Unit 4.1 The spread of Buddhism

BUDDHISM

A Level Religious Studies

Social and historical developments

Spread, Pureland and Zen 4.1

Introduction

In Buddhism especially in the Mahayana tradtion there is an incredible diversity and very oftern many Buddhists such as pureland and zen have very diverse belief.  Its very hard to cover it and in this unit we  don’t look at Nichrean Buddhism even though it’s a big sect in Japan.  Here we focus on how Buddhism in the orient developed and the paticular beliefs and teachings of Zen and Pureland.   

Areas such as the spread of Buddhism and the impact of migration; with specific reference to developments in China and Japan.  We will consider the particular beliefs and practices of Pure Land and Zen, as types of Buddhist tradition, the key people and distinctive emphases they taught as well as features of relevant scripture.  We will c also over some of the relevant indigenous traditions and how eastern Buddhists have developed their ideas in their encounter with modernity.

 In this unit you should analysis the significant features that constitute gradual or more radical changes from earlier traditions, including debates about belief and practice in these respective traditions/schools.

 The ideas of S Mochizuki and W T de Bary helps understand Buddhism’s spread and some key developments.

Topic              

Content

Key Knowledge

Unit 4.1

The, Western culture and ideals

·         Trade Migration and the spread of Buddhism

·         The context of  migration and trade in the expansion of Buddhism into china

·         the importance of the indigenous religions of china and Japan-

·         Confucianism, Taoism, Shiinto

·         The beliefs and teachings of Pure  Land and Zen Buddhism

·         The teaching of Pure land Honen, and True Pure land Shinran.

·         The teaching of Zen  -Rinzai and Soto

·         The development of Modern forms of eastern Buddhism

·         The way Buddhism responded to modernity

·         The debates about protestant Buddhism influences   

You need to understand the issues raised by Buddhist teachings, including:

·         How trade, missionary work and migration aided the spread of Buddhism.

·         how other effort and self effort, are understood in Pureland, and in Zen Buddhism.

·         What significant things S Mochizuki and W T de Bary and other relevant scholars have said about the spread of Buddhism.

Key Words

Nembutsu – This means concentration on Buddha and his virtues, or recitation of the Buddha's name.

The Infinite Life Sutra, The Contemplation Sutra and The Amitabha Sutra – the Pure Land Sutras

Chanting – Chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha does not do anything at all to help he person to the Pure Land. Chanting is nothing more than an expression of gratitude to Amitabha Buddha and an expression of the chanter's faith.

Amitabha– the Buddha of the Western "Pure Land." Also known as Amida.

Ching-T'u– Chinese for Pure Land.

Jodo, Jodoshin – Japanese for Pure Land.

Pure Land– Chinese/Japanese sect, emphasizing worship of Amitabha Buddha. Ching- T'u, Jodo and Jodoshin.

Sukhavati– Sanskrit for Blissful Land, the "Pure Land" of Amitabha.

Dharmakara. – the king who was so deeply moved by the suffering of beings in the world that he gave up his throne and became a monk. Heavily influenced by the 81st Buddha and vowed to become a Buddha himself, with the aim of creating a Buddha-land that would be free of all limitations. He meditated at length on other Buddha-lands and set down what he learned in 48 vows. Eventually he achieved enlightenment and became Amitabha Buddha and established his Buddha-land of Sukhavati.

The 18th Vow – If I were to become a Buddha, and people, hearing my Name, have faith and joy and recite it for even ten times, but are not born into my Pure Land, may I not gain enlightenment.

Honen – Pure Land Buddhism took off in Japan when the monk Honen (1133-1212)  implified the teachings and practices of the sect so that anyone could cope with them.

Shinran – (1173-1262), a disciple of Honen, brought a new understanding of the Pure Land ideas, and this became the foundation of the Shin (true) sect.

Dogen – (1200-1253) -- monk who brought Soto Zen to Japan.

Zen / Chan  – Ch'an -- Chinese for Zen Buddhism

Koan– a very brief story demonstrating the paradoxical nature of dualistic thinking. Used in Zen meditation.

Rinzai Zen– a Zen sect that makes extensive use of koans.

Satori– Zen term for enlightenment.

Shikantaza – mindfulness meditation in Zen Buddhism.

Soto Zen – A Zen sect emphasizing Shikantaza meditation

Zazen – sitting meditation in Zen Buddhism

Zen – a group of Buddhist sects that focus on meditation. Also known as Ch'an, Son, or Dhyana.

skilful actions – skilful actions

Historical development of Buddhism in China and Japan 

Key Ideas 

·        Buddhism was introduced into China in the 1st century CE, and from there it went, via Korea, to Japan in the 6th century CE 

·        In China, it had to contend with a sophisticated culture, based on Confucianism and Taoism, and made many adaptations 

·        After a golden age in the 6th to 9th centuries, Buddhism was persecuted in China, and its dominance ended in 845 

·        In Japan, the native religion was Shinto, and Buddhism has coexisted with Shinto harmoniously to the present time 

·        In the Far East, Buddhism became very secularised, to the point where some schools have no monks at all, and others are directly involved in politics 

Indigenous traditions of China 

When Buddhism was introduced to China, from the 1st century CE onwards, it encountered an advanced and literate civilisation, with highly developed religious, philosophical, social and political systems of its own. Buddhism never replaced these systems, but grew alongside them. The two main influences on Chinese Buddhism were Confucianism and Taoism. 

Confucianism

Confucius (551-479 BCE) established the main system of ethical behaviour in Chinese culture. It consists of guidelines for the behaviour of individuals, of the family and of society as a whole. The fundamental virtues are respect for others, courtesy, hard work, social concern and honouring one's parents. Moral behaviour is motivated by a sense of genuine loving kindness towards others, and results in the best possible benefit for all. The golden rule of Confucianism is: 'Do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you' (usually rendered in English as: 'Do as you would be done by'). 

Human beings are seen as one point in a triangle of forces: earth, man and an impersonal heaven. The emperor is the mediator of the three forces and so is worthy of the greatest respect. This gives rise to a hierarchical social and political system, in which everyone knows their place and must pay respect to their superiors in order that harmony may prevail. 

Confucianism is concerned with the best and most harmonious way of living this life. Confucius did not mention any reward or punishment for moral behaviour in an afterlife, so the advantage of morality seems to be the tangible benefits arising from a healthy and harmonious society. T'ien, or heaven, is where one can place one's trust when things go wrong on earth, but it is not for human beings to speculate about heavenly matters. 

Well before the Common Era, Confucianism had developed the classic I Ching, which is a manual for divination, now well known in the West, based on maintaining harmony between the two principles of yin and yang. Yin stands for darkness, passivity and femininity, while yang stands for light, activity and masculinity. The balancing of these principles can be applied to medicine, to diet and even to feng shui (the art of positioning objects - 

graves, buildings, furniture - for a balanced, propitious flow of the chi, or energy, of the environment and the user). 

Under the Sun dynasty (960–1279 CE), Confucianism became the official state cult. It is known as neo-Confucianism because it was heavily influenced by Taoism and Buddhism. All government officials or civil servants had to take exams based on knowledge of the Confucian classics, and this system of thought remained the dominant influence on the ruling classes until the Communist takeover in 1949. 

According to Chinese tradition, and specifically under the influence of Confucianism, the ruler was thought for centuries to be sanctified by the mandate of heaven. His role was to maintain the cosmic equilibrium of man, earth and heaven, by performing perfectly his ritual, ethical and administrative duties. In principle, the authority of the emperor and of the imperial government was unlimited, all-inclusive and beyond question, with the power to rule over both public and private life. 

Chinese society was highly structured and hierarchical. Its prevailing style was authoritarian and paternalistic. There was an immense difference between rich and poor, between the educated elite and the uneducated peasantry, and this gap was accepted as part of the social order. The basic social aims were pragmatic and secular: maintaining law and order, peace and harmony. The assumption was that the emperor and the government must maintain overall control for this to be possible. 

Taoism 

Taoism (pronounced Dow-ism) is said to have been founded by Lao-tzu in the 6th or 5th century BCE, but there is doubt about his historical existence. The ideas of Taoism are set out in two foundational texts: the Tao-te-Ching and the Chuang-Tzu. They speak primarily of the unity that underlies all existence and that can be experienced in nature and through quiet contemplation. 

Taoism tends to emphasise qualities and aspects of life that are quite different from those prized by Confucianism: natural and spontaneous behaviour rather than formal etiquette; the simplicity of nature rather than 

the sophistication of government or imperial courts; the value of the individual rather than that of society; the benefit of withdrawing from society, living close to nature and engaging in contemplation, as opposed to active social and economic engagement. Taoism emphasises peace and quiet, and shuns the violence that often comes with politics. Its main virtues are humility, compassion and effortless naturalness. 

Taoism was vague about life after death, and simply considered life to be a dream, and death a natural change. By the 2nd century CE, it had combined with folk religions to form a Taoist religion with nature divinities, temples, rituals and priests. The emphasis of this religion was the quest for immortality, healing and the forgiveness of sins. In practice, the Chinese incorporate both Confucianist ethics and Taoist beliefs and attitudes into the way they view the world. 

Indigenous traditions of Japan 

Buddhism spread from China to Korea, and from Korea it was introduced into Japan in the 6th century CE, Japan had nothing like the long history of its Chinese neighbour, so when Buddhism arrived, it did not encounter a strong and sophisticated culture as it had in China. 

Japan lived in the Stone Age until the 1st century CE. According to Chinese chronicles from that time, the Japanese lived in clans, each of which was associated with a primary deity, or kami, which served to identify the clan. Each tribal chief was also the high priest of the clan kami. By the 5th century, political hierarchies between clans were reflected by similar hierarchies between the kamis. The supremacy of the Yamato clan established Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, as the chief deity of Japan. 

The main religion present in Japan in the 6th century was Shinto, meaning 'Way of the Gods”, and it has continued to the present day. At that time, it was a conglomeration of tribal cults, without any central doctrine or written 

scriptures, so it did not present an intellectual challenge to Buddhism. Furthermore, Shinto had no iconography – the kamis were not represented by images, but by symbols such as a mirror, sword or jewel. 

Shinto is related to the forces of nature and is concerned with creating good circumstances here and now. It is based on the belief that the gods are immanent in nature and do not live somewhere else, in some transcendental sphere. The kamis, or 'powerful ones', are the spirits of mountains, trees, waterfalls and other powerful forces of the natural world. There is no chief kami corresponding to the idea of God. The kamis are considered to have an influence on human life, which is why prayers and offerings are made to propitiate them. Shinto is practised mostly outdoors, with local shrines in nature, although families may have a 'kami shelf' in their homes, where symbols of the kami are kept. 

Japanese society had a class of people called miko, or shaman, who were thought to be able to communicate with the kamis and influence the supernatural world on behalf of the human world. They were thus expected to bring prosperity and avert disaster, and also to propitiate the spirits of the dead. Most mikos were women, and they were highly respected. 

Over the centuries, Shinto and Buddhism coexisted peacefully in Japan and influenced each other. People still see them as complementary. 

Questions

1.  Explain the influence of Confucianism on Buddhism

2.  Explain the influence of Confucianism on Buddhism

3.  Explain the influence of Shinto on Buddhism

Historical spread of Buddhism to China and Japan 

China 

Buddhism was introduced into China in the 1st century CE. According to the traditional story, the Han Emperor Ming, who ruled from 58 to 75 CE, dreamed of a divine being in the shape of a golden man. He was told this must be the foreign god called Buddha, and so he sent envoys to India, who returned with one or two Indian Buddhist masters, a white horse and a text of the Sutra in Forty-Two Sections. The emperor later founded the Monastery of the White Horse near Lo-yang. 

Modern scholars are more comfortable with accounts which attest to the 

introduction of Buddhism through two separate routes: first, in the 1st century CE, from central Asia by foreign merchants plying the Silk Road; and second, by at least the 3rd century, along the southern route from Sri Lanka to Indochina, Canton and the lower Yangtze. 

The introduction of Buddhism to China brought about a clash of cultures. It was not immediately successful, for several reasons. First, the Buddhist teaching was difficult to accept: 

• It was considered foreign and therefore inferior. 

• It was seen as morbid, stressing suffering rather than happiness, and death rather than life. 

• It was seen as selfish, because it did not follow the Confucian values of contributing to society through hard work. 

• It introduced strange new beliefs, such as rebirth, previously unknown in China. 

Second, the Confucian-influenced state found Buddhist monasticism unacceptable and questioned its right to exist: 

• Initially, monks would not bow to the emperor, since in India the religious 

or priestly class had always been above the ruling class. 

• Monks were organised independently - they had their own rules and their own system for punishing monks who disobeyed the rules - and this was seen as threatening to social cohesion. Monks did not consider themselves liable to government supervision. Celibacy was seen as an unnatural violation of the sacred laws governing family behaviour; it undermined the family as the basic social unit. 

Monasteries were economically autonomous – they were supported by believers and expected to be exempt from state taxes. This was seen as politically unacceptable and potentially dangerous. 

• Monks were accused of being unproductive and socially useless – 20th century communists later called them 'social parasites'. 

• Some monks had no fixed place to live, and wandered from village to village, begging for alms. The state disliked this way of life because it was impossible to control. 

Despite all these factors, Buddhism gradually attracted growing numbers of Chinese. Between the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, the first Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese. The turning point came when the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) broke up; Buddhism filled the cultural vacuum created by the turmoil that ensued. From that point, its development is traced in terms of the Buddhism in northern China and the Buddhism in southern China. 

In northern China, Buddhism was popular, but was under the control of the ruler. This sometimes meant patronage and sometimes meant persecution (the latter in 446 and 574-577 CE). By the 6th century, there were 30,000 Buddhist temples in northern China, indicating the tremendous popularity of the religion. Initially, it attracted small traders, clerks, copyists and people with limited education, but by the end of the 4th century it had started to penetrate the upper classes. 

In southern China, Buddhism was more intellectual from the start, appealing to the educated classes. It was independent of the political rulers and allied itself with Taoism. 

The golden age of Buddhism in China was from the 6th to the 9th centuries CE, under the Sui and T'ang dynasties. Buddhism was the dominant religion of the people, although rulers varied in their favours. It was the dynamic stimulus of intellectual and cultural life. It is said, for instance, that China invented woodblock printing in the 8th century in order to print Buddhist images and texts. This alone would mean that Buddhism made an enormous social contribution. 

Some village temples were quite small, with just one or two monks who worked among the local people, while other monasteries grew large, enjoyed official patronage and, as a result, became even more powerful and wealthy. 

The decline of Buddhism in China came as a result of political jealousies and rivalries, prompted by the wealth of the monasteries. In 715, the government confiscated all copper and bronze religious statues to turn them into cash. In the 8th century, civil war impoverished the state, so Emperor Wu-tzung (841-847) finally decided to break Buddhist dominance. In 845, there was a tremendous backlash against Buddhism. All Buddhist establishments were destroyed, monks and nuns were secularised, and all temple lands and property were confiscated. Monastic Buddhism was suppressed throughout the empire and never recovered its dominance. 

Decline was steady and gradual. Most of the different schools of Chinese Buddhism disappeared, and intellectual life went back to Confucianism. Under the Ming dynasty (14th to 17th centuries), for example, state officials were forbidden to be Buddhist. This meant that the best minds in the country were no longer drawn to the Buddhist debating halls, but to the Confucian 

classics required for state examinations. 

The two main schools of Chinese Buddhism to survive were Ch'an and Pure Land. Neither depended on large institutions or vast libraries of scriptures, and therefore they succeeded in continuing after the persecution. Although monasteries were destroyed, Buddhism was still practised by laypeople right up to the communist revolution of 1949. It had become confined to being a popular religion rather than a religion of the educated elite. Buddhism was severely persecuted during the Cultural Revolution (1966–68), but it has seen a significant revival in mainland China since the 1990s, and monasteries have been established once again. 

Japan 

In the 6th century CE, when Buddhism was introduced into Japan, the country had no strong institutions of its own, so there was no opposition. In 538 or 539, a Korean ruler sent a deputation to make an alliance with a Japanese ruler, and the delegation included Buddhist monks, scriptures and Buddha statues. From that time, some of the Japanese ruling class began to follow Buddhism, which was later supported by Prince Shotoku (574-621), who is considered the father of Japanese Buddhism. He was a generous patron: he built monasteries and temples, and made Buddhism virtually a state religion. 

Buddhism is associated with magic powers, and this is one reason why it was accepted by the authorities. Buddhist monks were requested to use their powers to prevent disease, maintain peace, bring rainfall and good harvests, and so on. Buddhism was given the role of 'pacifying and protecting the state'. 

Between the 7th and 10th centuries, several different schools of Chinese Buddhism became established in Japan. The most influential was the Tendai school, which incorporated a 12-year programme of study, meditation and monastic discipline with tantric Buddhist practices. However, by the 10th century, many of the monasteries had become decadent and a period of social, religious and political chaos ensued. Two far simpler forms of Buddhism emerged from this time, which continue to be strong today: Zen and Pure Land, both of which are more adapted to the common people. 

There are two schools of Japanese Zen. The first, the Rinzai school, was introduced by Eisai (1141-1215), and the second, the Soto school, was developed by Dogen (1200-1253). Similarly, there emerged two distinct schools of Pure Land Buddhism. Pure Land was established by Honen (1133–1212), and True Pure Land, also known as Shin Buddhism, by his disciple Shinran (1173–1262). 

The integration of martial arts into Zen practice proved attractive to Japanese warriors in the Rinzai school between the 13th and 17th centuries. Unfortunately, the practice became decadent, to the extent that groups of monks were hired as mercenary armies by rival warlords, and the Buddhist values on which martial arts were originally based were forgotten. 

Between the 12th and 16th centuries, there were periods of military conflict between rival Buddhist monasteries. These battles were waged by hired troops or, sometimes, by armed monks. Jodo-shinshu developed fortified temples and was known to lead peasant uprisings. The sect founded by Nichiren (1222–83) set out to attack all other forms of Buddhism in Japan, denouncing them as misguided and doomed, and causing considerable chaos. Two powerful warlords put an end to military monasteries in the 16th century, and Zen, Pure Land and Nichiren were the main forms of Buddhism that survived. 

In the 19th century, Japanese nationalism reacted against European colonialism and Christian missionaries (Christianity was banned in Japan in the 17th century), and declared Shinto to be the state religion, with Buddhism as the secondary religion. Most Japanese people today combine both religions. 

In fact, the relationship between Buddhism and Shinto has been quite remarkable. The two fused soon after Buddhism was introduced, and the Shinto gods were seen as guardians and protectors of Buddhism. Then the pantheon of the two religions was slowly identified, and it was taught that they were just the same deities under different names. From the 14th century onwards, the buddhas were often seen as manifestations of the kamis. In the 9th century, this fusion was named Ryobu Shinto. It is remarkable not only because it brought the two religions closely together for many centuries, but also because it fused them in such a way that a thousand years later it was quite easy to separate them again. Thus it was possible in the 19th century to proclaim Shinto to be a distinct and national religion. 

Questions

1.  Explain some of the key developments of Buddhism in China.

2.  Explain some of the key developments of Buddhism in Japan.

Key figures in China: Kumarajiva, Bodhidharma, Hsuan-Tsang 

Kumarajiva 

Perhaps the greatest of all translators of the Buddhist scriptures into Chinese was named Kumarajiva (344-413). He was from Kucha in central Asia, now known as Xinjiang in China. Kumarajiva was a child prodigy who became known from a very young age as a scholar of Buddhism. First he studied Hinayana doctrines, and later he became a Mahayana specialist, with a great understanding of Madhyamaka philosophy. He studied in Kashmir, and his fame spread as he defeated eminent people in debate. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 20. 

The emperor of northern China heard of his talent and summoned him to his capital, Xi'an, but on the way there, Kumarajiva was seized by a renegade warlord and imprisoned for 17 years. He made the most of this period by learning excellent Chinese. 

Finally, the emperor sent an army to liberate him, and Kumarajiva arrived in Xi'an, possibly in 401. There he organised a translation team on a grand scale, working from Sanskrit to Chinese, with hundreds of editors, proofreaders and scribes. About a hundred translations are attributed to him, although not all of these are verifiably his own. Among his most important translations are the Diamond Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and Nagarjuna's seminal work, the Mula-madhyamika-karika. 

Kumarajiva's translations are known for the flowing smoothness of the language, for their accessibility, and for the way he conveys the meaning of the text. Many of his works are therefore more popular, even today, than the more accurate and literal translations carried out after him. Scholars believe that under Kumarajiva, Buddhist translations into Chinese reached their maturity. He finally freed the terminology used from the powerful influence of Taoist thought that had distorted earlier translations. 

His achievement represents a milestone in the history of Buddhism in China. This is partly because of the way he was able to clarify many difficult philosophical concepts, and partly because his translations made new texts available that were previously unknown to Chinese Buddhists. 

Although Kumarajiva is recognised primarily for his translation work, he is also acknowledged as the founder of the Chinese school of Madhyamaka, which is called the Three Treatises school, or San-lun school. He played a leading role in the flourishing of Buddhism in northern China in his time. 

Bodhidharma 

The mysterious Indian master Bodhidharma (c.470-532) is universally accepted as the first patriarch of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism, and of Japanese Zen Buddhism as well. He is depicted as a rather fierce and ill-tempered man, with bulging eyes and a large beard. Very little contemporary information on him exists, and the biographies we do have are sometimes contradictory. For instance, one tradition maintains he was born in southern India, in Kanchi, while another claims he was a Persian from central Asia. He became a monk in India, and was the disciple of Prajñatara. 

Prajñatara told him to travel to China, and he left by sea and arrived on the southern China coast in around 500 CE. According to legend, he was summoned by the emperor of southern China for an interview. He insulted the emperor by telling him that good deeds, such as sponsoring monasteries and the copying of scriptures, would earn him no merit at all. The Ch'an tradition does not place as much value on scriptural study as it does on meditation practice, and it values wisdom more than merit. Bodhidharma promptly departed from the imperial court and settled in northern China. 

He arrived in Shao-lin temple, and did a nine-year (some say seven-year) meditation retreat in a cave on Mount Song, above the monastery. It is said that he sat motionless in meditation for the entire period, staring at a wall. Some accounts say that by the end of the retreat his legs had atrophied. He is also said to have cut off his eyelids to keep himself from dozing in meditation. 

This classic drawing of Bodhidharma shows him to be a wild and ferocious character 

It is on account of Bodhidharma that Shao-lin has since become famous as the home of kung fu. (This is the temple in which Bruce Lee trained before he made the film Enter the Dragon, and it is also the home of the performing 'Shaolin Monks'.) During a long retreat, Bodhidharma felt the need to practise some form of physical exercise as a means of maintaining physical health and strength, and as a non-violent way of defending himself against wild animals and brigands. This is how he developed the martial arts. 

Although Bodhidharma discouraged intensive study of the scriptures, he taught that there are two gates to enlightenment: meditation and study. Wall gazing is a practice mentioned in connection with him, and may have been an early form of zazen. In terms of study, he had a special connection with the Lankavatara Sutra. There are just four publications attributed to Bodhidharma himself. 

The date of Bodhidharma's death is uncertain; it may have been around 532. Several sources claim that he died at the age of 150, and was buried by his disciple Hui ke. There is also a legend according to which people witnessed seeing him after his death, walking back to India with only one sandal. They then checked his grave, and found that one of his sandals was missing. 

Bodhidharma founded the northern school of Ch'an, which generally emphasised gradual enlightenment, arising as the result of many years of meditation and study – in contrast to the southern school of Ch'an, which developed the doctrine of sudden and spontaneous enlightenment. 

The written accounts only refer to two direct disciples of Bodhidharma, Dao yu and Hui ke. It is said that he only accepted Hui ke after the latter agreed to cut off his arm to demonstrate his sincerity. After Bodhidharma, there were six generations of 'patriarchs', the name given to the most prominent Ch'an master in each period. The northern school of Ch'an then died out; present-day Ch'an and Zen both come from the southern school. Today, Bodhidharma's death is commemorated by Buddhists on 5 October each year. 

Hsuan Tsang 

Hsuan Tsang (also written Xuan tsang) was a Chinese monk, scholar, traveller and translator. He was born in Luoyang in 602 into a Confucian family, but became a Buddhist monk at 20 and studied Buddhist scriptures in Chang-an. In order to pursue his studies, he asked the emperor's permission to travel to India, but the emperor refused his request because the regions he had to cross were at war. So Hsuan Tsang left China secretly in 629, travelling west along the Silk Road. 

He journeyed for 16 years all over central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and wrote down what he discovered during his travels. His report is invaluable to historians because it provides the first reliable information we have of life in these regions, and of the state of Buddhism at the time. Hsuan Tsang travelled as far west as Tashkent, and visited Samarkand (Turkestan), Taxla and Kashmir, before going to northern India and staying for a while at Nalanda University. He then went to southern India and returned to China via Assam. 

His travels were marked by numerous dramas. He survived a murder attempt and almost starved to death in the Takla Makan Desert. He was imprisoned on the Silk Road and only released after a hunger strike. On the bright side, he was a guest and personal friend of King Harsha (reigned 606-647), the last great Indian emperor, who was also India's last great patron of Buddhism. And the king of Turfan became his disciple and gave him letters of introduction for the rest of his journey. 

Hsuan Tsang provides us with a picture of Buddhism in decline. Throughout central Asia and central and southern India, monasteries and sacred sites were abandoned or neglected. He claimed that Hinayana Buddhism was stronger than Mahayana in most of India and central Asia. He also collected an enormous number of Buddhist manuscripts, which in those days were rare and sought after. He deposited some of these in the Tun Huang caves, north of Tibet, on his way home, and these texts were discovered intact in the 20th century. He returned to China carrying 520 cases, containing 657 different Buddhist scriptures. His fame preceded him, and he was given a hero's welcome by the apologetic emperor. 

With the emperor's support, he established an important translation bureau. His particular contribution to the development of Chinese Buddhism was the large number of texts he introduced from the Yogachara school of philosophy, many of which were unknown in China before this. Hsuan Tsang founded the Faxiang school of Buddhism in eastern Asia, which followed Yogachara. One of his main students was Kuiji, who became the first patriarch of the school. Another of his disciples was the Japanese monk Dosho (628–700), who later returned to Japan and established the school there. Hsuan Tsang died in 664. His epic travels are recounted in a Chinese novel which became the basis for the popular TV series Monkey. 

Questions

1.  Who was Kumarajiva and what was his influence on Buddhism

2.  Who was Bodhidharmna and what was his influence on Buddhism

3.  Who was Hsuan Tsang  and what was his influence on Buddhism

Key figures in Japan: Dogen, Honen, Shinran, Nichiren 

Dogen 

Master Dogen was a scholar and mystic, a poet, a philosopher and a saint. He is acknowledged as the founder of the Soto school of Japanese Zen. 

Dogen was born in Japan in 1200. This was a turbulent time in Japanese history, because the warrior class had just wrested political power from the emperor, and people were unsettled and confused with the new order. Although Dogen was the son of a famous politician, he was orphaned at the age of seven and had a very hard childhood. His early experience of suffering spurred him on to find a way of overcoming it. 

When he was 12, Dogen decided he wanted to become a Buddhist monk, but his family did not agree. So one night he left his home secretly and walked all the way to Enryaku temple on Mount Hiei, where he became a monk at 13. He stayed there for three years and excelled in his studies. This monastery was in the Tendai tradition, which emphasised intellectual study of the dharma, but eventually Dogen was not satisfied with this approach. He found his studies theoretical and unrelated to his own life experience. 

One day, a monk advised him to see Master Eisai in Kennin temple. Dogen studied with Eisai for nine years, and appreciated the practical nature of his teachings. Eisai was a master of the Rinzai school of Zen, which teaches that the goal of Buddhist practice is satori, the enlightenment experience. However, after nine years, Dogen still found it impossible to gain satori, so in 1224 he travelled to China to further his Buddhist studies. 

In China, he met Master Tendo Nyojo, who was destined to be his main teacher. Nyojo taught that the most important practice is zazen, sitting meditation, which is nothing more than dropping body and mind. This means that meditation is dropping our awareness of body and our awareness of mind, and just sitting, just acting, in that bare, present moment. Dogen stayed with Nyojo for nine years, training in this practice, and then returned to Japan. On his arrival, he was asked what he was bringing back to Japan from his travels in China. He replied, 'I have not brought anything back to Japan'; and then he added, 'if I dare say it, I have simply brought back a soft, flexible mind. This is the heart of Buddhism.' 

Dogen built the first zazen hall in Japan in the suburbs of Kyoto and became a very popular teacher. This success attracted the hostility of Enryaku temple and he had to move away; he established Eiheiji temple, which is still an important temple today. He taught there for 10 years, and then became sick and returned to Kyoto, where he died in 1253. He wrote many books, his most important work being the Shobogenzo, or 'Treasury of the Eye of the 

Dharma'. 

Honen 

Honen (1133–1212) was the only son of a small clan chieftain in Japan. His father was assassinated, and on his deathbed is reported to have told his son: 'Don't hate the enemy but become a monk and pray for me and for your deliverance'. Honen was ordained at the famous Mount Hiei temple, and studied there for nearly 30 years. He was reputed for his scholarship and could have risen in the monastic ranks, but at the age of 40 he decided to break with the Tendai tradition and leave the monastery. He followed in the footsteps of the shamans of his day, and went to live alone in a mountain hermitage. 

It was at that time that he wrote his most important treatise, Senchaku-shu, which later became the foundational text of the Pure Land School. He emphasised the moral degeneration of the age, called mappo in Japanese, and taught the nembutsu as the only method one needed to be free of suffering. His teaching attracted a large following, and he began to teach people in Kyoto. 

Honen broke with tradition in the sense that he taught the dharma to people from all walks of life. Until then, laypeople had been rather like spectators, while the heart of Buddhist life was lived in the temples. Honen taught both men and women, and those from all social classes. People said that he  attracted 'butchers, prostitutes and fortune-tellers', who otherwise would not have had a place in the Buddhist sangha. His genuine holiness, coupled with his personal appeal and the simplicity of his teaching, made him more and more popular. 

This did not please either the political leaders or the Tendai authorities, and in 1207 the Tendai monks succeeded in banning the teaching of the nembutsu in Kyoto. Honen was expelled from the sangha and forced to disrobe, and was banished to the countryside. Passions were so strong that some of his followers were executed. He continued to give his teachings in small villages until 1211, when the ban was lifted and he was allowed to go back to Kyoto as a layperson. He did so, and died there the following year. 

One of his chief disciples was Shinran, who later founded the True Pure Land school. Shinran joined Honen in 1201 and studied with him until they were exiled in 1207. Shinran was banished separately to Echigo (Niigata) and never saw Honen again. 

Buddhist histories usually honour Honen as the founder of the Pure Land (Jodo) school in Japan, but in fact he never began a school. The school developed later with his followers. Honen himself was humble, known to be a strict master and a bold innovator; he is recognised as being more concerned with solving the problems of everyday life than with doctrine. 

Shinran 

Shinran (1173–1263) was born into the aristocratic elite near Kyoto. He lost his father when he was four and his mother when he was nine, so his uncle sent him to Mount Hiei in order to advance his career through scholarship rather than through marriage. He studied for some 20 years, but was disillusioned by the complex and difficult practices taught there. 

He claimed to have a vision of Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, who directed him to find a Buddhist monk called Honen. So in 1201 he left Mount Hiei and joined Honen in Kyoto. He remained with him until they were forced into exile with the official banning of nembutsu practice. Shinran left and settled in Echigo, present-day Niigata. 

He had been forced to disrobe, and at that juncture he called himself 'the 

foolish, bald-headed one', reflecting his unease at being neither a monk nor a layperson. He claimed that he had another vision, this time advising him to marry. In around 1210 he married Eshinni and had six children with her. 

Shinran wrote many treatises and commentaries, and of particular interest is the fact that he wrote them in simple Japanese, not classical Japanese, so that ordinary people were able to read them. His major work was published in 1224 and is entitled Kyogoshinsho, or 'The True Teaching, Practice and Realisation of the Pure Land Way'. It is a selection of sutra passages which are relevant to the Pure Land school. 

He always said that his teaching was a clarification of Honen's teachings. However, he developed some of Honen's principles much further. For example, he said that nembutsu practice was unnecessary, and that faith in Amida Buddha was sufficient to ensure that one would not be reborn in samsara, that one could purify all one's karma, and that one would be reborn and attain enlightenment in the Sukhavati heaven. Such faith leads to shinjin, or spiritual awakening. He regarded this teaching as an expression of the true meaning of Honen's teaching, and therefore called his school True Pure Land or Jodo-shinshu. Shinran himself lived a humble life, and the school was organised by his disciple Rennyo. 

There were occasional disputes within the sangha of his followers, but the most tragic is the incident with his eldest son Zenran. Zenran provoked a split in the sangha; he accused several faithful followers of heresy, and claimed to have a special teaching that his father had taught him alone. It seems he also encouraged Shingon (tantric) practice and emphasised virtuous deeds. In all these ways he conspired against the authority of Shinran, and in 1256 Shinran publicly disowned him, making it clear that he had never shared any special teaching with him that he had not given to his other disciples. Shinran died at the age of 90. 

Nichiren 

Nichiren (1222–82) was born into a humble family of fishermen. He entered his local monastery early, and moved to Mount Hiei in 1243. He studied there for 10 years, and became obsessed with the idea that he wanted to find the original doctrine of Buddhism; he eventually identified this with the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren also believed strongly in the degeneration of the times and people's incapacity to do anything but a simple practice. 

Nichiren moved to Kamakura, the seat of government, where he attracted a large number of followers. In place of the nembutsu of Pure Land Buddhism, Nichiren taught that repetition of the title of the Lotus Sutra, and devotion to that sutra, were the only practical means of salvation. Even though this approach is clearly similar to that of Pure Land, he mounted a vehement campaign against that school and against all other Buddhist schools in Japan. He also attacked politicians as liars, traitors and hypocrites. He warned the Japanese that unless they turned to his teaching, Japan would face disaster. 

Nichiren was convinced that other schools were leading people down the wrong path. However, his aggressive approach made him very controversial during his own lifetime. He was banished to remote parts of Japan several times, and escaped death on a number of occasions. It is said that when he was about to be executed in 1271, a flash of light in the sky distracted his  executioners, and they abandoned their idea. His followers see this as a turning point in his life, a moment they call 'discarding the provisional and revealing the true': Nichiren discarded his 'provisional' identity as a mortal priest and began to reveal his 'true' identity as the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Jogyo, or as the True Buddha, depending on which school's interpretation you accept. 

Four years after his prediction of disaster, a great earthquake struck, followed by flood, famine and plague. Despite the accuracy of his prophecies and his success in attracting many followers, the offensive and divisive character of his approach meant he was continually driven away from wherever he lived. He finally settled on the slopes of Mount Fuji. He died a year after the Mongol invasion of 1281, convinced to the end that Japan was doomed. His zealous followers gradually increased over the centuries, and contributed with passion to the chaos and violence that Nichiren had predicted. 

Questions

1.  Who was Dogen and what was his influence on Buddhism

2.  Who was Shinran and what was his influence on Buddhism

3.  Who was Nichren  and what was his influence on Buddhism

Characteristics of Buddhism in the Far East

As it adapted to its new Far Eastern homelands, Buddhism changed significantly. The main trend that is common to its development in both China and Japan is its extensive secularisation. The strict monastic way of life that the Buddha had initiated in India, and which is still largely followed in South East Asia today, is unknown in Far Eastern Buddhism. A number of specific adaptations were made to satisfy the cultural need for social responsibility and for tangible benefits in this life, not the next. 

In China, in Buddhism's golden age, peasant families and serfs were allocated to large monasteries to work in the temple fields, so the monasteries had regular, tax-free incomes. This is very different from the original monastic rule in India, of course, when monks were not permitted to handle money at all. 

Monasteries also functioned as study centres and temples, hospitals, guest houses and banks. Many owned mills and oil presses, used by the local population for a fee. Monks helped to build roads, bridges and irrigation projects, and to plant trees as a way of engaging in socially useful work. 

There were several other important developments in China: 

. Generally speaking, monks engaged in economic activities. 

· Monks were given an 'ordination certificate', showing their 'spiritual 

genealogy', that is, who they received ordination from. This echoed Chinese respect for family lineage. 

· Chinese ancestral worship was incorporated into Buddhism: ancestors could be cared for by transferring one's good karma to them. 

Japanese Buddhism, too, is characterised by its secularisation. Apart from the Pure Land school, it is not so concerned with escape from the endless cycle of life and death, or with transcendental states and realities; it focuses more on this world and this life, and on the importance of realising enlightenment here and now. This is reflected in the way Buddhism pervades cultural life: in painting, in gardening, in flower arranging, in calligraphy and in drama. Each of these arts was developed on the basis of Buddhist meditation and contemplation. 

In addition, Japan developed a unique form of Buddhist clergy. The largest sect, Jodo-shinshu, or True Pure Land, abandoned monastic celibacy altogether in the 13th century and created a priesthood, whose priests can marry, take ordinary paid jobs and pass responsibility for their temples from father to son. As part of modernisation and Westernisation, in the late 19th century, the emperor decreed that all Buddhist monks could marry. This is why they are usually called 'priests' rather than 'monks'. The priests of the 

Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen Buddhism may live very simple lives, yet they can marry and they can also have paid jobs. 

Finally, the relationship between Buddhism and political power is quite different in the Far East. In India, based on the class structure of Vedic society, religious priests and monks were seen as higher than the king or the emperor, and their way of life was respected accordingly. In the Far East this was never the case. Those in political authority resented any kind of independence on the part of monasteries or individual monks, and constantly acted to bring Buddhists under their control. Furthermore, in Japan, Buddhism was first accepted by the ruling classes and was then disseminated throughout the country, from the top down. Most schools developed a close connection with the central government of the time, and were directly involved in politics, and, in fact, these connections still exist today. 

Questions

1.  What are some of the Key Characteristics of Buddhist laity, and Monks in China

2.  What are some of the Key Characteristics of Buddhist laity, and Monks in Japan

The Beliefs and practices of Pure Land and Zen 

Key Ideas 

·         It is unclear whether Ch'an (Zen) was a distinct tradition in India, but its followers believe it began with the Buddha himself 

·         Ch'an (Zen) emphasises meditation practice, rather than study of the scriptures, as the way to enlightenment 

·         In Japan, the Rinzai school of Zen teaches sudden enlightenment, while the Soto school teaches a gradual approach 

·         Pure Land Buddhism began in India in the 6th century CE and emphasises devotion to Amitabha (Amida) Buddha as the way to enlightenment 

·         In Japan, two distinct schools developed: Pure Land, which teaches nembutsu recitation, and True Pure Land, which teaches that only the blessing of Amida Buddha can save us 

Significant features of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism 

Origins 

Ch'an (Chinese), or Zen (Japanese), claims to be a special line of transmission of the Buddhist teachings that began with the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. The Buddha was once surrounded by several disciples, and at one point he silently held up a flower and turned it in his hand. Only one disciple, Kasyapa, understood the message in this gesture, and he smiled in recognition. As a result, the 'special transmission' of which Zen speaks is a silent one, in which the truth of the dharma is conveyed primarily in gestures and actions. It claims to bring a direct, intuitive grasp of reality, which is personally transmitted 'from mind to mind', by a master to his disciple. 

The Zen tradition asserts that this transmission was passed on from generation to generation in ancient India, as an alternative and in parallel to the scriptural tradition. However, there are no records of this, and scholars have no evidence to show that this was recognised as a distinct tradition in India. It is therefore unclear whether Ch'an as a tradition began in India or in China. 

What we do know is that in 520 CE, the Indian master Bodhidharma travelled to China and reportedly founded the line of Ch'an masters there. He taught at the famous Shao-lin temple, which has since become the home of kung fu, Bodhidharma himself developed the martial arts during a long period of retreat, as a means of maintaining physical health and strength. He discouraged intensive study of the scriptures, but he did have a special 

Stupas in the Shao-lin temple, China connection with the Lankavatara Sutra and advised his students to study this. This Mahayana sutra encompasses the emptiness (shunyata) teachings as well as the teachings on buddha nature (tathagatagarbha). 

Ch'an survived the persecution of Buddhism in China in 845 CE because it did not depend on large monasteries or vast libraries of scriptures, and did not need the wealth required to support these. During the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, it split into several different schools, the two main ones being Lin chi and Ts'ao tung, which later became the Rinzai and Soto schools of Japanese Zen. These two schools remained separate in Japan, but merged in China under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Ch'an continued as a live Buddhist tradition in China until the communist revolution in 1949, and it continues to flourish in Taiwan and South Korea. 

Ch'an meditation practices were introduced into Japan as early as the 7th century, via Korea, but it was not until the 12th century that Zen became popular in Japan. The first master to firmly establish Zen there was the Japanese monk Eisai (1141–1215), who established the Rinzai school. He was then followed by Dogen (1200–1253), who established the Soto school. 

Both Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen continue in Japan to this day. There have been troubled periods in Japanese history, during which Rinzai monasteries became involved in political rivalries, but the character and teachings of both schools have weathered these difficulties. In the 20th century, several Japanese masters introduced Zen to North America, where it is becoming well established. 

Characteristic teachings and practices

The terms Ch'an and Zen are derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana, and mean 'meditation'. This in itself reflects the importance given to meditation in Zen Buddhism. Zen is founded on the direct grasp of reality that is passed down from master to student and does not rely on study of the scriptures. Bodhidharma, the founder of Ch'an in China, described Zen teaching as follows: 

a direct transmission of awakened consciousness outside tradition and outside scripture; not founded on words; directly pointing to the human heart; seeing into one's own nature and realising buddhahood. (Cited in H. Dumoulin, A History of Zen Buddhism) 

Meditation is accorded more importance than the study of Buddhist scriptures in Zen. Since the ultimate truth is beyond words, it cannot be conveyed in ordinary language. Intellectual study is often considered to be a hindrance rather than a help in understanding what is non-conceptual. If the scriptures are studied at all, preference is given to the Lankavatara Sutra, the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra, but the extent to which study is encouraged varies from teacher to teacher. 

Bodhidharma's words emphasise the importance of the mind-to-mind transmission of the ultimate truth from master to disciple. The teacher uses methods that point directly to the student's heart, so that he or she can realise his or her own nature, there and then. This is the skilful, effective and rapid way of attaining buddhahood, according to Zen. The experience that is sought in Zen is that of perfect wisdom or prajñaparamita, the realisation of shunyata, or the empty nature of all things, as described in Madhyamaka philosophy, or the realisation of the non-dual nature of things, spoken of in Chittamatra (Yogachara) philosophy. Fully realising this is seeing the world as it really is, and this is enlightenment. 

Zen Buddhism emphasises the value of living in the present moment, appreciating the simple things of life in a new light. In this sense, it is more concerned with living 

enlightenment now, than with future lifetimes. 

The purpose of meditation is to develop a state of mind beyond thought, the state of 'no thought', where there is no separation between subject and object. Once this state has been attained, it extends beyond meditation sessions and continues throughout the day and night. This pure concentration means that one is completely present and mindful in whatever one is doing; hence the Zen saying: 'When I eat, I eat; when I sleep, I sleep.' Zen Buddhists in Japan, too, developed a number of formal ways of expressing the peaceful and harmonious qualities of meditation in life. These formal expressions include calligraphy, painting and drawing, archery, the tea ceremony, gardening and flower arranging (ikebana). 

Both gardening and flower arranging are ways of taking natural elements, such as landscape, trees, plants, flowers, stones and water, and combining them in such a way that a sense of balance and harmony is created. The spirit of these activities was influenced by Taoism and its closeness to nature. The result is a garden or a flower arrangement that naturally inspires meditation and is conducive to meditation practice. 

Rinzai Zen 

The master who established Zen in Japan was Eisai (1141-1215), a Japanese monk in the Tendai tradition, who travelled to China to further his studies and later brought back the Lin chi (Rinzai) tradition to his homeland. Rinzai attracted Japan's educated warrior and political classes because of the way it cultivates toughness and the martial arts. 

The Rinzai tradition emphasises the sudden approach to enlightenment. Instantaneous insight into enlightenment is called wu in Chinese and satori in Japanese. Satori has been likened to the shattering of a block of ice, and as a classic mystical experience of great unity, great peace, a feeling of really knowing the truth, of having transcended time and space, and experiencing a higher state of consciousness that is impossible to put into words. 

Many of the methods used in Rinzai aim to bring about satori and produce a sense of shock or surprise in the student, which awakens him or her from the sleep of ignorance. The purpose of Rinzai has been described as bringing about 'a revolution in the seat of consciousness', entailing a total shift from confusion to enlightenment. The methods used are eccentric and dramatic, such as shouting, beating and hurling insults. It is believed that gentler methods will not be powerful enough to jolt us out of the deep-seated 

torpor of ignorance that clouds our minds, and that defilements and negative habits are so strong in this day and age that only dramatic methods will work. These methods are seen as examples of skilful means applied by the Zen master to an individual student. 

The other method used in Rinzai is meditation on kung-an (Chinese) or koans (Japanese), which are riddles, and on mondos, which take the form of questions and answers. Here are some examples of koans: 

What is the sound of one hand clapping? If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. Why did Bodhidharma come from the West? 

Here are some examples of mondos: 

What is the Buddha? Three pounds of flax. Is there buddha nature in a dog? Emptiness. 

One can attempt some form of explanation for koans and mondos, but the main point is that they cannot be understood with the rational mind. As students struggle to understand them, their minds get exhausted, and in that exhaustion the intellect gives up and an intuitive insight dawns. We could say that all these methods in Rinzai have the effect of purging the mind, allowing the student to break through from the ordinary mind to the wisdom mind (prajña) and the buddha nature. 

Meditation and reflection on koans and mondos are accorded much more importance than the study of Buddhist scriptures. In the Rinzai tradition, however, students read episodes from the lives of previous masters and students in that tradition, and use these as subjects for meditation. 

It is usually said that the Rinzai school was especially attractive to politicians and warriors. This may be due partly to its direct, no-nonsense style, and partly to its teaching of the martial arts. Eisai is credited with having popularised the drinking of tea in Japan; he argued that it would be better for warriors than alcohol. Zen monks, too, found tea helpfully refreshing. 'Whenever one is in poor spirits, one should drink tea,' said Eisai. 

Soto Zen 

The Tendai monk, Dogen (1200-1253), was not satisfied with the Rinzai teachings and decided to go to China himself, in search of something more meaningful. He brought back to Japan the Tsao tung (Soto) tradition, which 

emphasises quiet meditation and a simple life of poverty and peace, uninvolved in worldly intrigue. It is often said that the character of Soto Zen attracted the farmer and peasant classes. 

Dogen studied the sutras, but he felt that study becomes a distraction if it is not done to support meditation. He chose to follow the example of the Buddha and led a simple life of poverty, entirely dedicated to benefiting others. It was Dogen who taught the importance of zazen, or sitting meditation, which now characterises the Soto school. 

Soto Zen emphasises the gradual approach to enlightenment and brings about a progressive understanding of the truth, primarily through intensive daily practice of meditation. The sitting posture is important, with legs crossed in lotus position, the back straight and the hands resting one upon the other in the lap. Zazen is practised with the eyes open because the material world of the senses is not rejected. Soto monks will often sit in a 

simple meditation hall in rows, with their backs to each other, staring at the blank wall. They practise concentration on their breathing and observation of thoughts. 

The aim is simply to sit mindfully. Meditation is not seen as a method of reaching a goal, but as the goal itself. Meditation is the expression of buddha nature. There is a cartoon that illustrates this: an elderly monk and a younger monk are meditating together and the younger one says, 'Well, I've been doing this for five years now. What's next?' The older monk replies, 'What do you mean, "What's next?" This is it!' 

Soto students practise meditation in long sessions, and, to prevent anyone from falling asleep, the master may patrol the meditation hall with a stick, which he will use to strike on the shoulder anyone who is drowsy. Sitting meditation alternates with walking meditation (kin hin), when students will walk slowly round the room or courtyard in a circle, maintaining mindfulness of every bodily movement and sensation, as well as every thought in the mind. 

During the civil unrest in Japan in the 14th and 15th centuries, Soto Zen monasteries developed the tea ceremony, a ritual lasting several hours and performed in complete silence, involving the preparation of a large pot of tea by the Zen priest. The atmosphere of the ceremony is one of total peace and calm; every movement and gesture is graceful, mindful and harmonious; and all those who look on remain in meditation throughout. 

The formal Japanese tea ceremony of Soto Zen is still practised today by trained tea masters 

Questions

1.  Describe the origins of Zen Buddhism

2.  Explore the Characteristic teachings of Zen Buddhism

3.  What are differernces of teaching and practice between Rinzai and Soto

Significant features of Pure Land Buddhism 

Origins A Mahayana sutra of Indian origin tells the story of a monk named Dharmakara, who vowed in the presence of a buddha, who lived aeons ago, that when he attained enlightenment he would create a perfect paradise out of compassion for the suffering of beings. One of his vows was that beings would only have to think of him and he would lead them to this paradise after death. 

Dharmakara gained enlightenment and at that point he became known as Buddha Amitabha (Sanskrit) or Amida Buddha (Japanese), meaning 'the Buddha of infinite light'. He created a perfect heaven called Sukhavati, or 'the land of bliss or happiness'. The Pure Land tradition of Buddhism is one that is based on devotion to Buddha Amitabha, and one of the goals of the tradition is to achieve rebirth in his pure land of Sukhavati. The main scripture of this school is called the Sukhavati Sutra. 

The founder of the Pure Land tradition is said to be the Chinese master Hui Yuan (4th century CE), but the school's founder and first patriarch is Tan lu'an (6th century CE), who was inspired by a vision of Buddha Amitabha. He taught that meditating on Amitabha and reciting his name represent an unfailing path to liberation for all but the very worst sinners. Tao cho (562–645) added to this doctrine the principle that it is the only method suitable for this morally decadent age (called mappo in Japanese), when the three poisons are extremely strong. Traditional methods, including scriptural study, will not work with beings as defiled as we are now; nor do our lives allow us the time to pursue religion as our only focus. In such circumstances, devotion is the only method that is powerful enough to bring about liberation. 

Pure Land became extremely popular in China, especially with the masses who could not pursue philosophical studies. It also attracted people with morally questionable livelihoods, such as fishing, which, according to the classic Eightfold Path, is to be discouraged because it involves killing fish. Pure Land teaches that genuine devotion is more effective than virtuous action as a means to attain Sukhavati. It remained the most popular form of Buddhism in China until the 20th century, and it is estimated that in the 1930s almost 70 per cent of Chinese Buddhists followed Pure Land Buddhism. 

Characteristic teachings and practices Pure Land began in China in the 4th to 6th centuries CE. By the 7th century, five main practices were taught: 

·         reciting the name of Amida Buddha; 

·         reciting the Mahayana sutras; 

·         meditating on the wonders of the Pure Land, the heaven of Sukhavati; 

·         paying respect to statues of Buddha Amitabha; 

·         singing Buddha Amitabha's praises. 

These five practices were not continued for very long, however, and the path in Pure Land Buddhism gradually became limited to nien fo, or reciting the name of Amida Buddha. When Pure Land was introduced into Japan in the 9th century, the recitation of Amida's name and singing his praises were practised by the Tendai sect, alongside their own forms of practice. But when Pure Land was established as a separate school in Japan by Honen and Shinran, the recitation of the name of Amida Buddha became virtually the sole practice. 

Pure Land Buddhism emphasises devotion, and reciting the name of Amida Buddha is the main vehicle for expressing that devotion. It is called the nembutsu, and in Japanese is Namu Amida Butsu, meaning 'I bow to Amida Buddha'. The nembutsu is recited over and over again throughout the day, and can be recited while one is carrying out one's daily activities. It is a way of keeping the presence of Amida Buddha in mind at all times, and continually asking for his protection and help. 

A painting of Buddha Amitabha (or Amida Buddha in Japanese), presiding in his blissful heaven of Sukhavati 

Some scholars claim that the nembutsu is a meditation method and not only a devotional practice. At the outset, followers acknowledge the darkness of their ignorance and with the nembutsu call out to Amida Buddha to transform them with his immeasurable light. Taitetsu Unno writes that constant recitation of the nembutsu asks us to become authentically real as human beings, by awakening us to the boundless compassion that sustains us, and which is embodied by Amida Buddha. Philosophically speaking, Unno says that the nembutsu is 'the self-articulation of fundamental reality', and by reciting it we transcend our ordinary ways of thinking and come to understand reality as it is. 

At the core of nembutsu experience is a noetic element that enables us to see things as they are, so that we are no longer fooled or agitated by delusions. (Taitetsu Unno, River of Fire, River of Water) 

Through this practice one can come to embody the dharmakaya, the ultimate reality that is beyond words, and one's whole being becomes vibrant with the boundless compassion of Amida Buddha. It is an experiential process that requires great self-discipline and mental focus, just as meditation does in other Buddhist traditions. 

There are two differences between nembutsu practice and meditation in other traditions. First, the benefits of nembutsu recitation are not seen to depend only on the follower's own efforts, but more especially on the blessings of Amida Buddha, which infuse the bodies and minds of devotees. In other words, this practice combines meditation and devotion, and is an own-powered practice as well as an other-powered practice. Second, the nembutsu does not have to be recited only in formal sessions, sitting in a particular posture, but can be called out at any time and during periods of daily activity. This makes nembutsu practice flexible and easily adapted to busy working lives. 

Mahayana is divided into two traditions: the schools that follow the sutras 

and those that follow the tantric scriptures, and the latter place great emphasis on devotion to the buddhas and to the spiritual master. The importance of devotion in Pure Land Buddhism indicates that this school is closer to tantric Buddhism than it is to the Mahayana of the sutras. Indeed, nembutsu recitation plays the same role as the recitation of mantras in tantric Buddhism. 

Questions

1.       Describe the origins of Zen Buddhism

2.       Explore the Characteristic teachings of pureland Buddhism

The Pure Land school 

In Japan, the recitation of Amida Buddha's name, the nembutsu, was integrated into existing Buddhist meditation and study in the 9th century, but Pure Land only became a distinct school in the 13th century. The founder of the Pure Land school (Jodoshu) is considered to be Honen (1133–1212), a scholar-monk who taught that Buddhist institutions had become corrupt and that the only way to salvation was devotion to Amida Buddha. He did not found a new school himself, however; this was done by his followers. Most of his followers remained celibate monks and led a simple life. 

The Pure Land school of Honen allows devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas other than Amida Buddha, even though Amida Buddha is the principal focus of devotion. The school also teaches that rebirth in Sukhavati is the aim that followers should aspire to because it speeds up one's path to enlightenment. If one is successful and goes to Sukhavati after death, then after a certain time one is reborn, and able to continue the Buddhist path until final enlightenment. So rebirth in Sukhavati is not enlightenment in itself, but rather a stepping stone to enlightenment, an experience that will facilitate and accelerate one's attainment of the final goal. 

The True Pure Land school 

A disciple of Honen, Shinran, founded the True Pure Land school (Jodo shinshu), sometimes known as Shin Buddhism. Shinran believed that his was the only correct understanding of Honen's teaching. He criticised the principle of gaining merit through virtuous action, saying that this only leads to pride and self-importance. We are all hopeless sinners and have no power of our own to bring about enlightenment; instead, we must rely entirely and wholeheartedly on the power of Amida Buddha to help us. He discouraged  practices of devotion and respect to any Buddhist figure other than Amida Buddha. 

Shinran had a dream in which he had a vision of the bodhisattva of compassion, Kwannon, who advised him to get married. As a result, priests in the True Pure Land school get married and have families and jobs, so there is no monastic tradition in this school. The responsibilities of the priest's role are usually handed down through heredity, from father to son. 

Shin Buddhism considers that the merit gained from virtuous activity is not powerful enough in this degenerate age to be of any real help on the path to enlightenment, so devotion is the only practice that is effective. Some masters have gone so far as to say that the recitation of the nembutsu is 

itself unnecessary, and all that really counts is devotion to Amida Buddha. This is because any effort at all on our part is powerless to make a difference - only Amida Buddha can save us. 

Shin Buddhism also teaches that rebirth in Sukhavati is the final goal, the equivalent to nirvana or buddhahood, and not just a step on the way there, as taught in the Pure Land school. This may sound far removed from the original teaching given by the Buddha in ancient India, but it is seen as a form of skilful means (upaya), appropriate for an age in which confusion and negativity are rampant and people no longer have the time to spend many years in scriptural study or formal meditation. 

The debate around tradition and change 

As it became established in China and Japan, we have seen that Buddhism adapted to the local cultures and changed significantly. For example, the monastic rules, or Vinaya, which form one-third of the scriptural texts of Theravada Buddhism, are no longer followed at all in Japan. The vast body of scriptures that was composed in India over the centuries was studied comprehensively in the Tendai school in both China and Japan, but social and political pressures led to the collapse of intensive scholarship of this kind. After the 12th century, each Buddhist school selected a very small number of texts on which it based its entire teaching and practice. Numerous texts had been translated into Chinese and Japanese, but they were not used. 

In addition, the very goal of Buddhism was redefined. In Zen, the emphasis shifted from that of better future rebirths and ultimate enlightenment, to more immediate benefits here and now, in this life. And in the True Pure Land school, the single goal became rebirth in Amida Buddha's heaven, which one can only attain through his blessing. This is very different from nirvana in Theravada, which is said not to be a place or a heaven, but a pure state of mind that one attains through one's own hard effort on the path of moral discipline, meditation and wisdom. 

The development of Buddhism in China and Japan, therefore, raises many issues. For example, we might ask: which traditions can be altered without distorting the original message of the Buddha? On what criteria does one base an answer to this question? And who carries the authority to decide whether a new development counts as genuine Buddhism or not? 

These questions are not easy, because Buddhism has no central authority or institutionalised church that is empowered to take binding decisions on such matters. And the Buddha never made it clear which traditions were merely culturally related to ancient India, and which should never be altered because they formed an integral part of the dharma and the sangha. In debating these questions, it is important to bear in mind that Buddhism is not monolithic. Each yana, or vehicle of Buddhism, expresses a different approach and point of view; so in this sense it is not useful to make a straight comparison between, say, Theravada and True Pure Land. Hinayana, Mahayana and tantric Buddhism each have different emphases, so each needs to be assessed and understood in its own right, and in context.

Towards the New and Buddhist Modernism

In recent years new "forms of Buddhism that have emerged out of an engagement with the dominant cultural and intellectual forces of modernity” David McMahan 2008,p. 10 The Making of Buddhist Modernism OUP.  This followed the influence of Protestant and Enlightenment values has largely defined some of the more conspicuous attributes on various ‘Buddhist Modernist tradition’.  David McMahan cites "western monotheism; rationalism and scientific naturalism; and Romantic expressivism" as influences on E.g. Humanistic Buddhism, Secular Buddhism, and Engaged Buddhism, linkages between Buddhism and Gnosticism, the Japanese-initiated Nichiren Buddhism and Soka Gakkai, the New Kadampa Tradition and the missionary activity of Tibetan Buddhist masters in the West (leading the quickly growing Buddhist movement in France), the Vipassana Movement, the Triratna Buddhist Community, Dharma Drum Mountain, Fo Guang Shan, Buddha's Light International Association, Tzu Chi, and Juniper Foundation.

In the last two centuries, Buddhism has undergone a number of changes, and has had to respond to a range of pressures, coming from:

1. Colonization of Asian countries by Western powers, which undermined political structures associated with Buddhism, but also led to Western scholarship on it, so helping its spread to the West, and to stimulating changes in Buddhism, both in colonized countries and in those influenced by them.

2. Christianity: criticism of Buddhists by Christians was one element in stimulating increasing Buddhist social activism. Moreover, in South Korea and to some extent the Republic of China, Christianity and Buddhism are currently rivals for people’s commitment.

3. Communism: this has been something of a wet blanket on Buddhism in China (now including Tibet), North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Mongolia. It remains most repressive in North Korea, though Cambodia and Mongolia have escaped from its rule in the last twenty years

4. Marxist-nationalism in Burma: not anti-Buddhist, as such, but it acts against Buddhist values

5. War or its after-effects, especially in Cambodia and Sri Lanka: Cambodia was affected by American bombing, then by the Khmer Rouge; Sri Lanka has been affected by a civil war between the Sinhalese and Tamils..

6. Modern capitalism: originally brought with colonialism, though Japan developed its own capitalism as a foil to Western colonial threats. This has brought greater prosperity to many, but also undermined traditional value-structures.

7. Consumerism: a particularly virulent form of capitalism, currently perhaps the greatest corrosive force undermining Buddhism in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and more recently mainland China. Its commodification of life and emphasis on possessions has heightened elements of greed in human nature and it accordingly encourages a reorientation of values.

Questions

1.       What are differences of teaching and practice between Pure land and True pure land  Buddhism?

2.       What are some of eth key decisions and actions that affected the development of pure land and Zen

3.        the debate differences of teaching and practice between Pure land and True pure land Buddhism?

4.       How have new forms of Buddhism emerged in the modern era?

Assessment Questions

Explore the key teachings of Pure Land Buddhism. 8 Mk

Evaluate the claim Pure land is completely different from Zen Buddhism 30 mk