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Towards an Understanding of Tathāgatagarbha Interpretation in Tibet with Special Reference to the Ratnagotravibhāga

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Citation:	Burchardi, Anne. "Towards an Understanding of Tathāgatagarbha Interpretation in Tibet with Special Reference to the Ratnagotravibhāga." In Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, edited by Henk Blezer with the assistance of Abel Zadoks, 59–77. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 2/2. Leiden: Brill, 2002.

Abstract

This essay seeks to highlight a number of the complexities underlying the hermeneutical process of tathāgatagarbha interpretation in Tibet based on the Ratnagotravibhāga (henceforth: RGV). This is followed by an overview of literature that might help illuminate this field, by providing a provisional list of Tibetan commentaries explicitly based on the Ratnagotravibhāga.

References

Primary Sources

• 'dzam gling sang rgyas bstan pa'i rgyan mchog yongs rdzogs gnas lngar mkhyen pa%i pandi ta chen po gser mdog pan chen shakya mchog ldan gyi gsung 'bum legs bshad gsar gyi bdud rtsi vol. 13, reproduced from an 18th century manuscript. Thimpu, Bhutan: Kunzang Tobgey 1975.

• Blo gros mtshungs med Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi nge don gsal bar byed pa rin po che'i sgron me, A detailed commentary on the Uttaratantraśāstra (Ratnagotravibhāga) by Blo gros mtshungs med. Reproduced from a copy of an ancient manuscript from the library of Ri bo bhe Rje drun Rin po che of Padma bkod, Arunachal Pradesh: Tseten Dorji 1974.

• Collected works of Kyabje Zemey Rimpoche, Delhi: Dze smad bla brang 1996.

• Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs bzhad nyi ma'i 'od zer, Ka rma pa Ran 'byung rdo rje, n.p. 1976.

• Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan, "Theg pa cehn (sic!) po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs bsad (sic!) ni ma'i 'od zer" in A detialed (sic!) commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga or Uttaratantraśāstra by Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan and Dus 'khor chos 'byung and the famed rgya gar 'phags pa'i yul gyi chos 'byung, histories of the Kalāchakra Practice and Buddhism in India by Jo nang pa kun mkhyen Tāranatha. Reproduced from a manuscript collection from Nalendra Monastery in Bhutan, Kunsang Topgay, 1976.

• Dpal ldan bla ma dam pa thams cad mkhyen pa bo dong phyogs las rnam rgyal gyi gsung 'bum, Delhi: Tibet House Library Publications 1971.

• Dzam-Thang Edition of the Collected Works (gsung 'bum) of Kun mkhyen Dol-Po-Pa Shes-Rab-Rgyal-Mtshan Collected and Presented by Professor Matthew Kapstein, Department of Religion, Columbia University 1992.

• Kong sprul blo gros mtha yas Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos snying po'i don mngon sum lam gyi bshad srol dang sbyar ba'i rnam par 'grel pa sphyir mi ldog pa seng ge'i nga ro, Rumtek, n.d.

• Mdo snags rab 'byams pa pan chen bsod nams grags pa'i gsung 'bum, Paṇ chen bsod nams grags pa literature series vol. 25, Mundgod Kamataka: Drepung Loseling Library Society 1986.

• Mkhan po gzhan dga', Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos zhes bya ba'i mchan 'grel, Delhi: Konchhog Lhadrepa 1987.

• Mi pham phyogs las rnam rgyal, Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi mchan 'grel mi pham zhal lung in Mipham's Collected Works, Gangtok: Sonam Kazi 1976.

• Rgyal tshab rje'i gsung 'bum, Delhi: Lama Guru Deva 1980.

• Rje btsun Tāra nātha'i gsung 'bum, vol. 17, "The Collected Works of Jo nang rje btsun Tāranātha", reproduced from a set of prints from the Rtag brtan Phun tshogs gling blocks preserved in the library of the Stog Palace, Leh, Ladakh: C. Namgyal & Tsewang Taru, Sman rtsis Shes rig Dpe mzod 1987.

• Sde dge Tibetan Tripiṭaka Bstan 'gyur, 225 Phi, no. 4024, Tokyo: University of Tokyo 1979.

• The Collected Works of Dpal sprul O rgyan 'jigs med chos kye dbang po Reproduced by Sonam T. Kazi, Gangtok, The Ngagyur Nyingmay Sungrab Series 1971.

• The Collected Works of Rgyal tshab rje Darma Rinchen Reproduced from an example of the old Bkra shis lhun po redaction from the library of Klu 'khyil Monastery of Lhadakh, Delhi: Gelek Demo 1980.

• The Tibet Tanjur, Narthang version, vol. 132, no. 3516 (The Royal Library, Copenhagen.)

• The Tibetan Tripiṭaka, Peking Edition, Kyoto: Otani University 1957.

• Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos / Mahāyānottaratantraśāstrabiharatisma, Rumtek, Sikkim, n.d.

• Rong ston Shes bya kun rig (1367-1449), Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs par bshad pa, Gangtok: Gonpo Tsetan 1979.

• Rong ston Shes bya kun rig (1367-1449), Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs par bshad pa in Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos rtsa 'grel, Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang 1997.

Tibetan Reference Works

• Ā khu shes rab rgya mtso, Dpe rgyun dkon pa'i 'ga' zhig gi tho yig ("A List of Some Rare Books") in Chandra (1963).

• Bod kyi bstan bcos khag cig gi mtshan byang dri med shel dkar phreng ba (Catalogue of Tibetan Classics) vol. l & 2 Xining: Qinghai Nationalities Publishing House 1985.

• Bod gangs can gyi grub mtha'i ris med kyi mkhas dbang brgya dang brgyad cu lhag gi gsung 'bum so so'i dkar chag phyogs gcig tu bsgrigs pa shes bya'i gter mdzod, Mi rigs dpe mdzod khang (eds.) Si khron rigs dpe skrun khang, stod cha 1984, bar cha 1989 and smad cha.

• Catalogue of the Tohuku University Collection of Tibetan Works on Buddhism, Tohuku University 1953.

• Chandra, L. (1963) Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, Kyoto: Rinsen 1981.

• Sde dge'i par khang rig gnas kun 'dus gzhal med khang chos mdzod chen mo bkra shis sgo mang gi dkar chag rdo rje'i chos bdun ldan pa'i lde'u mig, Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang 1983.

• 'Gos gzhon nu dpal (1478), Bod kyi yul du chos dang chos smra ba ji ltar byung ba'i rim pa Deb ther snong po, reproduced by Lokesh Chandra from the Collection of Prof. Raghu Vira, New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture 1976.

• The Complete Works of the Great Masters of the Sa skya Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism, compiled by Bsod nams rgya mtsho, Bibliotheca Tibetica I-7, Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko 1968.

• Mkhan po Kaka The Tshurphu Hand List, Tshurphu: Tibet 1999.

• Sa skya bka' 'bum dkar chag, Kunga Yonten Hochotsang, ed. Sakyapa Catalogue Series, Gangtok: Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology 1990.

• Sa skya pa'i mkhas pa rnams kyi gsung skor, "The Collected Works of the Ancient Sa skya pa scholars", Rajpur, Dehra Dun: Sakya College 1999.

References

• Jackson, David. (1993), 'Foreword' to Rngog Lo tsā-ba's Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga, pp. 1-46, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

• Jackson, David (1997), "Rngog Lo tsa-ba's commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga: An early-20th century Lhasa printed edition", in Ernst Steinkellner ed., pp. 439-56, 1997.

• Kolmas J. (1996), Prague Collection of Tibetan Prints from Derge, Dissertationes Orientales, no. 48, vol. III, pt. 1 & 2, Prague: Oriental Institute.

• Nagao Gadjin (1973), "On The Theory of Buddha-body (Buddha-kāya)", in The Eastern Buddhist vol. VI, no. 1, 1973.

• Roerich, George (1949), The Blue Annals, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1988.

• Steinkellner, Ernest (1995) ed., Tibetan Studies Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the Int. Ass. for Tibetan Studies Graz 1995, vol. 1, pp. 439-56, Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 1997.

• Williams, Paul (1989), Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, London: Routledge 1989.