Difference between revisions of "Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia"

Revision as of 16:17, 26 September 2019

Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia

University of Vienna, July 2019

The Reception of an Influential Mahāyāna Doctrine in Central and East Asia

Organized by Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes
Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Universität Wien

The 2019 Vienna Symposium

Over the last decade, there has been increased attention to the tathāgatagarbha doctrine, which proposes that all sentient beings are already a “buddha within,” or at least have the potential to attain buddhahood. Scholars in Asia, Europe, and the Americas have published new translations and studies of the foundational scriptures and commentaries, and are examining the history and literature of the doctrine. In July 2019 Tsadra Foundation partnered with the University of Vienna to bring many of these scholars together for an international symposium titled Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia.

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.

All presentations were recorded, and the videos are available below. Organizers are planning on publishing the proceedings of the symposium in book form, and for this reason transcripts of the talks are not being released.

The Symposium Sessions

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 			<h2 class="mt-0 pt-0"> The 2019 Vienna Symposium </h2>
-			''Tathāgatagarbha'' doctrine and the concept of buddha-nature continue to be of interest to academics, traditional scholars, and practitioners of Buddhism around the world, and a recent series of books, articles, and meetings have brought new energy and interesting information to light that requires continued discussion and analysis. To that end, Tsadra Foundation partners with the University of Vienna to host a symposium on the topic.
+			Over the last decade, there has been increased attention to the tathāgatagarbha doctrine, which proposes that all sentient beings are already a “buddha within,” or at least have the potential to attain buddhahood. Scholars in Asia, Europe, and the Americas have published new translations and studies of the foundational scriptures and commentaries, and are examining the history and literature of the doctrine. In July 2019 Tsadra Foundation partnered with the University of Vienna to bring many of these scholars together for an international symposium titled Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia.
-			The ''tathāgatagarbha'' doctrine, which proposes that all sentient beings are already a “buddha within,” or at least have the potential to attain buddhahood, was first largely ignored in Indian scholastic Buddhism, but increasingly attracted the attention of Mahāyāna scholars and became an important, if sometimes controversial, current of Buddhist thought throughout Central and East Asia. With the Mahāyāna goal of establishing all sentient beings in buddhahood, the possibility of enlightenment became a Buddhist axiom of central importance. Either one has to explain the causal process of buddhahood’s production, or accept its primordial existence, for example in terms of a buddha nature (''tathāgatagarbha''). The latter also applies, of course, when buddhahood is not taken to be produced from scratch. The way the process of becoming a buddha is addressed is an ideal touchstone for systematically comparing the philosophical hermeneutical positions of various masters in Central and East Asia. The diversity of views on buddha-nature has its roots already in early Indian Buddhism; depending on whether one follows the original intent of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtras, or the Yogācāra interpretation of the latter, buddha-nature can refer to either an already fully developed buddha, or the naturally present potential (''prakṛtisthāgotra'') or natural luminosity of mind, i.e., sentient beings’ ability to become buddhas. In Madhyamaka, buddha-nature was taken either as a teaching of provisional meaning (''neyārtha'') or simply a synonym of emptiness (i.e., a non-affirming negation).
+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.
-			This symposium will look at the differing forms ''tathāgatagarbha'' doctrine assumed as its primary Indian scriptural sources were translated and transmitted throughout Central and East Asia and variously interpreted by religious schools in line with their key philosophical positions. The contributions range from the historical-philological analysis of the primary sources to issues of reconstruction and comparison in the target languages and cultures with particular attention to the role the ''tathāgatagarbha'' doctrine played in the development of Buddhist philosophical and religious views in India and beyond.
+All presentations were recorded, and the videos are available below. Organizers are planning on publishing the proceedings of the symposium in book form, and for this reason transcripts of the talks are not being released.
 			<h2> The Symposium Sessions </h2>

Difference between revisions of "Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia"

Revision as of 16:17, 26 September 2019

The 2019 Vienna Symposium

The Symposium Sessions

Photo Gallery

July 16th 2019 - Welcome Reception

July 17th 2019 - Day One

July 18th 2019 - Day Two

July 19th 2019 - Day Three

Contents