Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
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The ''Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
; , ; Vietnamese: ''Kinh Đại Bát Niết Bàn'') or ''Nirvana Sutra'' for short, is an influential
Mahāyāna Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
Buddhist
scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
of the
Buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...
class. The original title of the sutra was ''Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra'' (''Great Scripture of the Great Perfect Nirvāṇa'') and the earliest version of the text was associated with the
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
-
Lokottaravāda The Lokottaravāda (Sanskrit, लोकोत्तरवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools according to Mahayana doxological sources compiled by Bhāviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the Mahāsā ...
school.Baums, Stefan
Review of Habata, ''Die zentralasiatischen Sanskrit‐Fragmente des Mahāparinirvāṇa‐mahāsūtra''. Indo‐Iranian Journal 58: 71–78.
/ref> The sutra was particularly important for the development of East Asian Buddhism. The ''Nirvana sutra'' uses the backdrop of the Buddha's final nirvana to discuss the nature of the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
, who is described in this sutra as undying and eternal, without beginning or end. The text also discusses the associated doctrine of buddha-nature ( tathāgatagarbha) which is said to be a "hidden treasury" within all living beings that is eternal (nitya), blissful, Self ( atman), and pure (shudda). Due to this buddha nature, all beings have the capacity to reach
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
. Some scholars like Michael Radich and Shimoda Masahiro think that the ''Nirvana sutra'' might be the earliest source for the idea of buddha-nature. The ''Nirvana sutra'' also discusses the teachings of not-self and
emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...
, and how they are incomplete unless they are complemented by the teaching of "non-emptiness" and the true self, which is buddha-nature. Furthermore, the ''Nirvana sutra'' discusses the idea of the icchantikas, a class of sentient beings who "have little or no chance of liberation." The icchantika idea is discussed in various ways throughout the different versions of the sutra, and the issue is complex, though as Blum writes the Nirvana sutra seems "ambivalent on whether or not icchantikas can attain buddhahood". The ''Nirvana sutra'''s precise date of origin is uncertain, but its early form may have developed in or by the second century CE. The original Sanskrit text is not extant except for a small number of fragments, but it survives in Chinese and Tibetan translation.Jones, C. V. (2020) ''The Buddhist Self: On Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman,'' pp. 29-30. University of Hawaiʻi Press. The ''Nirvana sutra'' was translated into Chinese various times. The most important editions are the 416 CE "six fascicle text" and the 421 CE translation of Dharmakṣema, which is about four times longer than the earlier one.Jones, C. V. (2020) ''The Buddhist Self: On Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman,'' p. 30. University of Hawaiʻi Press. This sutra should not be confused with the early Buddhist '' Mahāparinibbāna Sutta'' which is not a Mahayana sutra.


History


Origins

The history of the text is extremely complex, but the consensus view is that the core portion of this sutra was compiled in
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
( dakṣiṇāpatha), possibly in Andhra or some part of the Deccan. The language used in the sūtra and related texts seems to indicate a region in southern India during the time of the Śātavāhana dynasty, likely the 2nd century CE. The Śātavāhana rulers gave rich patronage to Buddhism, and were involved with the development of the cave temples at Karla and Ajaṇṭā, and also with the Great Amarāvati Stupa. During this time, the Śātavāhana dynasty also maintained extensive links with the Kuṣāṇa Empire. Hodge argues that it is likely that the text was composed "in a
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
environment" like Karli or Amaravatī- Dhanyakaṭaka. Hiromi Habata likewise associated the sutra with the
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
-
Lokottaravāda The Lokottaravāda (Sanskrit, लोकोत्तरवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools according to Mahayana doxological sources compiled by Bhāviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the Mahāsā ...
school. According to Stephen Hodge, internal textual evidence in the '' Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra'', '' Mahābheri Sūtra'', and the ''Nirvāṇa'' indicates that these texts initially circulated in South India, but then gradually began to be propagated in the northwest (especially in
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
). Hodge notes that the ''Nirvana sutra'' contains prophesies of its own emergence during a period of Dharma decline (which can be calculated to be in around 220 CE) along with prophesies that the text will be taken to Kashmir (罽賓).Hodge, Stephen
“On the Eschatology of the ''Mahâparinirvâṇa-sûtra'' and Related Matters.”
Lecture held at University of London, SOAS, Spring 2006.
Hodge also discusses an important person named Sarvasattvapriyadarśana who appears in a group of texts related to the Nirvana sutra like the ''
Aṅgulimāla Aṅgulimāla (Pali; ) is an important figure in Buddhism, particularly within the Theravada, Theravāda tradition. Depicted as a ruthless brigand who completely transforms after a conversion to Buddhism, he is seen as the example par excellenc ...
'' and the ''Lotus sutra'' (he is also called Sarvalokapriyadarśana in the ''Mahāmegha'' and ''Mahābherīhāraka''). This figure is connected with the teaching of the eternity of the Buddha and is said to have been born during the a Śātavāhana king (a prophesy placed in the mouth of the Buddha himself in some sources). According to Hodge, Sarvasattvapriyadarśana may have been a historical figure connected to the Nirvana sutra lineage (even its founder) in south India. After the situation in the south became unfavorable for this tradition, it was taken to Kashmir, where later parts of the text were written, reflecting the decline narrative of some parts of the text. Shimoda Masahiro proposes that the earliest part of the ''Nirvana sutra'' is related to the views and practices of itinerant dharma preachers called dharmakathikas or dharmabhāṇakas (說法者 or 法師). These figures frequently went on pilgrimage to stūpa sites in the company of laypeople who were allowed to protect them with swords and staves. They may have also believed in the eternal nature of the Buddha and his vajra body. According to Shimoda, the authors of the ''Nirvana sutra,'' as advocates of
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
worship, would have known how the term ''buddhadhātu'' originally referred to
śarīra Śarīra is a generic term referring to Buddhist relics, although in common usage it usually refers to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are found among the cremation, cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the B ...
or physical
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s of the Buddha. According to Shimoda's theory, these figures used the teachings of the '' Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra'' to reshape the worship of the śarīra into worship of the inner Buddha as a principle of salvation: the
Buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...
. Sasaki states that a key premise of Shimoda's work is that the origins of
Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
and the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'' are entwined. Scholars like Shimoda as well as Michael Radich argue that the ''Nirvana sutra'' might be the earliest source for the tathāgatagarbha doctrine.


Dating

Scholars believe that the compilation of the core portion (corresponding to the six fascicle Chinese translation and the shorter Tibetan translation) must have occurred at an early date, during or prior to the 2nd century CE, based internal evidence and on Chinese canonical catalogs. Using textual evidence in the ''Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' and related texts, Stephen Hodge estimates a compilation period between 100 CE and 220 CE for the core sutra. The Indian version of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' underwent a number of stages in its composition. Masahiro Shimoda discerns several main stages:涅槃經 (2022-03-03)
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
# a short proto-''Nirvāṇa Sūtra'', which was, he argues, probably not distinctively Mahāyāna, but quasi-Mahāsāṃghika in origin and would date to 100 CE, if not even earlier; # an expanded version of this core text was then developed and would have comprised chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 of the six fascicle text and shorter Tibetan versions, though it is believed that in their present state there is a degree of editorial addition in them from the later phases of development. # Chapter 8 of the six fascicle text. # Ch. 5, and Ch. 9 onwards of the six fascicle text.


In East Asia

The ''Nirvana sutra'' is an extremely influential work for East-Asian Buddhism. It was translated various times and two major Chinese translations are extant. The translation by Dharmakṣema (c. 385–433) is significantly longer and this has led some scholars to argue that the latter portions of this edition were composed in China.Chen This longer edition was also the most important and popular one in China, Japan and Korea, since it promoted the universality of Buddha nature and Buddhahood. The six fascicle version on the other hand was mostly ignored according to Blum. Dharmakṣema's ''Nirvana sutra'' inspired numerous sutra commentaries and is cited widely by numerous East Asian Buddhist authors. The sutra was a key scriptural source for the idea that all sentient beings have buddha-nature, which was seen as an active force in the world. It was also influential due to its teachings promoting
vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
and its teachings on the eternal nature of the Buddha. All these doctrines became central teachings of Chinese Buddhism. In the
Southern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
(420-589) period, there was a Chinese Buddhist school devoted to the Dharmakṣema ''Nirvana sutra'', which was simply called the "Nirvana School" (''nièpán-zong'') and was also influenced by the works of Daosheng.Lai, Whalen. “Sinitic Speculations on Buddha-Nature: The Nirvāṇa School (420-589).” ''Philosophy East and West'', vol. 32, no. 2, 1982, pp. 135–49. ''JSTOR'', . Accessed 29 September 2023. This school taught the universality of Buddha nature and the capacity for even icchantikas to attain Buddhahood. The school thrived in the
Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...
(502-557) and many of its teachings were incorporated into the Tiantai school. During the Liang, the school's teachings were supplemented by the teachings of the '' Tattvasiddhi-Śāstra'' by scholars like Pao-liang (d. 509). The ''Nirvana sutra'' was also seen as a key sutra for both the Tiantai and the Huayan schools, the main doctrinal schools of
Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...
. The key Tiantai exegete Zhiyi even saw the sutra as a final teaching of the Buddha and as being of equal status to the ''Lotus Sutra''. Due to its status in these doctrinal traditions, it also became important for numerous
Japanese Buddhist Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185-1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...
schools like
Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
,
Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...
and Shin Buddhism. The work is cited by key Japanese Buddhist figures like
Dōgen was a Japanese people, Japanese Zen Buddhism, Buddhist Bhikkhu, monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dent ...
,
Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...
and Shinran. The ''Nirvana Sutra'' is among the most important sources and influences on Shinran's magnum opus, '' Kyogyoshinsho''. Shinran relies on crucial passages from the ''Nirvana Sutra'' for the more theoretical elaboration of the meaning of
shinjin Shinjin (信心) is a central concept in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism which indicates a state of mind which totally entrusts oneself to Amida Buddha's other-power (Japanese: tariki), having utterly abandoned any form of self effort (Japanese: jir ...
. Similarly, the ''Nirvana'' is a key source for Dōgen's view of buddha-nature.Takashi James Kodera,
The Buddha-nature in Dogen's Shobogenzo.
'' Japanese Journal o f Religious Studies 4/4 December 1977.


Teachings

Parinirvana scene in schist, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE, Gandhara. Chinese illustration of the Nirvana sutra The ''Nirvana sutra'''s setting is the final hours of the Buddha's life. Unlike the early Buddhist '' Mahaparanibbana sutta,'' Ananda, the Buddha's attendant, is mostly absent from the ''Nirvana sutra'' (instead, the main interlocutor is Mañjuśrī). The ''Nirvana sutra'' also ends with the Buddha lying down, but it does not depict his actual '' parinirvāṇa,'' nor does it depict the
cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...
, and other episodes after his death, like the division of relics and Mahakasyapa paying respect to his body etc. According to Sallie B. King, the ''Nirvana sutra'' is somewhat unsystematic and this made it a fruitful sutra for later commentators who drew on it for various doctrinal and exegetical purposes. King notes that the most important innovation of the ''Nirvana'' is the linking of the term ''buddhadhātu'' (
buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...
) with ''tathagatagarbha'' ( tathagata womb/chamber). The buddha-dhātu (buddha-nature, buddha-element) is presented as a timeless, eternal (nitya) and pure "Self" ( ātman). This notion of a buddhist theory of a true self (i.e. a Buddhist ātma-vada) is a radical one which caused much controversy and was interpreted in many different ways. Other important doctrinal themes in the ''Nirvana sutra'' include re-interpretations of not-self ( anātman) and
emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...
(Śūnyatā) as a skillful means that paves the way for the ultimate buddha-nature teachings, the doctrine of the icchantika, the eternal and docetic ( lokottara) nature of Shakyamuni Buddha and his adamantine body (
vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...
-kaya), the promotion of
vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
, and a teaching on the decline of the Buddha's Dharma.


The Eternal Buddha

Shakyamuni Buddha's transcendent body arising from his golden tomb (絹本著色釈迦金棺出現図), 11th century Heian period Hanging scroll, Kyoto National Museum. A key teaching found in the ''Nirvana sutra'' is the eternal nature of the Buddha. Blum notes that the sutra makes it clear that the Buddha is not subject to the processes of birth and death, but abides forever in an undying state. While the Buddha will appear to die (and manifest parinirvāṇa, his final nirvana, the apparent death of his body), he is in fact eternal and immortal, since he was never born, and had no beginning or end. The sutra states:
The body of the Tathāgata is an eternal body (*nityakāya), an indestructible body (*abhedakāya), an adamant body (*vajrakāya); it is not a body sustained by various kinds of food. That is to say, it is the Dharma Body (*dharmakāya). Do not say now that the body of the Tathāgata is soft, can easily be broken, and is the same as that of common mortals. O good man! Know now that for countless billions of kalpas, the body of the Tathāgata has been strong, firm, and indestructible.
The ''Nirvana sutra'' thus presents the Buddha as an eternal and transcendent being ( lokottara) who is beyond being and non-being and is Thusness ''( tathata''), the ultimate reality, the eternal Dharmakāya or "dharma body" (which is equivalent to the buddha-body). The sutra also states that the Buddha's body (buddhakaya) is an eternal, unchanging, unimpeded, and indivisible adamantine body (''abhedavajrakāya).'' As such, while he ''appears'' to die, his "transcendent, indestructible mode of being" is something that never truly dies, being uncompounded (asaṃskṛta).'''' The ''Nirvana sutra'' further equates the Dharmakāya with the buddha-nature and states that it has four perfections (''pāramitās''): permanence, bliss, purity, and selfhood. According to Shimoda and Radich, this theme is the central theme of what is perhaps the earliest textual layer of the ''Nirvana sutra.'' Radich also notes that the ''Nirvana'' sutra refers to itself by alternative titles, including ''Tathāgataśāśvata-sūtra/Tathāgatanityatva-sūtra,'' which indicate the eternity of the Tathāgata. Gandharan depiction of the Miraculous birth of the Buddha (from Lorian Tangai). Some scholar like Radich have argued that the doctrines of the ''Nirvana sutra'' developed out of earlier miraculous accounts of the Buddha's gestation and birth. A key element of the doctrine of the eternal buddha-body is a kind of Mahayana docetism, the idea that the Buddha's physical birth and death on earth was a mere appearance, a conventional show for the sake of helping sentient beings (a doctrine which was already found in the
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
school).'''' According to the ''Nirvana sutra,'' the Buddha entered nirvāṇa aeons ago (and yet remains actively benefiting beings). As such, the Buddha merely appears to be born, practice the path, achieve nirvana and die in order to be "in accordance with the world" (lokānuvartanā, Ch. ''suishun shijian'', 隨順世間) so that people would trust him as a human sage. However, in reality, his nature is eternal and unchanging.'''' As the Buddha says in the ''Nirvana sutra,'' "at times, I show yself entering intoparinirvāṇa in the Jambudvīpas of a billion worlds, and yet, ultimately, I do not take parinirvāṇa.” According to Radich, the tathāgatagarbha idea in the ''Nirvana sutra'' is closely related to the positive elements of this docetic Buddhology, which refers to the idea that since the Buddha did not have a normal human body (nor did he gestate in a normal womb), he must have had some other transcendent type of body (which requires a transcendent womb, the tathāgata-garbha, "buddha womb").


Buddha-nature

The doctrine of the "buddha-dhātu" (buddha-nature, buddha-element, Chinese: 佛性 ''foxing'', Tibetan: ''sangs rgyas gyi khams''), which refers to the fundamental nature of the Buddha, is a central teaching of the ''Nirvana sutra''. According to the ''Nirvana sutra'', "all sentient beings possess buddha-nature without distinction" (Chinese:一切眾生皆有佛性而無差別)''.'' According to Sally King, the sutra speaks about Buddha-nature in many different ways. This led Chinese scholars to create a list of types of buddha-nature that could be found in the text. The ''Nirvana sutra'' also equates buddha-nature with the term ''tathāgatagarbha'' (which is also done by other texts like the '' Aṅgulimālīya'', ''Mahābherī'', and '' Uttaratantra''). According to King, this can be understood as an "embryonic tathāgata" or as the "womb of the tathāgata". The Chinese typically translated the term as 如來藏 ''rúlái zàng'' ("tathāgata storehouse," "tathāgata matrix", or "tathāgata chamber"). However, according to Mark Blum, Dharmaksema translates ''tathāgatagārbha'' as or simply ''mìzàng,'' "tathagata's hidden treasury". This treasury is seen as a wondrous liberating truth that is mysteriously hidden from the view of ordinary people. Blum notes that the two major Chinese versions of the sutra don't use the literal Chinese term for embryo or womb, but speak of the "wondrous interior treasure-house of the Buddha" which is always present within all beings. This inner treasure, a pure "buddha-relic" within, is obscured by the negative mental afflictions of each sentient being. Once these negative mental states have been eliminated, however, buddha-nature is said to shine forth unimpededly. The ''Nirvana sutra's'' explanation of buddha-nature is multifaceted and complex. Karl Brunnholzl argues that there three main meanings of buddha-nature in the Nirvana sutra: (1) an intrinsic pure nature that merely has to be revealed, (2) a seed or potential that can grow into Buddhahood with the right conditions, (3) the idea that the Mahayana path is open to all''.'' The ''Nirvana sutra'' states that buddha-nature as buddhahood is endowed with the powers and qualities of a buddha is free of any
karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...
or affliction ( klesha), transcending the five
skandha ' (Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings, clusters". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the perpetual process of craving, cli ...
s and the twelve links of dependent arising''.'' However, in order to become true Buddhas, sentient beings need to practice the six
pāramitā ''Pāramitā'' (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or ''pāramī'' (Pāli: पारमी) is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as a noble character quality generally associated with ...
s which actualize their buddha potential into full Buddhahood. This is compared to how
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
is made into
cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
or
butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
through additional conditions''.'' As such, the ''Nirvana sutra'' criticizes those who think that buddha-nature means that all beings are already full Buddhas and do not need to practice the bodhisattva path''.'' However, other similes in the ''Nirvana sutra'' contain slightly different characterizations of buddha-nature. For example, one simile compares the buddha nature to a treasure buried under the earth, or a to a gold mine (both which are found in the '' Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'', which is cited by name in the ''Nirvana sutra''). These similes suggest a more
immanent The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheist ...
understanding of buddha-nature in which the buddha element is merely something to be revealed''.'' Furthermore, other similes reject the idea that buddha-nature abides in sentient beings at all, stating that buddha-nature abides nowhere, like how the sound made by a
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...
is not located in any part of the lute''.'' Illustration of the reliquary and relic chamber of found in the Sanchi Stupa No. 2 by Frederick Charles Maisey, published 1850.">Frederick_Charles_Maisey.html" ;"title="Sanchi Stupa No. 2 by Frederick Charles Maisey">Sanchi Stupa No. 2 by early Buddhism to refer to the
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s of a Buddha as well as to basic constituents of reality or "raw material" (like the Skandha">eighteen "dhātus" that make up any personality). The ''Nirvana sutra'' draws on this term and applies it to the true nature of a Buddha, which is permanent (nitya), pure, blissful and resides within all sentient beings (analogous to how the pure buddha relics were housed inside a
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
)''.'' Some scholars like Shimoda and Radich have seen the buddha-nature idea as arising from an internalization of stupa and relic worship. Instead of worshiping relics externally, the buddha-nature teaching turns inward, to the inner buddha relic in all of us. According to Jones, the term ''tathāgatagarbha'' could also have referred to "the chamber (garbha) for a Buddha (tathāgata): the space at the center of a stūpa, where lies hidden that which is essential to a Buddha and most precious to the world after his (apparent) departure from it." The term “chamber for a relic” (dhātugarbha) is attested in many Buddhist texts. Due to this, Radich argues that the term tathāgatagarbha also developed as an internalized buddha relic which came to refer to the presence of a buddha's qualities, mode of being or body which was not located in a stupa but in sentient beings. Another key aspect of the buddha-nature as taught in the ''Nirvana sutra'' is that it can only be directly perceived by a fully awakened Buddha, though the sutra says that a bodhisattva at the tenth stage (bhūmi) can also perceive buddha-nature in an imperfect and indistinct manner. Since according to the ''Nirvana sutra'', "the nature of the Tathāgata is difficult to see", the sutra emphasizes the importance of faith (''Faith in Buddhism, śraddhā'') in both the ''Nirvana sutra'' itself and in the buddha-nature, saying that "only one who follows the teachings of the Tathāgata, faithfully committing oneself to them, after that sees their equality o the Buddha"


Buddhadhātu as ātman and the four perfections

The ''Nirvana sutra'' describes
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
and buddha-nature as a true self ( ''ātman''), a “supreme essence” (Tibetan: snying po’i mchog) and as a "great self" (''mahātman,'' 大我) that is eternal, pure and blissful, and is also separate from the five aggregates and beyond samsaric phenomena. For example, the sutra states:
The real self is the nature of the Tathāgata ( 如來性). Know that all sentient beings have this, but as those sentient beings are enshrouded by immeasurable afflictions, it is not manifested.
The Indic term "ātman" generally referred to "the permanent and indestructible essence, or an unchanging central element, of any human or other sentient being", and the idea that such a thing existed was widely rejected by mainstream
Indian Buddhism Buddhism is an ancient Indian religion, which arose in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now Bihar, India). It is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE and was deemed a "Buddha" or an ...
. In teaching the existence of a permanent element (Tibetan: ''yang dag khams'') in sentient beings that allows them to become Buddhas, the sutra is self consciously adopting a Buddhist version of ātmavāda (“discourse about the self”) which was popular in Indian thought, while also modifying the Buddhist doctrine of not-self ( ''anātman'') that completely rejected any notion of a self. The teaching that the buddha-nature is a self is one of the "four inversions" (viparyāsas), a key theme in the ''Nirvana sutra''. Early Buddhism held that living beings have four distortions in how they perceive reality: they see what is impermanent as permanent (nitya), they see what is not-self as a self (ātman), they see what is impure as pure (śubha/śuci) and they see what is suffering as being pleasant or blissful (sukha). The ''Nirvana sutra'' claims that while these four do apply to samsaric phenomena, when it comes to the "supreme dharma(s)" (''zhenshifa'' 真實法, *paramadharma, like Buddha and buddha-nature), the opposite is the case. As the sutra states:
Monks, whatever you mentally cultivate, repeatedly and increasingly and with full acceptance, to be in all instances impermanent, unsatisfactory, without self, and impure, amid these there is that which exhibits permanence, bliss, purity and selfhood...
As such, the ''Nirvana sutra ''claims that buddha-nature (and the Buddha's body, his Dharmakaya) is characterized by four perfections (pāramitās) or qualities (which are denied in classic Buddhist doctrine): permanence (''nitya''), bliss (''sukha''), self (''ātman''), and purity (''śuddha).'' The four perfections as a feature of buddha-nature is also found in the '' Śrīmālādevī sūtra.''


"Self" and "not-self" as skillful means

Paul Williams also notes that while we can speak of the tathāgatagarbha as a Self, this is a much more complex issue since the sutra also speaks of the importance of the not-self teaching, saying that those who have notions of a self cannot perceive buddha-nature. The ''Nirvana sutra'' is aware that there are numerous non-buddhist accounts of a self which might sound similar to its own self theory and it argues that if they seem similar, this is due to two reasons. The first is that non-buddhist ātmavāda theories are often misinterpretations or misrememberings of what was taught by a bodhisattva and the second is that they may be skillful means taught to non-buddhists by Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Furthermore, numerous non-buddhist doctrines of a self are rejected in the ''Nirvana sutra'' (including some of the theories taught in the
Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...
), in which the self is "some kernel of identity hidden within the body" which is a "person" (pudgala), a jīva, a "doer" (kartṛ) or a "master" (zhu 主). According to Williams, the "Self" taught in the ''Nirvana sutra'' "is not a Self in the worldly sense taught by non-Buddhist thinkers, or maintained to exist by the much-maligned ‘man in the street’", since these are considered to lead to egoistic grasping. Thus, the ''Nirvana sutra'' often portrays the teaching of the tathāgatagarbha as a Self as being a skillful means, a useful strategy to convert non-buddhists and to combat annihilationist interpretations of the Dharma. For example, in ''Nirvana sutra'', the Buddha proclaims "I do not teach that all sentient beings are without a self! I constantly teach that all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature; is Buddha-nature not the self? Hence, I have not taught an annihilationist view."Williams, Paul (2008). ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' p. 108. Routledge''.'' The Buddha then states the reason he teaches not-self (and impermanence, suffering, and impurity) is because sentient beings do not see the buddha-nature. Later on in the sutra, the Buddha also states:
Good son, this Buddha-nature is in truth not the self; for the benefit of sentient beings is it called the self.… Buddha-nature is absence of self, utthe Tathāgata teaches the self or the sake of some audiences because of his permanence, the Tathāgata is the self, but he teaches absence of self, because he has achieved sovereignty izai 自在, possibly Skt. aiśvarya
Thus, according to the ''Nirvana sutra'', the Buddha uses the term self when needed (to overcome nihilistic interpretations of not-self) and teaching not-self when needed (to overcome grasping at what is not the self). This is part of his skillful means (upaya) to guide beings to liberation. The ''Nirvana sutra'' states that those who see everything as empty and fail to see what is ''not'' empty do not know the true
middle way The Middle Way (; ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The first phrasing, the Middle ...
. Likewise, those who see everything as not-self but fail to see what is Self also fail to see the true middle way, which is the buddha nature''.'' According to Mark Blum, the ''Nirvana sutra'' sees the Buddhist doctrine of not-self as "a very important doctrine to be expounded when the listener is attached to his or her notion of selfhood or personality, because it deconstructs that object of attachment, revealing its nature as a fantasy."Mark L. Blum, ''The Nirvana Sutra'', BDK Berkeley, California, 2013, pp. xvi-xvii However, the sutra understands both the not-self and emptiness teachings as being skillful means, not ultimate truths. The ''Nirvana sutra'' also affirms the truth of "non-emptiness", which is a real genuine self, the buddha-nature. The ''Nirvana sutra'' compares the not-self teaching to a milk-based medicine which is useful for certain ailments, but not for all. Because of this, a physician who only prescribed this single medicine would be an unskillful one. The Buddha in the ''Nirvana sutra'' says he taught not-self in order to get rid of certain mistaken views of self in order that the correct teaching about the self (i.e. the buddha-nature) could be given. This is why according to the ''Nirvana sutra,'' "the Buddha teaches that the nature of the Tathāgata (如來性) is the real self (真實我), but if with respect to this tenet one mentally cultivates he thoughtthat it is not the self, this is called the third distortion." Using another medicinal simile, the Nirvana sutra compares the teaching of not-self to a medicine which requires a mother to stop breast feeding her infant. The mother thus smears her breast with a pungent ointment and tells her child that it is poison. When the medicine is fully ingested, the mother removes the ointment and invites the child to nurse at her breast again. In this simile, the medicine is the skillful notion of not-self, and the mother's milk is the teaching of "the nature of the Tathāgata, which is the supermundane, supreme self" (離世真實之我, possibly *''lokottaraparamātman''). Another important element of the relationship between not-self and true self in the ''Nirvana sutra'' is that they are seen as non-dual (advaya), as two sides of the same coin so to speak. Thus, according to the ''Nirvana'': "the wise know that the existence of the self and absence of self are non-dual." In making this claim, the sutra also cites two sutras, the ''Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasūtra'' (possibly Taisho no. 381–382) and a ''
Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
'' sutra (the most likely candidate being the ''Suvikrāntavikrāmiparipṛcchā'').


Icchantikas

Despite the fact that the Buddha-nature is innate in all sentient beings, there is a class of people who called '' icchantikas'' ("extremists" or "dogmatists") which are either excluded from Buddhahood or will find it very difficult to ever reach it. The ''Nirvana sutra'' discusses this class of people often. According to scholars like Blum and Brunnholzl, the exact status and nature of the icchantika in the Nirvana sutra is difficult to ascertain, as the topic is discussed in different ways throughout the sutra. '''' In some parts, icchantikas are said to be like scorched seeds who can never sprout and thus of being incurable and incapable of Buddhahood. In other passages, they are said to also possess buddha-nature and to be able to attain buddhahood (their potential for buddhahood is also depicted much more positively in the longer versions of the sutra). '''' As such, the icchantika doctrine has caused much controversy and debate in East Asian Buddhism. '''' According to Karashima, the word icchantika derives from the verb icchati (to claim, to hold, to maintain) and the term is thus best understood as "someone who akesclaims; an opinionated erson" Specifically, the icchantika is someone who rejects and is hostile to the buddha nature teaching of the ''Nirvana sutra''. The ''Nirvana sutra'' describes them as follows: In spite of their hostile dogmatism, the longer version of the ''Nirvana Sutra'' explains that because all beings have the buddha-nature, all beings without exception, even icchantikas (the most incorrigible and spiritually base of beings), can eventually attain liberation and become Buddhas. This is possible if they gain faith in buddha-nature, as the Dharmakṣema translation of the ''Nirvana'' states: "If an icchantika were to have faith in the existence of Buddha-nature, know that he will not descend into the three bad estinies and also is then not called an icchantika."


Decline of the Dharma

Parts of the ''Nirvana Sutra'' are very concerned with the decline of the Dharma and with
eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...
, describing how in the times of Dharma decline, there will be false monks, false teachings and all sorts of calamities. Hodge argues that the earliest portion of the sutra was written in India by people who believed they were living in an age of decline in which the Buddha-dharma would perish. The sutra states that during the age of Dharma decline, the Mahayana sutras will be lost (including the Nirvana sutra itself), false teachings will spread, and monks will act unethically, owning servants, cattle and horses, and engaging in lay jobs like farming, smithing, painting, sculpture and divination (instead of focusing on the Dharma). The sutra responds to this situation of decline with the proclamation of the innate
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
that is present in all (though it remains concealed by the defilements). The ''Nirvana sutra'' sees itself as the final teaching of the Buddha that has the power to lead people to discover their own innate buddha-nature (as long as they listen to it with faith). As such, it sees itself as the ideal solution to the era of Dharma decline.


Texts

The Indic text of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' (in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
) has survived only in a number of fragments, which were discovered in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Japan. Four full editions of the ''Nirvana sutra'' of varying lengths survive in Chinese and Tibetan. The fragments are written in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit and indicate that they were written by speakers of a
Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...
language.


Chinese

According to early Chinese sutra catalogues such as the ''Lidai Sanbao ji'' (歷代三寶紀), a part of the core portion of the sutra was translated previously into Chinese by Dharmarakṣa (fl. c. 260-280), though this version is now lost. Chinese canonical records also mention that another lost translation was made by the Chinese monk Zhimeng who studied in India from 404-424 CE. According to Zhimeng's own account, he also obtained his manuscript from the same layman in Pataliputra as Faxian did some years earlier.


The "six fascicle text"

This translation, often called the "Six fascicle text", and titled ''Dabannihuan jing'' (大般泥洹經, Taisho no. 376.12.853-899), is the shortest and earliest translation into Chinese. It is attributed to
Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...
and Buddhabhadra during the
Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the or the , was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previou ...
between 416 and 418. Though the translation of this version in six fascicles (''juàn'' 卷) is conventionally ascribed to
Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...
(法顯), this attribution is probably inaccurate. According to Faxian's own account, the manuscript copy forming the basis of the six ''juan'' Chinese version was obtained by him in Pāṭaliputra from the house of a layman known as Kālasena, during his travels in India. The earliest surviving Chinese sutra catalogue,
Sengyou Sengyou (; 445–518 AD) was a Buddhist monk and early medieval Chinese bibliographer and noted chiefly for being the author of ''Collected Records Concerning the Tripitaka'' (出三藏記集 '' Chu sanzang ji ji'', T 2145), which includes a cata ...
's ''Chu Sanzang Jiji'' (出三藏記集), which was written less than 100 years after the date of this translation, makes no mention of Faxian. Instead it states that the translation was done by Buddhabhadra and his assistant Baoyun (寶雲), quoting earlier catalogues to corroborate this attribution. The idea that Faxian was involved in the translation only emerges in later catalogues, compiled several hundred years after the event.


Dharmakṣema's "northern" edition

The "Northern text", titled ''Dabanniepan jing'' (大般涅槃經), is a translation in 40 fascicles ( Taisho no. 374.12.365c-603c), completed by the Magadhan Indian monk translator Dharmakṣema (c. 385–433 CE) between 421 and 430 in the
Northern Liang The Northern Liang (; 397–439) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history. It was ruled by the Juqu (沮渠) family of Lushuihu ethnicity, though they are sometimes categorized ...
kingdom. This "northern" version of the text is "around four times the length" of the "six fascicle" version and the later Tibetan translation, extending for a further thirty fascicles, beyond the first ten fascicles of the "core" sutra material. This version was also later translated into
Classical Tibetan Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 7th century until the modern day (along with Arabic, Ge'ez, and New Persian, it is one of the handful of 'living' ...
from the Chinese. The first ten fascicles of the northern edition may be based on a birch-bark manuscript from North-Western India that Dharmakṣema brought with him, which he used for the initial translation work of his version. This version corresponds overall in content to the "six fascicle" version and the Tibetan version. Many scholars doubt the Indian provenance of the extra material found in the northern edition (the content beyond the first ten fascicles). The chief reasons for this skepticism are the following: * No traces of an extended Sanskrit text has ever been found. Sanskrit manuscript fragments of twenty four separate pages distributed right across the core portion of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra'' have been found over the past hundred years in various parts of Asia; Likewise, there are no quotations from this latter portion in any Indian commentaries or sutra anthologies. * No other translator in China or Tibet ever found Sanskrit copies of this portion. The Chinese monk-translator
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
traveled to India and searched for this material but only found manuscripts corresponding to the core text. Some textual scholars argue the latter portion of the northern edition may have been a
Central Asian Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
composition, and some, even argue it may have been written by Dharmakṣema himself. However, other scholars like Jones and Granoff note that the latter portion knows of Indic texts which were unknown in China. Thus, Jones writes that there is "convincing evidence that this material is familiar with Indian literature unknown to any other Chinese materials that we know from Dharmakṣema’s time."Granoff, Phyllis. 2012. “After Sinning: Some Thoughts on Remorse, Responsibility, and the Remedies for Sin in Indian Religious Tradition.” In ''Sins and Sinners: Perspectives from Asian Religions'', edited by Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara, 175–215. Leiden: Brill. Granoff notes for example, that the story of Ajatasatru in the latter portion of the ''Nirvana sutra'' draws on the ''
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
,'' suggesting an Indic origin. Furthermore, as Jones notes, both Chinese and Tibetan tradition understood the additional content as being of Indic origin. One significant difference between the Dharmakṣema edition and the earlier six fascicle ''Nirvana sutra'' is that the six fascicle's view of icchantikas (heretics who cling to wrong views and reject the teachings of the Nirvana sutra) is much more negative and harsh. The Dharmakṣema translation of the ''Nirvana sutra'' seems to indicate that icchantikas can redeem themselves and eventually attain Buddhahood (since all beings have buddha-nature), while the six fascicle version seems to indicate that icchantikas are hopeless. This was famously a point of contention for the leading Chinese monk Daosheng (c. 360–434), who rejected the Faxian translation and was exiled, until he was vindicated when the new translation of Dharmakṣema was released. There is also a secondary Chinese version the Dharmakṣema's translation, which was completed in 453 CE. This was produced "by polishing the style and adding new section headings" according to Stephen Hodge.


The "southern" edition

The "Southern text" (Taisho no. 375.12.605-852), in 36 fascicles, was edited c. 453 by Huiguan and Huiyan during the
Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties peri ...
. This edition integrates and amends the translations of the six fascicle text and Dharmakṣema's into a single edition of thirty-six fascicles. This edition changes the chapter divisions of the first part of the Dharmakṣema to match the six fascicle version and it also changes the language,
Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...
and syntax to a more accessible and readable.


Tibetan editions

In the 6th section of the Tibetan Kangyur collection (vols. 77-78) there are three translations of the ''Nirvana sutra'': * Toh 120, the first "short" translation of the sūtra, in 3. 900 ślokas (13 scrolls). It was made in the early 9th century by Jinamitra, Dhyānagarbha and Ban de btsan dra. It is titled: ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།, ''Phags pa yong su Mya ngan las 'Das pa chen po theg pa chen po'i mdo.'' * Toh 119 - a translation from Chinese into Tibetan of the version of Dharmakṣema by Wang-phab-zhun, Dge-ba'i blos-gros and Rgya-mtsho'i sde in 56 scrolls, with the title ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།, ''Phags pa yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa chen po'i mdo.'' * Toh 121 which preserves 16 verses translated by Kamalagupta and Rin Chen Bzang Po titled ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པའི་མདོ།, ''Phags pa yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa'i mdo.''


English translations

* Yamamoto, Kosho, trans. (1973-1975). ''The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra'', 3 Volumes, Karinbunko, Ube City, Japan. A limited run of 500 copies. This is actually a translation from Shimajiʼs ''Kokuyaku issai kyō,'' a classic Japanese translation of the Southern version, rather than a direct translation from Dharmakṣema's Chinese. * Blum, Mark, trans. (2013). ''The Nirvana Sutra: Volume 1'' (of a projected 4), Berkeley, Calif.: BDK America (distr.: Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press). . * Yamamoto, Kosho; Page, Tony. (2015). ''Nirvana Sutra: A Translation of Dharmakshema's Northern version'', CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. . This is Dr. Tony Page's re-editing of Yamamoto's original.


Related sutras

There are several associated texts which are considered to be part of the Nirvana sutra "family". These are found in the "Nirvana" section (涅槃部) in the Chinese Buddhist canon. It includes:'''' # ''Dabanniepan jing houfen'' (''The Latter Portion of the Mahāparinirvāṇa sūtra'', 大般涅槃經後分, Taisho no. 377) translated by Tang dynasty monk Huining and the Indian monk *Jñānabhadra (若那跋陀羅) in Heling. This is purported to be an even further missing part of the ''Nirvana sutra.'' Dharmakṣemaʼs biography records a comment by Tanwufa mentioning a missing portion, and some biographies mention that Dharmakṣema died while on his way back to India (or Central Asia) to search for the missing parts of the sutra. # ''Si tongzi sanmei jing'' (四童子三昧經 Taisho no. 379, Sanskrit: ''Caturdhārakasamādhi sūtra''), translated by Jñānagupta in the Sui dynasty. Its setting is also the Buddha's final nirvana, though it has Ananda as the main interlocutor. It also teaches that the Buddha is eternally embodied in the dharmakaya and is always preaching the Dharma. # ''Fangdeng bannihuan jing'' (方等般泥洹經 Taisho no. 378, Sanskrit: ''Caturdhārakasamādhi sūtra''), translated by Dharmarakṣa. The first six chapters are similar to Taisho no. 379, while the rest of the text focuses on Śākyamuniʼs buddhafield and the Buddha's parinirvāṇa. # ''Fo chui banniepan lüe shuo jiao jie jing'' (佛垂般涅槃略說教誡經 Taisho no. 389), also known as ''Yi jiao jing'' (遺教經), translated by Kumārajīva. It also describes the final nirvana and teaches that the Buddha is eternal.


Commentaries

Numerous commentaries on the Nirvana sutra were written in China. The most important Chinese commentary on the ''Nirvana sutra'' is the ''Compendium of Commentaries on the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra'' (''Dabanniepanjing ji jie'', 大般涅槃經集解 T 1763), compiled in 509 by Baoliang (寶亮) in the Liang dynasty. This is a compilation of comments by numerous masters on the Nirvana sutra. It includes comments by Emperor Wu of the Liang, Daosheng, Sengliang, Falue, Tanji, Sengzong, Baoliang, Zhixiu, Fazhi, Faan, Tanzhun, Falang, Tan'ai, Tanqian, Mingjun, Daohui, Falian and Jiaoyi.'''' Another important commentary was the Nirvana school scholar Pao-liang's (d. 509) ''On the Middle Path Buddha-nature''. Pao-liang interprets the buddha-nature as the innately pure mind which is "the mysterious essence of divine illumination". According to Pao-liang, "there is not one split second in which this liberating essence is not functioning (to deliver the person from ignorance)" and he also says that this "liberating function" is the same as the natural tendency to avoid pain and seek bliss. Pao-liang also says that buddha nature is both in the skandhas and transcends them, being the unity of the two truths and the unity of samsara and
nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
. Other Chinese commentaries in the Taisho Tripitaka include: * Taisho no. 1764, ''Da Ban Niepan Jing Yi Ji'' 《大般涅槃經義記》by the Dilun scholar Hui Yuan (慧遠 523–592) in the Sui in 10 fascicles * Taisho no. 1765, ''Da Ban Niepan Jing Xuan Yi''《大般涅槃經玄義》by Tiantai monk Guanding in the Sui in 2 fascicles * Taisho no. 1767, ''Da Ban Niepan Jing Shu''《大般涅槃經疏》by Guanding in the Sui in 33 fascicles * Taisho no. 1768, ''Da Ban Niepan Jing You Yi''《涅槃經遊意》by Ji Zang in the Sui in 1 fascicle * Taisho no. 1769, ''Niepan Zong Yao''《涅槃宗要》by Wŏnhyo in the
Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
in 1 fascicle * Taisho no. 1766, ''Niepan Xuan Yi Fa Yuan Ji Yao''《涅槃玄義發源機要》by the Tiantai master Zhi Yuan (976-1022 C.E.) in the
Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
in 4 fascicles.


See also

* '' Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa'' * Ātman (Buddhism) * Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen *
Faith in Buddhism In Buddhism, faith (, ) refers to a serene commitment to the practice of Gautama Buddha, the Buddha's teaching, and to trust in enlightened or highly developed beings, such as Buddha (title), Buddhas or ''bodhisattvas'' (those aiming to b ...
*
God in Buddhism Generally speaking, Buddhism is a religion that does not include the belief in a Monotheism, monotheistic creator deity.Harvey, Peter (2019). ''"Buddhism and Monotheism",'' p. 1. Cambridge University Press. As such, it has often been described ...
* '' Kulayarāja Tantra'' *
Parinirvana In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained '' nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the '' ...
*
Mahāyāna sūtras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
*
Nirvana (Buddhism) Nirvana or nibbana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; Pali: ') is the extinguishing of the passions, the "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activity of the grasping mind and its rel ...
* Shinjō Itō, founder of the
Shinnyo-en is a modern global Buddhist School for lay people. Its traditions can be traced back to the Daigoji branch of Shingon Buddhism. It was founded in 1936 by , and his wife in a suburb of metropolitan Tokyo, the city of Tachikawa, where its headq ...
school of Buddhism * '' Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra'' *
Buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...
* '' Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra''


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * Corrected and revised version of a paper presented in July 2010 at the Second International Workshop on the Mahaparinirvana Sutra held at Munich University. * * * * * * * * * * (in Japanese) * *


Further reading

* Blum, Mark (2003). Nirvana Sutra, in: Buswell, Robert E. ed., ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', New York: Macmillan Reference Lib., pp. 605–606. * Bongard-Levin, G.M (1986). ''New Sanskrit fragments of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinivāṇa-sūtra: Central Asian manuscript collection'', The International Institute for Buddhist Studies. * Ito, Shinjo (2009). ''Shinjo: Reflections'', Somerset Hall Press. * Lai, Whalen (1982). Sinitic speculations on buddha-nature''
The Nirvaana school
' (420-589), Philosophy East and West 32 (2), 135-149 * Radich, Michael (2015)
''The Mahāparinivāṇa-mahasūtra and the Emergence of Tathagatagarba Doctrine''
Hamburg Buddhist Studies Vol. 5, Hamburg University Press. * Yuyama, Akira (1981). ''Sanskrit fragments of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinivāṇa-sūtra: Koyasan manuscript'', The Reiyukai Library.


External links


Tony Page's Nirvana Sutra website

Revised translation of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra
{{Buddhism topics Mahayana sutras Nichiren Buddhism Shentong Buddha-nature Vaipulya sutras