Tibetan Noun
tha mal gyi shes pa
ordinary mind
ཐ་མལ་གྱི་ཤེས་པ་
Basic Meaning
A Mahāmudrā term for the basic state of consciousness that has not been fabricated or altered in any way.
On this topic
Video
Casey Kemp at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Casey Kemp presents an overview and analysis of Jigten Gonpo’s explanation of luminosity as outlined in his text 'Od gsal rnam lnga gcig tu bsre ba'i man ngag, a pith instruction on merging (bsre ba).
Kemp, Casey. "The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the Dharmakāya." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VQkhK1CE0.
Kemp, Casey. "The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the Dharmakāya." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VQkhK1CE0.;Casey Kemp at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;Buddha-nature as Luminosity;'bri gung skyob pa 'jig rten mgon po;Mahamudra;Vajrayana;dharmakāya;āgantukamala;Mar pa chos kyi blo gros;Sgam po pa;Ordinary Mind;prabhāsvara;prabhāsvaracitta;Kagyu;Drikung Kagyu;Casey Forgues Kemp;The Luminous Basis for Buddhahood: ’Jig rten mgon po’s Pith Instructions for Merging the Nature of Mind with the Dharmakāya
Interview
Elizabeth Callahan Interview on Buddha-Nature
Elizabeth Callahan discusses buddha-nature and its related concepts in an interview with Marcus Perman of Tsadra Foundation.
Elizabeth Callahan Interview on Buddha-Nature;Defining buddha-nature;Mahamudra;tha mal gyi shes pa;Terminology;Kagyu;Sgam po pa;āgantukamala;Disclosure model;Vajrayana;gotra;Sentient beings;'jam mgon kong sprul;Karmapa, 3rd;Metaphors for buddha-nature;Elizabeth Callahan; 
Video
Katrin Querl at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Katrin Querl presents an overview of Jikten Gonpo's position on Buddha-nature as outlined in the textual corpus known as the Single Intention (Dgongs gcig) and in two of this work's earliest commentaries.
Querl, Katrin. "Preliminary Notes on the Notion of Buddha Nature in the Single Intention." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 43:53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp3GJz3-5DY.
Querl, Katrin. "Preliminary Notes on the Notion of Buddha Nature in the Single Intention." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 43:53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp3GJz3-5DY.;Katrin Querl at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;'bri gung skyob pa 'jig rten mgon po;Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa;Mahamudra;Drikung Kagyu;Kagyu;Tsen Tradition;gotra;guṇa;'bri gung spyan snga shes rab 'byung gnas;Ngo rje ras pa;Rdo rje shes rab;Drikung Chungtsang, 1st;Rin chen byang chub;History of buddha-nature in Tibet;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Buddha-nature as Emptiness;Ordinary Mind;ekayāna;Katrin Querl; Preliminary Notes on the Notion of Buddha Nature in the Single Intention
Video
On the Term Ordinary Mind by Elizabeth Callahan
In this video Elizabeth Callahan explains the term ordinary mind, a term that is often used in the Kagyu tradition, and its use as a term to describe buddha-nature. Ordinary mind, she explains, is the nature of mind that is not in its deluded state.
Callahan, Elizabeth. “On the Term Ordinary Mind.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 2:16. https://youtu.be/qx1NAke8aV0
Callahan, Elizabeth. “On the Term Ordinary Mind.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 2:16. https://youtu.be/qx1NAke8aV0;On the Term Ordinary Mind by Elizabeth Callahan;Defining buddha-nature;Mahamudra;tha mal gyi shes pa;Terminology;Kagyu;Sgam po pa;Elizabeth Callahan;On the Term Ordinary Mind
Article
Pointing Out Ordinary Mind
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche presents the essential teachings of Mahamudra and its three main approaches to practice, each offering effective methods for directly pointing out mind’s true nature.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, (The 7th). "Pointing Out Ordinary Mind." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, August 15, 2018.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, (The 7th). "Pointing Out Ordinary Mind." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, August 15, 2018.;Pointing Out Ordinary Mind;Buddha-nature as Emptiness;Buddha-nature as Luminosity;Vajrayana;nature of mind;Ordinary Mind;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Mahamudra;Kagyu;Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche; 
Video
Rev. Kokyo Henkel: On the Connection between Zen and Dzogchen
Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "On the Connection between Zen and Dzogchen." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 7:56. https://youtu.be/3jhWo3MtvxY.
Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "On the Connection between Zen and Dzogchen." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 7:56. https://youtu.be/3jhWo3MtvxY.
Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "On the Connection between Zen and Dzogchen." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 7:56. https://youtu.be/3jhWo3MtvxY.;Rev. Kokyo Henkel: On the Connection between Zen and Dzogchen;Dzogchen;Zen - Chan;Schaik, S.;Terminology;Baizhang Huaihai;tha mal gyi shes pa;Metaphors for buddha-nature;Buddha-nature as Luminosity;Yunmen Wenyan; Rev. Kokyo Henkel: On the Connection between Zen and Dzogchen
Video
Vajrayana Practice & Buddha-Nature by Karl Brunnhölzl
Karl Brunnhölzl discusses the relationship between buddha-nature teachings and practice. He explains that, from a disclosure model perspective, practice primarily entails working on the obscurations that cover over one's innate buddha-nature. Furthermore, practice also entails the subtle refinement of practice and eventually the giving up of working on the obscurations, as, from the perspective of buddha-nature, both the obscurations and their remedies reflect a dualistic mind and are both part of the obscurations. The issue then becomes one of recognizing or not recognizing one's own buddha-nature.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Vajrayana Practice & Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 7:20. https://youtu.be/fEwwwz_dmx8.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Vajrayana Practice & Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 7:20. https://youtu.be/fEwwwz_dmx8.;Vajrayana Practice & Buddha-Nature by Karl Brunnhölzl;Disclosure model;Potential or already-perfected;āgantukamala;Vajrayana;Mahamudra;Dzogchen;tha mal gyi shes pa;Karl Brunnhölzl;Vajrayana Practice & Buddha-Nature
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Term Variations | |
---|---|
Key Term | tha mal gyi shes pa |
Topic Variation | Ordinary Mind |
Tibetan | ཐ་མལ་གྱི་ཤེས་པ་ ( tamal gyi shepa) |
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration | tha mal gyi shes pa ( tamal gyi shepa) |
Romanized Sanskrit | *prākṛtajñāna |
Buddha-nature Site Standard English | ordinary mind |
Karl Brunnhölzl's English Term | ordinary mind |
Richard Barron's English Term | completely ordinary/ simple awareness |
Term Information | |
Source Language | Tibetan |
Basic Meaning | A Mahāmudrā term for the basic state of consciousness that has not been fabricated or altered in any way. |
Term Type | Noun |
Definitions |