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|VariationOriginal= | |VariationOriginal=སངས་རྒྱས་ཆོས་ཚོགས་ཁམས་དང་བྱང་ཆུབ་དང་། ། <br> | ||
ཡོན་ཏན་སངས་རྒྱས་ཕྲིན་ལས་ཐ་མ་སྟེ། ། <br> | |||
བསྟན་བཅོས་ཀུན་གྱི་ལུས་ནི་མདོར་བསྡུ་ན། ། <br> | |||
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཡི་ནི་གནས་བདུན་འདི་དག་གོ། ། | |||
|VariationOriginalSource=[https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur/pbs/ | |VariationOriginalSource=[https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur/pbs/2380990 Dege, PHI, 108] | ||
|VariationTrans=Buddha, dharma, assembly, basic element,<br> | |VariationTrans=Buddha, dharma, assembly, basic element,<br> | ||
Awakening, qualities, and finally buddha activity–<br> | Awakening, qualities, and finally buddha activity–<br> | ||
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|VariationLanguage=Chinese | |VariationLanguage=Chinese | ||
|VariationOriginal= | |VariationOriginal=佛法及眾僧性道功德業<br> | ||
略說此論體七種金剛句 | |||
|VariationOriginalSource=[http://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/en/T31n1611_p0820c24 CBETA T31n1611_p0820c24] | |||
|VariationOriginalSource=[http://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/ | |||
|VariationTrans=The Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Community,<br> | |VariationTrans=The Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Community,<br> | ||
The Essence [of the Buddha], the Supreme Enlightenment,<br> | The Essence [of the Buddha], the Supreme Enlightenment,<br> | ||
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|VariationTransSource=[[A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism|Takasaki, p. 141]]<ref>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.</ref>, from Sanskrit with reference to the Chinese. | |VariationTransSource=[[A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism|Takasaki, p. 141]]<ref>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.</ref>, from Sanskrit with reference to the Chinese. | ||
}} | }} | ||
|EnglishCommentary=::'''Buddha, dharma, assembly, basic element''', | |||
::'''Awakening, qualities, and finally buddha activity'''— | |||
::'''The body of the entire treatise''' | |||
::'''Is summarized in these seven vajra points. I.1''' | |||
{P75a} '''"Vajra point"'''<ref>I generally render ''vajrapada''—lit. "vajra foot(ing)"—as "vajra point." Among the many meanings of ''pada'', those that are relevant here are "footing" (or "basis") and "word."</ref> refers to the footing or locus of the actuality of the realization that is like a vajra. This actuality, which is to be realized through personally experienced [wisdom] and has an inexpressible nature, is to be understood as being like a vajra because it is difficult to penetrate by any cognitions that arise from studying and reflecting.<ref>Compare the explanation of "vajra"in the Eighth Karmapa’s ''Lamp'' (15–16): "The means to generate the actual type of realization of the vajra-like samādhi are as follows. In the beginning, the minds and mental factors of ordinary beings are made pure through the power of the triad of study, reflection, and meditation. Thereafter, without having to rely on the power of any [element] among the triad of study, reflection, and meditation, but in a self-arisen manner, the vajra-like wisdom of realization is able to overcome the hosts of ignorance right upon the light of wisdom’s meeting them for a single moment at the same time. This is just as the orb of the sun, in a single instant of its shining, roots out completely the darkness of the latent tendencies of ignorance. This is the meaning of ‘vajra,’ and therefore it is [also] the meaning of ‘the seven vajra points’ in the ''Uttaratantra''."JKC (10–12) explains the following on what the ''Uttaratantra'' teaches and the meaning of "vajra." The basis of explanation of the ''Uttaratantra'' is the heart of the matter taught by the Buddha, which is that "all sentient beings always possess the tathāgata heart." Though there are infinite different approaches of explaining this by following distinct scriptures, reasonings, and meditations in both India and Tibet, the masters of the Madhyamaka of definitive meaning assert the following. The entirety of the definitive meanings of all three dharma wheels is included in the two kinds of identitylessness. The ultimate meaning of these is the emptiness of the duality of apprehender and apprehended in terms of persons and in terms of phenomena. However, the manner of being empty is not just a nonimplicative negation. ''Madhyāntavibhāga'' I.20 says: | |||
:::Emptiness here is the nonbeing | |||
:::Of persons and phenomena. | |||
:::The real being of this nonbeing | |||
:::In it is another emptiness. | |||
:Accordingly, it is the manner of being empty that is an implicative negation—the essence of self-lucid self-awareness—that is taught as the tathāgata heart in the context of the ''Uttaratantra''. This is the vajra of the definitive meaning, which becomes threefold through being divided by its phases, as in ''Uttaratantra'' I.47: | |||
:::Its being impure, its being both impure and pure, | |||
:::And its being completely pure, in due order, | |||
:::Are expressed as "sentient being," | |||
:::"Bodhisattva," and "tathāgata." | |||
:Its phase of not being pure of adventitious stains is described as "sentient being," and this expanse is also called "disposition" or "the basic element that is the tathāgata heart." Its phase of possessing both impurity and purity is described as the persons who have entered the path, and from the perspective of isolates, the expanse represents the dharma and the saṃgha. That is, from the perspective of the isolate that is the mere wisdom of the path of seeing, it is the saṃgha. From the perspective of the uninterrupted path, it is the path. From the perspective of the path of liberation and its distinctive features, it is cessation. Its phase of being completely pure is described as the Tathāgata and so on, and the expanse is called "dharmakāya." If this is divided in terms of isolates, it is threefold—awakening, the qualities, and enlightened activity. Therefore, through these internal subdivisions, that vajra is also taught as the seven vajra points. It is easy to understand that the entire definitive meaning of the two latter dharma wheels is included in it, but you may wonder how the definitive meaning of the first wheel—personal identitylessness—is included in it. The basis of purification, the means of purification, and the result of purification of the inferior paths are all included in the suchness with stains. Therefore, the main topic of this treatise is the tathāgata heart, and one should understand that the entirety of the definitive meanings of all three dharma wheels is included in it.</ref> The words that express this actuality<ref>Skt. ''artha'' can also mean "topic" or "meaning," as in a meaning and the words that express it. However, as made clear in the preceding sentence, here the term refers to the actual true nature of all phenomena, which is not a semantic, conceptual, or abstract meaning or topic, but something to be perceived directly. GC (20.25–21.6) also makes this very clear, saying that the seven vajra points are very difficult to be understood through study and reflection because these two are conceptual and the actuality of the vajra points cannot be made a direct object of conceptions. Rather, this actuality is the object of what has the nature of the personally experienced direct perception that arises from meditation. Since this actuality is to be personally experienced and thus is inexpressible, it cannot arise right away on the basis of words. However, it still serves as the subject matter of this treatise because this text teaches the cognitions of study and reflection that represent the causes that accord with, and are the path to, attaining what is to be personally experienced. This is similar to expressing the city Pātaliputra when saying, "This is the way leading to Pāṭaliputra." The same is said in ''Uttaratantra'' V.16.</ref> through teaching the path that accords with attaining it are [also] called "footings" because they serve as the support of this [actuality]. In this way, in the sense of being what is difficult to penetrate and in the sense of being [its] support, respectively, that actuality and the letters [that describe it] are [both] to be understood as "vajra footings." | |||
So what does "actuality" and what does "letters" refer to? "Actuality" refers to the sevenfold actuality of realization, that is, the actuality of the Buddha, the actuality of the dharma, the actuality of the assembly, the actuality of the basic element, the actuality of awakening, the actuality of [its] qualities, {J2} and the actuality of [enlightened] activity. These are called "actuality." The words that point out and elucidate this sevenfold actuality of realization are called "letters." | |||
This discussion of the vajra points should be known in detail according to [a number of] sūtras. | |||
<blockquote>Ānanda, the Tathāgata is indemonstrable. He cannot be seen with the eyes. Ānanda, the dharma is inexpressible. It cannot be heard with the ears. Ānanda, the saṃgha is unconditioned. It cannot be worshipped with body or mind.<ref>''Sthirādhyāśayaparivartasūtra'', D224, fol. 172b.2–3. VT (fol. 9v.2–3) glosses this passage as the Tathāgata’s being "unarisen and characterized by unconditioned wisdom."</ref></blockquote> | |||
Thus, these three vajra points should be understood by following the ''Dṛḍhādhyāśayaparivarta''.<ref>The Kangyur has the title of this text as ''Sthirādhyāśayaparivartasūtra''.</ref> | |||
<blockquote>Śāriputra, {D75a} this actuality<ref>VT (fol. 9v.3) glosses "this actuality" as "the actuality of the dhātu," with "dhātu" referring to natural purity and "awakening," to the purity of being free from stains. </ref> is the object of the Tathāgata and [solely] the sphere of the Tathāgata. First of all, Śāriputra, this actuality cannot be correctly [known,]<ref>This is inserted in accordance with DP. </ref> seen, or discriminated even by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas through their own prajñā, let alone by ordinary naive beings, unless they realize [this actuality] through trust in the Tathāgata. {P75b} Śāriputra, what is to be realized through trust is the ultimate. Śāriputra, "the ultimate" is a designation for the basic element of sentient beings.<ref>Though Edgerton 1953 and Takasaki 1966a take the term sattvadhātu to mean "mass of beings,"this makes no sense in the context of RGVV. Rather, as clearly explained throughout RGVV (particularly on I.48), the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta (see the next sentence in this quote as well as other passages from that sūtra on J40 and J41), and the Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra (J6), sattvadhātu is an equivalent of ''tathāgatagarbha''.</ref> Śāriputra, "the basic element of sentient beings" is a designation for the tathāgata heart. Śāriputra, "the tathāgata heart" is a designation for the dharmakāya.<ref>Taishō 668, 467a. YDC (243) comments on this quote as follows. "Object" and "sphereto meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment, respectively. As for "known, seen, or discriminated," according to Ngog Lotsāwa, this refers to the knowing during preparation, main practice, and conclusion or the knowing during the paths of preparation, seeing, and familiarization. According to Shang Chökyi Lama, this refers to the knowing through study, reflection, and meditation.</ref></blockquote> | |||
Thus, the fourth vajra point is to be understood by following the ''Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta''. {J3} | |||
<blockquote>Bhagavan, "supreme awakening" is a designation for the dhātu of nirvāṇa. Bhagavan, "the dhātu of nirvāṇa" is a designation for the dharmakāya of the Tathāgata.<ref>D45.48, fol. 269a.1–2. </ref></blockquote> | |||
Thus, the fifth vajra point is to be understood by following the ''Āryaśrīmālā[devī]sūtra''. | |||
Śāriputra, the dharmakāya that is taught by the Tathāgata is endowed with inseparable attributes and qualities that [can]not be realized as being divisible [from it],<ref>J ''dharmakāyaḥ so ’yam avinirbhāgadharmā ’vinirmuktajñānaguṇo'', DP ''chos kyi sku gang yin pa de ni ’di lta ste . . . de bzhin gshegs pa’i chos dag dang / rnam par dbyer med pa’i chos dang ldan pa ma bral ba’i ye shes kyi yon tan can yin no''. Schmithausen 1971 suggests to understand the compound ''avinirmuktajñāna''° as ''vinirmuktatvena jñānam yeṣām na bhavati'' ("with which knowing them to be divisible [from the dharmakāya] never happens"). The corresponding passage grol bas shes pa in the ''Śrīmālādevīsūtra'' (D45.48, fol. 272b.1) seems to support that (though it should read ma grol bas shes pa, which is instead found for the afflictions, which are actually realized as being divisible). Schmithausen also suggests a second possibility of reading this compound as ''vinirmuktaṃ jñānaṃ yeṣām na bhavati'' ("whose realization is not divisible [from the realization of the dharmakāya]"). I follow Schmithausen 1971 and Mathes 2008a in translating "qualities that cannot be realized as being divisible" (which corresponds to how the Śrīmālādevīsūtra uses this phrase). However, guṇa is here in the singular, which seems also how GC (24.15–17) understands it (though taking ''avinirmuktajñāna'' to mean "inseparable wisdom"). GC comments that the dharmakāya is endowed with inseparable attributes because they are of the same nature as buddha wisdom. Even at the time of being obscured by the afflictions, it possesses the quality of inseparable wisdom (or the feature of wisdom’s being inseparable from it). In brief since the tathāgata heart and its qualities have a connection of identity, the term "kāya" refers to "nature."</ref> which [manifest] in the form of the attributes of a tathāgata that far surpass the sand grains in the river Gaṅgā [in number].<ref>Taishō 668, 467a.</ref> | |||
Thus, the sixth vajra point is to be understood by following the ''Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta''. | |||
<blockquote>Mañjuśrī, the Tathāgata does not think and does not conceptualize. Nevertheless, his activity, which has such a nature, operates effortlessly and without thinking and conceptualizing.<ref>D185, fol. 187b.4–5. </ref></blockquote> | |||
Thus, the seventh vajra point {D75b} is to be understood by following the ''Tathāgataguṇajñānācintyaviṣayāvatāranirdeśa''. | |||
In brief, these seven vajra points should be known as the "body" of the entire treatise, in the form of the [seven] summary topics that are the gateways to [what this treatise] teaches. | |||
|OtherTranslations=<center>'''''Listed by date of publication'''''</center> | |||
<h6>Obermiller (1931) <ref>Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.</ref></h6> | |||
:The Buddha, the Doctrine, the Congregation, | |||
:The Germ (of Buddhahood), Supreme Enlightenment, | |||
:The attributes of the Buddha and last of all his acts,一 | |||
:These are the seven adamantine topics, | |||
:In which the compass of this treatise can be summarized. | |||
<h6>Takasaki (1966) <ref>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.</ref></h6> | |||
:The Meaning of the 7 Vajrapadas. | |||
:The Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Community, | |||
:The Essence [of the Buddha] , the Supreme Enlightenment, | |||
:The Virtuous Qualities [of the Buddha], | |||
:And, last of all, the Act of the Buddha; — | |||
:These are the 7 Adamantine Subjects, [which show] | |||
:Briefly, the body of the whole text. | |||
<h6>Holmes (1985) <ref>Holmes, Ken & Katia. The Changeless Nature. Eskdalemuir, Scotland: Karma Drubgyud Darjay Ling, 1985.</ref></h6> | |||
:The entire body of this treatise can be condensed into the following seven vajra points: | |||
::1 . the buddha, | |||
::2. the dharma, | |||
::3. the saṅgha, | |||
::4. the buddha-nature, | |||
::5. enlightenment, | |||
::6. the qualities of enlightenment and | |||
::7. buddha-activity. | |||
<h6>Holmes (1999) <ref>Holmes, Ken & Katia. Maitreya on Buddha Nature. Scotland: Altea Publishing, 1999.</ref></h6> | |||
:The entire body of this treatise can be condensed | |||
:into the following seven vajra abodes: | |||
:buddha. dharma, saṃgha, buddha-nature, | |||
:enlightenment, qualities and buddha-activity. | |||
<h6>Fuchs (2000) <ref>Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.</ref></h6> | |||
:If condensed, the body of the entire commentary | |||
:[consists of] the following seven vajra points: | |||
:Buddha, Dharma, the Assembly, the element, | |||
:enlightenment, qualities, and then buddha activity. | |||
}} | }} | ||
Latest revision as of 10:08, 8 September 2020
Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse I.1
First Verse
Verse I.1 Variations
बुद्धश्च धर्मश्च गणश्च धातु-
र्बोधिर्गुणाः कर्म च बौद्धमन्त्यम्
कृत्स्नस्य शास्त्रस्य शरीरमेतत्
समासतो वज्रपदानि सप्त
buddhaśca dharmaśca gaṇaśca dhātu-
bodhirguṇāḥ karma ca bauddhamantyam
kṛtsnasya śāstrasya śarīrametat
samāsato vajrapadāni sapta
E. H. Johnston as input by the University of the West.[1]
སངས་རྒྱས་ཆོས་ཚོགས་ཁམས་དང་བྱང་ཆུབ་དང་། །
ཡོན་ཏན་སངས་རྒྱས་ཕྲིན་ལས་ཐ་མ་སྟེ། །
བསྟན་བཅོས་ཀུན་གྱི་ལུས་ནི་མདོར་བསྡུ་ན། །
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཡི་ནི་གནས་བདུན་འདི་དག་གོ། །
Buddha, dharma, assembly, basic element,
Awakening, qualities, and finally buddha activity–
The body of the entire treatise
Is summarized in these seven vajra points.
The Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Community,
The Essence [of the Buddha], the Supreme Enlightenment,
The Virtuous Qualities [of the Buddha],
And, last of all, the Act of the Buddha; —
These are the 7 Adamantine Subjects, [which show]
Briefly, the body of the whole text.
Takasaki, p. 141[3], from Sanskrit with reference to the Chinese.
Le Bouddha, le Dharma, la Communauté, l’Élément, l’Éveil,
Les qualités et, enfin, les activités éveillées Le corps du traité tout entier se ramène À ces sept points de vajra.
Charrier, Christian and Patrick Carré. Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule. Plazac: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.
RGVV Commentary on Verse I.1
Tibetan
English
Sanskrit
Chinese
Full Tibetan Commentary
Full English Commentary
Full Sanskrit Commentary
Full Chinese Commentary
Other English translations
Obermiller (1931) [17]
- The Buddha, the Doctrine, the Congregation,
- The Germ (of Buddhahood), Supreme Enlightenment,
- The attributes of the Buddha and last of all his acts,一
- These are the seven adamantine topics,
- In which the compass of this treatise can be summarized.
Takasaki (1966) [18]
- The Meaning of the 7 Vajrapadas.
- The Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Community,
- The Essence [of the Buddha] , the Supreme Enlightenment,
- The Virtuous Qualities [of the Buddha],
- And, last of all, the Act of the Buddha; —
- These are the 7 Adamantine Subjects, [which show]
- Briefly, the body of the whole text.
Holmes (1985) [19]
- The entire body of this treatise can be condensed into the following seven vajra points:
- 1 . the buddha,
- 2. the dharma,
- 3. the saṅgha,
- 4. the buddha-nature,
- 5. enlightenment,
- 6. the qualities of enlightenment and
- 7. buddha-activity.
Holmes (1999) [20]
- The entire body of this treatise can be condensed
- into the following seven vajra abodes:
- buddha. dharma, saṃgha, buddha-nature,
- enlightenment, qualities and buddha-activity.
Fuchs (2000) [21]
- If condensed, the body of the entire commentary
- [consists of] the following seven vajra points:
- Buddha, Dharma, the Assembly, the element,
- enlightenment, qualities, and then buddha activity.
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.
- I generally render vajrapada—lit. "vajra foot(ing)"—as "vajra point." Among the many meanings of pada, those that are relevant here are "footing" (or "basis") and "word."
- Compare the explanation of "vajra"in the Eighth Karmapa’s Lamp (15–16): "The means to generate the actual type of realization of the vajra-like samādhi are as follows. In the beginning, the minds and mental factors of ordinary beings are made pure through the power of the triad of study, reflection, and meditation. Thereafter, without having to rely on the power of any [element] among the triad of study, reflection, and meditation, but in a self-arisen manner, the vajra-like wisdom of realization is able to overcome the hosts of ignorance right upon the light of wisdom’s meeting them for a single moment at the same time. This is just as the orb of the sun, in a single instant of its shining, roots out completely the darkness of the latent tendencies of ignorance. This is the meaning of ‘vajra,’ and therefore it is [also] the meaning of ‘the seven vajra points’ in the Uttaratantra."JKC (10–12) explains the following on what the Uttaratantra teaches and the meaning of "vajra." The basis of explanation of the Uttaratantra is the heart of the matter taught by the Buddha, which is that "all sentient beings always possess the tathāgata heart." Though there are infinite different approaches of explaining this by following distinct scriptures, reasonings, and meditations in both India and Tibet, the masters of the Madhyamaka of definitive meaning assert the following. The entirety of the definitive meanings of all three dharma wheels is included in the two kinds of identitylessness. The ultimate meaning of these is the emptiness of the duality of apprehender and apprehended in terms of persons and in terms of phenomena. However, the manner of being empty is not just a nonimplicative negation. Madhyāntavibhāga I.20 says:
- Emptiness here is the nonbeing
- Of persons and phenomena.
- The real being of this nonbeing
- In it is another emptiness.
- Accordingly, it is the manner of being empty that is an implicative negation—the essence of self-lucid self-awareness—that is taught as the tathāgata heart in the context of the Uttaratantra. This is the vajra of the definitive meaning, which becomes threefold through being divided by its phases, as in Uttaratantra I.47:
- Its being impure, its being both impure and pure,
- And its being completely pure, in due order,
- Are expressed as "sentient being,"
- "Bodhisattva," and "tathāgata."
- Its phase of not being pure of adventitious stains is described as "sentient being," and this expanse is also called "disposition" or "the basic element that is the tathāgata heart." Its phase of possessing both impurity and purity is described as the persons who have entered the path, and from the perspective of isolates, the expanse represents the dharma and the saṃgha. That is, from the perspective of the isolate that is the mere wisdom of the path of seeing, it is the saṃgha. From the perspective of the uninterrupted path, it is the path. From the perspective of the path of liberation and its distinctive features, it is cessation. Its phase of being completely pure is described as the Tathāgata and so on, and the expanse is called "dharmakāya." If this is divided in terms of isolates, it is threefold—awakening, the qualities, and enlightened activity. Therefore, through these internal subdivisions, that vajra is also taught as the seven vajra points. It is easy to understand that the entire definitive meaning of the two latter dharma wheels is included in it, but you may wonder how the definitive meaning of the first wheel—personal identitylessness—is included in it. The basis of purification, the means of purification, and the result of purification of the inferior paths are all included in the suchness with stains. Therefore, the main topic of this treatise is the tathāgata heart, and one should understand that the entirety of the definitive meanings of all three dharma wheels is included in it.
- Skt. artha can also mean "topic" or "meaning," as in a meaning and the words that express it. However, as made clear in the preceding sentence, here the term refers to the actual true nature of all phenomena, which is not a semantic, conceptual, or abstract meaning or topic, but something to be perceived directly. GC (20.25–21.6) also makes this very clear, saying that the seven vajra points are very difficult to be understood through study and reflection because these two are conceptual and the actuality of the vajra points cannot be made a direct object of conceptions. Rather, this actuality is the object of what has the nature of the personally experienced direct perception that arises from meditation. Since this actuality is to be personally experienced and thus is inexpressible, it cannot arise right away on the basis of words. However, it still serves as the subject matter of this treatise because this text teaches the cognitions of study and reflection that represent the causes that accord with, and are the path to, attaining what is to be personally experienced. This is similar to expressing the city Pātaliputra when saying, "This is the way leading to Pāṭaliputra." The same is said in Uttaratantra V.16.
- Sthirādhyāśayaparivartasūtra, D224, fol. 172b.2–3. VT (fol. 9v.2–3) glosses this passage as the Tathāgata’s being "unarisen and characterized by unconditioned wisdom."
- The Kangyur has the title of this text as Sthirādhyāśayaparivartasūtra.
- VT (fol. 9v.3) glosses "this actuality" as "the actuality of the dhātu," with "dhātu" referring to natural purity and "awakening," to the purity of being free from stains.
- This is inserted in accordance with DP.
- Though Edgerton 1953 and Takasaki 1966a take the term sattvadhātu to mean "mass of beings,"this makes no sense in the context of RGVV. Rather, as clearly explained throughout RGVV (particularly on I.48), the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta (see the next sentence in this quote as well as other passages from that sūtra on J40 and J41), and the Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra (J6), sattvadhātu is an equivalent of tathāgatagarbha.
- Taishō 668, 467a. YDC (243) comments on this quote as follows. "Object" and "sphereto meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment, respectively. As for "known, seen, or discriminated," according to Ngog Lotsāwa, this refers to the knowing during preparation, main practice, and conclusion or the knowing during the paths of preparation, seeing, and familiarization. According to Shang Chökyi Lama, this refers to the knowing through study, reflection, and meditation.
- D45.48, fol. 269a.1–2.
- J dharmakāyaḥ so ’yam avinirbhāgadharmā ’vinirmuktajñānaguṇo, DP chos kyi sku gang yin pa de ni ’di lta ste . . . de bzhin gshegs pa’i chos dag dang / rnam par dbyer med pa’i chos dang ldan pa ma bral ba’i ye shes kyi yon tan can yin no. Schmithausen 1971 suggests to understand the compound avinirmuktajñāna° as vinirmuktatvena jñānam yeṣām na bhavati ("with which knowing them to be divisible [from the dharmakāya] never happens"). The corresponding passage grol bas shes pa in the Śrīmālādevīsūtra (D45.48, fol. 272b.1) seems to support that (though it should read ma grol bas shes pa, which is instead found for the afflictions, which are actually realized as being divisible). Schmithausen also suggests a second possibility of reading this compound as vinirmuktaṃ jñānaṃ yeṣām na bhavati ("whose realization is not divisible [from the realization of the dharmakāya]"). I follow Schmithausen 1971 and Mathes 2008a in translating "qualities that cannot be realized as being divisible" (which corresponds to how the Śrīmālādevīsūtra uses this phrase). However, guṇa is here in the singular, which seems also how GC (24.15–17) understands it (though taking avinirmuktajñāna to mean "inseparable wisdom"). GC comments that the dharmakāya is endowed with inseparable attributes because they are of the same nature as buddha wisdom. Even at the time of being obscured by the afflictions, it possesses the quality of inseparable wisdom (or the feature of wisdom’s being inseparable from it). In brief since the tathāgata heart and its qualities have a connection of identity, the term "kāya" refers to "nature."
- Taishō 668, 467a.
- D185, fol. 187b.4–5.
- Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.
- 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.
- Holmes, Ken & Katia. The Changeless Nature. Eskdalemuir, Scotland: Karma Drubgyud Darjay Ling, 1985.
- Holmes, Ken & Katia. Maitreya on Buddha Nature. Scotland: Altea Publishing, 1999.
- Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
