Monthly Archives: October 2017

The Nine-Sheaths

Even though the Tathagata-garbha is “within” all sentient beings, it is still plagued by a series of kleśas that soil and keep it dormant until efficacious Buddha-qualities peel-away the damning-sheathes. The Ratna gives nine-examples of these defilements that are by … Continue reading

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The Top-Ten Qualities of the Ratnagotra

We have arrived at the core-teaching of the Ratna: all sentient beings are endowed with the Buddhagarbha, or the transcendent seed (gotra) of Bodhi. It is taught as Vajra-point four–the Dhātu, or the essence of the Buddha-Element—Tathagata-garbha. As essence, the … Continue reading

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The Family Jewels

If asked to sum-up one of the prominent qualities of the Ratnagotra-vibhāgaśāstra it would zero-in on a “family”, in particular the “Tathata-family”, and the nature of the three-jewels that constitutes the essence of this family. The Tathagata-garbha is the womb … Continue reading

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The Buddha as Absolute Refuge

When we consider the “three refuges” one can do so in a conventional sense, an empirical sense, and an absolute sense. This blog will reveal the ultimate realization of the three refuges. The Absolute Buddha is the Dharmakaya, or the … Continue reading

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The Jewel of the Sangha

The Third Vajra-point pays homage to the Noble (Ārya) Bodhisattvas. There are two types of sangha—one bearing the features of ordinary beings the other bearing the auspicious mark of the Tathagatas—or self-realized beings. Ordinary beings, i.e., worldlings or the puthujjana … Continue reading

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The Jewel of the Dharma

We next turn to the Dharma as the Second Vajra-point. “From the Jewel of the Buddha comes the Jewel of the Doctrine.” This is presented with the same structure: a direct homage to the Blessed Teaching of the Tathagata by … Continue reading

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The Jewel of the Buddha

The Ratna next turns to a comprehensive overview of the Three Jewels. First up: The Buddha as the First Vajra-point. The segment on the Buddha begins with a direct homage to the Tathāgata by highlighting prominent aspects of Buddhahood. Then … Continue reading

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The Matrix of the Tathāgata

 danita clark The text of the Ratnagotravibhāga consists essentially of 430 Sanskrit verses with an accompanying prose commentary (vyākhyā) that incorporates extensive quotations from Tathāgata-garbha orientated sutras. The first chapter is indeed the longest and initiates the śāstra with an … Continue reading

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Gotra: The Transformative Principle

As mentioned in the introduction to this series, the Ratnagotravibhāga principally covers seven vajrapadas (adamantine topics); vajrapada is Sanskrit for “Vajra-Base”. The seven [Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha), the element (dhātu, which is equivalent to tathāgatagarbha), awakening (bodhi), the … Continue reading

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The Ratnagotravibhāgaśāstra

The Ratnagotravibhāgaśāstra (Uttaratantra) is the premier śāstra, combined with its [embedded] commentary (the vyākhyā), dealing with the Tathāgatagarbha. It is the earliest systematic portrayal of the Doctrine composed circa the end of the 5th century, and it draws upon a … Continue reading

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