The ''Vajrasamadhi-sutra'' is the reconstructed
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
title of a Buddhist
sutra
''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
ascribed to
Shakyamuni Buddha but produced in Korea under the name ''Kumgang sammae kyong'' (), or the ''Adamantine Absorption Sutra''. Although it was originally believed to have been a Chinese translation from a Sanskrit text, scholars have recently found that it was produced in Korea in about 685 CE and that it may be connected with the emergence of
Seon in Korea.
History
According to Buswell, the ''Vajrasamadhi-sutra'' is thought to be an
apocryphal
Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...
scripture written by a Korean monk around 685 CE.
[Robert E. Buswell (1989), ''The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea: The 'Vajrasamadhi-Sutra', a Buddhist Apocryphon''. Princeton University Press] Hagiograpic accounts claim a supernatural origin for the text: when a
Silla
Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
king sent an envoy to China in order to find medicine for his sick queen, the party was taken to bottom of the sea by a dragon king who entrusted the text to them, saying the text should be arranged by the unknown monk Taean and commented on by
Wonhyo. In reality the text was likely connected with the emergence of
Seon in Korea, and if this is the case it would be only the second known Korean text in this tradition.
Wonhyo wrote a commentary on the text shortly after its production called the ''
Kumgang sammaegyong non'' in which he speculates that it may have been the inspiration for the ''
Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana'', which was in fact written over a hundred years earlier. The text includes quotations of
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese Lineage (Buddhism), patriarch. ...
, who lived in the 6th century CE, and references to the
East Mountain Teachings of
Daoxin and
Hongren, both of whom lived in the 7th century. The aim of the text appears to be the synthesis of newly introduced
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 ...
with already established
Huayan Buddhism.
[
]
Contents
The ''Adamantine Absorption Sutra'' presents itself as a fusion of all pre-existing Mahayana
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
ideas with the Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
precepts that work together to give a complete system of Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhavana, bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, jhāna/dhyāna'' (a state of me ...
. The aim of the text appears to be the synthesis of 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 ...
, which had just been introduced to Korea, with already established Huayan Buddhism. The text includes quotations of Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese Lineage (Buddhism), patriarch. ...
and references to the East Mountain Teachings of Daoxin and Hongren. The author may have been attempting to fuse these disparate Chan traditions. The text also includes elements of the philosophy from the '' Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana'', specifically the notion of one mind that has an aspect of true thusness on the one hand and arising/ceasing on the other.[
]
See also
* Korean Buddhism
Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, they ...
* Zen
Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
* Tathāgatagarbha Sutras
References
External links
The Vajrasamadhi Sutra, English translation
Mahayana texts
{{Buddhist-text-stub