Tag Archives: icchantika

Reflecting back upon the introductory blog from this series, along with the analysis of the Self from contemporary scholars like Dr. Tony Page and Dr. Chris Jones, the other salient construct revolved around Shimoda Masahiro’s hypothesis that the early stupa-based communities discovered the “hidden Buddha Nature” best in context of a sutra-based formulation. This construct indicated that the primary catalyst for such a shift was sparked by the early dharmakathika, or (Dharma masters). At the time of writing this I stated, “During our exegesis of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra hopefully some pertinent passages will affirm [these] assertions.” The forthcoming “highlights” of the series will indicate the nature of this shift and the “spirit-behind” such a noble direction. read more