The TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra is an influential and doctrinally striking MahÃÂyÃÂna Buddhist scripture which treats of the existence of the "TathÃÂgatagarbha" (Buddha-Matrix, Buddha-Embryo, lit. "the womb of the thus-come-one") within all sentient creatures. According to the Buddha, all sentient beings are born with buddha-nature and have the potential to become a Buddha. Physical and mental defilements of everyday life act as clouds over this nature and usually prevent this realization. This nature is no less than the indwelling Buddha himself.
Anthony Barber associates the development of the TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra with the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika sect of Buddhism, and concludes that the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghikas of the ÃÂndhra region (i.e. the Caitika schools) were responsible for the inception of the TathÃÂgatagarbha doctrine.
The TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra is considered "the earliest expression of this [the tathÃÂgatagarbha doctrine] and the term tathÃÂgatagarbha itself seems to have been coined in this very sutra." The text is no longer extant in its language of origin, but is preserved in two Tibetan and two Chinese translations.
Michael Zimmermann discerns two recensions, the shorter recension, translated into Chinese by Buddhabhadra in 420 CE, and the more extended and detailed recension, extant in the following translations:
Buddhabhadra's version was translated into English by Grosnick in 1995 and the Tibetan version was translated by Zimmermann in 2002.
According to Zimmermann, the nine similes "embody the new and central message of the text, embedded in the more or less standard framework consisting of the setting, a passage expounding the merit of propagating the sutra and a story of the past." The simile (1) in the first chapter describes a fantastic scene with many buddhas seated in lotus calyxes in the sky, who are not affected by the withering of the flowers. The following eight similes illustrate how the indwelling Buddha in sentient beings is hidden by the negative mental states (kleà Âas),
In regard to the TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra and the term TathÃÂgatagarbha, A. W. Barber writes:
The TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra constitutes one of a number of TathÃÂgatagarbha or Buddha-nature sutras (including the MahÃÂyÃÂna MahÃÂparinirvÃÂá¹Âa Sà «tra, the à ÂrëmÃÂlÃÂdevë Siá¹ÂhanÃÂda Sà «tra, the Angulimaliya Sutra, and the Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa) which unequivocally declare the reality of an Awakened Essence within each being.
According to some scholars, the TathÃÂgatagarbha does not represent a substantial self (ÃÂtman); rather, it is a positive language expression of emptiness (à Âà «nyatÃÂ) and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices; the intention of the teaching of TathÃÂgatagarbha is Soteriology rather than theoretical. This interpretation is contentious. Not all scholars share this view. Michael Zimmermann, a specialist on the TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra, writes for instance: "the existence of an eternal, imperishable self, that is, buddhahood, is definitely the basic point of the TathÃÂgatagarbha Sutra.
Zimmermann also declares that the compilers of the TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra "did not hesitate to attribute an obviously substantialist notion to the buddha-nature of living beings," and notes the total lack of evident interest in this sutra for any ideas of "emptiness" (à Âà «nyatÃÂ): "Throughout the whole TathÃÂgatagarbha Sà «tra the term à Âà «nyatàdoes not even appear once, nor does the general drift of the TGS somehow imply the notion of à Âà «nyatàas its hidden foundation. On the contrary, the sutra uses very positive and substantialist terms to describe the nature of living beings.' Also, writing on the diverse understandings of TathÃÂgatagarbha doctrine, Jamie Hubbard comments on how some scholars see a tendency towards monism in the TathÃÂgatagarbha [a tendency which Japanese scholar Matsumoto castigates as non-Buddhist]. Hubbard comments:
Dan Lusthaus, writing on the YogÃÂcÃÂra school, comments: "Many TathÃÂgatagarbha texts, in fact, argue for the acceptance of selfhood (ÃÂtman) as a sign of higher accomplishment."
Buddhahood is thus taught to be the timeless, virtue-filled Real (although as yet unrecognised as such by the deluded being), present inside the mind of every sentient being from the beginningless beginning. Its disclosure to direct perception, however, depends on inner spiritual purification and purgation of the superficial obscurations which conceal it from view.