1. Summation

Based on the primary source of Buddhist scriptures as well as secondary source of Buddhist and non-Buddhist texts along with the latest studies relating to the topic, the thesis respectively studies and presents all aspects relating to the Buddha-nature, from its basic conception, its traces in Early Buddhism to its development in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Buddha-nature doctrine was a new movement of Mahāyāna Buddhism which corrected the one-side thought of śūnyatā doctrine of the Mādhyamikas. In addition, the Buddha-nature, which strongly joins a devotional and experiential approach to salvation, provides much to the hope and aspiration of the people at large. The thesis specially highlights the thought of Buddha-nature as depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, the unique scripture of the Tathāgatagarbha literature presenting the Buddha-nature to identity with Ālayavijñāna. The Buddha-nature, as depicted in the Sūtra, includes not only the simple form of Buddhatā, i.e. the wisdom and compassion as the qualities or natures of the Buddha, but also a nucleus to develop other doctrines. In the conventional truth, the Buddha-nature under the name Tathāgatagarbha is identical with Ālayavijñāna. The doctrine of Ālayavijñāna in the Sūtra accepts the Buddha-nature as its background to develop the system of eight consciousnesses. Inversely, the Buddha-nature is based on the Ālayavijñāna to expose itself in the conventional world. Further, the doctrine of trilogy of the Buddha is also based on the Buddha-nature. Dharmatā-buddha, the prototype of Dharmakāya, is the Buddha-nature in the absolute truth, i.e. the Buddha-nature exposes in the Buddha. In the aspect of practice, doctrines of self-realization, revulsion, sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation all are based on the Buddha-nature to deploy. Therefore, the Laṅkāvatārasūtra is also the most important textbook of Chan, a school of Chinese Buddhist meditation based on the Buddhanature as its main doctrine.

The Sūtra also elucidates the Buddhist orthodox of the Buddhanature and particularly emphasizes the self-realization of the Buddhanature. The Buddha-nature, as already expounded above, had the roots in Early Buddhism and appeared in the Tathāgatagarbha literature of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Although most of the followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism believe the doctrine of Buddha-nature and constantly try with their best endeavor to attain the goal of the Buddhahood, there are a lot of opinions which criticize the doctrine of Buddha-nature and say that it is not Buddhist. Their critiques come from the comparison between the Buddha-nature and the Vedāntic doctrine of Brahman, and it cannot deny that these two doctrines are identical. However the thesis has elucidated that the doctrine of Brahman came into existence after the doctrine of Buddha-nature.

In China, the thought of Buddha-nature is found in most of Chinese Buddhist schools: Chan, Tiantai, Huayan, Faxiang, Nirvāṇa, Dilun, and Shelun, in which Buddha-nature is not just a matter of declaring the existence of a Buddha-nature within all sentient beings, but is a full philosophical system including of ontology, epistemology, and soteriology.

For ontology, except for the Faxiang School, all others maintain the same idea that Buddha-nature is the inherent essence of all sentient beings as well as of all Buddhas. Such ontology of Buddha-nature results in the epistemology that living being is intrinsically identical with Buddha; defilement (kleśa) is enlightenment (bodhi) in nature; reincarnation (saṃsāra) is essentially not different from Nirvāṇa, etc. Therefore, the soteriological goal or the ideal of liberation (from saṃsāra) and enlightenment must be sought in the very human body and mind, not from outside.

For the Faxiang School, Buddha-nature is only a kind of untainted seed lying in the Ālayavijñāna, the eighth or the store consciousness. One who has the Buddha-nature seed will intend to follow the Buddhayāna for attaining Buddhahood. Therefore, the icchantika, who has no Buddhanature seed, will never become the Buddha. This is the reason why this school rejects the idea that all sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature. However, Faxiang School also maintains the concept of Bhūtatathatā, which is the same as the Buddha-nature concept in other schools. Although the Faxiang School conceived Buddha-nature and ālayavijñāna as two different entities, the Dilun School regarded them as identical. Similarly, the Shelun School identified amalavijñāna, the ninth or the undefiled consciousness, with Buddha-nature.

Unlike the Faxiang, the Nirvāṇa School considers Buddha-nature as one of its main doctrines. Daosheng of this school was the first one in China who had proposed the doctrines of Buddha-nature and sudden enlightenment. After that, Bodhidharma came in china to teach the meditative practice for realizing the Buddha-nature of human beings; the arrival of Bodhidharma marked the date of appearance of Chan School in China. However, it was because of Huineng and his disciple Shenhui that the Chan‘s doctrine of sudden enlightenment basing on the Buddhanature became important in Chinese Buddhism. Buddha-nature was more important in the thought of some later Chan masters and sects. Many special Chan methods of practice and teaching, such as Gongan Chan, Mozhao Chan, etc. came into existence in order to reveal the inherent Buddha-nature hidden in human mind. The doctrine of Buddha-nature also occupied great important position in the thought and teachings of other major schools such as Tiantai and Huayan.

The Tiantai School affirmed Buddha nature as one of its important tenets. Both Zhiyi, the founder of this school, and his teacher Huisi, were very well versed in the Buddha-nature literature, though the fortunes of the Buddha-nature thought varied over the life of the school. The sixth Tiantai patriarch, Zhanran, who revived the Tiantai school in the eighthcentury, again emphasized the universal idea of Buddha-nature that even inanimate things possess the Buddha-nature. The non-dualism of the third truth of the Tiantai is also identical with that of the Buddha-nature. Moreover, each of the three truths interpenetrates the other two, such that each embraces all and all are implicit in each. This is also the idea of the Huayan School.

The Huayan School is also very closely tied to the Buddha-nature thought. Its major thinker, Fazang, was an expert on the Buddha nature literature, and wrote what is regarded as the most important commentary on the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith, the work of the Buddha-nature literature. According to Fazang, the Buddha-nature‘s characteristic is universal; hence all beings including sentient and non-sentient beings possess Buddha-nature. So, he is the first in China who had advocated the idea that Buddha-nature is possessed even by inanimate things. Following him, Chanran of the Tiantai also maintained this idea. While other Huayan masters intellectually referred to the Buddha-nature, Zongmi, the fifth patriarch of this school, considered the Buddha-nature as Buddhist practice. Basing on Buddha-nature thought and analysis of mind, Zongmi proposed the doctrine of “Sudden Enlightenment followed by Gradual Cultivation”. His doctrine destroyed the idea that human being already was Buddha, and so had no need of practice.

In brief, the importance of the Buddha-nature for Chinese Buddhism is not only limited to the thought but spreads to the practice and goal of Chinese Buddhist schools. For the thought, Buddha-nature doctrine gives a positive view of phenomenal reality. Although phenomena are unreal and appear in the opposite forms, its essence which expressed in the language of Thusness is non-dualism, as opposed to monism. Similarly, beneath the unreal mundane mind of human being is the Buddha-nature, endowed with all Buddha‘s wisdoms and virtues, avoiding all eternalistic view (常見) as well as nihilistic view (斷見). For the practice, Buddha-nature offers the positive methods in practice to Chinese Buddhist schools. For example, basing on the idea of the ordinary mind is the Buddha mind, Chan school holds that one day without work, one day without eating. For the goal of liberation and enlightenment, Buddha-nature emphasizes on the positive nature of realization and a view of enlightenment as an experiential reality that goes beyond nihilistic and emptiness. This means that Buddhahood is real and can be attained by all sentient beings in this mundane world. Such an optimistic concept of human nature which is based on the idea of a universal and active Buddha-nature offered the Chinese a confidence in themselves as well as a faith in Buddhist fruit.

The pragmatism and activeness in the thought and practice of Chinese Buddhism which result from Buddha-nature doctrine helped Buddhism to continue developing in the world while this religion declined in its birthplace. Nowadays, the idea of “all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature” in Buddha-nature doctrine has an important part in increasing the awareness of human right and harmony in society. Moreover, in this modern age of science, human beings usually run after material products and lose their spiritual life. The idea of Buddha-nature endowed with Buddha‘s wisdoms and virtues is a great attraction for human beings returning back to discover their own nature.

The study of Buddha-nature is not only to improve our philosophical and religious knowledge, but to find out the right way of life in this temporary world. Indian philosophy in general, Buddha-nature in particular, is not simply a subject of study, but is a real-life experience. Hence, the intellectual knowing of Buddha-nature is not able to help us destroying our suffering. How can we realize and enter into our Buddhanature? This question had been answered by each of different schools of Chinese Buddhism with various methods as already mentioned above. Many masters in the ancient, medieval and modern history of Indian and Chinese Buddhism have been successfully realizing their Buddha-nature and skillfully applying their enlightenment into their lives. They are really good examples for us to arise our faith upon the Buddhist path for liberating from the circle of birth and death, and attaining the supreme enlightenment. The supreme enlightenment can only be attained when we destroy all our concept of self or ego in order to realize our true self or Buddha-nature.

In the Laṅkāvatārasūtra as well as in some other texts of the Tathāgatagarbha literature, the terms “self” or “true self” are sometimes used to refer to the Buddha-nature. However, the Buddha-nature doctrine preached by the Buddha as a means or expedient (upāya), which is taught to suit the needs of a certain kind of people and circumstances for saving sentient beings. In order to destroy the attachment with the substantial self, the Buddha teaches the doctrine of no-self; in order to demolish the grasp of no-self, he preaches the doctrine of True-self, i.e. the Buddha-nature. The Buddha‘s teachings should be considered as the means or vehicle as the raft in the “Parable of a Raft” used to cross over the river, not for grasping. Therefore, the Buddha-nature was the final and supreme doctrine of the Buddha at the end of his career. Thus, based on chronological comparison, and documentary critique, we can come to the conclusion that the Buddha-nature thought is Buddhist.

The thesis ends with the practice of Buddha-nature in the spiritual life of mankind. So, the thought of Buddha-nature presented in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra is not only the lessons of theory, but also the methods of practice and the goal of enlightenment. From that, the thesis emphasizes the idea that the Buddha-nature is not for us to talk about, it is for us to live with.

If we know how to practice and live with our Buddha-nature, all problems of our life will be resolved. Thus, the Buddha-nature doctrine plays an important role in resolving the conflicts in modern life.