DOCSLIB.ORG

'Tathāgatagarbha' Doctrine

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Michael Radich The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine Hamburg Buddhist Studies 5 Series editor: Michael Zimmermann Michael Radich The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine Hamburg University Press Publishing house of the Hamburg State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky Imprint Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (German National Library). The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at https://portal.dnb.de. The online version is available online for free on the website of Hamburg University Press (open access). The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek stores this online publication on its Archive Server. The Archive Server is part of the deposit system for long-term preservation and availability of digital publications. Available open access on the Internet at: Hamburg University Press – http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de Persistent URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/purl/HamburgUP_HBS05_Radich Archive Server of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek – https://portal.dnb.de ISBN 978-3-943423-20-4 (printed version) ISSN 2190-6769 (printed version) © 2015 Hamburg University Press, Publishing house of the Hamburg State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky, Germany Printing house: Elbe-Werkstätten GmbH, Hamburg, Germany http://www.elbe-werkstaetten.de/ Cover design: Julia Wrage, Hamburg Contents Foreword 9 Michael Zimmermann Acknowledgements 11 Introduction 13 Outline 13 Contributions of this study 16 Part I Is the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra “Our Earliest” Tathāgatagarbha Text? Introduction 19 The portion of MPNMS under consideration (“MPNMS-tg”) 20 1 MPNMS-tg as a “Tathāgatagarbha Text” 23 1.1 MPNMS-tg as a veritable “tathāgatagarbha text” 23 1.2 The Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra as a “tathāgatagarbha text” 32 2 The Date of MPNMS-tg, Relative to Other Tathāgatagarbha Texts 35 2.1 Does MPNMS-tg refer to (our present) TGS by title? 35 2.1.1 References to a/the (this?) Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra within MPNMS-tg 37 2.1.2 Reference to other titles and texts in MPNMS 40 2.1.3 MPNMS references to other Mahāyāna texts by title 50 2.1.4 Relations to other texts without mention of their title 53 2.2 Similarity of one simile between MPNMS-tg and TGS 56 2.3 Summary 57 3 Evidence for the Absolute Dates of MPNMS-tg and Other Tathāgatagarbha Scriptures 59 3.1 Evidence for the absolute date of MPNMS-tg 59 3.2 Independent evidence for the absolute dates of TGS 83 3.3 Summary 85 3.4 Takasaki’s chronology: The Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa and Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanāda-sūtra 85 3.5 Chronological relations between MPNMS-tg and other texts in the MPNMS group 97 3.6 Conclusions 99 Part II The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Origins of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine Introduction 101 Schmithausen’s criteria for a “scenario of origin” for Buddhist concepts 102 4 Tathāgatagarbha, the Problem of Maternity, and Positive Corollaries to Docetic Buddhology 105 4.1 Terms 105 4.2 Docetism as a corporeal issue 107 4.3 The extension of docetism beyond death and birth 110 4.4 Negatively-framed docetism about the Buddha’s conception, gestation and birth 115 4.5 “Material-miraculous” positive corollaries of docetism about the Buddha’s conception, gestation and birth 118 4.6 The material-miraculous, “docetic” womb 124 4.7 Dharmakāya and vajrakāya as positive corollaries of corporeal docetism 129 4.8 Tathāgatagarbha as a “soteriological-transcendent” positive corollary to docetism about the Buddha’s conception, gestation and birth 132 4.9 Docetism and the problem of the Buddha’s mother(s) 143 4.10 Docetic reinterpretations of other branches of kinship 154 4.11 Summary 155 5 Garbha and Dhātu 159 6 Conclusions 169 6.1 Summary 169 6.2 Directions for future research 171 Appendix 1 Terms related to “tathāgatagarbha” in MPNMS 175 Appendix 2 Chinese zang 藏 (esp. in DhKṣ) and “secret teachings” 193 Appendix 3 Further apparent historical detail in the MPNMS group prophecy complex 199 1 *Sarvalokapriyadarśana 199 2 A “*cakravartinī” 202 3 Trials and tribulations of the espousers of the MPNMS group 205 Appendix 4 “MPNMS-dhk” and “MPNMS-tg” 207 Appendix 5 “Kataphatic gnostic docetism” 211 Abbreviations 215 Bibliography 219 Index 247 Foreword About Hamburg Buddhist Studies Buddhism has enjoyed a prominent place in the study of Asian religious ideas at the University of Hamburg for almost 100 years, ever since the birth of Buddhist Studies in Germany. We are proud that our program is housed in one of the pioneering academic institutions in Europe at which the study of Buddhism has become a core subject for students focusing on the religious dimensions of South and Central Asia. With this publication series, the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Hamburg aims to honor this long-standing commit- ment to research and share the results of this tradition with the aca- demic community and the wider public. Today, Buddhist Studies as an academic discipline makes use of a broad variety of approaches and methods. The field covers contemporary issues as much as it delves into the historic aspects of Buddhism. Similarly, the questions shaping the field of Buddhist Studies have broadened. Understanding present-day Buddhist phenomena, and how such phenomena are rooted in a distant past, is not a matter of indulgence. Rather, it has become clear that fos- tering such an understanding is one of the many crucial obligations of modern multicultural societies in a globalized world. Buddhism is one of the great human traditions of religious and philo- sophical thought. The Hamburg Buddhist Studies series aims to discuss as- pects of the wide variety of Buddhist traditions that will be of interest to scholars and specialists of Buddhism, but it also wants to confront Bud- dhism’s rich heritage with questions whose answers might not be easily deduced by the exclusive use of philological research methods. Such questions require the penetrating insight of scholars who approach Bud- dhism from a variety of disciplines building upon and yet going beyond the solid study of textual materials. We are convinced that the Hamburg Buddhist Studies series will contribute to opening up Buddhist Studies to those who are not necessarily trained in the classical languages of the 10 The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine Buddhist traditions but want to approach the field with their own disci- plinary interests in mind. We very much hope that this series will encou- rage a wider audience to take interest in the academic study of the Bud- dhist traditions. About this publication It is my great pleasure to introduce the fifth volume in the Hamburg Bud- dhist Studies series. In this book, Michael Radich argues against the un- derstanding of previous scholarship that the eponymous Tathāgatagar- bha-sūtra was the earliest text to articulate tathāgatagarbha doctrine. He suggests that in fact, we are best to regard the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra as most likely to be earlier. Radich then investigates the tathāgatagarbha/ “Buddha nature” doctrine of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra, and its con- nection to other ideas in that context, for clues to the motive of the ori- ginal authors of the doctrine. He argues that in this context, tathāgata- garbha doctrine is best understood as a part of a much wider pattern of docetic Buddhology – the understanding that Buddhas are not really as they appear – including positive corollaries of negative statements of that docetism, that is, positive claims about what in fact is true of Bud- dhas, in contrast to those deceptive appearances. Radich suggests that within this frame, tathāgatagarbha doctrine was articulated as just such a soteriologically-oriented positive substitute for one particularly troub- ling dimension of the Buddha’s ordinary human embodiment: the fact that he had a flesh-and-blood human mother, with all the distressing im- purity and degradation which that fact implied. In effect, on Radich’s reading, it is as if the subtext of the earliest tathāgatagarbha doctrine is this: Buddhas are not conceived and gestated in putrid, painful human wombs; rather, buddhahood springs from a “womb” (garbha), inherent in all sentient beings, in which glimmers the transcendent promise of final liberation from flesh altogether. Michael Zimmermann Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to Luis Gómez for his kind invitation to participate in a panel entitled “Early Expressions of the Tathaga- tagarbha Doctrine in India” at the XVIth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, June 25, 2011. This invitation gave me the initial impetus to think about the ideas that eventuated in this book. A very early version of some of the ideas presented here was first aired in a talk for the Religious Studies Programme of Massey University in Pal- merston North, New Zealand, in August 2010. I thank Doug Osto, my host at that time, for that invitation. I am also grateful to Erica Baffelli and Scott Pacey for their hospitality when I presented a late version of this work at Manchester in January 2013. I am most grateful to Michael Zimmermann for doing me the honour of accepting this work into the Hamburg Buddhist Studies series, and to Isabella Meinecke of Hamburg University Press for her editorial guid- ance. I am also deeply indebted to Paul Harrison and an anonymous re- viewer for many suggestions that improved the final form of the book. Work on the final
Recommended publications
  • Mahayana Buddhism: the Doctrinal Foundations, Second Edition

    Mahayana Buddhism: the Doctrinal Foundations, Second Edition

    9780203428474_4_001.qxd 16/6/08 11:55 AM Page 1 1 Introduction Buddhism: doctrinal diversity and (relative) moral unity There is a Tibetan saying that just as every valley has its own language so every teacher has his own doctrine. This is an exaggeration on both counts, but it does indicate the diversity to be found within Buddhism and the important role of a teacher in mediating a received tradition and adapting it to the needs, the personal transformation, of the pupil. This divers- ity prevents, or strongly hinders, generalization about Buddhism as a whole. Nevertheless it is a diversity which Mahayana Buddhists have rather gloried in, seen not as a scandal but as something to be proud of, indicating a richness and multifaceted ability to aid the spiritual quest of all sentient, and not just human, beings. It is important to emphasize this lack of unanimity at the outset. We are dealing with a religion with some 2,500 years of doctrinal development in an environment where scho- lastic precision and subtlety was at a premium. There are no Buddhist popes, no creeds, and, although there were councils in the early years, no attempts to impose uniformity of doctrine over the entire monastic, let alone lay, establishment. Buddhism spread widely across Central, South, South-East, and East Asia. It played an important role in aiding the cultural and spiritual development of nomads and tribesmen, but it also encountered peoples already very culturally and spiritually developed, most notably those of China, where it interacted with the indigenous civilization, modifying its doctrine and behaviour in the process.
  • The Development of Prajna in Buddhism from Early Buddhism to the Prajnaparamita System: with Special Reference to the Sarvastivada Tradition

    The Development of Prajna in Buddhism from Early Buddhism to the Prajnaparamita System: with Special Reference to the Sarvastivada Tradition

    University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 2001 The development of Prajna in Buddhism from early Buddhism to the Prajnaparamita system: with special reference to the Sarvastivada tradition Qing, Fa Qing, F. (2001). The development of Prajna in Buddhism from early Buddhism to the Prajnaparamita system: with special reference to the Sarvastivada tradition (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/15801 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/40730 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The Dcvelopmcn~of PrajfiO in Buddhism From Early Buddhism lo the Praj~iBpU'ranmirOSystem: With Special Reference to the Sarv&tivada Tradition Fa Qing A DISSERTATION SUBMIWED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES CALGARY. ALBERTA MARCI-I. 2001 0 Fa Qing 2001 1,+ 1 14~~a",lllbraly Bibliolheque nationale du Canada Ac uisitions and Acquisitions el ~ibqio~raphiiSetvices services bibliogmphiques The author has granted anon- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pernettant a la National Library of Canada to Eiblioth&quenationale du Canada de reproduce, loao, distribute or sell reproduire, priter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats.
  • Reading the Miraculous Powers of Japanese Poetry Spells, Truth Acts, and a Medieval Buddhist Poetics of the Supernatural

    Reading the Miraculous Powers of Japanese Poetry Spells, Truth Acts, and a Medieval Buddhist Poetics of the Supernatural

    Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 32/: –33 © 2005 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture R. Keller Kimbrough Reading the Miraculous Powers of Japanese Poetry Spells, Truth Acts, and a Medieval Buddhist Poetics of the Supernatural The supernatural powers of Japanese poetry are widely documented in the lit- erature of Heian and medieval Japan. Twentieth-century scholars have tended to follow Orikuchi Shinobu in interpreting and discussing miraculous verses in terms of ancient (arguably pre-Buddhist and pre-historical) beliefs in koto- dama 言霊, “the magic spirit power of special words.” In this paper, I argue for the application of a more contemporaneous hermeneutical approach to the miraculous poem-stories of late-Heian and medieval Japan: thirteenth- century Japanese “dharani theory,” according to which Japanese poetry is capable of supernatural effects because, as the dharani of Japan, it contains “reason” or “truth” (kotowari) in a semantic superabundance. In the first sec- tion of this article I discuss “dharani theory” as it is articulated in a number of Kamakura- and Muromachi-period sources; in the second, I apply that the- ory to several Heian and medieval rainmaking poem-tales; and in the third, I argue for a possible connection between the magico-religious technology of Indian “Truth Acts” (saccakiriyā, satyakriyā), imported to Japan in various sutras and sutra commentaries, and some of the miraculous poems of the late- Heian and medieval periods. keywords: waka – dharani – kotodama – katoku setsuwa – rainmaking – Truth Act – saccakiriyā, satyakriyā R. Keller Kimbrough is an Assistant Professor of Japanese at Colby College. In the 2005– 2006 academic year, he will be a Visiting Research Fellow at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
  • Compassion & Social Justice

    Compassion & Social Justice

    COMPASSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo PUBLISHED BY Sakyadhita Yogyakarta, Indonesia © Copyright 2015 Karma Lekshe Tsomo No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the editor. CONTENTS PREFACE ix BUDDHIST WOMEN OF INDONESIA The New Space for Peranakan Chinese Woman in Late Colonial Indonesia: Tjoa Hin Hoaij in the Historiography of Buddhism 1 Yulianti Bhikkhuni Jinakumari and the Early Indonesian Buddhist Nuns 7 Medya Silvita Ibu Parvati: An Indonesian Buddhist Pioneer 13 Heru Suherman Lim Indonesian Women’s Roles in Buddhist Education 17 Bhiksuni Zong Kai Indonesian Women and Buddhist Social Service 22 Dian Pratiwi COMPASSION & INNER TRANSFORMATION The Rearranged Roles of Buddhist Nuns in the Modern Korean Sangha: A Case Study 2 of Practicing Compassion 25 Hyo Seok Sunim Vipassana and Pain: A Case Study of Taiwanese Female Buddhists Who Practice Vipassana 29 Shiou-Ding Shi Buddhist and Living with HIV: Two Life Stories from Taiwan 34 Wei-yi Cheng Teaching Dharma in Prison 43 Robina Courtin iii INDONESIAN BUDDHIST WOMEN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Light of the Kilis: Our Javanese Bhikkhuni Foremothers 47 Bhikkhuni Tathaaloka Buddhist Women of Indonesia: Diversity and Social Justice 57 Karma Lekshe Tsomo Establishing the Bhikkhuni Sangha in Indonesia: Obstacles and
  • A Buddhist Sütra's Transformation Into a Daoist Text

    A Buddhist Sütra's Transformation Into a Daoist Text

    A BUDDHIST SÜTRA'S TRANSFORMATION INTO A DAOIST TEXT Stephan Peter Bumbacher, Universities of Tübingen and Zürich for Robert H. Gassmann, at his 60th birthday Abstract Daoism and Chinese Buddhism interacted in complex ways over the last two millenia. However, the precise nature of this two-way exchange still awaits a systematic investigation. Since the early 1980s, the Buddhist impact on lingbao-Daoism has become evident. Recently, it was suggested that the developing Daoist monasticism of fifth century Southern China may also have been influ¬ enced by the then already existing Buddhist one. Of special interest are Daoist texts that predate the lingbao-corpus and show some form of Buddhist influence as they might have had an impact on the latter. As a possible point of departure, an analysis of Yang Xi's adaptation of the Buddhist Forty-two sections of Buddhist sutras is offered. It shows that already a generation earlier than Ge Chaofu's lingbao scriptures Daoists not only had first hand knowledge of Buddhism but even made verbatim use of their scriptures to their own ends. As a by-product of this analysis, it is even possible to emend the received version of the Forty-two sections of Buddhist sutras where it apparently is defective. 1. Introduction The first four centuries of the common era witnessed not only the arrival of some forms of Buddhism in China, this was also the formative period of several traditions of Daoism, the indigenous Chinese Hochreligion.1 Both were essen¬ tially different: whereas the Buddhists sought to get out of samsära by entering nirväna or final extinction, the Daoists aimed at becoming immortals - either earthly immortals who would live on on earth for centuries, now and then chang¬ ing their whereabouts and altering their social identities, or heavenly immortals who would ascend heaven in broad daylight in order to integrate themselves into the heavenly hierarchy.
  • Buddhist Histories

    Buddhist Histories

    JIABS Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 25 Number 1-2 2002 Buddhist Histories Richard SALOMON and Gregory SCHOPEN On an Alleged Reference to Amitabha in a KharoÒ†hi Inscription on a Gandharian Relief .................................................................... 3 Jinhua CHEN Sarira and Scepter. Empress Wu’s Political Use of Buddhist Relics 33 Justin T. MCDANIEL Transformative History. Nihon Ryoiki and Jinakalamalipakara∞am 151 Joseph WALSER Nagarjuna and the Ratnavali. New Ways to Date an Old Philosopher................................................................................ 209 Cristina A. SCHERRER-SCHAUB Enacting Words. A Diplomatic Analysis of the Imperial Decrees (bkas bcad) and their Application in the sGra sbyor bam po gnis pa Tradition....................................................................................... 263 Notes on the Contributors................................................................. 341 ON AN ALLEGED REFERENCE TO AMITABHA IN A KHARO∑™HI INSCRIPTION ON A GANDHARAN RELIEF RICHARD SALOMON AND GREGORY SCHOPEN 1. Background: Previous study and publication of the inscription This article concerns an inscription in KharoÒ†hi script and Gandhari language on the pedestal of a Gandharan relief sculpture which has been interpreted as referring to Amitabha and Avalokitesvara, and thus as hav- ing an important bearing on the issue of the origins of the Mahayana. The sculpture in question (fig. 1) has had a rather complicated history. According to Brough (1982: 65), it was first seen in Taxila in August 1961 by Professor Charles Kieffer, from whom Brough obtained the photograph on which his edition of the inscription was based. Brough reported that “[o]n his [Kieffer’s] return to Taxila a month later, the sculpture had dis- appeared, and no information about its whereabouts was forthcoming.” Later on, however, it resurfaced as part of the collection of Dr.
  • Lankavatara-Sutra.Pdf

    Lankavatara-Sutra.Pdf

    Table of Contents Other works by Red Pine Title Page Preface CHAPTER ONE: - KING RAVANA’S REQUEST CHAPTER TWO: - MAHAMATI’S QUESTIONS I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV XXXVI XXXVII XXXVIII XXXIX XL XLI XLII XLIII XLIV XLV XLVI XLVII XLVIII XLIX L LI LII LIII LIV LV LVI CHAPTER THREE: - MORE QUESTIONS LVII LVII LIX LX LXI LXII LXII LXIV LXV LXVI LXVII LXVIII LXIX LXX LXXI LXXII LXXIII LXXIVIV LXXV LXXVI LXXVII LXXVIII LXXIX CHAPTER FOUR: - FINAL QUESTIONS LXXX LXXXI LXXXII LXXXIII LXXXIV LXXXV LXXXVI LXXXVII LXXXVIII LXXXIX XC LANKAVATARA MANTRA GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY Copyright Page Other works by Red Pine The Diamond Sutra The Heart Sutra The Platform Sutra In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu Lao-tzu’s Taoteching The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain The Zen Works of Stonehouse: Poems and Talks of a 14th-Century Hermit The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma P’u Ming’s Oxherding Pictures & Verses TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE Zen traces its genesis to one day around 400 B.C. when the Buddha held up a flower and a monk named Kashyapa smiled. From that day on, this simplest yet most profound of teachings was handed down from one generation to the next. At least this is the story that was first recorded a thousand years later, but in China, not in India. Apparently Zen was too simple to be noticed in the land of its origin, where it remained an invisible teaching.
  • The Gandavyuha-Sutra : a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative

    The Gandavyuha-Sutra : a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative

    The Gandavyuha-sutra : a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative Douglas Edward Osto Thesis for a Doctor of Philosophy Degree School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 2004 1 ProQuest Number: 10673053 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 10673053 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 The Gandavyuha-sutra: a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative In this thesis, I examine the roles of wealth, gender and power in the Mahay ana Buddhist scripture known as the Gandavyuha-sutra, using contemporary textual theory, narratology and worldview analysis. I argue that the wealth, gender and power of the spiritual guides (kalyanamitras , literally ‘good friends’) in this narrative reflect the social and political hierarchies and patterns of Buddhist patronage in ancient Indian during the time of its compilation. In order to do this, I divide the study into three parts. In part I, ‘Text and Context’, I first investigate what is currently known about the origins and development of the Gandavyuha, its extant manuscripts, translations and modern scholarship.
  • Symbolism of the Buddhist Stūpa

    Symbolism of the Buddhist Stūpa

    THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUDDHIST STUDIES CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Gregory Schopen Roger Jackson Indiana University Fairfield University Bloomington, Indiana, USA Fairfield, Connecticut, USA EDITORS Peter N. Gregory Ernst Steinkellner University of Illinois University of Vienna Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA Wien, Austria Alexander W. Macdonald Jikido Takasaki Universite de Paris X University of Tokyo Nanterre, France Tokyo, Japan Bardxvell Smith Robert Thurman Carleton College Amherst College Northfteld, Minnesota, USA Amherst, Massachusetts, USA ASSISTANT EDITOR Bruce Cameron Hall College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia, USA Volume 9 1986 Number 2 CONTENTS I. ARTICLES 1. Signs, Memory and History: A Tantric Buddhist Theory of Scriptural Transmission, by Janet Gyatso 7 2. Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa, by Gerard Fussman 37 3. The Identification of dGa' rab rdo rje, by A. W. Hanson-Barber 5 5 4. An Approach to Dogen's Dialectical Thinking and Method of Instantiation, by Shohei Ichimura 65 5. A Report on Religious Activity in Central Tibet, October, 1985, by Donald S. Lopez, Jr. and Cyrus Stearns 101 6. A Study of the Earliest Garbha Vidhi of the Shingon Sect, by Dale Allen Todaro 109 7. On the Sources for Sa skya Panclita's Notes on the "bSam yas Debate," by Leonard W.J. van der Kuijp 147 II. BOOK REVIEWS 1. The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Study ofKukai and Dogen, by D. Shaner (William Waldron) 155 2. A Catalogue of the s Tog Palace Kanjur, by Tadeusz Skorupski (Bruce Cameron Hall) 156 3. Early Buddhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of the Founders' Authority, the Community, and the Discipline, by Chai-Shin Yu (Vijitha Rajapakse) 162 4.
  • The Mission Accomplished

    The Mission Accomplished

    TheThe MissionMission AccomplishedAccomplished Ven. Pategama Gnanarama Ph.D. HAN DD ET U 'S B B O RY eOK LIBRA E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.buddhanet.net Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. The Mission Accomplished A historical analysis of the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya of the Pali Canon. by Ven. Pategama Gnanarama Ph. D. The Mission Accomplished is undoubtedly an eye opening contribution to Bud- dhist analytical Pali studies. In this analytical and critical work Ven. Dr. Pate- gama Gnanarama enlightens us in many areas of subjects hitherto unexplored by scholars. His views on the beginnings of the Bhikkhuni Order are interesting and refreshing. They might even be provocative to traditional readers, yet be challenging to the feminists to adopt a most positive attitude to the problem. Prof. Chandima Wijebandara University of Sri Jayawardhanapura Sri Lanka. A masterly treatment of a cluster of Buddhist themes in print Senarat Wijayasundara Buddhist and Pali College Singapore Published by Ti-Sarana Buddhist Association 90, Duku Road. Singapore 429254 Tel: 345 6741 First published in Singapore, 1997 Published by Ti-Sarana Buddhist Association ISBN: 981–00–9087–0 © Pategama Gnanarama 1997 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems or technologies now known or later developed, without per- mission in writing from the publisher. Cover: Mahaparinibbana; an ancient stone carving from Gandhara — Loriyan Tangai. Photograph reproduced by Mr K. C. Wong. Contents Introductory . 8 Chapter 1: The Mahaparinibbana Sutta & its Different Versions .
  • An Exploration of the Early One-True Dharmadhatu Thoughts---From

    An Exploration of the Early One-True Dharmadhatu Thoughts---From

    2019 9th International Conference on Education and Social Science (ICESS 2019) An Exploration of the Early One-True Dharmadhatu Thoughts----From Mind Only Chittamatra, Tantra to Huayen Theory Xiangjun Su Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China 206877705@qq. com Keywords: One-true dharmadhatu; Mind only chittamatra; Tantra, Huayen theory; Harmony without obstacles Abstract: The concept of one-true Dharmadhatu originates from India Buddhism, and it appears both in Vijnapti-matrata and Tantra classics, approximately having the same meaning. Li tongxuan was the first one who introduced the concept of One-true Dharmadhatu into Huayen theory. Conformed with the thinking mode of Matter-mind-being Nonduality by Li Tongxuan, taking Fundamental Wisdom as its basis, One-true Dharmadhatu has such harmonious teaching characteristics as wisdom and earth being one, nature and things binging not different, and harmony without obstacles. Later, Chengguan, in his Wutai Mountain Period, explained One-true Dharmadhatu as Dharmadhatu Pure Wisdom, and combined it with Fazang’s Five Dharmadhatu thought, thus made it more philosophical. Introduction In China’s Huayen thoughts, One-true Dharmadhatu is an important concept. Since was introduced into Huayen theory by Li Tongxuan, One-true Dharmadhatu has appeared often in Chenguan’s works and the Huayen works of the following dynasties. Japanese scholar Xiaodaodaishan, Tanwan region researcher Hong Meizhen have discussed the concept of One-true Dharmadhatu in their works. [1]China Main Land scholar Liu Yuanyuan has discussed Li Tongxuan’s thoughts on One-true Dharmadhatu and its influences on Chengguan deeply, but it is not comprehensive, and also not involves in the thoughts of Chengguan.
  • Wh 55. the Five Precepts: Collected Essays

    Wh 55. the Five Precepts: Collected Essays

    The Five Precepts Collected Essays by Dr. Paul Dahlke, Bhikkhu Sīlācāra, L.R. Oates, and G. Constant Lounsbery Buddhist Publication Society Kandy • Sri Lanka The Wheel Publication No. 55 First Edition 1963. Second Impression 1975. ISSN 0068–3345 2 BPS Online Edition © (2008) Digital Transcription Source: BPS Transcription Project For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted, reprinted and redistributed in any medium. However, any such republication and redistribution is to be made available to the public on a free and unrestricted basis, and translations and other derivative works are to be clearly marked as such. 3 The Five Precepts Pañca Sīla 1. Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. 2. Adinnādānā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. 3. Kāmesu micchācārā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. 4. Musāvādā veramaṇī, sikkhā-padaṃ samādiyāmi. 5. Surāmeraya majja pamādaṭṭhānā, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi . 1. I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from killing living beings. 2. I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from taking what is not given. 3. I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from sexual misconduct. 4. I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from false speech. 5. I undertake to observe the precept to abstain 4 from intoxicating drinks and drugs causing heedlessness. 5 The Precepts in Buddhism Dr. Paul Dahlke here are five precepts in Buddhism which are T binding on all who call themselves Buddhists. They are: Not to take the life of any living being. Not to take what is not given. Abstaining from sexual misconduct. Abstaining from wrong speech. Abstaining from intoxicants. These precepts are not commandments in the Christian sense.