An influential commentary on the fringe of the “classical” Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda tradition is the Ratnagotravibhāga, likely composed in the fourth century and later attributed to the duo of “Maitreya-Asaṅga”. A noteworthy feature of the text is that while the prose, commentarial layer of its structure undeniably exposits Yogācāra doctrine, the earlier, root verses that they expand upon – devoted foremost to exploring ideas about “buddha-nature” – do not. The commentarial prose creatively interprets the earlier, verse text in a direction compatible with Yogācāra thought.
While this and other features of the Ratnagotravibhāga have been well-studied, this paper puts front and centre our earliest witness to the text: its early sixth-century translation into Chinese (Baoxinglun 寶性論). This version, somewhat neglected in studies of the text, is noticeably different to our surviving Sanskrit and Tibetan versions – and, conspicuously, features yet more evidence of Yogācāra influence in its composition. We will look at what how the commentarial stratum of the Ratnagotravibhāga transforms the text into a Yogācāra work, and will give special attention to features and passage of the Chinese version that exhibit still greater investment in specifically Yogācāra doctrine.
An influential commentary on the fringe of the “classical” Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda tradition is the Ratnagotravibhāga. A noteworthy feature of the text is that while the prose, commentarial layer of its structure undeniably exposits Yogācāra doctrine, the earlier, root verses that they expand upon – devoted foremost to exploring ideas about “buddha-nature” – do not. While this and other features of the Ratnagotravibhāga have been well-studied, this paper puts front and centre our earliest witness to the text: its early sixth-century translation into Chinese (Baoxinglun 寶性論). This version is noticeably different to our surviving Sanskrit and Tibetan versions – and, conspicuously, features yet more evidence of Yogācāra influence in its composition. We will look at what how the commentarial stratum of the Ratnagotravibhāga transforms the text into a Yogācāra work, and will give special attention to features and passage of the Chinese version that exhibit still greater investment in specifically Yogācāra doctrine.