A study of the renowned Tibetan master and translator Go Lotsawa's teachings on the concept of Buddha nature.

The major Indian treatise on Buddha nature is the Ratnagotravibhaga, also known as Uttaratantra, and it is this core text that is the focus of this work. Mathes demonstrates how Go Lotsawa ties the teachings on Buddha nature in with mainstream Mahayana thought while avoiding the pitfalls of the Shentong approach to emptiness favoured by the Jonang tradition. He also evaluates Go Lotsawa's position on Buddha nature against the background of interpretations by masters of the Kagyu, Nyingma, and Jonang schools.

"Klaus-Dieter Mathes has rendered an extraordinary service to students of Tibetan intellectual and contemplative traditions by editing this singular work in full, and providing us with a clear and meticulous English translation of its key sections. His thorough introduction and annotations resolve the many difficult points found herein and place Go Lotsawa's contribution in its proper context in the history of the tradition. In a Direct Path to the Buddha Within, Mathes sets a lasting standard for the presentation of Tibetan Buddhist doctrinal writings." Matthew Kapstein.

"A fundamental issue for religion in general is how to understand the presence of the sacred in the profane. In Buddhist terms this becomes a question of how to understand the Buddha nature that inheres in all sentient beings. Dr Mathes' study of this issue as dealt with in a late 15th century Tibetan work is a truly outstanding contribution to this important branch of Buddhist philosophy." Leonard W.J.van der Kuijp, Harvard University.