The impact of a Shentong interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha doctrine from the point of view of a western Buddhist practitioner
This paper briefly contrasts a Rangtong (rang stong) and Shentong (gzhan stong) interpretation of Buddhism and looks at how the Shentong interpretation of Tathāgatagarbha doctrine impacts on the understanding and practice of westerners, taking into account the way the translation of key terms into English is affecting the way they are understood and used. Some consideration is given to how Tathāgatagarbha doctrine relates to the earliest accounts of what the Buddha taught and how the seeds of the controversy around Tathāgatagarbha and the Shentong interpretation of Buddhism was present even at the time of the Buddha. This relates to how the tradition has interpreted the Buddha’s teaching on not-self over the millennia up until today. We have ended up with two very different versions of what Buddhism is about and what Tathāgatagarbha means and this relates to the impact Buddhism as a whole is likely to have on modern thought in general.
Event: Vienna Symposium 2019 – Paper Presentation
Date: July 18, 2019 – 9:00 am
Speaker: Shenpen Hookham
Topics: Buddha Nature, Practitioner, Shentong
Shenpen Hookham
Awakened Heart Sangha
Lama Shenpen Hookham is the founding lama of the Awakened Heart Sangha and principle teacher of the Living the Awakened Heart training. Lama Shenpen has trained for over 50 years in the Mahāmudrā & Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. She has spent over 12 years in retreat and has been a student of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the foremost living masters of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, since the late 70s. Lama Shenpen has translated a number of Tibetan texts into English for her students. On Khenpo Rinpoche’s instructions she produced a seminal study of the profound Buddha Nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, published as The Buddha Within (SUNY 1991) and gained a doctorate in this from Oxford University. She is also the author of There’s More to Dying than Death (Windhorse 2006) plus several articles including The practical implications of the Doctrine of Buddha Nature (SOAS The Buddhist Forum Volume II, 1991) plus Spiritual Authority - a Buddhist perspective (Buddhist Christian Studies volume 30, 2010).
