Chapter XIII of the Nirvana Sutra (Faxian) 

          Translated by Stephen Hodge

 This is a complete translation (the first ever undertaken in English) of the "Tathagatagarbha" chapter of Faxian's Mahaparinirvana Sutra, translated exclusively for this website by Stephen Hodge. Some scholars (e.g. Professor Shimoda of Japan) believe that the Faxian version of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra is the earliest extant version of the scripture that we possess. Some terms in the original Chinese text, however,  are obscure, and where there is uncertainty as to the correct translation, the relevant words have been underlined by Stephen Hodge.

Note that two kinds of self are spoken of in this chapter: the ephemeral mundane or worldly self (the skandhaic ego), and the True Self, which is the indwelling (within each being) totality of Buddha-Dharma-Sangha. I have capitalised "Self" where it refers to the True Self, for ease of reading.

(Please forgive the erratic font sizes. The website has a mind of its own and does not respond to my attempts at font regularisation!) - Dr. Tony Page.

                       THE TATHĀGATA-GARBHA

Again, the Bodhisattva Kāśyapa said to the Buddha, "Blessed One, the Tathāgata has a Self, but do the twenty-five modes of existence also have it or not ?"

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa, "The True Self is the Tathāgata-dhātu.  You should know that all beings do have it, but it is not apparent since those beings are enveloped by immeasurable afflictions [kleshas].   It is, for example, like a cache of precious treasure that exists within an impoverished dwelling though unknown [to anybody].   Then, somebody who is skilled in the characteristics of treasure said to the poor man, "Do some work for me and I'll give you wealth and treasure".   The poor man replied, "I can't come.   Why ? Because there is a cache of treasure within my old home and I can't abandon it".   The man said, "You are foolish, for you do not know the location of the treasure.   Work for me and I'll give you a precious treasure which you will be able to use without its ever becoming exhausted."   After he had said this, that person then removed the precious treasure from that house and gave it to him.   The poor man was delighted and amazed, knowing that that person was truly reliable.  All beings are also like that, for each one of them has the Tathāgata-dhātu, but they are unaware of that because it is enveloped and submerged beneath immeasurable afflictions.   The Tathāgata skilfully encourages them and reveals it, causing them to know that the Tathāgata-dhātu exists within their bodies and accept this with confidence.

"Moreover, noble son, it is like, for example, the new-born child of some woman which is small and sickly.   A doctor skilfully mixes a good medicine with ghee and sugar and administers it to the child.  He advises the mother that she should not give any milk to the child, to allow the child to digest the medicine, after which time she can give milk.   He also mixes some bitter herbs and smears it on her breasts.   When the child wanted to suckle milk, he tasted the bitter flavour and turned away [from her breast].   After the mother knew that the medicine had been digested, she washed her breasts and let the child drink milk from them.   In the same way, noble son, the Tathāgata first taught people to cultivate the notion that all phenomena are devoid of a self in order to encourage and train them.    When they have cultivated non-self, they eliminate the false view of the Self.   Having eliminated the false view of the Self, they enter nirvāṇa.   I have taught non-Self in order to eradicate the mundane / conventional self [i.e. the impermanent ego].   Subsequently, I teach the Tathāgata-dhātu with skilful words of implicit intent.  This is called the True Self, which is divorced from the mundane [self]."

The Bodhisattva Kāśyapa said to the Buddha, "Blessed One, when a person is first born, their knowledge is slight but, as they gradually grow up, their knowledge also becomes more perspicacious.  Yet if there were a self, it would remain the same.   Because their knowledge gradually increases, we know that there is no self.   Again, a self should not be subject to birth and death and yet there is birth and death, so one should know that there is no self.   If we suppose that all beings do have the Tathāgata-garbha, then there should be no differences between them, and yet there are presently apparent a variety of beings who have adopted dissimilar bodies due to various different kinds of karma, such as  elders, brahmins, kṣatriyas, eminent citizens, caṇḍalas and so forth.   If we suppose that beings have the Tathāgata-dhātu, they should all be identical and yet they are not currently the same.   Therefore, we know that they do not have the Tathāgata-dhātu.  If again it were true that they have the Tathāgata-dhātu, then they would not engage in various kinds of unwholesome actions such as killing and stealing.    If we allow that beings have the Tathāgata-dhātu, then the deaf would hear, the blind would see and the dumb would speak.   If we suppose that each being has the Tathāgata-dhātu, then where is it located ?   Is it mingled with the body, in different colours such as blue, yellow, red or white ?   Is it located in one single place or does it pervade the entire body ?"

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa, "It is, for example, like this:  a certain king has a great wrestler who has fixed to the top of his head a precious jewel which can purge all infections.   He had a bout with someone from a rival country which caused the jewel he was wearing to be forced into his body.   Blood, flesh and skin covered it over and the jewel seemed to have disappeared.   Though the wrestler searched for it, he could not find it and thought that he had lost it.   Now, there was a skilled doctor who had come to treat the injury.   Consequently, the wrestler said to the doctor, 'I had a jewel, but I seem to have lost it.  I have searched in various places for it, but I don't know where it is.   You should know that a precious jewel is an impermanent thing, just like froth on water – quick to arise and quick to perish, elusive like a phantom.'   In that manner, he thought he had lost his jewel forever.   The doctor replied, 'The jewel is not lost – don't think that you have lost it !    When you were fighting, the jewel entered into your body.   It is not visible because it is concealed by your blood, flesh and skin.'   The wrestler did not believe the doctor and said to him, 'Whereabouts is the jewel in my blood and flesh ?   You are just speaking empty words !'   Then the skilled doctor extracted the jewel. Having got his jewel, the wrestler then believed the good doctor and was amazed at his knowledge.

"All beings are also like this.  Each one of them has the Tathāgata-dhātu but, through having recourse to evil acquaintances, they give rise to attachment, hatred and stupidity and fall into the three miserable states and so forth, adopting various kinds of bodies throughout the twenty-five modes of existence.   The precious jewel that is the Tathāgata-dhātu is buried within the wound of the afflictions of attachment, hatred and stupidity, so that they are unaware of its presence there.   Engaging in the notion that there is no Self with regard to the mundane / conventional self, they do not understand the skilful words of implicational import of the Tathāgata, who is like a good doctor.   They have the notion that there is no Self, and are unable to know the True Self.   Regarding this, the Tathāgata again utilizes skilful means:  he causes them to extinguish the raging fires of the countless afflictions, revealing and elucidating the Tathāgata-dhātu to them.

"Moreover, noble son, it is, for example, like this:  there is a very sweet medicinal herb in the Himālayas called 'superior taste', which remains hidden and invisible as long as there is no universal emperor in the world.  Sick people went to the location of the medicine and, digging into the ground, they buried pipes to draw off the medicinal sap.   They obtained sap with a sweet taste, a bitter taste, a pungent taste, a sour taste, a salty taste or an astringent taste.  Though the sick people got these various tastes, they were unable to get the medicine with the true superior taste, because they did not dig the ground deeply enough and because their merits were slight.   Due to the power of a universal emperor's merit, he is able to obtain the medicine with the true superior taste when he appears in the world.   Similarly, noble son, the Tathāgata-dhātu is hidden by a multitude of different tastes, the countless afflictions [arising from] stupidity.  Hence, beings are unable to obtain the superior taste of the Tathāgata-dhātu, and, engaging in various kinds of actions, they come to be born in different places.  

"The Tathāgata-dhātu cannot be killed.   Those who die are said to be short-lived, while the Tathāgata-dhātu is said to be true life.   It cannot be severed or destroyed right up to the attainment of buddhahood.   The Tathāgata-dhātu can neither be harmed nor killed but only nurtures the person, while those who can be harmed or killed, like those sick people, engage in a mass of perverse actions and encounter various kinds of fruitional recompense as kṣatriyas,  brahmins and so forth, being born and dying in the twenty-five modes of existence, because they cannot obtain the true Tathāgata-dhātu.

"Furthermore, noble son, it is like a person who digs the earth searching for diamonds.  Holding a sharp pick-axe in his hands, he digs into the ground and rocks, able to pulverise them all.   Diamonds alone he cannot shatter.  The Tathāgata-garbha is like this, for it cannot be harmed by the sharp weapons of the gods and demons.   It only nurtures the person and anything that can be harmed or damaged is not the Tathāgata-dhātu.  Hence, you should know that the Tathāgata-dhātu cannot be harmed or killed.   This means that the extensive sūtras, the Tathāgata's definitive teachings, are both elixir and poison."

The Bodhisattva Kāśyapa said to the Buddha, "Blessed one, in what sense are the definitive teachings both elixir and poison ?"

The Buddha replied, "Noble son, listen now for I shall explain this to you", and then he uttered a verse:

"One person consumes nectar and achieves long life.

another person takes nectar and soon dies, his life damaged.

Because of drinking it, death is poisoned,

or else because of drinking it, life is poisoned.

"Nectar is the unimpeded Mahāyāna awareness [jnana], while the poison is also the unimpeded Mahāyāna awareness.   It is like ghee, sesame oil or sugar – when eaten but not digested they are said to be poisons, but when eaten and digested they are said to be nectar.   Ignorant people do not understand the extensive secret teaching of Mahāyāna, so for them it is said to be poison.   For śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas who dwell in the Mahāyāna Dharma and for bodhisattvas, heroes among people, it is said to be nectar.   This is like, for example, cows – although their colours may be different, their milk has the same taste.   Similarly, Kāśyapa, you should know that the Tathāgata-dhātu is the refuge of bodhisattvas who have attained fearlessness.  Their dhātu and my dhātu are completely identical in taste."

Regarding this, the Bodhisattva Kāśyapa spoke this verse:

"I take refuge now in the three Jewels,

[that are] the profound Tathāgata-dhātu.

The Tathāgata-garbha within my body

is these three: the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha.

Such a refuge as this is called the highest refuge".

Then again the Blessed One uttered these verses for Kāśyapa:

"How can it be said that refuge is known

to those who do not know the three Jewels ?

If going to the Buddha for refuge

is deemed to be the most auspicious,

then again for what reason

do they also go to Dharma for refuge ?

Going to the Dharma for refuge

is just an idea in one's mind.

Moreover, for what reason

do they go to the Saṅgha for refuge ?

How can those without faith in the Buddha

as refuge, the definitively real and true,

gain any knowledge at all

of the tathāgata-dhātu of the Three Jewels ?

Why do those who do not understand its meaning

give rise to the confused notion that

the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṅgha,

are a stairway of the Three Jewels ?

This is like a somebody who is not pregnant

having the notion that they will give birth to a child !

Those who think like that

only increase their confusion.

Like somebody who xxx an echo,

they are far from being true upāsakas.

You should strive to find with skilful means

the definitive meaning of the Mahāyāna !

Teachings concordant with the Tathāgata

will cause you to eliminate your doubts."

          The Bodhisattva Kāśyapa then spoke these verses:

"Those who go to the Buddha for refuge,

adopting the upāsaka dharma,

will not consider going for refuge

to any of the various gods.

Those who go to the Dharma for refuge,

adopting the upāsaka dharma,

will not act with pernicious teachings (dharma)

nor will they engage in improper rituals.

Those who go to the Saṅgha for refuge,

adopting the upāsaka dharma,

will not seek out deserving recipients [of alms]

amidst the followers of false paths.

Therefore, I go to the Three Jewels as refuge

and shun the three mundane non-dharmas.

These three objects of refuge

were also taught by the Tathāgata,

I relied upon these objects in the past

and now have attained a place of security:

You too should also go to them

for refuge and attain what I have.

You too who travel along

this path of sameness

will swiftly eliminate the mass of sufferings

and the confusions of the cycle of life and death.

As for the tathāgata-dhātu,

in accordance with what the Tathāgata teaches,

I, together with other beings,

am identical to this tathāgata-dhātu.

Even including the Māras,

we shall all rely upon this,

the path followed by the Buddhas,

and be endowed with this ambrosia,

going for refuge as do the Buddhas,

eschewing the existent Muni."

Then the Bhagavat spoke these additional verses to Kāśyapa:

"Do not be like the Śrāvakas,

with their immature understanding:

know that there is only one refuge and not three.

Though the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha

are identical in this path of sameness,

I established these three objects

in order to extinguish false views.

If you now want to comport yourself:

in conformity with mundane people,

then you should go to the Three Jewels for refuge

in accordance with this teaching:

'If somebody goes to the Buddha for refuge,

then let them take refuge in me !

If somebody goes to perfect Awakening for refuge,

I have already achieved perfect Awakening.

Those who separate the refuges

are confused about the tathāgata-dhātu:

they should have an attitude of sameness

as regards the Tathāgata.

If they join their hands in obeisance [to me],

they then venerate all Buddhas;

I am the most real refuge for other beings,

because I am already endowed with

the pure and wondrous Dharmakāya.

If they venerate a caitya,

they should venerate me,

for I am the most real caitya for other beings.

I am also the true caitya,

therefore they should venerate me.

If they go to the Dharma for refuge,

they should take refuge in me,

because I am already endowed with

the pure and wondrous Dharmakāya

and I am the most real Dharma for other beings.

If they go to the Saṅgha for refuge,

they should take refuge in me.

All other beings are all

included within the Buddha's Saṅgha.

I am the fully awakened Saṅgha for other beings,

I shall generate the eye of the path

for those beings who lack vision.

Hence, the community of the Śrāvakas

and Saṅgha of the Pratyekabuddhas

should go for refuge to the most real

Saṅgha of the Tathāgata, which includes them all.' "

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa, "Thus noble son, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva should think, 'Even though I might have an accumulation of unwholesomeness and ignorance, I should remember that I have the buddha-dhātu', just as a heroic warrior at the time of battle knows that he is the leader of the army and acts as the bulwark of all the ranks.  For example, when a prince is made crown-prince, he knows that he is superior to all the other princes and that he will act as a real refuge for the princes when he is made king.   No ignoble notions arise in his mind.  Noble son, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas are also like this.  They generate adamantine determination and transcend those three objects, becoming fearless like that prince.  They are divorced from notions of diversity concerning the three objects, for the Tathāgata is foremost, just as the crown of the head is uppermost.  XXXX division in separate things, like a stairway.  In order to train people in the world by providing them with a mundane refuge, they teach separate aspects with regard to the real object, and utilize the three objects in order to convert immature ignorant people and cause them to penetrate the profoundly acute insight of the Mahāyāna."

The Bodhisattva Kāśyapa uttered these verses:</p>

"Though I understand the true significance of this,

I asked the Tathāgata about it

because I want to explain [to others]

the unsullied valour of a bodhisattva.

It is excellent that the Bhagavat has explained

the practice of a bodhisattva,

the profoundly acute Mahāyāna wisdom,

the insight which is like a cut diamond.

It is excellent that the Bhagavat has explained

how bodhisattvas are to be established,

for now I shall also [impart to others]

what the Tathāgata has fully revealed.

All the different kinds of beings

should all examine themselves:

they themselves are the tathāgata-dhātu,

all of them are the three refuges.

All the different kinds of beings

who have faith and uphold this sūtra,

whether they have already eliminated the afflictions

or have not yet distanced themselves from desires,

they should all take refuge in the tathāgata-garbha

which inheres within themselves:

this alone is the authentic taking of refuge,

without a second or a third [object].

What is the reason for that ?

Because the Bhagavat has explained

that the subtle tathāgata-garbha

is present in each individual.

Because they know the significance of this,

they do not take refuge in the three [objects];

they have become the true refuge for the entire world,

for they encompass in their totality

the Dharma and the Community of monks.

The Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas

will all venerate them.

Thus the tathāgata-dhātu is inconceivable,

because it is also endowed with

the thirty-two major and eighty minor attributes.”

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa, "Excellent, excellent, noble son !  These bodhisattvas should thus train themselves in the extremely profound and incisive insight.  Furthermore, noble son, I shall explain to you how one is to approach / enter the tathāgata-garbha".

Then he uttered these verses:If there were an enduring  self,

then there would be no experience of pain;

whereas if there were no Self,

the cultivation of the holy life would be in vain.

All phenomena are devoid of a Self:

this is called an annihilationist teaching;

to say that there is an enduring self:

this is a doctrine that posits eternality.

All phenomena are impermanent:

this is an annihilationist doctrine;

all phenomena are permanent:

this is an eternalist doctrine.

All phenomena involve suffering:

this is an annihilationist doctrine;

all phenomena are pleasurable:

this is a doctrine that posits eternality.

To cultivate the notion that everything is permanent:

this swiftly results in an annihilationist doctrine;

To cultivate the notion that everything is impermanent:

this swiftly results in an eternalist doctrine.

As for example a leech / caterpillar,

which reaches one place and soon focuses on the next,

those who thus cultivate the notion of permanence

will swiftly become annihilationists,

while those who cultivate the notion of extinction

will swiftly get the notion of permanence:

as with the example I have taught,

they achieve one and then seek another.

On the one hand, the cultivation of suffering

is predicated with regard to the unwholesome;

on the other hand, the cultivation of happiness

is predicated with regard to the wholesome.

On the one hand, the cultivation of no self

concerns the immeasurable afflictions;

on the other hand, the cultivation of one that endures

concerns the buddha-dhātu and nirvāṇa.

</l>
<lb n="0885c17"/>On the one hand, the cultivation of impermanence

concerns the ephemeral body;