Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa

The Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa[-parivarta] (C. buzeng bujian jing 不增不減經), the Discourse on Neither Increase nor Decrease, is one of the earliest tathagatagarbha sutras, along with the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra.

The scripture is only extant in the Chinese translation (Ch. Bu zeng bu jian jing, 不增不減經) produced by Bodhiruci in 525. Quotations from the sutra in the Ratnagotravibhāga demonstrate that it was composed before 400 CE.

Karl Brunnholzl states:

Another early tathāgatagarbha sūtra (and the shortest) is the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta. It is available only in a Chinese translation, and almost one-third is quoted in RGVV [Asaṅga's commentary to the Ratnagotravibhāga, which clearly shows the Indian origin of this sūtra. As its title suggests (parivarta means "chapter"), this sūtra may originally have been part of a larger sūtra or a sūtra collection. It has a close thematic relationship with the Śrīmālādevīsūtra and likewise emphasizes the importance of faith as a skillful means for the realization of the tathāgata heart (though not as its actual cause). As in many other early mahāyāna sūtras, the main interlocutor in the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta is Śāriputra.

As its name says, the main theme of the sūtra is the discussion of the lack of increase and decrease. The text says that it is due to the misconception of there being any increase or decrease of the dhātu of sentient beings that beings roam in saṃsāra and wrongly think of nirvāṇa as annihilation or permanence. The root of such misconceptions is their lack of understanding the oneness of the nondual dharmadhātu. This dharmadhātu is the sphere and the great nirvāṇa of buddhas, which cannot be perceived even by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, let alone ordinary beings. Still, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and sentient beings are not different in essence since they are nothing but three different states of the dharmakāya in terms of its being more or less unobscured by adventitious stains. The dhātu of sentient beings is ultimate reality and the tathāgata heart, which is also identified as the dharmakāya, fully endowed with the inseparable, innumerable, and inconceivable qualities of a buddha, just as the radiance, color, and shape of a jewel are inseparable. The three states of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and sentient beings are nondual, being neither the same nor different.

Further reading

• Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta, Buddha Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative
• Radich, Michael (2015). "Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures." In Jonathan Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, Vincent Eltschinger (eds.): Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume 1: Literature and Languages. Leiden: Brill, p. 262
• Anūnatvāpurnatvanirdeśa, Wikipedia

Translations

• Silk, Jonathan A. (2015). Buddhist Cosmic Unity. An Edition, Translation and Study of the Anunatvapurnatvanirdesaparivarta (PDF). Hamburg University Press. ISBN 9783943423228. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-16. 
• Hodge, Stephen (2003). Anunatva Apurnatva Nirdesa Sutra, draft translation of the Sanskrit quotations.
• Unknown translator, Buddha Pronounces the Sūtra of Neither Increase Nor Decrease, translated by Bodhiruci