\u201cThe Occult Catechism contains the following questions\nand answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is it that ever is?\n<\/em>\u201d \u201cSpace<\/em>, the eternal Upap\u0101duka.<\/em>\u201d* \u201cWhat is it that ever\nwas? <\/em>\u201d \u201cThe Germ in the Root.<\/em>\u201d \u201cWhat is it that is ever coming\nand going? <\/em>\u201d \u201cThe Great Breath.<\/em>\u201d \u201cThen<\/em>, there are three\nEternals? <\/em>\u201d \u201cNo<\/em>, the three are one. That which ever is is one<\/em>,\nthat which ever was is one<\/em>, that which is ever being and becoming is\nalso one: and this is Space.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014The Secret Doctrine<\/em>, vol. 1, p. 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Meaning \u201cparentless\u201d says\nthe footnote in The Secret Doctrine<\/em>.\nI have changed the incorrect Anupadaka to the correct Upap\u0101duka.1<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n As previously identified by comparison with parallel\npassages in the Buddhist scriptures, the word \u201cspace\u201d used in this Catechism is\na translation of Sanskrit dh\u0101tu<\/em>.2<\/sup>\nThis then allowed the word \u201cgerm\u201d used here to be identified as a translation\nof Sanskrit gotra<\/em>, through the\ncentral usage of these two terms in the key text, Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101ga<\/em>. The Sanskrit gotra<\/em> has three main meanings in Buddhist usage, as given by D.\nSeyfort Ruegg:3<\/sup> 1. mine, matrix; 2. family, clan, lineage; 3. germ,\nseed. Since no single English word has these three meanings, a translator must\nchoose one of them. The first translator of the Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101ga<\/em> into English, E. Obermiller (1931), chose\n\u201cgerm,\u201d as did the second translator, Jikido Takasaki (1966). Likewise, the\nfirst translator into German of parts of this text, Erich Frauwallner (1956),\nused the German word for germ, \u201cKeimes.\u201d Later translators of this text into\nEnglish have used \u201c[buddha-] potential\u201d (Kenneth and Katia Holmes 1985), \u201cdisposition\u201d\n(Rosemary Fuchs 2000, Karl Brunnholzl 2014), and \u201cspiritual potential\u201d (Bo\nJiang 2017). The normal Tibetan translation of gotra<\/em> is rigs<\/em>, choosing\nthe \u201clineage,\u201d or \u201cfamily\u201d meaning. Thus, \u201clineage\u201d was used in a book on the Ratnagotravibh\u0101ga<\/em> by S. K. Hookham (The Buddha Within<\/em>, 1991), and \u201cspiritual\nlineage\u201d was used in the English translation of the Bodhisattva-bh\u016bmi<\/em> by Artemus Engle (The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment<\/em>, 2016). In the material\nselected here for translation, I will use \u201cgerm\u201d for gotra<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The germ is one, but is spoken of as many:<\/p>\n\n\n\n dharma-dh\u0101tor asambhed\u0101d gotra-bhedo na yujyate | \u2014Abhisamay\u0101la\u1e43k\u0101ra<\/em> by Maitreya, chapter 1, verse 39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 39. Because the dharma-dh\u0101tu\nis without division, division of the germ is not tenable. But due to the\ndivision of the dharmas that are based [on the dh\u0101tu], the division of it [the\ngerm] is spoken of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The word dharma-dh\u0101tu<\/em> has been translated as the\nrealm or basic space of the dharmas<\/em> (\u201cphenomena,\u201d\nthe \u201celements of existence\u201d), following the Tibetan translation of dh\u0101tu<\/em> in this compound as dbyings<\/em> (\u201crealm\u201d or \u201cbasic space\u201d). There\nis another Tibetan translation of dh\u0101tu<\/em>\nas khams<\/em>, giving its other main\nmeaning, \u201celement.\u201d As used in the Ratna-gotra-vibh\u0101ga<\/em>,\nwhich teaches the one \u201celement,\u201d dh\u0101tu<\/em>\nis translated as khams<\/em>. So while the\nTheosophical teachers used \u201cspace\u201d for dh\u0101tu<\/em>\nin the Catechism, they also spoke of the one \u201celement,\u201d thus using both\nmeanings of dh\u0101tu<\/em>. Here in this verse\nfrom the Abhisamay\u0101la\u1e43k\u0101ra<\/em>, the word dharma-dh\u0101tu<\/em> can be understood as the\nbasic space of the dharmas<\/em>, or as the\nbasic element of the dharmas<\/em>. The germ\nor gotra<\/em> is equated with the dh\u0101tu<\/em> (see below). So since the dh\u0101tu<\/em> is one or without division, the\ngerm must also be one or without division. But since the dharmas<\/em> that are based on the dh\u0101tu<\/em>\nare many, so the germ or gotra<\/em> is\nspoken of as many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The germ is of two kinds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n tatra gotra\u1e43 katamat |\nsam\u0101sato gotra\u1e43 dvi-vidham | prak\u1e5bti-stha\u1e43 samud\u0101n\u012bta\u1e43 ca |<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014Bodhisattva-bh\u016bmi<\/em>, Unrai Wogihara edition, vol. 1, p. 3; Nalinaksha\nDutt edition, p. 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the germ (gotra<\/em>)? In brief, the germ is twofold:\nnaturally abiding and developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n gotra\u1e43 tad dvi-vidha\u1e43 j\u00f1eya\u1e43 nidh\u0101na-phala-v\u1e5bk\u1e63a-vat | \u2014Ratnagotravibh\u0101ga<\/em>, chapter 1, verse 149.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 149. The germ is to be\nknown as twofold, like a treasure and a fruit tree; naturally abiding without\nbeginning, and later developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The germ or gotra<\/em> has always existed, from time\nwithout beginning. In this sense it is called \u201cnaturally abiding\u201d or \u201cabiding\nby nature\u201d (prak\u1e5bti-stha<\/em>). It is likened\nto a treasure such as gold or gems found in the ground, that has always been\nthere. Yet, if a person on the spiritual path eventually becomes a bodhisattva\nthrough the continued practice of virtue, we must be able to speak of\ndevelopment of the germ or gotra<\/em>. So we\nmay refer to the germ as \u201cdeveloped\u201d (samud\u0101n\u012bta<\/em>).\nAs such, it is likened to a fruit tree with its fruits that develop and ripen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The germ has three synonyms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n tat punar gotra\u1e43 b\u012bjam ity apy\nucyate | dh\u0101tu\u1e25 prak\u1e5btir ity api |<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014Bodhisattva-bh\u016bmi<\/em>, Unrai Wogihara edition, vol. 1, p. 3; Nalinaksha\nDutt edition, p. 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The germ (gotra<\/em>) is also called a seed (b\u012bja<\/em>), the element (dh\u0101tu<\/em>), and nature (prak\u1e5bti<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The germ that is developed, like a seed develops into a plant, may thus be called a seed (b\u012bja<\/em>). The germ that is naturally abiding or abiding by nature can simply be called nature or natural (prak\u1e5bti<\/em>). The germ as completely identified with the one element can be referred to as such, the element (dh\u0101tu<\/em>). Thus we have the germ in the root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.\nFor\nhow this erroneous spelling arose, see my \u201cBook of Dzyan Research Report,\nTechnical Terms in Stanza I\u201d: http:\/\/easterntradition.org\/article\/Book%20of%20Dzyan%20Research%20Report%201%20-%20Technical%20Terms%20in%20Stanza%201.pdf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.\nSee my\n2013 article, \u201cThe Book of Dzyan: The Current State of the Evidence\u201d (Brahmavidya:\nThe Adyar Library Bulletin<\/em>, Supplement, 2013, pp. 87-120), which can be\nfound here: http:\/\/easterntradition.org\/article\/Book%20of%20Dzyan%20-%20The%20Current%20State%20of%20the%20Evidence.pdf\nor http:\/\/easterntradition.org\/article\/Book%20of%20Dzyan%20-%20The%20Current%20State%20of%20the%20Evidence,%20pre-publication.pdf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.\nD. Seyfort Ruegg, \u201cThe Meanings of the Term Gotra and the Textual History of\nthe Ratnagotravibh\u0101ga,\u201d Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African\nStudies<\/em>, vol. 39, 1976, p. 354.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe Occult Catechism contains the following questions and answers: \u201cWhat is it that ever is? \u201d \u201cSpace, the eternal Upap\u0101duka.\u201d* \u201cWhat is it that ever was? \u201d \u201cThe Germ in the Root.\u201d \u201cWhat is it that is ever coming and going? \u201d \u201cThe Great Breath.\u201d \u201cThen, there are three Eternals? \u201d \u201cNo, the three […]<\/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":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rootless-root"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1817","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=1817"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1819,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1817\/revisions\/1819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u0101dheya-dharma-bhed\u0101t tu tad-bheda\u1e25 parig\u012byate || 39 || <\/p>\n\n\n\n
an\u0101di-prak\u1e5bti-stha\u1e43 ca samud\u0101n\u012btam uttaram || 149 ||<\/p>\n\n\n\n