Shenpen Hookham at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
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Shenpen Hookham at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium - 10 of 23
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Abstract from the Author
The impact of a Shentong interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha doctrine from the point of view of a western Buddhist practitioner
This paper briefly contrasts a Rangtong (rang stong) and Shentong (gzhan stong) interpretation of Buddhism and looks at how the Shentong interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha doctrine impacts on the understanding and practice of westerners, taking into account the way the translation of key terms into English is affecting the way they are understood and used. Some consideration is given to how Tathāgatagarbha doctrine relates to the earliest accounts of what the Buddha taught and how the seeds of the controversy around Tathāgatagarbha and the Shentong interpretation of Buddhism was present even at the time of the Buddha. This relates to how the tradition has interpreted the Buddha’s teaching on not-self over the millennia up until today. We have ended up with two very different versions of what Buddhism is about and what Tathāgatagarbha means and this relates to the impact Buddhism as a whole is likely to have on modern thought in general.
About the video
| Featuring | Shenpen Hookham |
|---|---|
| Creator | University of Vienna, Tsadra Foundation |
| Event | Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia (18 July 2019, University of Vienna, Austria) |
| Related Website | Buddha-Nature Project |
| Video Web Location | Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia |
| Creation Date | 18 July 2019 |
| Citation | Hookham, Shenpen. "The Impact of a Shentong Interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine from the Point of View of a Western Buddhist Practitioner." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:03. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM93AeQIR4I. |
