Tathagata

In early Buddhism, the historical Buddha was often represented by the simple image of his footprint, in order to discourage iconolatrous worship. His oft-quoted practice of referring to himself in the third-person (as "the Tathāgata") emerges from a similar impulse: namely, to minimize the significance of his earthly incarnation (as per the doctrine of impermanence).

Tathāgata (Chinese/Japanese: 如來), a Pali or Sanskrit compound word whose complex etymology and definition will be discussed below, is a commonplace term in many Buddhist scriptures, where it is portrayed as the historical Buddha's preferred form of address. In the Pali canon, for example, Siddhartha is often depicted saying "the Tathagata is..." instead of "I am...," which has been taken by later commentators as an indication that he had passed beyond the attachments (trishna) of human ego consciousness into a full embodiment of the doctrine of anatman.

Despite the relative ubiquity of the term, its precise definition has been contested by the various schools of Buddhism that developed in the years following the master's death. Though the original expression could be literally translated as either "one who has come" (from tathā-āgata) or "one who has gone" (from tathā-gata), the Theravada and Mahayana schools each proposed idiosyncratic interpretations based upon the metaphysical nuances particular to their respective schools. .

Etymology

As suggested above, the term tathagata is derived from one or more of the following Pali/Sanskrit phrases: tathā-āgata ("one who has come"); tathā-gata ("one who has gone"); or Tat-āgata ("one who has gone to That [Ultimate Reality]")). While this fruitful ambiguity was undoubtedly central to the concept's metaphysical appeal, it also opened the proverbial door to the various conflicting interpretations that have emerged in the intervening years.

While the first two of these etymologies are relatively straight-forward (with the first describing an individual who has "arrived" among his human constituents (much like the mythological Buddhas that preceded him) and the second suggesting an individual who was transcended the cycle of samsara), elucidating the third requires a brief digression into the metaphysical system outlined in the Hindu Upanishads. Specifically, the third etymology suggests that the term is a compound of two simple components, Tat and āgata. The verbal component, āgata, is the simply the past participle of gata (going, traveling, trekking), which in this context can be defined as "arrival, gone-unto, attainment of, arrival-at." Unlike this fairly pedestrian verb, Tat, the nominal component of the compound, is a storied term that has signified Brahman (Absolute Reality) in Hindu metaphysics from time immemorial, as in the famous Upanishadic dictum: "That (Brahman) thou art" (Tat tvam asi: Chandogya Upanishad). As such, "Tathagata" in the ancient Prakrit Pali could literally be read as "(The sage who has) arrived at the Absolute" — an interpretation that was elaborated upon extensively by the Mahayana school.

Scriptural Uses and Interpretation

<integrate> The term is deliberately ambiguous, reflecting the ineffable ontological status of a fully liberated human being. Some would say that such a one has attained True Being (Sat) ; others that the liberated soul has transcended categories of being and non-being. Thus tathāgata reflects these ambiguities having no fixed meaning. </integrate>

In the Dhammapada, the actions of an arahant are described as without trace (ananuvejja) or 'trackless' (apada) 'like the birds in the sky' (ākāse'va sakuntānam gati tesam durannayā). Similarly in the Mahabharata there is a verse which says: 'Just as the footprint of birds flying in the sky and of fish swimming in the water may not be seen, so is the going of those who have realised the truth' (tathā jñānavidam gatih), Śāntiparva 181. 12. Tathāgata therefore evokes this indefinable, ineffable quality of one who has arrived at the truth.

Another common interpretation is that tathāgata means 'one who comes and goes' (in the same manner as all the Buddhas). This understanding comes from early Buddhist mythology where the Buddha is considered a teacher come from the Tusita heaven (satthā Tusita gani-m-āgata - Sutta Nipāta 5. 955

References

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• Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. "Tathāgata." Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London. 9:2 (1938). 331.
• Hopkins, E. Washburn. "Buddha as Tathagata." The American Journal of Philology. 32:2 (1911). 205-209.
• Nyanatiloka. Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines. San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, 1977. Also available online at: budsas.org
• The Seeker's Glossary of Buddhism. Taiwan: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 1998.
• Shuhmacher, Stephan and Gert Woerner. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Boston: Shambala, 1994.
• Thomas, E. J. "Tathāgata and Tahāgaya." Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 8, No. 2/3, Indian and Iranian Studies: Presented to George Abraham Grierson on His Eighty-Fifth Birthday, 7th January, 1936. 781-788.
• Tokiwa, Gishin. "Chan (Zen) View of Suffering." Buddhist-Christian Studies 5 (1985). 103-129.
• Wayman, Alex. "The Tathāgata Chapter of Nāgārjuna's "Mūla-Madhyamaka-kārikā." Philosophy East and West 38:1 (January 1988). 47-57.

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