The Mandala Sutra; 六祖壇經=6th Patriarch Platform Sutra; 如來藏=Tathāgata- garbha; 佛性=Buddha-nature; 自性=Self-nature; 無念為宗=No-thought as the guiding principle; 即心即佛=The mind is Buddha
According to Continuation of The Biographies of Eminent Monks and Record of the Transmission of the Lamp Published in the Ching-te Era, Bodhidharma imparted the four fascicles of the Lankavatara Sutra to Huike. Lankavatara Sutra is an important sutra of tathāgata-garbha philosophy. Therefore, it is deduced that Chinese Chan School is close to tathāgata-garbha philosophy. The Mandala Sutra is the bible of Chinese Chan School. It records the story of Huineng. Huineng was enlightened when he heard the verse, "One should use one's mind in such a way that it will be free from any attachment," in the Vajra Sutra preached by Hongren. Does it mean that the succession of tathāgata-garbha philosophy was altered after Huineng? This theses studies the tathāgata-garbha philosophy in Mandala Sutra. In Mandala Sutra, Huineng successed the tathāgata-garbha philosophy such as, "sentient beings possess Buddha-nature", "suchness is universally the same", "all the forms of existence are produced by tathāgata-garbha", "tathāgata-garbha known as alayavijnana", "tathāgata-garbha is the cause for both good and evil", "self-nature is intrinsically pure", etc. Huineng emphasized the perceive of self-nature and set up the doctrine as no-thought as the guiding principle, no-mark as the essence, and non-dwelling as the foundation basing on the substance and function of self-nature. He gave new explanation to merit, Western Buddha Land, meditation, formless repentance, four great vows, three refuges, threefold body of Buddha, discipline, concentration and wisdom. Huineng also advocated self-awakening, self-relief, and self-deliver without relying on Buddha's vows. By taking the pure self-nature, perceiving the pure self-nature, practicing oneself with the pure self-nature, he set up the method of sudden enlightment. Sentient beings possess Buddha-nature which is the factor to the Buddha Way. Suchness is universally the same. These inferred the concepts that the mind is Buddha and sentient beings are originally Buddha. He explained the substance and function of Buddha-nature based on the emptiness of nature. The substance is empty and can encompass dharma; the function is free from attachment. If one sitting motionlessly and eliminating deluded thoughts, he would be no difference from being an inanimate object and without Buddha-nature. In conclusion, Mandala Sutra successed the philosophy of tathāgata- garbha and extended explanations to dogma and set up doctrines based on the substance and function of tathāgata-garbha.
