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On the Ratnagotravibhāga

Alex Gardner

On the Ratnagotravibhāga

Article

The History

Topic Page

The Doctrine

Topic Page

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...

The Ratnagotravibhāga

Source Text

The Root Verses

Study Resource

Verse I.28

Point of Interest

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

Traditional Expositions

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Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche

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Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche

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Dorjee Dudjom

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.