Buddha Nature: the Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra

The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra by Arya Maitreya Arya Maitreya Buddha Nature The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra by Arya Maitreya F written down by Arya Asanga commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé “The Unassailable Lion’s Roar” explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche translated by Rosemarie Fuchs Snow Lion Publications Ithaca, New York Snow Lion Publications P.O. Box 6483 Ithaca, New York 14851 U.S.A. Telephone: 607-273-8519 www.snowlionpub.com Copyright © 2000 Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and Rosemarie Fuchs Illustrations by R.D. Salga All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. Printed in Canada on acid-free recycled paper. ISBN 1-55939-128-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ratnagotravibh›ga. English. Buddha Nature: the Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra / by Arya Maitreya; with commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé, The Unassailable Lion’s Roar, and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche; translated by Rosemarie Fuchs. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-55939-128-6 (cloth) 1. Yog›c›ra (Buddhism) I. Koº-sprul Blo-gros-mtha’-yas, 1813-1899. II. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, 1934- III. Fuchs, Rosemarie, 1950- BQ3022.E5 F83 2000 294.3’85--dc21 00-008017 CIP Contents Foreword by Tenzin Dorjee 8 Preface by Rosemarie Fuchs 10 Introduction by Acharya Lodrö Namgyal 12 PART ONE: Root Text 17 1. Tathagatagarbha 19 Introduction 19 The First Three Vajra Points: The Three Jewels 20 Buddha 20 Dharma 20 Sangha 21 The Three Refuges 22 The Last Four Vajra Points 22 The Fourth Vajra Point: The Element 23 2. The Fifth Vajra Point: Enlightenment 43 3. The Sixth Vajra Point: Qualities 53 4. The Seventh Vajra Point: Activity 59 5. Benefit 73 PART TWO: Commentary, The Unassailable Lion’s Roar 79 Table of Contents 81 1. Tathagatagarbha 97 Introduction 97 The First Three Vajra Points: The Three Jewels 101 The First Vajra Point: Buddha 101 The Second Vajra Point: Dharma 105 The Third Vajra Point: Sangha 108 The Three Refuges 112 The Last Four Vajra Points 114 The Fourth Vajra Point: The Element 117 2. The Fifth Vajra Point: Enlightenment 182 3. The Sixth Vajra Point: Qualities 218 4. The Seventh Vajra Point: Activity 238 5. Benefit 283 PART THREE: Explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim 299 Gyamtso Rinpoche PART FOUR: Translator’s Notes 391 Dedicated to Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche in deep gratitude and love May your noble activity continue as long as there is anyone in need. F F F Namo Guru As time goes by, with your blessing may time itself reveal itself as timeless. In timeless time and endless space may truth be felt as it beholds its face. May the lotus of compassion bloom, fostering all beings in time and space. May all suffering and torment be ended and all Enlightened Ones come to rest. 8 Buddha Nature Foreword This book presents the commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, Lodrö Thayé, on Arya Maitreya’s Mahayana Uttara Tantra Shastra (Tib. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos). This is the first time an English translation of this commentary has been published. The book is the fruit of twenty years of study by Rosemarie Fuchs, a member of the Marpa Translation Committee and a devoted student of the very Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. This commentary has been taught by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche to many Buddhist students around the world. In 1997, he taught it at the Rigpe Dorje winter program in Pullahari, Nepal, the main seat of His Eminence Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche. At the end of the teachings Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche gave the respon- sibility of finding ways to publish this commentary to the Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang, with his heartfelt wish that the activity of the Fourth Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche, Lodrö Chökyi Nyima, would flourish auspiciously. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche has been the spiritual ad- visor of Pullahari since His Eminence the Third Jamgön Kongtrül passed away in April 1992, and has clearly fulfilled the Third Jamgön Kongtrül’s wish in establishing Pullahari as a place for the study and practice of Buddhadharma. The Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang is profoundly grateful to Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Rosemarie Fuchs, and Snow Lion Publi- Foreword 9 cations for making this teaching available to students and practitioners today and in the future. May this book benefit countless beings through the proper understanding of the ultimate Buddhist view. Tenzin Dorjee General Secretary to H.E. Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche Pullahari Monastery, Nepal July 16, 1999, the auspicious day of the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma. 10 Buddha Nature Preface This is a translation of the Mahayana Uttara Tantra Shastra (root text by Arya Maitreya, written down by the noble Asanga, with commentary by the first Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche Lodrö Thayé) as explained by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche in 1978 in La Poujade, France, and in 1979 in Brussels, Belgium. It is the first translation of this par- ticular commentary into a Western language. Throughout Buddhist history, the words of the Buddha and the scriptures explaining their meaning were translated when they were imported into different cul- tures. Though the first translation was never a final or flawless one, it constituted a basis for better ones to come in the future. I hope that this present text may continue this tradition. As it has been created at the advice and under the guidance of a truly accomplished master, there should be some virtue in it, and I wish that it may be of utmost benefit to any reader. The introduction to Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche’s commentary is not translated here, but can be found in S.K. Hookham’s book The Buddha Within (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991), pp. 263-288. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dzogchen Pönlop Rinpoche, Sangjä Nyenpa Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen, the late Acharya Tenpa Gyaltsen Negi, and Burkhard Quessel for their kind and invaluable help in the translation of passages that I found myself unable to do on my own. My further thanks go to Ani Jinpa for kindly proofreading the root text, to Lama Alaisdar MacGeaugh, and to Alexander Wilding for his Preface 11 incessant willingness to share his knowledge of dharma, improve my command of English, and to eliminate my old-fashioned reluctance to use computers. Special heartfelt thanks are owed to Katia Holmes who translated Khen Rinpoche’s teachings on the root text in 1978 and thus made his instructions accessible for me and was my first teacher of his native language. Finally, I would like to thank Chris Hatchell for his careful and considerate help in editing the text. The stanzas of the root text are presented in accordance with their explanation in the commentary. To stay as closely as possible to the original, the translation keeps the number of lines of the Tibetan text. As to the use of brackets, the content therein was added when it seemed necessary to facilitate understanding. In the case of the root text, these interpolations are derived from the commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé; in the case of the commentary they are based on the explanations given by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. One final point should be noted. Unlike Tibetan, the English language frequently requires the introduction of a pronoun, so a choice between “he” and “she” seemed necessary to avoid clumsiness. As buddha nature is neither male nor female, the term “he,” when used for a buddha or bodhisattva, should be understood as meaning “he or she.” Being a woman myself and convinced of the possibility of reaching enlightenment in female appearance, I thought it permissible to make this decision and hope it will not cause offense. Rosemarie Fuchs Hamburg, 23rd of July, 1999 12 Buddha Nature Introduction I. The content of this volume is of the following essence: the teacher who explains the ground, path, and fruition of practice is the perfect Bud- dha, and from among all philosophies in the world his words are the highest and most genuine. The greatest commentary on their intention is the Mahayana Uttara Tantra Shastra, the Treatise on Buddha Nature, which is translated here. This text can be considered as being the speech of the Buddha himself for the following two reasons: Firstly it was spoken by Maitreya, whom the Buddha empowered to be his regent in Tushita Heaven by placing his crown on Maitreya’s head before he left this realm for the human world. Secondly it is stated in the Sutra Compendium: All the rivers in the world, carrying the waters that ripen flowers and fruit and cause forests to thrive, flow due to the power of the Naga King who resides in Lake Madröpa. Similarly any explanation, debate, composition, practice, and attainment of fruition achieved by his retinue of disciples depends solely on the power of the Victorious One himself. For these reasons the Uttara Tantra Shastra can be considered either as the words of the Buddha spoken with his permission, or as those uttered by the power of his blessing. However, since according to Lord Maitreya’s own words the Uttara Tantra Shastra contains a commentary on the intended meaning of the perfect speech of the capable and mighty Buddha himself, it is formally accepted as such. Furthermore, we should bring to mind that there is not the slightest difference between the pure speech of the Buddha on one hand, and that of Maitreya, Introduction 13 the Lord of the Tenth Level, or of Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrapani, the Lords of the Three Families, on the other.

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