THE

AVAKENING OF FAITH

TTRIB UTED TO
ASVAGHOSHA
TRANSLATED, WITH C0 IMEN.TAR

B Y

Yo o S. H
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1 967

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS

NE1 YORK & LONDON

Y S. H or o : J
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FOREW:ORD
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Portiollg ef this wo k were prepared unde a grant from The g o E
is one of the T tnslations om the
the Carnegie Corpor tion and a contr 'ics by which the ComIIlittee on O iental Stud
ct w:ith t:
'e U. S:.
O iental Clas
O ce of Educatio for the p oduction of texts to be ies h sought to transmit to Wester 1 :eadeTs representative
used in undergTaduate educati'on. The draft tra:nsla:tiong
works of the major Asian t aditions in thought and lite*ture.
so produced have been used in the Columbia College
Orien al I Iumanities program and have subsequently These a e wo'k,s whi h in our jud nent any educated man
been revised ind expanded for publication in the should have Tead Frequently, however, this Teading ha
present form.
been d Ilied him by the lack of suitable translations: Al1 too
often hF has had to choose between exceTpts in popUla[ an
tho!ogios on th e one han and on the other heavily anno
tated tans1 tions illtellded prilnarily for the specialist, which
in Inany cases are out oE date or out oE print. Here we offer
translations of whole works, based on scholarly studies, bttt
writtell for the goneral reader as 'well as the specialist.
Of th:e
jor traditions of Oriental t.hought Chinese and
Japanese Buddhism is the least we11 r presellted by compe
tent tral1:slations, despite the qu!alltity of secondary writi 1g
on the subject. This is dlle iII part to lillgtlis'tic dimculties.
Copyight 1967 Columbia Uni''ersity Press In the case oE the A I z' , one confronts also
the illhe ellt subtlety and 'g oI
colrlplexity of
its basic' ideas.
' '
I"ibra 0 Congress Cataiog Card I Iu 1ber 6y-13778
Though these conc pts have enteTed into M hayana phi1oso
r.' [: : IIt(t:ri ::a
 FOREWORD

phy s a whole alld are accFpted by the lead schools, this

wide currency derives Ilot fom their com on appea1 or ease
oE accoss t:o the Buddhist fii u1, but to th=T pro ndity in
eali=lg with :the cent p'oblems o udd i!sm. I t:his sense

the g of EoJ" de es populaTi tio . Its very con

li ity i:11 o ly confound the
"
isen ss an apparent si
ader not well vermd the teac in ot Buddhism.
rofessor Hak has done a mt se providing a
migh:ard datien: with expla a n tes, dlawi g

on his own
pTeg ant
e leam1.IIg to interpret
b t ati lies. I:n i:h process he ha disti1:led a
often ;o

ea I $ :of earlier commelltau in oTd r to convey simply

PREFACE
wha:t w must kI1ow in order to asp the e5sen!tial IIlea ing

WM THEODOU DE B,RV The

g oI ,'' is one of the basic texts oE 'taha.
yana Budd sm
'
sed by most of its m or schools. The pop
ulztrity of the text in East Asian Btlddhism is well attested by
the numerous works wrltten on lt throughout the ages ln
Chilla, Kore:a, and Japan. It is hoped that this tr nslation of
the work wil1 prove of v 11le to Western readers in increasi 1g
their understanding of the basic tenets and practices of
ahayana Buddhisln, and that it will assist them to become
more familiar with that rich and important branch of the
'

Buddhist religion which, a1ong ith the otheT great religious

and philosophical systems of Asia, is rapidly colning to be
recognized as part of the cultural heritage of a11 mankind.
II1: preparing this translation I have received Iinallcial as
sistance from the Co1Inittee on (oriental Studies at Colun
bia University, for which I ould like to express I y grati
tude. The final portion of the work was supported under
a contract ill the
J.S. Omce of Education under which the
COIIIIIlittee is preparillg texts for foroig l area studies. I also
wish to : knowled e
my indebtedness to Professor Wm.
Theodore de Bary, who encouTaged IIle to undertake this

v11
v 1
 PREF E

prect, and who read the malluscript and oEo'ed invaluable

suggestio s; to Professor Burton W tson foT reading the
manu pt and painstakingly comparing the anslation
with the origiila1 line by line, improvi
g on i s style at many
points; and to Dr. Philip Yampolsky, Mr. Robert:
1son, and
Mr. F'ed UndeTwood foI the:r pertinent suggestions
With
out their heIp and encouragement, this work could not have
b en com leted.

YosHrro S IIAKEoA
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CONTENTS
FOREWoRD, by 7 T oJo J,

PREFACE
v1 1

INTRoDUCTION

T B
z g oI
INVOCATION "'"
2 3

The Contents of the Discourse

2 4

PART: 1 The Reasons for

2 5
'iting
PART 2 Outline
2 8

PART 3 InteTpretation

3
3
3
Chapter One: Revelatio 1 of True

feaning
I. One ind and Its Two Aspects
v11' A. The Iind in Terms of the Absolute
/ 3
1 x
 CONTENTS CONTENTS
I. The Essence Itself and the Attributes of Such
1. Truly EInpty / 34
ness, or T e '{eanings of ' ah 64
2. T'uly NoneIIIptY / 35
B. The hlin,d in Ter ns E Ph nomena / 36 A. The GTeatne s of the Essence oE Su :hness / 64

1: The Storehouse Consci us ess / 36 B Th!e Greatn:elgg o the Attribu:tes of Suc ness /

a. The Aspect of E:nlighte Inent / 37 . Th,t Great'e of th In :uences of Su hlless /

"
I=I. fro:m Sa nsara to Nirvana
(i) Original Enlightellment / 37

( ) The PTocess oE Actua1:ization oE En Chapter Two: The CoTr tion of Evil Attachments
lightenment / B8 I. The iased Vi:ews HelId by Ordinary Men
( Pu:rity of Wisdom / 41 : . T ,e :Biaoed Vi:e ws Held by the II:inayanist:s

(b Suprarationil Functions / 41
Cha p T T Iee: A alysis o:f the Types
of A piTa:tion
(3) 'The Characteris ics oE the Essen e o:t
eanings of Y na
foT Enligh:te Fnt, :or The
Enlightenlne :t / 42
nm ent / 43 I. Th/e Aspiratio fcr Enlightenlne.n:t hrough

b. The Aspect of Nonenlight
c. The Relationship' betwee 1 Enligh:te
t !e PeI fect:ion o:f :Fa:ith'
II. The A piratio foT Enlightenment through
ment and Nonenlightenment / 45
Undeistanding and Deeds 86
(1) Identity / 45
III. The Aspiratioll for Enlightenment through
(2) Noniden ity / 46
an s Being
Insight 8 7
2. The Cause and Conditions ot
in Salnsara / 46
PART 4 0 Faith and rractice
a. ' ind/ 47 9 2
On Fo:u:T Faiths 9 2
b. Consciousness / 49
O1 Five Pra tices
c Defiled States of ' ind / 51 9 3
The Practice of C!essa oI1 96
d. CoIIIInents on the Terms Used in the Fpre
The P actice of Clear ObseTvation 1 0
going Disctlssio:n / 52
3. The Characte istics of Beings in SaIIlsara / 54 PART 5 Encouragement of Pra tice and the Benefits
a. Permeation o{ Ignora 1ce / 56 ThereoE
b PeTIIleation ot S'1chlless / 58
(1) Per neation through Ianifestation of NOTES 1 05
the Essence ot Suchlless / 59
(
) PeT meation through Influences / 61 A SEI ECTED BIBLIOCRAPHY
(a) The Specinc Coordinatillg
Causes / 61 INDEX 123
(b) The General Coordinating
Causes / 63
x 1
INTRODUCTION
 oJ"

IIis:tory of the Text

The text known as the g

f I ' ' "


-
(
g

'
'" ) is a short tleatise oocupyi g o ly
'

nine page' in the Taisho

'' 1
edition oE the Chinese Tripitaka
The reconstructed Sa'skrit title of the wo k is "E
J
y JJ o'
I it is said to have been w itten in San

'
krit by A vaghosha and translated inlto Chinese in A.o 55

by the famous Indian translator of Buddhist texts, Paramar

tha. No Sanskrit version of the text exists today, however, and
all our knowledge of the work i based upon this Ch'nese
vers1on, and a second vers10n that dates from a omewhat
later period
The work is a coIIIprehensive summary oE the essentials oE
' IahayanaBuddhisln, the product oE a IIlind extraordinarily
apt at synthesis. It begins with an examination of the natu e
of the Absolute or enlightenment and ot the phenomena1
world or nonenlightenment, and discusses the relationships
that exist bet' een the 1; from there it passes on to the ques
tion of how man Inay transcend his nite sta e and participate
 INTRoDUCT ON ,
in the Iife of the infinite while sti11 relnaining in the Inidst of
the phenomenal ordeT; it conchldes with L discussion of paytic
Ilat ill aid the believeT in the
lar practices and techlliques
1 undeTstand certain passages
aw kening and growth of his faith In spite of its deep con
cern with philosophical concepts and de nitions, therefore,
it is essentially a religious work, a map drawn by a man oE un
shakable f ith
hich wi11 guide the believer to the peak ot
u 1delstanding.ut the map and the peak are o ly provi
siona1 bols, skillful and expedient ways employed io
bring nen to enlightenment The text and a the argulnents
not foI theiT own sake, but for the sake o this
in it exist
objective alone. The treatise is, indeed, a t ue classic of
hlahayana Buddhism.
The style oE the work is extremely terse. It is evidenl that
the author took the utmost pains to make the text as succinct
s possible. In fact, the text was designed for his intellectua1
contelnpoTaries in the fifth or sixth century ' ho, according
to the auth r, 1ooked upon the wordiness of extensive dis
courses as troublesole, and who sought after what was coln
prehellsive, terse, and yet contained much meaningl 2 As
noted earlier, the author has succeeded in presentillg a su
Inaly of the principles and basic methods o= practice of
ahayana Buddhisln ill a for 1 terse enough to delight his
'
most exacting contemporaries, and for theIIl the text Inay not
have presented any particular dimc111ties. B'1t for 1 s today,
who are so relnote from hiln i tiIIle, the very effort o the
author to write collcisely is a hindrance to our understand
ing. As Conze, coIIIInenting upon a silnilar text of Buddhist
doctrine, has put it,
e at present must reconstruct labori
ously ' hat 1,5oo years ago seemed a matter of co' rse.
is i'1deed as though the a' thor had written in the spirit of
lr: icnt Sansk it gTammaTians, who were said to have
"k'
.i
I i :e l, as over the birth of a son, vhell they
ere able to
n a
e (
y able in the form1 latiol1 of their grammatical
'a
NTRODUCT oN
rUles. This is especially t ue in the Inore theoretical sectio s
in the nrst half of the text, whele it is allnost impossible to
ithout the aid of commentaries
other dimculties a se oI the natuTe of the Chinese lan
1
guage whi h, tho g highly sylnbolic nd suggestive, lacks
t e lqgical pr' c:isio of Sanskit. The fact :that 've have no
Tibetan version of the :text to assist our under
Sa skTit or
standing of t:he Ch:inese makes the probieln of interpretatio
do b1 dimcult.
The intrinsic dimculty of the text, as ell as the high es
l in which it has been held over the centuries, accounts
t e
for the fact that iore than 17o colnmen aries have been
written on it.4 In spite of this mass of exegetical material,
however, many problems remain unsolved, while the Ineth
ods of Inodern c itical scholarship when applied to the text,
have aised ne problems concerning the date and author
s:hip of the work. Japanese sch lars, joinod late= by Chinese
and European scholars, hav!e s:ince the tuTn of the centul
engaged in heated debate over such questions 5 Some have
gone so far as to ssert that the text is a forgery, de ying the
n itherto unquestioned Indian authorship and the ass11mption
that the text represents a Chinese translation ot a Sanskrit
origina1; instead, attempts have been Inade to post' late one
or another Chillese Buddhist riter as the true author. N
conclusive evidence has so far beell b'ought forth eitheT to
support or disprove these theories.
One thing is clear, ho'vever, from evidenc within the
itself: that it
text
as I10t writtell by the A vaghosha who
lived in the first or second century A.D. and who has beel1
3 It
honored as the fi st SanskTit poet of the y or c urt poetry
style, the ea'liest dralnatic riter in . India whose vork has
survi''ed, and the distinguished predecessor of the gTeat
K lid sa Only three works are agreed upon ' ith certainty
by Indologists as having been ' ritten by this A vaghosha,
5
 NTRoDUCTION INTRO CT
0N
among Inany other w rks p eserved, mainly in Chinese and heir religion. In ppraising the work,
greater giory of
Tibetan translatiolls, which bear naI e. T:hese aye B"J
i
SeeIIls to be best to set aside the question oE authorship and
o
J (Li Bu& a);6 S; J J (Nanda the concentrate upon content. Unless some Ile1 historical evi.
'''
and J y
Fai ); I (T :lay on dence comes to light, we will probably never kno ho 'he
' =Iiputra) -8 :The fiTs:t
the last
tWo are classical Satl'kTit ep
' alld a dralna dis: author of the g oI I J' actually was
covered in C:ent al As ia. No eviden e of '{ahayana t houeh 'The f ct that A vaghosha
' s name was attached to the text,
c be deteced in: a'y o= :the : works; they deal strkUy !wit how veT, ndoubtedly has had much to do with its popu
th:e doct i:neg oE th!e Th ada or H:inaya a bTan!ch of B larity. Ie is knowll ill Chi lese as a ming or fHorse- 1 igh,

dhism. Si ce e A" g oI IF dominated by do a literal translation of A va ghosha; the name derives
ing,
trilles wh ch did '

olt appe til a few cent :ri:!es afteT the om the saying that his poems were so moving that rhen
ti:m'e o:f A ' u
aghosha :a d wh:ich aTe typical oE hlahayalla tlley were recited even the horses neighed in rFsponse. So
thought, it is evid :t t:ha:t: the wo k could no:t have be!en w i
eat is the 1ove a d respect that A vaghosh commanded as
ten by the A vag osha we: kn w It ela!in:s a ope questio , a poet and religious writer that he has beell honored with
howevet, whether the te t w s produced by solne anonyII10U the title oE Bodhisattva, and it is easy to imagille why any
w iter i the: nfth or xt celltury and wa att ib ted to thF writer would be happy to bear such a name, or have such
great ndian poe oT whether it was written by some othe a name as:sociated with the text he composed.

man with th;e name o,f A ghosha. J st as th:ere were at least Pammartha, the allegod translator of the text, equl y
wo masters witl1 !he name N g i una, for example, one the eIIlinent, the translations credited to his Ilame running to
founder of the Madhyamika School of Buddhism in the sec ver 3oo in volu ne. Para 11r'ha (499-569) was a Inonk
:

ond century .D., t othey a master ot later 'fantyic Bud

est .India who caIIle to China over the
fro:m jjayini in
dhj , so it is not s rprising that there should be more than southern sea route in 546. According to the
o :)

one A vagh ha. As a matter of fac one commentary on the a catalogue of Buddhist works coIIIpiled by Fei
'- ' J ', i
Ch ang fang '

/,
A g E me tions six Buddhist teachers with g o was translated by Paramartha
in 597, the
tho name 'A vaghosha.9 Moreover, we must keep in mind the
'
'
in 55o. IE this date is '
accepted.- and if Paraln rtha did in
traditional Indian attitudes toward authorship alld th:e attri deed I lake the tra:nslation we may assume that his knowl
bution thereof. Not only the discourses in the P li canon, edge of Chinese was, after only our years of residellce iI1
which are of =airly ea ly origin, but the sutras of hlahayana Chiil , hardly sumcient to the task and that he must have
BuddhisIIl are Tepresented as the words of the historical Bud relidd heavily 11pon Chinese assistants; in fact, it IIlight be
dha, though IIlany of theln date froIIl several hundred years wiseT to regard the work as an original colnposition in Chi
or Inore after the Buddha s death Far froIIl representing a nese athel thall a trallslation froIIl the Sallskrit.
spirit of irresponsibility or deceit, s'1ch attributions we e Whatever the circlll 1stallces o its production, the text of
made in a spirit of sinceTe piety. UIllike the
Ilodern author, the A g oI see s to h ve spread rapidly and
who clamors foT Tecognition,' the sutra writers of ancient ''
to have bee'l accepted without questioll as the work of
BuddhisIIl deliberately e c d their own identity for the A vaghosha. rhus in the e rliest extant commentarv,10 that
 IN TR DUCTION
INTRODUCTIoN
request of Indian pries , I{s an tsang translated the tex o
or th nl nk anJeI1 (516-88), written in a11 probability b
'

the g o/ om Chinese to Sanskrit and cir

tween 581 and 587:1l it is taken for gra 1ted that it is the
o'k ' 1
culated it thro11ghout
' all of India

of A agh sh nd th the mnslation was made by Para' this later ve
martha. Eminent Buddhist IIlonks of the sixth and: seventh
Whatev r its origin, ion of the Au'
g
never e 1joyed the !sa le popularit'r as the eailie'
eely
'
cehtu
e ; such
as Chi:tsa g (549-6: 3). uo:ted om "j'
the
ita:tigly attributing its uthorship to A va:
t, u
"
version a tributed to Param tha. This may be see from
the fact that there is only one commentary on it in existence,
g-oshaI would appe T, therefbre, that Chinese
eaders oE
the wo'k of the famous Ming dynasty mo k Chih hsU (1599
the
ime did not harbo' any seTio s doubts about the
1 655) This second ve'sio of the text, i= it in fact Tepresents
then icit oE the te t and the ra
latio : M:od:erll scholars
ore: etici1 ci
a new t'a slation from a Sanskrit o igin , was ob ously
aT
They p in to the that an iher
a'ly
done with constant efTence to the older version, om which
a1ogue
a: ot: :Buddhist Ianslations, tha:t :co piled by Fa:chi:ng
it bo Tows words, ph ases, oT whole clauses with little or no
in 94, 1. ts e 4
g in the dou tful section.-2 modi cation 1 Ge er 1ly spea ng, the diEerences between
They nd further indication

' of'its dubious ature in the
the two versions are so insigni ant that they merit no de
f ct :that I1o Tibetan translation of the text exis:ts, that there
tailed dis nssion heTe. It need only be noted that phrases o
ig o reable evidence of its having circul
ated in India, and
p sages which aTe palticularly dimcult o ambiguo s in the
that ceTtain elements of the text are similar to texts whith
o1der ve sion a e often omitted in the liteT one, or IePlaced
have beFn 'de:nti ed as foTgeTies composed in China.
by passages whi h a e more eadily unde standable. The
To Inake the situation Inore olnplicat d, there is a second
later veH on is therefore smoother and easier to read, and
translatio oE the same text13 which is known to have bee
may often be used as a kind of c -entary on or inte preta
made by a monk naIIled ikshlnanda about 15o year s afte-:
tion of t e earlieT version, providing simple though often
that of Patam ha. This monk was a native oE Khota i
mther super cial solu o to the troublesome passages of
Ce tral A ia nd died in China i 7io. One at r do b:t:fti
the older tex:t
source te11s us that iksh1 anda brought the S anskrit text of
the A
Among the standard commentalies on the g oI
g o ,'' with him when he catne to China, "
I
, that o Hui y aI1 (523-92),18 that written by the
Ko
and that he 'found another old Sanskrit manuscript o the
rean Inonk
V nhyo (617-86),lg and that of Fa tsang (643
work in China 14 Another source claiIIls that the Sansk it text '

om hich iksh nanda made his translarion wa in fact a 712)20 have been rega ed as the Iines-. A 10ng these, the last,
by Fa tsa'g, has been accepted as the nal authority foT a
translation into Sanskrit of the earlier Chinese version of the
co rect unde standing of the text In Buddhisln, ot only
text and had een produced by the famous schola and trans
texts but important co 1Inentaries as we11 have often been
lator IIsUan tsang (6o -664).15 According to propo'ents of
treated as the sllt"ject of intellsive st1 dy, and this by Fa tsang
this theory, the e ste ce of such a Sansk it translation lmay
0n the
g oI I much discussed and
be explained by a p ssage in the biography of Hs ian tsang ' has bee
commented upon.'There is another importallt commentary
'

in the fJ or g- (Furthe biographies of eminent

on the g oI which deserves notice, for it too
Inonks) by Tao hs an (596-667), which states that
upon the
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 INTRODUCTION
INTRoDU TIoN
has bee=l intensively st died and has illspired the writing of
as an expedient means {or the attainment oE s 1vatio , the
36 subco 1Ientaries.21 This is the comIIlentary a ibuted to
Aj, g oI F:
has beell highly esteemed by followers
unaP
,

a man 'a ed N bout whom npthing is know'.

of the Pure Land Schoo1, which counsels implicit faith in
BeGause K koi :(7'4-835), the founder oE the Shingon: Schoo1
thle saving power of AInit bha Soln sc:holars have :questio e
of Buddhm in Japan, made much Use o= this commentary
the authentici y o this particular pas age, howev er, an:d it
in his systemation of Sh ngon doctrine and include it in
requi'e is not clear what in uence, if any, the text has had upon the
the en ts for stLldy EoT his stude:nts, it has layeId a
developlne t oE Pure Land oct ine. One authority on Bud
rdle of partic lar iIIIpor:tance in the history of Shingon Bud
dhism has even gone so faT as to state that the philosophica1
dh'm in Japan up to the present day
ideas expressed in the B j g oI j , along with those
The

g o has exerte a trong influence
) and o Ch an,
0f the school o Consciou3n!egs-Only ('
upon other schools
' o Buddhisl as we11 As ' e hav
',
al eady
portant part in t:he development o Neo Con u
'
played an i
'

noted, Fa ts ng, the thi'd patriarch a d the greatest sys

ci=n though:t in S:ung China:26 I this last assertion is true,
te ntizei of the HUa ye School of Buddhism, wrote what
then it may be said 't!lat the A
g oI has h d,
was regarded as the deflnitive co 1Inenta y on the I ?

both dire tly and indire tly. truly

'?
gTeat in uence upon the
''
g o E , and Inoleover wd this text ao a foundation in
' thought and Teli on oE the Far East:.
creating
' his systematization of Hua yen doct ine,23 and for
his reason the text has oftell beFn thought o as pecllliarly
the prope ty of the Hua yen School. It is not surprising
Content oE the Toxt
therefo:re, that scholars of the IIUa yen S hool in China,
Korea, and J pan have pr d:uced many woTks dealing with
The text op!ens with an illvocation and loses with a
br example,
the toxt and with Fa tsang s interpretation of it.
^pTayer. What lies between, the main body ot the work, is
:sung Ini (78o-841), the fifth pat i rch of t e Hua yen
divided into Iive parts. In PaTt One; the author gives eight
Schoo1, also wrote a commenta,ry on the g oI
Teasons fo w iting the work. In Part Two, he presents an
and sed its doctrines as a foundation in his attempts
'
to''
outline whi h is to be deve1oped and elaborated upon in the
synthesize the three religions of China, Confucianism, Tao
discussions tha:t follow In P rt Th ee, he takes up the theo
is 1, and B 1:d dhism, in his essay entitled Y
I' ' (Es
ahayana doctrine listed in the outline; in
retic tenets E
sent'al nature of man).24
Part fou , the practical applications of the theories
iscussed
The "
g o
has also beell highly esteemed
;n the preceding section; an in Pa :t five, the spe itypes
I
'
in the Ch an or '
Zen School of Buddhisln. Shen hsiu (d. 7o6),

the leader of the so called Northern School of (Ch an, made o devotional practice TeCOIIIIIlended by the author and the

bene ts to be received therefroII1.
the text all esselltial part of his couyse of study, 5 and its iI1
The colltents ot the text have traditiollally been suII1
Ilellce i clearly discernible in lateT Ch all teaching as
e11.
marized as a discourse on One ' in , Two Aspects, Three
Finally, because one passage ill the text (see tTallslati n p This summa
Gte tnesses, Four Faiths, and five Practice5.
102) reCOIIIIIlends the practice of faith in AIIlit bha Buddha
does not to ch upon al1 the point IIlentioned iI, the work,
1 0
1 1
 INTRODUCTION NTRODUCTION

but it nevertheless serves as a convenient guide t its princi nature of ]' Iind, etc. The ' ind, therefore, rep esents the

pal tenets. As s:uch, i h proved useful to those who a'e Absolute as it is expressed in t e tempora1 order. The ' ind
beem! 'ec necessarily contains within itself two orders or
giving in;s: ructioll in the :text and has aditionally spects the
ommendd to novic foT memorization The summ ry links ,tTan cendental and the phenolnenal, the universal and the
up to th paT s of the text in the fo11owing a ner: particular, the innni tr: and the nite, the static and th e dy
namic, the sacred and the profane, the Absolute and the rela
tive, and so forth The Absol'1te order, therefore, does not

ubiects of D:igcuss:ion Parts oE the Tex't oxist apart fro 1 the relative oyder; Tather, !hey di er epis
temologically but not ontologically. Ian is pres nted as
being 1ocated at the inte'section of these opposing orders.
(theoletica1)
The state of Inan; who belongs intrinsically to the Absolute
On:e find Pat T o= Outline ord r and yet in actu lity remains in the pheno lena1, nite,
Two A ects of One
nter
and p ofane order, is expressed in terms of the T
An understanding '
of"g
this
P e F
g y o atrix of Tath gata

'

Three Greatnes e of :[::; nd important ter 1 Inay prove to be the clue to the co 1prehen
sion of the entire text.
(practlca1) The concept of the grew
atrix of Tath gata
'p out
rour fai hg Part Four: Faith of attempts to expiain how man, while residing in the teln
'
tiIIle Inay possess the potential ability
Five PTactices Part Fou : Practice po al order, at the same
to instate or reillstate hiself in the infinite order; that is, in
Buddhist terms, to attain enl ightenment; or, in Inore popular
Among these
ve sub cts, the most dimcult to undeTs nd terms, to gain salvation The term T g was originally
i,s the
Tst, the concept ot One hlind. The following two sub. one of the epithets given to the historical Buddha,
' '
kya

cts impose mu.ch less dimct11ty on the reader providing he muni, but it Iater came to be used in 'Eahayana Buddhism
has correctly underst!ood the first subject, and the last two in a yIluch broader sense. In the co 1pound T Jg
sllbjects, dealil g as they do with practice rather than theory, g ,-=,I , it denotes Suchness, the I Lt)soll te or the Eterna1
present almost no mculty at 1. It may be tlseful to the E;uddh (Dharmakaya). The word g y
, meaning a m trix,
reader, therefore, to present here some explanatory remarks geryn, or embryo, syrnbolizes the receptacle of T
I or
t pon this key concept o= OIle '/Iind, and its relationship to
the Absolute. It is Suchness in IIlan. the Buddha Ilat11re
"g

the Two Aspects which constitute the second su ject.

^Thich is a part of the intrinsic nattIye of a11 IIlen, the elelnent
IIl the author s systeIIl of thought, the a11-inclusive Reality, 0f orig;iilal eIII igh te:nlnent, the potentiality for sa.1''ation that
the unconditio lal Absolute, is called Suchness. When it en Iaits to be acttlal ized.
llad been u
gjges the reallns of being, it is expressed in teTIns of Iind, This concept oE the
Iatri 0[ Tath gata
i.e., One ' ind, the ' ind of sentient being, the essentia1
1 r) B hisyy1,
. r ' Thcra'' a{
''n in the ear1i':r 'or
,

'
':

 NTRODU CTION N RODUCT ON
as it is expre$ed in the A
ofte Teferred t what dero tolily by e M anists
t x o Tath gata g

as Hiayam oT Lesser Vehide. Even among the M 'I
o I"'' . f om the point o view of the history oE Buddhist

yathinkm India it not de qp as an indepelldent thought, the j"g oI may be regarded as repre
"
sy m er *hod of thought in the way at the 'I.dhyami*a sellting the highest point in ''
the deve1opment of the T :
or Yogaera di , though the concept is explicitly manifested g -g concept in Maha yana Buddhism.31
VaTlo M gs, especially in
'
The basic assumption of the text is the belieE in the Abso
=yana gutrm and other wliti
the latei Tmtric I' d t was the Chinese monk
ist texts. 1 seen, is at the same time both tTan
'te which. as we hav
allg (64B 1
F ) who, in his de nitive com entary on the scendental and imma
'ent. What is real is Suchness a1olle;

:j
:g ef , for th r t e dlew a:tte tion to tho all else is unrea1, a m re appearance only, because it is Tela
'
gT at o : this coneept, tq which h fe:1t propel
importallce '' tivebeing devoid oE independent seif natu e or own bFing

e had hitherto ot been paid eid1or in I dia or hin . Eetaphysically, the au or may be defined as taking th sta d
=lo
the
'e i'od:u tio to hi omIIlellta( to g of q s ; dualism pluralkm, materia1 m, and nihi m are

ef Fa tsang ade all attempt to da sify aI1 dian

P '
all alike reiected. However, to de ne the author s view i
Buddhism nder the fellowing fou' tegoTi(1) Hinayan
'
; such a wa would, we must remember, not be acceptable
m -; g .
) Eidhy ) Y ga a a; and ( T '
f'om his own point of view, for, according to his views, to
'
As the impor:tant wo'ks beIongillg o the last, he lists such advocate a y erely another type of biased and
- j'
' at all is I
tex as the ,?8
ge' P and the
R paTtial approach wh h may i fict blind oile. T:he app oach
" '
A g of ' '
, with a short: re ar* that t s doctrine
j
m-l a i c, y :n e e
ie
'
ents' the theory o= the imterpenetlation of tho u iversa1
::;::: 1I I i
#
(' and the paTticu:laT J ). - the in oduction to his pub What may be bami g to the eader ot the translation is
lication of the San kr te t of the R , the ed
gej' the abundant use oE underde ned, sometimes unde nod,
' ''I
or, E. H Johnston, Tmarks on the es*ntiak of the text: te1 11s which may be regaTded as be1onging to the vocabula
-e reality
The ultiln
ollsists ot an Absolute, ca11od the' of theo1ogy. episte ology psychology, or even bio1ogy The
, but which has seve ! oth nam to indi ate dimculty resultg bas ally from the monistic outlook oE the
"
various
" aspects of i such as T , ' , J
g J I text, as well as in paTt trom tho autho s attitude towa d his
'
th , e spheTe o individua1, phenome ex
' '
wo k. The en i e text, in a sense, is an outli e which neces
istence,'*"J
is =lerely the J in its telnporal aspect,
T
sarily requires furt e elucidation and exegesis. The e ort
'
which io to be found in each being of the s jt' J
bE the author to p esent his outline as succinctly as possib!e
'" as
in the
the
shape oE the T -g TI . The latteT is de ned has resulted in illsu kient de nition of tho terIIls used and
' '
T
J'' sselltial natu'e of ' indl, which is "J" underdeveloped argu nent. furthertno e, the author has
''
[puTe1, that , not only puTe hom all time but incapable ot made an attempt to syst m tlze a11 phases of Mahayan teach
implying pres
de lement, and radnt, ,' mably i pl st, most fundamenta1, yet
ing and practice nder the
3 Thi
that it is spiritua1, not nateria1, in essence. . e ulliversal for
11las, with the use of various religious phi1o
mark can immediately be applied to the concept ot the sophica1, and psychologlcal tems: that epresent
nany di er

1 4 1 5
 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTIoN
ent trends in the ahayana teachi ='g oE his tiIIle. The best The t anslaUon done o I the Rev. Timothy Richa d su1:
attitude to take when ieading the text is
'
perhaps, to try to fers om a: attempt to read Christianity into the text. 'Ir.
understand the symbolical signi cance oE these terms in thei
Ri ha d found a sttiking similaTity between he religious

context and the illtentio oE the argul

ent, p'1tti' aside as
thoug=lt of the text alld that o Christianity. In hi intToduc
much as possible the moTe commonly accepted de nitions o
tion he emalks:
such terms.
The text, as we h vo noted, sets out to giv' a concise and I{ it be, a it is more and more believed, that the Maha yana
log'cally ordeTed sulnmary oE ' ahayani doct ne. It there FaiUl is not Bu( m properly so calle but n Asiati foI1
'

f of e same Gospel of our Lord and SavioUr Jesu Chr!st, in

l:#:
; #

F
J
ai

ii1dianfi
BuddhisIIL There are no anecdotes
f:: :I

work m de interest, for in it we nd an ad ptation of Christian
=
or dravlatic episodes, no poF 1s o desc'iptive passages. Even ity to ancient thought in sia, and the deepest bond of union be
-bole which is su
h i ma'ked characte

the fond ess for hy twe n the di erent races of the Ea t and the West, viz., the bond

1f1:=;
H
only in
ssions as delem
of a common religion- . The allnost universal reception oE
the doctrines contained in this book b both the East and the
The text accordingly lacks the West consUtutes to my mind its highest daim to our atten
than the sands of the Ganges,
=
1maglnatlveness and

ch imagery o the great Iahayana

= tion. .35

, b alm No s eir p io
p=oportions. Its virt1 es are concision, oT( Y is extremely sympathetic to the text, his tra 1slation inevita'
tion, and- within the limitations o= its rather obscure ter
minologyIo:gic of ideas.
To the best of the translator s kno' ledge, there are three
English tr nslations of the g o . One was
done by DT. D. T. Suzuki in 19oo fro 1 the later Chinese
' '
translation attlibuted to (;iksh o ere
'nanda;32 the other t
done by the Rev. Timothy Richard in 19o7,33 and by Bhik
sh Wai tao and Dwight Goddard in 1937,34 both froln the
older Chinese translation of Paraln rtha
It is ill a way ullfortunate that Dr Suzuki s trallslation was
done froIIl the Iater Chinese text" ' hich has not played a
significant role in traditional Buddhism, though Dr. Suzuki
lists in his footnotes some of the important disagreements
betweell the Ilew and the old versions of the toxt. IIis tiahs
lation, nevertheless, is the In( st reliable among the three.
y' Though, as may be judged om these remarks, the translator
bly is more Christian than Buddhist in tone
The translation made by Bhikshu Wai tao and :Dwight
Goddard suEers o l an excesslve freedom ln rendit10n. The
translatoTs claim that the teaching oE I shv ghosha is seen
now for the Ilrst time in its true colors a5 a profotlndly in
spiring psychological appeal designed to awakFn faith in the
36 To the present writer,
Ininds o a11 seekers for Truth.
however, it seems that these two anslators have done thei
woik rather too eely. To bFgill with, the trans ati?Il is in
complete In addition, it is otte dimcUlt to identi th e
translated passages with the origina1. and there are ma=ly
interp
and unwaT anted
interpTetations. The text
beillg lo i al rather than ae:sthetic in nature, tllis type ot
't
translatioll is hardly satisfactory
The purpose of the present tran ation, done from the old

1 6 1 7
 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION
text of Param rtha, is to present :as acct1'ate as possible a The text Ilsed in this tTans]ation is that found in the
n the light o th.e
o t as it is interprteted
translation of the Taisho edition of the C'inese Tripitaka, No. 1666. Among
traditional co 1In ntaries, at the sa e time takin into con the Chinese commentaries, that written by Fa tsing (643
idoration the results of modeTn crij 1 soholarship n the
712) has been used most equendy because of its intrinsic
text and the histoTy of Buddhist thought in genel 1. An ef value and the position of authoTity which has b een accorded
fort has been IIl de to trallslate the te t so as to Inake it easily it in t aditional Buddhist studies. Among modeTn works on
accFssible to the general Teader, but the demands of special the text, those by Ito Kazuo, IIisamatsu Shin ichi, Ui IIakuj 1',
and Shih ':in shun have proved most useful fo' a basic u11
been in be As Tesult, ore litera1 de standing of the text. A selected biblioglaphy I isting these
's, kept
who wi11 ind.
comparing it with the slation
the tra is
original, have also

than Iiterary. The translator s main concerns have been and other important works on the text has been provided at
the end of the translation for further Teference
Philological accuracy alld co Tectne s in th inteIpTetation
of ideas. He does I10t flatter himself that he has beell success
ful in a11 cases, however. A text of such dimculty and concise
ness of language Inay be interpreted in ma y ways depending
upon the
ranslatoT s
7 --his pTedisposition, mentality,
life experience, etc. The tralls ation ot this typ oE text, in
o
fact, i not nuch a question of technical skill in t anslating
as o the understanding and int rpretation of the text. This
tlanslation, therefore, is oEeTed as no moTe than another at
t
: :::;; : tg of e
and tech ical terlns of
the text, the tlallslator has illserted

lines or paragraphs of explanation at appropriate points in
the body of the tra slation, which, it is hoped, will allo w the
Teader to keep abTeast of th logic development of the argu
mellt and save hi mL the trouble of collstalltly re e rillg to
footnotes: These explanatoTy co 1Inents are set in reduced
type. Bracketed words ilso have been inselte(I before and
afteT the terse and suggestive passages whenever it was felt
that supplementaTy info111lation was neces ary in orde to
help the Teader gTasp thei r
leanings. The explanations in

he bra kets are ofte based upon the classical colnmentaries.

terial in the footnotes is lilnited to so11Ice references and
'{
othe infor mation intended IIlainly for the specialist.

1 8 1 9
THE AWAK N NG OF FAITII
 o b

I ta:ke r:efuge in [the B JJ ;] the greatly Compassionate

One; the Savior of the world, o 1Ilipotent, omnipregent,
oiscient, of
nost excellent deeds i a11 the ten directi ;

And in the D y ,] the mallifestation of his Essence,

the Reality, the sea of Suchness, the boundless storehouse of
excellencies ;

IAnd in the S g , whose member tTuly devote them

selves to the practice,
hlay a11 sentient bein:gs be made to discard the:ir doubts,
to cast aside their evil a;ttach leylts, alld to ve rise to the
correct faith in the '{ahayana, that the lineage of the Bud
dhas Inay not be broken oE.

The text opens with an invocation reflecti'g the traditional pat

tern universally adopted by all Buddhists throughout the ages,

the manifesto of acceptance of and devo on to the fhree f eas
Tes ('y'-
--the B JJ , the B (the Teaching), and
tlIe Sg Community,. is expression of the au
thor s ' (Buddhi
resolution is fo11owed y a prayer that the purpqse : f the
wrlting of this book may be fulfilled.
Suhness ' is a synonym of the Absolute, I" in Chinese
3

-

THE AWAKENINC Of FAITH
-' A in Sanskrit" which may be translated lit
'J or
erally as Real'Su hness, rrue Su hness,
'
'
the state that is
IeaI y so, tc For the sake of brevity and in agreement with

e a shed usage, the rendition is adop"d
Su hness
r or Ie

C

I o

'
There i, a t'aching (dhay na) which can a' aken in us the
root of faith in the hlahayana, and it should therefore be ex P ART
plaine
The explanation is divided into
ve parts. They are I
(1) the Reasons for
riting; (2) the Outline; (3) th
Interpre
tation; (4) on Faith and Practice; (5) the Encourage lent of R"o y
' /
PTactice and the Benents Thereof. " '
Someone may ask the easons why I was led to write this
treatise. I reply: there are eight reasons.
The first and the maln reason ls to cause men to free
theIIlselves j om a11 sufEerings and to gain the fi lal bliss; it
is not that I desire woyldly fame, material profit, oT yespect
and hoI10r.
The secolld reason is that I wish to illteTpret the funda
melltal mealli 1g [oE the teachillgs of the Tath gata so that
IIlen may ullderstalld them correctly antl not be Iinistaken
about them.

a
: f I
or by some as
:: s 1
e
1 :1 h::
coIIle,rhu gone, He who has come fro 1 the
Trutl1 0r Absolute.

The third reason is to enable those whose capacity for

goodness ha5 attained mat'1Tity to keep firIIl hold upon an
a

:::I: f ::: 1 hc y

goodness is still slight to cultivate the faithful Inind.

=
2 4
2 5
 I
TIIE AWAKENING OF FAITH T IE REASONS oR WRITING
The fifth reason is to show them expedient means (
I ) theTe were :soIIle who looked upon the wo*diness o ex
by which the Inay wipe away the hindr 1ce o evil karma, tensive discouTses a troublesome, and who sought after what
guard their minds wel1" f1ree themselves 1rom stupidity and was compreh nsive, terse, and yet containod mu h mea'ig
aTropiance, and escape oIIl the net of helesy :ere a:ble to understalild it Thus, this disco1 T e
and the
The sixth reason is to reveal to them the practice [of wo
is designed to embrace, in a :eneral wa the mitless mean
.Iillethods of meditatiol1], c sation [of illusion and clea ing of the t :and :profbtLn gata. This
teaching of the Tath
obselvation ( ind - ' -

;; Ch , ), so that discoUrs , theTefore, sh Uld be p esent d
:

or inary IIlen and'the followers

' of Hinayana ay cure their
minds of error.
The seventh
eason is to explain to them the expedient
means of single IIilinded Ineditation (J7 T'H) o that they Inay
be orn in the p esen ce of the Buddha and keep their In:indo
fixed in an u retrogTessive faith.
The eighth reason is to point out to the 1 the advantages
[of sttldying this treatise] and to encourage them to make arl
eEort [to attain e nlightenl lent]. These are the reasons for

hich I w'ite this treatise.

question hat need is there to repeat the explanation of
the teaching
hell it is presented in detail in the s 1trasP
Ans er: Though this teaching is presented i1 the sutras,

the capacity and the (Ieeds of IIlen today ar ' no longer the
same, nor are the conditions o their acceptance and coIIIpre
hension. That is to say, in the days vhen the Tath gata as
in the orld, peop]e 1 ere of high aptit11de and the PyeacheT
excelled ill his forln, mind, and deeds, so that ollce he ha!d
preached with his perfect voice, diflerellt types oE people al1
equa y understood; hence, there as no Ileed for this kind
0f discourse. But after the passing a' ay ot the Tathlgata,
there le who were able by their own power t
ere so listen
extellsively to others alld to reach ullderstallding; there were
some vho by their owll po ver could listen to very little and
yet uIIderstand Inuch; ther were solne who, without any

lental po' er of their o

n, depen
d up?Il the extensive dis
courses of others to obtail1 1 ndeTstallding; and lat'1rally

2 6 2 7
 Y

oUTL NE
is use
The te n ind en ai faculty
neither as the i'dividua1
noT as mind '
oontrasted with matter. It 'y bolizes e etaphy'i-:
cal priniPle as de ned in the Introducti;oh ( ee
. 1 ). When th
tem
mind thought to be use in thi particular gense.
t let Fr wi 1 be ca it i"ed. So le o:f the synony :s for the

Mind of sFIlti:ellt bein are T ,
the essenti 1
the Fountainhe d of ' ind.
at e of ' i:n and "'"g
One Mi:nd, '
Thouh the iFo i' uance and eIphasis, theoe expre ions
!ean the sa:me thing. This i trodu tio of the priciple is abrupt,
P AR 'f but no doubt i is i tended to i 1press upqn the eader the impor
tane of an awa ne,ss of the intrinsic v
e of thF human being
z as bdng grounded on e Absolute. Though the " ntient
is used fo
being: the 'ake of univ
ane; it obviou
'aI signi
O
I''z
hat i efers to man.:
:his paragmph gives t e outline to be developed
n th di
cuss:io:n in Part Three, Chapter Ohe,
The tem translated as R:evelation of TI'e ' ean
ingl
phenomenal aspect : is litera y
Ihe reass for writing have been explained. Next the out
primary
ause ( ons (coordin ting auses;
" ") and oondi
line wi11 be give Generally speaking, Iahayana is to be ex [or
) a sentient being to remain onlyl in the o der

1

pounded om two points of view. One is the principle birth and death henomena1 o:-der; sam a a):, and the chara ter

istics (' ) of a :ge tient being in samsaral. This wi11 be
and t:he otheT is the signi cance.

discussed in d.e:tail later under the two headin : The Ca se and

Condi ions of Man s Being i Samsar and 1le Chara teristics
. ::
It should be noted that the term I ahayana he'e is not used of Beings ih S msara
in the usual sense of Ule word, that is, '"ahayana versus Hin
yana. Accolding to the de nition ven in the discussion immedi lIJ=
: , s E'Yt
F:
a

'' '

ately fo owing, ' ahayana designates Suchness or Ule Absolute discussed from two viewpoints: the absolute and the phenomenal.
he title of the text, the A J g oI E J ' f j As for the a:bsolute as pe t, only es:sence (unconditional and self
should the'efole be understood as the ' Awakening
'
of Faith
in identical mbstan e or Being, is mentioned; but in the case of the
the Absolute,
not in 'Iahayana Buddhism as distinguished trom
phenomenal aspect, es5ellce. attlibutes, and innuences are listed.
IIinayana Buddhism. 1lat which is ooI1o:n in the two aspects is the e'sence; the at
tributes and influences be1ong only to the pheno e al aspect of
This
The princ ple is
the ' ind of the sentient eing. e Mind and not to he absolute aspe t.

ind inc] udes ill itself a11 states of being of the phenomena1
'

orld an( the transcendelltal world. On the basis of this
O the sigIIi callce [of th adjective (gTeat) in the

ind, the IIleallings oahayalla may be unfolded. Vhy? Be

Dmpound,
, there aTe three aspects: (1) the great
of the essence, fpr a11 phenomen- (dharlma) are identica!
hess
'
cause the absolute aspect o this /IIind represents the essellce
with Suchness and are neither increasing or decroasing; (2)
: (


) of 'Eahayana; alld the phenomenal aspect oE this ot the attributes, for the T

the
greatness -g y
g
Mi d i 1dicates the essence, attributes ('
J
), and in u
is endowed with numberless excellent qualities;
'
(3) the

ences (
y' J) of
Iahayana itself.1 of the influences, for the in

gTeatness
uences [of Suchness
2 8
2 9
 THE A 'AKENING OF F I'f I

give rise to the good causes and e ects in this and in the othey
world alike

will be discussed in de
The
sgnincance of the adjective '

tail in Pa t Three, Chapter One, Section II, under the thTee cate
gories: ' The Suchness, '
Greatness of the Essence of
-he Great.
ness of the Attributes oE Suchness, and :he Greatness of the

Influen es of Su hness.
T,' -g
is an immanent aspect of the Absolute
('
'g '
) in the phenomena1 order, in
ontradistin tion to the
transcendental
' aspec of it ill the Absolu'e order; in other words, P A RT
it is the intrinsic Buddha nature in al1 sentient beings yet io be
ac!ualized. On T :g
, cf. IIltroduction p
3
3
' '
"g


The signi cance of the term

(vehicle) in the com
pound,
I

" "
. The ter 1
is introduced] because
alI Enlightened On s (Buddhas) have ridden [on this vehicle], The part on outline has beell given; next the part on inter:
and a:11 Enlightened Ones to be (Bodhisattvas), beillg led by pretation [of the p nciple of
ahayana] 'il1 be given. It
this principle, will reach the 'stage of Tathagata. consists o three chapters: (1) Revelation of the Trlle ' ean
ing; (2) Correction of Evil Att:achments; (3) Analysis of the
The sig i cance of the term J will be elaborated upon in
' '

Types of Aspiration fo Enlightenment.

terms of theory in Part 'fhree, Chapter 1 Iee,
'Analysis of the
a
Types of Asp ation for EnlightenIIlent,
d in 'erms oE prac
tice in Part Four.
On faith and Pra ti e. '
CHAPTER ONE
Revelation of True Ieaning

I O f' J J I' T o
J

The revelation of the true meaning [of the principle of

:Iahayana can be achieved] by [un:Eolding the doctrine] that
the principle of One Iind has t'vo aspects. One is the aspect
of ]' Iind in terIIls of the Absolute (
Suchness), and the
other is the aspect of ind '
in terns o phenomena (sa 1sa a;

birth and death). Each ot these t'vo aspects elnbraces all

hy? Because these tw aspects aTe
states of existence.
Inutually i1clusi
e.

3 0
 THE AWA NING OF F TH
NTERPRET TIoN
The most autho tative nterpre':ey, Fa tsa'g, de nes One ' ind
(
- as the T
illusions, then to him ere wil1 be no appearances (I


I Ch., ji: y

,2 It should be )

noted ''E
that one is used to
' ")' illdicate ' "-g
absolute
in the sense of oE objects [regarded as absolutely independent existencesl;

one thoUt any seco d ' not one amo g many. On One Mind, therefore a11 things om the beginning t anscend a11 forms o=
f. Introduction, p I*. ' verbalization, description, and conceptuali tion and are,

B cause these two aspects a e mutuaIIy ili lu ive
= Reality is in the nnal analysis, undierentiated, froe from alteration,
concaved the inteHcuon of the A ute ordey and the p
nomena1 o a d indestructible. They are only of the One Iind; hence
der; the efo e, it contains in itself both the Absolute
and th pheno:mena1 o! er at once. 'fhe Absolute ordelr is thought the name Suchness. All explanations by word are provisiona1
to be trans endental and yet is oollcd ed as not being outside and without validity, for they are merely used in accordance
the p onomena1 ord A n the phenomenal er is thought
wit:h illusions and are incapab e [of deno ing Suchness]. The

to be 1 mporal and yet is concdved as not being butside of the
Absolute Ider. In other words, y are -onto1ogi aUy ide ti ; term Suchlless likewise has no attributes [which can be
they a e t o aspects of one and the same Reality. Perhap 'he ver:1 ally specined . Tlle term Suchne.ss is, so to speak, the
most famous and simplest statement of the rela ollship between Ii lit ot verbaliza:tion herein a word is used to put an end

the Absolute and the phenomena1 order an be found in the say
ings of N griuna (2d centuyy to
ords. But the essellce of Suchness itself cannot be put an
.D.), e
.
There is no di erenee
g

ha oever between nirvana (Absolute) and samsara (phe o:m elld to, Eor all thin:gs [in their Absolute aspect] are rea1; nor
ena there no diEeren whaoever between samsan and nr is there a:nything which needs to be pointed out as rea1, f
vana.
3
a11 things are equally in the state of Su
chness. It should be
understood that alI thi gs are incapable of being verbally
epl:a::ined or :thought of; hence. the nalne Suchne:ss.
A. The Mind in Tems oE the Absolute
(
The Iind in terms of the Absolute is the one World of
IJnb!or:n
' is a tec:hni al ter l used in the ense of
-"
)
Fo:r further discussion on
Reility (J z J be yo:nd tilne deterlnination.
cf. tra
Un
>hases o= ex' born, ns:Iation p 79
'") and the essence of a11
istencd in their'totality.4 The stateme::nt th,at :the Absolute :tra:nscends ;a11 modes o[
thought is onstan:tly repeated in the Buddhist scriptures and
o 1Inenta ies. The idms expressed in the pre eding severa1 lines
Fa tsang says of the ph ase Be ause the two
in their totality
= aTe ifound in terse presenta ion in the fo11 wi'g passage by N g r
aspects of One h/Iind, i.e., the Absolute aspect and the phenome
nal aspe t, are not differentiated, but inc!ude each other, the
j:ulla:
:hile t:he object of thought iis absent predication ceases;
a fk)r, just as in he ca$e cf nirvana, the ess eI1:tial nat:u e of a11
words in their totality e used. The one Wo 1d of Rea ty is
nothing but he world of sa 1sara. At the sa:me time the world
things (J
y
y

J
),
' which is neither :born nor
porishes, can:not'J--J
be predicated. 6
of samsara is nothing but the world of the Absolute. In order to
:ndicate these meanings, the Essen e which is the same in both
In regard to the se ten e, The term S chness is, so to speak,
5 the li nit of verbaliza on wherein a word is used to put an end
aspects is mentioned. a Korea:n :monk,
to words. V nhyo, in his coIIl:mentary on tllis
ext written in t:he early part of the eighth elltury says:
It is
That which is called : the essential nature ot the 'Iind jus:t as though o:ne :stop Followi 1g
th!e voices with a voice. this
:s unborn and is imperishable. It is only through i sion comment by nhyo,
'
Fa tsang explains:
It is just like saying
If this voice were not there, other voices would not
that a11 things com to be dilferentiated. If one i' free from Be quiet!
8
be made to cease.
3 2
3 3
 T IIE AWAKENING OF fAlT'II INTE FkE TIoN

The tem Suchness (

is swboli It is an inde* to tllat with marks nor not withouf Inarks; nor is it
bot with aIId
which is n cendental; '
it is a provisional devi of a:ngu ge

ithout IIla ks sim Itaneou y; it is neitheT with a
on the conceptual plane ed in ali attempt to estab sh some sing1
unk tio in a rea n where al1 verbal coglmunica 1rk nor Iith diEerent marks; neither not
Jort of om with a sin le
on f ils: mark nor not with dirent marks; nor is it both w th p
single alld with diEerent marks simultaneoudy
quostion: If such the mealling [of the princiPle oE
hayanal, how it pos ible for men to conform themsolves
alld enteT into itP

Answer: If they understand that, collcerning a11 thillgs,

t ough

they are spoken of, theTe is nei:ther that

r th t which can be spoken of, ar.d though
hich speaks

hey are thought


of, thele is neither that hich thinks, nor that which can be


: :=: :
I
si:

:

though- of, then they are said to ha e confoHned to it. And
wllen they are heed fro 1 theiT thoughts, they are said to
ha e elltered illto it. Jh
s

nsf
Nex:t, Suchnes:s has two aspects if predicated in words.
t# :::i:;: L:=f ::
absolute and is not brought down to the leve1 of the 'nite. He
One is that it is truly empty
, for [this aspect] can,
in the final se 1 e, reveal what is rea1. The other is that it is
truly nonempty ( ), for its essence itself is endowed
'
with undefiled and excellent q alities.9
:;

I
: :

--pp oach may be
To paraphr se in o-e fa iliar terms,
eplaced by negative approach which

rejects

any a

rmative
'#
idontifica on of the Absolute with any mode
of thought; and
-approach
by which anrms the In short, since all unenlightened Inen dis lin te
ith
positive approach
Absolute by means of its attributes and in uences. The two ap their deluded IIlinds oln moment to Inoment, they are

a e regarded in the text as omplementary
proaches alie'ated [-oIIl Suchnessl; hence, the
elinitiol1
empty ; but
nce they are free from their deluded minds, they wil1 nnd
1. Ty"' E

(hat there is nothing to be negated.1 ,

Suchl1 s is emptyl because from the beJIlning it has

never been related to any defiled states ot e stellce, it is ee
2. Ty No

fTom a11 marks oE individual distillction of things, and it has Since it has been made clear that the essence of i11 thin

nothing to do
ith thoughts conceived by a deluded Inind. devoid of illusiolls
is empty, i.e-, ind is etern 1,
the true 1
It should be undeT tood that the esselltial natllre of Such PerIIlanent; ilnmutable pure, and self suflicient; therek
ness ls Ilelther wlth Inarks I10r wlthout marks; nelther I10t it is ca ed nonemptyl And also there i' o trace of particu

3 4 3
 AKENING Of F ITH.
INTERPRETATIoN
TIIE A'1
aspect of enlightenment. and (2) the aspect of nonenli8
'#'''

teI1
ar marks to be not d in it, as it is the sphere that transcellds
men t
thoughts and is in harmony with enlightenment alone.

The
Stolthouse Consciousness ( -
: A cording to the
This is one bf the applicaUons of the method of argumentFo' known
ex
)

Yogacara Schoo1 of 'Iahayana Buddllism,

'I the system of pe
ep
as a rmation is negation and negaUon is am nation. "
tion, mind, ego{onsciousness, and sub ons ious mind is divided
amle, to say that
tlfs is a pen i to deny that
this is a teacup.
is to a rm that ' this is of some into eight atego es: the ve sense percep on' [mindl,
o sav that this is not blue
To say that Suchness is empty is t o [ego-consdousnessl, and : [StoI'ehouse
"
co1or other than blue.
Con
ousnes']. The 'elationship that exists between
' 'I the Store
suggest that Suchness is 'omething which defies any conceptualiza-,
., is to say
house Cons ious ess and Su hness --whether
they are identi a1 or
tion; i.e., to say that Suchness is not this, not that, et
no dellti a1-has been a subie t of great oontentioll among the
that Su hness is t anscendenta1. empty o[ concepts. But thi5 nega
tion dJes se ording to the text,
ta an scho ars. What is essential here, a
not exclude the possibility of Suchness being seen e15e
is that the Storehouse ConsciIousness be de ned as tlle pla e of
where or from a diEerent view or orde with which one is not
intersection of le
Absolute order and of the phenomena1 oyder'
accustomed. Hence there is room to p esent Su hness, if it is
or e lightenment a'd nonenlightenment, in man.
done
symbolically. as etern , permanent, immutable, etc. Emp
literally; it is usually used
does not mean
tilless nonexistence
in the sense of empty of or devoid of a d'Unct. absolute, inde a. The Aspect of En1 htenment
pendent p rmanellt,
individ:ual e:ntity or being as all irreducible
(1) O
e of 'Iind is ee
omponen in a pI'!ralistic wo'1 ' or of empty of a11 predi a
' " ' The oE
essen
mm
,

is a
tions. Acoording to this way of thin ng, even nonbeing om th hts' E
'
The'lig
characteristic ee
that which
as it is contingent upon The tem
beingl beingl emp' though is analogous to that of the sphere of empty space
resu1 s from a dialecti consciousness of trans ending this dichot that pervades eveyywheTe. The one without any se ond,
and nonbeingl In order to preve t the danger
omy of being
of interpreting
as nonbeing or as an advocation of
emptiness
i.e., the absolutel aspeci of the
orld of Reality (J
y

nihilism, N g riuna says: Emptiness
, i11 conoeived, J ) is none othe than the undiEerentiated Dharmakaya,
' of the Tathagata. [Since the essence of
11'
destroys a stupid man, as would a snake when handled imp

op
the
'
Essence.body
&ly or a s e11 badly exe uted. Mind ] grounded on the Dhal11lakaya, to be called the
original enlightenment hyP Because original enlighte

indicates [the essence of 'Eind (
B. The ]' {ind in 'TerIIls o Phenomena
men ] in coI1
tradistinction to [the essence of Iind i 'oy
the process of
1

z
actllalizatiol1 of eIllightenment; the process of actualization
1. TI S'oT o
Co?z
'
'o
f enlightenment is none other than [the pr ess of integrat
The hlind as phenomena (samsala) is grounded on the ingl the identity with the original eI1 ightenment.
2
T
g
-g y ',
Vhat is
. oalled the Storehouse Conscious
ness is that in whi h neither birth I10 death (Ilirva:na) if translated
and The process of actualization of enlightenment,
diffuses harmonio11sly ' it:h birth and dea:th (salnsara),
literally, is the ' inception of enlightenment-
By t s
expression
yet in which both are neither identical nor di erent. This the author denotes the entire pro ess fro 1 the inception of en
lig11tenmellt or awakening to the fu11 realization of enlighten
Conscio11sness has t o aspects vhich embrace all states of
ment.
existence alld create al1 states of ex:istence. They are: (1) the
3 7
36
 NTERP ET TIO '

f
m nt. An heca ot n 1
irom their y1 d mentary [Ealse tho ghts derived
spectllation

experience] is calied approximate enlightenment
ron' the
that the coIIIponents of the world are real, their

Those Bodhisa:ttvas who ha 'e coynpleted the stages of a

tualiza'ion :o ighto oot
ca be spoke' of::
Bodhimttva a 1d who have fu1 1led the expedient IIleans

[need!ed to bTillg forth the original enlighte 1lellt to the
fullest extent] will experience the oneness [
i
ith Suchnessl
an instant; they will becoIIle aware oE how the iylceptions
on as a bli d or fa' le ma , o the deluded thoughts o the Inind ayise (I

1v :n
else
hee : pI
mi" be free from the rise of any Ideludedl tho ght. '), alldtlley
Since wi11

i ally, : e e i no

p
bili d h
: :
g
t i
i ;aved
igh'en e
salv
' -t a11.
are
ab e
r away even from subtle
deluded] thoughts, 'hey aTe
to have an insight into the original natuye oE ' ind.

Now, to be [
yI enl: h ned to the fountainh:ead o [The reili:zatio that '{ind is eternal is cilled the 'nal en
lightenlnent. It is, theTefore" 5aid in a sutra that if there is
Mind i called the ' al enlightenm:ent; and not to be en'
nal enlighten a IIlan who is able to peTceive that hi h is beyond thoughts

lightened to th - ntainh d o Mi d, non
he is advancing towald the Buddha wisdom.
ment.
What is: the meaning of thisP An ordinaly man beCOIIleS
were wr ng; then he is able Here the author applies, in the analysis of the p o ess of the

awalie that his foim:eI though:t
h actualization of enlightenment, the four characteristic states of

:

::
:!iiii e t
existence. i
a e:

of a
everse order. The [our
haracteristic states (
'
(1) arising the oom:i'g into existence analogous to the birth
hild ; ( ) abidin:g=-the st te of continuity in growth

it is not enlighte a1
i

om childhood to mallhood fJ-' ; (3)

analogous to the stage
[ e
:
m: i ig , and cha gethe
tage ha gi'g periods ana1ogous to t'e period
o
from the prime of life to old age J and ( stopping
'

===i '
the pe od of senility and destruction (

those Bodhisattvas who have just been initiated become awale ). -fllese four

o the changing state

, of thoughts and a e hee 'yo
haracteristi states, when used in a coslnic sense, designate one

: i
gy le of cosmic age that ontinues with infinite repetitiol1. Tllis

aTyanted specu]ation

), Itheir expe
ie ce] is called
application of the four chaEacteristic states of existence in reverse
o'der for the description of the process of the actualization of
e=llightenment seelns to be u nknown elsewhere.
The simile of a drea or of listaking a rope for a snake,
teas'' ed especially in the writings of the Yogacara School of
enlightenment in appeaT lnC::;e to the 'ealizationl of Dharma:
'
'' Buddhisln light be helpEul in understanding the Erst sentence
Bodhisattvas [who have co1 of the last paragraph, which is insu ciently explained. To i1

i
:=
1'1strate, only when awake can one realize the true nature of a
drea 1; while dreaming one is not a'vare that one is dreaIIliI'g
:: := :Y
3 9
38
'
 INTERPRETATIO
THE AWAKENINC OF AIT.H
(a) Pu1 -' of Wisdo Il. By virtue o the per eation (
s
,
Being aware that it was a dream, one can be free fro 1 the dream.
Si ilarly only when a ofrect view is:: e tab!is:1led can one rea1
peuming) of th:!e iILauence of harlna !he essence o
i.e.

Mind or origin enlightenmen , a

nan comes t ruly dis'
ize that one fomer views were "rong and be able to under
stand why wrong vies were e:nteyi i d o ertai Inrti 1 or cipline - self and f 1mUs all expedient mean Iof HIlfolding
incorrect assumpti ons. Only then w :one be f e f o the ' e en!ightenmentl; s - 'esUlt, he
ks thro g
of any deluded th ug ts. : Te thF compound

consc ousness [i.e., the STehou Conscio sneos th t :con
. Though i:t is said that here is :Ia :
i
ceptio o : he risig tai:ns bo:th enlightenme :t and nonenligh:te en ; puts a
of [deludedl
houghto in :the mind; :the'e is no inception end to the mani=e tation of the s= eam of del dodj mind,
:

a

s n b:e know :[as being:: iI openden! :o= the es n and mani=es the DhaHnakaya [i.e., the essenc
rh th ! c -become of Mindl,
of ' ind]. And yet to!say th the i Ption [of :the ig:i: g of fbr his wisdom I ge uine and pure
deluded thought is k own me that it is know as ex What is the mleani: g of thisP Al1 modes ( - f
isting on the groun d oq that w:hich :i;s b yond ho ghts
i.e. mind and consciousness [ nder the state o nonenlighten
the ssence of i:nd]. Aocor ingl ! ordinary peo 1 aT mentl are [the products oq ignorance. Ignorance does not
said not to be enlightene b!eca they have had a c:oI1 exist apart from enlightenmen therefore, it cannot be
tinuous strealn of [ !eluded] thought: : and have never been des:troyed [because one can:n ot destioy solnething w:hich does
freed from their t:houghts; therefore, they are said to be Ilot really exist], and yet it ca:nnot not be :destroyed [in so
in a beginn'nglFss ignorallce. f a Inan gains [insight in:t fir as it remainsJ. This is like the relatiollship t:ha:t exists
that which is freo ho tho ghts, then he knows h w betw;een the wateT of the ocean Ii.e., enlightenmentl and its
those tho ght which characterize the mind i:e., delu waves Ii.e., modes of mind] stirred by the wind [i.e., igno
thoughts] arise, ab ide, cha nge, and cease to be for he is rance]. Water and wind are inseparable; but wateT is not
i:dqnt cal with that wh h ee hom
h

*1 . But, i IIlobile by nature, and if the wind stops the Inovement ceases.
reality no diflerellce exist in the Frocess o thie actualiza Bu:t the wet nature reIIlains undestroyed. Likewise, IIlan s
tion of enlightenment, ecause the four statos
of rising,
n nat ure, is stirred by the wind of igno
'Eilld, pllre ill its o
abiding etc.] exist simultaneously and eaoh ot thel is npt rance. Both hlind and ignorance have no paTticular forIIls
the are origin 1ly o= one and t:he same en
self existent; of th iT o n a1d they are inseparable. Yet
Iind is not Inobile
lighten ent [in that they a e taking place on the g o:und o by nat1 re, and if ignorance ceases, thell the colltillllity [of
original enlightenment, as i phenomenal aspectsl. deluded activities] ceases. But the esselltial Ilatu e of wisdoln
And, again, original enlightelllnent, when analyzed in re e.,
i the essellce of
{ind, like the wet nature of the watey]
lation to the de:filed state [in the phel1olnena1 oTderl, Fresents remains undestroyed.
itself as having two attributes. C)Ile is the Purity oE isdonf (b) Suparatiollal Functions. [He who has fully uncover d
and the other is the
Suprarational Fu ctiolls. the oyigillal enlightenl lellt] is capable of creatillg a11 InaI1 ler
o excellent conditiolls because his wisdoln is pure. The
Purity of wisdom and the suplarational functions of the Abso
lute, or e lightenment, can be discussed only in relatioll to phe IIlanifestation of his numberless excellent qualities is inces
nomena, or I1onenlighten nent. About the Absolute, or enligh sant; accommodating hilnself to the capacity oE other meI1
enlnent, in its totally transcendental aspe t, nothing can be said.
4 1
40
 INTERPRETATION
THE AW KENING Of EAITH
vate his capacity for goodness], serving as a coo
dinating

ponta eously v al himsel in manifo ways,
he re ponds cause [to encourage him in his endeavors]. Because [the
ad bellej'its them , essence of enlightenmen
is free from Idefiledj o ec ,

ipJ

{ I H
11
universally illumines the Inind of Inall and induces him to
cultivate his capacity for goodness presenting itse]f in aq:

f
cordance ' ith his desires [as a mirror p esents his appear=
an e].

: #
Of the four arguments, the nrst and se

HI
ond corespond

o the

st

not eoot y i ge ;



eding section
; f :i:1rational
i;f Fun ti ns
in the pre

rhe Aspect of Nonenlightenment
b.

/ Because of not truly realizing oneness with Suchness,

there emerges an unenlightened Inind and, consequently,

insi ally i' is no:nexist nt.
its thoughts. These thoughts do not have any validity to be
substantiated; therefore, they a e not i'dependent of the
original enlightenment It is Iike the case of a man who has
lost his way: he is co fused be ause of [his wrong sense oq
direction. If he is freed from [the notiol1 o
direction a1
together, then there
ill be no such thing as ':;oing astray
It is the same
ith nlen: because of [the notion ofI enlighten
ment, they are confused But if they are freed from [the
Iixed notion of] enlighte1Inent, then there will be no such
thing as nonen ghtenIIlent. Because [there are lnen] of un
elillightened, deluded mind, for theln '^ e speak of true en
lightenlnent, knowing weII what this [relative] ter 1 stands
for. Independent of the llnenlightened IIlind, there are no
independent Inarks of true enlightenment itself that call be
discussed.

Not trtlly realizing oneness with Suchness

: Literally: ' Not

knowing that the dharma of Suchness is one, or perhaps,

Not
1F#=sH;n

ei:#ft

::1
knowing that Suchness and dhar la (phenoIIlena) are one.' In
cuhi
43
 HE AwA ENING O FAITH

any case' the meaning remains th same. This has been

alled

::::c f=::i+;;: *
: :

the
basi igno ance.

eJ ,::::::: f :::i: ;: J :F< j

j= =C:ri:

a=e" si'
h n i

:: et t :
u
en ghte'ment; they
oexist

dep n e

;
, on
l: e. Ne:ither enlighte'
: = Absolu
ment nor nonenlightemne t should be considered to be an abgo

:::::::: :

,e
t==

a :elative
an Absolute, or a onv onal and symbolk ex Fo:urth is tho aspect of tli:e spec lation (

) on names
pression as lite 1ly true is he e demonstrated. and Ietters Ii.e., concepts]. n the basis of erroneous
' attach
mentg, [the delud d mind] analyzes words which aTe pro
mindl vis,i:ona1 [and :th

B cause of its nonenlightened state, [the delude fore devoid of va]idity].
produc s three spect which are bound to nonenligh:ten ' Fifth is th:e aspect of giving rise to [evi1] karma. Re ying
ment and are inseparable from lt. on naIIles and letters [i.e., concepts which have 'o va idity,

First is the activity ot ignorance. The a tation oE mind the deluded mindl investigates names and words and be
because oE its I1onenlightenQd state is c 1led activity. When comes attached =o theIIl, and creates
manifo d types of evil
enlightened, it is unagitated.


Vhen it is agitated, anxiety kaTma.
(J

) fo11ows, for the result [i.e., anxiety] is not inde Sixth is the aspect of anxiety attached to the [e ects of
pendent o the cause [i.e., the agitation contingent upon evi1] karIIla. Bocause of the [la' of
karlna, the deluded mind
ignorancd . suEers the eEocts a d wil1 I10t be free.
Second is the peTceiving subject. Because ot the, agitatiol1 It should be understood that ignorance is ab]e to produce

he origin l unity with Suchness], there appears all types o defiled states: alI denled states are aspects of non
[that breaks
the perceiving subject. When unagitated, [the I

:ind] is free e 1lightellment

froln perceiving
Third is the world of objects. Because oE the perceiving
c. The Relationships between Enlightenment
obj ects erroneously appears. Apar- om and None lightenment
subject, the world o
the perceiving, th re wi11 be no world bf objects. T o relationships exist between the enlightened and non
incorrectly conceivedl wo'1d o
Conditioned by the
ob
enlightened states. They are
identity
and nonidentity.


jects, [the deluded IIlind] protluces six aspects. (I) IJ

J1 st as pieces of various kinds of pottery are
F st is the aspect ot the [discriminatin intellect. De
ei d] w U o obj , e
0f the sane natuTe in that they are IIlade of clay, so the

:1

io
[ation be=
"e
liki g and dis
arious li=
nt (
J' t
'
c

d

tati:ons (z) of both enlighten
ement) and nonenlightenment
l iking
45
44
 T E AWAKENINC OF fAITH INT= RPRETATIoN
("' are aspec of the same essenco, Suchne , For th oE I
-g,y but some b ic ideas and !eHns must have
a11 sentient beillgs intrin been taken into his sy tem fIom Y gaca a
eason, it is said in a sutra th t "B ou
es.
-ana. The
sically abide in eteTnity and re e1teTed into ni
That a man is im samsara esults om the fact that h $
stite of enlightenment is not solnethillg that is to be acquired
mind ( amd consciousness d e1op on the
by practice or to bo c eated. In tho end, it is u: obtainable
1 ground of the Storehouse Con iousness (
jjj ). This IIlean
[fo' it is ve oln the beginni:ngI.
Also i has no

hat because of [the
corpoTeal aspect that can be perceived as such. Any coTpore 1 pect of nonenliglltenment oq the Stere
house Co sciousnes he is said to be in po ssion
asp ts [such as the marks o= the Buddhal that are visible are o= igllo
rance Iand thus bound to remain in samsaral.
magic-like products lof Suchness ma festedl in accordance
with [the mentality of men in] demement. It is not, how and are synonymous in dle ear est phase
ever, that these corporeal aspects [which esult 0m the '

in the ordinary sense of the
of"'
Buddhis , indic ting

mind
suprarational functionsl of wisdo l aTe of the natuTe of non h ord. Along wit the sys atization of ahd speculation on the
emptiness [i.e., s1 bstantia ; for wisdom h no aspects that uddha' do t nes, Buddhist thi ke1 (Abhidharl a phi1osophers)
diEere tiated among 'hem. ascribi'g unique psy hometaphyslcal
can be perceived. meaning' to each. The Y gacara S hoo1 of Buddhism, in an at
er
( ) No Just
as various pieces ot potteTy di tempt to analyze he leve' of mind of the nonenlightened mn,
ethe so di eTences exist between the state of
o each 'J established a distinct e use of these terms
ordin to this

enlightenment and that of n nenlightenment, and between S h 1,
j''
orresponds
-
o u" J (Sto ehouse Conscious
ness,, - (egHonscbu mind), and
the magic-like mallifestatio 1s Pf Suchness mallifested] in ac mains as
" to
it was. denoting the ordinary mind and sometimes ''
the
coTdallce with [the mentality of mell inI de lement, alld those
'I
ve peI' eptio s. Though the author
r 'ranslator, uses these
en of ignoTance who aTe defiled [i.e., blinded] as to -he same teI
s, their oonten is often quite difforent [ om that Iound
[of 1l
in Yogocan philosophy. Th sectbn, therefore, should be i
essential nature [of S1 chnes' .

preted in the I:ght of tlle over a11 thought of the text, without
'e

S J
reference he Yoga ra terpretation of these technical tems.
to
2. T J
C E
o J oI
s B g j
'
Attemp to equate or hamo e it "ith Yogacara thought w
'o
{The cause and onditions invite ullnece' ary
onfu ion a d misunde tanding
A litel 1 translation of this title is:
Theause s:tands for the aspe t of non
of birth and death.
a. Mind
enlighten ent in the Storehouse Consciousness, i.e., ignoyance;
the conditions stand for nd and con =ousness in the state of ate of nonenlight
Fhe mentalityl which emerges in the
nonen ghtenment. In short, this section undertakes to deal with

nIIlent, 1 hich
incorTectlyl pe ceives and reprodu es [the
the mentality of a man who is unaware of the Absolute order,
despite the fact that he is illtriIIsically in it. In the fo11owing world of objects] and, conceiving that the [ eproduced] wo'1d
aTgume t so le si lilarity can be fou11d between the authoy s of objects is real, colltinues to develop [de1'1ded] thoughts,
thought and the doctrines of e Yogacara S hoo1 of {ahayana is what we define as IIlind.
Buddhism. The Yogacara School advocates the o'cept of mind

and its doctrine is kno n as subje tive i:de m. The au This IIllnd has ve di elent names.
only
thor presents the subje t in his own wav, deve1oping the co:ncept The rst is called the activating mind, fbr, without being

46 47
 -T

'

TIE AWAKENING OF F I T H
INTERPRETATIoN
aware ot it, 1t bTeaks the equilibriuIIl oE mind by the forcg
any objectivity that o le can ge hold of; they aTe o the mind
of ignorance
The second :s called the volving
Inind,
for it emerges only and are unrea1. When e ideludedl mind comes into

ontingent upon, the agitated Inind as [the :subjectl that per
bei'g, then various conceptions harma) come to be; and
ceives [incc Iect1].
when the ldduded] mind ceases to be, then these vario
14 for it re conceptions coase to be.
The thir is c 1led the TepToducing lilld,

produ es the entire world of objects as a b ght mirroT re
The triple wo'1d, the efore, is unreal and is of mind onl
=
o1dest re orded expression of this statemen encou tered 'e in

::;: tY:e many scriptu es of later o gin, is f und in one of the earliest
spontaneously at a11 times and exis forever Ireproducing Mahayana sutras of the lst or 2d entuly .D., called the Ten

the wo'1d oE o ject] in ont =#

[of the subject]..
Stages (D SJ ), which was 1 ter incorporated, most

The
'T
fou th is called the analytical mind,
for it diEorenti. likely in Central Asia

'
or China, into the (B'
"
)
. This state nent was not only taken up by the I Iua yen

'
S
he authentic p oofs to
ates what is deflled and what is undefiled: '
Schoo1, but was also utilized as one of
foT it is united
'he fifth is called the
continuing mind, provide a foundation to the Yogacara system. In fact, the virtua1
founder of the Yogacara S hoo1, Vasubandhu, omposed a com
with eluded] thoughts and colltin'les ullinterTupted. It mentary on the jD S .15 As it appears in the sutra,
Ietains the entiTe k rma good and bad, accumulated in the '
the original sentence may be' translated: What be1ongs to this
16 The triple world is the ' orld of
iIIllneasurable lives oE the past, an ! does not per lit any triple world is mind only.
loss. It is also capable o bringing the Iesults of the pain, desire, the world of fom or materiat and world of fomles*
ness.
pleasure, etc., of the present and the future to matuTity; in
eJfT
::H
tc I
b Collsciousness
is the
sudden and unexpected I ntasies of the things

to

The triple worl , therefoTe, is unreal and is of mind only
come Vhat is ca1:led
Inind.
consciousness (

Because o{ their deep rootedattachment, o'dinary
"
contin'ling

men imagine that and Mine are Teal and cling to them in
Apalt om it there are no objects of the ve senses and o the
their i1111sions. As sooll as objects are p esellted, this coI1
mind. What does this IIlean? Since al1 things are, thout
sciouslless rests on theln and discriIIlillates the o j Fcts of the
exception, devoloped om the IIlind and produced under the
{ive senses and of the
lind.This is called

[i.e., the
condition of deluded thoughts, i11 diore:ntiations aTe no 'I
di erentiating collsciouslless] " or the separatillg collscious
other than the difEerentiations oE olle s IniI1 itself. [ retl Or, again, it is called the object discriminatillg con
the IIlind canl10t perceive the mind itself; the Ililind has I10
ness.
IThe propensity for discriminatiol1 o
sciousness. this

la'ks of its own that
can be ascertainGd as a substantii1
collsciouslless wi11 be intensified by bQth [the intellectua1
elltity as s ch]. It should be unde stood that [the conception
de lement of holding
ast to perverse views and [the a oc
o the entile wo'1d of objects can be hold only on the
tiona1] defileIIlent of indulge 1ce lll pass10n.
b sis ot man s dehlded IIlind o ignoTance. Al1 things, there
That the [deluded Inind and] consciousness ayise om the
fore, ale just like the images in a miwor which are devoid of
P fIIleation of ignorance is something that ordinary men
48
 1!

THE A AKENING of fAITH INTERPRETAT oN

cannot unde tand. The follo ers of the I Iinayana, with Commenting on a quotation from a sutra, he says
means be nninglesslyl sin e 'uddenly
he passage quoted makes cle;'
their wisdom, likewise fail to realize this. Those Bodhisattvas
that the e is no other state of being p or to the state of igno
who, having advanced froln their
[irst stage of corTect =aith rance. (3) he wo'd suddenly

is not
ed f'om the standpoi t
by setting the min [upon enlightenmen through practic
of ti le, but is used to a ooU:nt for the emeTgence of ignoran: e
ing contemplation, have come to realize the Dharmakaya,
can partially comprehend this. Yet even those who have

::;; ;::: . #I

reached the nal sta,ge of Bodhisattvahood cannot fully 'H

conclusion may be drawn that
' ignorance, the priIILary ause of
the n :nenli htened s te of man, has ho be nnig, but does have
ah endi g since it disappears wiUl enlightenment.
he Enlightened Ones have thorough
cqynprend this; only
A mon' of Ming Ch!na, named Chen chieh, in his oommentary
comprehension of it. WhyP The hlind, though pure in its
to the A 'suddenly
g of f # written in 1599 glosses
elf natuTe from the beginning, is accompanied by ignorance. -: or
thout being
as '
, wh
ma,,i ulean unconsciously
r

Being de led by ignotance, a defiled [state o Mind colnes aware of the reasonl
"
1

into being. But, though deIlled, the 'Iind itself is eteni1 If

isj a translation of a Sallskrit word, the ori: nal word

means without reason or
alld immutable. Only the Enlightened Ones aTe able to un ' may bq posited-20
If this is Forrect, t:he fo11owing Inetaphor quoted


accidentally.
deTstand what this means. by another Chinese monk, 'Tzu hsUan (d. 1o38) of the I Iua yen
Schoo1, in in'erpreting is peculial
What is called the essential natuTe ot ' ind is al'ays be suddenly
ly relevant. ,Ie

yond thoughts. It is, theTefore, de ned as [Ignorance is]

wTites:
ke dust which has suddenly olle ted on
ilnmutable.
a rTor, or like clouds which have suddenly appeared in the
When the one WoTld of Reality is yet to be Tealized, the sky.
21

In the earlier payt o' the text, the daim was made hat man
'Iilld
ness]. [is mutable[aalldl
Suddenly, de1'isded]
not thought
in perfect unity[this
arises; [withstate
Sllch is o ginallyenlightened and that ignorance or nonenligh enment
is
are not intrinsic but ac id ntal. Ignorance results from all un
caUed igI10rance.
conscious and accidental estrangement from the essence of Iind
is a literal translation of the Chinese adve'bia1 (SuchnFss). In the absence of the awareness oE estrangement,

Suddenly
= 'y
pound . Hee, cas:ually and in a sentence of a few woI'd ,
- however, the origil1 of ignorance
annot be an object of :nte1
lectual analys's. For the intellect, the origin of ignoran
the ogin of ignorance ( ) is explained. Ignorance is the
e is un
ilnaginable, un ess mythologized; hence, suddenly would ap
most fundalnental problem of '
BuddhisII1, comparable in its sig
nificance to that of original sin in C:h stianity. The author pear to be an excellent solution.
s
avowed detemination to make his discourse as brief as possible
should be appyeciated, but often he has achieved his aim at the c. De led States o ind
I
risk of being understood incorrectly or of not being ulld!erstpod
at a11. Six killds of defiled states of Inind [conditioned by igno
There has been mudh discussion on tlle meaning of
in rance] can be identified.
'
connection with the origin of ignorance, mainly on dle basis of The rst is the defllelnent united with attachlnent [to
interpretations proposed by Fa tsang, the most celebrated o
mentator on the text. fo owing the colnIIlent made by a Korean , froln
atIIlan ho have attained IibeTation in
''hich those 1
monk named
nhyo,17 Fa tsang says of it ( ) that ignorance Hinayna and those [Bodhisattvas] at the stage of esta )I ish
alone beoomes the so'1rce of defiled states of heing. It is the
Inent of faith
e fI ee.
1

s11btlest; no other sta[e of bei g can be the origin of 1lis. It is

The second i' the defi]ement united ith the continuing

therefore said in the text tllat ignora11ce e lerges suddcl ly. (2)

5 5 1
 TIE AWAK NING OF FA T =I NT RPRETATIoN
mind; om which those who are at the stage oE establish tage of pure eartedness,
l
after having completed and
I ent
-and who are practicing expedient means [t
of f ith:
:

severed [their :deluded thoughts], will be Inore and ore

attain enlighten ent] can gTadually free themselves and free liberated as they advance, and when they reach the stage

themselves completely at the
stage of pure heartedness. of
rathgatahood,
they

i11 be c mpletely l iberated
The third is the de lement united with the discriminating By the word [appearing in the
I om which those at the
OI1

unitedp united

rst
nalytical Inind, stage of observ three defilelnents] is meant that tho11gh dierence [i.e:,
ing :precepts
begin to be liberated and Ilnally are libeTated
dualityl exists between the mind (subject) and the datum of
completely when they arrive at the stage qf expedient means the nlirld (object), there is a simultaneous relation between
without iny t'ace. them in that 1 he1 the s 1bject is de led the object is also
The fou th is th!e [subtle] de Iement disunited fr m the defiled, and when the subject is purined the object is also
ye:presented world of o ects, om whi h o e at the
stage purified.
dom from world of o can be f1
On By the word is :meant that
o fre e cts !eed.

disunited

disunited
The fth is the [subtlerl d filement disunited from the
[the second three subtle and fundamental denlements aTe
Ievolv[ g] mind that perceives .e., the defilement existing the aspects o nonenlightenme t on the part of the lillind
prior to the act of per eivingl, -oIIl which those at the stage

existing prior to the diEerentiation [into the subjec': and
of eedom from [evolvingl mind are eed. object
elationship]; therefore, a silnultaneous relation be
The sixth- an most ubtle] is the defllelnent disunited tween the subject and object is not as yet established.
om the baslc actlvatlng Inlnd, from whith those Bodhisat It is called
oIl the de led state of IIlind
the hilld'ance
tvas who have passed the final stage and h ve gone into the originating from delilelnents, for it obstructs any funda
st ge of Tath gatahood
are j:=:eed.
mental insight into Suchness.
On ignorance. Ignorance is called the



hindr nce orig
means ma inating from mi onceptions of objects, for it obstructs the
' Basic
activating li d ,
prope sity to prefer 'o
f: t:f1 wisdon that functions spontaneously ill the ' orld.

t
tL

Because of the defiled [state of IIlind, there emerges the
]j':=l':f;: Ii
# H
;fS; t
subject that percei'es [incorrectly; i.e.. the evolving
lind

:k

tif
, f

:;e et H ; ::
an ! that which reproduces [the eprodtlcing Inilldl and thus
pne erroneo1 sly predicates the woTld of objects and causes
oneself to deviate from the undiEerenti=1ted state [oE Such

d Comments on the Terms Used in the ness]. Though all things are always in quiescence and devoid
of a ly Inarks oE rising, because oE the none 1lightelllnent d'le
Foregoing Discussion
to ignorance" one erroneously strays fTolm the dha na [i e.
0n
the expression]

the on
orld o:f Reality is yet to be Suchlless]; thus one fails to obtaill the isdom that functions
r alized. Fro1 this state thqse [Bodhi spontaneously by adapting onese1 to al1 circumst nces in
t:tva:s
who have ad:
vmced
stage of the establishment of faith to the the orld.
"oln
5
5 3


TIE AWAKENING O fAITH INTERPk TA IoN

' Te h.
The wisdom that functio s spontaneously in the world.
adapted by F :tsamg in the foIlowig : ay: e
IThe i f mental
I

nicalIy th wisdom i called the later gb in wisdom

y avi'y be1onJng to the sub -r of :the ubt k p whero
J ; Ch., o ). It is the gdom that, teT there is :no sep raon of u ect an obie :Since e
't
haracer
" sta
ahieving
'
enlighten nen alld witliessillg the pitifu1 e o{ istic of i tiv ty is extrem ly. only Buddhas E kI 0W
s btle,
existence of the wo kL natura y emerges to help save the world. In the later translatiQn ot the text by
ibout it. iksh nanda thi$
1len a man caught in a vidous cycle of frustration awakells lause is omitted. :
to hi ese tial being. return' to the Absolute ordo and Te
ins at s Suchne$ in hi=mse1 he an foir the rst time see the
u rlng w dd i i fu scope. As eyeg cann t gee eyes, so as These two categories o beings ill the phe:y10 ena1 oTdeT
Iong a g he in the mi t of suEe ing wi:thout trans endi:g i:t, coIIle about because ef the permeatio of igno nce; that is
he cannot 'ee the 1 t'te of estence of 'he world. A keen to say, they come about because of the primayy cau e a d the
aware=tes of the fact that,
so lo g as I man is not awakened,
cnati g causes. By the prim ry caUse, no enlighten
everytlling is su erihg came to the Buddha after he had attailied
enlightenment. The wel1-k own words of ho Buddlla that men meant; and by e coordina ing causes, th eT
i3 sufe:ri g weye, ill fac uttere 1
neously represented orld of o ects. : ' :

everyt1'ing ' J" )

afte he had attained enlightenl

'
ent. Hence, he was comPe ed , : : n the pTimar
Fa se ceases to be, then the coo dinatin

o work for the salva:tio'n of the wo'1d.
causes wi11 cease to be. Becau e of the c
sation of the pri:
Inary cause; the mind disu ite [fro the T pTesente wo'1d
3. T C T B g$
y j' oS zT
'
of o ect , wi11 cease to be;
etc. nd because of the cossation
of being'
In anlyzing the chaTacteristics in samsar
, t vo of the coordinating cau es, the IIlind un te I : [with the at
categories may be distingui$hed. The one is cTude, for t chment to atma etc. se to be. : ::
wi11 ce
[those who belong to this cate:gory are] united with the [crude question= If t:he IIlind :cease t be, wha wi11 becol e of
activities of the defiled
sLlbt1,e,
for
mind; the other is its colltinuityP If there is olltinuity of mind, how can ypu
[those who belong to this category are] disu ited fro 1 the explaill its final cessation
$u)tle activities of the denled
milld [Again, each category : A s er:
What we speak of as cessation : is the cessation

Ilay in turn be subdivided i to the crude1 and t:he subtler].
The cru( er oE the crude belongs to the range of IIlental ac
ubtleT of the crude and the
tivity of ordinary men; the
cruder oE the sllbtle belong to that of Bodhisattvas; arld the
sub er oE the ,ubtle belongs to that of Buddhas.
the marks of [the deluded] mind only and ot the c ssa
tiol1 of its essence: It is like the case of the willd which, fo1
lowing
he surface of the water, leavds the marks of its Inove
ment. If the lvateT should cease to be, then the maTks of the
willd would be III 1lified and the wind would have no suppoyt

in the [o which to display its II1oVeIIilentl. But gi:nce the water does
Refere ce is to be made o t le Defiled States oE ' ind
not cease to bo, the IIlaik of the wind Inay
ontinu . Because
foregoing discussion. 'he crude orresponds to the first three
to the second three deflie only tlle wind ceasos, the m ks oE i ovement cease acco
de lements of Inind and the subtle
ents of mind.
r illgly. This is not the cessa on of watey. So it is with igno
=
Does

The subtler of the subtle e1ongs to that of Buddhas. Tance; on the gTound of the essence of ' ind there is mov
this mean that the Buddha the Enlightened Ones, still have peop

lellt. If the essence of 'Eind wer e to cease, thel1 e
some sort of basic defilement, even though the subtle of
-his question was
a11? by V nhyo,22 whose words were
nswered would be lullined alld they would have I10 upport. But

54 5 5
 :

TIIE WAKENING OF FAITI{ INTERPRETAT ON

sin e the es enc doeo not cease to be, the Inind Inay continue into igI10rance.
Vhile the principle of Suchness is yet to be
Because only Jt pidity ceases to be, the
marks of the [stu real ized, [the de1 ded mindl, developing thoughts [fashioned

pid=-y o= eJ II ind cease accordingly. It is not t in the state] of Ilone:nlightellIIlent, predicates erro=le usly
' the wi
Jem
e tho esBenc of Mind ceases. cqnceived o ects of the senses and the Inin . These errone.
ously
onceiv d object of the senses and the
lind, the coor:
::
io si ile weU known = dinating causes i [bringi g about] the de led state, per:
p u1 ' its
g the B.uddhist occuIIe'ce
thinke in this
in the F:ar text, has one
East a:s beenof IIleate illto the deluded Inind alld ca:use the deluded Inind t0
the be ' :amo
me $ to -x lain the elationship tha:t exists between
attach itself to i s though s; to
rea:te evi1] kayma;
various
phenomma and the AbgaluteP4
all to undeTgo a:11 kinds of physical and Inental suf=ering
The perlne,ation of the erT :neously conceived obj cts of
Be a' s e: fouT k nd of perIIleatio:n, the eled s ates
the senses and the Inind is of t' o kinds. One is the permea
a:nd the
p :sta te emerge nd contin:ue u intFrrupted They
' t-
aTe (1) the p re sta:te, which is called Suchn:ess; (2) :the ca11se ioll wh:ich accelerate s [deluded] thoughts, and the other is
the permeation which accelerates attachments.
o alI d
le:n:ents, which is called igno ance; (3) the deluded
activating Inilld ; (4) the erTone usly
The perlneatio of the deluded :mind is
mind, whi h is called which is called :the
external woTld, is the basic permeation by the which
activating =
two kinds.
IIliyld, One
conce ved

objects of the
causes Arhats, Pratyeka buddhas, and all Bodhisattvas to

ve senses and o I ind undergo the suffeTi g o{ sa lsara

nd the other is the pe nea
The meahing perIIleatio . Clothes in the orld certainly
have
o scent in theIIlselvest but if Inan permeates theln with
tion whkh accolerates the ,activities
fI the

object discrim
and '
ina i g conscioLlsness hich
Ilakes ordi naTy Inen su er
peTfuln :hey come to hav e a scent. It is just the s Ine
fr In the. bondage of their karIIla.
with t;he
case we are speaking of. The pure stalL! of Suchness
', t:helil

certainly has Ilo de lement, bllt if it is perlne ted by igno -

T:he word
Arhat as originally an epithet for the Buddha
Ta ce, then the Inarks <'f deflleIIlent appear on it. The d filed but it came to be used often in Iahayana
meaning orthyl
state of ignotance is indeed devoid of any puli ing force, '
writings in a deTogatory sense t designate the perfe ted one in
but i it is per meated by Suchness, then it
il1 come to have Iinayana BuddllisIIl who need to be yetrained in 'Iahayana
I

Buddhisrn in oI der
o attain true enlighten'lent. Here it is used
a pu iing inflvence.
in the latter sense.
The term Pratyeka buddha' designates one who has attained

a Permeatio of Ignorance enlightenlne t n his own ' ithout joining the religio s order.
Bec use of his se1: sll attitude and his uI1 illingne s to :heIp save
How doe meation [oE igI10rance give rise to the
the :pe
the ' br!d, he also is regardFd as an illferior sage in the pole
defiled state and c!ontilllle u 1!nterrupted? It
I i

Ilay b said that,

cal writings of Iahayana literature, though he is slightly higher
oll the ground o:f : Suchness [i.e., the origi al enlightellIIlent], than an AIha . A Bodhisattva, who sacrifices hilnself for the
ignorance [i.e., o enlightenl lent] app:ears. Ignorance, the w rld, is classified as higher than either of them.

PfiIIlary :cause ofi the de led state, peymeates into Suchness.

ecause o{ this p neation a deluded IIlind results. Because
The perlneati ns o
ig ora e are o two kind One is
the basic Perrrleation, :sin e it ca 1 put illto operation tlle
0f the deluded miyld, [deluded t:houghts further] per neate
5 7
5 6
 T IE AWA* ENING OF fA. TII
INT RPRETATION

activat: Ilg I 1 I*d, 1d the Qther is the pey neati at d

discrim nati g consciousmess.
Beca t se of t
s p
neatio
' t .

velop perverse v'ews and a:tt h lent$ gince it can put illto ordina me' and e Hinayanists come to loathe e
suEer
oPelat:i n the --ob;ect dis rimi:n.ating c nsciou:snes i g of salnsara, a=1d thereupon each, according to h- pacity,
g dually adv nces towa d th:e highes enlighten ent (Ch
b. PoIneatio of Suchngss
o). The second e peTmmtion into mind. [Because
. Ho do s th peTme:atio [ Such essl gve to the t s p mtionj, Bodhi ttv
'
admnce to urvana Taptdy
p ye state a contin e uninterru ed? It a id that and ith aspiTation alld fortitude.
tllere i pr:in:ciple of S ohness and it can perl eate into
e Tw kinds of permeati?n o Suchness [into ignoranc can
rst is the f p mtion d ough man esta
Suchne$
iglilorance. Th'ough t:he .f re of this p rlneatio'p be idonti ed: The
caus,es the delUdEd IIlind to 1oa he 'ho oue'i g oE salnsala
of S

tio of :the e5sence nessj, and the s:econd is

the per
and t a pire: t:his
i
hough stiU de mea=on through [ex m i ue es

' nirvana. Bec4us
luded; is [10w] posse:ssed with lo,athing ::a d: p ation, it
peyInea:t:es inito: Suchlless [in that it indu es Suchlle s to
mani he P:hlase, permeati,o: through I staUon of the
tl1 arlif
ca
[e itselq. Thus a Inan coIIles to believe ill his esselltial na. Fssen F [of Suchn , perhaps be
endered Iitera y as the
ctivity of peI ea on thro 1l manifestatio: of essence o i own ac ordl'
ture; t know that what exists is the erTolleot1$
foU ng Fa- ag s comlnen d s pemeatiio has a tionaIIy
the mind and th:at the world o objects in o t of hi I s
beoIl ullde
tood as fihte Ilal permeaUon (Ch:, ""j )-25 It

nonexisten a d to pmctice teachi g to fTee himself Ihom i
the. inner e of Su in IIlan to eme e, 5 t5- peak,
ly conceiv:ed
th erTo eo orld of objects . He kno
s
hat )om the state of aware es6 to the s e of awareness, or Irom
the u'conscious to the co ou' It i all intemal mo ement oE
is r
1ly so -that there is no world of obiocts in ont Sudne within, fro potent1 L to a tual, or from e ence to
= hiII1
and es he practice$: courSes
ther !ore with var:ious de 'i by exence, so that essence p eates into edstence, or a
which to conf:orln [hiln elf to Su hnes . e i11 not attach into s sara. Suchnes within, i.e., o ginal enlightenIILent, is
nsel
li to: a y [delud:od] thoughts
to anyt:hing nor give ii co:nstahtly: asse i g itself in rder to be actualized by breaking
through the wa of ignorance. This int nsic i ner dynamics
this perIIleation
Thyough t:he force o Such:ness] ove
of Suchness is sugg ed by the te n internal pemeauon-
long period
f time, his ignorallce ceases. Because o the cess '

the lde
tio of ig:norallce theTe wi11 be y10
noye sing o (1) P T ' yo g I
o E E oI
i uded. activities ofI yllilld. B ecause oE the x10nr sing [of the S"
''o ''o
J [The essence of SI1{i L less]
from the

b ginn g
( e uded activities o IIlilld], the vorld of objects
as pye'Ii
endo ed with the
inning,
less be perfect state o{ purity.
oUSIY COIICFived] ceases to be; beca' se of the cessation o{ both It is provided th suplaratio'al functions and the na
the primaly cause (ignorance) a d the cpordillatillg causes ture of manifestillg itself. Because of these "' o reasons it
(objects), the Inarks of the [de led] yllilld ' ill a11 -e nullifled. permeates perpetually [into ignoTancel. Through the force
This
s cailed

gailling nirvana and accoglPlishing spontane of [this permeation] it induces a Inan to loathe the suEeling
ous acts.: 0f saIIls;aTa, to seek bliss in nirvalla, and, believing that he
The permeat on [of S chness] illto the deluded IIlind i: has the principle of Suchness within himself, to Inake up his
of t vo killds. he first is the perIIleatioll into the

object IIlind to exert hilnself.

5 R
5 9

,
TIE AWAKENINC oF fAIT I INTERPRETAT 0N
: y is identi ed by and the coordinating causes are sumcie'tly pI ovided, there

The perfec st te of p rlty ( -

tsang w' the o

:
ginal
enlightenment of n emptiness. 6 i11 be the perfection [of a result]. It is lik the case of woo!d
Th
nature qf mnifest he ginal Chi ese of
though it possesses a latent] nre Ilature which is t:he primary
:th
'g itself. as'
phr e cali be litemUy translated:
the nature of mak g
cause oE its buy li g, it cannot be made to burll by itsdE un
e world o- o t.1:T ke literally, the phraoe: m kes 1 :ttle
sensej thou h omme t hve usu Uy tried 'o take it that less men understand
h
situatio l and r:esort to means [of
way. For T'm yell ( ;88 e old t c mmentator
actualizing nro out o! wood by kindling i . In the same w y
whose ork ha:s been pyeserved. Wen inte!pr t it
so far a t a man, though he is in possession of the correct primary
as a m gical cre tion of the o e ts of :the se se . Su hnes' in
an absolute :sense, hen ob:
cause, [Suchness with] permeating force, cannot put all end

a :meyer b a' oect or o je t :
je i it is no 1o ge:= the Ab:m! te,
t turns i o a rela'iv .
to his de Iements by hilnself Ione and ellter nirvana unless

#
: :i t

he is provided wi!h coo dinating causes, i.e., hi oncountel
with the Buddh s, odhisatt 'as, or good spiriiual fri! nds.
withi I: etc. T
does bie
fy :i' elf :externally: bUt: i intern
n.: =
:

ally a:sserti'g :i =:
lu' Su Even though coordinating causes fro m without may be sum
ity in: :

cielltly provided; if the pure prillci le [i.e., Suchness] within

so is lacking in the force :of permeation, then a Inan cannot ulti.

qUest:ion: : If :this i the a11 :se t:ie t oi are e dowed
Suchneso a : e: :equally per eated by it. 1 hy io it mately loathe the su ering of sa nsa a and seek bliss in nir
it:h
that thero a e i tlite: variet:ies
o=: :bolievers and :'onbeliev rs;
vana. However, if both the primary and the coordinating
the
Te sme ::Wh:o :b :lieve :sooner and so
causes are 'u ciently provided, then because of his possession
and th=- I1 lat
A I1 :of: thFm sho 1d; : koowin t they a! e endowed wit' the o the force of perlneation [of Suchne ss oln within] and the
::th

pri:nciple ; at: o
t S h:n:e e g oxpe COIIIPassionate protectipn of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
=ke an :eEort u:tilizi
en mea s alld :oho 1d all equally att in nirvalla.: [from without], he is able to develop a loathing for su:ffeiing,
AnsweT: Though: S u h ess is origin,1ly one,'yet there are to believe that nirvana is real, and to cultivate his capacity for

ieas ri e :: 'nd :i n
te [ hades
of i n:orance. Froln : e
goodness. And when his cultivation oE the capacity for good
IIess Inatures, he ' ill as a result Ineet the Buddhas and Bod
ve'y beginnio igIIoTa'ce is, be(-ause of its na re, ch acter
hisattvas and wil1 be instructed, taught, benefited, and give
!zed by !d:i ers:ity; and its degree f intonsity is not uni: orm.
joy, and thell he wil1 be able to advance on the pa h to
De lemonts; : 10r
: : nu
neIou:s than the sands of :the Gang
;
vana.
cole into bei g because :of [the diEerences in intensity o
n l I

ig:noy'a:nce; a d exist i' lallifold

ays; defilelnents, sUch as ( 2) P y
yo g
I J This is the force om
''o
the be1!e= i:n,the :e*isto o f ithout aj[I:ecting II=en by providing coordinating causes.

,

Such external coordinatillg causes have an infinite ylumber

passion, :Ide elo becau e of :ign:olance andthe
'n and exist i di erent
indulgen:ce i'
oE Ineallillgs. Brie y" they yna I be explained ullder t o cate
ways. AIl t:he e : lefilements are brought about by ignora:nce,
ih an in n=tely diversifled manner in time. The Tath gat
gories nalnely, the speci c and the general coo dillatillg
alone know all about this. c a11ses.

In BuddhisII1 :the:Te is [a te ching concernin

(a) 'I h Speci c Coordinating CaUses. A II1 1n, oIIl the
the pTimary
cause and the coordinating causes. Vllen the priIIlary cause
time when he rst aspire to seek en1 htenment ulltil he

60
 THE AWAKENING OF FA. ITH INTERPRETAT oN

becomes an E'lightened One, sees o[ medi ates on the Bud d!oct nesl, to hink [about theml, and
pra tiee
thle , a d
3
enable himl to obtain enlightenme
as they lanifes theIIlselves to n
thu:s t.
dhas and -odhisat va i

o etles they aFpe r as hi$ family nembeTs p n , or

relatives, so etimes a close iends, oT (b) Th!e Ge:neral Coordinatin:g Causes. The Buddhas an
'etimeg as seTvants,
soI etimes as o emies. ThIou:gh soI 11 *inds o deeds and in Bodhisattvas a11 desire to liberate a11 men, spontaneously
permeating :them [with t ei uencFsI and never
sp Titual in
alculab:1 perfoman , such s t:he practice of t e four acts
fo saking :theln. Through t:he power of t:he wisdo 1 which s
of 1ovinkindn etc.; they exe cise the fo c o= perlneation
s

y t e!r gTeat pmpa sion, a d are ths able to cause one Iurith Suchnessl, they manifest ac ivities in response to
Teat
entient oi to stre gthen their capacity for goodness and [th!e needs of
len] a s they g e and h!eaT theln. [Becaus:e of this

are able to bene t theL as they seo or hear [about their indisclimillately pe meating usel, me aTe all eq'lally ab1

needsl. This [speci c] coordinati g caus e i oE two kinds. by means: of concentration (samadh , to see the Buddhas.
oIle is iIIlmedlate and enables a
man to obtain deliveranc
- Because
qulckly; and the other is remote and enables a Inan t obtaili h one
The wisdom w [with Suchness] e om
mnts of Fa tsang and others are 'oo b ef and vague at this
deliveTanc after a 1ong time. The imme ate and relno:td
c uses are again of two ki:nds: the causes which strengthe
T1

#t'T
: ;I
and also that th lwisdoml enables
,1#
s

the same as=

Su hness,
a man in his
practk:es loE expedient means to help othersl. =
one to know that a11 profane (or< nary Inen) and sa red (en
''d tho e hi h enable hiln to obtain enlightenment (Ch
lightened men), dellled and puye, are equally one i' what is
31
Rea1.

: i= :: :r: :: :::::]
u h
la::::
This peTmeation through the in uence of the wisdoln
whose esse 1ce is olle [with Suchnes ] is also divided i 1to two
wtlo appeared in order to help save the world This theory made
= any numbey of tempora1, but unhistoricat
o postulate
it possible = cate:gorie;s
accordillg to the types o= recipiellts].
manifesta bns of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as the popularizat1 n The one is yet to be united Iwith Suchnes . Or nary men,
of Mahayana Budd ism progressed. In oyder to becoIIlc a popular th!e IIinayanists, and those Bodhis,attvas who have just been
religio , mytho1ogizatiowas inevitable. Perhaps the best exam
ple of this trend can be [ound in a se tion of the otus Sutra initiated devote thelnselves to religio'1s pTactices oll the
ill which the Bodhisattva Ava1okite vara appears in aU fortlu of stlength o theiy faith, beillg perIIleated by Suchlless through
being in o der to protect believers in a11 con eivable situations, thelr IrLlnd and consc10usness. Not havlng obtalned the lI1
in the end leading theln to enlightenment.28
are d disg linate Inind, however, they aye yet to be united with
The f ur acts of loving kindness
ned a a ty, kind

speech; bene cial action, a d coopeTation. the essence [o Suchness], and not having obtaine [the pey
'The translation 'olIows fa tsang s inte pretation.29 W nhyo says fec:tiol1 of] the discipline of. free acts, they are yet to be
con erning the causes which strellgthen a man in his practice, united with tho in tlence [oE Suchness].
that they develop va ous plactices such as F
rity, observan e
Concerning the causes whi h ehable h to
of precepts, etc.
he identines [tlle pFrf ction o

Fa tsang he discipline of flee
obtain enligh'enment, ays that they are those which de
with the knowledge wllich emerges after enlightenment,
velop the intention on the part of the devote hear about a ts

6 3
6 2
 THE A' AKEN ING Of FA H INTERPRET TION
a'd whi h functions sponta'eously, adapting itself to a11 ir as npt brought into existen e
the beginning
Buddhas. It

' 32
'Imstances in the world. not will it cease to be at the end o me; it is eteTnal t Tough
The other is the already united [with Suchness]: Bodhisat and th ough.
vas who reaiize Dhal11lakaya have obtained undiscriminat

ing mind [and are united with the essence of the Buddhas:
t ey, having obtained free acts, 3g are united 1 ith the in u B. The GroatILe5 IDf the Att buteo : o Suchness
e c of the wisdom of the Buddhas. They singly devote theIIl
selyes ' ith spontaneity to heir rel igious disciplines, on the F'om the be n ing, Schnes' i it' nAttlre is 1ly pr
stTength of f uchness with'n; perlilleating into S'1chness [so 1l excelle: t q:ua1:it:ie(6;
vid.ed with a e1 , i:t is en o dd with
that Sucllness wi11 reclaim itselq; they destroy ignorance .' the light of great wisdom, he qualities o Ilumina Ilg the
Again, the de led p in iPIe (dhayma), from the beginni g ntire uni :erg , of true ;cogniti:on , nd :m d pule in its sel ,
Iess beginIIitlg coI tinues Perpetually to permeate until i aturte; of ete rnity, blissj Self, and puTity; of refreshitlg coo1
perishes by the attainment of B ddhahood. But the perIIlea , imlinutabiiity a d
edom: ilt:. is endowled with
the e

tion of the pure principle has no interr1 ption and I10 ending exeelle nt qtlalitie ] w:hich o tnuIIlbe th sands of h Gan
The reason is that the principle of :Suchness is aI
ays per ges, which are not ind pendent of, disiointed om, oT dif
me ting; therefore,
hen the deluded IIlind ceases to be, the fe ent om [th essence of Suchn<"ss], and which are sup a

D harmakaya [i.e., S chness, original enlightenlnentl wi11 be ratio a1 [attrib: t s ofI Buddhahood. Since it is endowed
Ina lifest and
ill give rise to the perlneatiol1 o the influ conpIo:tely wi'th a1:1 these, a:nd is I1o:t 1,acking a:nything, it is
ence [oI Suchlless], a1d thus the e wil1 be no ending to it. ca:1led the T
J
-g, [when latentl and also the Dhar
'
Inakaya of th e Tath gata.
1: hat is to say, ignoran e has no beginning but does have an {=tuesti.on: I:t was e plained befor!e :t:hat
he elssenc:e of Suc:h
edi g; wllile oliginal enlightenment, or Suchness, h neither :

begin:ning nor ending. It is evident that the nature of ignoranoe

ness is undiEerentiated and :devoid of a11 characteristics. Why
is not ontological but is epistemologica1. If it w:e e onto1ogical is it, th n, that you have described its essen as having these
this conclusion that ignorance ha
and weTe conceived as being,
v,'ious excellent q alities?
no, be nning but has n ending would be absurd.
Ansrer: Though it has, in reality, a11 these ex ellent qua1
ities, it does I10t have aly characteristics o= differentiation;
it :etains its idelltit, and is o olle navo ; S'1chness is so]ely
II. T E I II
y'
J o S
I ?z J,
oIle.
'

''
':
oT T E ,zJ oI I 34
Qu tion: What does this Inea ?
g

Answer: Since it is devoid o individuation, it is ee j om

A. The Greatness o the Essence of Suchness
the chaTacteristics o illdividuation; thus, it is olle - ithout
any second.
[The e$ence of Suchnes kI10ws no increase oT decrease
question: Then how can you speak t dierentiation [:i.e.,
in ordinary men, the Hinayanists, the Bodhisattvas, or the
the plurality of the characteristics oE S:uchlless]P
64
(
5



THE AWAKENING OF FAIT INTERPRETAT ON

Answer: In Icpntrast to the charact ristics of the ph tionless [i.e., ulldisturbed by ignorance]; tllerefore, i can be
[the characte stics of S ch

=
activating in inf rred that it Inust have various pure and exce ent quali
om n of the
e c
be in!
ed: : ties, o 1tnumbering the 5ands of the Ganges. B t if the Hlind
ves rise to [irrelevant t:houghts and :fur:th r predicates the

he translatioll of the la't sentence follows in the ain e woTld o= o e ts,it i11 continue
o lack [these qu !ities]. All
inteTpr tion of Fa- - g. IIitera11 , ' we sho it, dep nding

====|!|!
these numb r!ess exce ent qualities !of the p Te principle

f



f
:: :

a
i'


:f::1Ii

: : :
precatio of ts hai teris:tics, th cha :a tr tic f Such

:f
are none other than those of One hlind, and there is nothing
to be sought after anew by though:t. Thus, that ' hich is {ully

:
s
c !1 be ' cally
F gge
:ted in :relatiVe terms t:hat are ac endowed with them is called e Dharmakaya Iwheh ma

: ssi:ble to the d luded Hd, nd are imagino to be the e !ct
ted] and the T
[when 1 tent].
-g yb
-ivati fe
q:pposite of :the c amcter- ios of phe olile I1:a f t e

a g '
"g
Inih d.

q estion: How an
hey be inferredP c. The Grea:tness of the In uences of Suchness

==
AnsweT: Adl things are originally of the mind only; they
in fact transcend thoug ts,go Neverth less, the de1 ded Inind, T:he Bud ha Tath gatas; w ile i:n the s ages oE Bodhisattv"
in onenlightenmen gives rise to rrelevan thotlghts and hood, exercisod great coIIIpassion, P:racticed
y
z'' , and
pre icate the woild o=
olt :iec . This bei:ng the
ase, we de ne accFptod and tra:nsformed se:n ient beings. Th y took great

[this I'en:tality] i oE
isdo:IiI1 vo' s, desiring to liberate all sentient beings thTough count:
'the
Thestate
es of beihg d,estit'1t

lIIl
(
:; i 10Tan:ce). se:n ti,al nature f Mind is im less aeons until the end of future tilne, for they reg rded a11
'J
IIlutable [in that it :does n:ot give rise to any deluded thoughts, se:ntient beings as they rie:garded the:Ins: 1ves. And yet, they
and, thel ofore, is t:he
very opposite of i:gnora ce]; hen e,. [it never regrd!ed them as Iseparate] sen:tient beings. hy? Be
is spoken of as having the :chalacteristic ofI

the light of great cause they truly kne that al1 sentient :beings and th y them
selves were idelltical in Suchness and that there could be no
,

wisdoln.

, When thele is a partic'-lar perceiving act of the mind, ob, distinc:tioll betweell them.
jects [other than th:e obj cts being perceiv!ed] wi11 TeIylain
unperceived. The essential nature of '{ind is free oln any
P y
' Rquirements to be perfected by sentient beings
partial perceivin:g; hence, [ uchnes;s is spoken of as having the ho are p tentially enlightened, i.e., by Bodhisattvas in order t
'

attain :enlightenment. They are means to be practiced bY the

chaTacteristic of]
1minating
i11 the e:ntiie universe.
IIahayanists in order to cross over from his shore of salnsara
When 'he
lind is in motion [stirTed by ignbrance], 't is to the other shore of nirvana. The s0-c alled six y
'tJj are
I are:
characterized by illusions alld delileIIle ts, o11tntllnbeTing the 10st freque tly enco nt red in Iahayana literature. The
observa ce of pre epts (of nonkillin non
sa:nds oE the Ganges, such as lack oE truo cognition, a sence charity g nonstealing
adulteTy, etc.), patience
ea1, meditation, and wisdoln.
0f self nature, impeTmanence, blissles ness, impurity, feveT,
he type of paradoxical expr ssion tha we II1oet with he e

iety, deteTiora on, mutation, and lack of fre

!om: B can Inost freqtlently be found in the 'Visdom literature. :fo cite

tontTast t'o this, th,e ess!ential natule of Iind, ho
ever, is mo
'
a example siinilar to the one in our text, a passage froln the

6 6 6 7
 INTER PRETATION
TH AWAKENING OF fAITH
J
), and t e other, t'e ultimate trIIth


-, w

ich eIongs to the body of
:

:
-
)

Dilmond Sutra (7 Those w o do not know the distin tion between " ''
these two
Wisdom literature mys:' "'J' pes of m do not know th profound truth ("''
);
Tho Lord: sai : Here, ::Subhuti, someon "ho ha se! out in t in truc:tio:n: of the Buddha
th, ve le of a Bod is ttva shoul p oduoe = thought in this u'h is 'o to be showll ex ept on the ba s oI
uanner= As m y be as there are in e universe of beings,
'e ultima'e
le t :nal truth (
c nventi -,

); w'thout gaining

:
IFt

J the uitimate mth irvana
T le yI mate
is not tr be obtained.38

truth is the tmth of Lhe ultilnately Rea1, i.e., Such.

f
= i : i F
ness, nirvana, etc. which may be expe e:hced bUt. which is
devoid of any empirical deteyi inations. On the other hand, the
=i relaUve truth, or onven ional truth, is the: e pical tnith aE

I{ Uie no:tion of a living

cepted by
peopk e n orld a'd can be c mmunicated by
the use of Iangu ge; i this categ{)ry are s ientific truths, the
,'1t o' f a beiIIg gh10uld take plae, o
tyuths of o ial ethics, etc One is
.
1le 'yuth of t.he Absolute order,
so 1
r of a peT n. dnd 'he
!her:
1 t o{
he pilenolne a1 order.

B:e au e thg p ed
su h gTeat wisdom [wh:i :h. cou:1d
The in uences [of Suchl1 es
] are of two ki 1ds T e rst is
be applied] to expe ent IIL ns [in quegt ell ghtenmelitl, that
hich is conceived by the Inind of oTdillary Inen and the
they extinguished theiT igno ance and p T eived the o igina1 foIio ers of Hinayana [i.e., tlle influellce of S11 hness as re
DharIIlakaya. Spontaneo Bly p!er or ling i:nco 1pre:hensib1:e'
ected] ill the o ect discrimillati g consciousne!ss. This is
activiti!es, !exeTcising
Ilanifo1 in uences, th:ey peTvade evey
called [the innuence o Suchness in the Tran
Tm o the
wheTe in their i:dentit with
Suchness. N:everthel.!es:s, they
formation body ' (Ni1
nnakya). Because thoy do not know
yeveal no Inarks of their influenceg that can be traced as su h.
that it is projected by the : evolving mind, they regard it as
dha T t:hgatas are 'o ot:her than the

VhyP Beca se the B oming froIIl without; they assume that it has a corporea1
D rmakaya itself, and t embodiment o . IThey l ilillitation because their Ilnderstanding is lilnited.
belong to the TealII1 of] the ab.solute truth, which transcends The second is that which i conceived by the Inilld o the
tlle world whie t:he Iela:ti:ve tyuth operates. They are ee Bodhisattvas, from the first stage of aspiyation to the highest
onl any conventional activitieg. And yet, because o= the fact stage, [i.e., the innuen e ot Suchness as reflected
in the Inen
at sentient beings rece:i e bene t throulgh sec:ing or hearin g

tality hich Iegards external objects as ullrea1.3 This is called
about them, their in ue ces [i.e., o= Suchnessl ca 1 be gpoken [the in uence of Suchness in the forln oq the Bliss body

iyl relative terms].' (SaIIlbhogaka, a). It has an inflnite numbet of corporeal

la ks, and
for 1s, each form has an infinite nulnber ot II1 or

d
absolute truth
The double standards of trtlth, one being the

have played an important each m or ark has an infillite number of subtle marks.
and the other the

:
The land

'elative truth, here it has its abode has innumerable adorn
Inents. It Inanifests itself without ayly bounds; [its manifesta
ons are] inexhalls ble alld fTee om any limitations. It

as f 11 ws:
n 1:
liEests itself in accordallce ith the needs [of sentient
Elucidation of the dharIIla (doctrine) of the Buddha is on the
baiis of twofold truth one is the worldly truth

y''j
59
6 8
 THE AWAKENINC OF fAIT
I INTER PRETATION
being ; and yet always teln m without deotroying they have cr ated in their p eyious lives These states a'e those
of dwellers in hel1, hungry ghosts, beasts, vicious nghti g spirits
or 1osi g itself. 'These excellent qualities weT
peTfected by
(
y
), human beings, and gods
A of them a! subie
d by the Fracti e o=
e pure perlne tion acquiT
:
to transmig ation, bei g in the order of samsara:
''
and the su:prarationil permeation [of SIlchne . Sin e the in
uellce is endo ed with i nite attribu teg of bli ; i is The Bodhisattvas i their rst stagF of aspiration and the
poken of as the Bli body oth rs, be ause of their deFp f ith in Suchness, have a partia1

insight into [the nature of the influence of Suchnes . They
ma=s (
a'e usually rea'd le thirty: kno that the things [of the Blissbod , suoh as its corpo ea1
The
or Y ag
tw a dous phyglcal
slgns e body of the Buddha
visible en form , major maTks, adornments, etc., do not come om wit
v
arch such hat the i curl emlt ng
out or go away, that they are free from limitations, and that
u i1
1 1 [ 1 E' 1

light b!etween te eyobrow', subUe ma'ks

gen Jly re
are
The "- " hey are envisioned by
lilld alone and are not independent
as eigh min r marks of the

Buddha or Bodhimttva, such long. thin, ning ng

rnalls. of Suchness These Bodhisattvas, however; are not free froIIl
dualis:tic thinking since they have yet to enter into the stage

Wha:t is seen b oTdinaTy Inen is only the coaTse co poTea1

here they gain complete eali tiol1] of the Dharmakaya.
pellding upon [the formsl
forlns tanifestation of Suchne'

of the lI If theY advance to the

stage of pure heartedness,
']. D
wheTe one. ig in the six tTansIIligratory states, his vision of it th y see will be s11b ler and the influences [ot Suchness] wi11
wi11 di er [The visions ot it qnc'eived byI the u enlightened be 1ore excellent than ever. When they leave the last stage
beings aTe not in a for n of Bligs; this is the Ieason why it is of Bodhisattvahood, they wi11 perf ct their insight [into
Trallsfonation.b
.e., the b y aFpea ing Suchnessl. ' hen they become free from the
activating
called the y
they wi11 be free
in.the likenes of the conceiverl mind om
the perceiving Iof dualityl. The
Dhar lakaya of the Buddhas knows no such thing as distin
guishing this oIIl that.
One of the most important concepts in Maha yana Buddhism,
which appears in this sec:tio:n d aling with the influences of
Suchness, is the
leory of the T :le Body of the Bjuddha, the thI e This is a repeated theme that the process of actualization ot

aspects of which are known as the Dha:yln.akaya, the Salnbhoga e lightenme t is the process of integrating he identity with the

g o E is known, origina1 !enlightenment.
The direction of the process can be
kaya, and the Nirlnanakaya. The
suggested by the following illustration:
' '' ry
among otheT things, for its concise pre,entation of this the
As pyiesented in the text, the Dharmakaya or
Essence body Essence > e stence > essence; nivana > samsara > nirvana;
represents the manifested form of pure Suchness, which in its potentia1 > 11nawareness of the potentia1 + partial awareness >
latent form is known as the T rhe S mbhoga
g -g y . actu lization of the potentia1; or Absolute order > phenomenal
represents Suchness
' as conceived by the order > Absolute order. 'The process is a ight o[ Suchne to
kaya or
Bliss body

lind of the Bodhisattvas, elldowed with in'nite attributes of Sucllness; nirvana to nirvana; Buddha to Buddha.
represents
bli . The Nirmanakaya oT ransformat10n body
question: If the Dharmakaya of the Buddhas is free from

Sucllness as conceived by the niinds of oydinary peop:le, the body
appea ng in the keness of t[:,:

rhe six translnigratory stat(

::i worlds
the Inanifestation of corporeal form, how can it appear in
corporeal forln?
to which 5entient beings are lcd by the force of the karlna which
'::ates of being o
7 0 7 1
 THE WAKEN NG OF FAI H
IN TERPRETAT ON
An wer: Since the Dharmakaya is the es ence of corpore mind a e in the final analysis beyond what they a e thought
]i

orm, it is capable o= appearing i:n corporeal form. The rea

to be And the Inind i elf is devoid of any fom or In
son this said is that om the beginning corporeal forln 'k and
is, therefoie, unobtainable as such" :no
att r where on Y
:

nd ' ind have been nondual. Since the essentiaf nat re of

seek it. Just as a IIlan, because he as 1ost his way mi t=kes
corporeal for l is identical with wisdol , the essence o cor
the east foT the
e t, :t:hough :the a tu:a1 .diT ctions have I1ot
poTea1 l1 which has yet to be divided into t 1ngible forms
Since th cha god plac , so peop1 , ause oE theiT ignoia'ce s me


is ca!led the
wisdo 1-body. essentia:1 natl re of
hat
wisdom identic with corpo"al for , [the essence d r
hEind :(Su :hness) to b,e th:ey :think it to be, t:hotlgh hli d
in fact is uh e ted :[ev n if it is f 1 ely ;predicated]. a
lan:
poreal fowhi!ch has et to be divided i to tangible forms]
is ab1o to obseTve
nd undet tand :that
Eind is :beyond w at
is c
!led Dharmakay pervading evelywhere. Its ma ifested it is t- ght to be, :the h will be able to co forln to and
corporeal forIIls have no limitations. It ca' be I eely mani
ellteT : he realIIl f :Suchness:
fested as an inj[inite umbeT of Bodhisattvas, Buddh s ot
Bliss body and adoTnIIlents in the ten quarters ot t-!e uni.
erse Each of theIIl has neither lilnitation nor inter erence. Th
:
1poneh (skandhas) :: The eonstituonts of a11 physi:
and Inental s:tates. : In ! a=ly Buddhism, particularly in th
All oE these are incolnprehensible to the dualistic thinking IIinya'a hoo1 c 1:led S rv tiv one who :asserto that
in (
ev rything
of the [deluded] Inind and consciousness, foT they result om , they were belleved to e real. They are: :matter
(r feel g , idetion ( , ple spositio
the ee influence of Suchness. y
). and
c on io
:beyo d wha
s'ess { )."I:
:
"
the o'iginal has
"For thqy are thou ht o b ,:

:he foregoing discussion would see 1

o suggest the fa Iiar cot1
hs :!'no;thought. ' - i usod
, ' hi h :lite'a11y *

cept, so often found in crea on myU oy in rituals of gic "- 'e fboyo
ill the :tex:t in the sense of d empi ical prediation o de '

a:hH
: n:

f
H
v

#
te- i a'tion,
(u
and Prbb blY corlesponds to aS:anskrit erlh
I

: -
-
(unanalyzable by i'te:1le t,.
ceived in accordance with the IIlind; that is, they depe:nd on the At 'hinkable)
rs :#ance or :
this se tio: '

seems to be di
P oi tingly: short
:and elusi:ve :Ho ever, what else could
mentality of the devotee. What is really noteworthy ils the state h ve :been said bout the
ment t at from the beginning corporeal foHIl ( Ch., prob:le : T:he soluti on lio
in pe onal exp ien e ::ratho' n in
)
a'd mind have been nondu 1 ( J The non
Ch., - y ). ve'bal de:s criptioh: The pu port o the p: graph, ho"ever, i
d ality of nd and matter, spi t and body is the basic on ept
lear e knowledge which: is relevaht within'the frame ork of
of this text and a coIILmon presupposition of Iahayana Bud the sub ct object rela tionship in othoy words, the dualistic men
dh ism. lity-- ust
be transcended n order to gain the sion of Suh T

'
ness and to reinstate oneself in the Absolute order

II . rYO7S o Nj I ?Z

CHAPTER T' O
astly, ho to
enteT nto h y a1 n o[ Suchlless yo 1 th
The CorTection of Evil Attachments
realyn o salnsara
, ill be revealed. Examini'g the &ve coln

ponents, we find that they IIlay be redi ced to Inatter (object

and Inind (subject). The o1) ects of the five senses and of the In this chapter, an attempt is made to refute false doctr nes so
tha the a seruon Inadc ln the preceding chapter m{ y prove t0
7 2
7 :;
 1 NTERPRETATI N
TH WAKENING Of FA TI{
q'lestion: IIow is tllis to be corrected
be correc': The content of U s chapter is not suggested in the
o ef te
OuUie, but ielevant views is an indispensable step
Answer: [The way to correct this error is] to underStand
is a delusive concept, the s
clearly that
empty space b.

h N=H= onglnate om bias.ed ews; if a m n is stance of which is none ent and unrea1. It is
= evil atm
is
erely
Tedi
ee om bias, he i11 be ee froln evil ttachmen:ts. The e cated in Tela ion to [its corTelative] corporeal objects. If it
re tw kindg ::bia d iew: one is the biased view he by is takell as a being [t r d nonbeing, neg tive being, then
:

tho who aTe not ee oIIl the belief in 4 a ., ordi should scarded, becausel causes the mind to re ain
bF
y th e who in salnsara.
n yy me ; the oth r is the biased view held n fact there are no exter l coTporeal objects:
1

bolieve that t e eo ponen of the wo 1d ale t ai [ -e. the beca'Ise aU bjects are originally oE the Iylind: And as long
]'::![:j
:j::'Layanistsl- . theTe re I10 corporea1 objects at all, f e pty space
can

not e lain ained. All objeqts are o= -h:e !ind 1 ne; : but
:Biaged view is I1ot a lite'al tra slaU ; the o igi ads

=1
e
whe: i11 si s irise, [o ects which ::: Teg rded rea1]
ue- j , usually undeTstood ,as indicating a wr g pecultive
appear. Wh:r=n th(- IIlind is free om it deluded activitio
theory whicll holds t atma is T . ro1 the follo ng con ,

te* 1lewever, i is obvioUs that e- t-n ali o ec [imagined as ea1] vanish of thense]v s

" is not used in 'hi'

ordinar se se, bu' deno:te' biased or gubje
' tive or ir elev t
What is real;] the one and tru hliind, pervades every1 here.

view :
This is the Ila1 leaning of the Tathagata s gTeat and co!m
prehe sive wisdom. [The Dharmakaya is, indeed,] unlike
I: :T
J I' u, = J OTt' M
:

empty spacel :
' B'I

':)
"
T:h ere aTe: ve ki do of biased views held by oTdi ay en Nonbeing
is i
conceivable when theye is no
In otheT
d. ': being.'
hic:h ay be di*u words, non a nnot be talked about whe 1 there is no
a ;

IIearing t t it :is explained in the sutra that the DhaI la death is mea ingless in the absence of life, or vice versa. Seen
nal froIn the point of view of the Itbsolute order---though this 'Iiew
kaya of
h:e Ta h=gata i' in the an lysis, quiescen:t, li:ke
is in PTactice possible only for the Enlightened Onos the phe
empty space, oT inaTy I en think that the nature oE the noI ena1 order sit ply does not exist. The Absolute order is
T,th=gata , indeed, the same as empty spac for they do unlike
eIIIpty sp ce, ' which needs a correlati' e for its existence.

rlo:t know [th t :the pur:pose oE the sutra is] to uproot eir Becallse of its tra scendental nature and, at the saline time, be

adherence.: cause of its imma ent nature of Suchness it i symboli ally said
that the one true ' illd pervades everywhere.

quiescent
is lit!erally -tlanquil and desolate ( which

H-
'o);
bsence of being. he purpose of
suggests a sta of complete fliearing that it is e plain; d in thF.
tra th: i alI thing:s in
ng that the Dharm kaya is quiescent, like em:pty space,
,
st

orld,
the i 1 the final Ilpty in their
Ilalysis, are e bstance,
is to negate the adheren e to the notion that the DIlar lakaya
is a Being. a k:ind ot anthlopo orphi bei g o'g beings in alld that nirvana or the principle of S chness is a]so abso
the universe. On the other hand, to believe tha' the Dharlnakaya lutely eIIIptY fr IIl the beginnillg and de oid of any character
is li'erally no:nbeing is a wro g view. T his error leads an
istics, they not kI10' ing [that the purpose of: the sutra is]
adherence to otion of no being as a fom of I
=ingl
7 5
74
 INTERPRETAT10N
THE AWAKENlNG Of FAITH
to uproot theil adherence, think that the essential n tuTe g
T -g y and that th ey are t
erefoTe not independ
of Suchness or nirvana simply empty ent of S 1chness, they, not unde standing this, think that the
qu stion: How is this to be corTectedP) T
g
literally contaills in itse1
-g all the deflled
states of: sa isara in the world.
AnsweT: [The way to correct this elror i t make clear
that Suchnes" or the Dharm kay= is not empty, but is en ques!ion: How is thi to be correcte P
dowed with numb:erless excellent qualities [In order to cect thi:s
Tror it should be ullderstood that]
t e T I
:g
y
, fro the
eginning cont ins only
Th is a refu tion of nihilism. Concerning th s biase view, '
pule xcellellt
"g qualities which, outnulnberillg the sands oE
a tsang says, It is al eryoneous adherence to the I1otio:n that
the ence of Suchness (dhat a) is absolute nothingn ss ( g: the Ganges, are not indepe dent of, severed froln, or dif
"
e of Stlchne$s cannot b!e: p edicated, it ferent from Suchness; that the soiled sta es of de lement
'").:' 41 Since 'he e,ssen
is called (eIIIpty); bu! if a i an takes it as literally true, he 1 hich, o tnu1b.ering the sa (!s of the Ganges, Inerely e ist
takes a position in nihilism, another extrelne and falso vie .

defies predi atiol1, it can be suggested syI in illUsion; aye; frol 1 the beginning, no existent; and froln
'hough Suchness
boIi ally by s ch terms as colnpassion, light, life, etc. the beginningless begi ning have never been united
vith the

T -g y
. It has neyer happened that the T g
Iearing that it is explaine in the sutra that there is no ' '
I
contained
g y ,I"g deluded states in its essence and that it in
increase or decr:ease in th e T -g y[)
and that it is ish
'
duced its!elf to 'ealize [Suchness] in order to oxting
provid:ed in its essence
"g
'
ith all excellent q alities, they not foTever its de1 1ded states.
beil!g able to ullde stalld this, think that in tho T
g

g y th re is plurality o mind and matter. '

to whiether Suchness con:tains in itself
This is an a gument as
questio 1: IIow is this to be corrected?
',
evils or whether evils are a part of Suchness. To this the answer
Answer [The I shou14 be instructed that the statement in is given: evils are not a part of Suchness, for they are not ownT

the s1 there is no increase or decrease in the T
tra that beings ; their appearance is due not to Suchness but to a deluded
IIlind on the part of Inan. If evils were a payt of Suchness, how
g :g T ] is Inade
ylly in accordance with the [absolute]
co:uld Suchness help to extinguisll e
ils

the state:IIlellt that

'
aspeot of Suchness, and it is provide4
1vith aII excellent qllalities ] is IIlade in accorda:nce ith [:the
HeaTing that it is explained in the sutra that on the gro'1nd
pluTalistic out ok held by the de led minds inI samsara -g yb there is saIIlsara as well as the attain
0f the T g
'
ITlent of Ilir Iana, they, vitho1 t undeTstanding this, thillk that


Fa tsang saysIn accordance with the absolute] aspect of Such '

stands for teTe is a beginning for sentient beings. Since they suppose


ness
the I10nduality of the dua1 (the nonduality of t]

and
Absolute and phenomena),
n accordance with the plura1 a beginning, they s1 ppose also that the nirvana attained by
stands for
istic outlook held by the defiled nlinds in saIIlsara
the Tath gata has all end and that he will in turn becolne
the duality of the nondua1 (phenolnena on the ground of the

42 a se tient being
Absolute).

question: How is this to be corrected?
HeaTing that it is explained in the sutra that a11 defiled Answer: [The wa to coT ect this erTor is to explaiyl that]
o'Id exist on the ground of the
states of saIIlsara in the g
the T -g yI,' has no beginning, and that theyeEore
'

7 6
 INTERPRETATION
THE AWAKENING oF FAIT
ture and, theretore, are imperishab!e that Iwhat m e
ignoTanqe ha 'o begi'ning. I anyone asserts thit sen en
iple wo4 he 'olds the ve componentsl is, from the be nning; in nilvana.
bei gs came int exi ence tside this
, the
e view glven. i the scri tuTe of e heTet s. Aga Ni:rvana is oneived by the I=Iinayanists as a state of peyfect
T
y does I1ot have a end; and nirva a at annihilation; i.e., as n nbeing, in contrast to being which under
'
tailled ''the B ddha , bei=lg one wi:th i
'y Iik wisle : as no end. goes constant 'Iansfomation.
Unborh (
Ch., g,
is a p
l expres
"

The mistndersta dillg es in istaking logid
onditioni'g: foT sio:n sggestig the trans endene "
of both being and nonbeing
'

a me oTder as to whidh comes and which comes la er one of the ost fundalnental ideas of Mahayana Buddhism.
tive, de'otes unborn,
When: ny mo teHn for example, ign ance and enligh" P
, e un
an and as a noun (
"g, when used as etc., -"' J or
Hlent, samsara and nirvana, good "d evil are i co Uy created,
unprodu ed,
, etc. he
bolutely ex-
tho ht to be
ive polar'ties one m.ay f 11 'nto I

no-bir:th,

no Ereation, no-production,

''
the elror f suppo ng at they alte te: i me. The assump popu11rity of the exp ession undoubtedLy owes much to the
tion in the te*! is that on the 1ogi al groud of the or'gillal opening stanza of N g luna s '/f J
3

yj
, declaring
en ghtenment : ignqrance ppears; on th grou d of nirvana, the eightfold negation, which begin:s:
Imperishable, unborn
-He" -"'
J ). or uncreated is no:t a concept
samsara exist . Fa tsang sys of is: g tha t
an i!lusion is (
IJnborn
.'

or but
depedent :on w at i at " at is ue e :ists diametrically opposed to its co nterpart
borl1'
created,'
true; they thillk t
yst and then illusion

s later. Th s :they have com to belongs to a highe order :transcending the dichotoIIly of both
e tertai a WIo'g vi:ew that there i s a begi ing:
r i reverse being and nonbeing, birth and death, eteTnalism and nihilisIIl,
-,
order,] -k a ce'tain heretic wh daims that o the original etc. Thus it is used llnost interchangeably with J
darkn eluerges enlightenment, they t nk that thel1 is a b (nondu),
.'
(no-se1[!substance), etc. '

ginnin to bei g a s ntient b ing .e., an ori nal f 1l into the

order of sa sa and then [an escape om Ulerel dependig !on Fillally, in order to be completely ee om errpneous
what is true. 4 attachments, one should know that both the defiled and the
pure states aTe relative and have no particular marks oE their

J 7J II II'

own being tha:t call be discussed. Thus, a11 thillgs froln the
I . T B' y
'J " beginning a e Ileither Inatter I10r IIlind, neither wisdoIIl nor
Ta:th gat preache consciousllegs, Ileither being I10r non being; they re ulti
B cau e of their inferior capacity, th!e [

to the iylayallists only the doctri e of t:he none istence o mately inexplicable. And yet they are still spoken of. It
at lan alld did not pyeach llis doctrilles iII their elltilety; a
should be '1rlderstood that the Tath gatas, applyillg theiy
yanists have coI11(= be1'eve that the expediellt In ans I ake use of conventional speech in a pro
result,the Hi ve
visiollal InanneT in order to guide peoPle, so that they call
componen , the constituen o' samsarlc e sten , are real:
be free oill their deluded thoughts a d can returll to Such
being teTrified a the
hought of beillg s'II)ject to birth alld
ness; for if anyone thillks of allythi g [as reil alld absolute in
death, they erroneously attach theIIlselves to niyvana.
question: IIow is this to be corTecte P its o vn right], he callses his IIlind to be [trapped] in saIIls ra

Answe The way to corr t this erroT is to make dear

and conseq1ently he callnot enter [the state
1led with] true
insight [i. e., enlightenIIlellt].
thatl the five components are unbor in their essential na

7 9
7 8
 THE AWAKENING O fAITH ERPRET
N TION

The ioonoclastic natu'e of Mahayana Buddhism wi!h regard to AnsweT: AInong those who belong to the group of the

the 1timate validity of langage is dearly in evidence he'e, ulldeterlnined, there are some who, by virtue of their excel
whe e the dange' involved in the absolutization of th relative lent capacity for goodnes$ developed through p rmeation,

are cautioned against. The tem de'led st te ' here refers to the
believe in the [law o ret bution of karma and observe the
conepts of saulsa evi1, ignora ce, being nonbeing' etc.; while
refers to the Absolute
good, e:nlightenment, nirvan ten precepts. They loathe the suffdring of sams ra and wish
pu'e state
e tc. to seek the supreme enlightenment. Having been able to
It Inay appe r str nge to negate even wisdo irement
meet the Buddhas, they serve them, honor them, and prac
of which is thought to be the only means by' whi h one can
the aoq
tice the faith. :heir faith wi11 be perfected after ten thousand
y ignorance. But wisdom, whe11 solidi ed as a certain
desi
view, rns into a type cit know1 edge, a product of the analytica1 aeons. Their aspiration foT enlightenment wi11 be developed
min which only functions dual tically in terms of subiect and either through the instruction of the Buddhas and the Bod
object rela onships. In this sense, windom should also be tran
scended, just as '

iew among views, must be
hisattvas, or becaus:e of their great colnpassion [to
ard their
Ilegate 'J, taken as a suEering fellow beings], or om their desiye to pTeserve the
good teaching flroIIl extinction. Those who are thus able to
develop their aspiyation through the perfection of faith wi11
CHAPTER THREE
enter the group of the deteTInined and wi11 never retrogress.
Analys of the Typ s o Aspiration for E lightenment, They are called the ones Ivho are united with the correct
or The hIo nings of Y na44 cause Ifor erllighten en and who abide amollg those who
belong to the Tath gata family

A11 Bodhisattv aspire to the enlightenment ( oJ ; Ch.

) realized by a11 the Buddhas, disciplining
hemselves to
this elld, and advancin:g toward i
'
BTie y, ttrree types oE
aspiration for e:nlightellme t can be ist:i guished. The first
is the aspiration for enlightenIIlent through the peTfec ion o
ith. The second is the aspiration for eIllightenIIlent thTough
understanding and through deods. The third is the as
piration for enlightenlnellt thrpugh insight
rhe group of the undetermined : Those who have not estab
lished an unretrogressive f ith, i.e., those who repeatedly advance
and retreat in the course of attaining enlightenment; or in IIlyth
ological terms, those who have not received the assuran e o[
attaining enlightelllnent by a certain Buddha.
The exact nature of the differs in the diEerent
ten precepts
traditions of Buddhisln. :fhe k 1lowing tFn are popularly ac
cepted in the Mahayana tradition of the far East: not to kili, not
to stea1, not to comlit adultery, not to lie, not to use fiowery

words, not to slander, not to be double tongued, not to ovet,

not to give way to anger, ot to harbor biased views.
is a translation of the Sanskyit ka1
I. T
IoT E
Aeon
a, a '1nit of time,
' P H
yo"g ' 'o oI
''g ' ' often said to be the Ume it would take for a elestial maiden
'
''o ''
who comes do n to the e rth once every hundred years to
ear away an ilnlnense rock by brushing it with her sleeve. Such
{::uestion: By whom alld th ough what kind ot discipline expressions, needless to say, should be taken s)'IIlbolic:ally. They
call Eaith be perfected so that the aspiration for enlightel1 are u d sometimes in oTder to suggest the extreme diI culty of
Ite'
ment may be developed? establishihg correct faith, or some mes t :convey an enti ely

8 R l
 THE AWAKENINC OF FAITII INTERPRETAT 0N
sense of dimension. Often a qualita ve di erence is expressed
by an e*tremely exaggerate
owR acc on Suchne alone, but must leam te Fra

quantitative expression.
good deedsP
The are, however people Iamong those who belong to AnsweT: Just as a preci us gem is bril ht
nd :puTo i=t s
th gro p e ence but marred by inpuTimes, o i' a man. Evlen i
= thF unde'eT
illed whose capacity for goodness

is sli t
hd whos leme , having a c mulated from he mediates on precieus Ilature, unless he poli es it in
de t

the f distant st, a de p r t . Though they may !so

v ous way by xpedient wleans, he wi never be able to
Furi{1r i: .
:u
meet the Budd and honor theIIl, they wi11 develop he po :he :pTi: 1ciple of
hness in Inen is abso1:utely pure
d ellers in heaven, or in its esse=ltial mture, b:ut i$ lled with imIIlea.su ble im
t tiali y me1* 1 bom as men, s

to b

purity of deglement' Even if a Inan medita es on Suchness,

ks:

f::I;: :;:::=
unle$ he makes an e ort to be pe ]meated by it in vaiious
ways by a pply ;

==
t nes regress becaU e of their ca pedign means, he certainly cannot be
J *1

= ot the inconsistent natu

=:
pacity. And also thele aTe some who h nor :the Buddhas and
who, before ten thousand aeons have passed, wi11 deye1op an
aspiiation because of some favo able circ mstanc s. These
coTpoTea1
ci cumstances Inay be the viewing of the :Buddhas
clome puTe. Since the state of impurity is limitles pervading
throughout a11 tates f bleing, it is necessary to counteract
and purify by m o tlle practice of al1 kinds of good
d:eeds. If a lan :does so, he wi11 natu:rally Ietu n to the prin

oring of mon , the receivi of instructions

fo1 lns, the ho ciple o S chneg .

from the followers o the Hinay na, or the imitation of
aspiration. But these types of aopiration are all in
otheys
consistent, foT if the IIlen who hold thel 1 Ineet with 11nfavor
As to the exIKdient means, there are, in skort, four kinds:
e rst is the fundamental Ineans to be practiced. That
is to say, a IIlan is to I editate on the
act that a11 things in

able circumstances, they wi11 Telapse and fa11 ack into the the essential nature are unbom, divorcing h nself jom

stage of a tainment o the followeTs o the IIinayana. deludod views that he does not abide in sams a- [At e
Now, in deve1 ping the spiration foT enlightenment same timel he to meditate on the f ct th i11 things a e
la y and coo'dinating
hrough the peTfection of faith, what kind of =nind i to
[the pro ucts oq the '1nion of the pri
be cultivated? Briefly speaking, three kinds can be discussed.
au:ses; a d :that th:e ef oct :o:= karIIla wi11 neve be lost. [Ac

The flrst is the IIlind characterized by straightforwardness, cordinglyl he to cu1 ivate great compassion, practice meTi

for it correctly IIleditates on the principle of Sllchness. The toTipus deeds, ind accept alld transforln sentient beings
second is the IIlind of profoundness, for there is no limit to qually
w!thoUt abiding in nirvana, foT he to conform him

its joyful accumulation of a11 kinds of goodness. The third se1 to [the fullctiolls o the essential natuTe o[ Reality

is the Inind lled ith gTeat compassion, for it wishes to (J which knows no
ation.
uproot the sufferings o a11 sentient beillgs.
question: Earlier it has beell explained that the orld The last clause in the imuedia ely preceding palaBF h, for
can literally be translated
o{ Reality is orle, and that the essence of the Buddhas has is to confo himself to . : . I
because he is to f 1low the onabiding of the esse ti nature

Ilo duality. hy is it that people do not leditate [ot their nonabiding ( r E

of Reality (
yz
).'
:he terl )
''

8 8 (I
 THE AWAK NING OF FAIT I
INTERPRET TION
su g edom, spontaneity nonattachmen nondoHat m, ment roughi fai , he wi be able, to a celtai ext{=rlt,
dtc. It is a way of life, ractical application of emptiness
( in a life
ituation en ompas i g
oth i tellec ual and realize the Dhamakaya. Because o this yealization o t e

'
a ecti naI aspe ts. Dham kaya, and be use he is led by the jbrce oE t e v
In this pa agTap:h, thTee ideas are pI sented: Fir t, faith in the
[that he made to libe'ate a:11 sentient beingsl, he is able to ple
Absolute orde'r; se the legitilnate reeognition o:f the phe
on:d
sent eight types o manifes ti n oE hims
oT e bene
nomea1 order where the law of ausality oper tes; thi d, the
synthesis of these two ordels in a way of life fbr m . of a11 se tiellt beings These are: the descent oI== the Tushit
heaven; the entrance into a human womb; the stay ill he

The s ond the m ns of opping [evilsl The practice womb; the birth; the Tenunciation; the attainment o=
1

o deve1oping a sense :of shame alld repentance can stop aU E the PhaI a
Iightenlnent; the tu ning of the whee1 (do
'

trine); and the ent ance in o nirvan . IIowe er, uch

evils alld pTevent them from owing, for o e i to confoiu
oneself to the f
11tlessness of the essential natu e oE Reality
ho
Bodhi ttva cannot be said [tb have pe fectly T liz d]
The third is the
neans of increasing the capacitY foy good
DhaI 1 akaya, for he has not Yet oompletely destroyed the out
ness th has alTqady been deve1oped. That is to say, a maI1
flowing evil kalma which has beell a umulated m his
should diligelltly honor alld pay holnage to the hTee 'Trea
nu berle existen es in the past. He must suEeI solne
light
uTes, and should praise, Tejoice in, and beseech the Buddhas
misery derivillg from the state o= h b th. However, this is
Be ause of the sinceTit his love and Tespect for th!e Three
o
due I1ot to his bei g fe:ttered by ka a, but to his freely made
Treas:res, his faith wi11 be strongthened and he wi11 be able
decision to ca y out the g eat vow [of univeTsal s yation
to seek the unsIIrPassed enlightenment. FurthermoT(e, bdng
in odeI to unde Eering of o- ersl.:
protected by the B"J , the D , and the S g, he 'tand the J
wi11. be able to wipe out the hi 1drances o ev kaTIna Iis re
the histor -mythic

The eight types of manifestation t
capacity oT good les wi11 not retrogTess beca'1se he wi11 be a coullt 1kyamuni Buddha. In the usual account,
of the li'e of
howeve a phase called the

subdUing of M a, the tempter,
confor lillg himse f to the essel1-ial nat'1re of Reality, which ahd the stay in the womb is
appears after

the renuncia on,

is :ee j om hindrallces produ ed by stupidity
omitted. f To turn the whee1 of the Dhama me Ils to pyeach.
The fourth is the Ineans of the great vow of universa1
The first se no:n of the Buddha at Benares is kI1o"n s the
The foTm given
salvation. This is to take a vo that one wi11 liberate a11 turning of the whee1 of the Dharma. ere is
sentient beings, down to the last olle, no IIlatteT how 1o 1g it co only known as the eight types of manife ation of Mahay

alla.
may take to ca11se them to attaill the perfoct nirvana, foI
o=le wiU be conforming oneself to the eBsential natuye oE
t is said ill a slltra that there are some [Bodhisattvas o
Reality which is chayacterized by the absellce f discon th 'indl who may yegTess and fall into evil s tes ot exis
t Iluity. The esselltial Ilat'1re of Reality is a11-elnbraci 1g, alld
ence, but this doe IIo refer to a real regTession. It says this
elTvades a11 sentient beings; i is eveTywheTe the same and hte
I merely i ord t a'd. stir the heroism of th newly
one without duality; it does I10t distinguis h this I o 1 that, initiaied



-
::
:--
n t yet joine th group of
because it is, ill the nnal analysis, in the state of quiescence.
the dete id, :- 'rho ay
e indolent.
When a Bodhisattva develops this aspiration for enlighten FLlrthermore, soon as t s as iration has been aro erI

8 4
 N ERPRETATION
TIIE AWAKENING OF FAITH
devote themselves to the perfectiotl oE I==editation owllig
in the Bodhisattvas, they leve cowardice fa behind thel
that the essenti 1 nature of Reality is always chayacteri=ed
and are not aLaid even f fa11 ng into the st ge of the fo1.
that they by gnosis and is . ee j om iII10ran e, they, in oonEolmity to
1owers of the I Iinayana. Even :though they hear
:

it, de vote themse:1ves to the pe

ection of wisdom.
must suEer oxtrgme hardship for innumerable aeons before
they ay ittain ni'va a, they do n.ot feel any fear, for they
believe and know that om th beginning a11 things ,are oE
themselves in nilvana. . T
Ioy E z '

' 'j:o
To"gJz I
'iig

'

'gItt

IAs for the Bodhisattvas of th group who mnge om

II T Ioy E
T
g to the
' ''o
?z

' ' the
st ge of pure heaTtedness
last stage ot Bodhisat
I?z T
'g what object
' ' ' '?zg
' tvahood,: do they realize? They Tealize Such

It should be understood that this type o aspirition i evel1

ness. Te speak of it as an o ject becaulse oE the evolving

but iiil fact the
mind, e is no object in this realizatiol1 [that
more excellent than the former. Because the Bodhisattv g
can be stated i teTms of a sutlject o e t Telationshipl. There
[who cherish :this aspiration] are those who are about to
is only the insight in:to S11chlless [transcending both the seer
1nish the first term of the: :i calcu1 ble aeons si 1ce the titne
and the seen]; we ca [this the expeTiellce oq the Dha ma
when theY :rst had the co tec= faith, they have co le to have
kaya.
a profound un eTstanding of the pri ciple of Suchness and
to enteyta 1 no attachmellt to thelr attallllnents obtalned
e ev miod that which, because of
through discipl ine. " ''
)

ignoranc -erges as the perceiving

" and thinking subject. The
KIlowing that th csse tial nature o Reality is free o 1 L the sentence is that, though Suchness cannot be
impIicat
'
covetousness, they, i 1 confoT lity to it, devote th mse1 eg t predic t hen
explanation is needed there is no other way
the perfection of charity. Knowi 1g that the essenti 1 natule but to ative tems that are accessible to the milld which
functio y in terms of subie obiect relationships.
om
t

f Reality ls free f IIl the denlements which orlg1

c ate '

the desires of the ve senses, they, in collfo Ini y to it, devote

The B
Isattvas of this group can, in an instant of
i

themselves to the perfection ot precepts. Kno ing that the

o a11 wollds oE the univeTse, hono the Buddhas,
thought, g'e
essential natule of Reality is without sllEering and ee o
and ask theln to turn the heel of the ]DharIIla. n order to
anger and anxiety, they, ill conforIIlity to it, devote theln
guide and bene t a11 IneI1, they do I10t rely pn words. Some
selves to the perfectioiil of forbearance. KI10' ing that the es
eak willed men, they show how to
tilnes, for the sake of
selltial nature o 'eality does I10t have any distililc:tiol1 of
attain perfect enlightenment quickly by skipping ove the
body and Inind and is free I o
l indolence, they, in conforIIl
stages [o the Bodhisattval. And sometimes, for the sake o
ity to it, devote themselves to the peTfection ot zea1. KI10w
indolent Inen, they say that IIlen lay attain enlightenment at
illg that the esselltial natllre' of Reality is always calln and
the end of Il11Inberless aeons. Thus they ca1 deII10nstrate iI1
ee froIIl confusioll in its essence, they, ill conforlnity to it,
8 7
8 6
 T E AWAKEN NC Of FAIT 1NTERPRETA'fION

numerable expedient means and supTa,rational feats. But nind.

ill reality al1 these Bodhisattvas are the same ill that they
are Jike in their lineage, their capacity, their aspiration, and
their realization [of Suchnessl; therefore, the'e is no such
thing as skipping over the s ges, for al1 Bodhisattvas must
identified in ter Ls of the th ee subtle modes of The
rst is the true mind, for it is free from [false intelle :tua1
discrimination The second is the mind [ apablel oE Iapply
in ] expedient means, for it pervades everywhere spontane
ously and bene ts sentient beings. The thiTd is the
Ilind

pass through the th'ee terms of inn merable aeons [befo e ubiect to the nuencel of ka'11la [opemtingl in subcon
s iousness. for it appea s and disappeals in the most

ui) 1
they can fully attain eIllightenmentj. I Iowever, because of
the diEeTences in the valious worlds o= beings, and in the wa s
objects see g and he ring as well as in the capacity, de
Of these three sub le modes of mind,
fa
tsang says: "The true

sires, and nature oE the various be 1gs; the e ale also diEer-, mind ' the b ic wisdom free from d mlnation EoE sub ect
ent ways of teaching them what to practic e
: ;o
jT t 1: i : 1

:1 :=
i:
The opening sentence in this par graph that e ds with 'the :
F: :'::::; : ::: :I:f :l: ::; i
Dhama is a symbolic presentation of the supraraUona in uences

i::

tsang
f
of Suchness, i.e.. Dharmakaya Since the Bodhisattvas who
have realized the Dharmakaya a e one wit Suchne , they are
is the Storehouse Cons
':
: iousnes', as fa )
s,

thought to function in a ordance with the mysterious func

tions of Su hness. It also corresponds to the spontaneou a tion
ht::de Ya :I'1 :t H:
g
z


Consciousness, whi h is explained by Vasubandhu as bei
of saving others after attaining enlightenment. =,, e

is am

The
do not I ly on wo'ds j "e -'z
ause,
they " )

biguous. a tsang and other colnlnentators give us no lue to the
H t
i
f1:# :: I :s

i I, .

1f::
fi
=
=.1
j:1 ::i i=::
45 whi : i

do not seek to hear any melo ous sounds or words, h ious es

which is stirred by ignorance in the Storehouse Cons .

would seem to imply that the Bodhisattvas devote themselves

to the salvation of I ankind and do not remain in heaven enjoy rhen he bTini:;s l is
Again, a Bodhisattva of this group,
ing the celestial music and song-.another way of saying that
excellent qualities to perfection, nalli ests himself in tlle

they do not stay in the bliss of nirvana. The statement that
they
is c1ose in spi t to the clailn of Zen heaven of Akallishta as the highest physical beillg iyl the
do not rely on word
Buddhisln that the
translnission of Zen does not ely on words world. Through wisdoIIl united with origillal enlightelllnent
Here, in view of what foUows, the
but is from mind to lind.
o Suchness] in an illsta 1t of thought, he suddenly extin
statement would seem to Inean that the Bodhisattvas do not cling

to literal interpretations of the sc ptures, but a e ady to inter
pret the 1 freely accommodating their interpretation to al1 pos
sible situations of suffering beings, with the single aiI of helping
the 1 to advance to the way of salvation.
the uni'' rse and benefit a11 sentiellt beings

The charaoteristics of the aspiration foT enlightenment TI)e l e tven of Aka lishta
' is Lhe llighest heaven in tlle
orld of


e tertained by a Bodhisattva belonging to this group can be 0l , :'tcor(iiIlg to tlle cos no'0 1diaIl Bud(ihisl .
[ ()f I

8rl
8 8
 THE AWAKENING OF fAITII NTERPRETATION

question: Sin e space is infinite, -vorlds are i nnite. Since
worlds are in nite, beings are innnite. Since bei gs are iI1
finite, the variety of their mentalities must also be ih
The objects of the senses and the lind ml st therefore be
liIIlitless, and it is dimcult to know and nderstand the
If. ignorance is dest oyed, there wi11 be no thoughts ill the
Inind.
Iow then can a comprehension [that has no content
be
alled : a11-embracing kno
ledge ?
Answer: Al1 o ects are originally pf One 'Iind and aTe
beyond thought deterIIlination. Because unenlightened peo
ple peTceive o1)jec in their lusion, they impose mitations
in the mind. Since they erroneously develop these thought
determinations, which do not correspond to Reality (
Ans' er The Dharlnakaya oE all the Buddhas, being one
and the same everywhere, is omnipresent Since the Buddhas
nite. are free o l any Iixation of thought, the acts are said to be
They reveal themselves in accoTdance 'with
spolltane us.
l aI1. the Inentalities of a11 the various sentient beings. The I ind
of the sentient being is like a mirror. Just as a InirTor cannot
I
Teflect images if it is coated ith dirt, so the Dharmakaya
cannot appear in the milld of the sentient being if it is coated
with the dirt [of de lements].
y

z
), they are unable to reach any illclusive comprehension.
The Buddha T are free f'rom all perverse views and
'th='gata
tho11ghts [that block corTect visiol1; therefore,] there are no
corneTs into which their comp rehe 1sion does not penet ate.
Their ind is tTue and rea1; therefore, it is I10 other than the
v

essential nature of al! things. [The B11ddhas], because of their

very natuTe, can shed light on all object conc ved ill illu
sion. They are endowed with an influe ce of great wisdo
'
[that functions as the applicatio 1] of innu nerable expediellt
means. Accommodating themselves to the capacity ot ullder
standing of various sentient beings, they can reveal to the 1

the
Ilanifold meanings of the doctrine. This is the reason
they Inay be called those ' ho have all elnbracing kI10l
edge.
question: I the Buddllas are able to peTform spolltaneo11s
acts, to Inalli est themsel 7es everywheTe, alld to benefit a11
sentiellt beings, then the sentiellt beings should a11 be able,
by seeing their physical foI:ms, by ' itllessillg their Iniracles,
or by hearing tlleir preachings, to gaill beneflt. Why is it then
that I10st people in this 'vorld have I10t been able to see the
B uddhasP
 ON FA TH ND PRACTICE
me be and practice various disciplines leading to enlighten
ment. The fourth is the faith i the S g (Buddhist Com
munity) whose Inembers are able to devote
themselves to the
practice of bene ting both themselves and others. Because
[oE th faith] a Inan comes to approach the assembly oE
Bodhisa:ttvas constantly and with joy and to seek instruction
fro 1 the l in the correct practice.

does not here

P ART The word Bo sattva efer to bein such as
a1ju rI, Ava1okite vara, et ., but to any sentient being "ho is

4 '
intrin:sically enligh. ened but who has yet to a tuali"e the orig
inal enlightenmeIIt, and who is making a e ort to this end.

J I
O I
""
On Five Practicos
Having already discussed inte pretation, we wi11 now present
a discussion of faith and practice. This discussion is intended
TheTe are
ve ways of practice which will enable a man to
for those who have not yet joined the group o{ beings who
pe fect his faith. :hey are the practices of charity, [observ
are determined to attain enlightenment
ance oq precepts patience, zea1, alld cessation [of illusio 1s]

and clear obs.ervatiol1.

On Four Faiths question: IIow should a man practice chaTityP
Aner: If he sees anyone co ling to hiIIl begging, he
should give him the wealth and other things in his possession
should a nn havel and how
question: Vhat kind ot faith
in so far as he is able; thus, while eeing hilnself from gTeed
should he practice itP

our kinds oE [aith. The first is
and avarice, he causes th!e beggar to be joyfu1. Or, if he sees
Answer: Briefly, theTe are
olle who is in haTdship, ill fear, or in grave danger, he should
the faith ill the L/T'
j

So":y
- Because
oE this faith a
Suchness give hinl I eedonl fro1 fear in so far as he is able. If a man
man coIIles to meditate vith joy on the prillciple o
comes to seek inStruction in the teaching, he should, accoTd
he
: second is the faith in the ntlIIlberless excellellt qualities
ing to his ability a d ulldeTstanding, explain it by the use
of the B JJ Because [o this faith] a mall comes to medi
f expediellt Inealls. IIl doi'g so, however, he shot11d I10t
tate on the l ays,
a1 to draw near to them in fellowship, to
expect any fame, Inaterial gain, or respect, bu he should
honor them, and to respect them, developing his capaciLy for
t think only oE benefiting himself and others alike and of ex

:::i::::E I1
## :i;: tending the merit [that he gains from the practice charityl
lan comes collstantly to
illg). Because [of this faith] a I
e towald the attainIIlent of enligh tenment.

t)
9 3
 TIIE AWAKENING oF F H
I ON FAITII ND PRACT CE

pr : ow shouh he pmcticF the Eobservance o su ri g of disease. There are a gTea IIlany hindrances of

this kind He should, therefore, be cou ageous and zealous;

and at the six four hbur intervals of the day and night should
=:::
pay ho Ilage to the Buddhas Tepent with sincere heart, be
see hthe Bud has [for th!eir gui ancel,.
oice in the h:appi
negs of others, and direct all the meTi [thu acquiredl to
perverse views. If he happens to be a monk Io nu who ihas the tta=nment E enlightenme If he never abandons these
t

renoun od unily life, e should also, in order to cut oE and

p actices; he wi11 be ble to avoid the v Tious hindances as
suppress de Iement k ep hiIIlself away from the hustle and
his pacity for goodness incrmse
bustle of the world and, always resi ing in solitude, should question = I Iow sho ld he practice cessa:tion and clear ob.

i


se'vation'
AnsweT: hat is called
V fcessation I eans to; put a stop

to al1 characte
is ics ) oE the world [o sense objects
('
Tepent IIe should not take lightly any of the Tath gata s
and of the mindl, because means to fo11ow the E
precepts. He s ould guard himself om slander and om
(tranqtlility) m thod of meditation. What called clear
sho*ing d slike so as ot to
ouse peop1!e in their delusion obse vation
Inea
1s to peTceive distinctly the chaTacteTistics
to coInmlt any oEense or sln.
o the ca.usally conditioned phenomena (samsara), becatlse it
question= I Iow should he practice patie 1ceP
mea s to follow the
(discerning) method oE medi
Answer: IIe should be patient with the vexatious ac:ts of
tat10n. "
tY

:


ci question: IIow should he fo11ow theseP

Answe : I{e should step by step practice these two aspects
dishonor prai5e or blame, suEering or joy etc and not separate olle oIIl tho other, for oIlly then wi11 both
{='uestion: IIow should he pTactice zealP
be perfected
Answer; He should not be sluggish in doing good, e

: :: !f:::f=: :: :::::r:
; ::::': :f
:
f:

past he has been tortllented in vain by all of the great suf
: :
These two met11ods of meditation, i.e., z (Ch.,
(Ch., % ), singly and also as a pair,
scriptures
'

'
I,'',) and

appear in the
of old P li sources. '{uch discussion of them is to be

found in the sutras and colnlnentaries. Explanations di er, but
feyings o body and. lind. Because of this he should diligently
the basic notio that implies
z tranq'lilization, stabiliza
practice various meritorious acts, bene{1ting hilnself and and that
tion, cessation, etc., implies disceylling
remains '1nchal
others, and liberate himself qllickly f'om su eTing. Even if clear observation, distinct peI eption,
' etc.
a IIlan practices faith, becau e he is gTeatly hindeled by the lenged. The most elaborate descriptions of them are to be

found in the rf ien t ai Scho01 ot Buddhism in China.48
evil kal11la delived o 1 the grave sins of previous lives, he
lay be troubled by the evil Tempte!r (hlar
) and his demons,
or entangled in a11 sorts of worldly aE irs, or amicted by the

94

1!!

.

ON fAITH AN PR TI
AKENING FA T
.

,-|
wi11 gradually be
o= this, h:s power of exe uting :cessatio'
intensi ed and become highly e ective, so that he wi11 con

forl hiIIIself to, alld be ible to be absorbed into, the coni

TP
j' o
C''' Then his de lements,
'Jo centrati:on (sa tadhi, o= Suchness.
dieep : hough they may be, wi11 be stlpplesso and his faith
Should :thcre: bF a a who desires :to practic f cessation,
he should stay i:n a q :iet p1,ace and sit erect i: a e:ven strengthened; he wi11 qUickly att n the state i which theTe

te peT : His:!at enti sho 1d be cused] neither wi11 be no retTogTe:s ioll. But those who are skeptica1. whq
n breath.
e Buddha],

---l
ing.nor on any foI1 r coloT, nor on empt lack f it , who speak i11 [of the teaching of t
space, earth,
water, e wind, nor even o what h s b:een seen, heard, Te who have committed grave sins, who are hinde ed by their
me ; or concelved. Al1 though , as soon as thoy are. evil karma, or who are a rogant or indolent are to be ex.
co u p aI e to be disca
cluded; these pe ple are incapable of being absoTbed into
d a d eve:n :the th:o:ught of

the saI adhi of Suchness].
iscaTding them is to be put away, for a things are sse
Next, as a result of this samadhi, a maI1 ealizes the oneness

l,
tially [i t:he s ate oq t an cendi:g thoughts, and aTe lilo:t to
om mo ent to moment nor to be of the /V:oild of RIeility (J T'
J leness
be cTeate xtinguished '"), i.e., the sa
m m ent to o e th oll to confo to the
eveTy,vhere and nonduality oE the Dharmakaya ot 11 the
esrenU1 ture of Realit7 (J -, thIough this practice Buddhlls and the bodies of sentient beings. This is called
52 It s
of cFtionl:- Ad it is not tha:t he should the samadhi of one movement ould be understood
t Iueditate on
:amadhi
that Ithe o chness is the foundation of [a11 otherl
the o ects of th:e sens Io in the external world and
then SI
saIIladhi.
f a man keeps pTacticing it, then he wi11 gTadually
egate them with hio mind, the Inind that h meditated on
the : H the mind wand s ould be '
ay,It itsh,o:uld
be able to deve1op countless other kinds of samadhi.
"rought
be :und back If e a man who lacks the cap ity foT goo ness, he
and d i:n : correc:t thought
stood t:hat
wi 1 be confused by the evil TelnpteT, by heretics and by


i:
thi!s coHoct though:t s the t:hought t:hat] whateveT is, is
mind delnons. Some.times these beings wiU appeaT in dleadful Eorlns
no external "olld o= obiects Ias
w:hile he is sittin:g ill Ineditation, and at other times they
con eve
"y ];and that
even mind
ththere devoid of any m of s own
wi manifest themselves in the shapes of handsoIIle nen
and
Iwhich wo:uld indicate its subs:tant:iali- :and the efore is ot
ubstantially co ceivable as such at any IIloment In such a case he should meditate
wolne 1. n the pTinciple
,
and then these o
Even if he a ses om his sitti g position an ngages in
o ind only, wi11 vanish and wi11
not trou1 le him any longer. SoIIleti= they may appear
othei act ities, such as going, coming, advancing, or stand.
as the images of heavenly be s tv s,
nd ass Ine
'e'
ing stii1, he should at al1 tiTnes be: I indfu1 [of the ap
gs or Bodh
lica
ni
also the ngure of the Tath gata; f d: wi h a11 the Inaior
tionl of expedient means [of perfecting
ces tio , conf n -'
[to the immobile prillciple oE the: essential natu e ot ea1.
and minoy mark 0r the y: p e spe11s or preach

ity],51 and observe and examine [the res 1tin expeTie=lcesl. ch ty, the precep-
:, zeaII editation, d wisdo
When this discipline is we11 IIlastered after a long peTiod of or they may diScp e : nirva a is th; state
of universal emptiness, ot=:how
the nonexiste
th!e tru ce bf ch aracteristics,
practice,
the ideations of] his Inind wi11 be arlested. Beca'1se

) 7
)6
 T{ AWAKEN NC O FAIT I
IiI
0N FA ND PRACTICE
vows, hat'eds, a e tions, causest ad e
cts; a d o absolute

oth n+egs. ihey ma y also ach im the howledge of his heletics are (-o''etous]y attached to fame pI ont, and the ye

owR pas!t a 1d tuTe sta:tes of: e ie ce the method oE IeadF spect of the wo Id. The salnadhi o{ Suchnes s is the samadhi

g other me s minds, a pedect ms ef spee , causiRg in ' hich one is not arrested by the activity of v ewing [a
subject:] I10r by the experiencing of o jects [in the :midst of
m to b co e os ad attahed to wy: and pro t;

-frequmtly meditation]; ven a ter collcentration one wi11 be IleitheT

him: to to and
Mger. ad d * : cMracteT, being at indolent nor arTo nt and o e:s denlenents w!11 gT dually
' to have ullsteadille
Umes vew ki heaTted, vew ewsy; ve ill, h
-m ded;
= {E*
decrease. There has never been a {:Btse in which oTdina if]

thout =laving pra ticed this samadhi, was

=

or at otller m beo Ilg suddenly o =nd en: att man, till able
to join the gIoup that is entitled to beco e T
:wa=d lapsing eg1e1c or: d epi g a : lack of: faith, =gatas:
a great de of:d bt, a d a eat x y;
lof
- ab
ndo Those who practice .the various types of dhyana (meditation)
and samadhi ' hich aTe popular ill the world wi11 develop
g ndamntal excdknt p Itoward relUous

much atta hment to their avors and wil1 bo bound to the
perfection] and devoting himself mitellaneous Teligio
iple world because f their pe vers ,view that at1 an is
acts, of :beiIIg attached to woTldly whic involve him .t
yea1. They a e theTefore the same as heretics, for as tl ey
many ways; or sometim they m.ay ause him to exp ience
' se blanc of vaTio:us ki
depart from the protection of thei ood piritual friends,
a oe tai
' oE samadhi.
n.ot the whic:h ale they turn to heretica1
all the attai ments of heretics and: aT true nadhi; 'iews.
Next, he who practices this samadhi diligently and lwhole
or sometimes they may cause him to re
'in in
adhi foT
m fort in his heartedly Ii1] gain ten kinds of ad'Iantages in this life. First,
ene, two, three; or up to seven days, feeling c
he wil] a] ays be pyo' ected by the Buddhas and the Bodhisat
bo alld ]oy m his mind, being neithel hunr nor thlrsty be frightened
tvas oi' the ten dilections. Second, he wi11 not
rtaking of nammt agran and delicious dTinks and foods, 'r:

by the Tempter alld his evil demolls. Third, :he ' i11 not t)e
which induce him to illcrease his attachment to them; or at
deluded or confused by the ninety ve kinds of heretics53
other tilnes they ma,y cause him to eat without aliy Testrai't,
alld Iicked spirits. Fourth, he
ay
I10w a g eat d i1, now only a little so that the color ot his 'i]I 'eep himse]f far a
of the Buddha],
{'roln slallders of the profound teaching
face changes accoTdingly
alld
dinillish tho hindrances derived fror
i]1 E radua]]y
For these re sons, he who pTactices [
essation
] should y all doubts and
grave sins. Fifth, he ' i]] destyo yong vie'' s
be discreet and observant, lest his mind fa into the net o
oI1' enlightenment. Slxth, his faith in th Realm of the
evi1 [doctrille . IIe should be diligent ,ill abiding i:I1

correct
yil1 be ee oln sory
Tathgata will gro'' . 'eyentli, he )
ought neither grasping nor at ching himself to [any
!

and Temorse alld in the mids of salnsara 'i]I be fu" of

thingl; if he does so, he w 1 be able to keep himself far
vigor and undaunted. Eightl1, ha ing a gentle heayt and
om
away j: the hindrance of these ev inj[uences.
forsaking aryoganc , he i not be
'exed b)! others. ]''': intl1,
He should know that the salnadh of the heTetics aTe not ^

iI] be e
even if he has not yet expeyien(:ed saIIladl i, ie ''
de m eT V HS, craving and arrogance, for the
tilnes, and
'o decrease his defilelnents in aI I places and at a
98
 T IE AWAKEN NG OF FAITH
ON fAITH AND PRACTICE
he will not take pleasure in the
orld. Tenth, iE he ex
periences samadhi, he ' ill not be startled by any sound from [that they are in such a stat ; for this, they are greatly to be
without. pitied.
only, then his mind ' After reflecting in this
ay, he should pluci<' up his courage
Now, i{ he practices
cessation iII

be sunk [in selfcolnplace cyI and he will be slothful; he and make a great vow to this effect: may Iny Inind be free
will not delight in performing good acts but ' ill keep hiln froIIl discriminations so that I may practice a! I ()f the various

vay om the exercise of gT t compasslon nleritorious acts ever here i1 the ten directions; may I, to
se far k,
[as
therefore, necessary to practice

clear observation
el1].
tlle end the futtlre, by app] ying limitless expedient rlleans,
)eings so tha they may obtain the
help aII su ering sentient
bliss of nirvana; the ultimate goal.
Havillg IIlade such a vo' , he IylLlst, in accoTdance with his
T Py o I
r O E'o
''
' capacity and without f lte ng practice every kind of good
shot11d observe that at aII tilnes and at all places and not be slothful in his IIlind.
He who practices
clear observation
Except when he sits in concentration in the practice of
aU conditioned phenomena in the ' orld are unstationary he should at al1 times re

cessation, ect upon ' hat sho111d
and are subject to instantaneous transformation and destruc
be done and what should not be done.
tion; that all activities of the Inind aTise and are extinguished


froIIl molnent to 10Inent; and that, therefore, all of these and lying, or rising, he
'rhether
shoLlld walking,
practice both standing, sitting,
'cessatiol1 cleay observation side
induce suEering. He should observe that a11 that had been
by side. That is to say, he is to meditate upon the fact that
as as hazy as a dTeam, that a11 that is
conceived ill the past
things are 1 nborn in their essential nature; but at the sa le
being conceived in the presellt is like a ash of lightning
tilne he is to IIleditate upon the fact that good and evil karma,
and that a that will be conceived in the fUt1 re wi11 be like
produced by the coIIlbination of the primary cause alld the co
clo11ds that Tis 11p suddenly. IIe sho'11d also observe that
ordillating causes, and the retributions of
karma] in ter s
the physical existellces o= al1 living bei 1gs ill the
orld are
of pleasure pain, etc., are Ileither lost nor destroyed. Though
ilnpure and that among these valious 1thy thin.cs there is
he is to Ineditate oll the Tetributio1 of good and evil karma
I10t a single one that call be sought after
vith joy
produced by the pri ary and coordinating causes [i.e., he
He sho1 1d reflect in the follo' ing way: alI living beings,
om the begillni 1gless beginnillg, because they are per
is to practice

clear observatiol1
], he is also to meditate on
the fact tllat the essential nature [of things] is unobtainable
IIleated by ignoyance, have allowed their IIlind to reIIlain in wi11
samsara; they have already suEered a11 the great IIliseries o
[by intellectLlaI analysis]. The Practice of
cessation
enable ordinary Inell to cure thelnselves of their attachments
the body and Inind, they are at presellt under incalculable
to the '' { I d, and ' ill enable the follo'vers of the Hinayana
press'1Te and constraint, and their sufferi 1gs ill the future
to foI :'tlk tlleir vie' s, 1vhich d rive Eroyll co' ardice. The
il1 like' ise be lilnitles . These s1Eerillgs are dimcult t0
practice o ' dear QI)serva'i{)n
'

ill c11re the fo'1oers of the
forsake, diflicult to shake o{f, and yet these beings are unaware
tlle [dI t ( II' i'
-)
I Ii''t1 'aI1 1
I arro'
ha''iI alld iIlferioI d

1 00


'r
 TH AWAKEN NC Of F ITII

which bring forth no gTeat coIIpassion, and wi11 ee odinary

men :froln their failure to cultivate the capacity for good egs
and clear observation
For these Teasons, both cessation
are complementary nd inseparable. IE the two are not pTac
t:iced together, thel1 one cannot enter the path to enlightell
IIlent.

Next" suppose there is a lan who learns this teaching

or
the firist time and wishes to seek the correct faith bu la,cko
couTage and strength Because he lives in this w?rld oE su= PART
fering, he feals that he wil1 not always be able to IIleot the
Buddhas and honor t em personally, ad that, faith. being 5
dimcult to perfect, he i11 be inlined to fa11 back. H should
E
know that tlle Tath gatas have an excellent expedient
neans
by
hich they can protect his faith: tha is, thro11gh the e/ M "


strength o neditation on the Buddha, he wi11
wholehearted "
ill fulfilllnent of his ' ishes be able to be born in the Buddha has J y been exp1 n in the preceding gections, th
land beyond, to see the Buddha always, and to be
rever Mahayana le cret tre suTy oE the Bu dhas. Should ther
separated froIIl the evil states ot existellce. It is as the sutra be a man who w es to ob=in oo H ith i U profound
+
sa s:

If a n editates wholly on Amit bha Bulddha in he
Realm of t e Tath g ta
and to enter the path o Mahayana,
world o the esterll Paradise alld wishes to be born ill that put ng far away him ay JandeTing IoE the teach
world; directing
11 the goodness he has cultivated toward ing o= Budd aI; he ould 1 y hold of this t eatise, deliberate
54 Because he
that goal], the 1 he ' i11 be borll there. i11
on it, amd

a lce it; n the end he wi11 be able to reach the
see the ]Buddha at a11 times, he ' i11 never fa11 back. It he unsur ged elllimten* ent.
meditates on the DharIIlakaya, the Suchness of the Buddha, If a man, a having heaTd this teaching, does not fee1
alld ' ith diligence keeps pra ticing [the Ineditatiol1], he any feaT or wea kn:ess, it should be known that s:uch a m n is
wil1 be able to be born there ill the end because he abides certa nto ca,w on the 1:ineage ot the Buddha and to Teceive
55
in the correct saIIladhi the predictilon of the Buddha that he wil1 obtain enlighte
ment. Even if a
uan were able to re[orI a11 living beings
thloughout ail the syg:telns in the ulliveTse and to illduce
1
the to practice the ten precepts, he stil ould not be
super10r to a mall who renects correctly upon this teaching
even for the time spent on a single meal, for the exce IeI1
qualities which the latter is able to obtain are unspeakably
superior to those whi h the fo IIley Inay obtain.

' ()3
 THE AWAKENING OF fA TH

I a man takes hold of this treatise alld reflects on :''l

en in it] only for one day and
practices [the teachings gi
q e night, the excellent qualities he wil1 gain wi11 be bound
less and indescribable. Even if a11 the Buddhas of the ten
directions ' ere to praise these excellent qualities for in
ca1 ulably long periods of tilne, they could never reach the
end of theiT praise, for the excellent qualities of the Reality
(

gained by

man 'J)
'boy
this willare infinitegly
accordi andbethe excellent qualities
boundless.
If, ho' ever, theTe is a InaI1 ' ho slanders alld does I10t
believe in this treatise, for an incalculable number of aeons
he will undergo ilnnlense suffering for his fault. Therefore
a11 peo:ple should reverently believe ill it alld not sla ;der it, NOTES
[for slander and lack of faith] wi11 gravely iniure olleself as
ell as others and will lead to the destructiol1 of the Iineage

of the Th ee Treasures.
Through this teaching a11 Tath gatas have gained nirvana,
and through the practice of it all Bodhisattvas have ob tained
Buddha wisdom. It should be known that it was by Ineans of
this teaching that the Bodhisattvas in the pas! were able to
perfect their pure faith; that it is by IIleans o{ this teaching
that the Bodhisattvas of the prese 1t are perfecting their pu e
faith; and that it is by IIleans of this teaching that the
Bodhisattvas of the f ture wi11 p:erfect their pure faith There
fo e men should dilige 1tly study alld practice it.56

Profound and comprehe 1sive are the great principles o[ the

Buddha,
Vhicll I have now su1Inarized as faithft 1ly as possible.
Eay ' hatever excellent qualities I have gained I1rom this
elldeavor
In accordance with Reality be extended for the bene t of aI1
beings.
 N
, j I J"
" '

1. T3?, P
57533 (N . 1666). The Taisho edition of the
Chinese Tripitaka vill :len ef vard be abbreviated as T.
:r

2. Part One: Tlle Reasons Eor ' ting; cf: translation p 27.
3. Edward Conze: B?tJJ ,Jo Boo (Lo': don, George
.

Allen and Un' in, 1958), p 1'1.' '

4. Iochizuki Sllink , one of the modern specialists on the
t xt, in a '
'0'k written in 19? identined 176 comlnentaries.
Since he included t o Englisl1 translations and a olnmentary on
the later !'ersion E the text as translated by Siksh:a anda, this

figure, to be exact, s:hould be reduced to 173 in 1lis listinb s. Cf.

his O -yo' : o ), (S':1 :'= A !
I :- :::

'':I ' of ti 'g o

O1
'
'I '
' I Ii

) (Tok,Io, 1!92
), PP
'
i:i. ''

5. The Inost sound and co 1prehensi''e study on t:hese prob

lelns can be fou11d in Paul Delni ville s article, Sur l authenticit

du Ta Tch ing K'i Si11 Louen, B J E o y o
I o , II (no. 2, 1929), 1-78. Also yecoth lended is a article
'' '

by /alter
' Liebentl'a1,
New IJight on the I fah yna- raddhot
l


p da : T 0: g P o, XLVI (1958), 155 216. Hi:s approach
stra
''

is radica1; he suggests tllat 'Tao c11 ullg (476? 550?) Inight have
a
1,een the I.'
P
-15). In a tditiol1, cons1' t the ar
1 (

ti
'thor ('''
les ' rit en by modern '
Cllinese Bu(1dllist ' holar .tnd
o ected

()7
 NoTES TO INTRODUCT= ON NOTES To IN ROD UC -ION

in a boo edi ed b Shih T .h. n:tiU T :g J i1. ' alter The Oldest Commentary ot the
Liebentha1,

J" I9
,' plim (WU hng, :Ghin ' B"
raddhotp da '!'stra, i;' (Studies
B,. T e book
con ai s
'- ij 1'a :, I: j' :

'
"" '
nine artic
e represe:n i g ':bQt naeFv't in'[ah'iiy:
Buddhism and Buddhist civiUzation), Nos. 6, 7 {Kyoto. 195 ,

pmaches. ' ' =*1dio =p.

P- 7.
:' 6. The B"J i
12. T55 14 a;
he:mo t f=me o"k o:f agho n:
: P

n t "o k"of"'
he e *e,uddhist : * 13 T3 PP 584-91.
: :'
ge
the g n * manug pt o out haH : ''ee.i
=t is the
.ha n T trodu tion to the new
s infomation is fbund in the i
# .

'4
preser e ; terefbrq an 1Uon translation of the text; and is p obably a much ' ,ter ad
'::into W
! i ,
ia uages :i4one
S oklit co t n the
oU :of
the life f! : dh o h Cf T3 I) 583c.

!q tho :attainme

e
o" o
ment on:1:y-

enlig Iochizuki Shinko, D

and mo= - 15. , p 99

'he= mi ng ha1:f be 16, T50 p 458b. 'iI 's '

day :o ea :th.
las:t upplied
i m :.Ch*
ne and Tibet:a u slationg :of :th- ::* i iog:S= o it
17. Those who are interested in the colnparative study of the
i 8 :

two texts in the o gina can nd a systematic presentation of

For m:o:se who a e i teT edj a: : 1:e :tod ie phy *he t
milarities and di erences in the fo11owing article: Kashiwa
lati:ons into We t rn :la guage Uow
:

,'o , S, yj': 1. E. B. Cowe I: T IIi-oo, Shikusha landa no y ku to tsutaerareru Daij kishin ro

- I
' B""J (On the translation of the Awakening of faith in the Mahayana
o Vo1. 49 of the S , ,f jf E Io"y
"J Boo attributed to iksh nanda), J B"JJ
. Carl Cappeller' B" '$ J B. Ri la'd
'. aOxfor.d. ''
' ' oI I
S'"J' , X (No. 2, March, 1962), 124-25 '

'
'
Schmidt: B"JJ e . Hanover, '. :'9Jeht
s
19
4.: E. H. John on:
B" Tj' r, A 18. T44, PP 17 1.
T J j I. ealc tt , '93e
' B""J
'
o '' 19 T44 PP 2 6.
: Samu:el Bea1: . J"H o
IL'I :oI B
g o

'(tr slated fIom 2 . T44, PP 24O--B7.
B:oJ, a:ns:klit i to
nese by Pl)".
'' A.'
ha, 4 21. ' ochizu Shinko, dyo o

pp 255-56.
V 1. 19 of the S y J Bo oI " :E
'

Oxfbrd, 1883' 2. T32. PP 591-668 . '" ' '

frem T' 23. Cf. Takamine Ryosh , Kego s jJ JLii (History of Hua
edrich Weller= I IE" B"
' ' F yen thought) (Kyoto, 1962), p. 64; and Kobayashi Jitsugen,
; g o
: I volg
:: Leipzig '9: 6
8- : " t
ron kaishak' no hense 1 (Transitions in Lhe interpreta
7. The S J J an epi on the onve km di

stn of a handsome youn:g man n ed .Na a. Tho gh ther
'shin
tions of the A
g o Io"y
),
Jj J B"
'

is no CUnese or Tibetam translatio , the IS t N U* JIt':s S J, XIII (No.

' , MaTch. 1965), '25-28.
' oI I
=PtS 4.
:llis
'
short essay is recommended for students of Chinese
h- e been preseTved, and there ig a ood EIIgl h trm ati:o by
thought and religion in genera1, as i deals with both Confucian
E. H. Joh ston= T S : J r
E foFd ' :

isIIl and TaoisII1 o 1 the Buddhist point of vie' . The character

University Press, 1932), "
" :oy N 'J
':T {0
8. This work, thogh fragII'enta:ry istic pattern of later Chinese BuddllisIIl, syncretism, is remark
.is Bigni callt ag bein:g th
eal-liost evidence of dralnatic litel ture 'in Indi . It is writte ably e denced i 1 this. It has been 'aid that Tsung Ini wrote this
a

treatise in reply to the dellun iati n o{ Buddhisln by Han Y

partly in Sa sklit and partly i:n dia1oct' ili a oord n:ce with th
of Confucianis l in the
(768-824), one of the noted champions
standard style of old Indian drama. The orent dialec ar
spoken by persons such women and servants and re t tht T ang period. Cf. K go (Hua yen thought), edited b
social status of the chara ters.
Kawada Ku lataro and Nakalnura IIajilne (Kyoto,
' 96 ), p 5o7
d GerIIlan but not a
T32
It has been translated in o Fren h aI
p ,94bc. :f. Pau1
yet into Engli l1. Iasson Oursel, trans., Le Yua'1 Ien
9

Z
10;
"'z
j Part I, Case 71, V 1. 4-8
pp .

0
I 8
 NOTES TO NTRODI CTI N
NoTES To INT* ODUCTION
Io"y
Lo n, A'' , ' ayApri1, 1915 PP
4 8: Hein [i{::l1
36. Dwight God Jd
:

Dui:ouiin, '' "

Genninron, Tsungmi $ Traktat voln
Jrsprung ies , Appendix" pp. 66B gg


"Io : N' n the {
e sectiqn of the Appelldix' (p.
Bj '
668).
there is mention of
Ienschen, o,z', I, 78-22 .

25. Cf Zo
"'' '
Part I, Case 14, Vo1. 3, Tsung mi s Y
- one mcre EIis tTamation of which the present translator has

"-
. g ' , j : ' o, p 277c.

Anoth wag made by several Sanskrit s ho ars
nq knowlo
'
"
2 Cf. Tsukamoto Ze' ryu: Min shin seiji no bukky ky ei
f1 < m a Sall

rj t ade from the Chine$e, and lisses the
g
't rance of the origin
d esot
=

(Emasculatio=i of Buddhism by th h{in:g an:d t:he Ch ing go

pr This was published
B" mag e, The Sh ne of Wisdom. i 1929 and 193o.
B" K (The jourlla1 of Buddhistic i
ernmen!
cult:u'e), No. : (195 ); P .

27 T44 ?43b.
28. f. D:, T Suzu , tra' ., T y S (I on
' '
don, 1932).
29. This text ha been: tra s1 :ted fr I' Tibetan. C' E. Ober
I
IIliller, tr n , ' The Sublime Science of Buddhist Monism,:

Oy'
, Vo1 : IX, Parts, 1, 2, 1931.
.''H. John: ton, ed., R
3o. go' y - o - : ' y

-q (Pat a, 195o), p vii.

Vords within
' brackets
"g are those
' '
s pplied by the present translator.

31. Detailed i:nformation on the system caI' be obtained fro 1
such recent publications as: famaki K shir , The
Development
Io
of the Thought of Tath gatargarbha from India to China, r

J oI I J' J B" IJ , IX (No. 1, January 196t),

"Jj'
' ' S , j E
378-86; KatsuIIlata Shunky , B" o-
o (A stud of the Citta:vij
'

na ' o
hought i 1 Bu
' ddhisln)
'

(Toky ' 1 961), PP 5gB-6 ; Iiztlta i K sh , Nyomiz sllis

shi kenky' josetst (AIl introduction to the st' dy of the historv
B:"
of T thgata garbha thought),
o-


,

X.IV XLV (Kyoto, 1963), 245 7; Ui Hak 'gju, II yo 'o

'"
(The study of the Ratnagotra
.
s:tr (Tokyo, 1947).

3:2. Suz:uki Teitaro (P. T. Suzuki), tr:ans., g o
'' D',

O"Y,B O ' A g o
I y (Chicago,
9 o). ' '

33 Rev. Timothy Richard, trans-,T A g oI
I '

M Oo
- Ne B ;tJJ (Shanghai,
.I
' 19o7'
'y'
'
34. Dwight Goddard, ed., B dJ B' ),
'' (New York. 195
PP 357-404. '

35. Timothy Richard, TIte A j g o J ' ' I :I

Do tyj , p vi.'
':

1 10

1 1
 NOTES TO T XT
body and mind and into sa 1sara and nirvana D
gen, B J,
S" g' z (Iwanami Edition) (Tokyo, '94 ), PP. 69-, .

5
T44 P 252b (adapted).
6. " J
z -
XVIII, 7
7
T44 P 2 7b. '

8. 44, P 52C
9. he state lent that the T g of and
-g is
is fbund in the
z, '
y,z ,' S

'
, a fact which suggests
thatthis text dev 1oped the thought earlier expressedin that
s'1tra. TI2 P 221C.

o 1o. Innumerable expressions of a similar nature can be found
(
ill sutras that place e 1phasis on mptiness ) and also
"
in the sayings of Buddhist IIlasters particularly those of the Zen
schoo . For example, a Japanese Zen IIlaster :fakuan (1573 1645)
has this to say= AII phenomena are like phantoms or dreams;
when it is once perceived that they are esselltially empty one
does not see any particular marks of individuation in the l and
thus is free f'om atta hments to them. In order to preclude at
tachments, this view of the emptiness of everything is taught.
When this view is thoroughly realized, attachments wi11 be sev
ered. IIaving achieved this and on agaill returning to the world,
one wi11 nd that there are no particulars to be destroyed and

eI
no attachment to be severed. . Takuan, T , T

:=if
"

:
o z' , Vo1. 5 (Tokyo, 1929), P 19 '

FY' :' : : 11. I f

J 77 - yJ XXIV, 11.
p oo. 12. An almost identical expression call be found in the y 7

2. T44 P 251b. S , which is one of tlle representative works of the T

'

3. M J ?7z -
XXV, 19 thought:
g y Oh, Lord, samsara (birth and death)"g
is'
-g y T12
grounded on the T
.
.
P 222b.
13. I have not been able
"g to identify the sourc
'
t. this uota
e
#i::::::::i:I t10n.
' 14. -fhe use of the term, the reproducing mind (


be spoken ibout. There is nothing which is not of the essentia1 , as well as the o ect d criminating collsciousness"

- y which will appear later in the text,
' - J
),

is known to be peculiar
'' '
'
'I to the S . This piece of
evidence, among others, Inay indicate the
innuence
'
of the sutra
: on this text. Cf. D. T. Suzuki: Stz '
S
it. To discuss it in this Inanner is, indeed, an indication that a (London, 193o; reprinted 1957), PP
189-91.
''

'y

Buddhist really understands the essential nature of :'Iind. This 15. 'The corresponding ine in the comlrlentary is found in
being truly so, how can one falsely divide this One Reality int0 T26, p 169a.

'2
 NoTES TO TEXT N OTES TO TEXT
6. D S " z - yj XXIV, 8, 9, 1
, ed, J.
j'
Rahder (Paris, 1926), p 4g; ed. 38 .

R. Kond (Tokyo, 1936),

p 98.
39. F?11owing tlle interpretation of Fa tsang (T44 P 275b).
17. T44 PP 214c-215a. The Iatter part of the se'tence rea s Iiterally,
depending on th

a tivating
The use of the term
18. T44 p 267a ind- activating mind" here is
very stra'ge, a typical example of the inconsistent use of tech
19. Zo y P rt I, Case 71, Vo1. 5 p 456d. '
"'z
2 . Proposed by It Kazuo. Cf. Ito Kazuo: S o ' ms.
al t(e=
4 . T44276
Erh Sear h for True WisdoIIl) (Kyqto, 194 , P 4 '
' P

21. T44 p 41. T44 276c.p

36oc
22 T44, p. 216a.
42. 44 p 77b.
2B. T44 p 269a. 43. T44, P 277b.
24. The idea
nd si le expressed in this par gr ph olnewhat
44. This hapt is an analysis of the meaning of the ord
oor'esp nd to a few passages in tho
S ! . Cf. D. T: in the oolnpound " ven in the Outline.

Suzuki: T

S"jr (I
'
ondon, 1 P 42.
32), T3
45 p 589c.
8
25 T44 P 27 C
'
46. T44 P. .

26. T44, P 271C. 47. Vasubhandhu: T" H 4.

I

48. Chih i (539-97), the founder of the T ien ai Schoo1
:':': t

: : 1 ' , . by in China, had enthusiastically emphasized the importance of

I:
H Kern ( a ed B?oks of the East, Vo1. XXD (New York, Dover, these two methods of neditation as the foundation of a Bud
dhist practices. There are two books on Ineditation written by
1963), pp 4q 18. " him 'which contain the words - or cessation and obse'
29 T44 P 27 C.
in their titles. One is the "Eo-
"
3 T44 p 18a. vation ' o - (L ger
B72b. chih kuan) (T46, PP 1-14o) in ten volumes; the pther,
' the Hj' o

31. T44 P

3 . T44 P 73a.

(Sma er dlih kuan) (T46, PP 462-73) in one volume;
"
3 . The pass ge within the brackets is missing'n the text. of
both
'"-have exerted a lasting innuence in the Far East.

the Taisho :fripitaka. The missing passage was supplied from the 49. The portioll in brackets is added to clarify th nature of
omlnentary of fa,tsang (T44 P 273a) and Koyasan Universit this meditatio l and is based on the co nment of fa tsang. Cf.
Editiol1 (195 5). T44 p- 283b.
5o. The two sentellcos starting with if the Ini d wander'

34. I Ieadings ill this section do not exist i' the origina1. II1
are quoted by Chih (T46,
order to clarify the discussion, the traditional practice of supply away . i in the Hj'
ing these headings has been adopted, using the com lentaries of p '
467a) as authori to support his assertions concerning IIledita
fa tsang 44 p 273b) and of VOnhyo (T44 p 218b) as a basis. tiol1. Because of Chih s citation, the A
i g oI has
'

35. T44 P 273C. been llighly esteemed in the Tf 'A recent critica1
tradition. ien t ai
'

is o has, how
36. The original for tral15cend thoughts'
- - , Iit sttldy of tlle textual tradition of the H - z

This implies t at 'a11 things are ever, revealed that this famous quotation' was a'later accretion.
not
erally,
to be in thoughts. '

beyond what they are thought to be by the unonlightened mind, Cf. Sekiguchi Shindai, T J j' , o- o (A study of
namely, they are not rea1, since they are falsely predicated by the the T ien ai H t o C - ) (Tokyo,1953), PP 282 302-3
'
"
de1 1ded mind alone. II1 other Wotds, Reality defies any thought 3O7 1 0. ' '
de terlnlnat1ons. 51. The portions in brackets are based upon fa tsang s in

37. Edward Conze, trans., B JJ Jo7Boo

(London, terpretation. Cf. T44 p 283c.
1958), P 5
'J' 5?. E
- y
J z J j
(Ch., '-' :
g -7 z

'
')-the absorptiol1
 NoTES TO TEXT NOTES TO TEXT
into the Absolute--was rst introduced 1 the Wisdom Sutras ships. Cf. Walter IIiebentha1, New Light on the 'Iah na
T
a d has played an mportant role in far East Buddhi.lu. In addhotp da stra, o" g P o, XI;VI (1958), 189-97
the T ien ai tradition it is known as one of the Ebur basic
t
56. There has been some feeling among modern scholars that
sam as e ned by Chih in the Pure Land Schoo1, it was whi h
t s last se tion, is rather crude and propagandizing in
advo ated by Shan tao {61g. 1) as the con e t ated med ation toIle, is i 1ompatible with the 1ofty spirit of what has gone be
on Am bha Budda by the redtation of his name; in the foI e Some re d it as a later accretion, while some have even
fan or Z n traditlon, perhaps be ause the tem appe s in taken it as evidence that the entire text was forged in China.
the Platform S ripture of II i:neng (cf ng=tsit Chan= T As a matter of fa t, however, such passages praising the me its
of the text are customarily found at the end of the sutras of
: I:: ; f: i':h t
I
: If 1 T ahayana Buddhism, and though the g f Eo'' is
ig. salnadhi of one as:pect ( -' not, tedhnically spea
It is also called the
' ng a sut a, it is not altogether
' surprising
=;f per
?7' J Ch., ': g
ii -' aps because the term aI to nnd such a passage at the onclusion. fhe section
nay in
pears in this form in
e
later
'
version
'), of the
j g of fa thave been addod at a later date by some enthusiastic sup
32 p 59oc, '' porter or supporters of the ext, but in the absence of any co
53. Sld to be the number of heretical doc nes held b, noI1 ete eviden e of that fact it is best to regard it as an integra1
Buddhist gToups in I'dia at the time of S kyamuni Buddha. part of the text.
There are two traditio.ns: one enumerates ninety nve, the other,
I11nety slx.

54. No such quotation is fo nd in any of the three basic

sutras of th Pure Land Schoo1 of Buddhism, though the idea
expressed is typical of the teachillgs of that schoo1.
55. The fol1owers of Pure IJand Buddhism, having found a
ic:
f1: ; t c Y
highly. The fact that this expedient means to salvation for those
=r
who ale deeply aware of their incapability is given at the end
oI the section on practice may be considered, in a sense,
as indicating the conclusion of the text. Though the faith in
AHlit bha Buddh is suggested as the seve'th item in the Reasons
for Vritillg in the beginning of the text (p 20), it is somewhat
strange that the exhortation to the faith in and meditation on
AI itabha Buddha appears inlln ately after the discussion on
the two basic Inethods of meditation, cessation and clear ob
servation. IIl fact, this pargr ph does not belong to the discus
sion of the five practices b 1t is an appendix. It is not suI prising
that one ' estern scholar, bei g skeptica1 of this evidence of
AInit bhi worship in the text, thought that this paragTaph
m have been added later by the worshipers of Amit bha or
ht
by the author under pre$ure from a group of t bha wor
'
1 '6
'17
 J B' y
S"
"
'
''

CLASSICAL L" o
'IENTARIES
Fa tsang (643- 1

). T
-
g
,j '" j- , 5 ch aI1 T. No.
1 846. '- '

H ui Y'an (5 3-92). T -
' g ''- Jj
'J . T.
" ", 4 ch'a
No- 1843
Ttu h 1nan (d. 1o38). C
" '.
:'
'" J

o ch*an. -

T. No. 1848 '-

'j
Yuan hsiao (Wonhyo
617-B6 ). CA '" h'an. T.
", 2
No. 1844 '

S
"IODERN WOR

De ville. PauI Sur fauthellticit du Ta ching K i Sin
B H J ' , II (No. 2,
Loue , o y o-/

Tokyo, 1929), 1-,8.
' 'i '

In this ar cle, the author sulnmarizes the esu1 of study
on the probleIIls of t:he text posed by Japanese sc:holars up
to the date of p 1blication, including a selec:ted bibliography of
Japanese publications. for a general backgTound knowle ge
of the proble 1s, this work is extremely usefu1.
IIisamatsu Shin i hi. Kishill no kadai (The p obleln' of the


1 '9
 S LE TED B B Io .

' P
I SELECTE BIBLIOG 'APHY
TeI :'e i urr''I oF
: transr y Pa=a=n !tha a tha ha g bee opo <
'

awakening o:E fait 1),' Ittt I: p:I' { :i:

:
,
'

p ilos phical studies) (Kyoto Univer$i' ::: . 19' i: , :' o 3

'
. PP i' Chi , it y psents an : :invalu ble: I onuIIle t of :the
y
'
th e
and In an ;.tll g . Tho gh ::the book is
of the
o of C'i
=

ch a
{I:sHF:
1 Reasons
'basis: of the
t on the ri i
ded ;:'e i':
Y: - e : ,, t t

i
for .'L' I-' I: i :I :
:

is it is
"''g
Vriting, Part One. The text is by Sih T isted
'':',
:
oparate eause
'
:o= -i '-

t 1 EJ

: independent =e:io

n

bli

h st

:;:' f
e
' =ical
-1, si
:i::##' j
f :
i b
W
r ! ght on th:e r yi ddhot a
' g :: Tb" g
book are
K::= 9

; lX VI {li9j ), i55- :16.
" :::L

:i: ileded in thi rongly recoln 1lis is : t11

' : dY :o:f -:the:- ext
ugh n :h'stori:ca1 : preb. :: *

le ot agree, ::{=
nanY :
mended for the understanding of the key oncepts of the text: : Tlle : re ent :" i:te!r .do se , wit :

Kishin ni okeru shinnyo I1o rikai (The understanding of

the awakenin of faitl1),
suc Iless i
PP

n:rb
Shu no
25 58;
:



:

# : :::

xue
*ed ,: ' i)-eslei'lii= :-* i i1 ye! n'
::
S

J =
:
,:::-t :

: :
c ::
;i-:iI:;i;:: it : : P 4e t- =1

K a a; : : re
Mochizu*' ink'
: fSt dies : of
' 'is= ii :=he
- '-:: -
'
,

i
: = og f : i : he : '
ahay a) : yo! :9 :. 49 PP.

:P e* t
#: i his ok re;! he::uther
f ii
or : aTticle
I :: :pub:

Ii h d :: arlie :vari s:::pe i n oxelle :- biblio#ap y

B' :J S 96 ), 24-25
Iarch, =l ::the : entari,es: d : ubco e a'ies a :nalysis :of the
"J'es, X (No. 2,
The textual di erences tound between the old and new ho

d: eW ver i li{:: text rin ed side: b
':, :
:text 1r1 :: :leT, t1

versions of the A g oI are noted in detai1. p.

. Thi
j
id (Appendi B
:
ispensable wo'k iep : !
::
'
e
I ;
re r ic

K f
j till :1odern tudi-o ,of
'
'he =ext.
:in
1J;: FTS= f S h T ai d. T < . :(Th

g
:rli .
:
-

O;n1


-ahayana,. ':

t:: Iflf
f' ai :
au:tlte
ch ng,=icity

qf the ' wako
'
Chi .1:9 4 1 pp. L

; itll
'!; "
m the ' '
- ::i u :
,

:;: :
E: book
: h :s :
{
Thi
:ne
o:nta
t
dd st r -ho:lars-of
is
:: i:n:e,:::articles

a1 :ab:le in gain the:

: :

e=*'
ritten by r prese !ative
: :

s c0
i g
=: :B


Fa tsang nlnentary n : :u d #!andi g 'of how :mo4 Ii C :i:nese wllola=s :have
the te*t.:
Li:=
1;: ;:i' r ::::' r'
t: 1
gI 1
;i
vwe
T- g
: l,e
!"
:proble"s o=
gh, {
"
:tures
JIij on the aw *e
: '

Shanghai, 1923 98 PP h n: the #lavan:=). ' llang*l i, :g21. : ch*an.

. it :

:his book is sig iflcallt among the orks ' yitten in Chinese
Thoug
= :lof t
. r*te:n :: (h:e pre e t etltu=y ':thi :book : a :
:i:

in this period in tllat it evidellces the Tst critical study of the regarded: a e:xte on {f the:: T! nal co nentary p 1

text applying the histori al alld philological I lethod of textuai ::pro h. :: Tke ork high stee
es :idence :of th i
"hi
criticisIIl. It gi Ies a survey of the results oE studies of t:he text
:tho te t is eld y t:h:e aut:hoT, ::th i o ' i en Chineoe u I

done by Japallese scholars and gi''es i bibliograp:hy of the pub. dnist mk of t times-'

:J:

:
:I: ; LI :
S*lih Yin:sh . ::T g :

the awakeII f :f th in the Ina:hay

- I
:

''z ' na,. '

'g-
j (Lec:ture
Taipei, 195 - 3 8 PP

' :' '

vaghosha
alld claims that the text 'vas neither rittell ==
by A
This ig a ollectio:n of leotures Hve on the oubjec:t :by a

1 1
' 20
 SE LECTED BIBI,IOCRAP IY
de' oted Chinese
10nk scholar of today. 'fhe Ianguage
1sed
is Inore colloqu'al than ]iterary, and is accordingly easily un
derstandable for a student of Inodern Chinese; :fhe book may
be
1sed as a convenient introduction before one elnbarks '1poI1 INDEX
the classical co 1mentaries.
Shilylaji Dait . (Introdtlction to the 3i

Daij
kishill ro:n kaidai Aboolu'e; 1B, i5.
3, 33; and Biased views: of rdi ary ell.
awakening of faith in the Inahayana), Ko
o-" phen mema, o whthesis o 74-,7; of IIinayanis, 73-B
Ronb , V (Tokyo, 1927), 1-35 " " J 'z 84; a pUo in o, 115-16 ; Bliss.body, "e Sambhogak ya
This is an introduction to the author s Japanese transla ee J Mind; Suchness : Bot Enli htenment

on
i

e

of the text, gi'Iing a corrlprehensive survey of the textual prob Aeon, 8' Bodhisat
', va(s,, 93; ea'ly stages oE

lems, the stUdies done on the text in early tilnes; and: the iI1 A ation and nertion sG : enlightenment, 38; later stages
uellces that tlle text ha
Akanishta, 89. of enlighten ent, B9; and u
e exerted upon various schools f
Am bha Buddha, 10-l 1, 1 derstanding of
auses of delu ed
fahayana Buddhislir1. The sumIIlary of tho contents of the
,

116 55 lind, 5o; as coordinaUng causes,

text given in diagraln forln i:s helpful in gaining an over a11
interms of esse oe
Analy and 61; alld liberation of a11 men.
picture of the text. infl ence; pattern of, 1 1 2 1 63; and Suchness, 63-64; and
Ui IIakuju. D yo (The a'vakening of faith in the in uen eoE Suchness as Sa
''j'I
'r ' 45
mahayana). (Iwana' li'edition.) Tokyo, 1936. 148 pp - JA
'""; 6 bhogakaya, 6g 1; ealization of
This book consists of tlle critically edited text, a Japanese -" , e Ui1:boTm
Su hness, 71; and vow of uni
-

"
versal salvat'on, 84-B5; expe
translation printed on the facing pages, and notes, The notes "
" fsubtle marb, o=
Saibhogakaya ence of ]Dhamakaya, 87-91
a'd the postscript (pp 131-48) are Inost useful because of the 7o
author s objective approach to the text. Arhat( , 57 Buddha, Triple Body of, 7o
:aPp o
h, 34 uddha(s,, 23, 84; and su o ing;

A vagh sha 3 5-8, 1 8 6 54; as coordinating causes, 6 ;

Attad1
e t( , 45 57 58; to at and liberation of alI men, 63;
ma' 51; evi1, orection of, 7B and Suchness, 63-64; and senti
79 ent beings, 89-9o; falth in, 91 ;
Avilokiteva'a, 6 ,e o A litibha Buddha;
, (H"
) S , 49 kyamun1
Buddha
"
' 46 Buddha:Tath gata(s), 67 ff.
'
g o ; T er author
B JJ , 6, 1o8 6
E
'' '
ship, 3 5-8; analysis of contents,

1 1-15; commentarles, 4 9 Cause p mary, 6o-6 1
3 4
1o; style, 4T5; in uence, 10-11, Causes, oordinating, 6o- 1
112 1; teminology, 15-16; Cessation, 35-36; practice of, 96
tra 1slatiolls, 15-18; doubts con 100; o Cessation and lear
'
cerlling final section, 1 I7 56 ob sor'ratio
n
AIlxiety, 45 Cessation and clear observation,
practice of, 95
Believers, varieties, 6o Ch an (Zen) Bud.dhis in ueneed
Bhikshu Wai to, , e Wai to by g o , 'o; non
' ''
123
12
 INDEX
INDEX
Five Practices, 1
-1 2 Insight, attainment of ell:lig11ten
Ch all ('ten) Buddhism ( o?z'.) DiaII1ond SUt a, on Bodhisattva 62 ment through, 87-9 1
Four acts of ioving kindness,

verbal transl i sion in, 88; and and I10tion of being, 63 9 t, dis r minating 44
Four Faiths, 1 1-1 II1 elle

- 52 Disunited (term), 53
Free acts, 63-64 Interpretation, free, oI s iptures,
Charity, 67; pra
tic',of,
116
93
Doctrines, heretical, number of, 8 8
,Chen chieh, on 53
1 16
It Kazuo, 19
' 51 Goddard, Dwight, 16, 17
"-
D gen, on aU p'ases of existence
' , 95 i 1
in their tot lity, 4 Goodness, inreasing capacity [oy, Kalpa, 8'
C:hih hsit 9
48, 5 ;
84 Karlna, evil, 45
Chih i, 1 15 1 16 52
- j J"', ' 15"5 Greatnesses, Thlee, 1 1-!?
C'' ' , 47
E K , 95
Clear observation, Practice of, E-' JJ 1 16 5 K{ikai,
10, 112? 1
'
1 -2;, o C ssation and Enlightenme
t; ongina1, 37 ., re IIeaven of Akanishta, 89


(major Inarks) of Sam
clear observation
turn to, 7i; actualization o 38 I{eretics, samadhi of, 98 9
bhogakaya, 7o
Cotnpassion, 82 4o; ssence of, 42 43; ahd non I Iillayanists: and enlightenment,
Lan ua:ge, validity of, in hlaha
Consciousness, 49-51; o ect dis enlightenl'e't rlationohips: 3 ;fai:lure to understand cause
- as yana B:uddhism, 80
criminating 57 45 46; attai ment o 61 of deluded mind, 50; perfected, 24

y S
y
, 1 13 14, 1 14
Cpns iousness-Only Schoo1, 1 1 pirations fo- 81 91 57; and Suchlless, 63; and influ Loving
kindness, 6
Continuity; 45 Evi1, manifo tati.ons of, 97-98 en e of Suchlle:ss as Nirmana
Cohze; Edward, quoted, 4 Evils, stoppi'g :of, 84 kaya, 69; bias view of, ,8 I , 29-30
Coordi:nating ciuges: spedEc, 6i ; Evolvin:g ind,
7 8o: and practi e of cessation and ahayana; Ineaning of, ?8-3o; at
genera1, 63-G5 Existence: [ur charcte istic clear observation, 1o1-2 ' tainment of, 1o3-4
Crudeness, of beings in samsa'a, 54 states, 39 I Iisamatsu Shin ichi, 19 M d d -
o
'y
, 3
IIo -' - ' , 54 ' Major
ma'ks of Sambhogakaya,

"
7 S fa ching; 8 HsUa'-tsang, 8-9
, 49
'I
Deeds, attainment of enlighten
'i Fa tsang: co entar 9-1 , 19; II - , 5oT5
1 a ming A vaghosha
thIough, 86-B7 m, 14;
ment classi catio of Buddh Hua yen Schoo1, and the triple , 47
De'led sta of m d (term), 53 on On ind, 3:2; :n
ill their world, 49 Ialliifestation,
eight pes of, 85
32; oi
Denle lent(s); of
nd, six kinds,
tot:ality, chness 33; Hui neng, 1 16 52 I'Ianifestation oE essence of Su h

on ignornce, -51; on subtle IIui yUan, colnnlentary o 9

5i=5 ; relative qUality of, 79; as ness, 5g--6 1
obstacles to at: ini g salnadhi defilel' nt, 55; o' permeaUon e T
Iatrix of Tath gata,


of Su hness, 97 of Sch
-
s; j9; perfect
state g -g y
'

I g z 52
Dharlna, 3,
of puriiy, 6 ; o coordini ing ', 1 16 , '
4; f:aith in, 92 I I'
' g - 52 45
y zJ , e Wgrld of Rea1 causes, 62; o:Il di ipline of free ', 1 15
eans, eipedient, of puI
Id '
Iltity 45=46 , fying the
ity
'
acts, 63-S4; on characte stics of nature, 83-8 5
Ignoance: origin of, 5o,-51; terln,
DhaTm)akaya as ground of o gl Sucllnes ; 66; on ni lisII1, 76; n 48, 5o; two
53; pemeation o 55 ff.; as
al e lightenment, 37; identi Absolute and ph nomena, 76; cause of a11 defilements, 56; va
':Ieditation,
methods of,6,,95115
with BuddhaTath gatas, 68; of on false views of polirity, 78; rieties, 6o; and Suchness, 6o-61 ;
tho Tathagata (Suchh ess), 65, 67 ; on three s:ubtle Iuodes of ind, ithout begin ling, 64, 77-78; ':Iind, ?8-29;36
phenomena, aspects, 31-32;
fI.; type of,asin
and corporeal f rm, 71-72; dis 89 attainment of enlightenlnent
without end, 64
tinct froln e pty : pace,
74-75; faith perfe tio 1 f. in attainment thyough faith, 82; three subtle
Innnity of space, worlds, and be
, oE enlighte ent, :8 -85; kinds
Bodhisattvas: realizaUon o[, 84= ' of, Inodes of, 89; that applies ex
92-9 ngs, 90

85; experi nce of, 87 E.; appear ; - pr
tice, 93-1o
I nnuences, permeation through, pedient IIleans, 89; true, 89; un
ance of dope:ndent on ulldefiled Five com onents (skandhao), 72 6 1 -64 der in uence of kama, 89
mind, 9o-9 1 73, 78-,9
1 5
1 24
 ' x INDEX

= a=d =ti' 4'-; 5 , 5'; ghe Mintd: H "-:3; Sabhogakaya. 69 ' Su ring, 53
, F
Hi d Samsara. 7 7; cause and ond: J -app oad1. 34

tions of bei g i 46-47; har Suzuki. D. T.. 16
H a emb d
M aI . L 5= P g. '=
a terigtiGs of bei gs in 54 .

oonti uiD #. +gD t-, H ; Sangh , 84; :f h i 93T -

' g ''- j '" , see
Mi , delude 4' -. 5 :; a
"''
Pat + 67; Fa=i ; g4 SJr"""
, 6. ' 6
7 8e j g oI
"*.

mtemen 4 ; P=
; 6 Sarv sUv d n Schoo1. 7
'
T kuan, on ''"
emptineg' : .

m f H ) S d I J , 6, ' 6 7 113 '

b, "
9
Ei ev
g; 4 5 P1 . 'g : Shen l iu. io T an yen. 8; on perfoct state of
Mi F duci +B ' t tie d t e e
Shih Yin shun, Yin{hun purity,

p , 8' 9' " " iksh nanda, 8T - Enli hte men

,

4 43
= t f faith, gg 1 ; -w Skandhas ( ve omponen ), 7
:ath
gata, ag epithet of Buddh=,
ament o 1 ; mg f: 78. 7925 '3,
Mu , 5'
I 1 Speculation, 45:
Jg , digtin t fiom pty
W S , 1I 3 ' space, 74
'
una, 1o; on Ab1te ad 5
N g "9
phe o al oe 3 ; refut+ tr Sorehouse
'
' Consdousne . 36 E., T
'
-g
, 13-'5 29; as
89; and samsara 46 E. g

tion of fa se identi: ca:tio
P t ka boddhafs,, 5 '
ound '
" of samsara 36; as late t
' of I

g, Straightforwardnes, 8 Su hne , 65, 67; and plurality
Absolute 35; on emptine 36;
t ,
on double standa=d' of "
';
; Te , 81; obo a
Subde marks of Sambhogakaya, 76; and de leme t, 77; and

m- g; sowee of t- unbmI
(,
!; 4:
se
"-
I samsara. 77; and bqB nning and
PtiIiple, pu p 64 Subtlety, of beings in samsara 54- end, 77-'8; and nirvana, 77
79 ''

Na a the fai', '"' S , P, j iM"j

4 5 78; endless, 78
'
' Ptfound Suchness, 1 ,' 15 3-24. 28, 33; T , Je' Su hlle
J emptiness of, 34-55; nonempti Ten Pre
.
"s, 8: '
P ,- ep , 8i
Nature
pLri on of. 83-8 5

P" g; U'bo'
'-
ne of, 35-36; unenlightened Ten Stages Sut a. e' , i
Negatio a d ammati n, :36
!

P"-,' .'z"; 8:B , nd alld, 43 .; enlightenment
S
Neo Confucia m, imuenced by '
e"j g of P '
Lamd Sd1 1l, 11 ,
and nonenlightenment in, 45- Thoughts,
' deluded, 3g-+o
57
' " '1 ""5
46; as pure state 56; permea Three Greatneses, 11-1
Ni
i sm 76 '' 4 5
Pu w, e qua ty of; 79 tion of, 58 E.; identi ' with wi TIlree Treasures, 3, 84
Nirmanakaya, 69
'aU dom, 63; union with men, 6B T ien t'ai Schoo1. 116 5
Nirvana: attainment of, 7 -,s; writing d mti
d tinct ''om emptine 76; en -
R f I 64; without be nning or end Transfomation body, " Nim"
le ,
5 i , 54-65; es ne of, 65; char-
lakaya
,B; Hinayanist view o 79 Regi n, 85
NonbelieverB varieties, 6o
actristics o 65--66; attributes Translniglation. 7o '
R Timo y 16.17; qu f, 667; geatness of in uen e Truth, double standa d of, 68
Nonduality, 1
1 7
"L of, 67 ff.; o dinary I an s vision T'ung mi; attempt to 'y thegize
None ghtenment 38, 43-4 and
o 7o; aspects of in :riple Body Buddhism, Confucianism, and
enli htenment, tkya uni Bu,ddha, ; MahIay:a'
ela:tiollship , {,
of Buddha, 7o; Bodhisattvas Taoism, 'o, 9 4
vi

4,-46; a primary cause 55 ni't i:nterpretation o=, 6

sio of, 71; distinct fro l emp i- rurni g the whee1 of the
Nonidentity; 46 Salvation, u ve"a1, vo o 84 85
ness, 75-76; and evil. 77; reali Dharmal
85 zation of, by diEerent kinds o[ Two Aspects, on ept of, '1
1 '6
Obiect' wo'1d of, as coo din Ung Sa adhi of o'le aspe 52 IIIen, 8o 1 : IIleditatio on, 83;'?
g7
:

causes 55 SaIIladhi o.f one love t, salnadlli of- 96-1 ? P J,'I ; E Tzu hsiian: on -r 7' 51 ; o'' wi
Observation, c1 a, ,ee Clear ob Samadhi of Su ne 9 1 o olute; fiIld
: d I and Suchness, 6,
se'vaUon :" , 95

'
i27
1 6
 NDEX

; =
U: Hak u, 19

ce, t th in 92
: H :::
Ultilna te So
=':;
# nme of en o d as sy bo1
' p
a and
" 8"7 coordin ting au s, 61

,:::'#
World, externa1, 56
Wofld, iple, 4B-49
Uni'ed (term),
= 55
World of Re:ality 32 97; ter ,

V
n Storehouse 52-53
, 73
'bandhu, 49;89
Consciousness,
'

"-
- , i 14 36

'

' 47 "'

'I
7' I
, 45
Y , 29-B
7' , 95

Wai to, 16, 17

:: ; o1: eig m ri
iousness. 37;
Water, as i :le Io' e'lighten
of mind and oons
similes of diealn and ot Iope

:
: e br mod o[ mistaken for sn ke, 394 ;
uen e on J
onept pf T
'n

mind. 41. 55
id, as simile
'nfor ignorance, 41, Y f# #
::' s4: :,:

I7:

and the triple world, 49
w Y -" '"", 1q
11 S
Suchness, 63
I=Ie

9
Wisdom SUtlas, 35. 116 5
n (zen) :
T
o- je , 74 '
Buddhism
W nhyo 9: on Suohness, 33; n