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Streams of Tradition: Buddhism, East to West

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Streams of Tradition: Buddhism, East to West Streams of Tradition: Buddhism, East to West Acknowledgements I wish to express my deepest appreciation to the Numata Center for Research and Translation and to its manager Rev. Brian Nagata for his patience and kindness in allowing me the time to complete this project. Also I wish to express my thanks to Dr. David Komito, Director of Faculty Relations, Professor, Division of Distance Education, Eastern Oregon University. Dr. Komito gave me invaluable assistance reviewing the chapter on Tibet. For editorial assistance I express my deepest gratitude to Mrs. Kimi Hisatsune and to Ven. Tao-che-Kenya-Lee Province. Their editing and advice has also been extremely invaluable. All errors and omissions are entirely the responsibility of the author. 1 Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One Life and Times of Gautama Siddhartha Chapter Two The Teaching of the Buddha: Two Streams of Tradition A. The Theravada Tradition: The Way of the Elders B. The Mahayana Tradition: The Greater Vehicle, Universality and Adaptation Chapter Three Chinese Buddhist Tradition: Harmony with Reality Chapter Four Korean Buddhism: The Way of Synthesis Chapter Five The Flowering of Buddhism in Japan Chapter Six Vajrayana: Esoteric Buddhism of Tibet Chapter Seven Buddhism Flows East to West Conclusion Appendix Selected Passages 2 Buddhism in History Festivals and Observances Glossary Bibliography Endnotes Index 3 Introduction It is the purpose of this text to provide the reader with an orientation to central features of the various streams of Buddhist tradition and to clarify the distinctive teachings that unite the entire tradition as Buddhist. There has been change and continuity throughout its history, as well as diversity in unity among the traditions. Our discussion will survey major issues and principles of Buddhism in the various cultures and nations which it penetrated, highlighting its change and continuity through as it adapted to the life of the many peoples of Asia, while maintaining its identity as Buddhism. In every land a host of adepts and scholars interpreted the Gautama’s teachings (@536 BCE.-483 BCE) following the tendencies of their own personalities and religious search within the context of their respective cultures. They created the diversity of teaching and practice we can observe even in our contemporary situation. In the short space available to us, we can only touch on major aspects of the teachings that are distinctive of Buddhism and take note of their popular beliefs and practices. Buddhism is a living religion. It is the major religious tradition in South and South-east Asian cultures, North Asia and the Far East. In our contemporary world Buddhist teachers stress the relevance of Buddhism for modern people within our technocratic, secular culture. Hopefully, this survey will provide the reader with an understanding of the major strands of tradition and an appreciation of the comprehensive view of life offered in Buddhism. 4 Chapter One: Life and Times of Siddhartha Gautama, Founder of Buddhism Nothing in history begins without precedent or in a vacuum. Buddhism is no exception. It arose on the background of the Upanishadic tradition in Indian religion. Upanishadic philosophy was itself a reaction to the Vedic- Brahmanic religious system of ancient India which revolved around priestly, sacrificial beliefs and practices. The Upanishadic sages, while holding to the authority of the Vedas, embarked on independent spiritual quests in an effort to experience union with ultimate reality called Brahman within their own psyches, termed atman. It was what we might generally called a mystical teaching. The independence which the sages of the Upanishads had shown toward the Vedic ritual and religion was not without its influence on the development of other emerging schools of thought. These schools, which included Buddhism and its contemporary movement Jainism, were distinguished by the fact that they totally rejected the Vedic tradition and produced their own teachings and literature. In this discussion the focus our attention is on Buddhism which became an influential source of' spiritual inspiration throughout all Asia. Jainism is distinguished for its extreme ascetic teaching, its peculiar view of karma and its way to salvation. Although the patterns of the two religions are quite similar, Buddhism has been by far the most widespread and enduring in its influence beyond India. In each case a member of the warrior-noble class rejected a life of pleasure and social prestige in order to seek a way of salvation. Salvation meant liberation from the sufferings inherent in human involvement in the stream of births and deaths. This stream, known as samsara , is the realm of finitude where one experiences the effects of one's past karmic deeds. Karma refers to the good or bad deeds a person has committed in past lives. Present life is the fruit of such past karma, while the actions we perform in this life creates karma for the future and succeeding lives. The form and character of one’s future life depends on the quality of one’s karma. The teaching presupposes a belief in transmigration, repeated births and deaths, through many lives until salvation is won. There is perfect justice since the punishment always fits the crime and retribution will always be achieved. In Buddhism, however, the concept of karma not only took into account the past, but all the causes and conditions that entwine themselves in our lives. It is not a fatalistic attitude, since each new existence and the choices we make are believed offer an opportunity to establish a positive future. Karma is experienced as an awareness of our personal responsibility to life and is not to be regarded as a metaphysical system for judging the lives and actions other beings. 5 It is clear that Buddhism and Jainism very largely accepted the Indian analysis of human existence as one of suffering brought about through ignorance, delusion and passion. However, the means, which were employed to gain release, took varying forms in the respective teachings so that they soon came to be marked off clearly from Hinduism and from each other. It should be noted that the concept of karma is one of the most widely accepted beliefs throughout Asia and to some extent in Western tradition. While Jainism continues in India as a sub-caste and the Buddha has been accepted in Hinduism as the tenth incarnation of Vishnu, Buddhism essentially died out there for various reasons such as the invasions of Islam and resurgent Hinduism. Nevertheless, Buddhism eventually became the major religion of' the Southeast and North Asian lands. We will begin our exploration with a summary of the life of Gautama Buddha-and the major points of his teaching as an illustration of a creative movement within ancient Indian religion. The life of the Buddha (536 B.C. - 483 B.C.) is shrouded in age-old myths and legends, of the sort that generally attach themselves to the great religious founders and heroes of history. However, the study of Buddha's life in a scientific way has rapidly gained ground in the modern period. Western interest began largely in the nineteenth century when increased communications and relations with Buddhist countries brought it to the attention of scholars. While we cannot go into detail sifting fact from fancy, it is generally safe to say that even though it is possible to reach a firm historical understanding of the Buddha's life, there is no continuous life given in the scriptures. The biographies that do exist were put together by later writers who wove historical and legendary events together. For our present purposes, we shall summarize the basic outline of Gautama's career and the teachings he set forth. The Buddha's given name was Siddhartha (which means "desire accomplished") and his family or clan name was Gautama . The frequent title Sakyamuni , means sage of the “Sakyas ,” because he is believed to have descended from a noble family of the Sakya tribe of northeast India. The Sakyas were more likely local tribes who were included in the greater kingdom of Magadha which had recently formed. The term " rajah " used of Buddha's father may mean only a tribal chief. In an early dialogue attributed to the Buddha he simply said: The ascetic Gotama has gone forth from a rich family. Of great wealth, of great possessions .1 In this passage there is no mention of royal lineage such as appears in later accounts. 6 The birth of Buddha, under whatever conditions it may have occurred, is generally placed by scholars in 563 B.C. at a town called Lumbini which is located in the region of Nepal. The traditional story relates a mythic tale that his mother Maya miraculously gave birth from her right side as the result of a dream of being impregnated by a great white elephant. The new-born child was capable of walking seven steps in all directions and declaring that he was the most honored one in the world. Soon thereafter his mother died. However, nothing certain is known of Gautama’s childhood. In order for the traditions to lay the basis for his later renunciation of ordinary social life and search for enlightenment, they contain frequent descriptions of his luxurious life in the palace and his father's determined attempts to shield him from the miseries of life. According to the legend, Suddhodana, his father, had been told by a seer that his son would be either be a universal ruler or a Buddha. In order to prevent him from becoming a Buddha, the father tried to isolate him from the world. At the age of sixteen his father reputedly presented him with a host of dancing girls; he also married at this time.
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