Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

This paper tries to elucidate Ārya-Vimuktiṣeṇa’s exclusive definition of bodhisattvas’ ‘gotra’, which is given in the phrase “ṣaṇṇāṃ pāramitānāṃ dharmatālakṣaṇo viśeṣaḥ” in his commentary on the Abhisamayālaṅkāra. This notion has not been handed down to his successive Indian commentators such as Bhadanta-Vimuktiṣeṇa, Haribhadara, Ratnākaraśānti and Abhayakāragupta, as far as I know. The phrase can be interpreted as ‘“[bodhisattvas’ gotra] indicates superiority [to śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas] with regard to six-perfections [which must be developed and practiced by them on the path to becoming a Buddha, and it is] characterized by or defined as the true nature of dharmas.’ This interpretation would make sense in itself. However, considering its Tibetan translation “[Bodhisattvas’ gotra] is characterized by or defined as the true nature of dharmas of the six sense-spheres,” and another definition of the gotra by Ārya as well as Bhadanta, that is, “the viśeṣa (here, particularity) by which dharmadhātu is to be called gotra,” we need to have a second thought about this understanding. It is more so when considering that the dharmadhātu functions as objective support (ālambana) of the bodhisattvas’ practice or as object-condition (ālambanapratyaya) of supramundane dharmas of the Noble ones. Referring to other commentaries related to this context, especially to a comment on the compound of ‘ṣaḍāyatanaviśeṣa’ by an anonymous commentator which has been handed down to Tsong Khapa, I suggested that we should amend the phrase to “ṣaṇṇām āyatanānāṃ dharmatālakṣaṇo viśeṣaḥ” resorting to its Tibetan translation. Ārya’s unique definition, which is revised based on my suggestion, is considered to be a reinterpretation of the [prakṛti] gotra theory represented in the early Yogācāra texts such as the Bodhisattvabhūmi and so on, in accordance with their agenda; in other words, introducing a new concept of dharmadhātu as gotra.