east asian schools

early buddhism

-they rejected magic practices

-monks cant work as diviners or exorcists

-buddha introduced a new kind of mysticism → referring to his enlightenment as some kind of higher perception (abijna: also used for supernatural powers in sanskrit)

-buddha is said to have possesed these powers, these powers are highlighted after buddhism became state religion under asoka

-buddha images and stupas with his relics become Cult objects

-in mahayana: bodhis become divinized

buddhism in china

-buddhist monks get the reputation of miracle workers —> nearly all biographies of buddhist monks/nuns include supernatural events

-ganying (response): concept of chinese cosmology gets adapted to buddhism —> buddhas and bodhisattvas respond to prayers and devotional acts

-accumulation of karmic merits

-eventually there is an emphasis of the transmigration of the soul and rewards in afterlife

maitreya

future buddha

-chinese: mile, japan: miroku, korea: mi ruk

-he descends to earth from tusita heaven after sakyamunis dharma has declined

-maitreya arrives in order to refresh the dharma

-he is also recognized by the theravada school

maitreya cult

-china: 4th century onwards: important for central asia

-korea and japan: maitreya cult flourishes from the 6th century onwards

-gets confused with sakyamuni and amitabha buddha sometimes

-japan: mainly active in zen and shingon sects

introduction maitreya cult in china

-many maitreya texts translated during eastern Jin period (4th-5th century)

-appears in a variety of materials, both textual and iconographical

-also important for the end of the dharma thought (mofa) —> eschatology

huayan buddhism (sinistic school)

-japanese counterpart: kegon

-based on the avatamsaka sutra

—> translated in the beginnings of the 5th century

—> cosmic buddha vairocana and his pure land

-important huayan monks: dushun and fazang

-supported by empress wu zetian

-the persecution in the 9th century has a strong impact on this (it does not survive as a distinct school)

kegon

-japanese counterpart to huayan buddhism

-important monks: shinsho, dosen

-important temple: todaiji (nara)

treatise of the golden lion

-commentary that explains Huayan/kegon thought: Li is the ultimate essence of Shi (a phenomenon) —> emphasis on emptiness and buddha nature, interpenetration and interdependence of all phenomena

-metaphor: in each eye, hair, limbs… there is a golden lion

-enlightenment is reached by understanding the dynamics between li and shi, it is inherent in everybodt and can be achieved spontaneously

indras net

metaphor with a web and jewels, the jewels reflect and are reflected in the others, in the microcosmos lies the macrocosmos

tiantai buddhism

-japanese counterpart: Tendai (most important school until 13th century) —> influence on nichiren school

-central text: lotus sutra, concept of upaya important

-it is based on madhyamaka thought

-the most important monk is Zhiyi, he provides a comprehensive classification of buddhist teachings and relates them to different periods of teching activities in buddhas life

-scholastic approach to buddhism, tries to harmonize key teachings

-does not survive because of persecution, but great impact on buddhism

-mohe ziguan: famous chinese buddhist text on meditation

five periods of teachings of buddha

1) avatamsaka sutra —> 3 weeks —> incomprehensible for most, therefore change of doctrine

2) agama —> 12 weeks —> elementary teachings (karma, rebirth, four noble truths…)

3) vaipulya —> 8 years —> transition between hinayana and mahayana

4) prajnaparamita —> 22 years —> perfection of wisdom teachings (division between small and great vehicle is illusionary)

5) mahaparinirvanasutra saddharmapundarikasutra —> 8 years —> perfect teaching, including sudden enlightenement, orginal intention of buddha

tendai in japan

-perfect teaching of the lotus sutra

-regulations for monastic life (meditation practice)

-esoteric and tantric methods, mandalas (mandara)

-tendai dominated for a long period in japan (until 13th century)

chan buddhism

-japanese counterpart: zen, kor son

-importance of lineage

-central concepts: buddha nature and sudden enlightenment

-legendary founder: bodhidharma (first patriarch)

-sixth patriarch: huineng (platform sutra)

-influenced by daoism and confucianism (lineages as family system) => most chinese buddhist school

-emphasis on meditation and sudden enlightenment, a teaching beyond words

-chinese schools until the 10th century were not institutionally divided

-after the persecution in 9th century, chan recovers fully and becomes dominant

-close relations to the court and institutionalized (system of chan monasteries)

new methods of practice chan

-gong an in some forms of chan practice

-regularized daily schedule in monasteries with specific sets of rules

-many treatises on meditation and practice

-many collection of gong an and narratives of encounters between masters and disciples: teaching method to break down conventional thinking and open up for sudden enlightenment, enlightened masters receive nearly the same veneration as a buddha

korean seon (son)

-it was introduced to korea during the latter silla period through pilgrims from china, and korean monks who had studied in china

-simultaneous approach of practice and study

nine mountains

-nine major son schools during early goryeo period

-most important lineage transmitted: mazu daoyi and his disciples

-buddhism becomes state religion and has protective power for the state

dogen

-was originally a tendai monk

-visited china

-dogen thinks that zen is an exclusive practice which should not be combined with other buddhist schools

-he is regarded as the founder of the soto zen school

-after his return to japan he settles at kenninji but gets in conflict with both rinzai zen monks and tendai monks

-he stresses the practice of sitting only

-in 1243 he withdraws to the mountains and establishes eiheiji temple which does not attain significance among the buddhist schools during his lifetime

shobogenzo

-one of the most important works of east asian buddhism and japanese intellectual history

-deals with philosophy, language, the nature of time and space, monastic practice

-emphasizes ‘only sitting’ (shikantaza)

muso soseki

-adviser to shogunate and rinzai zen monk

-this period (14th century) the rinzai zen monasteries become centers of neo-confucian learning and cultural activities in general

-soto zen monasteries establish themselves also in provincial regions and play an important role in the religious life of the common people

ikkyu sojun

-eccentric and iconoclastic japanese zen monk, poet, painter

-creator of the zen tea ceremony, lived for periods as vagabond and known for his enormous input of alcoholic beverages: only towards end of his life he accepted a position as abbot

ikkyu in modern japan

-very significant influence through poetry

-among children he is a folk hero, since he is always mischievous and outsmarts his teachers and even the Shogun

-in the zen tradition he is regarded as a saint and heretic (ikkyu argued that his enlightenment experience was deepend by visiting prostitutes, he regarded sexual intercourse as religious rite)

medieval japan

-14th and 15th century: rinzai and soto became important schools

-zen establishments are organized in the five mountains and protected by shogunate

-temples become centers for samurais religious and cultural life

-practices included amitabha cult and esoteric rituals, meditation and koan practice

-soto zen was very important in rural areas (also in terms of the administration of village communities)

-soto zen eventually adopts local cults and some esoteric practices

-mainly popular among low rank samurai and peasants

-they specialize on funeral ceremonies (post mortem ordination of lay people)

pure land buddhism

-japanese counterpart: jodo

-important precursor: huiyuan (they formed aa small group at Lu mountain where monks and layman vowed to be reborn in pure land)

-devotion to amitabha buddha, who resides in sukhavati

-in addition to other pure lands, each ruled over by a buddha

soteriology pure land

-the believer wishes to be reborn in a pure land

-the decisive factor is not their good karma but rather the aid of a given buddha who has taken the vow to help all those turning to him in faith to rebirth in his pure land

-for the pure land believers, these paradises are often geographically localizable places of bliss

-rebirth in a pure land means that no evil would exist any longer, the people would be long lived and receive whatever they desired and there they can attain nirvana

-but for pure land believers, attainment of nirvana is not the ultimate goal, ultimate goal is to be reborn in one of the pure lands and be in the presence of a Buddha

pure land beliefs and practices

-buddha amitabha has made a vow to cause all beings to be reborn in his pure land sukhavati

-practices include recitations of the name of amitabha, visualizations, acts of devotion

-emphasis on faith, sraddha ( compare chan/zen: emphasis on insight)

-school also referred to as ‘path of faith’

-tanluan (second patriarch) contributed a lot

-liberation can be achieved in one lifetime

-its important to have faith in the compassion and power of amitabha

-evil men can gain rebirth too if they recite amitabhas name

-shandao: popularizes pure land practices, supreme stage of practice is the contemplation of buddha amitabha as not seperate from ones own being (buddha nature), recitation of amitabha buddhas name became the most popular practice

two key scriptures

-larger sukhavativyuhasutra: about amitabha in an earlier incarnation, path of becoming the buddha of the western pure land, it states that the recitation of buddhas name at the moment of eeath is sufficient to be reborn in the pure land

-smaller sukhavativyuhasutra: description of the splendours and pleasures of the pure land

-contemplation sutras: visualization practices

pure land in japan

-amitabha cult exported in the 7th century to japan

-by the 10th century pure land school

-monk genshin: preaches recitation, fully trusting in buddha and rebirth in pure land, good deeds are only supplementary, end of dharma thought: own actions do not have much impact, one has to rely on protective deities and faith

‘-honen: monk who insutionalized the pure land school, did daily practice of recitation

-shinran: monk who founded jodo shinshu: pure land true school, both schools are still among the most popular in japan

tantric buddhism

-zhenyan (japanese: shingon): true word —> tantric monk Amoghavajra, supported by Wu Zetian

-influence of tantric form of hinduism

-magical practices: described in the tantra scriptures

-magic formulas: great importance of sounds and rituals

-great influence on chinese buddhism, but does not survive as school

-introduced by kukai as shingon in japan

-mikkyo (secret teachings) refers more generally to esoteric practices (important for tendai and kegon schools)

-mikkyo practices blend with shinto and other local traditions

kukai

-famous calligrapher, official engineer and inventor of japanese kana writing

-traveled to china, and had contact with esoteric buddhist masters, interest in the relationship of state and buddhism

-establishment of mt koya, cult of mahavairocana buddha