Three natures 三自性（唯識宗的核心思想）

Vasubandhu, author of Treatise on the Three Natures

Three natures (Skt. trisvabhāva; Tib. མཚན་ཉིད་གསུམ, རང་བཞིན་གསུམ་, Wyl. mtshan nyid gsum or rang bzhin gsum) — the three categories into which the followers of the Mind Only school divide all phenomena:

1. Imputed (Skt. Parikalpita; Tib. ཀུན་བརྟགས་, Wyl. kun btags)
2. Dependent (Skt. Paratantra; Tib. གཞན་དབང་, Wyl. gzhan dbang)
3. Truly Existent (Skt. Pariniṣpanna; Tib. ཡོངས་གྲུབ་, Wyl. yongs grub)

Alternative Translations

• Imaginary, Other-dependent & Perfect (Karl Brunnhölzl)
• Imagined, Other-dependent & Consummate (Jay L. Garfield)
• Imputation, Dependence & the Absolute (Lama Chökyi Nyima)

Further Reading

• Jay L. Garfield, 'Vasubandhu's Treatise on the Three Natures' in Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Interpretation, Oxford University Press, 2002

Internal Links

• Treatise on the Three Natures