīsūtra and several others. The famous Laṇkāvatāraūtra was also important for buddha-nature theory. In Tibetan Buddhism the late-Indian treatise Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra, or "Gyu Lama" as it is known in the Tibetan, serves as a major source for buddha-nature. In East Asia the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna (大乗起信論) was the most influential treatise in spreading buddha-nature theory.

Read more on the sources for buddha-nature teachings...

Publications

Brunnhölzl

[[ |When the Clouds Part]]

Lief

[[ |The Profound Treasury
of the Ocean of Dharma]]

Takasaki

[[ |A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga]]

Mathes

[[ |A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]

Read

Read about the topics of debate about buddha-nature

Read about the history of the study of buddha-nature in the west

Academics: Study the source texts here

On the Ratnagotravibhāga by Alexander Gardner

The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows by Tsering Wangchuk

Practice

• Practice Texts in different traditions
• Verses of advice
• Uncover your true nature!
• Practice makes perfect... or does it?
• Yes. Yes it does. ~ Buddha

Watch

Watch these traditional teachings on the Uttaratantra.

Khensur Rinpoche on the Uttaratantra

Uttaratantra by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche

Dudjom Dorjee on Buddha-Nature

Listen

Listen now or download interviews and teachings and listen anywhere.

Karl Brunnholzl Interview on translating the Uttaratantrashastra

Klaus-Dieter Mathes discusses the concept of buddha-nature

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

"This sūtra became an important scriptural source for the discussion of buddha-nature in China and is famous for associating the term buddhadhātu with tathāgatagarbha.

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism.

Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt. महायान Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། Ch. 大乘

The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism.

Uttaratantra - The Ultimate Continuum, or Gyü Lama, is often used as a short title in the Tibetan tradition for the key source text of buddha-nature teachings called the Ratnagotravibhāga of Maitreya/Asaṅga, also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra. Skt. उत्तरतन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་ Ch. 寶性論

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.