Ratnagotravibhāga (text)

The Ratnagotravibhāga (Sanskrit, abbreviated as RgV) and its vyākhyā commentary (abbreviated RgVV), also known as the Uttaratantraśāstra, are a compendium of the tathāgatagarbha literature. The text was originally composed in Sanskrit. The text and its commentary are also preserved in Tibetan and Chinese translations.

The Ratnagotravibhāga describes the gotra or "lineage" of the buddhas, which is the buddha-nature present in all beings. It is a Yogacara text particularly popular in East Asian Yogacara.

The text is attributed to a certain Sāramati (娑囉末底) in the earlier Chinese tradition, while the Tibetan tradition considers the verse portion to have been composed by Maitreya-nātha and the prose commentary by Asanga. Ruegg suggests that the Chinese and Tibetan traditions may be reconciled by understanding the name given in Chinese sources as an epithet for Maitreya.

The case for the involvement of Maitreya-nātha is also strengthened by the discovery of a Sanskrit fragment of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Saka script which mentions Maitreya-nātha as the author of the 'root' (mūla) verses. The question of authorship may possibly be resolved by an analysis of the structure of this multi-layered text. Takasaki is certain that the author of the embedded commentary is Sāramati through his comparison of the RGV with the Dharmadhātvaviśeṣaśāstra.

Peter Harvey finds the attribution to Asanga less plausible.

Sanskrit gotra is a figurative term for family or lineage. It later came to have the meaning of "destiny", particularly in Yogacara literature. "Another division of lineage is into PRAKṚTISTHAGOTRA (naturally present) and SAMUDĀNĪTAGOTRA (developed). According to the YOGĀCĀRABHŪMIŚĀSTRA, the former refers to one's innate potential for spiritual achievement; the latter refers to the specific individual habits one can develop that will help speed the mastery of that potential." The Ratnagotravibhāga describes the gotra of the buddhas, which is the buddha-nature present in all beings.

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