When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra

A new translation of the primary Indian Buddhist text on buddha nature, with Tibetan commentaries explaining how this text can be used to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature.

Buddha nature (tathagatagarbha) is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. The book gives an overview of the sutra sources of the tathagatagarbha teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. In particular, it includes new translations of the Mahayanottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhaga), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagy3 tradition. Most important, the book investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the Mahayanottaratantra as a basis for Mahamudra instructions and the Shentong approach.