Trisvabhāva (

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 ...

;

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 三性 or 三自性) or the three natures, is one of the key doctrines of the

Yogācāra Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...

school of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. The concept of the three natures describes the three qualities that all phenomena possess, and can be found in several

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 ...

sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

s, such as Samdhinirmocana Sūtra. The three natures are: ''Parikalpitā-svabhāva'' (the imaginary nature of things)'', Paratantra-svabhāva'' (the dependent nature of things) and ''Pariṇiṣpanna-svabhāva'' (the consummate or perfected nature of things).

Meaning and interpretations

''Parikalpitā'' (

;

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 遍計所執性): the "impure" or "imaginary" nature refers to the falsely perceived nature of objects as entities that exists separate from the consciousness that perceives them. Note that in the Yogācāra analysis, objects do not exist separately from the perceiving subject, they come into existence in dependence upon consciousness, which in turn are produced from seeds that reside in the eighth consciousness, or ''Alayavijnana''. However, due to

ignorance Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding. Deliberate ignorance is a culturally-induced phenomenon, the study of which is called agnotology. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or ...

, subject and object are imagined to be separate from each other. ''Paratantra'' (

;

: 依他起性): the dependent nature of things refers to the conventional truth that all objects and subjects rely on causes and conditions for their existence (

dependent origination A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...

). In other words, no impermanent phenomenon can produce itself. ''Pariṇiṣpanna'' (

;

: 圓成實性): the consummate nature refers to the nonduality between the consciousnesses and their objects. Specifically, it refers to an absence of an object that is separate from the consciousness that perceives it. It can be understood as the perfected character of reality.

References

Yogacara {{Buddhist-philo-stub

Meaning and interpretations

See also

References