Affirmation in negation: A study of the Tathagatagarbha theory in the light of the Bodhisattva practices.

摘要

The Tathagatagarbha theory, also known as the Buddha nature theory, is one of the most influential Mahayana doctrines in the East Asian Buddhism. In 1989, it was severely criticized by some Japanese scholars, namely, Shiro Matsumoto ;This dissertation begins with definitions of the term "tathagatagarbha" and some of its synonyms which are followed by a brief review of the historical development of the Tathagatagarbha 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 Tathagatagarbha theory as the atman of the Upanisads in disguise. It is therefore necessary to discuss not only the distinction between the atman mentioned in the Tathagatagarbha theory and that in the Upanisads but also the controversy over the issue of atman versus anatman among the Buddhist scholars.;In the discussion to clarify the issue of atman in the Tathagatagarbha theory, it is demonstrated that the atman in the Tathagatagarbha theory is not only uncontradictory to the doctrine of anatman in Buddhism but very important to the Bodhisattva practices in the Mahayana Buddhism. It functions as a unity for the Bodhisattvas to voluntarily return to the world of samsara 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 Tathagatagarbha theory is an excellent representative of the soteriology of the Mahayana Buddhism. Included in the end of this dissertation is an annotated translation of the Tathagatagarbha-sutra (