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

Gwen Witt Dorring — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 06:22:09 +0000

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, recognized, and ultimately merged with the dharmakāya. ’Jig rten mgon po offers a five-fold typology of luminosity: the luminosity of the basis, the path, dream, the bar do, and the ultimate. In this text, he explicitly explains that the luminosity of the basis is the nature of mind, described in terms of buddha-nature, and is none other than the dharmakāya itself. ’Jig rten mgon po goes on to explain the process of “merging” this basis with the path luminosity by way of pointing out instructions, which subsequently merges with the dream and bar do states naturally through direct recognition. Finally, this (collective) recognition of the basis is to be merged with the ultimate luminosity, the dharmakāya. ’Jig rten mgon po thus offers a framework for how the different types of tantric and non-tantric luminosity as understood in the early Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā tradition can be merged by taking the nature of mind as both the basis for Buddhahood and ultimately inseparable from the fruit of the dharmakāya.

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.

Jigten Gonpo – Tsadra Conferences

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

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