Casey Kemp at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

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Casey Kemp presents an overview and analysis of Jigten Gonpo’s explanation of luminosity as outlined in his text 'Od gsal rnam lnga gcig tu bsre ba'i man ngag, a pith instruction on merging (bsre ba).

Abstract from the Author

The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the Dharmakāya
This paper will present an overview and analysis of 'Jig rten mgon po’s (1143–1217) explanation of luminosity (prabhāsvaratā; 'od gsal ba) from his Mahāmudrā perspective in terms of basis, path, and fruit. This is most clearly outlined in his 'Od gsal rnam lnga gcig tu bsre ba'i man ngag, a pith instruction on merging (bsre ba), a genre of Bka' brgyud teachings generally associated with the nā ro chos drug tradition. While chos drug instructions on luminosity tend to focus on deep sleep tantric practices, this text outlines luminosity in terms of mind’s true nature, which is to be pointed out, recognized, and ultimately merged with the dharmakāya. 'Jig rten mgon po offers a five-fold typology of luminosity: the luminosity of the basis, the path, dream, the bar do, and the ultimate. In this text, he explicitly explains that the luminosity of the basis is the nature of mind, described in terms of buddha-nature, and is none other than the dharmakāya itself. 'Jig rten mgon po goes on to explain the process of “merging” this basis with the path luminosity by way of pointing out instructions, which subsequently merges with the dream and bar do states naturally through direct recognition. Finally, this (collective) recognition of the basis is to be merged with the ultimate luminosity, the dharmakāya. 'Jig rten mgon po thus offers a framework for how the different types of tantric and non-tantric luminosity as understood in the early Bka' brgyud Mahāmudrā tradition can be merged by taking the nature of mind as both the basis for Buddhahood and ultimately inseparable from the fruit of the dharmakāya.

Sources Mentioned

Text
Laṅkāvatārasūtra
An important Mahāyāna sūtra that was highly influential in East Asia as well as in Nepal, where a manuscript was discovered that remains the only extant Sanskrit recension of this text. It is notable for its inclusion of many doctrinal features that would come to be associated with the Yogācāra philosophy of Mind-Only (Cittamātra), such as the ālayavijñāna, or store-house consciousness, that acts as a repository for the seeds of karmic actions. It also includes several lengthy discussions of tathāgatagarbha and, though it is never actually referenced in the Uttaratantra, it is often listed among the so-called tathāgatagarbha sūtras. While its lack of mention in the Uttaratantra has been interpreted by scholars as evidence that the sūtra postdates the treatise, it should be noted that the ways in which the tathāgatagarbha is discussed in the sūtra is often at odds with its presentation in the Uttaratantra.
Text
Maitreya, Asaṅga: Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
The Ratnagotravibhāga, commonly known as the Uttaratantra, or Gyu Lama in Tibetan, is one of the main Indian scriptural sources for buddha-nature theory. It was likely composed during the fifth century, by whom we do not know. Comprised of verses interspersed with prose commentary, it systematizes the buddha-nature teachings that were circulating in multiple sūtras such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, and the Śrīmaladevisūtra. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the commentary to Asaṅga, and treats the two as separate texts, although this division is not attested to in surviving Indian versions. The Chinese tradition attributes the text to *Sāramati (娑囉末底), but the translation itself does not include the name of the author, and the matter remains unsettled. It was translated into Chinese in the early sixth century by Ratnamati and first translated into Tibetan by Atiśa, although this text is not known to survive. Ngok Loden Sherab translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita Sajjana, and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently into French. See the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, read more about the Ratnagotravibhāga, or take a look at the most complete English translation in When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnholzl.
BDRC
Jigten Gonpo: 'Od gsal rnam lnga gcig tu bsre ba'i man ngag
A pith instruction on merging (bsre ba), outlining the concept of luminosity.
external link
BDRC
'Bri gung Bka' brgyud chos mdzod chen mo
Massive collection of texts from the Drikung Kagyu, as well as some texts from other Kagyu orders. 151 volumes.
external link
BDRC
'Brug lugs chos mdzod chen mo
Collection of important texts from the Drukpa Kagyu order. 101 volumes.
external link
WIKIPEDIA
Aṅguttara Nikāya
The Aṅguttara Nikāya (aṅguttaranikāya) is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piṭaka.
external link
ADARSHA
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā
"Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines"; earliest of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras and very early Mahāyāna scripture.
external link
BDRC
Nāropa: Dka' ba spyad pa'i gnad kyi yi ge phyi ma
The Later Words on Key Points of Austerities, Volume 1, 281–286
external link
BDRC
Marpa Chökyi Lodrö: 'Od gsal don bzhi ma
Four Meanings of Luminosity, in Marpa Chökyi Lodrö Collected Works, vol. 5, 229–230
external link
BDRC
Marpa Chökyi Lodrö: 'Od gsal gti mug rdo rje'i shog dril
Vajra Scroll of Luminosity and Delusion, in Marpa Chökyi Lodrö Collected Works, vol. 6, 65–71
external link
BDRC
Marpa Chökyi Lodrö: Bsre ba'i man ngag
Pith Instructions on Merging, in 'bri gung bka' brgyud chos mdzod chen mo, vol. 6, 266–76.
external link
BDRC
Gampopa: Bstan chos lung gi nyi 'od
Gampopa's Collected Works, vol. 4, 99–192.
external link

Secondary Publications Mentioned

BOOK
The Spitzer Manuscript, Link to Downloads
Franco, Eli. The Spitzer Manuscript: The Oldest Philosophical Manuscript in Sanskrit. 2 vols. Verlag Der Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2004.
external link

People Mentioned

Jikten Gönpo
1143 ~ 1217
Nāropa
1012/1016 ~ 1100
Fabrizio Torricelli
Milarepa
1052 ~ 1135
Marpa Chökyi Lodrö
1012 ~ 1097
Gampopa
1079 ~ 1153
First Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa
1110 ~ 1193
Eli Franco
1953

More on this recording

Related Texts

About the video

Featuring Casey Kemp
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 Kemp, Casey. "The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the Dharmakāya." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VQkhK1CE0.

prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Cittamātra - Though it is sometimes used synonymously with Yogācāra, it is in fact one of the more prominent philosophical theories associated with this school. It asserts that the objects in the external world with which we interact are actually mentally created representations appearing as those objects. The character of these perceptions is predetermined by our own karmic conditioning that is stored in the ālayavijñāna. Skt. चित्तमात्र Tib. སེམས་ཙམ་

Cittamātra - Though it is sometimes used synonymously with Yogācāra, it is in fact one of the more prominent philosophical theories associated with this school. It asserts that the objects in the external world with which we interact are actually mentally created representations appearing as those objects. The character of these perceptions is predetermined by our own karmic conditioning that is stored in the ālayavijñāna. Skt. चित्तमात्र Tib. སེམས་ཙམ་

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

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.

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt. बोधिसत्त्व Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch. 菩薩

byams chos sde lnga - This refers to a series of five texts that, according to the Tibetan tradition, Asaṅga received directly from Maitreya in the pure realm of Tuṣita. Tib. བྱམས་ཆོས་སྡེ་ལྔ་

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