Jñānagarbha

Jñānagarbha on the DRL

Classical Indian Authors

Wylie	rgya gar gyi mkhan po dznyA na garbha
English Phonetics	Jñānagarbha

Dates

Birth:	700
Death:	760

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Other Biographical info:

Links

BDRC Link

http://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-detail.xq;jsessionid=22B15029880B64207ABC537F7497D872?RID=P8217 P8217

Wiki Pages

• Jñānagarbha on the DRL
• Jñānagarbha on the LIB
• Jñānagarbha on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Jñānagarbha (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་སྙིང་པོ་, Wyl. ye shes snying po) was an 8th-century Buddhist philosopher from Nalanda who wrote on Madhyamaka and Yogācāra and is considered part of Bhāviveka's Svātantrika tradition. He was a student of Śrīgupta and the teacher and ordaining master of Śāntarakṣita.

In his mostly Svātantrika interpretation of Madhyamaka philosophy, Jñānagarbha incorporated aspects of Yogācāra philosophy and Dharmakirti's epistemology and therefore can be seen as a harmonizer of the various Buddhist philosophical systems like his student Śāntarakṣita.

He is mostly known for his work "Distinguishing the Two Truths" (Skt. Satyadvayavibhaṅga, Wyl. Bden gnyis rnam ‘byed). This work mostly sought to critique the views of Dharmapāla of Nalanda and his followers. A meditation text named "The Path for the Practice of Yoga" (Yoga-bhavana-marga or -patha) is also attributed to him by Tibetan sources. He also may have written a commentary to the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, a major sūtra of the Yogācāra school. However, it is possible that the author of this text was actually a different writer also named Jñānagarbha.

Jñānagarbha's Satyadvayavibhaṅga analyzes the Madhyamaka "two truths" doctrine of conventional truth and ultimate truth. He defends the role of conceptual thinking and reasoning against those who would eliminate all conceptual thinking and theorizing (i.e., Candrakīrti). However, like other Madhyamikas, the goal of his project is a form of awareness which is free from all concepts, though one which, according to Jñānagarbha, is reachable through conceptual thought. Jñānagarbha held that even though language and reasoning is based on a cause and effect ontology which is ultimately empty and unreal, it can still lead toward the ultimate truth, through a logical analysis which realizes the untenable assumptions of reason and causality itself. (Source Accessed Jan 17, 2020)

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

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Position:
Notes:
All beings have Buddha-nature
Position:
If "Qualified", explain:
Notes:
Which Wheel Turning
Position:
Notes:
Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
Position:
Notes:
Zhentong vs Rangtong
Position:
Notes:
Promotes how many vehicles?
Position:
Notes:
Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
Position:
Notes:
What is Buddha-nature?
Position:
Notes:
Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
Position:
Notes:
Causal nature of the vajrapāda
Position:

Tibetan names

Appears in Tibetan colophons as: rgya gar gyi mkhan po dznyA na garbha

Sanskrit Names

Jñānagarbha

Writings

TBRC Person: jnanagarbha P8217

• 'jam dpal gyi zhal nas gsungs pa'i gzungs

[tbrc holdings 1]

• de bzhin gshegs pa'i yon tan dang ye shes bsam gyis mi khyab pa'i yul la 'jug par bstan pa'i mdo

delhi delhi karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang 1976-1979 [tbrc holdings 1]

• dge ba'i rtsa ba yongs su 'dzin pa'i mdo

delhi delhi karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang 1976-1979 [tbrc holdings 1]

• mar me mdzad kyis lung bstan pa'i mdo

delhi delhi karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang 1976-1979 [tbrc holdings 1]

• rin chen dra bas zhus pa'i mdo

delhi delhi karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang 1976-1979 [tbrc holdings 1]

• shes rab bskyed pa'i gzungs

[tbrc holdings 1]

• shes rab bskyed pa'i gzungs gnyis

[tbrc holdings 1]

• yongs su mya ngan las 'das pa chen po las lha dang mi la sogs pas zhus pa'i mdo

delhi delhi karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang 1976-1979 [tbrc holdings 1]

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.

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).

"Relative truth" or "conventional truth"; the erroneously perceived reality common to the unenlightened.

"Ultimate truth" or "absolute truth"; the reality of things as they truly are.

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

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.