Tathāgatagarbha thought is the main source of thought for the Chinese Buddhist sects to construct their own teaching system. For more than 100 years, Tathāgatagarbha thought has been highly valued and fully studied by Buddhist researchers including Europe, America, and Japan. On the other hand, Tathāgatagarbha thought has also encountered an unprecedented crisis of " legitimacy ". Since modern times, the reflection or "criticism" on Tathāgatagarbha classics has appeared as an alternate use of "documentary research" and "argumentation analysis" in terms of method. This lecture mainly aims to reflect on the deconstruction of Tathāgatagarbha classics with "philosophical" or "academic" methods.

From the perspective of its "original meaning", Tathāgatagarbha thought is trying to refute the statement that it confuses Tathāgatagarbha with "Brahman". The Tathāgatagarbha, Buddha-nature and externalist religions mentioned repeatedly in Buddhist scriptures cannot be easily confused with the "Brahman" mentioned by heretics and the "real self" held by ordinary people. The thought of "Tathāgatagarbha" reveals that all sentient beings have the basis and possibility to be liberated and become a Buddha, and on this basis, the thought of original enlightenment develops it into an "optimistic theory of human nature". The practice of affirming Tathāgatagarbha as an "entity" and canceling the legitimacy of Tathāgatagarbha scriptures for a hundred years is a typical "over-interpretation."

Professor Yang Weizhong is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Department of Philosophy (School of Religious Studies) of Nanjing University, adjunct Professor of The Johns Hopkins University – Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, the executive Deputy Di-rector of the Institute of Sanlun School in The Buddhist Academy Of China QiXia Shan Branch, the Director of the Institute of Shuixi Buddhist Culture in Nanjing University, and the deputy dean of Cien Institute of the Buddhist Academy of Jiangsu. His main masterpieces include Biography of Master Daosheng, New Translation of " Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, New Translation of " Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra Chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra", Classic Interpretation and Chinese Buddhism, Consciousness-only Without Boundaries: Buddhist Consciousness View, Research on the Theory of Mind of Chinese Buddhism, General History of Chinese Consciousness-only Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Tathese Buddhis Classics and Chinese Buddhism, etc. He is the main author of A Com-prehensive History of Buddhism in China edited by Mr. Lai Yonghai. In addition, he is the chief editor of the ten-volume edition " A Comprehensive History of Buddhism in Suzhou" , which will be published soon.