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究竟一乘寶性論

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Text ID
KR6n0088
Date
508–511
Dynasty
後魏

Jiūjìng yīshèng bǎoxìng lùn 究竟一乘寶性論

Ultimate One-Vehicle Treatise on the Jewel-Lineage (Maitreya/Asaṅga, Ratnagotravibhāga; Uttaratantra-śāstra) trans. 勒那摩提 (Lènàmótí = Ratnamati, 譯)

About the work

The four-fascicle Chinese translation of the Ratnagotravibhāga (also known as the Uttaratantra-śāstra) — one of the principal Tathāgatagarbha treatises of the Indian Buddhist tradition. Verses traditionally attributed to Maitreya, prose-commentary to Asaṅga (in the Tibetan tradition; the Chinese translation does not specify authorship explicitly). Translated into Chinese by 勒那摩提 (Ratnamati) at Luòyáng under the Northern Wèi (後魏 / 北魏), c. 508–511 CE.

Structural Division

CANWWW does not preserve a structural division for T31N1611. The four juǎn are internally organised into eleven chapters: (1) the seven vajra-points; (2) the Buddha; (3) the Dharma; (4) the Saṅgha; (5) the Tathāgatagarbha (the central chapter); (6) awakening; (7) qualities; (8) activities; (9) the four jewels; (10) benefits of generating bodhicitta; (11) verses of the wholesome dedication.

Abstract

The Ratnagotravibhāga — the “Treatise [Discussing] the Differentiated Lineage of the Three Jewels” — is the canonical philosophical treatise of the Indian Tathāgatagarbha tradition. Its principal doctrine is that all sentient beings possess the tathāgatagarbha / fóxìng — the Buddha-nature — as their true ontological condition, obscured but not destroyed by the kleśa. The treatise’s seven vajra-points are: (1) Buddha, (2) Dharma, (3) Saṅgha, (4) tathāgatagarbha, (5) awakening, (6) Buddha-qualities, (7) Buddha-activities. The fifth point (the tathāgatagarbha chapter) is the longest and contains the doctrinally crucial argument that the Buddha-nature is universally present in beings, with nine standard analogies (the Buddha within a withered lotus, the honey behind the bees, etc.) for its concealment.

The translation is one of the principal early sixth-century products of the Northern Wèi Luòyáng translation circle, paralleled by the contemporaneous works of Bodhiruci 菩提流支 and the broader transmission of late-Indian Yogācāra to north China. Tradition (preserved in KR2m0001 Gāosēng zhuàn j. 1) records that Ratnamati and Bodhiruci collaborated in the Luòyáng phase before parting, and the Bǎoxìng lùn was a product of this circle. The dating window adopted (508–511) follows the Lìdài sānbǎo jì j. 9 attribution to Ratnamati’s Yǒngpíng 永平 era (508–512) translation activity.

The Sanskrit original survives (Johnston 1950; the principal modern edition); the Tibetan version (D 4024–4025) preserves the verses + commentary in two volumes. The Chinese version is the principal East Asian source of the Ratnagotravibhāga doctrine and is heavily cited in subsequent Tian-tai, Hua-yan, and especially Awakening-of-Faith school literature.

Translations and research

  • Johnston, E.H. The Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra. Patna: Bihar Research Society, 1950.
  • Takasaki Jikidō 高崎直道. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga. Roma: IsMEO, 1966.
  • Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion, 2014.
  • Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within. Boston: Wisdom, 2008.
  • Schmithausen, Lambert. “Philologische Bemerkungen zum Ratnagotravibhāga.” Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens 15 (1971): 123–177.

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