Gishin Tokiwa
Tokiwa Gishin began studying Buddhism in 1944, becoming a member of the forerunner of the F.A.S. Society. After graduation he taught English as a second language for students while studying Buddhism. He has translated into English Zen and the Fine Arts and Jueguan-lun, and into modern Japanese both a work by Hakuin and the Lankavatara sutra. (Source Accessed Jan 15, 2021)
Library Items
The Tathāgata-Garbha as the Fundamental Subject of the Four Satyas
No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:
I understand the phrase 'tathagata-garbhaḥ' as the womb that gives birth to tathāgatas, the womb for tathāgatas, which is a conclusion I have arrived by taking into consideration the contents of scriptures down to the Laṅkāvatāra sūtra, as well as the latter's expression, 'garbhas-tathāgatānām' (VI k. la).
Previously I understood the phrase (t. g.) as tathāgata abiding in the womb, which now I find inappropriate because it does not cover the whole phrase, the key-point of which is that the womb is empty of the thick coverings of kleśas.
For the understanding of the phrase t. g. I went through Śākyamuni's life-stories like the Mahāvastu (MV) and the Lalitavistara (LV), the Māyā chapter of the Gaṇḍavyūha (GV), the Śūraṃgama-samādhi sūtra (sss), the Tathāgata-garbha sūtra (TG), the Mahāparinirvāṇa sūtra of mahāyāna (MPN), the Śrīmālādevi-siṃhanāda sūtra (SM), and the Laṅkāvatāra sūtra (LS). Now I am certain that it constitutes the core of the philosophy of religion of Buddhism. (Tokiwa, preliminary remarks, 13)
I understand the phrase 'tathagata-garbhaḥ' as the womb that gives birth to tathāgatas, the womb for tathāgatas, which is a conclusion I have arrived by taking into consideration the contents of scriptures down to the Laṅkāvatāra sūtra, as well as the latter's expression, 'garbhas-tathāgatānām' (VI k. la).
Previously I understood the phrase (t. g.) as tathāgata abiding in the womb, which now I find inappropriate because it does not cover the whole phrase, the key-point of which is that the womb is empty of the thick coverings of kleśas.
For the understanding of the phrase t. g. I went through Śākyamuni's life-stories like the Mahāvastu (MV) and the Lalitavistara (LV), the Māyā chapter of the Gaṇḍavyūha (GV), the Śūraṃgama-samādhi sūtra (sss), the Tathāgata-garbha sūtra (TG), the Mahāparinirvāṇa sūtra of mahāyāna (MPN), the Śrīmālādevi-siṃhanāda sūtra (SM), and the Laṅkāvatāra sūtra (LS). Now I am certain that it constitutes the core of the philosophy of religion of Buddhism. (Tokiwa, preliminary remarks, 13)
Tokiwa, Gishin. "The Tathāgata-Garbha as the Fundamental Subject of the Four Satyas." Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) 33, no. 1 (1984): 13–18. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk1952/33/1/33_1_403/_pdf/-char/en.
Tokiwa, Gishin. "The Tathāgata-Garbha as the Fundamental Subject of the Four Satyas." Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) 33, no. 1 (1984): 13–18. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk1952/33/1/33_1_403/_pdf/-char/en.;The Tathāgata-Garbha as the Fundamental Subject of the Four Satyas;tathāgatagarbha;Gishin Tokiwa;