Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Buddha (awakened one) = Shakyamuni Gautama Siddartha, Hindu reformer in north India, c. 500s-400s BCE Inherited an ancient Hindu worldview:
Cyclical existence of endless rebirth (samsara) Conditioning of rebirth by moral results of ones actions (karma) Presumption of eternal self (atman) underlying transitory physical forms
1. 2.
3. 4.
1.
2.
3.
1. 2. 3. 4.
An atman (self) has a body, emotions, ideas, biases, and consciousness. Actually, there is no self (anatman) only an assemblage of components. In rebirth, conditioned by karma these components are removed and rearranged, creating a different self (yet not disconnected from this self now). Just as one both is and is notoneself from life to life, so one neither is nor is not oneself from life to life.
CONSEQUENCES OF NIRVNA
The true self is interdependent and impermanent There is no basis for ego Realizing the truth of antman (no permanent self) entails:
Awakening to suffering Compassion in suffering Liberation from suffering
1. 2. 3.
One who seeks to realize this truth takes the Three Refuges:
The Buddha (the teacher) The Dharma (the teaching) The Sangha (the taught)
1. 2. 3.
By 100s BCE, Buddhism has gained powerful political support in India Official endorsement facilitates the luxury of doctrinal debate and speculation, as well as canon formation Three distinct sectarian traditions emerge shortly before introduction of Buddhism to China
5
Sole survivor among earliest Buddhist sects Views itself as custodian of authentic tradition Regards Shakyamuni as unique historical Buddha, fully human, now vanished Emphasizes individual rational effort Goal: arhant (being that attains enlightenment after much striving over many lifetimes) Maintains strong monasticlay distinction 6 Not found in China today
Sees Theravada as Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) and itself as inheritor of complete tradition Regards Shakyamuni as one of infinite number of Buddhas Focuses on mysticism and compassionate action Goal: bodhisattva (being that voluntarily defers liberation from samsara in order to help other beings attain liberation) More open to laity, women Dominant in China
Arises from Mahayana interaction with Hindu tantra (esoteric ritualism) and bhakti (devotional polytheism) Views itself as guardian of esoteric tradition Emphasizes unity of wisdom and compassion through visualization, ritualization, and philosophical rigor Goal: bodhisattva Reasserts strong monasticlay distinction Present in Tibetan and 8 Mongolian communities
Silk Road merchants and missionaries from India and Central Asia transmit Buddhism to China by 65 CE As Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) declines and period of disunity (220-589 CE) ensues, Chinese elites turn away from Confucianism to Taoism and Buddhism, often combining the two By Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), Buddhism reaches zenith of its popularity in China From China, Buddhism spreads to rest of East Asia
Geographic: difficulty of India-China travel Linguistic: translation of foreign texts and concepts Political: conflicts between rulers and sangha; separation between north and south Religious: competition with and/or dilution by Confucianism and Taoism Social: Chinese distaste for foreign ways
10
11
Tiantai School
Tiantai () Buddhism
Japanese: Tendai
14
Tiantai
Organized comprehensive Buddhist doctrines and practices into grades from elementary to advanced Organized canon with Lotus Scripture at apex
15
Late Tang opposition to Buddhism as a foreign religion emerged among influential intellectuals In 845 the Tang emperor began a full-scale persecution of the Buddhist establishment.
Destroyed more than 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 temples and shrines, and more than 260,000 Buddhist monks and nuns were forced to return to secular life.
Although the suppression was lifted a few years later, the monastic establishment never fully recovered Later became most influential school in Japan
Founded in Japan by Saichoo in 9th ct. Established center at Mt. Hiei Opened way to Zen, Pure Land and Nichiren
16
Pure Land
Spread from China to Vietnam, Korea and Japan Practical approach to universal Buddha-nature
Salvation for all not just monastic community Reaction against scholastic preoccupation of Tiantai and Huayan schools
A Pure Land originally the place where a buddha or bodhisattva appeared Came to mean a world system purified by the power of a Bodhisattvas vow and subsequent awakening
17
mtu f ()
Transliteration of Sanskrit:
Amitbha Buddha ()
Buddha of Limitless Light
Amityus Buddha ()
Buddha of Limitless Life
Amida (Japanese)
Common Buddhist greeting or exclamation
Legendary king who renounced throne to become a Buddhist monk named Dharmakra
48 vows resolved to become a buddha and create paradise realm to help all sentient beings become awakened
Practice of recitation of the name of the Buddha (Chinese: nianfo; Japanese: nembutsu) Hail Amitabha Buddha (na-mo a-mi-tuo-fo)
After suppression of 845, Pure Land in China becomes universalized Founded in Japan as Jodoshu (Pure Land School) in 1213th ct. By Honen, an ordained Tendai monk from Mt. Hiei Emphasized practice of nembutsu:
Namu Amida butsu (Hale Amitabha Buddha)
Oral recitation of Amitabhas name produces vision of Amitabhas paradise and Amitabha himself
Both sound AND sight Cf. Honens diary
20
21
Japanese:
Kyoogakushinden ()
Interlocked little fingers Thumbs under middle fingers Index fingers touching to form Diamond
Chinese:
Jngju zhnyn ()
Sanskrit:
Om vajrottistha hum
22
Yyu ()
Lit. Refined Music.
Ceremonial/Court music of China Preserved in Japan but now lost in China
23
Portrait of Ennin
25
32 Marks
Meditation on the 32 characteristics of the body of Amida Buddha Sanjuuni Sou honkyoku ()
Listed praises of 32 primary marks (80 secondary)
26
His feet have level soles *His soles are marked by wheels with a thousand spokes, felloe and hub He has projecting heels He has long fingers and toes, sometimes even in length He has soft and tender hands and feet His hands and feet are webbed He has high-raised ankles His legs are like an antelopes Standing and without bending, he can touch and touch his knees His male organs are enclosed in a sheath 27
Marks 11-20
* His complexion is bright, the color of gold His skin is delicate and so smooth that no dust can adhere to his body His body-hairs are separate, one to each pore * His body-hairs grow upwards, each one bluish-black, curling in rings to the right His body is divinely straight He has seven convex surfaces The front part of his body is like a lion's There is no hollow between his shoulders He is proportioned like a banyan-tree (the height of his body is the same as the span of his outstretched arms, and conversely) His chest is evenly rounded
28
Marks 21-32
He has a perfect sense of taste He has jaws like a lion's He has forty teeth His teeth are even There are no spaces between his teeth His canine teeth are very bright His tongue is very long He has a Brahma-like voice, like that of the karavika bird His eyes are deep blue He has eyelashes like a cow's *He has a whorl of hair between his eyes, white and soft like cottondown, [urna] * 32 His head is like a royal turban: cranial bump [ushinisha]
29
Snail-shell ushinisha
Long arms
30