Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia

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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

Increased attention to the tathāgatagarbha doctrine in the last decade has lead to significant publications and meetings on the topic of buddha-nature and related themes. 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 presentations are available here and the edited papers will be published in a collection of essays from Wisdom Publications.

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

Photo Gallery

July 16th 2019 - Welcome

July 17th 2019 - Day One

July 18th 2019 - Day Two

July 19th 2019 - Day Three

See the list of presenters at the 2019 Vienna Symposium