Category:Editorial Content

A lengthy historical survey of buddha-nature theory through the literature and traditions, based on academic scholarship.

Ostensen, Morten. "Continuum vs. Teachings: Discrepancies in the Translation of the Term Tantra (rgyud) in the Subtitle of the Ratnagotravibhāga." Buddha-Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, July 9th, 2019. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/Continuum_vs._Teachings.

Although Tsongkhapa did not author a commentary on the Ultimate Continuum, his main student and successor at his main seat of Ganden, Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen, composed an elaborate commentary on the Ultimate Continuum.

With roots stretching back to the eighth century, the notion of tathāgatagarbha was initially introduced into the lexicon of what would become the Nyingma tradition through scholastic works that sought to reconcile the philosophy of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra, as well as through tantric literature that presented advanced paradigms for the path and the immediacy of enlightenment. Over the centuries these two streams of influence wove themselves together to help form the basis of a unique synthesis of sūtra-based philosophical inquiry and tantric theories of praxis that would come to define the Nyingma approach. At the pinnacle of this system are the teachings of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, the supreme vantage to which all these intertwined approaches aspire. As such, this lofty perspective has a tendency to draw everything it encounters into its fold and reimagine it in its own image. The relationship between Dzogchen and buddha-nature is one example of this trend, though one which is deeply intertwined with the development of the Nyingma view. Read more here.

Ostensen, Morten. "Introduction to Mahāmudrā and Buddha-Nature." Buddha-Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, August 23, 2019. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/Introduction_to_Mah%C4%81mudr%C4%81_and_Buddha-Nature.

Ostensen, Mort. "Introduction to Other-Emptiness and the Great Middle Way." Buddha-Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, August 23rd, 2019. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/Introduction_to_Other-Emptiness_and_the_Great_Middle_Way.

The Tibetan traditions generally divide the primary modes of exegesis on the Ratnagotravibhāga into two lines of transmission known as the analytic tradition (thos bsam gyi lugs) and the meditative tradition (sgom lugs). These two traditions originated with the Tibetan disciples of the Kashmiri master Sajjana—namely, Ngok Lotsāwa and Tsen Khawoche, respectively. Therefore, these two are also commonly referred to as the Ngok tradition (rngog lugs), representing the scholarly or analytic approach, and the Tsen tradition (btsan lugs), representing the more practice-oriented meditative approach. Alternatively, Jamgön Kongtrul, in his encyclopedic work commonly known as the Treasury of Knowledge, refers to Ngok's tradition as "the oral transmission of exposition" (bshad pa'i bka' babs) and Tsen’s tradition as "the oral transmission of practice" (sgrub pa'i bka' babs). Though it is likely the diverging motivations of these two figures in requesting these teachings from their mutual teacher that would set these traditions on their respective trajectories. Read more here.

An original essay on Lhodrak Dharma Senge's Commentary on the Ultimate Continuum by Tsadra Foundation's writer-in-digital-residence, Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho.

An introduction to the Awakening of Faith

The Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra is one of the main sources for buddha-nature theory in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism (in China, the Awakening of Faith was of much greater importance). This article summarizes what is known about the textual tradition, author, and date of its composition and translations.

Scholars of Buddhism writing in European languages have celebrated, derided, and frequently misinterpreted the doctrine of tathāgatagarbha for well over a hundred years. While some have seen it as a crucial theoretical step to explain how deluded, impure sentient beings can become buddhas, others have dismissed the entire idea as non-Buddhist. Following Chinese and Tibetan scholiasts, Western scholars have labeled tathāgatagarbha as either Yogācāra or Madhyamaka, although most now understand that the doctrine arose independently of either of these main Mahāyāna schools. The philosophical question of whether ultimate reality can or should be described in positive terms, and the ethical matters of faith and practice all come to the fore in discussions of tathāgatagarbha, and scholars have for the most part spent the last century explicating the scripture and commentary that have sought to make sense of it all. To the degree that academics have assumed the role of interpreting Buddhist doctrine to Western audiences, tathāgatagarbha—“buddha-nature” to the popular reader—seems now to be the foremost shared interest of the academic and the practitioner. This essay attempts to be exhaustive, referencing all books, articles, and chapters that take buddha-nature as the primary focus. It discusses only scholarship published in European languages.