20161126 Syllabus Classic Buddhist Texts
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The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature
JIABS Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 27 Number 1 2004 David SEYFORT RUEGG Aspects of the Investigation of the (earlier) Indian Mahayana....... 3 Giulio AGOSTINI Buddhist Sources on Feticide as Distinct from Homicide ............... 63 Alexander WYNNE The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature ................ 97 Robert MAYER Pelliot tibétain 349: A Dunhuang Tibetan Text on rDo rje Phur pa 129 Sam VAN SCHAIK The Early Days of the Great Perfection........................................... 165 Charles MÜLLER The Yogacara Two Hindrances and their Reinterpretations in East Asia.................................................................................................... 207 Book Review Kurt A. BEHRENDT, The Buddhist Architecture of Gandhara. Handbuch der Orientalistik, section II, India, volume seventeen, Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2004 by Gérard FUSSMAN............................................................................. 237 Notes on the Contributors............................................................................ 251 THE ORAL TRANSMISSION OF EARLY BUDDHIST LITERATURE1 ALEXANDER WYNNE Two theories have been proposed to explain the oral transmission of early Buddhist literature. Some scholars have argued that the early literature was not rigidly fixed because it was improvised in recitation, whereas others have claimed that word for word accuracy was required when it was recited. This paper examines these different theories and shows that the internal evi- dence of the Pali canon supports the theory of a relatively fixed oral trans- mission of the early Buddhist literature. 1. Introduction Our knowledge of early Buddhism depends entirely upon the canoni- cal texts which claim to go back to the Buddha’s life and soon afterwards. But these texts, contained primarily in the Sutra and Vinaya collections of the various sects, are of questionable historical worth, for their most basic claim cannot be entirely true — all of these texts, or even most of them, cannot go back to the Buddha’s life. -
Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Revised Edition
REVISED EDITION John Powers ITTB_Interior 9/20/07 2:23 PM Page 1 Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism ITTB_Interior 9/20/07 2:23 PM Page 2 ITTB_Interior 9/20/07 2:23 PM Page 3 Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism revised edition by John Powers Snow Lion Publications ithaca, new york • boulder, colorado ITTB_Interior 9/20/07 2:23 PM Page 4 Snow Lion Publications P.O. Box 6483 • Ithaca, NY 14851 USA (607) 273-8519 • www.snowlionpub.com © 1995, 2007 by John Powers All rights reserved. First edition 1995 Second edition 2007 No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the publisher. Printed in Canada on acid-free recycled paper. Designed and typeset by Gopa & Ted2, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Powers, John, 1957- Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism / by John Powers. — Rev. ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-282-2 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-55939-282-7 (alk. paper) 1. Buddhism—China—Tibet. 2. Tibet (China)—Religion. I. Title. BQ7604.P69 2007 294.3’923—dc22 2007019309 ITTB_Interior 9/20/07 2:23 PM Page 5 Table of Contents Preface 11 Technical Note 17 Introduction 21 Part One: The Indian Background 1. Buddhism in India 31 The Buddha 31 The Buddha’s Life and Lives 34 Epilogue 56 2. Some Important Buddhist Doctrines 63 Cyclic Existence 63 Appearance and Reality 71 3. Meditation 81 The Role of Meditation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism 81 Stabilizing and Analytical Meditation 85 The Five Buddhist Paths 91 4. -
Buddhism As a Pragmatic Religious Tradition
CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Buddhism as a Pragmatic Religious Tradition Our approach to Religion can be called “vernacular” . [It is] concerned with the kinds of data that may, even- tually, be able to give us some substantial insight into how religions have played their part in history, affect- ing people’s ability to respond to environmental crises; to earthquakes, floods, famines, pandemics; as well as to social ills and civil wars. Besides these evils, there are the everyday difficulties and personal disasters we all face from time to time. Religions have played their part in keeping people sane and stable....We thus see religions as an integral part of vernacular history, as a strand woven into lives of individuals, families, social groups, and whole societies. Religions are like technol- ogy in that respect: ever present and influential to peo- ple’s ability to solve life’s problems day by day. Vernon Reynolds and Ralph Tanner, The Social Ecology of Religion The Buddhist faith expresses itself most authentically in the processions of statues through towns, the noc- turnal illuminations in the streets and countryside. It is on such occasions that communion between the reli- gious and laity takes place . without which the religion could be no more than an exercise of recluse monks. Jacques Gernet, Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries 1 2 Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal Whosoever maintains that it is karma that injures beings, and besides it there is no other reason for pain, his proposition is false.... Milindapañha IV.I.62 Health, good luck, peace, and progeny have been the near- universal wishes of humanity. -
Vajrayāna in Gostana-Deśa
THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUDDHIST STUDIES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF A. K. Narain EDITORS Heinz Bechert Leon Hurvitz Lewis Lancaster A. W. MacDonald B. J. Stavisky Alex Wayman ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephen Beyer Volume 1 Number 1 1978 c/o Department of South Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 CONTENTS I. ARTICLES 1. Buddhism and Political Power in Korean History, 9 by S. Keel 2. Mahamaudgalyayana's Sermon on the Letting-in and Not 25 Letting-in (of Sensitive Influences), by E. Waldschmidt 3. The Mahasamghika and the Tathagatagarbha, 35 by A. Way man II. SHORT PAPERS 1. Vajrayana in Gostana-desa, by H. W. Bailey 53 2. "Our Buddha" in an Asokan Inscription, by A. K. Narain 57 3. The Story of Vyasa and KasTsundarT, by L. Zwilling 65 4. New Areas of Research for Archaeologists and 71 Buddhologists, by G. Tucci III. BOOK REVIEWS 1. An Anthology of Buddhist Tantric Songs: a Study of 77 the CaryagTti, by Per Kvaerne 2. Tibetan Medicine: With Special Reference to Yogasataka, 81 by Vaidya Bhagwan Dash IV. NOTES AND NEWS On Buddhist Text Information (B.T.I.) of the Institute 87 for Advanced Studies of World Religions (IASWR), New York, by R. A. Gard V. OBITUARY P. L. Vaidya, by P. V. Bapat 91 Vajrayana in Gostana-desa by H. W. Bailey In Gostana-desa (ancient Khotan) interest in the Vajrayana is ex pressed in the Traveller's Notebook in the Khotan Saka language, edited in my Khotanese Texts III, 1956 and 1969, 121-4 (first translation in BSOAS 9, 1937-9, 521-43). -
Self-Referential Passages in Mahāyāna Sutra Literature Alexander James O’Neill University of Toronto
Self-Referential Passages in Mahāyāna Sutra Literature Alexander James O’Neill University of Toronto This study explores self-referential passages in Mahāyāna sutra lit- erature. It argues that these passages serve to mediate a reader or lis- tener’s approach to a text in much the same manner as paratexts me- diate one’s approach to a text through external or adjacent devices such as commentaries; these passages, rather than being paratextual and outside of a text, are rather within the body of the text itself. This study explicates the types of self-referential passages in Mahāyāna literature, including encouragement to practice and propagate the text; turning it into a book; preserving the text; statements regard- ing the text’s benefits; identification of the text with other qualities or principles; the qualifications required for obtaining the text; and passages for the entrustment of the text. After noting the relative absence of such passages outside of Mahāyāna literature, it is argued that such passages reveal that for some of the adherents of the dis- parate early Mahāyāna, textuality was a medium of unprecedented value and utility in promoting novel texts and doctrines. Keywords: books, Mahāyāna, Indian Buddhism, paratexts, sutras he Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra literature includes many self-refer- Tential passages, wherein the text in question refers to itself, such as the well-known passage from the Vajracchedikā where it is stated that “if someone, having taken up even a four-line verse from this dharmaparyāya, were to teach it to others, that person would conse- quently produce great, immeasurable, and incalculable merit.”1 These self-referential passages, which take several forms, are not focused in 1. -
The Bodhisattva Ideal in Selected Buddhist
i THE BODHISATTVA IDEAL IN SELECTED BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES (ITS THEORETICAL & PRACTICAL EVOLUTION) YUAN Cl Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 2004 ProQuest Number: 10672873 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672873 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis consists of seven chapters. It is designed to survey and analyse the teachings of the Bodhisattva ideal and its gradual development in selected Buddhist scriptures. The main issues relate to the evolution of the teachings of the Bodhisattva ideal. The Bodhisattva doctrine and practice are examined in six major stages. These stages correspond to the scholarly periodisation of Buddhist thought in India, namely (1) the Bodhisattva’s qualities and career in the early scriptures, (2) the debates concerning the Bodhisattva in the early schools, (3) the early Mahayana portrayal of the Bodhisattva and the acceptance of the six perfections, (4) the Bodhisattva doctrine in the earlier prajhaparamita-siltras\ (5) the Bodhisattva practices in the later prajnaparamita texts, and (6) the evolution of the six perfections (paramita) in a wide range of Mahayana texts. -
The Lotus Sutra in Tibetan Buddhist History and Culture, Part 1 James B
The Lotus Sutra in Tibetan Buddhist History and Culture, Part 1 James B. Apple The Lotus Sutra, an important Mahāyāna Buddhist scripture, influenced many East Asian Buddhist traditions such as the Tiantai School in China and Korea, its Japanese Tendai derivative, and Nichiren based traditions in Japan. A recent paper argued that the Lotus Sutra had a significant place in the history of Indian Buddhism (Apple 2016). This essay examines the place of the Lotus Sutra in Tibetan Buddhist history and culture. Part 1 outlines the initial Tibetan translations of the Lotus Sutra in the late eighth century and highlights Tibetan Buddhist understandings of the Lotus Sutra in the early history of Buddhism in Tibetan culture. Part 2 examines the Tibetan under standing of the Lotus Sutra among scholarly commentators from the twelfth century up to the present day. 129 The Lotus Sutra in Tibetan Buddhist History and Culture, Part 1 James B. Apple Introduction The Saddharmapuˆ∂ar¥kasËtra (hereafter, Lotus Sutra) has been a significant Mahåyåna Buddhist scripture in the history of South, Central, and East Asia. A recently published, and well-regarded, dictionary on Buddhism claims that the Lotus Sutra is “perhaps the most influential of all Mahåyåna sËtras” (Buswell and Lopez 2014). Certainly, East Asian Buddhist schools such as Tiantai in China and Korea, its Japanese Tendai offshoot, and Japanese traditions based on Nichiren centered their teachings around the Lotus Sutra. What of the place of the Lotus Sutra in Tibetan forms of Buddhism? A recent publication claims that “the sËtra is of little importance in Tibet” (Lopez 2016:28). -
The Oral Composition and Transmission of Early Buddhist Texts
The Oral Composition and Transmission of Early Buddhist Texts Mark Allon, St John’s College, Cambridge Indian Insights: Buddhism, Brahmanism and Bhakti (© Luzac Oriental, 1997) Papers from the Annual Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions (1989 – 1994) The Oral Composition and Transmission of Early Buddhist Texts Mark Allon, St John's G ollege, Cambridge It is generally agreed that early Buddhist literature, of which the Pali texts of the Therav~dacanon are the most numerous and best preserved examples, was composed and transmitted orally.' This is considered to be the case for the following reasons: I. There is no reference to writing or writing materials in the principal Pali nikqa~,~though there are many references to learning and reciting discourses (see be lo^).^ 2. Although there are a few passages in the Pali Vinayapitaka which indicate that the art of writing was known at the time when these Vznaya texts were put into their present form, these do not refer to texts and their pre~ervation.~ 3. Despite detailed rules governing the use of all items used by monks and nuns, the Vinaya has no rules governing the use of writing materials5 4. There is no archaeological evidence for the use of writing in India during the early phase of Buddhism, that is, before the time of &oka6 - although this view may have to be revised in the light of recent finds in Sri Lanka of Brami characters on potsherds dating from this period.' 5. Finally, many of the stylistic features of these texts indicate an oral origin. As just,noted, there are many passages in Pali canonical texts depicting monks and nuns learning and reciting the Buddha's teachings and dis- courses, which seem to indicate that during the Buddha's life&me material was formulated so that it could be remembered and recited. -
The Early Buddhist Texts for Decades, As a Seeking Buddhist, I Kept an “Open” Mind to All the Buddhist Traditions
Revisioning Buddhism ©Piya Tan, 2018 The early Buddhist texts For decades, as a seeking Buddhist, I kept an “open” mind to all the Buddhist traditions. Surely all these rich and crowded Buddhisms must surely be right in some way. Often enough during my public talks I was asked questions about Guanyin, Amitabha, guru worship, Japanese Buddha, etc, and I tried to answer them from a scriptural viewpoint – from the scriptures of the various Buddhist traditions. As the years passed, I realized I am simply defending teachings never taught by the Buddha, but are later innovations which do not really help us understand what the Buddha actually taught. When I first posted this reflection on my Facebook page, I was criticized for writing this very sentence by a western Korean married “monk,” thus: “You are disparaging the Dharma, the Mahayana, and driving a wedge in the Sangha which the Buddha said, in the Pali canon is a heinous crime and one of the few things where there is no forgiveness forever.” We can imagine how much ethnic Buddhism has diverged from the Buddha Dharma. It took some time before I realize many such ideas have been used to promote sectarian domination and as means for worldly authentication. The bottom line is, sadly, Buddhism is used as a means for social control and wealth management. Or, we must conclude that we are disastrously ignorant of our own faith. Some claim that even the earliest Buddhist writings were “written down” hundreds of years after the Buddha in a language he didn’t speak. -
What Else Remains in Śūnyatā? an Investigation of Terms for Mental Imagery in the Madhyāntavibhāga-Corpus
J ournal of the international Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 17 • Number 1 • Summer 1994 HUGH B. URBAN and PAUL J. GRIFFITHS What Else Remains in Sunyata? An Investigation of Terms for Mental Imagery in the Madhyantavibhaga-Corpus 1 BROOK ZIPORYN Anti-Chan Polemics in Post Tang Tiantai 26 DING-HWA EVELYN HSIEH Yuan-wu K'o-ch'in's (1063-1135) Teaching of Ch'an Kung-an Practice: A Transition from the Literary Study of Ch'an Kung-an to the Practical JCan-hua Ch'an 66 ALLAN A. ANDREWS Honen and Popular Pure Land Piety: Assimilation and Transformation 96 ROGER JACKSON Guenther's Saraha: A Detailed Review of Ecstatic Spontaneity 111 HUGH B. URBAN and PAUL J. GRIFFITHS What Else Remains In Sunyata? An Investigation of Terms for Mental Imagery in the Madhyantavibhaga-Corpus PROLEGOMENA In 1978 Gadjin Nagao published a short paper called "'What Remains' in Sunyata: A Yogacara Interpretation of Emptiness." There he argued that, according to the views expressed in the texts of the classical Indian Yogacara, "emptiness" (tunyata) does not denote simple absence or nonexistence (abhava)\ rather, there is always something left over or remaining (avafista) in emptiness, something that is identified with the basis for or locus of all human activity, and that is otherwise called the "dependent" (paratantra) aspect of experience. This remains even for Buddha: the realization of emptiness, claims Nagao, does not entail the end of the flow of experience, of what the Yogacara calls abhuta- parikalpa, the comprehensive construction of what is unreal. Rather, this constructive activity continues, though it is now radically different, and is called "perfected" (parinispanna). -
Introduction to the Early Buddhist Texts in Sanskritised Prakrit
Introduction to the Early Buddhist Texts in Sanskritised Prāk t from Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism, Ch 1-6 by J.K. Nariman 2 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Two Schools of Buddhism ............................................... 6 Essence of Mahāyāna .................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Sanskrit Buddhist Canon .............................................. 10 Chapter 3: Mahāvastu ....................................................................... 14 Importance of Mahāvastu ......................................................... 17 Its Jātakas ................................................................................... 17 Mahāvastu and Purāṇas ............................................................. 18 More Mahāyāna Affinities ........................................................ 20 Antiquity of Mahāvastu ............................................................ 21 Chapter 4: Lalitavistara .................................................................... 23 Extravagant Imagery ................................................................. 24 Conception and Birth of Buddha .............................................. 25 Sin of Unbelief ........................................................................... 26 Pāḷi and Sanskrit go back to an Older Source ......................... 27 The Buddha at School ................................................................ 27 Acts of the Buddha ................................................................... -
Buddhism by Dr
Buddhism By Dr. Subhash Chandra Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on original teachings attributed to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies. Buddhism originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravada (Pali: "The School of the Elders") and Mahayana (Sanskrit: "The Great Vehicle"). Most Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth, either by the attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood. Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the path to liberation, the relative importance and canonicity assigned to the various Buddhist texts, and their specific teachings and practices. Widely observed practices include taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, observance of moral precepts, monasticism, meditation, and the cultivation of the Paramitas (virtues). Theravada Buddhism has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia such as Myanmar and Thailand. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon and Tiantai (Tendai), is found throughout East Asia. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian adepts, may be viewed as a separate branch or as an aspect of Mahayana Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth- century India, is practiced in the countries of the Himalayan region, Mongolia and Kalmykia.