Primary Sources
From Buddha-Nature
The Source Text:
The Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།
- Read the Source Text Here:
- A Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna - Multilingual Edition of the root text only
- "The Three Reasons" Verse: Verse I.28
- Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra - Multilingual Edition
- A Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna - Multilingual Edition of the root text only
The Texts
Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long
Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal;འགོས་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་གཞོན་ནུ་དཔལ་;'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal;yid bzang rtse ba;mgos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal;'gos lo tsā ba gzhon nu dpal;ཡིད་བཟང་རྩེ་བ་;མགོས་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་གཞོན་ནུ་དཔལ་; <ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part "and" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ". More specifically, as Mathes reports, the author, himself, states in his colophon that "he combined the commentarial tradition of" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "with" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "'s and" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "'s mahāmudrā interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga." (" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", p. 411.)" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
Maitreya;བྱམས་པ་;byams pa;'phags pa byams pa;byams pa'i mgon po;mgon po byams pa;ma pham pa;འཕགས་པ་བྱམས་པ་;བྱམས་པའི་མགོན་པོ་;མགོན་པོ་བྱམས་པ་;མ་ཕམ་པ་;Ajita; Asaṅga;ཐོགས་མེད་;thogs med;slob dpon thogs med;སློབ་དཔོན་ཐོགས་མེད་;Āryāsaṅga;<ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part ", 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" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "and first translated into Tibetan by" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", although this text is not known to survive." of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|into French" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ". See the" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", read more" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|about the Ratnagotravibhāga" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", or take a look at the most complete English translation in" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "by" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "." of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi bsdus pa'i don
Drogön Chögyal Pakpa;འགྲོ་མགོན་ཆོས་རྒྱལ་འཕགས་པ་;'gro mgon chos rgyal 'phags pa;'phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan;chos rgyal 'phags pa;'gro mgon 'phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan;blo gros rgyal mtshan;འཕགས་པ་བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་;Pakpa Lodro Gyaltsen;Chögyal Phagpa;Chögyal Phakpa;Chogyal Phagpa;Drogön Chögyal Phagpa;Drogon Chogyal Phagpa;Drogön Phagpa Lodrö Gyaltsen;Drogon Phagpa Lodro Gyaltsen
Dam pa'i chos dgongs pa gcig pa'i rnam bshad lung don gsal byed legs bshad nyi ma'i snang ba
The First Drikung Chungtsang, Rigdzin Chökyi Drakpa;ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;chos kyi grags pa;'bri gung rig 'dzin chos kyi grags pa;'bri gung pa chos kyi grags pa;rig 'dzin chos kyi grags pa;kun mkhyen rig 'dzin chos grags;rdo rje 'dzin pa chos kyi grags pa;shAkya'i dge slong chos kyi grags pa;dus mtha'i sngags 'chang chos kyi grags pa;dkon mchog phun tshogs;chos kyi grags pa phrin las rnam par rgyal ba'i sde;thugs kyi rdo rje;che mchog 'dus pa rtsal;pad+ma ba dz+ra rtsal;dbur smyon;rtag pa'i rdo rje;'bri gung pa gshin rje'i gshed kyi rnal 'byor pa rig 'dzin chos kyi grags pa;འབྲི་གུང་རིག་འཛིན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;འབྲི་གུང་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;རིག་འཛིན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;ཀུན་མཁྱེན་རིག་འཛིན་ཆོས་གྲགས་;རྡོ་རྗེ་འཛིན་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;ཤཱཀྱའི་དགེ་སློང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;དུས་མཐའི་སྔགས་འཆང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་;དཀོན་མཆོག་ཕུན་ཚོགས་;ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་ཕྲིན་ལས་རྣམ་པར་རྒྱལ་བའི་སྡེ་;ཐུགས་ཀྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ་;ཆེ་མཆོག་འདུས་པ་རྩལ་;པདྨ་བ་ཛྲ་རྩལ་;དབུར་སྨྱོན་;རྟག་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་;འབྲི་གུང་པ་གཤིན་རྗེའི་གཤེད་ཀྱི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་པ་རིག་འཛིན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་; 
Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs par bshad pa
Rongtön Sheja Kunrik;རོང་སྟོན་ཤེས་བྱ་ཀུན་རིག་;rong ston shes bya kun rig;shAkya rgyal mtshan;smra ba'i seng+ge;shes bya kun gzigs;rong TI ka pa;shes rab 'od zer;ཤཱཀྱ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་;སྨྲ་བའི་སེངྒེ་;ཤེས་བྱ་ཀུན་གཟིགས་;རོང་ཊཱི་ཀ་པ་;ཤེས་རབ་འོད་ཟེར་;Rongtön Shéja Günsi;Rongton Sheja Kunrig; <ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part ", 2018." of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel pa byams mgon dgyes pa'i mchod sprin
Drakar Lobzang Palden Tenzin Nyendrak;བྲག་དཀར་བློ་བཟང་དཔལ་ལྡན་བསྟན་འཛིན་སྙན་གྲགས་;brag dkar blo bzang dpal ldan bstan 'dzin snyan grags;blo bzang dpal ldan;brag dkar sprul sku;བློ་བཟང་དཔལ་ལྡན་;བྲག་དཀར་སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་
Mdo sde rgyan dang rgyud bla ma spyod 'jug rnams kyi 'grel TIk+ka gi dbu zhabs kyi tshigs bcad
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo;རྒྱལ་སྲས་ཐོགས་མེད་བཟང་པོ་;rgyal sras thogs med bzang po;thogs med bzang po dpal;rgyal sras dngul chu thogs med;rgyal sras chos rdzong pa;dkon mchog bzang po;bzang po dpal;ཐོགས་མེད་བཟང་པོ་དཔལ་;རྒྱལ་སྲས་དངུལ་ཆུ་ཐོགས་མེད་;རྒྱལ་སྲས་ཆོས་རྫོང་པ་;དཀོན་མཆོག་བཟང་པོ་;བཟང་པོ་དཔལ་
Dbu ma la 'jug pa'i rnam bshad dgongs pa rab gsal
Tsongkhapa;ཙོང་ཁ་པ་;tsong kha pa;tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa;blo bzang grags pa'i dpal;blo bzang grags pa;ཙོང་ཁ་པ་བློ་བཟང་གྲགས་པ་;བློ་བཟང་གྲགས་པའི་དཔལ་;བློ་བཟང་གྲགས་པ་; <ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part "," of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", 2021.)" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje;རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་;rang byung rdo rje;karma pa gsum pa;ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་;Karmapa, 3rd; <ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part ", from the introduction to " of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "." of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos kyi rnam 'grel rang byung dgongs gsal
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye;འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་;'jam mgon kong sprul;blo gros mtha' yas;yon tan rgya mtsho;'jam mgon chos kyi rgyal po;pad+ma gar dbang blo gros mtha' yas;pad+ma gar gyi dbang phyug rtsal;pad+ma gar dbang phrin las 'gro 'dul rtsal;བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས་;ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་;འཇམ་མགོན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་;པདྨ་གར་དབང་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས་;པདྨ་གར་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག་རྩལ་;པདྨ་གར་དབང་ཕྲིན་ལས་འགྲོ་འདུལ་རྩལ་; 
Pradīpoddyotana-nāma-ṭīkā
Candrakīrti;ཟླ་བ་གྲགས་པ་;zla ba grags pa; <ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part ". This extensive commentary on Guhyasamāja Tantra discusses the six hermeneutic strategies of provisional and ultimate meaning, literal and non-literal reading, and interpretable or non-interpretable meaning. It also highlights the natural state of all phenomena such as five aggregates and five elements as enlightened buddhas, and described the innate mind as luminous and endowed with qualities of enlightenment.The commentary is said to have been written relying on instructions passed down from" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|Nāgārjuna" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "who is said to have been prophesied in the" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|Descent to Laṅka Sūtra" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "to be a promoter of the higher yoga tantras. If one accepts the author of this text to be" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|Candrakīrti" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", who is the Mādhyamika author of the" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "|Madhyamakāvatāra" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part ", as tradition has it, then it is evident he adopted here a position on buddha-nature which is different from the one in Madhyamakāvatāra, where his focus is on establishing all things as emptiness, and he argues the sūtras advocating buddha-nature are provisional teachings to lead those beings scared of non-self. In this text, the author accepts the nature of all things to be enlightened, and he argues that 'sentient beings are the base of all buddhas because they possess buddha-nature'(རྒྱལ་བ་ཀུན་གྱི་གནས་ནི་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་དེ། དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན་ཡིན་པའི་ཕྱིར་རོ། །). Traditional scholars would generally explain such a shift in philosophical stance as context-based and not see it as a contradiction or inconsistency. In the context of Guhyasamāja tantra," of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "could be said to have accepted the concept of buddha-nature as innate enlightenment." of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
Gzhan stong dbu ma chen po'i lta khrid rdo rje zla ba dri ma med pa'i 'od zer
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye;འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་;'jam mgon kong sprul;blo gros mtha' yas;yon tan rgya mtsho;'jam mgon chos kyi rgyal po;pad+ma gar dbang blo gros mtha' yas;pad+ma gar gyi dbang phyug rtsal;pad+ma gar dbang phrin las 'gro 'dul rtsal;བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས་;ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་;འཇམ་མགོན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་;པདྨ་གར་དབང་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས་;པདྨ་གར་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག་རྩལ་;པདྨ་གར་དབང་ཕྲིན་ལས་འགྲོ་འདུལ་རྩལ་; 
Bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa'i rgyan 'grel pa dang bcas pa'i rnam bshad rnam pa gnyis kyi dka' ba'i gnad gsal bar byed pa legs bshad skal bzang klu dbang gi rol mtsho zhes bya ba las rigs kyi spyi don
Sera Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen;སེ་ར་རྗེ་བཙུན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་;se ra rje btsun chos kyi rgyal mtshan;chos kyi rgyal mtshan;se ra rje btsun pa chos kyi rgyal mtshan;se ra khri rabs 12;ser byes mkhan rabs 05;ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་;སེ་ར་རྗེ་བཙུན་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་;སེ་ར་ཁྲི་རབས་༡༢;སེར་བྱེས་མཁན་རབས་༠༥;Sera Jetsun Chokyi Gyal Tsan;Sera Jetsün Chökyi Gyäl Tsän; 
Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel ba gsal ba nyi ma'i snying po
Dumowa Tashi Özer;བདུད་མོ་བ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་འོད་ཟེར་;bdud mo ba bkra shis 'od zer;Dümo Tashi Öser;Dümo Tashi Özer;Dümo Dashi Öser; <ul><li>The symbol "[[" was used in a place where it is not useful.</li>!--br-->The part "’s topical outline or summary (bsdus don)." of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.<The part "]]" of the query was not understood.Results might not be as expected.</ul>
Sanskrit Texts[edit]
- Maitreya. Ratnagotravibhāgamahāyānottaratantraśāstra (Theg pa chen po'i rgyud bla ma). D4024. Sanskrit edition by E. H. Johnston. Patna, India: The Bihar Research Society, 1950 (includes the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā).
- Asaṅga. Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā or Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā (Theg pa chen po'i rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa). D4025. Sanskrit edition by E. H. Johnston. Patna, India: Bihar Research Society, 1950.[1]
- Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnston's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991.
Sutra Sources[edit]
- Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra = ārya-tathāgata-mahākaruṇā-nirdeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra
- Śrīmālādevīsūtra
- Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta
- Sarvabuddhaviśayāvatārajñānālokālaṃkārasūtra
- Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
- Sāgaramatiparipṛcchāsūtra
- Mahāyānābhidharmasūtra
- Dṛḍhādhyāśayaparivarta (or Sthirādhyāśayaparivartasūtra)
- Tathāgataguṇajñānācintyaviṣayāvatāranirdeśa
- Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra
- Kāśyapaparivartasūtra
- Gaganagañjaparipṛcchāsūtra
- Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchāsūtra
- Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
- Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra
- Samyutta Nikāya
- Ratnadārikāsūtra
- Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra
Tibetan Texts[edit]
- Please see the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra or the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā page for a detailed Tibetan catalog and source listing for this text
- ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས/སྐབས་དང་པོ་/ཚིག་བཅད་༢༧
- ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པ།
Chinese Texts[edit]
- Ratnamati 勒那摩提 (508 A.D.), 究竟一乘寶性論 (Chinese translation of Rgvbh), in T 1611. Attributed author is Sāramati.
Commentaries[edit]
Indian Commentaries[edit]
- Sajjana. Pith Instructions on “The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna” - Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa. Sanskrit edition in Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab’s Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine" 513-18. PhD diss., University of Hamburg, 2006.
- Vairocanarakṣita. A Commentary on the Meaning of the Words of the “Uttaratantra” - Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī (rgyud bla ma’i tshig don rnam par ’grel pa. Sanskrit edition in Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab’s Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine" 552–75. PhD diss., University of Hamburg. 2006.
Tibetan Commentaries[edit]
Select Tibetan Texts[2][edit]
- 'Gos Lo Gzhon nu dpal, Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long (Lhasa 2006), in 2 volumes.
- 'Gos Lo Gzhon nu dpal, 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, Edited text in Tibetan script by Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. Publications of the Nepal Research Centre 24, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. 2003. Reviewed by Pascale Hugon in Asiatische Studien, vol. 60, no. 1 (2006), pp. 246-253.
- Rinchen, Gyaltsap Darma . Commentary to the Uttaratantra. Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i ṭīkka. Collected works ga. Vol. 13. Mungod, India: Drepung Loseling Educational Society, 1997.
- Mipham. Words of Mi-pham: Commentary on the Uttaratantra (theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi mchan 'grel mi pham zhal lung). Mi-pham's Collected Works, vol. 4 (pa), 349-361.
- Rin chen ye shes. rgyud bla ma'i 'grel pa mdo dang sbyar ba nges pa'i don gyi snang ba zhes pa'o. Jonan Publication Series 31, Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2010.
- Rngog Lo tsā ba Blo ldan shes rab and Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 2006. Contains a critical edition in Wylie transliteration.
- Rngog Lo tsā ba Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109), Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus pa, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993.
- shes rab rgyal mtshan , thogs med bzang po dpal. "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel ba legs bshad nyi ma'i 'od zer zhes bya ba bzhugs so/." In rgyud bla'i TI ka. TBRC W2DB4614. : 153 - 305. pe cin: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007. TBRC
- Ye shes rdo rje. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi bshad pa nges don nor bu'i mtsod ces bya ba bzhugs so. Jonan Publication Series 31, Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2010.
English Translations[edit]
- Brunnhölzl, Karl, ed., trans. 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, 2014.
- Fuchs, Rosemarie. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé "The Unassailable Lion's Roar." Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
- Kilty, Gavin. The Tathāgata Essence Commentary to the First Chapter of the Uttaratantra, by Rinchen, Gyaltsap Darma (1364-1432). Unpublished, FPMT.
- Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 2006. Contains a critical edition in Wylie transliteration.
- Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
- Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Extensive Commentary on and Study of the Ratna-gotravibhāgavyākhyā. In Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet, 79-96. Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (PIATS), Leiden, 2000. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library vol. 2, bk. 2 . Leiden : Brill, 2002.
- Mipham ('jam mgon 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho). A Commentary on the Uttaratantra Shastra (rgyud bla ma). Translated by Padmakara Translation Group, John Canti, forthcoming.
- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Buddha-Nature, Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, by Arya Maitreya. Edited by Alex Trisoglio. Khyentse Foundation, 2007.
- Obermiller, E., tr., Uttaratantra or Ratnagotra-vibhāga: The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation, Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism: The Work of Ārya Maitreya with a Commentary by Āryāsaṅga, Acta Orientalia 9 (1931): 81-306. Re-printed in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes. Maitreya on Buddha nature : A New Translation of Asaṅga's Mahāyāna Uttara Tantra Śāstra. Forres: Altea, 1999. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes, trans. The Changeless Nature. Newcastle: Karma Kagyu Trust, 1985. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnston's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Takasaki, Jikido. A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966. (Translated from Sanskrit)
- Thrangu Rinpoche. The Uttara Tantra: A Treatise on Buddha Nature, translated by Ken Holmes and Katia Holmes, edited by Clark Johnson, Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 2001.
French Translations[edit]
- Loyon, Etienne, trans. Traité de la Continuité ultime du Grand Véhicule de Maitreya, avec le commentaire de Jamgœun Kongtrul Rimpoché, L'Inéluctable Rugissement du lion. With Commentary by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. 2007. Online Source: [1]
German Translations[edit]
- Buddha-Natur Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra = Theg pa chen po rgyud bla maʼi bstan bcos kyi ʼgrel bśad. With Commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Berlin Manjughosha Editions, 2017.
- Fuchs, Rosemarie, Tenzin Dordje. Ill., R. D. Salga, trans. Buddha-Natur : das Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra Mit Kommentar "Das unerschütterliche Gebrüll des Löwen" / von Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye und Erl. von Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Freiburg [Breisgau]; Eckernförde: Khampa-Ed., 2014.
The Mahāyānottaratantra Śāstra
ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།
Some quote from the text or by translator of this kind of work, like Karl? ... Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Treatise on the Sublime Continuum or the Ratnagotravibhāga[edit]
The teaching that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha) was first proclaimed in the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. Developed in a series of Mahāyāna sūtras, such as the Śrīmālādevīsūtra and Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśasūtra, it was then systematized in the Ratnagotravibhāga, which is also called the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra or in Tibet, the Gyü Lama (རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་).[3]
How to Study[edit]
- Read
- Watch
- Study
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How to Contemplate[edit]
OMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMM. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
How to Meditate[edit]
OMMMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMM. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
The Gyü Lama[edit]
Text Information
Author: Maitreya (Byams pa) or Maitreyanātha (Byams pa mgon po)
Sanskrit Title: Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
Alternate Title: Ratnagotravibhāga
Tibetan Title: Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
Translated to Tibetan by: Sajjana and Blo ldan shes rab
Tibetan Catalogue: Tôh. no. 4024. Dergé Tanjur, vol. PHI, folios 54v.1-73r.7
The Gyü Lama (རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་), also called the Mahāyānottaratantra Śāstra (ཐེག་ཆེན་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་), the Ratnagotravibhāga (RGV), or simply the Uttaratantra, is one of the most important texts of the Yogācāra tradition that expounds the tathāgatagarbha (buddha nature) theory, the idea that all sentient beings possess the nature of a buddha.[4] The Tibetan Buddhist tradition holds the Ratnagotravibhāga to be one of the Five Treatises that Maitreya taught to Asaṅga (4th century?). According to Klaus-Dieter Mathes, the Ratnagotravibhāga was largely ignored until the eleventh century when Indian scholars and adepts attempted to bring the tantric teachings in line with mainstream Mahāyāna.[5] The Ratnagotravibhāga and buddha nature theory provided the necessary doctrinal support for this kind of work, paving the road for its entry and subsequent importance within the Tibetan Buddhist dialogue.
As a whole, the Ratnagotravibhāga consists of three parts: (1) basic verses, (2) commentarial verses and (3) prose commentary, the third being the vyākhyā, the commentary attributed to Asaṅga.[6] Issues with regards to authorship arise when comparing the Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan texts, as the only extant Sanskrit version[7] attributes no author, and the only Chinese version, translated by Ratnamati sometime after 508[8], attribues the entire text to Sāramati.[9] (You can see various interpretations of the RGV authorship here.)
The only extant Tibetan version of the Ratnagotravibhāga was translated by rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab (1059–1109) and Sajjana (late 11th cent.),[10] though according to gZhon-nu-dpal there were a total of six translations made, the first by Atiśa (982–1054) and Nag-tsho Tshul-khrims-rgyal-ba (1011–1064).[11] rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab wrote the first commentary on the RGV[12] officially bringing it into Tibetan discourse at the end of the 11th century, from which point, the various Tibetan interpretations of the buddha nature theory take off. Mathes points to the main issue in the various interpretations as being whether the teaching that all beings are buddhas is provisional or definitive in meaning.[13] Over the next nine centuries, 45 commentaries were written on the Ratnagotravibhāga alone[14], and the text was referenced in "different ways to doctrinally support disputed traditions, such as the zhentong (gzhan stong) ("empty of other") of the Jonangpas (Jo nang pa) or sūtra-based mahāmudrā."[15] The text also serves as an important basis for both the Dzogchen tradition of Longchenpa and the Mahamudra tradition of the Kagyüpas.[16]
| Version | Catalogue # | Category | Vol. | Folio #'s | Alt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peking | 5525 | sems tsam | phi | 54b7-74b6 | (vol.108, p.24-32) |
| Dergé (Tôh.) | 4024 | sems tsam | phi | 54b1-73a7 | |
| Narthang | 4314 | sems tsam | phi | 48b3-69a3. | |
| Kinsha [18] | 3524 | sems tsam | phi | 64b1 | (p.33-3-1) |
| Cone | 3991 | sems tsam | phi | 51b1-69b1. |
The emphasis of this site is to provide information on the resources available in the study of the Ratnagotravibhāga and all of its interpretations within the Tibetan Buddhist milieu. The information presented here is far from complete and will continue to develop as new scholarship arises. We welcome any feedback, and if you see any omissions or errors, please let us know via email.
The Five Dharmas of Maitreya[edit]
- The Ornament of Clear Realization
- Skt. Abhisamayālaṃkāra
- Tib. མངོན་རྟོགས་པའི་རྒྱན་
- Wyl. mngon par rtogs pa'i rgyan
- The Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras
- Skt. Māhayānasūtrālaṃkāra
- Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ་སྡེ་རྒྱན་
- Wyl. theg pa chen po'i mdo sde rgyan
- Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes
- Skt. Madhyāntavibhāga
- Tib. དབུས་དང་མཐའ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ་
- Wyl. dbus dang mtha' rnam par 'byed pa
- Distinguishing Dharma and Dharmata
- Skt. Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga
- Tib. ཆོས་དང་ཆོས་ཉིད་
- Wyl. chos dang chos nyid rnam par 'byed pa
- The Sublime Continuum
- Skt. Uttaratantra Śāstra
- Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་
- Wyl. rgyud bla ma
Resources[edit]
- Maitreya's Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra, Texts & Translations
- Asaṅga's Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā, Texts & Translations
- Select Tibetan Commentaries & Translations
- Selected Bibliography of Books, Articles, Dissertations & Other Resources
- Tibetan Catalogue of Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
- Tibetan Catalogue of Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā
- Extensive List of Tibetan Commentaries
- Transmission Lineages of the Ratnagotravibhāga according to Jamgon Kongtrol
BDRC Content[edit]
BDRC Derge Version- Bibliographical Title
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
- Other Title
- mahayanottaratantrasastra
- Page Numbers
- 109-148 in Volume 123 of Work W23703
- Location
- ff. 54v-73r
- Authorship
- byams pa (author); sajjana (translator); blo ldan shes rab
- Tohoku Catalog Num.
- 4024
- Citation
- tshul khrims rin chen. "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos." In bstan 'gyur (sde dge). TBRC W23703. 123: 109 - 148. delhi: delhi karmapae choedhey, gyalwae sungrab partun khang, 1982-1985. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O1GS6011%7CO1GS601137645$W23703
BDRC Narthang Version- Bibliographical Title
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/
- Title Page Title
- mahayana uttara tantara sastra
- Page Numbers
- 100-141 in Volume 132 of Work W22704
- Location
- vol.132,ff.48v-69r (pp.96-137)
- Colophon
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/ mgon po byams pas mdzad pa rdzogs so/ /dpal grong khyer dpe med kyi mkhas pa chen po/ bram ze rin chen rdo rje'i dpon po paN+Di ta mkhas pa chen po sa dza na dang / lo tsA ba shAkya'i dge slong blo ldan shes rab kyis/ grong khyer dpe med de nyid du bsgyur pa'o//
- gSer bris Catalog Num.
- 3528
- Otani, Beijing Catalog Num.
- 5525
- Citation
- "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/." In bstan 'gyur (snar thang). TBRC W22704. 132: 100 - 141. [narthang]: [s.n.], [1800?]. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O2DB75712%7CO2DB757122DB79425$W22704
BDRC Chone Version- Bibliographical Title
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/
- Other Title
- mahayanottaratantrasastra
- Page Numbers
- 109-143 in Volume 123 of Work W1GS66030
- Location
- ff. 51r-68r
- Authorship
- byams pa (author); sajjana (translator); blo ldan shes rab
- Tohoku Catalog Num.
- 4024
- Citation
- grags pa bshad sgrub . "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/." In bstan 'gyur (co ne). TBRC W1GS66030. 123: 109 - 143. [co ne dgon chen]: [co ne], [1926]. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O2DB20796%7CO2DB207962DB24440$W1GS66030
BDRC Pe Durma Version- Bibliographical Title
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/
- Other Title
- mahayanottaratantrasastra
- Page Numbers
- 958-1009 in Volume 70 of Work W1PD95844
- Location
- pp. 935-986
- Authorship
- byams pa (author); sajjana (translator); blo ldan shes rab
- Tohoku Catalog Num.
- 4024
BDRC Ser Drima Version- Bibliographical Title
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
- Title Page Title
- mahayana uttara tantara sastra
- Page Numbers
- 129-180 in Volume 132
- Location
- vol.132,ff.64r-89v(pp.127-178)
- Colophon
- theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/ mgon po byams pas mdzad pa rdzogs so/ /dpal grong khyer dpe med kyi mkhas pa chen po/ bram ze rin chen rdo rje'i dpon po paN+Di ta mkhas pa chen po sa dza na dang / lo tsA ba shAkya'i dge slong blo ldan shes rab kyis/ grong khyer dpe med de nyid du bsgyur pa'o
- gSer bris Catalog Num.
- 3528
- Otani, Beijing Catalog Num.
- 5525
- Citation
- "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos." In bstan 'gyur/?gser bris ma/?. TBRC W23702. 132: 129 - 180. tibet: [snar thang], [17-?]. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O00CR0008%7CO00CR000800CR034422$W23702
When The Clouds Part by Karl Brunnhölzl[edit]
Shedding light on the meditative tradition of the five texts of Maitreya with meditation manuals and commentaries from the Kagyu and Kadampa traditions: When The Clouds Part, The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra.
Secondary Sources and Further Studies[edit]
- Duckworth, Douglas. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition. New York: SUNY Press, 2008.
- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Buddha-Nature, Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, by Arya Maitreya. Edited by Alex Trisoglio. Khyentse Foundation, 2007.
- Fuchs, Rosemarie. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé "The Unassailable Lion's Roar." Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
- Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes. Maitreya on Buddha nature : A New Translation of Asaṅga's Mahāyāna Uttara Tantra Śāstra. Forres: Altea, 1999. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes, trans. The Changeless Nature. Newcastle: Karma Kagyu Trust, 1985. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Kilty, Gavin. The Tathāgata Essence Commentary to the First Chapter of the Uttaratantra, by Rinchen, Gyaltsap Darma (1364-1432). Unpublished, FPMT.
- Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 2006. Contains a critical edition in Wylie transliteration.
- Kano, Kazuo. "Buddha-Nature and Emptiness: rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab and A Transmission of the Ratnagotravibhāga from India to Tibet." WSTB 91. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde (Vienna Series for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies). Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, 2016.
- Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
- Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Extensive Commentary on and Study of the Ratna-gotravibhāgavyākhyā. In Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet, 79-96. Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (PIATS), Leiden, 2000. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library vol. 2, bk. 2 . Leiden : Brill, 2002.
- Mipham ('jam mgon 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho). A Commentary on the Uttaratantra Shastra (rgyud bla ma). Translated by Padmakara Translation Group, John Canti, forthcoming.
- Obermiller, E., tr., Uttaratantra or Ratnagotra-vibhāga: The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation, Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism: The Work of Ārya Maitreya with a Commentary by Āryāsaṅga, Acta Orientalia 9 (1931): 81-306. Re-printed in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnston's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
- Stearns, Cyrus. The Buddha From Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen. Tsadra Foundation Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2010.
- Takasaki, Jikido. A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966. (Translated from Sanskrit)
- Thrangu Rinpoche. The Uttara Tantra: A Treatise on Buddha Nature, translated by Ken Holmes and Katia Holmes, edited by Clark Johnson, Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 2001.
Videos[edit]
Notes[edit]
- Besides this text, the only other two known Indian “commentaries” on the Uttaratantra are Vairocanarakṣita’s (eleventh century) very brief ahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī (eight folios) and Sajjana’s (eleventh/twelfth century) Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa (a summary in thirty-seven verses). Brunnholzl, K. Luminous Heart pg 403 note 24
- For an extensive list of Tibetan Commentaries, see A List of the Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhāga
- Kano, Kazuo, rṄog Blo ldan śes rab's position on the Buddha-nature doctrine and its influence on the early gSaṅ phu tradition. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 32, no. 1-2 (2009) 2010: 249-283.
- Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 2
- Ibid.
- Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine, 17
- critically edited by Johnston in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnson's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991.
- Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga, 17
- For a detailed discussion regarding the authorship of the verses and prose, see Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga; Takasaki, A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism
- Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga, 89
- Ibid. 90
- (a) Atiśa (982–1054) and Nag-tsho Tshul-khrims-rgyal-ba (1011–1064)
- (b) rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab (1059–1109) and Sajjana (late 11th cent.)
- (c) sPa-tshab Nyi-ma-grags (b.1055)
- (d) Mar-pa Do-pa Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug (1042–1136)
- (e) Jo-nang Lo-tsā-ba Blo-gros-dpal (1299–1353 or 1300–1355)
- (f) Yar-klungs Lo-tsā-ba Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan (1242–1346)
- Translated in Kazuo's Ph.D. dissertation, "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine
- Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 3
- Burchardi, A Provisional List of Tibetan Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhāga; Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga (See Appendix G)
- Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 3
- Ibid., 1
- Catalogue information from Phil Stanley and http://web.otani.ac.jp/cri/twrp/tibdate/Peking_online_search.html
- Golden Manuscript - Tengyur
