Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
From Bodhicitta
रत्नगोत्रविभाग महायानोत्तरतन्त्रशास्त्र
Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།
theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna (84000)
Text
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Description
The Ratnagotravibhāga, commonly known as the Uttaratantra, or Gyu Lama in Tibetan, is one of the main Indian scriptural sources for buddha-nature theory. It was likely composed during the fifth century, by whom we do not know. Comprised of verses interspersed with prose commentary, it systematizes the buddha-nature teachings that were circulating in multiple sūtras such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, and the Śrīmaladevisūtra. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the commentary to Asaṅga, and treats the two as separate texts, although this division is not attested to in surviving Indian versions. The Chinese tradition attributes the text to *Sāramati (娑囉末底), but the translation itself does not include the name of the author, and the matter remains unsettled. It was translated into Chinese in the early sixth century by Ratnamati and first translated into Tibetan by Atiśa, although this text is not known to survive. Ngok Loden Sherab translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita Sajjana, and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently into French. See the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, read more about the Ratnagotravibhāga, or take a look at the most complete English translation in When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnholzl.
Reference
Maitreya, Asaṅga (བྱམས་པ་, ཐོགས་མེད་). Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra [रत्नगोत्रविभाग महायानोत्तरतन्त्रशास्त्र]. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos [ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།]. [The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna (84000)]. Translated by Sajjana, Rngog blo ldan shes rab, Ratnamati. Tengyur, RKTST 3363 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3363&typ=2.
Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra
All sentient beings, without exception, have buddha nature, the inherent purity and perfection of the mind, untouched by changing mental states. The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, one of the "Five Treatises" said to have been dictated to Asanga by the Bodhisattva Maitreya, presents the Buddha's definitive teachings on how we should understand this ground of enlightenment and clarifies the nature and qualities of buddhahood. This seminal text details with great clarity the view which forms the basis for Vajrayana, and especially Mahamudra, practice. Thus it builds a bridge between the Sutrayana and the Vajrayana levels of the Buddha's teaching, elaborated here in Jamgön Kongtrül's commentary. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Book
When the Clouds Part
"Buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha) is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. This book discusses a wide range of topics connected with the notion of buddha nature as presented in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and includes an overview of the sūtra sources of the tathāgatagarbha teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. It includes new translations of the Maitreya treatise Mahāyānottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhāga), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagyü tradition. Most important, the translator’s introduction investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the Mahāyānottaratantra as a basis for Mahāmudrā instructions and the Shentong approach. This is supplemented by translations of a number of short Tibetan meditation manuals from the Kadampa, Kagyü, and Jonang schools that use the Mahāyānottaratantra as a work to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Book
Buddha Nature (Geshe Sonam Rinchen)
Do all living beings ultimately become enlightened? Do we have Buddha nature, the seed of enlightenment? These questions concerning an ordinary living being's potential to become a Buddha, the purest form of existence, are the main topic of this book. Based on the views of the three major Buddhist schools of Buddhist philosophy — Vaibhasika, Cittamatrin and Madhyamaka — Geshe Sonam Rinchen explains how our minds, though stained by temporary defilements, are innately pure, luminous and cognizant and how we can become aware of the mind's clear light nature. (Source: back cover)
Book
Buddha Nature: Ten Teachings on the Uttaratantra Shastra
In this short book, a teaching given by Thrangu Rinpoche and translated by Erik Pema Kunsang, Thrangu Rinpoche uses the Uttaratantrashastra to outline ten points of focus, including the seven vajra points. Each chapter contains comments related to each point and a transcript of questions from the participants and answers from Thrangu Rinpoche.
Book
Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra
All sentient beings, without exception, have buddha nature, the inherent purity and perfection of the mind, untouched by changing mental states. The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, one of the "Five Treatises" said to have been dictated to Asanga by the Bodhisattva Maitreya, presents the Buddha's definitive teachings on how we should understand this ground of enlightenment and clarifies the nature and qualities of buddhahood. This seminal text details with great clarity the view which forms the basis for Vajrayana, and especially Mahamudra, practice. Thus it builds a bridge between the Sutrayana and the Vajrayana levels of the Buddha's teaching, elaborated here in Jamgön Kongtrül's commentary. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Book
Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations
Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, becoming the prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Over the last twenty-five years Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and Zen.
Paul Williams’ Mahayana Buddhism is widely regarded as the standard introduction to the field, used internationally for teaching and research and has been translated into several European and Asian languages. This new edition has been fully revised throughout in the light of the wealth of new studies and focuses on the religion’s diversity and richness. It includes much more material on China and Japan, with appropriate reference to Nepal, and for students who wish to carry their study further there is a much-expanded bibliography and extensive footnotes and cross-referencing. Everyone studying this important tradition will find Williams’ book the ideal companion to their studies. (Source: Routledge)
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| Number | 3363 |
|---|---|
| Canon | mdo |
| Sanskrit | rātnagotravibhāga mahāyānottaratantraśāstra (D) |
| Alternate Titles | theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos;rgyud bla ma |
| Alternate Titles - Sanskrit | mahāyānottaratantraśāstra |
| Author | Maitreya-nātha |
| Author (Tibetan) | mgon po byams pa |
| Translator | lots+tsha ba shAkya'i dge slong blo ldan shes rab |
| Translator Pandita | paN+Di ta mkhas pa chen po sad dz+nyA na |
| Colophon | theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos mgon po byams pas mdzad pa rdzogs so |
| Title from Colophon | theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos |








