https://conference.tsadra.org Buddhist Conferences Thu, 17 Nov 2022 06:39:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.11 https://conference.tsadra.org/session/the-impact-of-a-shentong-gzhan-stong-interpretation-of-tathagatagarbha-doctrine-from-the-point-of-view-of-a-western-buddhist-practitioner/ Fri, 13 Sep 2019 06:28:11 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=17486 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.

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