A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

Book

Please note that many items in our library are simply pages that represent a detailed library catalog entry and citation of someone else's work, presentation, or performance. Read our General Disclaimer for more information. You can find more information about this item on the publisher website.

Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Michael Zimmermann's A Buddha Within is a comprehensive edition of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (TGS) and an annotated English translation based on Tibetan materials. It includes "an analysis of the textual history of the TGS, an interpretation of the term tathāgatagarbha, a discussion of the authors' ideas as reflected in the sūtra, and the specification of the place of the TGS in Indian Buddhist history"(8). Key sections include an analysis of the term tathāgatagarbha (39), a detailed discussion of terms related to buddha-nature (50-62), and a discussion of the sources, motives, and reception of the text in India, Tibet, China, and in the twentieth century (67-90).

Citation

Zimmermann, Michael. A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra; The Earliest Exposition of the Buddha-Nature Teaching in India. Biblotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica 6. Tokyo: International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, 2002. http://lirs.ru/lib/Tathagatagarbhasutra,Zimmermann,2002.pdf.

Publisher Link

http://iriab.soka.ac.jp/publication/bppb.html

Texts Translated

Tathāgatagarbhasūtra - Āryatathāgatagarbhanāmamahāyānasūtra - ('Phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo). In Derge Kangyur D258, mdo sde, vol. 66, za 245b2-259b4. See rKTs etexts, Columbia AIBS, ACIP etexts, .

Translation of

Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (TGS) is a relatively short text that represents the starting point of a number of works in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism centering around the idea that all living beings have the buddha-nature. The genesis of the term tathāgatagarbha (in Tibetan de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, in Chinese rulai zang 如來藏, the key term of this strand of Buddhism and the title of the sūtra), can be observed in the textual history of the TGS. (Zimmermann, A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, p. 7)

Text

Scholarship on

Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (TGS) is a relatively short text that represents the starting point of a number of works in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism centering around the idea that all living beings have the buddha-nature. The genesis of the term tathāgatagarbha (in Tibetan de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, in Chinese rulai zang 如來藏, the key term of this strand of Buddhism and the title of the sūtra), can be observed in the textual history of the TGS. (Zimmermann, A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, p. 7)

Text

Preface7
Acknowledgements8
Technical Note: My Use of the Asterisk10

I A Study and Annotated Translation of the Tathagatagarbhasūtra 11
- A General Study and Text-historical Considerations12
  - 1 Textual History and Structure of the TGS 16
    - 1.1 Different Recensions of the TGS16
    - 1.2 The Representatives of TGS₂24
    - 1.3 Similarities between the Chinese Translations27
    - 1.4 Structure, Contents and Textual History of the TGS27
    - 1.5 The Structure, Nature and Contents of the Nine Similes34

- - 2 The Meaning and Occurrences of the Term tathāgatagarbha 39
    - 2.1 The Term tathāgatagarbha39
    - 2.2 The Textual Occurrences of the Terms tathāgatagarbha and garbha46

- - 3 The Buddha-Nature Doctrine in the TGS 50
    - 3.1 The Buddha-Nature50
    - 3.2 Becoming a Buddha62
    - 3.3 How to Become a Buddha65

- - 4 The TGS as a Part of lndian Buddhism: Its Sources, Motives and Reception67
    - 4.1 The Titles of the TGS68
    - 4.2 The Recorded Chinese Translations of the TGS69
    - 4.3 Possible Motives of the Authors of the TGS75
    - 4.4 The TGS in the History of lndian Buddhism77
    - 4.5 The TGS in the Ratnagotravibhāga(vyākhyā) and Other Indian Texts84
    - 4.6 The Twentieth-Century Reception of the TGS90

- B An Annotated Translation of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra into English93
Il Critical and Diplomatic Editions of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra 163

- C The Textual Materials164
  - 1 Information on the Tibetan Manuscripts and Xylographic Editions Utilized164
    - A – The Tabo Manuscript Fragments164
    - B – The Berlin Manuscript Kanjur165
    - Bth – The Newark Manuscript Kanjur from Bathang166
    - Bu – The Citation in Bu ston Rin chen grub's De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gsal zhing mdzes par byed pa'i rgyan167
    - D – The Derge Kanjur (Nyingma Edition)167
    - J – The 'Jang sa tham or Lithang Kanjur168
    - L – The Shel dkar Manuscript Kanjur (London)169
    - N – The Narthang Kanjur169
    - P₁, P₂, P₃ – The Phug brag Ms Kanjur170
    - Q – The Peking Kanjur (Otani Reprint)171
    - S – The Stog Palace Manuscript Kanjur171
    - T– The Tokyo Manuscript Kanjur172

- - 2 The Stemmatic Relations among the Representatives of Tib 172
    - 2.1 The Three Phug brag Versions173
    - 2.2 The Kanjurs of the Tshal pa Lineage177
    - 2.3 The Them spangs ma Kanjurs186
    - 2.4 The Position of Bu191
    - 2.5 The Position of A192
    - 2.6 The Relation of the Main Transmissional Groups to Each Other193
    - 2.7 Possible Stemmas of Tib203

- - 3 Characteristics of the Textual Witnesses of Tib 207
    - 3.1 Archaic Features207
    - 3.2 Irregular Verbal Forms208
    - 3.3 Colophons and Translators210

- - 4 A Brief Evaluation of the Chinese Materials213

- - 5 Remarks on the Various Editions214
    - 5.1 Principles Governing the Critical Edition of Tib214
    - 5.2 Remarks on All Editions and Their Critical Apparatuses215
    - 5.3 The Editions of the Tibetan Translations216
    - 5.4 The Chinese Editions218

- D The Editions221
  - The Critical and Diplomatic Editions221
  - Apparatus of Secondary Variants370
  - Sigla, Symbols and Graphic Devices of the Tibetan Material391
  - Sigla and Graphic Devices of the Chinese Material392

- E Appendices395
  - Appendix A: Comparative Chart of the Bodhisattva Names in OE396
  - Appendix B: Comparative Chart of Pāda Sequences398
  - Appendix C: Comparative Table of Sections and Chapters of the Chinese and Tibetan Editions400

- Bibliography405
- Primary Sources, with Abbreviations405
- Select Secondary Sources412

- Index427