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The teaching of the Buddha hinges around the one point that sentient beings, meaning beings having a mind, have within them the potential to become a buddha. If they did not possess that potential, it would not be possible for them to become buddhas and the rest of the Buddhist teaching would be an interesting but useless philosophy. Therefore, the topic of buddha nature is especially important.
The Buddha taught buddha nature in steps, with each more profound than the previous one. He first taught it as a seed that could be developed, like growing a plant. After that he taught that it is, like all phenomena, empty. Finally, he taught it as actual buddhahood present in the mind. This last level of teaching is regarded by most Tibetan Buddhist schools as the most profound teaching of the sutras, the very essence of what the Buddha was trying to communicate to his followers. The ultimate teaching of the buddha nature as actual buddhahood was given in the third and final turning of the wheel of dharma. It does not show emptiness as taught in the second turning of the wheel to be most important but teaches non-dual, luminosity wisdom totally beyond all of the elaborations--the conceptual stuff--of dualistic mind as the most important point. It is part of the teaching of the highest tantras, Mahamudra and Dzogchen, so is especially important for practitioners of those systems.
It is easy to misunderstand this very profound teaching. Therefore, there is a strong need to clearly and correctly establish what buddha nature actually is and what the Buddha's teachings on it actually meant. The very learned Nyingma teacher Ju Mipham Namgyal gave a teaching on buddha nature that was recorded and published by his students. The resulting text was titled The Lion's Roar that is A Great Thousand Doses of Sugata Essence where sugata essence is one of many names for buddha nature. The text first examines the question of why buddha nature is present in all beings having mind. then goes on to present the ultimate sutra teachings in which buddha nature is understood to be buddhahood actually present in beings.
Mipham's teaching needs clarification, so a very extensive explanation has been provided by the author of the book in order to make this ultimate teaching of the sutras and by extension of the tantras available to all. As with all of our books, an extensive introduction, glossary, and so on that are provided to assist the reader.
Note: Mipham's text is one of a pair of texts that go hand in hand with each other. The ultimate teaching of buddha nature is based in emptiness of other, therefore Mipham also taught on that topic in what became the sister text to this: The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Other Emptiness. Also strongly recommended is the great exposition of Other Emptiness found in the book The Other Emptiness, Entering Wisdom Beyond Emptiness of Self.
The book contains a translation of the following text:
-- The Lion's Roar that is A Great Thousand Doses of Sugatagarbha by Ju Mipham Namgyal
Lion's Roar of the Ultimate Non-Dual Buddha Nature,Ju Mipham Namgyal, Commentary: Tony Duff, PKTC, Paperback, 254 pages, 2015, $25.00
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Contents: Lion's Roar of the Ultimate Non-Dual Buddha Nature By: Ju Mipham Namgyal Commentary: Tony Duff |
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| Introduction |
v |
| The Lion's Roar That is a Great Thousand Doses of the Sugata Essence by Ju Mipham Namgyal |
1 |
| Posing the Question |
5 |
| Giving the Answer |
5 |
| _The presentations of other traditions |
6 |
| __The first reason |
6 |
| __The second reason |
6 |
| _Stating our own tradition |
10 |
| __The first reason |
10 |
| ___The ordinary way |
10 |
| ___The extraordinary way |
11 |
| __The second reason |
17 |
| __The third reason |
20 |
| _Dispensing with some mistaken positions |
26 |
| __The element in being not empty being truly established |
27 |
| __The element being a cut-off empty condition |
28 |
| __Wisdom in being impermanent being compounded |
30 |
| A Thorough Commentary to the Lion's Roar That is a Great Thousand Doses of the Sugata Essence |
45 |
| _Introduction |
47 |
| _The Text: Prefatory section |
57 |
| _The Text: Body of the text |
62 |
| _The Text: Concluding section and colophons |
156 |
| Texts Cited |
169 |
| Glossary of Terms |
173 |
| Supports for Study |
193 |
| Tibetan Text |
199 |
| Index |
229 |
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