Svabhava

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Svabhava (Sanskrit; alternate orthographies swabhawa, swabhava; Tibetan: rang bzhin[1]) is a concept frequently encountered in Mahayana Buddhism which literally means "own-being" or "own-becoming". It might more meaningfully be rendered as "intrinsic nature", "essential nature" or "essence", though Theravada Buddhism does not ascribe such a meaning to the term,[2] and indeed much of Buddhism denies that such a svabhava exists within any being; but the Buddha in the Tathagatagarbha sutras (notably the Nirvana Sutra) states that the immortal and infinite Buddha-nature - or "True Self" of the Buddha - is the indestructible svabhava of beings.

In the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha-dhatu is held to be the uncreated, immutable and immortal essence (“svabhava”) of all beings, which can never be harmed or destroyed. The most extensive sutra promulgating this as an "ultimate teaching" (uttara-tantra) on the Buddhic essence of all creatures (animals included) is the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. There we read in words attributed to the Shakyamuni Buddha: "... it is not the case that they [i.e. all phenomena] are devoid of the Self. What is this Self? Any phenomenon ["dharma"] that is true ["satya"], real [“tattva”], eternal [“nitya”], sovereign/autonomous [“aishvarya”] and whose foundation is unchanging [“ashraya-aviparinama”] is termed 'the Self' [atman]."[3]

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[edit] Converse view

Namkhai Norbu (2001: p. 155) in discussing the view of the Pratyekabuddhas states that: "...the Pratyekabuddhas accede to the absence of a self or independent self-nature (bdag med)...".[4] The Dharma Dictionary (2008) equates the Tibetan 'bdag med' with anātman (Sanskrit).[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Dharma Dictionary (2008). rang bzhin. Source: [1] (accessed: January 29, 2008)
  2. ^ This concept does not appear to have a clear corollary in Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon. For instance, according to Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 502-3, entry for "Bhāva" (retrieved 2007-06-24), "sva+bhāva" is equivalent to the Pali word "sabhāva". The entry for "Sabhāva" (p. 681) is as follows:
    Sabhāva [sa4+bhāva]
    1. state (of mind), nature, condition Miln 90, 212, 360; PvA 39 (ummattaka˚), 98 (santa˚), 219.
    2. character, disposition, behaviour PvA 13, 35 (ullumpana˚), 220 (lokiya˚).
    3. truth, reality, sincerity Miln 164; J v.459; v.198 (opp. musāvāda); J vi.469; sabhāvaŋ sincerely, devotedly J vi.486.
    -dhamma principle of nature J i.214;
    -dhammatta= ˚dhamma Vism 238.
    -bhūta true J iii.20.
    In other words, none of these definitions clearly relates to the Mahayana notion of "intrinsic nature" and each reference is to what Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25) elsewhere refer to as "later literature" (p. 454): the Jataka tales, Milindapanha and the Pali commentaries.
  3. ^ Translated from Dharmakṣema's (Chinese: 曇無讖; Tanwuchen) version of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
  4. ^ Norbu, Namkhai (2001). The Precious Vase: Instructions on the Base of Santi Maha Sangha. Shang Shung Edizioni. Second revised edition. (Translated from the Tibetan, edited and annotated by Adriano Clemente with the help of the author. Translated from Italian into English by Andy Lukianowicz.) p.155
  5. ^ Dharma Dictionary (2008). bdag med. Source: [2] (accessed: January 29, 2008)

[edit] References

  • The Mahayana Mahaparinrivana Sutra in 12 volumes (Nirvana Publications, London, 1999-2000), translated by Kosho Yamamoto and revised and edited by Dr. Tony Page.

[edit] External links