Chinese Buddhism

下面为大家整理一篇优秀的assignment代写范文- Chinese Buddhism，供大家参考学习，这篇论文讨论了中国佛教。中国佛教是由佛教在印度的实践发展而来的，所以印度无疑是中国佛教的发源地。中国佛教和印度佛教在许多方面有着共同之处，包括基本概念和哲学、信仰、目标和美学。中国佛教在传教的过程，一直在调和传统的思想文化。

1. To what extent may we talk about a uniquely “Chinese” form of Buddhism, and how might this form of Buddhism be a “Sinicization” of the imported Indian tradition? Survey what you might consider to be the principal characteristics of such a Sinitic tradition of Buddhism. Use concrete examples, drawn from Huayan/Hua-yen and Chan/Ch’an materials, to back up your assertions. Be sure to cover at minimum Chinese Buddhist views toward the nature of the world, the interpretation and significance of enlightenment, and religious practice.

Chinese Buddhism is developed from Buddhism as practiced in India, where the religion was founded, and the two systems share common ground in many aspects including fundamental concepts and philosophies, beliefs, goals, and aesthetics. Sharing the Indian tradition, Chinese and Indian Buddhism have the following commonalities. 1) agreement on the basic tenets and concepts, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Nidānas, the Skandha (the aggregate, mass, or heap), the Ṣaḍāyatana (the six sense organs and their subjects), the Saṃsāra, and Karma, etc. 2) the Middle Way position and general attitude towards life, that is, neither pursuing total asceticism nor chasing sensual pleasures; 3) the goal of the attainment of Bodhi and Nirvana; 4) the spirit of humanity and compassion; 5) the valuing of peace, the forbidding of killing, anti-materialism, common traditions such as vegetarianism, devoting everything to Sādhanā (spiritual exercise); 6) pursuing ethics and following the rules of the faith; 7) the practice of mediation; 

However, due to the process and results of Buddhism’s transplantation from India to China, there are also great differences between these two forms as well. These shocking differences are not only systematic, but also ideological. First of all, Unlike the Indian system, Dhyāna in China involves four dhyanas and eight samadhis, Chan is also unique product created by Chinese Buddhism. By the Tang Dynasty, the Sixth and Last Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Huineng, reached a large degree of popularity. By the turn of the Song Dynasty, it had developed into the “five schools.” By Ming dynasty, Chan and Pure Land Buddhism merged together. After Qing dynasty, however, Chan was no longer in the dominant position. Chan as a practice is not necessarily related to meditation, although mediation is still an important foundation of the Chan tradition. Therefore, Chinese Buddhism has many distinct characteristics in terms of worldview, religious interpretations of individuals, standards for enlightenment, and religious practice and tradition.

The classification of Buddha's teachings into Huayan and Tiantai was also peculiar to Chinese Buddhism. This classification was based on the positions and opinions of various Chinese sects. In order to popularize the Indian sutras and adapt them to the local environment, many of the sutras were be graded and analyzed in order to support the cases of individual religious leaders and advance their goals and values. For example, the Huayan sect advocated a separation of the sutras into five categories, dividing Buddhists teachings into five ranks basedon quality, belittling the other four while claiming to be the representatives fifth and most elite "Huayan Sutra.” Tiantai advocates a separation into eight teachings, claiming to be based on the fourth.

Chan or Zen Buddhism is also a special product of China. Its principles include: advocating the possibility of eating meat dishes; purporting the idea that Buddhism has nothing to do with texts, sutras, or miracles, but rather self-realization; the idea that everyone has the Buddha, everyone is Buddha, and that Bodhi represents trouble; the idea that enlightenment has nothing to do with money; that greed and anger is hell; that ignorance and stupidity are next to beastliness; that peace does not need to be a mutual condition; moral behavior as an end of itself and reflection on the purpose of meditation; the idea that selfishness is nothing more than evil without jealousy without greed without anger; that the cycle of reincarnation is determined by the chaos of all good and evil realms; and the idea that, if we are self-motivated and observe our own Buddha-nature, yet are not not obsessive over it, that is wisdom. These sorts of assertions are based on an instantaneous realization of insight and the idea of blending Indian Buddhist values with local Daoist and folk philosophy and traditions. Traditionally, Buddhism is not allowed to leave the world in search of consciousness, and this is impossible as a rabbit growing horns. This difference in values fully demonstrates the difference between Buddhism in China and Buddhism in India.

It is worth mentioning that Chinese Buddhism attempts to harmonize many aspects of of traditional ideology and culture. Indian Buddhism is very different from traditional Chinese religious beliefs and public views, and it is also a very different ideological system from the traditional Chinese ideas of Confucianism, Taoism, and others. Their cosmology, social outlook and outlook on life are also all very different. Their ideal goals, ways and means of achieving their goals, and so on, all vary greatly. Therefore, after Buddhism was transmitted into China, it was faced with the great challenge of Chinese traditional ideology and culture with Confucianism and Taoism as the main representatives. However, Buddhism was able to adapt to the customs in the Chinese environment. Therefore, after it came to China, Buddhism paid great attention to attaching itself to the ruling class and to elements and practices of traditional ideology and culture. On the other hand, Chinese Buddhism takes convenience and randomness as its theoretical basis, while endeavoring to reconcile its ideological conflicts with Confucianism and Taoism. It also constantly sought to support Confucianism and Taoism in traditional ways and demonstrated the fundamental unity between Buddhism and traditional Confucianism and Taoism, thus forming its obvious characteristics of reconciliation and integration or eclecticism. At the same time, Chinese Buddhism is closely related to local social politics and ethics. Although Buddhism is a religion with the ultimate goal of aloofness, under the patriarchal feudal autocratic and powerful social environment, Buddhism aloofness in this context not only emphasizes the connection between aloofness and worldliness. It also shows its attachment to politics and to actively coordinating and integrating with the traditional ethics and morality, requiring a certain degree of cooperation with the state, and thus bringing a certain political and ethical tone.

From the point of view of religious practice, many Indian Buddhist traditions are also used in Chinese Buddhism, such as alms, giving offerings to monks, conversion, observing the precepts of the Five Precepts (restricted to lay people), building temples, grottoes, making images of the Buddha or Bodhisattvas, and reading, copying, and printing Mahayana Buddhist scriptures However, pagodas in China are different in shape from the cupolas of India. The cupola has been replaced by the pagoda which is used to accommodate the ashes of most people (called the pagoda). It is built a part of the temple, and its funerary services and architectural effects are an important source of economy and of the temple itself. The meaning of the Indian pagoda has been completely replaced by the Buddha’s image. The preservation of the Buddha's relics has shifted to preserving the relics of Chinese monks and martyrs, while the pagoda also serves as a shrine similar to an ancestral hall. In addition, Indian Buddhism's impartial application to poor people has transformed into as a large-scale ministerial assembly for various dispositions and purposes in China. It is held annually and is the main source of funds for various undertakings by temples. The most common of these are: The Yuen Lam Basin Faith, the Exodus and Hell, and the Hungry, July, the Dharma Faith for the Monks, the Buddha's Birthday, the Guanyin Fahui for the Bath Buddha Festival, etc. All kinds of vegetarian food is served or sold for this occasion, such as Luo Hanzhai, a Buddhist dish which at its most exquisite may sell for up to one hundred thousand dollars per dish. When the Buddhist ceremony was held, some of the elderly lay women who were in charge of the ceremony were also using the method of reading out the dharma, apparently influenced by Taoism but not found in Indian Buddhism.

References

Miao Yun. (1995). Teachings in Chinese Buddhism. Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.

Piya Tan. (2008). How Buddhism Became Chinese: A reflection on the (Ahita) Thera Sutta.

http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/40b.1-Buddhist-growth-in-China.pdf

2. What was the intent of the doctrine of the “unimpeded interpenetration between phenomenon and phenomena” (shishi wu’ai/shih-shih wu-ai) in Huayan/Hua-yen Buddhism? How was this tenet of interfusion justified philosophically (please describe the internal logic leading to shishi wu’ai) and deployed in the school? Do you find this notion of consummate interfusion plausible? If so, why? If not, why not? What relevance, if any, might this tenet have for the contemporary world?

Huayan Buddhism divides the Dharmadhatu (the realm of Absolute Reality) into four demotions, including (Tymieniecka, 1984):

the Dharma-realm of shi

the Dharma-realm of li

the Dharma-realm of unimpeded interpenetration of li and shi

the Dharma-realm of unimpeded interpenetration of shi and shi

In this doctrine, shi means phenomenon and li means reason or principle. The four Dharma-realms represent different levels of understanding of the world. The first level is the basic, which most ordinary people are in, while the last level belongs to the Buddhist wisdom. Huayan Buddhism believes that the highest level of Buddhist wisdom is the unimpeded interpenetration between phenomenon and principle.

It is a reasonable philosophy to be implemented with the real world and explains things in a logical way, and uses simple analogies to explain the four Dharma-realms to better understand them. The unimpeded interpenetration of li is like knowing how to drive but not owning a vehicle.  The unimpeded interpenetration of shi is like owning a vehicle but not knowing how to drive. The unimpeded interpenetration of li and shi is like knowing how to drive and also having a car. The unimpeded interpenetration of shi and shi is like being able to drive safely in various conditions no matter day and night, in wind and rain, crowded or empty streets.

The distinguishing aspect of the Buddhist view is the belief that everyone can achieve Buddhahood. As a result, this is a clear path to develop from the Dharma-realm of shi to the Dharma-realm of unimpeded interpenetration of shi and shi. About the order of the Sādhanā in the four dimensions, one is required to start from viewing the shi moving to the li, first seeing things, then understanding the theory and basic thoughts and ideology. After that, one could learn to master the unimpeded interpenetration of shi and li, till the ones of shi and shi. Among then, the latter three is related to the first Patriarch Dushun’s work.

Among these works, the latter three, or the equivalent of the equivalent of the vacuum of Huagan Dharma Viewpoint made by Du Shun, the ancestor of Huayan Autonomous Prefecture, have no obstacles for the directors and contain the three dimensions of content. Huanyanzong Siuzu Chengguan’s view of the above three concepts are based on the concept of the law, and the establishment of the concept of four laws.

Buddhist dialectics should not be confused with the dialectics of nature or materialist dialectics. By talking about contradictions, the dialectics of nature and materialist dialectics argue that contradictions are absolute, but unity is relative, and things will always evolve in contradictions. However, Buddhism speaks differently. Buddhism believes that everything is connected and equal with true merging, and forms a consummate interfusion.

Simply put, things and truth are interdependent, things are phenomena and truth is the noumenon; things cannot exist without the truth, and the truth must also be attached to material things and phenomena. The things themselves vary greatly, but the truth itself is no difference. Things are wonderful, and the truth is a vacuum, vacuum and wonderful itself there is no difference. As a matter of fact, the governing body has no obstacle in speaking of its own phenomena and its own noumenon and interdependence. Therefore, it is naturally possible for both parties to act independently or to act independently. Epiphany. The thing is the fruit, and the reason is the reason, either can be the fruit or can be used to attain the fruit; it can be said that the cause of the cause is cause and effect itself.

There is no obstacle or interlink between truth and reason. Just as there are many sects and doctrines in Buddhism, their essence is to elaborate on the most basic origin and the truth of the three ways of sex and Buddhism. The truths are different, but the truth itself follows the great laws of the universe. The universe is extremely empty and homogeneous, and natural beings all have the same characteristics and qualities without distinction; most importantly, they all have the heart of the Buddha. All things and actions are also interdependent; things are not isolated, but exist in a shared moral ecosystem. Although the appearances of things vary widely, things themselves are principles and principles are unique and non-discriminating. Therefore, material things themselves can be made immaterial and ineffable.

Material actors cannot hinder the actions or progress of the entire universe, and all the things that live in our shared universe share an organic connection and mutual influence. This idea helps people to further understand the unity of the mortal world so as to consciously and selflessly take care of the earth, protect the environment, and live in harmony with other life. Therefore, topics such as modern ecology and bioethics have received more and more attention. Huayan believes that all things in the universe are eternal and exist an inexhaustible and complex interdependence and relationship of fundamental commonality. This reveals the truth that no things and no phenomena in the universe exist in isolation, but share an eternal bond with all things and phenomena around it. Everything in the world is complicated; not in conflict with each other, but sharing a positive ecological condition that is maintained by "doing nothing" and "getting in touch with each other." The harmonious relationship between man and the natural environment is based on these principles and this philosophical framework. Human behavior should benefit the coexistence of all things and protect the integrity, stability, and beauty of the natural world and larger ecosystem. Only by expanding our minds, paying attention to our harmonious coexistence with nature, and paying attention to harmonious coexistence with all sentient beings can we truly realize our own happiness. Therefore, Huayan philosophy and all its derivatives ultimately can be traced back to one, single origin and fundamental value system, providing a simple and effective idea for contemporary environmental protection. Seemingly complicated and difficult to solve, the problem of environmental pollution that has become so intense in recent years suddenly finds an ideological and traditional pathway towards reaching a solution. To purify the environment, we must begin by purifying our souls. This is a profound concept taught by the Buddha. A relationship that is extremely uncoordinated, unbalanced, and based on ignorance and isolation, such as that of the modern relationship between humanity and nature, can only deteriorate and harm all parties, and can only be improved through reflection and holistic solutions as outlined in Huayan Buddhism.

References

Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka. (1984). Phenomenology of Life in a Dialogue Between Chinese and

Occidental Philosophy. Springer Netherlands Publishing.

Robert E. Buswell Jr.，Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2005). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.

Princeton University Press.

3. According to a seminal verse attributed to the putative founder of Chan, Bodhidharma, Chan is a “separate transmission outside the teachings, which does not rely on words and letters, but points directly to the human mind, so that one may see the nature and achieve buddhahood.” Please “unpack” this verse and explain what this verse tells us about Chan’s own sense of its pedigree as a school of Buddhism and its distinctive soteriology. Please explicate the critical terms in this verse, including “separate transmission,” “direct pointing,” “human mind,” and “seeing the nature.”

The following verse, attributed to Bodhidharma, represents Chan’s fundamental origins, and also reveals the essence of Chan. There are four lines of the verse which argue that Chan is:

a separate transmission outside the teachings

does not rely on words and letters

points directly to the human mind

sees nature and achieve Buddhahood

These four lines form a causal connection about how to achieve buddhahood. This pathway to enlightenment involves studying the truths of daily life through self-cultivation, until a final enlightenment, that is, to truly understand one's own true features. On its face, the first line means the enlightenment of Chan does not take place through the religion itself; the second line means that it does not emphasize the importance of words and specific expressions; the third line means to transfer knowledge into wisdom and practice to see things as usual; and the fourth line means that the highest level of Chan is to see through the phenomena.

Specifically, separate transmission refers to not preaching Chan through the traditional method of teaching (jiaomen, referring to its emphasis on the classical Buddhist theories and ideologies), but to preach Chan through its own innovative teaching methods and traditions (zongmen, referring to its emphasis on Buddhist practice) (Welter, 2011). Not relying on words and letters means that writing is not a necessary or sufficient condition for enlightenment. Enlightenment is not an experiential object or activity and can not be expressed in words. Although Chan advocates not relying on words, the spreading and developing relies deeply on the written and spoken word; this phrase itself is based on words, obviously. Without the intermediary of spoken and written language, we cannot know the history of Chinese Buddhism, nor can we study the great monks in the history of Buddhism or the stories that have been passed down about them. The reason why we are able to see a vast collection of Chan books is because these stories and teachings have been documented throughout the ages and handed down from generation to generation. Chan cannot exist or continue as a sect without the medium of writing. The essence of not relying on words and letters is actually referring to not being bound by words too much, to be restricted by them into certain ideologies or ways of thinking, not abandoning the use of words as a tool.

The concepts of the human mind, nature, and Buddha are rather synonymous in Chan, refers to the subject of the highest value of Buddhism. Chan sects such as Tiantai and Huayan pursue an idealized life through Buddhism which they purport can be achieved by anyone. This leads to the stanza’s third and fourth lines. In this context, the human mind does not refer to the heart which makes emotional judgments of our everyday thinking, or the mind that use to employ logic and analysis, or the kind of feelings and emotions that psychologists research and deal with, but the basic philosophical and existential state which underlies these feelings, thoughts, and patterns. This heart is the cittamatra - the heart that is the theme of Lankavatara. This heart is also called "nature," "true" (svabhava), and is the basis for everything. This inner heart can be said to be the last state we reach when we psychologically dig deeper into the subject of thought and feeling, while our outer "nature" is that which our ontological knowledge can recognize and analyze. The realm of ontology is also the realm of psychological understanding, and vice versa; for when we reach one, we find that we are dealing with the other. The two are just different starting points; one is inward, the other two are outward, and in the end they reach the same point. When we see the heart, we see our nature; when we realize our own nature, we also understand the heart; they are the same.

The enlightened person, and every act of theirs, is in perfect harmony with nature, and such a person is the Buddha-the "enlightened person." The Buddha is a fundamentally natural person. So we can say that nature, mind, and Buddha are just different representations of the same identity of phenomena. When we point out the same thing from different positions, we use different terms. And the ideal which Zen demonstrates in those four crucial sentences is to directly grasp what is true instead of using any intelligence, virtue, ritual, or obfuscating or distorting methods as its medium.

These four phrases reflect not only the unique Buddhist world view, but also its development history.

The introduction of “seeing through to nature” and the related fundamentalist and essentialist philosophies in the Zen classics, particularly at its earliest stages, was not truly related to the original concepts of Zen Buddhism, and was largely Taoist in demeanor and origin, but these issues of origin had not yet become important. After later spiritualist movements began to raise the issue, "seeing nature" has become a controversial issue. From the eighth century AD of the Yuan Dynasty until the end of the Tang Dynasty, this issue became a hot topic and many Zen masters participated in dialogue on the subject, including those of Heze, Niutou, Jiangxi, Stone, and other Zen schools. Many members of the ruling class in the Tang Dynasty, from a number of emperors, to prime ministers and the lowliest of officials all regularly asked the Zen masters about their thoughts on “seeing nature.”

After the collapse of Tang Dynasty, as attitudes have changed and developed, the Zen tradition has been flourishing inside and outside China. Many books published during this period attempted to record works on Zen philosophy and “seeing nature,” and saved many philosophy materials produced during the late Tang Dynasty; on the other hand, there were new creations, such as the "Zu Tang Ji," which was the first written attempt of Zen revisionism, and attempting to categorize "seeing nature" and its philosophies as related to the teachings of the Dharma. "Zong Jing Yuan" was also attempting to pursue the ancestors of the sect, "directed at the heart, seeing the nature into the Buddha," as it said. The Record of Apostles (Zong Yuan Yuan) further added two points: first, the text of "Shurangama Sutra" is quoted to unite "self-nature" and "buddha nature." Second, there is also the doctrine of "seeing nature as a Buddha" and "the purpose of nature" in celestial terms. It is not yet clear whether or not this "Venerable" author is the 28th ancestor of the Western Heaven; nor did he confess that he had anything to do with his ancestor. Regardless, a huge outpouring of historical works representing interest in and an attempt to systematize and reconcile Zen philosophies emerged during the post-Tang period.

In the book of Qi Song, the relationship between Bhutan and Balti once again affirmed, and in his "Authentic Anatomy of the Chuan Fa," Bodhidharma's doctrine is to simply say that he "sees the Buddha as nature." Other Zen texts, such as "Bi Yan Lu," "Unattended," "Court of Ancestral Garden," and so on, one after another, all repeat the idea of "seeing the Buddha within the Buddha," the core idea that can be traced back to Bodhidharma, and no other Buddhist sect pursues these values and ideologies to the same degree. This kind of respect for one family statement, excluding the truth of history, is a typical sectarian consciousness. This stereotype has seeped into the history of the teachings, but has no historical factual basis; Zen might reply that this does not matter, because they do not rely on words or letters, only ideas and perception. Historically speaking, this kind of contradiction can be said to have occurred through the rough and difficult historiographic process involved in these religious and philosophical practices, which make it difficult to confirm a text or finalize a doctrine. However, from the perspective of the Zen priests, if some of these books on popular enlightenment or records of the ancient masters, can really inspire a single ascetic or layperson to become a Buddha and become enlightened, it does not matter whether the history is true or false, because they ideas and faith are real. The difference and distinction between religion and history, between monastic and secular life, between the pursuit of faith and the pursuit of knowledge, are all based around this point.

References

Albert Welter. (2011). Yongming Yanshou’s Conception of Chan in the Zongjing Lu.  Oxford

University Press.

Piya Tan. (2008). Transmission outside the scriptures? The evolution of Chán Buddhism as a

religion in its own right. http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/40b.5-Transmission-outside-the-scriptures.pdf

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