A Commentary “Transforming the Basis”: Yogācāra Doctrine in the Chinese Ratnagotravibhāga, or Baoxinglun 寶性論

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.