Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra/Root Verses/Verse I.28

Mahāyānottaratantra Verse I.28

Sanskrit (E. H. Johnston)

संबुद्धकायस्फरणात् तथताव्यतिभेदतः।

गोत्रतश्च सदा सर्वे बुद्धगर्भाः शरीरिणः॥२८॥

saṃbuddhakāyaspharaṇāt tathatāvyatibhedataḥ|

gotrataśca sadā sarve buddhagarbhāḥ śarīriṇaḥ||28||

Tibetan (Dege, PHI, 111)

རྫོགས་སངས་སྐུ་ནི་འཕྲོ་ཕྱིར་དང་།།

དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་དབྱེར་མེད་ཕྱིར་དང་།།

རིགས་ཡོད་ཕྱིར་ན་ལུས་ཅན་ཀུན།།

རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན།།

English (Brunnhölzl, 356-357)

Since the perfect buddhakaya radiates,
Since suchness is undifferentiable,
And because of the disposition,
All beings always possess the buddha heart.

Chinese (CBETA T31)

體及因果業　　相應及以行

時差別遍處　　不變無差別

彼妙義次第　　第一真法性

我如是略說　　汝今應善知

English (Takasaki, p. 197)

The Buddha's Body penetrates everywhere,
Reality is of undifferentiated nature,
And the Germ [of the Buddha] exists (in the living beings).
Therefore, all living beings are
Always possessed of the Matrix of the Buddha.

Other English Translations for Comparison

• Listed by date of publication

Obermiller (1931)

The Body of the Supreme Buddha is all-pervading,

The Absolute is (one) undifferentiated (Whole)

And the Germ (of Buddhahood) exists (in every living Being).

Therefore, for ever and anon, all that lives

Is endowed with the Essence of the Buddha.

Guenther (1959)

Because of the permeation of Sambuddhakāya, of the

undifferentiatedness of Tathatā,

And of the existence of families, all sentient beings are constantly

endowed with Buddha-nature.

Ruegg (1969)

En raison de l'irradiation du Corps du Sambuddha, de l'indifferenciation de l'Ainsite et de la Lignee, tous les etres incarnes sont toujours (des) buddhagarbha.

Ruegg (1973)

En raison de l'irradiation par le Corps du buddha parfait, de l'indifferenciation de l'Ainsite et de l'existence du gotra, tous les etres incarnes sont toujours pourvus du buddhagarbha.

Ahmad (1983)

Because of the extension (sphara˚a) of the Awakened Body (of the Buddha); because of its interpenetration (vyatibheda) with Suchness; And because of its embryo, all embodied :beings are eternally the wombs of the Buddha.

Holmes (1985)

The buddha-essence is ever-present in everyone because

the dharmakaya of perfect buddhahood pervades all,

the suchness is undifferentiated and they have the potential.

Guenther (1989)

Because of the pulsation of the gestalt as an awakening process

(evolving like a dissipative structure) in its totality,

Because of (its) inseparability from Being-in-its-beingness, and

Because of (its) existence as a program, all embodied beings

Have within themselves forever this thrust to move in the direction of a total spiritual awakening.

Hookham (1992)

Because the Perfect Buddhakaya radiates,

Because the Tathata is inseparable,

Because the Gotra is present,

All beings have the Essence (garbha) of Buddha.

Holmes (1999)

The buddha-essence is ever-present in everyone because

the dharmakaya of perfect buddhahood pervades all,

suchness is without differences and

they have the potential.

Unlisted Translator on Rigpa Wiki

Because the perfect buddha’s kaya is all-pervading,

Because reality is undifferentiated,

And because they possess the potential,

Beings always have the buddha nature.

{{note Template ideas: <pre> {{Verse |versesktdev1=संबुद्धकायस्फरणात् तथताव्यतिभेदतः<br> गोत्रतश्च सदा सर्वे बुद्धगर्भाः शरीरिणः |versesktdev1source=[http://www.dsbcproject.org/canon-text/content/575/2687 Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon] |versesktrom1=saṃbuddhakāyaspharaṇāt tathatāvyatibhedataḥ<br> gotrataśca sadā sarve buddhagarbhāḥ śarīriṇaḥ |versesktrom1source=[http://www.dsbcproject.org/canon-text/content/575/2687 Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon] |versetib1=རྫོགས་སངས་སྐུ་ནི་འཕྲོ་ཕྱིར་དང་<br> དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་དབྱེར་མེད་ཕྱིར་དང་<br> རིགས་ཡོད་ཕྱིར་ན་ལུས་ཅན་ཀུན<br> རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན |versetib1source=Dege, PHI,111 |DegeLink=https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur/pbs/934147 |nulinesinverse=4 |versetranseng1=Since the perfect buddhakaya '''radiates''', <br> Since '''suchness''' is undifferentiable, <br> And because of the '''disposition''',<br> All beings always '''possess''' the buddha heart. |versetranseng1source=[[When the Clouds Part]], [[Brunnhölzl, K.|Brunnhölzl]], 356-357 |versetranseng2=The Buddha's Body penetrates everywhere,<br> Reality is of undifferentiated nature,<br> And the Germ [of the Buddha] exists (in the living beings).<br> Therefore, all living beings are<br> Always possessed of the Matrix of the Buddha. |versetranseng2source=p. 197 - [[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. |versechinese1=體及因果業　　相應及以行 <br> 時差別遍處　　不變無差別 <br> 彼妙義次第　　第一真法性 <br> 我如是略說　　汝今應善知 |versechinese1source=[http://cbeta.buddhist-canon.com/result/normal/T31/1611_001.htm CBETA T31] }} </pre>}}

Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse I.28

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Charrier, Christian and Patrick Carré. Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule. Plazac: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.

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A Note On Verse Order: See notes in Brunnhölzl, K. When the Clouds Part, page 1076. Some text versions have this verse as verse I.27 and either leave out the verse 27 we have here or put it after this verse as verse 28.

Note 1236 in Brunnhölzl, K. When the Clouds Part: In the Tibetan Editions of the Uttaratantra, this verse follows I.28, and some editions omit it altogether. JKC (50) notes this fact and says that it does belong to the text since Dölpopa, Karma Könshön (a student of the Third Karmapa), Rongtön, Gö Lotsāwa, and others quote and comment on it extensively:

སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས་སེམས་ཅན་ཚོགས་ཞུགས་ཕྱིར།།

རང་བཞིན་དྲི་མེད་དེ་ནི་གཉིས་མེད་དེ།།

སངས་རྒྱས་རིགས་ལ་དེ་འབྲས་ཉེར་བརྟགས་ཕྱིར།།

འགྲོ་ཀུན་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན་ཏུ་གསུངས།།27།།

Commentaries on this verse

Asanga

Karl Brunnhölzl notes that neither the RGVV, nor Vairocanarakṣita’s Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī comment specifically on the meaning of verses I.27 and I.28. (When the Clouds Part, 855.)

Sajjana

Verse 8 of Sajjana’s Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa offers an interesting reformulation/gloss of the first two reasons. Line 8b “since the welfare of sentient beings depends on the victor” corresponds to the first reason (“since buddha wisdom enters into the multitudes of beings” in I.27a and “because the perfect buddhakāya radiates” in I.28a). It highlights the intrinsic affinity between the buddha natures of buddhas and sentient beings, which enables the former to benefit and awaken the latter. In this vein, an interlinear gloss on verse 11 explicitly relates the twofold dharmakāya—“the utterly stainless dharmadhātu and its natural outflow (teaching the principles of profundity and diversity)” in Uttaratantra I.145 (explained by RGVV as “consisting of the arising of [individually] corresponding [forms of] cognizance in other sentient beings to be guided”) to “the perfect buddhakāya radiates . . .” Line 8c “because suchness operates in accordance with the welfare [of beings]” corresponds to the second reason (“since its stainlessness is nondual by nature” in I.27b and “because suchness is undifferentiable” in I.28b). This line emphasizes the active nature of suchness when it is understood as buddha nature, which always engages in the welfare of sentient beings, be it in the form of external buddha activity or as the internal driving force for the path of ordinary beings and bodhisattvas to attain buddhahood.

Ratnākaraśānti

The second chapter of Ratnākaraśānti’s Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣya establishes that the teaching of there being only a single yāna ultimately is of definitive meaning. In this context, he says that the tathāgata heart is only temporarily obscured by adventitious stains and quotes a verse by the Buddha also found in RGVV, Nāgārjuna’s Dharmadhātustava, and Uttaratantra I.28. Ratnākaraśānti concludes that the tathāgata heart is the single disposition that serves as the basis for there being just a single yāna.

Since the dharmadhātu has the meaning of gotra, they are inseparable. Therefore, since all [beings] possess tathāgatagarbha, its fruition is just a single yāna. However, since it was taught as various yānas in the form of progressive means of realization and [since] this gotra does not appear due to [being obscured by] afflictions and so on, temporarily, [the Buddha] spoke of five gotras. For, he said:

Just as within stony debris

Pure gold does not appear,

And then appears through being purified,

The sugata is said [to appear] in the world.

Also noble Nāgārjuna says [in his Dharmadhātustava]:

In a pregnant woman’s womb,

A child exists but is not seen.

Just so, dharmadhātu is not seen,

When it’s covered by afflictions.

Likewise, noble Maitreya states [in his Uttaratantra]:

Because the illuminating dharmadhātu radiates,

There is no difference in suchness,

And the actuality of the disposition appears,

All [sentient beings] possess the sugata heart.

Therefore, just as [described in] the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, though [tathāgatagarbha] is ensnared by afflictions, when the conditions for [its] awakening have formed, all [yānas] are simply a single yāna.

Note that Ratnākaraśānti’s version of Uttaratantra I.28 contains interesting variant readings, especially in lines a and c. Either Ratnākaraśānti paraphrased I.28 in this way himself (or quoted it so from memory) or he used a different manuscript of the Uttaratantra.

Ngog Lotsāwa

Ngog Lotsāwa’s Synopsis of the “Uttaratantra” first elaborates on the example of the huge scroll the size of an entire trichiliocosm that is encapsulated in a single minute particle. Here, the buddha wisdom that exists in the mind streams of sentient beings is the dharmadhātu. This dharmadhātu is wisdom in the sense that the prajñā of buddhas knows, in a single moment, all phenomena to lack characteristics. Therefore, this prajñā is inseparable from what it knows. Thus, the ultimate, this very dharmadhātu, is the wisdom that is aware of this dharmadhātu. Since said dharmadhātu abides in all sentient beings in a complete manner, the example and its meaning are very much justified. When the obscurations have subsided, no characteristics whatsoever are seen, and this very nonseeing is the seeing of true reality. The wisdom of nothing to be seen is nothing but suchness itself. Therefore, it is in this sense justified (that dharmadhātu and wisdom are one).

As for the intention of lines I.28ac, Ngog says that sentient beings possess the tathāgata heart because they (a) possess the fruitional, (b) the natural, and (c) the causal tathāgata heart. (a) The perfect buddhakāya is pure suchness, and its radiating refers to sentient beings’ being pervaded by it. It pervades them because it is suitable to be attained by all sentient beings. From this perspective, the “tathāgata” (in “tathāgata heart”) refers to the actual tathāgata, while it is only in a nominal sense that sentient beings possess the heart of this tathāgata. For those who have the fortune to attain this tathāgatahood are labeled as being pervaded by it. (b) In terms of suchness, both “tathāgata” and sentient beings who possess the tathāgata heart are taken to be the actual suchness. For even when suchness, which is naturally devoid of stains, is associated with adventitious obscurations, it is the nature of a buddha and it definitely abides in the mind streams of sentient beings. (c) In terms of the disposition, “tathāgata” is understood in a nominal sense because the causes for attaining the state of pure suchness—the latent tendencies of virtue that consist of the seeds of prajñā and compassion—are the causes of a tathāgata, whereas it is precisely the disposition that is “the heart of sentient beings.”

Marpa Dopa and Parahitabhadra (as represented in CMW)

CMW’s2723 explanation of I.28 starts by saying that the Uttaratantra is the treatise that determines the meaning of the sūtras of definitive meaning. Therefore, in order to determine the intended meaning of the statement in the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra that "All sentient beings possess the tathāgata heart," first, the comments on the intention of the scriptures of the Tathāgata about the basic element are explained in I.28. Next, CMW indicates that its comments on this verse are based on the purport of verses I.144/147–52/155, which match the dharmakāya, suchness, and the disposition with the nine examples. This is followed by the explanation of the actual words of I.28:

The basic element has three phases—the phase of its being pure, the phase of its being both pure and impure, and the phase of its being impure. The phrase "Since the perfect buddhakāya radiates" refers to the phase of its being pure. [In it,] "kāya" [means] the dharmakāya, which [actually] refers to all three kāyas. "Through what does one know that?" Maitreya himself says [below]:

The dharmakāya is to be known as twofold—

The utterly stainless dharmadhātu

And its natural outflow (teaching

The principles of profundity and diversity).2724

"Radiates" [means] that these three kāyas pervade all sentient beings. "How do they pervade them?" In order to purify the basic element of sentient beings for as long as saṃsāra is not empty, with the dharmakāya’s functioning as the support, the sambhogakāya promotes the welfare [of sentient beings] through pervading the pure retinues who dwell on the bhūmis, and the three [kinds of] nirmāṇakāya perform the welfare [of sentient beings] through pervading the impure retinues. Therefore, the basis to be purified—the [tathāgata] heart or basic element—exists in [all] sentient beings. "Why?" If the basis to be purified—the basic element—did not exist [in sentient beings], their being pervaded by the three kāyas would be pointless. Having that in mind, [Maitreya] says, "All beings always possess the buddha heart."2725 Such is not only explained in the Uttaratantra alone, but the 'Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra' states:

Just as space is asserted to be always omnipresent,

This is held to be always omnipresent.

Just as space is omnipresent in the hosts of forms,

It is omnipresent in the hosts of sentient beings.2726

The phrase, "since suchness is undifferentiable" refers to the phase of the basic element’s being both pure and impure—the naturally pure suchness of buddhas and sentient beings is without any difference. This is declared in the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra [as follows]:

Though it is without difference in everything,

Suchness having become pure

Is the Tathāgata. Therefore,

All beings possess its heart.2727

[The phrase] "since the disposition exists" refers to the phase of the basic element’s being impure—since the disposition of a tathāgata exists in all sentient beings, it abides as what is suitable to give rise to the dharmakāya. Exactly this is explained [in the Uttaratantra] below:

It is held that the three buddhakāyas

Are obtained from these two dispositions—

The first kāya, by virtue of the first one,

And the latter two, by virtue of the second one.2728

The following paragraph represents CMW’s comments on the nature of the basic element as explained in Uttaratantra I.30–31. However, since this paragraph again takes up the three reasons in I.28 and further elaborates on them through connecting them with I.30–31, it is presented here too.

In terms of the particular [characteristics of the nature of the basic element], during the phase of the basic element’s being pure, the dharmakāya radiates into all sentient beings, thus possessing the power to accomplish the goals that sentient beings think about. Therefore, it is similar to a precious gem. During the phase of the basic element’s being both pure and impure, the suchness of buddhas and sentient beings is undifferentiable. Therefore, it is similar to space. During the phase of the basic element’s being impure, the mahāyāna disposition exists in all sentient beings. Therefore, it is similar to water since it moistens the mind streams [of beings] by way of compassion. In terms of its general characteristic, in analogy with these three examples [of a jewel, space, and water] being pure by nature, their meaning refers to the basic element’s being pure by nature.2729

Later,2730 CMW’s comments on I.144/147–52/155 explicitly correlate verses I.145/148–147/150 with line I.28a; verse I.148/151, with I.28b; and verses I.149/152–152/155, with I.28c. In particular, the dharmakāya consists of the actual stainless dharmakāya (suchness endowed with twofold purity) and its natural outflow—the two rūpakāyas. Due to explaining the mahāyāna dharma, the rūpakāyas serve as the concordant cause for others attaining the dharmakāya through studying, reflecting, and meditating on this dharma. Furthermore, since the rūpakāyas represent the result that is concordant with the cause that is the dharmakāya, the dharmakāya itself is also their concordant cause. In terms of ultimate reality, the rūpakāyas teach the profundity of emptiness to bodhisattvas (ultimately, this represents the sambhogakāya). In terms of seeming reality, they explain the diversity of the three yānas (ultimately, this represents the nirmāṇakāya).

Suchness is compared to three attributes of gold—its being pure by nature, its color being changeless, and its being suitable to be made into ornaments (suggesting that, though suchness is undifferentiable in buddhas and sentient beings, it can eventually manifest as all kinds of precious qualities of realization and relinquishment).

As for the disposition, verse I.149/152 is said to describe its essence in terms of the naturally abiding and the unfolding disposition. Just as a treasure exists since the beginning of the world and is not created by humans, the naturally abiding disposition exists since beginningless time and is not created by the efforts of people. Just as a tree grows through water, manure, and so on, the unfolding disposition represents the arising of proper mental engagement such as studying. Verses I.150/153–152/155 present the power or capacity of the disposition. Just as a precious statue is not produced now and all kinds of desired things arise if it is supplicated, the dharmakāya is unproduced by causes and conditions and is a treasure of qualities such as the powers. Just like a prince, the sambhogakāya enjoys the mahāyāna dharma like a kingdom. Just as a golden statue is not an actual body but an image of a body, the nirmāṇakāya arises as an image in samādhi.

This is followed by a discussion of the ālaya and its relation to the disposition,2731 which is primarily based on the first chapter of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha and its commentary Vivṛtagūḍhārthapiṇḍavyākhyā. Being phrased throughout in classical Yogācāra diction, this section is a clear example of an early Tibetan commentary that based on the position of the Indian master Parahitabhadra, explicitly combines the Yogācāra teachings with those on buddha nature, which is exactly what later Tibetans such as the Third Karmapa and virtually all Shentongpas did in great detail. In particular, CMW quotes Parahitabhadra as saying that the ālaya and the disposition are the same—the naturally abiding ālaya’s being the same as the naturally abiding disposition and the adventitious ālaya’s being the same as the unfolding disposition. The ālaya is the foundation of both contaminated seeds and the uncontaminated seeds of the supramundane mind, which coexist like a mix of water and milk. However, the uncontaminated seeds do not exist substantially, are not able to produce manifest uncontaminated results yet, and are not the primary seeds in the ālaya, while the seeds of afflicted phenomena have the opposite characteristics. Therefore, the Mahāyānasaṃgraha refers to the ālaya as the support of afflicted phenomena alone. As for the coexistence of both uncontaminated and contaminated seeds in the naturally abiding disposition or ālaya, until one focuses on this ālaya through the remedial path, the seeds of afflicted phenomena exist in it as adventitious stains. However, once one focuses on this ālaya through the path, the adventitious stains become purified.

Furthermore, CMW’s introduction2732 elaborates on "the three natures" that are used in the three reasons in I.28: (1) the stainless dharmakāya, (2) changeless suchness, and (3) the disposition endowed with qualities. The text also provides instructions on how to work with these three in meditation. First, CMW describes the stainless dharmakāya as follows:

The stainless dharmadhātu of one’s own mind, by its very essence beyond [ordinary states of] mind and inconceivable by thoughts, is the instruction beyond expression on the definitive meaning, that is, the profound that is of one taste. Though this mind—the nature of phenomena free from speech, thought, and expression—is expressed by all kinds of yānas [in different ways], regard it as the definitive meaning of the heart of the matter, luminous mind as such. There are three guiding instructions about this dharmakāya. First, the mind appearing as all kinds of thoughts is the means. This being free from identification is prajñā. Mind’s appearing but being without nature, lucid yet without clinging, is the nondual path. This is [how to] rest in the dharmakāya first. In between, if thoughts arise, their being examined by prajñā is the indication of profundity. In the end, letting them be as lucid wisdom in an uncontrived manner is the indication of guidance through means.

Next, the text explains suchness’s not changing through thoughts in three parts:

(a) With regard to guidance through examples, as the example for [suchness’s] being changeless, consider the sky—no matter how much dust and smoke may arise [in it], the sky is not tainted. Thoughts are like this example. As the example for [suchness’s] being untainted, consider gold—gold is not tainted by a film and stains [on it], which are like thoughts. As the example for [suchness’s] being pure, consider water—if water is not muddied, [this resembles suchness’s] not being muddied by thoughts.

(b) Guidance through the meaning is sixfold. (1) At the time of being a sentient being, the true nature of the mind—suchness—does not change into the stains in its essence, no matter which afflictions and thoughts may arise. If suchness became the stains of thoughts, one would not become a buddha. (2) At the time of being a buddha, [suchness] does not change into qualities—there is no enhancement in the essence of the dharmakāya, which is self-arisen wisdom. If there were, one would not become a buddha through the path. (3)–(4) The stainless true nature of the mind is not tainted by flaws at the time of being a sentient being, nor is it tainted by qualities at the time of being a buddha. [As the Uttaratantra says:]

There is nothing to be removed in this

And not the slightest to be added.2733

[And:]

Similarly, with the treasure of jewels lodged within the mind,

Whose true nature is stainless and without anything to be added or to be removed,

Not being realized, all these beings continuously experience

The suffering of being destitute in many ways.2734

(5) Sentient beings are the adventitious flaws of thoughts. Therefore, one familiarizes with them as being nonentities. (6) Buddhahood is one’s own mind’s being stainless of these adventitious stains of thoughts. [Thus,] one familiarizes with this luminosity of one’s own mind.

(c) You may wonder, "How does one familiarize [with this]?" [One does so through] the three inconceivable [ways of] taking these very [guiding instructions] as the path. (1) At the time of being a sentient being, suchness is naturally pure and the essence of the mind is real as self-arisen wisdom. Through [mind’s] not recognizing its own face, the stains of thoughts arise, which is inconceivable. What one makes a living experience is thoughts being pointed out to be unidentifiable. (2) At the time of being a buddha, naturally stainless mind is real as self-arisen wisdom. Through [mind’s] recognizing its own face, it is free from the adventitious stains of thoughts, which is inconceivable purity. One makes this certainty about natural luminosity a living experience. (3) The [tathāgata] heart—the dharmakāya, self-arisen wisdom—is without distinction in buddhas and sentient beings. Its essence—alpha-pure ultimate luminosity—is the inconceivable nature. The temporary lack of realizing the true nature of the mind is its inconceivable appearance as all kinds of thoughts and flaws for sentient beings. The realization of the true nature of the mind is its inconceivable appearance as the kāyas and wisdoms for buddhas. [Thus,] natural luminosity is to be resolved through the view, temporarily to be made a living experience through familiarization, and thereafter one should train in compassion and bodhicitta.

Finally, the disposition endowed with qualities is discussed in five parts:

(a) The luminosity of one’s own mind is the disposition for the dharmakāya. Since it abides primordially and by nature as buddhahood, it is not that something nonexistent is accomplished. There is not the slightest buddhahood to be added apart from the realization of one’s own mind. (b) To realize thoughts as being adventitious is the sambhogakāya. (c) The arising of compassion for those who do not realize this is the nirmāṇakāya. (d) By virtue of the wisdom of realizing the two rūpakāyas, which is the supreme accomplished disposition, [luminosity] is free from the stains of thoughts—the buddhahood that is the dawn of realization is unceasing. Through realizing one’s own mind, there is not the slightest to be removed because there is no sentient being to be relinquished apart from [mind’s] playing as thoughts without a basis. (e) [The Uttaratantra says]:

It is held that the three kāyas are attained

By virtue of these two dispositions—2735

Therefore, through that, at the time of recognizing one’s own mind as the inseparability of the expanse and wisdom, the following kind of experience arises. Since one’s own mind’s being unidentifiable (the expanse) and its being lucid and unceasing (wisdom) are inseparable, the characteristics [of mind’s nature] are beyond [ordinary states of] mind. Therefore, without thoughts and clinging, [all] that appears and exists dawns as the essence of the three kāyas. This has three parts. (1) The nature of the mind is the dharmakāya—the essence of the minds of all sentient beings in the three realms is real as luminosity. (2) The arising of one’s own realization of this actuality through instructions and familiarization is the sambhogakāya. Through that, though [this luminosity] itself may arise as all kinds of thoughts, one realizes that their essence lacks a root. (3) The arising of compassion without deliberately familiarizing with apprehending the conceptual cognitions of mind to be independent real entities is the nirmāṇakāya. Through various means, this is what arises in the mind stream [as] the bodhicitta that is associated with the thoughts of sentient beings. Those are [the ways of] bringing the naturally luminous [tathāgata] heart onto the path to buddhahood.

Gampopa

Rinchen Yeshé

Butön Rinchen Drub

Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen

Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen

Rongtön Shéja Günsi

Gö Lotsāwa

Śākya Chogden

Dümo Dashi Öser

Mikyö Dorje, the 8th Karmapa

Padma Karpo

Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé

Mipham Rinpoche

Dongag Tenpé Nyima

Surmang Padma Namgyal

Ngawang Kunga Wangchug

Thrangu Rinpoche

Etc Etc

Notes

tathatā - Suchness itself, absolute reality, or thusness, as in the ultimate state of being of phenomena. Skt. तथता Tib. དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་

gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

tathatā - Suchness itself, absolute reality, or thusness, as in the ultimate state of being of phenomena. Skt. तथता Tib. དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་

gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

Uttaratantra - The Ultimate Continuum, or Gyü Lama, is often used as a short title in the Tibetan tradition for the key source text of buddha-nature teachings called the Ratnagotravibhāga of Maitreya/Asaṅga, also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra. Skt. उत्तरतन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་ Ch. 寶性論

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

dharmakāya - "Truth body" or "true being" — One of the three bodies of a buddha. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it often refers to a kind of fundamental principle or the true nature of reality itself. Skt. धर्मकाय Tib. ཆོས་སྐུ་ Ch. 法身

dharmadhātu - The fundamental expanse from which all phenomena emerge. Skt. धर्मधातु Tib. ཆོས་དབྱིངས་ Ch. 法界

advaya - Literally, "without duality," it refers to that which is indivisible, in that it is not divided into two. Skt. अद्वय Tib. གཉིས་མེད་ Ch. 不二

nītārtha - Refers to a teaching that is literally true. Skt. नीतार्थ Tib. ངེས་དོན་

āgantukamala - Mental stains that are not inherent to the nature of the mind but are temporarily present as the residue of past actions or habitual tendencies. It is sometimes iterated as adventitious defilements (Skt. āgantukakleśa, Tib. glo bur gyi nyon mongs), which references the fickle and temporary nature of disturbing emotions that lack an ultimately established basis for existence. Skt. आगन्तुकमल Tib. གློ་བུར་གྱི་དྲི་མ་

Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā - This is the title of Asaṅga's commentary to the Gyü Lama that is given by Tibetan sources instead of the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā. Skt. महायानोत्तरतन्त्रशास्त्रव्याख्या Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པ།

According to the Tibetan tradition this is Asaṅga's commentary to the Uttaratantra.

RGVV - Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt. क्लेश Tib. ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch. 煩惱

sugatagarbha - Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources. Skt. सुगतगर्भ Tib. བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

prajñā - One of the key terms for wisdom or knowledge, most often having the sense of insight, transcendent knowledge, or perhaps gnosis. In some contexts it can also refer to cognition or intellectual understanding. Skt. प्रज्ञा Tib. ཤེས་རབ་ Ch. 般若

āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt. आवरण Tib. སྒྲིབ་པ་

dhātu - A fundamental component or essential constituent. Skt. धातु Tib. ཁམས་ Ch. 界

bhūmi - A plateau of spiritual development. Skt. भूमि Tib. ས་

nirmāṇakāya - An fully enlightened Buddha is said to have the power to manifest in many forms in order to help the sentient beings. The emanation body of a buddha, as the third of the three bodies of a buddha, refers to the many forms in which a buddha can manifest and which are accessible to ordinary sentient beings. Buddhist scholars present four types of emanation bodies: emanation as supreme being, emanation as rebirth, emanation as artisan and emanation in diverse forms. Skt. निर्माणकाय Tib. སྤྲུལ་སྐུ། Ch. 化身

Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt. महायान Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། Ch. 大乘

paramārthasatya - "Ultimate truth" or "absolute truth"; the reality of things as they truly are. Skt. परमार्थसत्य Tib. དོན་དམ་བདེན་པ་ Ch. 第一義諦,眞諦

samudānītagotra - A potential or disposition that is acquired, accentuated, or developed through past karmic actions. Skt. समुदानीतगोत्र Tib. རྒྱས་འགྱུར་གྱི་རིགས་ Ch. 習所成種性

prakṛtisthagotra - The potential for awakening that is inherently present in all beings. Skt. प्रकृतिस्थगोत्र Tib. རང་བཞིན་གནས་རིགས་ Ch. 本性住種性

kun gzhi - Although it is commonly used as an abbreviation of ālayavijñāna (kun gzhi'i rnam shes), in later Tibetan traditions, particularly that of the Kagyu and the Nyingma, it came to denote an ultimate or pure basis of mind, as opposed to the ordinary, deluded consciousness represented by the ālayavijñāna. Alternatively, in the Jonang tradition, this pure version is referred to as ālaya-wisdom (kun gzhi'i ye shes). Skt. आलय Tib. ཀུན་གཞི་

Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt. योगाचार Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་ Ch. 瑜伽行派

trisvabhāva - According to the Yogācāra school, all phenomena can be divided into three natures or characteristics: the imaginary nature (parikalpitasvabhāva), the dependent nature (paratantrasvabhāva), and the perfect or absolute nature (pariniṣpannasvabhāva). Skt. त्रिस्वभाव Tib. རང་བཞིན་གསུམ་

prabhāsvaracitta - The luminous aspect of mind that is often contrasted with its empty aspect. It is often used figuratively to reference the cognizant, or knowing, aspect of mind and sometimes more literally as the natural luminosity of mind and luminous wisdom that is experienced in meditation. Skt. प्रभास्वरचित्त Tib. འོད་གསལ་གྱི་སེམས་ Ch. 光明心

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

bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt. बोधिचित्त Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch. 菩提心

gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性