fested in its fullness as the dharmaka ̄ya. The impurities and
mental projections that obscure the mind in its nonenlight-
ened state are produced under the influence of avidya ̄
(“ignorance”). It is ignorance that induces the appearance of
all mental constructs. When ignorance is subdued and elimi-
nated it is merely the “reenlightened” wisdom that shines
forth. Ignorance, although it is the cause of all mental states
and projections that obscure the clarity of enlightenment, is
nonetheless inherently present in enlightenment. Here again,
the two are neither identical nor nonidentical. Just as waves
are present on water stirred by the wind, so are mental pro-
jections stimulated by the “winds” of ignorance. Once igno-
rance is eliminated, the mental “waves” subside and the puri-
ty of the mind in its enlightenment-essence remains
undisturbed.
The nature of perfect and timeless enlightenment is
characterized as unattainable by any means within the rela-
tive sphere. When enlightenment is totally free of all hin-
drances (kle ́sa ̄varan:a and jñeya ̄varan:a) and of the store-
consciousness (a ̄laya-vijña ̄na), which becomes entangled in
phenomenal events, it remains pure and immutable in its na-
ture. Yet at the same time, this pure and unhindered enlight-
enment unfolds itself and becomes manifest as a tatha ̄gata
(i.e., a Buddha), or in some other form, in order to bring liv-
ing beings to spiritual maturation. Pure and perfect enlight-
enment may be spoken of as being present and manifest in
the phenomenal sphere precisely as nonenlightenment when,
owing to the mind’s ignorance, the true nature of Suchness
is not fully perceived. In this sense, the state of non-
enlightenment has no true existence of its own; it can only
be considered in relation to perfect enlightenment, which,
as nonenlightenment, is obscured by ignorance. Thus, per-
fect enlightenment, which remains unchanged and unim-
peded at all times, is not really produced (it is ever present
within all things) but rather becomes manifested through
and within the defiled world that has evolved under the in-
fluence of ignorance. A full understanding of the Suchness
of all things depends on the degree of the mind’s purity and
the mind’s ability to perceive it. Ordinary people, over-
whelmed by defilements and hindrances, do not perceive the
nature and presence of Suchness. On the other hand, the
Tatha ̄gatas understand it perfectly.
All beings are innerly endowed with Suchness and with
all the innate impulses necessary to eradicate imperfections
and defilements and to pursue the path of moral activities.
From the moment that beings give rise to the thought of en-
lightenment (bodhicitta) until the moment they attain Bud-
dhahood they are protected and guided by the bodhisattvas
and tatha ̄gatas, who assume various manifestations in order
to guide them along the path. Suchness, although variously
described as the effulgence of wisdom, as true knowledge or
pure mind, as tranquil, pure, eternal, and immutable, never-
theless remains free of all distinctions and attributes precisely
because all things are of “a single taste,” a single reality unaf-
fected by any modes of particularization or dualism.
Sources of the tathata ̄ theory include such canonical
works as the Lan:ka ̄vata ̄ra, Sr ̄ıma ̄la ̄dev ̄ısim:hana ̄da, and
Tatha ̄gatagarbha Su ̄tras, and several other Maha ̄ya ̄na works
including the Dasheng qixin lun. The theory of tathata ̄, al-
though present within the writings of both the Ma ̄dhyamika
and (especially) Vijña ̄nava ̄da schools, has never been repre-
sented by a separate tradition. It has nonetheless exercised in-
fluence on philosophical and religious speculation and was
particularly and predominantly present in the latest phases
of Buddhist writings known as the Tantras.SEE ALSO A ̄laya-vijña ̄na; Nirva ̄n:a; Prajña ̄; Soteriology;
S ́u ̄nyam and S ́u ̄nyata ̄; Tatha ̄gata-garbha.BIBLIOGRAPHY
The authorship of the Dasheng qixin lun (Maha ̄ya ̄na ́sraddhotpa ̄da
S ́a ̄stra) is one of the most vexed questions in the textual his-
tory of Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhism. Although the work is tradi-
tionally attributed to A ́svaghos:a, the Indian Buddhist writer
and poet of the first or second century CE, many scholars
have doubted this attribution, and some believe the work to
be of Chinese origin. See especially Paul Demiéville’s “Sur
l’authenticité du Ta tch’eng k’i sin louen,” in Bulletin de la
Maison Franco-Japonaise 2 (1929): 1–79, and Walter Lieben-
thal’s “New Light on the Maha ̄ya ̄na-S ́raddhotpa ̄da S ́a ̄stra,”
T’oung pao 46 (1958): 155–216. Regardless of this question,
the text has exercised great influence on the development of
Buddhism in China and continues to be studied to this day
in Japan. Two translations of the work, which contains a full
and readily comprehensible exposition of tathata ̄, are D. T.
Suzuki’s A ́svaghos:a’s Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in
the Maha ̄ya ̄na (Chicago, 1900) and Yoshito S. Hakeda’s The
Awakening of Faith, Attributed to A ́svaghos:a (New York,
1967).
Two studies of the Ratnagotravibha ̄ga maha ̄yana-uttaratantra, an
important source for theories of tatha ̄gata-garbha and
tathata ̄, are Eugene Obermiller’s The Sublime Science of the
Great Vehicle to Salvation, Being a Manual of Buddhist Mo-
nism (Leiden, 1931) and Takasaki Jikido ̄’s A Study on the
Ratnagotravibha ̄ga (Uttaratantra) (Rome, 1966). A highly
technical discussion of these topics can be found in David
Seyfort Ruegg’s La théorie du tatha ̄gatagarbha et du gotra
(Paris, 1969). See also Alex and Hideko Wayman’s transla-
tion of the S ́r ̄ıma ̄la ̄ Su ̄tra, the Lion’s Roar of Queen S ́r ̄ıma ̄la ̄:
A Buddhist Scripture on the Tatha ̄gatagarbha Theory (New
York, 1974), which contains a concise doctrinal exposition
in the introduction.
New Sources
Jñanasribhadra, Ye shes dpal bzang po, et al. Sei nyuryogakyo chu.
Kyoto, 1993.
Sharf, R. H. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading
of the Treasure Store Treatise. Honolulu, 2002.
Sutton, F. G. Existence and Enlightenment in the Lankavatara-
Sutra: A Study in the Ontology and Epistemology of the Yoga-
cara School of Mahayana Buddhism. Albany, N.Y., 1991.
Suzuki, D. T. Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra. New York, 2000.
Tanabe, G. J. Religions of Japan in Practice. Princeton, 1999.
TADEUSZ SKORUPSKI (1987)
Revised Bibliography9020 TATHATA ̄