Buddhist missionaries began bringing Buddhism to China during the Han dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) and the religion was present in China at the beginning of the common era.[4][2][5] Buddhist missionaries made use of both the overland Central Asian Silk Road and the maritime routes.[6] Initially Buddhism was poorly understood and often confused with and mixed with Daoism.[7] The Chinese saw many similarities between the two religions.[8] There was also much criticism leveled at the new foreign religion by the Confucian elites.[2]
One of the central tasks of the initial missionaries was the translation of Buddhist texts. The first surviving translations of Buddhist texts into Chinese were those of the 2nd century ParthianAn Shigao (Ch. 安世高),who worked in the capital of Luoyang. His work was followed by the extensive Mahāyāna translations of the Kushan monk Lokakṣema (Ch. 支婁迦讖,active c. 164–186 CE) as well as the work of Dharmaraksa (3rd century).[9][10]
During this early period the Dharmaguptaka school was very influential in establishing Buddhism in China.[11] This resulted in the widespread adoption of the Dharmaguptaka school's Vinaya (monastic rule) by all Chinese Buddhist schools.
The arrival of the Kuchan scholar Kumārajīva (334–413 CE) was a key event. Unlike the previous translators,Kumārajīva was supported by the state and given the title of national preceptor.[12] The numerous high quality translations of his translation team had a great impact on Chinese Buddhism. He is also known for introducing the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy,which would later be called Sanlun (the "Three Treatise school").[13] His work also established a thoroughly Indic foundation for Chinese Buddhist philosophy,which previously had been heavily influenced by Daoist philosophy.[14]
Another important translator of this period was Paramārtha (Zhēndì,499-569 CE). Paramārtha along with his team of Chinese disciples translated numerous works on Abhidharma,Yogacara philosophy and other Mahayana texts.[15][16]
The Dunhuang and Yungang cave complexes are a great example of early Chinese Buddhist art.[17]
The development of a Chinese Buddhism
The 6th and 7th centuries saw a flowering of new and unique Chinese Buddhist traditions,including:
The Tiantai school was mainly founded by the efforts of master Zhiyi (538–597 CE) and was based on the Lotus Sutra and the works of Zhiyi.
During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE),the monk Xuanzang (602-664) journeyed to India and back,and wrote extensive and detailed reports of his findings,which have subsequently become important for the study of India during this period. Xuanzang also brought back many Buddhist texts and led a translation team which is responsible for many influential Chinese translations of classic Buddhist works.[18] His efforts led to the establishment of the idealistic Yogacara (Consciousness-only) tradition in East Asia.
The Tang era was one of the golden ages of Buddhism in China.[19] During this time,a sinicized Buddhism was widely accepted and practiced throughout the empire at this time,with many monasteries and temples. Buddhism was popular with all social classes and was very influential on Chinese culture.[2] Buddhist themes can be found in much of the literature of this period,such as in the works of famous poets like Wang Wei (701 –761) and Bo Juyi (772 –846). The various artistic complexes from this period,such as the Longmen Grottoes also attest to the artistic vibrancy of Chinese Buddhism at this time.[2]
A famous proponent of Buddhism during the Tang era was empress Wu Zetian (r. 690–705) and she is known for her promotion of the Longmen cave complex.[20][21] She also depicted herself as a bodhisattva.[22]
The next important event in the history of Chinese Buddhism was the arrival of Śubhakarasiṃha,Vajrabodhi,and Amoghavajra,and their establishment of Esoteric Buddhism in China from CE 716 to 720 during the reign of emperor Xuanzong. This Chinese form of Vajrayana Buddhism now became popular with the elites and by the time of emperor Tang Daizong (r. 762–779) its influence among the upper classes was significant.
The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution (841–845) under Emperor Tang Wuzong greatly impacted and weakened the Buddhist institutions in China. Perhaps the main reason for this persecution was the Chinese state's need for tax and wealth.[23]
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960/979),an era of great political upheaval and civil war also negatively impacted Chinese Buddhism. Various Chinese Buddhist traditions contracted or died out during this period.
The Song Dynasty (960–1279) saw the flourishing of Chinese Buddhist culture.[2] During the Song,Chan Buddhism grew to become the most influential school with close ties to the imperial government and a highly organized system of temple rank and administration system developed.[24] It was during this time that the classic Five Houses of Chan developed. Many classic Chan texts were written during this era,such as the famed koan collections of the Linji school,like the Blue Cliff Record (1125) and The Gateless Gate (1228).[25]
Likewise,during this time,the works of Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157) developed the silent sitting method of "silent illumination".[26] Both of these traditions of Chan practice were very influential (and remain so) on East Asian Zen Buddhism (including on Japanese Zen,Korean Seon and Vietnamese Thien).
The Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) patronized Tibetan Buddhism and thus during this period there was a steady growth of this tradition in China.[27] A common perception was that this patronage of lamas caused corrupt forms of tantra to become widespread.[27] When the Yuan dynasty was overthrown and the Ming dynasty was established,the Tibetan lamas were expelled from the court,and this form of Buddhism was denounced as not being an orthodox path.[27]
During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) there was a revival of the study of native Chinese traditions like Tiantai,Huayan,Yogacara and most monks belonged to the two dominant Chan schools:Linji and Caodong.[28][29][30] At this point in its history Chinese Buddhism had also become quite eclectic,drawing from all the main Chinese traditions. An example of this is the figure of Hanshan Deqing,one of the great reformers of Chinese Buddhism.[31] Like many of his contemporaries,he advocated the dual practice of the Chan and Pure Land methods.[32] He also directed practitioners in the use of mantras as well as scripture reading. He was also renowned as a lecturer and commentator and admired for his strict adherence to the precepts.[32]
During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911),the imperial court shifted its support to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.[33] Chinese Buddhism suffered much during the various imperial and internal conflicts of the Qing dynasty,especially the devastating Taiping rebellion (December 1850 –August 1864),which saw many temples destroyed and scriptures burned by rebels.[34] This era also saw the arrival of Christian missionaries to China,a right which had been granted to Western powers after the Opium Wars.[33]
During the Republican Period (1912-1949),there were various attempts to reform and modernize Chinese Buddhism and to respond to the various challenges of modernity.[35][2] The most notable of these reformers were the Humanistic Buddhists like Taixu and Yin Shun. Humanistic Buddhism sought to move away from ritualistic and otherworldly obsessions to embrace more this worldly pursuits like education and charitable work.[2] There was also a revival of Chinese Chan by Hsu Yun and Sheng Yen,[35] as well as a revival of Tiantai Buddhism by Dixian and Tanxu (1875 –1963).[36]
Chinese Buddhism suffered extensive repression,persecution and destruction during the Cultural Revolution (from 1966 until Mao Zedong's death in 1976). Maoist propaganda depicted Buddhism as one of the four olds,as a superstitious instrument of the ruling class and as counter-revolutionary.[37] Buddhist Clergy were attacked,disrobed,arrested and sent to camps. Buddhist writings were burned. Buddhist temples,monasteries and art were systematically destroyed and Buddhist lay believers ceased any public displays of their religion.[37][38]
During the normalization period (Boluan Fanzheng,1977 to early 80s) led by Deng Xiaoping,a new revival of Chinese Buddhism began to take place.[39][40][41] This was a period which saw the restoration of damaged Buddhist temples like Guoqing Temple and Guanghua Temple as well as the return of monastic ordination and Buddhist institutions. Monks like Zhenchan (真禪) and Mengcan (夢參),who were trained in the Chan and Huayan traditions,traveled widely throughout China as well as other countries such as the United States and lectured on both Chan and Huayan teachings.[42] Monks who had fled overseas were also allowed back into the mainland.
As such,Chinese Buddhism follows the classic Mahāyāna Buddhist worldview,which includes belief in many realms of existence,the existence of many Buddhas and bodhisattvas (菩薩) as well as many other kinds of divine beings,ghosts and so on.[2] Chinese Buddhism also upholds classic Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrines like karma (報應) and rebirth (超生),the bodhisattva path,and the doctrines of emptiness (空,kōng),buddha-nature (佛性,fóxìng) and the one vehicle (一乘,yīchéng).[2]
When it comes to Buddhist philosophy,Chinese Buddhism contains various doctrinal traditions,the most important being the Tiantai,Huayan,Sanlun and Weishi schools of thought.[2] These different doctrinal traditions developed their own scriptural commentaries and treatises and also various doctrinal classifications (panjiao) which hierarchically ordered the mass of Buddhist scriptures in order to advance their school's hermeneutical worldview.[2] For example,according to master Zhiyi's "eight teachings and five periods" classification,the final and supreme teaching of the Buddha is found in the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra.[2] According to the Huayan masters like Fazang,the Huayan sutra contains the supreme teaching,while the Weishi school held that the Yogacara texts where the "third turning" of the Dharma,and thus the final and ultimate teaching of the Buddha.
Practices
Chanting the Buddhist Scriptures,by Taiwanese painter Li Mei-shu
Chinese Buddhism contains a wide array of religious practices and observances. Ritual and devotional practices are commonly seen as generating karmic merit,which can bring about positive results in this life or the next.[2]
According to Mario Poceski,for the vast majority of ordinary Chinese Buddhists "prevalent expressions of Buddhist piety were (and still are) channeled via a variety of popular modes of worship and ritual observance."[2]Worship services can include Buddhist devotional practices like offerings to an altar (of items like incense,flowers,food,and candles),ceremonial bowing,and extensive liturgies (including repentance ceremonies,rites for good health,and memorials for dead).[2] According to Chün-fang Yü,the most popular Chinese Buddhist ritual that is most widely performed today is the Great Compassion Repentance associated with Guanyin and the Great Compassion Dharani.[45]
Keeping sets of ethical rules,like the classic Buddhist five precepts,are another key part of Buddhist practice. Taking up the ethical precepts in a ceremony,along with taking refuge in the three jewels (Buddha,Dharma and Sangha) is a common way of entering the Buddhist path.[2] Another important set of ethical precepts is the “bodhisattva precepts”of the Brahmā’s Net Sutra,which are often practiced by both laity and monastics.[2] Acts of charity or social service (結緣) are also an important of part of Chinese Buddhist ethics.
Another key part of Chinese Buddhism is engaging in Buddhist meditations such as chanting the Buddhas name (念佛,niànfó) which is the core practice of Pure Land Buddhism and seated meditation (坐禪,zuòchán),which is the focus of the Chan tradition. The practice of recitation of the Buddhas name is commonly done in a group setting,sometimes as part of an intensive nianfo recitation retreat,which can last for several days. These retreats might also include chanting sutras,taking of the eight precepts,silent meditation and Dharma lectures.[46]
Textual practices are also commonly practiced by monks and laypersons. These include printing,copying,propagating and reciting Buddhist scriptures,studying Buddhist texts,and attending lectures.[47][48] Buddhist temples may also have special elements associated with sacred texts,such as lecture halls or dharma halls ( 法堂),libraries and scripture platforms (施法壇),a kind of sacred podium.[47][48]
Other important Buddhist rituals are those related to death,which is seen as a key moment for Buddhists who want to attain a good rebirth in the pure land of a Buddha (the most popular being Amitabha's pure land).[46] The focus of these rituals is to keep the dying person free of distractions and offer spiritual support (so they can focus their minds on Amitabha Buddha through the repetition of the Buddha's name).[46] It is commonly believed that during these rituals one can experiences auspicious signs like visions of Amitabha and bright lights.[46]
Another popular practice is the use of mantras and dhāraṇīs,such as the popular MahāKaruṇāDhāraṇī and the CundīDhāraṇī.[49] Robert Gimello has also observed that in Chinese Buddhist communities,the esoteric practices of Cundī enjoyed popularity among both the common people and the elite.[50]
Avalokiteśvara,the bodhisattva of compassion who has various forms (such as the thousand arms form),the most popular being the motherly Guānyīn.
Amitābha Buddha (pinyin:Ēmítuófó,"Limitless Light") also called Amitāyus ("Limitless Life"),associated with the pure land of Sukhavati which many hope to reach after death
Chinese Buddhist temples usually include numerous images and statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. They are often ritually carved and installed as part of a consecration ritual that may include chanting and scripture reading.[52] Devotion towards these are a major part of Chinese Buddhism. As Chün-fang Yüwrites "people in China worship buddhas and bodhisattvas in rituals,write poems and novels about them,praise them in songs and hymns,and tell stories and stage plays about them. And above all else,they worship the images of these holy beings."[53]
According to Mario Poceski,Chinese Buddhist temples generally follow a traditional Chinese palace layout. They "consist of a series of halls and courtyards that are arranged symmetrically around a central axis,which usually runs from north to south. The main hall is typically a large building that is centrally located along the main axis. In larger monasteries or temples,a number of ancillary halls also house the images of lesser Buddhist divinities,giving residents and visitors alike a wide choice of objects of worship and supplication."[2]
Another common structure is a pagoda which may contain Buddhist relics and statues or images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.[54]
Buddhist monasticism is an important part of Chinese Buddhism. Chinese Buddhist monastics (both male and female) follow the DharmaguptakaVinaya,which is known as the Four Part Vinaya (Sifen lü) in China and has 250 rules for monks and 348 for nuns.[2]
Buddhist monks and nuns perform numerous religious practices and services,including offerings to altars,liturgical services,circumambulating the Buddha hall,preaching the scriptures,Dharma lectures,rituals meals and chanting at mealtime,as well as confession and repentance rituals.[48]
There have been many different types of monasteries throughout Chinese Buddhist history. There are city monasteries,country monasteries and monasteries deep in the mountains. Some monasteries may be large and rich,with thousands of monastics while others are small with just a few monastics. The most prestigious monasteries have support from rich elites,and the smallest are usually in small villages.[55]
Vegetarianism
The vegetarian restaurant of South Putuo Temple is well-known throughout China.
Vegetarianism is widely promoted and practiced in Chinese Buddhism,though not all Chinese Buddhists are necessarily vegetarians.[2] The monastic Vinaya does not require vegetarianism,but the practice is promoted in various Mahayana sutras,like the Lankavatara Sutra.[2]
Monastics are often required to be vegetarian and meat is often banned in Buddhist temples and monasteries.[2] Other dietary restrictions may include avoiding eggs,dairy,and certain types of leeks.[2]
Devout laity are also often vegetarian. Some laypersons may practice vegetarian on certain sacred days,during religious retreats or on certain festivals.
Temples and monasteries often have vegetarian dining halls and vegetarian feasts are a common feature of popular celebrations.[2]
In Chinese Buddhism,lay Buddhist practitioners have traditionally played an important role,and lay practice of Buddhism has had similar tendencies to those of monastic Buddhism in China.[49] Many historical biographies of lay Buddhists are available,which give a clear picture of their practices and role in Chinese Buddhism. In addition to these numerous biographies,there are accounts from Jesuit missionaries such as Matteo Ricci which provide extensive and revealing accounts to the degree Buddhism penetrated elite and popular culture in China.[49]
Traditional practices such as meditation,mantra recitation,mindfulness of Amitābha Buddha,asceticism,and vegetarianism were all integrated into the belief systems of ordinary people.[49] It is known from accounts in the Ming Dynasty that lay practitioners often engaged in practices from both the Pure Land and Chan traditions,as well as the study of the Buddhist sūtras. The Heart Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra were the most popular,followed by the Lotus Sūtra and the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.[49]
The ancient idea of the compatibility of the Three Teachings (Confucianism,Buddhism and Daoism) is common in China and is expressed in the phrase thethree teachings harmonious as one (三敎合一;Sānjiào Héyī).[56][57] Chinese Buddhism developed Chinese mythologies and philosophies which incorporated and accommodated Chinese religions. For example,Chinese Buddhist apocryphal texts tell of how Laozi was actually a disciple of the Buddha and also how Confucius was a bodhisattva.[58] Chinese Buddhist thinkers like Guifeng Zongmi argued that all three teachings should be followed and practiced since they all contain important truths (though he also considered Buddhism to reveal the highest truth).[59]
One such important element of Chinese Buddhism are religious practices focused on one's ancestors,something that is shared in common with other traditional Chinese religions. This can include paying respect to them at various sites and at festivals like the Qingming and Zhong Yuan Festival as well as participating in services to pray for one's deceased ancestors.
The ritual burning of incense (shaoxiang,jingxiang) is another common religious practice in Buddhist spaces derived from traditional Chinese religion. During the Zhou dynasty,the Chinese believed that smoke resulting from burning of sandalwood would act as a bridge between the human world and the spirits.[60] The practice remains a common offering in Chinese Buddhism,which it shared with other Chinese religions.
Another common feature of Chinese religion is multiple religious belonging. As such,Chinese adherents may also practice Buddhism alongside other Chinese religious practices without seeing this as conflicting. According to Mario Poceski:
many or even most people who actually come to worship at Buddhist temples are not hardcore believers. A good number of them assume the kinds of fuzzy or hybrid religious identities that are typical of Chinese religiosity;among other things,that can mean that many of them also worship at Daoist temples or shrines associated with popular religion. This is one of the reasons why it is very difficult to arrive at reliable data about the number of “Buddhists ”in China.[2]
During the Tang and Yuan dynasties,Chinese Buddhism was also in proximity to Chinese branches of the Church of the East[61] and Christianity in general,and competed with these traditions,[62] especially in the Tang Dynasty.[63]
Chinese,[62]Tibetan,and Mongolian Buddhism were also significantly influenced by them[64] as Mongolian Buddhism,influenced by Nestorian beliefs and Tibetan Buddhism,spread out during the Yuan dynasty. The three Buddhist traditions also heavily influenced each other at the time.
Traditional Chinese Buddhist scholars like Sheng-yen enumerate thirteen Buddhist traditions or schools (Chinese:zōng).[65] This list is also found in traditional Japanese Buddhist histories,particularly that of Gyōnen (1240–1321).[66]
Over time,some of these schools survived or were revived as living traditions,while others are now defunct historical traditions or were absorbed into other schools. These "traditions" are not rigid designations and there has always been much intermixing and many temples and communities are influenced by many of these traditions (and also by local Chinese custom and traditional Chinese religions like Daoism). Some traditions may also have numerous sub-schools or sects.[67]
The various Chinese Buddhist traditions are not exclusivist,and are better seen as trends,emphases,schools of thought or "dharma-gates" (法門,fǎmén),instead of as separate sects.[19][68] Chün-fang Yüquotes a famous saying which describes the harmonious situation in Chinese Buddhism,"Tiantai and Huayan for doctrine,Chan and Pure Land for practice."[69]
As Mario Poceski notes,Chinese Buddhism "lacks clear sectarian divisions of the kind we find in other Buddhist traditions".[2] All Chinese monastics follow the same ordination procedures and monastic precepts,and as such there is no rigid separation between "schools" or "sects". While traditions like Chan and Tiantai are understood as distinctive teachings,they are all part of the single Chinese Buddhist tradition which is "characterized by broad - minded acceptance of a variety of styles of discourse,modes of worship,and approaches to spiritual cultivation."[2] Due to Chinese Buddhism's acceptance of diversity,ecumenism and difference,most Chinese Buddhists would not identify themselves as being part of a specific "school".[2] That being said,there are still disagreements and doctrinal debates within the community.[2]
The Chengshi school (historical) which focused on the study of the Tattvasiddhi-Śāstra ("The Treatise that Accomplishes Reality";Chinese:成實論,Chengshilun).
The Nirvana (Nièpán) school (historical) based on the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (大般涅槃經;Dàbānnièpán-jīng) translated by Dharmarakṣa (c. 233-310),this was later absorbed into the Tiāntāi school.[70]
The Vinaya school (四分律宗) or Nanshan school,a historical tradition which focused on the Dharmaguptaka monastic discipline,established by the monk Daoxuan (596–667).[72]
The Chan (禪,Dhyana) school,i.e. the Zen tradition attributed to the founder Bodhidharma,which focuses on sitting meditation (坐禪,zuòchán) and developed numerous sub-schools like Caodong and Linji.
The Zhenyan school (真言宗,"true word","mantra" school),i.e. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. Also called Mìjiao (密教;Esoteric Teaching),Mìzōng (密宗;"Esoteric Tradition") or Tángmì (唐密;"Tang Esoterica").
According to Sheng-yen,the Chan school is the most popular school in China today,though this is often combined with Pure Land practice as well.[73] Sheng-yen also notes that the Tiāntāi,Huáyán,Three Treatises,Consciousness Only,Vinaya and Esoteric traditions are also present in modern Chinese Buddhism,though to a lesser extent.[73]
There is also modernist movement called Humanistic Buddhism (人間佛教;rénjiān fójiào) which emphasizes humanism,charity and other humanitarian practices that help improve social conditions.
New religious movements
There are many sects and organisations proclaiming a Buddhist identity and pursuit (fo or fu:"awakening","enlightenment") that are not recognised as legitimate Buddhism by the Chinese Buddhist Association and the government of the People's Republic of China. This group includes:
Guanyin Buddhism [Awakening Teaching] (观音佛教Guānyīn Fójiào) or Guanyin Church (观音会Guānyīn Huì)[74]
Buddhism [Awakening Teaching] of the Lord of Heaven of Infinite Thriving of the Mountain of Longevity (寿山万隆天主佛教Shòushān Wànlóng TiānzhǔFójiào)
Wulian Jingang Dadao ("Great Way of the Innumerable Attendants of Awakening")
Hanmi Chinese esoteric buddhism,Living Buddha Dechan Jueren
Holidays and festivals
Traditional Buddhist ceremony in Hangzhou,ZhejiangGhost festival floating lanterns,Hong KongBuddha's Birthday (佛誕Fódàn) celebration of bathing baby Buddha statues.
Chinese Buddhists celebrate numerous religious festivals and holidays and these are the most widely attended and popular Chinese Buddhist events.[75]
During religious festivals,Chinese people visit temples to take part in rituals,chanting,food,celebrations,parades and to make offerings of prayers,incense,fruits,flowers and donations. On such days they may observe the moral precepts very strictly as well as a full day's vegetarian diet. Some of the most important holidays celebrated by Chinese Buddhists include:Buddha's Birthday (on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month),Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival (on the first and fifteenth days of the first lunar month),and the Ghost Festival (fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month).[76]
List of Holidays
The following holiday dates given are based on the Chinese calendar system so that 8.4 means the Eighth day of the fourth month in Chinese calendar and so on.[77]
Pure Land Buddhism is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of Buddhism in East Asia.
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas and is the principal attendant of Amitabha Buddha at the right. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi. He is variably depicted, described, and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In East Asian Buddhism, he has evolved into a female form called Guanyin.
The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primarily on the Avatamsaka Sutra as well as on the works of the Huayan patriarchs, like Fazang. The name Flower Garland is meant to suggest the crowning glory of a Buddha's profound understanding of ultimate reality.
Guifeng Zongmi was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on the contemporary situation of Tang Buddhism, which also discussed Taoism and Confucianism. He also wrote critical analyses of Chan and Huayan, as well as numerous scriptural exegeses.
Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the Lotus Sutra's doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (Ekayāna) as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy, particularly as articulated in the works of the fourth patriarch Zhiyi. Brook Ziporyn, professor of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy, states that Tiantai Buddhism is "the earliest attempt at a thoroughgoing Sinitic reworking of the Indian Buddhist tradition." According to Paul Swanson, scholar of Buddhist studies, Tiantai Buddhism grew to become "one of the most influential Buddhist traditions in China and Japan."
Tendai, also known as the Tendai Lotus School is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese monk Saichō. The Tendai school, which has been based on Mount Hiei since its inception, rose to prominence during the Heian period (794-1185). It gradually eclipsed the powerful Hossō school and competed with the rival Shingon school to become the most influential sect at the Imperial court.
The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (sūtra) that are accepted as canonical and as buddhavacana in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and in extant Sanskrit manuscripts. Several hundred Mahāyāna sūtras survive in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and Tibetan translations. They are also sometimes called Vaipulya ("extensive") sūtras by earlier sources. The Buddhist scholar Asaṅga classified the Mahāyāna sūtras as part of the Bodhisattvapiṭaka, a collection of texts meant for bodhisattvas.
Nianfo is a term commonly seen in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of Pure Land practice, it generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha. It is a translation of Sanskrit buddhānusmṛti.
East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed across East Asia which follow the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhism in East Asia. East Asian Buddhists constitute the numerically largest body of Buddhist traditions in the world, numbering over half of the world's Buddhists.
Zhiyi also Chen De'an (陳德安), is the fourth patriarch of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi (沙門智顗), linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism. Zhiyi is famous for being the first in the history of Chinese Buddhism to elaborate a complete, critical and systematic classification of the Buddhist teachings. He is also regarded as the first major figure to make a significant break from the Indian tradition, to form an indigenous Chinese system.
Vairocana is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the Avatamsaka Sutra, as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East Asian Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of śūnyatā. In the conception of the 5 Jinas of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is at the centre and is considered a Primordial Buddha.
Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and its traditions. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, found in Afghanistan and written in Gāndhārī, they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE. The first Buddhist texts were initially passed on orally by Buddhist monastics, but were later written down and composed as manuscripts in various Indo-Aryan languages and collected into various Buddhist Canons. These were then translated into other languages such as Buddhist Chinese and Classical Tibetan as Buddhism spread outside of India.
The schools of Buddhism are the various institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present. The classification and nature of various doctrinal, philosophical or cultural facets of the schools of Buddhism is vague and has been interpreted in many different ways, often due to the sheer number of different sects, subsects, movements, etc. that have made up or currently make up the whole of Buddhist traditions. The sectarian and conceptual divisions of Buddhist thought are part of the modern framework of Buddhist studies, as well as comparative religion in Asia.
Buddhism in Vietnam, as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese, is mainly of the Mahayana tradition and is the main religion. Buddhism may have first come to Vietnam as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE from the Indian subcontinent or from China in the 1st or 2nd century CE. Vietnamese Buddhism has had a syncretic relationship with certain elements of Taoism, Chinese spirituality, and Vietnamese folk religion.
In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, the Five Tathāgatas or Five Wisdom Tathāgatas, the Five Great Buddhas, the Five Dhyani Buddhas and the Five Jinas, are five Buddhas which are often venerated together. Various sources provide different names for these Buddhas, though the most common today are: Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Vairocana, Amitābha, and Amoghasiddhi.
Mahāyāna is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in ancient India and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna sūtras and their emphasis on the bodhisattva path and Prajñāpāramitā. Vajrayāna or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna which makes use of numerous tantric methods Vajrayānists consider to help achieve Buddhahood.
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School, and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen.
Though Zen is said to be based on a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words", the Zen-tradition has a rich doctrinal and textual background. It has been influenced by sutras such as the Lankavatara Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra.
The History of Chinese Buddhism begins in the Han Dynasty, when Buddhism first began to arrive via the Silk Road networks. The early period of Chinese Buddhist history saw efforts to propagate Buddhism, establish institutions and translate Buddhist texts into Chinese. The effort was led by non-Chinese missionaries from India and Central Asia like Kumarajiva and Paramartha well as by great Chinese pilgrims and translators like Xuanzang.
Ouyi Zhixu was a Chinese Buddhist scholar monk in 17th century China. He is considered a patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land School, a Chan master, as well as a great exponent of Tiantai Buddhism. He was also one of the Four Eminent Monks of the Wanli Era, after Yunqi Zhuhong (1535–1615), Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623), and Daguan Zhenke (1543–1604). He is most well known for his non-sectarian and syncretic writings, which draw on various traditions like Tiantai, Pure Land, and Chan, and also engage with Confucian, Daoist and Jesuit sources.
↑ Yampolski, Philip (2003), "Zen. A Historical Sketch", in Takeuchi Yoshinori (ed.), Buddhist Spirituality. Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, Early Chinese, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
↑ McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen, The University Press Group Ltd
↑ Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China, World Wisdom Books, pp. 256–257. ISBN 978-0-941532-89-1
1 2 3 Nan Huai-Chin. Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 1997. p. 99.
↑ Stanley Weinstein, "The Schools of Chinese Buddhism", in Kitagawa & Cummings (eds.), Buddhism and Asian History (New York: Macmillan 1987) pp. 257–265, 264.
↑ Keown, Damien. A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2003. p. 104
1 2 Keown, Damien. A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2003. p. 104
↑ Chün-fang Yü. Chinese Buddhism: A Thematic History, University of Hawaii Press, pp. 240. 2020.
1 2 Huai-Chin, Nan (1999), Basic Buddhism. Exploring Buddhism and Zen, Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House
↑ Ji Zhe, Gareth Fisher, André Laliberté (2020). Buddhism after Mao: Negotiations, Continuities, and Reinventions, pp. 136-137. University of Hawaii Press.
1 2 Yu, Dan Smyer. "Delayed contention with the Chinese Marxist scapegoat complex: re-membering Tibetan Buddhism in the PRC". The Tibet Journal, 32.1 (2007)
↑ Jiang Wu, "The Chinese Buddhist Canon" in The Wiley Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism, p. 299, Wiley-Blackwell (2014).
↑ Chün-fang Yü (2020). Chinese Buddhism: A Thematic History, pp. 29-70. University of Hawaii Press
↑ Chün-fang Yü (2020). Chinese Buddhism: A Thematic History, p. 111. University of Hawaii Press
1 2 3 4 Jones, Charles B. (2021). Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice, pp. 198-210. Shambhala Publications, ISBN978-1-61180-890-2.
1 2 Jones, Charles B. (2021). Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice, pp. 188-198. Shambhala Publications, ISBN978-1-61180-890-2.
1 2 3 Huaiyu Chen, "East Asian Transformations of Monasticism" in The Wiley Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism, p. 299, Wiley-Blackwell (2014).
1 2 3 4 5 6 Twitchett, Denis, and Fairbank, John. The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8, Part 2. 1998. p. 949
↑ Jiang, Wu (2008). Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China: p. 146
↑ Chün-fang Yü (2020). Chinese Buddhism: A Thematic History, p. 14. University of Hawaii Press
↑ Gregory, Peter N. (2002), Tsung-mi and the Sinification of Buddhism, University of Hawai’i Press, Kuroda Institute, p. 257. (originally published Princeton University Press, 1991, Princeton, N.J.), ISBN 0-8248-2623-X
↑ 中央研究院網站. Archived from the original on 2020-04-05. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
1 2 3 Chan Master Sheng Yen (2007). Orthodox Chinese Buddhism: A Contemporary Chan Master's Answers to Common Questions, pp. 116-119. North Atlantic Books.
↑ Blum, Mark L. (2002). The Origins and Development of Pure Land Buddhism: A Study and Translation of Gyonen's Jodo Homon Genrusho, p. 15. Oxford University Press.
↑ Jones, Charles B. (2019) Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Understanding a Tradition of Practice, pp. 10-12. University of Hawai‘i Press / Honolulu.
↑ Chün-fang Yü (2020). Chinese Buddhism: A Thematic History, p. 127. University of Hawaii Press
1 2 3 4 William Edward Soothill, Lewis Hodous (1977). A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms: With Sanskrit and English Equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali Index. p. 256. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
↑ "Vinaya school". Oxford Reference. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
1 2 Chan Master Sheng Yen (2007). Orthodox Chinese Buddhism: A Contemporary Chan Master's Answers to Common Questions, pp. 118-119. North Atlantic Books.
Broughton, Jeffrey L. (1999), The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, ISBN978-0-520-21972-4
Chen, Kenneth Kuan Sheng. Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1964.
Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), Zen Buddhism: A History, vol.1: India and China, Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, ISBN978-0-941532-89-1
Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. John E. Hill. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN978-1-4392-2134-1.
McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen, The University Press Group Ltd.
Mullin, Glenn H. The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnations (2001) Clear Light Publishers. ISBN1-57416-092-3.
Saunders, Kenneth J. (1923). "Buddhism in China: A Historical Sketch", The Journal of Religion, Vol. 3.2, pp.157–169; Vol. 3.3, pp.256–275.
Welch, Holmes. The Practice of Chinese Buddhism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1967.
Welch, Holmes. The Buddhist Revival in China. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1968.
Welch, Holmes. Buddhism under Mao. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1972.
Welter, Albert (2000), Mahakasyapa's smile. Silent Transmission and the Kung-an (Koan) Tradition. In: Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds.)(2000): "The Koan. Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press
Zvelebil, Kamil V. (1987), "The Sound of the One Hand", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 107 (1): 125–126, doi:10.2307/602960, JSTOR602960
Further reading
History
Nan Huai-Chin (1998), Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen, Translated by J.C. Cleary, Red Wheel Weiser
Nan Huai-Chin (1995), The Story of Chinese Zen, Translated by Thomas Cleary, Charles E. Tuttle Company
Tansen Sen (2003), Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600–1400, Association for Asian Studies & University of Hawai'i Press
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (1999). Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, Chapter 1: A General Survey. In: Pacific World Journal, Third Series, Number 1, 91–103. Archived from the original
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (2001). Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, Chapter 2: The Earliest Period; Chapter 3: Hui-yuan of Mt.Lu; and Chapter 4: The Translation of Texts-Spurious Scriptures. In: Pacific World Journal, Third Series, Number 3, 241–275. Archived from the original
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (2002). Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, Chapter Five: The Early Pure Land Faith: Southern China, and Chapter Six: The Early Pure Land Faith: Northern China. In: Pacific World Journal, Third Series, Number 4, 259–279. Archived from the original
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (2000). Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, Chapter 7: T'an-luan. In: Pacific World Journal, Third Series, Number 2, 149–165. Archived from the original
First Buddhist revival
Pittman, Don Alvin (2001), Toward a Modern Chinese Buddhism: Taixu's Reforms, University of Hawaii Press
List first published in: "Appendix: Sects and Societies Recently or Currently Active in the PRC". Chinese Sociology & Anthropology. 21 (4): 103–104. 1989. doi:10.2753/CSA0009-46252104102.
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