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<div class="section-header mt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">From the Experts</div>
<div class="section-header mt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">More from the Experts</div>
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|First Writer-In-Digital-Residence: Alex Gardner
|title=First Writer-In-Digital-Residence: Alex Gardner
                                         |description=Alex Gardner served as the writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation's Buddha-Nature Project from 2017-2019. Read his introductory articles on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and the history of buddha-nature theory.
                                         |description=Alex Gardner served as the writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation's Buddha-Nature Project from 2017-2019. Read his introductory articles on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and the history of buddha-nature theory.
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg

Revision as of 17:40, 15 December 2020

Discover
New to Buddhism or to the concept of buddha-nature? Discover how buddha-nature is articulated in various Buddhist traditions by exploring multimedia, articles, books, and translations of primary sources from leading Buddhist teachers and academics. This page brings together a collection of curated resources designed to make the concept of buddha-nature understandable and accessible to a general audience.


Buddha-Nature in East Asia

Multimedia

Complete Site Guide
Audio
Buddha-Nature by Rev. George Kosho Finch
This week's topic is Buddha Nature, in Sanskrit: tathāgatagarbha (如来藏). All sentient beings are considered to be in possession of the Buddha Nature, the potential to attain enlightenment.
Video
It Is Your Buddha-Nature That Sees, Hears, and Speaks!
Daehaeng Kun Sunim, a Seon (Zen) master and Buddhist nun from Korea, responds to questions about the concept of Juingong (the underlying mind) from an audience member.
Audio
Trusting in Our Own Buddha-Nature
Rinso Ed Sattizahn gives a dharma talk at San Francisco Zen Center's City Center on the topic of buddha-nature. He touches on selections from Dōgen's Genjōkōan to illustrate this Buddhist teaching
Video
One's True Mind and Inherent Nature by Sheng Yen
Our true mind is the pure mind of wisdom free of defilements. Our inherent nature refers to the nature of our being something common, which is also called the Buddha-nature.
Audio
The Cloudless Sky of Buddha-Nature
Rev. Kokyo Henkel teaches on "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature" at the San Francisco Zen Center on September 6, 2011.
Featured Articles
Article
Mind Is Buddha
Geoffery Shugen Arnold, Sensei, on Case 30 of the Gateless Gate, “Mazu’s ‘Mind is buddha.'”
Article
Everything Is Buddhanature
Original sin vs. original goodness: Mahayana Buddhism offers a more hopeful view of human nature.
Article
Trust Practice, Practice Trust
When we truly give ourselves over to practice, explains Roko Sherry Chayat, we let go of our dependence on outcomes and begin to trust just being what we are, buddhanature, revealed right here, right now, in this very body and place.
Article
Impermanence Is Buddha Nature
Change isn’t just a fact of life we have to accept and work with, says Norman Fischer. Practitioners have always understood impermanence as the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings and practice.
Article
On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna
An introduction to the Awakening of Faith, an immensely important treatise popular in all traditions of Buddhism in East Asia.
Article
The Path of Gratitude
In Shin Buddhism, we don’t practice to achieve anything—not enlightenment, good karma, a favorable rebirth, or material rewards. We practice simply to give thanks for what we have received.
Books

No River to Cross-front.jpg

Daehaeng
No River to Cross

Zen Mind Beginner's Mind-front.jpg

Suzuki
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Buddha Nature (Sallie King)-front.jpg

King
Buddha Nature



Buddha-Nature in Tibet

Multimedia

Complete Site Guide
Video
Buddha Nature: What Is It? How Is It Different from soul? A Teaching from Zasep Tulku
"Everyone has Buddha Nature," explains H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche in a "learning from the Teachers" video on the topic from BuddhaWeekly.
Video
Discovering Buddha Nature: Talk by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur Rinpoche describes buddha-nature with the metaphor of a diamond covered in mud, explaining how the innate purity of awareness can be obscured, but never changed.
Video
Dealing with Depression: Interview with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo on Study Buddhism
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo discusses buddha-nature beautifully for a general audience.
Video
What Is Buddha-Nature? by Wulstan Fletcher
Wulstan Fletcher explains buddha-nature as the deepest aspect of oneself, a wellspring of goodness and wisdom that is always present.
Video
On How Beginning Students Might Engage with Buddha-Nature Teachings by Ringu Tulku
Ringu Tulku talks about how beginning students might start to orient themselves toward buddha-nature teachings in practice. He explains that it is important to recognize that everybody has the seed of wisdom and compassion within them.
Video
We Are Enlightened by Nature
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche provides encouragement that we are all enlightened by nature, and the path is a process of discovering that enlightened nature.
Featured Articles
Article
On Buddhanature—and What It Is Not, by Khandro Rinpoche
"Buddhism must always be seen as a skillful means for realizing the most basic aspect of human life: one's inherent buddhanature."
Article
Emptiness–Buddhanature, by Traleg Kyabgon
"Our true nature is buddhanature and that buddhanature is the nature of all sentient beings."
Article
Lasting Happiness, by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
"... We don’t have to look outside the present moment to experience wisdom, compassion, and the boundless purity of our true nature."
Article
This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty, by Tsoknyi Rinpoche
"That something, when I was old enough to fit words to it, is a kind of spark that lights the lives of all living beings.... In many Buddhist teachings, it’s known as buddhanature."
Article
The Example of the Buddha: Relating the Life of the Buddha to Our Own, by Joseph Goldstein
"Another level on which we can relate is to view the Buddha as a fundamental archetype of humanity; that is, as the full manifestation of buddha-nature, the mind that is free of defilement and distortion..."
Article
The Sky Dragon's Profound Roar, by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
"We practice the genuine dharma because it is a method for clearing away the temporary stains that obscure our vision of the true nature of mind."
Books

The Buddha Nature- Death and Eternal Soul in Buddhism-front.jpg

14th Dalai Lama & Peter Michel
The Buddha Nature

Buddha Nature (Geshe Sonam Rinchen)-front.jpg

Geshe Sonam Rinchen
Buddha Nature

Carefree Dignity-front.jpg

Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Carefree Dignity

Samsāra, Nirvāna, and Buddha Nature-front.jpg

14th Dalai Lama & Thubten Chodron
Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature

Hookham The Buddha Within-front.jpg

Shenpen Hookham
The Buddha Within

The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment-front.jpg

Thubten Loden
The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment
Study the Sources
The seeds of buddha-nature teachings are sprinkled throughout the sutras and tantras of the Buddhist canon. A core group of scripture that initially taught buddha-nature known as the tathāgatagarbha sūtras date between the second and fourth centuries. These include the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Śrīmālādevīsūtra and several others. The famous Laṅkāvatārasūtra was also important for buddha-nature theory. In Tibetan Buddhism the late-Indian treatise Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra, or Gyü Lama as it is known in the Tibetan, serves as a major source for buddha-nature. In East Asia the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna (大乗起信論) and the Vajrasamādhisūtra were the most influential treatises in spreading buddha-nature theory. All of these important buddha-nature texts have been translated into English by leading scholars and translators. Below is a selection of these works:
Buddha-Nature in Translation—East Asia

A Buddha Within-front.jpg

Zimmermann
A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

The Nirvana Sutra Volume I-front.jpg

Blum
The Nirvana Sutra, Vol. 1

The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā-front.jpg

Alex Wayman & Hideko Wayman
The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā

Lankavatara Sutra Translation Commentary-front.jpg

Red Pine
The Lankavatara Sutra: A Zen Text

Buddha Nature The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra-front.jpg

Rosemarie Fuchs
Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra

Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith-front.jpeg

Jorgensen & Lusthaus, et al.
Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith

The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea-front.jpg

Robert Buswell
The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea (The Vajrasamādhisūtra}


More from the Experts
[[ |First Writer-In-Digital-Residence: Alex Gardner]]
Alex Gardner served as the writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation's Buddha-Nature Project from 2017-2019. Read his introductory articles on the Ratnagotravibhāga and the history of buddha-nature theory.
Alex Gardner

On the Ratnagotravibhāga

Article

A History of Buddha-Nature Theory: The Literature and Traditions

Article
Other Interviews

Ringu Tulku

Interview
Ringu Tulku
Ringu Tulku Interview on Buddha-Nature
Ringu Tulku. “Ringu Tulku Interview on Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Produced by Tsadra Foundation Research Department, October 10, 2019. Audio, 1:00:17.; People/'jam mgon kong sprul, People/Sgam po pa, Texts/Dam chos yid bzhin gyi nor bu thar pa rin po che'i rgyan, Topics/Defining buddha-nature, Topics/Sentient beings, Topics/The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism, Topics/Third Turning, Topics/Debate(s), Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Tokpa Tulku

Interview
Tokpa Tulku
Tokpa Tulku Interview on Buddha-Nature
Tokpa Tulku. "Tokpa Tulku Interview on Buddha-Nature." Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 22, 2019, Kathmandu, Nepal. Audio, 25:08.; Key Terms/rang stong, Key Terms/gzhan stong, Topics/The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism, Topics/Debate(s), Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra


Featured Articles
Events
This page of events related to the Buddha-Nature project includes recordings from scholarly meetings, special interviews and speeches, as well as online events hosted by Tsadra Foundation.
Topic of the week
Read regular posts from the writer-in-digital-residence, Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho.
Event
Celebrating Buddha-Nature
Live Event: Celebrating Buddha-Nature · Join us on Zoom or Facebook live as we celebrate Buddha-Nature teachings.
Explore the root verses
I.28

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། །

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

संबुद्धकायस्फरणात् तथताव्यतिभेदतः
गोत्रतश्च सदा सर्वे बुद्धगर्भाः शरीरिणः

佛法身遍滿 真如無差別
皆實有佛性 是故說常有

(The Chinese translation collapses verses I:27 and I:28 into one verse. See Takasaki, page 197 note #2, for his speculation on this verse in the various languages.)

Verse page

[edit]

Select a language to view commentary on this verse.

[edit]
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, 2015: pp. 331-460.



[edit]
Asaṅga (thogs med). Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā, (theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa). Translated by Sajjana and rngog blo ldan shes rab. In Derge Tengyur (sde dge bstan 'gyur), (D 4025) sems tsam, phi 74b1-129a7, Vol. 123 pp. 148-257. BDRC Logo.png BDRC
།དེ་ལ་དྲི་མ་{br}དང་བཅས་པའི་དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་ཀྱི་དབང་དུ་མཛད་ནས་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ནི་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན་ནོ་ཞེས་གསུངས་པ་གང་ཡིན་པ་དེ་དོན་གང་གི་ཡིན་ཞེ་ན། རྫོགས་སངས་སྐུ་ནི་འཕྲོ་ཕྱིར་དང་། །དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་དབྱེར་མེད་ཕྱིར་དང་། །རིགས་ཡོད་ཕྱིར་ན་ལུས་ཅན་{br}ཀུན། །རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན། །མདོར་བསྡུ་ན་དོན་རྣམ་པ་གསུམ་གྱིས་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ནི་རྟག་ཏུ་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན་ནོ་ཞེས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱིས་གསུངས་ཏེ། སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས་སེམས་ཅན་ཚོགས་ཞུགས་ཕྱིར། །རང་བཞིན་དྲི་མེད་{br}དེ་ནི་གཉིས་མེད་དེ། །སངས་རྒྱས་རིགས་ལ་དེ་འབྲས་ཉེར་བརྟགས་ཕྱིར། །འགྲོ་ཀུན་སངས་རྒྱས་སྙིང་པོ་ཅན་དུ་གསུངས། །དོན་དེ་རྣམ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་དོན་གང་གིས་གསུང་རབ་ཐམས་ཅད་དུ་ཁྱད་པར་མེད་པར་བསྟན་པར་འགྱུར་བ་དེའི་དབང་དུ་བྱས་ཏེ་བཤད་པར་
བྱའོ། །འདི་ལྟ་སྟེ། སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུས་འཕྲོ་བའི་དོན་དང་། དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་རྣམ་པར་དབྱེར་མེད་པའི་དོན་དང་། དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་རིགས་ཡོད་པའི་དོན་གྱིས་སོ། །དོན་གྱི་གནས་གསུམ་པོ་{br}འདི་དག་ཀྱང་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོའི་མདོའི་རྗེས་སུ་འབྲངས་ཏེ་འོག་ནས་སྟོན་པར་འགྱུར་རོ།
[edit]
Johnston, E. H. and Chowdhury, T. The Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānanottaratantraśāstra. Patna: Bihar Research Society, 1950. Digital input provided by the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project, Miroj Shakya proof reader. University of the West, 2007.

tatra samalāṃ tathatāmadhikṛtya yaduktaṃ sarvasattvāstathāgatagarbhā iti tat kenārthena/


buddhajñānāntargamāt sattvarāśe-

stannairmalyasyādvayatvāt prakṛtyā/

bauddhe gotre tatphalasyopacārā-

duktāḥ sarve dehino buddhagarbhāḥ//27//


saṃbuddhakāyaspharaṇāt tathatāvyatibhedataḥ/

gotrataśca sadā sarve buddhagarbhāḥ śarīriṇaḥ//28//


samāsatastrividhenārthena sadā sarvasattvāstathāgatagarbhā ityuktaṃ bhagavatā/ yaduta sarvasattveṣu tathāgatadharmakāyaparispharaṇārthena tathāgatatathatāvyatibhedārthena tathāgatagotrasaṃbhavārthena ca/ eṣāṃ punastrayāṇāmarthapadānāmutaratra tathāgatagarbhasūtrānusāreṇa nirdeśo bhaviṣyati/ pūrvataraṃ tu yenārthena sarvatrāviśeṣeṇa pravacane sarvākāraṃ tadarthasūcanaṃ bhavati tadapyādhikṛtya nirdekṣyāmi/

[edit]
Unknown (credited in East Asian Buddhist traditions to Jianyi 堅意, or *Sāramati). Ratnagotravibhāga (Jiu jing yi cheng bao xing lun). Translated by Ratnamati (Lenamoti 勒那摩提). Taishō no. 1611. CBETA, SAT.

論曰自此已後餘殘論偈次第依彼四句廣差別說應知此以何義向前偈言

真如有雜垢 及遠離諸垢 佛無量功德 及佛所作業 如是妙境界 是諸佛所知 依此妙法身 出生於三寶 此偈示現何義如向所說一切眾生有如來藏彼依何義故如是說偈言

佛法身遍滿 真如無差別 皆實有佛性 是故說常有

此偈明何義有三種義是故如來說一切時一切眾生有如來藏何等為三一者如來法身遍在一切諸眾生身偈言佛法身遍滿故二者如來真如無差別偈言真如無差別故三者一切眾生皆悉實有真如佛性偈言皆實有佛性故此三句義自此下論依如來藏修多羅我後時說應知如偈本言

一切眾生界 不離諸佛智 以彼淨無垢 性體不二故 依一切諸佛 平等法性身 知一切眾生 皆有如來藏

The Root Verses
Study the Uttaratantra's root verses in multiple languages.
Click to view all verses
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Traditional expositions

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso

Teaching
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
Discourse on the Uttaratantra by The 14th Dalai Lama in Holland
Dalai Lama, 14th. "Discourse on Uttaratantra." Pt. 1 of 4. Interpreted by Alexander Berzin, Filmed May 1986 in Holland. Produced by Study Buddhism. Video, 1:37:22, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsiVRQ3T6EY.; Key Terms/āgantukamala, Key Terms/prabhāsvaracitta, Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Ringu Tulku

Teaching
Ringu Tulku
Buddha Nature: A Talk by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Ringu Tulku. "Buddha Nature." Pt. 1 of 3. Produced by and filmed at Karma Sonam Dargye Ling Temple, December 1, 2015. Video, 1:37:22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8BD50jtFgg.;

Kirti Tsenshab

Teaching
Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche
Buddha Potential 1: Uttaratantra by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche at Land of Medicine Buddha, 2003
Tsenshab, Kirti. "Buddha Potential 1: Uttaratantra by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche." Pt. 1 of 9. Filmed at Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel, CA, 2003. Video, 1:27:14. https://vimeo.com/136634699.; Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Khenpo Sodargye

Teaching
Khenpo Sodargye
Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra: Taught by Khenpo Sodargye, May 2019
Khenpo Sodargye. "The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra." Pt. 1 of 15. In Chinese with English translation. Produced by Khenpo Sodargye's team, May 2019. Video, 1:00:17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4OiLLo1e_Y.; Key Terms/Nyingma, Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Teaching
Khensur, Gyumed
Teachings on the Uttaratantra by Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche
Khensur, Gyumed. "Uttaratantra (Buddha Nature)." Pt. 1 of 16. Streamed live on August 13, 2016 by Do Ngak Kunphen Ling and the Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Center of New Jersey. Video, 1:49:55. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIeSENCwGzI.; Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Orgyen P'huntsok

Teaching
Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok
Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok Buddha Nature Class: Teachings on the Uttaratantra
Phuntsok, Tulku Orgyen. "Buddha Nature." A Six-Part Teaching on the Uttaratantra Shastra. Pt. 1 of 6. Produced by the Odiyana Institute, 2018. Video, 1:20:20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtQ5xyMtlAg.; Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra


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The purpose of the buddha-nature website is to provide a resource hub for trustworthy information for learning about and teaching the concept of buddha-nature, its associated texts, teachings, lineages, and relevant Buddhist ideas. Unique content will be shared here, but the site will primarily act as a broker for other projects and authors that have already created quality materials, which we will curate for a wide range of audiences.

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