Karmapa, 3rd

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རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje(1284 - 1339) 
Rinchen Terdzö ChenmoDamngak Rinpoché DzöBuddhist Digital Resource CenterHimalayan Art Resources

The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, was a prominent Karma Kagyu hierarch who also held Nyingma and Chod lineages. He was likely the first man to carry the title of Karmapa, following his identification by Orgyenpa Rinchen Pal as the reincarnation of Karma Pakshi, whom Orgyenpa posthumously identified as the reincarnation of Dusum Khyenpa. He spent much of his life traveling across Tibet and made two visits to the Yuan court in China.

... read more at The Treasury of Lives

Library Items

Book
Bde gshegs snying po rigs kyi chos skor
This collection includes a history of buddha-nature theory in Tibet by Thupten Jinpa and seven texts influential in the development of buddha-nature teachings in Tibet. The texts included represent many lineages and historical periods. Along with the root text the following texts appear: 1) Butön's commentary to the Uttaratantrashastra (བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་གསལ་བར་བྱེད་པ་མཛེས་བྱེད་ཀྱི་རྒྱན། pp 3-63). 2) The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's commentary (བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ། pp 65-69). 3) The Fifteenth Karmapa Khakyap Dorje's commentary (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་ཀྱི་མཆན་འགྲེལ། pp 71-88). 4) Rongton's commentary (ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་ལེགས་པར་བཤད་པ། pp 89-206). 5) Shakya Chokden's commentary (ཆོས་དབྱིངས་བསྟོད་པའི་འགྲེལ་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་རྣམ་པར་ངེས་པ། pp 207-238). 6) Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen's text on the disposition (gotra, rigs) (རིགས་ཀྱི་སྤྱི་དོན། pp 239-287) 7) Mipham Gyatso's Lion's Roar (བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་སྟོང་ཐུན་ཆེན་མོ་སེངྒེའི་ང་རོ། pp 289-316).
Jinpa, Thupten, ed. Treatises on the Buddha Nature. Tibetan Classics Series 17. New Delhi: Institute of Tibetan Classics, 2007. glang ri ba thub bstan sbyin pa. bde gshegs snying po rigs kyi chos skor. bod kyi gtsug lag gces btus 17. bod kyi gtsug lag zhib dpyod khang, 2007. གླང་རི་བ་ཐུབ་བསྟན་སྦྱིན་པ། བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་རིགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་སྐོར། བོད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་གཅེས་བཏུས། ༡༧ བོད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་ཞིབ་དཔྱོད་ཁང་།, 2007.
Book
Buddha Nature (Shamar)
14th Shamar Rinpoche's teachings on the Uttaratantra using the 3rd Karmapa's text, Revealing Buddha Nature.
Draszczyk, Martina, trans. Buddha Nature: Our Potential for Wisdom, Compassion, and Happiness. By Shamar Rinpoche. Lexington, VA: Bird of Paradise Press, 2019.
Book
De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos
Rang byung rdo rje (རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་) and 'Jam mgon kong sprul (འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་). De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།). Lekshey Ling Philosophy Series 21. Kathmandu: Lekshey Ling Publications, 2009.
Rang byung rdo rje (རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་) and 'Jam mgon kong sprul (འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་). De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།). Lekshey Ling Philosophy Series 21. Kathmandu: Lekshey Ling Publications, 2009.
Book
In Praise of Dharmadhātu
Nagarjuna is famous in the West for his works not only on Madhyamaka but his poetic collection of praises, headed by In Praise of Dharmadhatu. This book explores the scope, contents, and significance of Nagarjuna's scriptural legacy in India and Tibet, focusing primarily on the title work. The translation of Nagarjuna's hymn to Buddha nature—here called dharmadhatu—shows how buddha nature is temporarily obscured by adventitious stains in ordinary sentient beings, gradually uncovered through the path of bodhisattvas, and finally revealed in full bloom as buddhahood. These themes are explored at a deeper level through a Buddhist history of mind's luminous nature and a translation of the text's earliest and most extensive commentary by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339), supplemented by relevant excerpts from all other available commentaries. The book also provides an overview of the Third Karmapa's basic outlook, based on seven of his major texts. He is widely renowned as one of the major proponents of the shentong (other-empty) view. However, as this book demonstrates, this often problematic and misunderstood label needs to be replaced by a more nuanced approach which acknowledges the Karmapa's very finely tuned synthesis of the two great traditions of Indian mahayana Buddhism, Madhyamaka and Yogacara. These two, his distinct positions on Buddha nature, and the transformation of consciousness into enlightened wisdom also serve as the fundamental view for the entire vajrayana as it is understood and practiced in the Kagyu tradition to the present day. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl, trans. In Praise of Dharmadhātu: Nāgārjuna and the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. Nitartha Institute Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2007.
Book
Luminous Heart
This superb collection of writings on buddha nature by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339) focuses on the transition from ordinary deluded consciousness to enlightened wisdom, the characteristics of buddhahood, and a buddha’s enlightened activity. Most of these materials have never been translated comprehensively. The Third Karmapa’s unique and well-balanced view synthesizes Yogācāra, Madhyamaka, and the classical teachings on buddha nature. Rangjung Dorje not only shows that these teachings do not contradict each other but also that they supplement each other and share the same essential points in terms of the ultimate nature of mind and all phenomena. His fusion is remarkable because it clearly builds on Indian predecessors and precedes the later often highly charged debates in Tibet about the views of Rangtong ("self-empty") and Shentong ("other-empty"). Although Rangjung Dorje is widely regarded as one of the major proponents of the Tibetan Shentong tradition (some even consider him its founder), this book shows how his views differ from the Shentong tradition as understood by Dölpopa, Tāranātha, and the First Jamgön Kongtrul. The Third Karmapa’s view is more accurately described as one in which the two categories of rangtong and shentong are not regarded as mutually exclusive but are combined in a creative synthesis. For those practicing the sūtrayāna and the vajrayāna in the Kagyü tradition, what these texts describe can be transformed into living experience. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl, trans. Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature. Nitartha Institute Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2009.
Book
Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions
The Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism began in the eleventh century with such renowned figures as Marpa and Milarepa, and its seminal meditative traditions are Mahāmudrā and the six Dharmas of Nāropa. Mahāmudrā teachings focus on the cultivation of profound insight into the nature of the mind. The Mahāmudrā texts in this volume include a lucid work by the celebrated master Tselé Natsok Rangdröl and works by the twelfth-century master Shang Rinpoche, the great Third Karmapa, the Eighth Tai Situ, and Drukpa Pema Karpo. The volume also contains an inspirational work by Gampopa, the Drigung Kagyü root text, The Single Viewpoint, the Sixth Shamarpa’s guide to the six Dharmas of Nāropā, and finally an overview of tantric practice by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, author of the famous Moonlight of Mahāmudrā. The texts in this volume were selected by the preeminent scholar of the Kagyü school, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions: Core Teaching of the Kagyü Schools. Edited by Thupten Jinpa. Library of Tibetan Classics 5. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2011.
Book
Mining for Wisdom within Delusion
Maitreya’s Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena distinguishes the illusory phenomenal world of saṃsāra produced by the confused dualistic mind from the ultimate reality that is mind’s true nature. The transition from the one to the other is the process of “mining for wisdom within delusion.” Maitreya’s text calls this “the fundamental change,” which refers to the vanishing of delusive appearances through practicing the path, thus revealing the underlying changeless nature of these appearances. In this context, the main part of the text consists of the most detailed explanation of nonconceptual wisdom—the primary driving force of the path as well as its ultimate result—in Buddhist literature. The introduction of the book discusses these two topics (fundamental change and nonconceptual wisdom) at length and shows how they are treated in a number of other Buddhist scriptures. The three translated commentaries, by Vasubandhu, the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, and Gö Lotsāwa, as well as excerpts from all other available commentaries on Maitreya’s text, put it in the larger context of the Indian Yogācāra School and further clarify its main themes. They also show how this text is not a mere scholarly document, but an essential foundation for practicing both the sūtrayāna and the vajrayāna and thus making what it describes a living experience. The book also discusses the remaining four of the five works of Maitreya, their transmission from India to Tibet, and various views about them in the Tibetan tradition. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl, trans. Mining for Wisdom within Delusion: Maitreya's Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena and Its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2012.
Book
Music of the Sphere of Definitive Meaning
A translation of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche's detailed explanation of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's famous Mahāmudrā Aspiration Prayer.
Karmapa, 3rd, and Sangye Nyenpa. Music of the Sphere of Definitive Meaning: Detailed Explanation of the Mahamudra Prayer in Accordance with the Philosophy of the Great Emptiness-of-Other. Translated by David Molk. Kathmandu: Benchen Publications, 2020.
Book
ཟབ་མོ་ནང་དོན་དང་རྒྱུད་བརྟག་གཉིས་དང་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའ་བསྟན་བཅོས།
karma pa gsum pa rang byung rdo rje ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་. nang brtag rgyud gsum: zab mo nang don; rgyud brtag gnyis; rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos ནང་བརྟག་རྒྱུད་གསུམ། ཟབ་མོ་ནང་དོན། རྒྱུད་བརྟག་གཉིས། རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།. wA Na badzra bi dya dpe mdzod khang ཝཱ་ཎ་བཛྲ་བི་དྱཱ་དཔེ་མཛོད་ཁང་, 2011.
The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. A Collection of Important Root Texts: Gyu Lama, Zangmo Nangdon, Namshe Yeshe Chepa, and the Hevajra Tantra. Vajra Vidya Library, 2011.
karma pa gsum pa rang byung rdo rje ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་. nang brtag rgyud gsum: zab mo nang don; rgyud brtag gnyis; rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos ནང་བརྟག་རྒྱུད་གསུམ། ཟབ་མོ་ནང་དོན། རྒྱུད་བརྟག་གཉིས། རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།. wA Na badzra bi dya dpe mdzod khang ཝཱ་ཎ་བཛྲ་བི་དྱཱ་དཔེ་མཛོད་ཁང་, 2011.
The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. A Collection of Important Root Texts: Gyu Lama, Zangmo Nangdon, Namshe Yeshe Chepa, and the Hevajra Tantra. Vajra Vidya Library, 2011.
Book
On Buddha Essence
A Treatise on Buddha Nature by Rangjung Dorje, the third Karmapa, is one of the Kagyu lineage's oldest and most important texts, belonging to the tradition of the Six Yogas of Naropa. In the nineteenth century, Jamgön Kongtrul composed a commentary to it, which Khenchen Thrangu uses as the basis for the teachings in this book.

The subject of this famous treatise is budda essence, the basic nature of all beings. The term is a translation of the Sanskrit tathagatagarbha, or deshek nyingpo (bde-gshegs snying-po) in Tibetan. The Tibetan interprets garbha as "essence" (snying-po), the innermost part of something. Both terms indicate that our very nature is buddhahood—buddha essence is possessed not only by enlightened masters but by everyone.

The path to awakening buddha essence, or buddha nature, is meditation. The practitioner needs to understand not only how to meditate, but also the reasons for meditation, in order to develop insight. This text contains complete instruction on how to discover buddha essence in our ourselves.
(Source: back cover)
Thrangu Rinpoche. On Buddha Essence: A Commentary on Rangjung Dorje's Treatise. Translated by Peter Alan Roberts. Edited by Clark Johnson. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
Book
The Profound Inner Principles
With masterful clarity and precision, The Profound Inner Principles delineates the principles and foundations of Vajrayāna practice. Rangjung Dorje presents the nature of things—mental and physical—and looks at the cause of delusion, what delusion creates, and how delusion is corrected. His explanations capture the principles of the Vajrayāna’s niruttara tantras, with a special focus on the structure and functioning of the body. Just as sugatagarbha, or buddha nature, is the nature of our mind, the potential for awakening lies within our body. The Mahāyāna literature refers to this pure potential as the evolving gotra, whereas the Vajrayāna refers to it as the “vajra body”—the subtle body of channels, winds, and bindus with six elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space, and wisdom-bliss). The vajra body is not only our innate capacity, it is also our path. Understanding its components and properties is essential for most meditators. The overarching theme of the text is that we need to understand how buddha nature is present in sentient beings, those on the path, and buddhas. All the details concerning the mind’s workings, the vajra body’s structures, and the meditations, paths, and stages will reinforce that understanding and give us insight into how and why the Vajrayāna path provides access to wisdom through the body. This translation includes a commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul with extensive footnotes containing extracts from all the other important commentaries to The Profound Inner Principles; several glossaries with annotations by the translator; a works cited list and a selected bibliography; and an index. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Callahan, Elizabeth M., trans. The Profound Inner Principles. By Rangjung Dorje (rang byung rdo rje), the Third Karmapa. With Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye's Commentary Illuminating "The Profound Principles." Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2015.
Text
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje: The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart
The Third Karmapa's treatise on buddha-nature written in verse, which is essentially a synopsis of the Uttaratantra. According to Schaeffer, "This verse text (De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa, or De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa) blends scriptural quotations from both sūtra and tantra with Rang byung's own words, creating an evocative picture of the relation between the primordially pure enlightened state- symbolized by the Enlightened Heart (snying po)- human existence, and Buddhahood. While Rang byung has relied heavily on the Ratnagotravibhāgaśāstra, (known in Tibet as the Uttaratantra, or Rgyud bla ma), the syncretism of various strands of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna apparent in the text is particular to Tibet. Tathāgatagarbha, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Mahāmudrā, and Annuttarayogatantra all coalesce in this work, which is a testament to the hundreds of years of appropriation and synthesis of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist thought that preceded it. - Kurtis Schaeffer, from the introduction to The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood.
Text
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje: Aspiration Prayer of the Definitive Meaning of Mahāmudrā
The Mahamudra Prayer by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje is a short yet thorough and profound text which presents all the essential points of Mahamudra teaching in terms of view, practice, and fruition. It is a classic that, especially in the tradition of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, has been and is widely used whenever a disciple is given a first introduction into Mahamudra. The Third Karmapa shows how to recognize our ultimate potential as a buddha. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Text
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, Fifth Shamarpa Könchok Yenlak: Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart Together with Annotations
This work is an edition of the Third Karmapa's Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart (De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos) embellished with interlinear annotations by the Fifth Shamarpa.
Text
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje: An Explanation of In Praise of Madhyamaka-Dharmadhātu
A commentary by the Third Karmapa on Nāgārjuna's Dharmadhātustava.
Text
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje: The Profound Inner Meaning
Rang byung's most famous, and perhaps most difficult work is yet another verse text, his Zab mo nang don, on the Anuttarayogatantras. This eleven-chapter work is thirty-two folios in length. According to a colophon provided by Kong sprul, it was written in the Water Male Dog year, 1322, at Bde chen steng. The colophons to the present redactions say only that it was written in the Dog Year. (Source: Schaeffer, K., The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood, p. 16)

On the topic of this person

Book
Buddha Nature (Shamar)
14th Shamar Rinpoche's teachings on the Uttaratantra using the 3rd Karmapa's text, Revealing Buddha Nature.
Draszczyk, Martina, trans. Buddha Nature: Our Potential for Wisdom, Compassion, and Happiness. By Shamar Rinpoche. Lexington, VA: Bird of Paradise Press, 2019.
Book
De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos
Rang byung rdo rje (རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་) and 'Jam mgon kong sprul (འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་). De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།). Lekshey Ling Philosophy Series 21. Kathmandu: Lekshey Ling Publications, 2009.
Rang byung rdo rje (རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་) and 'Jam mgon kong sprul (འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་). De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།). Lekshey Ling Philosophy Series 21. Kathmandu: Lekshey Ling Publications, 2009.
Interview
Elizabeth Callahan Interview on Buddha-Nature
Elizabeth Callahan discusses buddha-nature and its related concepts in an interview with Marcus Perman of Tsadra Foundation.
Book
In Praise of Dharmadhātu
Nagarjuna is famous in the West for his works not only on Madhyamaka but his poetic collection of praises, headed by In Praise of Dharmadhatu. This book explores the scope, contents, and significance of Nagarjuna's scriptural legacy in India and Tibet, focusing primarily on the title work. The translation of Nagarjuna's hymn to Buddha nature—here called dharmadhatu—shows how buddha nature is temporarily obscured by adventitious stains in ordinary sentient beings, gradually uncovered through the path of bodhisattvas, and finally revealed in full bloom as buddhahood. These themes are explored at a deeper level through a Buddhist history of mind's luminous nature and a translation of the text's earliest and most extensive commentary by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339), supplemented by relevant excerpts from all other available commentaries. The book also provides an overview of the Third Karmapa's basic outlook, based on seven of his major texts. He is widely renowned as one of the major proponents of the shentong (other-empty) view. However, as this book demonstrates, this often problematic and misunderstood label needs to be replaced by a more nuanced approach which acknowledges the Karmapa's very finely tuned synthesis of the two great traditions of Indian mahayana Buddhism, Madhyamaka and Yogacara. These two, his distinct positions on Buddha nature, and the transformation of consciousness into enlightened wisdom also serve as the fundamental view for the entire vajrayana as it is understood and practiced in the Kagyu tradition to the present day. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl, trans. In Praise of Dharmadhātu: Nāgārjuna and the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. Nitartha Institute Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2007.
Video
Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "On the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 4:59. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mzukFaO-No.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "On the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 4:59. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mzukFaO-No.
Video
Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Views of Dolpopa, the 3rd Karmapa, and Different Views within the Kagyu School
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "On the Views of Dolpopa, the 3rd Karmapa, and Different Views within the Kagyu School." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 5:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLF_ye2wOEg.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "On the Views of Dolpopa, the 3rd Karmapa, and Different Views within the Kagyu School." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 5:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLF_ye2wOEg.
Video
Karmapa on The Nature of All Beings
A commentary across lifetimes. H.H. the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, comments on a quote of the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje: "The nature of all beings is always Buddha" (འགྲོ་བའི་རང་བཞིན་རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་).
Karmapa, 17th. "All Beings Are Buddha by Nature." Interview with H.H. Karmapa conducted at Vajra Vidja Institute, Sarnath, Varanasi, India, February 2015. Video, 1:41. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pll8nGuWtU&list=PL8sDrkwWlohTjleLphxWRmLge5hgbpAXM.
Video
Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho on Application of Buddha-Nature in Kagyu Tradition
སྒྲུབ་བརྒྱུད་ཀམ་ཚང་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་དུ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་སྐོར་དགོངས་བཞེད་དང་ཉམས་བཞེས་སྐོར།
Understanding and Application of Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu Tradition


Khenpo gives a clear explanation of the buddha-nature as understood in the Karma Kagyu tradition based on the teachings on the 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorje. He breaks down his presentation into three parts:

1. Literature on buddha-nature in Kagyu tradition in general and the Karma Kagyu subschool in particular
2. Rangjung Dorje's formulation of buddha-nature through 15 distinct points
3. The practical application of buddha-nature.

Khenpo skips the detailed listing of the works on buddha-nature in the Kagyu tradition, which he lists in his long article. Explaining Rangjung Dorje's formulation of buddha-nature, Khenpo says that Rangjung Dorje is a leading voice on buddha-nature, final wheel and tantras, and perhaps the first Tibetan to compose independent texts on buddha-nature, with his Treatise on Tathāgata Heart and Distinguishing Consciousness and Pristine Wisdom. He also wrote his commentary on Nāgārjuna's In Praise of Dharmadhātu, which mainly discusses the buddha-element. Although the writings of many later scholars such as Longchenpa, Jonangpa, et. al., are similar to Rangjung Dorje's understanding, he stands out as a clear and pioneering Tibetan thinker on buddha-nature.

Rangjung Dorje presents a clear definition of buddha-nature as possessing four characteristics of a union: indivisibility of emptiness and appearance like a reflection of the moon in water, indivisibility of emptiness and luminosity like a reflection in a mirror, indivisibility of emptiness and awareness like a rainbow, and indivisibility of emptiness and bliss like the taste of mute person. The definition is further clarified by his disciple Sherab Rinchen. Buddha-nature is thus the luminous nature of mind which has these four characteristics of union and is the natural ordinary consciousness.

Khenpo explains that Rangjung Dorje accepted both middle wheel and final wheel as definitive and concurring on the same point that is buddha-nature. Buddha-nature is the reality, ultimate truth, and dharmakāya. It is the ground for all existence, eternal, permanent, and unconditioned. It is pure by nature and not stained by impurities, but it is obscured by temporary impurities which do not corrupt its nature. Such buddha-nature is emptiness free from conceptual and linguistic elaborations. It is the innate mind or ground tantra taught in the tantric literature.

Explaining how the various Buddhist schools of thought view phenomena such as a flower or vase, Khenpo explains that the great middle way of zhentong is the ultimate way of grasping the nature of the flower as being identical with the nature of the mind. A flower is a projection of the mind, and the mind, by nature, is not only empty but also luminous, and it is the union of luminosity and emptiness which forms the ultimate truth. In this respect, Khenpo points out that there is nothing so surprising or unacceptable in seeing a vase, flower, or other objects as possessing buddha-nature. He elaborates the 15 points to demonstrate the essence of buddha-nature.
Sherab Phuntsho, Khenpo. "Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video,
Video
Klaus-Dieter Mathes at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Klaus-Dieter Mathes discusses Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s position on Buddha-nature. He describes how his student Zhangtön Sönam Drakpa defends his teacher's position by arguing that one faces eight undesired consequences if one does not strictly differentiate buddha-nature from the ground consciousness.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. “Zhang ston Bsod nams grags pa’s Defense of Dol po pa’s Clear-Cut Distinction between Buddha Nature and the Ground Consciousness.” Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ALrY63cho.
Book
Luminous Heart
This superb collection of writings on buddha nature by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339) focuses on the transition from ordinary deluded consciousness to enlightened wisdom, the characteristics of buddhahood, and a buddha’s enlightened activity. Most of these materials have never been translated comprehensively. The Third Karmapa’s unique and well-balanced view synthesizes Yogācāra, Madhyamaka, and the classical teachings on buddha nature. Rangjung Dorje not only shows that these teachings do not contradict each other but also that they supplement each other and share the same essential points in terms of the ultimate nature of mind and all phenomena. His fusion is remarkable because it clearly builds on Indian predecessors and precedes the later often highly charged debates in Tibet about the views of Rangtong ("self-empty") and Shentong ("other-empty"). Although Rangjung Dorje is widely regarded as one of the major proponents of the Tibetan Shentong tradition (some even consider him its founder), this book shows how his views differ from the Shentong tradition as understood by Dölpopa, Tāranātha, and the First Jamgön Kongtrul. The Third Karmapa’s view is more accurately described as one in which the two categories of rangtong and shentong are not regarded as mutually exclusive but are combined in a creative synthesis. For those practicing the sūtrayāna and the vajrayāna in the Kagyü tradition, what these texts describe can be transformed into living experience. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl, trans. Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature. Nitartha Institute Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2009.
Video
Martina Draszczyk at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Martina Draszczyk discusses the early Kagyu masters and explores how their meditation-oriented approach is based in both affirming buddha-nature as the ground and goal of Buddhist soteriology and avoiding its reification into an entity with real properties.
Draszczyk, Martina. "Buddha Nature as Seen by Early Bka’ brgyud Masters." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 37:27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoMUdg40Qv8.
Book
Mind Seeing Mind
Roger Jackson's Mind Seeing Mind is the first attempt to provide both a scholarly study of the history, texts, and doctrines of Geluk mahāmudrā and translations of some of its seminal texts. It begins with a survey of the Indian sources of the teaching and goes on the discuss the place of mahāmudrā in non-Geluk Tibetan Buddhist schools, especially the Kagyü. The book then turns to a detailed survey of the history and major textual sources of Geluk mahāmudrā, from Tsongkhapa, through the First Panchen, down to the present. The final section of the study addresses critical questions, including the relation between Geluk and Kagyü mahāmudrā, the ways Gelukpa authors have interpreted the mahāsiddha Saraha, and the broader religious-studies implications raised by Tibetan debates about mahāmudrā. The translation portion of Mind Seeing Mind includes eleven texts on mahāmudrā history, ritual, and practice. Foremost among these is the First Panchen Lama's autocommentary on his root verses of Geluk Mahāmudrā, the foundation of the tradition. Also included is his ritual masterpiece Offering to the Guru, which is a staple of Geluk practice, and a selection of his songs of spiritual experience. Mind Seeing Mind adds considerably to our understanding of Geluk spirituality and shows how mahāmudrā came to be woven throughout the fabric of the tradition. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
Jackson, Roger R. Mind Seeing Mind: Mahāmudrā and the Geluk Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2019.
Book
Mining for Wisdom within Delusion
Maitreya’s Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena distinguishes the illusory phenomenal world of saṃsāra produced by the confused dualistic mind from the ultimate reality that is mind’s true nature. The transition from the one to the other is the process of “mining for wisdom within delusion.” Maitreya’s text calls this “the fundamental change,” which refers to the vanishing of delusive appearances through practicing the path, thus revealing the underlying changeless nature of these appearances. In this context, the main part of the text consists of the most detailed explanation of nonconceptual wisdom—the primary driving force of the path as well as its ultimate result—in Buddhist literature. The introduction of the book discusses these two topics (fundamental change and nonconceptual wisdom) at length and shows how they are treated in a number of other Buddhist scriptures. The three translated commentaries, by Vasubandhu, the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, and Gö Lotsāwa, as well as excerpts from all other available commentaries on Maitreya’s text, put it in the larger context of the Indian Yogācāra School and further clarify its main themes. They also show how this text is not a mere scholarly document, but an essential foundation for practicing both the sūtrayāna and the vajrayāna and thus making what it describes a living experience. The book also discusses the remaining four of the five works of Maitreya, their transmission from India to Tibet, and various views about them in the Tibetan tradition. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl, trans. Mining for Wisdom within Delusion: Maitreya's Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena and Its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2012.
Book
Music of the Sphere of Definitive Meaning
A translation of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche's detailed explanation of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's famous Mahāmudrā Aspiration Prayer.
Karmapa, 3rd, and Sangye Nyenpa. Music of the Sphere of Definitive Meaning: Detailed Explanation of the Mahamudra Prayer in Accordance with the Philosophy of the Great Emptiness-of-Other. Translated by David Molk. Kathmandu: Benchen Publications, 2020.
Book
ཟབ་མོ་ནང་དོན་དང་རྒྱུད་བརྟག་གཉིས་དང་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའ་བསྟན་བཅོས།
karma pa gsum pa rang byung rdo rje ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་. nang brtag rgyud gsum: zab mo nang don; rgyud brtag gnyis; rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos ནང་བརྟག་རྒྱུད་གསུམ། ཟབ་མོ་ནང་དོན། རྒྱུད་བརྟག་གཉིས། རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།. wA Na badzra bi dya dpe mdzod khang ཝཱ་ཎ་བཛྲ་བི་དྱཱ་དཔེ་མཛོད་ཁང་, 2011.
The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. A Collection of Important Root Texts: Gyu Lama, Zangmo Nangdon, Namshe Yeshe Chepa, and the Hevajra Tantra. Vajra Vidya Library, 2011.
karma pa gsum pa rang byung rdo rje ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་. nang brtag rgyud gsum: zab mo nang don; rgyud brtag gnyis; rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos ནང་བརྟག་རྒྱུད་གསུམ། ཟབ་མོ་ནང་དོན། རྒྱུད་བརྟག་གཉིས། རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།. wA Na badzra bi dya dpe mdzod khang ཝཱ་ཎ་བཛྲ་བི་དྱཱ་དཔེ་མཛོད་ཁང་, 2011.
The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. A Collection of Important Root Texts: Gyu Lama, Zangmo Nangdon, Namshe Yeshe Chepa, and the Hevajra Tantra. Vajra Vidya Library, 2011.
Book
On Buddha Essence
A Treatise on Buddha Nature by Rangjung Dorje, the third Karmapa, is one of the Kagyu lineage's oldest and most important texts, belonging to the tradition of the Six Yogas of Naropa. In the nineteenth century, Jamgön Kongtrul composed a commentary to it, which Khenchen Thrangu uses as the basis for the teachings in this book.

The subject of this famous treatise is budda essence, the basic nature of all beings. The term is a translation of the Sanskrit tathagatagarbha, or deshek nyingpo (bde-gshegs snying-po) in Tibetan. The Tibetan interprets garbha as "essence" (snying-po), the innermost part of something. Both terms indicate that our very nature is buddhahood—buddha essence is possessed not only by enlightened masters but by everyone.

The path to awakening buddha essence, or buddha nature, is meditation. The practitioner needs to understand not only how to meditate, but also the reasons for meditation, in order to develop insight. This text contains complete instruction on how to discover buddha essence in our ourselves.
(Source: back cover)
Thrangu Rinpoche. On Buddha Essence: A Commentary on Rangjung Dorje's Treatise. Translated by Peter Alan Roberts. Edited by Clark Johnson. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
Video
On the Terminology Associated with Buddha-Nature by Elizabeth Callahan
In this video Elizabeth Callahan discusses the various terminology that is used when talking about buddha-nature. She describes buddha-nature as who we are at our very core and goes on to discuss several terms that are associated with uncovering this buddha-nature within Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna, and Mahāmudrā contexts.
Callahan, Elizabeth. “On the Terminology Associated with Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 8:29. https://youtu.be/ValneCRetjc.
Schaeffer, K.: The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood
This thesis includes a translation of The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's work on Tathāgatagarbha, the Pronouncement on the Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood (De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa) along with notes from the Fifth Shamar, Kongchog Yenlag (1525-1583). Kurtis Schaeffer analyzes the thought and language of the text and presents the key points cogently. Also included is a diplomatic edition of the Tibetan text in Wylie along with seven appendixes, including Jamgon Kongtrul's outline of Rangjung Dorje's text, a song on buddha-nature, and information from the Zab mo nang don related to the heart of Buddhahood.
Schaeffer, Kurtis R. "The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood: A Study and Translation of The Third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje's Work on Tathāgatagarbha, The De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa." MA thesis, University of Washington, 1995.
Book
The Profound Inner Principles
With masterful clarity and precision, The Profound Inner Principles delineates the principles and foundations of Vajrayāna practice. Rangjung Dorje presents the nature of things—mental and physical—and looks at the cause of delusion, what delusion creates, and how delusion is corrected. His explanations capture the principles of the Vajrayāna’s niruttara tantras, with a special focus on the structure and functioning of the body. Just as sugatagarbha, or buddha nature, is the nature of our mind, the potential for awakening lies within our body. The Mahāyāna literature refers to this pure potential as the evolving gotra, whereas the Vajrayāna refers to it as the “vajra body”—the subtle body of channels, winds, and bindus with six elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space, and wisdom-bliss). The vajra body is not only our innate capacity, it is also our path. Understanding its components and properties is essential for most meditators. The overarching theme of the text is that we need to understand how buddha nature is present in sentient beings, those on the path, and buddhas. All the details concerning the mind’s workings, the vajra body’s structures, and the meditations, paths, and stages will reinforce that understanding and give us insight into how and why the Vajrayāna path provides access to wisdom through the body. This translation includes a commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul with extensive footnotes containing extracts from all the other important commentaries to The Profound Inner Principles; several glossaries with annotations by the translator; a works cited list and a selected bibliography; and an index. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Callahan, Elizabeth M., trans. The Profound Inner Principles. By Rangjung Dorje (rang byung rdo rje), the Third Karmapa. With Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye's Commentary Illuminating "The Profound Principles." Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2015.
PhD Diss
Wangchuk, Tsering: The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage
This dissertation examines the intellectual history of the Uttaratantra in Tibet from the 12th century to the early 15th century. It is between these centuries that the text, which is one of the most authoritative works on the notion of tathāgata-essence, takes its shape in Tibet through the writings of some of the most formidable Tibetan thinkers of the time.
Wangchuk, Tsering. "The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage." PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2009.
Book
The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet. (Source: SUNY Press)
Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017.
Interview
What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School by Karl Brunnhölzl
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 1:16:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh--a5jxNq4.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 1:16:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh--a5jxNq4.
Video
Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature? by Karl Brunnhölzl
Karl Brunnhölzl discusses the various Tibetan figures who addressed and wrote about buddha-nature teachings and the Uttaratantra. Among the Tibetans he mentions include: the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje; Dölpopa; Tāranātha; the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje; Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen; Jamgön Kongtrul; Mipam Gyamtso; Longchenpa; Gö Lotsāwa; and Śākya Chokden.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature?” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 6:58. https://youtu.be/wWzrtDltUwE.
Text
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye: A Commentary on The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart, Illuminating the Intention of Rangjung
Kongtrul's commentary on the Third Karmapa's short verse synopsis of the Uttaratantra, The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart. As he states in the opening of the text: "The Omniscient Victor spoke about [this Heart] in the collection of the sūtras of the final definitive meaning and in the very profound collection of tantras in an unconcealed and clear way. The illustrious sons of this victor, such as the mighty lords of the tenth bhūmi, the regent Ajita and Avalokiteśvara, as well as the mahāsiddha Saraha and his heirs, noble Nāgārjuna, venerable Asaṅga, and others commented on it as being [the Buddha's] direct and straightforward intention. The way of being of the very profound actuality of this Heart does not fit within the scope of the minds of those who roam the [sphere of] dialectics. It was extensively illuminated by the second mighty sage, Rangjung Dorje, the charioteer who was the first in the land of snow mountains to utter the unassailable great lion's roar of the Heart that is the definitive meaning. The quintessence of all his excellent words is this Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart."
Text
Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche: Music of the Sphere of Definitive Meaning: Detailed Explanation of the Mahamudra Prayer in Accordance with the Philosophy of the Great Emptiness-of-Other
A clear explanation of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's famous Mahāmudrā Aspiration Prayer in colloquial Tibetan by a leading contemporary Karma Kagyu master Sangay Nyenpa Rinpoche.
Text
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje: Aspiration Prayer of the Definitive Meaning of Mahāmudrā
The Mahamudra Prayer by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje is a short yet thorough and profound text which presents all the essential points of Mahamudra teaching in terms of view, practice, and fruition. It is a classic that, especially in the tradition of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, has been and is widely used whenever a disciple is given a first introduction into Mahamudra. The Third Karmapa shows how to recognize our ultimate potential as a buddha. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Text
Fifteenth Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje: Annotated Commentary on the Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart
An annotated commentary written by the fifteenth Karmapa on the Third Karmapa's verses on buddha-nature, The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart.

About this person

The Third Karmapa’s commentary on the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga ’s concluding examples for the nature of the fundamental change explains the following.

Examples for the fundamental change are space, gold, water, and so on.

For example, space is nothing but pure by nature. Therefore, by virtue of certain conditions (such as fog or mist), in the world, one can observe the statements "The sky is not pure" and "It is pure," [when] it is clear and free [from these conditions]. However, it is not suitable to claim such because of a change of the nature of space. With its own nature’s being pure, empty, and unconditioned, it is indeed not in order for it to either become pure by virtue of itself or become pure by virtue of something else. Nevertheless, mistaken minds that connect mere conventional terms to it cling to space as being pure and impure, [but] this is nothing but an error. Likewise, though it may appear as if the naturally pure nature of phenomena—the perfect [nature]—has become free from the fog and mist of conceptions, it is not asserted that this perfect [nature] changes [in any way]—it is absolutely without any arising or ceasing in terms of itself, others, both, or neither.

In the same way, the fact of gold’s remaining in its state of being immaculate is not changed by any stains, and the fact of water’s remaining clear and moist is not changed in its nature, even if it becomes associated with sullying factors, [such as] silt. Likewise, all that happens to the unmistaken path and the pure dharmas is that they just become associated with stains and sullying factors through the conceptions of ignorance, but it is not asserted that these uncontaminated dharmas [the path and the pure dharmas entailed by cessation] change. Consequently, naturally luminous stainlessness is unconditioned and changeless. Therefore, though the nature of phenomena is referred to by the conventional term "fundamental change," it is also called "permanent."

The words "and so on" refer to its being like a buddha [statue’s] existing in the shroud of a [decaying] lotus, honey’s existing amid bees, a grain in its husks, gold in filth, a treasure in the earth, a tree’s [sprouting] from a fruit, a precious statue in tattered rags, a cakravartin in the belly of a destitute woman, and a golden statue in clay.

[In due order, the respective obscuring factors in these nine examples correspond to the following mental obscurations.] The four that consist of the three latencies of desire, hatred, and ignorance, as well as the intense rising of all [three] are the factors to be relinquished through cultivating the mundane paths. The ground of the latent tendencies of ignorance is the factor to be relinquished through the cognition of realizing the foundation of knowable objects. The [afflictive] factors to be relinquished through seeing are relinquished through the path of seeing. The [afflictive] factors to be relinquished through familiarization are relinquished through [the path of] familiarization. The cognitive obscurations of the impure bhūmis are relinquished through the two wisdoms of meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment. The cognitive obscurations of the pure [bhūmis] are relinquished through the vajra-like [samādhi].

Thus, [the corresponding obscured factors in the nine examples correspond to] the buddha heart, the [single] taste of the [profound] dharma, the essence of its meaning, natural luminosity, changelessness, the unfolding of wisdom, the dharmakāya, the sāmbhogikakāya, and the nairmāṇikakāya, [all of which] represent the pure unchanging and spontaneously present nature. These [examples and their meanings] are found in the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. [The Uttaratantra also says]:

There is nothing to be removed from it
And not the slightest to be added.
Actual reality is to be seen as it really is—
Whoever sees actual reality is liberated.
The basic element is empty of what is adventitious,
Which has the characteristic of being separable.
It is not empty of the unsurpassable dharmas,
Which have the characteristic of being inseparable.

This teaches the defining characteristics of the emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects, free from the extremes of superimposition and denial.[1]

The same author’s commentary on verse 17 of Nāgārjuna’s Dharmadhātustava also quotes our verse in question, but interestingly uses Nāgārjuna’s Pratītysamutpādahṛdaya as its source.

Therefore, in order to teach the conventional terms of cause and result with regard to this dharmadhātu, [lines 17ab] say:

This basic element, which is the seed,
Is held to be the basis of all dharmas.

The basis of all uncontaminated qualities is the naturally pure dharmadhātu. This is also the seed and the basic element [for awakening]. As [Asaṅga’s] commentary on the Uttaratantra says:

Here, the meaning of "dhātu" is the meaning of "cause."[2]

The Uttaratantra ’s chapter on awakening states:

Just as space, which is not a cause,
Is the cause for forms, sounds, smells,
Tastes, tangible objects, and phenomena
To be seen, heard, and so on,
Likewise, on account of being unobscured,
The two kāyas are the cause
For the arising of uncontaminated qualities
Within the objects of the faculties of the wise.[3]

For this reason, due to the obscurations of mind, mentation, and consciousness gradually becoming pure, [the dharmadhātu’s] own stainless qualities appear. Hence, this is taught as "attaining great awakening." In order to demonstrate that, [lines 17cd say]:

Through its purification step by step,
The state of buddhahood we will attain.

However, there is nothing to be newly attained from something extrinsic [to the dharmadhātu], nor are there any obscurations other than being caught up in our own discriminating notions to be relinquished.

Therefore, these discriminating notions’ own essence is that they, just like a mirage, lack any nature of their own. To directly realize this lack for what it is and to realize and reveal the basic nature of the naturally luminous dharmakāya—the perfect [nature]—as just this perfect [nature] means to have gone to the other shore, since it cannot be gauged by the mind of any naive being. This is stated in master [Nāgārjuna]’s text on dependent origination:

There is nothing to be removed from it
And not the slightest to be added.
Actual reality is to be seen as it really is—
Who sees actual reality is liberated.[4]
- (Karl Brunnhölzl. When the Clouds Part, pp. 917-920)



Notes

  1. Rang byung rdo rje 2006b, 610–13. The last sentence here corresponds to the almost identical passage in RGVV on the above two verses from the Uttaratantra (J76; D4025, fol. 114ba.4).
  2. J72.
  3. II.27–28.
  4. Rang byung rdo rje 2006c, 31–32.

Philosophical positions of this person

Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Definitive 
Do all beings have buddha-nature?
  Qualified Yes

"Rangjung Dorjé says in accordance with RGV I.27-28 that only the dharmakāya of all buddhas truly abides in sentient beings. The form kāyas are then explained as the outflow of the Dharma teachings on the level of the fruit, which corresponds to the pertinent passages in the first and third chapters of the Ratnagotravibhāga."
Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 72.

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To which "turning of the wheel" do the buddha-nature teachings belong?
  Third Turning

"Furthermore, the Third Karmapa composed a summary of the Uttaratantra in accordance with the meditative tradition, which establishes the Uttaratantra as a definitive text included in the last wheel of the Buddha's teachings." Wangchuk, Tsering. Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, pp. 30-31.

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Is buddha-nature equated with emptiness or alayavijnana?
  Yogācāra
  • "To sum up, in his explanation of buddha nature, Rangjung Dorjé combines three different strands of interpretations:

1. The mahāmudrā interpretation stemming from Saraha. 2.The interpretation according to Asaṅga's Mahāyānasaṁgraha. 3.The dzogchen interpretation. In other words, for Rangjung Dorjé, well-founded mahāmudrā and dzogchen explanations need be combined with Asaṅgas Yogācāra distinction." Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 65.

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Do buddha-nature teachings belong to the zhentong or rangtong view of emptiness?
  Zhentong
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Are there one or three vehicles on the path to buddhahood?
 
Do the author's writings belong to the analytic or meditative tradition of Uttaratantra exegesis?
  Meditative Tradition

"Furthermore, the Third Karmapa composed a summary of the Uttaratantra in accordance with the meditative tradition, which establishes the Uttaratantra as a definitive text included in the last wheel of the Buddha's teachings." Wangchuk, Tsering. Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, pp. 30-31.

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What is Buddha-nature?
  Tathāgatagarbha as Mind's Luminous Nature
  • "The tathāgata heart is mind’s luminous ultimate nature or nondual wisdom, which is the basis of everything in saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. Its essence is empty, its nature is lucid, and its display is unimpeded (this is also how the nature of the mind is presented in the Mahāmudrā tradition, and the Karmapa’s commentary on the Dharmadhātustava indeed equates the tathāgata heart with Mahāmudrā)." Brunnhölzl, K., When the Clouds Part, p. 72.
  • Another take on this is found in Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, pp. 51-54, in which he seems to suggest that his views are more inclined to view it as the dharmadhātu, which is equivalent to dharmakāya.
  • "This becomes clear from an answer to a rhetorical question in the autocommentary of the Zab mo nang gi don:

Question: How are the properties of purification produced? They are supported by buddha nature, [in as much as] it is the dharmakāya of the above-mentioned purity of mind." Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 58.

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Does the author advocate the Svatantrika or Prasangika view of emptiness?
 

Other names

  • ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • karma pa gsum pa · other names (Wylie)
  • Karmapa, 3rd · other names

Affiliations & relations

  • Karma Kagyu · religious affiliation
  • Karmapa, 2nd · emanation of
  • Karmapa, 4th · incarnation
  • o rgyan pa rin chen dpal · teacher
  • rig 'dzin ku mA ra rA dza · teacher
  • Pad+ma las 'brel rtsal · teacher
  • Rgyal sras legs pa · teacher
  • klong chen rab 'byams · student
  • Rgyal sras legs pa · student
  • G.yung ston rdo rje dpal bzang po · student
  • g.yag sde paN chen · student
  • Shamarpa, 1st · student

Tertön Gyatsa Information from the Rinchen Terdzö

Text
Tibetan
Wylie

The full Tertön Gyatsa text can be found at the following page: Volume 1 (ཀ), 341-765, 1a1-213a4.

Name in Gyatsa: ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་ (karma pa gsum pa rang byung rdo rje)

Page #s for bio of this person: 702 to 703

Folio #s for bio of this person: 181b4 to 182a4

སྐལ་བཟང་སངས་རྒྱས་དྲུག་པ་སེང་གེའི་རྣམ་འཕྲུལ་འཇིག་རྟེན་དབང་ཕྱུག་ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེའི་རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ་ནི་ཡོངས་སུ་གྲགས་པ་ལྟར་ལ། བྱེ་བྲག་དག་སྣང་གི་བཀའ་བབ་ཚུལ་ནི། ས་སྤྱོད་གསུང་གི་འཁོར་ལོ་འོག་མིན་ཀརྨའི་ཡང་དབེན་དེང་སང་རི་བར་གྲགས་པའི་གནས་དེར་ཐུགས་དམ་ལ་བཞུགས་པའི་སྐབས་ཤར་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ནམ་མཁར་མཁས་པ་བི་མ་ལ་དངོས་སུ་བྱོན་ནས་མཛོད་སྤུར་ཐིམ་པའི་རྐྱེན་གྱིས། བི་མ་སྙིང་ཐིག་ཆེན་མོའི་ཚིག་དོན་མ་ལུས་པ་ཐུགས་ལ་ཤར་ནས་གདམས་ངག་གི་རྩ་བ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཚིག་རྐང་དང་། སྨིན་གྲོལ་གྱི་ཡིག་ཆ་རྫོགས་པར་མཛད་ནས་སྤེལ་བའི་རྒྱུན་ད་ལྟའང་བཞུགས་པ་ཁོ་བོས་ཀྱང་ཐོབ། སློབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་པདྨའི་བྱིན་རླབས་ཀྱིས་རྩ་གསུམ་དྲིལ་སྒྲུབ་ཀྱི་གདམས་སྐོར་ཟབ་མོ་དགོངས་པའི་གཏེར་ལས་ཕྱུངས་པ་ཕྱིས་རྗེ་བརྒྱད་པ་མི་བསྐྱོད་རྡོ་རྗེས་ཐུགས་ཉམས་སུ་བཞེས་པས་དག་སྣང་ཉེ་བརྒྱུད་དུ་བྱུང་བ་ལྟར་ལོ་རྒྱུས་དང་། རྩ་ཚིག་ཡི་གེར་བཀོད། རྗེ་དགུ་པ་དབང་ཕྱུག་རྡོ་རྗེས་ལས་བྱང་དབང་ཆོག་རྒྱས་པར་བཀོད་པ་ལྟར་ཁོ་བོས་ཀྱང་དཔལ་ཀརྨ་པ་བཅུ་བཞི་པའི་བཀའ་དྲིན་ལས་ནོས་ཤིང་ཡིག་ཆའི་ཞབས་ཏོག་ཀྱང་སྤེལ་བ་སྟེ། འདི་ཉིད་ཕྱིས་རིག་འཛིན་ཆོས་རྗེ་གླིང་པའི་གཏེར་བྱོན་འཆི་མེད་རྩ་གསུམ་དྲིལ་སྒྲུབ་དང་ལྷ་སྔགས་ངོ་བོ་གཅིག་པས་བརྒྱུད་པའི་ཆུ་བོ་གཉིས་འདྲེས་སུའང་འགྱུར་རོ།

skal bzang sangs rgyas drug pa seng ge'i rnam 'phrul 'jig rten dbang phyug karma pa gsum pa rang byung rdo rje'i rnam par thar pa ni yongs su grags pa ltar la/_bye brag dag snang gi bka' bab tshul ni/_sa spyod gsung gi 'khor lo 'og min karma'i yang dben deng sang ri bar grags pa'i gnas der thugs dam la bzhugs pa'i skabs shar phyogs kyi nam mkhar mkhas pa bi ma la dngos su byon nas mdzod spur thim pa'i rkyen gyis/_bi ma snying thig chen mo'i tshig don ma lus pa thugs la shar nas gdams ngag gi rtsa ba rdo rje'i tshig rkang dang /_smin grol gyi yig cha rdzogs par mdzad nas spel ba'i rgyun da lta'ang bzhugs pa kho bos kyang thob/_slob dpon chen po pad+ma'i byin rlabs kyis rtsa gsum dril sgrub kyi gdams skor zab mo dgongs pa'i gter las phyungs pa phyis rje brgyad pa mi bskyod rdo rjes thugs nyams su bzhes pas dag snang nye brgyud du byung ba ltar lo rgyus dang /_rtsa tshig yi ger bkod/_rje dgu pa dbang phyug rdo rjes las byang dbang chog rgyas par bkod pa ltar kho bos kyang dpal karma pa bcu bzhi pa'i bka' drin las nos shing yig cha'i zhabs tog kyang spel ba ste/_'di nyid phyis rig 'dzin chos rje gling pa'i gter byon 'chi med rtsa gsum dril sgrub dang lha sngags ngo bo gcig pas brgyud pa'i chu bo gnyis 'dres su'ang 'gyur ro

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