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From Buddha-Nature
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A critical edition of Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal's ''Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long''. +
Dr. Peter Skilling and Lopen Karma Phuntsho will discuss a key early quote attributed to the Buddha that serves as a source for buddha-nature teachings, among other things textual, historical, and beyond.<br><br>Peter Skilling is the founder of the Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation (Bangkok). He received a PhD with honors and a Habilitation in Paris (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes). Peter’s publications include numerous articles and several books, including ''Questioning the Buddha'' (Wisdom, 2021), ''How Theravada is Theravada?'' (University of Washington Press, 2012), and ''Mahāsūtras: Great Discourses of the Buddha'' (2 vols., Oxford, The Pali Text Society, 1994 and 1997). His interests include the art and archaeology of South and Southeast Asia, as seen for example in the edited volume ''Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai: Art, Architecture and Inscriptions'' (River Books, Bangkok, 2008). +
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In connection with the Buddha-Nature resource project, Tsadra Foundation hosted a three-day symposium for monastic scholars of different Tibetan Buddhist traditions to discuss buddha-nature, related texts, theories, and practices. The event was held at Shechen Monastery, in the Tibetan language. The event was broadcast live and the proceedings were recorded. More than twenty leading scholars met in person for three days from 8:30 am - 6:00 pm. +
<big><span style="color:#841424">'''This event is finished and you can see all the recordings from it here: [[2023_Buddha-Nature_Conference_Kathmandu|2023 BN Conference]].'''</span></big><br><big>བོད་བརྒྱུད་ནང་བསྟན་ཆོས་ལུགས་རིས་མེད་ཀྱི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་དགོངས་བཞེད་དང་ཉམས་བཞེས་སྐོར་བགྲོ་གླེང་།</big><br>
<span style="color:#841424">'''FINAL'''</span> <br>[[Media:2023 BN Conference Program.pdf|Download the full Program as a PDF here]] and the [[Media:2023 BN Nepal Abstracts and Speaker Profile.pdf|speaker bios and abstracts here]].<br>
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[[Media:2023 BN Conference Program.pdf|བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་ཆོས་འཁོར་ལས་རིམ། - PDF]]<br>
[[Media:2023 BN Nepal Abstracts and Speaker Profile.pdf|གཤེགས་སྙིང་གཏམ་བཤད་བཅུད་དོན་དང་གསུང་བཤད་པའི་རྣམ་ཐར། - PDF]]<br>
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[[File:2023 Buddha-Nature Conference Banner-7-GoldText-Reduced.jpg|800px|link=https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/2023_Kathmandu_Buddha-Nature_Conference]]<br>
<big>June 1-3, 2023</big>
༈ ཙཱ་འདྲ་ཚོགས་པའི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་ཆོས་མཛོད་ཆེན་མོའི་ལས་འགུལ་དང་འབྲེལ་ཏེ། གཞི་ཁམས་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་སྐོར་ཉིན་གསུམ་གྱི་རིང་། བོད་བརྒྱུད་ནང་བསྟན་ཆོས་ལུགས་རིས་མེད་ཀྱི་མཁན་སློབ་དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་རྣམས་གདན་འདྲེན་ཞུས་ཏེ་ཆོས་བརྒྱུད་སོ་སོའི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་དགོངས་བཞེད་ཕྱག་བཞེས་གཞུང་ལུགས་སོགས་ཀྱི་སྐོར་བགྲོ་གླེང་འཚོག་རྒྱུ་ཡིན་ཞིང་། དེ་ཡང་ཞེ་ཆེན་དགོན་པར་བོད་སྐད་ཐོག་གནང་རྒྱུ་དང་། དྲྭ་ལམ་བརྒྱུད་ནས་ཐད་གཏོང་བྱ་འཆར་དང་། གློག་བརྙན་ཐོག་ཕབ་བཟུང་དང་ཕྱིས་ནས་དབྱིན་སྐད་དུ་འགྱུར་རྒྱུ་དང་། མཁས་དབང་མཁན་སློབ་དགེ་བཤེས་ཉི་ཤུ་ལྷག་ཙམ་ཕེབས་ནས་ ཉིན་གྲངས་གསུམ་གྱི་རིང་སྔ་དྲོ་ཆུ་ཚོད་ ༨་༣༠ ནས་ ཕྱི་དྲོ་ཆུ་ཚོད་ ༦ བར་ ཆོས་གླེང་གནང་རྩིས་ཡིན་པས། ཁྱད་དུ་འཕགས་པའི་ཆོས་འཁོར་བགྲོ་གླེང་འདིར་ཕེབས་འདོད་ཡོད་ན[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEPrWbIV4M33f9xJDscpV4D9xUGa1wVBd7lc6QHJkanyFMQQ/viewform?usp=sf_link ་འདི་ལ་]ཐོ་བཀོད་གནང་བར་ཞུ།
[https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/2023_Kathmandu_Buddha-Nature_Conference རྒྱས་པར་དྲྭ་ངོས་འདི་ལ་གཟིགས་པར་ཞུ།]
In connection with the Buddha-Nature resource project, Tsadra Foundation will host a three-day symposium for monastic scholars of different Tibetan Buddhist traditions to discuss buddha-nature, related texts, theories, and practices.
The event will be held at Shechen Monastery, in the Tibetan language. We hope to broadcast it live and record the proceedings, and also provide some translation into English in the future. More than twenty leading scholars are meeting in person for three days from 8:30 am - 6:00 pm. [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEPrWbIV4M33f9xJDscpV4D9xUGa1wVBd7lc6QHJkanyFMQQ/viewform?usp=sf_link Please register here] if you would like to attend in person.
Sessions will also be live-streamed on Zoom.
Sessions will start at 8:30 AM Kathmandu Local Time at the main hall at Shechen.
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<center><big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་གནང་ས། Venue'''</big></center><br>
<center>བལ་ཡུལ་རྒྱལ་ས་ཀཐ་མན་ཌུ་ མཆོད་སྡོང་ཆེན་པོ་བྱ་རུང་ཁ་ཤོར་གྱི་འགྲམ་ ཞེ་ཆེན་བསྟན་གཉིས་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་གི་ལྷ་ཁང་ཆེན་པོ།</center><br>
<center>Main Temple, Shechen Monastery, Bouddhanath, Kathmandu</center>
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<center><big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་གནང་དུས། Date and Time'''</big></center><br>
<center>གནམ་ཆུ་མོ་ཡོས་ལོ་ ཟླ་ ༤ པའི་ཚེས་ ༡༢ ནས་ ༡༤ བར། སྤྱི་ལོ་ ༢༠༢༣ པའི་ཟླ་ ༦ པའི་ཚེས་ ༡ ནས་ ༣ བར།</center><br>
<center>1-3 June, 2023, 12, 13 and 14th of the 4th Tibetan Month.</center>
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<center><span style="color:#03116D"><big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་ལས་རིམ། - Conference Program''' </big></span></center><br>
<center><big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་ཉིན་ ༡ པོ། སྤྱི་ཟླ་ ༦ པའི་ ཚེས་ ༡ ལ། - 1 June 2023'''</big></center><br>
:<span style="color:#841424">8:30 སྒོ་འབྱེད་ཞལ་འདོན་དང་གསལ་བཤད། Opening chants and welcome address </span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">9:00 [[མཁན་པོ་ངག་དབང་བློ་གྲོས།_Khenpo_Ngawang_Lodoe|མཁན་པོ་ངག་དབང་བློ་གྲོས། སྨིན་གྲོལ་གླིང་། Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe, Mindroling - Read the abstract and bio here]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">10:00 གསོལ་ཇའི་བར་གསེང་། - Tea break</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">10:30 [[དགེ་བཤེས་སྐལ་བཟང་བསྟན་སྐྱོང་། Geshe Kalsang Tenkyong|དགེ་བཤེས་ལྷ་རམས་པ་སྐལ་བཟང་བསྟན་སྐྱོང་། སེ་ར་བྱེས། Geshe Kalsang Tenkyong, Sera Je Monastery - Read the abstract and bio here]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">11:30 [[སློབ་དཔོན་དམ་ཆོས་རྡོ་རྗེ། Lopen Damcho Dorji|གསུང་བཤད་གསུམ་པ། - སློབ་དཔོན་དམ་ཆོས་རྡོ་རྗེ། རྟ་མགོ་རྡོར་གདན་བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཐང་ནང་དོན་རིག་པའི་གཙུག་ལག་སློབ་གྲྭ། Lopon Damcho Dorji, Tago Buddhist University - Read the abstract and bio here]]</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">12:30 ཉིན་དགུང་གསོལ་ཚིགས། - Lunch</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">14:00 [[མཁན་པོ་གྲགས་པ་སེང་གེ Khenpo Dakpa Senge|མཁན་པོ་གྲགས་པ་སེང་གེ དབུས་བོད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་སློབ་གཉེར་ཁང་། Khenpo Dakpa Senge, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies]]
:<span style="color:#03116D">15:00 [[དགེ་བཤེས་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར། Geshe Drime Ozer|དགེ་བཤེས་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར། ཇོ་ནང་དགོན་ངེས་དོན་རྟག་བརྟན་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཆོས་འཁོར་གླིང་། Geshe Drime Ozer, Jonang Monastery, Parping]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">16:00 གསོལ་ཇའི་བར་གསེང་། - Tea break</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">16:30 [[དགེ་བཤེས་ངག་དབང་མཚན་བཟང་། Geshe Ngawang Tsesang|དགེ་བཤེས་ལྷ་རམས་པ་ངག་དབང་མཚན་བཟང་། དགའ་ལྡན་ཤར་རྩེ། Geshe Ngawang Tsesang, Ganden Shartse Monastery]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">17:30 མཇུག་བསྡུའི་གསལ་བཤད་དང་སྨོན་ཚིག - Closing chants and remarks</span>
<center><big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་ཉིན་ ༢ པ། སྤྱི་ཟླ་ ༦ པའི་ ཚེས་ ༢ ལ། - 2 June 2023'''</big></center><br>
:<span style="color:#841424">8:30 སྒོ་འབྱེད་ཞལ་འདོན་དང་གསལ་བཤད། Opening chants and address </span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">9:00 [[མཁན་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཚེ་རིང་། Khenpo Tenpa Tshering|མཁན་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཚེ་རིང་། སྔ་འགྱུར་མཐོ་སློབ་མདོ་སྔགས་རིག་པའི་འབྱུང་གནས་གླིང་། Khenpo Tenpa Tshering, Ngagyur Nyingma Institute]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">10:00 གསོལ་ཇའི་བར་གསེང་། - Tea break</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">10:30 [[མཁན་པོ་ཟླ་བ་ཚེ་རིང་། Khenpo Dawa Tsering|མཁན་པོ་ཟླ་བ་ཚེ་རིང་། འབྲི་གུང་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་བྱང་ཆུབ་གླིང་། Khenpo Dawa Tsering, Drikung Kagyu Institute]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">11:30 [[མཁན་པོ་ངག་དབང་ཐོགས་མེད། Khenpo Ngawang Thokmey|མཁན་པོ་ངག་དབང་ཐོགས་མེད། དབུས་བོད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་སློབ་གཉེར་ཁང་། Khenpo Ngawang Thokmey, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies]]</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">12:30 ཉིན་དགུང་གསོལ་ཚིགས། - Lunch </span>
:<span style="color:#841424">14:00 [[སློབ་དཔོན་ཟླ་བ་བཟང་པོ། Lopen Dawa Zangpo|སློབ་དཔོན་ཟླ་བ་བཟང་པོ། ཇོ་ནང་དགོན་ངེས་དོན་རྟག་བརྟན་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཆོས་འཁོར་གླིང་། Lopen Dawa Zangpo, Jonang Monastery, Parping]]</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">15:00 [[དགེ་བཤེས་ངག་དབང་སྟོབས་ལྡན། Geshe Ngawang Topden|དགེ་བཤེས་ལྷ་རམས་པ་ངག་དབང་སྟོབས་ལྡན། སེ་ར་བྱེས། Geshe Ngawang Topden, Sera Je Monastery]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">16:00 གསོལ་ཇའི་བར་གསེང་། - Tea break</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">16:30 [[མཁན་པོ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ནོར་བུ། Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu|མཁན་པོ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ནོར་བུ། སྔ་འགྱུར་མཐོ་སློབ་མདོ་སྔགས་རིག་པའི་འབྱུང་གནས་གླིང་། Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu, Ngagyur Nyingma Institute]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">17:30 མཇུག་བསྡུའི་གསལ་བཤད་དང་སྨོན་ཚིག - Closing chants and remarks</span>
<center><big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་ཉིན་ ༣ པ། སྤྱི་ཟླ་ ༦ པའི་ ཚེས་ ༣ ལ། - 3 June 2023'''</big></center><br>
:<span style="color:#841424">8:30 སྒོ་འབྱེད་ཞལ་འདོན་དང་གསལ་བཤད། Opening chants and Book Launch: '''[[The Life and Works of Kyotön Monlam Tsultrim]]'''. </span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">9:00 [[མཁན་པོ་ཚེ་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། Khenpo Tshewang Sonam|མཁན་པོ་ཚེ་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། འབྲུག་ཐར་པ་གླིང་། Khenpo Tshewang Sonam, Tharpaling Monastery]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">10:00 གསོལ་ཇའི་བར་གསེང་། - Tea break</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">10:30 [[མཁན་པོ་ལྷག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས། Khenpo Lhakpa Yeshi|མཁན་པོ་ལྷག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས། བན་ཆེན་ནང་བསྟན་ཐོས་བསམ་གླིང་། Khenpo Lhakpa Yeshi, Benchen Nangten Thösam Ling Shedra]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">11:30 [[མཁན་པོ་ངག་དབང་འབྱོར་ལྡན། Khenpo Ngawang Jorden|མཁན་པོ་ངག་དབང་འབྱོར་ལྡན། རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་གསུང་རབ་སློབ་གཉེར་ཁང་། Khenpo Ngawang Jorden, International Buddhist Academy]]</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">12:30 ཉིན་དགུང་གསོལ་ཚིགས། - Lunch </span>
:<span style="color:#841424">14:00 [[དགེ་བཤེས་བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ Geshe Lobsang Gyatso|དགེ་བཤེས་་ལྷ་རམས་པ་བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ། རྒྱུད་སྨད། Geshe Lobsang Gyatso, Gyume Monastery]]</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">15:00 [[མཁན་པོ་ཤེས་རབ་ཕུན་ཚོགས། Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho|མཁན་པོ་ཤེས་རབ་ཕུན་ཚོགས། ཁྲ་འགུ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཡང་རྩེ་དགོན་པ། Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho, Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery]]</span>
:<span style="color:#841424">16:00 གསོལ་ཇའི་བར་གསེང་། - Tea break</span>
:<span style="color:#03116D">16:30 [[དགེ་བཤེས་འཇིགས་མེད་རྒྱ་མཚོ། Geshe Jigme Gyatso|དགེ་བཤེས་ལྷ་རམས་པ་འཇིགས་མེད་རྒྱ་མཚོ། འབྲས་སྤུངས་སྒོ་མང་། Geshe Jigme Gyatso, Drepung Gomang Monastery]] </span>
:<span style="color:#841424">17:30 མཇུག་བསྡུའི་གསལ་བཤད་དང་སྨོན་ཚིག - Closing chants and remarks</span>
:<big>'''ཆོས་གླེང་གོ་སྒྲིག་པ། Organizing Team'''</big><br>
:ཀརྨ་ཕུན་ཚོགས། ཆོས་འཁོར་འགོ་འདྲེན་པ། ཙཱ་འདྲ་ཚོགས་པ།<br>
:མར་ཀས་པེར་མན། བཀོད་ཁྱབ་མདོ་ཆེན། ཙཱ་འདྲ་ཚོགས་པ།<br>
:གྭན་ཝིཊ་དོ་རིང། ཡིག་ཚང་འགན་འཛིན། ཙཱ་འདྲ་ཚོགས་པ།<br>
:མཁན་པོ་འགྱུར་མེད་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས། ཞེ་ཆེན་དགོན་པའི་སྤྱི་ཁྱབ་འགན་འཛིན།<br>
:མཁན་པོ་ཉི་མ་སེང་གེ ཞེ་ཆེན་བཤད་གྲྭའི་འགན་འཛིན།<br>
:སློབ་དཔོན་ཀརྨ། ཞེ་ཆེན་ཞིབ་འཇུག་སྡེ་ཚན།<br>
:Karma Phuntsho, Convenor, Tsadra Foundation
:Marcus Perman, Executive Director, Tsadra Foundation
:Gwen Witt-Dorring, Office Manager, Tsadra Foundation
:Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim, Director General, Shechen Monastery
:Khenpo Nyima Senge, Principal, Shechen Shedra
:Lopen Karma, Shechen Research Division.
A
Michael Zimmermann's ''A Buddha Within'' is a comprehensive edition of the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'' (''TGS'') and an annotated English translation based on Tibetan materials. It includes "an analysis of the textual history of the ''TGS'', an interpretation of the term ''tathāgatagarbha'', a discussion of the authors' ideas as reflected in the sūtra, and the specification of the place of the ''TGS'' in Indian Buddhist history"(8). Key sections include an analysis of the term ''tathāgatagarbha'' (39), a detailed discussion of terms related to buddha-nature (50-62), and a discussion of the sources, motives, and reception of the text in India, Tibet, China, and in the twentieth century (67-90). +
''This early Western publication on Buddhism includes mention of the concept of buddha-nature 19 times. Thus this work would have been one of the few English publications at the time to mention buddha-nature by name. What follows is Goddard's preface to the book''.<br><br>
The first edition of this Buddhist Bible was published in 1932. When the need of a new edition became evident, it was decided to enlarge it so as to include other Scriptures of like importance so as to make it more comprehensive. This involved making a number of new translations for which we are indebted to Bhikshu Wai-tao. We are also indebted and are very grateful to a number of other Buddhist Scholars for permission to use their translations, as noted in the Appendix.<br> The compiling of a Buddhist Bible is a very different matter from compiling the Christian Bible. In the first place, there is no Hierarchy or Ecclesiastic Council to pass upon the authenticity of different scriptures, and as to their canonicity. In the second place, Christian Scriptures are a closed system of doctrines and dogmas that have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and are to be accepted in faith. Buddhism, on the contrary, is looked upon as a growing organism whose scriptures are of many kinds as the organism has developed under different racial, temporal and cultural conditions. As disciples follow the Buddha's Noble Path and practice dhyana concentration and intuitive meditation they have an unfolding experience of spiritual insight and grace which any one of them may describe and elucidate. Some of these expediences are of highest value, some of less value. Some are concerned with
the Dharma, some have to do with the rules of the Brotherhoods, some are philosophical, some psychological, some are commentaries and some are commentaries on commentaries. In the third place, there is the difference of quantity. In the Christian Bible there are sixty-six titles; Buddhist scriptures number over ten thousand, only a fraction of which have thus far been translated. In the Sung Dynasty about 972 AD a Chinese version of these scriptures was published consisting of 1521 works, in more than 5000 volumes, covering 130,000 pages.<br> The nearest approach to canonicity is the Pali Tripitika. That was the earliest collection and was supposed to be limited to the words of Buddha. Southern Buddhists are passionately devoted to these Pali Scriptures and are inclined to disparage and dispute the more philosophical scriptures of the Northern School that developed later after Buddhism had come in contact with other world religions in Persia, Palestine, Egypt and Greece. Under these conditions there developed in Northern India, and Kashgar, a succession of very able minds,
Ashvaghosha, Nargajuna, Vasobandhu and his brother Asangha from whose writings and teachings there developed various important schools of philosophical thought that profoundly changed the understanding of Buddha's Dharma.<br> Later on as Buddhism spread into China and came under the influence of its immemorial culture and practical good sense, it took on forms of Taoist naturalism and kindly humanism, and there developed forms of "salvation by faith in Amitabha's mercy" and rebirth in his Pure Land. While in Tibet, coming in contact with its ancient Bon religion, and
under the climatic conditions of its high altitudes, it took on forms of strenuousness and magic and tantric conceptions. Later on in Japan owing to political and social conditions incident to the presence of a limited but powerful noble class dominating a suppressed peasantry, which had developed extremes of loyalty and obedience and self-control, it took on forms of concentrative meditation known as Zen, and a still more widely divergent type of the True Pure Land Sect.<br> Naturally among these diverse conditions Buddhist scriptures vary widely, and the quantity of them being so enormous, they have become segregated into different groups as they are favored by different schools of thought and practice. The Tien-tai favor the more philosophical scriptures, the Shingon, the more esoteric, the Ch’an (Zen), the more intellectual, and the Pure Land, the more emotional. The present editor has been guided in his selection of scriptures for this Buddhist Bible by a sincere purpose to make the selection as comprehensive as possible within its limits and to represent as truly as possible the original teachings of the Blessed One both as understood by the Southern and more primitive school and by the Northern and more philosophical interpreters. He has also humbly tried to have the choice vouched for by his own spiritual experience in his practice of the Noble Path and especially during its Eighth Stage of intuitive Dhyana.<br> It follows, therefore, that the scriptures thus selected are the generally accepted scriptures of the Dhyana Sects—Ch’an in China, Zen in Japan and Kargyupta in Tibet. Of course among so enormous a collection of scriptures there are others that are favorites also, notably the ''Saddharma-pundarika'' (Lotus of the Perfect Law), and the ''Avatamsaka'', said to be the grandest religious document ever written, but these are very large books in themselves. The late W. E. Soothil of London left a very careful translation of the Lotus that still waits a publisher. Dr. Suzuki of Kyoto has made a translation of the Gandhavyuha sections of the Avatamsaka that is now in process of being published. The inclusion of Laotzu’s ''Tao-teh-king'' is open to question as it is not strictly a Buddhist
text, but its teaching has such a close affinity to Buddhist teaching and nearly all early Chinese Masters of Buddhism were Taoist scholars who, upon becoming Buddhists, did not give up their Taoist conceptions and terms, and because the Laotzuan teaching in the ''Tao-teh-king'' has had such a wholesome
influence on the development of Chinese Buddhism, and, in later years, wherever the ''Tao-teh-king'' is held in reverence, it has tended to restrain individual pride of egoism, religious ceremonial, ecclesiasticism, priestcraft and insincerity generally, we make no apology for including it. In fact, it is our earnest wish that the ''Tao-teh-king'' may become one of the foundation stones of American and European Buddhism.<br> Further introductory notes are reserved for the Appendix
under the heads of the individual Scriptures, as are also -grateful appreciation to those who have contributed to the preparation and publication of this Bible, especially to those Buddhist scholars who have courteously granted the Editor permission to use their translations for this purpose <br> Just a closing word as to the rules that have guided the
Editor in his choice and handling of textual material. He has always kept in mind the spiritual needs of his readers. This Buddhist Bible is not intended to be a source book for critical literary and historical study. It is only intended to be a source of spiritual inspiration designed to awaken faith and to develop faith into aspiration and full realization. The original texts having for centuries been carried in memory and transcribed by hand by scribes who were often more loyal to their Master than to historical exactness, are often overloaded with interpolations and extensions, and in places are confused and obscure. To carry out the design of the Editor, he has omitted a great deal of matter not bearing directly upon the theme of
the particular Scripture, and has interpreted occasionally where it seemed necessary and advisable, in order to provide an easier and more inspiring reading. The need for this course will become apparent to every earnest minded disciple.<br> In these days when Western civilization and culture is buffeted as never before by foreboding waves of materialism and selfish aggrandisement both individual and national, Buddhism seems to hold out teachings of highest promise. For two thousand years Dhyana Buddhism has powerfully conditioned the cultural, ethical and spiritual life of the great Oriental nations. It well may be the salvation of Western civilization. Its rationality, its discipline, its emphasis on simplicity and sincerity, its thoughtfulness, its cheerful industry not for profit but for service, its love for all animate life, its restraint of desire in all its subtle forms, its actual foretastes of enlightenment and blissful peace, its patient acceptance of karma and rebirth, all mark it out as being competent to meet the problems of this excitement loving, materialistic, acquisitive and thoughtless age.<br> Its basic principle of an eternal process based on unchanging law and operating in eternal recurrence, leading to mind-control, to highest cognition, to purest conceptions of love and compassion, to ever clearing insight, to highest perfect wisdom, to the self-giving of Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas, to blissful peace, is worthy of confidence; and its Noble Path worthy of
trial.<br> The theme of this Buddhist Bible is designed to show the unreality of all conceptions of a personal ego. Its purpose is to awaken faith in Buddhahood as being one’s true self-nature; to kindle aspiration to realize one’s true Buddha-nature; to energize effort to follow the Noble Path, to become Buddha. The true response to the appeal of this Buddhist Bible is not in outward activities, but in self-yielding, becoming a clear channel for Buddhahood's indrawing compassion, that all sentient beings may become emancipated, enlightened and brought to Buddhahood. (Goddard, preface, v–viii)
''A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes'' presents the first English translation of the ''sDom gsum rab dbye'', one of the most famous and controversial doctrinal treatises of Tibetan Buddhism. Written by Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltshen (1182–1251), a founder of the Sakya school and one of Tibet’s most learned sages, ''The Three Codes'' strongly influenced subsequent religious and intellectual traditions in Tibet—and sparked a number of long-lasting doctrinal and philosophical disputes, some of which persist today.
In ''The Three Codes'', Sakya Pandita discusses the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Tantric vows of Buddhist conduct, which often diverge and contradict each other. He criticizes, on at least one point or another, later practitioners of almost every lineage, including the Kadampa, Kagyupa, and Nyingmapa, for contradicting the original teachings of their own traditions. (Source: [https://www.sunypress.edu/p-3532-a-clear-differentiation-of-the-.aspx SUNY Press]) +
In 1981 Kagyu Samye Ling in Scotland invited the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche to give some Buddhist teachings. He chose to give commentaries on some of the important texts of the Kagyü sect of Tibetan buddhism and spent several months giving a line by line commentary on the ''Uttara Tantra'' and then answering the questions of the students.<br> The ''Uttara Tantra'' was written in the fourth century AD by Asaṅga and was brought to Tibet and translated into Tibetan. This was before the Muslim invasion of India which caused the destruction of most Buddhist texts in India. This text of 400 verses is devoted entirely to the study of buddha nature—that primary essence that all beings possess and that quality which makes it possible for all beings to achieve enlightenment. In the Kagyü tradition the verses of the ''Uttara Tantra'' are often memorized and studied before entering a three-year meditation retreat. Needless to say, this text is extremely relevant for all Buddhist practitioners and answers many of the questions Western students have, namely, how one can tell if someone is enlightened and what is necessary to achieve this state.<br> Ken and Katia Holmes, working off the tapes of Thrangu Rinpoche's teachings, were able to translate the "root text", that is the 400 verses of the ''Uttara Tantra'', and the results of their efforts are found in their excellent book ''The Changeless Nature''. However, like most Buddhist texts of the period, the ''Uttara Tantra'' was written in very terse, compact language with extremely deep and subtle references which makes the text accessible to only an extremely great scholar such as Thrangu Rinpoche. So the need for a commentary arose, and at the suggestion of Thrangu Rinpoche, the 14 audio tapes of the English translation of Rinpoche's commentary were transcribed and used for this commentary. These tapes follow an oral tradition used by lamas of Tibet for the last thousand years in which every point is numbered, placed in a category, stated, restated, emphasized, and then summarized. Had the transcripts simply been typeset, the commentary would have been about 700 pages long and would have been almost impossible to read. So with the help of chapters, headings, and extensive elimination of repetition and categorization, the ''Commentary on the Uttara Tantra'' was brought down to a manageable size and changed into a work which could be read by Westerners. At the suggestion of Ken Holmes the numbers of the verses in the ''Changeless Nature'' are given in brackets before the corresponding paragraphs of the commentary so one can read the verses of the ''Changeless Nature'' and then read the corresponding commentary. Two appendices were also added so that readers not familiar with Buddhist terms can easily look them up. An attempt was also made to make the commentary clear enough so that the reader could read it and learn from it without having to keep referring to the root text. (Clark Johnson, foreword)
'''Abstract''' <br/><br/> This thesis, a comparison of the concepts of buddha-nature and dao-nature in the medieval period (from the 5th to the 10th centuries) of China, presents a historical investigation of the formation of the idea that insentient things are able to possess buddha-nature in medieval Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism, the concept of buddha-nature was originally defined as a potential possessed by sentient beings that enabled them to achieve buddhahood. From the 6th century, the concept was reinterpreted within the Chinese Buddhist tradition so that insentient things were also able to possess buddha-nature. Recent scholarship has pointed out that the idea of insentient things having buddha-nature is a combination of Buddhist and Daoist ideas based on the concept of the all-pervading Dao found in the Zhuangzi 莊子. In this sense, buddha-nature seems to be interpreted as equivalent with the Dao of Daoism. My project suggests that the reinterpretation of buddha-nature in association with the insentient realm should be elucidated in a more nuanced way than the idea of all-pervasiveness of the Dao. A historical, doctrinal investigation of the intellectual formation of the concept of buddha-nature in Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism demonstrates a new interpretation of buddha-nature in the context of insentient things having buddha-nature. Further, through a historical investigation of intellectual exchange between Buddhism and Daoism, some evidence provided in this project illustrates that the idea of insentient things having dao-nature in Daoism was not inherited from Buddhism, but drawn from Daoist tradition. This new perspective is different from that of some contemporary scholars who have claimed that the idea of insentient things having dao-nature was borrowed from Chinese Buddhism. A chronological investigation of the discussion of nature in Chinese thought demonstrates that the idea of insentient things having buddha-nature incorporates earlier Daoist traditions found in Arcane Study.
This is a book of teachings on how to do a complete session of meditation. The book was composed by the Western teacher, Lama Tony Duff, to help those who would like to practise meditation in general. However, it will be especially useful for those who would like to practise according to the ways of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The book emphasizes the practical style of instruction found in those two traditions. It deliberately avoids the scholarly style taught in some other Tibetan Buddhist traditions and focusses on actually doing something with one’s own mind. Nonetheless, the book is very precise and clear about all of the key points involved in meditation practice.
The book emphasizes the Kagyu approach in particular. The author has received teachings from many Kagyu masters and used his knowledge of the tradition as a basis for making this book. He selected teachings from Gampopa and other early masters to set the basis for explaining meditation. Then he added other, necessary teachings according to the extensive teachings he has received over many years from many different Kagyu masters, such as Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, and others. The result is a book that explains how to do a complete session of meditation in the style of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions.
The book begins with a lengthy introduction by Lama Tony which is a teaching in its own right. He writes a lengthy piece about what can and cannot usefully be obtained from science in terms of dharma practice. Following the introduction, there are two chapters on the buddha nature, the second of which uses a significant portion of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s explanation of the ground in his famous Mountain Dharma text. This is the first time that this part of Dolpopa’s text has been fully translated and published. After that are several chapters on the various steps of a complete session of meditation. Anyone who practises meditation will find this book useful in many ways.
The book contains a translation of the following text:
“Mountain Dharma, An Ocean of Definitive Meaning” by Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsan, ground section
(Source: [https://www.pktcshop.com/product-p/csm.htm Padma Karpo Translations])
Douglas Duckworth offers a definition of buddha-nature. +
Articles/A Dilettante's Ramblings on the Uttaratantra, Asaṅga, Mipham, and Buddha-Nature by John Canti +
John Canti, longtime practitioner and translator, founder of Padmakara Translation Group, and Editorial Director at the 84000 Project, speaks with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho about a wide range of topics related to buddha-nature teachings.
John Canti studied medicine and anthropology at Cambridge University (UK) and qualified as a doctor in 1975. While still a medical student he met and began to study with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the older generation, especially Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. After some years of medical work in northeastern Nepal in the late 1970s he went to the Dordogne, France, to complete two three-year retreats at Chanteloube, and has remained primarily based there ever since.
John is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, was a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001-2014, and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. In 2009, when 84000 first started, he was appointed Editorial Chair of 84000, and in 2020 has become Editorial Co-Director. +
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: [https://www.wisdompubs.org/book/direct-path-buddha-within Wisdom Publications]) +
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama teaches in a traditional line-by-line commentary of the Mahayanottaratantrashashtra in this video from Holland in 1986. Alexander Berzin interprets His Holiness into English. Seven diamond-strong points of the in five chapters, the first four points, which introduce "the source", or buddha-nature, are presented in the first chapter, the second chapter discusses the fifth point, the state of purified growth of enlightenment fifth point, the third chapter presents the sixth point which is the qualities of that state of purified growth, the fourth deals with the seventh point, the enlightening influence, and the fifth chapter discusses the benefits of studying the text. The text itself discusses the clear light nature of the mind which is covered over by cognitive and afflictive obscurations. Once these obscurations have been purified, the clear light nature of mind is revealed. +
In this book, an international team of fourteen scholars investigates the Chinese reception of Indian Buddhist ideas, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries. Topics include Buddhist logic and epistemology (pramāṇa, yinming); commentaries on Indian Buddhist texts; Chinese readings of systems as diverse as Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha; the working out of Indian concepts and problematics in new Chinese works; and previously under-studied Chinese evidence for developments in India. The authors aim to consider the ways that these Chinese materials might furnish evidence of broader Buddhist trends, thereby problematizing a prevalent notion of “sinification”, which has led scholars to consider such materials predominantly in terms of trends ostensibly distinctive to China. The volume also tries to go beyond seeing sixth- and seventh-century China primarily as the age of the formation and establishment of the Chinese Buddhist “schools”. The authors attempt to view the ideas under study on their own terms, as valid Buddhist ideas engendered in a rich, “liminal” space of interchange between two large traditions. (Source: [https://blogs.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup/products-page/publikationen/125/ Hamburg University Press]) +
Articles/A Eulogy of Mind’s Connate Qualities, Zhwa dmar Chos grags ye shes on the Hidden Meaning of Luminosity +
The Fourth Zhwa dmar pa Chos grags ye shes (1453–1524) as well as being a prominent student and biographer of the famous 'Gos Lo tsā ba, also established himself as a scholar, a central Tibetan ruler, and a monk. His collected works discuss among much else the topic of luminosity as it is developed in the Bka' brgyud pa Mahāmudrā tradition.<br> This paper focuses on his writings on the "hidden meaning of luminosity". According to Chos grags ye shes the nonaffirming negation in the second cycle of the Buddha's teaching is of not fully perfected definitive meaning while the affirming negation of the third wheel, the inseparability of mind's emptiness and luminosity, in other words ''mahāmudrā'', constitutes the fully perfected definitive meaning. (Draszczyk, introduction, 1) +
A monumental work and Indian Buddhist classic, the ''Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras'' (''Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra'') is a precious resource for students wishing to study in-depth the philosophy and path of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This full translation and commentary outlines the importance of Mahāyāna, the centrality of bodhicitta or the mind of awakening, the path of becoming a bodhisattva, and how one can save beings from suffering through skillful means.
This definitive composition of Mahāyāna teachings was imparted in the fourth century by Maitreya to the famous adept Asanga, one of the most prolific writers of Buddhist treatises in history. Asanga’s work, which is among the famous Five Treatises of Maitreya, has been studied, commented upon, and taught by Buddhists throughout Asia ever since it was composed.
In the early twentieth century, one of Tibet’s greatest scholars and saints, Jamgön Mipham, wrote ''A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle'', which is a detailed explanation of every verse. This commentary has since been used as the primary blueprint for Tibetan Buddhists to illuminate the depth and brilliance of Maitreya’s pith teachings. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided yet another accessible and eloquent translation, ensuring that English-speaking students of Mahāyāna will be able to study this foundational Buddhist text for generations to come. (Source: [https://www.shambhala.com/a-feast-of-the-nectar-of-the-supreme-vehicle.html Shambhala Publications]) +
The collection of twenty-six texts on non-conceptual realization is the result of blending the essence and tantric mahamudra teachings of Saraha, Nagarjuna and Savaripa with a particular form of Madhyamaka philosophy, called 'non-abiding' (''apratisthana''), which aims at radically transcending any conceptual assessment of true reality. This goal is achieved by "withdrawing one's attention" (''amanasikara'') from anything that involves the duality of a perceived and perceiver. The result is a "luminous self-empowerment," Maitripa's (986–1063) final tantric analysis of amanasikara. The collection of texts on non-conceptual realization plays a crucial role, as it constitutes, together with Naropa's teachings, the main source of bKa' brgyud lineages. The edition and translation of this collection is followed by another text attributed to Maitripa, the *''Mahamudrakanakamala'', which was translated by Mar pa Lo tsa ba Chos kyi blo gros (11th century) into Tibetan. The *''Mahamudrakanakamala'' picks up on the themes of the collection and shows that all aspects of Maitripa's mahamudra were indeed passed on to early bKa' brgyud masters. Besides an English translation and analysis, the present publication contains a new edition of the available Sanskrit on the basis of the editio princeps by Haraprasad Shastri, the edition of the Studying Group of Sacred Tantric Texts at Taisho University, the Nepalese manuscript NGMPP B 22/24, and the manuscript no. 151 from the Todai University Library. The Tibetan edition of all texts is based on the Derge and Peking bsTan 'gyur and the dPal spungs edition of Karmapa VII Chos grags rgya mtsho's (1454-1506) Collection of Indian Mahamudra Works (Phyag rgya chen po'i rgya gzhung). ([https://www.amazon.com/Fine-Blend-Mahamudra-Madhyamaka-Philosophisch-Historischen/dp/3700177860 Source Accessed Feb 11, 2020]) +
This collection focuses on an influential and inspiring generation of Buddhist teachers: the nineteenth-century ecumenical, or rimé, tradition of eastern Tibet. A Gathering of Brilliant Moons provides lively translations of nineteen pithy and profound works by these great masters, along with essays by their translators which explore the aesthetic qualities of their chosen works, highlight their ecumenical features, and comment on the journey of translation.
Includes works from Jamgon Kongtrul, Dza Patrul Rinpoché, Ju Mipham Rinpoché, Dudjom Lingpa, The Third Dodrupchen, Do Khyentsé, Tokden Sakya Sri, Jikmé Lingpa, Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, Getsé Mahapandita, Shangton Tenpa Gyatso, and Bamda Thupten Gelek Gyatso.
This book arose from a unique conference on Tibetan translation, where the fourteen translators shared their process with each other and received feedback from their peers with a special focus on the literary aspects of the source texts. As a reflection of this genesis, the accompanying essays in this volume by the translators explore the aesthetic qualities of their chosen works, highlight ecumenical features in them, and comment on the journey of translation. This unique book will be welcomed by religious scholars, Buddhist practitioners, and meditators. (Source: [https://wisdomexperience.org/product/gathering-brilliant-moons/ Wisdom Experience])
On the topic of buddha-nature, see especially Tina Draszczyk's translation of Jamgön Kongtrul's ''Immaculate Vajra Moonrays: An Instruction for the View of Shentong, the Great Madhyamaka'' in chapter 12, Putting Buddha Nature into Practice. +
A lengthy historical survey of buddha-nature literature and traditions written for the Buddha-Nature website. +
