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

Gwen Witt Dorring — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 06:20:36 +0000

‘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 independent work on buddha-nature by ‘Jig rten gsum mgon, the topic is widely discussed in the Single Intention. Relevant themes include the relation between buddha-nature and emptiness, the qualities that buddha-nature possesses, that it is of virtuous nature and worthy of dedication, and the defense of a single potential (rigs gcig) and a single vehicle (theg pa gcig).
Drawing on texts such as the two earliest commentaries on the Single Intention by direct disciples of ‘Jig rten gsum mgon and other records of his teachings, this paper provides an overview of this pivotal thinker’s view on buddha-nature. It thus aims to shed further light on the early Mahāmudrā tradition of Tibet, with a particular focus on its meditative approach (sgom lugs) to buddha-nature literature.

Approaches to Transmission in the West: A Discussion with Contemporary Shedra Students

Marcus Perman — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 06:00:18 +0000

There are significant barriers to western people looking to study at the highest level in the Tibetan Buddhist world. Would you enroll in a Tibetan monastic college in India or Nepal? Meet four westerners who did just that, many of whom still continue their decade of rigorous study today. This public session was facilitated by Robert Miller, who was director of education at a monastery in India, and features four western students from Tibetan monastic colleges: Katrin Querl (Drikung Kagyu College, Dehra Dun), Simon Houlton (Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala), Matt Weiss (Sera Je Monastic University, Bylakuppe), and Gerd Klintschar (Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu).

Katrin Querl – Tsadra Conferences

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

Approaches to Transmission in the West: A Discussion with Contemporary Shedra Students