Chapter 2.6 - Tathagata Pariksha (examination)

Who (What) is Tathagata? Is the Self-nature or other-nature? Who is independent of the aggregates and thus is a freed one? Who he is completely transformed himself into different entity that is the Tathagata, having his own nature with no relationship to the person in bondage. Those who generate obsessions with great regard to the Buddha who has gone beyond obsessions and is constant, do not perceive the Tathagata. A person who is obsessed with the idea of identity will understand the Buddha in a way different from the other. One will say “he exists” and the other will insist that “he does not exist”. The present analysis expresses the same idea of stability and steadfastness achieved by the Buddha. This is not to assume his permanent existence.

The Sutra 16 of the Tathagata-Pariksha concludes that whatever is the Self-nature of the Tathagata, that is also the self-nature of the universe. Tathagata is devoid of a permanent Self-nature. This universe is also devoid of a permanent Self-nature. Tathagata is described as identical with the universe. This would be justification for the belief in a permanent entity which is identical with the reality of the universe. And it is comparable to the Atman and Brahman. Nagarjuna opines that there is no such self-nature either in the Tathagata or in the universe. This would mean that nonsubstantiality (Nairatmya) applies not only to the individual (Pudgala=Tathagata) but also to all phenomena.^[1]