Jump to content

User:Javierfv1212/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shaokang

[edit]

Wulong Shaokang (烏龍少康, 736–806) was a Chinese Buddhist monk in the Tang Dynasty who is considered the Fifth Patriarch of the Pure Land School in Chinese Buddhism and in Japanese Jōdo-shū.[1][2] He was later given the sobriquet "Later Shandao" for his influence in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism due to his devotion to Buddha-recitation (念佛, Nianfo). Shaokang eventually came to be regarded as a reincarnation of Shandao.[3][2]

Biography

[edit]

Shaokang, also known by his secular surname Zhou (周), was a significant figure in the Pure Land tradition of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang. Born in 736 in Jinyun County, Zhejiang province, on Xiandu, he rose to become the fifth patriarch of the Pure Land School.[4]

Early Life

[edit]

According to traditional biographies, as a young child, Shaokang reportedly faced a mysterious inability to speak. His first words came during a visit to Lingshan Temple (灵山寺), where, upon seeing a Buddha image, he uttered, “Shakyamuni Buddha.” His parents, astonished, interpreted this as an indication of latent spiritual roots, prompting them to encourage his entry into monastic life.[5][6] At age seven, he took initial vows, beginning his life as a monk. By fifteen, he had fully ordained at Jiaxiang Temple (嘉祥寺) in Yuezhou, demonstrating remarkable skill in studying the sutras and śāstras including the Lotus Sutra, Surangama Sutra and Avatamsaka Sutra.[5][6]

Conversion to Pure Land

[edit]

Traditional biographies state that early in his monastic career, Shaokang visited the renowned White Horse Temple in Luoyang, where he saw a bright light shining near some texts. He encountered a manuscript of Shandao’s Teachings on the Western Land (西方化导文), which emitted a light once again, leading to visions of bodhisattvas. This which profoundly influenced Shaokang.[4][7] While in Guangming Monastery in Chang’an, Shaokang saw Shandao's commemorative image rise into the air and declare to him that "if you carry out my teaching and benefit sentient beings, you will definitely be reborn in the Land of Bliss.”[3][6] These experiences inspired him to dedicate his life exclusively to Pure Land practice, focusing on the recitation of Amitābha Buddha's name (nianfo).[7]

Master Shaokang was creative in his approach to spreading Buddha-recitation. Arriving in Xinding (新定), where Pure Land practices were relatively unknown, he initiated a novel method to engage the community. He offered children coins in exchange for their reciting "Amitābha Buddha," thus planting the seeds of the practice in the hearts of the young. Over time, the entire local population adopted the chant; his efforts transformed this region into a hub of Pure Land devotion.[3]

Wulong Mountain

[edit]

In 795, Master Shaokang established a Pure Land practice center on Wulong Mountain (乌龙山) in Muzhou (in modern-day Hunan province). Here, he built a three-tiered platform for communal Buddha name recitation, gathering a substantial assembly of lay practitioners.[3][7]

According to traditional accounts, Master Shaokang’s devotions manifested extraordinary phenomena. As he chanted “Namo Amitābha Buddha”, Buddha images were said to emerge visibly from his mouth, an occurrence reminiscent of similar accounts surrounding Master Shandao.[3][6]

Final years

[edit]

In 805, in the twenty-first year of the Zhenyuan era, Master Shaokang, then sixty-nine, sensed his impending rebirth in the Pure Land. Gathering his disciples, he delivered final teachings, instructing them to cultivate faith in the Pure Land while detaching themselves from the worldly sufferings of this world.[7] He assured his disciples that those able to see the radiance emanating from his form at that moment were his true spiritual heirs. After giving this instruction, Master Shaokang entered meditative absorption, during which his body emitted light, and he peacefully attained rebirth in the Pure Land.[7][6]

His disciples later constructed a pagoda to enshrine his relics, cementing his place in Pure Land tradition.[6]

Legacy

[edit]

Master Shaokang is often referred to as the "Later Shandao" (后善导), a testament to his fidelity to Shandao’s Pure Land vision. His methods of propagating Buddha-recitation and his purported spiritual feats reinforced his reputation as a key successor to Shandao and the Pure Land path. Many Pure Land Buddhists also regard him as an incarnation of Shandao, while some view him as a manifestation of Amitābha Buddha himself.

His surviving written works include Twenty-Four Praises (二十四赞 in one fascicle) and the Responses of Those Who Were Reborn in the Western Pure Land (往生西方淨土瑞應傳 in one fascicle).

Master Shaokang’s life and teachings illustrate a distinctive synthesis of Pure Land devotion, practical outreach, and spiritual discipline. Through his enduring influence, he strengthened the Pure Land tradition in China, fostering a legacy that inspired subsequent generations of Pure Land adherents. Each year, his parinirvāṇa (rebirth) is commemorated on the 3rd day of the tenth lunar month, reflecting his lasting spiritual impact on Chinese Buddhism.

In Asian thought and religion

[edit]

Indian religions and philosophies are often eclectic, in the sense of drawing upon ideas and practices from diverse philosophical and religious traditions. Indian thought included a diversity of traditions, each with its own distinct teachings and practices, such as Vedānta, Sāṃkhya, Nyāya, and Buddhism. These traditions have shown a remarkable ability to assimilate and adapt elements from one another. This tendency goes back to the Upaniṣads, which incorporate and synthesize a wide array of ideas about the nature of reality, the self (ātman), and the ultimate principle (Brahman). The Upaniṣads do not represent a single, uniform doctrine but rather various perspectives.

Medieval India saw the rise of bhakti movements, which were also characterized by their eclectic use of varying philosophical ideas and religious practices, including Vedānta, Tantra, and local folk practices. Similarly, the Sikh tradition exemplifies eclecticism by combining elements of bhakti Hinduism and Islam. Modern Hinduism is also the result of an eclectic process that brought together numerous philosophical and religious influences (Unifying Hinduism). Modern Hindu figures like Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi continued this tradition of eclecticism. Vivekananda drew upon Vedānta, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, and Western philosophy to present a universalist view of religion. Gandhi, influenced by Jain, Hindu, and Christian ideas, developed a unique philosophy of nonviolence (ahimsa) and social activism.

Indian Buddhism, especially the Mahāyāna tradition is also notable for its openness to a wide range of philosophical ideas and practices. Mahāyāna absorbed and reinterpreted concepts from earlier Buddhist schools while also integrating elements and deities from non-Buddhist traditions. The later Vajrayana Buddhist movement also drew on numerous Mahayana streams of thought as well as on Shaiva Tantra to develop its systems of thought and practice.

In a similar fashion, Chinese thought can also tend towards the harmonization of diverse philosophical and religious traditions, allowing for the coexistence and mutual influence of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and other indigenous beliefs. The three major Chinese religious and philosophical traditions - Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism - have been coexisting and interacting with one another for over two millennia. The synthesis of the "Three Teachings" (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) became increasingly pronounced in later periods of Chinese history. The Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) witnessed the rise of Neo-Confucianism, a movement that sought to revitalize Confucian thought in response to the growing influence of Buddhism and Daoism. Neo-Confucian thinkers such as Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming developed more systematic and metaphysical systems which drew upon other systems of thought, including Buddhism. In the modern era, intellectuals of the late Qing dynasty and the Republican period, such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, sought to integrate Western philosophical ideas with traditional Chinese thought. In contemporary China, there is a renewed interest in Confucianism, often blended with elements of modernity and other philosophical systems to address current social and ethical issues.


Jingying Huiyuan

[edit]

Jingying Huiyuan (Chinese: 淨影寺, "Huiyuan of Jingying Temple"; c. 523–592).

Also known as 隋遠, 小遠, 大遠, and 北遠. Originally from Dunhuang, he traveled to Shanxi, where he entered the saṃgha at age 13, studying the Vinaya and basic Mahāyāna doctrine until his full ordination at the age of twenty. After this, he studied under the Southern Dilun 地論 patriarch Huiguang 慧光, and his later work, although being broad in scope, would come to center on works seminal to the Dilun and Tathāgatagarbha 如來藏 traditions. Huiyuan is attributed to be the author of a number of exegetical works on major scriptures, with extant attributed works including the Dasheng yi zhang 大乘義章 (T 1851), the Shidijinglun yiji 十地經論義記 (ZZ1.71.2 and 3), the Huayanjing shu 華嚴經疏 (not extant), the Da panniepanjing yiji 大般涅槃經義記 (T 1764), Fahuajing shu 法華經疏 (not extant), Weimojing yiji 維摩經義記> (T 1776), Wuliang shou jing yishu 無量壽經義疏, Guan wuliangshou jing yishu 觀無量壽經義疏, and the Shengmanjing yiji 勝鬘經義記 (ZZ1.30.4). He is attributed as the author of one of the major commentaries to the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith, the 大乘起信論義疏 (T 1843), although his authorship of this work is doubted by modern scholarship. 〔翻譯名義集 T 2131.54.1114b4〕



Ghanavyuha chapters

[edit]

Chapter 1

Zen Transmission

[edit]

According to Borup the emphasis on 'mind to mind transmission' is a form of esoteric transmission, in which "the tradition and the enlightened mind is transmitted face to face".[8] Metaphorically this can be described as the transmission from a flame from one candle to another candle,[8] or the transmission from one vein to another.[9] In exoteric transmission requires "direct access to the teaching through a personal discovery of one's self. This type of transmission and identification is symbolized by the discovery of a shining lantern, or a mirror."[8]


Sources

[edit]

Printed sources

[edit]

Web sources

[edit]

Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra

[edit]

https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Texts/%C5%9Ar%C4%ABm%C4%81l%C4%81dev%C4%ABs%C5%ABtra

file:///C:/Users/javier.fernandez/Downloads/Jonathan%20A.%20Silk%20-%20Brill's%20Encyclopedia%20of%20Buddhism.%201-Brill%20(2015).pdf

https://terebess.hu/english/vim2.pdf

https://www.jstor.org/stable/602656

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270277

file:///C:/Users/javier.fernandez/Downloads/(Buddhist%20Traditions)%20Alex%20Wayman,%20Hideko%20Wayman%20-%20The%20Lion's%20Roar%20of%20Queen%20%C5%9Ar%C4%ABm%C4%81l%C4%81_%20A%20Buddhist%20Scripture%20on%20the%20Tath%C4%81gatagarbha%20Theory%20(1990).pdf

The Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra[10] (traditional Chinese: 勝鬘師子吼一乘大方便方廣經, Lion’s Roar [zh] of Queen Śrīmālā) is one of the main early Mahāyāna Buddhist texts belonging to the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras that teaches the doctrines of Buddha-nature and "One Vehicle" through the words of the Indian queen Śrīmālā.[11] After its composition, this text became the primary scriptural advocate in India for the universal potentiality of Buddhahood.[12]

History

[edit]
Relief image of the Great Stupa at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, India

Brian Edward Brown, a specialist in Buddha-nature doctrines, writes that the composition of the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra occurred during the Īkṣvāku Dynasty in the 3rd century CE as a product of the Caitika schools of the Mahāsāṃghikas.[12] Alex Wayman has outlined eleven points of complete agreement between the Mahāsāṃghikas and the Śrīmālā, along with four major arguments for this association.[13] Anthony Barber also associates the earlier development of the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra with the Mahāsāṃghikas, and concludes that the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region were responsible for the inception of the Buddha-nature doctrine.[14] In the 6th century CE, Paramārtha wrote that the Mahāsāṃghikas revere the sūtras that teach the Buddha-nature doctrine.[15]

Translations

[edit]

The Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra was translated to Chinese in 436 CE by Guṇabhadra (394-468) and later by Bodhiruci (672-727).[11] A complete Sanskrit original is no longer extant,[16] but extensive quotations are found in the Sanskrit text of the Ratnagotravibhāga as well as some recently discovered fragments conserved in the Schøyen Collection. It was later translated into English by Alex and Hideko Wayman as The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala.

Content

[edit]

The Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra teaches the reality of an ultimate, immaculate consciousness within each living being, which is the Buddhic "Dharmakāya" (essence of Truth), which is yet temporarily sheathed in obscuring defilement. This Dharmakāya, when viewed as intrinsically free from spiritual ignorance, is said to constitute eternity, bliss, the self, and purity in their perfect state. The use of the word "self" in this sutra is in a way unique to this class of sutra. The great Queen Śrīmālā, who according to this text is empowered by the Buddha to teach the Dharma, affirms:[17]

[T]he Dharmakāya of the Buddha has the perfection of permanence, the perfection of pleasure, the perfection of self, the perfection of purity. Whatever sentient beings see the Dharmakāya of the Tathagāta that way, see correctly. Whoever see correctly are called the sons of the Lord born from his heart, born from his mouth, born from the Dharma, who behave as manifestation of Dharma and as heirs of Dharma.

The scripture, which was extremely influential by way of clarification of the Tathagātagarbha view of Śūnyatā, insists that the ultimately correct understanding of emptiness is that the Tathāgatagarbha is empty of all knowledge that is not liberation, whereas, in contrast, the qualities which characterise a Buddha are not empty of inconceivable virtues. An alternative title offered by the Buddha for this sutra expresses this idea of an ultimate meaning to the emptiness doctrine: "The True Revelation of the Buddha's Intention when Teaching Emptiness."

The sūtra has, furthermore, significantly contributed to the Mahāyāna notion of the permanent, steadfast and eternal Tathagātagarbha, which is nothing less than the perfect Dharmakāya temporarily concealed by (ultimately unreal) mental contaminants:

“The tathāgatagarbha is without any prior limit, is nonarising, and is indestructible, accepting suffering, having revulsion toward suffering, and aspiring to nirvana. O Lord, the tathāgatagarbha is not a substantial self, nor a living being, nor ‘fate,’ nor a person. The tathāgatagarbha is not a realm for living beings who have degenerated into the belief of a substantially existent body or for those who have contrary views, or who have minds bewildered by emptiness.[18]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Conway, Michael. “The Creation of Tradition as an Exercise in Doctrinal Classification: Shinran’s Forging of the Seven Shin Patriarchs.” The Eastern Buddhist, vol. 45, no. 1 & 2, 2014, pp. 113–50. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26261414. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.
  2. ^ a b Rulu. Thinking of Amitabha Buddha, pp. 207-9. Author House, Jan 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e Chün-fang Yü. The Renewal of Buddhism in China: Zhuhong and the Late Ming Synthesis, p. 52. Columbia University Press, Mar 2, 2021
  4. ^ a b Chün-fang Yü. The Renewal of Buddhism in China: Zhuhong and the Late Ming Synthesis, p. 51. Columbia University Press, Mar 2, 2021
  5. ^ a b Rulu. Thinking of Amitabha Buddha, p. 207. Author House, Jan 20, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lopez, Jr., Donald S. Religions of Asia in Practice: An Anthology, pp. 286-287.Princeton University Press, Jun 5, 2018
  7. ^ a b c d e Rulu. Thinking of Amitabha Buddha, p. 208. Author House, Jan 20, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Borup 2008, p. 9.
  9. ^ Faure 2000, p. 58.
  10. ^ The Teaching of Queen Śrīmālā of the Lion's Roar (PDF). Translated by Paul, Diana. BDK America. 2017. ISBN 978-1-886439-31-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-09.
  11. ^ a b McRae 2004, p. 5.
  12. ^ a b Brown 2010, p. 3.
  13. ^ Barber 2008, pp. 153–154.
  14. ^ Barber 2008, pp. 155–156.
  15. ^ Hodge 2006.
  16. ^ Tola 2004, p. xiii.
  17. ^ Wayman 1990, p. 102.
  18. ^ McRae 2004, p. 45-46.