The tathagatagarbha concept is a fundamental philosophical question of Buddhism. Tathagatagarbha (Sanskrit) has the original contextual meaning of "embryonic Buddha" (Tib: bade gashegas snginga po) or "Buddha heart". Mahayana Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism, and particularly the Prasangika School expresses the term as "Buddha nature". Within the three surviving nikayas of Theravada Buddhism, there are several ways of understanding tathagatagarbha and according to different sutras. The most significant doctrines lie in the Tathagatagarbha, Lankavatara, Mahaparinnirvana, Maharatnakuta, Mahabheri Haraka Parivarta, and Angulinalya sutras, which define tathagatagarbha as a monism and something permanent. Prasangika and Tibetan Buddhism schools (Nyingma, New Bon, Kadam, Sakya, Jonang, Gelug, Kagyu) meanwhile, see tathagatagarbha as an expression of the concepts of pratiyasamutpada (dependent arising) and sunyata (emptiness). Many researchers believe that the Tibetan Buddhist practice of mahasampanna (Eng: Dzogchen, Tib: rdzogas chena) and Mahamudra (Eng: the Great Seal, Tib: phyga rhy chen mo) are based on the concept of an "absolute" tathagatagarbha. In this paper the author focused on the Tibetan Buddhist interpretation of tathagatagarbha and argues that its concept concerns "emptiness" and "dependent arising" but nothing else. The author has five main arguments: 1) All Tibetan Buddhist schools, in theory and practice, assert that they follow Mahayana Buddhism and its Prasangika school; Tibetan Buddhism is enshrined in the doctrines of both Nagarjuna and Candrakirti who both stated that ultimate truth is sunyata but not atman (infinite, ego-less, svabhava); 3) Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika declares: "whatever is relational origination [pratityasamutpada] is sunyata" which means that all phenomena (dharmas) are sunyata including Buddha nature; 4) The Tibetan Buddhist schools insist that all Buddhist sutras be explained in terms of Nagarjuna's theory and wisdom. The Buddha himself prognosticated Nagarjuna as his re-disseminator and this is recorded in several scriptures, for instance Tsongkhapa's In praise of dependent arising; and 5) Tibetan Buddhist schools agree on the tathagatagarbha concept and this understanding corresponds with the principles of Buddhist scripture, in particular the "revelation of the whole truth" and "partial revelation of the truth", the four seals of Buddha truth (chatur udan) and the four reliances (catrari pratisaranan).
展开▼
