https://conference.tsadra.org Buddhist Conferences Thu, 17 Nov 2022 06:39:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.11 https://conference.tsadra.org/session/the-difference-between-a-sentient-being-and-a-buddha-jig-rten-gsum-mgons-instruction-on-the-process-of-confusion/ Fri, 13 Sep 2019 06:33:02 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=17482 This paper will present the text Phyag chen ’khrul pa rtsad gcod ’khrul lugs ngos ’dzin gyi gdams pa (A Mahāmudrā Investigation into Confusion: An Instruction for Identifying the Process of Confusion) by ’Jig rten gsum mgon. This text explains what differentiates sentient beings from buddhas and how they are ultimately inseparable. The disciple Mkhan po Bzod pa asks his teacher to clarify where confusion comes from and which came first: a buddha or a sentient being. ’Jig rten gsum mgon answers that neither came first, that there is no difference in terms of time between the two, and that the first buddha is the primordial buddha (ādibuddha), which is the dharmatā (chos nyid), and the first sentient being is the dharmin (chos can). The dharmatā and dharmin is the basis of all (kun gzhi). He explains that the dharmatā exists within all sentient beings, and their confusion is caused by not recognizing that this dharmatā exists within them. Recognizing this dharmatā is to become a buddha according to ’Jig rten gsum mgon. This is a profound text that shows how sentient beings and buddhas are related, how confusion arises that leads to saṃsāra, and how recognition of the true nature of sentient beings is the way to enlightenment. We will discuss the major points of this text and how dharmatā is related to the idea of buddha-nature of the Uttaratantra.

]]> https://conference.tsadra.org/session/sentient-beings-within-buddha-nature-and-the-great-perfection/ Fri, 13 Sep 2019 06:31:23 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=17484 This paper describes the status of a sentient being in the buddha rather than how the buddha, or buddha-nature, exists in sentient beings. It focuses in particular on how buddha-nature is interpreted by Mi pham (1846-1912) in light of his tradition of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen). The qualities of a buddha, as present or not at the time of a sentient being, is an issue closely associated with Madhyamaka debates in Tibet around “other-emptiness” (gzhan stong) and “self-emptiness” (rang stong). A position that accepts that the qualities of the buddha are primordially present, unconditioned, and thus not newly produced, is closely connected to the affirmation of an “other-emptiness” view. While Mi pham accepts this position, he also qualifies his assertion by emphasizing the way that the buddha-nature is also empty, and by making a distinction between the way things are (in which all of the buddha’s qualities are primordially present), and the way things appear (in which the qualities of a buddha are newly produced). This paper considers the way his unique treatment of buddha-nature reflects his legacy of the Great Perfection.

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