Welcome Speech of the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:20-07:00Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Mathes, the Head of the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, introduces the Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia Symposium by reviewing his initial encounters with and research on the five treatises of Maitreya and his longstanding interest, in particular, the Ratnagotravibhāga, also known as the Uttaratantra Śāstra. He notes that “Buddha-Nature is an ideal touchstone for systematically comparing the philosophical positions and hermeneutical systems of various masters of central and east Asia.” The topic thus becomes a particularly interesting lens with which to look at Buddhist thinkers and schools throughout history. Thanks […]
Tathāgatagarbha: A Brief History
Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:39:20-07:00A term of indefinite meaning and uncertain origin, tathāgatagarbha is one of the most inspiring, provocative, and controversial concepts in the vast literature of Buddhism. Variously interpreted as the promise of buddhahood for all, the promise of buddhahood for some, and a provisional teaching for those intimidated by emptiness, it has generated commentary from across the Mahāyāna world among many of the most influential masters of India, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan. This lecture will seek to provide an overview of the history and influence of tathāgatagarbha.
Zhang ston Bsod nams grags pa’s Defense of Dol po pa’s Clear-Cut Distinction between Buddha Nature and the Ground Consciousness
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:21-07:00Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan’s (1292-1361) doctrinal position is well known for its clear-cut distinction between an ultimate, unconditioned buddha-nature, which is identical with the ultimate and buddhahood, and the conditioned ground consciousness (ālayavijñāna), including all saṃsāric states of mind emerging from it. This strict distinction excludes from the ultimate anything dependently arisen. Dol po pa’s disciple Zhang ston Bsod nams grags pa (1292-1370) defends his master’s view by addressing opposing statements in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra and the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra that equate buddha-nature with the ground consciousness. Zhang ston’s discussion constitutes the major part of the introduction to his commentary […]
Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature.
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:21-07:00Without ever straying more than a few kilometres from the valleys of the ‘Dzam thang area of southern A mdo where he was born, a stronghold of the Jo nang tradition, Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) had a very sedentary life. Still, he was exposed to a broad range of philosophical views through teachers, such as ‘Ba’ mda’ dGe legs (1844-1904) and Ngag dbang chos ‘byor (1846-1910), who also appreciated dGe lugs scholasticism and who had studied with some of the most prominent bKa’ brgyud and rNying ma authorities of the 19th century, such as Kong sprul (1813–1899), dPal sprul […]
Buddha Nature as Seen by Early Bka’ brgyud Masters
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:21-07:00Sgam po pa (1079-1153), whose way of teaching had such an impact on his disciples that the traditions evolving from them were all summed up under the umbrella Dwags po Bka’ brgyud, is well known for his Precious Ornament of Liberation (Thar pa rin po che’i rgyan). He begins this Mahāyāna manual by emphasizing that the very basis for the spiritual process culminating in awakening is *sugatagarbha and proceeds to identify buddha-nature with emptiness. On a first glance this seems to resemble presentations of buddha-nature from a negating perspective. However, in a number of his other teachings recorded by his […]
The Difference Between a Sentient Being and a Buddha: ’Jig rten gsum mgon’s Instruction on the Process of Confusion
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:22-07:00This paper will present the text Phyag chen ’khrul pa rtsad gcod ’khrul lugs ngos ’dzin gyi gdams pa (A Mahāmudrā Investigation into Confusion: An Instruction for Identifying the Process of Confusion) by ’Jig rten gsum mgon. This text explains what differentiates sentient beings from buddhas and how they are ultimately inseparable. The disciple Mkhan po Bzod pa asks his teacher to clarify where confusion comes from and which came first: a buddha or a sentient being. ’Jig rten gsum mgon answers that neither came first, that there is no difference in terms of time between the two, and that […]
Uttaratantraśāstra: A New French Translation from Tibetan According to ‘Jam mgon Kong sprul’s Commentary
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:22-07:00Christian and Patrick have recently finished a new translation of ‘Jam mgon Kong sprul’s commentary on the Uttaratantrashastra into French, Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule, which will be available at the symposium. Christian and Patrick will share insights from their work on this new translation.
Christian and Patrick have recently finished a new translation of ‘Jam mgon Kong sprul’s commentary on the Uttaratantrashastra into French, Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule, which will be available at the symposium. Christian and Patrick will share insights from their work on this new translation.
Linguistically, our main challenge has been […]
Sentient Beings Within: Buddha-Nature and the Great Perfection
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:22-07:00This paper describes the status of a sentient being in the buddha rather than how the buddha, or buddha-nature, exists in sentient beings. It focuses in particular on how buddha-nature is interpreted by Mi pham (1846-1912) in light of his tradition of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen). The qualities of a buddha, as present or not at the time of a sentient being, is an issue closely associated with Madhyamaka debates in Tibet around “other-emptiness” (gzhan stong) and “self-emptiness” (rang stong). A position that accepts that the qualities of the buddha are primordially present, unconditioned, and thus not newly produced, […]
Buddha-Nature and Selfhood
Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:23-07:00The eighth Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje’s (1507–1554) prolific writings on tathāgatagarbha contain several extended disquisitions on the topic of how buddha-nature relates to different conceptions of selfhood. On the one hand, he broadly rejects, along the lines of standard Madhyamaka critiques of the belief in self (ātmagrāha), any equation between buddha-nature and a self. While his critiques take in the controversial current of early Indian buddha-nature theory that had equated buddha-nature with a true self, their primary target is ‘Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal’s (1392-1481) identification of buddha-nature with a subtle self, which was allegedly made […]
