..续本文上一页assion by writing the treatise on the immaculate gem that always and already abides within each and everyone. Rangjung Dorje thanked Buddha Shakyamuni, Manjushri, Maitreya, and Avalokiteshvara for bestowing their blessings so that he could see the true nature of everything that is. And that is why he wrote this invaluable treatise, to help those who wish to engage life wholeheartedly and live ultimate goodness. He concluded with a wishing-prayer,

　　May all beings have unmistaken knowledge

　　And full attainment of the Buddha nature!

　　This completes the definite presentation of the Buddha nature,

　　which is the essence of the Vajrayana.

　　Shubham! (Auspiciousness!)

　　The teachings that the Glorious Third Karmapa gave us are so very important. It is an extreme honour to understand them correctly and unmistakably. Noble Rangjung Dorje revealed the fruit to the true within and prayed that his disciples and pupils would understand and cherish these teachings in perfect truthfulness.

　　Is it sufficient to simply and directly recognize the true nature

　　 Yes, it is good to directly know the true through the practice of meditation. Yet, one needs to bring the fruit of knowledge to its ultimate objective, which is Buddhahood. This is the reason Rangjung Dorje prayed that many attain unmistakable and ultimate Buddhahood, the result that is so abundant and free.

　　The teachings we have received are the essence of all teachings, the final and definitive instructions from sutras and tantras. They are

　　(…) the essence of the Vajrayana

　　and contain the plenitude of all three Dharmachakras. At the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, Lord Buddha presented provisional teachings practiced in Hinayana. At the Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, Lord Buddha imparted teachings on emptiness. And at the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, Lord Buddha bestowed teachings on the Tathagatagarbha, the supreme continuum, the Buddha nature.

　　There are two traditions of Buddhism in India, the tradition of the deep view and the tradition of vast activity. Both originated with Buddha Shakyamuni. Noble Nagarjuna, who introduced the topic of the Buddha nature without elaborating it in detail, established the tradition of the deep view. Noble Asanga established the tradition of vast activity. Both traditions were brought to Tibet and became known as Rangtong and Shentong. Rangtong means “empty of self.” Shentong means “empty of other” and is the tradition expounding the Buddha nature that is momentarily obscured by incidental stains, which are shentong, “other than.” The Shentong School discusses, through logic, the inpisibility of emptiness and wisdom, i.e., the absence of any true reality, emptiness, that is inpisibly present with all wonderful qualities of brilliance and clarity. The treatise, The Tathagatagarbhashastra, is a Shentong text and represents the Shentong view precisely. Rangjung Dorje skilfully included the teachings on the ordinary consciousnesses, or natural mind, and linked and united them with the wondrous teachings about our spiritual heritage. This shastra is of utmost significance because it connects and unites the scholastic Shentong approach with the perfect Mahamudra Tradition of the “Magnificent Gesture and Great Seal.”

　　May all beings have unmistaken knowledge

　　And full attainment of the Buddha nature!

　　Shubham! (Auspiciousness!)

《The Buddha Nature》全文阅读结束。