Tathata
Encyclopedia
Tathata is variously translated as "thusness" or "suchness". It is a central concept in Buddhism
, and is of particular significance in Zen
Buddhism. The synonym dharmatā is also often used.
While alive the Buddha referred to himself as Tathagata
, which can mean either "One who has thus come" or "One who has thus gone", and interpreted correctly can be read as "One who has arrived at suchness". Tathata as a central concept of Buddhism expresses appreciation of the true nature of reality
in any given moment. As no moment is exactly the same, each one can be savored for what occurs at that precise time, whether it is thought of as being "good" or "bad".
In the early texts, it is described as an aspect of nibbānā.
in what has come to be rendered in English as the Flower Sermon
. In another story, Shakyamuni asked his disciples "How long is a human life?" As none of them could offer the correct answer he told them "Life is but a breath". Here we can see the Buddha expressing the impermanent nature of the world, where each individual moment is different from the last. As Molloystates, "We know we are experiencing the 'thatness' of reality when we experience something and say to ourselves, 'Yes, that's it; that is the way things are.' In the moment, we recognize that reality is wondrously beautiful but also that its patterns are fragile and passing."
The natural beauty of the world, and the importance of nature that surrounds us is a key theme in Buddhism. When asked what Zen is, many masters have answered in relation to the features surrounding them: "The bamboo forest, blue skies above the high mountain", etc. Such answers are given to indicate to us that while we are seeking some mysterious answers above and beyond our own understanding of the world, the true way is there for us to see at any moment right in front of our eyes. The zen master Thich Nhat Hanh wrote "People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle."
" describes the concept more fully: "In its very origin suchness is of itself endowed with sublime attributes. It manifests the highest wisdom which shines throughout the world, it has true knowledge and a mind resting simply in its own being. It is eternal, blissful, its own self-being and the purest simplicity; it is invigorating, immutable, free... Because it possesses all these attributes and is deprived of nothing, it is designated both as the Womb of Tathagata and the Dharma Body of Tathagata."http://books.google.com/books?id=ouWxrcybsxIC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=tathata&source=web&ots=K9UAVrr9Qn&sig=ctxx1p7ttBFwdfPfgVWCD_bPShI#PPP1,M1
Robinson (1957: pp.306) echoing Suzuki (1930) conveys how the Lankavatara Sutra
perceives dharmata through the portal of shunyata:
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, and is of particular significance in Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhism. The synonym dharmatā is also often used.
While alive the Buddha referred to himself as Tathagata
Tathagata
Tathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...
, which can mean either "One who has thus come" or "One who has thus gone", and interpreted correctly can be read as "One who has arrived at suchness". Tathata as a central concept of Buddhism expresses appreciation of the true nature of reality
Ten suchnesses
The Ten suchnesses are a Mahayana doctrine which is important, as well as unique, to that of the Tiantai and Nichiren Buddhist schools of thought...
in any given moment. As no moment is exactly the same, each one can be savored for what occurs at that precise time, whether it is thought of as being "good" or "bad".
In the early texts, it is described as an aspect of nibbānā.
Tathātā in Zen
In Zen stories, Tathata is often best revealed in the seemingly mundane or meaningless, such as noticing the way the wind blows through a field of grass, or watching someone's face light up as they smile. According to Zen hagiography, Shakyamuni Buddha transmitted the awareness of Tathata directly to MahakasyapaMahakasyapa
Mahākāśyapa or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council. Mahākāśyapa is one of the most revered of the Buddha's early disciples, foremost in ascetic practices...
in what has come to be rendered in English as the Flower Sermon
Flower Sermon
Within Zen, and thus from an emic perspective, the origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to what is rendered in English as the Flower Sermon, in which Śākyamuni Buddha transmitted direct prajñā to the disciple Mahākāśyapa. In the original Sino-Japanese, this story is called nengemishō...
. In another story, Shakyamuni asked his disciples "How long is a human life?" As none of them could offer the correct answer he told them "Life is but a breath". Here we can see the Buddha expressing the impermanent nature of the world, where each individual moment is different from the last. As Molloystates, "We know we are experiencing the 'thatness' of reality when we experience something and say to ourselves, 'Yes, that's it; that is the way things are.' In the moment, we recognize that reality is wondrously beautiful but also that its patterns are fragile and passing."
The natural beauty of the world, and the importance of nature that surrounds us is a key theme in Buddhism. When asked what Zen is, many masters have answered in relation to the features surrounding them: "The bamboo forest, blue skies above the high mountain", etc. Such answers are given to indicate to us that while we are seeking some mysterious answers above and beyond our own understanding of the world, the true way is there for us to see at any moment right in front of our eyes. The zen master Thich Nhat Hanh wrote "People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle."
Tathātā in Mahayana Buddhism
The term Tathata in the East Asian Mahayana tradition is seen as representing the base reality and can be used to terminate the use of words. A 5th century Chinese Mahayana scripture entitled "Awakening of Faith in the MahayanaAwakening of Faith in the Mahayana
Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna is a text of the Mahāyāna branch of Buddhism.-Origin and History:...
" describes the concept more fully: "In its very origin suchness is of itself endowed with sublime attributes. It manifests the highest wisdom which shines throughout the world, it has true knowledge and a mind resting simply in its own being. It is eternal, blissful, its own self-being and the purest simplicity; it is invigorating, immutable, free... Because it possesses all these attributes and is deprived of nothing, it is designated both as the Womb of Tathagata and the Dharma Body of Tathagata."http://books.google.com/books?id=ouWxrcybsxIC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=tathata&source=web&ots=K9UAVrr9Qn&sig=ctxx1p7ttBFwdfPfgVWCD_bPShI#PPP1,M1
Robinson (1957: pp.306) echoing Suzuki (1930) conveys how the Lankavatara Sutra
Lankavatara Sutra
The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra is a sutra of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The sūtra recounts a teaching primarily between the Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati...
perceives dharmata through the portal of shunyata:
The Lankavatara is always careful to balance sunyata with Tathata, or to insist that when the world is viewed as sunya, empty, it is grasped in its suchness.
See also
- DharmadhatuDharmadhatuDharmadhatu may be defined as the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' of Dharma and denotes the collective 'one-taste' dimension of Dharmata.-Nomenclature, orthography and etymology:...
- Ten suchnessesTen suchnessesThe Ten suchnesses are a Mahayana doctrine which is important, as well as unique, to that of the Tiantai and Nichiren Buddhist schools of thought...
- Cf. haecceityHaecceityHaecceity is a term from medieval philosophy first coined by Duns Scotus which denotes the discrete qualities, properties or characteristics of a thing which make it a particular thing...
(from Latin, "this-ness"); quiddityQuiddityIn scholastic philosophy, quiddity was another term for the essence of an object, literally its "whatness," or "what it is." The term derives from the Latin word "quidditas," which was used by the medieval scholastics as a literal translation of the equivalent term in Aristotle's Greek.It...
(from Latin, "what-ness")