THE JOURNAL

OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

BUDDHIST STUDIES
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A. K. Narain
University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
L. M.Joshi
Punjabi University
Patiala, India
Alexander W. Macdonald
Universiti de Paris X
Nanterre, France
Bardwell Smith
Carleton College
Northfield, Minnesota, USA
EDITORS
Ernst Steinkellner
University of Vienna
Wien, Austria
Jikido Takasaki
University of Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Robert Thurman
Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Roger Jackson
Volume 6 1983 Number 1
the watermark
THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF BUDDHIST STUDIES, I,NC.
This J oumal is the organ of the International Association of Buddhist Studies,
Inc., and is governed by the objectives of the Association and accepts
scholarly contributions pertaining to Buddhist Studies in all the various
disciplines such as philosophy, history, religion, sociology, anthropology, art,
archaeology, psychology, textual studies, etc. The JIABS is published twice
yearly in the Spring and Fall.
Manuscripts for publication and correspondence concerning articles should
be submitted to A. K. Narain, Editor-in-Chief,JIABS, Department of South
Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.
The Association and the Editors assume no responsibility for the views
expressed by the authors in the Association's Journal and other related
publications.
Books for review should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editors cannot
guarantee to publish reviews of unsolicited books nor to return those books to
the senders.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Andre Bareau (France) Joseph M. Kitagawa (USA)
John Brough (U.K.) Jacques May (Switzerland)
M.N. Deshpande (India) Ha.lime Nakamura Uapan)
R. Card (USA) John Rosenfield (USA)
B.G. Gokhale (USA) David Snellgrove (U.K.)
P.S.Jaini (USA) E. Zurcher (Netherlands)
J.w. de Jong (Australia)
Erratum: Vol. 5, no. 2 of the Journal is incorrectly marked on the
spine as Vol. 5, no. 1.
The Editor-in-Chief wishes to thank Rena Haggarty for assistance in
the preparation of this volume.
Copyright The International Association of Buddhist Studies 1983
ISSN: 0193-600X
Sponsored by Department of South Asian Studies, University of Wis-
consin, Madison.
CONTENTS
I. ARTICLES
1. Enlightenment in Dagen's Zen, by Francis H. Cook 7
2. The Place of the Sudden Teaching within the Hua-
Yen Tradition: An Investigation of the Process of
Doctrinal Change, by Peter N. Gregory 31
3. Morality in the Visuddhimagga, by Damien Keown 61
4. Contemporary Lay Buddhist Movements in Japan,
with Special Reference to the Lotus Sidra, by Tsu-
gunari K ubo 76
5. Before the Prajfia Schools: The Earliest Known Chi-
nese Commentary on the by Whalen
Lai 91
6. The Generalization of an Old Yogic Attainment in
Medieval Mahayana Sutra Literature: Some
Notes on] atismara, by Gregory Schopen 109
II. BOOK REVIEWS
1. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhism, edited and
introduced by Leslie S. Kawamura 148
2. Contributo alIo Studio Biografico dei Primi Gter-
Ston, by Ramon Pratz 151
3. Gedatsukai: Its Theory and Practice (A Study of a
Shinto-Buddhist Syncretic School in Contempo-
rary Japan), by Minoru Kiyota 154
4. A Study of the Twenty-two Dialogues on Mahayana
Buddhism, by W. Pachow 157
5. Zen and Christian: The Journey between, b)1 John Dyk-
stra Busden 159
III. PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
1. Presidential Address Given on the Occasion of the
Fifth Conference of the International Association
of Buddhist Studies, Hertford College, Oxford,
England, August 16-21, 1982, by Walpola
R a h u ~ 162
IV. NOTES AND NEWS
1. A Report on the 5th Conference of the lABS, Hert-
ford College, University of Oxford, Oxford, Eng-
land, August 16-21, 1982 167
Contributors 180
Enlightenment in Dagen's Zen
by Francis H. Cook
Writing and teaching in the thirteenth century, the Japanese
Zen master, Dagen Kigen, had the advantage oflooking back at
eighteen centuries of the development of Buddhist thought
and practice. He was particularly well informed in earlier Chi-
nese Zen developments. His writings show that he was on inti-
mate terms with the great teachers of the Chinese lineages, with
Zen literature, and with the issues that occupied Chinese Bud-
dhists. It is therefore particularly worthwhile to read his writ-
ings about practice, the nature of enlightenment, and the like,
because we can see in them how he appropriated almost the
entire tradition and remolded it with his genius. On the one
hand, all his writings echo with the words of Hui-neng, Chao-
chou, Yiin-men, and other greats; on the other hand, we are
struck with the startling depth and subtlety of his own thought
as he often goes far beyond his predecessors. To read his works
is to understand why he is considered to be Japan's most origi-
nal thinker to date.
With this in mind, it is surprising that he did not respond
directly to the ancient controversy concerning whether enlight-
enment is gradual or sudden. As is the case with the question of
the importance of faith 1" , for instance, no essay in the Shobo-
genzo is devoted to this issue of the suddenness or gradualness
of the enlightenment experience, despite the very great impor-
tance in his writing of satori 't-el- or sho ~ . However, there is in
Shobogenzo abundant material whose cumulative weight can
supply an answer to this question, with which Dagen never-
directly at least-concerned himself in his extensive writings.
The confusion of Western orientalists concerning the issue
of gradual versus sudden enlightenment is nowhere more evi-
dent than when they write about training and enlightenment in
7
Dagen's Zen. In one recently published book, it is said that
"The aristocratic priest Dagen (1200-1253) who left the Ten-
dai monastery for China and returned to the medita-
tive, gradual school of Sata Zen is generally considered the sec-
ond founder of Japanese Zen"l [my emphasis]. In another
recent book, which is designed as a college textbook on world
religions, we find the statement that "By contrast [to Eisai] Do-
gen derived his version of Zen from the Northern school [in
China], with its doctrine of gradual enlightenment." The au-
thor adds, " ... Dogen was especially opposed to sudden en-
lightenment or enlightenment as something apart from medi-
tation."2 Another author of a book ori Buddhist philosophy
says, "These two sects [Northern and Southern Chinese Zen]
were probably the forerunners of the two main streams of Zen
that flourished later in both China and Japan. The Tsao-tung
sect, which advocated 'silent illumination' and which probably
was inspired by the Northern sect and its Yogacara ideas, came
to be known as the Sata sect of Japanese Zen."3 These remarks
are surprising; since it is generally known that the Northern
school, with its so-called teaching of gradual enlightenment,
died out after several generations, leaving the field to the
Southern school of sudden enlightenment. All of the later lin-
eages, such as the Lin-chi and Tsao-tung, are descended from
Hui-neng's Southern school, and a number of lineage charts in
Japanese and Western sources show clearly that Dagen's line is
traced back through Yiieh-shan Wei-yen, Shih-t'ou, and
Ch'ing-yiian Hsing-ssu to Hui-neng.
4
Thus, the question is why
Western scholars categorize Dagen's Zen as a form of the Chi-
nese Northern school and as advocating a form of gradual
enlightenment. Part of my purpose is to demonstrate that this
categorization is incorrect.
It is not hard to see why some writers believe that Dagen
was a representative of a lineage that promoted gradual en-
lightenment, because at first glance, the SalO style does seem to
be a gradualistic approach to enlightenment. Dagen's insistence
on a lifetime of zazen practice in contrast to the dramatic Man
approach of Rinzai Zen seems to point to a relaxed, leisurely
approach, lacking in the strenuousness and intensity of Rinzai
practice; but to see this as a gradual approach is to miss the
intensity of zazen practice. Connected with this, there is the
8
characterization of SoW Zen as based on "enlightenment from
the beginning" in contrast to Rinzai's "enlightenment with a
beginning," and the assumption may be that the former stresses
a gradual growth in enlightenment while the latter stresses a
sudden accession to it. However, this is to overlook what is
meant by "enlightenment from the beginning." Other catch-
phrases may also give a wrong impression. D.T. Suzuki's char-
acterization of Rinzai as "koan introspection Zen" in contrast
with Sata "silent illumination" may play some part in the mis-
understanding. The characterization of Sata as "farmer Zen" as
opposed to Rinzai as "Genralissimo Zen" also seems to connote
a leisurely, progressive approach on the part of SoW.
All of the above characterizations make some sense and
logically lead to the assumption that SoW Zen is a gradual ap-
proach to enlightenment, if zazen meditation practice is con-
ceived as a means which results in an eventual enlightenment.
That is, the notion of meditation, as opposed to Man practice,
as well as the various catch-phrases used to characterize SoW
Zen, all give the impression of a lengthy, progressive self-puri-
fication that will in theory culminate in the self-transformation
called enlightenment. That, however, is where part of the prob-
lem lies in the usual interpretation of Dagen's tradition, be-
cause zazen meditation is not instrumental in nature, and while
there are in fact gradualistic elements in his teaching, there also
is an important suddenist orientation, which is explained in
terms other than the emphasis on a lifetime of meditation.
Also, part of the problem is due to thinking of the enlighten-
ment experience as a temporal matter; part of my argument is
that time is not a consideration as far as enlightenment in Da-
gen's Zen is concerned.
First, it needs to be noted that despite the eventual Chinese
consensus to the effect that enlightenment is sudden, the prin-
ciple of gradual enlightenment was held by some Buddhists,
primarily in India, but also to some extent in China. The sys-
tems of the Abhidharmakosa and Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga
are definitely gradualist, laying out a long and strenuous pro-
gram of moral development (sIla), meditation practices that in .
themselves are gradual in consisting of preliminary tranquillity
exercises (Samatha-bhavana) followed by insight practices (vipa-
syana-bhavana), and culminating in prajfia, the latter being a
9
moment-by-moment, progressive insight into the validity of the
four holy truths and the three marks of conditioned being. The
Kosa points to the progressive nature of the whole marga when
it says that "La pensee parfume par Ie samatha (calme) peut
obtenir par la vipasyana la vimukti . ... "5 This means that insight
is preceeded by tranquillity, which is the necessary condition
for the former. In the vipasyana practices, the
viously anesthetized or tranquilized in samatha are definitively
destroyed one by one, as the meditator little by little perceives
the reality of the four holy truths and the three (or four) marks
of the conditioned. Consequently, the grasp of truth takes place
piecemeal and progressively during the insight practices, and
this insight gained in the course of insight practice, along with
the corollary destruction of defilements (kleSa), is the content of
enlightenment. Therefore, enlightenment, defined as insight
into the four holy truths and the marks of the conditioned, is
gradual.
The meditation practices outlined above reflect character-
istic Indian attitudes towards ritual defilement. There lurks in
the background as a tacit presupposition a gnostic-like view:of
man as essentially a pure, luminescent being trapped in the
gross material world of embodied form and natural functions.
Liberation is usually defined as freedom from the body and its
demands, which are conceived as obstacles to liberation from
which freedom is demanded. Given the corollary view that
these material and psychic obstacles are numerous and tena-
cious, much time is required for their removal. Often, many
lifetimes are necessary for the complete removal of the obsta-
cles.
Mahayana Buddhism redefined the nature of the religious
goal to a great extent. No longer was visuddhi, purification, the
object; rather the goal was prajiia, understood as the percep-
tion of universal emptiness. Prajiia-insight is understood as a
sudden perception of the nature of existence in its universal
emptiness, and this includes the nature of moral and cognitive
faults (klesa). In the realization of the emptiness of these faults,
the necessity of their gradual, piecemeal removal was eliminat-
ed, for they all vanished at one blow with the grasp of empti-
ness. Now, although this perception is sudden, the Indian de-
bators at the Council of Lhasa argued that progress is gradual,
10
opposing the suddenist position of the Chinese delegate, "Ma-
hayana."6 Why?
It appears from the documents that come down from the
debate that the issue was not whether the trans formative event
of enlightenment per se is sudden and total but rather whether
it is necessary to undergo a preliminary moral and cognitive
purification prior to the sudden ascension to enlightenment.
KamalasIla, for instance, argues in opposition to the Chinese
suddenist position that one must be thoroughly accomplished
in the ten paramitas, which include mastery of moral, ethical,
practical, and intellectual qualities, and in this he bases himself
on Indian scriptural and exegetical literature. A number of
Mahayana texts, such as the Dasabhumika and
sutras, dwell at great length on the six or ten stages of Bodhi-
sattva practice, each with its corresponding paramita. The lat-
ter work, in fact, correlates each of the bhumis with a paramita
and with a vipasyana-insight practice, and then discusses how
the insight meditation of each stage acts as an antidote to such-
and-such a klda, vikalpa (discursive thought), etc.7 Gradualism
is evident in this schema. Aside from the question of the nature
of the culminating enlightenment, a considerable part of the
debates in Tibet -and China seem to focus on the necessity of
this preliminary, progressive preparation for the culminating
moment.
It is entirely possible that the opponents in this debate
would have agreed that enlightenment itself is always and nec-
essarily sudden, given its nature. T.R.V. Murti makes the point
that
11
The Madhyamika conception of Philosophy as the perfec-
tion of wisdom (Prajiiaparamitil) (non-dual, contentlessin-
tuition) precludes progress and surprise. Progress implies
that the goal is reached progressively by a series of steps in
order, and that is can be measured in quantitative terms.
Prajiia is knowledge of the entire reality once for all, and it
does not depend on ... previous knowledge. A progressive
realization of the Absolute is thus incompatible .... It is,
however, possible to conceive of the progressive falling
away of the hindrances that obstruct our vision of the rear.
But there is neither order nor addition in the content of
our knowledge of the real. 8
Murti's acknowledgement of the possible necessity for apro-
gressive remova.l of obstacles to enlightenment reflects the domi-
nant Indian conception of the religious path: first purification,
then release. It is an essentially conservative position and in
stark contrast to the Chinese radicals who, to state it simply, did
not believe in the necessity of preliminary purification. Others,
including Walter Liebenthal, have argued that "No school
called itself 'gradual.",g The reason is that all were well-enough
versed in the essentials to know that, by its nature, enlighten-
ment had to be a sudden, once-and-for-all matter. Still, the
Indians, and some Chinese, held to the necessity of a progres-
sive removal of obstacles to the goal. Others, like Tao-sheng
(5th century), put forth a novel view based on an entirely dif-
ferent set of assumptions.
Chinese Buddhism underwent several important develop-
ments, which eventually resulted in a distinctive approach to
practice and enlightenment. One of the most important was a
sort of phenomenological approach to the question of the na-
ture of enlightenment and its relationship to those activities
usually categorized as practice (as distinct from the objective of
the practice), and there emerged a view of enlightenment that
deviated from that of Indian Buddhists. According to the Chi-
nese view, the meditating mind-body in its serenity, selflessness,
and absence of conceptualizing and evaluating, is itself, at that
very time, in a state that exhibits the characteristics of enlighten-
ment. Consequently, there is no qualitative break between sa-
madhi and prajna, which is what the author of the Platform
Sutra seems to mean when he says,
Good friends, how then are meditation and wisdom alike?
They are like the lamp and the light it gives forth. If there
is a lamp, there is light; if there is no lamp, there is no light.
The lamp is the substance of the light; the light is the
function of the lamp. Thus, although they have two names,
in substance they are not two. Meditation [ting] and wisdom
[hui] are also like this 10 [emphasis mine].
This important passage from the Tan ching says in the most
explicit terms that means and end, samadhi and prajna, are in
fact the same thing, and in fact not means and ends at all.
Rather, with recourse to the common t'i-yung (substance and
12
fmiction) pattern of thinking that pervades so much of Chinese
thought, the argument is made that meditation, or samadhi, is
not a separate thing, but, rather, the modal expression of the
substance that is innate prajna. Shen-hui claims that both medi-
tation and wisdom are identical, each being an alternate expres-
sion for the crucial state of wu-nien 1l1t ~ .11 Wu-nien, wu-
hsin 1l1t ,c" , the mind that does not dwell on dharmas, the mind
that does not abide anywhere, is what is meant by Buddha-
mind, and such a mind is the distinguishing characteristic of
both meditation and wisdom.
The same understanding will appear later in tI-te writings
of Dagen, albeit in a radicalized and novel form, and the lan-
guage of substance and function will appear in similar form. In
both the Tan ching and the Shi5bi5genzi5, the basic idea is the
same, and is rooted in the impeccable sources of Mahayana:
stated one way, it is a denial of plural substances or essences,
because to see something as a mode of something else is to deny
real, substantial differences between the two and to affirm a
single reality that manifests or is expressed in various ways. In
both the Tan ching and Shi5bi5genzi5, samadhi-mec).itation is the
way or form that prajna takes. Stated another way, all things
are empty, absolute nonbeing, and meditation is merely one
way in which emptiness negates itself in the form of time-space.
A little later than the Platform Sutra, Ch'an master Hui-hai
remarked,
Should your mind wander away, do not follow it, where-
uponJour wandering mind will stop wandering of its own
accor . Should your mind desire to linger somewhere, do
not follow it and linger there, whereupon your mind's
questing for a dwelling place will cease of its own accord.
Thereby, you will come to possess a nondwelling mind, a
mind which remains in the state of nondwelling. If you are
fully aware in yourself of a mind dwelling on nothing, you
will discover that there is just the fact of dwelling, with
nothing to dwell upon or not to dwell upon. This full
awareness in yourself of a mind dwelling upon nothing is
known as havmg a clear perception of your own nature. A
mind which dwells upon nothmg is Buddha-mind .... 12
In this passage, the author makes a significant series of correla-
tions: the meditative state of not dwelling on dharmas is said to
13
be a perception of one's own nature, and that same state of
nondwelling is Buddha-mind.
This understanding that the mind in samadhi is itself Bud-
dha-mind seems to be reflected in the position taken by the
monk, "Mahayana," in the Tibet debates, for in defending the
idea of sudden enlightenment he rings a series of changes on a
common theme. Buddha-nature rests at the bottom of our be-
ing and is revealed when false thoughts are no longer enter-
tained.
13
It suffices to separate oneself from false notions in
order to be integrally furnished with the 37 components of
enlightenment (bodhi-pak$a).14 "When a single sense faculty re-
turns to its source, the whole six sense faculties are liberated" (a
quotation from the Sura'f(lgama Sutra).15
A second Chinese development is a corollary of the point
made above, and supports it. If the goal is a certain quality of
consciousness characteristic of samadhi and not a separate,
transcendent state following samadhi, what counts practically is
the ability to achieve significant, rapid results in meditation. In
the Chinese way of seeing things, some people seem to have a
natural talent for rapid progress; while others lack it. Why this
is so was frequently explained by recourse to the handy doc-
trine of a stock of merit accumulated in previous lifetimes. The
observation that talents differ is reflected in Tao-sheng's ten-
dency to speak of sudden enlightenment as great *- and
small /J\ .16 It is significant that while enlightenment is always
sudden, some people attain sudden enlightenment quickly and
others take a much longer time to achieve the same sudden
enlightenment. The first type of individual is large, the second
is small. The main point is, though, that enlightenment is sud-
den for both types; there is no gradual enlightenment. Also,
however, while some take much time-even lifetimes-to pre-
pare for the sudden enlightenment, others do not need the
lengthy preparation. Their abilities being great, they quickly
achieve samadhi and, consequently, enlightenment. The scrip-
tural source for this understanding of enlightenment is the
Vimalakrrti Sutra: "One attains nirval).a without destroying the
moral and intellectual faults" (kleSa) and "without destroying
the conditioned." In other words, enlightenment is possible
without a preliminary program of moral training and rejection
of the conditioned world of birth and death. The Indian rejoin-
14
der to the Chinese position at the Lhasa debates indicates what
troubled the Indians, with their assumptions about the neces-
sary process of becoming purified and enlightened. The Indi-
ans insisted o n ~ a n adherence to the teachings of the twelvefold
scriptures and on a rigorous training in the paramitas. The
Chinese keep insisting that while all that is necessary for those
of slight abilities, it is not for those who are talented and capa-
ble. This distinction seems to reflect Tao-sheng's categories of
great and small abilities.
There are other important developments besides the two
mentioned above, such as the prominence in Chinese Bud-
dhism of the doctrine of Buddha-nature. It is important for the
way in which the Chinese translated Indian Buddhism into a
native form, but it lies beyond the scope of this paper. With
these basic assumptions, the belief in an immediate sudden
enlightenment is possible. If Buddha-mind'--the Absolute-is
the absolute, it can have no gradations or parts, and must be
acquired or actualized totally and at once. "Those who believe
in Instantaneous Illumination declare that li is indivisible and
that wu '\'B- expresses that experience (in which li appears) in
one final vision. As li is indivisible, there cannot be two acts in
which it appears."17 Moreover, Buddha mind (or li) is defined
as nondelusive, nondiscriminative consciousness. To achieve
this state in samadhi in which the mind, like a bright mirror
that reflects images clearly and without distortion, does not
discriminate or evaluate, is to actualize or "see" one's Buddha-
nature. Finally, some may do this very quickly and others may
take a very long time, but the resultant enlightenment is always
sudden and total.
By the end of the eighth century, a number of Buddhist
writings reflected the understanding of the nature of enlight-
enment described above, and they put forth the idea, in sharp
contrast to the orthodox Indian view, that enlightenment is
achieved at the very commencement of Buddhist practice.
Thus, for instance, Shen-hui says, in the ninth century,
15
If in the first stage of one's spiritual progress which con-
sists of the ten assurances { ~ , m one's mitial resolve to seek
perfect wisdom, an instant of thought corresponds with
the truth, one will immediately achieve Buddhahood ....
This clarifies the mystery of sudden enlightenment.
ls
'\,1
Thus, enlightenment does not occur at the end of the 52 stages
(in the system of the Avata'Y{lSaka Sutra). Instead, it is achieved
during the stages of assurance, which are the first ten of the 52
stages, when one first resolves to seek enlIghtenment (bodhicit-
totpada). Somewhat earlier, Fa-tsang, the third patriarch of the
philosophical Hua-yen school, claimed exactly the same, basing
his arguments on the Hua-yen doctrine of the identity of cause
and effect. Quoting the Avat'Y(lsaka Sutra, he says, "The Bodhi-
sattva who arouses the thought of enlightenment for the first
time is a Buddha" (TaishO vol. 9, p. 452). Why?
Because of the wonderful principle of dependent origina-
tion prior and subsequent are all the same. If the pnor is
obtained, the subsequent is obtained. When the end is fin-
ished, then one penetrates to the bottom of the beginning.
Also quoting the sutra, he says,
The Bodhisattva who puts forth the thought of enlighten-
ment for the first time is identical with the Buddha, equal
to all the tathagatas of the three time periods, ... he ac-
quires the one body or ten bodies of the tathagatas and the
uniform wisdom of the Buddhas of the three time periods.
(Taisho 9.425)19
The above remarks concerning the Chinese view of sud-
den enlightenment serve only as a preamble to the central con-
cern of this paper, which is the nature of enlightenment in the
Zen master Dagen's writings. They are necessitated because of
the requirement to put his teachings in a proper perspective,
since he was not only an innovator but also an inheritor of the
continental tradition. His own contributions to teaching con-
erning enlightenment, therefore, can only be properly appreci-
ated against the background of his predecessors and their re-
marks on the subject. The keystone of his teaching on the
subject is the doctrine of intrinsic, universal Buddhahood, and
with this as a basis, he develops his unique teaching concerning
practice and enlightenment. This is expressed in several key
terms in his writing: genjo-koan (the presencing of things as they
are 115.,lU::: $ ) zenki (total dynamic functioning ~ ~ ), and gu-
. jin (total penetration 3i:. ~ ). These are only understandable in
16
the . light of the fundamental concept of intrinsic Buddha-
nature.
However, the term that best expresses Dagen's approach
to the religious life is shushO itto irinlE - , which translates as
the "oneness of practice and enlightenment," and which is very
similar to the concept of the oneness of ting and hui in the
Platform S'Lttra. Its locus classicus is the seventh question-and-
answer exchange in the Benedowa. In reply to the question, "As
for the practice of zazen, those who have not yet realized the
Buddha Dharma achieve it by negotiating it by means of zazen.
What is the use of zazen for someone who has already achieved
the Buddha Dharma?" Dagen replies,
To think that practice and enlightenment are not identical
[ :;r:;- ] is a non-Buddhist view. In the Buddha Dharma,
practice and realization are one [ - ]. Because your
practice right now is practice based on realiza-
tion WE 1:. 0) itS , the training of the beginner is the totality
of intrinsic realization. Therefore, even though you are
instructed to practice, do not think that there is any attain-
ment outside of practice itself, because practice must be
considered to point directly to intrinsic realization. Be-
c.ause is on
tIce itS 1:.0) WE , the realIzatIOn IS boundless; If practICe IS
pr.actice on has no In
thIS way, Sakyamum and Mahakasyapa both practIced the
practice of realization daily, and Bodhidharma and Hui-
neng were likewise drawn to practice based on enlighten-
ment. All the examples of the patriarchs are similar. Since
there is no practice apart from attainment, we are fortu-
nate in directly transmitting a portion of wonderful prac-
tice, and therefore even the beginner's negotiation of the
Way is the acquisition of one portion of intnnsic enlighten-
ment.
20
The term shushO itto, or shushO ichi-nyo, seems to occur only
in Bendowa, but there are many passages throughout ShobO-
genzo, addressing the question of the relationship between
practice and realization, which reflect the approach of the
Bendowa passage and clarify it. In Fukan zazengi, Dagen's first
piece of writing, where universal (Jukan) recommendations for
practice are presented, the author says,
17
---------
That which we call zazen is not a way of developing con-
centration. It is simply the way of peace and wellbemg. It is
practice which measures your satori to the fullest and in
fact is satori itself. It is the presencing-of things just as they
are r.g-enjo-koan] and in it you will no longer be trapped as if}
a baSket or cage .... Know that the Dharma is itself present
and that co"nfusion and distraction are eliminated right
from the beginning.
21
.
This passage clearly expresses the relationship between prac-
tice and attainment as Dagen understood it: practice is not a
means to enlightenment or attainment, but is that which mea-
sures, or actualizes, one's already existent enlightenment. In fact,
says Dagen, zazen practice is enlightenment. The preceding
passage from Bendowa expresses the same relationship, speak-
ing in terms of identity, nondualism, etc. In both passages, it is
said that practice is an expression of intrinsic realization (again
echoing the modal language of the Platform Sidra), and actual
realization is an expression of practice. Practice-specifically
zazen-is merely the way in which intrinsic realization mani-
fests itself in time and space. Realization, on the other hand,
takes the form of objectivity, dispassion, clarity, and a sense of
being totally "here now" in the activity of zazen. Consequently, ..
though a distinction is made between practice and realization,
when one is present, the other is also present. In terms of the
traditional distinction between intrinsic enlightenment and ac-
quired enlightenment, in which the latter has been seen as a
means whereby the former is nourished and developed, in Da-
gen's view, intrinsic enlightenment is acquired enlightenment,
and vice-versa. .
A further clarification occurs in an important passage
from the Sesshin sessho chapter of ShObogenzo:
18
As for the Buddha Way, when one first arouses the
thought [of enlightenment], it is enlightenment; when one
achieves perfect enlightenment, it is enlightenment. First,
last, and m between are all enlightenment. ... The foolish
think that at the time one is studying the Way one does not
attain enlightenment, but that only when one has acquired
satari is it enlightenment. They do not understand that,
when one musters one's entire mind and body and prac-
tices the Buddha Way, this is the entirety of the Buddha
Way.22
Here, itis expressly denied that enlightenment occurs as a dis-
tinct event at the end of the whole eons-long career of the
Bodhisattva. Enlightenment is a fact even in the person who
first directs his thought to attaining the Way. In fact, it is pres-
ent even in the individual who has not started practice. There
are numerous passages in ShObOgenzo that equate realization or
enlightenment with such events or states of mind as assurance
(or "faith" { ~ ), arousing an aspiration for enlightenment (hotsu
bodai shin), and home-departure (shukke). All of these are tradi-
tionally conceived as being very early stages in the religious
career of the aspirant, and it is significant that Dagen claims
that all are equivalent to realization and Buddhahood. The
reason can be found in his teachings concerning Buddha-
nature. All events or states of mind, such as assurance, home-
departure, and the like, are concrete manifestations of an utter
self-transcendence that Dagen refers to as shinjin datsuraku,
"casting off mind and body," and this self-transcendence is the
actualization of Buddha-nature or realization.
The whole question of practice and realization, and their
relationship, is inseparable from the doctrine of Buddha-
nature.
23
In various chapters of ShObOgenzo, and particularly in
the BusshO chapter, the continental Chinese doctrine that holds
that all beings possess Buddha-nature is completely trans-
formed and radicalized in conformity with Dagen's attempt
absolutely to overcome all dualisms, such as those of acquired
and intrinsic enlightenment, Buddha and ordinary beings,
practice and enlightenment, and the like. Dagen's point, and it
is one of the hallmarks of his brand of Buddhism, is that all
beings are Buddha, and by "beings" Dagen means both sentient
and insentient-everything without exception. On one level,
distinctions remain and are significant; however, on another
level, all distinctions are united and resolved, insofar as all
things are merely the presencing of things as they are, or the
presencing of reality (genjo-koan).24 In Dagen's well-known
reading of the passageJrom the Nirvii1J,a Siltra that says that all
sentient beings possess Buddha-nature, the meaning comes to
be "All are sentient beings and the total being is Buddha-
nature."25 This means that the total being just as it is is Buddha,
and that is the meaning of genjokOan. The duality of Buddhas
and other beings is abolished in a refutation of the so-called
19
"Senika heresy," which postulates the existence in beings ot
some kind of spiritual principle that is distinguishable from thk
body and that, moreover, survives biological death. Dagen t o ~
tally rejects such a dualism, and instead speaks of a single reali-
ty, the totality of existence, which manifests dynamically in ex-
actly the forms that constitute our experience, whatever those
forms may be. In this way, even the traditional distinctions,
such as true and false, or real and illusory, are abandoned. In
Shobogenzo Gabyo, for instance, the painted picture of rice cakes
is claimed to be just as real, just as ultimate, as "real" cakes.
True, one cannot eat the painted cakes, but that is beside the
point. The point is that each thing-a rice cake, a picture of rice
cakes, a thought or feeling, the family dog, delusion-as it dis-
closes itself in that particular form is, as genjo-koan, Buddha,
and there is no Buddha apart from these things. Therefore the
beginner in the Buddha Way is no less Buddha than one at a
later stage of training, and realization as Buddha is consequent-
ly present at the very inception of religious training.
This being the case, zazen-practice for Dagen is no longer
thought of as discontinuous with its result or as an activity that
nurtures some latent, undeveloped, inner spiritual entity. Our
true nature, says Dagen-rejecting earlier Indo-Chinese meta-
phors and their implied dualism-is not like a seed. Zazen is,
rather, an activity through which we testify to, actualize or real-
ize (in the sense of "making real") that which we really are,
totally, at all times. Dagen is particularly fond of the term
sho mE , which carries with it these meanings, as well as those of
"proving" and "authenticating" (and other cognates). To be
enlightened, therefore, is not a matter of transforming onself
gradually, or even suddenly, into something one was not be-
fore, but, rather, a matter of self-authentication. "Self-authenti-
cation" means "being the authentic self that is Buddha," and
zazen is, in all its dimensions, the way one actualizes the authen-
tic self. Whether understood as the formal, cultic activity of the
meditation hall or as the more extended zazen that ideally per-
vades all activities, it is that activity in which one truly appropri-
ates and savors what one actually is.
Dagen uses a number of synonyms for zazen, such as kaiin
zammai ~ Ep -=:a* and jisho zammai El mE = at , each of which
adds another dimension to the basic concept of zazen. An im-
20
portant synonym is jijuyu zammai ~ $E ffl = ~ ,the samadhi
that has the function of allowing the individual to enjoy his
enlightened nature.
26
The model for this samadhi is the post-
enlightenment meditation of the historical Buddha, who, ac-
cording to scriptural statements, is said to have continued to sit
in samadhi for seven (or, alternately, twenty-one) days after
becoming enlightened. At that time, he was not engaged in
samadhi in order to attain enlightenment, for the enlighten-
ment had already occurred. The meditation was, instead, a
free, sportive activity through which the Buddha enjoyed the
present fact of his enlightened nature. This is why Dagen, in
Fukan zazengi, says, "Do not sit in meditation in order to become
a Buddha, for being a Buddha has nothing to do with sitting or
lying down." With the basic assumption of an enlightened na-
ture that is anterior to practice, Dagen then proceeds to use this
model for zazen practice as he understands it; that is, as an
activity that actualizes an already-existent enlightenment and
applies it to the concrete affairs of everyday life. Consequently,
to be in jijuyu zammai is to actualize the Buddha-nature that one
IS.
If this sounds like some of the statements of the Platform
Sutra, it is not surprising, for Dagen had read that work, and
was critical of it, but still reflected its fundamental insights in
his own writing, despite his own innovations. The following
passage from the Chinese work parallels Dagen's thinking in
several important ways:
Good friends, my teaching of the Dharma takes meditation
(ting) and wisdom (hui) as its basis. Never under any cir-
cumstances say mistakenly that meditation and wisdom are
different. They are a unity, not two things. Meditation
itself is the substance of wisdom, wisdom itself is the func-
tion of meditation. At the very moment when there is wis-
dom, then meditation exists in wisdorri; at the very mo-
ment when there is meditation, then wisdom exists in
meditation. Good friends, this means that meditation and
wisdom are alike. Students, be careful not to say that medi-
tation gives rise to wisdom or that wisdom gives rise to
meditation, or that meditation and wisdom are different
from each other.
27
Like the passage cited earlier, this passage reflects the t'i-yung
21
pattern of thinking about the relationship between practice and!.
attainment. It denies any difference in substance or
between them, explicitly affirms their idel)tity, and conceives of
zazen activities as being the manner in which wisdom (or Bud-
dha-mind) is actualized in concrete affairs.
Dagen suspected the Platform Sutra of being a forgery,28
and part of the reason for this is that its teaching of kensho
'1:1 seemed to be at variance with what Dagen saw as the true
situation. The idea of kensho, "seeing one's nature," implies a
very fundamental dualism, in that there is a "nature" which is
Buddha, and something else that "sees." Consequently, there is
a fundamental dualism of Buddha and not-Buddha. However,
Dagen's point d'appui for everything he had to say about the
Buddha Way was the understanding that there is only Buddha,
and therefore the assertion of something or someone seeing
Buddha contradicted his understanding. He undoubtedly be-
lieved that no one as eminent as the Sixth Patriarch could have
used this kind of language. Part of Dagen's radicalization of the
continental tradition consisted in the overcoming of any hint of
dualism implied in the idea of kensho by taking most seriously
the idea that "All are sentient beings and all are Buddha-
nature."
If this is the case-that there is only Buddha-then what
can "seeing" mean? On the one hand, it must mean that it is
Buddha who sees, and furthermore, the situation must be one
in which Buddha sees Buddha. But even this is too literal an
understanding of the nature of the event or process called ken-
shiJ, for there is no Buddha that can be seen or even conceptu-
aJized. "Seeing," in the final analysis, means "being," and to see
one's true nature means to be one's true nature. Zazen, or
zammai, is the actualization and concrete application of one's
true nature.
The teaching of the oneness of practice and realization was
for Dagen a logical and religious consequence of his radicaliza-
tion of the doctrine of Buddha-nature, and it is an important
part of the demystification and demythologization of enlight-
enment that characterizes Japanese Buddhism. This process
has continued down to the twentieth century in the Sat6 tradi-
tion, and it has taken the form of a general reluctance to con-
sider enlightenment as in any way divorced from the world of
22
life and death. On the one hand, it is a prime example of the
way in which Far Eastern Buddhists applied the seminal teach-
ings of Nagarjuna and the s-utras that preach emptiness. On the
other hand, it is a noteworthy example of the more general
BuddholOgical work of unpacking the primitive symbols of
Buddha, enlightenment, and the like, exploring them, and
drawing out their potential. I have already discussed Chinese
Buddhological thinking with regard to enlightenment, and
need not repeat my discussion here. Much more Chinese philo-
sophical work played an important part in the process of bring-
ing enlightenment and nirvaI).a down to earth. The debates and
writings of the Northern Wei, Sui, and early Tang concerning
whether the absolute is only pure or a mixture of pure and
impure, and the consensus as it is reflected in the Ta-ch'eng ch'i
hsin lun, is one part of this work. The work of the Hua-yen
thinkers, such as Chih-yen and Fa-tsang, consisted in part in
creating a philosophical rationale for the teaching of the identi-
ty of absolute and relative (i.e. li :w and shih .. or k'ung and
yu 1f). Basing himself on certain well-known scriptural pas-
sages such as the one that says that "The tathagata-garbha trans-
migrating in the six realms of existence is called 'sentient be-
ings,'" was able to demonstrate that the totality of
being is the cosmic Dharmakaya.
28
The effect of this kind of
work was far-ranging for the Buddhist tradition,
but one effect was that of removing the other-worldly, utterly
transcendent connotations that had hitherto clung to enlight-
enment and nirvana.
The Chinese and Japanese Buddhist came increasingly to
think of the enlightened individual not as someone who had
attained a realm apart from and transcendent to the world, but,
rather, as someone who remained completely in the world and
totally involved in history. He had not transcended the world,
because the world itself is nirvaI).a; he had instead transcended
the self, or, in Dagen's words, "dropped off mind and body."
Compare Indian artistic representatives of enlightenment with
typical Chinese ones. Indian Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are
royalty dressed in jewels and crowns; or, sitting in meditation,
they exude aloofness and withdrawal. The Chinese figures of
Putai, Hanshan, and Shih-te are shown strolling nonchalantly
among butchers and wine drinkers, laughing, at ease, their feet
23
------------------. -------------
covered with the dust of the streets. They exemplify in the most
graphic way the Chinese appropriation of the teaching of the
identity of nirvaI).a and sarp.sara, for enJightenment has been
brought down out of the clouds, demystified, and humanized.
As the above remarks have attempted to show, enlightenment
is not some ineffable, unimaginable, transhuman event that lies
at the culmination of Herculean efforts. It is realized here and
now, in the world, in the act of self-forgetting called "medita-
tion."
Though enlightenment has lost its other-worldly odor, this
does not mean that Dagen did not believe that enlightenment is
important. However, in his writings it is presented in the terms
of everydayness, with no hint of its being a separate order of
being, "mysticism," or an "altered state of consciousness."
When he returned from China and was asked what he had
learned under Ch'an master Ju-ching, he replied, "I learned
that my eyes are horizontal and my nose is vertical." He is very
fond of speaking of enlightenment in the homeliest of terms:
"The everyday life of the [enlightened] patriarchs is nothing
but drinking green tea and eating plain, boiled rice."30 To be
enlightened means to live a rather ordinary life of such activi-
ties as eating and drinking, but such events are lived in total
attentiveness, with mind and body cast off, so that the food and
the act of eating are totally totally realized or penetrated (gil-
jin Ji;a ). Consequently, they are known not as less worthy or
holy than some other aspect of life or a more spiritual life
beyond the world, nor as defiled, nor as mere "things," but,
rather, as complete and perfect just as they are, which is Bud-
dha. Enlightenment consequently is stripped of the mystical-
transcendental, the supernatural, the extraordinary. However,
it is necessary; Dagen's career as a Zen teacher, his journey to
China, and the resolution of his own existential dilemma began
when he solved the question that plagued him as a young man:
If all beings are Buddha from the beginning, then why did all
the Buddhas and patriarchs practice so hard all their lives? The
answer is that realization or actualization makes all the differ-
ence in the way we experience our lives.
Enlightenment, as Dagen understood it, is nothing more
than a profound at-one-ness with the event at hand, in total
openness to its wonder and perfection as manifesting absolute
24
reality, and this at-one-ness in total openness is what is meant
by samadhi. This process (for I believe that it is a process and
not a one-time spectacular event) is, according to Dagen, time-
less. The processive nature of the realization consists in the fact
that the at':one-ness or immediate experience must be repeated
. over and over as each new event occurs, and consequently there
can never be an end to practice as a conscious commitment to
realization. In this way, there is something of the gradualistic
approach in Dagen's Zen. However, according to him, the actu-
al realization is timeless each time it occurs. From the point of
view of the realization itself, it has neither antecedent nor con-
sequent, for the realized event-sipping the tea, for instance-
engulfs all other events and swallows up past and future. Da-
gen calls this timelessness of realization nikon fffi 4" , or "Now."
"Now" is not an abstract, razor-thin quantum of time forever
moving forward and separating past from future. In fact, it
does not even exist apart from the concrete realization mo-
ment-by-moment of each event, and may be synonymous with
the realized event. As an absolute "Now," it therefore crystal-
lizes and focuses within itself all time and being, and there is, in
that "Now," nothing else. "When one side is realized," says
Dagen, "the other side is obscured." (iPpo 0 sho suru toki wa, ippo
wa kurashi)31 In Shobi5genzo Gyoji he says, "The time when con- .
tinuous practice (gyoji) is manifested is what we call 'Now.'''32
Thus, while there is a gradualistic tinge to realization, the abso-
lute nowness of realization seems to preclude categorizing it as
either gradual or sudden.
How might enlightenment in Dagen's writings be assimilat-
ed to the traditional categories of sudden and gradual, with
their several variations? If it has to be categorized, it has to be
said to be sudden, because it is simultaneous with, and in fact
identical with, practice. That is, prior to practice, there is no
realization, and one's intrinsic Buddhahood is not actualized.
When one begins to practice, even a little, realization becomes j
lived fact. One may perform certain activities that enhance the
possibility of realization, but these activities are not realization;
realization is actualized in the form of practice, which is none
other than active Buddha (gyobutsu fr1ijjl ). However, as I have
remarked above, realization has to occur over and over, end-
lessly, as each event is experienced in selfless openness, and
25
thus there is a gradual element in the practice in the sense that
the individual progresses little-by-little in skill in actualizing
Buddha-nature.
"Intrinsic enlightenment," says Dogen, "is wonderful prac-
tice," because intrinsic enlightenment is both the ground-of
practice and is expressed in the form of practice. As was re-
marked earlier, practice, in its own turn, is always practice of
enlightenment mE J:. (J) {i; . The enlightenment or Buddha-na- .
ture that is the ground of practice is thus the point d'appui bf the
religious life, but, as I have shown elsewhere,33 the overwhelm-
ing emphasis in Dogen's teaching is on practice rather than
attainment or realization, and, indeed, it is what characterizes
his brand of Buddhism. It is expressed throughout his writings
in his concern for the smallest details of ritual or liturgical
activity, formal zazen, manual labor, eating, bathing, and dress-
ing, using the library, and the like. Preeminent, of course, is the
constant emphasis on regular, intensive zazen as the heart of
the religious life ;md the "way of all the Buddhas and patri-
archs." It is this emphasis on zazen-specifically in the form of
shikan taza-that gives his Zen its peculiar flavor. Here, zazen is
totally stripped of its older, traditional, instrumental function
and comes to be elevated to the very essence of the religious
life, as the be-all and end-all of the Buddha Way. If realization
is identicalwith the samadhi ofjijuyu zammai, then to be enlight-
ened means constantly to develop the power of samadhi, and
this development has no end as far as Dogen is concerned. It is
this emphasis on constantly developing samadhi that may have
led various Western commentators to characterize enlighten-
ment in this form of Zen as gradual. However, if by "gradual" is
meant either that realization is necessarily preceded by prelimi-
nary moral purification, scriptural study, and some sort of vipa-
syana-like study of certain Buddhist truths, or that enlighten-
ment itself may be acquired progressively and piecemeal (which
are the two possible meanings of "gradual"), then there is no
way that enlightenment can be gradual in Dogen's Zen. For
want of a better term, let us call Dogen's view of enlightenment
one of "suddenly-suddenly-suddenly," or perhaps "suddenly
time after time." It is unique to Dogen.
One final point needs clarification, and that is the term
"enlightenment" itself. I have used that term throughout this
26
paper, along with alternate expressions that I believe convey
better the nature of the experience that has been the subject of
the paper. These expressions are "realization" and "actualiza-
tion" as related to intrinsic Buddha-nature. Dagen uses the
terms shO 'IDE ,satori ffl , and, to give the Sanskrit form, anuttara
samyak sambodhi, the "highest, perfect enlightenment." The lat-
ter is the final and perfect enlightenment that comes at the
culmination of the Bodhisattva's ages-long career, and it is gen-
erally felt in Buddhism in general that no one achieves it in the
present life-time. It is always in the future, and Dagen, like all
Buddhists in the Sino-Japanese tradition, retained the concept
out of piety, but was not really concerned about it. However, at
times, perhaps in rhetorical imprecision, he speaks of present
attainment as anuttara sam yak sambodhi, and, indeed, he may
have believed that there is only one enlightenment, by whatever
term it was given. However, his favorite term is shO, "realiza-
tion," "authentication," "proof," "evidence," etc. He also uses
the term satori, and sometimes it seems to refer to a more de-
finitive transformation than is denoted by shO. Again, however,
he seems to use the two terms interchangeably. It may be possi-
ble to see a hierarchy of enlightenment experiences in the use
of the three terms, ranging from shO, as the recurrent actualiza-
tion of Buddha nature, to satori, which may denote a major,
rather dramatic transformation, to the final, complete enlight-
enment ages hence, which remains only theoretical and ideal.
But, as I have remarked, and as is clear from some of the
passages quoted above, Dagen seems to have believed that with
either shO or satori the individual attains the only enlightenment
there is, and this may be part of his demythologizing work. The
point, though, is this: neither satori as separate from shO nor
annuttara samyak sambodhi seems to have assumed the impor-
tance of sho in the form of Buddhism he taught and wrote
about. Perfect, complete enlightenment is almost inconceivable
and, what is more, is terribly remote from today's concerns.
Satori, in the sense in which it is used in the Rinzai tradition,
and as distinct from sho, may be a wonderful experience and
may deepen the experience attained in sho, but what is finally
important, and that which characterizes Dagen's teaching, is
the constant, recurring actualization of Buddha-nature in sa-
., madhi, which is the realization called shoo Hence, the character-
27
ization of this approach to practice as "enlightenment from the
beginning," in contrast to the "enlightenment with a begin-
ning" of Rinzai Zen. ,
Finally, it is noteworthy that the venerable teaching of sud-
den enlightenment in the form reconceptualized and deepened
by Dagen served very well his mission of creating a universal,
practicable religion suited to the needs of the masses. His c e n ~
tral teaching of universal Buddhahood, the oneness of practice
and realization, and the conduct of the ordinary affairs of life
as a means of expressing intrinsic enlightenment accomplished
several important things. First, it made enlightenment a real
possibility for common people, by eliminating its older associ-
ations of remoteness, improbability, and extraordinariness, and
showing that, on the contrary, it was available to ordinary folk,
that it was related to ordinary problems, and that it could be
pursued within the context of ordinary life. The similarity be-
tween Dagen's teaching and those of Suzuki Shosan and Ikkyu,
for instance, lies in the idea that enlightenment is merely a
certain manner of taking care of one's rather ordinary life, not
something mysterious and out of reach to plain people. Thus,
such a humanization and demystification of enlightenment also
tended to eliminate the doubt or anxiety over the ordinary
man's ability to achieve the genuine, full goals of the religious
life. The ignorant, stupid, and unwashed are no less Buddhas
than Monju or Fugen, and have the means of actualizing that
Buddhahood while planting rice or cutting wood. Finally, reli-
gion becomes possible for the average person in that, ultimate-
ly, the only requirement is a steadfast assurance or faith that
one is already that than which nothing is more supreme or
wonderful, that one has an innate dignity and perfection, and
that these can really be actualized through the selfless attention
to the mundane structures and demands of daily life. In this
way, Dagen's way is strikingly similar to those of Shinran and
Nichiren, and constitutes an important part of the religious
revolution of the Kamakura period.
NOTES
1. Thomas Hoover, Zen Culture (New York: Vintage Books, 1977), p. 53.
28
2. John A. Hutchinson, Paths of Faith (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969),
pp. 52 and 254.
3. David Kalupahana, Buddhist Philosophy (Honolulu: University Press of
. Hawaii), 1976, p. 174. .
~ 4. For ip.stance, Philip Yam polsky, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patri-
arch, Miura and Saski, Zen Dust, and some ofD. T. Suzuki's writings. Japanese
sources, such as the Zen Shil Jiten, also cpntain extensive lineage charts.
5. Louis de LaVallee Poussin, tr., L'Abhidharmakosa de Vasubandhu (Paris:
Paul Geuthner, 1923-1931), ch. 6, p. 301.
6. Paul Demieville, Le Concile de Lhasa (Paris, 1952).
7. Etienne Lamotte, ed. and tr., SaT(Ldhinirmocana, L'Explication des mys-
teres (Louvain: Bureau du Museon, 1935). Cf., for instance, p. 236 for a
correlation of the 10 stages with the four purifications (visuddhi).
8. T.R.V. Murti, The Central Philosophy of Buddhism (London: George
Allen and Unwin, 1955), p. 220.
9. Walter Liebenthal, "A Biography of Chu Tao-sheng," Monumenta
Nipponica, 11 (October, 1955), p. 90.
10. Yampolsky, Platform Sutra, p. 137.
11. Jacques Gernet, Entretiens du Maitre de Dhyana Chenhouei du Ho-tso
(Hanoi, 1949), p. 50.
12. John Blofeld, The Zen Teachings of Hui-hai on Sudden Illumination
(London: Rider and Company), 1962, p. 56.
13. Demieville, Concile, p. 95.
14. Ibid., p. 60.
15. Ibid., p. 43.
16. Walter Liebenthal, "The World Conception of Chu Tao-sheng,"
Monumenta Nipponica, 12-13 (1956-58), pp. 257-258.
17. Ibid., p. 89.
18. Wing-tsit Chan, ed. and comp., A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy
(Princeton University Press, 1963), p. 440 .
. 19. Francis H. Cook, "Fa-tsang's Treatise on the Five Doctrines" (unpub-
lished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1970), pp. 500, 504. Origi-
nal in TaishO no. 1866, p. 505. b-c.
20. My translation, based on that of Norman Waddell and Masao Abe in
the Eastern Buddhist.
21. Francis D6jun Cook, How to Raise an Ox (Los Angeles: Center Publi-
cations, 1978), p. 97.
22. Shobogenzo sesshin sesshO, in Nakamura S6ichi, Zenyaku ShObogenzo, vol.
2 (Tokyo: Seishin Shobo, 1972), p. 262.
23. D6gen's remarks concerning Buddha-nature and its relationship to
phenomenal existence is discussed in many places. See, for instance, Masu-
naga Reiho, The Sot{j Approach to Zen, Hee-jin Kim, Dagen Kigen: Mystical
Realist, and TakashiJames Kodera, "The Buddha-Nature in Dogen's Sh6b6-
genz6," Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 4, no. 4 (December, 1977), pp.
267-292.
24. This translation of the term genjo-koan was suggested by T.P. Kasulis,
29
in "The Zen Philosopher: A Review Article on Dagen Scholarship in English,"
Philosophy East and West, 28, no. 3 Quly, 1978), p. 368.
25. See the translation of Bussha by Norman Waddell and Masao Abe in
The Eastern Buddhist, 8, no. 2, pp. 94-112.; 9, no. 1; pp. 87-105; and 9, no. 2,
pp.71-87.
26. Dagen refers to this samadhi in Bendawa. See the translation by Wad-
dell and Abe in the Eastern Buddhist, 4, no. 1 (May, 1971).
27. Yampolsky, Platform Sutra, p. 135.
28. Hee-jin Kim, Dagen Kigen: Mystical Realist (Tucson: University of
Arizona Press, 1975), p. 68-69.
29. Francis H. Cook, Hua-yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra (Pennsylva-
nia State University Press, 1977), ch. 7.
30. ShOb8genza genja-kaan. Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, The Way of Everyday
Life (Los Angeles: Center Publications, 1978). A recent translation.
31. Cook, How to Raise an Ox, p. 176.
32. Cook, How to Raise an Ox, is a translation of 10 practice-oriented
chapters from Shabagenza, with the translator's own interpretive comments
added.
30
The Place of the Sudden Teaching within
the Hua-yen Tradition: An Investigation of
the Process of Doctrinal Change
by Peter N. Gregory
One of the best ways in which we can assess the process of
doctrinal change within Chinese Buddhism is by a comparative
analysis of the various schemes of doctrinal classification (p'a,n-
chiao ~ I J ~ ) devised within the different scholastic traditions.
P'an-chiao served Chinese Buddhists as a convenient herme-
neutical device by which the confusing array of teachings be-
lieved to have been taught by the Buddha could be systemati-
cally organized into a coherent, internally consistent doctrinal
whole. At the same time, by classifying the Buddha's teachings
within a hierarchically articulated framework, it also func-
tioned as one of the primary means by which the different
Chinese traditions legitimized their sectarian claims. P'an-chiao
thus represents in schematic form what doctrines a particular
tradition took to be the most important for defining the main
characteristics of its teaching. The investigation of how such
formulations change within a tradition should, accordingly,
provide us with a useful index for gauging the process of doc-
trinal change.
The process of doctrinal change, moreover, must be un-
derstood from two interrelated points of view. On the one
hand, it must be understood within the particular doctrinal
context of the tradition in question-a context that has its own
tensions and trajectory, which define both the parameters with-
in which innovation can take place and the directions in which
such innovation is most likely to occur. On the other hand,
while we must respect the integrity of a tradition, we must bear
in mind that traditions do not develop within a vacuum. The
31
process of doctrinal change must also be understood within the
larger historical context that shaped the lives and thoughts of
the individual figures who constitute a t:r:adition. The investiga-
tion of the different p'an-chiao schemes evolved within a par-
ticular tradition should both reveal the underlying problematic
of that tradition and reflect broader changes within the Chi-
nese Buddhist world. .
The Hua-yen tradition, along with Tien-t'ai, is one of
the crowning achievements of Chinese Buddhist scholastic
thought. It is also worthy of our attention as representing one
of the major expressions of what Yuki Reimon has character-
ized as the New Buddhism of the Sui / Tang Period-that is, it
is a prime example of a form of Buddhism that can be said to be
at once authentically Buddhist and uniquely Chinese. The clas-
sical formulation of Hua-yen doctrine is often taken as having
been best articulated by Fa-tsang (643-712) in his Treatise
on the Five Teachings (Wu-chiao chang Ii tll:1if ). A comparison of
the doctrinal classification scheme outlined in that work with
that elaborated by Tsung-mi *W (780-841), traditionally reck-
oned as the fifth Hua-yen "patriarch," in his Inquiry into the
Origin of Man (Yuan-jen lun J5{ A ), reveals that there were a
number of profound changes that had taken place in the evalu-
ation of the basic tenets of Hua-yen doctrine in the almost
century and a half that separated the composi.tion of these two
works.
Fa-tsang divides the Buddha's teachings into five categor-
ies. The first and most elementary of these is the Teaching of
the Lesser Vehicle (hsiao-sheng chiao /J\ * tll ). The second is the
Elementary Teaching of the Great Vehicle (ta-sheng shih-
chiao *- * f]:Io tll ), which Fa-tsang subdivides into two catego-
ries, corresponding to the particular brand of Yogacara intro-
duced to China by Hsuan-tsang and the Madhyamika teaching
of emptiness. Fa-tsang refers to the third category in his classifi-
cation scheme as the Advanced Teaching of the Great Vehicle
(ta-sheng chung-chiao *- tll ), which is exemplified by the
Tathagatagarbha doctrine, especially as it was elaborated in the
Awakening of Faith (Ta-sheng ch'i-hsin lun The fourth
category is the Sudden Teaching (tun-chiao tll ). The fifth
and highest category of Buddhist teaching is the Perfect Teach-
ing (yuan-chiao [I ), as represented by the totalistic vision of
32
the unobstructed interrelation of all things, taught in the Hua-
yen (Avata'Y[lSaka) Sfdra.
Tsung-mi also divides the Buddha's teachings into five
categories. His first category, the Teaching of Men and Gods
(jen-t'ien chiao A 7 C ~ ), is not found in Fa-tsang's classification
scheme. His second category, the Teaching of the Lesser Vehi-
cle, corresponds to the first category of teaching ih Fa-tsang's
scheme. Tsung-mi then makes what were the two subdivisions
of Fa-tsang's second category-the Elementary Teaching of the
Great Vehicle-into the third and fourth categories in his own
scheme, which he refers to as the Teaching of the Phenomenal
Appearances of the Dharmas (fa-hsiang chiao t! 113 ~ ) and the
Teaching which Negates Phenomenal Appearances (p'o-hsiang
chiao 1iW.1 ~ ). The fifth and supreme teaching in Tsung-mi's
classification scheme, which he refers to as the Teaching which
Reveals the Nature (hsien-hsing chiao ~ J j 1'1 ~ ), corresponds to
the third teaching in Fa-tsang's scheme. Tsung-mi does not
include either the Sudden or the Perfect teachings, th.e last two
categories in Fa-tsang's arrangement, as separate categories in
his classification scheme.
One of the most significant differences between Fa-tsang's
and Tsung-mi's p'an-chiao schemes is that Tsung-mi omits the
Sudden Teaching from his fivefold classification of the Bud-
dha's teachings. This paper will investigate the changing assess-
ment of this teaching withiri the Hua-yen tradition. Such an
endeavor should reveal some of the tensions inherent within
the tradition, and highlight some of the changes that had taken
place within Chinese Buddhism in the eighfh century, the most
notable of which, in the present context, are the rise of Ch'an
and the revival of T'ien-t'ai, two movements that left an impor-
tant mark on Tsung-mi's revision of Hua-yen.
1. The Sudden Teaching According to Fa-tsang
Unlike much of the p'an-chiao tradition that preceded him,
Fa-tsang does not identify the Sudden Teaching with the Hua-
yen Siltra.! Rather, the teaching of the Hua-yen Siitra supersedes
the Sudden Teaching, and is accorded supreme pride of place
as the Perfect Teaching, the fifth and final teaching in his clas-
33
sification scheme. Fa-tsang associates the Sudden Teaching-
insofar as any teaching that transcends all methods of teaching
can be linked with a particular scripturq.l teaching-with the
VimalakirtinirdeSa Sidra. A good example of what Fa-tsang
means by the Sudden Teaching can be found in the first defini-
tion of this category of teaching that he the Treatise on
the Five Teachings:
In the Sudden Teaching all words and explanations are
suddenly cut off, the nature of the Truth is suddenly re-
vealed, understanding <;tnd are suddenly perfect-
ed, and Buddhahood- [IS attamed] upon the non-produc-
tion of a single moment of [false] thought.
2
As canonical authority, Fa-tsang then goes on to quote the pas-
sage from the Lmikavatara Sidra which says that the purification
of beings can be spoken of as sudden 'just as images in a mirror
are reflected suddenly, not gradually."3 Moreover, in this defi-
nition the Sudden Teaching is explicitly contrasted with the
former two teachings in Fa-tsang's p'an-chiao scheme, those of
the Elementary and Advanced Mahayana, which are character-
ized as gradual because
the understanding and practice within them lie within
words and explanations, the stages [of the Bodhisattva's
path] are sequential, cause and effect follow one another,
and one proceeds from the subtle to the manifest.
4
While Fa-tsang discusses the Sudden Teaching in different
ways from a variety of perspectives throughout the Treatise on
the Five Teachings,5 his overall characterization, as the definition
just cited suggests, can be analyzed as having two aspects, the
first having to do with its doctrinal content and the second with
its practical application.
6
According to the first, the Sudden
Teaching is described as abandoning all words and concepts
because there can be no dichotomous discrimination in the ap-
prehension of the ultimate nature of reality, which ineluctably
defies all attempts to verbalize or conceptualize its essence. The
canonical paradigm to which Fa-tsang refers most frequently to
illustrate this aspect of the Sudden Teaching is Vimalaklrti's
resounding silence, which marks the climax of the ninth chap-
34
terof Kumarajlva's translation of the Vimalakfrtinirdefa Sutra.
7
The chapter begins with Vimalaklrti's request that all of the
Bodhisattvas present express. their understanding of the
Dharma of nonduality. After each of the thirty-two Bodhisatt-
vas, culminating with MafijusrI, the very embodiment of wis-
dom, has taken his turn, MafijusrI then calls upon Vimalaklrti
to express his understanding, whereupon Vimalaklrti remains
silent. MafijusrI then exclaims: "Excellent! Excellent! To be
without words and speech! That is called the tru'e entrance into
the Dharma of non-duality!"8
No matter how profound or eloquent their replies, the
answers of all of the Bodhisattvas still fall within the province of
either the Elementary or the Advanced Teaching, for they still
rely on words to try to express the inexpressible. Only Vima-
laklrti succeeds in directly expressing the ineffable nature of
ultimate reality by his refusal to enter the realm of dichotomous
discourse. Fa-tsang aptly indicates the qualitative difference in
their responses by saying that the thirty-two Bodhisattvas mere-
ly"spoke about" (shuo ~ ) the Dharma of non-duality, whereas
Vimalaklrti "revealed" (hsien ~ . l i : ) it.
9
As this example from the Vimalakfrtinirdefa Sutra also indi-
cates, what Vimalaklrti succeeds in revealing through his si-
lence and what the other Bodhisattvas try, but ultimately fail, to
express in words is the same ineffable reality. The difference
between their responses lies in the manner in which they ex-
press, or try to express, the true nature of this reality. When
MafijusrI says: '
"In my opinion, to be without words, without speech, with-
out indication, without knowing, and beyond all questions
and answers in regard to all tbings-that is entering the
Dharma of non-duality!"IO
he merely says what it is. Only Vimalaklrti's silence succeeds in
directly manifesting the true import of MafijusrI's words.
If Vimalaklrti's silence is taken as the paradigm upon
which Fa-tsang establishes the Sudden Teaching, then the Sud-
den Teaching does not differ in content from the Advanced
Teaching, which Fa-tsang identifies as the Absolute Mind of
Suchness (chen-'ju i-hsin !X ~ D - ,t:" ) in another passage in the
Treatise of the Five Teachings:
35
According to the Sudden Teaching, all things are nothing
but the Absolute Mind of Suchness, wherein all discrimina-
tions have utterly ceased. It transcends words and concepts
and is ineffable. The Dharma of non-duality as spoken of
by the thirty-two Bodhisattvas in the Vimalakirfnirdefasi;itra
refers to the harmonious interfusion of the pure and im-
pure without duality in the previous teaching of the Ad-
vanced [Mahayana], while the non-daulity which tran-
scends words that was revealed by Vimalaklrti refers to this
[Sudden] Teaching. Because all pure and impure charac-
teristics have been utterly brough.t to an end and there are
no longer any two things which can be harmonized with
one another, the ineffaole is non-duality.ll
This passage is of further interest iri that it makes clear that
what Fa-tsang has in mind when he discusses the content of
these two teachings is the Tathagatagarbha as expounded in
the Awakening of Faith. The following passage from the Treatise
on the Five Teachings makes this connection with the Awakening
of Faith even more explicit.
Within the Awakening of Faith, it is in connection with the
Sudden Teaching that the Suchness which transcends
words is revealed and in conriection with the Gradual
Teaching that the Suchness which is predicated in words is
expounded, and, within [the Suchness which is] predicated
in words, it is in connection with the Elementary and Ad-
vanced Teaching that the emrty and non-empty [aspects
of] Suchness are expounded.
1
Fa-tsang is here basing himself on a passage in the begin-
ning of the Awakening of Faith that distinguishes between Such-
ness which transcends words (li-yen , , ~ ~ frl]) and Suchness
which is predicated in words (i-yen {1X. ~ iJt frl] ).
36
What is referred to as "the Nature of the Mind" is neither
born nor dies. It is only on the basis of false thoughts that
all things become differentiated. If one is free from false
thoughts, then there are no phenomenal appearances of
any objects. Therefore, from the very beginmng all things
transcend all forms of verbalization, description, and con-
ceptualization and are ultimately undifferentiated, un-
changing, and indestructible. Because they are nothing but
the Absolute Mind, they are referred to as Suchness. Be-
cause all verbal explanations are merely provisional desig-
nations without any reality and are merely used in accor-
dance with false thoughts and cannot denote [Suchness],
the term "Suchness" is without any [determinate] charac-
teristics. This means that it is the limit of verbal expression
wherein a word is used to put an end to words .... Because
all things are ineffable and inconceivable, they are referred
to as "Suchness."13 .
This passage refers to the Suchness which transcends words,
which is Suchness in its true (shih .. ) aspect, as distinguished
from the Suchness which is predicated in words, which is only
provisional (chia {IR ).
The Awakening of Faith then goes on to introduce the Such-
ness which is predicated in words, which it says has two aspects.
The first is termed "the truly empty [ ~ D 1ft ~ ] because it is
ultimately able to reveal what is real" and the second is termed
"the truly non-empty [ ~ D Jf:;r; ~ ] because it is in its very essence
fully endowed with undefiled excellent qualities."14
As these various passages make clear, the Sudden Teach- .
ing is represented for Fa-tsang by Vimalaklrti's s'ilence and is
based on the Awakening of Faith's Suchness which transcends
words; while the Gradual Teaching-denoting, in this context,
both the Elementary and the Advanced Teaching-is repre-
sented by the replies of the thirty-two Bodhisattvas, and is
based on the Awakening of Faith's Suchness which is predicated
in words. Moreover, the Sudden and Gradual Teachings do not
differ in content, only in the way in which they express that
content.
However, as the initial definition of the Sudden Teaching
cited above indicates-and as Fa-tsang makes clear in other
contexts-there is also another aspect to his characterization of
this teaching, one which bears on the nature of religious prac-
tice. That is, the Sudden Teaching is the teaching that it is
possible to attain Buddhahood suddenly, in a single moment of
thought, without having to progress step by step through a long
and arduous succession of stages on the Path. As Fa-tsang says
in the Treatise on the Five Teachings:
37
According to the Sudden Teaching, all stages of practice
are without exception ineffable because they transcend all
forms, because Buddhahood [is attained] upon the non-
production of a single moment of [false] thought, and be-
cause, if one perceIves such as in the
stages of practIce, then It IS an erroneous VIeW. b
The three scriptural passages that Fa-tsang quotes as ca-
nonical authority for this characterization of the Sudden
Teaching
l6
are:
1.
If someone hears of the true nature of all things and dili-
gently practices accordingly, then he will not advance stage
by stage, and, if he does not advance stage by stage, then he
will not abide in either salTlsara or nirvaI).a.
17
2. Lankavatara:
The first stage is identical with the eighth .... Since
there are no [stages] which exist, how could there be a
sequence [of stages]? 18
3. Dasabhumika:
The ten stages are like the traces of a bird in the sky. How
could there be differences that could be attained?19
The Sudden Teaching for Fa-tsang thus not only indicates
a superior way of revealing the true nature of reality, but also
contains a specific teaching about the true nature of religious
practice. The second aspect of Fa-tsang's characterization of
this teaching grows out of the first, both being based on the
Awakening of Faith. Just as the true nature of Suchness lacks all
determinate characteristics and any attempt to express it in
words is therefore merely provisionally true at best, so also the
distinctions among the various stages of religious practice are
only provisional and do not obtain in the realm of Suchness. It
is therefore possible, by realizing their empty nature, to tran-
scend them. The second aspect can thus be seen as an extension
of the first to the realm of practice, and, as such, it seems to
intimate the teaching of sudden enlightenment that was to be-
come so important for Ch'an Buddhists, although Fa-tsang
does not use the term "sudden enlightenment," nor does he
38
to the Ch'an school. It is only when we come to Ch'eng-
kuan *8 (737-838), who took the further step of identifying
the Sudden Teaching with Ch'an, that the second aspect of this,
teaching assumes primary significance. In the context of the
Treatise on the Five Teachings, however, it is the doctrinal aspect
of this teaching that is emphasized.
II. Hui--yuan and the Problematical Nature of the Sudden Teaching
The first to raise the issue of the problematical nature of
the Sudden Teaching within Fa-tsang's p'an-chiao scheme was
Fa-tsang's own favored disciple, Hui-yuan (ca.673-743).
In his discussion of Fa-tsang's system of doctrinal classification
in the K'an-ting chi, Hui-yuan delivers the following criticism of
the inclusion of the Sudden Teaching in Fa-tsang's fivefold
scheme:
You should know that this [Sudden Teaching] abandons
the use of language [ L ] to reveal the Truth [ W ).
How, then, can it De established as [a teaching which] can
be expressed in words [ If it is a teaching, then
what truth [ W ] does it express? If one were to say that the
teaching is .not separate from the Truth because it tran-
scends words, then surely it must be true that the Ad-
vanced and Perfect teachings [also] transcend words. But,
if one admits that [teachings which] transcend words must
always be called "sudden," then why are there five teach-
ings? If one were to claim that, even though it is [a teaching
which] expounds the transcending of w9rds, it still does
not exclude the use of words, then the Advanced and Per-
fect teachings should also be called "sudden," because they
both transcend words while not excluding the use of
words.
20
Hui-yuan's criticism is twofold. His first point can be restat-
ed in the following terms: In order for something to qualify as a
teaching (chiao t\(), there must be a certain content (50-
ch'uan J5fi li W) which it is able to express (neng-
ch'uan ). However, if the "teaching" in question abandons
the use of language (wang-ch'uan ) and thereby has no way
in which to express itself, then there can be no content which it
39
expresses, and it consequently cannot be regarded as a real
teaching. Since "the Sudden Teaching" is characterized pre-
cisely by its rejection of language to the Truth, it is thus
a contradiction in terms to establish it as a teaching. On the
other hand, if it is admitted that the Sudden Teaching does
succeed in expressing the Truth, then it cannot truly abandon
all modes of expression, for the Truth (li) cannot be expressed
(so-ch'iian) without some form of expression (neng-ch'iian). This
brings us to the second point raised by Hui-yuan's criticism: If
the content of the Sudden Teaching is the Truth which tran-
scends words and which is ultimately inexpressible, then it
hardly differs from either the Advanced or Perfect Teaching.
There is thus no reason to establish it as a separate teaching.
Hui-yuan's criticism points to the question of the taxonomy
of Fa-tsang's p'an-chiao scheme. The organizing principle ac-
cording to which Fa-tsang seems to be operating in his classifi-
cation of Buddhist teachings has to do with distinguishing
among teachings according to an analysis of their content.
Since the Sudden Teaching has the same content as the Ad-
vanced Teaching, it cannot be set up as a separate category of
teaching without doing violence to the taxonomical principle
according to which the other teachings are classified.
The problematical nature of the Sudden Teaching within
Fa-tsang's p'an-chiao scheme becomes even more apparent
when viewed in terms of the systematic formulation of the
T'ien-t'ai p'an-chiao first articulated by Chan-jan i4f (711-
782) in the middle of the eighth century.21 Chan-jan, reckoned
as the sixth patriarch in the T'ien-t'ai tradition, was the figure
responsible for the revival of the fortunes of the T'ien-t'ai
teachings in the later T'ang, after a century or more of almost
total eclipse. More important in the present context, Chan-jan
also seems to have been the first to make explicit the crucial
distinction in the taxonomy of Buddhist teachings between the
classification of teachings according to the method of their ex-
position (hua-i-chiao it; ) and according to the content of
their exposition (hua-fa chiao it; 113; Wz ). According to Chan-jan's
creative synthesis of the various forms of doctrinal classifica-
tions scattered throughout Chih-i's works, the Sudden Teach-
ing falls within the category of teachings that should be classi-
fied according to the method of their exposition, whereas all of
40
the" other teachings in Fa-tsang's p'an-chiao scheme would have
to be categorized as teachings that should be classified accord-
ing to the content of their exposition. The distinction between
these two ways of classifying Buddhist teachings introduced by
Chan-jan:....---which was adopted by Tsung-mi-makes clear the
taxonomical confusion entailed by Fa-tsang's inclusion of the
Sudden Teaching within his p'an-chiao scheme.
Ill. Ch'eng-kuan's Redefinition of the Sudden Teaching
The question of the Sudden Teaching takes on a new and
extra-doctrinal dimension when we come to Ch'eng-kuan. One
of the main bases for Ch'eng-kuan's attack on Hui-yuan was
Hui-yuan's exclusion of the Sudden Teaching from his own
fourfold classification scheme and his related criticism of Fa-
tsang's scheme for its inclusion of the Sudden Teaching. After
quoting Hui-yuan's first point of criticism, Ch'eng-kuan offers
his own defense of Fa-tsang's inclusion of the Sudden Teach-
ing:
"Because it suddenly expresses the Truth, it is called 'the
Sudden Teaching'" means that what is expressed is the
Truth. How could it be that the sudden preaching of the
Truth in this case is not able to express [the Truth]? Now,
teachings which are able to express [Truth] are always es-
tablished in accordance with [the truth] that they .express.
For instance, if it expresses [the truth of] the Three Vehi-
cles, then it is a gradual teaching; if it expresses the unob-
structed interrelation of each and every tIiing, then it is the
Perfect Teaching. How could it be that if that which is
expressed is the Truth, [Hui-yuan] could not admit that
that which is able to express it IS a teaching? How could he
have criticized [this teaching] by saying, "then what Truth
[does it express]?" That is the epitome of delusion!22
However, in arguing that the Sudden Teaching must be a
teaching because it expresses the Truth, Ch'eng-kuan misses
the point of Hui-yuan's criticism that, if the Sudden Teaching
by definition discards all means of expressing the Truth, then
there is nothing that it can be said to express. In fact, Ch'eng-
kuan's attempted rebuttal only raises Hui-yuan's second criti-
41
cism, which Ch'eng-kuan makes no attempt to address. Ch'eng-
kuan's lame response suggests that it is not just a
question of doctrine that is at stake. of attempting .to
show how the Truth expressed in the Sudden Teaching differs
from that expressed in the Advanced or Perfect Teachings,
Ch'eng-kuan comes to the real substance of his objection when
he says: .
Because [Hui-yuan] never penetrated Ch'an, he was utter-
ly deluded about the true meaning of the Sudden [Teach-
ing]. ... The mind-by-mind transmission of Bodhidharma
truly refers to this [Sudden] Teaching. If a single word
were not used [ ] to express directly tliat this very mind is
Buddha, how could the essentials of the Mind be transmit-
ted? Therefore, using words which are without words, the
Truth which transcends words is directly expressed ....
The Northern and Southern lines of Ch'an are [both] com-
prised within the Sudden Teaching.
23
What is really at issue for Ch'eng-kuan is the fact that he
takes the Sudden Teaching to refer to Ch'an, and it is impor-
tant to recall in this regard that, in addition to being honored as
the fourth Hua-yen" patriarch by the later tradition, Ch'eng-
kuan was also closely associated with various Ch'an lines of his
day. The Biographies of Eminent Monks Compiled in the Sung (Sung
kao-seng chuan), for instance, credits Ch'eng-kuan with having
studied the Ox-head line ofCh'an under Hui-chung (683-
769) and Fa-ch'in t.t (714-792), the Ho-tse line of Southern
Ch'an under Wu-ming (722-793), and the Northern line
of Ch'an under Hui-yun (dates unknown).24
Even though it is highly unlikely that Fa-tsang could have
had Ch'an in mind when he discussed the Sudden Teaching in
the Treatise on the Five Teachings,25 Ch'eng-kuan's identification
of the Sudden Teaching with Ch'an does, in fact, provide a way
in which Fa-tsang's fivefold classification scheme can be sal-
vaged from Hui-yuan's criticism. As noted before, Fa-tsang's
characterization of the Sudden Teaching can be analyzed as
having two aspects. While Hui-yuan'scritique holds against the
first aspect, according to which the Sudden Teaching differs
from the Advanced Teaching only in its method of exposition
and not in its content, it does not hold against the second as-
42
pect, which has to do with religious practice. That is, even
though the Sudden Teaching does not reveal any new truth
about the ultimate nature of reality, it may still have something
unique to say about the nature of practice, and it is in this
context that it can still be considered as a bona fide teaching in its
own right.
26
Nevertheless, in so identifying the Sudden Teach-
ing with Ch'an, Ch'eng-kuan has given to this teaching a totally
different valuation from that found in the Treatise on the Five
Teachings, where the practical aspect of this teaching is of sec-
ondary importance.
More important, Ch'eng-kuan's identification of the Sud-
den Teaching with Ch'an points to the enormous impact that
the rise of Ch'an had on other forms of Chinese Buddhism in
the eighth century. That century witnessed the transformation
of Ch'an from a little-known and cloistered phenomenon into a
large scale movement whose ramifications affected the course
of Chinese Buddhism as a whole. It is the presence of Ch'an
that gives the Hua-yen writings of Ch'eng-kuan and Tsung-mi
an entirely different cast from those of Fa-tsang.
IV. The Sudden Teaching in Tsung-mi's Thought
Tsung-mi was even more closely identified with Ch'an than
was his teacher, Ch'eng-kuan. Nevertheless, Tsung-mi did not
identify the Sudden Teaching with Ch'an as Ch'eng-kuan had.
Nor, for a number of reasons, did he establish the Sudden
Teaching as a separate category in his p'an-chiao scheme.
First of all, Tsung-mi could not make the kind of blanket
identification that Ch'eng-kuan had made in subsuming differ-
ent Ch'an lines together under the Sudden Teaching. When
Tsung-mi formulated his p'an-chiao scheme in the Inquiry into
the Origin of Man, almost half a century had elapsed since
Ch'eng-kuan had written the Yen-i ch'ao, a period of time in
which Ch'an had become even more influential and the differ-
ences among the various Ch'an lines had become even more
apparent, especially the difference between the Northern and
Southern lines. As a successor to the Ho-tse line, whose
founder, Shen-hui, had championed the cause of Southern
Ch'an as teaching sudden enlightenment and had disparaged
43
Northern Ch'an as teaching a gradualistic form of practice,
Tsung-mi could not have placed the two lines of Ch'an in the
same category. Rather, Tsung-mi makes ,a point of distinguish-
ing between the two lines. For instance, in the Ch'an Chart
(Chung-hua ch'uan-hsin-ti ch'an men shih-tzu ch'eng-hsi
t'u, ),27 a work that seeks to clarify
the different historical and doctrinal roots of the major Ch'an
lines of his day, Tsung-mi says:
The Southern Line is the true line in which the robe and
Dharma have been uninterruptedly transmitted over
successive generations from the time when the Great Mas-
ter Hui-neng of Ts'ao-ch'i received the essence of Bodhid-
harma's teaching. Later, because Shen-hsiu widely spread
the gradual teaching in the North, it was called the South-
ern Line to distingmsh it [from the Northern line of Shen-
hsiuJ.28
After the Priest Hui-neng died, the gradual teaching of the
Northern line was greatly practiced and thus became an
obstacle to the wide-scale transmission of the Sudden
Teaching .... In the beginning of the T'ien-pao era [742-
756J Ho-tse [Shen-huiJ entered Loyang and, as soon as he
proclaimed this teaching, he made it known that the des-
cendents of Shen-hsiu were collateral and that their teach-
ing was gradual. Since the two lines were being practiced
side by sIde, people of the time wanted to distmguish be-
tween them; therefore, the use of the names "Northern"
and "Southern" began from that time.
29
Moreover, as Tsung-mi makes clear elsewhere in the Ch'an
Chart, the teaching of Ho-tse Shen-hui is referred to as "sud-
den" because it advocates sudden enlightenment. In contrast to
the Southern line of Ch'an, the Northern line founded by
Shen-hsiu is referred to as "gradual" because it merely teaches
gradual practice, ignoring sudden enlightenment altogether.
30
Given Tsung-mi's deep personal identification with the
Ho-tse line of Southern Ch'an and his characterization of the
teaching of that line in terms sharply contrasting with those of
the Northern line, it would have been impossible for him to
have included both the Southern and Northern lines of Ch'an
together in the same category, under the rubric of the Sudden
44
Teaching, as Ch'eng-kuan had done. If, in fact, Ch'eng":kuan
was associated with both the Northern and Southern lines, we
can assume that he would have wanted to minimize the differ-
ences between them. Moreover, if Ch'eng-kuan's Ch'an alle-
giance was to the Ox-head lineage, as Kamata has argued, it
would only have been natural for him to have minimized the
differences between the Northern and Southern lines, especial-
ly if the Ox-head line of Ch'an arose as an attempt to bridge the
sectarianism that had become rife among Ch'an Buddhists as a
result of the rivalry between the Northern and Southern lines
in the eighth century.31
Furthermore, it would have disrupted the integrity of his
p'an-chiao scheme for Tsung-mi to have established the South-
ern line alone as the Sudden Teaching, incorporating the
Northern and other lines of Ch'an into categories of gradual
teachings. But, more importantly, Tsung-mi did not regard the
Ch'an lines as espousing teachings that were separate from the
teachings of the more scholastic traditions of Chinese Buddhism.
In fact, the efforts of the last years of his career were devoted to
overcoming the separation between Ch'an and the more scholas-
tic teachings (chiao tlt). Tsung-mi went to great pains in the Ch'an
. Preface (Ch'an-yuan chu-ch'uan-chi tu-hsu ~ i!* ~ ~ ~ ~ l ff ) to
link the major lines of Ch'an prevalent in his day with the scho-
lastic traditions that had preceded them. Thus, he links the
teaching of the Northern line of Ch'an with the Fa-hsiangl
Yogacara tradition; the teaching of the Ox-head line of Ch'an
with the San-IuniMadhyamika tradition; and the teaching of
the Southern line of Ch'an with the Hua-yen tradition. It would
thus have violated the very intent of this work to have estab-
lished Ch'an as a separate teaching. Clearly, as far as Tsung-mi
was concerned, the various Ch'an lines did not differ from the
major scholastic traditions in terms of the content of their
teaching; the innovation and contribution of the Ch'an lines lay
in the way in which they applied these teachings in the sphere
of religious practice.
32
Tsung-mi's thought in regard to the Sudden Teaching is
elaborated most fully in the Ch'an Preface, which, with some
slight alteration in terminology, employs the same p'an-chiao
scheme that he developed in the Inquiry into the OTigin of Man.
The only difference between the two schemes is that whereas
45
Tsung-mi uses a fivefold scheme in the Inquiry into the Origin of
Man, he uses a threefold one in the Ch'an Preface. This differ-
ence, however, is more apparent than ~ e a l , as Tsung-mi in-
cludes the first three teachings of the Inquiry into the Origin of
Man in the first <::ategory of teaching in the Ch'an Preface, which
thus treats the same five teachings that he deals with in the
Inquiry into the Origin of Man. This means that what he refers to
as the three categories of teaching in the Ch'an Preface includes
the five categories of teachings elaborated in the Inquiry into the
Origin of Man, and what he refers to as the third category of
teaching in the Ch'an Preface corresponds to the fifth category
of teaching in the Inquiry into the Origin of Man.
In response to the question:
Previously you said that the Buddha expounded the sud-
den and gradual teachings and that Ch'an opened up the
sudden and gradual gates .[of practice]. It is still not clear
what is the sudden Lteaching] and what is the gradual
[teaching] within the three categories of teaching.
Tsung-mi replies:
It is only because the style [ {l:ct ] of the World Honored
One's exposition of the Teachings varied that there are
sudden expositions in accordance with the Truth and'
gradual expositions in accordance with the capacities [of
sentient bemgs]. Although they are also referred to as the
Sudden Teaching and the Gradual Teaching, this does not
mean that there IS a separate sudden and gradual [teach-
ing] outside of the three teachings.
33
This passage makes clear that Tsung-mi, like Chan-jan,
understands the terms "sudden" and "gradual" to refer to
methods by which the Buddha taught, not to separate teach-
ings. Since the teachings included within Tsung-mi's p'an-chiao
scheme are classified according to their content, it would thus
have entailed a confusion of taxonomical principles for Tsung-
mi to have established the Sudden Teaching as a separate cate-
gory.
Tsung-mi goes on to distinguish between two types of sud-
den teachings, a distinction that he does not make in the Inquiry
46
into the Origin of Man. Tsung-mi's explanation of the Sudden
Teaching in the Inquiry into the Origin of Man corresponds to the
account that he gives of the first type of this teaching in the
Ch'an Preface, which he refers to as chu-chi-tun-chiao ~ ~ ii\!i. ~ ,
the sudden teaching which was expounded in response to be-
ings of superior capacity, in contrast to what he refers to as hua-
i-tun-chaio 1 ~ 1 ~ ii\!i. ~ ,the sudden teaching as a method of ex-
position.
Tsung-mi illustrates the first type in the Ch'an Preface by
saying that "whenever [the Buddha] encountered a person of
superior capacity and keen insight, he would directly reveal the
True Dharma to him," and that this person, "being instantly
enlightened upon hearing [the Buddha's words] would attain
Buddhahood at once, just as the Hua-yen Sutra says, 'When one
first raises the thought bf enlightenment, he immediately at-
tains supreme perfect enlightenment.' "34 Tsung-mi goes on to
say that only after such a person has suddenly awakened to his
True Nature does he then gradually begin to eliminate the'
residual effects of his past conditioning, a process which he
compares to the ocean which has been stirred up by the wind:
even though the wind ceases suddenly, the movement of the
waves only subsides gradually. Tsung-mi then identifies this
type of sudden teaching with the teaching of those sutras that
expound the Tathagatagarbha, such as Hua-yen, Yilan-chileh,
Surar(l,gama, Ghanavyuha, Srimala, and TatMgatagarbha. He con-
cludes his discussion by saying that since this type of sudden
teaching was expounded in response to beings of superior ca-
pacity, it was not taught during a set period in the Buddha's
teaching career, adding that it is the same teaching as that
found in the third and highest category of Ch'an teaching, that
which directly reveals the Nature of the Mind.
35
The first type of sudden teaching is defined in contrast
with the gradual teachings-i.e., the first four of Tsung-mi's
five teachings-which the Buddha expounded to beings of me-
dium and inferior capacity and by means of which he progres-
sively deepened their capacity to understand the Truth until
they were ready to heat the teaching of ultimate meaning (liao-
i T ~ , nttartha), such as that contained in the Lotus and Nirvary,a
sutras.
36
As Tsung-mi writes in the Inquiry into the Origin of Man:
47 - ~ - - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -
In the case of [beings of] medium and inferior capacity,
[the. Buddha] proceeded from the superficial to the pro-
found, gradually leading them forwara. He would initially
expouna the first teaching [i.e., that of Men and Gods],
enabling them to be free from evil and to abide in virtue;
he woufd then expound the second and third [teachings;
i.e., those of the Small Vehicle andthe Phenomenal Ap-
pearances of the Dharmas], enabling them to be free from
Impurity and to abide in purity; he would finally expound
the fourth and fifth [teachings], negating phenomenal ap-
pearances and revealing the Nature, subsuming the provi-
sional into the True, and, by practicing in relIance upon
the Ultimate Teaching, they attained Buddhahood.
37
The second type of sudden teaching that Tsung-midis-
~ cusses in the Ch'an Preface, the sudden teaching as a method of
exposition, refers exclusively to the Hua-yen Sidra and the Da-
sabhumikasutra-sastra.
38
The basis on which Tsung-mi distin-
guishes this type of sudden teaching from the first seems to be
chronological. Whereas he says that the first type of sudden
teaching was not taught during a set period of the Buddha's
teaching career ( ~ f E . W w . ),39 he says that the second was
"suddenly" taught by the Buddha "on one occasion" ( -ll1'f )
immediately after he had attained enlightenment.
4o
Like the
first type, which was expounded in response to beings of supe-
rior capacity, this type of sudden teaching was also expounded
"for the sake of those followers who possessed superior capaci-
ties as a result of the conditioning of past lives."41 After noting
that the second type of sudden teaching is also referred to as
the Perfect Sudden Teaching (yilan tun chiao Il ~ ~ ), Tsung-
mi then goes on to catalogue under this heading such cardinal
Hua-yen doctrines as the universe being contained within each
speck of dust, the unimpeded interidentification and interpen-
etration of each and every thing, the Ten Profundities, etc., all
of which fall under the category of what Fa-tsang designated as
the Perfect Teaching.
42
When viewed in terms of content, however, Tsung-mi's
second type of sudden teaching seems to collapse into the first.
Tsung-mi, after all, includes the Hua-yen Sutra in his enumera-
tion of siltras that exemplify the first type of sudden teaching.
Nor, at first glance, does his distinction between the two seem
to add anything to his discussion of the Sudden Teaching. In
48
order to understand why Tsung-mi introduces this second type
of sudden teaching into his discussion in the Ch'an Preface, we
must digress briefly to consider the impact that the T'ien-t'ai
revival of the second half of the eighth century had on Hua-yen
thought. .
The term that Tsung-mi uses to designate this second type
of sudden teaching, hua-i , derives from the terminology
used by Chan-jan in his p'an-chiao scheme of Five Periods and
Eight Teachings (wu-shihpa-chiao ).43 Chan-jan divid-
edthe Eight Teachings into two sets of four, each of the two
representing a different perspective according to which the
Buddha's teachings could be analyzed: what he referred to as
the Four Teachings according to the Method of their Exposi-
tion (hua-i-ssu-chiao IZ ) and the Four Teachings accord-
ing to the Content of their Exposition (huala-ssu-
chiao {t. it IZ ).44 The Sudden Teaching was represented for
Chan-jan by the Buddha's preaching of the Hua-yen Sutra im-
mediately after his attainment of enlightenment. The Buddha's
preaching of this sutra was termed "sudden" because it was a
direct and unadulterated exposition of the Truth that made no
recourse to a graduated method of teaching more suited to the
still immature capacities of the great majority of his audience.
Thus, according to Chan-jan's analysis of the different ways in
which the Buddha's teaching could be classified, "sudden" re-
ferred exclusively to the method the Buddha used when he
expounded the Hua-yen Sutra; the Sudden Teaching was ac-
cordingly classified as a hua-i type of teaching, that is, a teach-
ing to be classified according to the method of its exposition.
Tsung-mi's use of the term hua-i-tun-chiao (the Sudden
Teaching as a Method of Exposition), as well as his overall
explanation of the Sudden Teaching, shows that he is in agree-
ment with the taxonomical distinctions introduced by Chan-
jan, at least insofar as they apply to the classification of the
Sudden Teaching. Moreover, his use of the term "Perfect Sud-
den Teaching" to characterize the second type of sudden teach-
ing, that which is limited to the Hua-yen Sutra, reflects his
awareness of a point of doctrinal contention that became a
much bruited issue between T'ien-t'ai and Hua-yen scholars in
the second half of the eighth century. The debate centered
around the classification of the Hua-yen and Lotus sutras vis-a-
49
vis one another and was important because it bore directly on
the question of which of the two traditions was superior to the
other. The crux of the debate stemmed from a passage in the
introductory section of the Profound J'Vteaning of the Lotus Sutra
(Fa-hua hsuan-i), in which Chih-i cryptically referred to the Lo-
tus as being a "Gradual-Perfect Teaching" (chien-yuan
chiao fiIiJi [J ~ )45 and, a little further on, as being "Gradual-
Sudden" (chien-tun fiIiJi:tii'i: ).46 This passage was later used to
demonstrate the superiority of the Hua-yen Sutra, which was
accordingly classified as Sudden-Perfect and Sudden-Sudden,
over the Lotus. Chih-i's statement became a particularly sensi-
tive point for Chan-jan, who went to great pains to try to ex-
plain it away.47
In order to appreciate the urgency that this issue had for
Chan-jan, we must consider the adverse situation in which the
Tien-t'ai tradition found itself in the middle of the eighth cen-
tury, recalling that the Tien-t'ai teachings had been almost
totally eclipsed during the first half of the Tang dynasty. The
reasons for this are not hard to determine: the T'ien-t'ai tradi-
tion had become stigmatized in the eyes of the Tang ruling
house because of its close association with the ruling house of
the preceding Sui dynasty (589-618). The Tang rulers turned
elsewhere to bestow their favors, first patronizing the new Y 0-
gacara teachings introduced by Hsuan-tsang (600-664), and
later patronizing the Hua-yen teachings systematized by Fa-
tsang.
48
Moreover, from a doctrinal perspective, the most im-
portant event in setting the course for Chinese Buddhist schol-
arship after the death of Chih-i in 597 was Hsuan-tsang's
return from India in the middle of the seventh century. The
greqt number of translations of Buddhist texts produced under
his direction in the next two decades, together with the impact
of the new form of Y ogacara teachings that he introduced to
the Chinese Buddhist world, redefined the central issues which
subsequent Chinese Buddhist scholars had to address.
49
A new-
ly formed tradition such as Hua-yen, whose teachings were
systematized in response to the challenge posed by the new
Yogacara teachings, made the earlier Tien-t'ai writings of
Chih-i look out of date. Furthermore, the eighth century wit-
nessed the rise of Ch'an as a self-conscious movement asserting
its own unique and forceful claim to represent the authentic
50
. teaching of the Buddha, an event that heightened the sense of
sectarian consciousness among other Chinese Buddhist tradi-
tions; such as T'ien-t'ai and Hua-yen.
5o
For Chan-jan, intent upon reviving the fortunes of the
T'ien-t'ai tradition, it was the prominence of Hua-yen as the
major form of scholastic Buddhism that presented the most
serious obstacle. In order for him to reassert what he believed
to be the superiority of the T'ien-t'ai teachings, it was necessary
for him to clarify and strengthen the basis for their authority.
He thus identified those teachings much more closely than had
Chih-i with the Lotus SiUra. The whole thrust of his Five Periods
. and Eight Teachings was to assert the paramount su-
premacy bf the Lotus above all other teachings of the Buddha,
thereby demonstrating the superiority of T'ien-t'ai above all
other traditions. Chih-i's remark in the beginning of the Pro-
found Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, that the LotUs was a Gradual-
Perfect or Gradual-Sudden teaching, accordingly proved to be
a particularly irksome" problem for Chan-jan. Without going
into the details of his argument, suffice it to point out that
Chan-jan's strategy was to declare that the teaching of the Lotus
transcended the Eight Teachings ( MU\), thereby lifting it out
of the realm of debate entirely by placing it above such categor-
ies as sudden and gradual. However, it should be pointed out
that Chan-jan clearly departed from the more characteristic
position of Chih-i, which classified the Lotus as a Perfect-Sud-
den teaching;51
The resurgence of T'ien-t'ai as a self-conscious tradition of
Chinese Buddhism asserting its 6wn claim for being recognized
as the most exalted expression of the Buddha's teaching shar-
pened the need for the other forms of Chinese Buddhism to
reassert their identity as distinct and authentic traditions, bear-
ing their own claims to superiority. The mounting sectarian
consciousness among Chinese Buddhists throughout the eighth
century is reflected in the use of the term tsung * , by which
particular teaching traditions came to themselves.
Tsung can refer to the progenitor of an ancestral lineage and, in
the context in which it was adopted during this time, it specifi-
cally connoted a teaching lineage. It first seems to have gained
widespread use in this sense by Ch'an Buddhists in connection
with their claim that Ch'an represented the true teaching of the
51
Buddha, which had been passed down through an unbroken
line of patriarchal succession. Chan-jan was Jhe first to apply
the designation tsung to the T'ien-t'ai tradition,52 and Ch'eng-
kuan, following suit, applied the term to Hua-yen for the first
time.
53
Ch'eng-kuan's use of the term tsung to refer to the Hua-
yen tradition should thus be seen as reflecting not only his
intimate connection with Ch'an, but also the increasing sectar-
ian consciousness among Hua-yen scholars occasioned by the
newly-formulated doctrinal claims ofT'ien-t'ai to represent the
superior tradition.
Tsung-mi inherited the debate from Ch'eng-kuan, who
was well versed in T'ien-t'ai thought. Ch'eng-kuan had prac-
ticed under the Vinaya master, T'an-i ~ - , together with
Chan-jan and had studied under Chan-jan between 775 and
776, before leaving for Wu-t'ai-shan, an important center for
both Hua-yen and T'ien-t'ai studies at that time.
54
Ch'eng-kuan
first took up the debate in the Yen-i-ch'ao, his massive subcom-
mentary to his already lengthy commentary on the Hua-yen
Siltra, the latter work having been begun in 784, two years after
Chan-jan's death.
55
In his discussion of the T'ien-t'ai system of
p'an-chiao, Ch'eng-kuan cities Chih-i's authority to reassert
within T'ien-t'ai doctrinal categories the superiority of the Hua-
yen over the Lotus sutra, claiming that whereas the Hua-yen Siltra
could be classified as either a Sudden-Perfect or Sudden-Sud-
den teaching, the Lotus merely represented a Gradual-Perfect
or Gradual-Sudden teaching. 56
Tsung-mi's introduction of the second type of sudden
teaching in the Ch'an Preface, together with his reference to it as
the Perfect Sudden Teaching, suggests that the debate was still
a live issue in the ninth century. Further traces of the debate
can be found in Tsung-mi's remarks on the Lotus and Nirviirw
sutras, both of which he regards as teachings of ultimate mean-
ing (liao-i, nztiirtha), but still categorizes as gradual, in contrast to
other sutras of ultimate meaning-such as Hua-yen, Ghana-
vyilha, Yuan-chueh, Silrar[tgama, Srzmiilii, and Tathiigatagarbha-
which he categorizes as sudden.
57
Although Tsung-mi distinguishes between these two types
of Sudden Teaching in the Ch'an Preface, the distinction is not a
substantive one, since there is little difference in content be-
tween the two. This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that he
52
does not make this distinction in the Inquiry into the Origin of
Man. The fact that his description of the Sudden Teaching in
the Inquiry into the Origin of Man corresponds to the first type of
Sudden Teaching delineated in the Ch'an Preface, moreover,
indicates that the second type is clearly subsidiary to the first.
Nevertheless, the second type is significant in the present con-
text because it shows Tsung-mi's awareness of a much contro-
verted point among Hua-yen and T'ien-t'ai scholars. Although
Tsung-mi seems to introduce the second type of Sudden
Teaching in order to score some doctrinal points against T'ien-
t'ai, it should be emphasized that his interpretation of the Sud-
den Teaching as referring to a particular way in which the
Buddha taught, rather than to a specific teaching per se, is much
closer to the T'ien-t'ai than to the Hua-yen use of the term. We
can also suppose that Tsung-mi's familiarity with T'ien-t'ai
made him more sensitive to the problematical nature of the
Sudden Teaching within Fa-tsang's taxonomy of the Buddha's
teachings, although he certainly had other more pressing rea-
sons for not including it as a separate category in his p'an-chiao
scheme.
, The Sudden Teaching was, for Tsung-mi, included within
the Teaching which Reveals the Nature, a fact that underlines
the importance of Ch'an in his reformulation of Hua-yen p'an-
chaio. As it was applied to the Buddha's teachings, Tsung-mi
understood "sudden" as referring to the method by which the
Buddha directly revealed the Truth, without recourse to any
expedients. It was thus the teaching that enabled one to gain
insight into his True Nature, which was the basis for the Ch'an
practice that Tsung-mi identified as the teaching of sudden
enlightenment proclaimed by Ho-tse Shen-hui.
NOTES
l. The identificatiori of the Sudden Teaching with the Huct-yen Sutm
goes back to Hui-kuan ~ fi (363-443), who, according to Chi-tsang, divid-
ed the Buddha's teachings into two general types in his Preface to the Nirvii'IJct
Sutra, composed during the early fifth century. The first was the Sudden
Teaching expounded in the Huct-yen Sutm, which fully revealed the Truth
and which was taught solely for Bodhisattvas, The second general type of
teaching was the gradual, which Hui-kuan subdivided into five categories.
53
The first was the Separate Teaching of the Three Vehicles which was ex-
pounded for Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and followers of the Great Vehicle.
The second was the Common Teaching of the Three Vehicles, which was
expounded in the Prajiiiipiiramitii sutras. The third was the teaching which
censured the limited understanding of the Sravakas and praised the under-
standing of the Bodhisattvas, and was expounded in the Vimalakfrtinirdefa and
ViSe!lacintabrahmapariprccha sutras. The fourth was the Teaching of the Uni-
versal Vehicle expounded in the Lotus SiUra. The fifth category of gradual
teachings was the Teaching of the Eternality of the Buddha-nature expound-
ed in the Nirviil'!a Sidra. (See San-lun hsuan-i, T 45.5b-14.)
Liu Ch'iu ~ U l!L (438-495), Master I Ii. gjji , Tsung-ai '* ':iJl:. , Seng-
jou fw,*, Hui-kuang ~ 7t (468-537), Paramartha (499-569), Chih-
i ~ Iiji (538-597), and Hui-tan ~ ~ (Sui dynasty) all i d e ~ t i f i e d the Sudden
Teaching with the Hua-yen Sidra in their respective p'an-chiao schemes (see
Kimura Kiyotaka, Shoki chugoku kegon shiso no kenkyu [Tokyo: Shunjusha,
1977], pp. 76-78).
In disassociating the Hua-yen Sutra from the Sudden Teaching, Fa-tsang
was following the lead of his teacher Chih-yen. In fact, Fa-tsang's entire
fivefold classification scheme is merely an elaboration of the fivefold scheme
first articulated by Chih-yen in his K'ung-mu chang (see T 45. 537a19-b2 and
542c22-26). As Sakamoto Yukio (Kegon kyogaku no kenkyu [Tokyo: Heirakuji,
1964], pp. 402-409) and Robert M. Gimello ("Chih-yen and the Foundations
of Hua-yen Buddhism" [unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia Universi-
ty, 1976], pp. 367-392) have shown, Chih-yen's fivefold p'an-chiao scheme
was developed ih reaction to the new brand of Yogacara introduced by
HSilan-tsang. In both his Shih-hsuan men and Sou-hsuan chi, early works writ-
ten before HSilan-tsang's return to China in 645, Chih-yen had employed a
threefold classification scheme, which categorized the Buddha's teachings
into those of the Universal Vehicle, the Three Vehicles, and the Small Vehi-
cle. In the Sou-hsuan chi, moreover, Chih-yen had also made parallel use of
the threefold scheme of Hui-kuang, which categorized the teachings as Grad-
ual, Sudden, and Perfect. In his Wu-shih-yao wen-ta, written after HSilan-tsang
had completed his translation of the Ch'engwei-shih lun in 659, Chih-yen again
used the threefold scheme which divided the teachings into those of the
Universal Vehicle, the Three Vehicles, and the Small Vehicle, making, how-
ever, the crucial distinction between the Elementary and Advanced teachings
within the teaching of the Three Vehicles to arrive at a fourfold scheme.
Chih-yen introduced this distinction to separate the earlier Yogacara-cum-
Tathagatagarbha tradition represented by the translations of Paramartha
from the new Yogacara tradition introduced by Hsilan-tsang, and to subordi-
nate the latter-identified as the Elementary Teaching of the Great Vehicle-
to the former-identified as the Advanced Teaching of the Great Vehicle. In
his K'ung-mu chang, Chih-yen adds the Sudden Teaching-which he had used
earlier in his adoption of Hui-kuang's threefold scheme in his Sou-hsilan chi-
to the fourfold scheme that he had used for the first time in his Wu-shih-yao
wen-ta to arrive at the fivefold classification scheme that was taken over by Fa-
tsang.
54
2. T 45.481bI6-18; cf. Francis Cook, "Fa-tsang's Treatise on the Five
Doctrines: An Annotated Translation" (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, 1970), pp. 174-175.
3. T 45.48IbI8. Fa-tsang is here paraphrasing the sutra. The passage in
question caf:! be/ound in T 16.486a8 5.25b2-3
and 596b4-5 cf. D. T. Suzuki s translation, The Lankavatara
Sutra (London: Routledge Kegan & Paul, Ltd., 1973), p. 50.
4. T 45.481bI3-15; cf. Cook, p. 174. The Teaching of the Small Vehicle
would, of course, also be included within the gradual teachings.
5. Fa-tsang discusses the Sudden Teaching from ten different points of
view in the ninth chapter of his Treatise on the Five Teachings; see T 45.482b2-
7 (Cook, p. 223), 487c24-28 (Cook, p. 255), 489b16-23 (Cook, p. 272),
491a5-7 (Cook, 291), 492bl-3 (Cook, p. 308), 495c20-25 (Cook, p. 358),
,496c6-7 (Cook, p. 368), 497b4-8 (Cook, p. 378), 498b8-10 (Cook, p. 393),
and 498cl4 (Cook, p. 399).
6. See Ming-wood Liu, "The Teaching of Fa-tsang: An Examination of
Buddhist Metaphysics" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cali-
fornia, Los Angeles, 1979), pp. 195-196.
7. See T 14.550b-551c; cf. Charles Luk, tr., The VimalakiTtiNiTdesa Sutra
(Berkeley and London: Shamabala, 1972), pp. 92-100. The same chapter
appears as number eight in the Tibetan translation; cf. etienne Lamotte, tr.,
L'Enseignement de Vimalak'irti (Vimalak'iTtinirdesa) (Louvain: Publications Uni-
versitaires and Leuven: Institut Orientaliste, 1962), pp. 301-318.
8. T 14.551c23-24; cf. Luk, p. 100.
9. See, for example, T 45.485b3-4.
10. T 14.551c23-24.
11. T 45.485b2-7; cf. Cook, p. 223. Cf. also Chih-yen's K'ung-mu chang,
T 45.558cl7-559a2.
12. T 45.481c6-8; cf. Cook, pp. 176-177.
13. T 32.576a8-18; the present translation has adapted that of Yoshito
S. Hakeda, The Awakening of Faith Attributed to Asvaghosa (New York and Lon-
don: Columbia University Press, 1967), pp. 32-33.
14. T 32.576a24-26; cf. Hakeda, p. 34.
15. T 45.489b16-19; cf. Cook, p. 272. Cf. also K'ung-mu chang, T
45.537c9-10.
16. Fa-tsang refers to all three of the following passages in his T'an-hsilan
chi, T 35.115cl3-17. He only refers to the first two in his TTeatise on the Five
Teachings, T 45.489b16-23.
17. See T 15.36c6-8. Fa-tsang has abridged the passage slightly.
18. T 16.509c22-24; cf. Suzuki, p. 189.
19. Fa-tsang seems to be paraphrasing rather than quoting. See T
9.544b18-19. Sakamoto (p. 260, note 37) locates the passage as coming from
T 26.133c.
20. HTC 5.12a; cf. Sakamoto, pp. 248-250. The full title of this work is
Hsil Hua-yen lileh-shu k'an-ting chi jt fl& til :IE It was begun by Fa-
tsang as his synoptic commentary on new translation of the H ua-
yen Siltra. According to Hui-yuan's account of its composition, Fa-tsang wrote
55
the commentary on the first through nineteenth fascicles of the sUtra (occu-
pying the second through sixth fascicles of the present Hsii tsang ching version:
ofthe K'an-ting chi). Then, perhaps sensing that his death was near, he turned
to the Shih-ting p'in + JE , a chapter that did not exist in the earlier
translation of the sutra, but only finished his commentary on the first nine
concentrations (ting) before he died (which can be found in fascicle twelve of
the present text). Except for these sections, the remainder of the text, includ-
ing the Introduction, was written.by Hui-yuan. The fact that Fa-tsang entrust-
ed the completion of this work to Hui-yuan indicates the esteem with which
he regarded him. Unfortunately the Hsu tsang ching text is incomplete. See
Sakamoto, pp. 18-19.
21. Sekiguchi Shindai has demonstrated that Chih-i, the systematizer of
T'ien-t'ai thought, never formulated the system of the Five Periods and Eight
Teachings (wu-shih pa-chiao li ff;f /\ ~ ), which, beginning with the author-
ship of the T'ien-t'aissu-chiao-i (T #1931) by the Korean monk Chegwan in the
late tenth century, has been attributed to him, and which, since the late
seventeenth century, has been generally regarded as representing the essence
of T'ien-t'ai thought.
It is impossible to do justice to the full scope of Sekiguchi's arguments
here. Suffice it to say that he shows that not only does Chih-i never employ
the term "Five Periods and Eight Teachings" in any of his writings, but also
that he never systematically formulated a p'an-chiao scheme corresponding to
that of the Five Periods and Eight Teachings. In place of the Five Periods, for
example, Chih-i emphasizes the Five Flavors (wu-wei Ii ~ ), a metaphor of
far broader range than the more narrowly chronological framework of the
Five Periods. Chih-i only enumerates what were later collectively designated
as the Eight Teachings twice within the entirety of his voluminous opera (see T
34.3b3-4 and T 46.97c21). Nor, more significantly in the present context,
does Chih-i distinguish between teachings to be classified according to the
method of their exposition (hua-i chiao 1 1 : : . 1 ~ ~ ) and according to the con-
tent of their exposition (huala chiao 11::. f.t.:. ~ ). Rather, Chih-i separately
elaborates in different works the types of teachings which were later catego-
rized according to these two types of classification. In his Fa-hua hsilan-i Chih-i
discusses the char:acteristics of the teachings according to the threefold typol-
ogy-i.e., Sudden (tun ~ ) , Gradual (chien ~ ) , and Variable (pu-
ting ~ JE ), which later served as the basis for the so-called "Four Teachings
According to the Method of their Exposition" (hua-i ssu-chiao 11::. * 03 ~ ).
While Chih-i sometimes also mentions a fourth type of teaching-the Secret
(mi-mi ~ M J$' ), corresponding to the fourth type of teaching in the Four
Teachings According to the Method oftheir Exposition-his use ofthe three-
fold typology-corresponding, as it does, to his three types of meditation (san
chih-kuan -=.t1::. U )-is much more representative of his thought. It is only
in his commentary on the Vimalakrrinirdefa Sutra and Ssu-chiao-i 03 ~ ~ (T
# 1 929) that Chih-i elaborates the four teachings-those of the Tripitaka (san-
tsang -= iR), Common (t'ung ~ ) , Distinct (pieh llU), and Perfect
(yuan ~ )-which were later designated as the four Teachings According to
the Content of their Exposition (huala ssu-chiao 11::. f.t.:. 03 ~ ).
56
While it is true that the various elements that were later brought together
to form the Five Periods and Eight Teachings scheme all appear separately in
different contexts throughout Chih-i's writings, they were never brought to-
gether systematically by Chih-i. This task was first accomplished by Chan-jan,
and reached its most thoroughgoing expression in Chegwan's T'ien-t'ai ssu-
chiao-i.
A good summary of Sekiguchi's views can be found in his "Coji hakkyo no
kig
en
," TaishO daigaku kenkyft kiyo .61.1-15. This article also lists all of Sekigu-
chi's work on this subject written before 1976. An excellent restatement and
assessment of Sekiguchi's arguments can be found in David Chappell's "In-
troduction to the T'ien-t'ai ssu-chiao-i," Eastern Buddhist, New Series, vol. 9, no. 1,
pp.72-86.
Sekiguchi's findings are corroborated by the evidence that can be
gleaned from writings in the Hua-yen tradition. Neither Fa-tsang nor Hui-
yuan make any reference to the Five Periods and Eight Teachings in their
discussions of T'ien-t'ai p'an-chiao. Both discuss Chih-i's system under the
heading of those former scholars who had classified the Buddha's teachings
into four categories. The four categories that both Fa-tsang and Hui-yuan
. enumerate are those of the Tripitaka, Common, Distinct, and Perfect; neither
mentions the Sudden, Gradual, and Variable. Ch'eng-kuan, who had studied
_'under Chan-jan, is the first to mention the distinction between the teachings
. to be classified according to the method of their exposition and according to
- the content of their exposition.
22. Yen-i ch'ao, T 36.62al0-15; cf. Sakamoto, pp. 50-51. The quote at
the beginning of the passage is from Ch'eng-kuan's Hua-yen ching shu, T
35.512c2, to which this passage is a commentary.
23. T 36.62a21-22 and bl-4.
24. T 50.737aI8-20. The most thorough study ofCh'eng-kuan's life has
been done by Kamata Shigeo in his Chilgoku kegon shisoshi no kenkyil, (Tokyo:
Tokyo daigaku, 1965), pp. 151-191. Kamata argues that the particular form
of Ch'an teaching that had the greatest impact on Ch'eng-kuan's thought was
,that of the Ox-head lineage. He also points out that aside from Tsan-ning's
assertion in the Sung kao-seng chuan (compiled a century and a half after
Ch'eng-kuan's death), there is no other documentary evidence that Ch'eng-
kuan studied Northern Ch'an under Hui-yun. He nevertheless concludes that
the possibility cannot be ruled out, given the knowledge of Northern Ch'an
teachings displayed in Ch'eng-kuan's writings (see pp. 176-181). Later on in
'the same work, Kamata disputes the generally accepted opinion that Ch'eng-
kuan received sanction from Wu-ming in the Ho-tse line of Southern Ch'an,
aruging that Ch'eng-kuan exhibits a critical attitude toward both the North-
ern and Southern lines of Ch'an. Kamata contends, moreover, that the of ten-
made claim that Ch'eng-kuan received sanction fom Wu-ming derives from
the Ch'an Chart written by his disciple Tsung-mi (himself a successor in the
Ho-tse lineage), who, in his desire to unify the teachings and practices of H ua-
yen and Ch'an, grafted Ch'eng-kuan onto the Ho-tse lineage (see pp. 475-
484).
25. The Treatise on the Five Teachings was an early work, and seems to
57
have been composed before 684, when Fa-tsang met the Indian monk Diva-
kara (se.e Liu; pp. 24-26). The Northern Ch'an masterShen-hsiu did not
enter the capital until 701, when he was given a lavish reception by Empress
Wu. There is little chance that Fa-tsang would 'have had occasion to become
acquainted with the Ch'an teachings before this event.
26. The same point is made by Liu, p. 196.
27. Since the text of the Chung-hua ch'uan-hsin-ti shih-tzu ch'eng-hsi t'u
published in the Dai Nippon zokuzokyo (2115/5.433c-438c) is missing soine sixty
characters (see Ui Hakuju, Zenshilshi kenkyu, vol. 3 [Tokyo: Iwanami shoten,
1941], pp. 477-510), all references to this text will be made to the version that
has been critically edited by Kamata Shigeo in his Zengen shosenshU tojo (Zen no
goroku, vol. 9) (Tokyo: Chikuma shobo, 1971), pp. 260-347. Kamata has
supplied the missing sections of the Zokuzokyo text by consulting the Korean
commentary, the Popchip pyoryo pyongip sagi, by Chinul (1158-1210).
28. Kamata, p. 277.
29. Ibid., p. 282.
30. Ibid., p. 341.
31. See John McRae, "The Ox-head School of Chinese Ch'an Bud-
dhism," Robert M. Gimello and Peter N. Gregory, eds., Studies in Ch'an and
Hua-yen Buddhism (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1983).
32. As Jeffrey Broughton has pointed out in a personal communication,
this point is reflected in the way that Tsung-mi analyzes the different Ch'an
lines in his Ch'an Preface. In discussing the teachings and practices of the
various Ch'an lines, Tsung-mi distinguishes between their "idea" (i ,
sometimes he uses the term chieh or fa-i ff;. ), which corresponds to
the teaching of one of the scholastic traditions, and their "practice"
(hsing ff ), which is unique.
33. T 48.407b13-17; cf. Jeffrey Broughton, "Kuei-feng Tsung-mi: The
Convergence of Ch'an and the Teachings" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
Columbia University, 1975), p. 238.
34. Tsung-mi is quoting the passage found in T 10. 89al-2.
35. See T 48.407b21-c2; cf. Broughton, pp. 240-241.
36. See T 48.407bI7-20; cf. Broughton, p. 238.
37. T 45.710bl-2.
38. See T 48.407c5-6. The DaSabhumika-sutra was incorporated into the
Hua-yen Sutra corpus, forming chapter 26 in the translation. It is
baffling that Tsung-mi includes the Dasabhilmikasiltra-sastra as a source of
doctrinal authority for this type of sudden teaching, as this type of teaching
otherwise seems to be tied exclusively to the Hua-yen Siltra itself. Tsung-mi
certainly could not have believed that this text was authored at the same time
that the Buddha preached the Hua-yen Sutra. Nor is there "sudden"
about the explanation of the ten stages of the Bodhisattva path that comprises
the subject of this text. Perhaps Tsung-mi felt compelled to mention this text
out of a concern for symmetry, as it is customary for him to list both st1tras
and sastras when citing the sources of doctrinal authority for the other teach-
ings.
39. See T 48.407cl.
58
40. T 48.407c2-3.
41. Loc. cit.
42. T 48.407c6-12; d. Broughton, pp. 242-243.
43. Chan-jan explicitly uses the term wu-shih pa-chiao in his Fa-hua hsuan-
i shih-chien,T 33.816c23-24, Fa-hua wen-chu chi, T 34.171c23-25 and 212a21,
and Chih-kuan fu-hsing chuan-hung chiieh, T 46.292a20. Cf. also T 46.349c9.
44. See, for example, Chih-kuan i-li, T 46.448c22-23. See also Tien-t'ai
pa-chiao ta-i, T Chan-jan's authorship latter is not
certain. The Talsho text mcorrectly attnbutes Its compIlatIon to Chlh-I s dIscI-
ple, Kuan-ting 1-1 m (561-632). Chih-p'an attributes the work to Chan-jan
in his Fo-tsu t'ung-chi (see T 49.206b3-8). Nakazato Teiryu argues that the
work was written by Chan-jan and his disciple Ming-k'uang BJl (See Ono
Gemmyo, ed., Bussho kaisetsu daijiten [Tokyo: Daito shuppan, 1968], 8.139).
Chappell adduces further evidence indicating that Chan-jan was the author
(see "Introduction to the Tien-t'ai Ssu-chiao-i," passim).
45. T 33.683c4-5.
46. 684a7.
47. Chan-jan deals with this issue in numerous places throughout his
oeuvre; see, for example, T 33.823b, 887b-c, and 905b, and T 46.292b. His
most thoroughgoing treatment can be found in his Chih-kuan i-li, T
46.453b27ff., especially 454a2-b6, where he addresses seven types of misun-
derstanding arising from Chih-i's statement that the Lotus Sutra is a Gradual-
Perfect Teaching; d. Hibi Sensho, Todai tendaigaku kenkyu (Tokyo: SankibiS
busshorin, 1975), pp.80-82. In his Preface to his commentary on the Chih-
kuan i-li, Tsung-i (l0;!2-1091) asserts that Chan-jan's reason for composing
that work was to refute those who used Chih-i's statement to establish the
superiority of the Hua-yen Sutra over the Lotus (see HTC 99.284a).
48. For a discussion of the influence of imperial patronage on the Bud-
dhist traditions in the Sui-Tang period see Stanley Weinstein, "Imperial Pa-
tronage in the Formation of Tang Buddhism," in Arthur F. Wright a.nd
Denis Twitchett, eds., Perspectives on the Tang (New Haven and London: Yale
University Press, 1973), pp. 265-306.
49. For a brilliant analysis of the impact of Hsiian-tsang's new brand of
Yogacara on the formation of the Hua-yen tradition see Gimello, "Chih-yen,"
chapter four.
50. See Kamata, Chiigoku kegon shisoshi no kenkyu, p. 423.
5l. See Ikeda Rosan, "Tendaigaku kara enton no kannen ni tsuite,"
Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu 22.307-310 and "Tannen ni seiritsu suru goji
hakkyo ron," Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu 24.268-271.
52. See Fa-hua ta-i, HTC 43.94a; see also Sakamoto, p. 4, note 2.
53. See Yen-i ch'ao, T 36.292c7-8. Tsung-mi was the first to list a Hua-
yen patriarchate; see his commentary on Tu-shun's Fa-chieh kuan-men, T
45.684c10-13, where he names Tu-shun, Chih-yen, and Fa-tsang as the three
patriarchs within the tradition (tsung). Ch'eng-kuan and Tsung-mi were add-
ed to the lineage sometime later (see Sakamoto, p. 1).
54. See Kamata, ChUgoku kegon shisoshi no kenkyu, pp. 170-174.
55. Beginning with Tsung-i's commentary on Chan-jan's Chih-kuan i-li
59
(see HTC 99.284a), T'ien-t'ai scholars have claimed that Chan-jan composed
that work specifically to refute Ch'eng-kuan's assertion that the Hua-yen Sutra
was superior to the Lotus because it represented the Sudden-Perfect Teach-
ing, as opposed to the Gradual-Perfect Teaching. Recently, however, Hibi
Sensho has pointed out that, in point of fact, the Yen-i ch'ao, the work in which
Ch'eng-kuan first makes this assertion, was written after Chan-jan's death,
and that the Yen-i ch'ao passage could therefore not have been the target of
Chan-jan's criticism. See Ti5dai tendaigaku kenkyu, pp. 79-80; see also the same
scholar's companion volume, Ti5dai tendaigaku josetsu (Tokyo: Sankibo bus-
shorin, 1975), p. 188.
56. See T 36.50a20-25; see also Ch'eng-kuan's Hua-yen ching shu-ch'ao
hsuan-t'an, HTC 8.236a-b.
57. There are three places in the Ch'an Preface where Tsung-mi distin-
guishes between the Sudden and Gradual teachings within the ultimate teach-
ing: 1) he identifies the Hua-yen, Ghanavyuha, Yuan-cheh, SiZra11}gama, Srimala,
Tathagatagarbha, Lotus, and NirvaT}a sutras as belonging to the highest cate-
gory of teaching, noting, however, that there is a difference among them in
regard to sudden and gradual (see T 48.405a24-27; cfBroughton, pp. 197-
198); 2) after explaining how the Buddha used the gradual teachings to
prepare his followers for his ultimate message, expressed in such sutras as the
Lotus and NirvaT}a, Tsung-mi adds a note which says: "These [i.e., the Lotus
and NirvaT}a sutras], together with the sudden teaching expounded in re-
sponse to beings of superior capacity, combine to form the third teaching."
(see 407b20; cf. Broughton, p. 238), and 3) in enumerating those sutras
which exemplify the sudden teaching expounded in response to beings of
superior capacity, Tsung-mi names all of the sutras listed in the first passage
referred to above except the Lotus and NirvaT}a (see 407b28-29; cf. Brough-
ton, p. 241).
60
Morality in the Visuddhimagga
by Damien Keown
This paper is intended as an explanatory analysis and summary
of Buddhaghosa's discussion of sUa in Part One of the Visuddhi-
magga. It was produced originally for my own use but I hope it
may be of some benefit to those who, like myself, found Budd-
haghosa's layout and discussion of the subject difficult to pene-
trate. I have commented only on those points which seemed to
me to be of interest, and do not dwell on every section, since
there is much that can be passed over without comment.
The Visuddhimagga contains the longest sustained analysis
of sUa to be found within the Small Vehicle. It is divided into
three parts, one .each devoted to morality (sila), meditation (sa-
madhi) , and wisdom (Panna), respectively, and the work as a
whole takes the form of a commentary on its opening verse,
which is as follows:
When a wise man, established well in morality
Develops consciousness and wisdom,
Then as a bhikkhu ardent and sagacious
He succeeds in disentangling this tangle. I
The first part of the Visuddhimagga, the Silaniddeso, repre-
sents in volume approximately only 7% of the whole work,2 the
remainder being divided almost equally between the Samadhin-
iddeso and the Pannaniddeso.
The SUaniddeso itself consists of 161 paragraphs
3
and can
be divided into two sections. The first of these extends from vv.
1-15 and is in the nature of a preamble, while the second,
running from v.16 to the end, begins the examination of sUa
proper. Verse 16 poses seven questions concerning sUa and the
remaining verses consist of answers to these questions. This is
61
the standard method of analysis that Buddhaghosa also applies
to Part Two of the Visuddhimagga on samadhi, about which he
asks eight questions (3.1), and Part Three on panna, about
which he asks six questions (14.1).
Question Answer in veTSe Surnmary
(1) What is sUa?
17-18 cetana, cetasikfi,
sar.nvara, flvftikkarna
(2) In what sense? 19 Etymology
(3) What are its
(i) Characteristic
20-22 (i) Composing
(ii) Function
(ii) Action to stop
(iii) Manifestation
misconduct
(iv) Proximate Cause
(iii) Purity of body,
The 7
speech, & mind
.questions
(iv) hiri & ottappa
at v.16 (4) Benefits 23-24 (i) non-remorse
(ii) as D.ii.86
(iii) as M.i.33
(5) How many kinds? 25-142 19 divisions of
1,2,3,4, and 5
kinds. Total of
56 varieties.
(6) What is the defiling
tornness, etc.
of it?
(kharujadibhava)
143-160
(7) What is the cleansing
untornness, etc.
of it?
(akha(!ljadibhava)
(see below p. 72
for an explanation
of these 2 terms)
Verses 1-15 are a preamble and verse 161 is the concluding verse.
FIGURE 1
Plan of the discussion of sfla in Chapter 1 of the Visuddhimagga
verses 16-161
Figure 1 sets out the structure of the discussion in verses
16-16l. Of the seven questions asked, we will only discuss
numbers 1,3, and 5, which deal with definitions and the major
classifications. The remaining questions relate to etymology
(Q.2), the benefits of mocality (Q.4), and the contrast between
the sufferings of the immoral and the perfection of the VIr-
tuous monk (Q.6&7).
62
Turning, then, to Q.1, "What is morality?" (ki7(lsflan ti), we
find the answer given in the form of a fourfold classification,
which also occurs at Patisambhidamagga 1.44. This is illustrated
diagrammatically in Figure 2. The first two divisions relate to
the Ten Good Paths of Action (dasakusalakammapatha), which
are:
1. Abstention from taking life (par;,atipata veramar;,f);
2. Abstention from taking what has not been given (adinna-
dana veramar;,f);
3. Abstention from sexual misconduct (kamesu micchacara ver-
amar;,f);
4. Abstention from lying (musavada veramar;,f);
5. Abstention from abusive speech (pisur;,aya vacaya veramar;,t);
6. Abstention from slanderous speech (pharusaya vacaya vera-
mar;,f);
7. Abstention from idle talk (samphappalapa veramar;,f);
8. Non-covetousness
9. Non-malevolence (avyapada);
10. Right views (samma-di{thi).4
Cetana
the volition in abstention
relating to the first 7
kammapathas
Avftikkamo
non-transgression -
by body and speech
SILA
Cetasikam
observance of the
final 3 kammapathas
FIGURE 2
Sa7(lvara
by
(1) patimokkha
(2) sati
(3) nar;,a
(4) khanti
(5) vzrzya
The divisions of sUa according to Vsm l.17ff
63
The first division, cetana, is defined as the volition present
in the abstention from infringements against the first seven of
these. The second division, cetasika, is ~ h e abstinence itself, i.e.,
the condition of one who observes the final three, thereby re-
maining in the state of non-covetousness (anabhijjhil) , non-ani-
mosity (avyapada) , and having right views (sammadiahi). The
significance of the split-up of the ten kammapathas into groups
of seven (re:cetana) and three (re:cetasika) lies in the division of
the kammapathas into groups of 3 of body, 4 of speech, and 3 of
mind.
5
The first seven kammapathas relate to bodily and vocal
actions, and an act of volition is necessary to inhibit their per-
formance. The final three kammapathas, however, relate to what
might be called dispositions or propensities of character, within
which the element of volition is inappropriate. Having right
views, for example, is not simply a question of volition. By
making this distinction, it seems Buddhaghosa wished to high-
light the role of cetana among the other 51 cetasikadhammas, to
bring out the importance of volition in moral actions.
As well as abstention, it should be noted that Buddhaghosa
includes the fulfilment of duty (vattapatipattir[!,) as part of sila,
under the first aspect of sila, as cetana.
6
The duties he has in
mind are referred to later in the Visuddhimagga (6.60). These
relate to the responsibilities of a monk for the smooth running
of the monastery. We may quote the relevant passage:
Also, reception of visitors must be attended to on seeing a
visiting bhikkhu, and all the remaining duties in the
Khandhakas must be carried out, too, that is, the duties of
the shrine terrace, the duties of the Bodhi-tree terrace, the
duties of the Uposatha house, the duties of the refectory
and the bath house, and those to the teacher, the precep-
tor, visitors, departing bhikkhus, and the rest.
. We learn from the Sammoha-vinodanz (297) that besides
these duties there are 82 minor duties (khuddakavattani) and 14
major duties (mahilvattani). It is not specified what these are, but
we may assume they relate to activities of a domestic nature,
similar to those mentioned above.
The third division of sila is restraint (sar[!,vara) , which has
five aspects, as shown in figure 2. This consists of restraint,
assisted by the four virtues of mindfulness (sati) , knowledge
(iia1J,a) , patience (khanti) , and energy (viriya) , and also by the
64
iIUportant category of the patimokkha. This last item incorpo-
rates the 227 rules of monastic discipline into Buddhaghosa's
definition of morality, and, in fact, he places it at the top of the
list.
The fourth and final division, the non-transgression of
precepts of morality that have been undertaken, adds little to
the other three, since all of the precepts, whether for a monk or
for a layman, are undertaken voluntarily. There seems to be no
special technical meaning implied. by the compound, sama.din-
nas'ila, used here.
7
In the Atthasalznf, Buddhaghosa takes mto
account those cases where no particular precept has been taken
but where, nevertheless, one refrains from performing a bad
action because it is not fitting to one's birth, age, or experience,
etc., (jativayabahasaccadi). This is known as restraint in spite of .
the opportunity being available (sampattavirati).
Leaving question 1, we may now consider question 3. This
enquires as to the characteristic (lakkhar;,a), the function (rasa),
the manifestation <paccupa((hana), and the proximate cause
(pada(thana) of s'ila. These four questions represent the stan-
dard Abhidhammic strategy for arriving at a taxonomy of enti-
ties (dhammas). As a system of definition, according to Mrs.
Rhys Davids,8 they are similar to the post-Aristotelian scheme
of genus, species, property, and accident. Each of the four
terms is defined briefly by Buddhaghosa in the Atthasalinf (63):
Lakkhar;,a means specific characteristic (sabhava) or the
general charactenstIc (samaiiiia) of various things
(dhamma). Rasa means function (kicca) or achievement
(sampatti) . . Manifestation <paccupatthana) means mode of
mamfestatIOn (upat(hanakara) or effect <phalam). Proximate
cause <padatthana) means the preceding cause (asannakar-
ar;,a).
They are defined in slightly more detail by S.Z. Aung in his
Introduction to the Compendium of Philosophy (p. 13):
65
Now, in Buddhist logic adequate analysis of any datum
includes an examination of its (1) characteristic mark (lakk-
har;,a) , (2a) function (kicca-rasa) , (2b) property (sampatti-
rasa), (3a) reappearance as phenomena (upatthandkara-
par:cupatthana), (3b) as effect <phala-paccupat-
thana), and (4) prOXImate cause <padat(hana).9
Buddhaghosa applies this fourfold method of analysis to
all three parts of the Visuddhimagga, in each case as his third
question.
The most important of the four defining factors is the
characteristic (lakkha1Ja). This is subdivided into the specific
characteristic, or "own-being," (sabhava) and the general char-
acteristic (samafifia) , a feature which can be shared by many
different entities. Svabhava came to be used synonymously with
and the two are given as equivalents by Vasu-
bandhu.
10
These two terms are then contrasted by the same
author with characteristics shared by many different dharmas
(samanyalak!ja1Ja), for example, that all conditioned things (sa'Y(lS-
krtadharmas) are impermanent (anitya) , without self (anatmaka)
and involve suffering (duMha).
In short, a sabhiiva may be defined as the unique defining
characteristic of a dhamma. Within this general definition, dif-
ferent schools formulated their own definitions more precisely
as they delineated their philosophical positions. Thus, the con-
cept of svabhava was of central importance for the Sarvastivada,
playing, as it did, a central role in its thesis of the existence of
past and future entities. And, the same notion (svabhava) be-
came the focal point of the attack by the Madhyamakaon the
realism of the Small Vehicle.1
1
For the Theravada, the recognition of the sabhiiva of a
dhamma meant that dhamma had been penetrated intellectually
and accurately cognised. By being thoroughly comprehended,
it was neutralised as a source of delusion or attachment. Dham-
mapala tells us that:
When the specific and general characteristics of anything
are experienced, then tnat thing is experienced according
to reality.12
By recognition of the real constituents of a thing, false concep-
tions can be dispelled, just as the analysis of the individual into
components (khandhas) dispells the illusion of a self (cf. Visudd-
himagga 11.27-119).
Applying this fourfold method of analysis to sila, then,
Buddhaghosa comes up with the following definitions. The
characteristic (lakkha1Ja) is said to be "composing" (silana), which
is explained as "the co-ordination of bodily action, etc., and the
66
foundation of good states."13 This characteristic is the identify-
ing feature of szla in all its manifestations, regardless of what
categories it may be analysed into, just as visibility (sanidassanat-
tar(t) is the inseparable characteristic of the rupayatana.
The function of szla is twofold: it is action that stops mis-
conduct (dusszlya) and also the achievement (sampatti) of the
quality of blamelessness (anavajjagu'Y}a). This' distinction
amounts to saying only that (1) morality (sila) is opposed to
immorality (dusszlya), and (2) that morality includes blameless-
ness as one of its features.
The proximate cause of szla is also twofold, consisting of
remorse (ottappa) and shame (hiri). Hiri is defined as that which
shrinks away from something, and is said to be synonymous
with another word meaning shame, lajja. Ottapa is defined as
"glowing," and is a synonym for agitation at evil. 14 The princi-
pal contrasts between the two terms are set out below, accord-
ing to the Atthasalinz (trans. pp. 164-7).
Biri
-Has a subjective origin
by the self
-Rooted in the intrinsic na-
ture of shame
-Has the characteristic of re-
spectful obedience
Ottappa
-Has an objective cause
fear of criticism
-Influenced by the world
-Rooted in the intrinsic na-
ture of fear
-Has the characteristic of
viewing a fault with timidity
and fear
Example
Seeing a worthy person when Being observed (in a wrongful
obeying the calls of nature (uc- act) by the clairvoyant powers
cara-passavadzni karonto) of monks and brahmins.
To be avoided out of
Consideration of high birth, Self-accusation, accusation by
. the dignity of one's teacher others, punishment and evil
(satthar), the greatness of one's destiny.
inheritance, and the honour
of one's fellow brethren (sa-
brahmacarz) .
67
Buddhqghosa also uses the image of two iron balls, one hot
and burning, representing ottappa, and one covered in faeces
(guthamaHhito) , representing hiri. Neither is to be grasped by
the wise man (paryjito).
The opposites of these two terms are defined in the Abhid-
harmakosa (11.32a). Ahri" is disrespect (ahri"r aguruta). The Bha!iya
expands: "A lack of veneration (aprati"Sata), lack of fearful sub-
mission (abhayavasavartita) with regard to the qualities of one-
self and others." According to 32ab, anapatrapya or atrapa is the
dharma that causes a man not to see the dangerous conse-
quences of sin (avadye 'bhayadarsitvam atrapa). According to an-
other opinion, which is similar to that of Buddhaghosa, ahri"kya
is said to be absence of shame with regard to oneself in the
commission of an evil action, and anapatrapya is the absence of
shame with regard to others.
I5
The emphasis placed upon hiri and ottappa as the conse-
quences of failure in morality and therefore as incentives to
moral conduct is a measure of the pressure exerted on a monk
to conform to the ideal. That this pressure is mainly social and
not spiritual can be seen from the above table, under the exam-
ples and the final section, which lists the reasons for avoidance.
There has always existed a well-established ideal of how a monk
should behave and conduct himself, as described, for Instance,
by Buddhaghosa in verse 48:
Furthermore, a bhikkhu is respectful; deferential; pos-
sessed of conscience and shame; wears his inner robe
properly; wears his upper robe properly; his manner in-
spires confidence whether in moving forwards or back-
wards, looking ahead or aside, bending or stretching; his
eyes are downcast; he has (a good) deportment; he guards
the doors of his sense faculties; knows the right measure in
eating; is devoted to wakefulness; possesses mindfulness
and full awareness; wants little; is contented; is strenuous;
is a careful observer of good behaviour; and treats the
teachers with great respect.
In addition, almost one-third of the 227 Patimokkha rules
(the 75 sekhiya dhamma) are devoted to matters of dress, deport-
ment and general etiquette. In the context of such formalised
patterns of behaviour, there always exists the fear of making a
68
faUx pas or failing in some .way to live up to the ideal, with the
consequent embarrassment this entails. This fear manifests it-
self in various ways: on an unconscious level, loss of face may be
symbolised in dreams of appearing undressed or improperly
dressed, or being discovered in some other kind of embarrass-
ing situation. We have seen that Buddhaghosa mentions catch-
ing sight of a worthy person when obeying the calls of nature.
In his study of Sinhalese Buddhist monks, Michael Carrithers
records a dream by one monk in which he found himself bath-
ing in the presence of young women and was overcome with
shame (lajjava). 16
We may also note here the connection between moral im-
purity and physical impurity, a connection now well established
in anthropological literatureYBiological metaphors for intel-
lectually based schemata, such as purity versus impurity, are
very common, and the association between excrement and sin
was made several times by one of Carrithers' informants (a
monk).18 We have already noted Buddhaghosa's image of an
iron ball smeared with faeces representing hiri.
We turn now to the final question that concerns us here,
namely question 5, which asks "How many kinds of szla are
there?" (katavidhaii c' eta'Y[l szlan ti). The answer is given in 19
paragraphs, consisting of groups of from one to six units fol-
lowing the customary Abhidhamma method, giving a total of 56
varieties. We will deal with the points of interest in these in
order.
The first dyad, "keeping and avoiding," ties in with the
twofold division of function (rasa) mentioned above (1.21).
"Keeping" (caritta) is accomplished by faith and energy, while
"avoiding" (varita) is accomplished by faith and mindfulness
(sati). The second dyad brings in the rules of the Patimokkha and
Vinaya, and the third harks back to the definition of szla as
volition (cetana).
The fourth dyad deals with morality that is practised
through craving (tar;hii) for rebirth as a god, or that is practised
in the mistaken belief that szla produces purification (sZlena
suddhZti). The fifth dyad refers to temporary and lifelong mo-
rality (kalapariccheda / yavajZva), perhaps referring to the last
item in the fourfold division of Figure 1 (avZtikkamo).
The sixth dyad introduces the distinction between morality
69
- - - - . - - ~ - - - - - ~ ~ - - ~ - ~ - -
-- --~ - - - - - - ~
that is limited by gain and that which is not; that is to say, in the
former category a person will transgress a training precept if he
stands to gain materially from so doing, whereas in the latter
category even the thought of transgressing does not arise.
The seventh dyad introduces an important distinction,
which is, unfortunately, not pursued very far by Buddhaghosa.
He introduces two classifications, namely mundane (lokiya) and
supramundane (lokuttara). The former is subject to defects (sa-
sava), whereas the latter is not (anasava), and while the former
brings about an improvement in future lives (bhavavisesavaha),
the latter brings about escape from becoming (bhavanissarar;,a).
The lokuttarasila belongs to the plain (bhumi) of "reviewing
knowledge" (paccavekkhar;,afiar;,a). We learn from Visuddhimagga
22.21 that there are 19 kinds of paccavekkhar;,afiar;,a, made up of
five types possessed by each of the three candidates for enlight-
enment (sotapanna, sakadagamin and anagamin) and four pos-
sessed by the Arhat. The five things reviewed are the Path, the
blessings obtained by it, the defilements abandoned, those still
to be abandoned, and nibbana. The Arhat lacks the category of
defilements yet to be abandoned, which gives a total of 19. The
process of reviewing takes place after passing from one jhana to
another. 19
The contrast here is between the four stages of the supra-
mundane path (lokuttara-magga) of the sotapanna, etc., and the
other three spheres of the kama-, rupa-, and arupavacaras. The
four higher types of person (the sotapanna, etc.) have turned
their backs on the three lower worlds of sense, form, and the
formless, and direct themselves steadfastly toward nibbana.
They are engaged upon a higher ideal (lokuttarar{t cittar{t) and,
consequently, their morality is of the higher kind (lokuttarar{t
silam).20
Passing on to the triads, the first (VSM 1.33) divides sUa
into inferior (hina), medium (majjhima) and superior (par;,ita), by
reference to four factors: (i) the enthusiasm with which it is
undertaken, (ii) the motive for its practice, whether fame, merit
or nibbana, (iii) whether defiled by self-praise, and (iv) motive
once again, this time for continued existence (bhagabhagatatth-
aya) , for one's own deliverance (vimokkhatthaya), or for the de-
liverance of all beings (sabbasattavimokkhatthaya).
The second tetrad (VSM 1.140) divides sila into the four
70
of precepts, for bhikkhus, bhikkhunzs, novices (samar;tera),
and the -
The third introduces an interesting fourfold division,
which unfortunately is not discussed at length. The first classifi-
cation is "natural morality" (pakatisua), which is the non-trans-
gression (avZtikkamo) on the part of the people of Uttarakuru.
Uttarakuru is the mythical Northern continent, which,
with the other three great continents (maha-dzpa), viz., Jambu-
dIpa, Apara-Goyana, and Pubba-Videha, and the 4 x 500 small-
er dzpas surrounding the great ones, constitute a cakka-va(a, or
world system. Uttarakuru is described at length at D.iii.199 as a
land of peace and plenty whose rulers honour the Buddha.
Thus, pakatiszla must refer to the ideal condition when there is
no immorality among the whole of the population, and, conse-
quently, no need for moral precepts and instruction.
How the inhabitants of Uttarakuru achieve their moral
character is not clear, and we are given no clue as to whether it
is innate or learned. We learn from the AbhidhfLrmakosabhi4ya
IV.3 that there is no undertaking (samadana) of moral rules
there, and hence no discipline, but neither is there
the intention to commit offences. The Kurus, along with her-
maphrodites and eunuchs, form an anomalous group who are
insusceptible to indiscipline. Greed, hatred, and illusion exist in
Uttarakuru, but are infrequently encountered, since there is no
private property, the people are gentle (snighda) because there
is no reason for displeasure (aghata) , and there is nothing to
give rise to demerit (apapasayatvat) (IV.S2d). Nor is there any
occurrence of the ten akuSalakarmapathas (IV.S3a). Despite this,
according to Arig. iv.396, the Kurus are inferior to the men of
JambudIpa in courage, mindfulness, and in the religious life.
On the other hand, however, they excel even the Tavatir[tsa
gods in four things: they have no greed (amama); no private
property (apariggaha); they have a fixed term oflife (niyatayuka)
of one thousand years, after which they are reborn in heaven;
and they possess great elegance (visesabhuno).
The second classification is "customary morality" (acar-
Mila), i.e., the particular rules of conduct of a locality (desa) , a
clan (kula), or a sect (pasar;tia). Thirdly there is "necessary mo-
rality" (dhammataszla), e.g., when the Bodhisatta's mother feels no
sexual desire during pregnancy (D.ii.13). Finally, there is "mo-
71
rality due to previous causes" (pubbahetukas'ila), which is moral-
ity acquired by pure beings, such as Mahakassapa and the
Bodhisatta in previous births.
The fourth tetrad (1.42) deals with sfla as restraint (sar[l-
vara) to be practised by the monk in accordance with the Pati-
mokkha. It is the lengthiest section devoted to <my single topic,
and accounts for 89 of the 161 paragraphs of the sflaniddesa.
The four main divisions of s'ila under this section are (i) Pati-
mokkha-sar[lvara, (ii) restraint of the senses (indriya-sarr.vara), (iii)
livelihood purification (ajfvaparisuddhi) , and (iv) concerning
requisites (paccaya-sannissita). There follows a lengthy explana-
tion (vinicchayakatha) of these four items, which lists In detail
various kinds of conduct to be avoided by the monk, including
all those censured in the Brahmajala Sutta (Vsm 1.83).
The two remaining questions, 6 and 7 from VSM 1.16,
relate to the defiling and purification of sila. The image of a
cloth is introduced at 1.143 by way of illustration. The defiling
of s'ila is said to be like a tear in a piece of cloth. This relates to
the breaking of any of the training precepts (sikkhapada), merit-
ing the imposition of any of the seven penalties, from expulsion
for life (in the case of parajika offences) downwards. Repeated
offences are compared to blotches or stains on the cloth. The
motives for committing the offences are gain and fame, etc.,
(labha-yasadi); or else they are committed under the influence of
the seven bonds of sexuality (sattavidhamethunasar[lyoga). The
untornness (akharprj,adibhava) of sila is accomplished by the com-
plete non-breaking of the training precepts, by making amends
for those that have been broken, by the absence of the seven
bonds of sexuality, and by the non-arising of vices such as anger
(krodha), enmity (upanaha), and contempt (makkha), etc. (1.151).
The image of stained or torn cloth provides a contrast with
Buddhaghosa's description of the robes of the ideal monk,
which are carefully arranged and, one might imagine, clean
(above p. 11).
Summary
Let us attempt to draw some brief conclusions from Budd-
72
haghosa's discussion. His original definition (VSM 1.17f), as
illustrated in Figure 2, relates in large part to the non-perfor-
mance of certain actions. These actions are classified either as
paths of action (kammapatka) or the code of rules 6fthe commu-
nity of monks (patimokkka). As well as actions that must not be
performed, there are duties to be fulfilled (1.17). What all this
boils down to is a list of rules to be followed from motives of
remorse (ottappa) and shame (kiri). The various classifications
Buddhaghosa introduces relate not so much to szla as to the
variety of practitioners and motives, which constitutes the ma-
jor part of the answer to question 5, "How many kinds of mo-
rality are there?" At the core of Buddhaghosa's conception of
szla, therefore, there exists the idea of specific actions; these
may be (i) avoided if evil (the first seven kammapatkas), (ii) per-
formed if good (the duties), or (iii) become the object of a
disposition towards avoidance or performance (the final three
kammapatkas). This conception of szla is in line with that found
in the Brakmajala Sutta, as particular actions that are (there) to
be avoided.
We have been able to move at some speed through the
Szlaniddeso, since, despite the detail provided by Buddhaghosa,
the harvest in terms of a deeper understanding of szla is disap-
pointingly sparse. He skimps on what are for us the most prom-
ising areas, and goes into great detail, e.g., from verse 42 on-
wards, about minute monkish matters of deportment and
trivial infringements of the Vinaya, amplified by anecdotes and
etymologies. Of other classifications we are given only the bare
bones. However, from the dry and disconnected classifications
Buddhaghosa gives us we can assert the following facts about
szla:
1. It is the volition (cetana) not to perform certain actions,
or the abstention from performing them.
2. It involves both restraint (sa'f!lvara) and fulfilment.
3. It is motivated by ottappa and kiri.
4. It is of different kinds according to the motives of its
practitioners and their state of development.
Reduced to its most basic form, it would appear as in the
following diagram:
73
I
N
P
U
T
h i r i ~ I - _ ~ I-_-i[ful.film. ent
volition _
(cetana)
ottappa '--___ --' restramt
o
U
T
p
U
T
It is clear that Buddhaghosa is concerned almost exclusive-
ly with the morality of the monastic life. He makes no specific
reference to the paficasfla, which are the standard observances
of a lay Buddhist, and the duties he includes as part of sUa
. relate only to monastic duties. Furthermore, he brings the 227
rules of the Patimokkha underneath the umbrella of sfla, thereby
effectively excluding the lay practitioner. It must be remem-
bered, however, that the Visuddhimagga is primarily a medita-
tion manual, and is therefore directed at the monastic and not
the lay community. Accordingly, Buddhaghosa's analysis must
be seen as relating not to the entire category of sfla, which
would also include the lay ethics so frequently discussed in the
Nikayas, but only to the moral requirements of the monastic life.
1. Srle patitthaya naro sapanno, cittarrt pan:nan ca bhavaya1!l, atapi nipako
bhikkhu, so ima1(t vijataye jatan (S.i.13). I have relied on NaI)amoli's translations
throughout, sometimes, as here, with slight modifications.
2. I am confining myself here to Chapter 1 of the S'ilaniddesa, i.e., the
chapter that deals specifically with srla. Chapter 2 is devoted to a description
of the ascetic practices (dhutanga niddesa).
3. In the edition of the Harvard Oriental Series, vol. 41, ed. H.C. War-
ren and revised by Dharmanda Kosambi, published by Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1950.
4. There is another list of ten good deeds (dasa-kusala-kamma) , which,
although not of canonical origin, is widely known in SrI Lanka (see R.F.
Gombrich, Precept and Practice [Oxford: OUP, 1971] p. 74, p. 251 n. 9). This
list begins with the three punnakiriyavatthuni (danarrt srlan ca bhavanfl) and
includes the whole of morality under the second item (srla). The final item,
right views, is common to both lists. The canonical list of kammapathas can be
found at various locations, e.g. D.iii.269, Vin.v.138, S.ii.168, etc.
5. See Nettipakararpa 43 for the division of the kammapathas into two
groups of seven and three.
74
6. .., vattapa(ipattin va purentassa cetana. (1.17)
7. The only occurrence of the word samadinna listed by the PTS Dictio-
nary is at A.ii.193, where the meaning of "undertaken" is identical.
8. Quoted by S.Z. Aung in the Compendium of Philosophy, p. 213 n. 3.
9. Cf. Part IX.7,3 of the Compendium.
10. Abhidharmakosa VI.l4.
11. For a full discussion of the term svabhava and its relation to cognate
terms, such as bhava, abhava and ni/:lsvabhava, see P.M. Williams, Language and
Existence in Madhyamika Buddhist Philosophy (unpublished D.Phil. thesis: Bod-
leian Library, Oxford, 1978), Chapter 3.
12. Paramattha-manjilsa 276, quoted by NaI).amoli in The Path of Purifica-
tion, p. 309 n.62.
13. 1.20. " ... yad etarr; kayakammadinarr; samadhanavasena kusalanan ca
dhammanarr; pati((hanavasena ... "
14. Atthasalini 124: "Hiriyati ti hiri, lajjay' etarr; adhivacanarr;. Tehi eva ottap-
pati ti ottapparr;, papato ubbegass' etarr; adhivacanarr;."
15. These two terms are included as two of the Seven Noble Treasures
(ariya-dhana), the list being: faith (saddha), morality (sila), hiri, ottappa, learning
(suta), self-denial (caga) , and wisdom (Panna). They are also said (Atthasalinf
124) to be the last two of seven strengths (bala), the first five being faith,
energy (viriya), mindfulness (sati), meditation (samadhi). and wisdom (Panna).
16. M. Carrithers, The Forest-Dwelling monks of Lanka; an historical and
anthropological study (unpublished D. Phil. thesis: Bodleian Library, Oxford
1977) pp. 239-243.
17. See Mary Douglas' classic work, Purity and Danger (London: Rout-
ledge & Kegan Paul, 1966).
18. P. 198. " ... I grew filthy from the excrement of these transgres-
sions." P. 199. " ... I committed innumerable sanghadisesa faults as well as
minor ones: like one stuck deep in a pit of excrement." Carrithers writes: " ...
the preoccupation with sila has great psychological consequences. The theme
of cleanliness and dirt plays a great part in monks' dreams, as it does in their
daily lives: village temples, as well as hermitages, are conspicuous by their
cleanliness and tidiness. ( ... ) It is not surprising that cleanliness, and fastidi-
ous observance of the rules of discipline - metaphorical cleanliness - some-
times become ends in themselves." (p. 67)
19. There are several references to paccavekkhar;,ana1.w in the Visuddhi-
magga (see NaI).moli's index) and also in the Compendium (see Introduction p.
58 on paccavekkhana-vasita).
20. The states (dhamma) of the sotapanna, etc., are described in the final
section of the first part of the Dhammasanganf (trans. pp. 74-89), dealing with
states that are good (kusala).
75
Contemporary Lay Buddhist Movements in
Japan, with Special R e f e r e ~ c e to the
Lotus Siitra*
by Tsugunari K ubo
The present paper aims at focusing on the basis of one of the
characteristic aspects of the contemporary lay Buddhist move-
ments in Japan, with special reference to the Lotus Sidra. In
spite of the delicate doctrinal differences among the groups of
the "new Buddhist movements" in Japan, they are organized
on the principles of lay oriented and directed practice. This
means that their existence and function are in most cases com-
pletely independent of traditional Buddhism, or, at least, of the
monastically controlled Buddhist establishments.
l. The History and the Current State of Lay Movements
This independent stance is, as I hope to show, supported
by texts such as the Saddarmapurpjar'ika, or Lotus Sidra. Before
turning directly to that text, I would like briefly to describe the
historical events that led to the emergence of lay movements in
modern Japan. It seems quite apparent that it was Nichiren
(1222-1282), in the Kamakura Period, who first succeeded in
what he had considered to be essential: making the Lotus Sutra
available to all lay people, including the mass of illiterate men
and women. According to Nichiren, anyone could expect to
receive the merit resulting from chanting "N amu M yoho-
Renge-Kyo,"b meaning, "I believe in or devote myself to the
teaching of the Lotus Sutra." Or, it can simply be rendered in
Sanskrit as "Namah SaddharmapurpJ,ar'ikasutrayal" Chanting this
formula as a religious practice had never been done before.
76
- It should be emphasized here that Nichiren taught the
masses not just the importance of the contents of the Lotus
Sutra, and thus the merit resulting from chanting this most
simplified formula, but, more importantly, he in effect suc-
ceeded in'introducing the masses to a lay practice, based on the
Lotus Sutra, which could be done spontaneously and required
neither the ritual implements nor monks of the traditional
sects.
Earlier, I mentioned "delicate" doctrinal differences. Con-
sidering the word "delicate," I would like to repeat here one
characteristic difference among the "new Buddhist move-
ments" in modern Japan. Before the Meiji Period, most lay
Buddhist groups, called "KO"h (originally "a group organized to
make a pilgrimage to holy places such as temples or shrines"),
had been directed or controlled by the priestly or monastic
Buddhist establishments. This tendency still continues in pre-
sent-day Japan.
l
After the Meiji Period, when rapid modernization took
place in Japan, the great majority of the Japanese population
achieved literacy. This accomplishment owed much to the pro-
motion of education under the guidance of the Meiji govern-
ment of J apan:2 The illiteracy rate in Japan is practically nil
now-. This rapid achievement of literacy is the most important
factor that enabled lay Buddhist leaders to study the Buddhist
scripture by themselves, independently of the priestly tradi-
tion.
3
It also is interesting that many of these same lay Bud-
dhists continued to use the Lotus Sutra as their central point of
departure. They are completely lay supported and directed.
How such lay Buddhists could be independent of the "or-
dained" Buddhist organization is another question.
N ow I would like to briefly describe the current state of
Japanese "new Buddhist movements." No one will nowadays
deny that the contemporary lay Buddhist movements are quite
influential among the Japanese people, despite the fact that
most of them belong to the monastically controlled "priestly"
Buddhist establishments. Here one should, of course, not ne-
glect the "syncretic" aspect of Japanese religion.
According to the statistics in the Almanac of Religions for the
Year" 1981,4 the number of people belonging to Buddhist orga-
nizations is shown as follows:
77
The Tendai
d
Sect and its factions: 33,300,344 in 20 organiza-
tions (including the Kodo Kyodan
e
which is one of the "new
Buddhist movements" originally springing from the Reiyll-
kai
f
, numbering 417,587); ,
The Shingon
g
(Tantric) Sect and its factions: 12,227,267 in 47
organizations;
The ]odo
h
(Pure Land) Sect, the Shin Sects and their factions:
20,274,557 in 24 organizations;
The Zen! Sects and factions: 8,818,802 in 22 organizations;
The Nichiren
j
their Sect and its factions: 32,302,819 in 38 orga-
nizations (including Sokagakkai
k
as a KG of the Nichiren Sho-
shu,l 16,518,697 and the Reiyukai 2,971,600, and its off-
shoots, such as Risshokoseikai
ffi
5,308,241, Busshogonenkai
ll
1,573,824; and MyochikaiQ 705,426);
The Older Nara
P
Sects: 4,750,374 in 6 organizations;
The others in 3 organizations: 13,257.
As can easily be seen, the Buddhist population amounts to
over one hundred and eleven million, which is more than the
entire population of Japan. These are, however, not really ex-
aggerated figures, except, perhaps, in a few cases. In any case,
religious syncretism should always to be taken into consider-
ation. For example, members of the Reiyukai and its offshoots
total almost eleven million; nevertheless, most members are
also followers, or, so to speak, dana-pati,q of traditional sects.
However, there is no doubt that the total of those in "new
Buddhist movements" based upon the Lotus SiUra should
amount to over fifteen percent of the] apanese population,
even if one takes these statistics with reservations.
Why has the Lotus Sutra been adopted exclusively by such a
great number of people in] apan, particularly in modern times?
And, on the other hand, why have organizations of totally dif-
ferent character sprung up from the same scripture? For exam-
ple, among those organizations called "new Buddhist move-
ments" based upon the Lotus Sutra, the Reiyukai and its
offshoots and the Sokagakkai are completely different, in terms
of both origins and basic character of activities and practices.
Historically speaking, there is no doubt that the influence
of such predecessors as T'ien-tai and Nichiren should not be
under-estimated. The basis of the "lay" Bodhisattva practice
and the idea of infinite expansion of teaching through the con-
duct of every human being is found in the Lotus Sutra.
78
II. Lay Bodhisattvas
Passages in Chapter 10 of the Lotus Sutra, which begins
with an exposition on Bodhisattva conduct after the parinirvana
of Sakyamuni Buddha, clearly indicate that Bodhisattva prac-
tice was equally available to both monks and lay people.
5
There
is reference, for example, to "those householders and renun-
ciants who recite the Saddharmapur:uJ,arika,"6 and to "the house-
holders and renunciants who practice the Bodhisattva way."7
The same sort of reference is found in Chapter 14 (or 13; Skt.
13), where the text refers to "Bodhisattvas who will be 'house-
holders' (gahastha) and 'renunciants' (pravrajita) in the 'last
time.'''8
A similar, though less directly stated, distinction is found in
Chapter 17 (or 16; Skt 16),9 which includes a list of the ideal
qualities and characteristics of those who preserve the Lotus
Siltra. These people can be described as "patient, disciplined,
concentrated, possessed of morality, and meditators who live in
seclusion." They are also described in the next verse as those
who are "free of anger, not treacherous, respectful towards the
caityas, humble to the monks, not proud or lazy." Although the
terms grhastha and pravrajita do not actually occur in these two
verses, it is nevertheless clear that at least two distinct types of
followers are envisioned here. The first type is the renunciant
who practices solitary meditation, and the second type is a per-
son who refrains from anger and abuse, and who honors the
monks and caityas. Both types, it is important to note, are poten-
tially preservers and maintainers of the text and teaching of the
Lotus Sutra.
These specific references to two equal types of practition-
ers, the householder and the renunciant, are perhaps of less
significance than those many passages that clearly state and
restate the idea that the basic teaching of the Lotus Sutra is
available to all types, to all beings equally. Perhaps the fullest
expression of this idea is to be found in Chapter 5.
10
Here, the
, text develops the idea of the universal availability of the teach-
{ ing and of the fundamental equality of those receiving it, using
i' '. the metaphor of the great rain: just as a great rain falls indis-
criminately on everything-trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruits-
r so the teaching of the siitra is indiscriminately made available to
;t <'79
:X ..
all beings-monks, lay men and women, renunciants, and
householders. Again, when the great rain falls, some of it is
transformed into dew, some into the wa,ter of a river, and some
into the waves of the ocean, and in spite of these various trans-
formations it still remains a single substance, water. Just in this
way, although the teaching of the Buddha is taken up by differ-
ent groups and appears in different forms, it still remains a
single teaching.
The same idea expressed in Chapter 5 is, in fact, expressed
elsewhere in another form. We find, thus, a number of pas-
sages that refer to the fundamental vow of a Buddha. There is
for instance, this example from Kumarajlva's text, which does
not necessarily correspond verbatim to the extant Sanskrit ver-
SIOn:
"I originally made a vow to make all living beings be-
come equal to me."ll
"The original vow of the Buddhas is to make all living
beings attain the same Buddha-path that I also have at-
tained."12
In these passages and others like them, the idea of fundamental
equality is directly expressed. Note that here, and in passages
like these, the key term is "all living beings." In the tenth chap-
ter, equality is vividly described in the following way (my sum-
mary):
After having explained what the, Bodhisattva's con-
duct should be after his parinirvary,a, Sakyamuni Buddha
first predicts for the sons and daughters of good family
their future enlightenment.
Then he explains the reason why he has made this
prediction. Those householders and renunciants who re-
Joice ip the teaching will hold f i r ~ l y to it and practice the
BodhIsattva paths. All of them WIll become dharma-bha1!-
akas and attam complete enlightenment.
The Buddha then teaches towards the end that all of
those who approach them will also become Bodhiattvas.
13
It should be emphasized here that the Buddha's teachings can
be transmitted and expanded infinitely to "all living beings"
only through the conduct of every human being. This charac-
80
teri-stic of the sutra is the fundamental basis of the factions of
the "new Buddhist movements" in the so-called Nichiren lin-
eage.
III. The Very Special Gate and Path
Now, I would like to focus on some other aspects of the
Lotus Siitra. In this connection I wish to refer to an enlightening
article by Dr. Akira Hirakawa, Professor Emeritus of the Uni-
versity of Tokyo, entitled "The Meaning of 'eka-yana' in the
Lotus Sutra."14 More recently, Professor Hirakawa has fur-
thered and clarified his views from a fresh angle in his article
''The Background and Formation of the Doctrine which Re-
veals the 'eka-yana' Removing the Prejudice of the 'tri-yana."'15
Herewith, I summarize Dr. Hirakawa's arguments and of-
fer some of my own comments. Unlike in earlier Mahayana
sutras, a very special gate and path have been prepared in the
Lotus Sidra. In this regard, Hirakawa pays special attention to
the verses found in the second chapter, "Upaya-kausalya," or
"Skilful Means." In several verses, one can find those who at-
tain the path to enlightenment: te sarvi bodhaya a b h f t ~ i labhina/:t,
"all of them attained enlightenment" or, te sarvi prapta imam
agra-bodhim, "all of them attained this highest enlighten-
ment."16 What kind of people are they? They are people, for
instance, like the following:l7
Those children who make mounds with sand here and
there in play and offer them as stlipas for Buddhas (verse
82).
Those who unto the stlipa fold their palms in full, or just
raise one hand, or bow their heads for a single moment, or
just bow their bodies slightly (verse 95).
As indicated by Hirakawa, such conduct is very simple, and
evidently followed by lay people. In Mahayana sutras com-
posed at an earlier stage, it is uncommon to find such off-
handed actions described as the way to enlightenment. In
those, for example, the six paramitas must be practised for
three innumerable kalpas. The Lotus Sutra itself mentions that
these practices are contrary to those described in other Ma-
81
hayana sutras.
18
Thus, the followers of the Lotus SiUra were
persecuted by followers of the other Mahayana and the Srava-
kayana. ,
It also is noteworthy, as Hirakawa mentions, that in the
history of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism simple practices
like these have never been accepted as the main Lotus Sidra
approach to enlightenment, because the gate and path to Bud-
dhahood shown in the second chapter appeared too easy to
enter and follow. Before these verses in Chapter Two, one
finds only one main teaching of Sakyamuni, namely: "The
Buddha appears in the world always for the benefit of the
people to attain the wisdom of the Buddha."19 In conclusion,
two important matters are disclosed in the verse portion:
20
Numerous Buddhas in the future will preach the same
teaching through skilful means (upilya-kaufalya) , and lead
countless creatures to the wisdom of the Buddha (verses
98-99).
There will be no one who will not become a Buddha after
hearing their teaching. It is indeed the vow <prarJidhilna) of
the Buadhas who practise for enlightenment and let others
practise for it (verse 100).
The Buddha also states that Buddhas in the future will mani-
fest the "Single Vehicle" (ekayilna).21 Thus, there will be no
living being in the future who will not become enlightened.
This manifestation of ekayilna is nothing but the thought or
doctrine of "Buddhahood," which will later develop as the
Tathagatagarbha theory, which holds that every living being
possesses the "embryo" of the Tathagata.
Now, I would like to attend to the same content with which
Professor Hirakawa has dealt. The statement in the Lotus Sutra,
"No one will not attain the path to a Buddha," is a very simple
sentence, but it is extremely significant. Anyone who recites or
reads the Lotus Sutra is made to feel that he or she will be able to
, practise without difficulty. Practice, as mentioned above, can be
done by any lay person. It is not necessary to enter a monastic
life. This is the attraction of the Lotus Sutra for lay people .
. Needless to say, practices leading to enlightenment are also
taught in other chapters. There, those who practise as Bodhi-
sattvas are called the "Heir of the Buddhas" (sugatasya p u t r a ~ ,
82
etc.), "Dharma Preacher" (dharma-bhary,aka),22 and of course
"Bodhisattva." In the second chapter, they are called "sattva"
instead.
IV. Heirs of the Buddha
Here, I wish to focus upon the term Sugatasya putraly" "heir
of a Buddha." In Chapter Three of the Lotus Sutra, Sariputra,
rejoicing at having heard the teaching in the second chapter,
stands up and speaks to the Buddha with respect:
"I have today (at last) come to know that I am the heir of
the Buddha, born from the mouth of the Buddha, and
transformed by the Dharma, and have accomplished en-
lightenment by the Dharma."23 .
This recalls the traditional term Sakyaputtiya.
24
The Buddha
then predicts to Sariputra,-who has declared himself an heir
of the Buddha,-that he will become a Buddha in the future.
25
Sakyamuni's prediction is expanded in Chapter Ten to every
living being who hears the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
26
Let us see how the idea of the "Buddha's heir" is taught in
the Lotus Sutra. I believe that the well-known parables in Chap-
ters Three and Four are the key to this question. Towards the
end of the famous parable of the "Residence on Fire" is the
following description:
"All living beings are my children. I will bestow the Ma-
hayana upon th.em equally. I will make not just a single
person attain complete enlightenment through the Tatha-
gata's complete enlightenment."27
The expression is slightly different in the Sanskrit version. It
reads as follows:
83
"Knowing that all of the living beings are my sons, I lead all
those living beings to complete enlightenment through the
very Buddha's Vehicle. The Tathagata does not teach. com-
plete enlightenment just to a particular living being, but
leads all living beings to complete enlightenment through
the Tathagata's complete enlightenment, the great com-
plete enlightenment."28
To paraphrase this, not only Sariputra' and other disciples, but
all living beings are the Buddha's heirs. Attention should be
drawn to the fact that this is very different from the idea of
"God the Father" in Christianity. In the Mahayana slitras, all
the Buddha's heirs are promised Buddhahood-complete
equality with the Buddhas, not just with their fellow beings!
The Lotus Sidra's compelling illustration of the Buddha as
father and all living beings as children begins with the descrip-
tion of a residence on fire. The children in the house are too
involved in their play to be aware of the fire. The condition of
the residence is described in a realistic and detailed manner. I
quote part of it from the Chinese version:
And this house was very old,
right on the verge of collapsing.
The halls were extremely dangerous,
the pillar bases rotten and disintegrating,
the beams and framework dangerously tilted,
and the stairways were falling apart.
The retaining walls were cracked,
the -plaster was peeling off,
the thatched roof was falling down,
the rafters and eaves were coming disjoined,
the partitions were askew everywhere,
and the whole place was covered with filth.
And moving around helter-skelter were
kites, owls, hawks, eagles, crows, magpies,
doves, pigeons, lizards, snakes, vipers,
scorpions, centipedes, millipedes,
efts, myriapods, ferrets, badgers, mice,
rats, and other harmful creatures.
Filled with stench,
places overflowed with their excrement,
and all kinds of bugs
had gathered there.
There were foxes, wolves and vermin
devouring, trampling, and gnawing on corpses,
scattering bones and flesh all about. 29
The description of these filthy conditions continues. The read-
84
er c ~ n n o t help but feel disgust. The parable impresses the read-
'er_emotionally rather than intellectually-that living beings
care like children, still ignorantly attached to play, and that the
Buddhas -are like adults.
Another well-known parable, "The Son of a Wealthy Man"
in the fourth chapter provides another perspective on the Bud-
'dha's heirs. It should be noted that this parable is told by the
disciples who have become capable of hearing the teaching in
the second chapter and are delighted with it. The story summa-
rized, is as follows. The main characters of the parable are a
wealthy old man and his son. The son is separated from his
father during childhood. He becomes an orphan, and is raised
in poverty and vagrancy. He has no home. One day he finds
-himself in front of the gate of his father's residence without
realizing that the house in fact is his father's. Having searched
ifor his son for a long, long time, the father recognizes the poor
. man as his son from his countenance and behaviour. Since the
.son no longer remembers the hou.se, he is awed by the sight of
the residence. He runs away, fearing the servants. Immediate-
ly, the wealthy old man sends his men to bring his son back to
his house. Thinking that his presentiment has come true, the
son faints. The wealthy man decides to use an expedient
means. He employs the poor man as lavatory cleaner. After
twenty years, the son becomes chief retainer, controlling the
"whole property of the wealthy man. The old man says to him
that he should not worry and that he should think him as his
father. He promises him anything he wants since he has
worked so hard. The son only thinks of himself as an employee.
When the wealthy old man finds himself approaching the time
of death, he calls the poor man, together with the king, minis-
ters, friends, and so on, and reveals that the employee is his
own son, separated from him for fifty years. At this moment
the son, for the first time, realizes his actual identity as the heir
Of this wealthy man.
3D
The disciples say that this wealthy old man is nothing but the
Tathagata, and that they are the heirs of the Buddhas. They
have not realized it because of their ignorance. They are de-
lighted to know it now.
31
_ Sakyamuni indicates in the Lotus Sidra that the relationship
between Buddhas and living beings is exactly the same as the
{85
actual relationship between the father and son. Incidentally, it
is noteworthy that Rahula, who was Sakyamuni's real son, is
referred to elsewhere in this sutra.
32
Nevertheless, these par-
ables are concerned with all living beings as the heirs of the
Buddhas, and Rahula never appears in connection with this
simile. Sakyamuni, in fact, tells us to be his sons (and daugh-
ters), but not as Rahula is. That is to say, "All living beings
should become Buddhas," just as children will become adults.
v. Positive and Negative Understandings
Throughout the Lotus Sutra, various ideas are impressed
upon the readers' emotions. In other words, the teaching takes
a course between our emotions and reality - or between ordi-
nary people and Buddhas. The Lotus Sutra always teaches that
these contrasting factors are in reality inseparable. The afore-
mentioned two parables are good examples. I believe that these
characteristic aspects of the sutra are acceptable to the people,
especially in modern Japan, where people more and more tend
to think about the value of individual existence. In the tenth
chapter, Sakyamuni states that all living beings should become
Buddhas in the future. At the same time, Sakyamuni explains
the Bodhisattvas' conduct and explains why he has made his
prediction to sons and daughters of good family (kula-putra and
kula-duhitr). The renunciants as well as householders who re-
joice in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra will fulfill his prediction
of their future complete enlightenment and practise the Bodhi-
sattva path. All of them will become dharma-bhiiY!akas, and thus
attain complete enlightenment. All of those who approach
them are also Bodhisattvas.
33
In this way, the Buddha's teach-
ings can be transmitted to all living beings through the conduct
of every human being.
The Lotus Sutra is the basis for the promotion of lay Bud-
dhist movements. Unfortunately, I cannot but refer to another
facet of these movements: their complacency and exclusive-
ness. It may not be right to understand these exclusive and
aggressive tendencies only from the Buddhist point of view.
They should perhaps be analyzed in the light of other factors-
say, for example, from socio-religious angles. Nevertheless, in
86
the Lotus Sutra itself we find admonitions against complacent,
exclusive, and aggressive people. The sutra does not assign
or "omnipotence" to its "evangelists." It does
refer to the dharma-bhar;,aka as "really a great Bodhisattva,"34
"the one who is carried by the Buddha on his back,"35 "the one
who does the work that is the Buddha's,"36 etc. Such expres-
sions may blind the reader: he may feel as if he is virtually a
Buddha, an absolute authority, and that those who do not have
hrs to hear him are simple heretics.
. There is another critique of arrogance in the sutra, in the
dramatic scene where five thousand proud monks leave before
the Buddha Sakyamuni starts the real teaching,37 but detailed
discussion of this must await some other occasion.
Conclusion
I have tried to show how the Lotus Sutra succeeded in
teaching the masses, and thus was attractive as a basis for the lay
11lovements. The emotional approach I described earlier is
unique in Mahayana slitras. In this sense, the Lotus Sutra has
proved to be successful. I must add here, at the same time, that
it also has a risky, negative aspect, as I have just shown above.
fie NOTES
* This is a revised version of the paper read on 20 August 1982 at the
Fifth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, held
at the University of Oxford, with reference to another paper presented at its
Third Conference, held jointly with the International Association for the
History of Religions, at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, in August
1980.
List of Abbreviations
Taisho: Taisho Shinshu daizokyo.r
... KN: Bibliotheca Buddhica X: SaddharmapU?Jljanka, edited by H. Kern and
. Bunyiu Nanjio (St. Petersburg 1908-1912).
WT: Saddharmaputtq,anka-Sutram, romanized and revised text of the Bib-
liotheca Buddhica, publication by U. Wogihara and C. Tsuchida (Tokyo 1934_
1935).
1. In this sense, the Sokagakkai can be said to belong to tl?-is category,
since it has developed and expanded as one of the Ko organizations affiliated
with the Temple Daisekiji of the Nichiren Shoshu Sect. Nevertheless, the
Sokagakkai has another aspect, of lay oriented organisation.
" 2. Needless to say, it is another question as to how much this govern_
ment-directed education system is appreciated in modern Japan. One cannot,
however, neglect the fact that education in modern Japan, the nucleus of
which, I believe, already existed in the pre-Meiji period, has until now played
a great role in various aspects of modernization in Japan, including the rapid
achievement of literacy.
3. In this connection, the first stable movement on this pattern was the
Reiyukai, founded by Kakutaro Kubo,' a carpenter-architect in Tokyo, in
1919. Over the years, this movment has generated a number of offshoots
such as Risshokoseikai, Busshogonenkai, and so forth.
4. Edited by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, an agency affili-
ated with the Ministry of Education (Tokyo: Gyosei, 1982).
5. Kakutaro Kubo had already pointed out in the early stages of the
movement that the Saddharmapurpjarfka teaches a Bodhisattva practice, bodhi- ,
sattva-carya, which is fully available to lay people. See Ten-no Ongaku, If (To- .
kyo: The Reiyukai, 1983), pp. 148,216,218. .
6. Taisho 262, IX p. 31A. Hereafter, reference to the Saddharmapurpf.ar .
fka is made in the first place to KumarajIva's Chinese version, since, needless
to say, it has alone played a role in Japanese Buddhist history. The Sanskrit
says, tatha-rupa1Ja'f!! dharma-bha1Jakanam asyasutrantasya dharaka1Ja'f!!
sthana'f!! va pravrajitana'f!! va . .. (KN 227,5)
7. Taisho IX p. 31C. Here, as well, the Sanskrit corresponds closely to
the Chinese text, i.e., grh04thalJ, pravrajitas ca bodhisattva-caryar;rt caranti (KN
232,6). .
8. TaishO IX p. 39A; KN 291,11 (verse 46).
9. TaishO IX p. 46A-B; KN 343, 1-4 (verses 53-54).
10. TaishO IX p. 19A; KN 121.
11. TaishO IX p. 8B; KN 47, 9-10.
12. TaishO IX p. 9B; KN 53, 3-4.
13. Taisho IX p. 30B-32B; KN 224-238.
14. In The Formation and Development of the Lotus Sutra, edited by Yensho
Kanakura (l970).u
15. In The Thought and Fundament of the Lotus Sutra, edited by Zuiryu
Nakamura (1980):
16. KN 49, 14 (verse 76; for bodhaya see WT p. 46 note 6) and so forth;
KN 52, 10 (verse 96) d. TaishO IX p. 8C-9A.
17. Taisho IX p. 8C; 9A. KN 50, 12; 52,8. I quote more or less in free
translation.
18. KN 285, 7 (TaishO IX p. 38B).
19. KN 40,3-8 (TaishO IX p. 7A).
88
20. KN 52, 13-53, 4 (TaishO IX p. 9A-B).
21. KN 53, 6 (Taisho IX p. 9B).
22. For example, Taisho IX p. 32A, B. KN 227, 5. Taisho IX p. 46; KN
343,9 (verse 57). Cf. Tsugunari Kubo, "Those who make Caitya in the Field,"
The Formation. and Development of the Lotus Sutra, edited by Yensho Kanakura
)
w
(1970 . .
23. Talsho IX p. 10C; cf. KN 61, 2-3: adyaha1}'l bhagavan bhagavatalJ putro
jyes.(ha auraso mukhato jato dharma-jo dhanna-nirmito dharma-dayado dharma-nil"Ur-
tah (for mukhato see WT p. 60 note 1).
. 24. Cf. Jikido Takasaki, The Formation of the Tathagata-garbha Concept
(Tokyo: Shunjusha, 1974), p. 438.
x
25. TaishO IX p. lIB; KN 65, 5.
26. Taisho IX p. 30C; KN 224, 8-10.
27. Taisho IX p. 13C.
2S. KN Sl, 13-S2, 1 ... sarve caite mama iva putra iti jnatva buddha-yanen-
aiva tan sattvan parinirvapayati / na ca kasya-cit sattvasya pratyatmika1}'l
alfl vadati / sarva1}'ls ca tan sattva1}'ls tathagatapm-inirvalJena maha-parinirvalJena
parinirvapayati.
29. TaishO IX p. 13C-14B; cf. KN S2, 12-S6, 2.
30. TaishO IX p. 16B-17B (l7C-lSB); KN 101, l1-lOS, 15 (111,1-115,
12; verses 3-35).
31. Taisho IX p. 17B-C (lSB-19A); KN lOS, 16-110, 10 (116,1; verses
36- ).
32. Taisho IX p. 30A; KN 220,10.
33. Taisho IX p. 30B-32B; KN 224-23S.
34. Taisho IX p. 30C; cf. KN 226, 6-7
35. Taisho IX p. 31A; but KN 227, S tathagata7[! sa . .. pariharati .. _ .
36. Taisho IX p. 30C; KN 227, 1 tathagata-krtya-karas.
37. Taisho IX p. 7A; 7C, KN 3S, 12-14; 44, 7-10 (verse 3S, 39).
89
List of Chinese and Japanese Characters
a.
b.
c.
d. ::R
e.
f.
g. .13
h.
i. iifti!
j. S ii
k.
1. S iilE*
m. :sLlE i3C1iIZ
n.
o. :I&!Wl
p. 5?.&
q. :tI1iR
r.
s. !A 15f:1'l *'
t. n
u.
v. c -l"e:l%IiIZJ c :IliilW:J

x. IIf:i Ii J:i r ;W. e:l % IiIZ J
90
Before the Prajna Schools:
The Earliest Chinese Commentary
on the Astasahasrika
by Whalen Lai
The earliest Mahayana siitra probably is the
Prafiia-paramita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines;
henceforth The earliest Chinese Buddhist "schools" spec-
ulating on the meaning of the emptiness (sunyata) described by
the Prajiia-paramita sutras are the so-called "six Prajfta Schools"
of the fourth century. They flourished around the time of Shih
Tao-ana (312-385). These schools' speculations were informed
by concurrent Neo-Taoist elaborations on the significance of
nothingness (wu)b. This led to a fusion of native and foreign
ideas, known then as ko-{ or concept-matching Buddhism. The
shortcomings of that approach became evident when Kuma-
rajlva introduced the Madhyamika dialectics of Nagarjuna. Ac-
cordingly, Seng-jui,d in his preface to the Vimalakirtinirde.sa
translated by his master, noted:
The matching of (Buddhist and Taoist) concepts flour-
ished, but that also corrupted the meaning (of the scrip-
tures); the six (Prajfta) schools were all biased in their read-
ing (of the middle path) and they could not realize the true
import of identity (chi:
e
form being identical with empti-
ness). The principle of hsing-k'ungf (svabhava-sunya: absence
of self-nature) has not been clanfied up to now.
1
. It would be clarified by Seng-chao,g a fellow student judged to
be the first to master the Madhyamika critique.
Yet, before the development of the six Prajfta schools,
there already existed a Chinese commentary on the or, to
be exact, a running commentary on the first chapter of the
. 91
rendered into Chinese as the Ta-ming-tu-chinf51o (The Great Wis-
dom Ferrying-Beyond, henceforth abbreviated as TMTC Or
Ming-tu). The commentary predated ka-i Buddhism. The latter
was dependent on Neo-Taoism, which took form in the Cheng_
shih
l
era (240-248) when the youthful Wang Pi
J
(226-249)
discovered the mystique of wu. To Wang Pi, wu (nothingness,
non being) was the basis of all realities, the hidden substance
behind all active functions. Following in his footsteps half a
century later, the first of the six PrajDa schools, that of Chu
Ch'ien (Tao-ch'ien,k alias Fa-shen:! 286-374) evolved. The
Ming-tu commentary, however, predated even Wang Pi, and,
unlike the PrajDa schools, has survived fairly intact. As such, it
should be invaluable for understanding the earliest Chinese
appreciation of the emptiness philosophy. Although the exis-
tence of this piece is well known and its importance well ac-
knowledged,2 it has escaped even the most comprehensive cov-
erage of the PrajDa tradition to date, Professor Hirai Shun'ei'sm
Chugaku hanya shisoshi kenkyu
n
(1976).3 Though the Ming-tu
commentary should best be studied along with a full analysis of
this first chapter of the TMTC and both in relation to the var-
ious recensions of the A.\'(a, the historic importance of the com-
mentary for Chinese Buddhism might justify this preliminary
and somewhat delimited examination.
Some of the textual problems have been studied by Profes-
sor Lewis Lancaster at Berkeley, who drew attention to the
TMTC as possibly being the earliest surviving text of the A.\'(a.
4
Traditionally, the TMTC is said to be Chih Ch'ien'so translation
of the A.\'(a that had been previously rendered into Chinese by
Chih Ch'an'p as the Taa-hsing P'aja ching, q during Later Han ..
Chih Ch'ien supposedly worked on this around 222-229 in the
South, in the kingdom of Wu,r during the Three Kingdoms
period. It has been suggested that this Wu translation deviated
somewhat from Chih Ch'ien's usual style because he was adjust-
ing himself to his southern audience. Lancaster's investigation
has shown, however, that the TMTC is stylistically not homo-
geneous. If one puts aside the first chapter, the TMTC style is
very different from other of Chih Ch'ien's works. Chih Ch'ien
usually preferred to translate technical Sanskrit phonetically,
but the main body of the TMTC settled on translating by mean-
mg instead. Lancaster discovers that stylistically, the text is
92
dn
uch
closer to the works of An Hsuan; who was a contempo-
iiary of the famous An Shih-kad (fl. AD. 150). This would push
it back beyond the Tao-hsing ching, and make it the earliest
turviving A ~ t a we have.
, Thus; it was not the Tao-hsing-ching but an earlier text that
Chih Ch'ien reworked. And, Chih Ch'ien never went beyond
iewriting the first, stylistically quite distinct, chapter: Now Chih
Ch'ien was the first translator to introduce exclusively Ma-
hayana works (excepting his rewording of another extant Chi-
nese Dharmapada).5 Unlike earlier translators, Chih Ch'ien was
also fully versed in Chinese and was familiar with the philo-
sophic concerns of the time. Thus, he was probably trying to
standardize and explain the rather terse and unorthodox trans-
lation that is now the TMTC proper (minus the reworded chap-
ter one). Chapter one now includes a running commentary,
explanatory remarks in smaller print between the lines of the
text. Chih Ch'ien's personal remarks on the occasion were
probably those sections designated as "(My) master says: ...
etc." within the running commentary. Previously, some had
thought that that refers to K'ang Seng-hui,U
6
but, considering
just the fact that the recorder-disciple also referred to three
other texts translated/reworded by Chih Ch'ien, the "master"
should refer to Chih Ch'ien himself.
7
Assuming that Chih
Ch'ien indeed worked on the text in Wu during 222-229 and
that the commentary was interpolated during or soon after that
project, it would place the latter before the Cheng-shih era,
when Wang Pi made a name for himself. In 229, Wang Pi
would only have been three years old. There is no possibility
for Neo-Taoism to influence this early reading of emptiness. If
anything, it would have to be the other way around. This would
rekindle the whole debate on whether the concept of sunyata
(the Indian zero) did or did not affect the new reading of wu-
. to that time never taken absolutely nihilistically, or as nonbe-
(or zero)-by Wang Pi. That, however, is not our immediate
The intellectual clientele Chih Ch'ien and his disciple (i.e.,
wrote that commentary) were addressing was not Neo-
but the Han Taoist tradition that was interested then in
the art of, to cite Tang Yung-t'ung,V yang-sheng nien-shen,w nur-
life and refining the spirit:
Han Buddhist thought focused on the matter,ofreturnin
to the source, kuei-pen;x it locates that source in the min
hsin.Y Wei-Chin Buddhists and neo-Taoists speculated i n ~
stead on the principle of original nonbeing, pen-wu, Z as that
which preceded all subsequent existents, mo-yu. aa8
Indeed, when we examine the Ming-tucommentary's un-
derstanding of emptiness, it seems to steer somewhere in be-
tween the old Han psychologism (used since the time of An
Shih-kao) and the yet-to-emerge negative ontology (used by the
ko-i metaphysicians). The intrusion of the former, Hlnayanist,
tradition does not compromise in the end its understanding of
Mahayana emptiness.
Since the Ming-tu commentary predated the six Prajfla
schools, did it in some sense anticipate those future speculative
theses? As we will see, the answer is both "yes" and "no": yes, if
we stay with the one-dimensional reading of the Prajfla schools
that is still current; no, if we understand the actual new depar-
ture initiated by the Hsin-wu (Mind-as-Empty) school. To this
we will return after a preliminary analysis of the commentary.
The following abbreviations, added to the body of the text, will
be used:
T
C
(p. x)
for the text of the TMTC
for the running commentary
for any interruption of the text
for the page location 'x' in the Taisho
ab
text (T.
8, no. 225, p. x)
The text is sometimes corrupted; the Taisho punctuation is
sometimes wanting. The more important emendations are ex-
plained in the notes. I am however grateful to Professor Taka-
saki (University of Tokyo) for some crucial suggestions and
corrections that have been incorporated into this final draft.
A Preliminary Analysis of the Ming-Tu Commentary
I. The Concept of Mahayana
94
The Perfection of Wisdom, which declares the Bodhisattva
career to be the Vehicle and loftiest of all paths was
supposedly tau?,ht by Sak<amuni. through t.he medium of his
disciple SU,bhutI, a mount am ascetIc, and agamst the less knowl-
edgeable Sariputra, who is made to represent the Hlnayana
elders' understanding. This legitimation myth was employed by
the As(a to ground in the historical Buddha himself what, by
objective standards, is a later teaching. The rhetoric here is
important, and the point was not lost to the commentary:
T: says, "":V'ell said, well said. The Buddha calls
you (SubhutI) the VIrtuous One and has noted how the
foremost of all paths is laid in mountains and lakes (the
homestead of the ascetic). The Bodhisattva so receives this
highest of teachings.
C: cou1d intuit the subtle
versed m the empty and pure path, whIle abldmg m
mountains and lakes. It was for that that he was so
praised by the Buddha.
T: He would never backslide.
C: The Bodhisattva, upon receiving the teaching, would
never sway the path); he is said to be abiding in the
seventh bhiiml.
T: He meditates without ever ceasing. The boundless
Transcendental Wisdom is just like that.
C: Ceaseless meditation refers to the intention of the
sutra (teaching); the will (of the true ascetic) never suf-
fers fatigue. (p. 479a3-7)
This reading of the origin of Mahayana gives due credit to the
ascetic and meditative tradition. The master further noted that
the teaching was intended for Sariputra, too, but he was not
equipped to understand it, as shown now by his "regrettably"
dumb questions to Subhuti (p. 481a27-28).
The meaning of Mahayana as the Great Vehicle ferrying
all is explained by the text, the translator/master and the com-
mentator:
95
T: Subhuti asks, "How do we know that the Bodhisattva
indeed rides the Great Vehicle?"
C: My master says: the Great Vehicle refers to the Great
Way.
T: "What is Mahayana? What vehicle aspires so go?" (sic)
c: It should read: What goal does the vehicle aspire for?
T: "As the Vehicle is so established, what is it (built) OUt
of?" The Buddha answers, "The vehicle that is the Great
Vehicle is the carrier of the infinite. This is because there
are infinite sentient beings."
C: The Bodhisattvic will is so grand (in design) that it
can so ferry infinite beings.
T: "As to why, this because there .are infinite beiD:gs.
Therefore, the BodhIsattva arouses hIS great compasSIOn
for their sake, in so preparing the great carrter. Because
the Sage, (having transcended) the Three Realms, can
know a1l there is, he can so build the Great Vehicle. The
vehicle comes out of nothing (emptiness itself). Why? Be-
cause if there is birth and outcome (to its being), t!Jat would
constitute (a finite) dharma (liable to similar death and
dissolution). If there is neither the arising nor the arriving
(to its being), then there is no dharma that can be so at-
tained (i.e. so grasped). Therefore, it is said that it is born
of nothing and comes out of nothing." (p. 4S1a 11-1S)
The Great Way is It is great precisely because it is emp-
ty.
The superiority of the Bodhisattvayana is explained as follows:
T: " ... If one wants to the stage of
the dlsClple (Sravaka), he should, upon hearmg the sutra
honour and worship it."
C: The (Hlnayana) disciple aspires for emptiness,
desirelessness, and marklessness (animitta) ,
9
but in attain-
ing nirval)a, he would strive no further. He has thus
failed to forward to the ,:"ay of (upaya)
and compasslOn (karu'Y}a) that IS the Buddha s. .
T: "If one wants to acquire the status of the solitarily en-
lightened (Pratyekabudaha) -
C: The solitarily enlightened is one who aspires for
Buddhahood without, however, perfecting compassion.
or endowing himself with the skilful means.
T: - or if one wants to acquire the status of the Buddha,
he should, upon hearing thIS sutra -
C: The one who walks the Buddha-path should show
broad compassion and render universal help to all; he
should not seek enlightenment en route.
IO
T: - choose to honour it." (p. 479a7-10)
The Triyana (Three Vehicles) are apparently regarded serially.
96
this is because the commentary earlier (p. 479a6) placed the
Bodhisattva at the seventh of the ten bhumis, leaving the Arhant
'below and the Pratyekabuddha and Buddha above the seventh.
This classificatory scheme was later employed by Chih Tao-lin
(Chih Tun)aC to resolve the tension of the Three Vehicles.
II. The Meaning of Pen-Wu
ad
(Original Nothingness)
If one has to categorize the commentary's understanding
of emptiness, one would have to recognize the predominance
of the theme of pen-wu, a term that characterizes one of the six
Prajnii schools to come. Yet, since this text predated Wang Pi's
ontological nihilism, this pen-wu should be read in terms of
returning to what is temporally prior to being, not in terms of
what is ontologically antithetical. The term pen-wu was used by
Chih Ch'ien himself to render sunya, but the psychologism of
inward withdrawal is the key exegetical theme:
T: Subhl1ti knows the Buddha's intention and says, " ...
As the Buddha has taught the Dharma, there is the learn-
ing of it. So:p.s and daughters of good families, he or she
who can understand the meaning of the teaching is veri-
fied (in wisdom)."
C: Dharma-learning is learning the Dharma. Under-
standing the teaching is realizing emptiness, desireless-
ness, and marklessness. Cessational trance!! means at-
taining the meaning of the Dharma. When the defiled
outflows are checkeCl, the bondages untied and the Way
is gained, that is verification. By saying verification is
completed,!2 then one would duly revert to original
nothingness. (p. 478c1-3) ,
on, the commentator explains, by way of breaking up
(for tatha-agata: Thus-come), the meaps to revert to that
nothingness:
C: By ju (thus) is meant the thus-ness that is the being
(basis) of men (ju jen-pen).af By lai (come) is meant
whence (all) come. Man is originally empty and is the
same as nirviiI).a itself. The Buddha is he who attains the
three dharmas (truths): the emptying of the Three
Realms, the cessation of desires, and (the cessation) of
marks. The Anapana Sutra states, "What is meant by re-
turning? It is wnen the five skandhas are reverted, when
all (egoistic) views (dn#) are terminated. This is what is
meant by the term Tathagata." The Buddha preaches
the pure Dharma only in delight of this original nothing_
ness. The quiescent Dharma is the gift of Dharma. (p.
478c6-8)
The An-pan shou-i chinrtg cited here is a basic and popular
Hlnayana treatise on contemplating breaths. It was easily
adapted to the Han Taoist meditation vocabulary, so much so
that the text itself aligned an-pan shou-i word-for-word with
ching-ching wu-wei
ak
(pure, quiet, non-action).
The introduction of that Hlnayana contemplation here
eventually leads to a reduction of emptiness (pen-wu) to a pecu-
liar mode of psychic regression. The following at first seems
orthodox enough:
T: Subhuti. says, " ... By 'bodhi' is m e a n ~ embodying the
way, t'i-tao;aJ. it is empty vacuity, k'ung-hsipJ The way tnat is
bodhi is likewise empty."
C: My master says, "The mind of the Bodhisattva treads
the Great Way. If one hopes to embody the way, both
mind and way must be formless. Thus, they are said to
be empty and vacuous. By way is meant the empty, the
desirefess, the markless."
T: What are the dharma-characteristics of a Bodhisattva?
It is in seeing that the Buddha Dharma is no Dharma. That
is the Bodhisattva.
C: The Bodhisattva is he who, following the scripture's
teaching, no longer sees the five skandhas, the six facul-
ties, or the twelve pratrtya-samutpada. (p. 478c9-11)
However, in using the twelve nidanas to explicate this art of
returning to the origin, the commentator employs a schema
popularly used at the time to explain the transmigration of the
soul.
The immortal soul (shen pu-mieh)ak doctrine had then this
rationale, namely that at death the vijiiana would survive as the
shih-shen
al
(conscious spirit; consciousness), which would seek
out, by virtue of the leftover karmic impulse (hsinrtm for sar(Ls-
kara) , the next body (namarupa) , to resume life (bhava) again.
This schema seems to be implied in the following discussion:
98
T: The Bodhisattva, in practicing the boundless perfec-
tion of wisdom, does not abide in form.
C: He does not rely on the rilpakiiya (form-body) as his
basis.
T: He does not rely on or abide in consciusness while (be-
ing involved) in c.onception, or will
C: He takes no pnae III hIS namarilpa (name-body), eI-
ther.
T: Why? It is because, had he arrested himself in form, he
would have generated physical karmic impulses (se-hsing:
an
a combination of rilpa and sar{lskara),
C: At this point, there is the initial germination of life
(bhava) , but not yet body-karma as such (hsin-yeh).ao
T: If further arrests himself in perception, conception,
and will, then he will have generated consciousness.
C: He would then further initiate desires and works of
evil. Once there is this psychic karmic impulse (shih chih
hsing:
ap
the vijiWna's sarpskara), there is now sentient
existence.
T: Such would not be the proper perception of phenom-
ena.
C: This is perception not in accordance with the nature
of reality.
T: The boundless perfection of wisdom does not so gener-
ate karmic impulses that would require the perceptIOn.
C: When consciousness does not generate any physical
karmic impulse, it will be receptive to the perfection
of wisdom.
T: If such perception is incomplete with regards to the
perfection of wisdom, then one does not gain omniscence.
C: If, in the process, there is a hair-breadth of an evil
will-to-deed (hsiang-hsing),aq then it is incomplete and
one does not attain Buddhahood. (p. 479a23-29)
This seems to be saying that a normal person is reliant on and
trapped by his namarilpakaya but the contemplative may be able
to break the chain of rebirth (i.e., return to original nothing-
ness) by severing the karmic will-to-be from the transmigrating
consciousness. The doctrine of emptiness in the guise of pen-wu
was read primarily in terms of a psychic retrogression.
III. The Understanding of Hsin-Wu
ar
(Mind-as-Empty)
Pen-wu in the TMTC was not understood in terms of Wang
Pi's ontological nihilism. Similarly, although we find hsin-wu
99
(mind as empty) ideas in the TMTC, they should not be attribut_ .
ed to the Hsin-wu branch within the six Prajna schools. Howev_
er, many have taken that Hsin-wu schpol to mean simply "the
emptying of the perceiving mind (to effect the emptying of the'
object-world)." If we follow that simplification, we will miss the
import of this school, its innovation in its time, and its basic
difference from the naive "mind as empty" doctrine in the
Ming-tu commentary. The essential contribution of the Hsin-
wu thesis is this: it was the first major Chinese school to accept
Buddhist anatmavada, when all others implicitly or explicitly
accepted an entity called mind, soul, or spirit. Tang Yung-
t'ung puts it succinctly:
(Because of the custom of tracing all to mind,) many Bud-
dhists after the Han would discourse on form as empty (se-
k'ung) , as few would regard the itself as
(k'ung-hszn).at Note: at the tIme, the Chmese translatIon of
anatman was by way of Lao-tzu's phrase, fei-shen
au
("not of.
the body"). This implies that one should disassociate one-
self (i.e. one's spirit) from the body. This explains the re-
peated attacks on the Hsin-wu school by all major spokes-
men of the time.
13
The Hsin-wu school was, to wit, "the self (mind) as nonexistent"
school. It was ahead of its contemporaries and was, as I have
shown elsewhere, the basic antithesis that, in tension with the
basic Pen-wu thesis, touched off a series of redefinitions of the
emptiness problematik that resulted in the six-pointed dialectics
of the six Prajna schools.
14
Indeed, when we look at the TMTC and the running com-
mentary closely, we find that all poetic relapse notwithstanding,
neither the master nor the student would dispense with the
suggestion of a psychic core in man (however nebulous that ,.
core might be). For example, care is taken to disassociate the
good and the bad mind, so as not to destroy the notion of there
being a mind. Following a tradition long established by the An-
pan shou-i ching translation itself, the negative element was as-
signed to the i, ar an ambiguous term (covering the Sanskrit i.
manas, but possibly here the cetana, or the karmic drive in the
mind), in a usage colored very much by a Taoist relegation of i
(active intention) to secondary status, below the idle passivity of .
100
mind. One would denounce the i but preserve the mind.
Compare, for example, the Ming-tu passage below with the cor-
one in the Tao-hsing translation:
a) Mzng-tu:
Subhilti says, "The Bodhisattva mahasattva courses in this
boundless perfection of wisdom and perceives (the Truth)
as such. To so perceive it, he would not think that he in-
deed so understands the i of the Way. Why? This is be-
cause the i is not an i. It is a pure i that is all-illuminating."
The elder Sariputra asks, "What is meant by there being a i
that is not i?" (p. 478cl9-22)
b) Tao-hsing:
Subhilti says, "The Bodhisattva practices with the thought
in mind; he abides in accordance with that thought. As he
practices with that thought, he does not entertain in his
mind the idea that he is practicing to be a Bodhisattva.
Why? Because as there is mind, there is also no mind."
Sariputra asks, "What is meant by having a mind that is
also no-mind?" (p. 425c22-25)
Ming-tu avoids the suggestion of a no-mind mind. In order
to salvage a positive psychic entity, it distinguishes a good i and
.. a bad i. At first glance, this is harmless enough. Even the expla-
nation immediately following the above passage reads very ac-
ceptably:
T: Subhilti counters, "If (the i) is not a i, does it fall under
being or nonbeing?" .
C: My master says, "The student should know that the i
is not an i. Knowing that, he would no more entertain
abandoning it. Then the i would become pure and all
illuminating, there being no more defilements or dark-
ness." (p. 478c22-23)
.It is not that Chih Ch'ien did not know of the no-mind doc-
trine; he probably had the Tao-hsing-ching before him. It is,
rather, that Chih Ch'ien, here as well as in another crucial text,
proved himself too good an apologist and accomodator to prev-
alent Chinese taste.l
5
When the rationale implies the use of a certain matrix of
words, then one has to wonder if the psychology is not more
Taoist than Buddhist:
T: "Can it be attained?"
C: The "it" refers to i. That is, can one get at the locus of
this i?
T: "No, it cannot be."
C: That which is spoken of as cannot be (attained) may
not be said to be non-existent; but that may not be said to
have a set locus, either.
T: Subhuti says, "If it is not an i, then one can ascertain
neither its being nor nonbeing. It is not to be gained; it
cannot be understood. However, for one who is (psychical-
ly) corresponding to it, has he not that i, the i that is no-i?"
Sariputra asks; "I.f so, w h ~ ~ is this non-i?" .
Subhutl says, ' It IS wu-wez.' aw
C: By yu-wei
ax
(activity, sa7[!,skrta) is meant the mind of
life and death. The skandhas give rise to nien
ay
(thought).
If a person can abandon that one nien, he will at once
abide in (wu-wei that is) wu-pu-wd
z
(the nonaction that
activates all). By the absence of i we mean therefore the
abandoning of the thought (hsiang)ba of life and death.
Therefore, it is called non-i.
T: "Because there is no more extraneous nien."16
C: By extraneous thought is meant allowing thoughts
(hsiang) to be arrested at times in the object realm and at
times in the (subject) five skandhasP The i that is not
fixed on a single point is the "extraneous thought."
However, if one were contemplatively fixed on empti-
ness as such, no longer letting the fIve skandhas rIse,
then there would be no more extraneous thought. (p.
478c23-479a3).
The psychology is in part derived from the pre-Buddhist or
religious Taoist understanding of shou-i, keeping to the one
(related to but not to be confused with the homophonic shou-i,
guarding the intent).18
In this Taoist psychology, certain aggregates of terms sug-
gestive of deviation from the passivity of the ideal, innermost
mind are treated as negative, as yin, bb as activating and bur-
dened by the world of yu (existents, beings). We find these
terms used: nien, i, hsiang-by themselves, in compounds, or in
close juxtaposition. Their negation, i.e. wu-nien, bd fei-i, be WU-
hsiang,bf is deemed the preferred state. The fact that they over-
102
lap with possible Sanskrit counterparts in Chinese translation
(i.e. or wu-wang-nien, bg or
for fei-l, and anlmltta for wu-hszang or wu-hszang) complIcates
matters .. However, I believe the sinitic connotations of the
terms always managed to surface in the Chinese commentary
tradition. 19
Observe, for example, the fluidity in the commentary's use
of hsiang (thought, here technically not sarnjiul of the skandhas)
and nien (which in Chinese usage also means thought): .
T: Sariputra asks, "Thus the Bodhisattva in rracticing the
career of a man of the Way would arouse ni with regards
to the dharmas of the all-knowing (Buddha) or the com-
mon (person). Is it by approximating this unaroused (un-
born) Dharma that he so attains the all-knowing (omni-
scence) ?"
C: By the common dharma is meant that of life and
death (sar.nsara). By nonarousal is meant the quietude of
thought (hsiang). By approximating is meant to be about
to. What gives rise to the born is thought (nien).
T: Subhuti answers, "The unborn Dharma is that which
has no desire for essence. The unaroused thought (nien) is
also not a dharma-
C: The unaroused dharma is the thought (hsiang) that
desires nothing that it might (normally) hope to gain.
T: -that can be preferred either."
As the Awakening of Faith would later agree, the nien is what
gives birth to the born and the wu-nien (no-thought) what re-
covers (sic) the Unborn.
IV. The Ming-tu Commentary and Other PrajfiJi Schools
If we forget for the moment how the Hsin-wu school broke
with tradition in accepting anatman (no-self/mind/psyche), and
also forget how the fei-i (no-intent/mentation) doctrine in the
TMTC and the Ming-tu commentary here does not as such deny
. some subtle self (the pure i), then we may liberally trace the
other four Prajiia schools' positions in this commentary. Those
. other schools are
Huan-hua
bi
all is illusion
103
Shih-han
bj
Chi-se
bk
Yuan-hui
b1
all reality is a function of consciousness
emptiness in the midst of form
reality is just a confluence of conditions
The basic idealist position (that would include Hsin-wu,
Huan-hua, and Shih-han) is spelled out in this longest of com-
ments:
104
T: The Buddha says, " ... (The foolish people) who follow
the thinking of dharma have desire or are obsessed with
name and form. Because they are so obsessed, they do not
know this wisdom teaching that cannot be so used ... "
C: "Following the dharma" means following the citta-
dharma. By "name" is meant perception, conception, will,
and consciousness; by "form" is meant earth, water, fire
and wind. Those who follow their desires are obsessed
with these five skandhas. Their mind runs about in the
Three Realms, forever being reborn and unable to erase
the root that is the deviate consciousness (shih: vijfiana).
The Fa-chu,-ching
bm
(Dharmap'ada) says, "The basis is the
citta-cl,harma; all good and evIl retributions are due to the
mind." The karmic impulse (hsing: sa1'(tskara) being ill-
disposed, the retributory consciousness suffers rebIrth.
The five skandhas being flawed, the person cannot see
the dharma of no.-thougbt (wu-nien). This is the wisdom
dharma that is without a source.
20
It may win the sa-
madhi of no-thought (wu-hsiang).21 This is not the same
as (karmic) good and evil. 22 Then the twelve nidanas
themselves would cease; the various faculties would be
quieted down. In so abhorring life and death, the spirit
to th.e The chun-chen
chzng 0 says, The mmd (hszn) enters mrvaI).a, and, fol-
lowing its essence, becomes quiescent."
However, that (Hlnayana) cessation has not yet realized
the (Mahayana) Four Negations.
24
It still keeps to guard-
ing the i (intention) and the chih
bp
(will), thus (foolishly)
arousing empty thoughts in the midst of emptiness. For
doing tliat it actually only attains rebirth in heaven as a
god; the person will still return to life and death and
taste endless suffering. Better, the Hui-yin-ching
bq
says,
"If the person still regards the nirvaI).ic reality to be per-
manent while regarding the six corruptables
25
and the
Four Equanimities of Mmd as mutable, he is said to have
failed to enter nirvaI).a (Mahayana style), emptying the
empty and abiding in (true) quietude Itself." (p. 480a27-
b5.)
the mind is emptied, reality is emptied (Hsin-wu); all reali-
are results of a deluded consciousness (Shih-han).
If the theme of illusion (Huan-hua) is not evident above, it
the following:
T: (Subhuti answers,) " ... Form is illusion, as are percep-
tion, conception, will, and consciousness ... All six facul-
ties are alike here. Why? Because the illusion (created by)
the i is (none other than) the Three Realms. The Three
Realms are (none other than) the six faculties and the five
skandhas."
C: If consciousness is illusory, the six faculties will be
likewise. When the deluded i undergoes change, it allows
the Three Realms to come into being. (p. 480b17-22.)
"if one cares to distinguish between the two variations of the
pen-wu school, crediting the better of the pair to Tao-an, who
did not "reduce being to its opposite," as he accepted the "such-
:ness or naturalness of things themselves,"26 we also can find
more enlightened understanding in the Ming-tu commen-
tary. The student reports this:
C: My III:aster says, "All men are as such tzu-jan
br
.and
without activity. Even life and death are empty. The
path is also empty. Such ness too is empty. There never
was a man who attained nirvana from out of samsara.
The Buddha, the Dharma too, is empty. No one ever left
behind the various dharmas. All beings are originally
empty. There never was any activity, any sentient being."
(p. 481,9-11.)
Pen-wu is not something other than the real: Ifwe read the
commentary for shades of the later Prajna schools, we
indeed find them there. However, as noted earlier, such a
i;>search for origins overlooks actual historic developments. The
;!:Ming-tu commentary came before the realization of the mean-
'k.ing of anatmavada was brought home to the Chinese by the
'(Hsin-wu school. It belongs to a different era and contains the
from a still earlier tradition.
.. Truth, however, is timeless, and despite the shortcomings
; of the medium and the relative depth of sophistication in un-
"derstanding, the core message still shines through. We would
.' .. ; close therefore with this brisk but unmistakable passage, from
rI05
the "master" himself, concerning the import of the Bodhisatt_
va's career:
c: (My teacher says,) " ... The mahiisattva courses (in the
perfection of wisdom) and sees that as being identical
with life- and death. Sar.nsara and the (nirvaQ.ic) Way are
the same. All dharmas being empty, all things are equal.
This path of equality is one that would not abandon the
ill of sentient existence in an aspiration only for the ori-
ginally pure. Rather, it is to bear the pain of life and
death in order to guide others on to the Great Way so
that the path of the Buddha can continue with no end.
(p.482aI4-15.)
That is neither Hlnayana psychology nor Taoist philosophy,
and can never be reduced to them.
NOTES
1. TaishO Daizokyo (henceforth, T.) 55, p. 59al-3.
2. For example, by Eric Zurcher in his The Buddhist Conquest of China
(Leiden: Brill, 1959), vol. 1, p. 54, where it is listed along with two other
"oldest Chinese Buddhist commentaries."
3. Published in Tokyo by Shunjusha.
4. See his "The Earliest Mahayana Sutra: Its Significance to the Study of
Buddhist Development," The Eastern Buddhist, vol. 8, no. 1 (1975), pp. 30-4l.
5. This is the Fa-chu-ching; see Charles Willemen, The Chinese Udanavarga
(Brussels: 1978).
6. Zurcher, for example, pp. 53-54; he so places this and the other two
commentaries as works whose ideas were continuous with "the Northern
school of An Shih-kao, An Hsuan and Yen Fou-t'iao."bs The continuity is
there.
7. The three are the Hui-yin-ching (Tathiigata-jfiana mudra-samadhi siUra:
Taisho no. 632), the Liao-pen sheng-ssu chinl' (Sutra Resolving the Basis of
Life and Death: Taisho no. 708) and the already mentioned Fu-chu-ching
(Taisho no. 210). So we will follow Ui Hakuju in considering the "master" to
be Chih Ch'ien.
8. Tang, Han-Wei liang-Chin Nan-pei-chao Fo-chiao-shih
bu
(Peking:
Chung-hua reissue, 1955), p. 275.
9. Emending wu-hsiang (as in "thought") into wu-hsianl" (as in "form"),
an alternative noted in note 33 on p. 478. Both scripts, corrupted or not, have
been used for animitta, the absence of "marks," or "figures."
10. Chung-tao
bw
is "on the way," unless it is interchangeable with chung-
t'u
bx
for "half-way." At any rate, it means that the Buddha should not seek
106
,
enlightenment and deliverance prior to the completion of the salvif-

f;iC task.
;'.' 11. Mo-ting:
by
santi or nirodha samapatti has been suggested.
. 12. The meaning is not clear. It may be saying that when verbal verifica-
i;tion is exha4sted, then (in ways beyond words) ...
13. Tang, p. 275. This follows the last quote cited.
14. See my forthcoming "The Early Prajiia Schools: Especi,ally Bsin-Wu
: Reconsidered," Philosophy East and West, 33, no. I (1983), pp. 61-77.
. 15. Chapter 37 of the Fu-chu-ching reworked by him celebrates the im-
"mortal soul (see T. 4, p. 564a: titled "On SalJ1sara: on the soul of man or how
'when the body dies, the spirit continues to exist, being reborn according to its
;;deeds or karmic impulse, hsing: saT(lSkara"). This and chapter 36 are the two
i.that Willemen (pp. XIV-XV) can find no Sanskrit/Pali source for.
, 16.tsa-nien:
bz
literally, mixed or miscellaneous thought; but since this is
, used in opposition to the pure or unadulterated thought, I would render it as
!'extraneous," with the understanding that it implies a mind divided and less
than single-minded.
17. Text corrupted; emending ch'ieh ... ch'ieh
ca
("still ... still") for the
tan . .. tan
cb
("at times ... at times") and changing chintC (for sutra:
which makes little sense here unless it stands for the literal meanings of the
i;scripture) into chintd (for "object-realm": paired with subject-skandhas).
v' 18. On this Taoist tradition based on the Lao-tzu and developed by the
iT'ai-p'ing-ching,ce see Tang Yung-t'ung, pp. 110-112.
19. See a critical example shown in my "A Clue to the Authorship of the
,Awakening of Faith: Redaction of the Word Nien, " ]lABS, vol. 3,
no. 1 (1981), pp. 34-52, and the sequel, "Suddenly a Thought Rose: Chinese
Understanding of Mind and Consciousness," ]lABS, vol. 3, no. 2 (l98.1),pp.
;42-59. It is in the Ming-tu commentary here (p. 479al) that I find the earliest
use of and assumption about "the skandhas by themselves give rise to nien"-a
dictum assumed by the Awakening of Faith (Paramartha text) and disallowed
by the text, as well as by the Platform Siltra. The latter correctly
'notes that only the mind, not the other skandhas, can give rise to "thought;"
'rilpa should not be involved with nien by strict Buddhist standards.
20. Compare the "beginningless deluded thought" in the Awakening of
Faith.
21. Given the context here, this could not mean the trance state corre-
sponding to the arilpyadhatu.
:' 22. Text unclear; I am taking it to mean that the attainment of no-
'thought (or animitta) rises above karmic retribution still trapped in form or
thought.
23. The immortal soul rejoins the cosmic Geist.
24. Shihlei,cf which I take to be the four-cornered dialectical denials.
25. The text gives "great sorrow" but this seems to be a corruption of
corruptables," i.e., the six faculties.
26. The distinction is in my opinion made in deference to Tao-an's
",u,uUO-'UJLl'. in the Buddhist community. Tang Yung-t'ung accepts this as valid
cites this from Tao-an to show the better of pen-wu understanding: The
basis of expedient transformation comes out of tzu-jan (natural, ta,thatii) itself.
Nature is simply self-be. It is not that there is a creator. From this we can infer
that when Nonbeing is said to be prior to the primal transformation, or, that
Emptiness is the beginning of all forms, i.e. pen-wu, we do not mean that the
myriad existents were born out of some empty vacuity itself. (Cited by Tang,
p.247.)
GLOSSARY

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108
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aJ
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al
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an eft
ao
ap
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ar ,c., 1!\t
as
at
au*,!1}
aw 1!\t:m
ax 1'r:m
ay E:
ba W-
bb
be 1f
bd 1!\t E:
be
bf 1!\t
bg 1!\t
bh 1!\ttEi
bi iJ it;
bj
bk gpe
bi
bm it. kiH3!.
bn
ea R ... fl.
eb B'''''
ee
bo J...;;$: *3!.
bp
bq
br El
bs
bt 7;2j;;: 1:. *' *3!.
bu II l'P.i i.i
bv 1!\t 1'J!, -+ 1!\t ;j;
bw 9"
bx 9" l
by alE
bz
The Generalization of an Old
Yogic Attainment in Medieval
Mahayana Sutra Literature:
Some Notes on J atismara
1
by Gregory Schopen
I. Introduction: Ideas Concerning jatismara Found in the Nikaya/
Agamas
The obtainment of jatismara, "the ability to recollect or re-
member one's former births," is well known in early Buddhist
sutra literature. It occurs as the first of three "sciences" (vidya),
the fourth of the five or six "superknowledges" (abhijiia), and
the eighth of the ten "powers" of a Tathagata (tathagatadasa-
bala).
Many years ago the late Professor Demieville published a
richly detailed study of the references to jatismara in the Nikaya/
Agama literature, which we might quickly summarize. Refer-
ring to MaJjhima i 22-23, he says, "Ie Buddha definit les trois
vijja telles qu'il les obtint par la discipline spiritulle dans la
solitude de la foret, apres avoir atteint les quatre degres de
jhana." He notes that Majjhima i 278-80 refers to "un bhikkhu
qui, par la meditation solitaire, s'est acquis diverses facultes
mentales, dont les dernieres enumerees et definies, apres les
quatre degres de jhana, sont: Ie connaissance des existences
anterieures, l'oeil divin, la fin des ecoulements," that according
to Sa'f!l,yukta Agama TT. XIII, 3, 83
a
-
b
"les trois vidya sont attri-
buees a ceux qui n'ont plus a etudier (ar;aik:ia) , c'est-a-dire aux
saints du quatrieme 'fruit' ou degre, aux arhats." He notes fur-
ther that at Sa'f!l,yutta i 196 "ayant atteint l'arhattvam, Vanglsa
declare avoir obtenu les trois v ~ j a , " that at Sa'f!l,yutta ii 210 "Kas-
sapa posseda les quatre jhana, et les six abhiiiiia," and that at
109
Sar{tyutta i 191 "sur cinq cents arhats entourant le Buddha, soix-
ante possedent les trois vijja, soixante les six abhiniW; soixante
sont delivres de deux manieres; les autres sont delivres par la
sagesse (panna)." Finally, he notes that at Dfgha i 13 "la memoire
des existences anterieures au nombre d'une plusieurs cen-
taines de milliers, resultant d'une etat de samadhi obtenu par Ie
zele ardent, l'effort, l'application, la vigilance; l'attention sou-
tenue ... ," is attributed to non-Buddhist ascetics, and that the
independent Chinese translation of the Brahmajala-sutta TT.
XII, 10, 91 b says that "s;il y a un religieux heretique qui tranche
Ie desir et pratique Ie dhyana, et si son imagination se trouve en
samadhi, il peut penser aux choses de vingt kalpa passes."2
On the basis of these and similar passages it is quite clear
that in the Nikaya/Agama literature jatismara, "the ability to rec-
ollect or remember one's former births," invariabl'y occurs as
only one of a list of faculties, never by itself. It is equally clear
that it is invariably connected with the higher stages ofmedita-
tional technique, that it was, in fact, a concomitant of the most
sophisticated forms of yogic attainment. It is also clear that in
this literature it is ascribed only to religious virtuosos-notably
to Arhats, and, of course, to the Buddha
These findings are, of course, of interest in themselves.
But they also are of interest because references to jatismara
continue to be found in Mahayana Sutra Literature, and a com-
parison of the Mahayana references with those found in the
Nikaya/Agama texts will allow us to see how that movement we
now call the Mahayana handled a specifically "elitist" idea of a
particular ascetic or yogic attainment.
II. The Continuation of the Ideas Found in the Nikaya/Agamas in
Some Mahayana Sutras & A First Indication of Something Different:
The UpalipariPrccha.
There are a number of references to jatismara in Mahayana
sutra literature that remain close in character to the references
found in the Nikaya/Agamas. This is the case, for example, in the
Pratyutpannabuddhasa7{l-mukhavasthitasamadhi-sutra, where jati-
smara is said to be obtained-as one of the ten "powers" of a
Tathagata-as the result of abiding in a particular samadhi.
3
It
110
is also the case in the Samadhiraja-sutra. where the chief interloc-
utor, Candraprabha, is described as "one who has done his duty
under former Jinas, has planted roots of merit, has the recollec-
tion of his former births, has inspired speech, etc. (p1.lrvajina-
krtadhikaro 'varopitakuSalamulo jatismaro labdhapratibhano ... ),"
and where the same Candraprabha is explicitly urged to train
for "control of the body" (kayasa1'[tvara) and "purity of body and
conduct" (pariSuddhakiiyasamudacara), since the Bodhisattva who
has kayasa1'[tvara and isparisuddhakayasamudacara is said to ob-
tain-again as one of the ten "powers" of a Tathagata-jati-
smara, the faculty by which he recollects his former states of
existence (purve nivasam anusmarati).4
These passages, and a limited number of similar passages,
are not so remarkable in themselves. They do, however, indi-
cate that jatismara continued to be connected with the religious
. virtuoso; that it continued to be perceived as a concomitant of
meditation (samadhi) and yogic discipline at an advanced level;
and that it continued to occur primarily in association with the
various lists of "powers," "sciences," and" superknowledges."
We do not have to read far, however, before we begin to find
something quite different, and this difference-as we shall see
-tends to occur on something like a massive scale.
When we move to other, and perhaps later Mahayana
texts, we begin to find jatismara occurring in a rather different
context. We might look, for example, at the first "section" of
the VinayaviniScaya-upalipariprccha. Python has pointed out that
the text as we have it "se divise en deux sections" and that
"chaque section se suffit a elle-meme." The first "section" opens
with the Buddha looking over the assembly and asking "qui
serait capable (utsahate) , dans les temps a venir, pour Ie main-
tien de la bonne Loi, de se fixer sur ce parfait et complet Eveil
. : . et de veiller a faire murir les etres (sattvaparipaka) par des
moyens tres varies (nana-upaya) . ... "5 In response, a long list of
Bodhisattvas declare their "capability" to save beings, each
specifying his particular means. Among these Bodhisattvas,
one, Ma:o.ibhadra, declares: bcom ldan 'das bdag ni sngon gyi skye
ba rjes su dran par bgyid pas sems can rnams yongs su smin par bgyid
par spro lags so: "0 Blessed One, I shall be willing and able to
mature beings by causing them to recollect their former
births."6
II
In this short passage we begin to sense a fairly fundamen-
tal difference. It involves at least two interrelated ideas. First,
jatismara is here not the result of meditational development on
the part of the individual, but something that is effe.cted by an
external agent-a Bodhisattva-for the purpose of furthering
the religious . life of "beings." Second, since the text is here
concerned with "beings" it is clear that in this passage jatismara
is not presented as a faculty attainable only by the religious
virtuoso. Instead, it appears as something available in one way
or another to all "beings." We find similar indications of this
fundamental difference in several passages in the Suvarr;abha-
sottama-siltra.
III. The Difference Confir:med: Two Cases from the Suvarr;abhiisot-
tama and Their Parallels
There are four references to jatismara in the Suvarr;abhasot-
tama, three of them in Chapter Three. This is of some signifi-
cance, since Nobel has argued that this chapter ,"ist der Kern
unseres ganzen Goldglanz-Sutra."7 Chapter Three appears, in
fact, to have been a kind of "confessional formulary" intended
for individual recitation, a formulary by which one ritually ex-
pressed the intentions of his act, "confessed" or declared his
faults, worshipped the Buddhas, and turned over the resulting
merit to specific ends-all according to a specific sequence also
found elsewhere, notably in the Bhadracariprar;idhiina (vss. iv
ff.) and the Bodhicaryavatara (Chs. II & III).
The individual, reciting the words of the formulary, begins
by declaring a series of pious wishes which he hopes the formu-
lary will effect: "By the excellent drum of golden light [i.e.,
these desanagathas, "confessional verses," or the "confessional
formulary" that constitutes this chapter] let the woes in the
triple-thousand world be suppressed, the woes in the evil states,
the woes in the world ofYama .... May those beings who dwell
in an evil state [apayabhilmau] , their limbs alight with blazing
fire, hear the sound of the drum. May they take up the refrain:
'homage to the Buddha.' Mayall beings be mindful of their
(former) births during hundreds of births, thousands of mil-
lions of births [jatismaral} satva bhavantu sarve / jatiSata jatisahas-
112
rakotyalJ,], etc."8 Further on in the formulary, after the "confes-
sion" of faults, the worship of the Buddhas, and the "going
for refuge," the individual reciting the formulary is to say:
"And by.this good act [kusalena karmarpJ,], may I ere long be-
come a Buddha .... And may I be continually mindful of for-
mer births for hundreds of births, thousands of millions of.
births [jatismaro nitya bhaveya caha1[t I jatiSata
-"9
etc.
Both these occurrences of jatismara in the Suvarr;abhiisot-
tama have fairly close parallels elsewhere. In the Bhadra-
cariprar;fdhiina, another "formulary" intended for and used in
individual recitation, a formulary by which, again, the individ-
ual is to express the intentions of his act, declare his faults,
worship the Buddhas, and turn over the resulting merit to
specific ends, we find:
"Whatever is the merit (subha1[t) accumulated by me
from honoring, worshipping, confessing, rejoicing, and
beseeching-all that I turn over for enlightenment. 11121/
As numerous as are all the living beings in the ten
directions, may they always be at ease and free from illness.
May their religious purposes (dhiirmiku artho) be successful
and their wishes fuffilled! 11151/
And may I, practicing the practice for enlightenment
in all rebirths, be possessed of the memory of my former
births (bodhicari1[t ca aha1[t caramar;o I bhavi jatismaru sarvaga-
t4u) ... 11161/
10
Something very like what we see in both the Suvarr;abhiisot-
tama and the Bhadracarfprar;idhiina is also found in the tenth
chapter of Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara. This chapter is, I think,
of particular significance because Santideva appears here to be
speaking as an individual religious man, not as a "professional
theologian": he is here dedicating his meritorious act-that is to
say, the exposition of the Dharma in the form of the Bodhica-
ryavatara-in the same way as countless individual donors have
done in Buddhist donative inscriptions. He says first in refer-
ence to other living beings: "through the power of my meritori-
ous act (mama kusalabalena, X. 10)," "through my meritorious
acts (matkwalailJ" X. 15)," " ... may they always have memory of
113
their former births! ( ... santu jatismara sada, X. 27)." Later, in
regard to himself, he says "through this merit of mine (anena
mama pury,yena, X. 31) ... may I always obtain recollection of my
former births and the going forth ( .. '. jatismaratva'Y(t pravrajyam
aha'Y(t ca prapnuya'Y(t sada, X. 51)."11
In all of these passages, as in the Upalipariprccha, jatismara
occurs without the invariable association with lists of other fac-
ulties-the ten "powers," the three "sciences," etc.-found in
the Nikaya/Agama literature studied by Demieville; in all these
passages jatismara occurs without the usually invariable associ-
ation with the religious virtuoso; and here, again,jatismara is no
longer associated with the higher forms of meditational devel-
opment. In both the first occurrence in the Suvar1'}abhasottama
and in Santideva's dedication,jatismara is again, as in the Upali- .
pariprccha, both something that is available to all living beings-
even those in the hells-and something that can be effected by
an external agent. In the Suvarry,a, the Bhadracarf and in Santi-
deva the obtainment ofjatismara is one of the reasons for which
the individual undertakes the act of "confession" and worship,
one of the things to which he turns over the resulting merit. It
is not through meditational activity, butku.salena karmary,a,
"through a meritorious act," and anena mama pury,yena, "through
merit," thatjatismara is to be obtained through "whatever is the
merit (fubha'Y(t) accumulated through honoring, worshipping,
confessing, rejoicing, etc." That this-in part at least-came to
be the most common conception of jatismara in Mahayana siitra
literature is further confirmed by yet another passage from the
Suvarry,abhasottama and its parallels.
IV. A Passage from the Suvarry,abhasottama & the Emergence. of a
Pattern: The Obtainment of Jatismara through Non-meditational
Activity Involving Ritual Acts & Sacred Images.
The third and final reference to jatismara in the third chapter
of the Suvar1'}abhasottama occurs in the following passage:
114
yo vandate dasabalan sada ca
prasannasuddhamalamanasena
imaya :t;ariry,aman..a,!ar1'}i(aya_
ca kalpan Jahate apayan / /
etebhi slokebhi ca varfJ,itebhilJ,
striyo ca
yo muni krtMijalibhilJ, sthihitva
sarvatm jatismam1Jo jat'i!ju II
sarvangasarvendriyasobhita1Jgo
vicitmpu1Jyebhi gU1Jair upetalJ,
narendrarajaiS ca sa puJitalp sada
etadrso tatm tatm 1112
Although Professor Nobel describes his text here as "sehr
unsicher," and although Professor Emmerick has understood
the text a little differently than I would, still I think the "paral-
lel" passages that will be cited below indicate that these verses
should be translated as follows:
Who always worships and praises the Dasabalas with a
devout, pure, and spotless mind by means of this (formu-
lary) WhICh is praised as (a way of) turning over merit, he
avoids (birth in) the hells for sixty kalpas. II
And whoever-men, women, brahmaJ)as, and
stood with his hands in the gesture of rever-
ence, praises the Muni by means of these celebrated verses,
he has everywhere in his rebirths recollection of his former
births; II
He has all his members, all his faculties, and a beauti-
ful body; he is possessed of qualities and manifold merits
and is always honored by the kings of men-everywhere he
will be such as this. 11
13
This translation, Ihope, makes it clear thatjatismara occurs
here, as elsewhere even in the Suvar1Jabhasottama, as a stipulated
reward or "blessing" (anuSa'l'{lSa) for a form of non:meditational
activity-in this case for "worshipping and praising"
Buddhas by means of the ritualized recitation of this specif- .
formulary-and that its obtainment is open to all: "men,
brahmaI)as and But that this passage is only
bne example of a definite pattern is clear from a number of
other passages elsewhere, where ritualized acts of worship of
degrees of elaboration are said to result in the same
thing. We might look first at a few passages where the ritualized
. acts of worship are rather simple and uncomplicated.
The first occurrence we might note is in a short passage in
the A valokana-sutra (,phags pa spyan ras gzigs shes bya ba theg pa
chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 34, 234-1-8),14 the Sanskrit text of
which is preserved at Mahiivastu ii 366.5-6. Here, although the
larger context concerns the ritual presentation of items to, and
the worship of, the stiipas of the Tathagata, our passage says
simply of the individual that " .. : having done piija to the '
Tathagata, he becomes one who has recollection of his former
births, and he is not carried away by passions, etc. ( ... puja'f{/,
krtva tathiigate / jatismaras ca so bhoti na so ragena hriyati, etc.)."
In a passage from the Sa'Y[tghiifa-sutra founq at Gilgit we
also find: "The Blessed One said: 'Listen Bhai(lajyasena! The
man who at the moment of death, being deprived of life, after
having rendered his mind devoutly inclined towards the Tatha-
gata, has spoken thus: "Homage to the Blessed One, the Tatha-
gata, the Arhat, the Completely and Perfectly Awakened One"
- he, having done so a single time, 0 Bhai(lajyasena, through'
that root of merit will experience the ease of the gods of the
thirty-three for sixty aeons; he will have recollection of the
succession of his former births for eighty aeons (sa tena,
kuSalamulena kalpan trayastri'Y[tSata'Y[t devana'f{/, .
sukham asitil], kalpa'Y[t jatyajatismaro bhav4yati).'" 15
Elsewhere, the ritual activity is specifically said to involve
the use of images and is more elaborately described. In another
text from Gilgit, the Tathiigatabimbakarapa1'}a-sutra, iI:l reference
to which Professor Mette says "die grammatische Konstruktion '
ist nicht immer durchsichtig," the making, bathing and wor- .
shipping of an image of the Buddha is said to result in the
obtainment of jatismara. Of the doer of such acts it is said:
kascid va va upasako [va] upasika va va .
brahma7f,o va vaiSyo va sudro va eva'Y[trupasu jat4u srutidharo bhavati.
jatismaro bhavati: "A monk or nun or lay man or WDman, a
k(latriya or brahmaJ).a or vaisya or sudra comes to be in all births
one who retains what has been heard and remembers his for-
mer births."16
In the Gilgit text of the it is said that if
"friends, relatives, and kinsmen who will go for refuge to the
Buddha Bhai(lajyaguru perform puja in a certain way (idrsena
prayogena puja'Y[t kurvanti) for the sake of a man who has just'
died," the result will be that either "his consciousness could
return again immediately (and) he then becomes aware of him-
116
;;elf (i.e. of his judgement' before Yama, which has just taken
place] as in a dream; or if the seve.nth day' or the twenty-
'first or thirty-fifth or forty-nmth day hIS conSCIOusness would
be reborn again, he would obtain recollection. He himself (in
either case) is a direct witness to (the effects of) merit, demerit,
and the results of his (past) actions ( ... tasya vijfianaT(l, punar eva
>pratinivarteta svapnantara ivatmana'T(L sa'T(Ljanati; yadi va saptame
divase ... yadi va navacatvari'T(Lsatime divase tasya vijfiana'T(L nivar-
teta, smrtim upalabhet; so kufalam akusalaT(l, karmavipakaT(l, svayam
eva pratyak!io bhavati)." The puja to be done is then described in
" some detail: " ... for seven days and nights the obligation of the
possessed of eight parts is to be undertaken, and for
'the community of monks puja and service is to be performed
>with food' and drink, with all the requisites, according to one's
iabilities; three times in the night, three times in the day worship
to be done (namasyitavyaT(l,) to the Blessed One
rguruvaic;luryaprabha, the Tathagata; forty-nine times this sutra
to be recited ([an]usmarayitavyaT(l,); forty-nine lamps are to be
Oighted; seven images are to be made; for each image seven
are to be set up; each lamp is to be made the size of the
of a cart. If on the forty-ninth day the light is not ex-
jhausted, forty-nine five-colored flags are to be (left standing
;?(?). All the Mss. are here faulty)."17
,. We find a similar and equally detailed passage in the Bud-
)dhabaladMnapratiMryavikurvar;anirdesa-sutra ('phags pa sangs
Frgyas kyi stobs bskyed pa'i cho 'phrul rnam par 'phrul ba bstan pa zhes
.bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 34, 193-2-3ff.).18 Here, it
:jis said that if someone, "for the benefit of those beings who
.,:ihave gone to the Avlci Hell, or have been born in the three
destinies, or for the sake of releasing friends and
{,relatives, has painted images or images of clay of those Tatha-
ligatas made [the Tathagatas are listed, earlier at 192-5-3, and
'{include Amitabha, Sikhin, Kasyapa, etc.]; and
had them made also directs the most excellent thought
;,of compassion towards all living beings, and having undertaken
eight-limbed worthy path ('phags pa'i lam yan brgyad pa dang
gyur nas), from the eighth day of the waxing moon until the
three times a day and three times a night, does puja
r
to
those Tathagatas with flowers, perfumes, etc. , . , and (if), for
:,the sake of freeing those beings, he turns over (the resulting
'117
merit), etc."-if he does all thIs then, the text says, "the names
of those Tathagatas would be heard by those then born in the
Avlci Hell and the unfortunate destiI)ies, and on account of
this, and of copying, reading and worshipping this text," they,
"having recollected their good and bad acts (i.e., the fruits
thereof), afterwards would not perform an evil _act. From that
they would be freed from those sufferings and would go to a
fortunate destiny ( ... dge ba dang mi dge ba'i las rjes su dran par
gyur nas phyis sdig pa'i las byed par mi 'gyur tel de nas sdug bsngal de
dag las yongs su grol bar 'gyur zhing bde 'gror 'gro bar 'gyur ro I)."
These and similar passages clearly indicate that ritualized
worship of a Buddha or Buddhas, frequenty directed towards
sacred images or involving the recitation of a specific text,
forms a distinct category of non-meditational activity which can
be undertaken by all-monks, nuns, lay men and women-and
which is stipulated to result in the obtainment of jatismara. Two
further points, however, are worth noting here.
Hsuan-tsang, in the record of his travels in India, confirms
the fact that we have to do here with an element of actual
. . .
practice, or, rather, that ritual activity in regard to specific
Buddha images was in practice actually connected with the po-
tential obtainment of jatismara. He says in his account of Bodh-
Gaya: "To the north-west of the Bodhi-tree in a vihara is the
image of Kasyapa Buddha. It is noted for its miraculous and
sacred qualities. From time to time it emits a glorious light. The
old records say, that if a man actuated by sincere faith walks
around it seven times, he obtains the power of knowing the
place and condition of his (former) births."19
The second point to be noted is that the obtainment of
jatismara is of particular importance for both the B,uddhabala-
dhanapratiharyavikurva1Janirdesa and, especially, the
guru-sutra. It is, as a matter of fact, clear from both texts that in
both cases the one essential reason for undertaking the ritual is
to assure that the individual on whose behalf it is undertaken
will obtain jatismara and-as we shall see-undergo the behav-
ioral transformation that is held to be its inevitable conse-
quence. This, in fact, is specifically stated in the Bha4ajyaguru-
sutra. But since, in regard to the Bha4ajyaguru-sutra, the passage
under discussion constitutes the central piece of the text and,
by extension, of the cult of based on it, it would
118
appear that the primary function of this figure, and the prima-
ry purpose of the c:xlt devoted. him was assure a given
individual the obtamment of Jatzsmara and Its concomItant be-
havioral change. This view is of course not in entire agreement
with at least one recent view, which wants to be
seen as a "Buddha of Healing."20
. V. A Final Passage from the Suvar1fabhiisottama & the Obtainment of
Jiitismara Through a Second Kind of Non-meditational Activity: Acts
Connected with Sacred Names
If the ritualized worship of Buddhas or Buddha images
forms a distinct category of non-meditational acts that are stip-
ulated to result in the obtainment ofjatismara, it is by no means
. the only category of such acts. This is obvious, for example,
from the fourth and final reference to jatismara in the Suvar1fa-
bhiisottama. This reference occurs in the last sentence of what is
noW the ninth chapter of the text, "The Chapter on the Preser-
vation of the Names of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas." This
short chapter is, apart from the last line, entirely made up of a
series of invocations to a series of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, in
the form namo bhagavato ratnasikhinas tathagatasya, or some
slight variation thereof. After this series of invocations, the
chapter concludes with the stipulation that "who [that is to say
'anyone who'] preserves, recites, or attends to these names of
the Tathagatas and names of the Bodhisattvas from the SuvaTlfa-
bhiisottama, the King of the Best Sutras, he will always have
recollection of his former births (sa nityar(!, jatismaro bha-
vi)yati). "2 I
Similar occurrences where the obtainment of jatismara is
contingent on some activity connected with a Buddha's name
can be seen in the Kusumasar(!,caya-sidra (,phags pa me tog gi tshogs
shes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 37, 78-5-7ff) where it
is said that "if a son or daughter of good family hears the name
(mtshan thos na) of the Tathagata Pad mo la bzhud pa"-one of
the numerous Buddhas mentioned in the text-he, "having
passed away, will come to have a beautiful and hands0me form,
and beings will delight in seeing him ... and recalling to mind
incalculable kalpas, as they really were, so he will fully know
119
them (tshe 'phos nas gzugs bzang zhing mdzes pa dangj sems can
rnams mthong na dga' ba dang / ... bskal pa grangs med pa rjes Su
dran zhing yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin d}l rab tu shes so /)."
In yet another passage from the it is
said of those people who refuse to give gifts even when the
occasion arises-:-clearly not religious virtuosos-that they,
"having passed away from here, will be reborn in the world of
the pretas or among animals. (But) by which of them, when.
formerly they were men, the name of that Blessed One Bhai-'
the Tathagata, will hav_e been heard,
to them now dwelling in the world of Yama, or dwelling among
animals, the name of that Tathagata will (again) come to be
present. Immediately, through (that name) being merely re-
called, having passed away from there, they will once again be
reborn among men, and they will have recollection of their
former births ( ... tatra yamaloke sthitanarrt va tiryagyonau
sthitanarrt va tasya tathiigatasya nama amukhfbhav4yati saha smarita-
matre1'}a tataS cyutva punar api upapatsyanti jatismaras .
ca bhav4yanti). "22
In the closely related Saptatathiigatapurvapra1'}idhiinaviSe!ia-
vistarasutra ('phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa bdun gyi sngon gyi smon lam
gyi khyad par rgyas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 6, .
126-2-5ff.) there are, in addition to the two references to jati-
smara also found in the independent version of the Bha4ajya-
guru-sutra, two further references. The first concerns the name
of the Buddha Mya ngan med mchog dpal: "Mafljusr( who,
hearing the name of the Blessed One Mya ngan med mchog
dpal, recites it three times a day and three times a night, dwells
in friendliness towards all beings, and worships that Tathagata,
of them all the obstructions due to past acts would be purified,
they would be freed from all sorrow and suffering and arixiety
and trouble; they would always be free of disease; living a long
time, they would be free from all sickness; until the time that
they attained awakening they would not undergo any downfall;
they would recollect their former births, etc. ( ... byang chub kyi
mthar thug gi bar du log par lhung bar 'gro bar mi 'gyur / skye ba dran
bar 'gyur / etc., 129-5-5ff.)." A very similar passage, in which
jatismara-among other things-results from "hearing, pre-
serving, and having faith in" the name of the Buddha Chos
120
IDsgrags rgya mtsho'i dbyangs, occurs later in the same text at
CI30-3-
6
.
" In the Ratnajalipariprccha-sutra (,phags pa rin chen dra ba can
;gyis zhus pa zhes ba the/S. pa chen po'i mdo, Pek .. 01. as a
part of the openmg questIOn of the RatnaJah speClfically
asks who the Buddhas are through heanng the names of which
:a "son or daughter of good family" would-again, among other
;things-come to be possessed of the recollection of his former
biiths (tshe rabs dran pa dang yang ldan par 'gyur, 240-2-7f.).
'Then, at 241-4-3, as one of the results which follow from
"hearing" (thos pa) and "preserving" (,dzin pa) the name of one
of the several Buddhas mentioned in the text we find: "Having
seen the Illuminator of the World, he obtains immeasurable
joy; while practicing the Bodhisattva-practice he will recollect
his former existences ( ... byang chub spyad pa spy ad pa na / tshe
rabs dag ni dran par 'gyur)."
Similar passages in which the obtainment of jatismara is
said to result from "hearing, preserving, and having faith in"
the names of one or another Buddha are found once in the
Dvadaiabuddhaka-siltra (,phags pa sangs rgyas bcu gnyis pa zhes bya
ba theg pa chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 37, 96-1-5); twice in the
Dasabuddhaka-siltra (sangs rgyas bcu pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i
mdo, Pek. Vol. 37, 94-5-4, 5-5); and twelve times in the Bud-
dhamakuta-siltra (,phags pa sangs rgyas kyi dbu rgyan zhes bya ba theg
pa chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 37, 96-5-7; 97-1-5,2-6,3-3,4-6,
5-2; 98-1-6, 2-1, 3-1, 3-7,4-6, and 5-4).
VI. The Obtainment of Jatismara Through a Third Kind of Non-
c:meditational Activity: Acts Connected with Sacred Texts.
.... It is clear from these Mahayana texts that for them, unlike
/for the Nikaya/Agama texts, jatismara was to be obtained not
through meditational or yogic attainments, but through merit
and merit-making activity, through at least two distinct categor-
ies of such activity-the ritualized worship of Buddhas, often
directed towards images, and the hearing and preserving of the
.. narp.e of any of a long list of Buddhas-and that it could be
.. obtained by anyone. It is equally clear from other passages that
,.121
there were at least two other categories of non-meditational
religious activity that could produce the same result for the
same category of individuals: acts connected with sacred texts
and acts connected with dharal).ls. In regard to the first of t h e s ~
additional categories, it can be noted that the activity concerned
is occasionallydirected towards the Dharma as a general cate-
gory rather than to a specific text. This is the case, for example,
in a verse from the Subhii/iitaratnakarar;,r;lakakathii which Profes-
sor Zimmermann translates as:
Wer in diesem Leben beharrlich das Juwel des
Dharma niederschreibt, hort, (oder) unablassig daruber
nach denkt-oder auch wenn ihm einer hohe Verehrung
erweist,-der erlangt stets die Fahigkeit, sich (seiner frii-
heren) Geburten zu erinnern [ ... jatismaratvar(l labhate sa
nityam /]. "23
More typically, however, jatismara is said to result from
"Copying, preserving or worshipping" a specific text. At Bud-
dhabaladhiinapratihiiryavikurvar;,anirde.sa (Pek. Vol. 34) 193-5-
4f., for example, it is said that "if someone worships or copies
or has copied this discourse on Dharma they will obtain eight
great benefits (yon tan chen po)," the last of which is "they are
reborn in a place in accordance with their desire and they will
recollect their former births (ji ltar 'dod pa'i gnas su skye zhing tshe
rabs dran par 'gyur ba ste)."
At Aparimitayur-jfiana-sutra 23.8 we find it said that he "who
will copy or will have copied this AparimitayulJ,-sutra . .. is'l1ever
reborn in the hells, will never be reborn among animals nor in
the world of Yama; in whatsoever state he is reborn, he in every
single birth has recollection of his former births (yatra yatra
janmany utpadyate sarvato jatau jatau jatismaro bhavati)."24 Virtual-
ly the same thing is said at Karar;,q,avyuha-sutra 278.32
25
of those
who have the Karar;,q,avyuha copied. In fact, earlier in the Karar;,-
q,avyuha we find that in regard to those who "hear, and having
heard, copy, preserve and worship the text," "for them the five
acts with immediate retribution will be exhausted; after having
exhausted (these), they will come to be purified in body and
have recollection of their former births (te/iar(l ca paficanantar-
yar;,i karmar;,i k!iapayanti k!iapayitva pariSuddhakiiya bhavi/iyanti jati-
smaras ca, 269.19)."
122
"In the it is said first that he who will whole-
honor (adhyasayena namaskari-?yati) the
'''will in births for ninty-five aeons have recollection of his for-
'mer births <par{tcanavatikalpar{t jatau jatismaro bhav4yati)," and
later that he who will hear the "will have recol-
lection of his >former births for eighty aeons (yar{t [but Tib: gang
'gil dharmaparyayalJ, agami-?yati'so 'itilJ, kal-
pa:r[tJatzsmaro [so no. 36] bhavZ-?yatz). 26
In the
Cphags pa de bzhin gshegs pa rnams kyi sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon
tan brjod pa'i chos kyi rnam grangs, Pek. Vol. 28, 262-5-6), as a
part of the concluding section of this short text it is said of those
who "preserve, retain, read, study, and teach this text to others"
that at the moment of their death innumerable Buddhas will
appear before them, and that "until they fully awaken to ut-
most, right, and perfect awakening, they will recollect their
former births (bla ma med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa'i byang chub
mngon par rdzogs par sangs rgyas kyi bar du skye [so Lhasa, Vol. 50,
255-1-1; Pek.: sde] ba dran par 'gyur ro I)."
In addition to the texts already cited, at least three of the
"shorter" Prajnaparamita texts also contain references to jati-
smara. In the Prajnaparamita-Vajrapar;i-sutra Cphags pa shes rab
kyi pha rol tu phyin pa lag na rdo rje'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 21, 259-2-4)
it is said that one who preserves this Perfection of Wisdom (su
zhig shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa 'di 'dzin par byed na), will
remember his former births (de skye ba dran par 'gyur ro). In the
rAdhyardhasatika Prajnaparamita we find it said that "he who car-
>ries this discourse on Dharma within himself, or (by whom),
:aftet being written in a book, it is circulated, that man becomes
,an object to be honored. He for many millions of aeons will
!remember his births (chos kyi rnams grangs 'di gang gi lus la thogs
sam Iglegs bam la bris te spyod pa'i gang zag de phyag bya ba'i gnas su
'gyur ro I de bskal pa bye ba mang por skye ba dran par 'gyur ro).27
Finally, there are two references to jatismara in the somewhat
"redundant concluding paragraph of the Aryaprajnaparamita
" nama both of which appear to have been misunder-
stood by its translator. The paragraph should probably be
translated as follows: "If this Perfection of Wisdom is pre-
served, the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand
. Lines will be preserved. Through reciting it continually (Ttag tu
123
bzlas brjod bas na), all the obstructions due to one's actions would
be purified. After having passed away from here, he would also
come to be possessed of the recollection of his former births,
attentiveness, and matchless wisdom Cdi' nas shi 'phos nas kyang
skye ba dran pa / yid gzhungs shing shes rab mtshungs pa med par 'gyur
/). He would prese-rve without exception the Dharma of all the
Tathagatas of the three periods of time. He would also pre-
serve all the mantras and vidyas. Having passed away from
here, he would also come to be possessed of the recollection of
his former births, attentiveness and great wisdom Cdinas shi
phos nas kyang / skye ba dran pa dang / yid bzhungs shing shes rab chen
por 'gyur ro).28
One further point in reference to passages of this kind
might also be noted. If these passages make it clear that for the
authors or compliers of a considerable number of Mahayana
sutras the obtainment of jatismara was for some reason held to
be of considerable religious significance, and that merit-making
activity in regard to the Dharma or one or another specific
dharmaparyaya-copying, retaining, reciting, etc.-was an im"
portant means for its obtainment, it is equally true that the
same can be said for some of the most prominent "Doctors of
the Church." This at least can be demonstrated for Asanga or
Maitreyanatha, whichever was the author of the Mahayana-Su-
tralarrtkara, and for Nagarjuna, or whoever was the author of
the Ratnavali. In the Mahayana-Sutralarrtkara it is said: "Who
would undertake the preservation of only two verses (of the
Dharma), whether in regard to the words or their meaning, he
indeed obtains ten kinds of blessings (yo granthato 'rthato va gatha-
dvayadharar}-e prayujyeta / sa hi dafavidham anu.sar(tSarrt . .. )"; he will
have-among other things-"the most elevated joy at the mo-
ment of death; a state of rebirth in accordance with his desire;
and everywhere the recollection of his former births ( ... pramo-
dyarrt cottamarrt marar}-akale / janma ca yathabhikamarrt jatismarata1[t
ca sarvatra)."29 A passage of similar purport is found in the
Ratnavali (rgyal po la gtam bya ba rin po che'i phreng ba, Pek. Vol.
129, 179-3-3 = Ch. III, vs. 296) which, at least from the time
of Candraklrti, has been ascribed to Nagarjuna. That such pas-
sages continued to be relevant to the scholastic tradition can
also be surmised from the fact that many centuries later Bu-
ston cites both passages with approvapo
124
VII. The Obtainment of Jiitismara Through a Fourth Kind of Non-
meditational Activity: Acts Connected with Dhiirary,'is.
A fourth and final distinct category of non-meditational
activity held to result in the obtainment of jiitismara consists of
acts connected with dharaI)ls, acts which, to a large degree, are
the same as those to be undertaken in regard to the Dharma, or
to one or another specific text: reciting, copying, etc. Typical of
the passages of this kind is the Sitiitapatra-dhiirary,'i where it is
said that "he who, after copying this dharaI)l, will preserve it,
will-for as long as he lives-not be threatened by poison, the
sword, floods, etc. .. and he will have recollection of his former
births for eighty-four thousand great aeons ( ... caturasztfniir(i
mahiikalpasahasriiry,i jiitismarau "31
Likewise, in the Niiriiyary,apariprcchii, it is said that "by
whom-so-ever this dharaI)l would be recited three times every
day, whether it be by one who is purified or not purified ... ,
he, indeed, having exhausted his accumulation of evil, even the
five acts with immediate retribution, obtains an accumulation
of merit and will be possessed of the recollection of his former
births. Everywhere among beings he enjoys extensive wealth,
delights in good practices, and is not one of those who falls into
error and bad practices ( ... bsod nams kyi phung po thob cing skye
ba drang par 'gyur ro / sems can thams cad kun tu khyab pa'i nor la nge
bar longs spyod cing dge ba'i chos rnams la mngon par dga' ste mi dge
ba log par ltung ba rnams la ni ma yin no /)."32
In the Saptabuddhaka-sutra Cphags pa sangs rgyasbdun pa zhes
bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo, Pek. Vol. 37, 90-1-1), a short text in
which each of the six Buddhas, through Sakyamuni's
power, appears in the sky and gives a vidyii (rig sngags) or man-
. trapada (gsang sngags kyi gzhi) for the "benefit" of all beings, we
read in reference to the mantra given by the Buddha Krakuc-
chanda: "If, taking up and preserving (this mantra), one fixes it
well in mind, and if in the last period a monk or nun or lay man
or woman, having then obtained faith in the three jewels, and
bathing, having worshipped the Blessed One with flowers and
incense and perfume, would recite this mantra one hundred
and eight times, he (or she) would obtain the recollection of his
former births for seven births; among devas he (or she) would
obtain the exhalted state ofa deva, etc. ( ... / tshe rabs bdun du
125
tshe rabs dran par 'gyur ro / lha rnams kyi nang du lha'i che ba nyid
thob par 'gyur ro /)."
In addition to dhara:Q.I-texts of this kind, an identifiable
sub-group of dhara:Q.I-sutras, which I have superficially treated
elsewhere,33 makes frequent reference to the obtainment of
jatismara. Thetextsbelonging to this sub-group all deal primar-
ily-,-and with greater or lesser degrees of elaboration-with the
practice of copying dhara:Q.fs and depositing them in stllpas,
frequently in "miniature" stupas. The Mchod rten gcig btab na bye
ba btabpar 'gyur pa'i gzungs (Pek. Vol. 11, 168-5-7), the Sanskrit
title of which appears not to have survived, is characteristic of
these texts and their view regarding the obtainment of jatismara
when it says: "If one would follow thus the method [just de-
scribed], by making [perhaps better: 'by casting,' as in clay] a
(single) caitya, he would make ten million. Everywhere he
would obtain recollection of his former births (cho ga de ltar byas
na tsai tya btab pas bye ba btab par 'gyur ro / thams cad du skye ba dran
par 'gyur/). A very similar passage also occurs in the concluding
verses of the Sarvaprafiiantaparamitasiddhicaitya-dharar;/i (shes pas
thams cad mthar phyin par grub pa'i mchod rten zhes bya ba'i gzungs,
Pek. Vol. 11, 117-3--':'6).
Equally characteristic is a passage from the Bodhima1J-
(byang chub snying po'i rgyan" 'bum zhes bya
ba'i gzungs, Lhasa, rgyud Ta 495a), where the Blessed One says
"this dhara:Q.I causes all acts to succeed ... causes all evil and
obstructions to be exhausted. . .. If someone, after having
bathed and put on new, clean garments, were to recite it a
hundred and eight times each day, he would see the face of all
Tathagatas; he would live a hundred years; for a long time all
sickness would be avoided ... in all births he would have recol-
lection of his former births (skye ba thams cad du tshe rabs dran par
'gyur ro).
Likewise, in the
prabhasasarvatathagatahrdayasamayavilokate-dharar;,z (kun nas sgor
J"ug pa'i 'od zer gtsug tor dri ma med par snang ba de bzhin gshegs pa
thams cad kyi snying po dang dam tshig la rnam par lta ba zhes bya ba'i
gzungs, Pek. Vol. 11, 228-1-7) we find: "thus, in the last time,
in the last period, a son or daughter of good family, or a monk
or nun, or lay man or woman should call to mind this vidya of
the mantra once (rig sngags kyi rgyal mo 'di dus gcig tu dran par
126
bya'o). A stllpa having a relic chamber or a Tathagata relic
chamber is to be circumambulated. Both the wish-fulfilling
gems [i.e. the two dharaQ.fs given previously] are also to be
called to" mind once. Through that he would produce roots of
merit under Tathagatasas numerous as the sands of hundreds
of millions of Ganges Rivers; he would be possessed of great
merit; the obstructions due to past acts having imm"ediate retri-
bution would also be purified; he would be freed from the
unfortunate destinies, from the hells, birth among animals, and
the world of Yama ... in all his births he would have recollec-
tion of his former births (tshe rabs thams cad du tshe rabs dran par
'gyur ro)."
Similar passages are also found on two other occasions in
the Samantamukhapravesarasmivimalo,rr;4aprabhasa (Pek. Vol. 11,
2 2 7 - 5 ~ 4 ; 228-3-7), and three times in the similar Rasmivima-
lavi-suddhaprabhadhararJ/i (,phags pa 'ad zer dri ma med pa rnam par
dag pa'i 'ad ces bya ba'i gzungs, Pek. Vol. 7, 189-5-1; 190-5-1;
192-4-5).
VIII. The Obtainment of] atismara as an Element of Sutra Narratives.
One further kind of passage connected with the obtain-
ment of jatismara deserves some mention. In passages of this
kind the obtainment of jatismara occurs as a narrative element,
as an element of various "frame-stories" that enclose the body
of a given text, or as a part of an illustrative "story of a past
time." Frequently, then, it will occur as a part of the introduc-
tion or conclusion of a text. Typical of this kind of passage is
the conclusion to the Ratnajalipariprccha. There, when the Bud-
dha finishes delivering the "slltra," the earth-in typical narra-
tive fashion-quakes and, the text says, hundreds of millions of
devas, having saluted with their heads the feet of the Blessed
One, "recollected many hundreds of millions of their former
states (gnas bye ba khrag khrig 'bum phrag du ma dag rjes su dran no,
Pek. Vol. 33, 244-4-1)"; and, a little later: "a full hundred
thousand ten millions of men worshipped the incomparable,
excellent Jina; recollecting hundreds of their former states,
they saluted with their heads the utmost excellent Muni (mi ni
, bye ba 'bum tham pa / rgyal mchog zla med pa la mchod sngon gyi gnas
127
brgya rjes dran zhing / thub mchog bla med mgos phyag 'tshal, 244-4_
5)."
Equally typical is a passage found at the beginning of the
Ratnaketuparivarta, yet another text found at Gilgit. Here, it is
said that as a result of the light (prabha) shot forth from the
Buddha's body, "many billions of millions of hundreds of thou-
sands of those born in the hells, or among animals, or in the
world of Yama obtained recollection. After having recollectd
the roots of merit they had formerly planted, having made the
'namo buddhaya,' having passed away from those unfortunate
states, they were reborn among devas (bahilni ca nairayikatairyag-
smrt;ir[1, pratilabhire pilrva-
varopitakuSala(millam) anusmrtya namo buddha yeti krt;va tebhyo 'payeb-
hyaf cavitva 34
A similar passage also occurs in the long and elaborate
nidana of the Pancavir(l.atisahasrika-prajnaparamita. Here, when
the Buddha enters into a samadhi called "The Lions Play," the
earth quakes in six ways and, the text says, "thereupon, at that
moment, minute, and second, in this great trichiliocosm the
hells, and the animal world, and the world of Yama, all were
abolished and became empty, and all the places of untoward
rebirth disappeared. And the beings who had deceased in these
destinies ... all, through their joy and rejoicing, were reborn
among men, and also among the six kinds of gods (of the realm
of sense desire). Thereupon, these men and/gods, through the
very might of the Lord, recalled their former lives. In their
great joy and rejoicing they then approached the Lord, saluted
his feet with their heads, raised their folded hands to the Lord
and paid homage to him, etc."35
Of a somewhat different kind is the reference to jatismara
that occurs as a part of a "narrative of the past" in the Samanta-
Here, the Buddha, in re-
counting the past lives of a particular deva, says that the deva,
as a wealthy householder, had had murderous thoughts in re-
gard to a brahmin who recited and taught this dharaQ.l. As soon
as these thoughts arose, he became ill, and suffered greatly
until he died. He then underwent a long series of rebirths in
the hells and among animals, finally being reborn as a blind
man. As that blind man he encountered a monk, and that monk
"having seen him, being filled with compassion, gave him food.
128
He- also recited this dhara1].l for him. The blind man heard this
dhara1].l, and having become (as a result) possessed of the recol-
lection of his former lives, remembered the brahmin (rig sngags
kyi rgyal mo 'di yang bsgrags so / dmus longs des gzungs sngags 'di thos
pa dang tshe rabs dran par gyur nas bram ze de yangdran te, Pek.
Vol. 11, 227-5-4)." Note that the Chinese text corresponding
to the last sentence of this passage has been translated by Cha-
vannes as "lorsque (l'aveugle) eut pu l'entendre, il y fit grande
attention et y appliqua sa pensee. Alors dans cette naissance il
obtint la comprehension de ses anciennes destinees et il put
reflechir a ce qui etait leur origine."36
These and similar passages are of interest because they
indicate that a number of the ideas concerning the obtainment
of jatismara that we have seen previously only as doctrinal asser-
tions were-sufficiently well-established so that on occasion they
could be, and were, used simply as narrative elements. The
conclusion of the Ratnajalipariprccha, for example, no longer
asserts that hearing a particular text results in the obtainment
of jatismara; instead, this idea is narratively expressed as a fact:
the obtainment of jatismara occurs as an accepted and unques-
tioned part of the series of events that follow after the "congre-
gation" has .heard a particular text, just delivered by the Bud-
dha.
IX. The Historical Context of Our Texts and the Ideas They Express:
Medieval Mahayana Siltra Literature.
We have looked now at a considerable number of Ma-
hayana siltras, but before we try to summarize what they tell us
about ideas concerning the obtainment of jatismara, and before
we attempt to formulate any conclusions, it might be well to try
to place our texts in something like a historical context. We
need not, I think, be concerned here with absolute chronology,
nor the date of composition. The latter, in fact, is rarely the real
question. The important point is not when a text was com-
posed, but when it was read or used or circulated, and the two
are not necessarily, or even frequently, the same. What we want
to do, then, is attempt to establish the period during which the
ideas concerning the obtainment of jatismara found in our texts
129
were actually available, widely circulated, and an established
part of the Indian Buddhist context-when, in short, the ideas
and the texts that express them had some chance of influencing
actual behavior. In this regard, of course, the references to the
obtainment of jatismara in specifically "authored" works are of
some impori:ance: they indicate when some of our ideas had
penetrated at least one segment of the Indian Buddhist com-
munity.
We may note, th(,:n, that if Nagarjuna was the author of the
Ratnavalz, and if he lived in the second half of the second cen-
tury A.D., then the idea that jatismara could be obtained
through non-meditational acts directed toward the Dharma-
hearing, preserving, etc.-was already accepted at this time, at
least among Buddhist scholastics.37 Again, if the Mahayana-Sil-
trala'f(tkiira is the work of Asa:riga or Maitreyanatha, and if these
authors actually lived during the 3rdl4th Century A.D., then
we can say that this same idea continued to be current among
scholastics for another two centuries.
38
In regard to the sutra
literature, it should be noted that apart from the Samadhiraja,
the Pratyutpanna, and perhaps the Upalipariprccha, probably
none of the texts we have cited is so early. Note, too, that the
Samadhiraja and the Pratyutpanna are notable for their continu-
ation of the old ideas concerning the obtainment of jatismara,
and are therefore quite distinct from the majority of our texts.
The bulk of our evidence, in fact, would seem to indicate that
the period of widest currency for both our ideas, and the texts
expressing them was somewhat later.
The passage quoted above from Hsuan-tsang establishes
the fact that the idea that jatismara could be obtained as a result
of activity undertaken in regard to sacred images was current in
the 7th century at one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in
India. The passages from Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara would
seem to indicate that related ideas were firmly established and
actually acted on by at least one prominent scholastic at roughly
. the same time.
39
We also know that at least eight of our texts-
from which a considerable number of our passages were tak-
en-were all available in the 6th/7th century at Gilgit: the
Bha4ajyaguru, Buddhabaladhiina, Karar;,. davyilha, TatOO-
. gatabimbakarapar;,a, Ratnaketuparivarta, P aficavi'Y(lfatisahasrikii,
and the Samadhiraja, and some of these were available there in
130
i:several different manuscripts.
40
We also know that all three of
'ithe "shorter" Prajnaparamitti texts that we have cited have been
,:assigned by Professor Conze to a period falling between the 6th
and 12th centuries
41
; that two of our texts, the Aparimitayur-
jfulna Sitatapatra were-to by the of extant
;manuscnpts-extremely popular III Central ASIa, Khotan, and
Tun-huang from the 8th century on
42
; that the Suvarr;,abhilsot-
. lama too was well known in Central Asia in Sanskrit, Khotanese,
and Uigur versions at roughly the same time
43
; and that the
though ascribed to Aryasura,
'probably came into existence "between Santideva and the elev-
enth century."44 Finally, we can note that Indian inscriptions
testify to the presence of at least two of our texts in several
,places beginning from the 1 Oth century and probably some-
what earlier: an extract from the
:;dhilrar],i occurs-as I will show in some detail in a future pa-
: per-in the Cuttack Museum Stone Inscription and on at least
two of the hundreds of terracotta tablets found at Nalanda; and
:. one of the dharal)ls from the
'r;,4aprabhilsa-again as I will show in the future-is found on
,"seals" or terracotta tablets or strips of birchbark, at Paharpur,
;;Bodh-Gaya, Nalanda, Gilgit, and Tikse in western Tibet; the
.... Samantamukhapravesa is also "Ie sutra de la paroi occidentale de
l'inscription de Kiu-yong koan."45
It would appear, then, that we are dealing with both ideas
. and texts that were current and were being used or acted upon
during a period extending from the 5th/6th century to the 12th
century and even later, even though there are indications that
some forms of the ideas may have been older-for example
. those expressed by Nagarjuna and AsangaiMaitreyanatha. It is
in this sense that I would characterize our texts as a whole as
typical of "current" medieval Mahayana sutra literature.
Incidentally, it might also be noted that the dates of the
Chinese translations of our texts support what we can know
from other sources. The DvadaSabuddhaka, for example, was
translated first in the 6th17th century (TI348), and again in the
8th (TI349); the was translated in the 11th cen-'
tury (TA38), the Saptabuddhaka twice in the 6th (TI333, 1334)
and once in the 10th century; the RasmivimalaviSuddhaprabhil
was translated in the 7th century (TI024); etc.
46
131
x. A Summary of the Shifts in Ideas Concerning the Obtainment
of ] atismara.
Having established the approximate period during which
our texts appear to have circulated, we might summarize what
they can teUus. If we move from the passages studied earlier by
Demieville to those we have looked at in what we have called
medieval Mahayana sutra literature, we can, I think-putting
aside the passages from the Pratyutpanna and the Samadhiriija
sutras-see that a distinct and fundamental shift has taken
place in the latter in regard to jiitismara and its obtainment. This
shift, in fact, involves a number of specific factors.
In the Nikiiya/Agama literature studied by Demieville, jiiti-
smara usually occurs as only one item in at least three stereo-
typed lists-the vidyiis, abh&iiiis, balas, or, at least, in associ-
ation with one or more of the other items in these lists. More-
over, it was attributed almost exclusively to the religious
virtuoso, and it appears to have been thought to have been
attainable only by means of sophisticated forms of meditational
or yogic practice. In the Mahayana sutra literature we have
examined, the situation is different on all three counts. Here,
jiitismara has become completely disassociated from the tradi-
tionallists of abhijiiiis, balas, etc., and occurs almost always as an
independent item, without reference to its earlier associates.
47
Moreover, these texts make it abundantly clear that, far from
being restricted to the religious virtuoso, it is here within the
reach of virtually everyone: monks, nuns, lay men and wom-
en-or simply men or women-brahmaIJ.as, vaisyas,
sudras, and those reborn in the hells or other unfortunate des-
tinies. Perhaps the most significant shift, however, concerns the
means by whichjiitismara was thought to be obtainable. First of
all, it is clear from a number of texts that the authors or compil-
ers of some Mahayana sutras held that the obtainment of jiiti-
smara by the individual could be effected by agents external to
him-by a Bodhisattva working for the sake of "maturing" be-
ings (Upiilipariprcchii), by other individuals undertaking specific
ritual or merit-making activity on his behalf, etc. (III & IV).
This, of course, marks a major transformation of the "original"
concept. But this is not all. Even in regard to the means by
which the individual can obtain jiitismara for himself there has
132
a clearly observable shift. Rather than by sophisticated
:fueditational the province fact of ascetic
;;in Mahayana sutra literature current m the medIeval penod,
&atismara was available by means of a variety of non-medita-
;tional activities: ritualized acts of worship, often directed to-
i'Wards sacred images (IV); activity connected with sacred
reciting, etc. (V); activity connected with sa-
icred texts-reciting, copying, preserving, worshipping, etc.
{(VI); and activity connected with dharaIJ.ls-reciting, copying,
and .depositing in stl1pas, etc. (VII). .
..... It IS mterestmg to note that what we see here happemng to
the idea of the obtainment of jatismara is almost exactly the
Sarne sort of thing that happened to the idea of rebirth in
lsukhavatI in virtually the same literature: a specialized attain-
ffinent associated with a specific group and attainable through
;;)irnited and specialized means has been transformed into a gen-
"benefit" open to all and available through a broad
;c;range of basic religious activities.
48
This process-which I
'.would call generalization-appears in fact to be one of the most
}c:haracteristic elements of that "movement" we now call "the
0'iMahayana." It is not only the idea of jatismara and the idea of
in SukhavatI that have been reshaped by this character-
,'istic process; but a whole series of basic religious concepts have
.. ;.been transformed in exactly the same way: the idea of avaivarti-
(,.katd and the idea of the attainment of Buddhahood itself are
')just two notable examples that have yet to be systematically
I,studied from this point of view. When applied to ascetic ideas
'/or practices of the religious virtuoso, this process effects what
3 might be described as the "domestication" of radical asceticism
or the "democratization" of "elitist" attainments-these are in
<fact only two aspects of a single phenomenon. In any case, this
: process always involves the movement away from specialization
of ideals and group-specific attainments. It is particularly worth
: noting that this includes, of course, the movement away from
"specifically associating ideals or practices with either the monas-
tic community or the lay community. Although the current
. tendency is to take the kind of texts we have cited as "popular,"
.,if we limit ourselves to the material we have collected here we
[would, for example, have to conclude that the generalization of
appeared first among learned monks-Nagarjuna,
It133
Asariga, or Maitreyanatha. Moreover, the passages from Santi.
deva dearly indicate that the obtainment of jatismara through
merit-making activity continued to a "monastic" ideal, held
to and acted upon by learned monks. It should be clear, then,
that we are not dealing with a "lay" or "popular" phenom.
enon-if by "lay" or "popular" we intend something distinct
from "monastic." These and other considerations confirm from
yet another point of view that the distinction between "lay" and
"monastic" is simply not a useful one-and almost certainly not
a real one-in most of Indian Buddhism.
49
There is one further consideration here. The process of
the generalization of group-specific ideals and attainments was
undoubtedly related to other changes that occurred in the on-
going process of the development of Indian Buddhism and, I
think, our passages can tell us a little more in regard to some of
these other changes, as well.
First, we should note that the obtainment of jatismara-like
rebirth in SukhavatY-occurs over and over again in more or
less standardized lists of "blessings" or "benefits" stipulated to
follow from a wide variety of merit-making activity. In addition
to the obtainment of jatismara and rebirth in SukhavatI, such
lists also promise freedom from sickness (Suvarr;,abhasottama,
Saptatathagatapurvaprar;,idhana, B avoidance
of rebirth in the hells or other unfortunate destinies (Suvarr;,ab-
hasottama, S aptatathagatapurvaprar;,idhana, Aparimitayur-j'fiana,
Karar;,rJ,avyuha, Samantamukhapravesa), a favorable rebirth (Sa7[tgha-
(a, Buddhabaladhana, Saptabuddhaka), an auspicious death (Tath-
Mahayana-Sutrala7[tkara), the "pu-
rification" or "exhaustion" of the obstructions due to past kar-
ma (Saptatathagatapurvaprar;,idhana, Karar;,rj,avyuha, Narayar;,apa-
riprccha, Samantamukhapravesa, Praffiapara-
mitanama a!f(asataka), etc., and these lists occur almost every-
where, not just in medieval, but in early Mahayana siitra litera-
ture as well. The sheer bulk of the references, the fact that
these lists occur everywhere and in all periods, suggests that we
are dealing with real and active concerns of both those who
wrote these texts-whatever else they might say-and those
who listened to them. The connection of the obtainment of
jatismara with these other concerns-the concern for a favor-
able rebirth, the concern with the avoidance of rebirth in the
134
'beIis, etc.-may not at first sight be self-evident, but a doser
[look at some of our passages will, I think, indicate that it is
intimately related to the basic problem that appears to lie be-
ihind all these lists.
Xl. The Significance of the Obtainment of J atismara for the Religious
Life of the Individual in Medieval Mahayana Sutra Literature.
Professor Demieville has already shown that in the litera-
ture he surveyed the "value" of jatismara was not constant.
"Chez les religieux non bouddhistes," for example, it could and
did-according to the Brahmajala-sutta-serve as the funda-
mental basis for the affirmation of "l'eternite du moi et du
monde." In the on the other hand, " ... se trouve
specifie," according to Demieville, "ce que les bouddhistes retir-
ent de la contemplation de leurs existences anterieures: c'est Ie
degout de l'impermanence." A little further on, however, he
notes that "d'apres Ie Mahaprajiiaparamita-r;astra de Nagarjuna
... la notion abstraite degagee par les bouddhistes de la me-
.moire des existences anterieures est celle de la causalite; Ie Ma-
en fait aussi une des consequences de cette me-
:moire .... "50
Putting aside the conflicting character of the conclusions
drawn, it still is clear that all these passages want above all to
extract from jatismara a "notion abstraite," and that its primary
significance here lies in the fact that it functions to confirm and
legitimate a given doctrinal position. But, as we shall see, the
significance attached to jatismara in the Mahayana sutra litera-
ture we have examined appears to be of a fundamentally dif-
ferent sort.
There are in our sample several passages in which the
. effects of jatismara are specifically stated. As we have seen, the
Bhai.<;ajyagurusutra says of the individual on whose behalf the
puja to has been undertaken that as a result, in
. the final instance, he would be reborn and-significantly-"he
.. would obtain recollection; he himself is then a direct witness to
(the effects of) merit, demerit, and the results of his (past)
. actions." But the text then immediately adds: "(As a conse-
quence,) even for the sake of his life he does not do an evil
135
deed. For that reason, by a believing son or daughter of good
family puja is to be performed to that Tathagata ( ... smrtim
upalabhet; so kusalam akusalar[i karmavipakaTl.l svayam eva pratyaks
o
bhavati. fivitahetor api papar[i karma na karoti. tasmac c h r a d d h e ~ a
kulaputrery,a va kuladuhitra va tasya tathagatasya puJa kartavyah).51
Note here that for this text, at least, the significance of the
obtainment of Jatismara is, apparently, behavioral: Jatismara ef-
fects a restructuring of the individual's behavior. Having be-
come "a direct witness to the effects of his acts," he will behave
in a certain way: "he will not do evil even for the sake of his
life." Note too that the behavioral transformation that takes
place appears to be the sole reason for which the puja is under-
taken. This is at least the case if we take-as it appears we
must-the final statement (tasmac, "for that reason") as refer-
ring to that which immediately precedes it: papar[i karma na
karoti.
Elsewhere, the Bhai!iaJyaguru-sutra says that those reborn in
the hells through greed and stinginess will-through the
agency of the Buddha's name-once again be reborn among
men, and "they will have recollection of their former births."
But here too the text immediately adds: "Terrified by the fear
of an unfortunate destiny, no longer seeking for the objects of
desire, delighted in the act of giving ... renouncing all their
property, in due order they will present to beggars their head
or hands or feet or eyes ... how much more other accumula-
tions of material goods (punar api manu!iyaloke upapatsyanti, Jatis-
maras ca bhavi!iyanti. durgatibhayabhZta na bhuyah kamagury,air arth-
ikii, etc. .. )."52 Note here that once again the obtainment of
Jatismara effects above all else a radical restructuring of behav-
ior. Note too that the behavioral change effected by Jatismara is
particularly clear in this passage.
Buddhabaladhanapratiharya (Pek. Vol. 34, 193-2-3) says of
the individuals reborn in the hells on whose behalf a puja di-
rected towards any of several Buddhas is undertaken that, as a
result, "having recollected their good and bad acts (i.e., the
fruits thereof), they afterwards (phyis) would not perform an
evil act. From that they would be freed from those sufferings
and would go to a fortunate destiny. Until they fully and com-
pletely awaken to utmost, right, and perfect awakening they
would conform to this practice ( ... sangs ma rgyas kyi bar du spyod
136
.pa 'thun par 'gyur ro)." A little later, the same text repeats the
;sarn
e
thing in verse: ... dge ba'i gnas su skye ba 'dzin par gyur /
;sngon gyi las rnams rjes su dran 'gyur zhing / dran nas mkhas pa sdig
fpa byed mi 'gyur / (194-2-2): "They would take rebirth in an
'auspicious place, and they would recollect their past Hav-
ling remembered that, the wise would not do evil."
: In the Ratnaketuparivarta, as we have seen, through the
emitted by the Buddha countless beings born in the hells
fand among animals obtained recollection and "after having re-
[collected the roots of merit which they had formerly planted,
:having made the 'nama buddhiiya,' having passed away from
:those unfortunate states, they were reborn among devas." In
Paiicavi'r(t.5atisahasrika, in a similar passage, the recollection
rof their past lives on the part of those who had formerly been
reborn in the hells and other unfortunate destinies had a simi-
,Jar effect: "Thereupon, these men and gods ... recalled their
former lives. In their great joy and rejoicing they then ap-
'proached the Lord, saluted his feet with their heads, raised
.their folded hands to the Lord and paid homage to him, etc. "53
.. Finally, in the
as we have seen, a man who had had murderous
;thoughts in regard to a brahmin who taught this dharal)I sick-
.ened and died and had to undergo a long series of rebirths in
the hells and among animals. Finally reborn as a blind man, he
a monk who out of compassion recited the dha-
f,:.'ral)i for him. "The blind man"-the text says-"heard this dha-
a,nd having become possessed of the recollection of his
lives, remembered the brahmin." But then it immedi-
'P;ately adds: rjes su sems shing kye ma'o mi bzad pa'i las byas so snyam
tr'nas ngo tsha dang / khrel yod par gyur te / 'chi ba'i dus byas pa dang
iilf'gzungs sngags 'di'i mthus sum bcu rtsa gsum pa'i lha'i nang du skyes te,
(Pek. Vol. 11, 227-5-5): "Reflecting on that, having
'Ahl I have done a dreadful thing,' he was ashamed
remorseful, and passing away then, through the power of
,{;this dharal)I (i.e., what it effected) he was reborn among the
of the thirty-three, etc."
We can note two things about all these passages. First,jati-
;::smara is specifically stated to effect in every case a radical alter-
;U,;ation in behavior, attitude, or both: having recollected his for-
births, the individual would not perform an evil deed even
1
137
for the sake of his life (Bha4ajyaguru, Buddhabaladhana), or else
he would undertake religious activity: he would give gifts
(Bhai$ajyaguru) , perform homage to the Buddha (Ratnaketu
Paficavi'Y(tfati) or acknowledge his wrong doing and feel
and remorse (Samantamukhapravesa). In every case, the
ior or state of mind that follows the recollection of former
births is either implicitly or explicitly stated' to be in sharp Con-
trast with the behavior that preceded it. Secondly, the obtain_
ment of jatismara in all these texts takes place either in or in
reference to a rebirth in the hells or one of the other unfortu_
nate destinies and-importantly-the behavioral or attitudinal
alteration effected by jatismara effects in turn a change in the
individual's position in regard either to his present or his po-
tential future rebirth in such a state. In the Ratnaketu, the ob-
tainment of jatismara takes place in the hells and its associated
behavioral change effects the individual's release and his pro-
gression to a more favorable state. Much the same holds for the
SamantamukhapraveSa, except that there the attitudinal change
effected by jatismara effects the individual's release from an
unfortunate human rebirth. In the Buddhabaladhana, the ob-
tainment of jatismara again takes place in the hells, but here
concomitant behavioral change effects, first, the individual's
release from the hells and his movement to a better state, and,
secondly, a restructuring of his behavior in such a way that he
avoids a repetition of his former fate. In both passages from the
Bha4ajyaguru and in the Paficavir{Lsati, finally, the obtainment of
jatismara and the consequent behavioral change take place after .'
the individual has undergone his 'judgement" or unfortunate
rebirth, but in specific reference to it. They here function,
then, primarily as a solution to the problem of the future avoid-
ance of an unfortunate rebirth-direct knowledge of his for-
mer unpleasant fate effects a restructuring of the individual's
behavior in such a way that he would avoid a repetition of that
fate.
It should be clear from all of this that in our texts the
significance of the obtainment of jatismara appears to have been
conceived of primarily in terms of the fact that it could or did
effect not-as in the texts studied by Demieville-the confirma-
tion of a given doctrinal position, but a radical restructuring of
behavior and attitude in the individual concerned, and-im-
138
pi'ortantly-the release from, or avoidance of, rebirth in the
;1ell
s
and other unfortunate destinies. is, the
{function, above all else, that appears to he behmd and explam
'the fact that the obtainment ofjatismara had come to be offered
J
asa
generalized reward for religious activity in Mahayana sutra
literature.
"
I ,
The Obtainment of] atismara in a Larger Context: A Suggestion
Concerning the Dysfunctionality of the Doctrine of Karma.
" We might finish here with one further and final observa-
'Kon of a more general kind. All the passages we have just
Hamined begin with individuals either actually reborn in the
:hells or other unfortunate destinies, or with individuals who
ate about to be reborn there. This would seem to indicate that
If or these texts, at least, the primary concern was the individual
reborn in the hells or other unfortunate destinies, and how his
:e1ease from, or future avoidance of, such a state could be
Although the fact has not yet been fully realized, this
to have been a fundamental problem in much of Ma-
hayana sutra literature. Unless I am very much mistaken, all
"Q1e "benefits" or "blessings" said to follow from merit-making
,activity are offered as "solutions" to this same problem: the
promise of the avoidance of an unfortunate rebirth certainly,
also the promise of a good rebirth, or rebirth in SukhavatI,
of the removal of the "obstructions due to karma," of an auspi-
Cious death, etc. Lists of these and other related "benefits" oc-
'i1' cur, as I have already said, almost everywhere and in all periods
Mahayana sutra literature. But the emergence of rebirth in
hells as a serious religious problem and major preoccupa-
is, in turn, almost certainly connected with yet another
not yet sufficiently acknowledged.
;;. Manyscholars, beginning with Max Weber, have said that
theoretically the doctrine of karma as it is presented in early
literature is one of the most complete and satisfying
in the history of religions. And this may be-theoreti-
What Weber and others after him have not noted,
is that the doctrine of .karma appears-in fact-to
created as many problems as it solved. Its acceptance at a
llt1139

---.----------
formative stage appears to have laid the foundations for SOIne
l
fundamental and far-reaching problems that only
became apparent.
54
If, for example, "logic" of karma
satisfying answer for the visible disparities among men, if it
provided a complete solution for the problem of suffering, the
very "completeness" of the solution became in its turn a
problem. That same "solution" in fact inadvertently gave an
almost equally complete assurance that the average man, the
non-virtuoso, whether layman or monk, could, by virtue of his
necessarily imperfect daily life, look forward to rebirth in the
hells or other unfortunate destinies: every act must be paid for
and "ni dans Ie royaume de l'air, ni dans Ie milieu de la mer, ni
si tu t'enfonces dans Ie creux des montagnes, nulle part tu ne
trouves sur la terre un lieu ou tu puisses echapper au fruit de
tes mauvaises actions .. "55 This, of course, is bad enough, but
once an individual was born into an unfortunate rebirth, that
same "logic" made it very difficult to explain how he could ever
escape from it, since such unfortunate rebirthS' placed the in-
divdual in situations that appeared to allow no opportunity
making merit and every opportunity to accumulate further de-
merit. La Vallee Poussin, referring to Bodhicaryiivatara IV. 17-
20 "et surtout 22," has noted that "les damnes, par example,
sont incapables d'une bonne pensee, et leur peche ne fait que
s'accroitre par ses propres forces."56 The basic idea here had
already been much more fully expressed in passages like Maj-
jhima-nikiiya iii 169.9, where the Buddha, using a simile found
throughout Buddhist literature, is made to say:
140
"Suppose, Monks, that a man were to throw a yoke
with one nole into the ocean and it would be blown around
in all directions by the wind. Suppose, too, there were a
blind turtle who came to the surface once every hundred
years. What do you think, Monks? Would that blind turtle
ever manage to stick his neck' through the hole in that
yoke?"
"If at all, 0 Blessed One, it could happen only once in
an extremely long while."
"Sooner or later, Monks, that blind turtle might man-
age to push his neck through that hole. But, Monks, I say
tliat it IS even more difficult than that for a fool who has
fallen into an unfortunate birth again to obtain rebirth as a.
human ( ... ato dullabhatariihar[l bhikkhave manussattar[l va-
dami saki'f[t vinipatagatena balena). And why is that? Because
there (in those unfortunate rebirths) there is no practice of
the Dhamma, no right practice, there is no doing of good
or making of merit; there, Monks, there is only mutual
devouring and preying on the weak (na h'ettha bhikkhave
atthi dhammacariya samacariya kusalakiriya punnakiriya, anna-
mafinakhadika ettha bhikkhave vattati dubbalamarika). Even if,
Monks, that fool once in an extremely long time might
obtain a human rebirth, he would be born into infenor
families, outcaste families, families of hunters ... in such a
,family that is poverty stricken, without food or drink ....
Moreover, he would be ill-favored, ugly, dwarfish, sickly,
blind ... and he would be unable to obtain food, or drink,
or Clothes ... (as a consequence) he would act wrongly in
body, speech, and mind, and having acted wrongly in
body, speech, and mind he would be reborn in a bad state,
a bad destiny, an unfortunate destiny, a hell ( ... apaya'f[t
duggati'f[t vinipata'f[t niraya'f[t uppajjati)."57
a piece of homiletics this, of course, would have been
!:f6rceful and perhaps effective. But as an established "theologi-
position, it became a doctrinal assertion of the fate inadver-
assured for all believers-whether layman or monk-
:'who were less than perfect. Such considerations appear gradu-
i#ly to have become apparent, and eventually required solu-
,'tions. The presence of our passages, the modification and ad-
of the concept of jatismara, and much else in Mahayana
.,sutra literature, begins to make sense when they are seen as
,"solutions" to the problems created by the doctrine of karma-
,as correctives to a "solution" that became in its turn a problem.
tNOTES

1. The initial research for this paper and a first draft were both complet-
ed during the year I spent as a Visiting Research Fellow at The International
>institute for Buddhist Studies (formerly The Reiyukai Library) in Tokyo, and
,:J will always owe a tremendous debt of gratitude, for things both large and
j:'small, to the staff of the Institute and especially to its enlightened Director,
Akira Yuyama. Further research and a second draft were made possible
;bya grant from The Translations Program of the National Endowment for
'\the Humanities, for which I am also very grateful.
" 2. P. Demieville, "Sur la memo ire des existences anterieures," Bulletin de
+'l'ecole franr;aise d'extreme-onent 27 (1927) 283-98; esp. 283-90. For some inter-
;"141
esting remarks from a slightly different perspective see L. de La Vallee Pous_
sin, "Le bouddha et les abhijiias," Le museon 44 (1931) and for the
abhijnas as a whole see the rich documentation assembled in Et. Lamotte, Le
traite de la grande vertu de la sagesse, t.IV (Louvain: 1976) 1809-1816.
3. P. Maxwell Harrison, The Tibetan Text of the Pratyutpanna-Buddha-S
am
_
mukhtivasthita-Samadhi-Sutra, Studia Philogica Buddhica, Monograph Series' I
(Tokyo: 1978) 20k, vs.l; see also lk; 20k, vs.13; and20h.
4. N. Dutt, GilgitManuscripts, Vo!' II, Part I (Srinagar: 1941) 10.11; Vol.
II, Part III (Calcutta: 1954) 608. 14ff.; see also Vol. II, Part 1,16.11 and 151.3.
5. P. Python, Vinaya- ViniScaya-Upfili-Pariprcchti, Enquete d'Upali pour une
exegese de la discipline (Paris: 1973) 5; 8"3-84.
6. The Tibetan text is cited from Python, 26.5, but I have altered his
transcription so that it conforms to the system proposed in T. Wylie, "A
Standard System of Tibetan Transcription," Harvard J oumal of Asiatic Studies
22 (1959) 261-67. All my citations from Tibetan will be transliterated accord_
ing to this system.
7. J. Nobel, Suvarr;abhtisottamasutra, Das Goldglanz-Sutra, ein Sanskrittext
des Mahtiyana-Buddhismus (Leipzig: 1937) xxxivff.
8. R.E. Emmerick, The Sutra of Golden Light, Being a Translation of the
Suvarr;abhtisottamasutra, Sacred Books of the Buddhists, Vol. 27 (London
1970) 9-10. I have supplied the material in brackets. The SkI. text is found at
Nobel, 22.3.
9. Emmerick, 14; Nobel, 37.5.
10. For the Bhadracarzprar;idhtina, I have used the text edited in K. Wa-
tanabe, Die Bhadracarz, Eine Probe buddhistisch-religioser Lyrik, Untersucht und
herausgegeben (Leipzig: 1912).
11. All references are to the edition in V. Bhattacharya, Bodhicaryavatara
(Calcutta: 1960).
12. Nobel, 44.3f.
13. This is a translation that might also be suggested by Tibetan I (J.
Nobel, Suvarr;aprabhtisottamasutra, Das Goldglanz-Sutra, ein Sanskrittext des Ma-
htiyana-Buddhismus, die tibetischen Ubersetzungen mit einem Worterbuch, Erster
Band (Leiden/Stuttgart: 1944) 34.1), and more definitely by Tibetan III (J.
Nobel, Suvarr;aprabhtisottamasutra, Das Goldglanz-Sutra, ein Sanskrittext des Ma-
htiyana-Buddhismus. I-Tsing's chinesischen Version und ihre tibetische Ubersetzung
(Leiden: 1958) 72.17f.).
14. Apart from a few exceptions, which will be noted, all my Tibetan
material will be cited from The Tibetan Tripi(aka (Peking Edition), edited by
D.T. Suzuki; references will give volume number, then page-"folio"-and
line number.
15. R. Vira & L. Chandra, Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts (Facsimile Edition),
Part 8 (New Delhi: 1974) No. 37, fo!' 2254.3.
16. A. Mette, "Zwei kleine Fragmente aus Gilgit," Studien zur Indologie
und lranistik 7 (1981) 134; 136.29.
17. For the I quote the text established in G. Scho-
pen, A Sanskrit Text of the from Gilgit: An Annotated Tran-
scription of Manuscript No.1 Db, to be published in Studia Philologica Buddhica,
142
Series, by The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, To-
in Although text I established differs the
passages III Dutt's edmon are found at N. Dutt, GIlg>t Manu-
VoL I (Srinagar: 1939) 24.12 = my 17 and 26.1 = my 18.
Z,,> 18. Although I quote the Tibetan here, the Buddhabaladhana-or at least
:tbIIle important fragments of it-was also found at Gilgit. See most recently
':G. Schopen, "The Five Leaves of the Buddhabaladhanapratiharyavikurvav-
:inirdeSa-sutra Found at Gilgit," Journal of Indian Philosophy 5 (1978) 319-36.
L 19. S. Beal, Buddhist Records of the Western World (London: 1884; repro
ii, 124; T. Watters, On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (London: 1904-
'05; repro 1973) ii, 124; cf. ].Ph. Vogel, "The Past Buddhas and Kasyapa in
'indian Art and Epigraphy," Asiatica, Festschrift Friedrich Weller (Leipzig: 1954)
815,816. '
r 20. cf. R. Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha (Boulder: 1979).
21. Nobel, 120.8.
22. Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, Vol. I, 8.10, but cf., n. 17. Dutt 8.10 = my
7.
23. H. Zimmermann, Die SubhaJita-ratna-kararpJaka-katha (dem AryaSura
und ihre tibetische Ubersetzung, Freiburger Beitrage zur Indologie,
fBd.8 (Wiesbaden: 1975) 163.
"c' 24. M. Walleser, Aparimitilyur-jfiana-nama-mahayana-sutram, nach einer ne-
Sanskrit-Handschrift mit der tibetischen und chinesischen Version (Hei-
iilelberg: 1916).
25. For the Karar;uJavyuha I have used the text in P.L. Vaidya, Mahayana-
Siltra-Sa7(!graha, Part I (Darbhanga: 1961), although a fragmentary manu-
script of it too was found at Gilgit (cf. O. von Hiniiber, Die Erforschung der
Gilgit-Handschriften (Funde buddhistischer Sanskrit-Handschriften, I) (Nachrich-
ten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gottingen. 1: Philo-Hist. Kl. Jg.
;1979, Nr. 12) 343.
;'., 26. Vira & Chandra, Part 8, foI.2122.1; and fo1.2158.7, no.36 fo1.1991.5.
27. Text cited from Toganoo's edition reprinted in Y. Hatta, Index to the
7:;}lrya-Prajfiaparamita-Naya-Sata-Paficasatika (Kyoto: 1971) 225.10.
28. The Tibetan text is cited from E. Conze, "Tantric Prajnaparamita
"'i(Texts," Sino-Indian Studies 5, II (1956) 122; for his translation, see E. Conze,
Shorter Prajfiaparamita Texts (London: 1973) 198.
,', 29. S. Levi, Mahayana-Sutrala7(!kara, Expose de la doctrine du grand vehicule
,;selon le systeme Yogacara, t.I (Paris: 1907) XII.21-23.
l' 30. E. Obermiller, History of Buddhism (Cho.s-hbyung) by Bu-ston, Part I
;:;(Heidelberg: 1931) 12.' .
" 31. Text from H.W. Bailey, Indo-Scythian Studies, Being Khotanese Texts
\ Yolume V (Cambridge: 1963) 375.166; see also 366.132 for the same passage
a second manuscript of the same text.
. 32. Text from A.C. Banerjee, NarayaTfapariprccM, SanskTit and Tibetan
Texts (Calcutta: 1941) 15.4 (the Skt. for this passage is missing from Banerjee's
Ms.).
. This 'passage from the Naraya1J.apariprccha is followed immediately by
i., another passage that also refers to jatismara. Although the Skt. text for this
second is it in. part to be corrUpt,)
and aanerJee's handlmg of the Ms. matenal makes It dIfficult to suggest'!
satisfying emendation. He gives the passage in the following form (I hav
aU
inserted in brackets the material I have taken from his riotes): e ..
yas ca punar naraya1'}a ima'I]'L [yogyaT[!] [reconstructed from Tib. rung] dha_,:
ra1'}z T[! dharayama1'}aJ;. kulaputro va kuladuhita va bhiks.ur va bhiks.u 1'}z va uPiisako':
va upasika va raja va rajaputro va brahma1].o va mrtaJ;. kalagataJ;.
bha 1].ako va dagdho bhasmzbhilto [Ms. 'smi ca] va punaf ca purus.o va strz va kacit "
[Ms. cchara (?), Banerjee emends on the basis of Tib. la la zhig] sprset sa eva
niyato [Ms. niyato(?)]jatismaro (4.1S-5.2)
The Tibetan translation has:
sred med kyi bu / yang gang zhigrigs kyi bu 'am rigs kyi bu mo 'am dge slongngam
dge slang ma 'am dge bsnyen nam dge bsnyen ma 'am rgyal po 'am rgyal po'i bu'
'am bram ze 'ang rung gzungs 'di 'dzin par byed pa 'chi ba'i dus la bab pa na dam';
pa'i chos kyi snang ba can du 'gyur zhing tshig pa 'am thal bar gyur pa la 'ang
skyes pa 'am bud med gang la la zhig gis reg par bgyid pa de nyed nges p(Jr skyes ba"
dran par 'gyur ro /
Although this Tib. translation seems to imply a Skt. text somewhat different
from that found in Banerjee's Ms. and is therefore not altogether helpful for
solving the problems in the latter, still it supports a certain interpretation of at.
least a part of the Skt. text. If we tentatively accept Banerjee's bhasmzbhuto but
reject the va following it; ifin addition we reject the kacit which Banerjee read
on the basis of Tib. and take cchara(?) as possibly standing for sara in the sense
of "core," that which remains after cremation, or as a mistake for sarfra, then
we can tentatively translate the Skt. as:
"And if again, NarayaQa, a son or daughter of good family, or a monk or.
nun, or a lay man or woman, or a king or a prince or a brahmin wearing'
this dharaQI were dead, deceased; or if a reciter of the Good Law had
been cremated, reduced to ashes; and if again a man or woman were to
touch the remains, he or she assuredly will come to/be possessed of the
recollection of his former births."
Lest the idea here seem altogether strange, we might cite another instance of
the transmission of the benefits of a dharaQI through contact with remains of
the dead. In this instance, however, which comes from the Samantamukha-
. pravesarasmivimalos.1'}i:j"aprabhasasarvatathagatahrdayasamayavilokatedhara1'}z (Pe.
Vol. 11, 22S-1), the transmission is in the opposite direction: bye ma la lan nyi
shu rtsa gcig bzlas brjod byas te dur khrod du gtor na / gang gi rus pa la bog pa de dag
sems can dmyal ba gang dang gang du skyes ba de dang de nas yongs su thar te mtho ris
su skye bar 'gyur ro / gang dag mtho ris su skyes ba de dag gi lus la me tog gi char 'bab
par 'gyur ro /: "If, reciting [this dharaQI] twenty-one times over some sand, he
throws it into the burning grounds, on whom-so-ever's bones it would fall,
they, in whatever hell they had been reborn, being released from that, would
be reborn in heaven. Those who had (already) been reborn in heaven, on
their bodies a rain of flowers would fall."
33. G. Schopen, "The Text on the 'DharaQI Stones from Abhayagiriya':
A Minor Contribution to the Study of Mahayana Literature in Ceylon," The
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 5,1 (19S2) 100-lOS.
144
34. Y. Kurumiya, Ratnaketuparivarta, Sanskrit Text (Kyoto: 1978)18.14.
35. E. Conze, The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom with the Divisions oj the
'Ubhisamayillankara (Berkeley: 1975) 40.
36. E. Chavannes, "Le sutra de laparoi occidentale de l'inscription de
koan," Melanges Charles de Harlez (Leyde: 1896) 74.
37. On the authorship of the Ratnaval'i see ].W. de jong, Indo-Iranian
20 (1978) 136-37.
38. On the question of the authorship of the Mahayana-Siltiala11Jkam see
"La philosophie bouddhiqueidealiste," Asiatische StudienlEtudes asia-
25 (1971) " .
39. For a dlscusslOnof the dates of Sanudeva see ].W. de jong, "La
de Santideva," Indo-Iranian journal 16 (1975) 161-82, esp. 179ff.
in j. W. de j ong, Buddhist Studies, ed. G. Schopen (Berkeley: 1979)

40. On the Gilgit collection as a whole see the work by O. von Hinuber
fdted above in n.25 and, by the same author, "Die Erforschung der Gilgit-
:VIIandschriften. Nachtrag," ZeitschriJt der Deutschen Morgenliindischen Gesell-
130.2 (1980) *25-26* (Wissenschaftliche Nachrichten). Although most
today probably accept a 6th17th Century date for the collection, at
one has argued that at least a part of the collection-on paleographical
be dated earlier, perhaps as early as the beginning of the
!1pth Century A.D. (see N.P. Chakravarti, "The Gilgit Text of the Vajracche-
::dika", in G. Tucci, Minor Buddhist Texts, Part I(Roma: 1956) 177ff.)
,i; 41. Conze, "Tantric Prajfiaparamita Texts," 100ff.

;{ 42. For the Aparimitayur-jiiana see R.E. Emmerick, A Guide to the Litera-
it/ure oj Khotan (Tokyo':1979) 17, no. 3; D. Sinor, "A Kozepazsiai tOrok bud-
:;{dhizmusr61," Korosi Csoma-Archivum 1.5 (1939) 372, no. 9; A. Fujieda, "The
:)unhuang Manuscripts, A General Description (Part I)," Zinbun 9 (1966)
;:1),7,13,31,32; (Part II), Zinbun 10 (1969) 36,38,39; ]. Ishihama & S. Yoshi-
i'irimra, "Various Manuscripts of the Aparimitayul;t-Sutra," Monumenta SeTin-
'aica, Vol. I (Kyoto: 1958) the Sitatapatm see S. Sengupta, "A
: Note on Usnisa-sitatapatra-pratyamgira ... Dharani," Buddhist Studies,journal
i,ofthe Department oj Buddhist Studies, University oJDelhi, March 1974, pp. 68-75.
43. Emmerick, A Guide to the Literature oj Khotan,
, 44. ].W. de jong, review of Zimmerman, Indo-Iranianjournal 18 () 976)
,318 (repr. in Buddhist Studies, 321).
45. On both these texts in inscriptions see the paper cited above in n.33,
'and G. Schopen, "The and DharaJ;lls in
Indian Inscriptions: Two Sources for the Practice of Buddhism in Medieval
India," in preparation. In regard to Gilgit it might be noted that if my identi-
'" fication of the "Schutzformel" written on birchbark strips and published by
von Hinuber is correct, if it is in fact the 2nd dharaJ;l1 from the
iSamantamukhapravesa, then it would seem that this text too-although it has
.... hot yet been found among the known Mss.-was also known at Gilgit. This
;"identification might also suggest some minor corrections to Professor von
{Hiniiber's reading of the "formula" (see O. von Hinuber, "Namen in Schutz-
}'zaubern aus Gilgit," Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik 7 (1981) 166-67.
:;145
[:;
46. I have taken all these dates from P. Demieville, H. Durt et A. Seidel
Repertoire du canon bouddhique sino-japonais, edition de Taisho, Fascicule annexe d ~
Hob6girin, deuxieme edition revisee et augmentee (Tokyo: 1978)
47. There are two possible exceptions to this. In the Da.sabuddhakasutra
(Pek. Vol. 37, 94-5-1) it is said ... de'i mtshan bzung na ... tshe rabs dran par
'gyur ro / mngon par shes pa lnga dang sangs rgyas kyi chos ma 'dres pa bco brgyad
'thob par 'gyurro /: " ... if one would preserve his name [i.e. that of the 9th
Buddha mentioned in the text] ... he would recolled his former births. Be
would obtain the five superknowledges and the eighteen characteristics pecu-
liar to a Buddha." In the Ra.smivimalaviSuddhaprabha (Pek. Vol. 7, 190-5-1), as
a part of a list of "benefits" following from making a stupa in conjunction with
reciting a dharaJ;lI, it is said that the individual will be reborn in his next life in
a pure Buddha field and that ... der yang tshe lo bye ba khrag khrig brgya stong
thub par 'gyur te sngon gyi gnas ryes su dran pa dang / lha'i mig dang lha'i rna ba
roam par dag pa thob cing pha rol gyi sems shes pa dang 'chi ba 'pho ba dang skye ba
shes 'thob bo / lus las tsan dan gyi dr 'i ngad 'byung zhing, etc. In the first of these
two passages, note that while it is true that jatismara occurs in a list the next
item of which is the five abhijiiiis, the way in which the list is drawn up appears
to indicate that whoever compiled it had completely forgotten that jatismara
was supposed to be the fourth of the five abhijiiiis. It appears that for him
jatismara and the five abhijiiiis were two completely independent things. In the
second passage, in addition to the somewhat unusual order, note that jatis-
mara is obtained in association with the other four abhijiias not in this world
but in a "pure Buddha field," and that this reference is therefore closest to the
reference to jatismara already pointed out by Demieville in the Sukhavativyuha
(Demieville, "Sur la memoire des existences anterieures," 296n.3).
48. See G. Schopen, "SukhavatI as a Generalized Religious Goal in San-
skrit Mahayana Sutra Literature," Indo-IranianJournal19 (1977) 177-210. Of
the texts I have cited in the present paper which offer the obtainment of
jatismara as a generalized "benefit" following from merit-qlaking activity, note
that the following also offer rebirth in Sukhavati on the same terms: the
Bhadracanpra1Jidhana, BhaiJajyaguru, Aparimitayur-jiiana, and the KaraT}-
4avyuha, all of which are discussed in Indo-Iranian Journal 19 (1977), plus the
following texts in which rebirth in SukhavatI is offered as a generalized "bell.e-
fit" but which are not mentioned there: Da.sabuddhaka (Pek. Vol. 37, 94-3-6);
Saptabuddhaka (Pek. Vol. 37, 90-4-4); Sitatapatra (Bailey) 367.141, 375.177;
Bodhima1J4alalakJa (Lhasa, rgyud Ta)495a; Ra.smivimalaviSuddhaprabha (Pek.
Vol. 7,192-2-4); Samantamukhapravesa (Pek. Vol. 11,227-2-7; 228-3-6,4-
4,5-7).
49. For a discussion of the layman/monk distinction based on epigraphi-
cal sources see G. Schopen, "Two Problems in the History of Indian Bud-
dhism: The Layman/Monk Distinction and the Doctrines of the Transference
of Merit," Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik 10 (1983) in the press.
50. Demieville, "Sur la memoire des existences anterieures," 287; 294,
295.
51. Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, Vol. I, 25.2 = my 17.
52. Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, Vol. I, 9.8 = my 7.
146
53. See VII above.
54. I am here not talking about the well known problems of harmonizing
fth
e
doctrine of and of aniitman. :-vere essentially
of BuddhIst scholastICs, WhICh probably had lIttle If any effect on
actual "world" of the average practicing Buddhist (cf. L. de La Vallee
"Dogmatique bouddhique. La negation de l'ime et la doctrine de
!!'acte," Journal asiatique (1902) 237-3Q6). The problem or problems I am
;:concerned with here are of a fundamentally diFferent sort.
i" 55. Dhammapada vs. 127 as translated in Et. Lamotte, Histoire du boud-
i/Jhisme indien (Louvain: 1958) 37.
i)' 56. L. de La Vallee Poussin, "Dogmatique bouddhique II. Nouvelles
sur la doctrine de l'acte," Journal asiatique (1903) 371n.
:;, 57. I give here in part a free and somewhat condensed version of this
translated passage; cf. LB. Horner, The Middle Length Sayings
I(Majjhima-Nikiiya) Vol. III (London: 1959) 214-15. For the simile of the yoke
'and the turtle see the references in de J ong, Buddhist Studies, 316; 320).
BOOK REVIEWS
The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhism, edited and introduced by
Leslie S. Kawamura. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press;
published for the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion;
SR Supplements: 10, 1981. Pp. xxi + 272. $6.00 (paperback).
This book owes it origin to a remarkable international con-
ference on the Bodhisattva doctrine, held under the auspices of
the Department of Religious Studies of the University of Cal-
gary, at Calgary, Canada, from 18 to 21 September 1978. The
conference seems to have been remarkable for the singularly
significant theme it had for discussion, and also for the partici-
pation in its deliberations of several senior and distinguished
Buddhist scholars. This volume contains eleven papers, an in-
troduction by the editor, and a detailed index. These papers
reveal to a significant degree the depth, majesty,. and cultural
creativity of the the()ry and practice of the Bodhisattva ideal in
Asia. Every paper is based on careful study and research by its
author and is accompanied by impressive documentation of
sources. The editor has earned the reader's grateful admiration
by excellently executing the publication of these learned contri-
butions.
Leslie Kawamura, the editor of the volume, has contributed
an introduction (pp. xi-xxi) in which he points out some salient
features of each contribution, and also a paper, entitled "The
Myokonin: japan's Representation of the Bodhisattva" (pp.
223-237). His essay discusses the historical problems relating to
the origin of the Japanese Myokoninden, a bibliographical ac-
count of the devout practitioners of nembutsu belonging to the
tradition of the SukhavatI. It also shows that an outstanding
nembutsu practioner called myokonin, though he relied chiefly on
the saving grace of Amitabha Buddha, revealed several virtuous
qualities associated with the Bodhisattva's career. A myokonin is
compared to a white lotus flower, called pu,[ujarzka in Sanskrit.
Just as a pu,[ujarzka grows in muddy water but is not defiled by it,
a Bodhisattva (and also perhaps a myokonin), lives in the world
but is not defiled by the evils of worldly existence. In his very
illuminating inaugural address on "The Relevance of the Bodhi-
sattva Concept for Today" (pp. 1-17) Peter Slater stresses the
148
"truly universal character of the Buddha's community, and ob-
serves that "the Buddhist vision of ultimate truth and joy in all
creatures" exemplified by the concept of the Bodhisattva has
stood the test of time and change. He draws our attention to the
great &oteriological and ethical significance of the stories of the
deeds of Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas like ManjusrI and Avalo-
kitdvara, he reminds the reader, "are not remote figures in
some exotic heaven...... They are named forces active
now ...... They are positive grounds for hope in this changing
world" (pp. 2-3, 8-9). The quotation on pp. 5-6 taken from
Bar Dayal's work (p. 58) is from Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara,
III. 17-19, and not from B odhicaryavatara, III. 6-19, as is print-
ed.
The very insightful and tightly historical paper on "The
Evolution of the Concept of the Bodhisattva" (pp. 19-59) by
Professor Arthur L. Basham reveals some hitherto neglected
aspects of the history of the idea of the Bodhisattva. The use of
epigraphic materials and literary sources bearing on the growth
of the Mahayana soteriology is here made the basis of a number
of valuable opinions that should be taken seriously by all schol-
ars of Buddhism. Some of his opinions however, seem debat-
able. For example, his preference for Pali authorities over early
Buddhist Sanskrit authorities in search of the earliest Buddhist
teaching, his sharp distinction and difference between nirva1'}a
and sa'T{tbodhi, his view that the formula Buddha'T{t sara1'}a'T{t gac-
chiimi in the context of Theravada Buddhology is "logically not
intelligible" (p. 57 note 53), his reference to the epithets of the
Buddha in an inscription on a Buddha image set up at Mathura
by Sanghila as "completely theistic Mahayana" (p. 36), and his
silence on the evidence of the
relating" to the southeastern or Andhran origin of the earliest
scriptures of the Bodhisattvayana, are some of the controversial
points. The alleged Zoroastrain influence on certain features of
the Mahayana slltras, though possible, remains unproven.
Professor Gadjin M. Nagao, in his learned paper, called
"The Bodhisattva Returns to This World," (pp. 61-79) focuses
attention on theoretical and practical implications of two techni-
cal terms, and sa'T{tcintyabhavotpatti. He shows
that these concepts are complementary: the former implies nei-
ther dwelling in nor clinging to the latter implies that a
Bodhisattva willingly takes a walk in saIJ1sara as though it were a
joyful garden.
In his paper on "Influence of the Bodhisattva Doctrine on
Tibetan Political History," (pp. 81-94) Turrell Wylie elucidates
how the Bodhisattva doctrine unified church and state in the
hands of successive Dalai Lamas, promoted the concept of the
"reincarnation" of lamas, and transformed the religious culture
of Tibet from shamanism to Buddhism. Lobsang Dargyay's pa-
per discusses the views of a few Tibetan Buddhist scholars con-
cerning theory and practice of bodhicitta (pp. 95-107). H.V.
Guenther's paper, "Bodhisattva-The Ethical Phase in Evolu-
tion," (pp. 111-124) is based on rare Tibetan sources, and
throws much useful light on the meaning of byang-chub sems-dpa'.
As is well known, Professor Guenther wants to read Tibetan
texts "with eyes that have not been blinded by the 'Sanskrit-only'
glaucoma" (p. 115). He thinks that "byang-chub sems-dpa' is, pri-
marily, a descriptive term for a qualitative (or, if you so prefer, a
mental-spiritual) process, not a designatory term for a static or
quantifiable entity, a 'concrete' person" (p. 117). To the mind of
this reviewer, there is no doubt that the term byang-chub sems-dpa'
refers to both a concrete person who has taken the vow to be-
come a Buddha, and the state of his moral-spiritual growth. Its
meaning can hardly be reduced to a mere descriptive process.
There are two learned contributions to our knowledge of
the conception of the Bodhisattva based on Chinese materials.
Yun-hua Jan's paper "The Bodhisattva Idea in Chinese Litera-
ture: Typology and Significance" (pp. 125-152) distinguishes
and analyses three typologies of the Great Being in the Chinese
Literature. He points out that the Bodhisattva literature in Chi-
na "introduced a new image of the religious founder through
the past lives of the Buddha; it provided a spiritual map to a
man, and indicated that the religious goal war,attainable
through cultivation; it brought to the Chinese masses a w ~ r m ,
compassionate and powerful personal deity" (p. 148). In his con-
tribution entitled "The Bodhisattva Concept: A Study of Chi-
nese Buddhist Canon" (pp. 153-163), Lewis Lancaster has
brought to light four classes of Bodhisattvas who played a part in
the religious life of Chinese Buddhists. His illuminating discus-
siori reveals the character of these four classes in their following
names: "Jataka Bodhisattvas," "Phantasma Bodhisattvas,"
"Meditation Bodhisattvas," and "Living Bodhisattvas."
In his paper, "The Bodhisattva Doctrine as Conceived and
Developed by the Founders of the New Sects in the Heian and
Kamakura Periods" (pp. 165-191), Hisao Inagaki gives a clear
account of the role of the ideas of mappo, ekayana and hongaku in
the development of the doctrine of the Bodhisattva and the
150
151
formation of the Buddhist sects founded by great Japanese
Acaryas like Eisai, Dagen, Hanen, Shinren, and Nichiren. He
has elucidated some general tendencies of the periods, as well as
the authoritative opinions of individual masters studied by him.
One of the most interesting papers in the volume is by Minoru
Kiyota, entitled ''japan's New Religions (1945-1965): Secular-
ization or Spiritualization?" (pp. 193-222). The author's analysis
of the factors leading to the rise of these new religions and of
their nature and function in contemporary Japanese society is
indeed masterly and thought-provoking. Among other things,
he points out that the new religions, like Saka Gakkai, pose a
challenge to the established schools of Buddhism, and that the
tension between the old and new religions is based on the tradi-
tional Bodhisattva doctrine.
The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhism will be found useful by
all students of Buddhist religiousness.
L. M. Joshi
Contributo aUo Studio Biografico dei Primi Gter-Ston, by Ramon
Pratz. Napoli: Instituto Universitario Orientale, Seminario di
Studii Asiatici, Series Minor XVII, 1982, pp. 133.20,000 Lire.
Eva Dargyay's The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet (New
Delhi, 1977)-hereafter DARGYAY-was the first major publi-
cation in a Western language devoted to the study of the hagio-
graphies of the so-called "teachers of treasures" (gter-ston).
These "treasures" (gter-ma) are basically of two kinds: redisco-
veries from the eleventh century onwards of texts previously
hidden, mainly by Padmasambhava (sa-gter) , or revelations
called dgongs-gter, in which a "pure vision" (dag-snang) of a su-
per-human source communicates a doctrinal entity to the gter-
ston. The three principal doctrinal entities of the Rnying-ma-pa
school are then the gter-ma, the dgongs-gter, and the so-called
bka'-ma precepts, which also have their origin in Padmasamb-
hava. Eva Neumaier-Dargyay has made a first attempt at coming
to grips with the phenomenology of the gter-ma as such in her
"Einige Aspekte der gTer-ma Literatur der rNying-ma-pa
Schule," Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft,
Supplementa I, 3 (1969) pp. 849-862.
Among the main schools of Tibetan religion, the Rnying-
ma-pa and the Bon-po have the greatest number of gter-ston-s.
In the course of time, however, the Bka'-brgyud-pa and even the
Dge-Idan-pa, or Dge-Iugs-pa, also began tb accomodate this phe-
nomenon within their fold.
Pratz's work is a revision of his tesi di laurea, written under
Nam-mkha' nor-bu Rin-po-che, Professor at Naples University,
and an unusually gifted linguist and scholar. Whereas PRA TZ is
more limited in scope than DARGYAY, it is a carefully docu-
mented and annotated study of the hagiographies of ten of the
earliest gter-ston-s. PRA TZ, and to some extent DARGYAY, is
based on Kong-sprul BIo-gros mtha: -yas' (1813-1899) Zab-mo'i-
gter dang gter-ston grub-thob ji-ltar byon-pa'i lo-rgyus mdor-bsdus bkod-
pa rin-chen bai-d;ur-ya'i phreng-ba-hereafter GTER-RNAM-
which, having been completed in 1886, was included as the first
volume of the Rin-chen gter-mdzod, Mtshur-phu edition. The lat-
ter is a compilation of what its editors, Mchog-gyur gling-pa
(1829-1870), 'Jam-dbyangs mkhyen-brtse'i dbang-po (1820-
1892)-see DARGYAY, pp. 190-209: Mchog-gyur gling-pa is a
contraction of Mchog-gyur bde-chen zhig-po gling-pa-and
Kong-sprul himself, thought to represent that which is the most
authoritative of the gter-ma traditions. In a lengthy footnote,
PRATZ (pp. 73-74) has pointed out that this compilation was
not to everyone's satisfaction. A fully annotated catalogue of the
entire Rin-chen gter-mdzod will appear shortly in the prestigious
Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland (Wiesba-
den: Franz Steiner Verlag series).
PRATZ consists of an introduction (pp. 9-21); an anno-
,tated translation of ten hagiographies, of Rgya Zhang-khrom
Rdo-rje 'od-'bar, Grub-thob Dngos-grub, Ku-sa Sman-pa,
Khyung-po Dpal-dge, Ldang-ma Lhun-rgyal, Ra-mo Shel-sman,
Gu-ru J o-tshe, Do-ban Rgya-mtsho, Gra-sgom Chos-kyi rdo-rje,
and Khams-pa Nyi-ma grags-pa, (pp. 25-74); a glossary of the
technical terms contained in these hagiographies (pp. 77-84);
and an appendix that consists of the transliterated texts of the
. Tibetan original (pp. 82-105). It concludes with the bibliogra-
phies, the abbreviations used, and indices (pp. 107-133).
PRA TZ (pp. 10-14) deals with the different editions of the
. GTER-RNAM, as well as the sources on which it is based. It is
convincingly shown that the so-called Padma-bkod text of the
GTER-RNAM is undoubtedly dependent on the Mtshur-phu
blockprint. Kong-sprul's sources are, in contrast to the incom-
152
153
-plete and ambiguous listing of DARGYAY, p. 73, cogently set
forth. Unfortunately, however, PRA TZ does not dwell on the
history of its composition, that is to say, on what mQtivated
Kong-sprul to write the STER-RNAM, and why he embarked on
its composition so many years after the compilation of the Rin-
chen gter-mdzod (1862-?), in which, for perhaps obvious reasons,
it was later to be included. These questions should be pursued in
a future study of this text. PRA TZ (pp. 14-16) gives a bio-
graphical overview of Kong-sprul's life, which is largely founded
on the well-known writings of E. Gene Smith and Dieter Schuh.
PRA TZ (pp. 16-18) then focusses in on the stylistic and
lexical peculiarities of the GTER-RNAM. In particular, it dis-
cusses some of the more frequently occurring expressions found
in the GTER-RNAM that evidently belong to khams-skad, the
relatively little investigated dialect of eastern Tibet. This brief
lexicographical survey is grounded in the information provided
by Nam-mkha' nor-bu Rin-po-che, himself a native of Sde-dge,
Kong-sprul's place of birth. This section should, of course, be
read in conjunction with PRATZ's glossary. It thus becomes
quite clear that Kong-sprul did not merely compile the biogra-
phies from his source material. Rather, he rewrote these in his
own idiom. Such rewriting undoubtedly is a fairly hazardous
procedure, and raises the question of the extent to which the
GTER-RNAM represents an accurate expression ofthe contents
of the sources on which it is based. The absence of the majority
of its fundamental sources, however, makes it virtually impossi-
ble to answer this question. Nonetheless, such issues have to be
raised with texts of this nature, despite the fact that the textual
criticism of Tibetan texts in general has been a neglected area of
concern.
PRA TZ (pp. 18-21) discusses the stereotypical structure of
these hagiographies, their historical value, and the prophecies of
the various gter-ston-s found in the Padma-bka'-thang, which is
freely cited in the GTER-RNAM, although PRA TZ (p. 20) states
that: "Nel gTer-rnam non viene specificato da quale edizione
siano state copiate Ie profezie." There also is a set of method-
ological guidelines for the study of the gter-ma traditions. The
translations of the Tibetan hagiographies are of outstanding
quality, and can be easily checked against their Tibetan origi-
nals. The only regrettable thing about PRA TZ is that, being
written in Italian, it may not reach the wide public it assuredly
deserves. The overall approach to its subject-matter, however,
should ensure that PRA TZ will serve as a model for any future
study ofthis literary genre. The production of PRA TZ is equally
excellent.
Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp
Gedatsukai: Its Theory and Practice (A Study of a Shinto-Buddhist
Syncretic School in Contemporary japan), by Minoru Kiyota. Los
Angeles-Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1982. xii + 132
pp.
One of the most dynamic expressions of Buddhism in con-
temporary Japan is the phenomenon of numerous new religions
that have arisen in the past hundred years, and have attracted
millions of followers, especially after the opening of complete
religious freedom in 1945 at the end of World War II. Because
of the character of the new religions-primarily lay movements
based on popular beliefs and practices-all of the new religions
contain some Buddhist elements. A number of the new religions
are more explicitly based on Buddhist themes, particularly those
of the Nichiren tradition focusing on faith in the Lotus Sutra and
renewed practice of ancestral rites. However, Buddhist scholars
in Western countries have not been in the forefront of the study
of new religions.
During the past twenty-five years many Western scholars
have focused their attention on new religions, examining them
mainly as examples of social and religious change. In fact, most
of the Western scholars studying new religions have been social
scientists attempting to assess the extent of postwar social dis-
ruption and the way in which new religions constitute one form
. of response to social disruption. (There have also been histori-
ans of religion studying new religions to interpret how Japanese
religion has changed with the emergence of new religions.)
However, this reviewer is not aware of a major Western-lan-
guage treatment of the new religions generally, or one particu-
lar new religion, by a Buddhologist. The major significance of
Kiyota's book on Gedatsukai is that it is the first attempt of a
Buddhologist to write a Western-language monograph on a new
religion, and treating it not just as an example of social and
religious change, but viewing it as an expression of mainline
154
.155
Buddhist doctrine and practice. This pioneer treatment breaks
new ground, raising as many questions as it answers.
The new religion studied by Kiyota is Gedatsukai, which "is
a classic example of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism and derives
much of its thought from Shingon Mikkyo Buddhism" (p. 3).
The book consists of three chapters planned to view Gedatsukai
as an expression of Shingon Mikkyo: the first chapter traces
Japanese Buddhism from its introduction through the develop-
ment of Shingon Mikkyo by Kukai; the second chapter treats
Shinto-Buddhist syncretism as the interaction of Shinto and
Shingon Mikkyo; the third chapter analyzes "Gedatsu Theory
and Practice" by interpreting the life and teachings of Gedatsu-
kai's founder as well as the continuing practices of Gedatsukai
members through the central notions of Shingon Mikkyo.
According to Kiyota, "Shingon Mikkyo is the Japanese ver-
sion of Tantric Buddhism," and "Tantric Buddhism, which in-
corporates both Madhyamika and Yogacara thought, represents
the culmination of Mahayana thought" (p. 18). Among the var-
ious Mikkyo notions interpreted by Kiyota is the "concept of the
integration of man and Buddha, sokushin-jobutsu." This concept
helps us understand that "The Gedatsukai's theory and practice
represent a contemporary version of the Buddhist attempt to
communicate the Dharma through skill-in-means. The Gedatsu-
kai's goal is the deification of man himself based on the principle
that all sentient beings are endowed with buddha-nature .... "
(p. 40). Kiyota readily admits that Gedatsukai uses folk religious
models to convey its message to lay people, but he prefers to
interpret Gedatsukai "from the perspective of Shingon Bud-
dhist thought ... in order to present Gedatsukai's theory and
practice in a doctrinally structured manner" (p. 40).
Although Kiyota is concerned with Gedatsukai as an expres-
sion of Shingon Buddhism, he does provide a brief description
of the historical development and present situation of the new
religion. It was founded in the late 1920s by a businessman,
Okano Seiken, who in his mid-forties turned to the practice of
religion and experienced a number of remarkable revelations.
These revelations, combined with the practices and insights of
his traditional upbringing, were the basis for his establishment
of a lay religious movement. Okano was a "self-taught man"
raised in a farm family devoted to the local Shinto shrine and the
family's parish Buddhist temple, which was Shingon. In found-
. ing his movement, Okano attempted to renew traditional values
such as filial piety and sincerity through respect for Shinto kami
(deities or spirits) and Buddhist divinities. Two of his major
innovations were instituting ancestral rites in the home (by pour-
ing sweet tea over ancestral tablets while reciting the Heart Su-
tra), and developing a rite of meditatiori and mediation with
ancestral and other spirits (by meditating and holding between
the outstretched palms an amulet containing the Sanskrit letter
A). After Okano's death in 1948 the practices and teachings
became more systematic. To this day the center of worship in
Gedatsukai headquarters as well as homes is a triad of Tenjin-
chigi (Shinto kami), Gochinyorai ("the five Buddhas of the Shin-
gon pantheon"), and Gedatsu Kongo (the posthumous title of
Okano).
To interpret the significance of Gedatsukai, Kiyota makes a
lengthy analysis of Mahavairocana ("truth per se") and the gorin
hOti5 (five level stllpa). This analysis leads him to an interpreta-
tion of Okano's major innovations at the heart of Gedatsukai:
the distinctive ancestral rite is "designed to purify the mind" and
is preparatory to the meditation practice "designed to communi-
cate with the world of truth (dharmadhatu) , the world of Maha-
vairocana" (p. 68). Throughout his interpretation of Gedatsu-
kai, Kiyota claims that Okano's teaching and Gedatsukai's
practices are the same as or identical to formal Shingon Mikkyo
doctrine. For example, when interpreting the ancestral rite and
rei (usually translated as spirit or soul), he says that "When the
word rei appears in Gedatsukai literature, it refers to what is
called citta (mind) in Buddhist Sanskrit literature," and he
equates rei and similar terms (seishin or spirit; kokoro or heart)
with "the vital forces of Mahavairocana" (p. 69).
This manner of equating Gedatsu theory and practice with
Shingon doctrine raises a number of crucial questions, all of
which revolve around the nature of interpretation itself. When
equating Gedatsu practice and Shingon doctrine, what is meant
by the phrases "refers to," "represents," "symbolizes"? Does it
mean that this is an analogy drawn by the author between Ge-
datsukai teaching and Shingon Mikkyo? Does it mean that this
was the original motivation or intention of the founder Okano?
Does it mean that this is the intent or ethos of a movement as
evidenced in a pattern of belief and practice? Clarification of
these questions is important, because those who are not Bud-
dhologists (such as the reviewer) need the help of Buddhologists
in unraveling the nature and significance of the new religions.
Social scientists tend to slight or disregard the significance of
Buddhist doctrine in the new religions, seeing them as responses
156
-to social disruption. By clarifying the nature of the Buddhist
content in new religions such as Gedatsukai, Buddhologists can
help social scientists and historians of religion broaden and
deepen their interpretation of Japanese new religions. The
questions raised by Kiyota's study will help stimulate the dia-
logue among scholars of various disciplines about the signifi-
cance of Japanese new religions, and new Buddhist movements
in other countries. We are indebted to Kiyota for opening this
dialogue, and would hope that other Buddhologists will follow
his lead of working with Japanese new religions.
H. Byron Earhart
A Study of the Twenty-two Dialogues on Mahayana Buddhism, by W.
Pachow. Taipei, 1979. Pp. 126. $15.00 (paperback).
This is a significant and valuable publication, for which all
students of the history and philosophy of Buddhism will be
grateful to Dr. Pachow. It contains a critically edited Chinese
text, in Chinese characters, of a short but remarkable work
called Ta-ch'eng-erh-shih-erh-wen, written by T'an-K'uang, a
learned Chi:t:J.ese Buddhist monk of the eighth century; an Eng-
lish translation of the text; and an introduction dealing with
various aspects of the historical context and doctrinal contents of
the work. The format of this publication is not very inviting. It
seems to have been put together from two issues of a magazine,
The Chinese Culture: A Quarterly Review, vol. XX, No.1 pp. 15-64;
and voL XX, No.2, pp. 35-131 published in 1979. The format,
however, does not minimize its significance and value.
The work is based on three manuscripts, two belonging to
Pelliot's collection (P. 2960 and P.2287) and one belonging to
Stein's collection (S.2074) kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale,
Paris. Pachow informs us that each of these manuscripts is in-
complete and imperfect in many ways. He has fixed the edited
version of the text after careful collation and comparison of all
three manuscripts. The newly edited and published text con-
tains "roughly 13000 Chinese characters with nearly 400 entries
of footnotes and comments" (p. 32) .
. In his introduction, Pachow discusses several topics relating
to possible circumstances leading to composition of Ta-ch'eng-
erh-shih-erh-wen, translated as The Twenty-two Dialogues on Ma-
hayana Buddhism. This work turns out to be a joint creation of
T'an-K'uang of China and King Khri-srong-lde-tsan of
Tibet. This sounds strange, but Pachow has shown that the
twenty-two questions answered and explained in this book were
formulated and dispatched by the Tibetan monarch to the Chi-
nese master of the Dharma while the latter was living in a mon-
astery in Tun-huang. Although the name of the Tibetan mon-
arch is not mentioned in the text, in his preface to the work
T'an-K'uang refers to a certain king as "Your Majesty." Pachow's
suggestion that this does not refer to the_ Chinese emperor Teh-
tsung (780-804), who is not known to have been interested in
Buddhism, is speculative but acceptable. On the other hand, in
781 the Tibetan army had invaded China and conquered Sha-
chou and its adjoining areas, including Tun-huang. The author
of the text was living in Tun-huang during the Tibetan occupa-
tion. Moreover, the contents of the treatise reveal a remarkable
correspondence to the doctrinal issues that became the central
concern of an international Buddhist conference held in Tibet,
in which eminent Buddhist masters and philosophers of India,
Tibet, and China took an active part. This conference, or doctri-
nal debate, was held at bSam-Yas in Tibet, in 781 A.D. according
to Pachow, between 792 and 794 A.D. according to Demieville
and Tucci (Paul Demieville, Le Concile de Lhasa, 1952; Giuseppe
Tucci, Minor Buddhist Texts, part II, Rome, 1958). In this debate,
the issue of the differences between the followers of the "Sud-
den Path" propagated by the Ch'an masters headed by Ma-
hayana Ho-shang of China, and those of the "Gradual Path"
propagated by the Indian Buddhist Acaryas of the Bodhisatt-
vayana, headed first by and then by KamalasIla, was
discussed and decided under the chairmanship of the Tibetan
King Khri-srong-lde-tsan. The Chinese party was defeated and
the classical Buddhist doctrine of the Bodhisattvayana, based on
the twin principles of wisdom (prajna) and compassion (karu'TJa),
was officially accepted as established. The devoutly Buddhist
Khri-srong-lde-tsan, whom D. L. Snellgrove assigns to 740-792
A.D., may then have sent a list of twenty-two questions to the
Chinese Buddhist master T'an-K'uang, seeking their clarifica-
tion, as it were, from a third and impartial authority on Bud-
dhist doctrines and practices. T'an-K'uang's learned answers re-
sulted in the production of The Twenty-two Dialogues on Mahayana
Buddhism. The tradition of dialogue literature in Buddhism is
very ancient indeed. The nearest parallel to the work of T'an-
K'uang is the Milindapanha.
158
159
The dialogues were completed between 781 and 787. They
are a valuable source of authentic information on points of con-
troversy among Buddhists belonging. to different schools of
practice and interpretation. The author, in the course of his
detailed answers, quotes several siitras and sastras including the
following: Vimalakfrtinirdesa, Ak!sayamatinirdesa, Saddharmapur;a-
rfka, Lankavatara, M ahilyanaSraddhotpadasastra, V ijiiaptimatrata-
siddhi, and Mahilyanasar{tgraha.
The questions and answers relate to several important
Buddhological ideas such as bhutatathata, Tathagatagarbha,
dharmakaya, salJlsara, nirva:o.a, and some soteriological and
ethical practices associated with sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and
Bodhisattvas. The last and twenty-second question is of histori-
cal significance, and concerns the differences between the
"original" Dharma taught by the Buddha and the doctrines and
practices associated with different sects that emerged in the
course of different councils held -in India. T'an-Kuang's answer
to this question is the longest (pp. 72-85). In his answer, he tells
the Tibetan king that the first Buddhist Council was held in the
twelfth year after the mahilparinirvarJ,a, which is not true. He
gives interesting details of the origin of controversies concerning
"five heretical theses" propounded by the notorious monk, Ma-
hadeva. The author gives some fanciful etymologies of proper
names, such as that of the Vatsiputrlya, Kaukkutika, and Kasya-
prya. On the whole, this is a very interesting and illuminating
document, discovered in the ruins of Buddhist monasteries in
Tun-huang. Its contents can be profitably studied in the light of
the three Bhavanakramas of Kamalasrla, composed soon after the
debate of bSam Yas. They also are relevant to a fresh study of
the relation between Sravakayana and Bodhisattvayana. The
book can be recommended to both the specialist and the general
reader.
L. M. Joshi
Zen & Christian: The Journey Between, by John Dykstra Eusden.
New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1981. 184 p.
index. $10.95.
In a continuing succession of books appearing in the field of
Buddhist-Christian dialogue, this is one of the more r e c e ~ t . The
dialogue here takes place within one person, who is both a Con-
gregational minister and a member of a Zen Buddhist temple.
This book speaks of Eusden's 'Journey between," a term not too
far from John Dunne's "passing over." Dunne is concerned with
learning of another tradition by active participation in it. He
implies a type of transformation, or new way of seeing. Eusden,
then, has become a Zen-Christian. The book is primarily ad-
dressed to the Christian who wonders about other religious
paths, but it serves as a short introduction to Zen as well. There
are five major sections in this book: 1. More than one thing, 2.
What is Zen?, 3. The journey to Zen, 4. Christianity and Zen-
Alike and Unlike, and 5. Two ways together.
Eusden states that both traditions have a "claim" on him. He
sought out Zen because he found Christianity often lacking in "a
dimension of depth" (Paul TiIIich's phrase). In his experience of
Zen, Eusden finds more to add to Paul's fruits of the Spirit in
Galatians 5:22-23. He adds "simplicity, beauty, wonder, and the
body." Eusden also states: "The crossing over to Zen is not done
to gain some new base of certainty, but rather in the hope of
'attaining insight and understanding,' as the Roman Catholic
writer John Dunne says, and thereby gaining a sense of personal
integration and function." He is aware, however, that he carries
over western baggage into the Zen experience.
The author defines Zen on page 34, following D. T. Suzuki,
as an art of seeing into the nature of one's being and the pointer
of the way from bondage to freedom. He claims that before this
seeing is accomplished, one will experience questioning, doubt,
and anguish. In other words, the whole being is involved, not
only the mind. Eusden does not come across only as a mental
gymnast. Rather, his search seems to come from the roots of his
being. There is a sense of apology in this book: he points out that
Zen is not especially Buddhist; it is simply "nothing special,
nothing special."
Eusden attempts to convince the reader of "overlooked si-
milarities which occur in the Puritan tradition" with Zen (p.
141). He goes on to speak of William Ames, John Cotton, John
Winthrop, Jonathan Edwards, and others. Even though I realize
that this is his Christian heritage, I find no such similarities.
There is a failure to convince here, but one sees an attempt on
his part to make peace with his own Congregationalist heritage.
He says at one point, on page 143: "As the Puritan considers his
major task to be that of living out his thankfulness for being in
the covenant of grace, so the Zen person lives out in meditation
160
and compassion his thanksgiving for the teaching and direction
of Buddha and the patriarchs." This does not sound like Zen the
way I understand it, where Buddha is also "nothing special" for
the. Zenist. Indeed, he finally admits (p. 150): "So parallels be-
tween Zen and Christianity are present, but they do not run
deep." With this, most of us concur. There is little, or no, inter-
est from the side of the Zen adherent in coming to grips with
Christianity experientially; the street seems one-way.
Eusden demonstrates his dependence upon both Edwards
and Hakuin, and states that no one way is sufficient for under-
standing the mystery of existence. He admits that both expres-
sions, Christian and Zen, have a claim on him. He concludes, "I
am teaching Christian ethics and ministering to a Congregation-
al church, but I am also teaching and practicing Zen Buddhism."
1 do not have a problem with this, do you?
G. W. Houston
III. PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Presidential Address Given on the.
Occasion of the
Fifth Conference of The International
Association of Buddhist Studies,
Hertford College, Oxford, England,
August 16-21, 1982
by Walpola Rahula
Let me express my deep gratitude to the International Associ-
ation of Buddhist Studies and to the organizer of this confer-
ence, Professor Richard Gombrich, for the honour they have
done me by inviting me to preside at this august assembly of
eminent scholars. It gives me great pleasure to greet all of you
assembled here from the four quarters of the world, and with a
sense of humility I look back on the work done in our field by
our illustrious predecessors, knowing that their example will
further what we propose to do here.
The early nineteenth century may be regarded as the be-
ginning of one of the most important eras in Buddhist history
since Asoka's time in the 3rd century B.C. Never before in the
history of Buddhism was Buddhist literature so widely dissemi-
nated throughout the world in so many different languages.
This may be considered or interpreted as a new form of Dhar-
macakrapravartana, particularly in the Western world.
This "Setting in motion the Wheel of Truth" in the Occi-
. dent began in earnest with the publication in 1826 of the Essai
162
';ur"Ze Pali by the French Orientalist Eugene Burnouf (1801-
ii852) in co.llaboration the German scholar Las.sen.
may nghtly be consIdered the father of BuddhIst studIes
iin the West. Among his eminent pupils was the well-known
('German Indologist Max Muller.
I;;, Interest in Buddhist studies gradually spread from Paris to
t13elgium, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Russia, England,
i'and the United States. Buddhologists in these countries during
last one-hundred-and-fifty years have contributed enor-
to the spread of Buddhist thought in many different
languages. In Denmark, Victor Fausboll brought out in 1855
edition of the Dhammapada, the best known Buddhist text,
accompanied by a translation and notes in Latin. This was the
Jirst Pali text to be published in full in Europe in Roman char-
:acters.
England, though, has rendered the greatest service to
.Buddhism in the West. T. W. Rhys Davids, after eight years as a
.civil servant in Sri Lanka, where he studied Pali, returned to
England in 1872, and began to work with other Orientalists in
The greatest of his many and varied contributions to
,Pali Buddhist studies was the foundation of the Pali Text Soci-
'Hy in 1881, in order "to render accessible to students the rich
stores of the earliest Buddhist literature." He directed the ac-
tivities of the Society, harnessing and co-o!"dinating talents scat-
ltered in many countries, both East and West.
The Pali Text Society in its early period lacked funds and
was supported by Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand,
and Burma. Today, however, it is self-supporting and flourish-
ing. In this connection, with a sense of profound gratitude, we
should remember the Society's late President, Miss 1. B.
Horner, not only for devoting all her energy to its welfare as
her life work, but also for placing it on a sound financial basis
by establishing a generous fund in her name for the perpetua-
tion of the Society. Now, the PTS is progressing quite satisfacto-
rily and smoothly under the direction of its new President, Mr.
K. R. Norman of Cambridge, and its Secretary, Professor Rich-
ard Gombrich of Oxford;
Thanks to the Pali Text" Society, we have now in Roman
characters all the Pali Canon of the Tipitaka, though some of the
163
Abhidhamma texts need editing more fully. In addition, it has
also edited, in some sixty volumes, the Pali commentaries of the
Tipitaka, besides a good number of other post-canonical works.
There are the English translations, in some fifty-eight volumes
of practically the whole Tipitaka. To these should be added t h ~
Pali-English Dictionary, English-Pali Dictionary, The Dictionary of
Pali Proper Names and The Pali Tipitaka Concordance.
It is interesting to observe that while countries on the Eu-
ropean continent like France and Belgium specialized in Ma-
hayana, England specialized in Theravada.
One has only to look into the Bibliographie Bouddhique of
thirty-odd volumes, published in Paris under the editorship of
the late Mademoiselle Marcelle Lalou, to realize the tremen-
dous amount of work produced in the field of Buddhist studies
in different languages in the West during the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries.
At the level of practice and observance, today in the West-
ern world, including the United States, there are hundreds of
Buddhist temples, viharas and meditation centres, both of
Theravada and Mahayana, and two Buddhist universities in the
U.S.A.
Meanwhile, in the East, the "Setting in motion the Wheel
of Truth" in recent years assumed multifarious forms at differ-
ent levels of activity.
The World Fellowship of Buddhists was inaugurated in
1950 in Colombo under the leadership of the late Professor G.
P. Malalasekera, my teacher in the University of Ceylon. Lead-
ing representatives of Theravada and of different sects of Ma-
hayana from twenty-nine countries, in both East and West, par-
ticipated in this assembly. This was, perhaps, the first time in
the history of Buddhism that delegates of almost all schools of
Buddhism assembled on the same platform to deliberate the
interest and welfare of their religion. This congress brought all
Buddhist countries, communities, and groups throughout the
world closer together. At this assembly, it was resolved not to
use any longer the old-fashioned term Hlnayana, Small Vehi-
cle, with reference to Buddhism prevalent in Sri Lanka,
Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and some other parts of the
world; but, rather, Theravada, because Theravada is not
Hlnayana, and there is no Hlnayana sect extant today as a
164
r2brnrounity anywhere in the It is strange that there are
some out-moded scholars who use the term Hlnayana with
1ieference to Theravada. The headquarters of the World Fel-
of Buddhists is at present in Bangkok, Thailand.
eOj In 1956, the celebration on a grand international scale of
Jayanti, 2500th anniversary of the Parinirvarpa of the
:'Buddha, created a new interest in Buddhism. To mark this
'historic event, various important activities were undertaken in
'different countries. Special mention should be made of the
/Chattha Sangayana, the Sixth Synod or Council, in Rangoon,
lBurma, which, with the collaboration of learned Maha Theras
from all Theravada countries, collated and brought out a new
edition of the Pali Tipitaka. The Encyclopedia of Buddhism, under
'the editorship of the late Professor Malalasekera, was started in
.Sri Lanka. Also, the publication of a new edition of the Pali
iTipitaka, with a Sinhala translation, was initiated in Sri Lanka
;under the patronage of the government. In India, a complete
edition of the Pali Tip#aka in Devanagari script was produced
:for the first time under the editorship of the late Venerable
Jagadlsha Kasyapa Maha Thera, the uncle of Professor A. K.
Narain and my revered sabrahmacari (co-celibate) from the Vi-
dyaiankara Pirivena, Sri Lanka. Many other literary works,
both big and small, were published' in both the East and West.
Meriting special mention in this connection is the remarkable
work of the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, Sri Lanka,
under the editorship of the German-born Buddhist monk,
Venerable Nyanaponika Maha Thera, to popularize the teach-
ing of the Buddha in a large number of countries among read-
ers of different levels.
In 1966, the World Buddhist Sangha Council was inaugu-
in Sri Lanka, bringing closer together the members of the
r Sangha of the Theravada and the Mahayana. At the request of
;r; the founding Secretary-General of this organization, the late
Venerable Pandit Pimbure Sorata Thera, I had the honour of
a formula for the unification of the Theravada and
Mahayana. This formula, which was unanimously accepted
(:f by the Council, is now published as Appendix IV of my Heritage
So! the Bhikkhu (Grove Press, New York). The last Congress of
World Buddhist Sangha Council was held in Taiwan on a
scale during the first week of December, 1981.
1
165
The only international Buddhist and Pali University in the
world was opened in Colombo on the 22nd of April this year. I
had the privilege of planning and organizing this institution at
the request of the President and the Prime Minister of the.
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Buddhism and Pali
are compulsOry subjects. In addition, as optional subjects, there
are in the curriculum various other languages, both Eastern
and Western, religions, philosophies, histories, cultures, etc. No
vocational subjects, such as agriculture, engineering, or medi-
cine will be taught. Although intended primarily for the educa-
tion and training of Buddhist monks, this university is open to
all, Buddhists and on-Buddhists, laymen and women. Students
in foreign countries can take the examinations of this university
as external students, without even going to Sri Lanka. Its affili-
ated colleges may be established not only in Sri Lanka, but also
in foreign countries. The motto of the university is a saying of
the Buddha's taken from the original Pali Canon, dearly indi-
cating the aim of the institute: Dhammacakkar(l pavattetur(l "To
set in motion the Wheel of Truth."
To turn to our organization, the International Association
of Buddhist Studies: this, as we hope, is a new, additional push
to the Wheel of Truth on an international scale,.since this asso-
ciation brings together learned Buddhologists from many parts
of the world for discussion and exchange of views at an intellec-
tuallevel, and creates new interests and promotes further stud-
ies. We owe our gratitude for its founding General-Secretary,
Professor A. K. Narain, who inaugurated it at the University of
Wisconsin. At the same time, our sincere thanks are due to
Professor Richard Gombrich, local secretary and coordinator
of this Fifth Conference, for organizing it so magnificently here
at this seat of learning at Oxford.
I give you my best wishes and blessings for the complete
success of this conference in all your deliberations, and hope
that this Congress will produce far-reaching results in mould-
ing Buddhist studies in the future.
166
167
IV. NOTES AND NEWS
A Report on the 5th Conference of the
lABS
Hertford College, University of Oxford,
Oxford England
August 16-21, 1982
The 5th Conference of the International Association of Bud-
dhist Studies opened with registration and a reception on the
Hertford College lawn, August 16, 1982. An All-Conference
Dinner was held that same evening, after which Dr. the Ven.
Walpola Rahula, President of the 5th Conference, was intro-
duced to the conference participants by Professor Richard Gom-
brich, Local Secretary and organizer of the conference. Dr. Ra-
hula gave his opening address, which is printed in this issue of
the] Dumal.
The conference was organized by Professor Gombrich so
that when reading of papers began the next morning, Tuesday,
August 17, there were two sessions running simultaneously: a
Special Session arranged by organizers far in advance of the
conference on very specific subjects, on which papers had been
written and circulated in advance to the participants, and a Gen-
eral Session, arranged closer to the conference dates to accomo-
date all other papers. The Special Sessions included three ses-
sions on Buddhist Logic and Epistemology, organized by Bimal
Krishna Matilal of Oxford University; two sessions on Art and
Iconography organized by T. S. Maxwell of SARAS; a session on
Anthropology organized by Michael Carrither.s and Nicholas Al-
len, both of Oxford University; a session on Tibetan Religious
and Philosophical Thought organized by Paul Williams of the
University of Bristol; and a session on Contemporary Japanese
Buddhism organized by Pichael Pye of the University of Leeds.
Dr. Richard A. Gard, Director of the Institute for the Advanced
Study of World Religions (IASWR), organized a Plenary Session
entitled "The Progress of Academic Projects Concerning Bud-
dhism," which may be the first in an on-going lABS tradition
of holding a session on such a topic at 'every International
Conference.
Professor Gombtich also arranged sight-seeing tours of his-
toric Oxford and the vicinity, as well as two guided coach tours
to near-by areas of historical interest: Blenheim Palace, the an-
cestral home of the Churchill family, and Stratford-on-Avon,
home of Shakespeare. Time was left in the program for partici-
pants to see a Shakespeare play, Othello, or to do as they pleased.
One evening was devoted to films and slides by lABS members:
Dr. Edward Bastian showed a film entitled "Tibetan Buddhism:
Preservirig the Monastic Tradition," Dr. Anne Vergati showed
slides on the marriage rituals of Newari Buddhists; and the Ven.
Hiu Wan showed slides of Buddhist paintings entitled "Cool
Purity."
Because of the variety of participants in the conference, this
year Professor Gombrich arranged an entirely vegetarian fare
for the guests. Everyone seemed pleased and surprised at the
quality and quantity of the food, served by the normally tradi-
tional "meat and potatoes" cooks, and the conference ended on
Saturday, August 21, with a delightful conference luncheon. As
in past conferenceS", it was agreed by all that the papers were
excellent, stimulating, and well presented, and that Oxford was
indeed a wonderful site for a conference.
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of the lABS, 5th
Conference, Oxford, England, August 18, 1982
Present: A. L. Basham, Chairperson; Richard A. Gard; Richard
Gombrich, Regional Secretary for Europe and Local Secretary,
5th Conference; L. M. Joshi, Editor, JIABS; Leslie Kawamura;
Beatrice D. Miller, Treasurer; A. K. Narain, General Secretary
and Editor-in-Chief,JIABS; D. Seyfort Ruegg; Jikido Takasaki,
Editor,JIABS; Robert Thurman, editor,JIABS; Alex Wayman;
and Akira Yuyama, Regional Secretary for Asia. Also invited
was Amalia Pezzali.
Professor Basham opened the meeting with greetings, and
asked the General Secretary to give his report.
168
Report of the General Secretary, Professor A. K. Narain
Professor N arain reported that since the last international
conference in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, the main concerns of
the lABS have been financial and membership numbers. He
noted that the lABS still needs to increase its membership, not
only in economically developed countries that are lar.gely repre-
sented already, but in countries such as India, Nepal, Bangla-
desh, Laos, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Malaysia,. Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Pakistan, etc. Membership statistics as
of July 28, 1982, were given as follows:
TYPE OF MEMBERSHIP NUMBER
Full Member in good standing (dues paid
up to and including 1981) 298
Subsidized Members in good standing 25
Student Members in good standing 2
Institutional Members in good standing 93
Honorary Fellows 15
Members not in good standing but still on the
mailing list for one year 60
TOTAL 493
The regional distribution of the total membership, representing
29 countries, is:
WORLD AREA
Asia and Australia
Europe
North and South America
NUMBER
159
78
256
Professor Narain pointed out that even though many from eco-
nomically-developing countries are eligible for subsidized rates,
only 25 individuals from those countries have applied for mem-
bership in the lABS.
In addition to the 93 Institutional Members, The j oumal of
the lABS has an exchange relationship with 3 institutions: The
Oriental Institute in Baroda, India (for the j oumal of the Oriental
Institute); Punjabi University in Patiala, India (for thejoumal of
Religious Studies); The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in
Dharamsala, India (for the Tibet journal); and an exchange rela-
tionship with The Pali Buddhist Review, published in London,
England.
In discussing ways to increase the membership in the lABS,
Professor N arain noted that although affiliation with the North
American Buddhist Society (NABS) was discounted at the last
conference, due to the by-laws of the lABS, the possibility of
their dissolution brings on the prospect of inviting the NABS
members into the lABS in the form of a national (North Ameri-
can) chapter of the lABS. Other countries could increase lABS
membership in a similar manner, that is, by instituting local
chapters.
As can be expected, the main activity and lifeblood of the
lABS is the production of the journal. There are problems that
are hard to avoid, such as uneven representation of the various
disciplines in Buddhist Studies. Most of the papers received by
the editors are in Buddhist doctrine, philosophy and textual
studies, with little representation in areas such as Theravada
Buddhism, etc. Professor Takasaki is getting so many papers in
Chinese and Japanese Buddhism that ~ e could use another edi-
tor to assist him. .
As far as the Bibliographie Bouddhique is concerned, there was
no progress to report. A lot of suggestions have been made, but
no one is willing or able to finance the ideas.
Professor Narain was pleased to announce that after a long
process of detailed correspondence, The journal of the lABS is
officially copyrighted from all of its back issues through the
present, and will continue to be protected by the copyright laws
in the future.
There has been a lot of discussion among the members as to
whether or not the lABS should continue to hold annual inter-
national conferences. Although some say that conferences
should be held every 2 years because they can't attend an inter-
national conference every year, yearly conferences boost lABS
membership greatly, and since the Association is still fairly
young, this is needed. Professor Narain noted that in other soci-
eties, not all of the members and Directors attend every confer-
ence, and that the lABS is getting invitations every year, and
wanted to record his inclination to accept yearly conferences as
long as these circumstances prevail.
170
:171
Report of the Treasurer, Dr. Beatrice D. Miller
Dr. Miller announced that, the lABS has finally fully com-
plied with the regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of
Revenue, to qualify as a tax exempt organization.
The Treasurer's report for the period from 8/6/81 to 8/1/82
is as follows:
CURRENT ASSETS
Checking Acct.
Savings Acct.
I-Year Passbook
Checks
TOTAL
INCOME
Dues, subscriptions,
etc.
l
4th Conference
5th Conference
2
Donations, ]JABS3
$577.23
$3,553.44
$2,558.01
$1,068.00
$7,756.68
$7,442.00
$1,310.50
$1,068.00
2nd Conference
4
Payments from Japan
5
Interest on passbook,
$200.00
$425.00
$650.00
savings
TOTAL
BALANCE FROM
1981
TOTAL
LESS EXPENSES
TOTAL
$339.03
$11,494.53
$8,945.00
$20,439.53
$12,682.85
$7,756.68
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Thomson-Shore (Printer,
Volume V #1,
]JABS.)
Estimates:
Thomson-Shore
$1,860.00
(V #2) $1,700.00
Ries Graphics (Typesetter,
Volume V, #2,
]JABS.)
5th Conference:
Land transport (3)
1 night hotel (3)
Registration (3)
TOTAL
EXPENSES
$2,500.00
$120.00
$75.00
$534.00
$6,789.00
Coda Press (Typesetter,
IV #2,]JABS.) $1,960.60
Ries Graphics (V #1) $2,547.06
Thomson-Shore
(IV #1,2) $3,012.26
5th Conference:
airfare (2) $1,374.00
airfare (1) $638.00
IUOAS dues ('80-'82) $150.00
Copyright registrations
(jIABS I#2-IV#2) $70.00
4th Conference
6
$2,162.16
Dept. of South Asian
Studies (xerox, postage,
telephone, etc.) $522.80
Miscellaneous (petty cash,
bank charges, postage,
telephone, etc.) $245.97
TQTAL $12,682.85
1. This figure excludes the payments made in Yen to Dr. Akira
Yuyama, and not yet forwarded to the Treasurer.
2. Subvention paid in through Pounds Sterling through Professor
Gombrich of $534.00 (.300) to General Secretary and Assistant, to-
ward travel/registration expenses.
3. Contribution to ]lABS, by Professor, the Rev. Chang Sheng-Yen.
4. As the new Director of the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Professor
Gustav Roth was able to arrange to "unfreeze" the Rupees due since the
2nd Conference.
5. Payments made in Yen that were transferred to the lABS Treasurer
in August, 1981.
6. The actual expenses incurred for the 4th Conference came to
$3,019.21. Thanks to the generous support of the South Asian Studies
Department of the University of Wisconsin, the lABS was responsible
only for $2,162.16. The balance of $857.05 was provided by the De-
partment. In addition, the South Asian Studies Department has met:
Salary for Ms. Rena Haggarty, Assistant Secretary,
(8/31/81-8/31/82) $2,600.00
Mailing costs $201.94
Correspondence costs, etc. $312.00
Duplicating services $150.00
Xerox $30.00
Telephone $52.98
Stationary $171.97
TOTAL . $3,518.89
minus amount repaid by lABS
BALANCE
$522.80
$2,996.09
Dr. Miller pointed out that with the current economic con-
ditions it is highly questionable that the lABS can continue to
receive such life-saving assistance. We must face the prospect
that the lABS will need to meet most of these expenses from its
own funds in future years. She added that there is only about a
$1,000 difference between assets and liabilities, partially because
the cost of the Journal exceeded expectations, due to inflation
and a larger volume.
Report on developing plans for the 6th Conference, to be held in Japan
Professor Takaski Jikido, Editor for ]lABS and Secretary
General for the 31st International Congress of Human Sciences
172
173
in Asia and North Africa (CISHAAN), announced that plans are
progressing well for the 6th Conference of the lABS, to be held
in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, August 31 - September 7, 1983, in
conjunction with the 31st CISHAAN. This year, in response to
an idea from Professor Yamamoto Tatsuro, President of the
31st CISHAAN, CISHAAN is organizing its conference around
themes rather than fields of study. As an autonomous lABS
section was logistically impossible to arrange, the CISHAAN
Secretariat has planned special sessions for the lABS. In most
cases, any paper proposed by lABS members will be allotted to
Sectional Meeting 3: "Spread of Buddhism and Hindu Culture
. in Asia." The following sub-sections have been set up within
Sectional Meeting 3: A.I. Buddhism and Hinduism in Ancient
Central Asia; II. Buddhism and Hindu Culture in East Asia; III.
Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia; IV. Hinduism in South
and Southeast Asia; V. Buddhism in Inner Asia (Tibet, Mongo-
lia, etc.); VI. Buddhism and Hinduism in the Modern World;
and B. Transmission of Buddhist Texts: I. lndic Tradition (in-
cluding Southeast Asia); II. Chinese Translation; III. Tibetan
Translation (including Inner Asia); IV. Translation into Mod-
ern Languages.
Special sessions or seminars may be arranged for groups of
papers, if there are enough good papers to warrant them. It is
planned thata special session on "Current States, Trends and
Methods of Buddhist Studies" will be organized within Sectional
Meeting 3.
There was some discussion and questions about the roles of
the two organizations in the joint conference. In particular,
there was concern that the high registration fee ($150.00 U.S.)
would keep away most lABS members. Professor Leslie Kawa-
mura moved a resolution that:
Whereas CISHAAN has graciously accomodated the lABS
by providing several sub-sections within its Sectional Meet-
ing 3, "Spread of Buddhism and Hindu Culture in Asia,"
and whereas the lABS Secretariat has been in correspon-
dence with CISHAAN, we resolve that the 6th Conference
of the lABS will be held in conjunction with the 31st
CISHAAN provided that the lABS members approve the
motion at the General Meeting."
This resolution was seconded and passed.
Report on an Invitation by Dr. Amalia Pezzali for a future lABS
Conference in Italy
Professor Pezzali reported that she has asked the University
of Bologna, who has agreed, to host a conference of the lABS in
a future year, as yet to be decided, and that a cultural center will
help provide accommodations.
Discussion on the Topic of Yearly Conferences
The possibility of an invitation from the International Asso-
ciation for the History of Religions (IAHR) for a joint confer-
ence in Australia, in 1985, was brought up by Professor Leslie
Kawamura.
Discussion revolved around Dr. Pezzali's invitation and the
implications involved in accepting a conference in 1985 in Aus-
tralia, should such an invitation arrive, which led to the question
of even holding annual international conferences at all, instead
of moving to a bi-annual schedule. Professor Richard Gombrich
moved that:
After 1983 our lABS conferences shall be held every two
years.
This resolution was seconded an:d passed. (This resolution
was later ammended at the General Meeting to read "after
1985.")
Financial Problems of the lABS
Professor Narain reported thatjoumal costs keep going up,
and that the j oumal is the main activity and life blood of the
lABS. He also noted that the lABS could lose the support of the
Department of South Asian Studies at the University of Wise on-
sin, due to their loss in support from the State Government.
There were three suggestions for ways to increase income:
1. Request donations specifically for j oumal publication.
2. Sell more ads to other publications and institutions, to be
run in the j oumal.
3. Increase lABS membership numbers by opening region-
al branches of the lABS.
174
-Minutes of the Meeting of the General Membership fo the lABS, 5th
Conference Oxford, England, August 20, 1982
Professor A. L Basham, Chairperson of the lABS, opened
and chaired the meeting, which was attended by virtually all 5th
Conference participants.
The first item on the agenda was thanks given to the many
and various people who helped make the conference a success:
1. Professor Richard Gombrich, Local Secretary and orga-
nizer of the 5th Conference and Regional Secretary for Europe
for the lABS.
2. The Director and staff of the Oriental Institute, Oxford
University.
3. The Chairperson of the Department of South Asian
Studies, University of Wisconsin, Dr. Narayana Rao, and staff,
Madison, WI USA.
4. The organizers of special seminars held during the 5th
Conference: Bimal Krishna Matilal, T. S. Maxwell, Michael Car-
rithers, Nicholas Allen, Paul Williams, Michael Pye, and Richard
A. Gard.
5. The members of the Board of Directors of the lABS and
the Secretarial and Editorial Assistants.
6. The following conference assIstants: Louisa Watkins,
Leonie Gombrich, Carl Gombrich, Paul Griffiths, Dheeresh
Turnbull, Julia Leslie, Dominik Wujastyk, Dr. Sanjukta Gupta,
Dr. Berti, Mr. Cook, Richard Holder, Mrs. Slopes, Mr. O'Brien,
Mr. Godfrey, and Mr. Munro.
7. All those who attended the 5th Conference of the lABS
and contributed to the many discusssions.
As at the meeting of the Board of Directors, the General
Secretary's report was again given at the General Business Meet-
ing, with the additional note that changes in the Constitution
and By-laws of the lABS approved at the 4th Conference in
Wisconsin, are presently printed in Volume V #1, 1982 of the
Journal, lABS. Separately bound and printed copies of the new
Constitution and By-laws are available upon request from the
Madison, Wisconsin office of the lABS. Professor Narain also
prefaced a coming discussion on continuing yearly international
conferences by pointing out that he has been exploring possibili-
ties for conferences right from the founding of the lABS, and
had informed the last meeting of a possibility of an invitation
from Peking, but that it had to be postponed. In the meanwhile,
the lABS has explored invitations from scholars in Japan, Italy,
and Paris, and Professor Narain has asked Dr. Walpola Rahula
to look into the possibility of a conference "in Sri Lanka. Profes-
sor N arain stressed the importance of making a careful decision
on whether or not to hold yearly conferences.
The Treasurer's report as given at the meeting of the Board
of Directors was reiterated at the General Business Meeting,
with the added emphasis on the position the lABS holds within
the Department of South Asian Studies at the University of Wis-
consin, and the possibility of losing their support due to budget
cut-backs taking effect throughout the entire University of Wis-
consin system. Specifically, they contributed almost $3,000 last
year to meet secretarial expenses as well as close to $1,000 to-
wards hosting the 4th Conference, in Madison. In addition, they
provide office space and equipment, very expensive items that
are often taken for granted. The Chairperson of the Depart-
ment, Professor Narayana Rao, has assured the lABS that he
will do his best for the rest of the 82-83 academic year, but as
Professor Miller pointed out, the approximately $1,000 differ-
ence between assets and liabilites the lABS now enjoys would
become a deficit of over $4,000 should we lose that support, not
to mention the office and equipment.
Professor Basham moved a resolution that
The General Business Meeting of the lABS expresses
its deep gratitude to the Department of South Asian Stud-
ies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA, for its
continued support ofthe lABS, its Journal, and its activities,
since its inception in 1976.
This resolution was passed by unanimous acclaim.
Before reading the resolutions passed at the meeting of the
Board of Directors and inviting discussion and approval, Profes-
sor Basham read a letter of resignation from Professor A. K.
Narain, General Secretary.
Professor Robert]. Miller's name was proposed as successor
to Professor Narain, and was unanimously approved by accla-
mation. A vote of thanks to Professor A. K. N arain for his devo-
tion to the lABS was passed by acclamat.ion as welL
The first resolution passed at the meeting of the Board of
Directors was discussed. Professor Takasaki made a special invi-
tation to the members of the lABS to participate in a concurrent
176
conference with the 31st CISHAAN, and added that the follow-
ing conditions obtained:
1. The CISHAAN registration fee will include the registra-
tion fee for attendees of the 6th Conference of the lABS, and
payment of this fee will enable lABS members to attend and
participate in all CIAHAAN activities.
2. At the 6th Conference, lABS attendees will be issued
special identification tags and a special schedule of lABS papers,
in addition to the more extensive CISHAAN program.
3. Special rooms will be provided for regular lABS confer-
ence activities, such as the Opening Session and Presidential
Address, the General Business Meeting, and the meeting of the
Board of Directors, and will be indicated on the special lABS
program.
4. In most cases, papers proposed by lABS members will be
read in Sectional Meeting 1.3, Spread of Buddhism and Hindu
Culture in Asia. He also announced the special sub-sections set
up within Sectional Meeting 1.3 (see report of the Board of
Director's Meeting for details). In other cases, papers will be
assigned to other sections if appropriate, and special seminars
may be arranged for groups of papers that do not fit any of
CISHAAN's existing categories. He also agreed to the plan of
the lABS to continue holding a session on the current state of
Buddhist Studies.
5. lABS members may obtain a registration fee receipt spe-
cifically mentioning the 6th Conference of the lABS by request-
ing this at the time of payment of fees. The CISHAAN registra-
tion fees, which include the 6th Conference of the lABS
registration fees, do not include the annual membership dues of
the lABS, which are required for participation in any lABS
conference.
Professor Takasaki added that the CISHAAN invitation to
the lABS members to participate in their 31st Congress held
whether or not the membership decided to hold the conferences
concurrently.
The resolution passed by the Board of Directors was unani-
mously approved by the General Business Meeting.
The next item was to propose the name of the President of
the 6th Conference. Dr. Akira Yuyama proposed that
Professor Gadjin Najao, Honorary Fellow and Founding
Chairperson, lABS, be the President of the 6th Conference
of the lABS in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, August 31 to
September 7, 1983.
This resolution was passed unanimously.
The next item of discussion concerned to so-far annual in-
ternational conferences held by the lABS, and whether to con-
tinue the yearly schedule. This topic required a lot of thought
and discussion, but because of a time shortage, had to be carried
on over dinner-and picked up again formally later in the eve-
ning. After a long and colorful discussion, an amendment to the
second resolution passed by the Board of Directors was pro-
posed by Dr. K. K. Mittal, seconded, and passed, that
After the year 1985 the international lABS confer-
ences shall be held every two years, and not annually.
A final resolution was passed thanking Professor Pezzali for
her invitation for an international conference of the lABS to be
held in Italy in a future year, with the endorsement to take the
matter up with the University of Bologna as soon as possible.
Discussion and suggestions from the General Membership
A resolution was proposed by Dr. Beatrice Miller com-
mending Dr. Edward Bastian for the film he produced and
showed at the conference, and encouraging further films in the
same direction:
This meeting, being most impressed by the splendid
work of Dr. Edward Bastian in producing films on Bud-
dhism, strongly supports his work and urges all authorities
and educational television stations and institutions to give
him whatever support possible.
The resolution was seconded and passed unanimously.
Professor Robert Miller, on behalf of graduate students in
Japan, invited all interested in work with micro-computers in
Buddhist Studies to contact him. .
When asked if any proceedings would be published from
this conference, Professor Basham said that probably it would be
too expensive, but that it would be up to Professor Gombrich.
However, he pointed out that the best papers read at the confer-
ence would stand a chance of publication in a future issue of
178
,179
jiABS, if presented to the editor in proper form, described on
the inside back cover of every issue of the] oumal.
Since there were no further points from the floor, Professor
Basham closed the meeting with a final comment on the pro-
nunciation of Buddhist Sanskrit terms correctly by scholars in
the .field, something often glaringly overlooked.
Rena Haggarty
Prof. Francis H. Cook
Program in Religious Studies
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
Prof. H. Byron Earhart
Dept. of Religion
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Prof. Peter N. Gregory
Dept. of Religious Studies
Building 70
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
Ms. Rena Haggarty
Dept. of South Asian Studies
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706
Rev. G. W. Houston
500 Wheatland Avenue
Logansport, IN 46947
Prof. L. M. Joshi
Margaret Guest Center
for the Cross-Cultural
Study of Religion
Haverford College
Haverford, P A 19041
Prof. Damien Keown
Dept. of Religion
Goldsmith's ColJege
University of London
New Cross
London SE14 6NW
England
180
CONTRIBUTORS
Prof. Tsug1;lnari Kubo
The Reiyukai
1-7-8 Azabudai
Minato-ku
Tokyo 106
Japan
Prof. Whalen Lai
Religious Studies
University of California
Davis, CA 95616
Ven. Walpola Rahula
Flat 4
Gilling Court
35 DelSize Court
London NW3 4UY
England
Prof. Gregory Schopen
Dept. of Far Eastern
Languages and Literatures
The University of Michigan
3070 Frieze Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Dr. L. W. J. van der Kuijp
Nepal Research Centre
Nepal-German Manuscript
Preservation Project
New Baneshwar
P.O.B.180
Kathmandu
Nepal
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