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Anatta in the Tathagatagarbha Sutras

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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 The understanding of anātman / anatta expressed in the Mahayana scriptures known as the "Tathagatagarbha sutras" (as well as in a number of Buddhist tantras) is distinctive:

the doctrine presented by the Buddha in these texts claims to clarify that it is only the impermanent elements of the sentient being—the "five skandhas" (changeful constituent elements of mind and body)—which are "not the Self" ("anātman"),

whereas the truly real, immanent essence ("svabhāva") of the being is no less than the "tathagatagarbha" ("buddha-matrix") or the "buddha-principle" ("buddha-dhātu", which is popularly rendered in English as the "buddha-nature"), and is inviolate and deathless.


In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha discloses that the basic non-Self teaching is given to those of his followers who are still in their spiritual infancy, as it were, and unable to digest the full, final and culminational Dharma of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, whereas the teachings of the tathagatagarbha are intended for those followers who have "grown up" and are capable of absorbing the undiminished Truth.


The tathagatagarbha, the immortal element or essence within each being, is termed the "true Self" or the "great Self" by the Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra.

It is said to be essentially free from rebirth and always remaining intrinsically immaculate and uniquely radiant—only awaiting discovery by all beings within the depths of their own minds.

In the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, the Buddha tells of how, with his buddha-eye, he can actually see this hidden "jewel" within each and every being: "hidden within the kleśas (mental contaminants] of greed, desire, anger, and stupidity, there is seated augustly and unmovingly the Tathagata's (Buddha's) wisdom, the Tathagata's vision, and the Tathagata's body [...] all beings, though they find themselves with all sorts of kleśas, have a tathagatagarbha that is eternally unsullied, and replete with virtues no different from my own" .

Moreover, the Buddhist tantric scripture entitled Chanting the Names of Mañjusri (Mañjuśrī-nāma-saṅgīti), as quoted by the great Tibetan Buddhist master, Dolpopa, repeatedly exalts not the non-Self but the Self and applies the following terms to this ultimate reality :

"the pervasive Lord" (vibhu)
"Buddha-Self"
"the beginningless Self" (anādi-ātman)
"the Self of Thusness" (tathatā-ātman)
"the Self of primordial purity" (śuddha-ātman)
"the Source of all"
"the Self pervading all"
"the Single Self" (eka-ātman)
"the Diamond Self" (vajra-ātman)
"the Solid Self" (ghana-ātman)
"the Holy, Immovable Self"
"the Supreme Self"

Thus, the "non-Self" doctrine receives a fresh presentation in the Tathagatagarbha sutras (and in certain tantric texts) as a merely partial, incomplete truth rather than as an absolute verity.

Source

http://anattainthetathagatagarbhasutras.blogspot.com.au/2007/08/anatta-in-tathagatagarbha-sutras.html