The Sanjiejiao ( "Three degrees religion") or Pufazong ( "Popular faith religion") was a religious movement based on the teachings of the
Chan Buddhist monk Xinxing (, 540–594).
Teachings
Xinxing taught that in the last of the
Three Ages of Buddhism, Buddhists must learn all the Buddhist teachings. He taught
tapas (ascetic practices), begging for food, eating only one meal daily, worshiping all living things as Buddhas based on the doctrine of the
Buddha-nature, building public charity "treasure houses" () for
monastics and laypeople alike, and
sky burial upon death.
History
Based in Hua Du monastery (化度寺) in
Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
, the movement was very popular in 600-700 CE. The monks lived in the Sanjiejiao house, or Sanjieyuan (三階院) inside Buddhist monasteries and built endless treasure houses. Its practices faced heavy criticism from many Buddhists and restriction by Buddhist
Emperor Wen of Sui
Emperor Wen of Sui (; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (), was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through ...
and
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...
as unorthodox teachings.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Throu ...
ordered the destruction of the Wujinzangyuan, the Sanjieyuan and the school's texts, sparing only the treasure houses.
Bhikkhuni Zongjing (總靜) in the Zhixin monastery(直心寺) was a known practitioner who died in 831. Some texts, such as part of the three stages teachings (三階教法) were preserved in Japanese monasteries. Some were also found in
Dunhuang texts and grottoes.
Charles Muller, East Asian Apocryphal Scriptures: Their Origin and Role in the Development of Sinitic Buddhism
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See also
* San Jiao
Notes
Readings
*矢吹慶輝 (Yabuki Keiki), 三階教の研究 (Sangaikyō no kenkyū) (Studies on the Teaching of the Three Stages). Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1927.
*西本照真 (Nishimoto Teruma), 三階教の研究 (Sangaikyō no kenkyū). Tokyo: 春秋社(Shunjusha), 1998.
*Hubbard, Jamie, Absolute Delusion, Perfect Buddhahood: The Rise and Fall of a Chinese Heresy. University of Hawaii Press, 2001.
*Hubbard, Jamie
Mo Fa, The three Levels Movement and the Theory of the Three Periods
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 19 (1), 1–17, 1996
External links
*Hubbard Jamie
* ttp://tripitaka.cbeta.org/W09n0076_001 三階教文獻綜述 第1卷br> 三阶教研究论著目录
{{Authority control
Chan Buddhism