Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature by Don Handrick (Part 1 of 3)

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Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature by Don Handrick
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  Part 1 - Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature by Don Handrick, Part 1
  Part 2 - Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature by Don Handrick, Part 2
  Part 3 - Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature by Don Handrick, Part 3
Description "Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature" by Don Handrick


A part of "The Life and Legacy of Lama Tsongkhapa" presented by Tse Chen Ling

This event was held at Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco on September 20 and 21, 2019. Over the course of two days (three sessions), Don Handrick examined Tsongkhapa's exposition of enlightenment based on Maitreya's text "Sublime Continuum."

Maitreya's "Sublime Continuum" on Buddha Nature

What is enlightenment? How is it possible? Who can achieve it? One of Mahayana Buddhism’s most important teachings is the doctrine of tathagatagarbha, or buddha nature, the innate pure and changeless essence of the mind which gives rise to the fundamental potential for each being to attain full enlightenment or buddhahood. In this course we will examine selected verses from the first chapter of Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana (Mahayana-uttaratantra Shastra), a text replete with rich poetic imagery and metaphor, to explore this profound and inspiring topic. . . .

"The Life and Legacy of Lama Tsongkhapa"

Je Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357- 1419) was one of the greatest figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of the Gelug tradition. The year 2019 marked the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa's parinirvana. To celebrate this, Tse Chen Ling offered a 14-month long series of programs that celebrated the life and lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa. These programs reflected the core teachings and unique features of the Gelug tradition. (Source Accessed Nov 12, 2020)

Description "Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature" by Don Handrick, Session 2 of 3


A part of "The Life and Legacy of Lama Tsongkhapa" presented by Tse Chen Ling

This event was held at Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco on September 20 and 21, 2019. Over the course of two days (three sessions), Don Handrick examined Tsongkhapa's exposition of enlightenment based on Maitreya's text "Sublime Continuum."

Maitreya's "Sublime Continuum" on Buddha Nature

What is enlightenment? How is it possible? Who can achieve it? One of Mahayana Buddhism’s most important teachings is the doctrine of tathagatagarbha, or buddha nature, the innate pure and changeless essence of the mind which gives rise to the fundamental potential for each being to attain full enlightenment or buddhahood. In this course we will examine selected verses from the first chapter of Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana (Mahayana-uttaratantra Shastra), a text replete with rich poetic imagery and metaphor, to explore this profound and inspiring topic. . . .

"The Life and Legacy of Lama Tsongkhapa"

Je Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357- 1419) was one of the greatest figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of the Gelug tradition. The year 2019 marked the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa's parinirvana. To celebrate this, Tse Chen Ling offered a 14-month long series of programs that celebrated the life and lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa. These programs reflected the core teachings and unique features of the Gelug tradition. (Source Accessed Nov 12, 2020)

Description "Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature" by Don Handrick, Session 3 of 3


A part of "The Life and Legacy of Lama Tsongkhapa" presented by Tse Chen Ling

This event was held at Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco on September 20 and 21, 2019. Over the course of two days (three sessions), Don Handrick examined Tsongkhapa's exposition of enlightenment based on Maitreya's text "Sublime Continuum."

Maitreya's "Sublime Continuum" on Buddha Nature

What is enlightenment? How is it possible? Who can achieve it? One of Mahayana Buddhism’s most important teachings is the doctrine of tathagatagarbha, or buddha nature, the innate pure and changeless essence of the mind which gives rise to the fundamental potential for each being to attain full enlightenment or buddhahood. In this course we will examine selected verses from the first chapter of Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana (Mahayana-uttaratantra Shastra), a text replete with rich poetic imagery and metaphor, to explore this profound and inspiring topic. . . .

"The Life and Legacy of Lama Tsongkhapa"

Je Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357- 1419) was one of the greatest figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of the Gelug tradition. The year 2019 marked the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa's parinirvana. To celebrate this, Tse Chen Ling offered a 14-month long series of programs that celebrated the life and lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa. These programs reflected the core teachings and unique features of the Gelug tradition. (Source Accessed Nov 12, 2020)

Sources Mentioned

Text
Maitreya, Asaṅga: Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
The Ratnagotravibhāga, commonly known as the Uttaratantra, or Gyu Lama in Tibetan, is one of the main Indian scriptural sources for buddha-nature theory. It was likely composed during the fifth century, by whom we do not know. Comprised of verses interspersed with prose commentary, it systematizes the buddha-nature teachings that were circulating in multiple sūtras such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, and the Śrīmaladevisūtra. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the commentary to Asaṅga, and treats the two as separate texts, although this division is not attested to in surviving Indian versions. The Chinese tradition attributes the text to *Sāramati (娑囉末底), but the translation itself does not include the name of the author, and the matter remains unsettled. It was translated into Chinese in the early sixth century by Ratnamati and first translated into Tibetan by Atiśa, although this text is not known to survive. Ngok Loden Sherab translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita Sajjana, and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently into French. See the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, read more about the Ratnagotravibhāga, or take a look at the most complete English translation in When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnholzl.
Text
Gyaltsap Je Dharma Rinchen: Commentary on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna
Commentary on the Uttaratantra by a preeminent Geluk scholar that was a chief disciple of the school's founder, Tsongkhapa, as well as the Sakya scholar Rendawa Zhönu Lodrö, an outspoken critic of the treatise.

Secondary Publications Mentioned

Article
The Tathagata Essence
According to Don Handrick, who uses this translation in his teachings on the Uttaratantra, this is a "rather wordy" translation of the first chapter of the Uttaratantraśāstra, made so due to the heavy use of parenthetical information derived from various commentaries on the text that the translators use to explicate the root verses. The work is a draft compilation and is not for general distribution. Permission has been granted for use in FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) Basic Programs.
Hopkins, Jeffrey, and Joe B. Wilson, trans. "The Tathagata Essence." Chapter 1 of the Great Vehicle Treatise on the Sublime Continuum Differentiating the Lineage of the Three Jewels (mahayanottaratantra-ratnagotravibhanga). 2nd ed. By Maitreya. With amplification by Mipam Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912). Unpublished manuscript, January 2007. Pdf file.
Book
Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism
That all beings have the potential to be enlightened is one of the most inspiring tenets of mahayana Buddhism. This potential is linked to the fundamental nature of the mind of every being and thus brings within grasp the perfect benefit for both oneself and others found in enlightenment.

The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment sets forth an analysis of the natural and developed potential within all of us from the perspectives of the two main schools of mahayana thought–the Mind-Only school and the Middle Way school. It explains how this potential is transformed into the state of enlightenment and gives comprehensive definitions and explanations clearly establishing the existence and nature of the various facets of enlightenment.

(Source: back cover)
Loden, Geshe Acharya Thubten. Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism. Melbourne: Tushita Publications, 1996.

People Mentioned

Asaṅga
4th century
Maitreya
Gyaltsap Je Dharma Rinchen
1364 ~ 1432
Tsongkhapa
1357 ~ 1419

About the video

Featuring Don Handrick
Creator Tse Chen Ling
Producer Tse Chen Ling
Media Series Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature by Don Handrick
3 Parts/Tracks
Related Website Tse Chen Ling
Creation Date 20 September 2019
Citation Handrick, Don. "Maitreya's Sublime Continuum on Buddha Nature." 3 pts. Produced by Tse Chen Ling Center, San Francisco, September 20–21, 2019. Video, pt. 1, 2:01:28, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myqf_aYQf6I; pt. 2, 1:53:10, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aURs_fuNk2s; pt. 3, 1:56:00, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dibwf8q_DXc.
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