Theory of the Tathagatagarbha

Japanese: 如来蔵説 - にょらいぞうせつ

One of the mid-Mahayana schools of thought that was established around the 2nd or 3rd century. There were two major schools of thought among the scholars who organized and systematized the ideas and doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism: the Madhyamaka school founded by Nagarjuna and the Yogacara school founded by Maitreya. The Tathagatagarbha theory was closely related to the latter school and was mainly inherited by them. Although it was never formed into a school of thought, its ideas contributed greatly to the establishment of esoteric Buddhism and had a profound influence on Buddhism in China and Japan.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

2～3世紀ころ成立した中期大乗思想の一つ。大乗仏教の思想，教理を組織体系化した論師（ろんじ）たちには，大きく二つの流れがあった。竜樹を祖とする〈中観（ちゆうがん）派〉と弥勒（みろく）を祖とする〈唯識（ゆいしき）派〉とである。後者と深いかかわりをもち，おもに彼らによって継承された思想に，如来蔵説がある。学派としての形成はついになされることはなかったが，その思想は，密教の成立に大いに寄与し，また中国，日本の仏教に深い影響を与えた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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