Revisiting Gorampa on Buddha Nature

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:24-07:00

I will share some of my thoughts and understanding of Go rams pa’s interpretation of the concept of buddha-nature presented in his Supplement to the Three Vows. This text was written to critique and clarify what Go rams pa saw as misrepresentations and misunderstandings of the theory of buddha-nature that were prevalent throughout Tibet in the fifteenth century. The Jo nang pa school of Tibetan Buddhism in particular was one of the major subjects of his criticism, whose assertions on buddha-nature he refuted, presenting and defending his own interpretations.

Revisiting Gorampa on Buddha NatureGwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:24-07:00

Selfhood, Secrecy, Singularity: Reassessing the Early Life of the Tathāgatagarbha in India

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:24-07:00

The early history of buddha-nature teaching in India is in the process of some reassessment. Michael Radich’s contention that there is good reason to take the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra as our earliest source for an account of the tathāgatagarbha invites a fresh look at the wider corpus of Indian literature concerned with this expression, and with it the affirmation that what is essential to a Buddha (buddhadhātu) abides in all sentient beings. My research has focused on a revised trajectory of how buddha-nature was conceptualized in the first five hundred years of the Common Era, informed by the hypothetical primacy of Indian […]

Selfhood, Secrecy, Singularity: Reassessing the Early Life of the Tathāgatagarbha in IndiaGwen Witt Dorring2022-11-16T23:39:24-07:00

Examples of the Term tathāgatagarbha Appearing in Indic Tantric Literature

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:07:03-06:00

This presentation focuses on the term tathāgatagarbha appearing in tantric scriptures and commentaries composed by Indic authors. In general, it has been pointed out that the tathāgatagarbha teaching has a strong doctrinal impact on tantric teachings, but actual examples of tathāgatagarbha appearing in tantric literature are rather rare in comparison with other terms of non-tantric Mahāyāna origin, such as the five jñānas of the Buddha, buddha’s bodies, etc. Through this investigation I shall clarify purposes of integration of this term into tantric contexts in each example. I have in my previous article in 2012 dealt with the literature of the […]

Examples of the Term tathāgatagarbha Appearing in Indic Tantric LiteratureGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:07:03-06:00

The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the Dharmakāya

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:07:47-06:00

This paper will present an overview and analysis of ’Jig rten mgon po’s (1143–1217) explanation of luminosity (prabhāsvaratā;’od gsal ba) from his Mahāmudrā perspective in terms of basis, path, and fruit. This is most clearly outlined in his ’Od gsal rnam lnga gcig tu bsre ba’i man ngag, a pith instruction on merging (bsre ba), a genre of Bka’ brgyud teachings generally associated with the nā ro chos drug tradition. While chos drug instructions on luminosity tend to focus on deep sleep tantric practices, this text outlines luminosity in terms of mind’s true nature, which is to be pointed out, […]

The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the DharmakāyaGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:07:47-06:00

How the Concepts of “buddha-nature” (Tathāgatagarbha) and “innate enlightenment” (Hongaku) were interpreted by Shinran (1173-1263), Founder of the Jōdo-Shin-Shū School of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:08:34-06:00

Japan is one of the most prominent Buddhist countries. Located in the Far East, this country’s Buddhism has developed many peculiar characteristics and concepts. One of these specific ideas is the theory of “innate enlightenment” (hongaku), which is closely related in meaning to the term “buddha-nature” (tathāgatagarbha).
The theory of “buddha-nature” insists that since all sentient beings possess the essence of Buddha, they are all capable of becoming enlightened in the future. On the other hand, the theory of “innate enlightenment” admits as a fact that all sentient beings are innately enlightened, or that all phenomena are a manifestation of Buddha. […]

How the Concepts of “buddha-nature” (Tathāgatagarbha) and “innate enlightenment” (Hongaku) were interpreted by Shinran (1173-1263), Founder of the Jōdo-Shin-Shū School of Japanese Pure Land BuddhismGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:08:34-06:00

Preliminary Notes on the Notion of Buddha Nature in the Single Intention

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:11:00-06:00

‘Jig rten mgon po Rin chen dpal or ‘Jig rten gsum mgon (1143-1217) was one of the most influential figures in the intellectual milieu of 12th and 13th century Tibet. Although his teachings that were compiled by his students into the text corpus known as the Single Intention (dGongs gcig) were highly contested by some of his contemporaries, most famously by Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan (1182-1251), on the contrary, other scholars like ‘Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal (1392-1481) reportedly based their Mahāmudrā hermeneutics and exegesis of the Uttaratantra on his works.
Even though there is no […]

Preliminary Notes on the Notion of Buddha Nature in the Single IntentionGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:11:00-06:00

Notes from the Cave: ‘Jigs med gling pa on buddha-nature

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:11:39-06:00

‘Jigs med gling pa (1730-1798) was a key figure in the development of late-period Great Perfection thought in Tibet. His major philosophical work, the Treasury of Precious Qualities (Yon tan rin po che’i mdzod), was much-studied in the years after its composition in 1789. The Treasury’s presentation of Great Perfection ontology is grounded (if you will) in buddha-nature. Perhaps more interestingly, much of ‘Jigs med gling pa’s debate with interlocutors about Great Perfection revolves around buddha-nature rather than Great Perfection per se. ‘Jigs med gling pa was also deeply skeptical about the possibility of expressing anything of value about buddha-nature, […]

Notes from the Cave: ‘Jigs med gling pa on buddha-natureGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:11:39-06:00

Tantric Zhentong Visions of Tathāgatagarbha in Tibetan Kālacakra Yoga Manuals

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:09:19-06:00

This paper investigates the concept of śūnyatā-bimba (stong gzugs), “images of emptiness” or expressions of emptiness in the Kālacakra Tantra, and gives attention to how this phenomenon was interpreted by the Tibetan Kālacakra master Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan (1292-1361) and his immediate disciples to be direct expressions of tathāgatagarbha. We are interested in the tantric epistemology of these “images of emptiness,” textual connections to tathāgatagarbha, and correlative contemplative experiences that are described within Tibetan meditation manuals on the Kālacakra sixfold yoga. As we find in Dol po pa’s writings, as well as by later Jonang authors, these […]

Tantric Zhentong Visions of Tathāgatagarbha in Tibetan Kālacakra Yoga ManualsGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:09:19-06:00

From Buddha Nature to Original Enlightenment “Contemplating Suchness” in Medieval Japan

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:13:07-06:00

Most theories of buddha-nature circulating in medieval Japan entailed the proposition that all phenomena, being empty, are nondual and mutually inclusive, each encompassing and pervading all others without losing its individual character; thus the “buddha” is somehow present in ordinary beings. To many Buddhist thinkers, this suggested the possibility that buddhahood could be attained quickly. “Realizing buddhahood with this very body” (sokushin jōbutsu)—what it might mean, its preconditions, and the practices for achieving it—was vociferously debated. Concern for rapid attainment culminated in the Tendai Buddhist doctrine of original enlightenment (hongaku hōmon), which asserts that buddhahood is not a goal at […]

From Buddha Nature to Original Enlightenment “Contemplating Suchness” in Medieval JapanGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:13:07-06:00

Rong-zom-pa on the Tathāgatagarbha and Pratītyasamutpāda Theories

Gwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:10:16-06:00

The critique of the tathāgatagarbha doctrine by the two Japanese scholars Shirō Matsumoto and Noriaki Hakamaya has compelled scholars engaged in the study of Buddhism to reflect on the Buddhist status of the doctrine. While the agenda and the underlying motives of these two scholars may be different, their dismissal of the tathāgatagarbha doctrine as non-Buddhist may have been inspired by some position found in Tibetan Buddhism. To my knowledge, however, Tibetan Buddhist scholars have never gone to the extent of apodictically rejecting the theory as non-Buddhist while some Tibetan Buddhist (e.g. Dol-po-pa’s or Jo-nang-pa’s) interpretation thereof has certainly been. […]

Rong-zom-pa on the Tathāgatagarbha and Pratītyasamutpāda TheoriesGwen Witt Dorring2022-10-26T05:10:16-06:00