Revision as of 16:22, 12 April 2018

Mahāyānottaratantra Verse I.28

Sanskrit (E. H. Johnston^[1])

संबुद्धकायस्फरणात् तथताव्यतिभेदतः।

गोत्रतश्च सदा सर्वे बुद्धगर्भाः शरीरिणः॥२८॥

saṃbuddhakāyaspharaṇāt tathatāvyatibhedataḥ|

gotrataśca sadā sarve buddhagarbhāḥ śarīriṇaḥ||28||

Tibetan (Dege, PHI, 111)

རྫོགས་སངས་སྐུ་ནི་འཕྲོ་ཕྱིར་དང་
དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་དབྱེར་མེད་ཕྱིར་དང་
རིགས་ཡོད་ཕྱིར་ན་ལུས་ཅན་ཀུན
རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན

English (Brunnhölzl, 356-357^[2])

Since the perfect buddhakaya radiates,
Since suchness is undifferentiable,
And because of the disposition,
All beings always possess the buddha heart.

Chinese (CBETA T31)

體及因果業　　相應及以行
時差別遍處　　不變無差別
彼妙義次第　　第一真法性
我如是略說　　汝今應善知

English (Takasaki, p. 197^[3])

The Buddha's Body penetrates everywhere,
Reality is of undifferentiated nature,
And the Germ [of the Buddha] exists (in the living beings).
Therefore, all living beings are
Always possessed of the Matrix of the Buddha.

Template ideas:

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गोत्रतश्च सदा सर्वे बुद्धगर्भाः शरीरिणः 
|versesktdev1source=[http://www.dsbcproject.org/canon-text/content/575/2687 Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon]
|versesktrom1=saṃbuddhakāyaspharaṇāt tathatāvyatibhedataḥ<br>
gotrataśca sadā sarve buddhagarbhāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
|versesktrom1source=[http://www.dsbcproject.org/canon-text/content/575/2687 Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon]
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དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་དབྱེར་མེད་ཕྱིར་དང་<br>
རིགས་ཡོད་ཕྱིར་ན་ལུས་ཅན་ཀུན<br>
རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན 
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Since '''suchness''' is undifferentiable, <br>
And because of the '''disposition''',<br>
All beings always '''possess''' the buddha heart. 
|versetranseng1source=[[When the Clouds Part]], [[Brunnhölzl, K.|Brunnhölzl]], 356-357
|versetranseng2=The Buddha's Body penetrates everywhere,<br>
Reality is of undifferentiated nature,<br>
And the Germ [of the Buddha] exists (in the living beings).<br>
Therefore, all living beings are<br>
Always possessed of the Matrix of the Buddha. 
|versetranseng2source=p. 197 - [[Takasaki, Jikido]]. [[A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism]]. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.
|versechinese1=體及因果業　　相應及以行 <br>
時差別遍處　　不變無差別 <br>
彼妙義次第　　第一真法性 <br>
我如是略說　　汝今應善知  
|versechinese1source=[http://cbeta.buddhist-canon.com/result/normal/T31/1611_001.htm CBETA T31]
}}

Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse I.28

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Verse I.28 Variations

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Charrier, Christian and Patrick Carré. Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule. Plazac: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.

RGVV Commentary on Verse

Tibetan
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Other English translations

Textual sources

Commentaries on this verse

Academic notes

Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input
Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.
Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.

Textual Sources

Verse Location

See note 1236 in Brunnhölzl, K. When the Clouds Part: In the Tibetan Editions of the Uttaratantra, this verse follows I.28, and some editions omit it altogether. JKC (50) notes this fact and says that it does belong to the text since Dölpopa, Karma Könshön (a student of the Third Karmapa), Rongtön, Gö Lotsāwa, and others quote and comment on it extensively.

༈

།སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས་སེམས་ཅན་ཚོགས་ཞུགས་ཕྱིར།

།རང་བཞིན་དྲི་མེད་དེ་ནི་གཉིས་མེད་དེ།

།སངས་རྒྱས་རིགས་ལ་དེ་འབྲས་ཉེར་བརྟགས་ཕྱིར།

།འགྲོ་ཀུན་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན་ཏུ་གསུངས།

A Note On Verse Order: See notes above and in Brunnhölzl, K. When the Clouds Part, page 1076. Some text versions have this verse as verse I.27 and either leave out the verse 27 we have here or put it after this verse as verse 28.

Other Translations

Another translation of this same verse in English shows the different interpretations of this important text:

Because the perfect buddha’s kaya is all-pervading,

Because reality is undifferentiated,

And because they possess the potential,

Beings always have the buddha nature. (Source)

Commentaries

Asanga

Karl Brunnhölzl notes that neither the RGVV, nor Vairocanarakṣita’s Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī comment specifically on the meaning of verses I.27 and I.28. (When the Clouds Part, 855.)

Sajjana

Verse 8 of Sajjana’s Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa offers an interesting reformulation/gloss of the first two reasons. Line 8b “since the welfare of sentient beings depends on the victor” corresponds to the first reason (“since buddha wisdom enters into the multitudes of beings” in I.27a and “because the perfect buddhakāya radiates” in I.28a). It highlights the intrinsic affinity between the buddha natures of buddhas and sentient beings, which enables the former to benefit and awaken the latter. In this vein, an interlinear gloss on verse 11 explicitly relates the twofold dharmakāya—“the utterly stainless dharmadhātu and its natural outflow (teaching the principles of profundity and diversity)” in Uttaratantra I.145 (explained by RGVV as “consisting of the arising of [individually] corresponding [forms of] cognizance in other sentient beings to be guided”) to “the perfect buddhakāya radiates . . .” Line 8c “because suchness operates in accordance with the welfare [of beings]” corresponds to the second reason (“since its stainlessness is nondual by nature” in I.27b and “because suchness is undifferentiable” in I.28b). This line emphasizes the active nature of suchness when it is understood as buddha nature, which always engages in the welfare of sentient beings, be it in the form of external buddha activity or as the internal driving force for the path of ordinary beings and bodhisattvas to attain buddhahood.

Ratnākaraśānti

The second chapter of Ratnākaraśānti’s Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣya establishes that the teaching of there being only a single yāna ultimately is of definitive meaning. In this context, he says that the tathāgata heart is only temporarily obscured by adventitious stains and quotes a verse by the Buddha also found in RGVV, Nāgārjuna’s Dharmadhātustava, and Uttaratantra I.28. Ratnākaraśānti concludes that the tathāgata heart is the single disposition that serves as the basis for there being just a single yāna.

Since the dharmadhātu has the meaning of gotra, they are inseparable. Therefore, since all [beings] possess tathāgatagarbha, its fruition is just a single yāna. However, since it was taught as various yānas in the form of progressive means of realization and [since] this gotra does not appear due to [being obscured by] afflictions and so on, temporarily, [the Buddha] spoke of five gotras. For, he said:

Just as within stony debris

Pure gold does not appear,

And then appears through being purified,

The sugata is said [to appear] in the world.^[1]

Also noble Nāgārjuna says [in his Dharmadhātustava]:

In a pregnant woman’s womb,

A child exists but is not seen.

Just so, dharmadhātu is not seen,

When it’s covered by afflictions.^[2]

Likewise, noble Maitreya states [in his Uttaratantra]:

Because the illuminating dharmadhātu radiates,

There is no difference in suchness,

And the actuality of the disposition appears,

All [sentient beings] possess the sugata heart.^[3]

Therefore, just as [described in] the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, though [tathāgatagarbha] is ensnared by afflictions, when the conditions for [its] awakening have formed, all [yānas] are simply a single yāna.^[4]

Note that Ratnākaraśānti’s version of Uttaratantra I.28 contains interesting variant readings, especially in lines a and c. Either Ratnākaraśānti paraphrased I.28 in this way himself (or quoted it so from memory) or he used a different manuscript of the Uttaratantra.^[5]

Ngog Lotsāwa

Ngog Lotsāwa’s Synopsis of the “Uttaratantra”^[6] first elaborates on the example of the huge scroll the size of an entire trichiliocosm that is encapsulated in a single minute particle. Here, the buddha wisdom that exists in the mind streams of sentient beings is the dharmadhātu. This dharmadhātu is wisdom in the sense that the prajñā of buddhas knows, in a single moment, all phenomena to lack characteristics. Therefore, this prajñā is inseparable from what it knows. Thus, the ultimate, this very dharmadhātu, is the wisdom that is aware of this dharmadhātu. Since said dharmadhātu abides in all sentient beings in a complete manner, the example and its meaning are very much justified. When the obscurations have subsided, no characteristics whatsoever are seen, and this very nonseeing is the seeing of true reality. The wisdom of nothing to be seen is nothing but suchness itself. Therefore, it is in this sense justified (that dharmadhātu and wisdom are one).

As for the intention of lines I.28ac, Ngog says that sentient beings possess the tathāgata heart because they (a) possess the fruitional, (b) the natural, and (c) the causal tathāgata heart. (a) The perfect buddhakāya is pure suchness, and its radiating refers to sentient beings’ being pervaded by it. It pervades them because it is suitable to be attained by all sentient beings. From this perspective, the “tathāgata” (in “tathāgata heart”) refers to the actual tathāgata, while it is only in a nominal sense that sentient beings possess the heart of this tathāgata. For those who have the fortune to attain this tathāgatahood are labeled as being pervaded by it. (b) In terms of suchness, both “tathāgata” and sentient beings who possess the tathāgata heart are taken to be the actual suchness. For even when suchness, which is naturally devoid of stains, is associated with adventitious obscurations, it is the nature of a buddha and it definitely abides in the mind streams of sentient beings. (c) In terms of the disposition, “tathāgata” is understood in a nominal sense because the causes for attaining the state of pure suchness—the latent tendencies of virtue that consist of the seeds of prajñā and compassion—are the causes of a tathāgata, whereas it is precisely the disposition that is “the heart of sentient beings.”

Marpa Dopa and Parahitabhadra (as represented in CMW)

Gampopa

Rinchen Yeshé

Butön Rinchen Drub

Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen

Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen

Rongtön Shéja Günsi

Gö Lotsāwa

Śākya Chogden

Dümo Dashi Öser

Mikyö Dorje, the 8th Karmapa

Padma Karpo

Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé

Mipham Rinpoche

Dongag Tenpé Nyima

Surmang Padma Namgyal

Ngawang Kunga Wangchug

Thrangu Rinpoche

Etc Etc

Notes

2717. RGVV (J6) adds that the Buddha uttered this verse while having the pure disposition and buddha nature (the tathāgatadhātu) in mind. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)
2718. Verse 27. This corresponds to the eighth of the nine examples for buddha nature in the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (D258, fols. 253b1–254a5) and Uttaratantra I.121–23. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)
2719. I.28: chos dbyings snang byed ’od ’byung zhing / de bzhin nyid la tha dad med / rigs kyi don ni snang ba’i phyir / thams cad bde gshegs snying po can /. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)
2720. D3935, fols. 296b.5–297a.2. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)
2721. Given the significant differences in lines I.28ac and the well-known literalness of Tibetan translators, it seems rather unlikely that the translator here just produced a very free rendering of the Sanskrit as it is found in J and translated in DP. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)
2722. Rngog lo tsā ba blo ldan shes rab 1993b, fols. 28b.4–29b.2. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[1] Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input

[2] Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.

[3] Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.

[4] 2717. RGVV (J6) adds that the Buddha uttered this verse while having the pure disposition and buddha nature (the tathāgatadhātu) in mind. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[5] 2718. Verse 27. This corresponds to the eighth of the nine examples for buddha nature in the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (D258, fols. 253b1–254a5) and Uttaratantra I.121–23. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[6] 2719. I.28: chos dbyings snang byed ’od ’byung zhing / de bzhin nyid la tha dad med / rigs kyi don ni snang ba’i phyir / thams cad bde gshegs snying po can /. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[7] 2720. D3935, fols. 296b.5–297a.2. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[8] 2721. Given the significant differences in lines I.28ac and the well-known literalness of Tibetan translators, it seems rather unlikely that the translator here just produced a very free rendering of the Sanskrit as it is found in J and translated in DP. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[9] 2722. Rngog lo tsā ba blo ldan shes rab 1993b, fols. 28b.4–29b.2. (When the Clouds Part, Notes page 1217.)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 161: / Line 161: @@
 ::Pure gold does not appear,
 ::And then appears through being purified,
-::The sugata is said [to appear] in the world.<ref>2717. </ref>
+::The sugata is said [to appear] in the world.<ref>2717. RGVV (J6) adds that the Buddha uttered this verse while having the pure disposition
+and buddha nature (the tathāgatadhātu) in mind. ([[When the Clouds Part]], Notes page 1217.)</ref>
 Also noble Nāgārjuna says [in his ''Dharmadhātustava'']:
@@ Line 168: / Line 169: @@
 ::A child exists but is not seen.
 ::Just so, dharmadhātu is not seen,
-::When it’s covered by afflictions.<ref>2718. </ref>
+::When it’s covered by afflictions.<ref>2718. Verse 27. This corresponds to the eighth of the nine examples for buddha nature in
+the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (D258, fols. 253b1–254a5) and Uttaratantra I.121–23. ([[When the Clouds Part]], Notes page 1217.)</ref>
 Likewise, noble Maitreya states [in his ''Uttaratantra'']:
@@ Line 175: / Line 177: @@
 ::There is no difference in suchness,
 ::And the actuality of the disposition appears,
-::All [sentient beings] possess the sugata heart.<ref>2719. </ref>
+::All [sentient beings] possess the sugata heart.<ref>2719. I.28: chos dbyings snang byed ’od ’byung zhing / de bzhin nyid la tha dad med / rigs kyi
+don ni snang ba’i phyir / thams cad bde gshegs snying po can /. ([[When the Clouds Part]], Notes page 1217.)</ref>
-:Therefore, just as [described in] the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'', though [''tathāgatagarbha''] is ensnared by afflictions, when the conditions for [its] awakening have formed, all [yānas] are simply a single yāna.<ref>2720. </ref>
+:Therefore, just as [described in] the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'', though [''tathāgatagarbha''] is ensnared by afflictions, when the conditions for [its] awakening have formed, all [yānas] are simply a single yāna.<ref>2720. D3935, fols. 296b.5–297a.2. ([[When the Clouds Part]], Notes page 1217.)</ref>
-Note that Ratnākaraśānti’s version of ''Uttaratantra'' I.28 contains interesting variant readings, especially in lines a and c. Either Ratnākaraśānti paraphrased I.28 in this way himself (or quoted it so from memory) or he used a different manuscript of the ''Uttaratantra''.<ref>2721. </ref>
+Note that Ratnākaraśānti’s version of ''Uttaratantra'' I.28 contains interesting variant readings, especially in lines a and c. Either Ratnākaraśānti paraphrased I.28 in this way himself (or quoted it so from memory) or he used a different manuscript of the ''Uttaratantra''.<ref>2721. Given the significant differences in lines I.28ac and the well-known literalness of
+Tibetan translators, it seems rather unlikely that the translator here just produced a very
+free rendering of the Sanskrit as it is found in J and translated in DP. ([[When the Clouds Part]], Notes page 1217.)</ref>
 ===Ngog Lotsāwa===
-Ngog Lotsāwa’s Synopsis of the “''Uttaratantra''”<ref>2722. </ref> first elaborates on the example of the huge scroll the size of an entire trichiliocosm that is encapsulated in a single minute particle. Here, the buddha wisdom that exists in the mind streams of sentient beings is the dharmadhātu. This dharmadhātu is wisdom in the sense that the prajñā of buddhas knows, in a single moment, all phenomena to lack characteristics. Therefore, this prajñā is inseparable from what it knows. Thus, the ultimate, this very dharmadhātu, is the wisdom that is aware of this dharmadhātu. Since said dharmadhātu abides in all sentient beings in a complete manner, the example and its meaning are very much justified. When the obscurations have subsided, no characteristics whatsoever are seen, and this very nonseeing is the seeing of true reality. The wisdom of nothing to be seen is nothing but suchness itself. Therefore, it is in this sense justified (that dharmadhātu and wisdom are one).
+Ngog Lotsāwa’s Synopsis of the “''Uttaratantra''”<ref>2722. Rngog lo tsā ba blo ldan shes rab 1993b, fols. 28b.4–29b.2.  ([[When the Clouds Part]], Notes page 1217.)</ref> first elaborates on the example of the huge scroll the size of an entire trichiliocosm that is encapsulated in a single minute particle. Here, the buddha wisdom that exists in the mind streams of sentient beings is the dharmadhātu. This dharmadhātu is wisdom in the sense that the prajñā of buddhas knows, in a single moment, all phenomena to lack characteristics. Therefore, this prajñā is inseparable from what it knows. Thus, the ultimate, this very dharmadhātu, is the wisdom that is aware of this dharmadhātu. Since said dharmadhātu abides in all sentient beings in a complete manner, the example and its meaning are very much justified. When the obscurations have subsided, no characteristics whatsoever are seen, and this very nonseeing is the seeing of true reality. The wisdom of nothing to be seen is nothing but suchness itself. Therefore, it is in this sense justified (that dharmadhātu and wisdom are one).
 As for the intention of lines I.28ac, Ngog says that sentient beings possess the tathāgata heart because they (a) possess the fruitional, (b) the natural, and (c) the causal tathāgata heart. (a) The perfect buddhakāya is pure suchness, and its radiating refers to sentient beings’ being pervaded by it. It pervades them because it is suitable to be attained by all sentient beings. From this perspective, the “tathāgata” (in “tathāgata heart”) refers to the actual tathāgata, while it is only in a nominal sense that sentient beings possess the heart of this tathāgata. For those who have the fortune to attain this tathāgatahood are labeled as being pervaded by it. (b) In terms of suchness, both “tathāgata” and sentient beings who possess the tathāgata heart are taken to be the actual suchness. For even when suchness, which is naturally devoid of stains, is associated with adventitious obscurations, it is the nature of a buddha and it definitely abides in the mind streams of sentient beings. (c) In terms of the disposition, “tathāgata” is understood in a nominal sense because the causes for attaining the state of pure suchness—the latent tendencies of virtue that consist of the seeds of prajñā and compassion—are the causes of a tathāgata, whereas it is precisely the disposition that is “the heart of sentient beings.”

Verse I.28