Dolpopa and Gyaltsab Debate Tathāgatagarbha: Two Distinct Interpretations of Buddha‐Nature in Tibet

Abstract

AbstractBuddhists have discussed the concept of enlightenment since the time of the Buddha, but the notion that all sentient beings have buddha‐nature is found in Mahāyāna Buddhism. For the Mahāyāna thinkers, one of the crucial questions at the center of how all beings can achieve enlightenment is this apparent paradox: frailty, ignorance, and delusions presumably exist concomitantly with buddha‐nature in all sentient beings. This article provides a brief survey of the textual history of the buddha‐nature literature followed by an in‐depth discussion of buddha‐nature in the terms set out by two influential Tibetan thinkers, Dolpopa and Gyaltsab; the debate between these thinkers is set in relation to extant discourses of Buddhist ontology, epistemology, and enlightenment within the Tibetan Buddhist scholastic tradition.