Sugatagarbha

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Key Term	sugatagarbha
In Tibetan Script	བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	bde bar gshegs pa'i snying po
Richard Barron's English Term	potential/ heart essence for attaining/ reaching the state of bliss [sutra context]; potential/ heart essence that constitutes attaining/ reaching the state of bliss [Dzogchen context]
Ives Waldo's English Term	1) sugata/ enlightened essence; 2) sugatagarbha
Alternate Spellings	bder gshegs snying po
Term Type	Noun
Source Language	Sanskrit
Basic Meaning	buddha-nature
Has the Sense of	primordial purity; the essence of enlightenment present in all sentient beings
Did you know?	This term is used differently depending on the context: in a sūtric context, the term is equivalent to tathagatagarbha and is translated into English as "buddha-nature". In a tantric context, depending upon the tradition, sugatagarbha is a synonym for pristine awareness and emptiness.
Related Terms	rtsal sna tshogs su snang ba; lam phyag rgya chen po; gshis gdangs rtsal; Tathāgatagarbha; pristine awareness; rigpa; emptiness; dharmakaya
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism	See page 865: in Sanskrit, “essence of the sugata,” a synonym for tathāgatagarbha.
Rangjung Yeshe's English Term	sugata-essence, enlightened essence, essence for attaining experience of bliss. Sugatagarbha. 'Sugata essence.' The most common Sanskrit term for what in the West is known as '*.'
Wikipedia	wikipedia:Buddha-nature
RigpaWiki	rigpa:Buddha nature
Synonyms	tathagatagarbha

Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources.

Primordial purity is a term found in the Dzogchen tradition and refers to the empty nature of phenomena which is experienced through the practice of cutting-through meditation (khregs chod). It is often juxtaposed with spontaneous presence (lhun grub).

The state of being empty of an innate nature due to a lack of independently existing characteristics.

Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)."

Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources.