A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

{{Book
|TileDescription=A translation, study, and annotated editions of the Tibetan and Chinese translations of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra.
|BookPerson={{Book-person
|PersonPage=Zimmermann, M.
|PersonName=Michael Zimmermann
}}
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|TextTranslated=Texts/Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
|BookEssay=''A Buddha Within'' is a study and translation of the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra, one of the earliest Indian scriptures to promote buddha-nature. The short sūtra contains nine similes for buddha-nature that can be divided into two categories: potential and perfected. These include the metaphor of a seed and gold hidden under a poor person's house. In the first, buddha-nature must be grown and developed; in the second, it is already perfected and must only be revealed. In both cases, however, buddha-nature is already present, and no fundamental transformation is needed to become a buddha: the promise is made that buddhahood is already present in all sentient beings. Zimmerman argues that the sūtra is best read as an ethical treatise, an encouragement to pursue enlightenment.

The first one hundred pages of the book are Zimmerman's commentary on the sūtra and its place in Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan Buddhism. He argues that there were two recensions of the scripture in India, the earliest of which went to China, and the later translated fourteen times into Tibetan. Key to his argument is that the Chinese translations do not contain the first simile of a pure white lotus growing in a muddy swamp. This, the sole passage to use the terms tathāgatagarbha, was thus added later, after the term had gained popularity. 

Zimmerman surveys the doctrinal issues raised by the scripture, including the relationship between buddha-nature theory and Yogacāra in China, and zhentong and rangtong in the Tibetan context. The remainder of the book is an analysis of each recension and translation, an English translation incorporating all recensions and translations, and a critical edition of the Tibetan and Chinese. There is no surviving Sanskrit version.
|BookToc=* {{i|Preface|7}}
* {{i|Acknowledgements|8}}
* {{i|Technical Note: My Use of the Asterisk|10}}
* {{i|I A Study and Annotated Translation of the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra''|11}}
** {{i|A General Study and Text-historical Considerations|12}}
*** {{i|1 Textual History and Structure of the TGS|16}}
**** {{i|1.1 Different Recensions of the TGS|16}}
**** {{i|1.2 The Representatives of TGS2|24}}
**** {{i|1.3 Similarities between the Chinese Translations|27}}
**** {{i|1.4 Structure, Contents and Textual History of the TGS|27}}
**** {{i|1.5 The Structure, Nature and Contents of the Nine Similes|34}}
*** {{i|2 The Meaning and Occurrences of the Term ''tathāgatagarbha''|39}}
**** {{i|2.1 The Term ''tathāgatagarbha''|39}}
**** {{i|2.2 The Textual Occurrences of the Terms ''tathāgatagarbha'' and<br>''garbha''|46}}
*** {{i|3 The Buddha-Nature Doctrine in the TGS|50}}
**** {{i|3.1 The Buddha-Nature|50}}
**** {{i|3.2 Becoming a Buddha|62}}
**** {{i|3.3 How to Become a Buddha|65}}
*** {{i|4 The TGS as a Part of lndian Buddhism: Its Sources, Motives and<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reception|67}}
**** {{i|4.1 The Titles of the TGS|68}}
**** {{i|4.2 The Recorded Chinese Translations of the TGS|69}}
**** {{i|4.3 Possible Motives of the Authors of the TGS|75}}
**** {{i|4.4 The TGS in the History of lndian Buddhism|77}}
**** {{i|4.5 The TGS in the ''Ratnagotravibhāga(vyākhyā)'' and Other Indian<br>Texts|84}}
**** {{i|4.6 The Twentieth-Century Reception of the TGS|90}}
** {{i|B An Annotated Translation of the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'' into English| 93}}
* {{i|II Critical and Diplomatic Editions of the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra''|163}}
** {{i|C The Textual Materials|164}}
*** {{i|1 Information on the Tibetan Manuscripts and Xylographic Editions<br>Utilized|164}}
**** {{i|A The Tabo Manuscript Fragments|164}}
**** {{i|B -The Berlin Manuscript Kanjur|165}}
**** {{i|Bth - The Newark Manuscript Kanjur from Bathang|166}}
**** {{i|Bu - The Citation in Bu ston Rin chen grub's ''De bzhin gshegs pa 'i<br>snying po gsal zhing mdzes par byed pa 'i rgyan''|167}}
**** {{i|D - The Derge Kanjur (Nyingma Edition)|167}}
**** {{i|J - The 'Jang sa tham or Lithang Kanjur|168}}
**** {{i|L-The Shel dkar Manuscript Kanjur (London)|169}}
**** {{i|N - The Narthang Kanjur| 169}}
**** {{i|P1, Pi, P1 - The Phug brag Ms Kanjur|170}}
**** {{i|Q - The Peking Kanjur (Otani Reprint)|171}}
**** {{i|S The Stog Palace ManuscriptK anjur|171}}
**** {{i|T- The Tokyo Manuscript Kanjur|172}}
*** {{i|2 The Stemmatic Relations among the Representatives of Tib|172}}
**** {{i|2.1 The Three Phug brag Versions |173}}
**** {{i|2.2 The Kanjurs of the Tshal pa Lineage |177}}
**** {{i|2.3 The Them spangs ma Kanjurs|186}}
**** {{i|2.4 The Position of Bu|191}}
**** {{i|2.5 The Position of A|192}}
**** {{i|2.6 The Relation of the Main Transmissional Groups to Each<br>Other| 193}}
**** {{i|2.7 Possible Stemmas of Tib|203}}
*** {{i|3 Characteristics of the Textual Witnesses of Tib|207}}
**** {{i|3.1 Archaic Features|207}}
**** {{i|3.2 Irregular Verbal Forms|208}}
**** {{i|3.3 Colophons and Translators|210}}
*** {{i|4 A Brief Evaluation of the Chinese Materials|213}}
*** {{i|5 Remarks on the Various Editions|214}}
**** {{i|5. I Principles Governing the Critical Edition of Tib|214}}
**** {{i|5 .2 Remarks on All Editions and Their Critical Apparatuses|215}}
**** {{i|5.3 The Editions of the Tibetan Translations|216}}
**** {{i|5.4 The Chinese Editions|218}}
** {{i|D The Editions|221}}
*** {{i|The Critical and Diplomatic Editions|221}}
*** {{i|Apparatus of Secondary Variants|370}}
*** {{i|Sigla, Symbols and Graphic Devices of the Tibetan Material|391}}
*** {{i|Sigla and Graphic Devices of the Chinese Material|392}}
** {{i|E Appendices|395}}
*** {{i|Appendix A: Comparative Chart of the Bodhisattva Names in OE|396}}
*** {{i|Appendix B: Comparative Chart of Pada Sequences|398}}
*** {{i|Appendix C: Comparative Table of Sections and Chapters of the<br>Chinese and Tibetan Editions|400}}
** {{i|Bibliography|405}}
** {{i|Primary Sources, with Abbreviations|405}}
** {{i|Select Secondary Sources|412}}
** {{i|Index|427}}
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|ExtraCategories=The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology
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