A Close Study of Indrabhūti's Jñānasiddhi: Its Indian Origins and Early Transmission within the Indo-Tibetan Doctrine of the Great Seal (mahāmudrā)
Final Report Abstract
The project presents an in-depth study of the origin and transmission of Indrabhūti’s Jñānasiddhi (JS), an influential work of an earlier period of Tantric Buddhism in India. In addition to the text-critical study of the work, its position within the Indo-Tibetan mahāmudrā teachings, questions of authorship, dating and textual transmission formed the core part of the research program. Its results are made available in Gerloff and Schott 2024. Indrabhūti’s opus may be seen as an early witness of tantric exegesis preserved in Sanskrit, a seminal work of India’s and Tibet’s Buddhist tantric traditions. The author’s central concern is the correct understanding of “gnosis” (jñāna), what it is, what it is not, and how its “accomplishment” (siddhi) can be attained. With his presentation touching upon a number of important philosophical concepts and soteriological practices pertaining to jñāna, he complements our knowledge of a key term not only of Buddhism but human thought as such. The various quotations from tantric scriptures (Tattvasaṃgraha, Māyājāla, Guhyasamāja, Sarvabuddhasamāyoga, et al.), through which Indrabhūti provides the doctrinal basis of his work, complement the presentation and allow to classify the JS more accurately, both historically and in view of its contextual background. Dating from the later 8th to the early 9th century, the transition of the yoga- and mahāyogatantras to the yoginītantras, the JS bears witness to an essential, yet insufficiently studied, period in the development of tantric Buddhism. The geographical connection to Uḍḍiyāna (Swāt Valley, present-day Pakistan) places Indrabhūti and his JS in the context of an influential tantric milieu, its scriptures and the corpora wherein they were transmitted (e.g. Grub pa sde bdun). The JS testifies to the formation of the mahāmudrā concept (cp. Phyag chen rgya gźuṅ) and its author is part of numerous hagiographic accounts and origin myths. Its significance is reflected by the rather high number of quotations and other forms of reception over the centuries, e.g., in the anonymous Subhāṣitasaṃgraha, Bhavyakīrti’s Pradīpoddyotanaṭīkā, Ratnarakṣita’s Padminī, Nāropā’s Sekoddeśaṭīkā, Rāmapāla’s Sekanirdeśapañjikā, and Puṇḍarīka’s Vimalaprabhā. Transmitted to Tibet at the verge of the 11th century by the renown lotsāwa Rin chen bZaṅ po, the JS had a strong impact and was referred to by many famous authors, e.g., the 8th Situpa Chos kyi ’byuṅ gnas, ’Jam dbyaṅ mKhyen brtse’i dbaṅ po, and ’Jam mgon Koṅ sprul. The project’s main focus was the text-critical edition of the work’s Sanskrit and Tibetan versions, taking into account important sources hitherto not considered. The results include the complete English translation, the first ever published, and are accompanied by a lengthy introduction and extensive annotations discussing the manifold textual problems, parallels and relevant content. New insights were gained into the textual transmission, dating and clarification of authorship. Questions serving the scientific discourse were raised, remaining problems identified and possible solutions pointed out. The study’s comprehensibility is ensured through text-critical apparati, facsimiles and appendices complementing the research.
Publications
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Towards a Reassessment of Indrabhuti’s Jnanasiddhi. Buddhist Studies Review, 37(2).
Gerloff, Torsten & Schott, Julian
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Śrīlakṣmīṅkarā’s Advayasiddhi — gNyis su med par grub pa’i sgrub thabs —Critically edited, translated, and annotated. Crema: Libri di Marpa. 2021. ISBN: 978-88-904236-8-0 (Italian translation: ISBN 9788894625004)
Gerloff, Torsten & Julian Schott.
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Dārikapa’s Instruction on Reality – the Great Secret of Secrets from Uḍḍiyāna. Asian Literature and Translation, 10(2), 134-168.
Schott, Julian
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Indrabhūti’s Jñānasiddhi: A New Critical Edition of the Sanskrit Text and its Tibetan Translation With English Translation and Reproductions of the MSS. Napoli: UniorPress (Manuscripta Buddhica 4)). ISBN 978-88-6719-284-7
Gerloff, Torsten & Julian Schott
