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A Direct Path to the Buddha Within

Translation of The Commentary on the Treatise “Mahāyāna-Uttaratantra”: The Mirror Showing Reality Very Clearly

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Maitreya’s Ratnagotravibhāga, also known as the Uttaratantra, is the main Indian treatise on buddha nature, a concept that is heavily debated in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. In A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, Klaus-Dieter Mathes looks at a pivotal Tibetan commentary on this text by Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal, best known as the author of the Blue Annals. Gö Lotsāwa, whose teachers spanned the spectrum of Tibetan schools, developed a highly nuanced understanding of buddha nature, tying it in with mainstream Mahāyāna thought while avoiding contested aspects of the so-called empty-of-other (zhentong) approach. In addition to translating key portions of Gö Lotsāwa's commentary, Mathes provides an in-depth historical context, evaluating Gö’s position against those of other Kagyü, Nyingma, and Jonang masters and examining how Gö Lotsāwa’s view affects his understanding of the buddha qualities, the concept of emptiness, and the practice of mahāmudrā. (Source: Wisdom Publications)

Citation	Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.

Ngog Loden Sherab's Analytical Interpretation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''

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The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''

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The Zhentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga

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Table of Contents About the Book Texts Translated Quotes

• Abbreviationsviii
• Prefaceix
• Introduction1
  • General Remarks1
  • Delimitation of the Subject and Methods Employed3
  • The Ratnagotravibhāga and Its Vyākhyā7
  • The Reaction of Mainstream Mahāyāna to the Theory of Buddha Nature17
• Part I:The Tibetan Historical Context
  • 1. The Development of Various Traditions of Interpreting Buddha Nature25
    • Ngog Loden Sherab's Analytical Interpretation of
      the Ratnagotravibhāga25
    • Ratnagotravibhāga Commentaries in the Meditation Tradition32
    • The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga34
    • The Zhentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga45
  • 2. Various Positions Related to Zhönu Pal's Interpretation49
    • The Position of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé51
    • The Position of Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen75
    • The Position of Sabzang Mati Panchen84
    • The Position of Lodrö Tsungmé91
    • The Position of Longchen Rabjampa98
    • The Position of Barawa Gyaltsen Palzang113
    • A Comparison of the Positions125
  • 3. A Short Account of the Most Important Events in Zhönu Pal's Life131
• Part II: Translation
  • 4. Zhönu Pal's Ratnagotravibhagavyākhya Commentary151
    • Translator's Introduction151
    • Technical Notes154
    • The Commentary on the Treatise "Mahāyāna-Uttaratantra": The Mirror
      Showing Reality Very Clearly (Introduction and Initial Commentaries)157
      • Introduction157
      • The Commentary for Those with Sharp Faculties169
      • The Commentary for Those with Average Faculties180
        • The Explanation of RGV I.1181
        • The Explanation of RGV I.2204
          • The Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha205
          • Buddha Nature and Its Purification through the Three Dharmacakras214
          • Enlightenment, Buddha Qualities, and Activity309
        • A Short Explanation of RGV I.3312
• Part III. Zhonu Pal's Views on Buddha Qualities, Emptiness and Mahamudra
  • 5. Buddha Qualities317
    • General Remarks317
    • Different Views on Buddha Qualities318
    • The Blossoming of Subtle Qualities320
    • The Examples Used to Illustrate the Growth of the Qualities342
    • The Ontological Status of the Buddha Qualities344
  • 6. Two Types of Emptiness351
  • 7. Zhönu Pal's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga367
    • The Ratnagotravibhāga as a Basis for Mahāmudrā Instructions367
    • The Three Dharmacakras: Mahāmudrā Hermeneutics368
    • The Mahāmudrā Approach of Yogic Direct Valid Cognitions373
    • Sūtra-Based Mahāmudrā Meditation377
      • The First Mahāmudrā Yoga of One-Pointedness381
      • The Second Mahāmudrā Yoga of Freedom from Mental
        Fabrications382
      • The Third Mahāmudrā Yoga of One Taste384
      • The Fourth Mahāmudrā Yoga of Nonmeditation385
      • The Four Mahāmudrā Yogas and the Ratnagotravibhāga386
    • Zhönu Pal's Justification of a Sudden Mahāmudrā Path397
    • Pairs of Paradoxes406
  • 8. Conclusion411
• Notes423
• Table of Tibetan Transliteration555
• Bibliography565
• Subject Index589
• Indian Text Index607

A Direct Path to the Buddha Within is one of a handful of recent densely-presented studies of Tibetan attempts to grapple with the Uttaratantra and tathāgatagarbha theory. Klaus-Dieter Mathes takes as his focus Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal's commentary on the sūtra, the translation of which makes up 165 pages out of the 421 of the book (excluding back matter). Preceding the translation are three introductory chapters on the intellectual context of Gö's work. The translation is followed by three chapters that individually address Mathes' three questions: what are "subtle" buddha qualities, how is buddha-nature related to prājñaparamitā, and how does Gö Lotsāwa read Mahāmudrā into the Uttaratantra and other Yogācāra works? The book assumes a high level of understanding of the issues and is meticulous in its detail and documentation; the footnotes have footnotes.

Mathes argues that Gö's intention with his commentary was to provide a sūtra basis for Mahāmudrā, the otherwise tantric teaching of the Kagyu tradition. There is some irony in this, as Mathes somewhat blithely dismisses what he claims was Longchenpa's attempt to use the same material to find an Indian basis for Dzokchen, an otherwise tantric teaching of the Nyingma tradition. Both great masters did indeed seem hard-pressed to justify the central teaching of their tradition against criticism of Prājñaparamitā-based Madhyamaka adherents in the Sakya and Kadam/Geluk traditions. These criticisms generally centered on the issue of whether the ultimate could correctly be described as possessing qualities of its own or whether emptiness was, in fact, a radical denial of all propositions. Sakya, Kadam, and Geluk writers argued either that the Uttaratantra was provisional—a Yogācāra teaching in need of interpretation—or its teaching on buddha-nature was in line with a Madhyamaka presentation of emptiness, denying the language-positive elements of the scripture.

Gö rejected both of these positions, arguing that the Uttaratantra is consistent with other Third-Turning teachings of Yogācāra and that such teachings are definitive. This was a necessary move in order to conflate cataphatic Yogācāra doctrine with Mahāmudrā: buddha-nature for Gö is not a synonym for emptiness, but rather for "the unfabricated nature of mind" and "luminosity," core Mahāmudrā doctrine. But Gö differentiated his approach from other advocates of a Yogācāra interpretation. He argued against the notion that buddha-nature is fully formed in every sentient being (the "buddha qualities" discussion), advocating instead that buddha-nature is a potential that needs to be developed. We are not like golden statues hidden in mud, but rather like acorns that need water and sunlight to grow into oak trees.

1. 'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal. Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long. In 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā. Nepal Research Centre Publications, 24. Edited by Klaus-Dieter Mathes. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2003.