The Metaphor of the Painter in the Avataṃsaka-Sūtra and Its Chinese Interpretations
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The Metaphor of the Painter in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra and Its Chinese Interpretations Imre Hamar Metafora maliara v Avataṃsaka-sūtre a jej čínske interpretácie Resumé Štúdia porovnáva čínske a tibetské verzie tzv. Básne o len vedomí v Avataṃsaka- sūtre, ktorá popisuje ľudskú myseľ ako maliara, ktorý maľuje všetky veci. Báseň sa stala dôležitým textom v huayanovom buddhizme, ktorý má ukázať, že Avataṃsaka-sūtra za- hŕňa učenie školy Yogācāra. Autor skúma, či báseň v skutočnosti učí Yogācāru, alebo či takýto výklad ponúkajú len čínske preklady, ktoré sa líšia od tibetských verzií, pričom do úvahy berie aj čínske exegetické tradície. Abstract This article compares the Chinese and Tibetan versions of the so-called Mind- Only Poem in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, describing the mind as a painter who paints all the objects. The verse became an important text in Huayan Buddhism to show that Avataṃsaka-sūtra includes Yogācāra teachings. The article is exploring whether the poem in fact teaches Yogācāra, or whether Chinese translations differing from Tibetan versions suggest this interpretation, taking into consideration Chinese exegetical traditions. Keywords China, Religion, Buddhism, Avataṃsaka-sūtra (Chinese Huayanjing ; 3rd c. CE) · Yogācāra · Huayan The famous mind-painter metaphor in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra can be found in the chapter entitled Hymns Recited in the Palace of Yama. At the beginning of the chapter, through the magical powers of Buddha, the bodhisattvas of the ten great directions appear before him accompanied by an infinite number of 176 SOS 13 · 2 (2014) bodhisattvas; then, receiving inspiration, they start to recite hymns one by one, extolling Buddha. The ninth among the declaimers is the boddhisattva called Forest of Awakening, who, like the others, recites ten stanzas. He compares the mind to a painter: just as the painter creates his picture, the mind creates the external world. It is plausible to identify the influence of Yogācāra philosophy in the poem, as the latter denies the existence of external objects, and only accepts the existence of the mind that projects external objects. Another famous saying in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra that seems to reflect the influence of Yogācāra is the following: »The three worlds are illusion; they are only produced by the mind.«1 In other words: »The bodhisattva mahāsattvas know that the three dhātu are mind-only, the three worlds are mind-only. They know that mind is countless and limitless.«2 Tamaki Kōshirō, however, analyzed the context and the Sanskrit and Tibetan versions carefully, and came to the conclusion that in the phrase »the three worlds are mind-only«, ‘mind’ refers especially to the confused mind that gives birth to ignorance and suffering.3 The mind-painter metaphor was extensively studied by Chinese and Japanese Buddhist masters; Chinese commentaries give detailed explanations of the meaning of the poem.4 In Japan, separate works were written to interpret these ten stanzas. The poem was taken out of the sūtra, and was called the Mind-Only Poem (»Weixin jie« ).5 The seventh and eighth stanzas were considered to be the central part of the text: 1 Taishō 279: 10.558c10. 2 ibid. 279: 10.288c5–6. 3 Tamaki Kōshirō , »Yuishin no tsuikyū—shisō to taiken to no kōshō« —— . [In the Search of Consciousness-Only—The Interaction of Ideas and Experience], in Kegon shisō [The Ideas of the Huayan School], ed. by Nakamura Hajime (Kyotō: Hōzōkan, 1960), 336–341. 4 Commentaries written on the Mind-Only Poem were collected meticulously by Kamata Shigeo , »Kegonkyō yuishinge kaishaku no bunken shiryō« [Materials on the Interpretation of the Huayan Canonical Mind-Only Poem], Nanto bukkyō no 61–62 (1989), 146–182. 5 See Hirakawa Akira , »Engi to shōki—kegon no yuishinge o megutte« [Dependant Origination and Manifestation of Relaity—On the Weixin Poem in the Huayan Sūtra], Nanto bukkyō no 61–62 (1989), 7. Japanese monks did not write separate commentaries on the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, they used Chinese commentaries instead. On Hōtan’s (1659–1738) interpretation of Fazang’s (643–712) commentary on the Mind- Only Poem, see Kojima Taizan (1989): »Hōzō no ‘nyorairinge’ rikai ni tai suru Hōtan Hamar · The Metaphor of Painter in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra in China 177 The Buddha is also like the mind, and living beings are like the Buddha. It must be known that the Buddha and the mind are, in their essence, inexhaustible. If one understands that the activity of the mind creates the worlds everywhere, he will see the Buddha, and understand the real nature of the Buddha. The popularity of the poem is reflected in its influence on Buddhist legends. It is sometimes called the Hell-Breaking Poem, in reference to the following story: There was man of Jingzhao, whose family name was Wang, and his personal name was Minggan. Originally, he did not follow any particular religious practice, and did not cultivate any good deeds. He died in an accident, and two men took him to hell. In front of the gate of hell, he saw a monk who said that he was Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha. Then he taught him to recite one poem: If somebody wants to know all the Buddhas of the three worlds, he has to discern like this: mind creates all the Tathāgatas. The Bodhisattva, having finished the lesson, said: »By reciting this one poem, you can be saved from all the suffering of hell.« That man mastered the recitation of this poem, and went to see the king [of the underworld]. The king asked: »What virtue does this man have?« He replied: »I can recite only a poem with four lines.« He recited it as he was taught, and the king excused him. When he recited this poem, wherever his voice reached, all the suffering people were set free. After three days, he came back to life, and remembered this poem, and told all the monks and lay people. After investigating, he discovered that this poem comes from the chapter called Countless Bodhisattvas Assembled in the Heavenly Palace of Yama of the Avataṃ- saka-sūtra. Wang told this to master Dingfa of the Kongguan temple.6 no kenkai« . [Hōtan’s View on Fazang’s Interpretation of the Poem by the Boddhisattva Rulailin], Nanto bukkyō 61–62 (1989), 84–99. 6 178 SOS 13 · 2 (2014) 1 Antecedents of the Painter Metaphor The painter metaphor can be found in early Buddhist scriptures.7 The Therīgāthā says that the eyebrows of a young woman are as beautiful as if they were painted by a painter, but when she grows old, her eyebrows become ugly. The Saṃyuktāgama (or Khaṇḍa-saṃyukta) says that living beings are determined by their anger, desire and ignorance. If the mind becomes tainted by these poisons, living beings will also be tainted, but if they remove them, they will become pure. This process is compared to the way a painter paints forms on the paper.8 Here, it is clearly described how the deeds or karma of living beings influence their future: our deeds determine the quality of our existence just as the painter creates the different forms. In the Saddharma-smṛtyupasthāna-sūtra, also known as the Hīnayāna Avataṃ- saka-sūtra, the painter metaphor occurs a number of times.9 In one instance it appears as follows: Mind creates every activity. As they come from the mind, all consequences come into being. This way, because of the different actions of the mind, different consequences are achieved. Mind is the skilful painter of all things; it can form all kinds of actions in the three dhātu. See Huayan jing zhuanji , Taishō 2073: 51.167a18–29. 7 See Kimura Kiyotaka , »Nyorairin ge no shisōshiteki isō—shin to gaka no ruihi chakumoku shite« —— [A Historical Study on the Poem of Bodhisattva Rulailin in the Huayan Sūtra], Nanto bukkyō no 61–62 (1989), 59–72. 8 See Za’ahan jing , Taishō 99: 2.69c19–25. 9 Bussho kaisetsu daijiten 仏 説 辞 , ed. by Ono Gemmyō (Tōkyō: Daitō Shuppan- sha, 1932–36), 5: 330. For an analysis of this work, see Lin Li-Kouang, L’Aide-mémoire de la vraie loi (Saddharma-Smrtyupasthana-Sutra). Recherches sur un Sutra développé du Petit Véhicule (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1949). Hamar · The Metaphor of Painter in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra in China 179 Mind pervades all forms of being, they are born at different places without end. Mind is the root of being bound or liberated; that’s why it’s said that mind is the first. Those who do good will be liberated; those who do evil will be bound. b 。 10 The Saddharma-smṛtyupasthāna-sūtra says that mind creates karma, different deeds have different consequences, and thus living beings are reborn into various places in the course of their endless rebirths. Those who commit evil deeds are chained to saṃsāra, while those who accumulate merit can find the way out of suffering, and attain nirvāṇa. Mind is the most important factor, as, in gene- rating karma, it depends on mind whether one can achieve liberation or must suffer. Consequently, mind is responsible for the world, the environment one lives in, and in this sense mind is said to create the world. Here, the creative power of mind is definitely interpreted on the soteriological level, and has much less to do with ontological issues. 2 Translation and Interpretation of the Mind-Only Poem In the following sections, we will analyze the Chinese and Tibetan versions of the poems, together with the commentaries of the Chinese masters.11 Tibetan 10 See Zhengfa nianchu jing , Taishō 721: 17.114b3–8. 11 For the Japanese translation of the three versions, see Tamaki Kōshirō , »Yuishinge to zen jinkakuteki shii« [The Consciousness-Only Poem and the Idea of the Total Personality], Nanto bukkyō no 61–62 (1989), 26–28.