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Jikido Takasaki, NyoraizO shisO no keisei: Indo DaijO BukkyO shisO kenky& [English title: Formation of the Tathdgatagarbha Theory: A Study of the Historical Background of the Tath~gatagarbha Theory of Mah~y~na Buddhism Based upon the Scriptures Preceding the Ratnagotravibh~ga] Tokyo: Shunjfisha, 1974, 779 pp. ¥9000.

Jikido Takasaki, professor of Indian philosophy at Tokyo University, has

penetrated the intricacies of TathAgatagarbha from both the theoretical and philosophical perspectives. His most familiar work to the non-Japanese reader

is A Study on the Ratnagotravibhaga ( Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tath~gatagarbha Theory of Mah~yana Buddhism (Rome: Series Orientale Rome XXIII, 1966). The present study, NyoraizO shisO no keisei: Indo Dai]O BukkyO shis6 kenkya, thoroughly explicates TathAgatagarbha within the Chinese tradition, based upon textual analyses of Buddhist sfitras focusing on this particular theory.

According to the great patriarch Fa-tsang of the Hua-yen school, in his commentary Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun i-chi, one of the four schools trans- mitted by the Indian Buddhist masters was the Ju-lai-tsang yen-ch 'i tsung, 'The Conditioned Co-Arising School of Tathfigatagarbha'. The Indo-Tibetan tradition does not attribute a separate transmission to Tath~gatagarbha but views this notion as representative of M~dhyamika. The objective of NyoraizO shisO no keisei is to explore the 'tradition' of TathAgatagarbha primarily from within the Chinese Tripit.aka.

Part One of NyoraizO shisO investigates the development of the body of Tath~gatagarbha literature. In chapter one the three basic texts of the formative period of development are analyzed. These three s~tras, the Tath~gatagarbha-s~tra, the Anffmatv~p~rnatva-nirdega (Pu-tseng pu-chien ching), and the Srrmdl6devi-satra are summarized and the specific contri- butions of each text to the development of the theoretical framework for Tathagatagarbha are presented. Numerous examples from both the Chinese and Tibetan recensions are compared for similarities and differences in translation styles.

Journal o f lndian Philosophy 4 (1976) 199-201. All Rights Reserved Copyright © 1976 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland

200 BOOK REVIEW

In chapter two the later development of the notion known as Buddha- dh~tu or Buddha-nature is discussed vis-h-vis the Mahdparinirv~n.a-satra. In chapter three Buddha-dh~tu becomes associated with the idea ofgotra in the Maharnegha and Mahaydnadagadharmaka satras. Chapter four, the final portion of Part One, focuses on the second period in the theoretical develop- ment of Tath~gatagarbha in which the ~laya-vija~na is assimilated with the Tathagatagarbha. In this chapter the prototypic concepts avidy~vasabhami and prak.~iprabh~svaram cittam are analyzed as factors contributing to the

later Vijfi~nav~da. The discussion of these concepts with relation to the 4bhidharmakoga however, is egregiously lacking.

Part Two surveys pre-Tath~gatagarbha literature beginning with the Praja~p~ramit~ in its relation to the evolution of Tath~gatagarbha. The key

concepts explored within the literary tradition of Tath~gatagarbha in Part One

are now reviewed in literature predating the composition of distinctly Tath~gatagarbha sutras. Among the texts surveyed are the Praja~tp~ramit~, Saddharmapund. arTka, K~gyapaparivarta, Vimalak~rti-nirde~a, and Avata .msaka.

The Conclusion lists the Tath~gatagarbha-oriented literature in China, i.e. the translation of the sOtras of the formative period beginning with the mid- third century, the major ~stras dating from the sixth century which were markedly influenced by Vijfi~nav~da, and the Tantric texts beginning with Amoghavajra of T'ang. The charts inserted between pages 760 and 761 conveniently present all these texts in the Chinese Tripit.aka. The chart on p. 769 summarizes the development of technical vocabulary explored in Parts One and Two thereby assisting the reader in presenting a capsule overview of the evolution of Tath~gatagarbha.

One shortcoming ofNyoraizO shisO no keisei is the overall organization. A different system of organization would have eliminated the complex schema of numbering which is extremely taxing to the reader. In addition parts one and two should be inverted since the former is the logical and historical outcome of part two.

For the Buddhologist in particular but also for the historian of religions, this comprehensive volume by Jikido Takasaki represents a major contri- bution to the field of Mah~y~na Buddhism by exploring the little known theory of Tath~gatagarbha. Together with the monumental work by D. Seyfort Ruegg, La Th~orie du Tathagatagarbha et du Gotra (Paris: l~cole Frangaise D'Extr~me-Orient, 1969), an excellent foundation for further research on Tath~gatagarbha has been established. Ruegg surveyed the body

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of Buddhist literature in the Indo-Tibetan tradition, both Therav~din and Mah~y~nist. Takasaki complements Ruegg's study by analyzing the Chinese sQtras and comparing them with the Tibetan. With the availability of these two works, future research which would explore the Chinese commentaries concerning Tath~gatagarbha hopefully will be forthcoming.

Stanford University Diana Paul