Introduction to Mahāmudrā and Buddha-Nature

{{Article
|ArticleLayout=Original Content
|ArticleTitle=Introduction to Mahāmudrā and Buddha-Nature
|AuthorPage=Ostensen, M.
|ArticleContent=For the Kagyu tradition, the lines of transmission of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and the Mahāmudrā teachings converge with the Indian teacher [[Maitrīpa]]. In terms of the former, [[Maitrīpa]] is believed to have extracted the treatise along with the ''[[Dharmadharmatāvibhāga]]'', another of the so-called Five Dharma Treatises of Maitreya (''byams chos sde lnga''), from a stūpa after receiving instructions from [[Maitreya]] in a dream. This story and the instructions [[Maitrīpa]] supposedly received are recounted by [[Kyotön Mönlam Tsultrim]] in his ''[[Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i gdams pa]]'', a text the author claims in the colophon to have copied from the original.<ref>[[Brunnhölzl, Karl]]. ''[[When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra]]''. (Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2015), 788.</ref> This text presents the narrative of [[Maitreya]] granting [[Maitrīpa]] Mahāmudrā-style pointing-out instructions on the nature of mind based upon the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''. However, considering that [[Kyotön Mönlam Tsultrim]] didn't create his version of the text until sometime in the thirteenth century, the work does not provide ample proof, in and of itself, of [[Maitrīpa]]'s rediscovery of the two treatises, especially considering that he doesn't mention either of the works in any of his extant writings, while it is referenced by one of his teachers, [[Jñānaśrīmitra]].<ref>[[Mathes, Klaus-Dieter]]. ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga]]''. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008), 2.</ref>  Nevertheless, it is the lineage passing from [[Maitrīpa]] to Ānandakīrti who gave it to [[Ratnākaraśānti]] before travelling to Kashmir where he passed it on to [[Sajjana]] that is considered the ''de facto'' line of transmission of the treatise for the Kagyu. As [[Gö Lotsāwa]] states, "neither the ''Uttara[tantra]'' nor the ''[Dharma]dharmatāvibhāga'' was spread in India before the time of Lord [[Maitrīpa]]."<ref>[[Mathes, Klaus-Dieter]]. ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', 162.</ref> 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As for [[Maitrīpa]]'s Mahāmudrā teachings, his works are more readily connected with a pāramitā-based synthesis of sūtra and mantra that represented a non-tantric approach, in that it did not require formal empowerment for its transmission. Often referred to as the "Mother" prajñāpāramitā, this particular trend sought to align the Madhyamaka doctrine of emptiness with the direct perception of true reality (''tattva'') as the basis for the practice of Mahāmudrā typified by the notion of mental nonengagement (''amanasikāra''). This mode of instruction would eventually take root in Tibet, where it was styled "Sūtra Mahāmudrā," which was systematized and championed by the famed Kadampa turned Kagyu master [[Gampopa]]. And while there are obvious links to non-tantric scriptures, such as the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' scriptures and the ''Samādhirājasūtra'', it is [[Gampopa]] who is routinely quoted from an unknown source as claiming that "the basic text of this mahāmudrā of ours is the ''Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'' (''Ratnagotravibhāga'') by Venerable [[Maitreya]]."<ref>[[Mathes, Klaus-Dieter]]. ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', 34.</ref>  Though the evidence of this association seems rather thin based on the available literature, this oft-repeated declaration certainly lends weight to the importance of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' for the Kagyu Mahāmudrā tradition. An assertion that is repeated by [[Jikten Gönpo]], who stated, "Mahāmudrā is [taught on the basis of] the Mahāyānottaratantra
[Ratnagotravibhāga]."<ref>[[Mathes, Klaus-Dieter]]. ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', 41.</ref> And considering that the Kagyu famously characterize this work as "a bridge between sūtra and tantra," buddha-nature theory came to form a crucial linchpin that held the various trajectories of the tradition together.
}}