During the last years of his life, Buddha Sakyamuni revealed the deepest of his teachings, in what we now call the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. These show the heart nature of every one and every thing to be the sublime perfection of enlightenment. This unrecognized inner essence is known as buddha nature. To discover it completely is to become a Buddha, with all a Buddha's qualities and power to help others. But what, really and truly, is a Buddha? What lies at the heart of the Buddha's teachings, the dharma? What is it that illuminates the Buddhist saints of the sangha? These and many other questions are answered in precise and beautiful poetry by Asanga, in his great classic, the Mahayana Uttara Tantra, which has become one of the most important doctrinal texts of Tibetan Buddhism.
This new and refreshingly accessible translation is accompanied by a commentary based on the explanations of the most learned contemporary masters of the Kagy Tradition. It provides an introduction for those new to buddha nature as well as a major and essential reference work, to which one can return again and again for inspiration and guidance.
(Source: back cover)
Citation
Holmes, Ken, and Katia Holmes, trans. Maitreya on Buddha Nature: A New Translation of Asaṅga’s Mahāyāna Uttara Tantra Śāstra. Forres, Scotland: Altea, 1999.
TRANSLATORS' INTRODUCTION13
CLASSICAL INTRODUCTION21
The three major phases of the Buddha's teaching21
First phase22
Second phase24
Third phase26
A simple introduction to voidness26
The Buddha's own teaching or a śāstra?29
Source of this work30
The author30
Transmission of the text34
Subject matter35
Styles of explanation37
A bridge between sūtra and tantra39
PART ONE: The Goal to be Achieved: The Three Rare and Precious Refuges43
Introduction to the Seven Vajra Abodes45
The Refuges48
First Vajra Abode: buddha50
Homage50
Three qualities of self-fulfillment51
Not a creation52
Non-dual peace53
Non-dependent55
Three qualities which benefit others57
Three qualities of self-fulfillment, reflections57
Beginningless, centreless and endless58
Peace as spontaneity of dharmakāya60
Apperceptive nature62
Three qualities which benefit others, reflections62
Second Vajra Abode: dharma65
Homage 66
Context 67
Relating content of homage to context 69
Qualities of the truth of cessation 69
Inconceivability 69
Not two 73
Freedom from concepts 73
Qualities of the truth of the path 74
Stainlessness 74
Brilliance 74
Power to remedy 75
Third Vajra Abode: saṃgha77
Homage 77
Context 79
Thusness jñāna 80
All-encompassing jñāna 80
Inner jñāna 81
What gives rise to these three 81
Relating content of homage to context 82
The way in which thusness jñāna is realised 82
The way in which all-encompassing jñāna is realised 83
Its special purity 84
They are a supreme refuge 85
General Points about the Refuges86
Why it is threefold 86
What is the ultimate refuge? 87
Why are they called ratna? 88
PART TWO: The Basis for Attaining the Three Rare and Precious Refuges91
General Comment on the Final Four Vajra Abodes 93
The final four vajra abodes only understood by Buddhas 93
They are inconceivable 94
Reasons for inconceivability 95
Causes and conditions for realisation 97
Fourth Vajra Abode: buddha nature 99
Brief Introduction: three reasons why beings possess dhātu 100
More detailed presentation through ten aspects of buddha potential 103
character and cause treated together, in brief 103
essential character 104
cause 105
fruition and function treated together, in brief 109
fruition 110
function 116
endowments 118
manifestation/approach 121
phases 122
all-pervasiveness 124
changelessness 125
in the impure phase 125
in the partially pure phase 133
in the completely pure phase 142
inseparability from its qualities 145
Nine examples showing how buddha nature remains changeless while concealed153
first example: buddha in decaying lotus 155
second example: honey amid bees 156
third example: grains in their husks 157
fourth example: gold in fifth 158
fifth example: buried treasure 159
sixth example: seeds within a fruit 160
seventh example: buddha image in tattered rags 161
eighth example: future king in pauper's womb 162
ninth example: statue inside its mould 163
the meaning of these examples 164
The purpose of the buddha nature teachings 179
Fifth Vajra Abode: enlightenment 187
The nature and cause of enlightenment 188
treated together, in brief 188
nature of enlightenment, in detail 190
cause of enlightenment, in detail 192
As a fruition 193
in brief, as a summary of examples of stainlessness 193
in detail 194
Its function 198
in brief, as twofold benefit 198
in greater detail, as vimuktikāya and dharmakāya 200
Its endowments 204
in brief, listing fifteen qualities 204
the fifteen qualities, in detail 205
Actualisation 209
in brief, the characteristics of the kāya 209
in detail 213
svabhavikakāya, five aspects and five qualities 214
sambhogakāya, five aspects and five qualities 217
nirmāṇakāya, the twelve deeds of the Buddha 220
Its permanence 231
in brief, ten-point presentation 231
the ten points in detail 233
Its inconceivability 237
in brief 237
in more detail 237
The Sixth Vajra Abode: the qualities of buddhahood 242
Synopsis: number of principal qualities and their relation to the kāya 242
More detailed explanation 245
Introduction to the examples and their significance 245
The qualities of freedom: the ultimately true kāya 246
Ten powers of perfect knowledge 246
Four fearlessnesses 251
Eighteen distinctive qualities 254
The qualities of maturity: the relatively true kāya 259
The thirty-two marks of a perfect being 259
Example for the marks 264
Scriptural source 264
Recapitulation of the examples 265
The qualities of freedom 265
The qualities of maturity 269
The Seventh Yajra Abode: enlightened activity 271
Summary 271
Its spontaneity 271
Its ceaselessness 272
More detailed explanation 273
Its spontaneity 273
It ceaselessness 274
Expanded explanation through nine examples 277
Summary of the nine examples 277
The examples 278
The reflection of Indra: Buddha forms 278
The divine drumbeat: Buddha speech 283
Monsoon clouds: the all-pervading compassionate mind 286
Brahma's emanations: emanation 291
The sun's radiance: the penetration of primordial wisdom 293
A wish-fulfilling gem: the mystery of mind 297
An echo: the mystery of speech 299
Space: the mystery of form 300
The earth: the application of compassion 301
Review of the purpose and significance of examples 302
Review of examples to show their sublime nature 306
PART THREE: Conclusion 311
The benefits of this text 312
How this śastra was composed 320
Dedication 327
INDEX 331
Ken and Katia Holmes offer a new English translation of the root verses of the Ratnagotravibhaga with their own commentary focused on advice to those interested in engaging in a path of practice.
