An Interpretation about Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine

Rewatha 1 Introduction The tathāgatagarbha doctrine is one of the most significant Buddhist doctrines to have come under the scrutiny of scholars in recent times. According to scholars Theravadins/ Hinayanists have no the category of the "Buddha's Nature", all true Mahayanists insists that all the sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature it is Tathāgatagarbha, the Embryo of the Buddhahood in all beings. Origin of Tathāgatagarbha doctrine According to Shunko Katsumata, although the term “tathāgatagarbha” first appeared in the Mahāyāna texts composed in India between approximately 200 and 350 C.E.,1 its basic idea can be found in the expressions of the early Pāli sūtras such as “Mind is pure” (pabhassaram cittam).2 The concept of the pure state of mind developed into the doctrine of Buddha nature, producing the related literature, though it never formed a philosophical school in India like the Mādhyamaka and the Yogācāra. 3 Further the term tathāgatagarbha was an entirely new usage but its basic idea is found in the expression "prakrtiprabhāsvaram cittam āgantukair upakleśair upakliśyate", for which the same corresponding expression, or similar ones, are used sometimes in the Pali canons.4 1 Sallie, B. King. Buddha Nature, Albany: State University of New York, 1991. p 7 Anguttara-nikaya, 1:5; re- uoted f o Shu ko Katsu ata, Butk ō o Oke u Shi shikisetsu o Ke k ū [Research into the Theories of Mind and Consciousness in Buddhism](Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 1988), 465. 3 Among representative tathāgatagarbha texts are Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra, Anunatvapurnatvanirdesa-sūtra, Mahāpari irvā a-sūtra, Lankavatara-sūtra, Rat agotravibhāga, Buddha-Nature Treatise, etc. Katsumata divides the process of development of tathāgatagarbha thoughts in India into three steps in relation to the doctrine of ālayavijñā a and explains the representative sūtras and commentaries of each step: Shunko Katsumata, op. cit., 593-637. 4 Jikido Takasaki. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhaga (Being a Treatise on the Tathagatagarbha Theory of Mahā ā a Buddhis . Tokyo: 1964. p, 34 2 Rewatha 2 “Pabhassaramidaṃ bhikkhave cittaṃ, tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhanti”5 Another expression of this same idea of purification of mind seems also to be old and to have its origin in the Pali canons. "cittasamkleśāt sattvāh samkliśyante, cittavyavadānād viśuddhyante",6 In early Mahāyāna texts, no mention is made of a Buddha-element or nature (Buddha-dhātu), that is, the potential to become a Buddha. The statement that all sentient beings have the Buddhaelement first appears in the Mahāyāna version of the Mahāparinirvāna sȗtra. 7 The origin of this doctrine can be sought, however, in the statements in early Mahāyāna texts, such as the Astasāhasrikāprajnāpāramita, that the original nature of the mind is pure, “prakrtis cittasya prabhāvara”8 This doctrine first appeared in the Ajātasatrukaukrtyavinodana and later in many other Mahāyāna texts.9 The Dhāranīśvararājasūtra together with the Sāgaramatipariprcchā, the Ratnadārikā, the Ratnacūda, the Gaganagañjā, the Aksayamati—pariprcchā, etc., which form parts of the Mahāsamghātasūtra are also standing fundamentally on the theory of the cittaprakrti, and they 5 Pabhassaravaggo, AN, I, 5, 9-10 (PTS, vol. 1, p. 10). Sagātakavagga SN, (PTS, vol. 3, p. 151). 7 Hirakawa, akira. A history of Indian Buddhism. Translated by Paul Groner, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1993. p 297 8 For the doctrine that the nature of the mind is originally pure, see Hirakawa akira, A history of Indian Buddhism. Translated by Paul Groner, pp. 196-217. 9 Hirakawa, akira. A history of Indian Buddhism. Translated by Paul Groner, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1993. p 297 6 Rewatha 3 are probably written by one and the same group who later developed the tathāgatagarbha theory.10 The full form of the term “bodhisattva” is bodhisattva mahāsattva. “Bodhisattva” means “a being (sattva) who seeks enlightenment (Bodhi).” “Mahāsattva” means “a great person” and refers to a person who makes the great vow to become a Buddha and undertakes the strenuous practice required to attain the goal. A bodhisattva must believe that he has the character or nature necessary to become a Buddha. Meaning of Tathāgatagarbha The possibility of all living beings attaining Buddhahood is a problem that seems to have been answered from two sides. One is the idea that all living beings possess Buddha- nature-the idea that is mainly advocated by the tathāgata-garbha (tathāgata-matrix) theory. The other is the introduction of the concept of āsraya-paravrtti (the revolving of the basis).11 The concept of āsraya-parāvrtti12 is frequently used by the Yogācāra Vijnāna School that consummated the trikāya doctrine. In the tathāgata garbha sutra13 the Buddha has explained about tathāgata garbha as “when I regard all beings with my Buddha cakshur (eye), I see that hidden within the kleshas (barbs) of rāga (greed), lobha (confusion), dvesha (hatred) and moha (obscuration) there is seated augustly 10 Jikido Takasaki. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhaga. p, 34 Madhyamika and Yogacara, A Study of Mahayana Philosophies, Collected Papers of G.M. Nagao. Sri Satguru Publication: Delhi, 1992, p.115 12 The term āśrayaparāvrtti was used for the first time in the Sūtrâla kāra kā ikā a d has g aduall bee fi ed as a technical term of the Vijñā avāda by Asañga and Vasubandhu, defining āśraya as ālayavijñā a, and that before that term was introduced, the term āśrayaparivrtti was commonly used by the Vijñā avādi s and in the Tathāgatagarbha theory. 13 The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra is a small scripture whose main part consists merely of the 9 examples illustrating the covering of defilements over the tathāgatagarbha. 11 Rewatha 4 and un-movingly the Tathāgata jnana , the Tathāgata-vision and the Tathāgata kaya. kulaputras, all beings, though they find themselves with all sorts of kleshas, have a tathāgatagarbha that is eternally unsullied, and that is replete with virtues no different from my own”.14 According to this explanation all living beings possess Buddha’s nature without different from Buddha’s tathāgata garbha. The idea that all beings have Buddha-nature according to tathāgata garbha theory, it has strongly advocated that the human mind is essentially identical with the tathāgata. The essence of the human mind is transparently luminous; it has lost its light only because of its being covered with adventitious defilement (āgantuka-klesa). When the adventitious defilement has been removed, the true mind or Buddha-nature becomes apparent. Further it has explained in tathāgata-garbha sutra, “The Buddha can really see the beings (sattva) tathāgata-garbha. And because he wants to disclose the tathāgata-garbha to them, he expounds the sutras and the Dharma, in order to destroy kleshas and reveal the buddha-dhātu (buddha-element, buddha-nature). kulaputras, such is the dharma of all Buddhas. Whether or not Buddhas appear in the world, the tathāgata-garbha of all beings is eternal and unchanging. It is just that they are covered by kleshas of sentient beings." “esā dharmānām dharmatā. utpādād vā tathāgatānām anutpādād vā sadaîvaîte sattvās tathāgatagarbhāh”15 According to above explanation tathāgata-garbha abidingly exists whether or not buddhas appear in the world. With regard to this position among the living beings one cannot escape from 14 Tathagata-garbha Sutra, (Tripitaka No. 0666) Translated during the East-JIN Dynasty by Tripitaka Master Buddhabhadra from India. 15 Tathagata-garbha Sutra, Rewatha 5 the Buddha’s nature. Just as the birds fly freely in the air, all sentient beings breathe in the Buddha-nature. For the tathāgatagarbha various interpretations appeared in later ages. But its original meaning seems to have been that it was the embryo that conceived the tathāgata, nurtured it, and gave birth to it. To say that a sentient being is a tathāgatagarbha means that one possesses Buddha-lineage and is a member of the Buddha family (gotra) and that one possesses Buddhaessence or Buddha-nature by birth.16 Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha doctrine The Sandhinirmochana and Lankāvatāra sutras were especially influential in the formulation of the doctrines of the Yogācāra school, founded by two brothers, Asanga and Vasubandu (the latter, because of his great learning, was given the singular honor of being called "the second Buddha"), natives of North-West India, in the 4th or 5th century. Another source of Yogācāra teachings was Asanga's little-known teacher Maitreyanātha, who has been called the true founder of the school17. Asanga is considered to be the systematizer of Yogācāra-thought18 Asanga and Vasubandu were encyclopaedic systematisers, who developed ideas already established in older writings, such as the Abhidharma, the Prajnapāramita, and the Lankāvatāra, and gave definitive form to earlier Mahayanist concepts like the ten stages (bhumis) of development of the Bodhisattva, the three "bodies" of the Buddha (trikāya), the three states or levels of self-being (swabhava), and the theory that reality is consciousness-only.19 16 Madhyamika and Yogacara. A Study of Mahayana Philosophies, Collected Papers of G.M. Nagao. Sri Satguru Publication: Delhi, 1992, p.117 17 Chandradhar, Sharma. A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, p.108 18 Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, p.126 19 Edward, Conze. Buddhist Thought in India, p.250 Rewatha 6 The Yogācāra metaphysic, thus formulated in India, was further developed in China, where, due to an artifact of translation and interpretation, the Tathāgatagarbha (in Chinese fo-hsing "Buddha-womb" - the womb of the Buddha or storehouse of the Buddha, the potential for Buddhahood which all beings possess.), was distinguished from the Alayavijnāna. In Indian texts such as the Lankāvatāra and the Mahaparinirvana sutras the Tathāgatagarbha was specifically identified with the Alayavijnāna, and referred to the potential or cause leading or pointing towards enlightenment, rather than an actual state or reality.20 Takasaki has argued that Tathāgatagarbha started as a distinct Buddhist tradition but was prevented from forming a separate school through subsequent absorption into the Yogācāra, particularly through a simple equation of the tathāgatagarbha – understood as the Buddha-essence, or Buddha-nature – with the substratum consciousness (Alayavijñāna). This suggestion is asserted most notably and influentially in the Lañkāvatāra Sutra.21 Conclusion According to above investigation we can understand that the Tathāgatagarbha theory is a most significant Buddhist doctrine come under the Mahayana teachings. According to above mention early Buddhist teachings about the mind have advanced later as the Tathāgatagarbha theory. Later developed Buddhism among the Buddhist sects there were many debates with regard to nature of Dharmas (mind). Trying to understand nature of Dharmas (mind) they were developed main two theories as Sȗnyata (emptiness) and Vinnānavāda (mind only). As a result of understanding the nature of Dharmas (mind) later occurred Tathāgatagarbha doctrine; 20 Whalen, Lai. "The Meaning of "mind-only" (wei-hsin): An analysis of a sinitic Mahayana phenomenon", Philosophy East and West 27, no 1; p.73-74 21 Lañkāvatāra Sutra, section 82; see Takasaki 1966: 57–61 Rewatha 7 through this doctrine finally they have comprehended the mind of all sentient beings is elementary pure therefore it is same to Buddha’s mind without any distinctions. Bibliography Chandradhar, Sharma. A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy. Rider and Company, London: 1960 Brian, E. B. The Buddha Nature. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1991. Edward, Conze. Buddhist Thought in India. 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Grosnick, published in "Buddhism In Practice" Princeton University Press, 1995) Whalen, Lai. Philosophy East and West. University of Hawaii Press, 1977