dBET Alpha PDF Version © 2017 All Rights Reserved THE ESSENTIALS OF THE EIGHT TRADITIONS THE CANDLE OF THE LATTER DHARMA BDK English Tripitaka 107-1, III The Essentials of the Eight Traditions by Gyonen Translated from the Japanese by Leo M. Pruden The Candle of the Latter Dharma by Saichö Translated from the Japanese by Robert Rhodes Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 1994 © 1994 by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher. First Printing, 1994 ISBN: 0-9625618-7-8 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-066379 Published by Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2620 Warring Street Berkeley, California 94704 Printed in the United States of America A Message on the Publication of the English Tripitaka The Buddhist canon is said to contain eighty-four thousand different teachings. I believe that this is because the Buddha’s basic approach was to prescribe a different treatment for every spiritual ailment, much as a doctor prescribes a different medicine for every medical ailment. Thus his teachings were always appro­ priate for the particular suffering individual and for the time at which the teaching was given, and over the ages not one of his prescriptions has failed to relieve the suffering to which it was addressed. Ever since the Buddha’s Great Demise over twenty-five hundred years ago, his message of wisdom and compassion has spread throughout the world. Yet no one has ever attempted to translate the entire Buddhist canon into English throughout the history of Japan. It is my greatest wish to see this done and to make the translations available to the many English-speaking people who have never had the opportunity to learn about the Buddha’s teachings. Of course, it would be impossible to translate all of the Buddha’s eighty-four thousand teachings in a few years. I have, therefore, had one hundred thirty-nine of the scriptural texts in the prodigious Taisho edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon selected for inclusion in the First Series of this translation project. It is in the nature of this undertaking that the results are bound to be criticized. Nonetheless, I am convinced that unless someone takes it upon himself or herself to initiate this project, it will never be done. At the same time, I hope that an improved, revised edition will appear in the future. It is most gratifying that, thanks to the efforts of more than a hundred Buddhist scholars from the East and the West, Message this monumental project has finally gotten off the ground. May the rays of the Wisdom of the Compassionate One reach each and every person in the world. NUMATAYehan Founder of the English August 7,1991 Tripitaka Project Editorial Foreword In January, 1982, Mr. NUMATA Yehan, the founder of the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), decided to begin the monumental task of the complete translation of the TaishS edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon into the English language. Under his leadership, a special preparatory committee was organized in April, 1982, and by July of the same year the Translation Committee of the English Tripitaka (Scriptures) was officially convened. The initial Committee consisted of the following thirteen mem­ bers: H a n a y a m a Shoyu (Chairman); BANDO Shojun; ISHIGAMI Zenno; KAMATA Shigeo; KANAOKA Shuyu; MAYEDA Sengaku; N a r a Yasuaki; SAYEKI Shinko; (late) SHIOIRI Ryotatsu; TAMARU Noriyoshi; (late) TAMURA Kwansei; URYUZU Ryushin; and YUYAMA Akira Assistant members of the Committee were as follows: KANAZAWA Atsushi; W a t a n a b e Shogo; Rolf Giebel of New Zealand; and Rudy Smet of Belgium. Holding planning meetings on a monthly basis, the Committee has selected one hundred thirty-nine scriptures and texts for the First Series of translations, an estimated one hundred printed volumes in all. Scriptures and texts selected are not necessarily limited to those originally written in India but also include works written or composed in China or Japan. All the volumes in the First Series are scheduled for publication within the twentieth century. While the publication of the First Series proceeds, the scriptures and texts for the Second Series, which is expected to be published in the following ten- or twenty-year period, will be selected from among the remaining works; this process will continue until all the scriptures and texts, in Japanese as well as in Chinese, have been published. Frankly speaking, it will take perhaps one hundred years or more to accomplish the English translation of the complete vii Editorial Foreword Chinese and Japanese scriptures and texts, which consist of thou­ sands of works. Nevertheless, as Mr. NUMATA wished, it is the sin­ cere hope of the Committee that this project will continue unto completion, even after all its present members have passed away. It must be mentioned here that the final object of this project is not academic fulfillment but the transmission of the teaching of the Buddha to the whole world in order to create harmony and peace among mankind. More than eighty Buddhist scholars in the West and in the East, all well qualified to be translators of the Chinese and Japanese scriptures and texts, have agreed to translate certain selected works. It is really a great pleasure for the Committee to announce that more than forty-five translations have already been received as of the end of September, 1992. The present members of the Translation Committee of the BDK English Tripitaka are HANAYAMA Shoyu (Chairman); BANDO Shojun; ISHIGAMI Zenno; ICHISHIMA Shoshin; KAMATA Shigeo; KA n a o k a Shuyu; MAYEDA Sengaku; NARA Yasuaki; SAYEKI Shinko; T a m a r u Noriyoshi; U r y u z u Ryushin; and Y u y a m a Akira. Assistant members are WATANABE Shogo and SUZUKI Koshin. Commemorating the ninety-fourth birthday of Mr. NUMATA Yehan, the Committee published the following three texts in a limited edition in April, 1991: (1) The Lotus Sutra (Taisho No. 262) (2) The Sutra on Upasaka Precepts (Taisho No. 1488) (3) The Summary of the Great Vehicle (Taisho No. 1593) In December, 1991, the Publication Committee headed by Prof. Philip Yampolsky was organized. New editions of the above vol­ umes and the remaining texts will be published under the super­ vision of this Committee. HANAYAMA Shoyu Chairman Translation Committee of September 10, 1992 the BDK English Tripitaka viii Publisher’s Foreword In December, 1991, at the Numata Center for Buddhist Transla­ tion and Research in Berkeley, California, a publication committee was established for the purpose of seeing into print the transla­ tions of the Buddhist works in the BDK English Tripitaka Series. This committee will process the translations forwarded for publi­ cation by the Translation Committee in Tokyo. It will perform the duties of copyediting, formatting, proofreading, indexing, consult­ ing with the translator on questionable passages, and so on—the routine duties of any publishing house. No attempt will be made to standardize the English translations of Buddhist technical terms; these are left to the discretion of the individual translator. Repre­ sented on the committee are specialists in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Japanese, who will attempt to ensure that fidelity to the texts is maintained. The Publication Committee is dedicated to the production of lucid and readable works that do justice to the vision of the late Mr. NUMATA Yehan who wished to make available to Western readers the major works of the Chinese and Japanese Buddhist canon. Dr. Leo M. Pruden, the translator of The Essentials of the Eight Traditions (Hasshü-kôyô), passed away in October, 1991. Thus the opportunity to consult with him during the preparation of the manuscript for publication has not been available. The manu­ script, however, remains substantially as Dr. Pruden left it. In some instances an important text is too brief to justify publication as a separate volume. This is the case with Professor Robert Rhodes’ translation of The Candle of the Latter Dharma (Mappô-tômyô-ki) which is also included in this volume. The two works do not have any direct connection, except that they were IX Publisher’s Foreword written by Japanese monks; they are printed together as a matter of convenience. The majority of the works in the BDK translation series are to be found in the one hundred volume compendium of some 3,360 Chinese and Japanese Buddhist scriptural works, known as the Taisho Shinshu Daizokyd (Newly Revised Tripitaka Inaugurated in the Taisho Era). The two works in the present volume, however, are not included in this Tripitaka collection. As with all books in this BDK Series, the series number on the spine and title page corresponds to the number assigned to the work by the Translation Committee of the BDK English Tripitaka in Tokyo. A list of the volumes is appended at the end of the text. Those participating in the work of the committee are Diane Ames, William Ames, Brian Galloway, David Hall, Nobuo Haneda, and the Reverend Kiyoshi S. Yamashita. Philip Yampolsky Chairman July 1,1994 Publication Committee Contents A Message on the Publication of the English Tripitaka N U M ATA Yehan v Editorial Foreword HANAYAMA Shoyu vii Publisher’s Foreword Philip Yampolsky ix The Essentials of the Eight Traditions Gyonen 1-153 The Candle of the Latter Dharma Saicho 1-28 A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripitaka (First Series) XI BDK English Tripitaka 107-1 THE ESSENTIALS OF THE EIGHT TRADITIONS by Gyönen Translated from the Japanese by Leo M.