Difference between revisions of "Old Topic, New Insights: Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice"

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Over three days the symposium surveyed the differing forms of tathāgatagarbha doctrine that developed as its primary Indian scriptural sources were translated, transmitted, and interpreted by religious schools across Asia. Contemporary Buddhist teachers joined academics at the podium. Presentations ranged from the historical-philological analysis of the primary sources to issues of reconstruction and comparison in the target languages and cultures and included how tathāgatagarbha is taught in Buddhist communities today. Although primarily focused on the Indian and Himalayan material, the diversity in approaches and subject matter made for fruitful comparisons and discussions.  
 
Over three days the symposium surveyed the differing forms of tathāgatagarbha doctrine that developed as its primary Indian scriptural sources were translated, transmitted, and interpreted by religious schools across Asia. Contemporary Buddhist teachers joined academics at the podium. Presentations ranged from the historical-philological analysis of the primary sources to issues of reconstruction and comparison in the target languages and cultures and included how tathāgatagarbha is taught in Buddhist communities today. Although primarily focused on the Indian and Himalayan material, the diversity in approaches and subject matter made for fruitful comparisons and discussions.  
|date=July 2019
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|date=July 2022
 
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|title=Old Topic, New Insights
 
|title=Old Topic, New Insights

Latest revision as of 17:22, 26 September 2022

Old Topic, New Insights
Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice
Presentations and Panel Discussion at the 16th IATS Conference, Prague, 3-9 July 2022

Panel Convenors: Karma Phuntsho and Gregory Forgues
Tsadra Foundation


Panel Description

Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha, དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་) is an important topic for both philosophical discourse and spiritual practice in the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. In Tibet, this notion is foundational with regard to philosophical debate, religious hermeneutics, and spiritual practice. As a doctrinal marker, buddha-nature contributed to defining sectarian identities that shaped social and historical interactions between Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Continued scholarly publications, Buddhist teaching events, the recent development of online buddha-nature resources, and the associated Tathāgatagarbha symposium in Vienna in 2019 have spurred greater interest in the topic both within Tibetan Buddhist traditions and among other spiritual traditions. This panel brings together experts to refine and deepen our understanding of buddha-nature both in terms of theoretical interpretations and practical applications in Tibetan Buddhist communities, past or present.

The main objective of the panel focuses on the interplay between points of doctrine and the practice of the path from the perspective of various Tibetan traditions and scholars. Contributions examine the interpretations of doctrines of tathāgatagarbha originally found in Indian scriptural sources. The methodological approach of these contributions range from historical-philological investigations to ethnographic research and comparative analysis.


Panelist Presentations