Provisional or definitive

From Buddha-Nature
Topic: Provisional or definitive

Books

Book
The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet. (Source: SUNY Press)
Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017.

Source Texts

Text
Sakya Paṇḍita: Distinguishing the Three Vows
Written circa 1232 when the author was about fifty years old, it is an expansive treatise on the three vows pertaining to the three vehicles of Buddhism that is one of Sakya Paṇḍita's most important and influential works. Nevertheless, it was controversial in its time for the criticism the author levels against the philosophical positions of various scholars and schools of thought.
Text
 Four Works including Exegesis on the Uttaratantra Entitled the Sun Previously Unseen
Four works including an exegesis on the Uttaratantra by an important Sakya scholar known for taking, at times, controversial stances that challenged the philosophical positions of even his own school. These works, thus, represent a unique view of buddha-nature that is unconfined by the sectarian affiliations that otherwise dominated the Tibetan philosophical landscape.
Text
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo: Illuminating the Definitive Meaning of the Uttaratantra
This work presents a late (14th century) Kadampa view on the Ratnagotravibhāga and the associated buddha-nature teachings by an influential representative of this tradition, often referred to as "the second Asaṅga" (thogs med gnyis pa).
Text
Butön Rinchen Drup: Ornament That Illuminates and Beautifies the Tathāgata Heart
Butön's study on the theory of the tathāgatagarbha written in 1359. In this text he argues that the teachings on buddha-nature are of an expedient or provisional meaning, which is a position that is typical of the Sakya view as set forth by Sakya Paṇḍita and others. He backs up this position with citations from the Ghanavyūhasūtra, the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, the Śrīmālādevīsūtra, the Aṅgulimālīyasūtra, and the Ratnagotravibhāga.
Text
Tanak Rinchen Yeshe: Illumination of the Definitive Meaning: A Commentary on the Uttaratantra in Relation to the Sūtras
A voluminous commentary on the Uttaratantra, which, as its title suggests, presents the treatise as a definitive work and elucidates it vis-a-vis the sūtras that are cited within it. It is noteworthy for its scholarship, as an early example of a Tibetan locating the scriptural source material of the Uttaratantra, as well as being widely considered an influential precursor to Dölpopa's treatment of the text.

Interviews

Interview
Karl Brunnhölzl Interview on Buddha-Nature
Karl Brunnhölzl discusses buddha-nature and it's related concepts in an interview with Marcus Perman of Tsadra Foundation.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Karl Brunnhölzl Interview on Buddha-Nature” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 61:42.
Interview
The Purpose of the Buddha-Nature Teachings by Anne Burchardi: Conversations on Buddha-Nature
Anne Burchardi and Lopen Karma Phuntsho discuss the purpose of the buddha-nature teachings in the context of Kagyu and Nyingma traditions and beyond. Handout Available: See an artist's modern rendition of the traditional examples of buddha-nature from the sutras.
Burchardi, Anne. "The Purpose of the Buddha-Nature Teachings." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 18, 2021. Video, 1:06:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmSkPtq3nRg.
Interview
Wulstan Fletcher Interview on Buddha-Nature
Wulstan Fletcher discusses buddha-nature and it's related concepts in an interview with Marcus Perman of Tsadra Foundation.

Multimedia

Video
Anne Burchardi: On the Provisional or Definitive Nature of the Buddha-Nature Teachings
Burchardi, Anne. "On the Provisional or Definitive Nature of the Buddha-Nature Teachings." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 18, 2021. Video, 3:37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDfD6gzolX4.
Burchardi, Anne. "On the Provisional or Definitive Nature of the Buddha-Nature Teachings." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 18, 2021. Video, 3:37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDfD6gzolX4.
Video
Dorji Wangchuk: Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture? On the Views of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture? On the Views of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 10:19. https://youtu.be/zWtzs-1-S4Q.
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture? On the Views of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 10:19. https://youtu.be/zWtzs-1-S4Q.
Video
John Canti: How Does Mipham View the 2nd and 3rd Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma?
Canti, John. "How Does Mipham View the 2nd and 3rd Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 1:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKtdyH0JJdI.
Canti, John. "How Does Mipham View the 2nd and 3rd Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 1:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKtdyH0JJdI.
Video
John Canti: On the Uttaratantra in Relation to the Other Works of Maitreya
Canti, John. "On the Uttaratantra in Relation to the Other Works of Maitreya." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 20:49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EHovcbdGAg.
Canti, John. "On the Uttaratantra in Relation to the Other Works of Maitreya." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 20:49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EHovcbdGAg.
Video
On Chapter 1 Verse 28 of the Uttaratantra by Karl Brunnhölzl
Karl Brunnhölzl, author of When the Clouds Part, discusses chapter 1 verse 28 of the Uttaratantrashastra, the famous verse in this text which talks about the three reasons all sentient beings have buddha-nature.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “On Chapter 1 Verse 28 of the Uttaratantra.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 5:50. https://youtu.be/6ZTHfbtX5Z8.
Video
On Mipham and the Nyingma Approach to Buddha-Nature by Wulstan Fletcher
Wulstan Fletcher discusses Mipham's view of buddha-nature. He describes how he was influenced by Longchenpa's view of the inseparability of the second and third turnings of the wheel of the Dharma. He goes on to discuss Mipham's approach to the two truths (conventional and ultimate), in particular the way in which ultimate reality is described as the union of the two truths. Buddha-nature, he explains, is that which transcends the duality of permanence and impermanence. It is a permanence that transcends this binary. However, for Mipham, and more generally for the Nyingma, buddha-nature is not to be understood as a "real" substantive thing. Nor is it to be understood as a nonaffirming negation, as a mere emptiness.
Fletcher, Wulstan. “On Mipham and the Nyingma Approach to Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 19:04. https://youtu.be/ZUquZdCSXA8.
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