Verse I.150 Variations
प्रथमात्प्रथमः कायो द्विती याद्द्वौ तु पश्चिमौ
prathamātprathamaḥ kāyo dvitī yāddvau tu paścimau
སྐུ་གསུམ་ཐོབ་པར་འདོད་པ་ཡིན། །
དང་པོའི་སྐུ་ནི་དང་པོ་སྟེ། །
གཉིས་པ་ཡིས་ནི་ཕྱི་མ་གཉིས། །
By virtue of these two dispositions—
The first kāya, by virtue of the first one,
And the latter two, by virtue of the second one.
- On atteint les trois corps de la bouddhéité
- À partir de cette double filiation.
- Le premier corps, de la première ;
- Les deux suivants, de la seconde.
RGVV Commentary on Verse I.150
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Obermiller (1931) [17]
- From these 2 forms of the source of Buddhahood
- The 3 Bodies of the Buddha take their origin,
- From the first arises the first of the Bodies,
- And from the second,—the latter two.
Takasaki (1966) [18]
- From this twofold Germ, it is considered,
- The 3 Bodies of the Buddha are obtained;
- From the first one, the first Body,
- And, from the second, the latter two.
Fuchs (2000) [19]
- The attainment of the three kayas of a buddha
- is seen to stem from the twofold disposition.
- By the first aspect there is the first [kaya],
- through the second there are the latter two.
Textual sources
Commentaries on this verse
Academic notes
- Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input
- Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.
- I follow DP mdzes pa as the meaning of śubha here, which seems to fit best with the two reasons in lines I.151cd.
- With Schmithausen, I follow MB gotrasadbhāvārtham adhikṛtya (supported by DP rigs yod pa’i [don gyi] dbang du byas te) against J gotrasvabhāvārtham adhikṛtya.
- D258, fol. 253b.5–6. The canonical versions of the sūtra literally say, "Now, the tathāgata disposition has entered sentient beings and exists within them, but these sentient beings do not realize this." As Zimmermann (2002, 137) notes, a paracanonical translation of the sūtra from Bathang (which is closer to the Sanskrit as quoted in RGVV here) and the Chinese translation by Amoghavajra read "element" (dhātu) instead of "disposition" (gotra). As for "has entered,"in accordance with what the sūtra says a few lines down, bzhugs ("abides") needs to be emended to zhugs. According to Zimmermann, the expression that the tathāgata element has "arisen"in or "entered"sentient beings is probably influenced by this passage’s being found in the context of the example of a cakravartin in the belly of a destitute woman, which says that life has entered (zhugs) the womb of that woman. The phrases, "exists . . . in the form of their heart (or in the form of an embryo)" (RGVV) and "exists within them" (DP: khong na yod; Bathang: snying po la gnas pa) render the same compound garbhagata. As Zimmermann (ibid., 58–60) points out, both meanings are possible from the point of view of Sanskrit grammar, though the latter is the more reasonable one for an unbiased reader (as confirmed by the Tibetan versions of the sūtra). This is also indicated by the corresponding verse I.123 in the Uttaratantra, which speaks of the cakravartin’s abiding within the womb (garbhāntarasthe) and the tathāgata heart’s abiding within sentient beings themselves (svātmāntarastheṣu) as their protector. However, RGVV’s point here is to identify tathāgatagarbha with dhātu, which is then said to be the cause for attaining buddhahood. Therefore, garbha can here mean only "heart" (or embryo), and it is in support of this meaning that RGVV quotes the passage from the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra.
- D45.48, fol. 275a.3–4. D45.48 reads: "Bhagavan, this tathāgata heart is the heart of the supreme dharmadhātu. It is the heart of the dharmakāya. It is the heart of the supramundane dharmas. It is the heart of the naturally pure dharmas."
- Ibid., fol. 274b.2–4. D45.48 reads: "Therefore, Bhagavan, the tathāgata heart is the abode, support, and foundation of the [qualities] that do not abide as being different [from it], are connected [to it], and are known to be liberated from their cocoon (sbubs nas grol ba’i shes pa can). Bhagavan, thus, the tathāgata heart is also the abode, support, and foundation of the external conditioned phenomena that are not connected [to it], do not abide as being different [from it], and are not known to be liberated (shes pa grol ba ma lags pa)."
- Ibid., fol. 274a.6–7. D45.48 reads: "Bhagavan, if the tathāgata heart exists, the word ‘saṃsāra’ is reasonable" ( ’khor ba zhes mchis na ni tshig de rigs pa lags so). DP has "Bhagavan, if the tathāgata heart exists, it is labeled with the word ‘saṃsāra’" (de la ’khor ba zhes tshig gis btags pa lags so).
- Ibid., fol. 274b.5.
- I follow Schmithausen’s emended reading dharmakāyavipulas tathatā° of MB (dharmakāyavipulas tastatathatā°), which corresponds to DP chos kyi sku ltar rgya che ba, against J dharmakāyavipralambhas tathatā°.
- DP "the Tathāgata"instead of "suchness."
- According to C, J emends MB niravaśeṣayogena saṃvadyatanatija to niravaśeṣayogena sattvadhātāv iti. However, I follow DP khyad par med pa’i tshul du yod do / zhes bya ba’i bar ni (corresponding to nirviśeṣayogena saṃvidyata iti yāvat).
- D258, fol. 248b.6. As Ruegg (1969, 330–31) points out, the same statement is found in several other sūtras with regard to impermanence (Aṅguttara Nikāya I.286), dependent origination (Saṃyutta Nikāya II.25, 60, and 124; Dīgha Nikāya I.190; and the Śālistambasūtra [Sanskrit reconstruction in N. Aiyasvami Sastri, Ārya Śālistamba Sūtra (Adyar: Theosophical Society, 1950), 47]), and the nature of phenomena or suchness. As for the latter, the Daśabhūmikasūtra (Rahder ed., 65) says, "No matter whether buddhas have arrived in the world or not, [this] is just what abides as the true nature of phenomena" and the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines (Sanskrit edition by Nalinaksha Dutt, Calcutta Oriential Series 28 [Calcutta, 1934], 198; D9, vol. ka, fol. 313a.6–313b.1) states, "No matter whether tathāgatas have appeared or whether tathāgatas have not appeared, the true state of phenomena, the nature of phenomena, the dharmadhātu, the flawless dharma, suchness, unerring suchness, suchness that is never other, and the true end abide just as they are."Very similar statements are also found in the prajñāpāramitā sūtras in one hundred thousand and eight thousand lines, the Laṅkāvatārasūtra (for page references, see Ruegg 1969), and the Ratnameghasūtra (D231, fol. 69a.4).
- I follow de Jong’s emendation yayaivam (supported by DP gang gis de lta bu) of J paryāyaḥ evam. In the immediately following phrase, I follow MA reading twice evaitat against J reading twice eva tat.
- As already mentioned, GC (432.21–23) explains that the nature of phenomena is called a "reasonable principle" (yukti) because it is justified that this nature and its bearers definitely are in accordance and are never in discordance. It is a "joining method" (yoga) because it causes the bearers of this nature to be joined with it. It is a "means" (upāya) because the mind will be realized through it.
- DP sems nges par rtogs pa dang / sems yang dag par shes pa la ni / chos nyid kyi rtogs pa dang / chos nyid kyi rigs pa yin no. VT (fol. 13v7–14r1) glosses "realization" (saṃjñāpanaṃ) as prabodhaḥ.
- Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.
- Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.
- Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.