{"id":1644,"date":"2018-05-31T23:51:40","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T23:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/?p=1644"},"modified":"2018-05-31T23:51:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T23:51:40","slug":"the-uttara-tantra-the-sublime-continuum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/the-uttara-tantra-the-sublime-continuum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Uttara-tantra: The Sublime Continuum?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new English translation of the Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101ga<\/em>, also known as the Uttara-tantra<\/em>, was published last year (2017), along with the commentary by Rgyal tshab dar ma rin chen. It was translated by Bo Jiang, and is titled: The Sublime Continuum and Its Explanatory Commentary, by Maitreyan\u0101tha and Noble Asa\u1e45ga, with The Sublime Continuum Supercommentary, by Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen<\/em>. In recent decades, this famous text attributed to Maitreya has increasingly come to be referred to as The Sublime Continuum<\/em>, a translation of the Tibetan translation of its Uttara-tantra<\/em> alias, Rgyud bla ma<\/em>. Unfortunately for Maitreya, this is not what the title Uttara-tantra<\/em> means, not how it would be understood in India. It is an early misunderstanding of Rgyud bla ma<\/em>, going back to at least fourteenth-century Tibet. This can now be seen, thanks to the discovery of the original Sanskrit text of the Ratnagotravibh\u0101ga<\/em> in 1934 and its publication in 1950. The early misunderstanding apparently resulted, at least in part, from ambiguities in the Tibetan translation of this text.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0is well known, a single Tibetan word must often translate two or more different Sanskrit words. The Tibetan word rgyud<\/em> must translate the Sanskrit words tantra<\/em> as well as sa\u1e43t\u0101na<\/em> (and its derivative, s\u0101\u1e43t\u0101nika<\/em>).\u00a0A tantra<\/em> is usually a kind of \u201ctext,\u201d and also the \u201cteaching\u201d or \u201cdoctrine\u201d or \u201cscience\u201d taught in it, while a sa\u1e43t\u0101na<\/em> is a \u201ccontinuum,\u201d usually the continuum of a person. Of the\u00a0twenty-one occurrences of the word rgyud<\/em> in the canonical Tibetan translation of the Uttara-tantra<\/em> and its Indian commentary, it translates tantra<\/em> seven times, sa\u1e43t\u0101na<\/em> five times, and its derivative s\u0101\u1e43t\u0101nika<\/em> nine times. Of the seven times rgyud<\/em> translates tantra<\/em>, one is in the title, five are in the title as repeated in the five chapter colophons, and one is in\u00a0chapter 1, verse 160, referring to the title.<\/p>\n

So the word rgyud<\/em> as found in the title, Rgyud bla ma<\/em>, translates tantra<\/em>, whereas the word rgyud<\/em> as found in the text itself translates sa\u1e43t\u0101na <\/em>(or s\u0101\u1e43t\u0101nika<\/em>), with the single exception of in verse 1.160 where it refers to the title. The word rgyud<\/em> as sa\u1e43t\u0101na<\/em>, used in the text itself, does indeed refer to a continuum, although that of a sentient being (e.g., 4.46: sa\u1e43t\u0101na<\/em> . . . praj\u0101su<\/em> = ‘gro ba’i rgyud<\/em>; 1.25 commentary: sattva-citta-sa\u1e43t\u0101na<\/em> = sems can gyi sems kyi rgyud<\/em>). But the word rgyud<\/em> as tantra<\/em>, used in the title, refers to a teaching or a text. While \u201ccontinuum\u201d is one of the meanings of tantra<\/em>, our concern is the meaning that was intended by the author. An uttara-tantra<\/em> is a later or additional teaching, and has long been familiar in India as the concluding part of the famous medical work, Su\u015bruta-sa\u1e43hit\u0101<\/em>. Thus, uttara-tantra<\/em> refers to a teaching, a teaching that is a continuation, but not a continuum. Here uttara<\/em> is usually understood to mean \u201clater,\u201d as contrasted with p\u016brva<\/em>, \u201cearlier,\u201d but also implying its other main meaning, \u201chigher,\u201d i.e., a more advanced teaching.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Mah\u0101parinirv\u0101\u1e47a-s\u016btra<\/em> uses the example of a physician teaching the eight branches of medicine to his son, and only when these are mastered teaching him the uttara-tantra<\/em>, the later and higher teaching. It then compares this with the Buddha first teaching about purifying the mental\/moral afflictions (kle\u015ba<\/em>), the absence of self (an\u0101tman<\/em>), etc., as the earlier branches, and only then teaching the uttara-tantra<\/em>, the later and higher teaching, that of the tath\u0101gata-garbha<\/em>. The tath\u0101gata-garbha<\/em>, \u201cembryo of a buddha,\u201d i.e., the buddha-nature found in everyone, is of course the main subject of the book called Uttara-tantra<\/em>. There can be little doubt that the authors of the Uttara-tantra<\/em> and its Indian commentary were familiar with the Mah\u0101parinirv\u0101\u1e47a-s\u016btra<\/em>, since the reader is referred to it for more information in the commentary on verse 1.153.<\/p>\n

The meaning of the title Uttara-tantra<\/em> as \u201cThe Later\/Higher Teaching\u201d is confirmed in verse 1.160, saying, \u201cbut here in the later\/higher (uttare<\/em>) teaching (tantre<\/em>),\u201d as contrasted with what was taught earlier (p\u016brva<\/em>). What was taught earlier (1.156) is that \u201call is empty in every way\u201d (\u015b\u016bnya\u1e43 sarva\u1e43 sarvath\u0101<\/em>).\u201d What was taught here later is \u201cthe existence of the element\u201d (dh\u0101tv-astitvam<\/em>), that \u201cthe buddha-element exists in every sentient being\u201d (buddha-dh\u0101tu\u1e25 . . . sattve sattve ‘sti<\/em>). The buddha-element is a synonym of the tath\u0101gata-garbha<\/em>, the primary subject of the book called Uttara-tantra<\/em>. The Tibetan commentators who take the title Rgyud bla ma<\/em> to mean the sublime continuum understand this to refer to the unbroken continuum of the buddha-element, or a synonym of it such as the dharma-dh\u0101tu<\/em>. Ironically, Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen is not one of these commentators. Gyaltsap favors the later (phyi ma<\/em>) teaching as the meaning of the title. Bo Jiang did not use \u201cthe sublime continuum\u201d in his 2008 thesis that became the book of that title. That title may have been an editorial change.<\/p>\n

Another kind of ambiguity in the Tibetan translation, one that may have contributed to understanding the title as the sublime continuum, is seen in verse 1.160, the only place in the text where the words uttara<\/em> and tantra<\/em> occur. Both terms are in the locative case, uttare<\/em> and tantre<\/em>, \u201cin<\/u> the uttara tantra<\/em>.\u201d In the Tibetan translation of this verse, however, the locative case marker was omitted in order to fit the meter, which is strictly regulated by the total number of syllables per line: slar yang bla ma’i rgyud<\/em> ‘dir ni<\/em>. Thus, in Tibetan translation, this verse no longer explicitly says that the existence of the element was taught \u201cin\u201d the uttara tantra<\/em>. Moreover, the final Tibetan \u201cni\u201d in this line typically marks off the subject, making it at least possible to take the uttara tantra<\/em> as<\/u> the element that was taught. If the buddha-element is equated with the uttara tantra<\/em>, it becomes easy to see the uttara tantra<\/em> as the sublime continuum rather than the later teaching. Nonetheless, there are weighty reasons to avoid making this equation.<\/p>\n

It is only fitting to bring in comments made by award-winning Tibetan translator Gavin Kilty from a 2007 post to an internet K\u0101lacakra forum that started this inquiry. Referring to \u201cThe Sublime Continuum,\u201d he wrote: \u201cIf this really is a term referring to the tath\u0101gata<\/em> essence, the subject of the first and main chapter of the book, then you would expect the term uttara-tantra <\/em>to crop up many times in the book itself. How often does it appear? Not once. Nowhere (except for once when it refers to the book itself) is it to be found in the discussion of this topic. Terms used are tath\u0101gata<\/em> essence (de bshegs snying po, <\/em>tath\u0101gata-garbha<\/em>), element (khams, dh<\/em>\u0101tu<\/em>) and lineage (rigs, gotra<\/em>). These three terms are used interchangeably to describe the same thing but uttara-tantra <\/em>is not used once.\u201d Gavin had translated the first chapter of the Uttara-tantra<\/em> for the FPMT, unpublished.<\/p>\n

Besides verse 1.160, the one known Indian source that explains the title, Uttara-tantra<\/em>, is a \u1e6dippa\u1e47\u012b<\/em>, brief textual notes, by Vairocana-rak\u1e63ita. He glosses it as uttara-grantha<\/em>, taking tantra<\/em> as grantha<\/em>, \u201cbook.\u201d Likewise, in the very early Chinese translation of the Uttara-tantra<\/em> made from the Sanskrit by Ratnamati in 511 C.E. (Nanjio no. 1236, Taisho no. 1611), the word tantra<\/em> in verse 1.160 is translated with the Chinese equivalent for \u015b\u0101stra<\/em>, \u201ctreatise\u201d (Jikido Takasaki, A Study on the Ratnagotravibh\u0101ga (Uttaratantra)<\/em>, p. 306 fn. 18). Thus, tantra<\/em> was not understood as a continuum. The title of this text, then, Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101go<\/em> Mah\u0101y\u0101n\u00f4ttara-tantra-\u015b\u0101stram<\/em>, was apparently understood in India as \u201cThe Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101ga<\/em>, A Treatise on the Later\/Higher Teaching of the Mah\u0101y\u0101na.\u201d The descriptive title was not understood as \u201cA Treatise on the Sublime Continuum of the Mah\u0101y\u0101na.\u201d As noted by many commentators, the later\/higher teaching of the Mah\u0101y\u0101na obviously refers to the third promulgation of the Buddhist teachings, or turning of the wheel of the dharma, in contradistinction to the second promulgation. This may be described as a continuation, even a sublime continuation, but not as a continuum, the sublime continuum.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new English translation of the Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101ga, also known as the Uttara-tantra, was published last year (2017), along with the commentary by Rgyal tshab dar ma rin chen. It was translated by Bo Jiang, and is titled: The Sublime Continuum and Its Explanatory Commentary, by Maitreyan\u0101tha and Noble Asa\u1e45ga, with The Sublime Continuum Supercommentary, by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ratnagotravibhaga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1645,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644\/revisions\/1645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}