Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra

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महापरिनिर्वाणसूत्र

འཕགས་པ་ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།

'phags pa yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa chen po theg pa chen po'i mdo; 'phags pa yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa chen po'i mdo chen po; 'phags pa yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa chen po'i mdo

大般泥洹經

Dabannihuan jing

D119,120,121 · T374,375,376

SOURCE TEXT

There are three translations in the Tibetan canon under this name:

Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 119)
Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 120)
Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 121)

The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra is one of the main scriptural sources for buddha-nature in China and Tibet. Set around the time of Buddha's passing or Mahāparinirvāṇa, the sūtra contains teachings on buddha-nature equating it with the dharmakāya—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha. It also asserts that all sentient beings possess this nature as the buddhadhātu, or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, the sūtra includes some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the dharmakāya is endowed with the four pāramitās of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self. It may be noted that there are three different texts with similar titles in the Chinese and Tibetan canons. Of the three Tibetan texts with Mahāparinirvāṇa in their title, a short one (Derge Kangyur, No. 121) called Āryamahāparinirvāṇasūtra contains prophecies of events in the centuries after the Buddha's Mahāparinirvāṇa but has nothing on buddha-nature. Thus, this is not the Mahāparinirvāṇāsūtra which is considered as a Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. The two which deal with buddha-nature are Mahāyānasūtras and contain detailed accounts of the final teachings of the Buddha. The first sūtra, the longer one covering two volumes of Derge Kangyur (mdo sde Nya and Ta) is a translation from Chinese, while the second one is a translation from Sanskrit. They appear to be two different recensions of the same original sūtra as they have similar titles and overlapping content. However, the one translated from Chinese is much longer and also contains information on the events after the Buddha entered Mahāparinirvāṇa.

Relevance to Buddha-nature

According to Karl Brunnhölzl, "This sūtra’s presentation of buddha nature became the main scriptural basis for the discussion of tathāgatagarbha in China." Furthermore, he states, "In sum, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra discusses three very different meanings of all sentient beings’ possessing buddha nature—(1) all are endowed with an intrinsic pure nature of which they will become fully aware once what obscures it has been removed, (2) all possess a seed or potential for buddhahood, which will grow into its full fruition in the future once all necessary conditions are present, and (3) the mahāyāna path to buddhahood is open for all, and its result is definite if one follows this path."

Scholarly notes

The (Mahāyāna) Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (The Great Scripture of the Great, Perfect Nirvāṇa) must be distinguished from the almost identically entitled “mainstream” Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (Pal. Mahāparinibbānasutta). Study of Sanskrit fragments shows that the correct title of the text is Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (Habata, 2007, xliii–xliv), although it is obvious that the authors of this text were fully aware of the earlier scripture of (almost) the same title and purposely referred to it.
The Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra survives in four main independent versions:

1. 35 identified Central Asian Sanskrit fragments (Habata, 2007, xxvi, xxxi);

2. the Dabannihuan jing (大般泥洹經; T. 376), translated circa 416–418 ce by Buddhabhadra and Faxian (法顯; 320?–420? ce);

3. the Dabanniepan jing (大般涅槃經; T. 374), translated circa 421–432 ce by *Dharmakṣema (曇無讖; 385–433 ce); and

4. the Yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa chen po'i theg pa chen po'i mdo (D 120/Q 788), translated by Jinamitra, Jñānagarbha, and Devacandra (9th cent. ce).

      Dharmakṣema’s version of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra is four times as long as all the other independent versions. Two additional versions are based in turn on Dharmakṣema’s Dabanniepan jing. The Dabanniepan jing (大般涅槃經 T. 375), by Zhiyan 慧嚴 et al., is not an independent translation at all but a revision of Dharmakṣema’s text. D 119/Q 787 is a Tibetan translation from Dharmakṣema’s Chinese version.
      H. Habata (2007) has collected, edited, and studied the Sanskrit fragments, and critically edited the Tibetan translation (2013); a second volume of Sanskrit fragments is forthcoming. The first English translation by K. Yamamoto (1973–1975) – rough, sometimes incomprehensible, and often inaccurate – is presented as a translation of Dharmakṣema’s text (T. 374), but it was actually produced from Shimaji’s Kokuyaku issaikyō translation of T. 375, itself a mere recasting of the Chinese text in Japanese grammatical order (see Yuyama, 1981, 14). Shimoda Masahiro (1993) has published a Japanese translation of the first three chapters of the Tibetan text. M. Blum (2013) has published the first volume of a planned four-volume translation of Dharmakṣema’s Dabanniepan jing (T. 374). S. Hodge is preparing an English translation based on all four independent versions, while M. Radich (2015) has prepared a monograph on the relative dating of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra and aspects of its tathāgatagarbha doctrine.
      The most significant study of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra to date is by Shimoda (1997). Other significant scholarship includes works by Mochizuki Ryōkō (1988) and Qu Dacheng (1994). S. Karashima (2007) studied the key term icchantika. The main English-language studies are by M.-W. Liu (1982; 1984), Takasaki Jikidō (1971), and S. Hodge (2010; 2012). The history of interpretation of this text in China and East Asia generally is a vital and crucial chapter in the history of East Asian Buddhism, which requires its own treatment. Numerous commentaries were written and debates conducted about this scripture; particularly important in this regard is the Dabanniepan jing ji jie (大般涅槃經集解; T. 1763), compiled in 509 ce by Baoliang (寶亮; see also Fuse, 1942).
      As in the latter parts of the mainstream Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, on which it is based, the mise-en-scène is the final hours of the Buddha’s (apparent) life, as a last chance to ask questions. A vast cosmic congregation assembles, bewailing the Buddha’s imminent death. After much competition for the honor, the Buddha deigns to accept the offering of the smith Cunda as his final meal. Against the mainstream text, the disciple Ānanda is depicted as entirely absent (he only reappears at the very end of the text, and then only in Dharmakṣema’s version), and against his traditional role as the best keeper of the Buddha’s teaching, the text stresses that Ānanda is in fact unworthy to be entrusted with safeguarding the dharma. Instead, the dharma is entrusted to the bodhisattva Mahākāśyapa. Remarkably, the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (with the exception of the Dharmakṣema version) ends with the Buddha lying down upon his right side in the “lion’s pose” as if to die, but stops short of his actual parinirvāṇa, his cremation, the division of relics, and so forth.
      The central claim of the first part of the text is that the Buddha’s impending parinirvāṇa is only a docetic show. In fact, in this text, his life is inordinately long, and his body (termed both dharmakāya and abhedavajrakāya [indivisible adamantine body]) is indestructible and made of adamant (Radich, 2011a). The second part of the text (excluding portions unique to the version of Dharmakṣema), which probably belongs to a different stratum of compositional history (Shimoda, 1997), concerns itself with a somewhat miscellaneous sequence of topics, including the following:

the docetic reinterpretation of the worldly existence of the Buddha, both before his attainment of buddhahood (when he is a bodhisattva) and after;
a secret teaching centering on tathāgatagarbha;
creative reinterpretations of liberation and the four fruits of the monastic vocation (śrotāpanna [stream enterer], sakṛdāgāmin [once-returner], anāgāmin [nonreturner], and arhat);
how best to observe the monastic rule (vinaya);
doctrines of the end-times of the dharma (times in which the true dharma will fade from the world, attended by various calamities; Nattier, 1991), false monks, and false teachings;
the “four inversions,” by which – in contrast to classical Buddhist doctrine, which denies the possibility of such things – the Tathāgata is permanent (nitya), blissful (sukha), (true) self (ātman), and pure (śuddha; comp. the Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra);
the magical virtues of Sanskrit letters; and
various parables about the realization of tathāgatagarbha/buddha nature and the docetic parinirvāṇa.

      In the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra, tathāgatagarbha is also frequently referred to as “buddha nature” (this is by now the standard English translation of Chinese foxing [佛性]). Shimoda Masahiro (1997) contends that the use of this synonym for tathāgatagarbha buttresses efforts to supersede worship of physical Buddha relics (buddhadhātu) by the realization of an element of buddhahood within the sentient being. The Sanskrit underlying Chinese foxing (i.e. Tib. sangs rgyas gyi khams) is thought also to be *buddhadhātu, exploiting an alternate sense of dhātu to mean “element” or “raw material.” Thus, by a play on the word dhātu, the focus of cultic activity is shifted from the remnant of past, physical buddhahood in the external world (dhātu [relic]) to a nascent, future buddhahood within the sentient being itself (dhātu [element, raw material]). This hypothesis is among several that have displaced A. Hirakawa’s (1963) hypothesis that the Mahāyāna began as a lay movement centered on the worship of Buddha relics in stūpas (see also Sasaki, 1999) and constitutes an attempt to provide a more accurate account of the relation between nascent Mahāyāna movements and the cult of the Buddha’s relics.
      The Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (again, excepting extra parts found in the Dharmakṣema translation) can be divided into two main chronological strata. The earliest layer reflects the practices and ideas of itinerant dharma preachers, who were semimonastic and engaged in frequent pilgrimages to stūpas through dangerous regions, accompanied by laypeople who did not observe the traditional five precepts and armed themselves to protect the preacher. In Shimoda Masahiro’s view, this layer is apparently opposed to relic worship and proposes that the Buddha’s dharmakāya is adamantine (vajrakāya; see Radich, 2011a); it also propounds the eternity of the Buddha, the docetic view of the parinirvāṇa, and the aforementioned four inversions (eternity, bliss, self, and purity); it separately propounds the idea that the Tathāgata is “self ” (ātman).
      Only in the second layer does the term bodhisattva come to be used for proponents of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra. Moreover, with few exceptions, tathāgatagarbha doctrine is only introduced in this second layer, which also propounds the idea that the true teachings are secret, types of samādhi (meditative states), docetism (lokānuvartanā; “conformity with the world”), the three jewels (the Buddha, the dharma, and the saṅgha, taken as “refuges”), and criticism of śrāvakas (adherents of “mainstream,” non-Mahāyāna doctrine); mentions sūtras as written books (as opposed to oral teachings); and teaches about icchantikas, beings who are forever unable to attain buddhahood. Shimoda Masahiro also sees here a renewed rigor in monastic discipline, corresponding to a shift to sedentary cenobiticism, linked to a new concern for the purity of the saṅgha, and vehement criticism of corrupt monks. The later very important and influential ban on eating meat also appears here.
      As mentioned earlier, Dharmakṣema’s version of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra is much longer than the other independent versions. Yijing (義淨; 635–713 ce) searched in India and Southeast Asia for Sanskrit texts corresponding to this large unique portion, without success (T. 2066 [LI] 4a8–12). Modern scholarship has paid surprisingly little attention to the question of the origin of the remaining unique three quarters of Dharmakṣema’s text (but see Chen, 2004; Hodge, 2010; 2012). However, it is clear that authors of parts of it must have known Indic texts otherwise unknown in China (Radich, 2011b, 49–50, 160–163; Granoff, 2012). These unique portions of Dharmakṣema’s text played a key role in the massive impact of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra on Chinese Buddhism, including the controversy surrounding the icchantika doctrine, in which the important cleric Daosheng (道生; 355–434 ce) played a celebrated role.

(Source: Radich, Michael. "Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures." In Vol. 1, Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism: Literature and Languages, edited by Jonathan A. Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, and Vincent Eltschinger, 264-66. Leiden: Brill, 2015.)

Description from When the Clouds Part

First of all, there are two types of sūtras with the name Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, whose main topic consists of the events surrounding the last days of the Buddha. The earlier version of this sūtra, which is contained in the Pāli canon (there are also Sanskrit and Chinese versions),^[1] is a comprehensive compendium of hīnayāna ideas. The later version,^[2] which is discussed here, also contains some of the well-known episodes toward the end of the Buddha’s life but treats them mainly as convenient starting points for the discussion of mahāyāna ideas, such as mahāparinirvāṇa ’s actually referring to the permanent and blissful nature of the dharmakāya and buddha nature’s being universally present in all sentient beings. This sūtra’s presentation of buddha nature became the main scriptural basis for the discussion of tathāgatagarbha in China.

The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra equates the term tathāgatagarbha with "buddha element" (buddhadhātu; the same is done in the Aṅgulimālīyasūtra, Mahābherīsūtra, Uttaratantra, and RGVV) as well as with the single yāna, and says that buddha nature is an equivalent of buddhahood or perfect awakening. Buddha nature is eternal, pure, real, virtuous, and will be realized by everyone in the future. Similar to the Śrīmālādevīsūtra, this resultant buddha nature—the dharmakāya—is said to consist of the four pāramitās of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self. Buddha nature itself is also equated with the notion of a self, but there is a clear warning of confusing this "correct" self with the notion of ātman in its ordinary sense. Furthermore, buddha nature as a result (buddhahood) is endowed with a perfect buddha’s ten powers, four fearlessnesses, eighteen unique qualities, major and minor marks, and so on. What it lacks or is free from are all kinds of karmas and their results, afflictions, the skandhas, and the twelve links of dependent origination.^[3]

In this sūtra, the statement "all sentient beings possess buddha nature" is repeatedly explained to mean that they will possess perfect awakening in the future but do not possess the major and minor marks of a buddha right now. In order for this awakening to happen, sentient beings (the direct or primary cause) must practice the six pāramitās (the auxiliary causes), just as milk is made into cream or butter through additional other conditions. Consequently, the sūtra vehemently criticizes people who misinterpret the teachings on buddha nature to mean that all beings have already attained buddhahood and that there is thus no need for the practices of a bodhisattva. Rather, beings can perceive their buddha nature only if they make efforts in the Buddhist path. The sūtra even says that if one regards the expression "possessing buddha nature" to mean "possessing it at present," it must then be said that sentient beings do not possess buddha nature. That buddha nature is both nonexistent at present and existent in the future is presented as an expression of the Buddhist middle path. Similarly, the sūtra says that if one sees everything to be empty but fails to see what is not empty, this is not called "the middle path." Likewise, if one sees everything as the lack of a self but fails to see what is the self, this is not called "the middle path." What is called "the middle path" is the buddha element (that is, tathāgatagarbha).

In the same vein, the sūtra also frequently refers to the tathāgata heart as being a seed and illustrates it through the examples of flowers’ growing out of elephant tusks when it rains and butter’s being made from milk. In those cases, buddha nature is obviously regarded as a potential that becomes fully developed only later.

On the other hand, the sūtra’s examples of a pearl embedded in the forehead of a strong man, a treasure beneath the earth, and a gold mine suggest that buddha nature is immanent in sentient beings and only needs to be revealed. The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra explicitly refers to the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra and attributes the statement that the buddhadhātu is present in all sentient beings to this sūtra (this could also mean that the examples of a hidden treasure and a gold mine, though different in details, may have been inspired by the similar examples in the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra). In that vein, the sūtra also states that buddha nature is not newly created but only prevented from being seen by adventitious stains. Furthermore, the text says, just as an empty bottle is empty only of liquid but not of its own color and shape, liberation is empty only of afflictions and suffering but is not empty in the sense of being nonexistent. By contrast, the sūtra declares elsewhere that buddha nature abides nowhere and thus is also not in sentient beings, just as sound does not abide in any part of a lute.

In sum, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra discusses three very different meanings of all sentient beings’ possessing buddha nature—(1) all are endowed with an intrinsic pure nature of which they will become fully aware once what obscures it has been removed, (2) all possess a seed or potential for buddhahood, which will grow into its full fruition in the future once all necessary conditions are present, and (3) the mahāyāna path to buddhahood is open for all, and its result is definite if one follows this path.

Among these three positions, the third is probably the one that has the most support in this sūtra for several reasons. The sūtra repeatedly encourages its audience to avoid metaphysical speculations as in (1) and (2) and to focus on the practices that actually lead to buddhahood. Also, it contains several passages that strongly deny buddha nature to be an entity that is inherent in sentient beings, such as, "If some hold that all sentient beings definitely possess the tathāgata heart, which is permanent, blissful, a self, and pure, and that it is neither produced nor born but is not perceived by sentient beings due to the existence of stains, it should be understood that they slander the Buddha, the dharma, and the saṃgha." Besides the above example of the lute, the sūtra contains further passages that greatly oppose the notion of future buddhahood’s being based on some dormant potential that exists at present, such as saying that if milk already had the nature of butter, it would not need any other conditions to become butter. Likewise, sentient beings are said not to have the nature of buddhas intrinsically but need to rely on the conditions of practicing the pāramitās and so on. In addition, ultimately, no phenomenon has any definite nature whatsoever. Furthermore, the sūtra explains that sentient beings are said to possess buddha nature in contrast to inanimate things because they, unlike stones and so on, are able to attain buddhahood. In general, the sūtra often emphasizes the practical implications of the teachings on buddha nature, such as its being praised by bodhisattvas in order to encourage sentient beings to give rise to bodhicitta. The Buddha also says that buddha nature is in fact not a self but is only described as a self for the sake of guiding certain beings.

The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra 's position on the notion of "those with great desire" (icchantika) is as ambiguous as its position on buddha nature. "Those with great desire" are consistently portrayed in this sūtra as possessing all the major flaws described in Buddhism (such as enjoying evil deeds, putting down the mahāyāna dharma, and committing the five actions of immediate consequence),^[4] and they are said to be incurable. Consequently, the first part of the sūtra denies that those with great desire, who are like a scorched seed, possess buddha nature and that they ever attain buddha- hood (which of course stands in direct opposition to the sūtra’s passages that state that all sentient beings possess buddha nature). By contrast, later passages affirm that those with great desire possess buddha nature, can definitely attain buddhahood, and only temporarily lack roots of virtue.^[5] Despite these extensive discussions of the notion of icchantika, the sūtra never uses the terms "disposition" (gotra) or "those who lack the disposition" (agotraka).

In sum, these very different and even contradictory positions on buddha nature and the notion of icchantika in the same sūtra suggest that the versions of this sūtra that we have now were compiled from different sources (as is the case with other mahāyāna sūtras, such as the Laṅkāvatārasūtra). (pp. 17-20)

Dīgha Nikāya 16.
There are several Sanskrit fragments of this sūtra, three that were found earlier (see Takasaki 1971, 1024–23) and several others that were edited by M. Allon and R. Salomon in Buddhist Manuscripts I (Oslo: Hermes Publishing, 2000), 243–73. Otherwise, this sūtra is preserved in two Tibetan (D119, 339 folios; D120, 151 folios) and four Chinese translations (Taishō 374–377; 377 is an addition to the actual sūtra). Note that the longer Tibetan version D119 is a combination of Taishō 374 and 377, while the shorter version D120 is a direct translation of the Indian source and corresponds in its contents to Taishō 376. As already mentioned, Dölpopa appears to refer to D119 and D120 as the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra and the Parinirvānasūtra, respectively. The Kangyur also contains a third very short text called Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (D121, two folios), which however consists only of a number of prophecies of the Buddha about what will happen to his teachings after certain numbers of years after his death have passed. There are two English translations of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra from the Chinese by Kosho Yamamoto (3 vols., Karinbunko, 1973–75 and 12 vols., London 1999–2000) as well as an unpublished translation from the Tibetan by Stephen Hodge. For details on the treatment of tathāgatagarbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, see Takasaki 1971, Ming-Wood 1982 and 1984, and Page 2003.
Note that the assertion that buddha nature and ultimate reality are free from, or beyond, dependent origination is one of Dölpopa’s key positions.
Lit. "the five without interval" (often translated as the "five heinous crimes"). They consist of killing one’s father, one’s mother, or an arhat, creating a schism in the saṃgha, and intentionally causing blood to flow from the body of a buddha. They are called "with immediate consequence" or "without interval" because their result is rebirth in a hell realm immediately after death, without the interval of an intermediate state (bardo) before this next rebirth.
This contrast is even more striking in the longer version of the sūtra (D119 and Taishō 374), in which chapters 1 to 5 deny that those with great desire possess buddha nature and attain buddhahood. Chapters 6 to 9 are somewhat ambiguous on this issue, continuing to utterly despise those with great desire but also saying that there are two types of them—those who possess roots of virtue at present and those who will have roots of virtue in the future. Finally, chapters 10 to 13 are very emphatic about those with great desire possessing buddha nature and having the definite capacity for future buddhahood once they abandon their evil ways and accumulate the roots of virtue that they lack only temporarily. This section also says that buddha nature cannot be cut off because it is neither past, present, or future.

Philosophical positions of this text

Text Metadata

Other Titles	~ ārya-mahāparinirvāṇa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra
Text exists in	~ Tibetan ~ Chinese
Canonical Genre	~ Kangyur · Sūtra · mdo sde · Sūtranta
Literary Genre	~ Sūtras - mdo

More on this item

Buddhabhadra

Devacandra

Gewai Lodrö

Dharmakṣema

Wangpabzhun

Gyatso De

Jinamitra

Jñānagarbha

Kamalagupta

Faxian

Xie Lingyun

Huiyan

Huiguan

On the topic of this text

Article

A Study of the Early-Stage Translations of Foxing 佛性 in Chinese Buddhism: The Da Banniepan Jing 大般涅槃經 Trans. Dharmakṣema and the Da Fangdeng Rulaizang Jing 大方等如來藏經 Trans. Buddhabhadra

The Da fangdeng rulaizang jing 大方等如來藏經 (Skt. Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra), translated by Buddhabhadra 佛陀跋陀羅 (358–429) is one of the early Chinese Buddhist canon texts where the term foxing 佛性 (Jp. busshō; Buddha-nature) is clearly used to express Buddha-nature. However, the term foxing cannot be confirmed in other extant translations of the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. Another early text in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Da banniepan jing 大般涅槃經 (Skt. Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra), translated by Dharmakṣema 曇無讖 (385?–433), also used the term foxing, which cannot be correspondingly confirmed in the surviving Sanskrit fragments of this scripture. Some significant differences in foxing between the Sanskrit fragments and Dharmakṣema's translation of this sutra belong to the first twelve fascicles of Dharmakṣema's translation completed under his collaborators' support when he had not mastered the Chinese language. It is very likely that Faxian 法顯 (337–422) translated a version of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra that featured buddhadhātu as foxing. Buddhabhadra, in the same period, translated a version of the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra, in which he favoured the term foxing over a literal translation of the Sanskrit. As another contemporary monk with these two, Dharmakṣema translated the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra, going further than Faxian by using the term foxing regularly. These texts influenced the Dilun monastic tradition 地論宗. Among these, the term foxing and its Sinicism explanations played the most significant role, influencing the whole of the Chinese and even East Asian Buddhist thought.

Li, Zijie. "A Study of the Early-Stage Translations of Foxing 佛性 in Chinese Buddhism: The Da Banniepan Jing 大般涅槃經 Trans. Dharmakṣema and the Da Fangdeng Rulaizang Jing 大方等如來藏經 Trans. Buddhabhadra." Religions 13, no. 7 (2022): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070619.

Li, Zijie. "A Study of the Early-Stage Translations of Foxing 佛性 in Chinese Buddhism: The Da Banniepan Jing 大般涅槃經 Trans. Dharmakṣema and the Da Fangdeng Rulaizang Jing 大方等如來藏經 Trans. Buddhabhadra." Religions 13, no. 7 (2022): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070619.;A Study of the Early-Stage Translations of Foxing 佛性 in Chinese Buddhism: The Da Banniepan Jing 大般涅槃經 Trans. Dharmakṣema and the Da Fangdeng Rulaizang Jing 大方等如來藏經 Trans. Buddhabhadra;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Dharmakṣema;Buddhabhadra;Zijie Li

Article

A Syntactic Analysis of the Term Tathāgatagarbha in Sanskrit Fragments and Multiple Meanings of Garbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra

The current of tathāgatagarbha thought that was born in Indian Mahayana Buddhism spread throughout the cultural sphere of Mahayana Buddhism in Asia and has also long held a fascination for people far beyond its geographical confines. The academic foundations for the study of tathāgatagarbha thought in India were laid by Takasaki Jikido, and the task left to us is to repeatedly reexamine each of Takasaki's findings on the basis of existing and newly discovered materials and corroborate or emend them.
Takasaki argued that the first extant text to use the word tathāgatagarbha was the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. Since Takasaki's research was published, there have been some remarkable advances in research on the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra, and in recent years scholars such as S. Hodge and M. Radich have begun to argue that it was the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra that was the first Buddhist text to use the word tathāgatagarbha. The question of which of these two sūtras came first has not yet been definitively resolved, but it may be generally accepted that both belong to the oldest stratum of Buddhist texts dealing with tathāgatagarbha.
On a previous occasion (Kano 2017), focusing on this point, I collected Sanskrit fragments of both texts containing the word tathāgatagarbha and discussed differences in the expressions in which it is used. In particular, taking into account the findings of Shimoda Masahiro, I argued that if the word tathāgatagarbha appearing in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra is interpreted as a bahuvrīhi compound qualifying stūpa, this would accord with the word's usage in this sūtra and with the gist of the chapter "Element of the Tathāgata" (Habata 2013: §§ 375–418). This does not mean, however, that this understanding needs to be applied uniformly to every example of its use in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra. Because in this earlier article I focused somewhat unduly on the interpretation of tathāgatagarbha as a bahuvrīhi compound, the fact that there are instances of wordplay making use of the multiple meanings of garbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra needs to be added, together with some concrete examples. (In the passages of this sūtra, it is natural to understand the term tathāgatagarbha as a substantive in the sense of "garbha of tathāgata" or "garbha that is tathāgata," namely, tatpuruṣa or karmadhāraya, and I do not exclude this possibility as discussed in Kano 2017: 39–42.) In addition, there were some redundant aspects in the structure of my earlier article. In this article I rework these aspects so as to sharpen the focus on the points at issue and add some supplementary points. In the first half I clarify some grammatical characteristics to be observed in examples of the use of tathāgatagarbha in Sanskrit fragments of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra, while in the second half I ascertain the polysemy of the word garbha on the basis of some concrete examples. (Kano, "A Syntactic Analysis," 17–18)

Kano, Kazuo. "A Syntactic Analysis of the Term Tathāgatagarbha in Sanskrit Fragments and Multiple Meanings of Garbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." In "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Edited by Akira Saitō. Special issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020): 17–40.

Kano, Kazuo. "A Syntactic Analysis of the Term Tathāgatagarbha in Sanskrit Fragments and Multiple Meanings of Garbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." In "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Edited by Akira Saitō. Special issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020): 17–40.;A Syntactic Analysis of the Term Tathāgatagarbha in Sanskrit Fragments and Multiple Meanings of Garbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra;Terminology;Textual study;tathāgatagarbha;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Kazuo Kano;&nbsp

PhD Diss

Chen, Shu-hui: Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices

The Tathāgatagarbha theory, also known as the Buddha-nature theory, is one of the most influential Mahāyāna doctrines in the East Asian Buddhism. In 1989, it was severely criticized by some Japanese scholars, namely, Shiro Matsumoto and Noriaki Hakamaya, for being contradictory to the Buddha's teaching of non-self (anātman) and accused of being a non-Buddhist theory in disguise. The purpose of this study is to refute such an accusation and to demonstrate the relationship between this theory and the Bodhisattva practices which are the very core of the Mahāyāna Buddhism.
This dissertation begins with definitions of the term "tathāgatagarbha" and some of its synonyms which are followed by a brief review of the historical development of the Tathāgatagarbha theory from India to China. With these as the background knowledge, it is easier to point out the fallacies of the two Japanese scholars' criticism on this theory. A key issue in their criticism is that they viewed the Tathāgatagarbha theory as the ātman of the Upaniṣads in disguise. It is therefore necessary to discuss not only the distinction between the ātman mentioned in the Tathāgatagarbha theory and that in the Upaniṣads but also the controversy over the issue of ātman versus anātman among the Buddhist scholars.
In the discussion to clarify the issue of ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory, it is demonstrated that the ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory is not only uncontradictory to the doctrine of anātman in Buddhism but very important to the Bodhisattva practices in the Mahāyāna Buddhism. It functions as a unity for the Bodhisattvas to voluntarily return to the world of saṃsāra again and again. Furthermore, the purport of the entire theory, that all sentient beings are endowed with the essence of the Buddha, supports various Bodhisattva practices such as the aspiration to save all beings in the world, the six perfections, etc. In a word, the Tathāgatagarbha theory is an excellent representative of the soteriology of the Mahāyāna Buddhism. Included in the end of this dissertation is an annotated translation of the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. (Source Accessed May 26, 2020)

Chen, Shu-hui Jennifer. "Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998.

Chen, Shu-hui Jennifer. "Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998.;Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices;tathāgatagarbha;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Matsumoto, S.;Hakamaya, N.;Critical Buddhism;anātman;ātman;gotra;dharmadhātu;dharmakāya;buddhadhātu;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Ghanavyūhasūtra;Fo xing lun;Dasheng qixin lun;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;icchantika;Tien Tai;Zen - Chan;Madhyamaka;Yogācāra;ālayavijñāna;paramārthasatya;Shu-hui Jennifer Chen; Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices

Article

All Buddhas and All Living Beings Are Just This One Mind: Teachings of the Buddhas and Zen Ancestors on Buddha Nature, Empty Awareness, and Nonduality—Compiled by Kokyo Henkel

This is a compilation of several sources that speak about buddha-nature. These include:

Pabhassara Sutta
Kevaddha Sutta
Nibbana Sutta
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra
Samdhinirmochana Sutra
Mahaparinirvana Sutra
Shrimaladevi Sutra
Tathagatagarbha Sutra
Lankavatara Sutra
Bodhidharma’s Breakthrough Sermon
Sengcan’s Song of the Trusting Mind
Hongren’s Treatise on the Supreme Vehicle
Huineng’s Platform Sutra
Yongjia’s Song of Realizing the Way
Shitou’s Record
Shitou’s Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage
Dongshan’s Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi
Caoshan’s Verse
Guishan’s Record
Mazu’s Record
Baizhang’s Record
Huangbo’s Transmission of Mind
Linji’s Record
Nanquan’s Record
Changsha’s Record
Yunmen’s Record
Yuanwu’s Letters
Hongzhi’s Record
Dogen’s Treasury of the True Dharma Eye
Ejo’s Absorption in the Treasury of Light
Keizan’s Transmission of Light
32nd Ancestor Hongren
34th Ancestor Qingyuan
38th Ancestor Dongshan
40th Ancestor Dongan
46th Ancestor Tanxia
49th Ancestor Xuedou
52nd Ancestor Dogen
53rd Ancestor Ejo
Chinul’s Complete Sudden Attainment of Buddhahood
Chinul’s Secrets of Cultivating the Mind
Bassui’s One Mind
Bankei’s Record
Hakuin’s Four Cognitions
Menzan’s Self-Enjoyment Samadhi
Shunryu Suzuki’s Mind Waves (from "Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind")
Shunryu Suzuki’s Resuming Big Mind (from "Not Always So")
Padmasambhava’s Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness
Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s Clarifying the Natural State
Karma Chagmey’s Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen

Jamgon Mipham’s Lamp that Dispels Darkness

Henkel, Kokyo. "All Buddhas and All Living Beings are Just This One Mind: Teachings of the Buddhas and Zen Ancestors on Buddha Nature, Empty Awareness, and Nonduality." Unpublished manuscript. n.d., PDF file. https://kokyohenkel.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/4/127410773/one_mind_buddha_nature_-_kokyo.pdf.

Henkel, Kokyo. "All Buddhas and All Living Beings are Just This One Mind: Teachings of the Buddhas and Zen Ancestors on Buddha Nature, Empty Awareness, and Nonduality." Unpublished manuscript. n.d., PDF file. https://kokyohenkel.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/4/127410773/one_mind_buddha_nature_-_kokyo.pdf.;All Buddhas and All Living Beings Are Just This One Mind: Teachings of the Buddhas and Zen Ancestors on Buddha Nature, Empty Awareness, and Nonduality—Compiled by Kokyo Henkel;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Shōbōgenzō;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Kokyo Henkel;Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解);&nbsp

Book

Buddha Nature Sutras

The present compendium aims to give the Buddhist student an opportunity to come into direct contact with these very positive and cataphatic (Truth-affirmative) doctrines and therewith enrich his or her practice of the Dharma. The Nirvana Sutra gives us the Buddha's own direct teachings, and the Srimala Sutra communicates similar doctrines through the person of the great Buddhist queen, while speaking in the approving presence of the Buddha himself. (Tony Page, preface, 4)

Yamamoto, Kosho, and Tsultrim Gyurme, trans. Buddha Nature Sutras: Translation of the Nirvana Sutra, The Srimaladevi Sutra and the Infinite Life Sutra. San Bernardino, CA, 2019.

Yamamoto, Kosho, and Tsultrim Gyurme, trans. Buddha Nature Sutras: Translation of the Nirvana Sutra, The Srimaladevi Sutra and the Infinite Life Sutra. San Bernardino, CA, 2019.;Buddha Nature Sutras;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Kosho Yamamoto; Buddha Nature Sutras: Translation of the Nirvana Sutra, The Srimaladevi Sutra and the Infinite Life Sutra

Interview

Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen by Rev. Kokyo Henkel: Conversations on Buddha-Nature

Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 1:23:03. https://youtu.be/j_V3v-oqnNU.

Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 1:23:03. https://youtu.be/j_V3v-oqnNU.;Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen;Buddha-nature as Emptiness;Buddha-nature as Luminosity;Buddha-nature as Self - Atman;Dzogchen;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Tien Tai;Zen - Chan;tathāgatagarbha;ātman;Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra;Dasheng qixin lun;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Dōgen;Mazu Daoyi;Schaik, S.;Suzuki, S.;Zhaozhou;Zhiyi;Kokyo Henkel;Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解);&nbsp

Interview

Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra by Peter Alan Roberts

An early foundational text for buddha-nature theory, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra is an influential teaching in many Buddhist traditions in China and Tibet. There is some controversy surrounding its teaching, and this discussion will illuminate some of the more interesting aspects of the sūtra. Set around the time of Buddha's passing, or Mahāparinirvāṇa, the sūtra contains teachings on buddha-nature, equating it with the dharmakāya—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha. It also asserts that all sentient beings possess this nature as the buddhadhātu, or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, the sūtra includes some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the dharmakāya is endowed with the four pāramitās of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self. Peter Alan Roberts was born in Wales and lives in Hollywood, California. He earned a BA in Sanskrit and Pali and a DPhil in Tibetan Studies from Oxford University (Harris-Manchester College). For more than thirty years he has been working as an interpreter for lamas and as a translator of Tibetan texts. He specializes in the literature of the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions with a focus on tantric practices, and he is the author of The Biographies of Rechungpa and Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions, along with many other translations, especially for the 84000 Project. See The Stem Array, a translation of the Gaṇḍavyuha from the Tibetan, Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light—a translation of the Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, and others online at 84000.co.

Roberts, Peter Alan. "Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 31, 2024. Video, 1:07:45. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPEiXnA-u6E.

Roberts, Peter Alan. "Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 31, 2024. Video, 1:07:45. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPEiXnA-u6E.;Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra by Peter Alan Roberts;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;icchantika;Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra by Peter Alan Roberts

Article

Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatadhātu and Tathāgatagarbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra

In the original of its so-called Mahāyāna version the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra bears the Sanskrit title Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000CBD-QINU`"' The Sanskrit original of this text has come down to us only in fragments. For the reconstruction of the Sanskrit text from these fragments, it is essential to compare the text with the word-for-word Tibetan translation completed at the beginning of the 9th century by Jinamitra, Jñānagarbha and Devacandra. Fǎxiǎn 法顯 translated it into Chinese under the title Dà bānnihuán jīng 大般泥洹經 in 6 fascicles (juàn 卷), and Dharmakṣema 曇無讖 translated it as Dà bānnièpán jīng 大般涅槃經 in 40 fascicles. Both translations were completed at the beginning of the 5th century. The Chinese translations of this sūtra played an important role in the history of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The sūtra is famous especially for the formula "切眾生西有佛性 yíqiè zhongshēng xī yǒu fóxìng," "Every living being has the Buddha-nature." The skill of the Chinese translators is evident from their use of the word fóxing 佛性, which is commonly translated into English as "Buddha-nature." While the underlying Sanskrit term and its intended meaning poses difficulties, as will be shown below, the Chinese term fóxing, although not resulting from a very literal translation, has been accepted in dogmatical and philosophical interpretations in China and Japan.

Comparing the Sanskrit fragments and the Ratnagotravibhāga, which quotes the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra (that is the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra), the original Sanskrit word fóxìng is buddhadhātu, tathāgatadhātu or tathāgatagarbha. Takasaki Jikidō's research on the tathāgatagarbha theory led him to conclude that the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra is the first known text in which the word buddhadhātu is used in this meaning.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000CBE-QINU`"'

I have been studying the original text of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra for some time, analyzing the Sanskrit fragments in comparison with the Tibetan and Chinese translations. From the viewpoint of the original text, the meaning of the formula "Every living being has the Buddha-nature" reveals nuances slightly different from the interpretations adopted in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. (Habata, introduction, 176–77)

Habata, Hiromi. "Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatadhātu and Tathāgatagarbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra." Hōrin 18 (2015): 176–96.

Habata, Hiromi. "Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatadhātu and Tathāgatagarbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra." Hōrin 18 (2015): 176–96.;Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatadhātu and Tathāgatagarbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra;buddhadhātu;tathāgatagarbha;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Hiromi Habata;&nbsp

Video

Christopher V. Jones at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

Christopher Jones discusses the development of the concept of buddha-nature in the first five hundred years of the Common Era. He postulates that the most likely trajectory of buddha-nature thought in India entailed a reimagining of the expression tathāgatagarbha away from its contentious "ātmavādin" origins.

Jones, Christopher V. "Selfhood, Secrecy, Singularity: Reassessing the Early Life of the Tathāgatagarbha in India." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 45:01. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARzGpIOwFYc.

Jones, Christopher V. "Selfhood, Secrecy, Singularity: Reassessing the Early Life of the Tathāgatagarbha in India." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 45:01. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARzGpIOwFYc.;Christopher V. Jones at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;History of buddha-nature in India;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;Takasaki, J.;Radich, M.;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;Buddha-nature as Self - Atman;tathāgatagarbha;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;buddhadhātu;dharmakāya;Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Aṅgulimālīyasūtra;Mahābherīsūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;ātman;ekayāna;Terminology;Christopher V. Jones; Selfhood, Secrecy, Singularity: Reassessing the Early Life of the Tathāgatagarbha in India

Book

Collected Papers on the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine

The volume brings together a selection of the late author's previously published papers written in English (and one in German). Their subject matter relates by and large to the tathāgatagarbha theory or the idea of Buddhanature, which have been the main subjects of his research over the years.
      In part 1 he has singled out those scriptures that use the term tathāgatagarbha as their principal term and identified three scriptures—Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra, Anūnatvāpurṇatvanirdeśa, and Śrīmālādevīnirdeśa—as the basis for the formation of the tathāgatagarbha theory. Next, he has placed the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, which uses the term buddhadhātu for the first time as a synonym of tathāgatagarbha, and associated scriptures in a second group, while in the third group we have the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra and so on, in which the concept of tathāgatagarbha is identified with ālayavijñana, the basic concept of the Vijñānavāda.
      In part 2, he has dealt with the prehistory of the tathāgatagarbha theory in Mahāyāna scriptures that use terms synonymous with tathāgatagarbha, such as gotra and dhātu, tathāgatagotra, tathāgatotpattisambhava, āryavaṃsa, buddhaputra, dharmadhātu and dharmakāya, cittaprakṛti, and so on. The main points made in this work are discussed in the papers that have now been brought together in the present volume.
      This volume has for convenience' sake been divided into seven parts according to subject matter. Part 1 presents a textual study, namely, a critical edition of chapter 6 of the Laṅkāvatāra. Part 2 deals with subjects concerning scriptures such as the Laṅkāvatāra, part 3 with technical terms and basic concepts of the tathāgatagarbha theory, part 4 with tathāgatagarbha doctrine in general, and part 5 with Japanese Buddhism and Buddhism in East Asia (on the basis of scriptures translated into Chinese). Part 6 presents a historical survey of Japanese scholarship on Buddhism, and part 7 consists of several book reviews. (Source: Motilal Banarsidass)

Takasaki, Jikido. Collected Papers on the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2014.

Takasaki, Jikido. Collected Papers on the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2014.;Collected Papers on the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;tathāgatagarbha;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;dharmadhātu;dharmakāya;dharmatā;buddhadhātu;ālayavijñāna;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;ekayāna;Buddha-nature of insentient things;Jikido Takasaki;Collected Papers on the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine

Article

Glimpses of Buddhanature: Simple and Real (Grainzvolt 2023)

Buddhist teacher-practitioners from across traditions share personal moments that gave them insight into the true nature of mind.

Grainzvolt, Qalvy. "Glimpses of Buddhanature: Simple and Real." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide, Fall 2023, 86–88.

Grainzvolt, Qalvy. "Glimpses of Buddhanature: Simple and Real." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide, Fall 2023, 86–88.;Glimpses of Buddhanature: Simple and Real (Grainzvolt 2023);The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Qalvy Grainzvolt

Book

The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine

Famously, tathāgatagarbha doctrine holds that every sentient being has within the body a womb for Buddhas, or an embryonic Buddha – the potential for full buddhahood. Previous scholars have seen this doctrine as originating in the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. In this book, Michael Radich argues that rather, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra is most likely our earliest extant tathāgatagarbha text. Radich then argues that tathāgatagarbha ideas originated as part of a wider pattern of docetic Buddhology – ideas holding that Buddhas are not really as they appear. Buddhist docetic texts are clearly troubled by the notion that Buddhas could have flesh-and-blood human mothers. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra is one such text, and tathāgatagarbha functions as a better substitute for imperfect human maternity: rather than a putrid, painful human womb, buddhahood springs from a “womb” inherent in every sentient being, which promises final liberation from flesh altogether. This book should interest readers concerned with the history of Buddhist ideas, gender in Buddhism, the early Mahāyāna, the cult of the Buddha’s relics, and relations between Buddhist ideas and practice. (Source: Hamburg University Press)

Radich, Michael. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 5. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2015. https://d-nb.info/1069352969/34.

Radich, Michael. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 5. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2015. https://d-nb.info/1069352969/34.;The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine;History of buddha-nature in India;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;tathāgatagarbha;Michael Radich;The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of "Tathāgatagarbha" Doctrine

Video

Michael Zimmermann at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

In light of the argument that the theory of Buddha-nature is non-Buddhist, Michael Zimmerman summarizes more recent research on the earliest history of buddha-nature thought in India and discusses possible reasons for why the idea that all sentient beings have buddha-nature made its appearance.

Zimmermann, Michael. "New Research on the Concept of Buddha-Nature in India: The Beginnings." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 45:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYkBSSAJ-zo.

Zimmermann, Michael. "New Research on the Concept of Buddha-Nature in India: The Beginnings." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 45:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYkBSSAJ-zo.;Michael Zimmermann at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;History of buddha-nature in India;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;tathāgatagarbha;Defining buddha-nature;Radich, M.;Critical Buddhism;Terminology;Michael Zimmermann; New Research on the Concept of Buddha-Nature in India: The Beginnings

Article

Nehangyō kyōtengun ni okeru kū to jitsuzai

Thanks to several previous studies, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (MPNS) has been proved to shift its central thought from the buddhakāya idea to the tathāgatagarbha/buddhadhātu idea. The present author has shown in another paper (Suzuki [1999]) that the movement between the buddhakāya idea and the tathāgatagarbha/buddhadhātu idea appears in the larger context including the MPNS, and has extracted this context from the various Mahāyāna sūtras under the name of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra-Group (MPNS-G), which consists of the Mahāmeghasūtra (MMS), the MPNS, the Aṅgulimālīyasūtra (AMS) and the Mahābherisūtra (MBhS). While the AMS is a direct successor of the MPNS, the MBhS succeeds the MPNS critically and shifts back its central thought from the tathāgatagarbha/buddhadhātu idea to the buddhakāya idea again.
The MPNS-G declares or suggests the non-emptiness of the tathāgata. This is reinterpretation of the pratītyasamutpāda and the śūnyatā idea, and follows the rule of the historical Buddhist hermeneutics. It is especially worthwhile to note that the MBhS, like the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra in the Vijñāptimātra idea, devaluates the śūnyatā idea as imperfect. This quite negative attitude toward the śūnyatā idea does not appear in any other Indian texts on the tathāgatagarbha idea including the MPNS and the AMS. Aiming at establishing the theory that every sentient being is able to perform religious efforts and become buddha on account of the nonemptiness and the eternalness of the tathāgata, the MBhS must reject any sūtra concerning the śūnyatā idea as imperfect. Though the MPNS is a pioneer in reinterpretation of the the śúnyatā idea, the MPNS cannot devaluate it perfectly because the śūnyatā idea is one of the main backgrounds to the MPNS. The MBhS's decisive attitude toward the śūnyatā idea devaluation becomes possible by having the MPNS as its basis. (Source: UTokyo Repository)

Suzuki, Takayasu. "Nehangyō kyōtengun ni okeru kū to jitsuzai" (The Non-emptiness of the Tathāgata in the Mahāparinirvānasūtra-Group). Tōyō bunka kenkyūsho kiyō (Bulletin of Institute of Oriental Culture) 139 (2000): 109–46.

Suzuki, Takayasu. "Nehangyō kyōtengun ni okeru kū to jitsuzai" (The Non-emptiness of the Tathāgata in the Mahāparinirvānasūtra-Group). Tōyō bunka kenkyūsho kiyō (Bulletin of Institute of Oriental Culture) 139 (2000): 109–46.;Nehangyō kyōtengun ni okeru kū to jitsuzai;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;tathāgatagarbha;Buddha-nature as Luminosity;buddhadhātu;pratītyasamutpāda;śūnyatā;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;Terminology;Doctrine;Takayasu Suzuki;&nbsp

Book

Nirvana Sutra (Yamamoto)

This book is the full Dharmakṣema version of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. This particular book is unique in that the passages are numbered, making it easier for people to find verses of importance. It is translated by Kosho Yamamoto.

Yamamoto, Kosho, trans. Nirvana Sutra: A Translation of Dharmakshema’s Northern Version. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.

Yamamoto, Kosho, trans. Nirvana Sutra: A Translation of Dharmakshema’s Northern Version. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.;Nirvana Sutra (Yamamoto);Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Dharmakṣema; Kosho Yamamoto;Nirvana Sutra: A Translation of Dharmakshema’s Northern Version

Article

On the Eschatology of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and Related Matters

Given that the MPNS is such a complex text, I should like to take up just one theme that runs through much of this sutra—the way the compilers of this sūtra seem to have perceived the causes and the implications of the decline of the Dharma, that is, what one might, as I have done here, term the "eschatology of the MPNS." I believe this may provide an important key to understanding the entire sūtra, though some of my conclusions are necessarily based on circumstantial evidence. One might also remark here, in passing, that the prominence of the concept in the MPNS that the scriptural Dharma is, as we shall see, decidedly impermanent stands out in stark contrast to the recurrent idea in the sūtra of the permanence of Buddha. (Hodge, introduction, 1)

Hodge, Stephen. "On the Eschatology of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and Related Matters." Lecture delivered on the Tibetan version of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra at the University of London, SOAS, Spring 2006. http://www.shabkar.org/download/pdf/On_the_Eschatology_of_the_Mahaparinirvana_Sutra_and_Related_Matters.pdf

Hodge, Stephen. "On the Eschatology of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and Related Matters." Lecture delivered on the Tibetan version of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra at the University of London, SOAS, Spring 2006. http://www.shabkar.org/download/pdf/On_the_Eschatology_of_the_Mahaparinirvana_Sutra_and_Related_Matters.pdf;On the Eschatology of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and Related Matters;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Stephen Hodge;&nbsp

Video

On the Roots of Tathāgatagarbha and His Position on the Concept by Venerable Dhammadipa

Venerable Dhammadipa discusses the concept of tathāgatagarbha, or buddha-nature, and its appearance in Chinese Buddhist traditions, noting that one hardly finds anything about the concept in the Theravada tradition.

Thero, Ven. Dhammadipa. "On the Roots of Tathāgatagarbha and His Position on the Concept." Interview by Marcus Perman. Salon Tibétain, Tsadra Foundation, Boulder, CO, Jan 30, 2019. Video, 7:35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQ4W0U7JY8.

Thero, Ven. Dhammadipa. "On the Roots of Tathāgatagarbha and His Position on the Concept." Interview by Marcus Perman. Salon Tibétain, Tsadra Foundation, Boulder, CO, Jan 30, 2019. Video, 7:35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQ4W0U7JY8.;On the Roots of Tathāgatagarbha and His Position on the Concept by Venerable Dhammadipa;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Theravadin Buddhism;anātman;tathāgatagarbha;Dasheng qixin lun;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ven. Dhammadipa Thero;On the Roots of Tathāgatagarbha and His Position on the Concept

Article

Reading the Writing on the Wall: "Sengchou's" Cave at Xiaonanhai, Early Chinese Buddhist Meditation, and Unique Portions of *Dharmakṣema's Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra

The Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (particularly in the version entitled Da banniepan jing 大般涅槃經 T374, translated by *Dharmakṣema ca. 421-432) features centrally in the textual and iconographic programme of a remarkable cave at Xiaonanhai 小南海 in northern Henan 河南, which was rediscovered in the 1980s. The cave has close connections with Sengchou 僧稠 (480-560), a famous meditator, and one of the leading clerics in Northern China in the sixth century. This paper argues for a new interpretation of the programme of the cave, and considers what it allows us to see about religious life and practice in Sengchou's time. An appendix examines implications of the textual material featured at the cave for the nature and provenance of the bulky portions of Dharmakṣema's version of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra that are unparalleled in our other three main independent witnesses. (Source: Peeters Online Journals)

Radich, Michael. "Reading the Writing on the Wall: 'Sengchou's' Cave at Xiaonanhai, Early Chinese Buddhist Meditation, and Unique Portions of *Dharmakṣema's Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 42 (2019): 515–632.

Radich, Michael. "Reading the Writing on the Wall: 'Sengchou's' Cave at Xiaonanhai, Early Chinese Buddhist Meditation, and Unique Portions of *Dharmakṣema's Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 42 (2019): 515–632.;Reading the Writing on the Wall: "Sengchou's" Cave at Xiaonanhai, Early Chinese Buddhist Meditation, and Unique Portions of *Dharmakṣema's Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Dharmakṣema;Meditation;Michael Radich;&nbsp

Article

Reconsidering the "Essence" of Indian Buddha-Nature Literature

This paper is published in Acta Asiatica no.118, which concerns recent scholarship on tathāgatagarbha, or Buddha-nature thought, in Indian literature. In light of recent reassessments of the development of tathāgatagarbha thought in India, this paper considers instances in which tathāgatagarbha is unpacked to refer to some "essence" (dhātu) of a Buddha present in all sentient beings. My observation is that this articulation of Buddha-nature teaching is found throughout Indian tathāgatagarbha literature, from the Nirvāṇa Sūtra through to supposedly "basic" materials of the Ratnagotravibhāga, but is conspicuously absent where Buddhist authors are invested in (re)interpreting Buddha-nature in terms of the basic nature of the mind: an influential innovation that I believe is first evident in the Śrīmālā Sūtra. (Source Accessed April 3, 2020)

Jones, Christopher V. "Reconsidering the 'Essence' of Indian Buddha-Nature Literature." In "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Edited by Saitō Akira. Special issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020): 57–78.

Jones, Christopher V. "Reconsidering the 'Essence' of Indian Buddha-Nature Literature." In "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Edited by Saitō Akira. Special issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020): 57–78.;Reconsidering the "Essence" of Indian Buddha-Nature Literature;History of buddha-nature in India;Sentient beings;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;dhātu;tathāgatagarbha;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Christopher V. Jones;&nbsp

Video

Rev. Kokyo Henkel: Sources of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Zen Tradition

Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "Sources of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Zen Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 20:56. https://youtu.be/vvdgwHudOrU.

Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "Sources of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Zen Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 20:56. https://youtu.be/vvdgwHudOrU.;Rev. Kokyo Henkel: Sources of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Zen Tradition;Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra;Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Dasheng qixin lun;Buddha-nature as Self - Atman;ātman;tathāgatagarbha;Zen - Chan;Metaphors for buddha-nature;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Fazang;Sāramati;Rev. Kokyo Henkel: Sources of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Zen Tradition

Audio

Shadows of a Former Self: The "True Self" Taught by the Tathāgatagarbha Literature

Christopher V. Jones discusses the concept of the "true self" as taught in the early Tathāgatagarbha literature.

Jones, Christopher V. "Shadows of a Former Self: The 'True Self' Taught by the Tathāgatagarbha Literature." Recorded March 3, 2015 at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. Audio, 1:04:11. https://soundcloud.com/user-715146666/shadows-of-a-former-self-the-true-self-taught-by-the-tathagatagarbha-literature.

Jones, Christopher V. "Shadows of a Former Self: The 'True Self' Taught by the Tathāgatagarbha Literature." Recorded March 3, 2015 at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. Audio, 1:04:11. https://soundcloud.com/user-715146666/shadows-of-a-former-self-the-true-self-taught-by-the-tathagatagarbha-literature.;Shadows of a Former Self: The "True Self" Taught by the Tathāgatagarbha Literature;Buddha-nature as Self - Atman;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;tathāgatagarbha;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;buddhadhātu;Christopher V. Jones;Shadows of a Former Self: The "True Self" Taught by the Tathāgatagarbha Literature

Website

Stephen Hodge Translates (The Mahāyāna Mahāparnirvāṇa-Sūtra)

This electronic resource contains various translations from Stephen Hodge of diverse parts of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. It is presented on Dr. Tony Page's website Nirvana Sutra: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra." According to Page, the passages translated by Hodge were taken from various parts of the Dharmakṣema Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and constitute words spoken by the Buddha within the sūtra. Hodge's translations are presented in four parts (on four separate pages) within Page's website. They include: Stephen Hodge Translates, Stephen Hodge Translates 2, Stephen Hodge Translates 3, and Stephen Hodge Translates 4.

Page, Tony. "Stephen Hodge Translates Key Parts of the Nirvana Sutra." Nirvana Sutra: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra." Source Accessed Mar 8, 2023. https://nirvanasutranet.com/stephen-hodge-translates-key-parts-of-the-nirvana-sutra/

Page, Tony. "Stephen Hodge Translates Key Parts of the Nirvana Sutra." Nirvana Sutra: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra." Source Accessed Mar 8, 2023. https://nirvanasutranet.com/stephen-hodge-translates-key-parts-of-the-nirvana-sutra/;Stephen Hodge Translates Key Parts of the Nirvana Sutra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Dharmakṣema

Article

T'ien-t'ai Chih'i's Concept of Threefold Buddha Nature-A Synergy of Reality, Wisdom, and Practice

Paul L. Swanson's contribution, on Chih-i's threefold concept of Buddha Nature, places T'ien-t'ai thought on this matter in a broader conceptual context. He presents it as one more application of the fundamental T'ien-t' ai idea of synergy—that there is a deeply symbiotic relationship between the way things really are (reality), the awareness of the way things really are (wisdom), and the religious practice that produces such an awareness (practice). Swanson bases his exposition on the Fa-hua hsüan-i, in which Buddha Nature, along with nine other Buddhist concepts, is interpreted through the threefold pattern already adverted to. Swanson shows how Chih-i, drawing upon both the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and the Lotus Sūtra, accommodates Buddha Nature terminology and concepts into the structure of his own thought. (Griffiths and Keenan, introduction to Buddha Nature, 6)

Swanson, Paul L. "T'ien-t'ai Chih'i's Concept of Threefold Buddha Nature—A Synergy of Reality, Wisdom, and Practice." In Buddha Nature: A Festschrift in Honor of Minoru Kiyota, edited by Paul J. Griffiths and John P. Keenan, 171–80. Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1997. https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/files/2012/11/Chih-i-on-Buddha-nature.pdf.

Swanson, Paul L. "T'ien-t'ai Chih'i's Concept of Threefold Buddha Nature—A Synergy of Reality, Wisdom, and Practice." In Buddha Nature: A Festschrift in Honor of Minoru Kiyota, edited by Paul J. Griffiths and John P. Keenan, 171–80. Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1997. https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/files/2012/11/Chih-i-on-Buddha-nature.pdf.;T'ien-t'ai Chih'i's Concept of Threefold Buddha Nature-A Synergy of Reality, Wisdom, and Practice;Tien Tai;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra;Zhiyi;Paul Swanson;&nbsp

Article

Tathāgatagarbaḥ Sarvasattvānāṃ: A Hypothetical Interpretation of a Declarative Formula in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra

In this paper, I shall propose a hypothetical interpretation of the phrase tathāgatagarbhaḥ sarvasattvānāṃ, which is a declarative formula of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (abbr. MPMS) and is preserved as original Sanskrit. This phrase confirms that the word tathāgatagarbha—if this is a bahuvrīhi compound—cannot grammatically go with the word sattvānāṃ unlike the case of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, in which tathāgatagarbha, being a bahuvrīhi, qualifies the noun sattva (sarvasattvās tathāgatagarbhāḥ). Previous studies have mostly interpreted tathāgatagarbhaḥ of the MPMS, as a tatpuruṣa, whereas I shall keep this as a bahuvrīhi and take it to be an adjective which qualifies some undescribed noun—that is, stūpa, omitted in the phrase, based on the following reasons: (1) The word tathāgatagarbha in the formula is probably premising such expressions like tathāgatadhātugarbhān stūpān, dhātugarbhe caitye (which is paraphrased by the expression sadhātuke caitye "a caitya that contains relics"), etc., as found in other Mahāyāna scriptures, where tathāgatadhātugarbha, as a bahuvrīhi, qualifies the noun stūpa "a stūpa that contains tathāgata 's relics”; (2) the omission of the noun stūpa in the formula might reflect the same omission found in expressions, such as dhātudhṛk or dhātudharaḥ (both omitting stūpaḥ), as found in Buddhist inscriptions; (3) The declarative formula of the MPMS should naturally be relevant to the main topic of the MPMS, which deals with tathāgata's nirvāṇa and his relics that were found in stūpas (which, in turn, are reinterpreted in the MPMS from the viewpoint of the dharmakāya and tathāgatagarbha); (4) The MPMS precisely declares that all beings are real stūpa/caitya, and this declaration fits well with the phrase tathāgatagarbhaḥ sarvasattvānāṃ “all beings have tathāgatagarbha (i.e. stūpa)”; (5) We find yet another expression (asmākam upari tathāgatagarbho 'sti "there is tathāgatagarbha above us") in the Sanskrit fragment of the MPMS; however, the word tathāgatagarbha, in this expression, does not disturb the abovementioned interpretation. Instead, this reminds us of the famous scene taught in the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka—the stūpa arising in the sky above the audience: saptaratnamayaḥ stūpo ’bhyudgataḥ ... parṣanmaṇḍalasyopari vaihāyasaṃ tiṣṭhet. Accordingly, I shall tentatively propose to interpret the word tathāgatagarbhaḥ in the formula as a bahuvrīhi which qualifies the noun stūpa. I think, however, it is possible to apprehend tathāgatagarbha as a tatpuruṣa, to be the secondary meaning of the word because the MPMS most probably utilizes the word with double or triple meaning in order to preserve the semantic richness of the word garbha, which has already been pointed out by Masahiro Shimoda and Michael Radich.

Kano, Kazuo. "Tathāgatagarbaḥ Sarvasattvānāṃ: A Hypothetical Interpretation of a Declarative Formula in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." (In Japanese.) Critical Review for Buddhist Studies 22 (2017): 9–61.

Kano, Kazuo. "Tathāgatagarbaḥ Sarvasattvānāṃ: A Hypothetical Interpretation of a Declarative Formula in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." (In Japanese.) Critical Review for Buddhist Studies 22 (2017): 9–61.;Tathāgatagarbaḥ Sarvasattvānāṃ: A Hypothetical Interpretation of a Declarative Formula in the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra;Terminology;Textual study;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Kazuo Kano;&nbsp

Article

Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures

No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:

There is no traditional rubric of tathāgatagarbha scriptures, though modem scholars (e.g. Takasaki, 1974) have treated several scriptures as belonging to a thematic class, namely the ;;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta, the Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra, the (Mahāyāna) Mahaaparinirvāṇamahāsūtra, the Mahāmeghasūtra, the *Mahābherīhārakasūtra, and the Mahāyāna Aṅgulimālīya (or Aṅgulimālīyasūtra). This classification is based in the first instance on the use of these and related works as proof texts in the Indian treatise Ratnagotravibhāga (Mahāyānottaratantra). The category is thus in some sense conceptually coherent even in an Indian context. Moreover, many of these texts take on a very significant role in East Asia where, again, they are often appealed to in various groupings.

The notion of tathāgatagarbha (embryo of the tathāgatas), a Mahāyāna innovation, signifies the presence in every sentient being of the innate capacity for buddhahood. Although different traditions interpret it variously, the basic idea is either that all beings are already awakened, but simply do not recognize it, or that all beings possess the capacity, and for some the certainty, of attaining buddhahood, but adventitious defilements (āgantukakleśa) for the moment prevent the realization of this potential. (Radich, "Tathāgatagarbha Sūtras," 261)

Radich, Michael. "Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures." In Vol. 1 of Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism: Literature and Languages, edited by Jonathan A. Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, and Vincent Eltschinger 261–73. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Radich, Michael. "Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures." In Vol. 1 of Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism: Literature and Languages, edited by Jonathan A. Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, and Vincent Eltschinger 261–73. Leiden: Brill, 2015.;Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures;Doctrine;Textual study;tathāgatagarbha;Aṅgulimālīyasūtra;Mahābherīsūtra;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Michael Radich;&nbsp

Article

Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman: Self Where There Is No-Self

No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:

Humans have long grappled with the question of the nature of our Self, defined here as the ultimate reality inherent to our individual being. Religious traditions can be a great place to look when attempting to understand this aspect of our humanity. Broadly speaking, when contemplating ideas of Self in Buddhism and Hinduism, the relationship between the Buddhist notion of Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha) and the Hindu notion of Self (ātman), is an intriguing one: How can we understand them to be similar or different? How do the Buddhist concepts of emptiness (śūnyatā) and mind-only (cittamātra) relate to the concepts of tathāgatagarbha and ātman? Is emptiness contrary to these ideas? Are tathāgatagarbha and the Hindu teaching that ātman is equal to brahman (ultimate reality), both expressions of a non-dualistic state of mind? Although it is commonly taught that Hinduism and Buddhism differ in their understanding of Self, one thing that becomes apparent is that these are not simple questions, perhaps mainly because their answers are contextual. There are many answers that come from many different types of Hindus and Buddhists in various places. For this paper, I will be looking at commentary on the Buddhist text the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa sūtra and its use of the concept of a permanent Self and how this relates to emptiness (śūnyatā) and skillful means (upāya). This paper seeks to support my claim that, through skillful means, ātman and anātman (no-Self) are both saying something quite similar—despite the apparent paradoxical nature of this statement—and will look at Buddha-nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇa sūtra as a way to understand and help articulate this thought. (Laughlin, "Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman," 57)

Laughlin, Aaron Alexander. "Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman: Self Where There Is No-Self." IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Humboldt State University 3 (2019): 57–61. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/vol3/iss1/11

Laughlin, Aaron Alexander. "Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman: Self Where There Is No-Self." IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Humboldt State University 3 (2019): 57–61. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/vol3/iss1/11;Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman: Self Where There Is No-Self;tathāgatagarbha;ātman;anātman;śūnyatā;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;&nbsp

Audio

Teachings on Not-Self and True Self in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra by Kokyo Henkel

Henkel, Kokyo. "Teachings on Not-Self and True Self in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra." 6 pts. Recorded at Santa Cruz Zen Center, Santa Cruz, CA, October 27, 2019–December 5, 2019. Class Series. Audio, pt. 1, 1:30:18, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-10-27%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%201.mp3; pt. 2, 1:26:34, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-04%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%202.mp3; pt. 3, 1:23:24, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-10%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%203.mp3, pt. 4, 1:24:50, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-17%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%204.mp3; pt. 5, 1:23:43, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-24%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%205.mp3; pt. 6, 1:34:42, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-12-01%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%206.mp3.

Henkel, Kokyo. "Teachings on Not-Self and True Self in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra." 6 pts. Recorded at Santa Cruz Zen Center, Santa Cruz, CA, October 27, 2019–December 5, 2019. Class Series. Audio, pt. 1, 1:30:18, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-10-27%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%201.mp3;pt. 2, 1:26:34, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-04%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%202.mp3;pt. 3, 1:23:24, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-10%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%203.mp3, pt. 4, 1:24:50, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-17%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%204.mp3;pt. 5, 1:23:43, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-11-24%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%205.mp3;pt. 6, 1:34:42, http://archives.sczc.org/wp-content/uploads/dharma-talks/2019-12-01%20Kokyo%20-%20Mahaparinirvana%20Sutra,%20class%206.mp3.;Teachings on Not-Self and True Self in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra by Kokyo Henkel;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Kokyo Henkel;Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解);&nbsp

Article

Textual History of the Mahāyāna-Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra by Stephen Hodge

Page, Tony. "Textual History of the Mahāyāna-Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra by Stephen Hodge." Nirvana Sutra: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra." Updated August 2019. nirvanasutra.net.

Page, Tony. "Textual History of the Mahāyāna-Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra by Stephen Hodge." Nirvana Sutra: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra." Updated August 2019. nirvanasutra.net.

Page, Tony. "Textual History of the Mahāyāna-Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra by Stephen Hodge." Nirvana Sutra: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra." Updated August 2019. nirvanasutra.net.;Textual History of the Mahāyāna-Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra by Stephen Hodge;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Stephen Hodge;&nbsp

Article

The Doctrine of the Buddha-Nature in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra

In the Buddhist Canon, there are two main corpuses of texts which go by the name Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra (henceforth abbreviated to MNS) and have as their main concern the recounting of the events and dialogues of the last days of the Buddha. The first, presumably of earlier origin, is a comprehensive compendium of Hīnayāna ideas and precepts. It exists today in its Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese versions, and for its attention to factual details has been resorted to as the principal source of reference in most standard studies of the Buddha's life. As for the second, only its Chinese and Tibetan translations are still extant.'"`UNIQ--ref-00006461-QINU`"' While it also relates some of the well-known episodes of the final months of the Buddha Śākyamuni, notably his illness and the last meal offered by Cunda, such narrations are treated in the work merely as convenient spring-boards for the expression of such standard Mahayana ideas as the eternal nature of Buddhahood and expedience as method of instruction. Both in style and content, this corpus exhibits the disregard of historical particulars and the fascination with the supernatural and the ideal which characterize Mahāyāna writings in general. As a Mahāyāna sūtra, it is of rather late date, for it mentions such influential "middle Mahāyāna" works as the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra and the Śūraṃgamasaṃādhi-nirdeśa in its text, and so could not have been compiled before the second century A.D.'"`UNIQ--ref-00006462-QINU`"' It is this Mahāyāna version of the MNS which we are going to examine in our present study. (Liu, introduction, 63)

Liu, Ming-Wood. "The Doctrine of the Buddha-Nature in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 5, no. 2 (1982): 63–94. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8578/2485.

Liu, Ming-Wood. "The Doctrine of the Buddha-Nature in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 5, no. 2 (1982): 63–94. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8578/2485.;The Doctrine of the Buddha-Nature in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ming-Wood Liu;&nbsp

Article

The Impact of the Nirvana Sutra in China

Mather, Richard B. "The Impact of the Nirvana Sutra in China." In Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience, edited by Neal E. Lambert, 155–74. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1981. https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/literature-belief-sacred-scripture-and-religious-experience/8-impact-nirvana-sutra-china

Mather, Richard B. "The Impact of the Nirvana Sutra in China." In Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience, edited by Neal E. Lambert, 155–74. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1981. https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/literature-belief-sacred-scripture-and-religious-experience/8-impact-nirvana-sutra-china

Mather, Richard B. "The Impact of the Nirvana Sutra in China." In Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience, edited by Neal E. Lambert, 155–74. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1981. https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/literature-belief-sacred-scripture-and-religious-experience/8-impact-nirvana-sutra-china;The Impact of the Nirvana Sutra in China;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Richard B. Mather;&nbsp

PhD Diss

Chen, S.: The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism

Abstract

This dissertation examines the notion that not only sentient beings but also insentient ones, e.g., flora, mountains, rivers, and manmade objects, have Buddha-nature. Employing an exegetical approach, I investigate Jingxi Zhanran’s (711-782) theory of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings. Emphasizing the all-pervasiveness of Buddha-nature and the nonduality of mind and material, he eliminates the absolute distinction between sentient and insentient beings and contends that Buddha-nature includes all beings. Additionally, insisting on the Tiantai notion of mutual inclusion, which reveals a two-way relationship between sentience and insentience, Zhanran reverses the positions of the subjective observer and the objective phenomenon, subjectifying insentient beings.
In addition to examining the theoretical profundity of Zhanran’s theory, my study examines the issues of sentience versus insentience and Buddha-nature that took place before Zhanran and discusses the subsequent Tiantai concerns with the Buddha-nature of insentient beings. Through textual analysis, I reexamine the emergence of the Chinese thought that connects Buddha-nature to insentient things, initially presented by Jingying Huiyuan (523-592) and Jiaxiang Jizang (549-623). I also illustrate that the concept of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings is implied in Zhiyi’s (538-597) thought by interpreting Zhiyi’s teachings that inspired Zhanran’s advocacy. Furthermore, I analyze, on doctrinal grounds, Chinese Tiantai descendants’ endorsement of Zhanran’s theory, contrasting it with their Japanese counterparts’, the latter who found it difficult to conceptualize how insentient beings’ spiritual cultivation might occur.

I ultimately argue that Zhanran, indeed, articulates the Buddhahood of insentient beings, and that the modality of their practice through the nonduality between passivity and activity, and between Buddhahood and “insentienthood” can be explained. By raising questions about the human relation to the insentient world and exploring possibilities for attaining harmony through transcending the duality between selfness and otherness, and subjectivity and objectivity, I hope to contribute to the reexamination of anthropocentric religious liberation.

Chen, Shuman. "The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism." PhD diss., Northwestern University, 2014.

Chen, Shuman. "The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism." PhD diss., Northwestern University, 2014.;The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Buddha-nature of insentient things;trikāya;tathāgatagarbha;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Jingxi Zhanran;Jingying Huiyuan;Jizang;Zhiyi;Tien Tai;Shuman Chen;The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism

Book

The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra

The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra was translated into English by Kosho Yamamoto in 1973 from Dharmakṣema's Chinese version (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 12, No. 374). The edition represented here is Tony Page's edited and revised version of Yamamoto's translation.

Yamamoto, Kōshō, trans. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. Translated into English from Dharmakṣema's Chinese version (Taisho Tripiṭaka vol. 12, no. 374). Edited and revised by Tony Page. n.p.: n.p., 2007. First published 1973 by Karinbunko (Ube, Japan). http://lirs.ru/do/Mahaparinirvana_Sutra,Yamamoto,Page,2007.pdf

Yamamoto, Kōshō, trans. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. Translated into English from Dharmakṣema's Chinese version (Taisho Tripiṭaka vol. 12, no. 374). Edited and revised by Tony Page. n.p.: n.p., 2007. First published 1973 by Karinbunko (Ube, Japan). http://lirs.ru/do/Mahaparinirvana_Sutra,Yamamoto,Page,2007.pdf;The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Dharmakṣema;tathāgatagarbha;Dharmakṣema; Kosho Yamamoto;The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra

Review

The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine-Review by Lee

No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:

Previous Buddhist scholarship has generally regarded the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra as a “side line” or “offshoot” from the “mainstream” group of tathāgatagarbha scriptural texts, such as the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. This view has been also supported by the presumed chronological order between the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra: The Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra, which is also the putative earliest tathāgatagarbha text, has been considered to be an earlier text than the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra, on the basis of the supposed evidence that the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra refers to the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra by its title on the one hand and borrows one simile from the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra on the other. Michael Radich’s book, The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine, fundamentally challenges such previous scholarship on the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra. Employing meticulous analysis of vast range of primary-source materials, Radich convincingly demonstrates that the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra is most likely “our earliest” tathāgatagarbha text. More importantly, Radich, presents an insightful perspective on the matter of the origin of the tathāgatagarbha doctrine: He argues that the tathāgatagarbha/*buddhadhātu ideas of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra constitutes part of a broader pattern of docetic Buddhology, the idea that the buddhas’ appearance is not the reality of their true nature.
The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine consists of two parts. Part I, which is divided into three chapters, mainly concerns chronological issues revolving around the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra, thereby arguing that the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra is the earliest tathāgatagarbha text available to us. In Chapter 1, Radich argues that the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra can be considered a tathāgatagarbha text proper, by questioning the scholarly presumption that the “Buddha nature” (*buddhadhātu) doctrine of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra derives from the center of tathāgatagarbha doctrinal discourse. Through a careful comparative analysis of the text common to the four versions of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra, Radich shows that the sūtra in fact speaks of tathāgatagarbha much more than it speaks of *buddhadhātu, and that even when it mentions *buddhadhātu, it is used in an interchangeable manner with tathāgatagarbha. In this way, Radich undermines the previous scholarly tendency to distinguish the concept of *buddhadhātu from tathāgatagarbha and to regard the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra as a side-line of the tathāgatagarbha doctrine. (Lee, "Review of The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine," 199–200)

Lee, Sumi. Review of The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine, by Michael Radich. International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture 26, no. 1 (2016): 199–203.

Lee, Sumi. Review of The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine, by Michael Radich. International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture 26, no. 1 (2016): 199–203.;The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine-Review by Lee;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;tathāgatagarbha;Sumi Lee;&nbsp

Article

The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra and Its Earliest Interpreters in China: Two Prefaces by Tao-lang and Tao-sheng

No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:

One of the most popular sūtras in China is the Ta-pan nieh-pan ching, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra translated by Dharmakṣema in 421 A.D. Its doctrine of "universal Buddha-nature" has endeared itself to the Orient so much that it became an axiom of sorts, and any challenge to this doctrine would be seen as a challenge against Mahayana itself. To this day, this sūtra, TPNPC for short, is well received by all major Buddhist schools. The Pali canon preserved its version of the teaching of the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa, great extinction, in the Dighanikaya. The Mahayana tradition's redaction is the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, of which the Chinese translations alone survive. Prior to Dharmakṣema, Fa-hsien the pilgrim and Buddhabhadra translated a shorter Ta-pan ni-yüan ching in six chapters. This version was based on an earlier Sanskrit text that corresponds now to the first ten chapters of the forty-chaptered TPNC. The texts were unknown to Kumārajīva (d. 413) the Kuchan translator who produced the authoritative Miao-fa lien-hua ching, the Saddharma-puṇḍarīka or Lotus-sūtra. When the TPNPC was known to the Chinese, it was almost immediately crowned as the final, ultimate 'positive'—that is affirming the permanence of the Buddha-nature qua Dharmakāya qua mahā-nirvāṇa—teaching of the Buddha. Even the Lotus-sūtra was placed, both in time and in content, second to it. In the Sui dynasty, however, T'ien-t'ai master Chih'i, establishing the Lotus school, reversed the judgement somewhat.[2] It is in part to uncover the glory that once belonged to the TPNPC that the present essay tries to analyze the initial reception of this sūtra. (Lai, "The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra and Its Earliest Interpreters in China," 99)

Notes

The placement of note #1 in the text is unclear in the original. Nevertheless it reads: On the impact of the TPNPC, see Kenneth Ch'en, Buddhism in China (Princeton: Princeton University, 1964), pp. 112-129 or Fuse Kōgaku, Nehanshū no kenkyū, I, II (Tokyo, Sōbun, 1942) and Tokiwa Daijō, Busshō no kenkyū (Tokyo, Meiji, 1944).
On Chih-i's p'an-chiao, see Leon Hurvitz, "Chih-i," Melanges chinois et Bouddhiques, XII, (Brussells, 1960-62), esp. appendix on p'an-chiao.

Lai, Whalen. "The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra and Its Earliest Interpreters in China: Two Prefaces by Tao-lang and Tao-sheng." Journal of the American Oriental Society 102, no. 1 (1982): 99–105.

Lai, Whalen. "The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra and Its Earliest Interpreters in China: Two Prefaces by Tao-lang and Tao-sheng." Journal of the American Oriental Society 102, no. 1 (1982): 99–105.;The Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra and Its Earliest Interpreters in China: Two Prefaces by Tao-lang and Tao-sheng;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Daosheng;Whalen Lai;&nbsp

Article

The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra: The Text and Its Transmission

Although the textual study of Mahāyāna sūtras has made gradual progress over the past few decades, there are a number of major sutras of considerable importance for an understanding of the development of Mahāyāna doctrinally and socially which still remain rather neglected in the West, such as the Tathāgataguhyaka, the Samādhi-rāja, and the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa. Of these, the Mahāyāna Mahā-parinirvāṇa-sūtra (hereafter MPNS), when not casually dismissed as a Hinduizing aberration, until recently has attracted interest almost solely as a source for studies of the so-called “Buddha-nature” or tathāgata-garbha doctrine. Moreover, the value of such studies has often been compromised by an uncritical, synchronic use of the text, completely ignoring the problems of stratification and interpolation which I shall highlight in this paper.
Yet the significance of the MPNS goes well beyond that restricted topic, despite its interest to many. For example, when utilized to the fullest, the available textual materials for the MPNS allow unique insights into the creation, development & transmission of Mahāyāna texts in general. Additionally, I believe that the composition of the main elements of the MPNS can be reliably dated to a narrow period from the middle decades to the end years of the 1st century CE, when read in conjunction with the small group of associated texts (the Mahāmegha-sūtra, Mahā-bherī-sūtra and the Aṅgulimālīya-sūtra), due to the specific mention in them of the Sātavāhana ruler Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi in conjunction with the timetable of a dire eschatological prophesy. There would also seem to be biographical details of a certain individual who may have been the founder or author of the MPNS “movement”. In sum, this situation seems to be virtually unique among all Mahāyāna sutras and, if properly understood, should have far-reaching ramifications for the study of the early Mahāyāna movements, for the MPNS may now be taken as a fixed reference point for constructing a relative chronology for many other early Mahāyāna sutras, though with the usual caveats concerning interpolated material. (Hodge, introduction, 1)

Hodge, Stephen. "The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra: The Text and Its Transmission." Corrected and revised version of a paper presented in July 2010 at the Second International Workshop on the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra held at Munich University, 2012. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/hodge/the-textual-transmisssion-of-the-mpns.pdf

Hodge, Stephen. "The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra: The Text and Its Transmission." Corrected and revised version of a paper presented in July 2010 at the Second International Workshop on the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra held at Munich University, 2012. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/hodge/the-textual-transmisssion-of-the-mpns.pdf;The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra: The Text and Its Transmission;Textual study;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Stephen Hodge;&nbsp

Book

The Nirvana Sutra Volume I

Taishō 374

Volume 12

The Nirvana Sutra deals with the teachings given by Śākyamuni shortly before his death (mahāparinirvāṇa). Nirvāṇa means "extinguishing the flames of passion and attaining the state of enlightenment." Since Śākyamuni attained enlightenment at the age of 35, he did in fact already enter nirvāṇa at this time. But because it was considered impossible to completely extinguish the passions while retaining a physical body, Śākyamuni’s death came to be called mahāparinirvāṇa, i.e. "the state of great serenity in which the flames of passion have been completely extinguished." The sūtra gives the teachings expounded by Śākyamuni immediately before his death. As it contains episodes relating to events before and after his death, it also has value as historical source material.

Source

Skt. Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, translated into the Chinese by Dharmakṣema as Da banniepan jing (大般涅槃經). 40 fascicles. (Source: BDK America)

Blum, Mark L., trans. The Nirvana Sutra (Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra). Vol. 1. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Moraga, CA: BDK America, 2015. https://bdkamerica.org/product/the-nirvana-sutra-vol-i/.

Blum, Mark L., trans. The Nirvana Sutra (Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra). Vol. 1. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Moraga, CA: BDK America, 2015. https://bdkamerica.org/product/the-nirvana-sutra-vol-i/.;The Nirvana Sutra Volume I;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Mark Blum; The Nirvana Sutra (Mahāparinirvāṇa-Sūtra), Vol. 1.

Article

The Problem of the Icchantika in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvaṇa Sūtra

In the Chinese Buddhist Canon, there are two corpuses of texts which go by the name of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra (henceforth, MNS). The first corresponds in main to the Mahāparinibbāna-suttanta in the Dīgha-nikāya of the Pāli Canon. Being essentially Hīnayāna in outlook, it has received little attention in China. The second, which exhibits all the features of a Mahāyāna text, generated immediate enthusiasm on its first introduction into China in the early fifth century, and has exerted enormous influence on the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. Especially worth mentioning in this connection is its teaching of Buddha-nature. It is well-known that the idea of Buddha-nature, one of the central concepts in Chinese Buddhism, was first made popular in the country by the Mahāyāna version of the MNS, which remains the principal source of reference as well as the final authority in all subsequent discussions on the subject. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to assert that without a proper understanding of the Buddha-nature doctrine as appears in this Mahāyāna version of the MNS, it would be impossible to grasp the significance of the subsequent evolution of the concept in the Chinese Buddhist tradition.
It is the orthodox belief that the MNS teaches that all sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature. Since in the MNS "Buddha-nature" refers to "the nature of the Buddha" and "to possess" the Buddha-nature in the case of sentient beings usually indicates "to have in the future,"'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CCB-QINU`"' this belief amounts to the conviction that the MNS maintains that all sentient beings will achieve Buddhahood someday. This conviction is well attested by the text of the MNS. Thus, we find it clearly expressed in the MNS that "all three vehicles will eventually share the same Buddha-nature":

'"`UNIQ--poem-00005CCD-QINU`"'

Those who refuse to accept the tenet that all sentient beings without exception will possess the Buddha-nature are criticized by the MNS as wanting in faith.'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CCF-QINU`"' In the sūtra, this idea of the universal presence of the Buddha-nature is presented as one of the distinctive themes of Mahāyāna writings'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD0-QINU`"' as well as among the principal claims to excellence of the MNS itself.'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD1-QINU`"' It is so highly esteemed that it is described as representing the "essential meaning" (tzu-i) of the Buddha's teaching;'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD2-QINU`"' and, together with the doctrine of the eternal nature of the Tathāgata, it is said to be definitive (chüeh-ting) and not open to future amendments.'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD3-QINU`"'
If this thesis of the eventual enlightenment of all sentient beings does indeed constitute the central theme of the MNS, it is strongly qualified by the presence in the sutra of the concept of the icchantika. The term "icchantika" is derived from the Sanskrit root is meaning "to desire," "to wish" and "to long for." This explains the variant Chinese renderings of the term "icchantika" as "a being of many desires" (to-yü), "a being cherishing desires" (lo-yü) and "a being full of greed" (ta-t'an).'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD4-QINU`"' But in the MNS, the failings attributed to the icchantikas far exceed those which are usually associated with people of such descriptions. In the sūtra, the icchantika is described as "devoid of good roots"'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD5-QINU`"' and as "the most wicked being."'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD6-QINU`"' He is depicted as "having no capacity for the [true] Dharma"'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD7-QINU`"' such that he can never be rehabilitated by the instruction of the Buddha and so will never attain supreme enlightenment. Taken at its face value, this picture of a being condemned forever to spiritual darkness appears to contradict the proposition of the MNS that all sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature and so are destined for Buddhahood, and commentators of the MNS have been hard pressed to find a viable way out of this apparent dilemma.
The present article, which is the second of a two-part study on the problem of Buddha-nature in the MNS,'"`UNIQ--ref-00005CD8-QINU`"' is an attempt to unravel the various strands of thought present in the MNS regarding the character and fate of the icchantikas. It is hoped that our discussion, brief and sketchy as it is, will be of help in throwing light on this highly intricate question. (Liu, "The Problem of the Icchantika," 57–59)

Liu, Ming-Wood. "The Problem of the Icchantika in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 7, no. 1 (1984): 57–81. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8619/2526.

Liu, Ming-Wood. "The Problem of the Icchantika in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 7, no. 1 (1984): 57–81. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8619/2526.;The Problem of the Icchantika in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvaṇa Sūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;icchantika;Ming-Wood Liu;&nbsp

Article

The Soul of Chinese Buddhism: Buddha-Nature and Universal Awakening; The Rise of Chinese Buddhist Humanism

4.1 Buddhicizing the Chinese “soul”

4.1.1 The Nirvāṇa Sūtras. Like many other ancient cultures, the Chinese, too, have a concept of a soul or abiding entity that survives the person‘s death. The Chinese word for such an abiding entity is línghún 靈魂. One of ancient China‘s largest and wealthiest temple, built in 328 (Eastern Jin dynasty) by the Indian monk, Huìlǐ 慧理,'"`UNIQ--ref-0000110D-QINU`"' is called Língyǐn Sì 靈隐寺, the "Temple of the Soul‘s Retreat," belonging to the Chán school, located north-west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. In its heyday, during the kingdom of Wúyuè guó 吳越國 (907-978) [5.1.2.1], the temple boasted of 9 multi-storey buildings, 18 pavilions, 72 halls, more than 1300 dormitory rooms, inhabited by more than 3000 monks. Many of the rich Buddhist carvings in the Fēilái fēng 飛來峰 grottos and surrounding mountains also date from this era.
The Chinese word for anattā (P) or anātman (Skt) (non-self) is wúwǒ 無我, literally meaning "not-I." There is no Chinese word for not-linghun. As such, although a Chinese Buddhist would intellectually or verbally accept the notion that there is no I (that is, an agent in an action), he would probably unconsciously hold on to the idea of some sort of independent abiding entity or eternal identity, that is, the linghun, which is in effect the equivalent of the brahmanical ātman. The situation becomes more complicated with Mahāyāna discourses, such as the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, that speak of a transcendent Buddhanature as the true self.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000110E-QINU`"'

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[1] Dīgha Nikāya 16.

[2] There are several Sanskrit fragments of this sūtra, three that were found earlier (see Takasaki 1971, 1024–23) and several others that were edited by M. Allon and R. Salomon in Buddhist Manuscripts I (Oslo: Hermes Publishing, 2000), 243–73. Otherwise, this sūtra is preserved in two Tibetan (D119, 339 folios; D120, 151 folios) and four Chinese translations (Taishō 374–377; 377 is an addition to the actual sūtra). Note that the longer Tibetan version D119 is a combination of Taishō 374 and 377, while the shorter version D120 is a direct translation of the Indian source and corresponds in its contents to Taishō 376. As already mentioned, Dölpopa appears to refer to D119 and D120 as the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra and the Parinirvānasūtra, respectively. The Kangyur also contains a third very short text called Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (D121, two folios), which however consists only of a number of prophecies of the Buddha about what will happen to his teachings after certain numbers of years after his death have passed. There are two English translations of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra from the Chinese by Kosho Yamamoto (3 vols., Karinbunko, 1973–75 and 12 vols., London 1999–2000) as well as an unpublished translation from the Tibetan by Stephen Hodge. For details on the treatment of tathāgatagarbha in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, see Takasaki 1971, Ming-Wood 1982 and 1984, and Page 2003.

[3] Note that the assertion that buddha nature and ultimate reality are free from, or beyond, dependent origination is one of Dölpopa’s key positions.

[4] Lit. "the five without interval" (often translated as the "five heinous crimes"). They consist of killing one’s father, one’s mother, or an arhat, creating a schism in the saṃgha, and intentionally causing blood to flow from the body of a buddha. They are called "with immediate consequence" or "without interval" because their result is rebirth in a hell realm immediately after death, without the interval of an intermediate state (bardo) before this next rebirth.

[5] This contrast is even more striking in the longer version of the sūtra (D119 and Taishō 374), in which chapters 1 to 5 deny that those with great desire possess buddha nature and attain buddhahood. Chapters 6 to 9 are somewhat ambiguous on this issue, continuing to utterly despise those with great desire but also saying that there are two types of them—those who possess roots of virtue at present and those who will have roots of virtue in the future. Finally, chapters 10 to 13 are very emphatic about those with great desire possessing buddha nature and having the definite capacity for future buddhahood once they abandon their evil ways and accumulate the roots of virtue that they lack only temporarily. This section also says that buddha nature cannot be cut off because it is neither past, present, or future.

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	In sum, these very different and even contradictory positions on buddha nature and the notion of ''icchantika'' in the same sūtra suggest that the versions of this sūtra that we have now were compiled from different sources (as is the case with other mahāyāna sūtras, such as the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra''). (pp. 17-20)		In sum, these very different and even contradictory positions on buddha nature and the notion of ''icchantika'' in the same sūtra suggest that the versions of this sūtra that we have now were compiled from different sources (as is the case with other mahāyāna sūtras, such as the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra''). (pp. 17-20)


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Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra

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