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Zongxiao
Zongxiao (宗曉, 1151-1214) was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the Tiantai school during the Song Dynasty. He is known as the author of the ''Anthology on the Blissful Land'' (''Lebang wenlei'', 樂邦文類), the first anthology of Chinese Pure Land texts. He is also the first person to ever write about a Pure Land Buddhist list of ancestors or patriarchs. Zongxiao's work helped establish Pure Land Buddhism as a legitimate tradition in the Song era. Zongxiao also wrote a book on ''Lotus Sutra'' devotion, ''The Record of The Lotus Sutra's Manifest Responses'' (''Fahuajing xianying lu,'' 法華經顯應錄), which links the Lotus Sutra with rebirth in Amitabha's Pure Land, along with describing many miraculous events resulting from ''Lotus Sutra'' devotion. Life Zongxiao (1151–1214) was a monk of the Southern Song Dynasty with the secular surname Wang born near Mingzhou (modern Ningbo, Zhejiang Province). His courtesy name was Daxian, and he was also known by the sobriquet Shizhi. At ...
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Tiantai
Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the first patriarch of the school, Tiantai Buddhism emphasizes the "One Vehicle" () doctrine derived from the influential '' Lotus Sūtra'', as well as the philosophy of its fourth patriarch, Zhiyi (538–597 CE), the principal founder of the tradition. Brook Ziporyn, professor of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy, states that Tiantai Buddhism is "the earliest attempt at a thoroughgoing Sinitic reworking of the Indian Buddhist tradition." According to Paul Swanson, scholar of Buddhist studies, Tiantai Buddhism grew to become "one of the most influential Buddhist traditions in China and Japan." Tiantai is sometimes also called "The Dharma Flower School" (), after its focus on the '' Lotus Sūtra'', whose Chinese title tra ...
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Tiantai Buddhists
Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the first patriarch of the school, Tiantai Buddhism emphasizes the "One Vehicle" () doctrine derived from the influential ''Lotus Sūtra'', as well as the philosophy of its fourth patriarch, Zhiyi (538–597 CE), the principal founder of the tradition. Brook Ziporyn, professor of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy, states that Tiantai Buddhism is "the earliest attempt at a thoroughgoing Sinitic reworking of the Indian Buddhist tradition." According to Paul Swanson, scholar of Buddhist studies, Tiantai Buddhism grew to become "one of the most influential Buddhist traditions in China and Japan." Tiantai is sometimes also called "The Dharma Flower School" (), after its focus on the ''Lotus Sūtra'', whose Chinese title transla ...
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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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Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asian Buddhism, Buddhism in East Asia. It is also known as the "Lotus School" (Chinese language, Chinese: 蓮宗; pinyin: ''Liánzōng'') in China or the "Nianfo, Nembutsu school" in Japan. East Asian Pure Land mainly relies on three main Mahayana sutras, Mahayana scriptures: the ''Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, Sutra of Amitayus'', the ''Amitāyus Contemplation Sūtra, Contemplation Sutra'' and the ''Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, Amitabha Sutra''. The Pure Land tradition is primarily focused on achieving rebirth in a Buddhahood, Buddha's "pure land", a superior place to spiritually train for full Buddhahood, where one can meet a Buddha face to face and study under them without any of the distractions or fears of our world.Williams, Pau ...
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Siming Zhili
Sìmíng Zhīlǐ (四明知禮, 960–1028, Japanese: Shimei Chirei), also known as Siming Fazhi (四明法智), was a Chinese Buddhist scholar monk and key figure in the revival and development of the Tiantai School during the Northern Song dynasty.Getz 1994, p. 1. Revered as the seventeenth patriarch of Tiantai Buddhism, he was also posthumously titled Fazhi Dashi (法智大师), meaning "Master of Dharma Wisdom." His efforts defended and defined the orthodox philosophy of the Tiantai school, and shaped its doctrinal and ritual practices for generations. Zhili was also influential in fully integrating Pure Land Buddhism within the Tiantai school as well as for popularizing Pure Land Buddhist practice among laypersons. Life Zhili was a native the city of Mingzhou (now Ningbo), in Zhejiang Province. This region (along with a specific mountain in it) was also called Siming, hence the moniker "Siming" Zhili. Zhili was born into the Jin 金 family and went by the style name Yueyan � ...
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Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chinese Buddhist Canon" in ''The Wiley Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism'', p. 299, Wiley-Blackwell (2014). draws from the traditions of Confucianism and Taoism as well as the rituals of local Chinese folk religion, folk religions. Chinese Buddhism emphasizes the study of Mahayana sutras and treatises. Some of the most important scriptures in Chinese Buddhism include the ''Lotus Sutra'', ''Avatamsaka Sutra, Flower Ornament Sutra'', Vimalakirti Sutra, ''Vimalakirtī Sutra'', ''Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Nirvana Sutra,'' and Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, ''Amitābha Sutra''. Chinese Buddhism is the largest institutionalized religion in mainland China.Cook, Sarah (2017). The Battle for China's Spirit: Religious R ...
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Shandao
Shandao (; ; 613–681) was a Chinese Buddhist scholar monk and an influential figure of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism.Jones (2019), pp. 20-21 Shandao was one of the first Pure Land authors to argue that all Pṛthagjana, ordinary people, and even the most evil person, can be reborn in the Pure land, Pure Land by relying on the Other power, karmic power of Amitābha Buddha's Primal Vow, past vows. Shandao was also one of the earliest Pure Land authors to teach the primacy of faithfully reciting Amitābha's name (Ch: nianfo). Shandao saw this practice as sufficient for birth in the Pure Land, and as the supreme practice (even more important than Buddhist meditation, meditation). This, along with Shandao's efforts to teach common laypeople in various ways, like disseminating paintings of the Pure Land, made Pure Land Buddhism much more accessible and popular among the common people. Several modern scholars consider Shandao to be the central figure of the Chinese Pure Land traditi ...
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1214 Deaths
Year 1214 ( MCCXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1214th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 214th year of the 2nd millennium, the 14th year of the 13th century, and the 5th year of the 1210s decade. Events By place Byzantine Empire * November 1 – Siege of Sinope: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Kaykaus I capture the strategic Black Sea port city of Sinope – at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond (one of the Byzantine successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade). Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond leads an army to break the siege, but he is defeated and captured. His capture forces the Byzantines to accept tributary status to Kaykaus. Europe * February 15 – John, King of England ("Lackland") lands with an invasion force (accompanied by mercenaries) at La Rochelle; many barons of England refuse to join him in the campaign. John sends his half-brother William Longespée ( ...
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1151 Births
Year 1151 ( MCLI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events * September 7 – Geoffrey of Anjou dies, and is succeeded by his son Henry, aged 18. * After the Battle of Ghazni, the city is burned by the Prince of Ghur. * The first plague and fire insurance policy is issued in Iceland. * Bolton Abbey is founded in North Yorkshire, England. * Anping Bridge is completed in China's Fujian province. Its total length will not be exceeded until 1846. * Confronted with internal strife, the commune of Bologna is the first Italian republic to turn to the rule of a podestà, Guido di Ranieri da Sasso (it ends in 1155). Births * April 3 – Igor Svyatoslavich, Russian prince (d. 1202) * May 9 – al-Adid, last Fatimid caliph (d. 1171) * Unkei, Japanese sculptor (d. 1223) Deaths * January 13 – Abbot Suger, French statesman and historian (b. c. 1081) * April 23 – Adeliza of Louvain, queen of Henry I of England (b. 1103) * September 7 & ...
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Yuanzhao
Yuanzhao (Chinese: 元照, 1048–1116), styled Zanran Yuanzhao and Lingzhi Yuanzhao (靈芝元照) was a distinguished scholar-monk and Vinaya master of the Vinaya school during the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE).Chi-chiang Huang. �Pure Land Hermeneutics in the Song Dynasty: The Case of Zhanran Yuanzhao (1048--1116).�� (2000). He also taught and wrote on Pure Land Buddhism and Tiantai. After a period of illness later in life, he became a staunch Pure Land Buddhist, composing commentaries on the '' Amitabha Sutra'' and the '' Contemplation Sutra''. Yuanzhao was a key reformer of the Vinaya school during the Song dynasty, widely administering its monastic ordination ceremonies to monks and bodhisattva precepts to laypersons. He is also one of the most prominent Song era Pure Land commentators whose works are still extant. Overview A native of Yuhang (modern Zhejiang Province), he was born in 1048, the eighth year of the Qingli reign, with the secular surname Tang (唐). Ordained u ...
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Prostration (Buddhism)
A prostration (, , zh, c=禮拜, , ) is a gesture used in Buddhist practice to show reverence to the Triple Gem (comprising the Buddha, his teachings, and the spiritual community) and other objects of veneration. Among Buddhists prostration is believed to be beneficial for practitioners for several reasons, including: *an experience of giving or veneration *an act to purify defilements, especially conceit *a preparatory act for meditation *an act that accumulates merit (see karma) In contemporary Western Buddhism, some teachers use prostrations as a practice unto itself, while other teachers relegate prostrations to customary liturgical ritual, ancillary to meditation. Theravada Buddhism In the Pali canon, laypersons prostrating before the then-living Buddha is mentioned in several suttas. In Theravada Buddhism, as part of daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after chanting and meditation. On these occasions, one typically prostrates three times: once to the ...
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Qingliang Chengguan
Qingliang Chengguan (; Korean: Jinggwan; Japanese: Chōgan, 738–839 or 737-838 CE), was an important scholar-monk and patriarch of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism also known as Huayan pusa (bodhisattva Avatamsaka) and Qingliang Guoshi (Imperial Preceptor "Clear and Cool", Clear and Cool is a name for Mount Wutai)."Chengguan", in Buswell and Lopez (2013), ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism,'' pp. 179-178. Princeton University Press.Hamar, I"Chengguan" in Silk, J.  Brill’s Encyclopedia ''of Buddhism, Volume II: Lives.'' Chengguan is most widely known for his extensive commentaries and sub-commentaries to the ''Avataṃsaka Sūtra'' (''Huayan jing''), as well as for his translation of a new '' Gandhavyuha sutra'' version, together with the Indian monk Prajña. Chengguan's commentaries on the ''Avataṃsaka'' quickly became one of the authoritative sources for Huayan doctrine. Chengguan lived through the reigns of nine emperors and was an honored teacher to seven ...
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