guṇapāramitā

Sanskrit Noun

guṇapāramitā

perfect qualities

गुणपारमिता

ཡོན་ཏན་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་

功德波羅蜜

Basic Meaning

In the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra it is explained that the dharmakāya of a buddha possesses the four perfect qualities of purity, bliss, permanence, and self.

On this topic

Video

David Higgins at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

David Higgins explores the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje’s (1507–1554) prolific writings on tathāgatagarbha, which contain several extended discussions on the topic of how buddha-nature relates to different conceptions of selfhood.

Higgins, David. "Buddha-Nature and Selfhood." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHzI1PxptpI.

Higgins, David. "Buddha-Nature and Selfhood." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHzI1PxptpI.;David Higgins at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;Karmapa, 8th;Buddha-nature as Self - Atman;'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Karma Kagyu;guṇapāramitā;dharmakāya;ālayavijñāna;Vajrayana;ātman;Ground;sarvākāravaropetāśūnyatā;anātman;rgyu'i rgyud;David Higgins; Buddha-Nature and Selfhood

Video

Donald S. Lopez, Jr. - Keynote of the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

In his keynote lecture to the Vienna Tathāgatagarbha Symposium, Donald Lopez provides an overview of the history and influence of tathāgatagarbha doctrine as well as its various interpretations across the Mahāyāna world.

Lopez, Donald S., Jr. “Tathāgatagarbha: A Brief History.” Keynote lecture at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:17. https://youtu.be/0SSSdNNbeu8.

Lopez, Donald S., Jr. “Tathāgatagarbha: A Brief History.” Keynote lecture at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:17. https://youtu.be/0SSSdNNbeu8.;Donald S. Lopez, Jr. - Keynote of the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;History of buddha-nature in Tibet;History of buddha-nature in China;History of buddha-nature in India;History of buddha-nature in Japan;History;Bde gshegs snying po gsal ba'i rgyan;guṇapāramitā;tathāgatagarbha;tathatā;Dasheng qixin lun;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Aṅgulimālīyasūtra;ālayavijñāna;Schopen, G.;Obermiller, E.;Bhāvaviveka;Burnouf, E.;Asaṅga;Vasubandhu;Gimello, R.;Tsong kha pa;Lcang skya rol pa'i rdo rje;Donald S. Lopez, Jr.; Tathāgatagarbha: A Brief History

Video

Sina Joos at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

Sina Joos discusses the ways in which Tāranātha utilizes the famous nine examples from the Ratnagotravibhāga in his Dbu ma theg mchog to assert his understanding of buddha-nature as zhentong (other-emptiness). She also compares Tāranātha’s position on Buddha-nature to Dolpopa's own view.

Joos, Sina. "The Role of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Tā ra nā tha’s dBu ma theg mchog." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxn5XgPGnSU.

Joos, Sina. "The Role of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Tā ra nā tha’s dBu ma theg mchog." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxn5XgPGnSU.;Sina Joos at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;TA ra nA tha;Dol po pa;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;zhentong;Theg mchog shin tu rgyas pa'i dbu ma chen po rnam par nges pa;Jonang;guṇapāramitā;tridharmacakrapravartana;prasajyapratiṣedha;paryudāsapratiṣedha;dharmadhātu;dharmakāya;āgantukamala;gotra;prakṛtisthagotra;nītārtha;Disclosure model;Great Madhyamaka;Ye shes rgya mtsho;guṇa;Terminology;Sina Joos;The Role of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Tā ra nā tha’s dBu ma theg mchog

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Term Variations
Key Term	guṇapāramitā
Topic Variation	guṇapāramitā
Tibetan	ཡོན་ཏན་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	yon tan pha rol tu phyin pa
Devanagari Sanskrit	गुणपारमिता
Romanized Sanskrit	guṇapāramitā
Chinese	功德波羅蜜
Chinese Pinyin	gōngdébōluómì
Japanese	kudokuharamitsu
Buddha-nature Site Standard English	perfect qualities
Term Information
Source Language	Sanskrit
Basic Meaning	In the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra it is explained that the dharmakāya of a buddha possesses the four perfect qualities of purity, bliss, permanence, and self.
Term Type	Noun
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism	See page 337: In Sanskrit, “the perfection of qualities,” referring to the four salutary qualities of the tathāgatagarbha: permanence, purity, bliss, and self, as described in the Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra . These qualities are in distinction to the four perverted views (viparyāsa), where ignorant sentient beings regard the conditioned realm of saṃsāra as being permanent, pure, blissful, and self when in fact it is impermanent (anitya), impure (aśubha), suffering (duḥkha ), and not-self (anātman).