[Buddha-l] As Swami goes, so goes the nation? (Dan Lusthaus and Richard P. Hayes) (DanLusthaus)

[Dan Lusthaus]

Mitchell,

Good luck solving the loss of Chinese problem. A server stripping off the 
8th bit somewhere between the buddha-l server and your computer is the 
likely culprit.

As for your questions, the Yogacara decision to retain the language of 
svabhava (foundational in abhidharma, which Yogacara utilizes to great 
extent) does lead to some complications. The short answer is that the 
tri-svabhava is immediately balanced by tri-nihsvabhava, three 
non-self-natures. Parikalpita is devoid of a self-nature by definition 
(since it is imaginary and unreal); paratantra is devoid of self-nature 
because it is other-dependent, thus lacking a *self*-nature; parinispanna is 
the principle of the lack of svabhava is everything including itself.

Tantra in para-tantra means "dependent". Para- means "other," hence 
"other-dependent". The Chinese version 依他起自性 (sorry!) yita qi zixing 
literally means:

yita = other-dependent (yi = depend; ta = other)
qi = arise
zixing = self-nature

so "arises dependent on others self-nature".

Often yita xing (other-dependent nature) for short.

Dan