Bu ston rin chen grub

Bu ston rin chen grub on the DRL

Classical Tibetan Authors

བུ་སྟོན་རིན་ཆེན་གྲུབ་

Wylie	bu ston rin chen grub
English Phonetics	Butön Rinchen Drup
Sort Name	Butön Rinchen Drup

 

Line Drawing by Robert Beer Courtesy of The Robert Beer Online Galleries

Other names

• bu ston kha che
• bu ston thams cad mkhyen pa

Alternate names

• Buton Khache
• Butön Tamche Khyenpa
• Rinchen Drub

Dates

Birth:	1290
Death:	1364
Place of birth:	khro phu (gtsang)

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender	Male
Element	Iron
Animal	Tiger
Rab Jyung	5

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Religious Affiliation

Sakya

Primary Professional Affiliation

Zhalu Monastery (zhwa lu)

Other Professional Affiliation

Ripuk Hermitage (ri phug)

Teachers

Dka' bzhi pa grags pa gzhon nu

Students

sgra tshad pa rin chen rnam rgyal · phyogs las rnam rgyal · bcu gnyis gsar ma grags pa shes rab · gangs dkar bla ma rin chen bzang po · 'jam dbyangs grags pa rgyal mtshan · g.yung ston rdo rje dpal bzang po · g.yag sde paN chen · Byang chub rtse mo

Other Biographical info:

Links

BDRC Link

https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P155

Treasury of Lives Link

http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Buton-Rinchen-Drub/2845

Wiki Pages

• Bu ston rin chen grub on the DRL
• Bu ston rin chen grub on the LIB
• Bu ston rin chen grub on the RTZ
• Bu ston rin chen grub on the DNZ
• Bu ston rin chen grub on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Position:	Provisional
Notes:	*"Just as the Gelugpas, The Ornament That Illuminates and Beautifies the Tathāgata Heart, by Butön Rinchen Drub (1290–1364), holds the teachings on buddha nature to be of expedient meaning." Brunnhölzl, K., When the Clouds Part, p. 67. "Bu-ston explicitly takes the Buddha-nature doctrine to be provisional (neyārtha). Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 364
All beings have Buddha-nature
Position:	Qualified No
If "Qualified", explain:	Only Buddhas
Notes:	*"Taking the reverse position of the Gelugpas on this, both Butön and his student and commentator Dratsépa Rinchen Namgyal (1318–1388) identify the actual tathāgata heart as being solely the final fruition of buddhahood." Brunnhölzl, K., When the Clouds Part, p. 67. "Bu-ston and his disciple sGra-tshad-pa assert that Buddha-nature should be understood only in its resultant aspect, namely as only the dharmakāya of a buddha." Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 343.
Which Wheel Turning
Position:
Notes:
Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
Position:	Yogācāra
Notes:	In line with his assertion that these teachings are merely provisional he claims, "The general basis of intention of the teachings on buddha nature is the ālaya-consciousness, which refers to the sheer cause of buddhahood." Brunnhölzl, K., When the Clouds Part, p. 868.
Zhentong vs Rangtong
Position:	Rangtong
Notes:	Though he didn't explicitly equate his position with Rangtong, he was certainly a vocal opponent of Dölpopa and his Zhentong view.
Promotes how many vehicles?
Position:
Notes:
Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
Position:	Analytic Tradition
Notes:	Though he differed from Ngok on certain issues, he was more in line with his approach than that of Tsen Khawoche.
What is Buddha-nature?
Position:	Tathāgatagarbha as the Resultant State of Buddhahood
Notes:	Specifically, he sees buddha-nature as referring only to the dharmakāya of a fully enlightened buddha. "Taking the reverse position of the Gelugpas on this, both Butön and his student and commentator Dratsépa Rinchen Namgyal (1318–1388) identify the actual tathāgata heart as being solely the final fruition of buddhahood." Brunnhölzl, K., When the Clouds Part, p. 67. "Bu-ston and his disciple sGra-tshad-pa assert that Buddha-nature should be understood only in its resultant aspect, namely as only the dharmakāya of a buddha." Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 343.
Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
Position:
Notes:
Causal nature of the vajrapāda
Position:

The Sakya tradition developed in the eleventh century in the Khön family of Tsang, which maintained an imperial-era lineage of Vajrakīla and which adopted a new teaching from India known as Lamdre.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

A neutral base consciousness that is posited as the storehouse for the seeds of past karmic actions in which they remain in a latent state until the circumstances arise for them to ripen as karmic consequences.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.

Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab's "analytic tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.