Buddhism Comes to China

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION FALL 2004

WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT

Buddha (awakened one) = Shakyamuni Gautama Siddartha, Hindu reformer in north India, c. 500s-400s BCE Inherited an ancient Hindu worldview:
Cyclical existence of endless rebirth (samsara) Conditioning of rebirth by moral results of ones actions (karma) Presumption of eternal self (atman) underlying transitory physical forms

Buddhas central insights = the Four Noble Truths:

Life is suffering (duhkha) Self-centered attachment based on permanent selfhood (atman) is the root of suffering Suffering can be ended (nirvna) There is a path by which to end suffering

1. 2.

3. 4.

1.

2.

Each Truth asks us to respond to reality as it truly is:

Understand suffering Let go of its origins Realize its cessation Cultivate the path toward its cessation

3.

1. 2. 3. 4.

THE SELF THAT IS NO SELF

An atman (self) has a body, emotions, ideas, biases, and consciousness. Actually, there is no self (anatman) only an assemblage of components. In rebirth, conditioned by karma these components are removed and rearranged, creating a different self (yet not disconnected from this self now). Just as one both is and is notoneself from life to life, so one neither is nor is not oneself from life to life.

CONSEQUENCES OF NIRVNA

The true self is interdependent and impermanent There is no basis for ego Realizing the truth of antman (no permanent self) entails:
Awakening to suffering Compassion in suffering Liberation from suffering

1. 2. 3.

One who seeks to realize this truth takes the Three Refuges:
The Buddha (the teacher) The Dharma (the teaching) The Sangha (the taught)

1. 2. 3.

SECTARIAN DIVISIONS IN THE SANGHA

By 100s BCE, Buddhism has gained powerful political support in India Official endorsement facilitates the luxury of doctrinal debate and speculation, as well as canon formation Three distinct sectarian traditions emerge shortly before introduction of Buddhism to China
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THERAVADA (Way of Elders)

Sole survivor among earliest Buddhist sects Views itself as custodian of authentic tradition Regards Shakyamuni as unique historical Buddha, fully human, now vanished Emphasizes individual rational effort Goal: arhant (being that attains enlightenment after much striving over many lifetimes) Maintains strong monasticlay distinction 6 Not found in China today

MAHAYANA (Great Vehicle)

Sees Theravada as Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) and itself as inheritor of complete tradition Regards Shakyamuni as one of infinite number of Buddhas Focuses on mysticism and compassionate action Goal: bodhisattva (being that voluntarily defers liberation from samsara in order to help other beings attain liberation) More open to laity, women Dominant in China

VAJRAYANA (Thunderbolt Vehicle)

Arises from Mahayana interaction with Hindu tantra (esoteric ritualism) and bhakti (devotional polytheism) Views itself as guardian of esoteric tradition Emphasizes unity of wisdom and compassion through visualization, ritualization, and philosophical rigor Goal: bodhisattva Reasserts strong monasticlay distinction Present in Tibetan and 8 Mongolian communities

BUDDHISM AND THE DECLINE OF THE HAN

Silk Road merchants and missionaries from India and Central Asia transmit Buddhism to China by 65 CE As Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) declines and period of disunity (220-589 CE) ensues, Chinese elites turn away from Confucianism to Taoism and Buddhism, often combining the two By Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), Buddhism reaches zenith of its popularity in China From China, Buddhism spreads to rest of East Asia

CHALLENGES TO BUDDHISM IN CHINA

Geographic: difficulty of India-China travel Linguistic: translation of foreign texts and concepts Political: conflicts between rulers and sangha; separation between north and south Religious: competition with and/or dilution by Confucianism and Taoism Social: Chinese distaste for foreign ways
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The Chinese synthesis

Chinese Buddhism reconciles variant Indian schools of Buddhism

Buddha taught with upaya
Teachings differ accordingly

organized scriptures into a progression from elementary to refined

Systematized order of Buddhist Canon Each school emphasized certain scriptures

Chinese Buddhist schools tended towards ecumenism rather than sectarianism

Claims made to highest truth but not exclusive Different schools are in accord to the expedience of the upaya doctrine
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The Chinese Synthesis

Developed around 6th ct. CE at end of the period of division

The Six Dynasties (220581 CE)
From Fall of Eastern Han to beginning of the Sui

Golden Age of Buddhism in Tang dynasty (618907 CE)

Four indigenous Chinese Buddhist schools

Huayan, Tiantai, Pure Land and Chan
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Tiantai School

Tiantai () Buddhism
Japanese: Tendai

Chinese Buddhist school (6th ct.)

not Indian in origin Most important school of Buddhism in early Tang

Founded by Chinese monk and meditation master

Zhiyi (Chih-i) 538597

Named after sacred mountain in Zhejiang

Heavenly Terrace

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Tiantai
Organized comprehensive Buddhist doctrines and practices into grades from elementary to advanced Organized canon with Lotus Scripture at apex

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Buddhist suppression in China

Late Tang opposition to Buddhism as a foreign religion emerged among influential intellectuals In 845 the Tang emperor began a full-scale persecution of the Buddhist establishment.
Destroyed more than 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 temples and shrines, and more than 260,000 Buddhist monks and nuns were forced to return to secular life.

Although the suppression was lifted a few years later, the monastic establishment never fully recovered Later became most influential school in Japan
Founded in Japan by Saichoo in 9th ct. Established center at Mt. Hiei Opened way to Zen, Pure Land and Nichiren
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Pure Land

Pure Land School

Chinese: Jingtu () Japanese: Jodo

Indiginous Chinese school (5th ct CE)

Founded by the monk Huiyuan (334416 CE)

Spread from China to Vietnam, Korea and Japan Practical approach to universal Buddha-nature
Salvation for all not just monastic community Reaction against scholastic preoccupation of Tiantai and Huayan schools

Salvation through faith, merit and vows by rebirth in a Pure Land

Became intermediate goal to Nirvana

A Pure Land originally the place where a buddha or bodhisattva appeared Came to mean a world system purified by the power of a Bodhisattvas vow and subsequent awakening

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Major Buddha of Pure Land

mtu f ()
Transliteration of Sanskrit:
Amitbha Buddha ()
Buddha of Limitless Light

Amityus Buddha ()
Buddha of Limitless Life

Amida (Japanese)
Common Buddhist greeting or exclamation

Legendary king who renounced throne to become a Buddhist monk named Dharmakra
48 vows resolved to become a buddha and create paradise realm to help all sentient beings become awakened

Those unable to achieve awakening in this life

Vow to be reborn in Western Paradise
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Pure Land School

Resides in Western Paradise

Happy Land of the West or Sukhavati Perform merit-producing deeds, including pilgrimage Rebirth by calling his name with complete faith
Especially at death

Practice of recitation of the name of the Buddha (Chinese: nianfo; Japanese: nembutsu) Hail Amitabha Buddha (na-mo a-mi-tuo-fo)

Scripture of the Pure Land (sukhvat)

Translated into Chinese 3rd 5th ct. Conversation between historical Buddha and Ananda Describes paradise realm of Buddha of Infinite Light
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Pure Land Meditation in Japan

After suppression of 845, Pure Land in China becomes universalized Founded in Japan as Jodoshu (Pure Land School) in 1213th ct. By Honen, an ordained Tendai monk from Mt. Hiei Emphasized practice of nembutsu:
Namu Amida butsu (Hale Amitabha Buddha)

Oral recitation of Amitabhas name produces vision of Amitabhas paradise and Amitabha himself
Both sound AND sight Cf. Honens diary
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Buddhist Ritual Music

Tiantai and Pure Land

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A Tiandai Mantra and Mudra: used in the Matrix Mandala ritual

Sudden Awakening Mantra:

Rising Diamond

Japanese:
Kyoogakushinden ()

Interlocked little fingers Thumbs under middle fingers Index fingers touching to form Diamond

Chinese:
Jngju zhnyn ()

Sanskrit:
Om vajrottistha hum
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Pure Land Buddhist Jodo Ritual Music

Yyu ()
Lit. Refined Music.
Ceremonial/Court music of China Preserved in Japan but now lost in China

Brought to Japan by the monk Enin in 9th ct.

Ennins Travels in Tang China by Edwin Reischauer (1955) Arrived Yangzhou summer of 838 (4 centuries before Polo) 9 year pilgrimage to Buddhist centers
Popular Buddhist practice Persecution of 845

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Portrait of Ennin

Idealized portrait from 12th ct.

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Chinese Empire under the Tang

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32 Marks

Jodo (Pure Land) court music

Recorded 1964 at the Tiandai Music Research Institute, Mt. Hiei

Meditation on the 32 characteristics of the body of Amida Buddha Sanjuuni Sou honkyoku ()
Listed praises of 32 primary marks (80 secondary)
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32 Marks of a Buddha (lakshanas)

His feet have level soles *His soles are marked by wheels with a thousand spokes, felloe and hub He has projecting heels He has long fingers and toes, sometimes even in length He has soft and tender hands and feet His hands and feet are webbed He has high-raised ankles His legs are like an antelopes Standing and without bending, he can touch and touch his knees His male organs are enclosed in a sheath 27

Marks 11-20

* His complexion is bright, the color of gold His skin is delicate and so smooth that no dust can adhere to his body His body-hairs are separate, one to each pore * His body-hairs grow upwards, each one bluish-black, curling in rings to the right His body is divinely straight He has seven convex surfaces The front part of his body is like a lion's There is no hollow between his shoulders He is proportioned like a banyan-tree (the height of his body is the same as the span of his outstretched arms, and conversely) His chest is evenly rounded

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Marks 21-32

He has a perfect sense of taste He has jaws like a lion's He has forty teeth His teeth are even There are no spaces between his teeth His canine teeth are very bright His tongue is very long He has a Brahma-like voice, like that of the karavika bird His eyes are deep blue He has eyelashes like a cow's *He has a whorl of hair between his eyes, white and soft like cottondown, [urna] * 32 His head is like a royal turban: cranial bump [ushinisha]
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White tuft Urna

Snail-shell ushinisha

Wheels on feet (reclining Buddha)

Elongated or even fingers

Long arms

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