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Hui-neng
Dajian Huineng or Hui-nengThe Sutra of Hui-neng, Grand Master of Zen, with Hui-neng's Commentary on the Diamond Sutra, translated by Thomas Cleary, Shambhala Publications, 1998 (; February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism. According to tradition Huineng was an uneducated layman who suddenly attained awakening (Chinese: 見性, jianxing) upon hearing the Diamond Sutra. Despite his lack of formal training, he demonstrated his understanding to the fifth patriarch, Daman Hongren, who then supposedly chose Huineng as his true successor instead of his publicly known selection of Yuquan Shenxiu. Huineng is regarded as the founder of the "Sudden Enlightenment" Southern Chan school of Buddhism, which focuses on an immediate and direct attainment of Buddhist enlightenment. The '' Platform Sutra of the ...
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Diamond Sutra
The ''Diamond Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ) is a Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist sutra from the genre of ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras in East Asia, and it is particularly prominent within the Chan Buddhism, Chan (or Zen) tradition, along with the ''Heart Sutra''. A copy of the Tang dynasty ''Diamond Sūtra'' was found among the Dunhuang manuscripts in 1900 by Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu and sold to Aurel Stein in 1907. It dates back to May 11, 868 CE and is broadly considered to be the oldest extant printed book, although other, earlier, printed materials on paper exist that predate this artifact. It is in the collection of the British Library. The book of the diamond sutra is also the first known creative work with an explicit public domain dedication, as its colophon (publishing), colophon at the end states that it was created "for unive ...
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Chan Buddhism
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of the same character, which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon, and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen. History The historical records required for a complete, accurate account of early Chan history no longer exist. Periodisation The history of Chan in China can be divided into several periods. Zen, as we know it today, is the result of a long history, with many changes and contingent factors. Each period had different types of Zen, some of which remained influential, while others vanished. Andy Ferguson distinguishes thr ...
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Heze Shenhui
Heze Shenhui (Chinese:菏澤神會/菏泽神会; Wade–Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne, 684–758) was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the so-called "Southern School" of Zen, who "claimed to have studied under Huineng." Shenhui is notable for his strident attacks on Yuquan Shenxiu and the associated "Northern School", which was the most prominent branch of Chan Buddhism in China at the time. He accused them of propagating ''gradual teachings'', as opposed to his own ''sudden teachings''. Shenhui's own lineage, called the Heze lineage (菏澤宗), probably died out around the time of the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in 845, with Guifeng Zongmi being the only notable monk in the lineage. Biography Shenhui was born in Xiangyang with the surname Gao (高). He learned The Five Classics of Confucius and the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi at a young age. At the age of 14 he became a monk under Huineng, a disciple of Hongren and the founder of the Southern School of Zen. For ...
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Kenshō
Kenshō (Rōmaji; Japanese and classical Chinese: 見性, Pinyin: ''jianxing'', Sanskrit: dṛṣṭi- svabhāva) is an East Asian Buddhist term from the Chan / Zen tradition which means "seeing" or "perceiving" ( 見) "nature" or "essence" ( 性), or 'true face'. It is usually translated as "seeing one's ruenature," with "nature" referring to buddha-nature, ultimate reality, the Dharmadhatu. The term appears in one of the classic slogans which define Chan Buddhism: to see oneʼs own nature and accomplish Buddhahood (見性成佛). Kenshō is an ''initial'' insight or sudden awakening, not full Buddhahood. It is to be followed by further training which deepens this insight, allows one to learn to express it in daily life and gradually removes the remaining defilements. The Japanese term kenshō is often used interchangeably with satori, which is derived from the verb satoru, and means "comprehension; understanding". Terminology The Chinese Buddhist term ''jianxing'' () ...
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Fahai (Tang Dynasty)
Fahai was a monk who lived in Tang dynasty, and was identified as a compiler of Zen Buddhism according to the Dun-huang edition of the ''Platform Sutra''. Fahai was a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Hui-neng. According to '' Records of the Transmission of the Lamp'', Fahai was a native of Qujiang in Shao Prefecture (modern Shaoguan, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...). As a patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Fahai was one of the editors of the ''Platform Sutra''. Fahai contributed to the translation of the sutra and left editing notes in his version of the translation and warned about haphazard transmission. A famous dialogue between Fahai and the sixth patriarch Hui-Neng was recorded in the ''Platform Sutra'': "The mind has always been the bu ...
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Yuquan Shenxiu
Yuquan Shenxiu (, 606?–706) was one of the most influential Chan masters of his day, a Patriarch of the East Mountain Teaching of Chan Buddhism. Shenxiu was Dharma heir of Daman Hongren (601–674), honoured by Wu Zetian (r. 690–705) of the Tang dynasty, and the putative author of the ''Guan Xin Lun'' (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind, written between 675 and 700), a text once attributed to Bodhidharma. Biography Shenxiu was born in Weishi County, suburb of Luoyang, Henan, then secondary capital of China. His family name was Li. His family was aristocratic and may have been related to the Tang dynasty imperial family He was educated in the Chinese classics and Taoism and became a Buddhist at the age of thirteen when he went to the government granaries at Kaifeng during a famine to plead the release of grain to the starving population. There he met an unnamed Buddhist and was inspired to take up Buddhism. After some seven years of a homeless life visiting the f ...
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Lotus Sutra
The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the main scripture on which the Tiantai along with its derivative schools, the Japanese Tendai and Nichiren, Korean Cheontae, and Vietnamese Thiên Thai schools of Buddhism were established. It is also influential for other East Asian Buddhist schools, such as Zen. According to the British Buddhologist Paul Williams, "For many Buddhists in East Asia since early times, the ''Lotus Sūtra'' contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha—complete and sufficient for salvation." The American Buddhologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. writes that the ''Lotus Sūtra'' "is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist texts," presenting "a radical re-vision of both the Buddhist path and of the person of the Buddha." Two central teachings ...
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Vimalakirti Sutra
The ''Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa'' (Devanagari: विमलकीर्तिनिर्देश) (sometimes referred to as the ''Vimalakīrti Sūtra'' or ''Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra'') is a Buddhist text which centers on a lay Buddhist meditator who attained a very high degree of enlightenment considered by some second only to the Buddha's. It was extremely influential in East Asia, but most likely of considerably less importance in the Indian and Tibetan sub-traditions of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The word ''nirdeśa'' in the title means "instruction, advice", and Vimalakīrti is the name of the main protagonist of the text, and means "Taintless Fame". The sutra teaches, among other subjects, the meaning of nondualism, the doctrine of the true body of the Buddha, the characteristically Mahāyāna claim that the appearances of the world are mere illusions, and the superiority of the Mahāyāna over other paths. It places in the mouth of the upāsaka (lay practitioner) Vimalakīrt ...
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Śūraṅgama Sūtra
The ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' (, ''Sūtra of the Heroic'' ''March'') (Taisho no. 945) is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra that has been especially influential on Korean Buddhism (where it remains a major subject of study in Sŏn monasteries) and Chinese Buddhism (where it remains a regular part of the daily liturgy in all Chinese Buddhist monasteries and a major subject of doctrinal study).Benn, James A. ''Another Look at the Pseudo-Śūraṃgama sūtra.'' Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jun., 2008), pp. 57-89, Harvard-Yenching Institute, It is important for Zen/Chan Buddhism and Chinese Pure land Buddhism (where it is considered a central scripture).Venerable Master Chin Kung; Li Ping Nan. ''The Awakening of Compassion and Wisdom,'' p. 199. The doctrinal outlook of the ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' is that of Buddha-nature, Yogacara thought, and esoteric Buddhism. The ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' was widely accepted as a sutra in East Asian Buddhism, where it has traditi ...
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Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
The ''Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' (Sanskrit; , ; Vietnamese: ''Kinh Đại Bát Niết Bàn'') or ''Nirvana Sutra'' for short, is an influential Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Sutra, scripture of the Buddha-nature class. The original title of the sutra was ''Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra'' (''Great Scripture of the Great Perfect Nirvāṇa'') and the earliest version of the text was associated with the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda school.Baums, StefanReview of Habata, ''Die zentralasiatischen Sanskrit‐Fragmente des Mahāparinirvāṇa‐mahāsūtra''. Indo‐Iranian Journal 58: 71–78./ref> The sutra was particularly important for the development of East Asian Buddhism. The ''Nirvana sutra'' uses the backdrop of the Buddha's Parinirvana, final nirvana to discuss the nature of the The Buddha, Buddha, who is described in this sutra as undying and eternal, without beginning or end. The text also discusses the associated doctrine of buddha-nature (Buddha-nature, tat ...
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Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: लङ्कावतारसूत्रम्, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅkā", , Chinese: 入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. It is also titled ''Laṅkāvatāraratnasūtram'' (''The Jewel Sutra of the Entry into Laṅkā,'' Gunabhadra's Chinese title: 楞伽阿跋多羅寶經 léngqié ābáduōluó bǎojīng) and ''Saddharmalaṅkāvatārasūtra'' (''The Sutra on the Descent of the True Dharma into Laṅkā''). A subtitle to the sutra found in some sources is "''the heart of the words of all the Buddhas''" (一切佛語心 yiqiefo yuxin, Sanskrit: ''sarvabuddhapravacanahṛdaya''). The ''Laṅkāvatāra'' recounts a teaching primarily between Gautama Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati ("Great Wisdom"). The sūtra is set in mythical Laṅkā, ruled by Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas. The ''Laṅkāvatāra'' discusses numerous Mahayana topics, such as Yogācāra philosophy of mind-only (' ...
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