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Dasheng qixin lun
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LibraryCommentariesDasheng qixin lun
大乗起信論
*Mahāyānaśraddhotpādaśāstra
Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna
The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith was written in China in the middle of the sixth century, heavily influenced by Indian Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha teachings. It provides a scriptural foundation for both buddha-nature theory and the doctrine of original enlightenment.
Relevance to Buddha-nature
The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism
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Translations of This Text
Açvagosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna
The study of Buddhism has recently made gigantic strides, on this side of the Atlantic as well as on the other. Not only is the importance of the science of comparative religion making itself felt, but the advance of our Pali and Sanskrit knowledge has greatly contributed to a better understanding of things Oriental. Even Christians who were without sympathy for "heathen" religions have now taken up the study of Buddhism in earnest. Nevertheless, it appears to me that the teachings of Sakyamuni are not yet known in their full significance and that they do not yet command just appreciation. Though intolerant critics lose no chance of vigorously and often wrongly attacking the weak points of Buddhism, which are naturally seen at the surface, clear-sighted people have been very slow to perceive its innermost truth. This is especially the case with the Mahayana school.
The main reasons for this are, in my opinion, evident. While the canonical books of the Hinayana Buddhism have been systematically preserved in the Pali language, those of the Mahayana Buddhism are scattered promiscuously all over the fields and valleys of Asia and in half a dozen different languages. Further, while most of the Sanskrit originals have been destroyed, their translations in Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese have never been thoroughly studied. And, lastly, the Mahayana system is so intricate, so perplexingly abstruse, that scholars not accustomed to this form of thought and expression are entirely at a loss to find their way through it
Among the false charges which have been constantly poured upon the Mahayana Buddhism, we find the following : Some say, "It is a nihilism, denying God, the soul, the world and all"; some say, "It is a polytheism: Avalokiteçvāra, Tara, Vajrapani, Mañjuçri, Amitābha, and what not, are all worshipped by its followers"; still others declare, "It is nothing but sophistry, quibbling, hair-splitting subtlety, and a mocking of the innermost yearnings of humanity" ; while those who attack it from the historical side proclaim, "It is not the genuine teaching of Buddha; it is on the contrary the pure invention of Nāgārjuna, who devised the system by ingeniously mixing up his negative philosophy with the non-atman theory of his predecessor"; or, "The Mahayana is a queer mixture of the Indian mythology that grew most freely in the Tantric period, with a degenerated form of the noble ethical teachings of primitive Buddhism." Though no one who is familiar with Mahayanistic ideas will admit these one-sided and superficial judgments, the majority of people are so credulous as to lend their ear to these falsified reports and to believe them.
The present English translation of Açvaghosha's principal work is therefore dedicated to the Western public by a Buddhist from Japan, with a view to dispelling the denunciations so ungraciously heaped upon the Mahayana Buddhism. The name of Açvaghosha is not very well known to the readers of this country, but there is no doubt that he was the first champion, promulgator, and expounder of this doctrine, so far as we can judge from all our available historical records. Besides, in this book almost all the Mahayanistic thoughts, as distinguished from the other religious systems in India, are traceable, so that we can take it as the representative text of this school. If the reader will carefully and patiently go through the entire book, unmindful of its peculiar terminology and occasional obscureness, I believe he will be amply and satisfactorily repaid for his labor, and will find that the underlying ideas are quite simple, showing occasionally a strong resemblance to the Upanishad philosophy as well as to the Samkhya system, though of course retaining its own independent thought throughout.
In conclusion let me say a word about the difficulty of translating such an abstruse religio-philosophic discourse as the present text. It is comparatively easy to translate works of travels or of historical events or to make abstracts from philosophical works. But a translator of the Mahayanistic writings, which are full of specific phraseology and highly abstruse speculations, will find himself like a wanderer in some unknown region, not knowing how to obtain any communicable means to express what be perceives and feels. To reproduce the original as faithfully as possible and at the same time to make it intelligible enough to the outside reader, who has perhaps never come in contact with this form of thought, the translator must be perfectly acquainted with the Mahayanistic doctrine as it is understood in the East, while he must not be lacking in adequate knowledge of Western philosophy and mode of thinking. The present translator has done his best to make the Mahayanistic thoughts of Açvaghosha as clear and intelligible as his limited knowledge and lack of philosophic training allow him. He is confident, however, that he has interpreted the Chinese text correctly. In spite of this, some errors may have crept into the present translation, and the translator will gladly avail himself of the criticisms of the Mahayana scholars to make corrections in case a second edition of the work is needed. (Suzuki, translator's preface, x–xiv)
Read more here . . .
Suzuki, D. T., trans. Açvagosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna. Chicago: Open Court, 1900. https://archive.org/details/avaghoshasdisc00asva/page/n5/mode/2up
Suzuki, D. T., trans. Açvagosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna. Chicago: Open Court, 1900. https://archive.org/details/avaghoshasdisc00asva/page/n5/mode/2up;Açvagosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna;Dasheng qixin lun;Aśvaghoṣa;རྟ་དབྱངས་;rta dbyangs; Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki;Açvagosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna;Aśvaghoṣa
The Awakening of Faith (1967)
The text known as the Dasheng qixinlun (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna) is a short treatise occupying only nine pages in the Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripitaka.[1] The reconstructed Sanskrit title of the work is Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda-śāstra; it is said to have been written in Sanskrit by Aśvaghosha and translated into Chinese in A.D. 550 by the famous Indian translator of Buddhist texts, Paramārtha. No Sanskrit version of the text exists today, however, and all our knowledge of the work is based on this Chinese version and a second version that dates from a somewhat later period.
The work is a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the product of a mind extraordinarily apt at synthesis. It begins with an examination of the nature of the Absolute or enlightenment and of the phenomenal world or nonenlightenment and discusses the relationships that exist between them; from there, it passes on to the question of how man may transcend his finite state and
participate in the life of the infinite while still remaining in the midst of the phenomenal order; it concludes with a discussion of particular practices and techniques that will aid the believer in the awakening and growth of his faith. In spite of its deep concern with philosophical concepts and definitions, therefore, it is essentially a religious work, a map drawn by a man of unshakable faith, which will guide the believer to the peak of understanding. But the map and the peak are only provisional symbols, skillful and expedient ways employed to bring men to enlightenment. The text and all the arguments in it exist not for their own sake but for the sake of this objective alone. The treatise is, indeed, a true classic of Mahāyāna Buddhism. (Hakeda, introduction, 1–2)
Hakeda, Yoshito S., trans. The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Aśvaghosha. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
Hakeda, Yoshito S., trans. The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Aśvaghosha. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.;The Awakening of Faith (1967);Dasheng qixin lun;Aśvaghoṣa;རྟ་དབྱངས་;rta dbyangs; Yoshito S. Hakeda;The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Aśvaghosha;Aśvaghosha
Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith
Dasheng qixin lun, or Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith has been one of the most important texts of East Asian Buddhism since it first appeared in sixth-century China. It outlines the initial steps a Mahāyāna Buddhist needs to take to reach enlightenment, beginning with the conviction that the Mahāyāna path is correct and worth pursuing. The Treatise addresses many of the doctrines central to various Buddhist teachings in China between the fifth and seventh centuries, attempting to reconcile seemingly contradictory ideas in Buddhist texts introduced from India. It provided a model for later schools to harmonize teachings and sustain the idea that, despite different approaches, there was only one doctrine, or Dharma. It profoundly shaped the doctrines and practices of the major schools of Chinese Buddhism: Chan, Tiantai, Huayan, and to a lesser extent Pure Land. It quickly became a shared resource for East Asian philosophers and students of Buddhist thought. Drawing on the historical and intellectual contexts of Treatise's composition and paying sustained attention to its interpretation in early commentaries, this new annotated translation of the classic, makes its ideas available to English readers like never before. The introduction orients readers to the main topics taken up in the Treatise and gives a comprehensive historical and intellectual grounding to the text. This volume marks a major advance in studies of the Treatise, bringing to light new interpretations and themes of the text. (Source: Oxford University Press)
Jorgensen, John, Dan Lusthaus, John Makeham, and Mark Strange, eds. and trans. Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
Jorgensen, John, Dan Lusthaus, John Makeham, and Mark Strange, eds. and trans. Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.;Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith;Debate(s);Doctrine;History of buddha-nature in China;Textual study;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;tathāgatagarbha;ālayavijñāna;Dasheng qixin lun;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Actualized Enlightenment;Original Enlightenment;John Jorgensen; Dan Lusthaus;John Makeham;Mark Strange;Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith;Aśvaghoṣa;Paramārtha
Taishō 1666
This treatise, The Awakening of Faith, sometimes known by the longer title of The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, presents a concise synopsis of both the theoretical and practical aspects of the central ideas of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and has therefore been widely read as an introduction to this branch. A short work, it remains extremely important in the history of Buddhism, having exerted influence in China and Japan on the schools of Hua-yen (Jp. Kegon), T'ien-t'ai (Jp. Tendai), Chan/Zen, Pure Land (Ch. Jìngtǔzōng; Jp. Jōdo Bukkyō), Chên-yen (Jp. Shingon), and more.
However, many questions remain concerning the author and place of composition, including whether it was composed in India or China, and whether the attributive author Aśvaghoṣa lived before or after Nāgārjuna.
Source Skt. *Mahāyānaśraddhotpāda-śāstra, attributed to Aśvaghoṣa. Brought into the Chinese by Paramārtha as Dasheng qixin lun (大乘起信論). 1 fascicle.
Editor's Note: This is a reprint of the sutra as translated by the late Dr. Yoshito S. Hakeda and originally published by Columbia University Press. This reprint edition retains Dr. Hakeda's chapter and subdivision headings and his commentaries, which are set in italicized paragraphs within the text itself. (Source: BDK America)
Hakeda, Yoshito S., trans. The Awakening of Faith. Attributed to Aśvaghoṣa. Translated from the Chinese of Paramārtha (Taishō vol. 32, no. 1666). BDK English Tripiṭaka 63, no. 4. Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2005. Reprint of the first edition, 1967.
Hakeda, Yoshito S., trans. The Awakening of Faith. Attributed to Aśvaghoṣa. Translated from the Chinese of Paramārtha (Taishō vol. 32, no. 1666). BDK English Tripiṭaka 63, no. 4. Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2005. Reprint of the first edition, 1967.;The Awakening of Faith (2005);Actualized Enlightenment;Original Enlightenment;Aśvaghoṣa;རྟ་དབྱངས་;rta dbyangs; Yoshito S. Hakeda;The Awakening of Faith;Aśvaghoṣa
Recensions of This Text
Dasheng qixin lun, (*Mahāyānaśraddhotpādaśāstra). (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna). Recension information:
大乘起信論 (Dà chéng qǐ xìn lùn), T1666, 32: https://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT2012/T1666.html. (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna). Attributed to Aśvaghoṣa, translated by Paramārtha.
新譯大乘起信論 (Xīnyì dà chéng qǐ xìn lùn), T1667, 32: https://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT2012/T1667.html. (A New Translation of the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna) translated by Śikṣānanda.
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History of buddha-nature in China
The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism
shijue
original enlightenment
On the topic of this text
A Buddhist Bible (1938)
This early Western publication on Buddhism includes mention of the concept of buddha-nature 19 times. Thus this work would have been one of the few English publications at the time to mention buddha-nature by name. What follows is Goddard's preface to the book.
The first edition of this Buddhist Bible was published in 1932. When the need of a new edition became evident, it was decided to enlarge it so as to include other Scriptures of like importance so as to make it more comprehensive. This involved making a number of new translations for which we are indebted to Bhikshu Wai-tao. We are also indebted and are very grateful to a number of other Buddhist Scholars for permission to use their translations, as noted in the Appendix.
The compiling of a Buddhist Bible is a very different matter from compiling the Christian Bible. In the first place, there is no Hierarchy or Ecclesiastic Council to pass upon the authenticity of different scriptures, and as to their canonicity. In the second place, Christian Scriptures are a closed system of doctrines and dogmas that have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and are to be accepted in faith. Buddhism, on the contrary, is looked upon as a growing organism whose scriptures are of many kinds as the organism has developed under different racial, temporal and cultural conditions. As disciples follow the Buddha's Noble Path and practice dhyana concentration and intuitive meditation they have an unfolding experience of spiritual insight and grace which any one of them may describe and elucidate. Some of these expediences are of highest value, some of less value. Some are concerned with the Dharma, some have to do with the rules of the Brotherhoods, some are philosophical, some psychological, some are commentaries and some are commentaries on commentaries. In the third place, there is the difference of quantity. In the Christian Bible there are sixty-six titles; Buddhist scriptures number over ten thousand, only a fraction of which have thus far been translated. In the Sung Dynasty about 972 AD a Chinese version of these scriptures was published consisting of 1521 works, in more than 5000 volumes, covering 130,000 pages.
The nearest approach to canonicity is the Pali Tripitika. That was the earliest collection and was supposed to be limited to the words of Buddha. Southern Buddhists are passionately devoted to these Pali Scriptures and are inclined to disparage and dispute the more philosophical scriptures of the Northern School that developed later after Buddhism had come in contact with other world religions in Persia, Palestine, Egypt and Greece. Under these conditions there developed in Northern India, and Kashgar, a succession of very able minds, Ashvaghosha, Nargajuna, Vasobandhu and his brother Asangha from whose writings and teachings there developed various important schools of philosophical thought that profoundly changed the understanding of Buddha's Dharma.
Later on as Buddhism spread into China and came under the influence of its immemorial culture and practical good sense, it took on forms of Taoist naturalism and kindly humanism, and there developed forms of "salvation by faith in Amitabha's mercy" and rebirth in his Pure Land. While in Tibet, coming in contact with its ancient Bon religion, and under the climatic conditions of its high altitudes, it took on forms of strenuousness and magic and tantric conceptions. Later on in Japan owing to political and social conditions incident to the presence of a limited but powerful noble class dominating a suppressed peasantry, which had developed extremes of loyalty and obedience and self-control, it took on forms of concentrative meditation known as Zen, and a still more widely divergent type of the True Pure Land Sect.
Naturally among these diverse conditions Buddhist scriptures vary widely, and the quantity of them being so enormous, they have become segregated into different groups as they are favored by different schools of thought and practice. The Tien-tai favor the more philosophical scriptures, the Shingon, the more esoteric, the Ch'an (Zen), the more intellectual, and the Pure Land, the more emotional. The present editor has been guided in his selection of scriptures for this Buddhist Bible by a sincere purpose to make the selection as comprehensive as possible within its limits and to represent as truly as possible the original teachings of the Blessed One both as understood by the Southern and more primitive school and by the Northern and more philosophical interpreters. He has also humbly tried to have the choice vouched for by his own spiritual experience in his practice of the Noble Path and especially during its Eighth Stage of intuitive Dhyana.
It follows, therefore, that the scriptures thus selected are the generally accepted scriptures of the Dhyana Sects—Ch'an in China, Zen in Japan and Kargyupta in Tibet. Of course among so enormous a collection of scriptures there are others that are favorites also, notably the Saddharma-pundarika (Lotus of the Perfect Law), and the Avatamsaka, said to be the grandest religious document ever written, but these are very large books in themselves. The late W. E. Soothil of London left a very careful translation of the Lotus that still waits a publisher. Dr. Suzuki of Kyoto has made a translation of the Gandhavyuha sections of the Avatamsaka that is now in process of being published. The inclusion of Laotzu's Tao-teh-king is open to question as it is not strictly a Buddhist text, but its teaching has such a close affinity to Buddhist teaching and nearly all early Chinese Masters of Buddhism were Taoist scholars who, upon becoming Buddhists, did not give up their Taoist conceptions and terms, and because the Laotzuan teaching in the Tao-teh-king has had such a wholesome influence on the development of Chinese Buddhism, and, in later years, wherever the Tao-teh-king is held in reverence, it has tended to restrain individual pride of egoism, religious ceremonial, ecclesiasticism, priestcraft and insincerity generally, we make no apology for including it. In fact, it is our earnest wish that the Tao-teh-king may become one of the foundation stones of American and European Buddhism.
Further introductory notes are reserved for the Appendix under the heads of the individual Scriptures, as are also -grateful appreciation to those who have contributed to the preparation and publication of this Bible, especially to those Buddhist scholars who have courteously granted the Editor permission to use their translations for this purpose
Just a closing word as to the rules that have guided the Editor in his choice and handling of textual material. He has always kept in mind the spiritual needs of his readers. This Buddhist Bible is not intended to be a source book for critical literary and historical study. It is only intended to be a source of spiritual inspiration designed to awaken faith and to develop faith into aspiration and full realization. The original texts having for centuries been carried in memory and transcribed by hand by scribes who were often more loyal to their Master than to historical exactness, are often overloaded with interpolations and extensions, and in places are confused and obscure. To carry out the design of the Editor, he has omitted a great deal of matter not bearing directly upon the theme of the particular Scripture, and has interpreted occasionally where it seemed necessary and advisable, in order to provide an easier and more inspiring reading. The need for this course will become apparent to every earnest minded disciple.
In these days when Western civilization and culture is buffeted as never before by foreboding waves of materialism and selfish aggrandisement both individual and national, Buddhism seems to hold out teachings of highest promise. For two thousand years Dhyana Buddhism has powerfully conditioned the cultural, ethical and spiritual life of the great Oriental nations. It well may be the salvation of Western civilization. Its rationality, its discipline, its emphasis on simplicity and sincerity, its thoughtfulness, its cheerful industry not for profit but for service, its love for all animate life, its restraint of desire in all its subtle forms, its actual foretastes of enlightenment and blissful peace, its patient acceptance of karma and rebirth, all mark it out as being competent to meet the problems of this excitement loving, materialistic, acquisitive and thoughtless age.
Its basic principle of an eternal process based on unchanging law and operating in eternal recurrence, leading to mind-control, to highest cognition, to purest conceptions of love and compassion, to ever clearing insight, to highest perfect wisdom, to the self-giving of Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas, to blissful peace, is worthy of confidence; and its Noble Path worthy of
trial.
The theme of this Buddhist Bible is designed to show the unreality of all conceptions of a personal ego. Its purpose is to awaken faith in Buddhahood as being one's true self-nature; to kindle aspiration to realize one's true Buddha-nature; to energize effort to follow the Noble Path, to become Buddha. The true response to the appeal of this Buddhist Bible is not in outward activities, but in self-yielding, becoming a clear channel for Buddhahood's indrawing compassion, that all sentient beings may become emancipated, enlightened and brought to Buddhahood. (Goddard, preface, v–viii)
Goddard, Dwight, ed. A Buddhist Bible. rev. and enl. ed. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1938. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279263/page/n2/mode/2up.
Goddard, Dwight, ed. A Buddhist Bible. rev. and enl. ed. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1938. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279263/page/n2/mode/2up.;A Buddhist Bible (1938);Doctrine;Defining buddha-nature;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Dasheng qixin lun;A Buddhist Bible
A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith: "Śikṣānanda's" Redaction of the Word "Nien"
Lai, Whalen. "A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith: 'Śikṣānanda's' Redaction of the Word 'Nien'." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 3, no. 1 (1980): 34–53. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8506/2413.
Lai, Whalen. "A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith: 'Śikṣānanda's' Redaction of the Word 'Nien'." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 3, no. 1 (1980): 34–53. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8506/2413.; A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith: "Śikṣānanda's" Redaction of the Word "Nien"; A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith: "Śikṣānanda's" Redaction of the Word "Nien"; Textual study; Dasheng qixin lun; Śikṣānanda; Whalen Lai;
A Comparative Study of Taehyŏn, Wŏnhyo, and Fazangs' Views on Ālayavijñāna and Tathāgatagarbha
Lee, Sumi. "A Comparative Study of Taehyŏn, Wŏnhyo, and Fazangs' Views on Ālayavijñāna and Tathāgatagarbha." (In Korean.) East Asian Buddhist Culture 32, no. 12 (2017): 101–29.
Lee, Sumi. "A Comparative Study of Taehyŏn, Wŏnhyo, and Fazangs' Views on Ālayavijñāna and Tathāgatagarbha." (In Korean.) East Asian Buddhist Culture 32, no. 12 (2017): 101–29.; A Comparative Study of Taehyŏn, Wŏnhyo, and Fazangs' Views on Ālayavijñāna and Tathāgatagarbha; A Comparative Study of Taehyŏn, Wŏnhyo, and Fazangs' Views on Ālayavijñāna and Tathāgatagarbha; History of buddha-nature in Korea; ālayavijñāna; tathāgatagarbha; Dasheng qixin lun; Wǒnhyo; Fazang; Taehyŏn; Sumi Lee;
A Distant Mirror
In this book, an international team of fourteen scholars investigates the Chinese reception of Indian Buddhist ideas, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries. Topics include Buddhist logic and epistemology (pramāṇa, yinming); commentaries on Indian Buddhist texts; Chinese readings of systems as diverse as Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha; the working out of Indian concepts and problematics in new Chinese works; and previously under-studied Chinese evidence for developments in India. The authors aim to consider the ways that these Chinese materials might furnish evidence of broader Buddhist trends, thereby problematizing a prevalent notion of "sinification", which has led scholars to consider such materials predominantly in terms of trends ostensibly distinctive to China. The volume also tries to go beyond seeing sixth- and seventh-century China primarily as the age of the formation and establishment of the Chinese Buddhist "schools". The authors attempt to view the ideas under study on their own terms, as valid Buddhist ideas engendered in a rich, "liminal" space of interchange between two large traditions. (Source: Hamburg University Press)
Lin, Chen-kuo, and Michael Radich, eds. A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 3. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2014. https://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2014/146/pdf/HamburgUP_HBS03_LinRadich_Mirror.pdf.
Lin, Chen-kuo, and Michael Radich, eds. A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 3. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2014. https://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2014/146/pdf/HamburgUP_HBS03_LinRadich_Mirror.pdf.;A Distant Mirror;Dasheng qixin lun;Two Truths;Yogācāra;Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra;*Amalavijñāna;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism
A Re-examination of the Relationship between the Awakening of Faith and Dilun School Thought, Focusing on the Works of Huiyuan
Keng, Ching. "A Re-examination of the Relationship between the Awakening of Faith and Dilun School Thought, Focusing on the Works of Huiyuan." In A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism, edited by Chen-kuo Lin and Michael Radich, 183–215. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2014. https://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2014/146/chapter/HamburgUP_HBS03_Keng_LinRadich_Mirror.pdf.
Keng, Ching. "A Re-examination of the Relationship between the Awakening of Faith and Dilun School Thought, Focusing on the Works of Huiyuan." In A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism, edited by Chen-kuo Lin and Michael Radich, 183–215. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2014. https://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2014/146/chapter/HamburgUP_HBS03_Keng_LinRadich_Mirror.pdf.; A Re-examination of the Relationship between the Awakening of Faith and Dilun School Thought, Focusing on the Works of Huiyuan; A Re-examination of the Relationship between the Awakening of Faith and Dilun School Thought, Focusing on the Works of Huiyuan; Dasheng qixin lun; Ching Keng;
PhD Diss
Chen, Shu-hui: Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices
The Tathāgatagarbha theory, also known as the Buddha-nature theory, is one of the most influential Mahāyāna doctrines in the East Asian Buddhism. In 1989, it was severely criticized by some Japanese scholars, namely, Shiro Matsumoto and Noriaki Hakamaya, for being contradictory to the Buddha's teaching of non-self (anātman) and accused of being a non-Buddhist theory in disguise. The purpose of this study is to refute such an accusation and to demonstrate the relationship between this theory and the Bodhisattva practices which are the very core of the Mahāyāna Buddhism.
This dissertation begins with definitions of the term "tathāgatagarbha" and some of its synonyms which are followed by a brief review of the historical development of the Tathāgatagarbha theory from India to China. With these as the background knowledge, it is easier to point out the fallacies of the two Japanese scholars' criticism on this theory. A key issue in their criticism is that they viewed the Tathāgatagarbha theory as the ātman of the Upaniṣads in disguise. It is therefore necessary to discuss not only the distinction between the ātman mentioned in the Tathāgatagarbha theory and that in the Upaniṣads but also the controversy over the issue of ātman versus anātman among the Buddhist scholars.
In the discussion to clarify the issue of ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory, it is demonstrated that the ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory is not only uncontradictory to the doctrine of anātman in Buddhism but very important to the Bodhisattva practices in the Mahāyāna Buddhism. It functions as a unity for the Bodhisattvas to voluntarily return to the world of saṃsāra again and again. Furthermore, the purport of the entire theory, that all sentient beings are endowed with the essence of the Buddha, supports various Bodhisattva practices such as the aspiration to save all beings in the world, the six perfections, etc. In a word, the Tathāgatagarbha theory is an excellent representative of the soteriology of the Mahāyāna Buddhism. Included in the end of this dissertation is an annotated translation of the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra (Taisho nos. 666 and 667). (Source Accessed May 26, 2020)
Chen, Shu-hui Jennifer. "Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998.
Chen, Shu-hui Jennifer. "Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998.;Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices;tathāgatagarbha;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Matsumoto, S.;Hakamaya, N.;Critical Buddhism;anātman;ātman;gotra;dharmadhātu;dharmakāya;buddhadhātu;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Ghanavyūhasūtra;Fo xing lun;Dasheng qixin lun;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;icchantika;Tien Tai;Zen - Chan;Madhyamaka;Yogācāra;ālayavijñāna;paramārthasatya;Shu-hui Jennifer Chen; Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices
An English Translation of Fa-Tsang's Commentary on the Awakening of Faith
A translation of one of the most important commentaries on the Awakening of Faith.
Vorenkamp, Dirck, trans. An English Translation of Fa-Tsang's Commentary on the Awakening of Faith. Studies in Asian Thought and Religion 28. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004.
Vorenkamp, Dirck, trans. An English Translation of Fa-Tsang's Commentary on the Awakening of Faith. Studies in Asian Thought and Religion 28. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004.;An English Translation of Fa-Tsang's Commentary on the Awakening of Faith;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Dasheng qixin lun;Dirck Vorenkamp;An English Translation of Fa-Tsang's Commentary on the Awakening of Faith;Fazang
Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna
The Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna (Dasheng qixinlun) is one of the most influential philosophical texts in East Asian Buddhism. It is most important for developing the Indian Buddhist doctrine of an inherent potentiality for Buddhahood (tathāgatagarbha) into a monistic ontology based on the mind as the ultimate ground of all experience. Its most significant contribution to East Asian Buddhist thought is its formulation of the idea of original enlightenment (benjue, or in Japanese, hongaku). (Source Accessed June 3, 2020)
Gregory, Peter. "Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna." In Vol. 2 of Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward Craig, 603–4. London: Routledge, 1998.
Gregory, Peter. "Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna." In Vol. 2 of Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward Craig, 603–4. London: Routledge, 1998.; Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna; Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna; The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism; History of buddha-nature in China; Dasheng qixin lun; Peter Gregory;
Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of The Awakening of Faith
The question of the authorship of the Ta-ch'eng chi-hsin lun The Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna, tr. Paramārtha, hereafter referred to as the AFM), has long been a lively subject of discussion among scholars of Buddhism. Such eminent Buddhologists as Demiéville, Liebenthal, and Mochizuki (to name just a few), have debated the authenticity of the two Chinese translations of the text and discussed the possibility that the original text of the AFM might have been composed in China as part of a controversy between two branches of the Ti-lun sect. In recent editions of the Journal of the IABS the question of the authorship of the AFM has been raised again. In a couple of intriguing essays, Professor Whalen Lai has presented some new arguments in support of the Chinese authorship of the text.
I do not intend here to try to resolve all of the many questions involved in determining the author of the AFM (such an undertaking is well beyond the scope of a short paper), but I would like to address an argument that Professor Lai raised in the first of his articles—namely his contention that the AFM's exposition of the relationship of hsin (mind) and nien (thought, thought-moment) bears such an "unmistakable sinitic stamp" that it must have been authored in China. I will try to show that the AFM's central conception of an "unmoved," pure mind (hsin) existing as the basis of the deluded movement of thoughts (nien) has an important Indian precedent in the cittaprakṛti and ayoniśomanaskāra notions of the Ratnagotravibhāga-mahāyānottaratantraśāstra (hereafter referred to as the RGV), a text with which the AFM's author may well have been familiar. I do not intend this as a criticism of Professor Lai's research—the parallels he finds between Chinese thought regarding hsin and nien prior to the period of the Six Dynasties and the elucidation of these notions in the AFM deserve serious attention. I simply would like to show that similar parallels—if not direct textual influences—exist between the AFM and the Indian-composed RGV, so that there is no compelling reason to conclude that the AFM theory of mind (hsin) and thoughts (nien) demonstrates Chinese authorship. (Grosnick, "Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga," 35–36)
Grosnick, William. "Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of The Awakening of Faith." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 6, no. 2 (1983): 35–47. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8605/2512.
Grosnick, William. "Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of The Awakening of Faith." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 6, no. 2 (1983): 35–47. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8605/2512.; Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of The Awakening of Faith; Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga: A Precedent for the Hsin-Nien Distinction of The Awakening of Faith; Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra; Dasheng qixin lun; William Grosnick;
Daijō kishinron no kenkyū
Anthology of articles covering such topics as the early history of the Awakening of Faith, the influence of its doctrine of original enlightenment on early Chan, Fazang's commentary, the rhetoric of the text, and the concept of the "one vehicle" (ekayāna). (Source Accessed July 3, 2020)
Inoue, Katsuhito, ed. Daijō kishinron no kenkyū. Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan: Kansai Daigaku Shuppanbu, 2000.
Inoue, Katsuhito, ed. Daijō kishinron no kenkyū. Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan: Kansai Daigaku Shuppanbu, 2000.;Daijō kishinron no kenkyū;Aśvaghoṣa;Doctrine;Dasheng qixin lun;Zen - Chan;ekayāna;Original Enlightenment;Daijō kishinron no kenkyū
Dasheng qixin lun yu foxue Zhongguohua
Cultural and doctrinal study of the Awakening of Faith's distinctive concepts as products of the larger indigenization of Buddhism in China, and of the influence of the text on later Chinese Buddhist and Confucian thought and modern Chinese thought, including New Confucianism. Reprint of author's 1993 Wuhan University doctoral dissertation. (Source Accessed July 3, 2020)
Gong, Jun. Dasheng qixin lun yu foxue Zhongguohua (The Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith and the Sinification of Buddhism). Taipei: Wenjin, 1995.
Gong, Jun. Dasheng qixin lun yu foxue Zhongguohua (The Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith and the Sinification of Buddhism). Taipei: Wenjin, 1995.;Dasheng qixin lun yu foxue Zhongguohua;Dasheng qixin lun;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Jun Gong;Dasheng qixin lun yu foxue Zhongguohua
Lost in Translation? The Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun) and Its Modern Readings
Tarocco, Francesca. "Lost in Translation? The Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun) and Its Modern Readings." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 71, no. 2 (2008): 323–43. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/622d/9645525a5977419cda965769f846f2324b0f.pdf?_ga=2.4629619.1346501928.1596826751-417447241.1584722923.
Tarocco, Francesca. "Lost in Translation? The Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun) and Its Modern Readings." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 71, no. 2 (2008): 323–43. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/622d/9645525a5977419cda965769f846f2324b0f.pdf?_ga=2.4629619.1346501928.1596826751-417447241.1584722923.; Lost in Translation? The Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun) and Its Modern Readings; Lost in Translation? The Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun) and Its Modern Readings; Dasheng qixin lun; Francesca Tarocco;
Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations
Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, becoming the prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Over the last twenty-five years Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. Paul Williams' Mahayana Buddhism is widely regarded as the standard introduction to the field, used internationally for teaching and research and has been translated into several European and Asian languages. This new edition has been fully revised throughout in the light of the wealth of new studies and focuses on the religion's diversity and richness. It includes much more material on China and Japan, with appropriate reference to Nepal, and for students who wish to carry their study further there is a much-expanded bibliography and extensive footnotes and cross-referencing. Everyone studying this important tradition will find Williams' book the ideal companion to their studies. (Source: Routledge)
Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. 2nd ed. The Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices. New York: Routledge, 2009. https://archive.org/details/mahayanabuddhismthedoctrinalfoundationspaulwilliamsroutledgeseealtruismandreality_202003_445_W/mode/2up.
Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. 2nd ed. The Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices. New York: Routledge, 2009. https://archive.org/details/mahayanabuddhismthedoctrinalfoundationspaulwilliamsroutledgeseealtruismandreality_202003_445_W/mode/2up.;Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations;tathāgatagarbha;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;gzhan stong;rang stong;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Dasheng qixin lun;Critical Buddhism;anātman;Contemporary;prajñā;Madhyamaka;śūnyatā;Two Truths;Yogācāra;trisvabhāva;ālayavijñāna;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra;Nāgārjuna;Dōgen;Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra;Fazang;Tien Tai;Hōnen;Shinran;Paul Williams;Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations
New Light on the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda Śāstra
The study of the Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda Śāstra[1] has a long history. French, Chinese and Japanese scholars have participated in the discussion, some of them great authorities in the field of Sino-Indian Studies, as P. Demieville, Ui Hakuju, Tokiwa Daijō, and Mochizuki Shinkō.[2] That I dare to add my grain to the store of knowledge already collected, though not even fully acquainted with the earlier efforts , demands an explanation. When studying Chinese Buddhism and slowly progressing through the centuries I came before the stumbling block of this text and found that without more definite knowledge about the Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda Śāstra a clear picture of Medieval Buddhism could not be attained. As no answer has yet been given to this problem acceptable to all the debaters I had to look into it myself. Unfortunately, the Indian libraries in my reach are very incomplete with respect to Japanese and Chinese books and periodicals. So I was confronted with a dilemma which worries many scholars to-day, namely, whether I should continue my studies in spite of this handicap or stop altogether. Finally I decided that I would try to get a result by using what was available to me and adding material which I collected myself. This led to what I consider as a result worth while to be submitted as a basis of discussion. The professors Matsunami Seiren and Hayashi Kemmyō kindly sent me reprints of their papers.
The present state of the discussion may in short be characterized as follows. The traditional view that (1) the Śāstra is a translation of a Sanskrit original and (2) that the translator is Paramārtha, is now generally abandoned.[3] It is also known that the lntroduction is forged.[4] It is further known that the Sanskrit text translated by Śikṣānanda was itself a translation from the extant Chinese version.[5] If so much is accepted, early doubts of Chinese Buddhists concerning the Śāstra gain weight.[6]
Hui-chün, an early seventh century witness, in the passage quoted above p. 156 note 4, speaks of "former" Dāśabhūmikas who forged the Śraddhotpāda. Chi-tsang (549-623) blames Dāśabhūmikas "of a former generation"
that they mistook the eighth vijñāna for Buddha-nature (T. vol. 34 380 b 20 f.). In another place he speaks of "old" Dāśabhūmikas (T. vol. 42 104 c 7). This implies that we have to distinguish between late Dāśabhūmikas (after the arrival of the Mahāyāna-saṁgraha) and early ones (the first and second generations after the translators of the Daśabhūmika Śāstra).[7] Among them, those who belonged to the early generation are said to have forged the Śraddhotpāda Śāstra.[8]
Tokiwa believes in a Chinese author who mainly relied on the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra both translations of which (Sung and Wei) he amalgamated. This may be correct though I could not find allusions peculiar to Guṇabhadra's (Sung) translation.
Mochizuki has proved that the Chinese author was acquainted not only with the Laṅkāvatāra but with several other texts. He proposes as author T'an-tsun, a disciple of Fa-shang who dictated the Śāstra to his disciple T'an -ch'ien. See below p. 160.
Hayashi Kemmyō, has traced material in Liang Wu-ti's writings and the Pao-tsang lun. Liang Wu-ti believed in immortal souls.[9] The Śraddhotpāda Śāstra contains nothing of that sort. Though influence from that side cannot be excluded, I do not feel this material to be significant enough to permit us to place the author in the South.
Matsunami Seiren believes in Aśvaghoṣa if not as author yet as the spiritual father of the Śraddhotpāda. I have compared his quotations from the Sauṇdarānanda Kāvya etc . which are interesting. But I think we might consider as established that the author of the Śraddhotpāda Śāstra was a Chinese and work upon that assumption.[10] Besides, the main tenets of the Śāstra have not been found in the Kāvya.
I pass by other theories of which I have only heard . Scholars are searching in all directions and undoubtedly will find material unknown to me which will throw even more light on the intricate problem of our text. Meanwhile I shall consider as established that the Śāstra was composed by an early Dāśabhūmika and limit my investigation to the question who this person was. (Liebenthal, "New Light on the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda Śāstra," 155–58)
1. T. 1666. I have compared the photos of manuscripts mentioned in Giles, Chinese Manuscripts from Tunhuang, nos. 4318-20, 5771-84. But I found no interesting versions. (No. 5783 seems to be a commentary of the Samyuktābhidharma-sāra!)
2. Of this literature I had at my disposal : P. Demiéville: Sur l'authenlicité du Ta Tch'eng K'i Sin Louen. Bulletin de la Maison Franco-Japonaise, tome II, no. 2 , Tokyo 1929, reprint pp. 1-78 (Demiéville, Authenticité).
Mochizuki Shinkō: Bukkyo daijüen (1935} (Mochizuki, Dictionary).
Same : Daijo Kishinron no Kenkyū (1922) (Mochizuki , Study) .
Same: Kōjutsu Daijō Kishinron (1938} (Mochizuki, Kishinron).
Same : Kokuyaku Issaikyō, Ronshu-bu 5 (1953}. A translation with a detailed outline.
Same : Bukkyō kyōten. seiritsu shiron (1949}, pp. 532–624.
Ui Hakuju: Daijō Kishinron. Tokyo 1936. Matsunami Seiren: Yugagyoha no taikei lo nendai (Nippon bukkyō gakkai nempō, No. 22) . 1957.
Same: Yugagyoha. no so lo shite no Memyō (Taishō Daigaku kenkyū kiyō, No. 39). 1954 .
Same: Kishinron-shisō no taikei to nendai {Nippon bukkyō gakkai nempō, No. 22) . 1957.
Same: Tensei naru Nanda (Taishō Daigaku kenkyū kiyō, No. 42). 1957.
Hayashi Kemmyō: Kishinron no shin Kenkyū. 1945.
Suzuki D. Teitarō: Awakening of Faith. Chicago l900.
3. Also by Demiéville, see Le Concile de Lhasa (Bibliothèque de l'lnstitut des Hautes Études Chinoises, t. vii, Paris 1952), part 1 p. 57.
4. Though old.
5. Tao-hsüan's note following upon the biography of Hsüan-tsang in Hsü kao-seng chuan T. vol. 50 428 b 27.
6. Cf. Mochizuki, Dictionary 3256b, also Ching-lu T. vol. 55 142a; Chinkai, Sanron gensho Mongiyō [Chinese characters not available] ch. ii (T . 2299 vol. 70 228c) quotes two passages from the Ta-ch'eng ssu-lun hsüan-i [Chinese characters not available] ch. 5 and 10 which, however, are not found in the extant fragmentary version (Hsü-tsang ching I. 74/I). It looks as if ch. 10 of that edition should more correctly be labelled ch. 12. I am translating these quotations: Ch. 5. '"The Śraddotpāda is made by a prisoner-of-war who borrowed the name of Aśvaghoṣa." Ch. 10. "Śraddotpāda. Some say that it is made by Dāśabhūmikas of the North . . . It is not by Aśvaghoṣa Bodhisattva. Former [Chinese characters not available] Dāśabhumikas made it. They borrowed the name (of Aśvaghoṣa) for the headline". The "prisoner -of-war" is perhaps imagination. The "former" Dāśabhūmikas seem to be correct.
7. Cf. my "Notes on the Vajrasamādhi." T'oung Pao vol. xliv, 4-5, pp, 378-382 . I have in this paper discussed several allusions which l had found in the Vajrasamādhi and wish to add one more which I had overlooked. It is the famous half gāthā for which the rākṣasa gives away his body. Cf. T. vol. 9, 733b, c and Nirvāṇa Sūtra, Sheng -hsing p'in [Chinese not available], T. vol. 12 xiv 450a-451b.
8. To say that the Śraddhotpāda Śāstra was forged is perhaps not correct. Aśvaghoṣa may appear in the title as spiritual author as he appears in the biography of T'an-yen dictating, in the shape of a horse, a commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. He and Nāgārjuna were worshipped as bodhisattvas under the Wei (Daśabhūmika, Introduction). He seems to have a function of inspirator similar to Maitreya. See Demiéville, La Yogācārabhūmi de Saṅgharakṣa, B.E.F.E.O. XLIV, 2. {1954) pp. 377-387, anti cf. T. vol. 50 334c 10 and vol. 8 530b 25 seq.
9. Cf. Mon. nipponica Vlll I–2 pp. 376 seq.
10. Cf. Mon. nipponica Vlll I–2 pp. 376 seq.
Liebenthal, Walter. "New Light on the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda Śāstra." T'oung Pao 46, no. 3/5 (1958): 155–216.
Liebenthal, Walter. "New Light on the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda Śāstra." T'oung Pao 46, no. 3/5 (1958): 155–216.; New Light on the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda Śāstra; New Light on the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda Śāstra; Textual study; Dasheng qixin lun; Walter Liebenthal;
Nyoraizō to Daijō kishinron
Voluminous anthology of articles by eminent scholars about the Awakening of Faith's reception and influence among numerous major Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Buddhist figures and among modern scholars, doctrines of buddha-nature and tathāgata-garbha (womb of buddhas), textual borrowings, and its relationship to the Dilun school, from which many scholars believe it emerged. (Source Accessed July 3, 2020)
Hirakawa, Akira. Nyoraizō to Daijō kishinron. Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 1990.
Hirakawa, Akira. Nyoraizō to Daijō kishinron. Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 1990.;Nyoraizō to Daijō kishinron;tathāgatagarbha;Dasheng qixin lun;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Akira Hirakawa;Nyoraizō to Daijō kishinron
On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna
An introduction to the Awakening of Faith
Gardner, Alex. "On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna." Buddha-Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, October 9, 2019. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/On_the_Awakening_of_Faith_in_the_Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na
Gardner, Alex. "On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna." Buddha-Nature: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, October 9, 2019. https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/On_the_Awakening_of_Faith_in_the_Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na; On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna; On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna; The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism; Original Enlightenment; Dasheng qixin lun; Alex Gardner;
On the Ālayavijñāna in the Awakening of Faith: Comparing and Contrasting Wŏnhyo and Fazang's Views on Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna
Lee, Sumi. "On the Ālayavijñāna in the Awakening of Faith: Comparing and Contrasting Wŏnhyo and Fazang's Views on Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna." Religions 10, no. 9 (2019): 1–15.
Lee, Sumi. "On the Ālayavijñāna in the Awakening of Faith: Comparing and Contrasting Wŏnhyo and Fazang's Views on Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna." Religions 10, no. 9 (2019): 1–15.; On the Ālayavijñāna in the Awakening of Faith: Comparing and Contrasting Wŏnhyo and Fazang's Views on Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna; On the Ālayavijñāna in the Awakening of Faith: Comparing and Contrasting Wŏnhyo and Fazang's Views on Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna; Dasheng qixin lun; ālayavijñāna; tathāgatagarbha; Wǒnhyo; Fazang; Sumi Lee;
Original Purity and the Arising of Delusion
Hubbard, Jamie. "Original Purity and the Origin of Delusion." Online Publications of Jamie Hubbard, October 31, 2008 (originally written in 1994). https://sophia.smith.edu/~jhubbard/publications/papers/OriginalPurity.pdf
Hubbard, Jamie. "Original Purity and the Origin of Delusion." Online Publications of Jamie Hubbard, October 31, 2008 (originally written in 1994). https://sophia.smith.edu/~jhubbard/publications/papers/OriginalPurity.pdf; Original Purity and the Arising of Delusion; Original Purity and the Arising of Delusion; ālayavijñāna; Asaṅga; tathāgatagarbha; Yogācāra; The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism; Dasheng qixin lun; Jamie Hubbard;
Sur l'authenticité du Ta tch'eng k'i sin louen
Demiéville, Paul. "Sur l'authenticité du Ta tch'eng k'i sin louen" (On the Authenticity of the Da cheng qi xin lun). Bulletin de la Maison Franco-Japonaise 2, no. 2 (1929): 1–78.
Demiéville, Paul. "Sur l'authenticité du Ta tch'eng k'i sin louen" (On the Authenticity of the Da cheng qi xin lun). Bulletin de la Maison Franco-Japonaise 2, no. 2 (1929): 1–78.; Sur l'authenticité du Ta tch'eng k'i sin louen; Sur l'authenticite du Ta tch'eng k'i sin louen; Dasheng qixin lun; Paul Demiéville;
Lai, W.: The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun): A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs
China, the country traditionally ruled by the Confucian literati, has prided herself in being moderate, rational and agnostic. So prevalent is this self-image, projected by her cultural elite and enhanced by Sinology itself, that to many, China is still the paradigm of la vie de la moderation, or, in Chinese, of chung-yung (the mean).
However, historically, China did mysteriously seem to lose her sense of proportion in what may be regarded as her "medieval", or, better, Buddhist period, roughly from the fourth to the tenth centuries A.D. At that time, China showed she was capable of all the extravagance of the spirit that one, for better or for worse, still associates with the word "religious."
By the twelveth or thirteenth century, during the Sung period (960-1279 A.D.), China regained her sense of proportion and came down to earth once more. The Sung Neo-Confucian triumph was not simply due to the institutional strength of the literati alone, as has been so often argued. The same literati only a short while earlier embraced wholeheartedly the Buddhist mysteries. The Neo-Confucian triumph was due to new spiritual insights into the nature and destiny of man and the priorities of life. It is the Neo-Confucian polemics against the Buddhist that still cloud modern Chinese views of the Buddhist tradition. The anticlerical attitude of modern Western humanism introduced into China during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries does not help much to correct these long-cherished Neo-Confucian opinions. Even the more objective Sinologist still follow
Dr. Hu Shih's interpretation that Buddhism was ultimately an alien plague or anomaly that led China astray from her "predestined" humanism.1
In many studies on Chinese Buddhism, the emphasis has been put on the so-called "Sinicization" process and on the confrontation between Chinese and Indian "essences." For example, emphasis has been placed on how "otherworldly" Indian Buddhism was transformed by the Chinese "essence" of "worldliness." The assumption that cultures may be described in terms of "essences" oversimplifies the complex human issues. Additionally, too strong a focus on the dynamics of "acculturation" can misconstrue the religious elements involved. I would prefer to look at the issue from a slightly different perspective. The question I raise is not how China was "Indianized'", as Hu Shih would put it, but how the Chinese were converted to the Buddhist Dharma (Law) and came to recognize the truth in it.1 Nor is it a question of how an Indian religion was "Sinicized" but how the Buddhist sangha (fellowship) in China underwent self-transformation, drawing upon inspirations from within the Buddhist tradition itself. For example, the turn towards the world or the rejection of otherworldliness or, better, "othershoreliness" was already in the Mahayana tradition itself as in the dictum "Samsara is nirvana, nirvana is samsara." The Buddhist tradition is never simply "otherworldly mystical" but contains within itself a wealth of teachings providing a whole range of orientations towards the world. As the Buddhist sangha matured in China, the Chinese Buddhists merely developed those elements in the Mahayana tradition closest to her "native" heart.
The phenomenon of "Sinitic Mahayana" should therefore be objectively analyzed as a cultural phenomenon and also sympathetically appreciated in its own religious terms. Just as Christianity is considered to be a creative synthesis of the Classical and the Hebraic tradition, Sinitic Mahayana should also be seen as a proud and independent offspring of the Indian and Chinese confluence. The Hebraic concept of the Messiah and the Greek idea of the Logos merged into the Christian notion of Christ as the Word of God. Similarly, it can be shown that the mature Chinese Buddhist concept of li (principle) as it was used by the Hua-yen school, was a union of the Buddhist Dharma and the Chinese Tao. Li synthesized the original meanings of Dharma and Tao, both symbols for "Transcendence", and articulated their structural interrelationship in a manner unknown before in India or China. The Sinitic understanding of the Mahayana Dharma is comparable to the Christian Church's proclamation (kerygma) concerning God—it is a new insight into an eternal truth.
The approach outlined above· would seem to be the natural and proper approach in the understanding of Chinese Buddhism. However, for some reasons, scholars have not yet followed such paths of investigation. I hope the thesis' attempt to combine the traditional sectarian Buddhological approach (which sees all Chinese Buddhist innovations to be solidly grounded in sacred Indian scriptures) and the modern critical historical analysis can reveal more faithfully the dynamics of the Buddhist faith in Chinese history.1 The larger issues mentioned in the preface here form the backdrop for the more specific study of one Chinese Buddhist text in the body of the thesis. I am interested in the "emergence of Sinitic Mahayana" ca. 600 A.D. in China and in the role the Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun) played in bringing it about.1 (Lai, preface, i–v)
(as numbered in the original manuscript)
1. Hu Shih, "The Indianization of China: A Case Study in Cultural Borrowings," Independence, Convergence and Borrowing in Institutions, Thought and Art (Cambridge: . Harvard Tercentenary Publication, 1937). Kenneth Ch'en, in his book The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton: 1973) follows explicitly Hu Shih's approach.
1 See Wilfred Cantwell Smith, The Meaning and End of Religion (New York: 1972). The Dharma is "Truth" and it is no more Indian than the Christian God is Jewish.
1. For a review of the limitations of sectarian scholarship, see Kamata Shigeo's critical resume (in English) in his Chūgoku Bukkyō shisō shi kenkyū (Tokyo: 1969).
Lai, Whalen. "The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun): A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs." PhD diss., Harvard University, 1975. http://www.acmuller.net/download/LaiWhalen_Awakening-of-Faith.pdf.
Lai, Whalen. "The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun): A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs." PhD diss., Harvard University, 1975. http://www.acmuller.net/download/LaiWhalen_Awakening-of-Faith.pdf.;The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun): A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Dasheng qixin lun;Whalen Lai;The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun): A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs
The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana Doctrine
(From the translator's introduction, v–vi)
This is the title of one of the most important books in the world. A Japanese scholar has translated it The Awakening of Faith. It might also be rendered The Mahayana Faith or The Faith of the New Buddhism. Its importance is apparent when we consider the fact that of the 26,000 Buddhist monks and nuns in Japan no less than 17,000 of them belong to the Pure Land School and the True School, which regard this book as their fountain and origin.
Its importance is still more apparent when we consider that its doctrines are the fundamental ones of the Mahayana Faith, which is by far the chief school of Buddhism, not only in Japan, but also in China, where are the great majority of the Buddhists of the world. If we estimate the value of books by the number of adherents to their doctrines, then, after the Bible, the Koran, the Confucian Classics, and the Vedas, this volume, about the size of the Gospel of Mark, ranks next, or fifth, among the sacred books of the world.
The great value of the book is also apparent when we remember that the Eastern world had been driven to general despair by the atheistic doctrines of primitive Buddhism, called the Hinayana School, and that it was by the doctrines of this book, which gave rise to the Mahayana School of New Buddhism, that a gospel of great hope was preached to the greater part of the Eastern Asiatic continent. Its new doctrines were that of the One Soul immanent for good in all the universe, that of a Divine Helper of men, of individual immortality and growth in the likeness of God, of the importance of faith in God to produce good works and that of the willingness of the best spirits to make sacrifices to save others—the very subjects which in these modern days still occupy the attention of the most thoughtful men of the world. The book is Brahministic and Buddhistic, Indian and Western in some aspects of philosophic thought. It is profoundly philosophic, reminding one strongly of Hegel, Berkeley and G. Gore in the earlier part, and is as hard to understand as Bishop Butler's famous Analogy; yet very practical in the latter part, therefore it has great importance arising from its high and extensive range of view.
If it be, as it is more and more believed that the Mahayana Faith is not Buddhism, properly so-called, but an Asiatic form of the same Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in Buddhistic nomenclature, differing from the old Buddhism just as the new Testament differs from the old, then it commands a world-wide interest, for in it we find an adaptation of Christianity to ancient thought in Asia, and the deepest bond of union between the different races of the East and the West, viz., the bond of a common religion. Both Christianity and the New Buddhism hold to the transcendent and the immanent forms of God; but the East emphasises more of the immanent form while the West emphasises more of the transcendent. The almost universal reception of the
doctrines contained in this book by both the East and the West constitutes to my mind its highest claim to our attention; for thereby we are brought face to face with a solution of the stupendous practical problem of uniting all races in one bond of religious charity!
Richard, Timothy, trans. The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana Doctrine: The New Buddhism. By the Patriarch Ashvagosha. Translated into Chinese by Paramārtha. Shanghai: Christian Literature Society, 1907. https://archive.org/details/cu31924022892198/mode/2up.
Richard, Timothy, trans. The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana Doctrine: The New Buddhism. By the Patriarch Ashvagosha. Translated into Chinese by Paramārtha. Shanghai: Christian Literature Society, 1907. https://archive.org/details/cu31924022892198/mode/2up.;The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana Doctrine;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;Dasheng qixin lun;Aśvaghoṣa;རྟ་དབྱངས་;rta dbyangs; Rev. Timothy Richard;Paramārtha;The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana Doctrine: The New Buddhism;Aśvaghoṣa
The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramārtha Composed the Awakening of Faith
The question of whether Paramārtha's version of the Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (AFM) may really be a Chinese composition has long intrigued scholars of Buddhism. Because no original Sanskrit manuscript of the AFM has ever been found nor any reference to the AFM discovered in any Buddhist text composed in India, scholars have long suspected that the AFM might not be a Chinese translation of an Indian work. The traditional attribution of the text to Aśvaghoṣa is even more suspect—as Paul Demiéville pointed out, it is almost impossible to believe that the Aśvaghoṣa whom one associates with the Buddhacarita, the Mahāvibhāṣā, and the Sarvāstivadins could have composed any Mahāyāna text, much less a sophisticated Mahāyāna treatise like the AFM. And the discovery at the beginning of this century of Japanese references to the seventh century Buddhist figure Hui-chun, who is quoted as saying that the AFM was composed not by Aśvaghoṣa, but by a "prisoner of war" who belonged to the T'i lun School, prompted many distinguished scholars, including Shinko Mochizuki and Walter Liebenthal, to argue that the work was a Chinese fabrication by a person affiliated with the native Chinese T'i lun School, which devoted itself to the study of Vasubandhu's Daśabhūmivyākhyā. Indeed, as recently as 1958, Liebenthal went so far as to say that one could take it as "established" that a member of the T'i lun School composed the AFM. Few would go so far as actually to name the member of the T'i lun School who wrote the AFM, as Liebenthal did (indeed, as Liebenthal himself remarked, it is difficult to believe that any member of the T'i lun School could have written the AFM, given that the author of the AFM does not even seem to know the ten bodhisattvabhūmis described in the Daśabhūmivyākhya), but for a long time scholarly opinion has leaned in the direction of assigning authorship of the AFM to the Chinese. Just recently Professor Whalen Lai has brought forward some cogent new reasons for regarding the AFM as a Chinese composition.
In light of all this, it might seem rather daring to suggest that an Indian actually composed the AFM, but that is what I propose to argue. I do not intend to suggest that the Sarvāstivādin Aśvaghoṣa, or even a "Mahāyāna Aśvaghoṣa" composed the AFM. The first place that any Aśvaghoṣa is listed as the author of the text is in Hui-yüan's Ta-ch'êng i chang, a work composed about a half century after Paramārtha was said to have translated the AFM, so the attribution of the text to Aśvaghoṣa probably postdated its composition. But there are a couple of pieces of important philological evidence, heretofore largely overlooked, that seem to point strongly to an Indian Buddhist, most likely Paramārtha himself, as the real author of the text, or at least of major parts of it. The first piece of evidence is the use in the AFM of the three categories of t'i, hsiang, and yung, categories which I will try to show were derived by the author of the AFM from Sanskrit categories used in the Ratnagotravibhāgamahāyānottaratantraśāstra (RGV) and which could not have been formulated by anyone who did not possess a knowledge of Sanskrit. The second piece of evidence is Paramārtha's interpolation of passages from the RGV into the Mahāyānasaṃgrahabhāṣya (MSbh), which seems to show not only that Paramārtha was intimately familiar with the RGV and its categories, but also that he was personally concerned about issues
central to the AFM. When examined together with some interesting biographical details from accounts of Paramārtha's life, this evidence seems to suggest the very real possibility that Paramārtha was the author of the AFM. (Grosnick, introduction, 65–66)
Grosnick, William. "The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramārtha Composed the Awakening of Faith." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 12, no. 1 (1989): 65–92. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8748/2655.
Grosnick, William. "The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramārtha Composed the Awakening of Faith." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 12, no. 1 (1989): 65–92. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8748/2655.; The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramārtha Composed the Awakening of Faith; The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramārtha Composed the Awakening of Faith; Dasheng qixin lun; Paramārtha; Aśvaghoṣa; William Grosnick;
The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism
Buddhism in China during the late Qing and Republican period remained a powerful cultural and religious force. Francesca Tarocco is a rising star in this field and offers an innovative high-quality piece of work that presents a new perspective on the influence of Buddhism on Chinese culture. Drawing on scarcely analyzed historical and archive sources, including photographs and musical scores, Tarocco adeptly argues that Chinese Buddhism played a more vital role in shaping Chinese culture than previously assumed. This enlightening study fills a significant gap in the field of Chinese Buddhist history. Focusing on the cultural side of Buddhism, it adds breadth and balance to studies in Buddhism as a whole, appealing to professionals and academics with an interest in Buddhism and Chinese Buddhist history. (Source: Routledge)
Tarocco, Francesca. The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism: Attuning the Dharma. London: Routledge, 2007.
Tarocco, Francesca. The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism: Attuning the Dharma. London: Routledge, 2007.;The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism;Dasheng qixin lun;Francesca Tarocco;The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism: Attuning the Dharma
The Principle and Practice of Mahayana Buddhism
Effort by early American popularizer of Buddhism to paraphrase and elaborate on the subject matter of the Awakening of Faith, as understood by Goddard from Suzuki 1900. (Source Accessed July 3, 2020)
Goddard, Dwight. The Principle and Practice of Mahayana Buddhism: An Interpretation of Professor Suzuki's Translation of Ashvaghosha's Awakening of Faith. Thetford, VT, 1933.
Goddard, Dwight. The Principle and Practice of Mahayana Buddhism: An Interpretation of Professor Suzuki's Translation of Ashvaghosha's Awakening of Faith. Thetford, VT, 1933.;The Principle and Practice of Mahayana Buddhism;Dasheng qixin lun;Dwight Goddard; Aśvaghoṣa;རྟ་དབྱངས་;rta dbyangs;Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki;The Principle and Practice of Mahayana Buddhism : An Interpretation of Professor Suzuki's Translation of Ashvaghosha's Awakening of Faith
The Problem of Theodicy in the "Awakening of Faith"
The present paper tries to trace the particular contours that the problem of theodicy assumes in the Chinese Buddhist text the Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle (Ta-sheng ch'i-hsin lun). It analyses the beginning section of the main body of text—the section, that is, that outlines the major theoretical structure of the work—in terms of a problem that has been of particular concern in western theology. I believe that taking such a tack is especially valuable for highlighting the central Problematik around which the text is organized. The paper will thus use the problem of theodicy as a means of exploring some of the philosophical implications of the Awakening of Faith. (Gregory, "The Problem of Theodicy," 63)
Gregory, Peter N. "The Problem of Theodicy in the Awakening of Faith." Religious Studies 22, no. 1 (1986): 63–78.
Gregory, Peter N. "The Problem of Theodicy in the Awakening of Faith." Religious Studies 22, no. 1 (1986): 63–78.; The Problem of Theodicy in the "Awakening of Faith"; The Problem of Theodicy in the "Awakening of Faith"; Textual study; The Problem of buddha-nature; Dasheng qixin lun; Peter Gregory;
Sy, N.: Thought of Buddha Nature as Depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra
Buddhism, as a religion arose in ancient India and developed in various parts of the world, aims at the unique goal that is providing welfare and happiness for human beings. The real happiness brought to mankind by Buddhism is not a satisfaction of self-requirement, but a spiritual benefit coming from enlightenment of the absolute truth, emancipation of the ego of things and persons, and free from the hindrances of passion and ignorance. Buddhism that is mainly based on teachings of the Buddha delivered at different places on different occasions continues to develop and adapt to the new challenges in the form of thought, different cultures, religions, customs and tradition of the people wherever it went. However, all the Buddha's teachings originate in the enlightenment of the Buddha.
All traditions of Buddhism accept that the Buddha attained enlightenment through stages of meditation that led to the Buddhahood endowed with transcendent wisdom and compassion. According to some Mahāyāna scriptures, the Buddhahood is nothing other than the Buddhanature which is the inherent essence within all beings. The doctrine of the Buddha-nature presented in several Mahāyāna scriptures of the so-called Tathāgatagarbha literature was formed in about the third century CE. There is no evidence that the doctrine of Buddha-nature formed a school in India like the Śūnyatā (Emptiness) of the Mādhyamika or the Vijñaptimātratā (Consciousness-only) of the Yogācāra School, but the Buddha-nature plays an important role in the religious life of Mahāyāna Buddhism in the East and Southeast Asian countries because it provides a faith of the permanence and immortality due to a declaration that all sentient beings possess the innate Buddha-nature and have a potentiality of becoming the Buddhas.
Although most of the followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism believe the doctrine of the Buddha-nature and constantly try their best endeavor to attain the goal of Buddhahood, there were a lot of opinions that criticize the doctrine of the Buddha-nature by asserting that it is not Buddhist because this idea of the Buddha-nature seems to be akin to the permanent Self (ātman/brahman) presented in the Vedānta of Brahmanism. Conversely, according to some other scholars, the Buddha nature or Tathāgatagarbha referred in some Mahāyāna Sūtras does not represent a substantial self or ego; it is rather a positive language to express the thought of śūnyatā and to represent the potentiality of realizing the Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. Modern scholars today fall into an unending discussion about the similarity or difference between the Buddha-nature and Brahman but no one compares the date of these doctrines. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is an attempt to clarify the Buddhist orthodoxy of the doctrine of the Buddha-nature through chronological comparison of the date of Buddha-nature with that of Brahman. Based on the Laṅkāvatārasūtra and other scriptures, the work attempt to elucidate that the Buddhist thought of the Buddha-nature had existed prior the Vedāntic thought of Brahman. Indeed, the thesis shows that while the doctrine of the Buddha-nature had come into existence in the third century CE in the Tathāgatagarbha literature, the Vedāntic doctrine of Brahman appeared for the first time in the sixth century CE. Consequently, although the Buddha-nature is closely akin to Brahman/ātman of the Vedānta, the doctrine of the Buddha-nature is originally a thought of Buddhism. For this reason, the writer chose the topic entitled "Thought of Buddha-nature as Depicted in the LaṅkāvatāraSūtra" for the Ph.D. thesis.
Study on the Buddha-nature is a task which cannot be carried out without the important texts, teachings, practices and historical movements of Buddhism. This study is mainly based upon the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, a Buddhist text of the later period of the Tathāgatagarbha literature, in which the thought of the Buddha-nature is depicted in relationship with most of the Mahāyāna concepts such as the Buddhatā, Tathāgatagarbha, Ālayavijñāna, Dharmakāya, Mind-only, etc. Especially, the Laṅkāvatārasūtra emphasizes the practice of self-realization and sudden enlightenment of the Buddha-nature. It is also said that the Sūtra was handed down by Bodhidharma to his heir disciple Hui-ke 慧可 as the proof of enlightenment in Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
This thesis is an attempt to investigate and criticize the philosophical and religious thought of the Buddha-nature as depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra. In so doing, we have taken into consideration the following principle themes:
1. Evolution of the Buddha-nature Concept
2. The Buddha-nature in the Tathāgatagarbha Literature
3. The Laṅkāvatārasūtra and Hindu Philosophy
4. The Thought of Buddha-nature in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra
5. The Practice of Buddha-Nature in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra
6. Further Development of the Concept of Buddha-nature in
Structurally, therefore, excluding the introduction and conclusion, the thesis consists of six major chapters in accordance with the above six main themes respectively.
Sy, Nguyen Dac. "Thought of Buddha Nature as Depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra." PhD diss., University of Delhi, 2012. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/28355.
Sy, Nguyen Dac. "Thought of Buddha Nature as Depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra." PhD diss., University of Delhi, 2012. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/28355.;Thought of Buddha Nature as Depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;tathāgatagarbha;dharmakāya;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;prabhāsvaracitta;Buddha-nature as Luminosity;Madhyamaka;Yogācāra;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Fo xing lun;Dasheng qixin lun;ālayavijñāna;ātman;Daosheng;Zen - Chan;Tien Tai;Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkārakārikā;Nguyen Dac Sy;Thought of Buddha Nature as Depicted in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra
Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith-Review by Jin
Jin, Tao. Review of Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith, edited and translated by John Jorgensen, Dan Lusthaus, John Makeham, and Mark Strange. H-Buddhism, H-Net Reviews (October, 2020). https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=55295.
Jin, Tao. Review of Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith, edited and translated by John Jorgensen, Dan Lusthaus, John Makeham, and Mark Strange. H-Buddhism, H-Net Reviews (October, 2020). https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=55295.; Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith-Review by Jin; Review of Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith, edited and translated by John Jorgensen, Dan Lusthaus, John Makeham, and Mark Strange; Dasheng qixin lun; Tao Jin;
Park, S.: Wǒnhyo's Commentaries on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna
In contrast to, for example, the Christian canon and the Confucian canon, the Buddhist canon is unusually difficult to define, because the Buddhist scriptures are several thousands in nurnber.[1] One who wishes to gain knowledge of this canon cannot be asked or expected to read all or even most of them, so the Buddhist who wishes to present the essence of the teaching to others is immediately faced with the problem of having to pick a representative text to serve as introduction, survey, summary or outline to this vast body of material. This problem is compounded, especially in East Asia, by the existence of many Buddhist schools, most of them having a particular text which served as their bases.[2] For example, the T'ien-t'ai school is based on the Saddharma-paṇḍarīka-sūtra, the Hua-yen school on the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, and so on. Accordingly, to choose a representative text from the several thousand Buddhist scriptures is unavoidably to come very close to accepting some sort of sectarian perspective. Thus, those who enquire after
the essence of Buddhist teaching, yet who wish at the outset to avoid sectarian affiliation, will hesitate to approach the canon.
The problem is compounded even further by the existence of one influential school of Buddhism, the Zen (Ch'an) school, not a few of whose teachers have openly insisted on the harmfulness of reading the scriptures for those intent on achieving Enlightenment. For these teachers and their followers, the scriptures might just as well be burned as read.[3]
This is not simply a modern problem; it existed in sixth century China.[4] This was the period that saw the appearance of Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna (hereafter referred to as AFM). Once AFM appeared, it very quickly became popular. There seem to be two reasons for this: first, it satisfied the demand of people who wanted one volume that could comprehensively embrace all Buddhist doctrines; second, it is a non-sectarian text.[5] As a matter of fact, AFM was welcomed not only by non-sectarian people but by sectarian people as well. This occasioned another problem: members of some Buddhist sects who welcomed the appearance of AFM tried to use AFM to glorify their own sects. Many of the traditional commentators betrayed such tendencies, the most famous of these being Fa-tsang (643-712 A.D.), the third patriarch of the Hua-yen school in China.[6] One of his characteristic tactics was to anticipate the attack on his sectarian attitude by his opponents, the adherents of the Fa-hsiang school,[7] by using the doctrine of AFM to justify what was specifically the Hua-yen doctrine.
Fa-tsang's commentaries on AFM exerted a strong influence on his own and succeeding generations, the result being that AFM has sometimes been considered a Hua-yen text.[8] This is certainly unfortunate. But it underscores the hermeneutical problem of how to read a text. Ui Hakuju, one of the most noted of modern Japanese Buddhologists, responded to this problem in his Daijō kishin ron by cautiously suggesting that the text be read apart from its commentaries in order that its real message be grasped.[9] This suggestion is valid only insofar as it screens out those commentaries, such as Fa-tsang's, which already bring a point of view to the text and read the text as confirming that point of view. If, however, the commentary is truly exegetical in nature, then Ui's suggestion is invalid since it cuts off a prospective medium by which one's understanding of the text may be deepened. The commentaries on AFM written by the Korean monk Wǒnhyo (617-686 A.D.) are such a medium.[10]
Wǒnhyo is regarded as one of the three great commentators on AFM; the other two are Hui-yüan (523-592 A.D.) and Fa-tsang (643-712 A.D.).[11] Wǒnhyo's commentaries are very different from Fa-tsang's: Wǒnhyo is emphatic in characterizing AFM as a text embodying a principle by which all sectarian disputes may be harmonized. According to Wǒnhyo's understanding, if one interprets AFM as a sectarian teaching, one will betray the original intent of its author.[12] Unfortunately, in East Asia, including his home country of Korea, Wǒnhyo's commentaries are simply famous; they are not well-studied.[13] They have generally been neglected in favor of Fa-tsang's.
Wǒnhyo is, undoubtedly, one of the foremost thinkers that Korea has produced; he wrote much else besides his commentaries on AFM. Yet, although he influenced both Chinese and Japanese thinkers,[14] he is almost unknown in the West. This thesis represents a preliminary attempt at remedying this situation. (Park, preface, 2–5)
1. 1. A number of books have been written about the Buddhist canon. For the Pali canon see Maurice Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1933, especially Vol. II, Section III, pp. 1-423. For the Sanskrit texts see Yamada Ryūjō, Bongo Butten no shobunken, Kyoto: Heirakuji shoten, 1977. For the history of the formation of the original Buddhist texts in general, see Maeda Egaku's Genshi Bukkyō seiten no seiritsushi kenkyū, Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 1964. This is the most comprehensive book of its kind.
The following books on the Chinese Buddhist canon are reliable: Prabodh Chandra Bagchi, Le Canon Bouddhique en Chine; les Traducteurs et les Traductions, Vols. 1 and 4, Paris: Sino-Indica Publications de l'université de Calcutta, 1927-1938; Paul Demiéville, "Sur les Éditions Imprimées du Canon Chinois," Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, Tome XXIV, Hanoi, 1924; Ono Gemmyō, "Bukkyō kyōten sōron," vol. 12 of Busshō kaisetsu daijiten, Tokyo: Daitō shuppansha, 1931-1936; Kenneth Ch'en, Buddhism in China {Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), pp. 365-386.
2. For the schools of Buddhism in China, see Kenneth Ch'en, ibid., pp. 297-364.
3. As Yanagida Seizan, one of the most energetic of contemporary Japanese Zen scholars, says in his discussion of the origin of Ch'an Buddhism in China, the early Ch'an masters such as Bodhidharma (arrived in China in 521 A.D.) and Hui-neng (638-713) did not neglect the importance of canonical instruction. The negligence shown towards the canon was a fairly late development in Ch'an Buddhism, after it had become popular and powerful. Extreme condemnation of scriptural studies began with Kung-an (Koan) Ch'an masters such as Ta-hui (1088-1163). See Yanagida Seizan, Zen shisō (Tokyo: Chuo koronsha, 1975), pp. 9-106 and Yanagida Seizan, Shoki Zenshū shisho no kenkyū (Kyoto: Hozokan, 1967), pp. 419-484.
4. In the second chapter of AFM, "Reasons for Writing the Treatise," there are two pairs of questions and answers; the second one of them is a discussion of this problem. See T. 1666, vol. 32, p. 575c, lines 7-17. Wǒnhyo discusses this in his commentary also: see T. 1844, vol. 44, p. 205c, line 5 - p. 206a, line 16.
5. It is undeniable that AFM became popular very quickly because of the many early records which mention AFM and comrnenbaries on it. However, I disagree with previous scholars such as Mochizuki Shinko and Ui Hakuju about the reasons for its popularity. They claimed that its popularity was due to the fame of Asvaghoa and Paramārtha. This may be true, but it can be only partially true. Many texts bear the names of Aśvaghoṣa and Paramārtha, but none have been as influential as AFM. Therefore, one may say that it was the doctrinal content of AFM which guaranteed its success; only this can explain its prominent historical role in sixth century Chinese Buddhism. Although Wǒnhyo did not doubt the authenticity of the text, he did not discuss the author and translator, whereas Hui-yuan and Fa-tsang did discuss them. See the preface to Mochizuki Shinko's Daijō kishin ron no kenkyū (hereafter referred to as DKK-M) (Tokyo: Kanao bunendo, 1922), pp. 1-5. See also the postface to Ui Hakuju's Daijō kishin ron (hereafter referred to as DK-U) (Tokyo: Iwanami bunko, 1936), pp. 131-132. See also T. 1843 vol. 44, p. 175c, line 11 - p. 176a, line 8 and T. 1846, vol. 44, p. 245c, line 25 - p. 246a, line 8.
6. For the nature of Fa-tsang's commentaries, see DK-U, p. 132. An excellent overall survey of commentaries on AFM is given in Mochizuki Shinko's DKK-M, pp. 203-346. Mochizuki's survey includes detailed and annotated explanations of 176 commentaries on AFM. For the most recent comprehensive survey see Hirakawa Akira's Daijō kishin ron (Tokyo: Daizō shuppan kabushiki kaisha, 1976), pp. 390-413.
7. Murakami Senshō gives a good review of the criticism of AFM. See his Daijō kishin ron kōgi (Tokyo: Tōyō daigaku shuppanbu, 1912), pp. 19-31.
8. See DK-U, pp. 138-139.
9. See ibid., p. 140.
10. Wǒnhyo wrote nine commentaries on AFM; only two are extant: T. 1844 and T. 1845 (see Part Two, "Introduction to Translation"). For the titles of the seven missing commentaries see the third section of Part One, "Wǒnhyo's Bibliography."
11. Almost all the books and records about AFM mention the three great commentaries. The earliest attested one to do so is the preface by the Japanese monk Kakugen. It is included in T. 1844, vol. 44, p. 202a, lines 3-4. See my translation of Kakugen's preface in the Appendix.
12. T. 1845, vol. 44, p. 226b, line 12.
13. Many books and papers have been published about Wǒnhyo, but few of them are critical. There have been three translations of Wǒnhyo's commentaries into modern Korean, but none of the three is reliable. See Note 3 to the translation in Part Two.
14. See Motoi Nobuo's paper, "Shiragi Gangyo no denki ni tsuite," Ōtani gakuhō XLI, No. 1 (1961), p. 37.
Park, Sung-bae. "Wǒnhyo's Commentaries on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna." PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1979.
Park, Sung-bae. "Wǒnhyo's Commentaries on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna." PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1979.;Wǒnhyo's Commentaries on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna;Wǒnhyo;Dasheng qixin lun;Aśvaghoṣa;Sung-bae Park;Wǒnhyo's Commentaries on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna;Wǒnhyo
Keng, C.: Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters
This dissertation argues that the Yogâcāra Buddhism transmitted by the Indian translator Paramârtha (Ch. Zhendi 真諦) underwent a significant transformation due to the influence of his later Chinese interpreters, a phenomenon to which previous scholars failed to paid enough attention.
I begin with showing two contrary interpretations of Paramârtha's notion of jiexing 解性. The traditional interpretation glosses jiexing in terms of "original awakening" (benjue 本覺) in the Awakening of Faith and hence betrays its strong tie to that text. In contrast, a contrary interpretation of jiexing is preserved in a Dunhuang fragment Taishō No. 2805 (henceforth abbreviated as T2805).
The crucial part of this dissertation consists in demonstrating that T2805 and the Awakening of Faith represent two competing lineages of the interpreters of Paramârtha. The first clue is that modern scholars have voiced objection to the traditional attribution of the Awakening of Faith to Paramârtha. In addition, I discovered that striking similarities exist between T2805 and Paramârtha's corpus with respect to terminology, style of phrasing, and doctrine. I further draw attention to the historical testimonies about two different doctrinal views held by Paramârtha's interpreters. Therefore, I argue that there were two lineages in the name of Paramârtha's disciples around 590 CE: the indirect lineage interpreted Paramârtha through the lens of the Awakening of Faith; and the direct lineage—represented by T2805—preserved Paramârtha's original teachings but died out prematurely. Later Chinese Buddhist tradition mistakenly regards the indirect lineage as Paramârtha's true heir and attributes the Awakening of Faith to Paramârtha.
This implies that Paramârtha may have agreed with Xuanzang 2T5c (600–664) much more than scholars used to assume. For example, Xuanzang's characterization of the notion of "aboriginal uncontaminated seeds" looks very similar to how Paramârtha depicts jiexing. It also implies that we should distinguish the strong sense of the notion of "tathāgatagarbha" in the Awakening of Faith from its weak sense. The fact that even Vasubandhu endorses the weak sense of "tathāgatagarbha" strongly challenges the received wisdom that Yogâcāra and Tathāgatagarbha were two distinct and antagonistic trends of thought in India.
Keng, Ching. "Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters." PhD diss., Harvard University, 2009.
Keng, Ching. "Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters." PhD diss., Harvard University, 2009.;Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters;Yogācāra;Paramārtha;tathāgatagarbha;Dasheng qixin lun;Ching Keng;Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters
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About the text
The Awakening of Faith famously posits the notion of "one mind" that has two aspects: the absolute, which is equivalent to tathāgatagarbha, and the phenomenal, which is ālayavijñāna. The second aspect, the "storehouse consciousness," is used to explain the possibility of ignorance—thought (nian 念) arises "suddenly" from the one mind to fracture all the world into conceptual phenomena, leaving all beings in a state of nonenlightenment. Yet all such ignorance is mere delusion; it does not stain the true nature, which is buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha), or original enlightenment (benjue 本覺). The process of realizing one's true nature leads one to the state of actualized enlightenment (shijue 始覺), which is no different in principle from original enlightenment. The Awakening of Faith explains:
Grounded in the Original Enlightenment is nonenlightenment. And because of nonenlightenment, the process of actualization of enlightenment can be spoken of.[1]
The relationship among mind, thought, and ignorance is famously illustrated by the metaphor of the ocean and its waves. Just as wind creates waves on the ocean, ignorance creates thought in the mind. The wind cannot change the nature of the ocean's water; whether agitated or still, the water remains wet. In the same way, ignorance cannot change the nature of mind. It stirs up the mind into thoughts, but just as the waves are also wet, the mind and its thoughts remain by nature enlightened. When ignorance ceases, the natural state of mind is revealed.
The treatise is divided into five sections. The first contains the author's statement of purpose, in which he gives eight reasons for composing the text. The second part contains a summary in the form of an outline of the subsequent sections. Part three contains the philosophical discussion of the nature of mind and its two aspects, touching on important points of doctrine such as the three bodies of the Buddha and suchness. Part four is dedicated to five meditation practices, and their benefits are described in section five. In all sections the author puts his own voice in dialogue with an implied audience, clarifying points of doctrine in a question-and-answer format.
Authorship and Editions
There are two versions of the Awakening of Faith in the East Asian Buddhist canon, the more popular of which is the Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō[2]. The first version, T1666, is traditionally believed to have been composed by the second-century Indian poet Aśvaghoṣa and translated in 550 or 553 by the sixth-century Indian monk Paramārtha (499–569), who arrived in China in 547. However, doubts over both men's involvement arose almost as soon as the text appeared. Aśvaghoṣa is credited as the first poet of the kāvya style, and in his three surviving works there is no hint of Mahāyāna theories. The preface to the sixth-century translation credited to Paramārtha was a later addition and contains multiple anachronisms. As explained by Francesca Tarocco, it was deemed "dubious" (yi 疑) in a catalog of Indian translations written in 594. Not all readers accepted this judgment, however, and it was definitely (at least until the modern era) overturned in the influential eighth-century Record of Buddhist Scriptures of the Kaiyuan Reign (Kaiyuan shijiao lu 開元釋教錄).[3]
The current international scholarly consensus is that the Awakening of Faith was composed in China.[4] The debate continues, however, as to whether it was composed in Sanskrit by an Indian or in Chinese by a native teacher or perhaps even composed in Chinese by an Indian translator. Scholars have pointed to indigenous Chinese theories in the text to argue for a Chinese original, while others have argued that there is evidence that the author was well acquainted with the tathāgatagarbha literature summarized in the Ratnagotravibhāga. Some scholars have suggested that Paramārtha himself might have been the author.[5]
A second Chinese recension titled A New Translation of the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna (T1667, Xinyi dasheng qixin lun 新譯大乘起信論) was, according to its introduction, produced around the year 700 by the Khotanese monk Śikṣānanda (652–710), then famous for his new translation of the Avataṃsakasūtra. He allegedly brought an Indian original of the Awakening of Faith to China with him and also located a second Sanskrit manuscript in China. As told by Hakeda, other sources claim that the Sanskrit version Śikṣānanda found in China was in fact a translation made by the great Chinese adventurer Xuanzang (玄奘 602–664), done in India at the request of priests there. Śikṣānanda's version, Hakeda notes, "was obviously done with constant reference to the older version, from which it borrows words, phrases, or whole clauses with little or no modification."[6] Whalen Lai has argued that this second version is actually a revision made by followers of Xuanzang's short-lived Yogācāra school, done to make the text conform to orthodoxy.[7]
The Awakening of Faith proved influential from the very start. The first commentary appeared in 580, written by the monk Tanyan (516–588 曇延),[8] and was followed over the centuries by more than 170 others written in China, Japan, and Korea by some of the great religious leaders of East Asian Buddhism. Jingying Huiyuan (523–592 淨影慧遠) wrote an early commentary that contributed to the development of the Southern Dilun school (南地論宗) to which he belonged.[9]Jingying Huiyuan also composed an important commentary on the Sūtra on the Visualization of Amitābha (Guan Wuliangshou Jing 觀無量壽經 *Amitāyudhyānasūtra), one of three foundational scriptures for the Pure Land tradition, and in fact the Awakening of Faith may have influenced early Pure Land practice, containing as it does a quotation from an unidentified sūtra advocating for Amitābha practice as a means to salvation.[10]
The Chan patriarch Shenxiu (神秀 606?–706), the leader of the Northern school (beinzong 北宗) of Chan 禪, wrote a commentary on the Awakening of Faith and made it part of his tradition's curriculum. Although polemical histories of Chan define the Northern school as following the "gradual path" (jianwu 漸悟) to enlightenment in place of the "sudden path" (dunwu 頓悟) embraced by the Southern school (nanzong 南宗), things were not so simple. The monk Heshang Moheyan 和尚摩訶衍, who represented the sudden path in the famous Samye Debate in Tibet, for example, belonged to the Northern school. The great Korean monk Wǒnhyo (617–686 元曉), one of the major figures in the spread of Buddhism in Korea, also composed a commentary, making the Awakening of Faith a key text in that country's Buddhist traditions. Wǒnhyo believed the Awakening of Faith to have been a commentary on the Vajrasamādhisūtra, which itself has been shown to be a Korean composition.[11] A commentary by a man named Nāgārjuna 龍樹, about whom nothing is known, inspired thirty-six subcommentaries and was used by the Japanese monk Kukai (774–835 空海), the founder of the tantric Shingon school 真言宗. Kukai used it in his systematization of doctrine and required his students to study it, thereby making it a key scripture in Shingon.
It played an even more central role in the establishment of the Huayan school 華嚴宗, one of the major Buddhist traditions of China. Fazang (643–712 法藏), the founder of the tradition and its reputed third patriarch, studied the Avataṃsakasūtra as a youth; as a third-generation immigrant from Sogdiana in Central Asia, he was fluent in several languages from the region. He assisted Śikṣānanda (the same monk who is said to have retranslated the Awakening of Faith) and Yijing 義淨 in their translation of the Avataṃsakasūtra in 699 and used it and the Awakening of Faith to develop Huayan's central doctrine of the interpenetration of all phenomena.[12] Huayan, while not formally a Yogācāra school, absorbed the Dilun tradition and used positive language to describe ultimate reality. Much of its vocabulary was drawn from indigenous Chinese traditions, such as "principle" (li 理) and "phenomena" (shi 事), which largely replaced the terms "emptiness" and "form" in Huayan and Chan tracts. Fazang's commentary, which among other things divided all of Buddhism into four—Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna, Yogācāra, and Tathāgatagarbha—is considered the definitive commentary, the basis for all subsequent compositions on the text.[13]Zongmi (780–841宗密), Huayan's fifth patriarch, further expanded the role of the Awakening of Faith in Huayan's doctrine, to the point of elevating it above the Avataṃsakasūtra.[14]
The Awakening of Faith was first translated into a European language in 1900 by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (1870–1966). It was published in Chicago by Open Court Press, with a publisher's preface by Paul Carus, the managing editor of the press (and the son-in-law of its founder, the German-American zinc magnate Edward C. Hegeler). Carus had only six years earlier published the influential Gospel of Buddhism, which played a large role in popularizing Buddhism in the early twentieth century. Suzuki intended his translation to further disseminate Buddhism in the West and to defend it from its critics.[15] Sensitive to the current Western preference for Sanskrit and Pāli Buddhist scriptures, Suzuki dedicated the first forty-one pages of his introduction to the life of Aśvaghoṣa; it was still several decades before scholars would begin to doubt the attribution. Suzuki translated from the second version of the Awakening of Faith, T1667, a decision that he did not explain. In contrast to the scores of commentaries on T1666, there exist only three commentaries on this version, all written in the seventeenth century by the same man, a monk named Zhixu (智旭 1599–1655). Tarocco reasonably surmises that T1667, because the indigenous Chinese elements of the original had been revised out, offered Suzuki a better option for presenting the text as a work of classical Indian Buddhism.[16]
Seven years after Suzuki's translation was published—although it apparently was completed more than a decade earlier—the British Baptist missionary Timothy Richard (1845–1919) published his rendering of the Awakening of Faith, under the title The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana Doctrine: The New Buddhism. By "the new Buddhism" he meant "a form of Christianity." As explained by Tarocco, by the time of his translation Richard had lived in China for close to twenty years, writing pamphlets in Chinese in an attempt to convince Chinese elites of the material benefits of Christianity. Such was likely his reason for his reimagination of the Awakening of Faith, which was then enjoying popularity in China. Richard fantasized that Saint Thomas, the disciple of Jesus who brought Christianity to Syria and India, had met Aśvaghoṣa and preached to him. The Awakening of Faith was the poet's own attempt to convert Hīnayāna Buddhists to the Mahāyāna, which Richard believed was in fact Christianity in "Buddhistic nomenclature." Richard relied on Yang Wenhui, a Republican Chinese government official and lay Buddhist scholar who is considered a founding father of modern Chinese Buddhism. Yang later expressed regret for assisting Richard with his Christian interpretation of a text he held in great reverence.[17]
A third translation was published over the course of two years in four issues of the English Christian mystic magazine Shrine of Wisdom, in volume 11, numbers 42 to 45. This was done by the editors of the magazine, apparently from a Sanskrit translation of the Chinese. It was published in book form in 1964 by the same magazine.[18]
The American Lutheran missionary and inventor Dwight Goddard (1891–1939) made a translation of the Awakening of Faith with a Chinese monk named Wai-tao that was included in the 1952 revised and expanded edition of his Buddhist Bible. Goddard, who in 1934 attempted to establish an American Buddhist monastic order, first published the book in 1938, a year before his death. The translation was followed by the famous Daoist scripture Daode jing, which, Goddard explained, had a "close affinity to Buddhism." The text is quite fanciful, with multiple interpolations by the translators that are not identified as such; Hakeda remarked that the translation "suffers from excessive freedom in rendition."[19] Goddard earlier published a commentary to Suzuki's translation, in 1933, under the title The Principle and Practice of Mahayana Buddhism: An Interpretation of Professor Suzuki's Translation of Ashvaghosha's Awakening of Faith. This was done despite Goddard's criticism of the translation as "marred by too great an interpretation of it as a metaphysical text"[20] and the fact that Suzuki objected to Goddard taking on the project, presumably doubting his ability to sufficiently understand the material.[21]
A fifth, readable and well-introduced translation was published in 1967 by the Columbia University professor Yoshito S. Hakeda (1924–1983). Like Richard, Hakeda translated from T1666. His work was revised and reprinted in 2005 by the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism) and the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, as part of their English Tripiṭaka Project, and also reissued that same year by Columbia University with a new introduction by scholar Ryūichi Abé. For the new edition the outdated Wade-Giles system of phonetics was replaced with the modern Pinyin system. Hakeda interspersed the text with his own commentary, which, like his translation, is notable for the absence of jargon or neologisms so common in translations of Buddhist scripture.
Hakeda, Awakening of Faith, 17–18.
References to the Taishō are customarily given with a "T" before the number of the text.
See Tarocco, "Lost in Translation?" 327. The reconstructed Sanskrit for the title is *Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda-śāstra.
See Demiéville, "Sur l'authenticité du Ta Tch'ing Ki Sin Louen"; Lai, "Hu-Jan Nien-Ch'i" and "A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith"; and Grosnick, "The Categories of T'i, Hsiang and Yung" and "Cittaprakṛti and Ayoniśomanaskāra in the Ratnagotravibhāga."
See particularly the work of Lai and Grosnick, particularly "The Categories," in which he argues that Paramārtha was the author. Robert Sharf (Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism, 322, n85) dismisses Grosnick's claim of Indian origins in the concepts of the Awakening of Faith, arguing that one could find Indian antecedents for most any Chinese theory were one intent on doing so. Still, it is not unreasonable to suppose, as Jikidō Takasaki has argued, that the sixth-century author of the Awakening of Faith—whether that person was Indian or Chinese—would have a familiarity with the Ratnagotravibhāga. That treatise was translated in the second decade of the sixth century by Ratnamati, a man whose disciples did much to popularize both ālayavijñāna and tathāgatagarbha theories, so much so that earlier scholars such as Walter Liebenthal ("New Light") suggested that one of Ratnamati's disciples composed the treatise. Dirck Vorenkamp, in his introduction to his translation of Fazang's commentary on the Awakening of Faith (An English Translation), also speculates that Paramārtha composed the treatise. Keng ("A Re-examination," 2) has argued against the attribution of the Awakening of Faith to Paramārtha on the grounds that it does not conform to Paramārtha's other compositions.
Hakeda, Awakening of Faith, xxvi.
Lai, "A Clue to the Authorship of the Awakening of Faith." See also Tarocco, "Lost in Translation?" 328.
See Liebenthal, "The Oldest Commentary of the Mahāyānaśraddhotpāda Śāstra."
The Southern Dilun school was a Yogācāra tradition based around Ratnamati's interpretation of Vasubandhu's Daśabhūmivyākhyāna. It split from the Northern Dilun over a disagreement as to whether the ālayavijñāna in ordinary beings is by nature pure or defiled, or mixed. The Northern Dilun followed Bodhiruci's interpretation that ālayavijñāna is tainted and therefore only provisionally real, while the Southern Dilun held that it was fundamentally pure but associated with impure elements. The Northern school was eventually incorporated into Xuanzang's Faxiang school, while the Southern was superseded by the Huayan school [the Daśabhūmikasūtra, the basis of Vasubandhu's commentary, is included in the Avataṃsakasūtra (huayan jing 華嚴經)]. Paramārtha also taught that the ālayavijñāna contained both pure and impure elements.
The quotation is: "If a person meditates wholly on Amitābha Buddha in the world of the Western Paradise and wishes to be born in that world, directing all the goodness he has cultivated [toward that goal], then he will be born there." Hakeda, Awakening of Faith, 80. Hakeda (xxvii) notes that some scholars have suggested that the passage was a later addition.
Buswell, The Formation of Chan Ideology
On Fazang and his commentary on the Awakening of Faith, see Vorenkamp, An English Translation of Fa-tsang's Commentary on the Awakening of Faith.
Fazang conceived the summary of the text into "one mind," "two aspects," "three greatnesses," "four faiths," and "five practices." The three greatnesses refer to characteristics of suchness.
On Zongmi and his reading of the Awakening of Faith, see Gregory, Tsung-mi and the Sinification of Buddhism.
D. T. Suzuki wrote in his translator's preface: "Even Christians who were without sympathy for 'heathen' religions have now taken up the study of Buddhism in earnest. Nevertheless, it appears to me that the teachings of Sakyamuni are not yet known in their full significance and that they do not yet command just appreciation. Though intolerant critics lose no chance of vigorously and often wrongly attacking the weak points of Buddhism, which are naturally seen at the surface, clear-sighted people have been very slow to perceive its innermost truth. This is especially the case with the Mahayana school." Suzuki, Açvagosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Māhāyana, x. There is a cottage industry of criticism of Suzuki for his role in spreading a very modern interpretation of Buddhism in the West. See, for example, Sharf, "The Zen of Japanese Nationalism." and Judith Snodgrass, Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West.
Tarocco, "Lost in Translation?" 337, building on the work of Lai.
See Tarocco, "Lost in Translation?" and The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism: Attuning the Dharma.
See Editors of the Shrine of Wisdom. "The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana by Asvaghosha," Shrine of Wisdom, 11, no. 42–45 (1929-1930). The book is: Editors of the Shrine of Wisdom. The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana by Asvaghosha. Fintry Brook, Surry, England: Shrine of Wisdom.
Hakeda, Awakening of Faith, xxxiii.
Goddard, Buddhist Bible (1952), 668.
Goddard included a letter from Suzuki in which the Japanese monk expressed his opposition. See Goddard, Principle and Practice, xi.
Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt. योगाचार Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་ Ch. 瑜伽行派
tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏
original enlightenment - According to East Asian Buddhism, the intrinsic enlightenment of all sentient beings. This is obscured by the many stains present in the ālayavijñāna. When these are purified, the natural state of enlightenment is recovered, a status known as "actualized enlightenment." Ch. 本覺
The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism.
ālayavijñāna - A neutral base consciousness that is posited as the storehouse for the seeds of past karmic actions in which they remain in a latent state until the circumstances arise for them to ripen as karmic consequences. Skt. आलयविज्ञान Tib. ཀུན་གཞིའི་རྣམ་ཤེས་ Ch. 藏識,阿賴耶識
avidyā - Literally "unknowing," it refers to a lack of knowledge or misunderstanding of the nature of reality. As such, it is considered to be the root cause of suffering and the basis for the arising of all other negative mental factors. Skt. अविद्या Tib. མ་རིག་པ་ Ch. 無明
actualized enlightenment - Actualized enlightenment is enlightenment that is attained through practice. It is contrasted with original enlightenment, which is the mind's innate purity in its natural state. Ultimately, there is no difference between them. Because of the presence of ignorance, sentient beings are blind to their true nature. By removing that ignorance, one actualizes enlightenment. Ch. 始覺
sems nyid - Commonly found in Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā literature, this term denotes the true, natural state of mind as it is. Often used in these traditions as a synonym for buddha-nature. Skt. चित्तत्व Tib. སེམས་ཉིད་
tathatā - Suchness itself, absolute reality, or thusness, as in the ultimate state of being of phenomena. Skt. तथता Tib. དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་
Taishō - Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō, Chinese Tripiṭaka
sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt. सूत्र Tib. མདོ། Ch. 佛经
paramārthasatya - "Ultimate truth" or "absolute truth"; the reality of things as they truly are. Skt. परमार्थसत्य Tib. དོན་དམ་བདེན་པ་ Ch. 第一義諦,眞諦
śūnyatā - The state of being empty of an innate nature due to a lack of independently existing characteristics. Skt. शून्यता Tib. སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་ Ch. 空,空門
Hīnayāna - The mainstream teachings and the early schools of Buddhism which primarily taught individual liberation through practice-focused renunciation and monasticism, considered lesser than the later movement of the Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna), which professed enlightenment for all sentient beings and promoted compassion. Skt. हीनयान Tib. ཐེག་དམན། Ch. 小乘
Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt. महायान Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། Ch. 大乘
śrāvaka - The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to reach arhathood, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases. Skt. श्रावक Tib. ཉན་ཐོས། Ch. 聲聞
These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.
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Chinese Original Work