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59-669: The temple's name originates from the Sanskrit words Guhya (secret or hidden) and Ishwari (goddess). In Lalitha Sahasranama the 707th name of the Goddess is mentioned as "Guhyarupini" (Lalita Sahasranama 137th verse: Sarasvati shastramayi, Guhaamba guhyaruupini). Only clan from Newa community , perform daily rituals or nitya puja of Guhyeshwari Temple. Daily rituals of Guhyeshwari are performed by tantric priest Karmacharya(in sanskrit and Achaju in Nepal Bhasa [Newa Bhyah]). In

118-508: A short version in twenty-two chapters, an intermediate version (forty-six chapters) and a long version (eighty two chapters). These texts describe a mandala of forty-two peaceful deities and fifty-eight fierce deities. According to John Powers, its central teaching "holds that all things manifest spontaneously ( thams cad rang snang ), and mind and primordial wisdom also manifest spontaneously ( sems dang ye shes rang snang )." The Secret Womb texts discuss numerous tantric Buddhist topics, such as

177-598: A statue of the Victorious One in a tattered rag, a ruler of humankind in a destitute woman's womb, and a precious image under clay, this [buddha] element abides within all sentient beings, obscured by the defilement of the adventitious poisons. Another important and early source for buddha-nature is the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra ( often just called the Nirvana Sutra), possibly dating to

236-588: A stone base which covers an underground natural water spring, from which water oozes out from the edges of the base. The temple stands at the centre of a courtyard and is topped with four gilded nagas that support the finial roof. This temple is revered by Tantric practitioners, and Tantric rites are performed in this temple. The Vishwasorup of goddess Guhyeshwari shows her as a many and different coloured headed goddess with innumerable hands. The temple gets very crowded during Navaratri and Jatra. Vajrayana Buddhists consider Guhyeshwari to be sacred to Vajrayogini in

295-540: A wide range of (sometimes conflicting) meanings in Indian Buddhism and later in East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist literature. Broadly speaking, it refers to the belief that the luminous mind , "the natural and true state of the mind ", which is pure ( visuddhi ) mind undefiled by afflictions , is inherently present in every sentient being , and is eternal and unchanging. It will shine forth when it

354-481: Is tathata , suchness, the true nature of things), and "the aspect of nonenlightenment" ( samsara , the cycle of birth and death, defilement and ignorance). This text was in line with an essay by Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (reign 502–549 CE), in which he postulated a pure essence, the enlightened mind, trapped in darkness, which is ignorance. By this ignorance the pure mind is trapped in samsara. This resembles

413-552: Is a nonimplicative negation , (2) the luminous nature of the mind , (3) alaya-vijñana (store-consciousness), (4) all bodhisattvas and sentient beings. The term tathagatagarbha first appears in the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras , which date to the 2nd and third centuries CE. It is translated and interpreted in various ways by western translators and scholars: The term "buddha-nature" ( traditional Chinese : 佛性 ; ; pinyin : fóxìng , Japanese : busshō )

472-643: Is also often called The Tantra of the Web of Magical Illusion (Tib. Gyutrül Drawa Gyü , Wyl. sgyu 'phrul drva ba rgyud ). The Nyingma school holds that Garab Dorje received the empowerment and transmission of the Mahayoga teachings of the Guhyagarbha from the indian Mahasiddha Kukuraja . The Secret Womb actually refers to a collection of nineteen texts in the Tibetan canon. The main works include

531-575: Is cleansed of the defilements, that is, when the nature of mind is recognized for what it is. The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (2nd century CE), which was very influential in the Chinese reception of these teachings , linked the concept of tathāgatagārbha with the buddhadhātu . The term buddhadhātu originally referred to the relics of Gautama Buddha . In the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra , it came to be used in place of

590-516: Is closely related in meaning to the term tathāgatagarbha , but is not an exact translation of this term. It refers to what is essential in the human being. The corresponding Sanskrit term is buddhadhātu . It has two meanings, namely the nature of the Buddha, equivalent to the term dharmakāya , and the cause of the Buddha. The link between the cause and the result is the nature ( dhātu , see also Svabhava , Mahābhūta , and Eighteen dhātus ) which

649-471: Is common to both, namely the dharmadhātu. Matsumoto Shirō also points out that "buddha-nature" translates the Sanskrit-term buddhadhātu, a "place to put something," a "foundation," a "locus." According to Shirō, it does not mean "original nature" or "essence," nor does it mean the "possibility of the attainment of Buddhahood," "the original nature of the Buddha," or "the essence of the Buddha." In

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708-413: Is covered over by afflictions. The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra uses nine similes to illustrate the concept: This [tathāgatagarbha] abides within the shroud of the afflictions, as should be understood through [the following nine] examples: Just like a buddha in a decaying lotus, honey amidst bees, a grain in its husk, gold in filth, a treasure underground, a shoot and so on sprouting from a little fruit,

767-442: Is itself enfolded, hidden or contained by another." The Tibetan translation is de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po , which cannot be translated as "womb" ( mngal or lhums ), but as "embryonic essence", "kernel" or "heart". The term "heart" was also used by Mongolian translators. The Tibetan scholar Go Lotsawa outlined four meanings of the term Tathāgatagarbha as used by Indian Buddhist scholars generally: (1) As an emptiness that

826-472: Is regarded to be the seed from which Buddhahood grows. Wayman thus argues that the pure luminous mind doctrine formed the basis for the classic buddha-nature doctrine. Karl Brunnholzl writes that the first probable mention of the term tathāgatagarbha is in the Ekottarika Agama (though here it is used in a different way than in later texts). The passage states: If someone devotes himself to

885-528: Is the capacity to appear (pratibhāsa). The Yogācāra concept of the alaya-vijñana (store consciousness) also came to be associated by some scholars with the tathāgatagarbha. This can be seen in sutras like the Lankavatara , the Srimaladevi and in the translations of Paramartha . The concept of the ālaya-vijñāna originally meant defiled consciousness: defiled by the workings of the five senses and

944-430: Is the common English translation for several related Mahāyāna Buddhist terms, most notably tathāgatagarbha and buddhadhātu , but also sugatagarbha, and buddhagarbha . Tathāgatagarbha can mean "the womb" or "embryo" ( garbha ) of the "thus-gone one" ( tathāgata ), and can also mean "containing a tathāgata " . Buddhadhātu can mean "buddha-element", "buddha-realm", or "buddha-substrate". Buddha-nature has

1003-477: Is their simple absence of inherent existence, their emptiness. Thus the tathagatagarbha becomes emptiness itself, but specifically emptiness when applied to the mental continuum. Uniquely among Madhyamaka texts, some texts attributed to Nagarjuna , mainly poetic works like the Dharmadhatustava , Cittavajrastava , and Bodhicittavivarana, associate the term tathāgatagarbha with the luminous nature of

1062-572: Is traditionally attributed to the Indian Aśvaghoṣa , no Sanskrit version of the text is extant. The earliest known versions are written in Chinese, and contemporary scholars believe that the text is a Chinese composition. The Awakening of Faith offers an ontological synthesis of buddha-nature and Yogacara thought from the perspective of "essence-function" philosophy. It describes the "One Mind" which "includes in itself all states of being of

1121-471: The Lankavatara sutra , that "the statement of the emptiness of sentient beings being a buddha adorned with all major and minor marks is of expedient meaning". Kamalasila 's (c. 740–795) Madhyamakaloka associates tathāgatagarbha with luminosity and luminosity with emptiness . According to Kamalasila the idea that all sentient beings have tathāgatagarbha means that all beings can attain full awakening and also refers to how "the term tathāgata expresses that

1180-552: The Lotus Sutra details that the potential to become enlightened is universal among all people, even the historical Devadatta has the potential to become a buddha. East Asian commentaries saw these teachings as indicating that the Lotus sutra was also drawing on the concept of the universality of buddha-nature. The sutra shares other themes and ideas with the later tathāgatagarbha sūtras and thus several scholars theorize that it

1239-537: The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra some Chinese Buddhists supposed that the teaching of the buddha-nature was, as stated by that sutra, the final Buddhist teaching, and that there is an essential truth above emptiness and the two truths . This idea was often interpreted as being similar to the ideas of the Dao , non-being ( wu ), and Principle (Li) in Chinese philosophy and developed into what

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1298-517: The Ratnagotravibhāga , all sentient beings have "the embryo of the Tathagata" in three senses: The Ratnagotravibhāga equates enlightenment with the nirvāṇa-realm and the dharmakāya . It gives a variety of synonyms for garbha , the most frequently used being gotra and dhatu . This text also explains the tathāgatagarbha in terms of luminous mind , stating that "the luminous nature of

1357-600: The Sanskrit alphabet , Guhyeshwari represent I letter. Guhyeshwari Temple marks the spot where Sati's rectum or anal part is said to have fallen. Each Shakti Peeth is dedicated to a Shakti and a Kalabhairava . In Guhyeshwari Temple, the Shakti is Guhyekali and the Bhairava is Kapali. The goddess is worshiped at the centre of the temple in a kalasha that is covered with a layer of silver and gold. The kalasha rests on

1416-561: The Vajrayana , the term for buddha-nature is sugatagarbha . According to Alex Wayman , the idea of the tathāgatagarbha is grounded on sayings by the Buddha that there is something called the luminous mind ( prabhasvaracitta ), "which is only adventitiously covered over by defilements ( agantuka klesha )." The luminous mind is mentioned in a passage from the Anguttara Nikaya (which has various parallels) which states that

1475-670: The interpenetration of all dharmas (in East Asian traditions like Huayan ). The belief in Buddha-nature is central to East Asian Buddhism , which relies on key Buddha-nature sources like the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra . In Tibetan Buddhism , the concept of Buddha-nature is equally important and often studied through the key Indian treatise on Buddha-nature, the Ratnagotravibhāga (3rd–5th century CE). The term tathāgatagarbha may mean "embryonic tathāgata", "womb of

1534-524: The tathāgatagarba and the idea of the defilement of the luminous mind. In a similar fashion to the Awakening of Faith , the Korean Vajrasamādhi Sūtra (685 CE) uses the doctrine of Essence-Function to explain the tathāgatagarbha (also called "the dharma of the one mind" and original enlightenment ) as having two elements: one essential, immutable, changeless and still (the "essence");

1593-506: The 2nd century CE. Some scholars like Michael Radich argue that this is the earliest buddha-nature sutra. This sutra was very influential in the development of East Asian Buddhism . The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra linked the concept of tathāgatagarbha with the "buddhadhātu" ("buddha-nature" or "buddha-element") and it also equates these with the eternal and pure Buddha-body, the Dharmakaya, also called vajrakaya . The sutra also presents

1652-409: The Buddha ( buddhajñāna )," is seen by some scholars as complementary to the tathāgatagarbha concept. The Lotus Sutra , written between 100 BCE and 200 CE, also does not use the term tathāgatagarbha , but Japanese scholars suggest that a similar idea is nevertheless expressed or implied in the text. The tenth chapter emphasizes that all living beings can become a Buddha. The twelfth chapter of

1711-475: The Dead ( Bardo Thodol ) is one such zhi-khro text. Buddha Nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology , Buddha-nature ( Chinese : fóxìng 佛性 , Japanese : busshō , Sanskrit : buddhatā, buddha-svabhāva ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within themselves. "Buddha-nature"

1770-474: The Dharmakāya (ultimate reality). This doctrine was also later to be synthesized with buddha-nature teachings by various sources (with buddha-nature generally referring to the Dharmakaya as it does in some sutras). The Yogācāra school also had a doctrine of "gotra" (lineage, family) which held that there were five categories of living beings each with their own inner nature. To make this teaching compatible with

1829-478: The Ekottarikagama, Then he has the tathagatagarbha . Even if his body cannot exhaust defilements in this life, In his next life he will attain supreme wisdom. This tathāgatagarbha idea was the result of an interplay between various strands of Buddhist thought, on the nature of human consciousness and the means of awakening. Gregory sees this doctrine as implying that enlightenment is the natural state of

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1888-665: The Guhyagarbha Tantra in the eighth century - which briefly mentions the sugata-garbha specifically - during the first dissemination or transmission period (Wylie: bstan pa snga dar) of tantra literature into the Himalaya. Its full title is the Glorious Web of Magical Illusion, The Secret Essence Definitive Nature Just As It Is (Tib. Pal Gyutrül Drawa Sangwé Nyingpo De Kona Nyid Ngé Pa , Wyl. dpal sgyu 'phrul drva ba gsang ba'i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa ). It

1947-655: The Secret Essence" or the "Secret Womb Tantra") is the most important Buddhist tantra of the Mahayoga class and the primary tantric text studied in the Nyingma tradition. It is the main Nyingma source for understanding empowerment, samaya , mantras , mandalas and other Vajrayana topics, and has influenced the Dzogchen tradition. The Nyingma scholar Longchenpa sees it as "the highest summit of all vehicles,

2006-577: The appearances of lucidity ( prakāśa -rupa). Likewise, the Vikramashila scholar Ratnākaraśānti describes buddha-nature as the natural luminous mind, which is a non-dual self-awareness. Brunnholzl also notes that for Ratnākaraśānti, this luminosity is equivalent to the Yogacara concept of the perfected nature, which he sees as an implicative negation. Ratnākaraśānti also describes this ultimate self-nature as radiance ( prakāśa , ‘shining forth’), which

2065-510: The buddha-nature or tathagatagarbha as a "Self" or a true self ( ātman ), though it also attempts to argue that this claim is not incompatible with the teaching of not-self (anatman). The Nirvana sutra further claims that buddha-nature (and the Buddha's body, his Dharmakaya) is characterized by four perfections (pāramitās) or qualities: permanence ( nitya ), bliss ( sukha ), self ( ātman ), and purity ( śuddha). Other important tathāgatagarbha sutras include: The tathāgatagarbha doctrine

2124-481: The concept of tathāgatagārbha , reshaping the worship of physical relics of the historical Buddha into worship of the inner Buddha as a principle of salvation . The primordial or undefiled mind, the tathāgatagārbha , is also often equated with the Buddhist philosophical concept of emptiness ( śūnyatā , a Mādhyamaka concept); with the storehouse-consciousness ( ālāyavijñāna , a Yogācāra concept); and with

2183-616: The creation of mandalas, the practice of controlling the winds and drops within energy channels, the purification of the five aggregates, and the qualities and activities of the Buddhas. Nyingma interpreters generally see the Secret Womb Tantra as a guide to the Buddhist practice of Mahayoga, also termed deity yoga , a tantric method of realizing the true nature of reality and attaining Buddhahood. This method mainly relies on

2242-561: The development of East Asian Buddhism . The buddha-nature idea was introduced into China with the translation of the Nirvana Sutra in the early fifth century and this text became the central source of buddha-nature doctrine in Chinese Buddhism . When Buddhism was introduced to China , it was initially understood through comparing it with native Chinese philosophies such as neo-daoism. Based on their understanding of

2301-513: The dharmadhātu, which is characterized by personal and phenomenal identitylessness, is natural luminosity." Paul Williams puts forward the Madhyamaka interpretation of the buddha-nature as emptiness in the following terms: … if one is a Madhyamika then that which enables sentient beings to become buddhas must be the very factor that enables the minds of sentient beings to change into the minds of Buddhas. That which enables things to change

2360-716: The form of Vajravarahi and to be the location of root of the mythical lotus upon which Swayambhunath stupa rests, which is also the umbilical cord that nurtures Kathmandu. In Tibetan language, the place is called Pag-mo Ngal-chu ( Varahi 's womb fluid). The water which flows from the spring in the well of the temple is believed to be vaginal discharge, likely amniotic fluid, or waters of Vajravarahi . Guhyagarbha tantra New branches: Tantric techniques : Fourfold division: Twofold division: Thought forms and visualisation: Yoga : The Guhyagarbha Tantra (Skt.; Tib. རྒྱུད་གསང་བ་སྙིང་པོ་, Gyü Sangwé Nyingpo ; Wyl. rgyud gsang ba'i snying po , "The Tantra of

2419-591: The imagination to create a Buddha image in one's mind during a tantric ritual and then to merge this Buddha with oneself. According to Gyurme Dorje : "The iconography and symbolism of the hundred peaceful and wrathful deities presented in the Guhyagarbha Tantra subsequently gave rise to a whole genre of literature in Tibet known as the Cycles of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities ( zhi-khro )." The Tibetan Book of

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2478-521: The inherent, dynamic process towards its complete manifestation". Mundane and enlightened reality are seen as complementary: Thusness [ tathata ] defiled is the Tathagatagarbha, and Thusness undefiled is Enlightenment. In the Ratnagotravibhāga , the tathāgatagarbha is seen as having three specific characteristics: (1) dharmakaya , (2) suchness , and (3) disposition, as well as the general characteristic (4) non- conceptuality . According to

2537-426: The mind . According to Brunnholzl, "all early Indian Yogācāra masters (such as Asanga , Vasubandhu , Sthiramati , and Asvabhava), if they refer to the term tathāgatagarbha at all, always explain it as nothing but suchness in the sense of twofold identitylessness". Some later Yogacara scholars spoke of the tathāgatagarbha in more positive terms, such as Jñanasrimitra who in his Sakarasiddhi equates it with

2596-580: The mind . It was also seen as the mūla-vijñāna, the base-consciousness or "stream of consciousness" ( Mindstream ) from which awareness and perception spring. Around 300 CE, the Yogācāra school systematized the prevalent ideas on the nature of the Buddha in the Trikaya (triple body) doctrine, in which the Buddha is held to have three bodies: Nirmanakaya (transformation body which people see on earth), Sambhogakāya (a subtle body which appears to bodhisattvas) and

2655-460: The mind Is unchanging, just like space." Takasaki Jikido notes various buddha nature treatises which exist only in Chinese and which are similar in some ways to the Ratnagotra . These works are unknown in other textual traditions and scholars disagree on whether they are translations, original compositions or a mixture of the two. These works are: Indian Madhyamaka philosophers interpreted

2714-417: The mind is luminous but "is defiled by incoming defilements." The Mahāsāṃghika school coupled this idea with the idea of the "root consciousness" ( mulavijñana ) which serves as the basic layer of the mind and which is held to have a self-nature ( cittasvabhāva ) which is pure ( visuddhi ) and undefiled. In some of the tathagatagarbha-sutras a consciousness which is naturally pure ( prakṛti-pariśuddha )

2773-466: The mind. According to Wayman, the teachings of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (1st–3rd century CE), which say that the Buddha's knowledge is all pervasive and is present in all sentient beings were also an important step in the development of buddha-nature thought. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra does not mention the term tathāgatagarbha , but the idea of "a universal penetration of sentient beings by the wisdom of

2832-449: The nature of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. What is emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness is the Tathagata." According to Candrakirti 's Madhyamakāvatārabhāsya the storehouse consciousness "is nothing but emptiness that is taught through the term 'alaya-consciousness.'" Go Lotsawa states that this statement is referencing the tathāgatagarbha doctrine. Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatārabhāsya also argues, basing itself on

2891-497: The notion of buddha-nature in all beings, Yogācāra scholars in China such as Tz'u-en (慈恩, 632–682) the first patriarch in China, advocated two types of nature: the latent nature found in all beings (理佛性) and the buddha-nature in practice (行佛性). The latter nature was determined by the innate seeds in the alaya. The doctrines associated with buddha-nature (Chinese: fóxìng ) and tathāgatagarbha ( rúláizàng ) were extremely influential in

2950-454: The phenomenal and transcendental world. The Awakening of Faith tries to harmonize the ideas of the tathāgatagarbha and the storehouse consciousness (ālāyavijñāna) into a single theory which sees self, world, mind and ultimate realty as an integrated "one mind", which is the ultimate substratum of all things (including samsara and nirvana). In the Awakening of Faith the "one mind" has two aspects, namely "the aspect of enlightenment," (which

3009-470: The source of all verbal transmissions, the great great shortcut of the vehicle of all Buddhas of the three times, the most secret." Morten Ostensen (2019) tenders that the concept of the ' buddha-nature ' - specifically as 'sugata-garbha' (Wylie: bde gshegs snying po) - may first have entered the discourse of Tibet and the wider Himalaya through the translation of the Indian Sanskrit manuscript of

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3068-407: The special rituals and occasion, Karmacharya do tantric rituals. The story of Daksha yagya and Sati 's self immolation had immense significance in shaping ancient Sanskrit literature and even had impact on the culture of Nepal. It led to the development of the concept of Shakti Peethas , thereby strengthening Shaktism . When Shiva was insulted by his father in law Daksha , his wife Sati Devi

3127-471: The tathāgata", or "containing a tathagata". Various meanings may all be brought into mind when the term tathagatagarbha is being used. The Sanskrit term tathāgatagarbha is a compound of two terms, tathāgata and garbha : The Chinese translated the term tathāgatagarbha as rúláizàng (如来藏), or "Tathāgata's ( rúlái ) storehouse" ( zàng ). According to Brown, "storehouse" may indicate both "that which enfolds or contains something", or "that which

3186-678: The tathāgatagārbha theory. It gives an overview of key themes found in many tathāgatagarbha sutras, and it cites the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra , the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra , Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra , the Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra , the Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa and the Mahābherīharaka-sūtra . The Ratnagotravibhāga presents the tathāgatagarbha as "an ultimate, unconditional reality that is simultaneously

3245-429: The theory as a description of emptiness and as a non implicative negation. Bhaviveka 's Tarkajvala states: [The expression] "possessing the tathagata heart" is [used] because emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, and so on, exist in the mind streams of all sentient beings. However, it is not something like a permanent and all-pervasive person that is the inner agent. For we find [passages] such as "All phenomena have

3304-551: Was also widely discussed by Indian Mahayana scholars in treatises or commentaries, called śāstra , the most influential of which was the Ratnagotravibhāga (5th century CE). The Ratnagotravibhāga ( Investigating the Jewel Disposition ) , also called Uttaratantraśāstra ( Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum ), is a 5th century CE Indian treatise ( śāstra ) which synthesised major elements and themes of

3363-491: Was an influence on these texts. According to Zimmerman, the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra (200–250 CE) is the earliest buddha-nature text. Zimmerman argues that "the term tathāgatagarbha itself seems to have been coined in this very sutra." The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra states that all beings already have perfect Buddha body ( *tathāgatatva, *buddhatva, *tathāgatakāya ) within themselves, but do not recognize it because it

3422-460: Was called " essence-function " thought (體用, pinyin: tǐ yòng ) which held there were two main ontological levels to reality, the most foundational being the buddha-nature, the "essence" of all phenomena (which in turn were the "functions" of buddha-nature). The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana ( Dàshéng Qǐxìn Lùn ) was very influential in the development of Chinese Buddhism While the text

3481-461: Was so angry that she jumped into the flames of the yagya . Shiva was grief-stricken and picked up her corpse and began to wander about, as her body parts fell to the earth. There are 51 Shakti Peethas which are believed to be enshrined with the presence of Shakti due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered throughout Aryavartha in sorrow. The 51 Shakti Peethas also correspond to 51 letters of

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