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Buddha-nature

In Buddhist philosophy, Buddha-nature (Chinese: (佛性, Japanese:, Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all beings already have a pure buddha-essence within. "Buddha-nature" is the common English translation for several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, most notably tathāgatagarbha and buddhadhātu, but also sugatagarbha, and buddhagarbha. Tathāgatagarbha can mean "the womb" or "embryo" (garbha) of the "thus-gone one" (tathāgata), and can also mean "containing a tathāgata". Buddhadhātu can mean "buddha-element," "buddha-realm" or "buddha-substrate".

Buddha-nature has a wide range of (sometimes conflicting) meanings in Indian and later East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist literature. Broadly speaking, it refers to the belief that the luminous mind, "the natural and true state of the mind," which is pure (visuddhi) mind undefiled by kleshas, is inherently present in every sentient being, and is eternal and unchanging. It will shine forth when it is cleansed of the defilements, that is, when the nature of mind is recognised for what it is.

The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (written 2nd century CE), which was very influential in the Chinese reception of these teachings, linked the concept of tathāgatagarbha with the buddhadhātu. The term buddhadhātu originally referred to buddha relics. In the Mahāparinirvāṇa, it came to be used in place of the concept of tathāgatagārbha, reshaping the worship of physical buddha relics of the Buddha into worship of the inner Buddha as a principle of salvation.

The primordial or undefiled mind, the tathagatagarbha, is also often equated with emptiness; with the alayavijñana ("storehouse-consciousness", a yogacara concept); and with the interpenetration of all dharmas (in East Asian traditions like Huayan). Buddha nature ideas are central to East Asian Buddhism, which relies on key buddha-nature sources like the Mahāparinirvāṇa. In Tibetan Buddhism, buddha-nature ideas are also important, and are often studied through the key Indian treatise on buddha-nature, the Ratnagotravibhāga.

Tathāgatagarbha
The term tathāgatagarbha may mean "embryonic tathāgata", "womb of the tathāgata", or "containing a tathagata". Various meanings may all be brought into mind when the term tathagatagarbha is being used.

Compound
The Sanskrit term tathāgatagarbha is a compound of two terms, tathāgata and garbha:
 * tathāgata means "the one thus gone", referring to the Buddha. It is composed of "tathā" and "āgata", "thus come", or "tathā" and "gata", "thus gone". The term refers to a Buddha, who has "thus gone" from samsara into nirvana, and "thus come" from nirvana into samsara to work for the salvation of all sentient beings.
 * garbha, "womb", "embryo", "center", "essence".

Asian translations
The Chinese translated the term tathāgatagarbha as rúláizàng (如来藏), or "Tathāgata's (rúlái) storehouse" (zàng). According to Brown, "storehouse" may indicate both "that which enfolds or contains something", or "that which is itself enfolded, hidden or contained by another." The Tibetan translation is de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, which cannot be translated as "womb" (mngal or lhums), but as "embryonic essence", "kernel" or "heart". The term "heart" was also used by Mongolian translators.

The Tibetan scholar Go Lotsawa outlined four meanings of the term Tathāgatagarbha as used by Indian Buddhist scholars generally: (1) As an emptiness that is a nonimplicative negation, (2) the luminous nature of the mind, (3) alaya-vijñana (store-consciousness), (4) all bodhisattvas and sentient beings.

Western translations
The term tathagatagarbha first appears in the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras, which date to the 2nd and third centuries CE. It is translated and interpreted in various ways by western translators and scholars:
 * According to Sally King, the term tathāgatagarbha may be understood in two ways:
 * 1) "embryonic tathāgata", the incipient Buddha, the cause of the Tathāgata,
 * 2) "womb of the tathāgata", the fruit of Tathāgata.
 * According to King, the Chinese rúláizàng was taken in its meaning as "womb" or "fruit".

 * Wayman & Hideko also point out that the Chinese regularly takes garbha as "womb", but prefer to use the term "embryo".
 * According to Brown, following Wayman & Hideko, "embryo" is the best fitting translation, since it preserves "the dynamic, self-transformative nature of the tathagatagarbha."
 * According to Zimmermann, garbha may also mean the interior or center of something, and its essence or central part. As a tatpuruṣa it may refer to a person being a "womb" for or "container" of the tathagata. As a bahuvrihi it may refer to a person as having an embryonic tathagata inside. In both cases, this embryonic tathagata still has to be developed. Zimmermann concludes that tathagatagarbha is a bahuvrihi, meaning "containing a tathagata", but notes the variety of meanings of garbha, such as "containing", "born from", "embryo", "(embracing/concealing) womb", "calyx", "child", "member of a clan", "core", which may all be brought into mind when the term tathagatagarbha is being used.
 * In addition to Zimmerman's statement that tathagatagarbha most natural means "containing a Tathagata," Paul Williams notes that garbha also means "womb/matrix" and "seed/embryo," and "the innermost part of something." The term tathagatagarbha can thus also imply "that sentient beings have a tathāgata within them in seed or embryo, that sentient beings are the wombs or matrices of the tathāgata, or that they have a tathāgata as their essence, core, or essential inner nature." According to Williams, the term tathāgatagarbha "may also have been intended simply to answer the question how it is possible that all sentient beings can attain the state of a Buddha.

Buddhadhātu
The term "buddha-nature" is closely related in meaning to the term tathāgatagarbha, but is not an exact translation of this term. It refers to what is essential in the human being.

The corresponding Sanskrit term is buddhadhātu. It has two meanings, namely the nature of the Buddha, equivalent to the term dharmakāya, and the cause of the Buddha. The link between the cause and the result is the nature (dhātu) which is common to both, namely the dharmadhātu.

Matsumoto Shirō also points out that "buddha-nature" translates the Sanskrit-term buddhadhātu, a "place to put something," a "foundation," a "locus." According to Shirō, it does not mean "original nature" or "essence," nor does it mean the "possibility of the attainment of Buddhahood," "the original nature of the Buddha," or "the essence of the Buddha."

In the Vajrayana, the term for buddha-nature is sugatagarbha.

Historical pre-cursors
According to Alex Wayman, the idea of the tathāgatagarbha is grounded on sayings by the Buddha that there is something called the luminous mind (prabhasvaracitta), "which is only adventitiously covered over by defilements (agantuka klesha)." The luminous mind is mentioned in a passage from the Anguttara Nikaya (which has various parallels) which states that the mind is luminous but "is defiled by incoming defilements." The Mahāsāṃghika school coupled this idea with the idea of the "root consciousness" (mulavijñana) which serves as the basic layer of the mind and which is held to have a self-nature (cittasvabhāva) which is pure (visuddhi) and undefiled. In some of the tathagatagarbha-sutras a consciousness which is naturally pure (prakṛti-pariśuddha) is regarded to be the seed from which Buddhahood grows. Wayman thus argues that the pure luminous mind doctrine formed the basis for the classic buddha-nature doctrine.

Karl Brunnholzl writes that the first probable mention of the term tathāgatagarbha is in the Ekottarika Agama (though here it is used in a different way than in later texts). The passage states: "If someone devotes himself to the Ekottarikagama, Then he has the tathagatagarbha. Even if his body cannot exhaust defilements in this life, In his next life he will attain supreme wisdom." This tathāgatagarbha idea was the result of an interplay between various strands of Buddhist thought, on the nature of human consciousness and the means of awakening. Gregory sees this doctrine as implying that enlightenment is the natural state of the mind.

Avatamsaka and Lotus Sutras
According to Wayman, the teachings of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (1st–3rd century CE), which say that the Buddha's knowledge is all pervasive and is present in all sentient beings were also an important step in the development of buddha-nature thought. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra does not mention the term tathāgatagarbha, but the idea of "a universal penetration of sentient beings by the wisdom of the Buddha (buddhajñāna)," is seen by some scholars as complementary to the tathāgatagarbha concept.

The Lotus Sutra, written between 100 BCE and 200 CE, also does not use the term tathāgatagarbha, but Japanese scholars suggest that a similar idea is nevertheless expressed or implied in the text. The tenth chapter emphasizes that all living beings can become a Buddha. The twelfth chapter of the Lotus Sutra details that the potential to become enlightened is universal among all people, even the historical Devadatta has the potential to become a buddha. East Asian commentaries saw these teachings as indicating that the Lotus sutra was also drawing on the concept of the universality of buddha-nature. The sutra shares other themes and ideas with the later tathāgatagarbha sūtras and thus several scholars theorize that it was an influence on these texts.

Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and Nirvana Sūtra
According to Zimmerman, the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra (200–250 CE) is the earliest buddha-nature text. Zimmerman argues that "the term tathāgatagarbha itself seems to have been coined in this very sutra." The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra states that all beings already have perfect Buddha body (*tathāgatatva, *buddhatva, *tathāgatakāya) within themselves, but do not recognize it because it is covered over by afflictions.

The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra uses nine similes to illustrate the concept: "This [tathāgatagarbha] abides within the shroud of the afflictions, as should be understood through [the following nine] examples: Just like a buddha in a decaying lotus, honey amidst bees, a grain in its husk, gold in filth, a treasure underground, a shoot and so on sprouting from a little fruit, a statue of the Victorious One in a tattered rag, a ruler of humankind in a destitute woman's womb, and a precious image under clay, this [buddha] element abides within all sentient beings, obscured by the defilement of the adventitious poisons."

Another important and early source for buddha-nature is the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (often just called the Nirvana Sutra), possibly dating to the 2nd century CE. Some scholars like Michael Radich argue that this is the earliest buddha-nature sutra. This sutra was very influential in the development of East Asian Buddhism. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra linked the concept of tathāgatagarbha with the "buddhadhātu" ("buddha-nature" or "buddha-element") and it also equates these with the eternal and pure Buddha-body, the Dharmakaya, also called vajrakaya. The sutra also presents the buddha-nature or tathagatagarbha as a "Self" or a true self (ātman), though it also attempts to argue that this claim is not incompatible with the teaching of not-self (anatman). The Nirvana sutra further claims that buddha-nature (and the Buddha's body, his Dharmakaya) is characterized by four perfections (pāramitās) or qualities: permanence (nitya), bliss (sukha), self (ātman), and purity (''śuddha). ''

Other important buddha-nature sutras
Other important tathāgatagarbha sutras include:

 * The Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra (The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala, c. 3rd century CE) which discusses the tathāgatagarbha along with other key Mahayana doctrines like the one vehicle and the luminous mind and links them to buddha-nature thought. This sutra also states that the mind's luminous nature, while being empty of adventitious defilements, is not empty of limitless buddha qualities. Furthermore, the Śrīmālādevī also says that the tathāgatagarbha is the basis of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa and equates it with the dharmakāya (which is described as "permanent," "eternal," "everlasting," and "peaceful").
 * The Anūnatvāpurnatvanirdeśa (The Teaching of Neither Increase nor Decrease). This sutra states that there is no increase or decrease in the “realm (or domain, or element) of (sentient) beings” (sattvadhātu), which is really a single domain (*ekadhātu) that is equally samsara and buddhahood and is equated with the “originally pure mind” (*prakṛtipariśuddhacitta) and tathāgatagarbha.
 * The Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra (2nd c. CE) – Features the mass murderer convert Aṅgulimāla as a central character (now reformed and turned into a bodhisattva). The text attributes various qualities to the universal tathāgatagarbha, such as non-arising, independence, invariability, and not being the perceptive mind.
 * Mahābheri Sūtra (Great Drum Sutra) – Describes buddha nature as luminous and pure, as eternal, everlasting, peaceful and self (ātman).
 * Mahāmegha Sūtra (Great Cloud Sutra) - Like the Nirvana sutra this sutra also teaches the eternity of Buddhas (and their docetic nature) and the four perfections of permanence, bliss, self and purity as qualities of the Buddha. It also discusses the non-dual nature of all sentient beings with the Dharmadhatu along with four hundred types of samādhi.
 * The Dhāraṇīśvararāja sūtra is a key source for the Ratnagotravibhāga 's seven main vajra topics. It explicitly points out that the nature of the minds of sentient beings is fundamentally pure (cittaprakrtivisuddhi).
 * The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (compiled 350–400 CE) synthesized the tathāgatagarbha doctrine and teachings of the Yogācāra school, like the ālāya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness) and the "three natures". According to the Laṅkāvatāra, tathāgatagarbha is the same as the ālayavijñāna (though this is qualified in other passages which explain that there are two layers of the ālayavijñāna, a pure and an impure layer). The storehouse consciousness is supposed to contain the pure tathāgatagarbha, from which awakening arises. Wayman notes that this synthesis of tathāgatagarbha thought and Yogacara Buddhism is a key innovation of the Laṅkāvatāra.
 * The Ghanavyūha sūtra is another sutra which synthesizes Yogācāra doctrines like the three natures and the ālayavijñāna (storehouse consciousness) with the tathāgatagarbha teaching.

Indian commentaries
The tathāgatagarbha doctrine was also widely discussed by Indian Mahayana scholars in treatises or commentaries, called śāstra, the most influential of which was the Ratnagotravibhāga (5th century CE).

Ratnagotravibhāga
The Ratnagotravibhāga (Investigating the Jewel Disposition), also called Uttaratantraśāstra (Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum), is a 5th century CE Indian treatise (śāstra) which synthesised major elements and themes of the tathāgatagārbha theory. It gives an overview of key themes found in many tathāgatagarbha sutras, and it cites the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra, the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, the Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra, the Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa and the Mahābherīharaka-sūtra. The Ratnagotravibhāga presents the tathāgatagarbha as "an ultimate, unconditional reality that is simultaneously the inherent, dynamic process towards its complete manifestation". Mundane and enlightened reality are seen as complementary: "Thusness [tathata] defiled is the Tathagatagarbha, and Thusness undefiled is Enlightenment."

In the Ratnagotravibhāga, the tathāgatagarbha is seen as having three specific characteristics: (1) dharmakaya, (2) suchness, and (3) disposition, as well as the general characteristic (4) non-conceptuality.

According to the Ratnagotravibhāga, all sentient beings have "the embryo of the Tathagata" in three senses:
 * 1) the Tathāgata's dharmakāya permeates all sentient beings;
 * 2) the Tathāgata's tathatā is omnipresent (avyatibheda);
 * 3) the Tathāgata's species (gotra, a synonym for tathagatagarbha) occurs in them.

The Ratnagotravibhāga equates enlightenment with the nirvāṇa-realm and the dharmakāya. It gives a variety of synonyms for garbha, the most frequently used being gotra and dhatu.

This text also explains the tathāgatagarbha in terms of luminous mind, stating that "the luminous nature of the mind Is unchanging, just like space."

Other possible Indian treatises on buddha-nature
Takasaki Jikido notes various buddha nature treatises which exist only in Chinese and which are similar in some ways to the Ratnagotra. These works are unknown in other textual traditions and scholars disagree on whether they are translations, original compositions or a mixture of the two. These works are:

 * Dharmadhātvaviśeṣaśāstra (Dasheng fajie wuchabie lun 大乘法界無差別論), said to have been translated by Paramartha and attributed to Saramati (the same author which the Chinese tradition states wrote the Ratnagotra).
 * Buddhagotraśāstra (佛性論, Fó xìng lùn, Buddha-nature treatise, Taishō 1610), said to have been translated by Paramartha and is attributed by Chinese tradition to Vasubandhu
 * Anuttarâśrayasūtra, which according to Takasaki "is clearly a composition based upon the Ratna."

Madhyamaka school
Indian Madhyamaka philosophers interpreted the theory as a description of emptiness and as a non implicative negation. Bhaviveka's Tarkajvala states:

"[The expression] 'possessing the tathagata heart' is [used] because emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, and so on, exist in the mind streams of all sentient beings. However, it is not something like a permanent and all-pervasive person that is the inner agent. For we find [passages] such as 'All phenomena have the nature of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. What is emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness is the Tathagata.'"

According to Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatārabhāsya the storehouse consciousness "is nothing but emptiness that is taught through the term 'alaya-consciousness.'" Go Lotsawa states that this statement is referencing the tathāgatagarbha doctrine. Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatārabhāsya also argues, basing itself on the Lankavatara sutra, that "the statement of the emptiness of sentient beings being a buddha adorned with all major and minor marks is of expedient meaning".

Kamalasila's (c. 740–795) Madhyamakaloka associates tathāgatagarbha with luminosity and luminosity with emptiness. According to Kamalasila the idea that all sentient beings have tathāgatagarbha means that all beings can attain full awakening and also refers to how "the term tathāgata expresses that the dharmadhātu, which is characterized by personal and phenomenal identitylessness, is natural luminosity."

Paul Williams puts forward the Madhyamaka interpretation of the buddha-nature as emptiness in the following terms:"… if one is a Madhyamika then that which enables sentient beings to become buddhas must be the very factor that enables the minds of sentient beings to change into the minds of Buddhas. That which enables things to change is their simple absence of inherent existence, their emptiness. Thus the tathagatagarbha becomes emptiness itself, but specifically emptiness when applied to the mental continuum."

Uniquely among Madhyamaka texts, some texts attributed to Nagarjuna, mainly poetic works like the Dharmadhatustava, Cittavajrastava, and Bodhicittavivarana, associate the term tathāgatagarbha with the luminous nature of the mind.

Yogācāra school
According to Brunnholzl, "all early Indian Yogācāra masters (such as Asanga, Vasubandhu, Sthiramati, and Asvabhava), if they refer to the term tathāgatagarbha at all, always explain it as nothing but suchness in the sense of twofold identitylessness".

Some later Yogacara scholars spoke of the tathāgatagarbha in more positive terms, such as Jñanasrimitra who in his Sakarasiddhi equates it with the appearances of lucidity (prakāśa-rupa). Likewise, the Vikramashila scholar Ratnākaraśānti describes buddha-nature as the natural luminous mind, which is a non-dual self-awareness. Brunnholzl also notes that for Ratnākaraśānti, this luminosity is equivalent to the Yogacara concept of the perfected nature, which he sees as an implicative negation. Ratnākaraśānti also describes this ultimate self-nature as radiance (prakāśa, ‘shining forth’), which is the capacity to appear (pratibhāsa).

The Yogācāra concept of the alaya-vijñana (store consciousness) also came to be associated by some scholars with the tathāgatagarbha. This can be seen in sutras like the Lankavatara, the Srimaladevi and in the translations of Paramartha. The concept of the ālaya-vijñāna originally meant defiled consciousness: defiled by the workings of the five senses and the mind. It was also seen as the mūla-vijñāna, the base-consciousness or "stream of consciousness" (Mindstream) from which awareness and perception spring.

Around 300 CE, the Yogācāra school systematized the prevalent ideas on the nature of the Buddha in the Trikaya (triple body) doctrine, in which the Buddha is held to have three bodies: Nirmanakaya (transformation body which people see on earth), Sambhogakāya (a subtle body which appears to bodhisattvas) and the Dharmakāya (ultimate reality). This doctrine was also later to be synthesized with buddha-nature teachings by various sources (with buddha-nature generally referring to the Dharmakaya as it does in some sutras).

The Yogācāra school also had a doctrine of "gotra" (lineage, family) which held that there were five categories of living beings each with their own inner nature. To make this teaching compatible with the notion of buddha-nature in all beings, Yogācāra scholars in China such as Tz'u-en (慈恩, 632–682) the first patriarch in China, advocated two types of nature: the latent nature found in all beings (理佛性) and the buddha-nature in practice (行佛性). The latter nature was determined by the innate seeds in the alaya.

East Asian Buddhism
The doctrines associated with buddha-nature (Chinese: fóxìng) and tathāgatagarbha (rúláizàng) were extremely influential in the development of East Asian Buddhism. The buddha-nature idea was introduced into China with the translation of the Nirvana Sutra in the early fifth century and this text became the central source of buddha-nature doctrine in Chinese Buddhism. When Buddhism was introduced to China, it was initially understood through comparing it with native Chinese philosophies such as neo-daoism. Based on their understanding of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra some Chinese Buddhists supposed that the teaching of the buddha-nature was, as stated by that sutra, the final Buddhist teaching, and that there is an essential truth above emptiness and the two truths. This idea was often interpreted as being similar to the ideas of the Dao, non-being (wu), and Principle (Li) in Chinese philosophy and developed into what was called "essence-function" thought (體用, pinyin: tǐ yòng) which held there were two main ontological levels to reality, the most foundational being the buddha-nature, the "essence" of all phenomena (which in turn were the "functions" of buddha-nature).

Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna
The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana (Dàshéng Qǐxìn Lùn) was very influential in the development of Chinese Buddhism While the text is traditionally attributed to the Indian Aśvaghoṣa, no Sanskrit version of the text is extant. The earliest known versions are written in Chinese, and contemporary scholars believe that the text is a Chinese composition.

The Awakening of Faith offers an ontological synthesis of buddha-nature and Yogacara thought from the perspective of "essence-function" philosophy. It describes the "One Mind" which "includes in itself all states of being of the phenomenal and transcendental world. The Awakening of Faith tries to harmonize the ideas of the tathāgatagarbha and the storehouse consciousness (ālāyavijñāna) into a single theory which sees self, world, mind and ultimate realty as an integrated the "one mind", which is the ultimate substratum of all things (including samsara and nirvana).

In the Awakening of Faith the "one mind" has two aspects, namely "the aspect of enlightenment," (which is tathata, suchness, the true nature of things), and "the aspect of nonenlightenment" (samsara, the cycle of birth and death, defilement and ignorance). This text was in line with an essay by Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (reign 502–549 CE), in which he postulated a pure essence, the enlightened mind, trapped in darkness, which is ignorance. By this ignorance the pure mind is trapped in samsara. This resembles the tathāgatagarba and the idea of the defilement of the luminous mind.

In a similar fashion to the Awakening of Faith, the Korean Vajrasamādhi Sūtra (685 CE) uses the doctrine of Essence-Function to explain the tathāgatagarbha (also called "the dharma of the one mind" and original enlightenment) as having two elements: one essential, immutable, changeless and still (the "essence"); the other an active and salvational inspirational power (function).

In Chinese Yogacara and Madhyamaka
By the 6th century CE buddha nature had been well established in Chinese Buddhism and a wide variety of theories developed to explain it. One influential figure who wrote about buddha nature was Ching-ying Hui-yuan (523–592 CE), a Chinese Yogacarin who argued for a kind of idealism which held that "all dharmas without exception originate and are formed from the true[-mind], and other than the true[-mind], there exists absolutely nothing which can give rise to false thoughts." Ching-ying Hui-yuan equated this "true mind" with the storehouse consciousness and with buddha-nature and held that it was an essence, a true consciousness and a metaphysical principle that ensured that all sentient beings will reach enlightenment.

In the sixth and seventh centuries, the Yogacara theory became associated with a substantialist non-dual metaphysics which saw buddha nature as an eternal ground. This idea was promoted by figures like Ratnamati. The Chinese Yogacara tradition included numerous traditions with their own interpretations of buddha-nature. The Dilun or Daśabhūmikā school and the Shelun school were some of the earliest schools in this Chinese Yogacara. The Dilun school became split on the issue of the relationship between the storehouse consciousness and buddha-nature. The southern faction held that storehouse consciousness was identical with the pure mind, while the northern school held that the storehouse consciousness was exclusively a deluded and defiled mind.

In contrast with the Chinese Yogacara view, the Chinese Madhyamaka scholar Jizang (549–623 CE) sought to remove all ontological connotations of the term as a metaphysical reality and saw buddha nature as being synonymous with terms like "tathata," "dharmadhatu," "ekayana," "wisdom,  "ultimate reality," "middle way" and also the wisdom that contemplates dependent origination. In formulating his view, Jizang was influenced by the earlier Chinese Madhyamaka thinker Sengzhao (384–414 CE) who was a key figure in outlining an understanding of emptiness which was based on the Indian sources and not on Daoist concepts which previous Chinese Buddhists had used. Jizang used the compound "Middle Way-buddha-nature" (zhongdao foxing 中道佛 性) to refer to his view. Jizang was also one of the first Chinese philosophers to famously argue that plants and insentient objects have buddha-nature, which he also termed true reality and universal principle (dao'').

In Tiantai
The Tiantai school is one of the first native Chinese doctrinal schools, and the primary figure of this tradition is the scholar Zhiyi. According to Paul L. Swanson, none of Zhiyi's works discuss buddha-nature explicitly at length however. Yet it is still an important concept in his philosophy, which is seen as synonymous with the ekayana principle outlined in the Lotus Sutra. Swanson argues that for Zhiyi, buddha-nature is:

"an active threefold process which involves the way reality is, the wisdom to see reality as it is, and the practice required to attain this wisdom. Buddha Nature is threefold: the three aspects of reality, wisdom, and practice are interdependent—one aspect does not make any sense without the others."

Thus, for Zhiyi, buddha-nature has three aspects which he bases on passages from the Lotus sutra and the Nirvana sutra. These three aspects are:

 * 1) The direct cause of attaining Buddhahood, the innate potential in all sentient beings to become Buddhas, which is the aspect of 'true nature', the way things are.
 * 2) The complete cause of attaining Buddhahood, which is the aspect of wisdom that illuminates the true nature and the goal of practice.
 * 3) The conditional causes of attaining Buddhahood, which is the aspect of the practices and activities that lead to Buddhahood.

The later Tiantai scholar Zhanran would expand the Tiantai view of buddha-nature, which he saw as synonymous with suchness, to argue for the idea that insentient rocks and plants also have buddha-nature.

In Huayan
The other major native Chinese doctrinal school is the Huayan school. The Huayan tradition heavily relied on buddha nature sources like the Awakening of Faith and on the doctrine of principle (理, li, or the ultimate pattern) and phenomena (shi). In the Huayan tradition, the ultimate principle is associated with buddha-nature, and with the One Mind of the Awakening of Faith. This ultimate nature is seen as the ontological source and ground of all phenomena''.  This is a key idea in Huayan thought which is called "nature-origination" (xingqi).  According to this doctrine defended by Huayan thinkers like Fazang, the entire universe is a manifestation of the one nature, and it is also fully interfused with its source. '' As such, the ultimate principle is non-dual with all relative phenomena. Because the ultimate source of all things is also interdependent and interconnected with them, it remains a ground which is empty of self-existence (svabhava) and thus it is not an independent essence.

In Chan Buddhism
In Chan Buddhism, buddha-nature tends to be seen as the essential nature of all beings, while also emphasizing that buddha-nature is emptiness, the absence of an independent and substantial "self". The term buddha-nature is interpreted in various ways throughout the voluminous Chan literature. In the East Mountain Teaching of early Chan, buddha-nature was equated with the nature of mind, while later sects sometimes rejected any identification of the term with the mind. This rejection of any reification of the term is reflected in the recorded sayings of Chan master Mazu Daoyi (709–788) of the influential Hongzhou school, who sometimes would teach on the "ordinary mind" or say "Mind is Buddha," but at other times would say "Neither mind nor Buddha."

The influential Chan patriarch Guifeng Zongmi (780–841), who was also a patriarch of Huayan, interpreted buddha-nature as "empty tranquil awareness" (k'ung-chi chih), which he took from the Ho-tse school of Chan. Following the Srimala sutra, he interpreted the theory of emptiness as presented in the Prajñaparamita sutras as provisional and saw the awareness which is buddha-nature as the definitive teaching of Buddhism.

Chan masters from Huineng (7th-century China), Chinul (12th century Korea), Hakuin Ekaku (18th-century Japan) to Hsu Yun (20th-century China), have taught that the process of awakening begins with the light of the mind turning around to recognize its own true nature, so that the storehouse consciousness (also called the 8th consciousness in Yogacara Buddhism), which is also the tathāgatagarbha, is transformed into the "bright mirror wisdom". According to D.T. Suzuki, the Zen view of buddha-nature can be found in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which states that one must let go of all discriminating notions of any kind to attain the perfect knowledge of the tathāgatagarbha. When this transformation is complete, the other seven consciousnesses are also transformed into wisdom.

A famous reference to buddha-nature in the Chan tradition is found in the influential koan called the mu-koan (from The Gateless Barrier, a 13th century koan collection) which asks "does a dog have Buddha nature?" The enigmatic response given by the master is "no" ("wú , Chinese, mu'' in Japanese) which can interpreted in various ways.

According to Heng-Ching Shih, the teaching of the universal buddha-nature does not intend to assert the existence of substantial, entity-like self endowed with excellent features of a Buddha. Rather, buddha-nature simply represents the potentiality to be realized in the future. Hsing Yun, forty-eighth patriarch of the Linji school, equates the buddha-nature with the dharmakāya in line with pronouncements in key tathāgatagarbha sūtras. He defines these as "the inherent nature that exists in all beings....transcendental reality....the unity of the Buddha with everything that exists," and sees it as the goal of Mahayana Buddhism.

Japanese Buddhism

The major Japanese Buddhist traditions all take the idea of buddha-nature (Japanese: busshō, 仏性) as a central teaching, from Tendai and Shingon, to the new Kamakura schools. One of the most important developments of buddha-nature thought in Japanese Buddhism was hongaku theory (本覚, innate or original enlightenment) which developed within the Tendai school from the cloistered rule era (1086–1185) through the Edo period (1688–1735) and is derived from the Awakening of Faith (which uses the term pen-chileh, “original enlightenment”). Jacqueline Stone writes that Tendai doctrine held that enlightenment was "inherent from the outset and as accessible in the present, rather than as the fruit of a long process of cultivation." It was often held that hongaku was a feature of all phenomena, including plants and inanimate objects.

Hongaku thought was also influential on the development of New Kamakura Buddhist schools, like Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, Zen and Nichiren. Japanese Pure Land Buddhism relied on Tendai buddha-nature doctrine. The founder of the Jōdo Shinshū of Pure Land Buddhism, Shinran, equated buddha-nature with the central Shin concept of shinjin (true faith or the entrusting mind).

The founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, Dōgen Zenji, held that buddha-nature was simply the true nature of reality and being. This true nature was just impermanence, becoming and 'vast emptiness'. Because he saw the whole universe as an expression of buddha-nature, he held that even grass and trees are buddha-nature. According to Dōgen:

"Therefore, the very impermanency of grass and tree, thicket and forest is the Buddha nature. The very impermanency of men and things, body and mind, is the Buddha nature. Nature and lands, mountains and rivers, are impermanent because they are the Buddha nature. Supreme and complete enlightenment, because it is impermanent, is the Buddha nature."

Buddha-nature was likewise influential for the other sects of Zen, like Rinzai.

Nichiren Buddhism, founded by Nichiren (1222–1282), views the buddha-nature present in all beings as "the inner potential for attaining Buddhahood". The emphasis in Nichiren Buddhism is on attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime, described as manifesting or summoning forth buddha-nature by chanting the name of the Lotus Sutra: Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō Like the classic Tendai hongaku doctrine, Nichiren held that all life and even all insentient matter (such mandalas, images, statues) also possesses buddha nature, because they serve as objects of worship.

Tibetan Buddhism
In Tibetan Buddhist scholastics, there are two main camps of interpreting buddha-nature:

 * There are those who argue that tathāgatagarbha is just emptiness (described either as dharmadhatu, the nature of phenomena). This pure Madhyamaka view is described in as "a nonimplicative negation", which means that in one's philosophical analysis, one negates all forms of existence (and non-existence) completely, leaving nothing left over.
 * There are those who see it as an implicative negation, which means that there is something further to be said about buddha-nature that is not just the Madhyamaka emptiness based on pure negations of all concepts. This could include positive descriptions like the union of the mind's emptiness and luminosity, a non-dual buddha-wisdom, or even the eternal pure buddhic Self which includes all buddha-qualities (as in Jonang Shentong).

An early Tibetan translator, Ngok Lotsawa (1050–1109) argues in his commentary to the Uttaratantra that buddha-nature is a non-implicative negation, which is to say that it is emptiness, as a total negation of inherent existence (svabhava) that does not imply that anything is left un-negated (in terms of its svabhava). Another early figure, Chaba Chokyi Senge (1109–1169) also argued that buddha-nature was a non-implicative negation. The Kadampa tradition generally followed Ngok Lotsawa by holding that Buddha- nature was a nonimplicative negation. The Gelug school, which sees itself as a continuation of the Kadampas, also hold this view, while also holding, as Chaba did, that buddha-nature teachings are of expedient meaning.

This interpretation is sometimes called the rangtong interpretation of Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka. This view interprets buddha-nature teachings as an expedient ways to talk about the emptiness of inherent existence which should not be taken literally. Other schools, especially the Jonang, and some within the Kagyu tradition have tended to accept the shentong ("other-empty") philosophy, which discerns an ultimate reality which "is empty of adventitious defilements which are intrinsically other than it, but is not empty of its own inherent existence". Shentong influenced interpretations tend to rely heavily on the buddha-nature sutras to balance the negative dialectics of Madhyamaka.

These interpretations of the tathagatagarbha-teachings have been a matter of intensive debates in Tibetan Buddhism down to this day.

Nyingma
Morten Ostensen writes that the buddha-nature teaching (also known as "sugatagarbha", Wylie: bde gshegs snying po, in Tibetan tantric sources), first entered Tibetan Buddhism through the translation of the Nyingma school's Guhyagarbha Tantra in the eighth century. During the early translation period, other works which synthesized and reconciled buddha-nature thought with Yogacara and Madhyamaka philosophy were also translated by Tibetan scholars like Yeshe De (mid 8th – early 9th century). One of these works is Kamalashila"s Madhyamakāloka.

Yeshe De describes the sugatagarbha as twofold. It is the impure mind of sentient beings, the ālayavijñāna, and it is also the pure "natural spiritual disposition" (rigs) that is present within all beings which is also called the dharmakāya, and which he also calls the root (rtsa) and the ground (gzhi).

The teaching of buddha-nature is also a key source for Tibetan Dzogchen texts, which presents the sugatagarbha as equivalent to the ultimate ground or basis of all reality. This teaching can be found in early Dzogchen sources like Nubchen Sangye Yeshe's (9th century) Lamp for the Eye of Contemplation equates buddha-nature with this ultimate basis, which it also calls by various names like "the spontaneous essence", "the innermost treasury of all vehicles", "the great universal grandfather [spyi myes], is to be experienced directly by self-awareness [rang rig pas]", "sphere of the great circle [thig le chen po'i klong] of the self-awareness."

The Nyingma school view of buddha-nature is generally marked by the tendency to align the idea with Dzogchen views and with Prasangika Madhyamaka. This trend begins with the work of Rongzom (1042–1136) and continues into the work of Longchenpa (1308–1364) and Mipham (1846–1912). Mipham Rinpoche, the most authoritative figure in modern Nyingma, adopted a view of buddha-nature as the unity of appearance and emptiness, relating it to the descriptions of the ground in Dzogchen as outlined by Longchenpa. This ground is said to be primordially pure (ka dag) and spontaneously present (Ihun grub). In Dzogchen, buddha nature, which is equated with the basis (gzhi) of all phenomena, is often explained as the unity of "primordial purity" (Wylie: ka dag) and "natural perfection" or "spontaneous presence" (lhun grub). The Nyingma commentary of Ju Mipham upon the Ratnagotravibhaga from a Dzogchen viewpoint has been rendered into English by Duckworth (2008).

The modern Nyingma scholars Khenchen Palden Sherab (1938–2010) and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal (born 1950), emphasise that the essential nature of the mind (the buddha-nature) is not a blankness, but is characterized by wonderful qualities and a non-conceptual perfection that is already present and complete, it's just obscured and we fail to recognize it.

Sakya
Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), the central figure of the Sakya school, sees the buddha-nature as the dharmadhatu free from all reference points, and states that the teaching that buddha-nature exists in all beings is of expedient meaning (not ultimate) and that its basis is emptiness, citing Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatārabhāsya. The Sakya scholar Rongtön (1367–1449) meanwhile, argued that buddha-nature is suchness, with stains, or emptiness of the mind with stains.

Sakya scholar Buton Rinchen Drub (1290–1364) likewise held that the buddha-nature teachings were not an ultimate or final teaching (like emptiness), seeing them as teachings of expedient meaning that merely points to emptiness. His view was that the basis for these teachings is the alaya-vijñana and also that buddha-nature is the dharmakaya of a buddha but "never exists in the great mass of sentient beings".

According to Brunnholzl, in the works of the influential Sakya scholar Gorampa Sonam Senge (1429–1489), buddha-nature is

"nondual unity of minds lucidity and emptiness or awareness and emptiness free from all reference points. It is not mere emptiness because sheer emptiness cannot be the basis of both samsára and nirvána. However, it is not mere lucidity either because this lucidity is a conditioned entity and the tathágata heart is unconditioned."

Sakya Chokden (1428–1507) meanwhile argues that the ultimate buddha-nature is an implicative negation, which means that its philosophical negation leaves something positive that is not negated by analysis. This is "mind's natural luminosity free from all extremes of reference points, which is the sphere of personally experienced wisdom."

Jonang
The Jonang school, whose foremost historical figure was the Tibetan scholar-monk Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292–1361), sees the buddha-nature as the very ground of the Buddha himself, as the "permanent indwelling of the Buddha in the basal state". According to Brunnholzl, Dolpopa, basing himself on certain tathāgatagarbha sutras, argued that the buddha-nature is "ultimately really established, everlasting, eternal, permanent, immutable (therzug), and being beyond dependent origination." This is the foundation of what is called the Shentong view.

The Buddhist tantric scripture entitled Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī , repeatedly exalts, as portrayed by Dolpopa, not the non-Self but the Self, and applies the following terms to this ultimate reality: "the Buddha-Self, the beginningless Self, the solid Self, the diamond Self." These terms are applied in a manner which reflects the cataphatic approach to Buddhism, typical of much of Dolpopa's writings.

Cyrus Stearns writes that Dolpopa's attitude to the third turning of the wheel (i.e. the buddha-nature teachings) is that they "are the final definitive statements on the nature of ultimate reality, the primordial ground or substratum beyond the chain of dependent origination, and which is only empty of other, relative phenomena."

Kagyu
According to Brunnholzl, "virtually all Kagyu masters hold the teaching on buddha nature to be of definitive meaning and deny that the tathagata heart is just sheer emptiness or a nonimplicative negation." This means that most Kagyu scholars do not think that the strictly negative Madhyamaka explanation of buddha-nature is suffient on its own (without drawing on the buddha-nature sutras) to explain buddha-nature. Some Kagyu views can be similar to Jonang shentong and sometimes use shentong language, but they are generally less absolutist than Jonang views (the exception is Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, who largely follows Taranatha and Dolpopa but at times blends their positions with the Third Karmapa's view).

In Kagyu, the view of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje is generally seen as the most authoritative. His is the view that buddha-nature is "mind's luminous ultimate nature or nondual wisdom, which is the basis of everything in samsara and nirvana." Thrangu Rinpoche sees the Buddha-nature as the indivisible oneness of wisdom and emptiness:

"The union of wisdom and emptiness is the essence of Buddha-hood or what is called Buddha-nature (Skt. Tathagata-garbha) because it contains the very seed, the potential of Buddhahood. It resides in each and every being and because of this essential nature, this heart nature, there is the possibility of reaching Buddhahood."

Gelug
Kedrub Jé Geleg Balsang (1385–1438), one of the main disciples of Tsongkhapa, defined the tathāgatagarbha thus:

"It is the emptiness of mind's being empty of being really established that is called 'the naturally pure true nature of the mind.' The naturally pure true nature of the mind in its phase of not being free from adventitious stains is called 'sugata heart' or 'naturally abiding disposition.'"

Brunnholzl states that the view of Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen (1364–1432) is that buddha-nature (the tathagata heart) is "the state of a being in whom mind's emptiness is obscured, while buddhas by definition do not possess this tathagata heart."

The 14th Dalai Lama sees the buddha-nature as the "original clear light of mind", but points out that it ultimately does not exist independently, because, like all other phenomena, it is of the nature of emptiness:

"Once one pronounces the words 'emptiness' and 'absolute', one has the impression of speaking of the same thing, in fact of the absolute. If emptiness must be explained through the use of just one of these two terms, there will be confusion. I must say this; otherwise you might think that the innate original clear light as absolute truth really exists."

Rimé movement
The Rimé movement is an ecumenical movement in Tibet which started as an attempt to reconcile the various Tibetan schools in the 19th century. In contrast to the Gelugpa, which adheres to the rang stong, "self-empty", or Prasaṅgika point of view, the Rimé movement supports shen tong (gzhan tong), "other-empty", an essential nature which is "pure radiant non-dual consciousness".

According to Rime scholar Jamgon Kongtrul rangtong and shentong are not ultimately different as both can reach the ultimate state in practice. However, they do differ in how they describe ultimate reality (Dharmata), since shentong describes the buddha-mind as ultimately real, while rangtong rejects this (fearing it will be confused as an atman). Kongtrul "finds the Rangtong way of presentation the best to dissolve concepts and the Shentong way the best to describe the experience."

Modern scholarship
Modern scholarship points to the various possible interpretations of buddha-nature as either an essential self, as Sunyata, or as the inherent possibility of awakening.

Essential self
Shenpen Hookham, Oxford Buddhist scholar and Tibetan lama of the Shentong tradition writes of the buddha-nature or "true self" as something real and permanent, and already present within the being as uncompounded enlightenment. She calls it "the Buddha within", and writes that the Buddha, Nirvana and Buddha-wisdom can be referred to as the "True Self" (as it is done in some buddha-nature sutras). According to Hookham, in the shentong interpretation, buddha-nature is what truly exists, while not-self is what it is not.

Buddhist scholar and chronicler, Merv Fowler, writes that "the main message of the tathagatagarbha literature" is that buddha-nature really is present as "a hidden essence" within each being. According to Fowler, this view is "the idea that enlightenment, or nirvana, is not something which has to be achieved, it is something which is already there... In a way, it means that everyone is really a Buddha now."

Emptiness
According to Heng-Ching Shih, buddha-nature does not represent a substantial self (ātman). Rather, it is a positive expression of emptiness (śūnyatā), which emphasizes the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. In this view, the intention of the teaching of buddha-nature is soteriological rather than theoretical.

The influential 20th century Chinese scholar Yin Shun (印順, 1906 – 2005) drew on Chinese Madhyamaka to argue against any Yogacara influenced view that buddha-nature was an underlying permanent ground of reality and instead supported the view that buddha-nature teachings are just an expedient means. Yin Shun, drawing on his study of Indian Madhyamaka promoted the emptiness of all things as the ultimate Buddhist truth, and argued that the buddha-nature teaching was a provisional teaching taught in order to ease the fear of some Buddhists regarding emptiness as well as to attract those people who have an affinity to the idea of a Self or Brahman. Later after taking up the Buddhist path, they would be introduced to the truth of emptiness.

Critical Buddhist interpretation
Several contemporary Japanese Buddhist scholars, headed under the label Critical Buddhism (hihan bukkyō, 批判仏教), have been critical of buddha-nature thought. According to Matsumoto Shirõ and Hakamaya Noriaki of Komazawa University, essentialist conceptions of buddha-nature are at odds with the fundamental Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination and non-self (anātman). The Buddha nature doctrines which they label as dhātuvāda ("substantialism", sometimes rendered "locus theory" or "topicalism" and "generative monism") is not Buddhist at all. As defined by Matsumoto, this "locus" theory or dhātuvāda which he rejects as un-buddhist is: "It is the theory that the single (eka, sama) existent "locus" (dhatu) or basis is the cause that produces the manifold phenomena or "super-loci" (dharmah)." Matsumoto further argues that: "Tathagatagarbha thought was a Buddhist version of Hindu monism, formed by the influence of Hinduism gradually introduced into Buddhism, especially after the rise of Mahayana Buddhism." Other Japanese scholars responded to this view leading to a lively debate in Japan. Takasaki Jikido, a well known authority on tathagathagarbha thought, accepted that Buddha nature theories are similar to Upanishadic theories and that dhātuvāda is an accurate expression of the structure of these doctrines, but argues that the Buddha nature texts are aware of this and that Buddha nature is not necessarily un-Buddhist or anti-Buddhist. Likewise, Hirakawa Akira, sees buddha-nature as the potential to attain Buddhahood which is not static but ever changing and argues that "dhātu" does not necessarily mean substratum (he points to some Agamas which identify dhatu with pratitya-samutpada).

Western scholars have reacted in different ways to this idea. Sallie B. King objects to their view, seeing the buddha-nature as a metaphor for the potential in all beings to attain Buddhahood, rather than as an ontological reality. Robert H. Sharf notes that the worries of the Critical Buddhists is nothing new, for "the early tathāgatagarbha scriptures betray a similar anxiety, as they tacitly acknowledge that the doctrine is close to, if not identical with, the heretical ātmavāda teachings of the non- Buddhists." He also notes how the Nirvāṇa-sūtra "tacitly concedes the non-Buddhist roots of the tathāgatagarbha idea." Sharf also has pointed out how certain Southern Chan masters were concerned with other interpretations of Buddha nature, showing how the tendency to critique certain views of Buddha nature is not new in East Asian Buddhism.

Peter N. Gregory has also argued that at least some East Asian interpretations of Buddha nature are equivalent to what Critical Buddhists call dhātuvāda, especially the work of Tsung-mi, who "emphasizes the underlying ontological ground on which all phenomenal appearances (hsiang) are based, which he variously refers to as the nature (hsing), the one mind (i-hsin)...". According to Dan Lusthaus, certain Chinese Buddhist ideologies which became dominant in the 8th century promoted the idea of an "underlying metaphysical substratum" or "underlying, invariant, universal metaphysical 'source'" and thus do seem to be a kind of dhātuvāda. According to Lusthaus "in early T'ang China (7th–8th century) there was a deliberate attempt to divorce Chinese Buddhism from developments in India." Lusthaus notes that the Huayen thinker Fa-tsang was influential in this theological trend who promoted the idea that true Buddhism was about comprehending the "One Mind that alone is the ground of reality" (wei- hsin).

Paul Williams too has criticised this view, saying that Critical Buddhism is too narrow in its definition of what constitutes Buddhism. According to Williams, "We should abandon any simplistic identification of Buddhism with a straightforward not-Self definition".

Multiple meanings
Sutton agrees with Williams' critique on the narrowness of any single interpretation. In discussing the inadequacy of modern scholarship on buddha-nature, Sutton states, "One is impressed by the fact that these authors, as a rule, tend to opt for a single meaning disregarding all other possible meanings which are embraced in turn by other texts". He goes on to point out that the term tathāgatagarbha has up to six possible connotations. Of these, he says the three most important are: Of these three, Sutton claims that only the third connotation has any soteriological significance, while the other two posit buddha-nature as an ontological reality and essential nature behind all phenomena.
 * 1) an underlying ontological reality or essential nature (tathāgata-tathatā-'vyatireka) which is functionally equivalent to a self (ātman) in an Upanishadic sense,
 * 2) the dharmakāya which penetrates all beings (sarva-sattveṣu dharma-kāya-parispharaṇa), which is functionally equivalent to brahman in an Upanishadic sense
 * 3) the womb or matrix of Buddhahood existing in all beings (tathāgata-gotra-saṃbhava), which provides beings with the possibility of awakening.

title: Buddha-nature


text:
User:Scottfarrar

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text:
Benjamin Grierson

Benjamin Henry Grierson (July 8, 1826 – August 31, 1911) was a music teacher, then a career officer in the United States Army. He was a cavalry general in the volunteer Union Army during the Civil War and later led troops in the American Old West.

He is most noted for Grierson's Raid, an 1863 expedition through Confederate-held territory that severed enemy communication lines between Vicksburg, Mississippi and Confederate commanders in the Eastern Theater. After the war he organized and led the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment from 1866 to 1890.

Early life and career

Grierson was born in the borough of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, today a section of Pittsburgh. He was the youngest of five siblings. Grierson became afraid of horses when, at age eight, he was kicked and nearly killed by a horse, after which he hated horses. He eventually became a great cavalry commander.

In 1851, he became a music teacher and band leader in Jacksonville, Illinois. He married Alice Kirk of Youngstown, Ohio on September 24, 1854. The couple had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Grierson enlisted as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss. Promoted to major on October 24, 1861, he joined the 6th Illinois Cavalry and was promoted to colonel of that regiment on April 13, 1862. His regiment was engaged in a number of small skirmishes and raids on railroads and facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi that spring and summer. In November, he became a brigade commander in the Cavalry Division of the Army of the Tennessee. In December, he participated in the pursuit of Confederate Earl Van Dorn after his Holly Springs raid against the supply lines of General Ulysses S. Grant.

In the spring of 1863, he led Grierson's Raid, a major diversionary thrust deep into the Confederacy, ordered by Grant as part of his Vicksburg Campaign. Grierson departed from La Grange, Tennessee, on April 17, in command of 1,700 men of the 6th and 7th Illinois and the 2nd Iowa Cavalry regiments. Over 17 days, his command marched 800 miles, repeatedly engaged the Confederates, disabled two railroads, captured many prisoners and horses, and destroyed vast amounts of property, finally ending in Baton Rouge on May 2. Historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana (1963) reports that Grierson's raid "struck fear in the hearts of the citizens and somewhat demoralized the Confederate forces who failed to stop the move."

More importantly, Grierson diverted the attention of the Confederate defenders of Vicksburg away from General Grant's main thrust. Gen. Sherman considered Grierson's raid "the most brilliant expedition of the war." Grierson was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in June. While ending his raid in Louisiana he was able to take part in Nathaniel P. Banks' siege of Port Hudson as commander of the XIX Corps cavalry.

In June 1864 Grierson returned to command a cavalry division in the Army of the Tennessee during William T. Sherman's Meridian Campaign. He was still in division command during Samuel D. Sturgis' ill-fated encounter with Nathan B. Forrest at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads. Shortly after that battle Grierson was transferred to command the Cavalry in the District of West Tennessee. He was attached to Andrew J. Smith's XVI Corps and fared much better against Forrest at the Battle of Tupelo.

Between December 21, 1864, and January 5, 1865, Grierson led an expedition of two brigades of the Cavalry Division against the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. On Christmas Day he surprised and captured Forrest's dismounted camp at Verona, Mississippi, and on December 28 engaged a train carrying an ad hoc Confederate force of approximately 1,200 men at Egypt Station, Mississippi, south of Aberdeen, capturing more than 500 troops, including 253 former Union prisoners who had enlisted as "Galvanized Yankees" in the 10th Tennessee. For this expedition Grierson received a brevet promotion to the rank of major general.

In the spring of 1865, he took part in Canby's successful campaign to capture Mobile, Alabama.

Postbellum service in the West
Grierson decided to pursue a career in the Regular Army after the war, which was unusual for an officer whose only prior military service was as a volunteer officer during the Civil War. His lack of West Point credentials made him suspect to many fellow officers. On 28 July 1866 he was commissioned a colonel in the Regular Army and assigned as the commander of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, one of two mounted regiments composed of black enlisted men and white officers, called the Buffalo Soldiers. This assignment also made him unpopular with other officers, including his superior, General Philip Henry Sheridan, because of his support for and trust in his troops. His sympathy and courtesy to Native American tribes also led to questions about his judgment. "The only White officer who supports the unit is Regimental Commanding Officer Colonel Benjamin Grierson. Ostracized by other officers for his enthusiastic command of the African-American troops, Grierson believes in the abilities, dedication, and record of performance of the Buffalo Soldiers and declines offers to lead at any other post. General Pike offers to relieve Grierson 'of this self-imposed exile and have him commanding a real cavalry regiment within a month,' but Grierson refuses"

- Turner Network Television's documentary, "Buffalo Soldiers".

Postbellum command history

 * 1867–69: Commanded Fort Riley, then later Fort Gibson.
 * 1868–69: Headed the District of the Indian Territory.
 * 1869–72: Selected the site for Camp Wichita, later renamed Fort Sill, Oklahoma, with the 10th Cavalry. Supervised construction and acted as post commander. He angered residents of the Texas frontier with his support of the peace policy on the Kiowa-Comanche Reservation. Saved the life of visiting General William Tecumseh Sherman, during a confrontation with Lone Wolf, principal chief of the Kiowa, over responsibility for an attack on a wagon train near Salt Creek Prairie, Texas.
 * 1873–74: Superintendent of the Mounted Recruiting Service at St. Louis.
 * 1875–78: Commander at Fort Concho, Texas.
 * 1878–80: Commander of the District of the Pecos. In 1880 he helped defeat Victorio to end the Indian threat to West Texas.
 * 1882–82: Moved his headquarters to Fort Davis, Texas.
 * 1883–83: Commanded the Department of Texas in September and October.
 * 1885–86: Transferred to Arizona, commanded Whipple Barracks and later Fort Grant.
 * 1886–88: Commanded the District of New Mexico. There he dealt sympathetically and effectively with problems on the Jicarilla and Navajo reservations.
 * 1888–90: Commanded the Department of Arizona.
 * April 5, 1890: Promoted to Brigadier General.
 * July 8, 1890: Retired, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64.

His wife, Alice, died August 14, 1888. Grierson much later married Lillian Atwood King, a widow, on July 28, 1897. During his life, he had homes in Jacksonville, Illinois, Fort Concho, and a summer home at Omena, Michigan. In 1907 he suffered a debilitating stroke; he died on August 31, 1911, in Omena, Leelanau County, Michigan. He is buried in Jacksonville East Cemetery in Jacksonville, a town in Morgan County, Illinois.

Grierson in media
Colonel Grierson is a prominent figure in Turner Network Television's documentary, "Buffalo Soldiers".

The part of Colonel Marlowe, played by John Wayne in the movie The Horse Soldiers, is loosely based on Grierson.

title: Benjamin Grierson


text:
Bumbershoot

Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend (leading up to and including the first Monday of September) at the 74-acre (299,000 m2) Seattle Center, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Seattle Center includes both indoor theaters and outdoor stages.

The early years
Bumbershoot began as a city-funded ($25,000 budget) arts and music festival called "Mayor's Arts Festival", also known as "Festival '71", held at Seattle Center on August 13–15, 1971. This event had a total attendance of 125,000 visitors. Amidst the local economic depression triggered by the near collapse of Boeing, the festival attempted to revive local spirits, and was the largest event held in Seattle Center since the 1962 World's Fair. Talk radio host Irving Clark Jr. chaired the fair committee, and avant-garde impresario Anne Focke used one-fifth of the budget for light shows (which incorporated lasers, still something of a novelty at that time), computer graphics, enormous inflatable soft sculptures by the Land Truth Company, and an electronic jam session. Other events included dance, theater, folk music, arts and crafts, art cars, body painting, a Miss Hot Pants Contest, amateur motorcycle races, and one out-of-town performer: country singer Sheb Wooley.

In 1972, "Festival '72", held on July 21–23, took in 175,000 guests. In 1973 the festival adopted the present name "Bumbershoot", grew to five days, and pulled in 200,000 visitors. National acts included Cal Tjader, Joe Venuti, and John Handy. In 1974 it grew again, to 10 days and 325,000 visitors. The festival opened with a "Renaissance Processional" for the kilometer or so from downtown to the center; Mayor Wes Uhlman and most of the city council participated that year, in roles ranging from clowning to reading children's stories aloud to, in the mayor's case, running the Lost Child Center. Another prominent Bumbershoot event from this era was the Bumbernationals Artists' Soapbox Derby, which continued into the early 1980s. 1975's 11-day festival was produced by Parks Department employee John Chambless, a former University of Washington professor of history and philosophy who had produced the 1968 Sky River Rock Festival, a Pacific Northwest hippie-era festival.

The late-1970s retreat
With declining government grant support, Bumbershoot tried to keep afloat on donations and sales of posters, buttons, and T-shirts, but poor weather hurt attendance some years and left the free Festival scrambling for more financially stable options. First, the festival retrenched on the number of days and on bringing in national talent. According to John Chambless, about 25 percent of the 1975 budget went to out-of-town talent; the 1976 festival was nearly 100 percent local and was cut to two weekends; in 1977, it was further cut to just Labor Day weekend; as it happened, in both 1977 and 1978, Labor Day weekend was rainy.

One Reel takes over
In 1980 the city brought in Northwest non-profit organization One Reel to produce the event; they have been running it ever since. A mid-1980s attempt by Seattle Center itself to wrest back control was overruled by the City Council.

In the early 1980s, One Reel worked with Red Sky Poetry Theatre (RSPT) which ran many of the Literary Arts aspects of Bumbershoot for several years. RSPT would hold competitions to determine the local talent that would read on the performance stage. This was a precursor to the Poetry slam.

According to its website, One Reel originated as a traveling show, "The One Reel Vaudeville Show" in 1972 and was founded by former One Reel president and CEO Norman Langill.One Reel has also operated Teatro ZinZanni, the "Summer Nights" concert series and "Family 4th at Lake Union" events.

As the One Reel Vaudeville Show, the organization had been involved in the event since its second year, 1972, but with their new role as festival producer came big change.Once again, the festival featured headlining national and international talent (acts that year included Emmylou Harris, Chuck Berry, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Etta James, Clifton Chenier, Eugene Fodor and Martin Mull), but added an admission charge.Initially that admission charge was US$2.50 a day (although there was a "Free Friday", a tradition lasted for over a decade); as of 2007, it had grown to US$40 a day, and to $62 by 2013. Substantial new premium ticket offerings have also been introduced, including Gold and Platinum passes, full-event tickets providing guaranteed inclusive admission to limited-seating events and reserved VIP seating at certain live music venues.

The new formula featured world-class acts while continuing to ground the festival on a bedrock of Pacific Northwest talent. Record numbers of art and music lovers flocked to the multiple indoor and outdoor stages, galleries, and food, art and craft vendors. Artists such as The Eurythmics, James Brown, Spinal Tap and Tina Turner shared the turf with art oddities like the gigantic flying pencil, the Bumbernationals soapbox derby and robotic art. Although initially resistant to hip hop, in the mid-'90s Bumbershoot introduced some of the first large-scale hip hop shows ever held in Seattle, a tradition that's still very much alive. From the ashes of the grunge rock scene came a new brand of Seattle sound; influential alternative rock bands such as Sleater Kinney, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie and Grand Archives have played Bumbershoot. In the new millennium, international artists have included groups such as Baba Maal, The Grand Kabuki Theatre of Japan, and an Ethiopian youth circus. The One Reel Film Festival, held within Bumbershoot, celebrates American independent film shorts. Bumbershoot incorporated new arts forms such as poetry slams and break dancing as well as older arts such as circus, contortion, aerial, and street theater.

One Reel signed a three-year programming and promotional agreement in 2008 with AEG Live, one of the largest for-profit international promoters of rock concerts and large events. The deal allowed AEG to assist One Reel with booking musical acts and sponsorship but ultimately proved unfruitful for both parties.

As the region's largest single showcase for regional talent, Bumbershoot became a cultural tastemaker. The festival—which has become Seattle's longest-lived music and arts festival—paved the way for other Seattle-area outdoor events, festivals, and happenings. Many of these, such as the Northwest Folklife Festival that premiered at Seattle Center on Memorial Day weekend nine months after the first Bumbershoot, have become established traditions in their own right.

AEG Presents takes over
After several years of financial trouble, AEG Live took over as lead promoter in 2015, with One Reel providing supporting programming. AEG had previously taken on a secondary production role from 2007 to 2009 during which they experienced "significant losses due to rain and the Great Recession of 2009".

Contrary to their time as secondary producers AEG would now have majority control as One Reel was no longer a "financially healthy company". Because of this struggle Chris Porter, "Bumbershoot's music booker of nearly two decades", said that "this time [One Reel] had to bow down to the way AEG wanted to do things in order to get the deal done". In other words, AEG kept the festival alive but would make the major decisions it didn't have the authority to do in the past.

Locals were worried that AEG stepping in would change the deep cultural significance the festival served for the city highlighting local creatives. Having experienced a similar situation in New Orleans, a Seattle local interviewed by The Seattle Times said that as soon as AEG began to produce JazzFest that the significance of the city's history and its culture fell to the background. Local artists were replaced by money making headliners.

Though there were concerns, the truth of the matter was that the local AEG team believed in Bumbershoot and Seattle. AEG "took over in 2015 after nearly a million dollars of debt threatened the festivals future". A source told Crosscut magazine that "local AEG staff thought the festival should be saved, and not because it represented a potential chance to make money".

After signing the contact with AEG, One Reel's founder Norm Langill met with Chad Queirolo and Rob Thomas of AEG's Pacific Northwest chapter. Langill reported to the Seattle Times that he had full faith in Queirolo and Thomas to take over Bumbershoot's operations.

AEG steps down
In November 2019, AEG Live announced that they decided not to continue producing Bumbershoot when their contract was up for renewal. AEG's Rob Thomas said the decision was "heartbreaking" as they initially invested in saving the music festival because they believed in it. This decision came after years of problems. Since Seattle maintains ownership of Bumbershoot, related problems arise such as unions, city overtime pay and police fees. The Seattle Center has also been under construction for the last several years which restricts the area available for festival use, most significantly, KeyArena. Industry experts have noted that "it was likely that AEG lost upwards of a million dollars each year it promoted Bumbershoot". '''

In many festival-hosting cities, government funding – such as grants – have been organized as to continue the festival and maintain profits from tourism and tax gains. Bumbershoot has not experienced such economic profitability, and thus AEG chose to step down.

In the fall of 2019 it was announced that AEG Live "declined to renew its option to produce Bumbershoot in 2020" following its five-year run as lead producer. The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 edition was cancelled to allow new operator New Rising Sun to revamp the festival in time for the golden anniversary in 2023.

Third Stone and New Rising Sun
In 2023, Third Stone and New Rising Sun announced that they would be re-launching Bumbershoot. New Rising Sun (NRS), a team of concert promoters and visual arts producers, obtained rights to produce Bumbershoot in partnership with Seattle Center.

In March 2023, it was announced that the musical lineup for Bumbershoot 2023 would include Sleater-Kinney, Brittany Howard, Band of Horses, Zhu,  Jawbreaker,  AFI, the Descendents and Sunny Day Real Estate, among others.

title: Bumbershoot


text:
Dolly grip

In cinematography, the dolly grip is a dedicated technician trained to operate the camera dolly. This technician places, levels, and moves the dolly track, then pushes and pulls the dolly and usually a camera operator and camera assistant as riders. If the dolly has a moveable vertical axis, such as a hydraulic arm, then the dolly grip also operates the "boom". If both axes are used simultaneously, this type of dolly shot is known as a compound move.

A dolly grip must work closely with the camera crew to perfect these complex movements (cinematic techniques) during rehearsals. Focusing the lens is critical to capturing a sharp image, so a dolly grip must hit his or her marks in concert with a camera assistant who pulls focus. It is a skill that experience can hone to a point, but the best dolly grips are known for their "touch," and that makes them highly sought-after.

A dolly grip is also employed when the camera is operated in handheld mode (on the operator's shoulders or literally in their hands). While the camera operator is moving with the camera, the dolly grip is responsible for the operator's safety, helping the operator to "blindly" negotiate sometimes complicated environments. The dolly grip silently directs the operator (through gentle touches, nudges, pulls and pushes) away from walls and other obstacles that the operator cannot see while concentrating on the image in the camera viewfinder. The same is true when the camera is operated with a Steadicam or similar body-mounted stabilization tool.

Dolly grips may also push a wheeled platform holding the microphone and boom operator.

Crane operators in the film industry are specially trained film crew. They are normally grips.

Some shots require the camera to move. This can be done several ways, one of which is to use a camera crane. There are many types of camera cranes, most being a counterbalanced arm on a pivot, whilst others are hydraulic. Cranes can be used to lift the camera, and often the camera operator and assistant also, quickly into the air. The crane operator sets up and operates the camera crane so that the camera arrives at the right spot. This can be difficult since the camera may be a long distance from the operator.

title: Dolly grip


text:
Supermarine Swift

The Supermarine Swift was a British single-seat jet fighter aircraft that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was developed and manufactured by Supermarine during the 1940s and 1950s. The Swift featured many of the new jet age innovations, such as a swept wing. On 26 September 1953, a Swift F.4 piloted by Commander Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record, reaching a speed of 737.7 mph (1,187 km/h).

After a protracted development period, the Swift entered service as an interceptor aircraft with the RAF in 1954. However, due to a spate of accidents incurred by the type, the Swift was grounded for a time, and had a relatively brief service life. The problems with the Swift led to a public scandal surrounding the development and performance of the aircraft, harming the reputations of the British government, the RAF, and the British aircraft industry.

Ultimately, the less problematic Hawker Hunter assumed much of the role intended for the Swift and only half as many Swifts were manufactured as had once been intended. A later photo reconnaissance variant of the Swift had resolved some of the teething problems, but that proved to be too late for it to regain favour. An advanced derivative of the Swift that was to be capable of transonic speeds, the Supermarine 545, was also under development during the early 1950s. However, it was cancelled in 1955, principally due to the poor performance of the Swift.

Background
During 1945, the Second World War came to a close and a new post-war Labour government, headed by Clement Attlee, came to power in Britain. The incoming Attlee government's initial stance on defence was that no major conflict would occur for at least a decade, and thus there would be no need to develop or to procure any new aircraft until 1957. In accordance with that policy, aside from a small number of exceptions such as what would become the Hawker Sea Hawk for the Royal Navy, the majority of Specifications issued by the Air Ministry for fighter-sized aircraft during the late 1940s were restricted to research purposes. Aviation author Derek Wood refers to this policy as being: "a fatal error of judgement which was to cost Britain a complete generation of fighters and heavy bomber aircraft".

In part, the Swift had its origins in the experimental fighter prototypes that had been developed. Specifically, a number of Supermarine-built prototypes had been ordered under Specification E.41/46, which had sought the production of an experimental fighter aircraft furnished with a swept wing. The first of those prototypes was designated as the Type 510, which was heavily based on the straight-wing Supermarine Attacker, an early jet aircraft which was procured by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy. The principal difference from the Attacker was that it had been modified with a swept wing configuration. During 1948, the Type 510 had conducted its maiden flight, a year after the first navalised prototype Attacker had flown. That flight made it the first British aircraft to fly with both swept wings and a swept tailplane. In trials for the Fleet Air Arm, the Type 510 was also the first swept-wing aircraft to take off from and land on an aircraft carrier.

During the late 1940s, in the face of the emerging Cold War, the RAF came to recognise that it would urgently require the development and procurement of fighters equipped with features such as swept wings. That need was felt to be so pressing that it was willing to accept interim fighter aircraft while more capable fighters were being developed. In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Britain's heavy involvement in that conflict led to a flurry of orders being placed. In particular, the RAF felt that a pair of proposed fighter aircraft from Hawker Aircraft and Supermarine were of great importance and, in the same year, ordered the proposed fighters "off the drawing board". The Supermarine design was designated as the Type 541, and was essentially an advanced development of the earlier Type 510 experimental aircraft.

The initial order placed in 1950 for 100 aircraft was intended to serve as an insurance policy in the event that Hawker failed to produce a viable aircraft. The two aircraft became known as the Supermarine Swift and the Hawker Hunter respectively. In early 1946, the Type 541 order was increased to 150 aircraft, while the Air Ministry had hopes that it would be able to enter service in advance of the rival Hunter. However, the development of both the Swift and the Hunter were protracted, having encountered several considerable technical challenges. According to Wood, that was in part due to a failure to procure interim aircraft equipped with swept wings, or to proceed with development of the Miles M.52. Wood describes the Swift as being "literally an attempt to squeeze a quart into a pint pot, with 30mm Aden guns, an afterburner, power controls, adequate fuel and a respectable high subsonic performance".

The Type 541 replaced its predecessors' Rolls-Royce Nene centrifugal flow turbojet engine with the axial-flow Rolls-Royce AJ.65 turbojet, which became the famed Avon series. The fuselage, which had been given a cross section suitable for the Nene engine, was not redesigned for the narrower AJ.65 and Avon engines, and retained a somewhat portly appearance. The plane was also equipped with a tricycle undercarriage. A pair of Type 541 prototypes were produced. The first made its maiden flight on 01 August 1951 and the second during the following year.

Into production
Production of the Swift had been declared to be a "super-priority" item under a policy created by Sir Winston Churchill, who had regained the position of Britain's prime minister in 1951, as a means of increasing projects considered to be of vital military importance. According to Wood, volume manufacturing commenced in advance of the implementation of modifications based on the results of flight experiences with the prototypes: "too much had been asked for in too little time and production aircraft were rolling off the production line before a major redesign could be accomplished".

The first production variant was a fighter designated the Swift F Mk 1, of which 18 were eventually built. It was powered by a single 7,500 lbf (33.4 kN)-thrust Avon 109 engine and carried an armament of two 30 mm ADEN cannons. On 25 August 1952, the first flight of a production standard Swift F 1 took place. Peter Thorne, who had been appointed as the senior RAF test pilot for the incoming Swift in 1954, came to doubt the aircraft's suitability. Thorne and several other pilots noted the Swift had unusual handling qualities, as well as a troublesome engine.

The second variant was the Swift F Mk 2, of which 16 were built. It was practically the same as the F 1, except for being fitted with two extra ADENs and the leading edge of the wing being altered from straight to a compound sweep configuration. However, the addition of the cannon caused problems, because the structural modifications required to house the increased ammunition load led to dangerous handling characteristics, and it was clear that more thrust was required from its engine. Numerous further modifications were required to resolve the problems.

The third Swift variant was the F Mk 3, of which 25 were built, powered by an Avon 114 engine with reheat. It was never put into operational service with the Royal Air Force and was used as an instructional airframe. The next variant was the F Mk.4, which included a variable incidence tailplane, intended to correct the handling problems that the Swift suffered from. It did fix the problem, but it was found that reheat could not be ignited at high altitude, adding to the Swift's list of problems.

The next in the line, the FR Mk 5, had a longer nose to accommodate a number of cameras to allow a reconnaissance role, as well as other modifications to its structure. The FR 5 also reverted to the F 1's twin ADEN cannon armament. It first flew in 1955 and entered service the following year, performing reconnaissance mainly at low level, making the reheat problem at high altitude irrelevant.

Two further variants were designed. The PR Mk 6 was an unarmed photo reconnaissance plane. However, its use was short-lived, due to the ever-present reheat problems. The last variant was the F Mk 7, which was the first Swift model to be fitted with guided missiles, the Fairey Fireflash air-to-air missile, and was powered by a new model of the Avon engine. Only fourteen F 7 aircraft were built and none ever entered service with the RAF, being relegated – along with its prototype missiles – to conducting guided-missile trials duties only.

Proposed derivative
In 1953, as a response to growing RAF interest in developing transonic aircraft to serve as a stopgap while the next generation of supersonic fighters were being developed, both Supermarine and Hawker proposed derivatives of their respective Swift and Hunter aircraft. By that time, the shortcomings of the Swift were not yet apparent, which perhaps had allowed Supermarine to gain the RAF's favour for its proposal, designated as the Type 545, over the rival Hawker P.1083. The Type 545 had been drawn up to conform with the requirements given by Specification F.105D. It was to have been capable of attaining Mach 1.3. powered by an Avon engine, promising superior performance to that of the P.1083. The Type 545 bore a resemblance to the Swift, although it was a complete redesign, having an area-ruled fuselage and wing changes. In 1955, work on the project was cancelled, in part due to the considerable difficulties experienced with the Swift.

Operational history

In February 1954, the Swift F 1 entered service with the RAF, No. 56 Squadron becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the type. With its introduction, the Swift became the RAF's first swept-wing aircraft. The Swift F 2 entered service that same month. Wood refers to the type's introduction as having been "panicked", and that the adoption soon proved to be an "abysmal failure". Tragedy struck very early in the career of the Swift: there were a number of accidents that involved the F 1 and F 2, one of them being fatal. In August 1954, it was decided that the Swift F 1 would be grounded, and the Swift F 2, which had effectively replaced the F 1 that same month, was also soon grounded as well, for similar reasons.

The Swift F 3 and F 4 fighters were noted to have improved performance over their predecessors. The F 4 was the last variant that the RAF would accept in an interceptor role. All fighter variants of the Swift were withdrawn from service by the RAF after a short time in service, to be replaced by the more capable Hawker Hunter. While subject to its own problems, the Hunter had quickly proved to be a successful fighter aircraft. By autumn 1954, the problems with the Swift had become public knowledge, and reports of the pending cancellation of the Swift appeared in the national press. In Parliament, Under-Secretary of State for Air Sir George Ward said of the aircraft: "Aerodynamic difficulties have been encountered, and it is not possible to say with certainty if they can be overcome in the version under development".

In early February 1955, it was rumoured that the Swift had failed its final evaluation by the RAF Central Fighter Establishment, and that the type was likely to be restricted to aerial reconnaissance or to ground attack roles. On 2 March 1955, Minister of Supply Selwyn Lloyd acknowledged that development of the Swift had cost £20 million prior to the scrapping of the fighter variants. According to Wood, the Swift had become a national scandal by early 1955, which not only tarnished the aircraft, but also the RAF and the British aircraft industry, with the public and the government generally becoming more averse to other aircraft projects.

The FR.5 was the last Swift variant to enter service with the RAF and was eventually replaced by the Hunter FR.10, with the FR.5 leaving RAF service entirely in 1961. The Swift FR. 5 had been deemed suitable for its role and was based with two squadrons that were assigned to RAF Germany. The Swift never saw combat action with the RAF, but it did break a number of speed records in its time. In Libya, on 26 September 1953, an F.4 (WK198) piloted by Commander Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record, reaching a speed of 737.7 mph (1,187 km/h), though it was broken just eight days later by the Douglas Skyray, a United States Navy (USN) fighter. The Swift has the distinction of being the last British production aircraft to hold the record (the Fairey Delta 2 was experimental). Fewer than two hundred Swifts were built from an order of 497. A number of Swift airframes were taken to Australia for Operation Buffalo in 1956, being placed at various distances from a detonating atomic bomb.

Its last variant had resolved many of the problems that had plagued earlier Swifts but the programme was not continued. The Hunter, performing satisfactorily in the same roles, removed any requirement to persist with the Swift.

Variants

 * Type 510
 * Prototype developed from the Vickers Supermarine Attacker still with a tailwheel undercarriage but with swept wings and tail.

 * Type 517
 * Prototype fitted with a variable incidence tailplane.

 * Type 535
 * Prototype fitted with a nosewheel undercarriage.

 * Swift F.Mk 1
 * Single-seat fighter aircraft, fitted with a fixed variable-incidence tailplane, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon 109 turbojet engine, armed with two 30-mm ADEN cannons.

 * Swift F.Mk 2
 * Single-seat fighter aircraft, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon 109 turbojet engine, armed with four 30-mm ADEN cannons.

 * Swift F.Mk 3
 * Single-seat fighter aircraft, wing leading edges extended at the wingtips, powered by an Rolls-Royce Avon 114 afterburning turbojet engine, armed with four 30-mm ADEN cannons.

 * Swift F.Mk 4
 * Single-seat fighter aircraft, fitted with a variable-incidence tailplane, tailfin increased in height by one foot, powered by an Rolls-Royce Avon 114 afterburning turbojet engine, armed with four 30-mm ADEN cannons.

 * Swift FR.Mk 5
 * Single-seat tactical-reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with a lengthened nose to accommodate three cameras, equipped with a frameless cockpit canopy, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon 114 afterburning turbojet engine, armed with two 30-mm ADEN cannons.

 * Swift PR.Mk 6
 * Proposed unarmed reconnaissance variant, one partially built before being cancelled.

 * Swift F.Mk 7
 * Single-seat fighter aircraft, fitted with a lengthened nose to accommodate a radar, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon 114 afterburning turbojet engine, armed with four Fairey Fireflash air-to-air missiles and four 30-mm ADEN cannons.

Operators

 * Royal Air Force
 * No. 2 Squadron RAF operated FR.5 variant.
 * No. 56 Squadron RAF operated F.1 and F.2 variants.
 * No. 79 Squadron RAF operated FR.5 variant.
 * No. 79 Squadron RAF operated FR.5 variant.

Survivors

 * VV106 (Supermarine Type 517) is stored by the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, England.
 * WK198 (the F.4 prototype, fuselage only) this former World Air Speed record holder is on display at Brooklands Museum, Surrey; it was first preserved at the North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland, England, on 2 April 2008 it was relocated to the RAF Millom Museum, Cumbria, but with that museum's closure in September 2010, WK198 was transferred to Brooklands on 3 February 2011.
 * WK275 (F.4) Having spent four years being restored to exhibition standard by Jet Art Aviation, this aircraft is now on loan to the Vulcan To The Sky Trust. It represents the definitive fighter variant with slab tail.
 * WK277 (FR.5) on display at the Newark Air Museum, Newark, England.
 * WK281 (FR.5) on display at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Tangmere, England.
 * G-SWIF (F.7, the former XF114) is stored by Solent Sky, Southampton, England.

title: Supermarine Swift


text:
Talk:Thomas Moulson

Untitled
source:

 * http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/LONDON-COMPANYS/2001-03/0983793556

Doops 04:07, 30 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Thomas Moulson


text:
Anne (Radcliffe) Mowlson

Lady Anne Moulson (sometimes Ann and/or Mowlson), born Anne Radcliffe (sometimes Radclyffe) (1576–1661), was an early benefactor of the fledgling colonial Harvard College. She is remembered today in the name of Radcliffe College.

Ann Radcliffe was the daughter of Anthony Radcliffe, Merchant Taylor of London and sheriff in 1586, who married Elizabeth Bright in 1558. In 1600 Anne married Thomas Moulson, an alderman and member of the Grocers' Company who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1634. They lived in the parish of St Christopher le Stocks. They owned and operated an inn in London. They had two children but both died young. Thomas Moulson died in 1638, leaving the customary half of his estate to his widow Anne. Ann had a head for business and managed her own business for the next twenty-three years. In addition to the inn, she loaned money and invested in import ventures. She was also active in the Puritan cause, contributing toward hiring a Puritan lecturer in her parish and giving generously to other charities. In 1643 she donated some of her money to found the first endowed scholarship at Harvard. When in 1894 the women's annex to the university was chartered as a full college, it was given the name of Harvard's first female benefactor.

She died in October 1661. In her will she left bequests to the descendants of her sister Dorothy, who married William Gerard (died 1609) and of her brother Edward Radcliffe.

title: Anne (Radcliffe) Mowlson


text:
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