There are some similarities between science and Buddhism. Both rely on intuition, rationality and wisdom in search of truths or universal laws about life, human beings, and all events and phenomena in the universe(s). Like Buddhists, most scientists, especially modern physicists, believe in such laws as cause and effect, impermanence, emptiness, and cyclic interdependence. Science uses qualitative and quantitative experiments, relies on observation, mathematical formula, and exact measurements to test hypotheses, models and theories. Buddhism also relies on observation, analysis, direct experiences, and profound contemplation to find out the ultimate reality. Both Buddhism and science demand long and rigorous training, much efforts and strong determination on the part of the follower.
However, science and Buddhism have some huge differences.
First, while science searches for conventional truths (usually agreed upon and easily accepted by conventional thinking), Buddhism goes against all conventional (which is “illusory” in the Buddhist view), and dualistic ways of thinking. Science aims at conquering or mastering Nature, making it serve humanity; Buddhism has only one purpose: to find the ultimate truth, that is, to free all beings from suffering and help them attain Nirvana/Enlightenment (liberation from the cycle of suffering, of birth, old age, illness, and death).
Another difference is related to ethical issues. As a spiritual path leading to liberation of all beings from suffering, Buddhism respects life and emphasizes equality among all beings, and harmony between beings and environment (Nature). Buddhism and Buddhist followers treat and serve every being equally out of the strong belief that each has Buddha Nature (the natural awareness that every being /the Part has and shares with others in the immense open space/the Whole). As part of human knowledge and discoveries, science may serve some groups of humans, but harm others, as well as animals and environment.
Finally, Buddhist teachings aim at transforming human three poisons (greed, anger, and ignorance) into three noble virtues (donation/giving, loving-kindness/compassion, and wisdom). It focuses on this mind training through such methods as meditation, or contemplation on, and developing insights about, a subject or a topic (for example, breath, images of Buddhas, chanting names of Buddhas, chanting mantras, Death, the impurities of the body, carcasses...). In science so far there is no such training that aims at liberation from the cycle of life and death (Nirvana). Nor is there any scientific law regarding life after death (Karma), and reincarnation.
(See also A Convergence of Modern Science and Buddhism, a blog entry in November, 2011)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Vietnamese Thien Founders and Early Masters-- Part III
6.1 The Trúc Lâm School (continued)
Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ, whom King Trần Nhân Tông considered his master, was a famous lay Buddhist practitioner of Thiền Trúc Lâm School. His Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ’s Collection (Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ ngữ lục) and Khoa Hu Collection(Khoá hư lục )were fundamental to the Trúc Lâm School’s thoughts and teachings. After three master generations of Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa, and Huyền Quang, this Thiền School lost its influence to Confucianism for a while. Until the second half of the Lê Dynasty (Lê Trung Hưng 1533-1789) it almost regained its strong cultural and religious position it used to have before in the 14th century. During the Buddhist Restoration Movement in the middle of the 20th century, many venerable monks and Thiền masters wanted to rebuild the Thiền Trúc Lâm School, but this is still a controversial matter among Buddhist scholars.
Some Sects during the Trúc Lâm Restoration Movement under the Lê-Nguyễn Dynasties:
Lâm Tế and the Master Chuyết Chuyết Lý Thiên Tộ
Chuyết Chuyết was born in China in 1590. His name was Lý Thiên Tộ at birth. His Buddhist names were Hải Trừng. Later when he became a monk, his name was Viên Văn. He left China for Cambodia n 1630, and entered Đại Việt through Cham (Chiêm Thành) in 1633. After the Mother Queen Trịnh Thị Ngọc Trúc and Princess Trịnh Thị Ngọc Duyên became nuns at Phật Tích Temple, Lord Trịnh Tráng began to rebuild Ninh Phúc Temple, Bút Tháp, and invited Chuyết Chuyết to be its abbot. Chuyết Chuyết’s statue can be found in Phật Tích Temple nowadays. He belonged to the 34th generation of Línjì/Lin-chi (Lâm Tế) School in China. It was he who taught this Thiền in Đại Việt (Vietnam). One special trait if this School was that it followed the four guidelines(“tứ liệu giản”), clear formula, and selected or graded levels of perception of the subject and the object.
6.2. Thiền Lâm Tế in the South (Lâm Tế Đàng Trong) and the Liễu Quán Subsect
After Nguyễn Hoàng began to rule the South (the beginning of the 17th century), a Buddhist center started to develop in Thuận Hoá. Besides strengthening their rule in the South, in order to prevent foreign influence of Western ministers, many lords of the Nguyễn focused on developing and spreading Buddhism in the South, so they invited many respected monks from China. Many of these monks were from the Lâm Tế School. Some were abbots of temples in Thuận Hoá, such as Thiền masters Viên Cảnh, Viên Chiếu, Nguyên Thiều...and many others. Hence the Liễu Quán subsect came into existence.
Liễu Quán was from Bạch Mã Village, Đồng Xuân County, Phú Yên Province. He was born into a poor family, and started a monastic life at the age of 12. In 1697, he learned Buddhism in Thuận Hoá. After many years of traveling from temple to temple to learn the Dharma, at 41, he was accepted by Thiền master Tử Dung as a disciple and began to disseminate the Dharma to many congregations in Thuận Hoá và Phú Yên. He demised in 1742.
Many researchers believe that Liễu Quán had Vietnamized the Lâm Tế School, so it now has Vietnamese characteristics. Before Liễu Quán, the Buddhist congregations in the South had some of the Cantonese (Quảng Đông) characteristics that were introduced from the two east and west Southern regions of China. With Liễu Quán, Lâm Tế retained its original academic characteristics, as for its method of disseminate the Dharma, it was completely Vietnamese.
6.3.Thiền Masters under the Ly Dynasty
Ly Cong Uan /Ly Thai To(1010-1088), an adopted son of the respected monk named Ly Khanh Van at Co Phap Temple, learned Buddhism from Thiền Master Van Hanh. He helped restored old temples, and built new one such as Hung Thien Ngu, Van Tue, Thang Nghiem, Then Vuong, Thien Quang, Thien Duc, Cam Y, Long Hung, Thanh Tho. he also ordered to cast new bells. In 1019 the King sent two subjects Pham Hao and Nguyen Dao Hung to China for copies of sutras, and asked a Thien Master named Phi Tri to preserve the sutras in the royal archives. It was the second time Vietnam sent subjects to China in order to receive copies of sutras. In 1020 the king ordered to build a big Buddhist Hall for Dharma talks in the capital, and sent monks all over the country to spread Buddhism. In 1024 he ordered to build Chan Giao, another hall inside the royal palace, and invited well-known monks to teach the dharma there so he could learn. These famous monks were Thien Masters Van Hanh, Sung Pham, and Da Bao. They were from either the Vo Ngon Thong or Ty Ni Da Luu Chi Schools.
Thien Master Van Hanh was from Co Phap Temple (Dinh Bang, Tu Son, Bac Ninh). All we learned about him was that he was born into a Buddhist family, and his last name was Nguyen. Since early childhood, he was already very intelligent, and had learned many Buddhist sutras and treatises, as well as understood the core of Confucianism and Taoism. He became Thien Master Dinh Hue’s disciple at the age of 20, learned Thien from Dao Gia, the Second Master of the Ty Ni Da Luu Chi School. Before Van Hanh passed away (1018), he left a famous Thien stanza.
Thien Master Da Bao was the abbot of Kien So Temple (Phu Dong). He was the disciple of Khuong Viet The National Master (Vo Ngon Thong School). Since he often traveled from place to place to teach Buddhism, nobody knew much about him, or when and where he passed away. The disciple who received his Dharma transmission was Dinh Huong.
Under the leadership of the most religious Buddhist King in the Ly Dynasty, King Ly Thai Ton (1028-1054), 95 more temples were built in 1031. Three years later in 1034 the Song Dynasty in China sent their subjects to Vietnam to donate copies of the Tripitaka, which were received in a grand ceremony. In 1036 King Thai Ton ordered to renovate the old Buddha statues in many temples. It was said that there were two monks who attained enlightenment during this period, Nghiem Bao Tanh and Pham Minh Tam. From 1034 to 1038 the King often came to Thien Master Thuyen Lao to learn the Dharma and to beg to become his disciple. He was at last given the Dharma transmission, and became the seventh master in the Vo Ngon Thong School. Famous Thien masters of the Vo Ngon Thong School at the time were Cuu Chi, Bao Tanh, Minh Tam, Hue Sinh, Dinh Huong, Da Bao, Thuyen Lao. The King also practiced Thien and learned Buddhism enthusiastically. In 1049 he ordered to build Dien Huu Temple (Chua Mot Cot/One-Pillar Temple near Hanoi), a typical Vietnamese Buddhist construction of all times.
Another Buddhist King, Ly Thanh Ton (1054-1072) was very kind and compassionate to the poor and prisoners. He often ordered his subjects to treat them kindly in the prison, and to reduce their sentences, for they committed crimes because of their ignorance. In 1056 the King ordered to build Sung Khanh Temple, Bao Thien (Tien Thi, Tho Xuong or Hanoi nowadays), with a 12-story stupa and to cast a big brass bell.
6.4 The Thiền Tào Động School
Tào Động was from China. It came to Việt Nam with Thiền master Thủy Nguyệt (Tông Giác). But according to Nguyễn Lang, in the South of Đại Việt, the first to introduce Thiền Tào Động School to Đại Việt was Thiền Master Hưng Liên, who was the abbot of Tam Thai Temple, Quảng Nam province, and who was assigned the National Master (Quốc Sư). Afterwards, Thiền Master Thạch Liêm from Canton (Quảng Đông) was invited by Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn to Thiền Lâm Temple to teach Thiền Tào Động.
Thạch Liêm combined both Tào Động and Pureland (Thiền and Tịnh độ), and introduced the Dharma to the multitude. Gradually, Tào Động mixed with Lâm Tế in the South and formed the Lâm-Tào practice in many Southern congregations.
6.5 Chân Nguyên and the Restoration of Thiền Trúc Lâm School in the North (Đàng Ngoài)
Thiền Master Chân Nguyên was born Nguyễn Nghiêm, at Tiền Liệt Village, Thanh Hà District, Hải Dương Province, in 1646. He became a monk with the Buddhist name Tuệ Đăng at the age of 19, and learned Buddhism with Thiền Master Chân Trú at Hoa Yên Temple. He received the Trúc Lâm School transmission from his master, and became the abbot of Long Động và Quỳnh Lâm Temples. His Thiền method emphasized direct realization of the Buddha Nature.
According to Nguyễn Lang, regarding Chân Nguyên's method, the key to enlightenment was the nurture of the realization of Buddha Nature. With this realization, every thought and action naturally stayed in the realm of enlightenment, without any magical power. It is through the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the consciousness (six senses) that the practitioner realizes the Real or the Buddha Nature.
Chân Nguyên demised at the age of 80. His major contribution was his starting and encouraging academic activities among Buddhists at the time, such as the translation of many Buddhist works and studies, which have been well preserved until now.
6.6. Hương Hải the Thiền Master Who Introduced Thiền into Daily Life
Thiền Master Hương Hải was from Áng Độ Village, Chân Phúc District (later renamed Chân Lộc, then Nghi Lộc), Nghệ An Province. His ancestors came to the South to support Lord Nguyễn, and stayed at Phủ Thăng Bình (Quảng Nam). After many years as a monk, he was invited by Lord Nguyễn to serve in the Royal Palace. After some false accusation, he quietly traveled to the North in 1683, at the age of 56, and at the end off his life he became the abbot of Xích Đằng Temple, Kim Động, Hưng Yên City nowadays.
Hương Hải proposed the social engagement approach, and continued to follow the fundamental guidelines of Trúc Lâm School; but he also introduced some new elements, such as bringing Buddhism to the multitude, pointing out the relationship between the mind and the external phenomena, illusion versus enlightenment, and the good versus the evil.
Source:
Nguyễn Hưng. Sơ lược các dòng Thiền Việt Nam
posted 20/08/2008.
http://www.phattuvietnam.net/2/16/4000.html
Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ, whom King Trần Nhân Tông considered his master, was a famous lay Buddhist practitioner of Thiền Trúc Lâm School. His Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ’s Collection (Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ ngữ lục) and Khoa Hu Collection(Khoá hư lục )were fundamental to the Trúc Lâm School’s thoughts and teachings. After three master generations of Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa, and Huyền Quang, this Thiền School lost its influence to Confucianism for a while. Until the second half of the Lê Dynasty (Lê Trung Hưng 1533-1789) it almost regained its strong cultural and religious position it used to have before in the 14th century. During the Buddhist Restoration Movement in the middle of the 20th century, many venerable monks and Thiền masters wanted to rebuild the Thiền Trúc Lâm School, but this is still a controversial matter among Buddhist scholars.
Some Sects during the Trúc Lâm Restoration Movement under the Lê-Nguyễn Dynasties:
Lâm Tế and the Master Chuyết Chuyết Lý Thiên Tộ
Chuyết Chuyết was born in China in 1590. His name was Lý Thiên Tộ at birth. His Buddhist names were Hải Trừng. Later when he became a monk, his name was Viên Văn. He left China for Cambodia n 1630, and entered Đại Việt through Cham (Chiêm Thành) in 1633. After the Mother Queen Trịnh Thị Ngọc Trúc and Princess Trịnh Thị Ngọc Duyên became nuns at Phật Tích Temple, Lord Trịnh Tráng began to rebuild Ninh Phúc Temple, Bút Tháp, and invited Chuyết Chuyết to be its abbot. Chuyết Chuyết’s statue can be found in Phật Tích Temple nowadays. He belonged to the 34th generation of Línjì/Lin-chi (Lâm Tế) School in China. It was he who taught this Thiền in Đại Việt (Vietnam). One special trait if this School was that it followed the four guidelines(“tứ liệu giản”), clear formula, and selected or graded levels of perception of the subject and the object.
6.2. Thiền Lâm Tế in the South (Lâm Tế Đàng Trong) and the Liễu Quán Subsect
After Nguyễn Hoàng began to rule the South (the beginning of the 17th century), a Buddhist center started to develop in Thuận Hoá. Besides strengthening their rule in the South, in order to prevent foreign influence of Western ministers, many lords of the Nguyễn focused on developing and spreading Buddhism in the South, so they invited many respected monks from China. Many of these monks were from the Lâm Tế School. Some were abbots of temples in Thuận Hoá, such as Thiền masters Viên Cảnh, Viên Chiếu, Nguyên Thiều...and many others. Hence the Liễu Quán subsect came into existence.
Liễu Quán was from Bạch Mã Village, Đồng Xuân County, Phú Yên Province. He was born into a poor family, and started a monastic life at the age of 12. In 1697, he learned Buddhism in Thuận Hoá. After many years of traveling from temple to temple to learn the Dharma, at 41, he was accepted by Thiền master Tử Dung as a disciple and began to disseminate the Dharma to many congregations in Thuận Hoá và Phú Yên. He demised in 1742.
Many researchers believe that Liễu Quán had Vietnamized the Lâm Tế School, so it now has Vietnamese characteristics. Before Liễu Quán, the Buddhist congregations in the South had some of the Cantonese (Quảng Đông) characteristics that were introduced from the two east and west Southern regions of China. With Liễu Quán, Lâm Tế retained its original academic characteristics, as for its method of disseminate the Dharma, it was completely Vietnamese.
6.3.Thiền Masters under the Ly Dynasty
Ly Cong Uan /Ly Thai To(1010-1088), an adopted son of the respected monk named Ly Khanh Van at Co Phap Temple, learned Buddhism from Thiền Master Van Hanh. He helped restored old temples, and built new one such as Hung Thien Ngu, Van Tue, Thang Nghiem, Then Vuong, Thien Quang, Thien Duc, Cam Y, Long Hung, Thanh Tho. he also ordered to cast new bells. In 1019 the King sent two subjects Pham Hao and Nguyen Dao Hung to China for copies of sutras, and asked a Thien Master named Phi Tri to preserve the sutras in the royal archives. It was the second time Vietnam sent subjects to China in order to receive copies of sutras. In 1020 the king ordered to build a big Buddhist Hall for Dharma talks in the capital, and sent monks all over the country to spread Buddhism. In 1024 he ordered to build Chan Giao, another hall inside the royal palace, and invited well-known monks to teach the dharma there so he could learn. These famous monks were Thien Masters Van Hanh, Sung Pham, and Da Bao. They were from either the Vo Ngon Thong or Ty Ni Da Luu Chi Schools.
Thien Master Van Hanh was from Co Phap Temple (Dinh Bang, Tu Son, Bac Ninh). All we learned about him was that he was born into a Buddhist family, and his last name was Nguyen. Since early childhood, he was already very intelligent, and had learned many Buddhist sutras and treatises, as well as understood the core of Confucianism and Taoism. He became Thien Master Dinh Hue’s disciple at the age of 20, learned Thien from Dao Gia, the Second Master of the Ty Ni Da Luu Chi School. Before Van Hanh passed away (1018), he left a famous Thien stanza.
Thien Master Da Bao was the abbot of Kien So Temple (Phu Dong). He was the disciple of Khuong Viet The National Master (Vo Ngon Thong School). Since he often traveled from place to place to teach Buddhism, nobody knew much about him, or when and where he passed away. The disciple who received his Dharma transmission was Dinh Huong.
Under the leadership of the most religious Buddhist King in the Ly Dynasty, King Ly Thai Ton (1028-1054), 95 more temples were built in 1031. Three years later in 1034 the Song Dynasty in China sent their subjects to Vietnam to donate copies of the Tripitaka, which were received in a grand ceremony. In 1036 King Thai Ton ordered to renovate the old Buddha statues in many temples. It was said that there were two monks who attained enlightenment during this period, Nghiem Bao Tanh and Pham Minh Tam. From 1034 to 1038 the King often came to Thien Master Thuyen Lao to learn the Dharma and to beg to become his disciple. He was at last given the Dharma transmission, and became the seventh master in the Vo Ngon Thong School. Famous Thien masters of the Vo Ngon Thong School at the time were Cuu Chi, Bao Tanh, Minh Tam, Hue Sinh, Dinh Huong, Da Bao, Thuyen Lao. The King also practiced Thien and learned Buddhism enthusiastically. In 1049 he ordered to build Dien Huu Temple (Chua Mot Cot/One-Pillar Temple near Hanoi), a typical Vietnamese Buddhist construction of all times.
Another Buddhist King, Ly Thanh Ton (1054-1072) was very kind and compassionate to the poor and prisoners. He often ordered his subjects to treat them kindly in the prison, and to reduce their sentences, for they committed crimes because of their ignorance. In 1056 the King ordered to build Sung Khanh Temple, Bao Thien (Tien Thi, Tho Xuong or Hanoi nowadays), with a 12-story stupa and to cast a big brass bell.
6.4 The Thiền Tào Động School
Tào Động was from China. It came to Việt Nam with Thiền master Thủy Nguyệt (Tông Giác). But according to Nguyễn Lang, in the South of Đại Việt, the first to introduce Thiền Tào Động School to Đại Việt was Thiền Master Hưng Liên, who was the abbot of Tam Thai Temple, Quảng Nam province, and who was assigned the National Master (Quốc Sư). Afterwards, Thiền Master Thạch Liêm from Canton (Quảng Đông) was invited by Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn to Thiền Lâm Temple to teach Thiền Tào Động.
Thạch Liêm combined both Tào Động and Pureland (Thiền and Tịnh độ), and introduced the Dharma to the multitude. Gradually, Tào Động mixed with Lâm Tế in the South and formed the Lâm-Tào practice in many Southern congregations.
6.5 Chân Nguyên and the Restoration of Thiền Trúc Lâm School in the North (Đàng Ngoài)
Thiền Master Chân Nguyên was born Nguyễn Nghiêm, at Tiền Liệt Village, Thanh Hà District, Hải Dương Province, in 1646. He became a monk with the Buddhist name Tuệ Đăng at the age of 19, and learned Buddhism with Thiền Master Chân Trú at Hoa Yên Temple. He received the Trúc Lâm School transmission from his master, and became the abbot of Long Động và Quỳnh Lâm Temples. His Thiền method emphasized direct realization of the Buddha Nature.
According to Nguyễn Lang, regarding Chân Nguyên's method, the key to enlightenment was the nurture of the realization of Buddha Nature. With this realization, every thought and action naturally stayed in the realm of enlightenment, without any magical power. It is through the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the consciousness (six senses) that the practitioner realizes the Real or the Buddha Nature.
Chân Nguyên demised at the age of 80. His major contribution was his starting and encouraging academic activities among Buddhists at the time, such as the translation of many Buddhist works and studies, which have been well preserved until now.
6.6. Hương Hải the Thiền Master Who Introduced Thiền into Daily Life
Thiền Master Hương Hải was from Áng Độ Village, Chân Phúc District (later renamed Chân Lộc, then Nghi Lộc), Nghệ An Province. His ancestors came to the South to support Lord Nguyễn, and stayed at Phủ Thăng Bình (Quảng Nam). After many years as a monk, he was invited by Lord Nguyễn to serve in the Royal Palace. After some false accusation, he quietly traveled to the North in 1683, at the age of 56, and at the end off his life he became the abbot of Xích Đằng Temple, Kim Động, Hưng Yên City nowadays.
Hương Hải proposed the social engagement approach, and continued to follow the fundamental guidelines of Trúc Lâm School; but he also introduced some new elements, such as bringing Buddhism to the multitude, pointing out the relationship between the mind and the external phenomena, illusion versus enlightenment, and the good versus the evil.
Source:
Nguyễn Hưng. Sơ lược các dòng Thiền Việt Nam
posted 20/08/2008.
http://www.phattuvietnam.net/2/16/4000.html
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Vietnamese Thiền Founders and Early Thiền Masters in Vietnam --Part II
5.THIỀN TRÚC LÂM
Trần Thái Tông (1218 – 1277) was the first king of the Trần Dynasty. He reigned for 32 years (1225 - 1258), and remained as the Royal Father for 19 subsequent years. His name was Trần Bồ, which was later changed to Trần Cảnh. His father was Trần Thừa. Trần Cảnh was born on June 16 of the year of the rooster (that is, July 10, 1218), under Kiến Gia the Eighth of the Lý Dynasty. When he was born, the Trần clan had already seized key positions of the Lý. Arranged by his uncle Trần Thủ Độ, Trần Cảnh married the first and also the last queen of the Lý Dynasty, Lý Chiêu Hoàng, when he was only 7 years old. At the end of 1225, Trần Thủ Độ forced the queen to cede her throne to her husband. An orphan at he age of 8, King Trần Thái Tông had to rely on his uncle Trần Thủ Độ for advice. Later he was forced to marry his pregnant sister-in-law to get an heir. He became remorseful, and silently left the throne to go to the mountain to seek help from the National Master who was a well-respected monk named Phù-Vân. The hermit told him to return to the capital and complete his responsibilities as a king. Trần Thủ Độ and all the king's subordinates and servants also tried to find him and threatened to kill themselves if he denied his kingship to become a monk. Finally he listened to Phù-Vân the National Master and returned to rule his country.
During the time when Trần Thái Tông was the king, he changed his royal name three times: Kiến Trung (1225-1232), Thiên Ứng Chính Bình (1232-1250), and Nguyên Phong (1251-1258). Trần Thái Tông had successfully led the Đại Việt people in their fight against the first aggression of the Nguyên Mông (Mongolian) invaders. After 19 more years in public service, Trần Thái Tông demised on April 1 the year of the ox (May 5, 1277), at the age of 60.
After ceding his throne to his son Trần Hoàng (later King Trần Thánh Tông), Trần Thái Tông focused on studying and practicing meditation (Thiền) between 1258 and 1277. His works included: three versions of his writings about Thiền (Khóa-Hư-Lục) and two poems from King Trần Thái Tông's Collected Works in Verse and Prose(Trần Thái Tông ngự-tập), which was lost.
Trần Nhân Tông (1258 – 1308), whose name at birth was Trần Khâm, was the third king of the Trần Dynasty. His father was Trần Thánh Tông, and his mother was Nguyên Thánh Thiên Cảm the Mother Queen (Trần Thị Thiều). His successor was Trần Anh Tông. He was born on November 11 in the year of the horse, and demised at the age of 51 at Ngoạ Vân Hermit Hut on Yên Tử Mountain. Later he was buried at Đức lăng (Thái Bình Province nowadays). He reigned for 15 years (1278 – 1293), and served as the Royal Father for 15 more years. He had been a monk for 8 years with the Dharma name the Enlightened Royal Master (Đầu đà Hoàng giác Điều ngự), and was the founder of Thiền Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử School. In Vietnam history he was always considered one of the best, and the most heroic kings. Under his rule, and with the advice from his Royal Father Thánh Tông, from 1285 to 1287 Đại Việt had defeated the Mongolian invaders two times.
He had protected the western borders against the raids by Laotians in 1290. He often said, "Never lose an inch of the land we inherited from our ancestors to foreign aggressors. This is my advice to younger generations which should be recorded in my will.”
After ceding his throne to his son Trần Anh Tông, he became a monk and practiced the Dharma at Vũ Lâm, Ninh Bình Province. Afterwards he moved to Yên Tử (Quảng Ninh) , and founded Thiền Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử School, with the Buddhist name Điều Ngự Giác Hoàng (the Enlightened Royal Master) or Trúc Lâm đầu đà (Trúc Lâm the Ascetic). He was the First patriarch of this Vietnamese Thiền School. That was why he was also called the “Buddha-like King.” He demised on Novemebr 3, 1308, and was buried in a vault at Quy Đức,Long Hưng County. His relics were preserved at Ngọa Vân Stupa. In Hanoi there is a boulevard named after him in Hai Bà Trưng District.
Pháp Loa (1284-1330) was a Thiền master of the Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử School. He was Trần Nhân Tông’s disciple, and the Second patriarch. It was he who took charge of the publication of the Vietnamese Tripitaka about 1329. He also wrote many famous works about Thiền, and treatises on Lankavatara Sutra (Nhập Lăng-già), Lotus Sutra (Diệu pháp liên hoa), Prajnaparamita Sutra (Bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa).
His name at birth was Đồng Kiên Cương. He was born on May 7 the year of the monkey (May 23, 1284), at Cửu La Village, Chí Linh County, Nam Sách Borough, Lạng Giang
(Ái Quốc, Hải Dương City, Hải Dương Province). His father was Đồng Thuần Mậu, and his mother was Vũ Từ Cứu. It was said that his mother dreamt of being given a magic sword one night, and after that she got pregnant. Before he was born, his mother had given birth to eight daughters. She was afraid of having another baby girl, so she tried to abort the fetus. After her four attempts without success, a baby boy was born, and was named Kiên Cương, which meant “solid and strong.” During his childhood, he was quite different from other kids, for he never had unskillful utterances, and he refused to eat meat and fish.
In 1304, the Enlightened Royal Master Trần Nhân Tông traveled all over the country, in search for a successor. When he came to Kiên Cương’s village, the latter prostrated in front of the Master, asking him to accept him to become a monk, Trần Nhân Tông said: "This boy has the Dharma eyes; he would become a Dharma means later," and allowed Kiên Cương to receive the precepts to become a novice. The Master also told him to go to Quỳnh Quán to learn with Most Venerable Tính Giác. After his training at Quỳnh Quán was completed, the disciple returned to learn with his Master.
One day, Pháp Loa presented to his Master three stanzas to chant, all of which were turned down. The Master told him to study further by himself. Pháp Loa went to his own room, started to contemplate in depth, and stayed up till it was past midnight. When he saw the burning candle wick falling down, he immediately got enlightened. The Master silently granted him the Dharma transmission to become his successor. From that moment on he started to practice the twelve precepts of an ascetic.
The following year, the Master himself granted Pháp Loa the Thanh văn (for those who learned the Four Noble Truths, and based their practice on these Truths) and the Boddhisattva precepts. In 1306, following his Master’s instruction, Pháp Loa began to disseminate the Dharma at Báo Ân Temple at the age of 22. Here he met Huyền Quang the first time. When the Master demised two years after that, it was Pháp Loa who was assigned to bring the relics to the capital. When he returned to the mountain, he gathered and arranged his Master’s works when the latter practiced the Dharma at the Stone Hut under the pen name Thạch thất mị ngữ (Secret Words from the Stone Hut).
In December 1319, Pháp Loa propagated a blood drive movement among monks and Buddhist laypeople to print over 5,000 books of Tripitaka. Even King Trần Anh Tông joined the movement. It was said that whenever Pháp Loa gave talks about the Flower Garland Sutra (Avataṃsaka Sūtra/Hoa nghiêm), thousands of people came to listen. His work on this Sutra was later destroyed by Trương Phụ (Ming Dynasty) during the Chinese domination. Pháp Loa had many disciples who also got enlightened. The best among them was Huyền Quang. In 1330, Pháp Loa was seriously ill, and before he demised, he wrote the following stanza:
萬緣裁斷一身閒。
四十餘年夢幻間
珍重諸人休借問。
那邊風月更邇寬
(in Chinese Vietnamese)
Vạn duyên tài đoạn nhất thân nhàn
Tứ thập dư niên mộng huyễn gian
Trân trọng chư nhân hưu tá vấn
Na biên phong nguyệt cánh nhĩ khoan.
(Translated into Vietnamese)
Muôn duyên cắt đứt, tấm thân nhàn,
Hơn bốn mươi năm cõi mộng tàn.
Giã biệt! Xin đừng theo hỏi nữa,
Bên kia trăng gió mặc thênh thang.
(Translated into English by nttv)
All conditions halted, the body rested peacefully,
For more than forty years, now the dream was over.
Adieu! No more clinging questions,
The immense space of liberation moon and wind on the other shore.
He put the brush pen down and passed away at the age of 47. His body was buried at the Thanh Mai Mountain Stupa.
His works included:
Đoạn sách lục;
Tham thiền chỉ yếu ( Fundamentals of Meditation);
Kim cương đạo trường đà-la-ni kinh (The Dharani Sutra for the Diamond Congregation);
Tán Pháp hoa kinh khoa sớ (Encomium to the Lotus Sutra);
Bát-nhã tâm kinh khoa (A Study of the Perfection of Wisdom/Prajñāpāramitā Sutras);
and the above stanza which was composed before his death.
Huyền Quang(1254-1334) was named Lý Đạo Tái at birth. He was from Vạn Tải, Nam Sách County, Lạng Giang Provinve (Thái Bảo Village, Gia Bình District, Bắc Ninh Province nowadays). He excelled academically both in his hometown, and in the capital. He achieved the highest score (đệ nhất giáp tiến sĩ/trạng nguyên) in the National Exam held in the capital in 1272 or in 1274 (?), and was invited to join the Royal Internal Affairs Academy (Viện Nội Hàn). He was also the key figure at meetings with venerable monks from the northern kingdom/China, for he was eloquent and very well verse in prose and poetry. Later in his life he resigned and became Trần Nhân Tông’s disciple at the Bamboo Forest (Trúc Lâm). A Thiền master in Việt Nam, and the Third patriarch of the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử School, he was also a great poet whose works have been preserved, studied, and enjoyed for generations. Together with Trúc Lâm the Ascetic (Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà) Trần Nhân Tông, and Pháp Loa, he has been considered one of the great Thiền masters in Việt Nam, whose spiritual attainments were comparable to those of the six Chinese patriarchs, and the twenty eight patriarchs of ancient India.
According to The Archival Records of the Three Patriarchs (Tam tổ thực lục, 三祖實錄), Huyền Quang’s mother, Lê Thị, often went to Ngọc Hoàng Temple to pray for a child, for she was thirty years old but had not yet had one. In the year of the tiger of 1254, the abbot at that temple, Huệ Nghĩa, had a special dream. In his dream all the wards in the temple were brightly lit; all the Buddhas were in deep meditation, and many Bodhisattvas and Heavenly Guards gathered in the temple. The Buddha said to Ananda, “You shall be reborn to become a Dharma tool in the East. Remember your previous vow?” That year Lê Thị gave birth to Huyền Quang. As he grew up, he had a special appearance, and was appointed a high rank in the Royal Academy.
One day he went with Trần Anh Tông to Vĩnh Nghiêm Temple at Phượng Nhãn Borough to listen to Thiền Master Pháp Loa’s Dharma talk. At the event he remembered his “previous vow,” and requested the king to accept him as his disciple (it was also recorded that his master was Bảo Phác, at Vũ Ninh Temple). He became the novice servant to Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà, and, as a monk, was given the Buddhist name Huyền Quang. Later, following Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà’s appointment, he became the abbot of Vân Yên Temple (Hoa Yên Temple nowadays) on Yên Tử Mountain. Because he was so famous, many monks came to the temple to listen to his teachings
In the royal year of Đại Khánh the Fourth (1317), he received the Dharma transmission from Pháp Loa. After Pháp Loa demised (1330), he became the Third patriarch of Trúc Lâm School, but because of his old age, he designated responsibilities to the National Master An Tâm.
He had been the abbot of Thanh Mai Mountain Temple for six years, and moved to Côn Sơn to disseminate the Dharma. On January 23 the year of the dog (1334), he passed away at the age of 80. King Trần Minh Tông honored him as The Great Third Generation Trúc Lâm Thiền Master, Huyền Quang The Respected Compassionate One.
(To be continued)
Sources:
Thích Thanh Từ. Vietnamese Thiền Masters.(HoChiMinh City, Vietnam, 1995). Available in Trúc Lâm Yên Tử monasteries in Vietnam and abroad.
Nguyễn Huệ Chi (Ed.). Lý-Trần Verse and Prose. Volume II. (Hà Nội, Vietnam, 1988).
Nguyễn Lang. A Treatise on the History of Vietnam Buddhism. Vol.I-III. (Hà Nội: Văn Học Publishing Co., 1979, 1992).
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trần_Thái_Tông
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/9709-Triet-hoc-Tran-Thai-Tong.html
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trần_Nhân_Tông
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pháp_Loa
http://consonkiepbac.org.vn/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=32
http://www.vietgle.vn/trithucviet/detail.aspx?key=Pháp-Loa&type=A0
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huyền_Quang
Trần Thái Tông (1218 – 1277) was the first king of the Trần Dynasty. He reigned for 32 years (1225 - 1258), and remained as the Royal Father for 19 subsequent years. His name was Trần Bồ, which was later changed to Trần Cảnh. His father was Trần Thừa. Trần Cảnh was born on June 16 of the year of the rooster (that is, July 10, 1218), under Kiến Gia the Eighth of the Lý Dynasty. When he was born, the Trần clan had already seized key positions of the Lý. Arranged by his uncle Trần Thủ Độ, Trần Cảnh married the first and also the last queen of the Lý Dynasty, Lý Chiêu Hoàng, when he was only 7 years old. At the end of 1225, Trần Thủ Độ forced the queen to cede her throne to her husband. An orphan at he age of 8, King Trần Thái Tông had to rely on his uncle Trần Thủ Độ for advice. Later he was forced to marry his pregnant sister-in-law to get an heir. He became remorseful, and silently left the throne to go to the mountain to seek help from the National Master who was a well-respected monk named Phù-Vân. The hermit told him to return to the capital and complete his responsibilities as a king. Trần Thủ Độ and all the king's subordinates and servants also tried to find him and threatened to kill themselves if he denied his kingship to become a monk. Finally he listened to Phù-Vân the National Master and returned to rule his country.
During the time when Trần Thái Tông was the king, he changed his royal name three times: Kiến Trung (1225-1232), Thiên Ứng Chính Bình (1232-1250), and Nguyên Phong (1251-1258). Trần Thái Tông had successfully led the Đại Việt people in their fight against the first aggression of the Nguyên Mông (Mongolian) invaders. After 19 more years in public service, Trần Thái Tông demised on April 1 the year of the ox (May 5, 1277), at the age of 60.
After ceding his throne to his son Trần Hoàng (later King Trần Thánh Tông), Trần Thái Tông focused on studying and practicing meditation (Thiền) between 1258 and 1277. His works included: three versions of his writings about Thiền (Khóa-Hư-Lục) and two poems from King Trần Thái Tông's Collected Works in Verse and Prose(Trần Thái Tông ngự-tập), which was lost.
Trần Nhân Tông (1258 – 1308), whose name at birth was Trần Khâm, was the third king of the Trần Dynasty. His father was Trần Thánh Tông, and his mother was Nguyên Thánh Thiên Cảm the Mother Queen (Trần Thị Thiều). His successor was Trần Anh Tông. He was born on November 11 in the year of the horse, and demised at the age of 51 at Ngoạ Vân Hermit Hut on Yên Tử Mountain. Later he was buried at Đức lăng (Thái Bình Province nowadays). He reigned for 15 years (1278 – 1293), and served as the Royal Father for 15 more years. He had been a monk for 8 years with the Dharma name the Enlightened Royal Master (Đầu đà Hoàng giác Điều ngự), and was the founder of Thiền Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử School. In Vietnam history he was always considered one of the best, and the most heroic kings. Under his rule, and with the advice from his Royal Father Thánh Tông, from 1285 to 1287 Đại Việt had defeated the Mongolian invaders two times.
He had protected the western borders against the raids by Laotians in 1290. He often said, "Never lose an inch of the land we inherited from our ancestors to foreign aggressors. This is my advice to younger generations which should be recorded in my will.”
After ceding his throne to his son Trần Anh Tông, he became a monk and practiced the Dharma at Vũ Lâm, Ninh Bình Province. Afterwards he moved to Yên Tử (Quảng Ninh) , and founded Thiền Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử School, with the Buddhist name Điều Ngự Giác Hoàng (the Enlightened Royal Master) or Trúc Lâm đầu đà (Trúc Lâm the Ascetic). He was the First patriarch of this Vietnamese Thiền School. That was why he was also called the “Buddha-like King.” He demised on Novemebr 3, 1308, and was buried in a vault at Quy Đức,Long Hưng County. His relics were preserved at Ngọa Vân Stupa. In Hanoi there is a boulevard named after him in Hai Bà Trưng District.
Pháp Loa (1284-1330) was a Thiền master of the Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử School. He was Trần Nhân Tông’s disciple, and the Second patriarch. It was he who took charge of the publication of the Vietnamese Tripitaka about 1329. He also wrote many famous works about Thiền, and treatises on Lankavatara Sutra (Nhập Lăng-già), Lotus Sutra (Diệu pháp liên hoa), Prajnaparamita Sutra (Bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa).
His name at birth was Đồng Kiên Cương. He was born on May 7 the year of the monkey (May 23, 1284), at Cửu La Village, Chí Linh County, Nam Sách Borough, Lạng Giang
(Ái Quốc, Hải Dương City, Hải Dương Province). His father was Đồng Thuần Mậu, and his mother was Vũ Từ Cứu. It was said that his mother dreamt of being given a magic sword one night, and after that she got pregnant. Before he was born, his mother had given birth to eight daughters. She was afraid of having another baby girl, so she tried to abort the fetus. After her four attempts without success, a baby boy was born, and was named Kiên Cương, which meant “solid and strong.” During his childhood, he was quite different from other kids, for he never had unskillful utterances, and he refused to eat meat and fish.
In 1304, the Enlightened Royal Master Trần Nhân Tông traveled all over the country, in search for a successor. When he came to Kiên Cương’s village, the latter prostrated in front of the Master, asking him to accept him to become a monk, Trần Nhân Tông said: "This boy has the Dharma eyes; he would become a Dharma means later," and allowed Kiên Cương to receive the precepts to become a novice. The Master also told him to go to Quỳnh Quán to learn with Most Venerable Tính Giác. After his training at Quỳnh Quán was completed, the disciple returned to learn with his Master.
One day, Pháp Loa presented to his Master three stanzas to chant, all of which were turned down. The Master told him to study further by himself. Pháp Loa went to his own room, started to contemplate in depth, and stayed up till it was past midnight. When he saw the burning candle wick falling down, he immediately got enlightened. The Master silently granted him the Dharma transmission to become his successor. From that moment on he started to practice the twelve precepts of an ascetic.
The following year, the Master himself granted Pháp Loa the Thanh văn (for those who learned the Four Noble Truths, and based their practice on these Truths) and the Boddhisattva precepts. In 1306, following his Master’s instruction, Pháp Loa began to disseminate the Dharma at Báo Ân Temple at the age of 22. Here he met Huyền Quang the first time. When the Master demised two years after that, it was Pháp Loa who was assigned to bring the relics to the capital. When he returned to the mountain, he gathered and arranged his Master’s works when the latter practiced the Dharma at the Stone Hut under the pen name Thạch thất mị ngữ (Secret Words from the Stone Hut).
In December 1319, Pháp Loa propagated a blood drive movement among monks and Buddhist laypeople to print over 5,000 books of Tripitaka. Even King Trần Anh Tông joined the movement. It was said that whenever Pháp Loa gave talks about the Flower Garland Sutra (Avataṃsaka Sūtra/Hoa nghiêm), thousands of people came to listen. His work on this Sutra was later destroyed by Trương Phụ (Ming Dynasty) during the Chinese domination. Pháp Loa had many disciples who also got enlightened. The best among them was Huyền Quang. In 1330, Pháp Loa was seriously ill, and before he demised, he wrote the following stanza:
萬緣裁斷一身閒。
四十餘年夢幻間
珍重諸人休借問。
那邊風月更邇寬
(in Chinese Vietnamese)
Vạn duyên tài đoạn nhất thân nhàn
Tứ thập dư niên mộng huyễn gian
Trân trọng chư nhân hưu tá vấn
Na biên phong nguyệt cánh nhĩ khoan.
(Translated into Vietnamese)
Muôn duyên cắt đứt, tấm thân nhàn,
Hơn bốn mươi năm cõi mộng tàn.
Giã biệt! Xin đừng theo hỏi nữa,
Bên kia trăng gió mặc thênh thang.
(Translated into English by nttv)
All conditions halted, the body rested peacefully,
For more than forty years, now the dream was over.
Adieu! No more clinging questions,
The immense space of liberation moon and wind on the other shore.
He put the brush pen down and passed away at the age of 47. His body was buried at the Thanh Mai Mountain Stupa.
His works included:
Đoạn sách lục;
Tham thiền chỉ yếu ( Fundamentals of Meditation);
Kim cương đạo trường đà-la-ni kinh (The Dharani Sutra for the Diamond Congregation);
Tán Pháp hoa kinh khoa sớ (Encomium to the Lotus Sutra);
Bát-nhã tâm kinh khoa (A Study of the Perfection of Wisdom/Prajñāpāramitā Sutras);
and the above stanza which was composed before his death.
Huyền Quang(1254-1334) was named Lý Đạo Tái at birth. He was from Vạn Tải, Nam Sách County, Lạng Giang Provinve (Thái Bảo Village, Gia Bình District, Bắc Ninh Province nowadays). He excelled academically both in his hometown, and in the capital. He achieved the highest score (đệ nhất giáp tiến sĩ/trạng nguyên) in the National Exam held in the capital in 1272 or in 1274 (?), and was invited to join the Royal Internal Affairs Academy (Viện Nội Hàn). He was also the key figure at meetings with venerable monks from the northern kingdom/China, for he was eloquent and very well verse in prose and poetry. Later in his life he resigned and became Trần Nhân Tông’s disciple at the Bamboo Forest (Trúc Lâm). A Thiền master in Việt Nam, and the Third patriarch of the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử School, he was also a great poet whose works have been preserved, studied, and enjoyed for generations. Together with Trúc Lâm the Ascetic (Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà) Trần Nhân Tông, and Pháp Loa, he has been considered one of the great Thiền masters in Việt Nam, whose spiritual attainments were comparable to those of the six Chinese patriarchs, and the twenty eight patriarchs of ancient India.
According to The Archival Records of the Three Patriarchs (Tam tổ thực lục, 三祖實錄), Huyền Quang’s mother, Lê Thị, often went to Ngọc Hoàng Temple to pray for a child, for she was thirty years old but had not yet had one. In the year of the tiger of 1254, the abbot at that temple, Huệ Nghĩa, had a special dream. In his dream all the wards in the temple were brightly lit; all the Buddhas were in deep meditation, and many Bodhisattvas and Heavenly Guards gathered in the temple. The Buddha said to Ananda, “You shall be reborn to become a Dharma tool in the East. Remember your previous vow?” That year Lê Thị gave birth to Huyền Quang. As he grew up, he had a special appearance, and was appointed a high rank in the Royal Academy.
One day he went with Trần Anh Tông to Vĩnh Nghiêm Temple at Phượng Nhãn Borough to listen to Thiền Master Pháp Loa’s Dharma talk. At the event he remembered his “previous vow,” and requested the king to accept him as his disciple (it was also recorded that his master was Bảo Phác, at Vũ Ninh Temple). He became the novice servant to Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà, and, as a monk, was given the Buddhist name Huyền Quang. Later, following Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà’s appointment, he became the abbot of Vân Yên Temple (Hoa Yên Temple nowadays) on Yên Tử Mountain. Because he was so famous, many monks came to the temple to listen to his teachings
In the royal year of Đại Khánh the Fourth (1317), he received the Dharma transmission from Pháp Loa. After Pháp Loa demised (1330), he became the Third patriarch of Trúc Lâm School, but because of his old age, he designated responsibilities to the National Master An Tâm.
He had been the abbot of Thanh Mai Mountain Temple for six years, and moved to Côn Sơn to disseminate the Dharma. On January 23 the year of the dog (1334), he passed away at the age of 80. King Trần Minh Tông honored him as The Great Third Generation Trúc Lâm Thiền Master, Huyền Quang The Respected Compassionate One.
(To be continued)
Sources:
Thích Thanh Từ. Vietnamese Thiền Masters.(HoChiMinh City, Vietnam, 1995). Available in Trúc Lâm Yên Tử monasteries in Vietnam and abroad.
Nguyễn Huệ Chi (Ed.). Lý-Trần Verse and Prose. Volume II. (Hà Nội, Vietnam, 1988).
Nguyễn Lang. A Treatise on the History of Vietnam Buddhism. Vol.I-III. (Hà Nội: Văn Học Publishing Co., 1979, 1992).
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trần_Thái_Tông
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/9709-Triet-hoc-Tran-Thai-Tong.html
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trần_Nhân_Tông
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pháp_Loa
http://consonkiepbac.org.vn/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=32
http://www.vietgle.vn/trithucviet/detail.aspx?key=Pháp-Loa&type=A0
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huyền_Quang
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Death
From the Buddhist perspective, death is a normal process, like changing clothes when they are worn out. However, because we are too busy with our daily life, we are usually unprepared when facing Death, which could happen to us unexpectedly and unpredictably. That is why we often feel scared, worried, and even become shocked or hysterical in front of Death. Unprepared dying people need to be reassured with hope, tolerance, and forgiveness. The good deeds that the dying person has done in the past, images of Buddhas, or the chanting of sutras or names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas could help calm the dying person's mind during the last moment. Those who are near the dying person should not cause anything to disturb or annoy the dying person. Let him/her feel relaxed and rest in peace. Quiet is necessary.
At the moment of death, there are two things that count: Whatever we have done in our lives, and what state of mind we are in at that moment. Even if we have accumulated a lot of negative karma, if we are really able to make a change of heart at the moment of death, it can decisively influence our future and transform our karma, for the moment of death is an exceptionally powerful opportunity for purifying karma. (Sogyal Rinpoche, p. 223)
Those who are experienced meditators, and have practiced contemplating on the subject of death and impermanence usually feel at ease as they are comfortably in control of their mind and body when dying. With wisdom the practitioner sees no self that he needs to claim as "him-/herself", and no attachment to others in the external world. With no attachment, the dying person leaves the worn-out skin bag of blood and flesh behind, and, chooses where to go next according to his/her vow.
The Truth of Impermanence:
This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds.
To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.
A lifetime is like a flash of lightning in the sky,
Rushing by, like a torrent down a steep mountain.
Buddha
Death --An Inescapable Fact of Life:
Of all footprints
That of the elephant is supreme;
Of all mindfulness meditations
That on death is supreme.
(The Mahaparinirvana Sutra)
What is born will die,
What has been gathered will be dispersed,
What has been accumulated will be exhausted,
What has been built up will collapse,
And what has been high will be brought low.
Buddha
Finally, we must remember that we have a choice. Through our words, actions and thoughts, we can choose to put an end to suffering, and the cause of suffering, and help to awaken our Buddha Nature within us. We can be freed from our ignorance, and stop the cycle of life and death, and merge with the deathless, enlightened mind. Our only job is to purify our mindstream.
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest --a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affections for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein
Ideas and Opinions (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1954)
Source:
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992)
At the moment of death, there are two things that count: Whatever we have done in our lives, and what state of mind we are in at that moment. Even if we have accumulated a lot of negative karma, if we are really able to make a change of heart at the moment of death, it can decisively influence our future and transform our karma, for the moment of death is an exceptionally powerful opportunity for purifying karma. (Sogyal Rinpoche, p. 223)
Those who are experienced meditators, and have practiced contemplating on the subject of death and impermanence usually feel at ease as they are comfortably in control of their mind and body when dying. With wisdom the practitioner sees no self that he needs to claim as "him-/herself", and no attachment to others in the external world. With no attachment, the dying person leaves the worn-out skin bag of blood and flesh behind, and, chooses where to go next according to his/her vow.
The Truth of Impermanence:
This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds.
To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.
A lifetime is like a flash of lightning in the sky,
Rushing by, like a torrent down a steep mountain.
Buddha
Death --An Inescapable Fact of Life:
Of all footprints
That of the elephant is supreme;
Of all mindfulness meditations
That on death is supreme.
(The Mahaparinirvana Sutra)
What is born will die,
What has been gathered will be dispersed,
What has been accumulated will be exhausted,
What has been built up will collapse,
And what has been high will be brought low.
Buddha
Finally, we must remember that we have a choice. Through our words, actions and thoughts, we can choose to put an end to suffering, and the cause of suffering, and help to awaken our Buddha Nature within us. We can be freed from our ignorance, and stop the cycle of life and death, and merge with the deathless, enlightened mind. Our only job is to purify our mindstream.
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest --a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affections for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein
Ideas and Opinions (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1954)
Source:
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Vietnamese Thiền Founders and Early Thiền Masters--Part I
1.KHƯƠNG TĂNG HỘI
Khương Tăng Hội (?-280)was born and brought up in Giao Chỉ (North Vietnam now). His parents may have come from Khương Cư (Sogdiana, the region that is now called Uzbekistan and Tajikistan). It was also said that his father was from Sogdiana, and his mother from Giao Chỉ (Vietnam). His parents died when he was ten. He later became a monk who excelled in Dharma practice, and mastered both Chinese and Pāli. Later he traveled, and spent some periods of time in China and in India. He came to Kiến Nghiệp (Nankin, China)in 247. He passed away in 280, after staying in China for 33 years. He was considered the founder of Thiền in Việt Nam, and expounded the Dhamma in Luy Lâu, the famous Buddhist Center at that time. He also contributed to the development of Chinese Chan. He was famous for his Collection of Sutras about Lục độ (the Six perfections,Skt. pāramitā: donation, discipline/precepts, tolerance/forebearance, effort, meditation, and wisdom). According to Nguyễn Lang, this work not only contained sutras about the Six perfections (Skt. pāramitā), but in it there are passages written by Khương Tăng Hội himself. Khương Tăng Hội's next important work was his translation of the The Ānāpānasati Sutta (Pāli)/the Four-Object Mindfulness Discourse Sutra. It was he who clearly explained the Mahayana meditation, which emphasized Emptiness and Buddha Nature in practice.
2.TỲ NI ĐA LƯU CHI
Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi was from South India. He traveled to China. In 562 he came to
Trường An. When Buddhism was suppressed in 574, he traveled to the land of Nghiệp (Hồ Nam). He met the Third patriarch of Chinese Ch'an, Tăng Xán (Sengcan), who took refuge on Tư Không Mountain. Tăng Xán told him to go South immediately. In 580 he came to Quảng Châu, and entered Giao Châu (Vietnam), where he stayed at Pháp Vân Temple (Dâu Temple now),in Luy Lâu. He later chose Pháp Hiền as his disciple, and founded a school of Vietnamese Thiền. This school continued for 19 generations of masters, from 580 until 1213. It was influenced by Tăng Xán's teachings, and at the same time mixed with some local rituals and spiritual traditions in Giao Châu.
3.VÔ NGÔN THÔNG
Vô Ngôn Thông was from Quảng Châu. His last name was Trịnh. He became a monk at Song Lâm Temple, Vũ Châu. In 820, under the Tang Dynasty, Vô Ngôn Thông came to Việt Nam, stayed at Kiến Sơ Temple, Phù Đổng Village (Gia Lâm, in the suburbs of Hà Nội nowadays). Vô Ngôn Thông often sat meditation, facing the wall, in complete silence for many years. Nobody paid attention to him, except a monk named Lập Đức, who could understand him. Later Vô Ngôn Thông accepted Lập Đức as his disciple, and changed the latter's name to Cảm Thành, and taught the Dhamma to him. Vô Ngôn Thông passed away in 826, after 6 years at Kiến Sơ Temple.
Vô Ngôn Thông School continued its practice through 17 masters until the 13th century. This school was influenced by Chinese Ch'an more than the Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi, in its monastic organization, the use of koan, and the influence of the Pure Land tradition. It used many sutras, the Prajnaparamita, the Viên Giác, and the Lotus sutra, with an emphasis on Mind-Buddha in sudden enlightenment, and had profound and practical influences in society.
4.THẢO ĐƯỜNG
Thảo Đường was a Chinese monk, who lived in Cham (South of Đại Việt/Vietnam). He became a prisoner of war during the Cham occupation led by the Vietnamese King Lý Thánh Tông in 1069. In Đại Việt, Thảo Đường was discovered by the religious King himself, and was highly respected. King Lý Thánh Tông invited him to become the abbot of Khai Quốc Temple, and promoted him to be the Royal Advisor (Quốc sư). He became the first patriarch of another Thiền school in Đại Việt, which bore his name. King Lý Thánh Tông would later become the second patriarch.
Thảo Đường originally was a disciple of Tuyết Đậu, a subsect in Chinese Chan, which belonged to the Vân Môn sect. Tuyết Đậu subsect had an academic characteristic, for its frequent use of poetry to express Thiền spirit, and its incorporation of both Confucianism and Buddhism. That was why Thảo Đường School was the best fit to the Ly dynasty, a time when Buddhism was well developed and began to have a profound influence on Vietnamese Buddhist scholars. According to “Thiền uyển tập anh” ("A Selection of Thiền Garden Poems"), there were 6 generations in the Thảo Đường School, including 19 partriarchs , of whom 10 were monks, and 9 were lay Buddhists, chiefly from the royal family and their subordinates. Thảo Đường has been considered an academic Vietnamese Thiền school that had a great influence in Vietnam, and that led to the birth of an authentic Vietnamese Thiền school in the a Trần dynasty, the Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử (Bamboo Forest-Yên Tử Mountain).
Thiền Founders in Vietnam:
Khương Tăng Hội, Mâu Tử
Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi School:
Pháp Hiền, Huệ Nghiêm, Thanh Biện
Định Không, Đinh La Quý, Vô Ngại
Pháp Thuận, Thiền Ông, Sùng Phạm
Ma Ha, Pháp Bảo, Vạn Hạnh
Định Huệ, Đạo Hạnh, Trì Bát
Thuần Chân, Đạo Pháp, Huệ Sinh
Minh Không, Bản Tịch, Thiền Nham
Quảng Phúc, Khánh Hỉ, Giới Không
Pháp Dung, Thảo Nhất, Trí Thiền
Đạo Lâm, Chân Không, Tịnh Thiền
Diệu Nhân, Viên Học, Viên Thông,
Y Sơn
Vô Ngôn Thông School:
Cảm Thành, Thiện Hội, Vân Phong
Khuông Việt, Đa Bảo, Định Hương
Thiền Lão, Viên Chiếu, Cứu Chỉ
Bảo Tính, Minh Tâm, Quảng Trí
Lý Thái Tông, Thông Biện, Đa Vân
Mãn Giác, Ngộ Ấn, Biện Tài
Đạo Huệ, Bảo Giám, Không Lộ
Bản Tịnh, Bảo Giác, Viên Trí
Giác Hải, Trí Thiền, Tịnh Giới
Tịnh Không, Đại Xả, Tín Học
Trường Nguyên, Tĩnh Lực, Trí Bảo
Minh Trí, Quảng Nghiêm, Thường Chiếu
Trí Thông, Thần Nghi, Thông Thiền
Hiện Quang, Tức Lự, Ứng Thuận
Thảo Đường School:
Lý Thánh Tông, Bát Nhã, Ngộ Xá
Ngô Ích, Hoằng Minh, Không Lộ, Định Giác
Đỗ Anh Vũ, Phạm Âm, Lý Anh Tông, Đạt Mạn
Trương Tam Tạng, Chân Huyền, Đỗ Thường
Hải Tịnh, Lý Cao Tông, Nguyễn Thức, Phạm Phụng Ngự
Thiền Trúc Lâm Yên Tử School:
Đạo Viên, Thông Thiền, Nhật Thiển, Tức Lự
Chí Nhàn, Ứng Thuận, Tiêu Dao
Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ, Trần Thái Tông
Trần Nhân Tông, Thạch Kim
Pháp Loa, Hương Sơn, Pháp Cổ
Huyền Quang, Cảnh Huy, Quế Đường
Hương Hải
(To be continued)
Sources:
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khương_Tăng_Hội
Lê Mạnh Thát, A History of Vietnam Buddhism (Lịch sử Phật giáo Việt nam), published by NXB Thuận hóa, 1999.
Nguyễn Hưng, "An Overview of Thiền Schools in Vietnam" ("Sơ lược các dòng Thiền Việt Nam"), posted on August 20,2008. http://www.phattuvietnam.net/2/16/4000.html
Nguyễn Lang, A Treatise on the History of Vietnam Buddhism(Việt Nam Phật giáo Sử Luận), published by NXB Văn Học, 1979.
Khương Tăng Hội (?-280)was born and brought up in Giao Chỉ (North Vietnam now). His parents may have come from Khương Cư (Sogdiana, the region that is now called Uzbekistan and Tajikistan). It was also said that his father was from Sogdiana, and his mother from Giao Chỉ (Vietnam). His parents died when he was ten. He later became a monk who excelled in Dharma practice, and mastered both Chinese and Pāli. Later he traveled, and spent some periods of time in China and in India. He came to Kiến Nghiệp (Nankin, China)in 247. He passed away in 280, after staying in China for 33 years. He was considered the founder of Thiền in Việt Nam, and expounded the Dhamma in Luy Lâu, the famous Buddhist Center at that time. He also contributed to the development of Chinese Chan. He was famous for his Collection of Sutras about Lục độ (the Six perfections,Skt. pāramitā: donation, discipline/precepts, tolerance/forebearance, effort, meditation, and wisdom). According to Nguyễn Lang, this work not only contained sutras about the Six perfections (Skt. pāramitā), but in it there are passages written by Khương Tăng Hội himself. Khương Tăng Hội's next important work was his translation of the The Ānāpānasati Sutta (Pāli)/the Four-Object Mindfulness Discourse Sutra. It was he who clearly explained the Mahayana meditation, which emphasized Emptiness and Buddha Nature in practice.
2.TỲ NI ĐA LƯU CHI
Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi was from South India. He traveled to China. In 562 he came to
Trường An. When Buddhism was suppressed in 574, he traveled to the land of Nghiệp (Hồ Nam). He met the Third patriarch of Chinese Ch'an, Tăng Xán (Sengcan), who took refuge on Tư Không Mountain. Tăng Xán told him to go South immediately. In 580 he came to Quảng Châu, and entered Giao Châu (Vietnam), where he stayed at Pháp Vân Temple (Dâu Temple now),in Luy Lâu. He later chose Pháp Hiền as his disciple, and founded a school of Vietnamese Thiền. This school continued for 19 generations of masters, from 580 until 1213. It was influenced by Tăng Xán's teachings, and at the same time mixed with some local rituals and spiritual traditions in Giao Châu.
3.VÔ NGÔN THÔNG
Vô Ngôn Thông was from Quảng Châu. His last name was Trịnh. He became a monk at Song Lâm Temple, Vũ Châu. In 820, under the Tang Dynasty, Vô Ngôn Thông came to Việt Nam, stayed at Kiến Sơ Temple, Phù Đổng Village (Gia Lâm, in the suburbs of Hà Nội nowadays). Vô Ngôn Thông often sat meditation, facing the wall, in complete silence for many years. Nobody paid attention to him, except a monk named Lập Đức, who could understand him. Later Vô Ngôn Thông accepted Lập Đức as his disciple, and changed the latter's name to Cảm Thành, and taught the Dhamma to him. Vô Ngôn Thông passed away in 826, after 6 years at Kiến Sơ Temple.
Vô Ngôn Thông School continued its practice through 17 masters until the 13th century. This school was influenced by Chinese Ch'an more than the Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi, in its monastic organization, the use of koan, and the influence of the Pure Land tradition. It used many sutras, the Prajnaparamita, the Viên Giác, and the Lotus sutra, with an emphasis on Mind-Buddha in sudden enlightenment, and had profound and practical influences in society.
4.THẢO ĐƯỜNG
Thảo Đường was a Chinese monk, who lived in Cham (South of Đại Việt/Vietnam). He became a prisoner of war during the Cham occupation led by the Vietnamese King Lý Thánh Tông in 1069. In Đại Việt, Thảo Đường was discovered by the religious King himself, and was highly respected. King Lý Thánh Tông invited him to become the abbot of Khai Quốc Temple, and promoted him to be the Royal Advisor (Quốc sư). He became the first patriarch of another Thiền school in Đại Việt, which bore his name. King Lý Thánh Tông would later become the second patriarch.
Thảo Đường originally was a disciple of Tuyết Đậu, a subsect in Chinese Chan, which belonged to the Vân Môn sect. Tuyết Đậu subsect had an academic characteristic, for its frequent use of poetry to express Thiền spirit, and its incorporation of both Confucianism and Buddhism. That was why Thảo Đường School was the best fit to the Ly dynasty, a time when Buddhism was well developed and began to have a profound influence on Vietnamese Buddhist scholars. According to “Thiền uyển tập anh” ("A Selection of Thiền Garden Poems"), there were 6 generations in the Thảo Đường School, including 19 partriarchs , of whom 10 were monks, and 9 were lay Buddhists, chiefly from the royal family and their subordinates. Thảo Đường has been considered an academic Vietnamese Thiền school that had a great influence in Vietnam, and that led to the birth of an authentic Vietnamese Thiền school in the a Trần dynasty, the Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử (Bamboo Forest-Yên Tử Mountain).
Thiền Founders in Vietnam:
Khương Tăng Hội, Mâu Tử
Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi School:
Pháp Hiền, Huệ Nghiêm, Thanh Biện
Định Không, Đinh La Quý, Vô Ngại
Pháp Thuận, Thiền Ông, Sùng Phạm
Ma Ha, Pháp Bảo, Vạn Hạnh
Định Huệ, Đạo Hạnh, Trì Bát
Thuần Chân, Đạo Pháp, Huệ Sinh
Minh Không, Bản Tịch, Thiền Nham
Quảng Phúc, Khánh Hỉ, Giới Không
Pháp Dung, Thảo Nhất, Trí Thiền
Đạo Lâm, Chân Không, Tịnh Thiền
Diệu Nhân, Viên Học, Viên Thông,
Y Sơn
Vô Ngôn Thông School:
Cảm Thành, Thiện Hội, Vân Phong
Khuông Việt, Đa Bảo, Định Hương
Thiền Lão, Viên Chiếu, Cứu Chỉ
Bảo Tính, Minh Tâm, Quảng Trí
Lý Thái Tông, Thông Biện, Đa Vân
Mãn Giác, Ngộ Ấn, Biện Tài
Đạo Huệ, Bảo Giám, Không Lộ
Bản Tịnh, Bảo Giác, Viên Trí
Giác Hải, Trí Thiền, Tịnh Giới
Tịnh Không, Đại Xả, Tín Học
Trường Nguyên, Tĩnh Lực, Trí Bảo
Minh Trí, Quảng Nghiêm, Thường Chiếu
Trí Thông, Thần Nghi, Thông Thiền
Hiện Quang, Tức Lự, Ứng Thuận
Thảo Đường School:
Lý Thánh Tông, Bát Nhã, Ngộ Xá
Ngô Ích, Hoằng Minh, Không Lộ, Định Giác
Đỗ Anh Vũ, Phạm Âm, Lý Anh Tông, Đạt Mạn
Trương Tam Tạng, Chân Huyền, Đỗ Thường
Hải Tịnh, Lý Cao Tông, Nguyễn Thức, Phạm Phụng Ngự
Thiền Trúc Lâm Yên Tử School:
Đạo Viên, Thông Thiền, Nhật Thiển, Tức Lự
Chí Nhàn, Ứng Thuận, Tiêu Dao
Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ, Trần Thái Tông
Trần Nhân Tông, Thạch Kim
Pháp Loa, Hương Sơn, Pháp Cổ
Huyền Quang, Cảnh Huy, Quế Đường
Hương Hải
(To be continued)
Sources:
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khương_Tăng_Hội
Lê Mạnh Thát, A History of Vietnam Buddhism (Lịch sử Phật giáo Việt nam), published by NXB Thuận hóa, 1999.
Nguyễn Hưng, "An Overview of Thiền Schools in Vietnam" ("Sơ lược các dòng Thiền Việt Nam"), posted on August 20,2008. http://www.phattuvietnam.net/2/16/4000.html
Nguyễn Lang, A Treatise on the History of Vietnam Buddhism(Việt Nam Phật giáo Sử Luận), published by NXB Văn Học, 1979.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Meditation
Meditation is Zen (Japanese), Chan (Chinese), Thiền (Vietnamese), Dhyàna (Sankrit), Jhàna (Pali). It refers to the process of concentration in silence. It means letting go all thoughts or focusing the mind on only one subject of the Dharma. It also implies purifying your worldly mind of all evils, aggregates (greed, anger, torpor, restlessness, and doubt). With rigorous meditation practice, one may develop many virtues and spiritual merits, wisdom, loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. The subjects to focus on in meditation practice could be something in daily life: one's breath, walking steps.... In Theravada Buddhism, the Vipassana Meditation focuses on the body, the feelings/sensation, the mind (thought), and the Dharma (impermanence, suffering, nothingness, and no self).
Sometimes the term meditation is used instead of dhyàna-samàdhi or meditation-concentration to refer to a state in which the mind is not wandering, but focusing on one subject in profound contemplation. Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch, said, “Not being attached to all forms of the external world is meditation. Not being disturbed by any arsing thoughts from within is concentration.” Thus, meditation is letting go (free from) all transient conditions, dwelling in the pure and undisturbed mind, not chasing after and not driven away by any forms or sounds... from the outside. This is the most important and the essential method that leads the practitioner to liberation and enlightenment. It is the core of Buddhist practice. In the Dhammapada, Stanza 110, the Buddha said,
It is worthless to live 100 years,
Dầu sống một trăm năm,
in the realm of the evils, without meditation practice
Ác giới, không Thiền định,
It is better to live one day
Tốt hơn sống một ngày,
follow precepts, and practice meditation
Trì giới, tu Thiền định.
Meditation practice brings you back to the present, to be in touch with the miracle of every second in life. It is to be free from all thoughts, and not being driven by the external ever-changing phenomena. It is the method to purify your life, your inner world, from all greed, anger, and ignorance. With meditation you can live the here and now, fully awake and not dreaming. You can return to your true nature, be your master, and thus bring happiness to yourself and others. Meditation is an experimental and intuitive process, not through analytical discourse, or intellectual argument. Hence, many meditation masters have emphasized that meditation is "beyond scriptures and language." King Trần Nhân Tông, Founder of Vietnamese Thiền, once said, "A mind with no attachment to the external world is actually Thiền."
(To be continued)
Sources:
On Theravada (Original) Meditation and Mahayana (Developed)Meditation (Bàn về Thiền Nguyên Thủy và Thiền Phát Triển)
11/11/2009 07:54:00 Prof.Minh Chi
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/nt-dt/3358-Ban-ve-Thien-Nguyen-Thuy-va-Thien-Phat-Trien.html
Also available in print at Thiền viện Vạn Hạnh, Sài gòn (published in 1994).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
Samatha and Vipassana (Thiền chỉ, thiền quán)
24/10/2006 20:17 The Dept. of Dharma Dissemination of the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (Ban Hoằng pháp GHPGVN)
http://www.phattuvietnam.net/nghiencuu/46/1112.html
Sometimes the term meditation is used instead of dhyàna-samàdhi or meditation-concentration to refer to a state in which the mind is not wandering, but focusing on one subject in profound contemplation. Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch, said, “Not being attached to all forms of the external world is meditation. Not being disturbed by any arsing thoughts from within is concentration.” Thus, meditation is letting go (free from) all transient conditions, dwelling in the pure and undisturbed mind, not chasing after and not driven away by any forms or sounds... from the outside. This is the most important and the essential method that leads the practitioner to liberation and enlightenment. It is the core of Buddhist practice. In the Dhammapada, Stanza 110, the Buddha said,
It is worthless to live 100 years,
Dầu sống một trăm năm,
in the realm of the evils, without meditation practice
Ác giới, không Thiền định,
It is better to live one day
Tốt hơn sống một ngày,
follow precepts, and practice meditation
Trì giới, tu Thiền định.
Meditation practice brings you back to the present, to be in touch with the miracle of every second in life. It is to be free from all thoughts, and not being driven by the external ever-changing phenomena. It is the method to purify your life, your inner world, from all greed, anger, and ignorance. With meditation you can live the here and now, fully awake and not dreaming. You can return to your true nature, be your master, and thus bring happiness to yourself and others. Meditation is an experimental and intuitive process, not through analytical discourse, or intellectual argument. Hence, many meditation masters have emphasized that meditation is "beyond scriptures and language." King Trần Nhân Tông, Founder of Vietnamese Thiền, once said, "A mind with no attachment to the external world is actually Thiền."
(To be continued)
Sources:
On Theravada (Original) Meditation and Mahayana (Developed)Meditation (Bàn về Thiền Nguyên Thủy và Thiền Phát Triển)
11/11/2009 07:54:00 Prof.Minh Chi
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/nt-dt/3358-Ban-ve-Thien-Nguyen-Thuy-va-Thien-Phat-Trien.html
Also available in print at Thiền viện Vạn Hạnh, Sài gòn (published in 1994).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
Samatha and Vipassana (Thiền chỉ, thiền quán)
24/10/2006 20:17 The Dept. of Dharma Dissemination of the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (Ban Hoằng pháp GHPGVN)
http://www.phattuvietnam.net/nghiencuu/46/1112.html
An Overview of Zen Buddhism --Part II
Song dynasty (960–1297)
After the fall of the Tang-dynasty China was in turmoil during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was followed by the Song Dynasty, which established a strong central government. During the Song Dynasty, Chán (禪) was used by the government to strengthen its control over the country, and Chán grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal picture of the Chán of the Tang-period was produced, which served the legacy of this newly acquired status. With the establishment of the Wu-shan (Gozan) system during the Southern Sung the Chinese bureaucratic system entered into Zen temples throughout the country, and a highly organized system of temple rank and administration developed.
Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
In the Ming Dynasty teachers such as Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清) taught Chán alongside Pure Land Buddhism in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries. In time much of the distinction between them was lost, and many masters taught both Chán and Pure Land.
Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and modern times (after 1912)
After centuries of decline during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), Chán was revived again in the early 20th century by Hsu Yun (虛雲), a well-known figure of 20th century Chinese Buddhism. Many Chán teachers today trace their lineage back to Hsu Yun, including Sheng-yen (聖嚴) and Hsuan Hua (宣化), who have propagated Chán in the West where it has grown steadily through the 20th and 21st century.
Chán was repressed in China during the recent modern era in the early periods of the People's Republic, but has more recently been re-asserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as among overseas Chinese.
Seon in Korea
Seon was gradually transmitted into Korea during the late Silla period (7th through 9th centuries) as Korean monks of predominantly Hwaeom (華嚴) and Consciousness-only (唯識) background began to travel to China to learn the newly developing tradition. During his lifetime, Mazu had begun to attract students from Korea; by tradition, the first Korean to study Seon was named Peomnang (法朗). Mazu's successors had numerous Korean students, some of whom returned to Korea and established the nine mountain (九山) schools. This was the beginning of Chán in Korea which is called Seon.
Seon received its most significant impetus and consolidation from the Goryeo monk Jinul (知訥) (1158–1210), who established a reform movement and introduced koan practice to Korea. Jinul established the Songgwangsa (松廣寺) as a new center of pure practice. It was during the time of Jinul the Jogye Order, a primarily Seon sect, became the predominant form of Korean Buddhism, a status it still holds. which survives down to the present in basically the same status. Toward the end of the Goryeo and during the Joseon period the Jogye Order would first be combined with the scholarly 教 schools, and then be relegated to lesser influence in ruling class circles by Confucian influenced polity, even as it retained strength outside the cities, among the rural populations and ascetic monks in mountain refuges.
Nevertheless, there would be a series of important Seon teachers during the next several centuries, such as Hyegeun (慧勤), Taego (太古), Gihwa (己和) and Hyujeong (休靜), who continued to develop the basic mold of Korean meditational Buddhism established by Jinul. Seon continues to be practiced in Korea today at a number of major monastic centers, as well as being taught at Dongguk University, which has a major of studies in this religion. Taego Bou (1301–1382) studied in China with Linji teacher and returned to unite the Nine Mountain Schools. In modern Korea, by far the largest Buddhist denomination is the Jogye Order, which is essentially a Zen sect; the name Jogye is the Korean equivalent of Caoxi (曹溪), another name for Huineng.
Seon is known for its stress on meditation, monasticism, and asceticism. Many Korean monks have few personal possessions and sometimes cut off all relations with the outside world. Several are near mendicants traveling from temple to temple practicing meditation. The hermit-recluse life is prevalent among monks to whom meditation practice is considered of paramount importance.
Currently, Korean Buddhism is in a state of slow transition. While the reigning theory behind Korean Buddhism was based on Jinul's "sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation", the modern Korean Seon master, Seongcheol's revival of Hui Neng's "sudden enlightenment, sudden cultivation" has had a strong impact on Korean Buddhism. Although there is resistance to change within the ranks of the Jogye order, with the last three Supreme Patriarchs' stance that is in accordance with Seongcheol, there has been a gradual change in the atmosphere of Korean Buddhism.
The Kwan Um School of Zen, one of the largest Zen schools in the West, teaches a form of Seon Buddhism. Soeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim (b. 1948), birth name Barbara Trexler (later Barbara Rhodes), is Guiding Dharma Teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen and a successor of the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.
Zen in Japan
Kamakura (1185-1333)
Zen was not introduced as a separate school until the 12th century, when Myōan Eisai traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which is known in Japan as Rinzai. Decades later, Nanpo Shōmyō (南浦紹明?) (1235–1308) also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential branch of Rinzai. In 1215, Dōgen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to Chin... himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master Tiantong Rujing. After his return, Dōgen established the Sōtō school, the Japanese branch of Caodong.
Muromachi (or Ashikaga) (1336-1573)
During the Muromachi period the Rinzai school was the most successful of the schools, since it was favoured by the Shogun. Rinzai was organized in the Gozan system. This system was extended throughout Japan, effectively giving control to the central government, which administered this system. The Rinka monasteries, primarily found outside the cities in rural areas, had a greater degree of independence. The O-to-kan lineage, that centered on Daitoku-ji, also had a greater degree of freedom. A well-known teacher from Daytoku-ji was Ikkyū. Another Rinka lineage was the Hotto lineage, of which Bassui Tokushō is the best-known teacher.
Soto too spread out over Japan. Gasan adopted the Five Ranks of Tung-shan as a fit vehicle to explain the Mahayana teachings.
Azuchi-Momoyama(1573-1600) and Edo (or Tokugawa)(1600-1868)
After a period of war Japan was re-united in the Azuchi–Momoyama period. This decreased the power of Buddhism, which had become a strong political and military force in Japan and was seen as a threat by the ruling clan. Neo-Confucianism gained influence at the expense of Buddhism, which came under strict state control. Japan closed the gates to the rest of the world. New doctrines and methods were not to be introduced, nor were new temples and schools. The only exception was the Ōbaku lineage, which was introduced in the 17th century during the Edo period by Ingen, a Chinese monk.
Well-known Zen masters from this period are Bankei Yōtaku (盤珪永琢?, 1622–1693), Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉?, 1644 – November 28, 1694) and Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴?, 1686–1768), who revived the Rinzai school.
Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) and Imperial expansionism
During the Meiji period (1868–1912) Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion, and Buddhism was coerced to adapt to the new regime. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, with embarrassing consequences when Japanese nationalism was endorsed by the Zen institutions. War endeavours against Russia, China and finally during the Pacific War were supported by the Zen establishment.
Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat, but also as a challenge to stand up to. Parties within the Zen establishment sought to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese identity.
Present time (after 1945)
Interest in Zen grew in the West after World War II. Westerners such as Philip Kapleau and the Dutchman Janwillem van de Wetering went to Japan to study Zen. Japanese teachers came to the West to share Zen practice and philosophy.
Contemporary Zen organisations
The traditional schools of Zen in contemporary Japan are the Sōtō (曹洞), Rinzai (臨済), and Ōbaku (黃檗). Of these, Sōtō is the largest and Ōbaku the smallest. Rinzai is itself divided into several subschools based on temple affiliation, including Myoshin-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenryū-ji, Daitoku-ji, and Tofuku-ji. Besides these there are modern Zen organisations which have especially attracted Western lay followers, namely the Sanbo Kyodan and the FAS Society.
Zen teachings
Polarities
Zen is characterised by a set of polarities: absolute-relative,Buddha-nature - sunyata,sudden and gradual enlightenment.
Absolute-relative
The Prajnaparamita-sutras and Madhyamaka emphasized the non-duality of form and emptiness: form is emptiness, emptiness is form, as the heart sutra says. The idea that the ultimate reality is present in the daily world of relative reality fitted into the Chinese culture which emphasized the mundane world and society. But this does not tell how the absolute is present in the relative world:
To deny the the duality of samsara and nirvana, as the Perfection of Wisdom does, or to demonstrate logically the error of dichotomizing conceptualization, as Nagarjuna does, is not to address the question of the relationship between samsara and nirvana -or, in more philosophical terms, between phenomenal and ultimate reality. What, then, is the relationship between these two realms?
This question is answered in such schemata as the Five Ranks of Tozan and the Oxherding Pictures.
Buddha-nature and sunyata
When Buddhism was introduced in China it was understood in terms of its own culture. Various sects struggled to attain an understanding of the Indian texts. The Tathāgatagarbha Sutras and the idea of the Buddha-nature were endorsed, because of the perceived similarities with the Tao.
The doctrine of the Buddha-nature asserts, as do other schools in Mahāyāna Buddhism, that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature (Skt. Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatagarbha), the universal nature of transcendent wisdom (Skt. prajñā), and emphasizes that Buddha-nature is nothing other than the essential nature of the mind itself. Sunyata was understood as pointing to this underlying essence.
It took Chinese Buddhism several centuries to realize that sunyata does not refer to an essential reality underneath or behind the world of appearances. This realisation was discernable in the course that Chán took.
Sudden and gradual enlightenment
Avalokiteshvara
When the so-called Southern School placed emphasis on sudden enlightenment, it also marked a shift in doctrinal basis from the Lankavatara-sutra to the prajnaparamita-tradition, especially the Diamond Sutra. The Lankavatara-sutra, which endorses the Buddha-nature, emphasized purity of mind, which can be attained in gradations. The Diamond-sutra emphasizes sunyata, which "must be realized totally or not at all". Once this dichotomy was in place, it defined its own logic and rhetorics, which are also recognizable in the distinction between Caodong (Soto) and Lin-ji (Rinzai) chán.
The Bodhisattva ideal
As a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Zen draws many of its basic driving concepts from that tradition, such as the bodhisattva ideal. Buddhas and bodhisattvas such as Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and Kṣitigarbha are also venerated alongside Gautama Buddha.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
After the fall of the Tang-dynasty China was in turmoil during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was followed by the Song Dynasty, which established a strong central government. During the Song Dynasty, Chán (禪) was used by the government to strengthen its control over the country, and Chán grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal picture of the Chán of the Tang-period was produced, which served the legacy of this newly acquired status. With the establishment of the Wu-shan (Gozan) system during the Southern Sung the Chinese bureaucratic system entered into Zen temples throughout the country, and a highly organized system of temple rank and administration developed.
Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
In the Ming Dynasty teachers such as Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清) taught Chán alongside Pure Land Buddhism in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries. In time much of the distinction between them was lost, and many masters taught both Chán and Pure Land.
Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and modern times (after 1912)
After centuries of decline during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), Chán was revived again in the early 20th century by Hsu Yun (虛雲), a well-known figure of 20th century Chinese Buddhism. Many Chán teachers today trace their lineage back to Hsu Yun, including Sheng-yen (聖嚴) and Hsuan Hua (宣化), who have propagated Chán in the West where it has grown steadily through the 20th and 21st century.
Chán was repressed in China during the recent modern era in the early periods of the People's Republic, but has more recently been re-asserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as among overseas Chinese.
Seon in Korea
Seon was gradually transmitted into Korea during the late Silla period (7th through 9th centuries) as Korean monks of predominantly Hwaeom (華嚴) and Consciousness-only (唯識) background began to travel to China to learn the newly developing tradition. During his lifetime, Mazu had begun to attract students from Korea; by tradition, the first Korean to study Seon was named Peomnang (法朗). Mazu's successors had numerous Korean students, some of whom returned to Korea and established the nine mountain (九山) schools. This was the beginning of Chán in Korea which is called Seon.
Seon received its most significant impetus and consolidation from the Goryeo monk Jinul (知訥) (1158–1210), who established a reform movement and introduced koan practice to Korea. Jinul established the Songgwangsa (松廣寺) as a new center of pure practice. It was during the time of Jinul the Jogye Order, a primarily Seon sect, became the predominant form of Korean Buddhism, a status it still holds. which survives down to the present in basically the same status. Toward the end of the Goryeo and during the Joseon period the Jogye Order would first be combined with the scholarly 教 schools, and then be relegated to lesser influence in ruling class circles by Confucian influenced polity, even as it retained strength outside the cities, among the rural populations and ascetic monks in mountain refuges.
Nevertheless, there would be a series of important Seon teachers during the next several centuries, such as Hyegeun (慧勤), Taego (太古), Gihwa (己和) and Hyujeong (休靜), who continued to develop the basic mold of Korean meditational Buddhism established by Jinul. Seon continues to be practiced in Korea today at a number of major monastic centers, as well as being taught at Dongguk University, which has a major of studies in this religion. Taego Bou (1301–1382) studied in China with Linji teacher and returned to unite the Nine Mountain Schools. In modern Korea, by far the largest Buddhist denomination is the Jogye Order, which is essentially a Zen sect; the name Jogye is the Korean equivalent of Caoxi (曹溪), another name for Huineng.
Seon is known for its stress on meditation, monasticism, and asceticism. Many Korean monks have few personal possessions and sometimes cut off all relations with the outside world. Several are near mendicants traveling from temple to temple practicing meditation. The hermit-recluse life is prevalent among monks to whom meditation practice is considered of paramount importance.
Currently, Korean Buddhism is in a state of slow transition. While the reigning theory behind Korean Buddhism was based on Jinul's "sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation", the modern Korean Seon master, Seongcheol's revival of Hui Neng's "sudden enlightenment, sudden cultivation" has had a strong impact on Korean Buddhism. Although there is resistance to change within the ranks of the Jogye order, with the last three Supreme Patriarchs' stance that is in accordance with Seongcheol, there has been a gradual change in the atmosphere of Korean Buddhism.
The Kwan Um School of Zen, one of the largest Zen schools in the West, teaches a form of Seon Buddhism. Soeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim (b. 1948), birth name Barbara Trexler (later Barbara Rhodes), is Guiding Dharma Teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen and a successor of the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.
Zen in Japan
Kamakura (1185-1333)
Zen was not introduced as a separate school until the 12th century, when Myōan Eisai traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which is known in Japan as Rinzai. Decades later, Nanpo Shōmyō (南浦紹明?) (1235–1308) also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential branch of Rinzai. In 1215, Dōgen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to Chin... himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master Tiantong Rujing. After his return, Dōgen established the Sōtō school, the Japanese branch of Caodong.
Muromachi (or Ashikaga) (1336-1573)
During the Muromachi period the Rinzai school was the most successful of the schools, since it was favoured by the Shogun. Rinzai was organized in the Gozan system. This system was extended throughout Japan, effectively giving control to the central government, which administered this system. The Rinka monasteries, primarily found outside the cities in rural areas, had a greater degree of independence. The O-to-kan lineage, that centered on Daitoku-ji, also had a greater degree of freedom. A well-known teacher from Daytoku-ji was Ikkyū. Another Rinka lineage was the Hotto lineage, of which Bassui Tokushō is the best-known teacher.
Soto too spread out over Japan. Gasan adopted the Five Ranks of Tung-shan as a fit vehicle to explain the Mahayana teachings.
Azuchi-Momoyama(1573-1600) and Edo (or Tokugawa)(1600-1868)
After a period of war Japan was re-united in the Azuchi–Momoyama period. This decreased the power of Buddhism, which had become a strong political and military force in Japan and was seen as a threat by the ruling clan. Neo-Confucianism gained influence at the expense of Buddhism, which came under strict state control. Japan closed the gates to the rest of the world. New doctrines and methods were not to be introduced, nor were new temples and schools. The only exception was the Ōbaku lineage, which was introduced in the 17th century during the Edo period by Ingen, a Chinese monk.
Well-known Zen masters from this period are Bankei Yōtaku (盤珪永琢?, 1622–1693), Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉?, 1644 – November 28, 1694) and Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴?, 1686–1768), who revived the Rinzai school.
Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) and Imperial expansionism
During the Meiji period (1868–1912) Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion, and Buddhism was coerced to adapt to the new regime. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, with embarrassing consequences when Japanese nationalism was endorsed by the Zen institutions. War endeavours against Russia, China and finally during the Pacific War were supported by the Zen establishment.
Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat, but also as a challenge to stand up to. Parties within the Zen establishment sought to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese identity.
Present time (after 1945)
Interest in Zen grew in the West after World War II. Westerners such as Philip Kapleau and the Dutchman Janwillem van de Wetering went to Japan to study Zen. Japanese teachers came to the West to share Zen practice and philosophy.
Contemporary Zen organisations
The traditional schools of Zen in contemporary Japan are the Sōtō (曹洞), Rinzai (臨済), and Ōbaku (黃檗). Of these, Sōtō is the largest and Ōbaku the smallest. Rinzai is itself divided into several subschools based on temple affiliation, including Myoshin-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenryū-ji, Daitoku-ji, and Tofuku-ji. Besides these there are modern Zen organisations which have especially attracted Western lay followers, namely the Sanbo Kyodan and the FAS Society.
Zen teachings
Polarities
Zen is characterised by a set of polarities: absolute-relative,Buddha-nature - sunyata,sudden and gradual enlightenment.
Absolute-relative
The Prajnaparamita-sutras and Madhyamaka emphasized the non-duality of form and emptiness: form is emptiness, emptiness is form, as the heart sutra says. The idea that the ultimate reality is present in the daily world of relative reality fitted into the Chinese culture which emphasized the mundane world and society. But this does not tell how the absolute is present in the relative world:
To deny the the duality of samsara and nirvana, as the Perfection of Wisdom does, or to demonstrate logically the error of dichotomizing conceptualization, as Nagarjuna does, is not to address the question of the relationship between samsara and nirvana -or, in more philosophical terms, between phenomenal and ultimate reality. What, then, is the relationship between these two realms?
This question is answered in such schemata as the Five Ranks of Tozan and the Oxherding Pictures.
Buddha-nature and sunyata
When Buddhism was introduced in China it was understood in terms of its own culture. Various sects struggled to attain an understanding of the Indian texts. The Tathāgatagarbha Sutras and the idea of the Buddha-nature were endorsed, because of the perceived similarities with the Tao.
The doctrine of the Buddha-nature asserts, as do other schools in Mahāyāna Buddhism, that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature (Skt. Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatagarbha), the universal nature of transcendent wisdom (Skt. prajñā), and emphasizes that Buddha-nature is nothing other than the essential nature of the mind itself. Sunyata was understood as pointing to this underlying essence.
It took Chinese Buddhism several centuries to realize that sunyata does not refer to an essential reality underneath or behind the world of appearances. This realisation was discernable in the course that Chán took.
Sudden and gradual enlightenment
Avalokiteshvara
When the so-called Southern School placed emphasis on sudden enlightenment, it also marked a shift in doctrinal basis from the Lankavatara-sutra to the prajnaparamita-tradition, especially the Diamond Sutra. The Lankavatara-sutra, which endorses the Buddha-nature, emphasized purity of mind, which can be attained in gradations. The Diamond-sutra emphasizes sunyata, which "must be realized totally or not at all". Once this dichotomy was in place, it defined its own logic and rhetorics, which are also recognizable in the distinction between Caodong (Soto) and Lin-ji (Rinzai) chán.
The Bodhisattva ideal
As a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Zen draws many of its basic driving concepts from that tradition, such as the bodhisattva ideal. Buddhas and bodhisattvas such as Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and Kṣitigarbha are also venerated alongside Gautama Buddha.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
Friday, January 13, 2012
Buddhism in Vietnam --Part II
Buddhist Practices
Since Đổi Mới (1986) many reforms have allowed Buddhism to be practiced. Followers in Vietnam practice differing traditions without any problem or sense of contradiction. Few Vietnamese Buddhists would identify themselves as a particular kind of Buddhism, as a Christian might identify him or herself by a denomination, for example. Although Vietnamese Buddhism does not have a strong centralized structure, the practice is similar throughout the country at almost any temple.
Gaining merit is the most common and essential practice in Vietnamese Buddhism with a belief that liberation takes place with the help of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Buddhist monks commonly chant sutras, recite Buddhas’ names (Amitabha most notably, doing repentance and praying for rebirth in the Pure Land).
The Lotus Sutra and Amitabha Sutra are the most commonly used sutras. Most sutras and texts have come from China and have been translated into Sino-Vietnamese (Han –Viet) rather than the vernacular making them largely incomprehensible to most practitioners.
Three services are practiced regularly at dawn, noon, and dusk. They include sutras (mainly devotional), reciting dharanis and Buddha’s name, and circumambulation (walking meditation). Laypeople at times join the services at the temple and some devout Buddhist practice the services at home. Special services such as Sam Nguyen / Sam Hoi (confession / repentance) takes place on the full moon and new moon each month. Chanting the name of Buddha is one way of repenting and purifying bad karma.
The overall doctrinal position of Vietnamese Buddhism is the inclusive system of Tiantai, with the higher metaphysics informed by the Huayan tradition; however, the orientation of Vietnamese Buddhism is syncretic without making such distinctions. Therefore, modern practice of Vietnamese Buddhism can be very eclectic, including elements from Zen, Pure Land, Tiantai, and popular practices from Esoteric Buddhism.
According to Charles Prebish, many English language sources contain misconceptions regarding the variety of doctrines and practices in traditional Vietnamese Buddhism.
We will not consider here the misconceptions presented in most English-language materials regarding the distinctness of these schools, and the strong inclination for "syncretism" found in Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhism. Much has been said about the incompatibility of different schools and their difficulty in successfully communicating with each other and combining their doctrines. None of these theories reflects realities in Vietnam (or China) past or present. The followers have no problem practicing the various teachings at the same time.
Theravada
As of 1997, there were 64 Theravada temples throughout the country, of which 19 were located in Hồ Chí Minh City and its vicinity. Besides Bửu Quang and Kỳ Viên temples, other well known temples are Bửu Long, Giác Quang, Tam Bảo (Đà Nẵng), Thiền Lâm and Huyền Không (Huế), and the large Sakyamuni Buddha Monument (Thích Ca Phật Đài) in Vũng Tàu.
Pure land
It was not until 2007 that Pure Land Buddhism, the most widespread type of Buddhism practiced in Vietnam, was officially recognized by the government.
The methods of Pure Land Buddhism are perhaps the most widespread within Vietnam. It is common for practitioners to recite sutras, chants and dharanis looking to gain protection through bodhisattvas or Dharma-Protectors. It is a devotional practice where those practicing put their faith into Amitabha Buddha (V. A Di Đà Phật). Followers believe they will gain rebirth in the Pure Land by chanting Amitabha’s name. The Pure Land is where one can more easily gain enlightenment since suffering does not exist. Many religious organizations have not been recognized by the government however in 2007, with 1.5 million followers, The Vietnamese Pure Land Buddhism Association (Tịnh Độ Cư Sĩ Phật Hội Việt Nam ) received official recognition as an independent and legal religious organization.
Thiền Tông/Zen School
Thiền is the Vietnamese name for the school of Zen Buddhism. Thiền Tông, or the "Zen school", is derived from the Chinese Chan-zong, in which Chan derivatives of the Sanskrit "Dhyāna". The traditional account is that in 580 CE, an Indian monk named Vinitaruci (Vietnamese: Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi) traveled to Vietnam after completing his studies with Jianzhi Sengcan, the third patriarch of Chinese Zen. This would be the first appearance of Vietnamese Zen, or Thien (thiền) Buddhism. The sect that Vinitaruci and his lone Vietnamese disciple founded would become known as the oldest branch of Thien. After a period of obscurity, the Vinitaruci School became one of the most influential Buddhist groups in Vietnam by the 10th century, particularly under the patriarch Vạn-Hạnh (died 1018). Other early Vietnamese Zen schools included the Vo Ngon Thong (Vô Ngôn Thông), which was associated with the teaching of Mazu, and the Thao Duong (Thảo Đường), which incorporated nianfo (niem phat/Pure Land) chanting techniques; both were founded by Chinese monks.
A new Thiền school was founded by King Trần Nhân Tông (1258–1308); called Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Forest/Grove) school, which evinced a deep influence from Confucian and Taoist philosophy. Nevertheless, Trúc Lâm's prestige waned over the following centuries as Confucianism became dominant in the royal court. In the 17th century, a group of Chinese monks led by Nguyên Thiều introduced the Lâm Tế school. A more domesticated offshoot of Lâm Tế, the Liễu Quán school, was founded in the 18th century and has since been the predominant branch of Vietnamese Zen.
Some scholars argue that the importance and prevalence of Zen (Thiền) in Vietnam has been greatly overstated, and that Zen has played more of an elite rhetorical role than a role of practice. The Thiền Uyển Tập Anh (Outstanding Figures in the Vietnamese Zen Community) has been the dominant text used to legitimize the Zen Buddhist lineage and history within Vietnam. However Cuong Tu Nguyen’s “Zen in Medieval Vietnam: A Study and Translation of the Thien Tap Anh” (1997) gives a critical review of how the text has been used to create a history of Zen Buddhism that, in his own view, is “fraught with discontinuity”. According Cuong Tu Nguyen, current day Buddhist practices are not reflective of a Zen past in that in modern day Vietnam the common practices are more focused on ritual and devotion than the Zen focus on meditation.
Nonetheless, we are seeing an increased population in Zen today. Two figures who have been responsible for this increased interest in Thien is Thich Nhat Hanh, currently residing in France, and Thich Thanh Tu, who lives in Da Lat.
The most famous practitioner of synchronized Thiền Buddhism in the West is Thích Nhất Hạnh who has authored dozens of books and founded Dharma center Plum Village in France together with Bhiksuni Chân Không. According to Nguyen and Barber, Thich Nhat Hanh’s fame in the Western world as a proponent of engaged Buddhism and a new zen style has “no affinity with or any foundation in traditional Vietnamese Buddhist practices” and according to Alexander Soucy (2007) his style of Zen Buddhism is not reflective of actual Vietnamese Buddhism. Thich Nhat Hanh’s Buddhist teachings have started to return to a Vietnam where the Buddhist landscape is now being shaped by the combined Vietnamese and Westernized Buddhism that is focused more on the meditative practices.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Vietnam
Thích Mật Thể. Lich su Phat giao Viet nam
http://www.quangduc.com/lichsu/index.html
Since Đổi Mới (1986) many reforms have allowed Buddhism to be practiced. Followers in Vietnam practice differing traditions without any problem or sense of contradiction. Few Vietnamese Buddhists would identify themselves as a particular kind of Buddhism, as a Christian might identify him or herself by a denomination, for example. Although Vietnamese Buddhism does not have a strong centralized structure, the practice is similar throughout the country at almost any temple.
Gaining merit is the most common and essential practice in Vietnamese Buddhism with a belief that liberation takes place with the help of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Buddhist monks commonly chant sutras, recite Buddhas’ names (Amitabha most notably, doing repentance and praying for rebirth in the Pure Land).
The Lotus Sutra and Amitabha Sutra are the most commonly used sutras. Most sutras and texts have come from China and have been translated into Sino-Vietnamese (Han –Viet) rather than the vernacular making them largely incomprehensible to most practitioners.
Three services are practiced regularly at dawn, noon, and dusk. They include sutras (mainly devotional), reciting dharanis and Buddha’s name, and circumambulation (walking meditation). Laypeople at times join the services at the temple and some devout Buddhist practice the services at home. Special services such as Sam Nguyen / Sam Hoi (confession / repentance) takes place on the full moon and new moon each month. Chanting the name of Buddha is one way of repenting and purifying bad karma.
The overall doctrinal position of Vietnamese Buddhism is the inclusive system of Tiantai, with the higher metaphysics informed by the Huayan tradition; however, the orientation of Vietnamese Buddhism is syncretic without making such distinctions. Therefore, modern practice of Vietnamese Buddhism can be very eclectic, including elements from Zen, Pure Land, Tiantai, and popular practices from Esoteric Buddhism.
According to Charles Prebish, many English language sources contain misconceptions regarding the variety of doctrines and practices in traditional Vietnamese Buddhism.
We will not consider here the misconceptions presented in most English-language materials regarding the distinctness of these schools, and the strong inclination for "syncretism" found in Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhism. Much has been said about the incompatibility of different schools and their difficulty in successfully communicating with each other and combining their doctrines. None of these theories reflects realities in Vietnam (or China) past or present. The followers have no problem practicing the various teachings at the same time.
Theravada
As of 1997, there were 64 Theravada temples throughout the country, of which 19 were located in Hồ Chí Minh City and its vicinity. Besides Bửu Quang and Kỳ Viên temples, other well known temples are Bửu Long, Giác Quang, Tam Bảo (Đà Nẵng), Thiền Lâm and Huyền Không (Huế), and the large Sakyamuni Buddha Monument (Thích Ca Phật Đài) in Vũng Tàu.
Pure land
It was not until 2007 that Pure Land Buddhism, the most widespread type of Buddhism practiced in Vietnam, was officially recognized by the government.
The methods of Pure Land Buddhism are perhaps the most widespread within Vietnam. It is common for practitioners to recite sutras, chants and dharanis looking to gain protection through bodhisattvas or Dharma-Protectors. It is a devotional practice where those practicing put their faith into Amitabha Buddha (V. A Di Đà Phật). Followers believe they will gain rebirth in the Pure Land by chanting Amitabha’s name. The Pure Land is where one can more easily gain enlightenment since suffering does not exist. Many religious organizations have not been recognized by the government however in 2007, with 1.5 million followers, The Vietnamese Pure Land Buddhism Association (Tịnh Độ Cư Sĩ Phật Hội Việt Nam ) received official recognition as an independent and legal religious organization.
Thiền Tông/Zen School
Thiền is the Vietnamese name for the school of Zen Buddhism. Thiền Tông, or the "Zen school", is derived from the Chinese Chan-zong, in which Chan derivatives of the Sanskrit "Dhyāna". The traditional account is that in 580 CE, an Indian monk named Vinitaruci (Vietnamese: Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi) traveled to Vietnam after completing his studies with Jianzhi Sengcan, the third patriarch of Chinese Zen. This would be the first appearance of Vietnamese Zen, or Thien (thiền) Buddhism. The sect that Vinitaruci and his lone Vietnamese disciple founded would become known as the oldest branch of Thien. After a period of obscurity, the Vinitaruci School became one of the most influential Buddhist groups in Vietnam by the 10th century, particularly under the patriarch Vạn-Hạnh (died 1018). Other early Vietnamese Zen schools included the Vo Ngon Thong (Vô Ngôn Thông), which was associated with the teaching of Mazu, and the Thao Duong (Thảo Đường), which incorporated nianfo (niem phat/Pure Land) chanting techniques; both were founded by Chinese monks.
A new Thiền school was founded by King Trần Nhân Tông (1258–1308); called Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Forest/Grove) school, which evinced a deep influence from Confucian and Taoist philosophy. Nevertheless, Trúc Lâm's prestige waned over the following centuries as Confucianism became dominant in the royal court. In the 17th century, a group of Chinese monks led by Nguyên Thiều introduced the Lâm Tế school. A more domesticated offshoot of Lâm Tế, the Liễu Quán school, was founded in the 18th century and has since been the predominant branch of Vietnamese Zen.
Some scholars argue that the importance and prevalence of Zen (Thiền) in Vietnam has been greatly overstated, and that Zen has played more of an elite rhetorical role than a role of practice. The Thiền Uyển Tập Anh (Outstanding Figures in the Vietnamese Zen Community) has been the dominant text used to legitimize the Zen Buddhist lineage and history within Vietnam. However Cuong Tu Nguyen’s “Zen in Medieval Vietnam: A Study and Translation of the Thien Tap Anh” (1997) gives a critical review of how the text has been used to create a history of Zen Buddhism that, in his own view, is “fraught with discontinuity”. According Cuong Tu Nguyen, current day Buddhist practices are not reflective of a Zen past in that in modern day Vietnam the common practices are more focused on ritual and devotion than the Zen focus on meditation.
Nonetheless, we are seeing an increased population in Zen today. Two figures who have been responsible for this increased interest in Thien is Thich Nhat Hanh, currently residing in France, and Thich Thanh Tu, who lives in Da Lat.
The most famous practitioner of synchronized Thiền Buddhism in the West is Thích Nhất Hạnh who has authored dozens of books and founded Dharma center Plum Village in France together with Bhiksuni Chân Không. According to Nguyen and Barber, Thich Nhat Hanh’s fame in the Western world as a proponent of engaged Buddhism and a new zen style has “no affinity with or any foundation in traditional Vietnamese Buddhist practices” and according to Alexander Soucy (2007) his style of Zen Buddhism is not reflective of actual Vietnamese Buddhism. Thich Nhat Hanh’s Buddhist teachings have started to return to a Vietnam where the Buddhist landscape is now being shaped by the combined Vietnamese and Westernized Buddhism that is focused more on the meditative practices.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Vietnam
Thích Mật Thể. Lich su Phat giao Viet nam
http://www.quangduc.com/lichsu/index.html
Buddhism in Vietnam --Part I
Historical Backgrounds
Buddhism came to Vietnam in the 1st or 2nd century AD through the North from central Asia and China, and via the South from India trade routes. By the end of the 2nd century, in Vietnam there was a major Buddhist centre (probably in the Mahayana school)which was commonly known as the Luy Lâu centre, now in the Bắc Ninh province, north of Hanoi . Luy Lâu was the capital of Giao Chỉ(the former name of Vietnam), and was a popular place visited by many Indian Buddhist missionary monks on their way to China. The monks followed the sea route from the Indian sub-continent to China used by Indian traders. A number of Mahayana sutras and the Agamas were translated into Chinese script at that centre, including the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters and the Anapanasati.
Over the next eighteen centuries Vietnam and China shared many common features of cultural, philosophical and religious heritage. This was due to geographical proximity of the two countries, and due to the Chinese occupation. Vietnamese Buddhism is closely related to Chinese Buddhism in general, and to some extent reflects the formation of Chinese Buddhism after the Song Dynasty. However, different from Chinese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhism incorporated the practices of Vietnamese culture and traditions, and Theravada Buddhism thanks to the annexation of the land of Cham in the South, and the cultural exchanges with other Southeast Asian countries.
During the Đinh Dynasty (968-980) Buddhism was recognized by the state as an official religion ( around 971). The kings at the time highly valued Buddhism, and respected Buddhist monks and masters. The Early Lê Dynasty (980-1009) would follow a similar path. One reason for the growth of Buddhism during this time could be the presence of educated monks, a newly independent state needing an ideological basis on which to build a country.
Buddhism became more prominent during the Lý Dynasty (1009–1225) beginning with the founder Lý Thái Tổ who was raised in a pagoda (Buddhist temple). All of the kings during the Ly Dynasty supported Buddhism as a state religion and this continued into the Trần Dynasty (1225–1400) where Buddhism later developed in combination with Confucianism. Buddhism fell out of favor during the Later Lê Dynasty, but would thrive again under the Nguyễn Dynasty.
The central and southern part of present day Vietnam were originally inhabited by the Cham people and the Khmer people respectively who followed both a syncretic Saiva-Mahayana (see History of Buddhism in Cambodia) Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. The Đại Việt (Vietnamese) annexed the land occupied by the Cham during conquests in the 15th century, and by the 18th century had also annexed the southern portion of the Khmer Empire, resulting in the current borders of Vietnam. From that time onward, the dominant Đại Việt (Vietnamese) followed the Mahayana tradition while the Khmer continued to practice Theravada.
In the 1920s and 1930s, there were a number of movements in Vietnam for the revival and modernization of Buddhist activities. Together with the re-organization of Mahayana establishments, there developed a growing interest in Theravada meditation as well as the Pali Canon. These were then available in French. Among the pioneers who brought Theravada Buddhism to the ethnic Đại Việt was a young veterinary doctor named Lê Văn Giảng. He was born in the South, received higher education in Hanoi, and after graduation, was sent to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to work for the French government.
During that time he became especially interested in Theravada Buddhist practice. Subsequently, he decided to ordain and took the Dhamma name of Hộ-Tông (Vansarakkhita). In 1940, upon an invitation from a group of lay Buddhists led by Mr. Nguyễn Văn Hiểu, he went back to Vietnam in order to help establish the first Theravada temple for Vietnamese Buddhists, at Gò Dưa, Thủ Đức (now a district of Hồ Chí Minh City). The temple was named Bửu Quang (Ratana Ramsyarama). The temple was destroyed by French troops in 1947, and was later rebuilt in 1951. At Bửu Quang temple, together with a group of Vietnamese bhikkhus (monks), who had received training in Cambodia, such as Venerables Thiện Luật, Bửu Chơn, Kim Quang and Giới Nghiêm, Venerable Hộ Tông began teaching the Dhamma in their native Vietnamese. He also translated many Buddhist materials from the Pali Canon, and Theravada became part of Vietnamese Buddhist activity in the country.
In 1949–1950 , Venerable Hộ Tông together with Mr Nguyễn Văn Hiểu and supporters built a new temple in Saigon (now Hồ Chí Minh City), named Kỳ Viên Tự (Jetavana Vihara). This temple became the centre of Theravada activities in Vietnam, which continued to attract increasing interest among the Vietnamese Buddhists. In 1957, the Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist Sangha Congregation (Giáo Hội Tăng Già Nguyên Thủy Việt Nam) was formally established and recognised by the government, and the Theravada Sangha elected Venerable Hộ Tông as its first President, or Sangharaja.
From Saigon, the Theravada movement spread to other provinces, and soon, a number of Theravada temples for ethnic Viet Buddhists were established in many areas in the South and Central parts of Vietnam.
From 1954 to 1975, Vietnam was split into North and South Vietnam. President Ngo Dinh Diem's policies generated claims of religious bias. As a member of the Catholic Vietnamese minority, he pursued pro-Catholic policies that antagonized many Buddhists.
In May 1963, in the central city of Huế, where Diem's elder brother Ngo Dinh Thuc was the archbishop, Buddhists were prohibited from displaying Buddhist flags during Vesak celebrations. A few days earlier, Catholics were allowed to fly religious flags at a celebration in honour of Thuc. This led to a protest against the government, which was suppressed by Diem's forces, killing nine civilians. This led to a mass campaign against Diem's government during the Buddhist crisis. Notably, Thich Quang Duc self-immolated and later Diem's younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu ordered the special forces to raid pagodas across the country, killing an estimated hundreds. After this, the US government withdrew support and Diem and his family were deposed and killed.
After the fall of South Vietnam to communism in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, the first major Buddhist community appeared in North America. Since this time the North American Vietnamese Buddhist community has grown to over 160 temples and centers. Proselytizing is not a priority.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Vietnam
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phật_giáo_Việt_Nam
Thích Mật Thể. Lich su Phat giao Viet nam
http://www.quangduc.com/lichsu/index.html
Buddhism came to Vietnam in the 1st or 2nd century AD through the North from central Asia and China, and via the South from India trade routes. By the end of the 2nd century, in Vietnam there was a major Buddhist centre (probably in the Mahayana school)which was commonly known as the Luy Lâu centre, now in the Bắc Ninh province, north of Hanoi . Luy Lâu was the capital of Giao Chỉ(the former name of Vietnam), and was a popular place visited by many Indian Buddhist missionary monks on their way to China. The monks followed the sea route from the Indian sub-continent to China used by Indian traders. A number of Mahayana sutras and the Agamas were translated into Chinese script at that centre, including the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters and the Anapanasati.
Over the next eighteen centuries Vietnam and China shared many common features of cultural, philosophical and religious heritage. This was due to geographical proximity of the two countries, and due to the Chinese occupation. Vietnamese Buddhism is closely related to Chinese Buddhism in general, and to some extent reflects the formation of Chinese Buddhism after the Song Dynasty. However, different from Chinese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhism incorporated the practices of Vietnamese culture and traditions, and Theravada Buddhism thanks to the annexation of the land of Cham in the South, and the cultural exchanges with other Southeast Asian countries.
During the Đinh Dynasty (968-980) Buddhism was recognized by the state as an official religion ( around 971). The kings at the time highly valued Buddhism, and respected Buddhist monks and masters. The Early Lê Dynasty (980-1009) would follow a similar path. One reason for the growth of Buddhism during this time could be the presence of educated monks, a newly independent state needing an ideological basis on which to build a country.
Buddhism became more prominent during the Lý Dynasty (1009–1225) beginning with the founder Lý Thái Tổ who was raised in a pagoda (Buddhist temple). All of the kings during the Ly Dynasty supported Buddhism as a state religion and this continued into the Trần Dynasty (1225–1400) where Buddhism later developed in combination with Confucianism. Buddhism fell out of favor during the Later Lê Dynasty, but would thrive again under the Nguyễn Dynasty.
The central and southern part of present day Vietnam were originally inhabited by the Cham people and the Khmer people respectively who followed both a syncretic Saiva-Mahayana (see History of Buddhism in Cambodia) Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. The Đại Việt (Vietnamese) annexed the land occupied by the Cham during conquests in the 15th century, and by the 18th century had also annexed the southern portion of the Khmer Empire, resulting in the current borders of Vietnam. From that time onward, the dominant Đại Việt (Vietnamese) followed the Mahayana tradition while the Khmer continued to practice Theravada.
In the 1920s and 1930s, there were a number of movements in Vietnam for the revival and modernization of Buddhist activities. Together with the re-organization of Mahayana establishments, there developed a growing interest in Theravada meditation as well as the Pali Canon. These were then available in French. Among the pioneers who brought Theravada Buddhism to the ethnic Đại Việt was a young veterinary doctor named Lê Văn Giảng. He was born in the South, received higher education in Hanoi, and after graduation, was sent to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to work for the French government.
During that time he became especially interested in Theravada Buddhist practice. Subsequently, he decided to ordain and took the Dhamma name of Hộ-Tông (Vansarakkhita). In 1940, upon an invitation from a group of lay Buddhists led by Mr. Nguyễn Văn Hiểu, he went back to Vietnam in order to help establish the first Theravada temple for Vietnamese Buddhists, at Gò Dưa, Thủ Đức (now a district of Hồ Chí Minh City). The temple was named Bửu Quang (Ratana Ramsyarama). The temple was destroyed by French troops in 1947, and was later rebuilt in 1951. At Bửu Quang temple, together with a group of Vietnamese bhikkhus (monks), who had received training in Cambodia, such as Venerables Thiện Luật, Bửu Chơn, Kim Quang and Giới Nghiêm, Venerable Hộ Tông began teaching the Dhamma in their native Vietnamese. He also translated many Buddhist materials from the Pali Canon, and Theravada became part of Vietnamese Buddhist activity in the country.
In 1949–1950 , Venerable Hộ Tông together with Mr Nguyễn Văn Hiểu and supporters built a new temple in Saigon (now Hồ Chí Minh City), named Kỳ Viên Tự (Jetavana Vihara). This temple became the centre of Theravada activities in Vietnam, which continued to attract increasing interest among the Vietnamese Buddhists. In 1957, the Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist Sangha Congregation (Giáo Hội Tăng Già Nguyên Thủy Việt Nam) was formally established and recognised by the government, and the Theravada Sangha elected Venerable Hộ Tông as its first President, or Sangharaja.
From Saigon, the Theravada movement spread to other provinces, and soon, a number of Theravada temples for ethnic Viet Buddhists were established in many areas in the South and Central parts of Vietnam.
From 1954 to 1975, Vietnam was split into North and South Vietnam. President Ngo Dinh Diem's policies generated claims of religious bias. As a member of the Catholic Vietnamese minority, he pursued pro-Catholic policies that antagonized many Buddhists.
In May 1963, in the central city of Huế, where Diem's elder brother Ngo Dinh Thuc was the archbishop, Buddhists were prohibited from displaying Buddhist flags during Vesak celebrations. A few days earlier, Catholics were allowed to fly religious flags at a celebration in honour of Thuc. This led to a protest against the government, which was suppressed by Diem's forces, killing nine civilians. This led to a mass campaign against Diem's government during the Buddhist crisis. Notably, Thich Quang Duc self-immolated and later Diem's younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu ordered the special forces to raid pagodas across the country, killing an estimated hundreds. After this, the US government withdrew support and Diem and his family were deposed and killed.
After the fall of South Vietnam to communism in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, the first major Buddhist community appeared in North America. Since this time the North American Vietnamese Buddhist community has grown to over 160 temples and centers. Proselytizing is not a priority.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Vietnam
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phật_giáo_Việt_Nam
Thích Mật Thể. Lich su Phat giao Viet nam
http://www.quangduc.com/lichsu/index.html
An Overview of Vietnamese Thiền
Thiền or Thiền Tông is the Vietnamese word for Zen Buddhism. The word is derived from the Chinese Chán. According to traditional accounts in Vietnam, in 580, an Indian monk named Vinitaruci (Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi in Vietnamese) traveled to Vietnam after completing his studies with Sengcan, the third Patriarch of Chinese Chán. With this event Vietnamese Thiền Buddhism came into existence. The school that Vinitaruci and his Vietnamese disciple founded would become known as the oldest of Thiền in Vietnam. By the 10th century, the Vinitaruci School became one of the most influential Buddhist groups in Vietnam, with the Patriarch Vạn-Hạnh, who demised in 1018.
Other early Vietnamese Thiền schools were the Vô Ngôn Thông, which was associated with the teaching of Mazu Daoyi (709–788), a Zen teacher in medieval China, and the Thảo Đường, which incorporated nianfo (a Pure Land practice that generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha Buddha) chanting techniques. Both were founded by Chinese monks.
King Trần Thái Tông , the first King of the Trần Dynasty, founded a new school, the Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử (Bamboo Forest on Yên Tử Mountain) school, which was Vietnamese by nature and origin, but which was also somewhat influenced by Confucian and Taoist philosophies. This incorporation of the three major philosophies in Asia (Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism)is typical of Vietnamese Thiền Tông .
In the 17th century, a group of Chinese monks led by Nguyên Thiều established a vigorous school, the Lâm Tế, which is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Linji. A more domesticated offshoot of Lâm Tế, the Liễu Quán school, was founded in the 18th century and has since been predominant in Central Vietnam. Thich Nhat Hanh's meditation practices come from this Thiền school.
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ, one prominent and influential Vietnamese Thiền master, restored Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử Thiền Tông in Việt Nam. He currently resides at Trúc Lâm Thiền Monastery in Dalat, Vietnam. He was a disciple of Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hoa.
The most famous practitioner of syncretized Thiền in the West is Thích Nhất Hạnh who has authored dozens of books and founded the Plum Village in France. During the Vietnam War, Thich Nhat Hanh was a monk and a peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1966. He left Vietnam in exile and now resides at Plum Village, a monastery in France. He has written more than one hundred books about Buddhism, which have made him one of the very few most prominent Buddhist authors among the general readership in the West. In his books and talks, Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes mindfulness as the most important practice in daily life.
There is also another notable Vietnamese Zen master who has been influential in Western countries: Most Venerable Thich Thien-An. Thich Thien-An came to America in 1966 as a visiting professor at UCLA and taught traditional Thien meditation.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/9474-Thien-Truc-Lam.html
Tran Thai Tong TLYT Zen Founder
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/9709-Triet-hoc-Tran-Thai-Tong.html
Other early Vietnamese Thiền schools were the Vô Ngôn Thông, which was associated with the teaching of Mazu Daoyi (709–788), a Zen teacher in medieval China, and the Thảo Đường, which incorporated nianfo (a Pure Land practice that generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha Buddha) chanting techniques. Both were founded by Chinese monks.
King Trần Thái Tông , the first King of the Trần Dynasty, founded a new school, the Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử (Bamboo Forest on Yên Tử Mountain) school, which was Vietnamese by nature and origin, but which was also somewhat influenced by Confucian and Taoist philosophies. This incorporation of the three major philosophies in Asia (Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism)is typical of Vietnamese Thiền Tông .
In the 17th century, a group of Chinese monks led by Nguyên Thiều established a vigorous school, the Lâm Tế, which is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Linji. A more domesticated offshoot of Lâm Tế, the Liễu Quán school, was founded in the 18th century and has since been predominant in Central Vietnam. Thich Nhat Hanh's meditation practices come from this Thiền school.
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ, one prominent and influential Vietnamese Thiền master, restored Trúc Lâm-Yên Tử Thiền Tông in Việt Nam. He currently resides at Trúc Lâm Thiền Monastery in Dalat, Vietnam. He was a disciple of Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hoa.
The most famous practitioner of syncretized Thiền in the West is Thích Nhất Hạnh who has authored dozens of books and founded the Plum Village in France. During the Vietnam War, Thich Nhat Hanh was a monk and a peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1966. He left Vietnam in exile and now resides at Plum Village, a monastery in France. He has written more than one hundred books about Buddhism, which have made him one of the very few most prominent Buddhist authors among the general readership in the West. In his books and talks, Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes mindfulness as the most important practice in daily life.
There is also another notable Vietnamese Zen master who has been influential in Western countries: Most Venerable Thich Thien-An. Thich Thien-An came to America in 1966 as a visiting professor at UCLA and taught traditional Thien meditation.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/9474-Thien-Truc-Lam.html
Tran Thai Tong TLYT Zen Founder
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/9709-Triet-hoc-Tran-Thai-Tong.html
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
An Overview of Zen Buddhism --Part I
Some Historical Backgrounds
Zen (ध्यान in Pali; chán-zōng 禪宗 in Chinese, zen-shū 禅宗 in Japanese)is a school of Buddhism that originated in India. It gradually spread to the North, evolved to adapt to the new cultural environment, and developed into what is now called the Mahāyāna Zen (in China, Japan, Korea, and later southward to Vietnam). The authentic, original tradition from India spread to the South, and became what is known as the Theravada Buddhist meditation (in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
According to traditional accounts, one day on Linh Thứu Mountain (in Sankrit, gṛdhrakūṭa) during His Flower Sermon, the Buddha silently raised a white lotus flower, and only Ma-ha-ca-diếp (Mahākāśyapa), a great disciple of His, understood what He meant,and smiled. Seeing him smiling, the Buddha recognized who would be His successor. It was a heart-to-heart understanding, without using any verbal language. It is often referred to as "the flower-and -smile legend" in Zen Buddhism. The Buddha then said:
I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.
Thus, after the Buddha, the 28 Indian partriarchs (西天二十八祖) were:
1.Ma-ha-ca-diếp (摩訶迦葉, mahākāśyapa)
2.A-nan-đà (阿難陀, ānanda)
3.Thương-na-hòa-tu (商那和修, śānavāsin)
4.Ưu-bà-cúc-đa (優婆掬多, upagupta)
5.Đề-đa-ca (提多迦,dhītika)
6.Di-già-ca (彌遮迦, miśaka)
7.Bà-tu-mật (婆須密, vasumitra, Thế Hữu)
8.Phù-đà-nan-đề (浮陀難提, buddhanandi, Phật-đà-nan-đề 佛陀難提)
9.Phù-đà-mật-đa (浮陀密多,buddhamitra,Phật-đà-mật-đa 佛陀密多)
10.Bà-lật-thấp-bà (婆栗濕婆, pārśva, Hiếp tôn giả 脅尊者)
11.Phú-na-dạ-xa (富那夜奢, puṇayaśa)
12.A-na-bồ-đề (阿那菩提, ānabodhi, Mã Minh 馬鳴, aśvaghoṣa)
13.Ca-tì-ma-la (迦毘摩羅, kapimala)
14.Long Thụ (龍樹, nāgārjuna, Na-già-hạt-thụ-na 那伽閼樹那)
15.Ka-na-đề-bà (迦那提婆, kāṇadeva, Đề-bà 提婆, Thánh Thiên, āryadeva)
16.La-hầu-la-đa (羅睺羅多, rāhulabhadra)
17.Tăng-già-nan-đề (僧伽難提,saṃghanandi)
18.Tăng-già-xá-đa (伽舍多,saṃghayathata)
19.Cưu-ma-la-đa (鳩摩羅多, kumāralāta)
20.Xà-dạ-đa (闍夜多, śayata)
21.Thế Thân (世親, vasubandhu, Thiên Thân 天親, Bà-tu-bàn-đầu 婆修盤頭)
22.Ma-noa-la (摩拏羅, manorata)
23.Cưu-lặc-na (鳩勒那, haklenayaśa, Hạc-lặc-na 鶴勒那)
24.Sư Tử Bồ-đề (師子菩提, siṃhabodhi)
25.Bà-xá-tư-đa (婆舍斯多, baśaṣita)
26.Bất-như-mật-đa (不如密多, puṇyamitra)
27.Bát-nhã-đa-la (般若多羅, prajñādhāra)
28.Bồ-đề-đạt-ma (菩提達磨,bodhidharma)
In China, the six Zen patriarchs were:
1.Bodhidharma Bồ-đề-đạt-ma (菩提達磨, ?-532)
2.Huike Huệ Khả (慧可, 487-593)
3.Sengcan Tăng Xán (僧璨, ?-606)
4.Daoxin Đạo Tín (道信, 580-651)
5.Hongren Hoằng Nhẫn (弘忍, 601-674)
6.Huineng Huệ Năng (慧能, 638-713)
Shenxiu (神秀 606?-706) was supposed to be the successor to Hongren, the Fifth patriarch, but later had to expound the Dhamma in the North. After being chosen by Hongren to be his successor, Huineng had to flee by night to Nanhua Temple in the south to avoid the wrath of Hongren's jealous senior disciples. According to tradition, the sixth and last ancestral founder, Huineng (惠能; 638–713), was one of the giants of Chán history, whom all surviving schools regard as their ancestor. There were many famous Chinese Zen masters in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and the Song dynasty (960–1297). Of the Sixth Patriarch's Lineage there were Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất (zh. 馬祖道一), Bách Trượng Hoài Hải (zh. 百丈懷海), Triệu Châu Tòng Thẩm (zh. 趙州從諗), Lâm Tế Nghĩa Huyền (zh. 臨濟義玄).
Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng (b. 677 at Kim Châu, nowadays An Khang, Thiểm Tây Province, China; d. 744) was a great disciple of Huineng. Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng spent 15 years studying with Huineng. When Huineng demised, he left for Nam Nhạc Mountain and built Bát Nhã Temple (later the name was changed into Quan Âm), established his own sect to teach Huineng's Zen practice. He distinguished himself from Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư, another Huineng's disciple and also his colleague. Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư's sect gradually developed into three more subsects: Tào Động, Vân Môn và Pháp Nhãn. Thus, contemporary sects and subsects in Chinese Chán history originated in this division from the times of Hoài Nhượng và Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư.
One of Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng's disciples, Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất (zh. 馬祖道一), later became an excellent Zen master, and the founder of two sects --Lâm Tế and Vi Ngưỡng (also called Ngưỡng Tông). Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất became a very famous Zen master in Giang Tây. Although he was at first trained in the Northern tradition of Gradual Enlightenment,under the guidance of Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng, he followed Huineng's Southern tradition of Sudden Enlightenment. It was Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất who brought unique techniques to Chinese Chán, such as yelling, complete silence, or striking with the Zen rod. It was said that he would push his disciples, asked them unexpected questions, then gave contradictory answers. His purpose was to provide them a shocking experience which could knock down all concepts and the disciples' habitual ways of dualistic and discriminating thinking and perceptions. His influence was wide spreading, and he was very highly respected in Chinese Chán history.
Thus, spreading further to the South of China, the Mahāyāna Zen developed into five houses/sects or seven branches/subsects (五家七宗): Tào Động tông (曹洞宗), Vân Môn tông (雲門宗), Pháp Nhãn tông (法眼宗), Quy/Vi Ngưỡng tông (潙仰宗), Lâm Tế tông (臨濟宗), and its two subsects, Dương Kì phái (楊岐派) và Hoàng Long phái (黃龍派).
Zen Spirit
Zen Buddhism focuses on the practitioner's self reflection and contemplation experience (through daily meditation practice)to attain the ultimate goal (Nirvana/Enlightenment) right in his/her own lifetime. It does not emphasize religious forms, rituals, or etiquette, nor does it encourage argument, reasoning, or discourse analysis about the Dhamma/Dharma and other metaphysical and philosophical issues.
The following 12th-century stanza, attributed to Bodhidharma, reveals the Zen spirit:
教外別傳 Giáo ngoại biệt truyền (Truyền giáo pháp ngoài kinh điển)
不立文字 Bất lập văn tự (không lập văn tự)
直指人心 Trực chỉ nhân tâm (chỉ thẳng tâm người)
見性成佛 Kiến tính thành Phật (thấy chân tính thành Phật).
A special transmission outside the scriptures,
Not founded upon words and letters;
By pointing directly to the mind
It lets one see into one's own true nature, and attain Buddhahood.
The importance given to Zen's non-reliance on written words is often misunderstood as an opposition to the study of Buddhist texts. However, Zen is deeply rooted in the teachings and doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism and gradually developed its own literature. What the Zen tradition emphasizes is that enlightenment of the Buddha came not through intellectual reasoning, but rather through direct insight attained by Dharma practice and meditation. Therefore, it is held that it is primarily through Dharma practice and meditation that others may attain enlightenment and become Buddhas as well.
Zen Sutras and Literature
A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were all well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras. For example, in the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng cites and explains the Diamond Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra), the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. The teachings of Zen could also be found in the Prajñāpāramitā literature, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, by the time of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren (601–674), the Zen school became established as a separate school of Buddhism. It had to develop a doctrinal tradition of its own to ascertain its position. Subsequently, the Zen tradition produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Among the earliest and most widely studied of the specifically Zen texts, dating back to at least the 9th century CE, is the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch, attributed to Huineng. Others include the "encounter dialogue"-genre, which developed into various collections of kōans, and the Shōbōgenzō of Dōgen Zenji.
In its beginnings in China, Zen primarily referred to the Mahāyāna sūtras and especially to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. As a result, early masters of the Zen tradition were referred to as "Laṅkāvatāra masters". As the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra teaches the doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (Skt. Ekayāna), the early Zen school was sometimes referred to as the "One Vehicle School". In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Zen is sometimes even referred to as simply the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (Ch. 楞伽宗, Léngqié Zōng). Accounts recording the history of this early period are to be found in Records of the Laṅkāvatāra Masters (Ch. 楞伽師資記, Léngqié Shīzī Jì).
During the Tang Dynasty, the Zen school's central text shifted to the Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra). Thereafter, the essential texts of the Zen school were often considered to be the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahākāśyapa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-qt/con-nguoi-qt/9794-Chuyen-doi-vi-de-tu-chan-truyen-cua-Luc-to-Hue-Nang.html
Zen (ध्यान in Pali; chán-zōng 禪宗 in Chinese, zen-shū 禅宗 in Japanese)is a school of Buddhism that originated in India. It gradually spread to the North, evolved to adapt to the new cultural environment, and developed into what is now called the Mahāyāna Zen (in China, Japan, Korea, and later southward to Vietnam). The authentic, original tradition from India spread to the South, and became what is known as the Theravada Buddhist meditation (in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
According to traditional accounts, one day on Linh Thứu Mountain (in Sankrit, gṛdhrakūṭa) during His Flower Sermon, the Buddha silently raised a white lotus flower, and only Ma-ha-ca-diếp (Mahākāśyapa), a great disciple of His, understood what He meant,and smiled. Seeing him smiling, the Buddha recognized who would be His successor. It was a heart-to-heart understanding, without using any verbal language. It is often referred to as "the flower-and -smile legend" in Zen Buddhism. The Buddha then said:
I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.
Thus, after the Buddha, the 28 Indian partriarchs (西天二十八祖) were:
1.Ma-ha-ca-diếp (摩訶迦葉, mahākāśyapa)
2.A-nan-đà (阿難陀, ānanda)
3.Thương-na-hòa-tu (商那和修, śānavāsin)
4.Ưu-bà-cúc-đa (優婆掬多, upagupta)
5.Đề-đa-ca (提多迦,dhītika)
6.Di-già-ca (彌遮迦, miśaka)
7.Bà-tu-mật (婆須密, vasumitra, Thế Hữu)
8.Phù-đà-nan-đề (浮陀難提, buddhanandi, Phật-đà-nan-đề 佛陀難提)
9.Phù-đà-mật-đa (浮陀密多,buddhamitra,Phật-đà-mật-đa 佛陀密多)
10.Bà-lật-thấp-bà (婆栗濕婆, pārśva, Hiếp tôn giả 脅尊者)
11.Phú-na-dạ-xa (富那夜奢, puṇayaśa)
12.A-na-bồ-đề (阿那菩提, ānabodhi, Mã Minh 馬鳴, aśvaghoṣa)
13.Ca-tì-ma-la (迦毘摩羅, kapimala)
14.Long Thụ (龍樹, nāgārjuna, Na-già-hạt-thụ-na 那伽閼樹那)
15.Ka-na-đề-bà (迦那提婆, kāṇadeva, Đề-bà 提婆, Thánh Thiên, āryadeva)
16.La-hầu-la-đa (羅睺羅多, rāhulabhadra)
17.Tăng-già-nan-đề (僧伽難提,saṃghanandi)
18.Tăng-già-xá-đa (伽舍多,saṃghayathata)
19.Cưu-ma-la-đa (鳩摩羅多, kumāralāta)
20.Xà-dạ-đa (闍夜多, śayata)
21.Thế Thân (世親, vasubandhu, Thiên Thân 天親, Bà-tu-bàn-đầu 婆修盤頭)
22.Ma-noa-la (摩拏羅, manorata)
23.Cưu-lặc-na (鳩勒那, haklenayaśa, Hạc-lặc-na 鶴勒那)
24.Sư Tử Bồ-đề (師子菩提, siṃhabodhi)
25.Bà-xá-tư-đa (婆舍斯多, baśaṣita)
26.Bất-như-mật-đa (不如密多, puṇyamitra)
27.Bát-nhã-đa-la (般若多羅, prajñādhāra)
28.Bồ-đề-đạt-ma (菩提達磨,bodhidharma)
In China, the six Zen patriarchs were:
1.Bodhidharma Bồ-đề-đạt-ma (菩提達磨, ?-532)
2.Huike Huệ Khả (慧可, 487-593)
3.Sengcan Tăng Xán (僧璨, ?-606)
4.Daoxin Đạo Tín (道信, 580-651)
5.Hongren Hoằng Nhẫn (弘忍, 601-674)
6.Huineng Huệ Năng (慧能, 638-713)
Shenxiu (神秀 606?-706) was supposed to be the successor to Hongren, the Fifth patriarch, but later had to expound the Dhamma in the North. After being chosen by Hongren to be his successor, Huineng had to flee by night to Nanhua Temple in the south to avoid the wrath of Hongren's jealous senior disciples. According to tradition, the sixth and last ancestral founder, Huineng (惠能; 638–713), was one of the giants of Chán history, whom all surviving schools regard as their ancestor. There were many famous Chinese Zen masters in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and the Song dynasty (960–1297). Of the Sixth Patriarch's Lineage there were Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất (zh. 馬祖道一), Bách Trượng Hoài Hải (zh. 百丈懷海), Triệu Châu Tòng Thẩm (zh. 趙州從諗), Lâm Tế Nghĩa Huyền (zh. 臨濟義玄).
Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng (b. 677 at Kim Châu, nowadays An Khang, Thiểm Tây Province, China; d. 744) was a great disciple of Huineng. Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng spent 15 years studying with Huineng. When Huineng demised, he left for Nam Nhạc Mountain and built Bát Nhã Temple (later the name was changed into Quan Âm), established his own sect to teach Huineng's Zen practice. He distinguished himself from Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư, another Huineng's disciple and also his colleague. Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư's sect gradually developed into three more subsects: Tào Động, Vân Môn và Pháp Nhãn. Thus, contemporary sects and subsects in Chinese Chán history originated in this division from the times of Hoài Nhượng và Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư.
One of Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng's disciples, Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất (zh. 馬祖道一), later became an excellent Zen master, and the founder of two sects --Lâm Tế and Vi Ngưỡng (also called Ngưỡng Tông). Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất became a very famous Zen master in Giang Tây. Although he was at first trained in the Northern tradition of Gradual Enlightenment,under the guidance of Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng, he followed Huineng's Southern tradition of Sudden Enlightenment. It was Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất who brought unique techniques to Chinese Chán, such as yelling, complete silence, or striking with the Zen rod. It was said that he would push his disciples, asked them unexpected questions, then gave contradictory answers. His purpose was to provide them a shocking experience which could knock down all concepts and the disciples' habitual ways of dualistic and discriminating thinking and perceptions. His influence was wide spreading, and he was very highly respected in Chinese Chán history.
Thus, spreading further to the South of China, the Mahāyāna Zen developed into five houses/sects or seven branches/subsects (五家七宗): Tào Động tông (曹洞宗), Vân Môn tông (雲門宗), Pháp Nhãn tông (法眼宗), Quy/Vi Ngưỡng tông (潙仰宗), Lâm Tế tông (臨濟宗), and its two subsects, Dương Kì phái (楊岐派) và Hoàng Long phái (黃龍派).
Zen Spirit
Zen Buddhism focuses on the practitioner's self reflection and contemplation experience (through daily meditation practice)to attain the ultimate goal (Nirvana/Enlightenment) right in his/her own lifetime. It does not emphasize religious forms, rituals, or etiquette, nor does it encourage argument, reasoning, or discourse analysis about the Dhamma/Dharma and other metaphysical and philosophical issues.
The following 12th-century stanza, attributed to Bodhidharma, reveals the Zen spirit:
教外別傳 Giáo ngoại biệt truyền (Truyền giáo pháp ngoài kinh điển)
不立文字 Bất lập văn tự (không lập văn tự)
直指人心 Trực chỉ nhân tâm (chỉ thẳng tâm người)
見性成佛 Kiến tính thành Phật (thấy chân tính thành Phật).
A special transmission outside the scriptures,
Not founded upon words and letters;
By pointing directly to the mind
It lets one see into one's own true nature, and attain Buddhahood.
The importance given to Zen's non-reliance on written words is often misunderstood as an opposition to the study of Buddhist texts. However, Zen is deeply rooted in the teachings and doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism and gradually developed its own literature. What the Zen tradition emphasizes is that enlightenment of the Buddha came not through intellectual reasoning, but rather through direct insight attained by Dharma practice and meditation. Therefore, it is held that it is primarily through Dharma practice and meditation that others may attain enlightenment and become Buddhas as well.
Zen Sutras and Literature
A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were all well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras. For example, in the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng cites and explains the Diamond Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra), the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. The teachings of Zen could also be found in the Prajñāpāramitā literature, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, by the time of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren (601–674), the Zen school became established as a separate school of Buddhism. It had to develop a doctrinal tradition of its own to ascertain its position. Subsequently, the Zen tradition produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Among the earliest and most widely studied of the specifically Zen texts, dating back to at least the 9th century CE, is the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch, attributed to Huineng. Others include the "encounter dialogue"-genre, which developed into various collections of kōans, and the Shōbōgenzō of Dōgen Zenji.
In its beginnings in China, Zen primarily referred to the Mahāyāna sūtras and especially to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. As a result, early masters of the Zen tradition were referred to as "Laṅkāvatāra masters". As the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra teaches the doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (Skt. Ekayāna), the early Zen school was sometimes referred to as the "One Vehicle School". In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Zen is sometimes even referred to as simply the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (Ch. 楞伽宗, Léngqié Zōng). Accounts recording the history of this early period are to be found in Records of the Laṅkāvatāra Masters (Ch. 楞伽師資記, Léngqié Shīzī Jì).
During the Tang Dynasty, the Zen school's central text shifted to the Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra). Thereafter, the essential texts of the Zen school were often considered to be the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahākāśyapa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-qt/con-nguoi-qt/9794-Chuyen-doi-vi-de-tu-chan-truyen-cua-Luc-to-Hue-Nang.html
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Some Issues about Buddhist Temple Goers and Visitors
Because human minds have been used to designation (forms and labeling), dualistic thinking and discrimination, most of those who go to Buddhist temples and monasteries tend to pay a lot of attention to sights and scenes, statues, images, human beings, and bells, chanting sounds, etc., which they encounter and perceive at those places. They usually forget that the essential thing is what they may have learned from the temple and the monastery they visited.
Temples and monasteries are places to learn the Dharma, and to learn how to transform the untamed mind into a better and skillful one. They are definitely not places to socialize and show off Dharma knowledge. They are not tourist resorts, nor summer retreat areas, even though there are usually beautiful landscapes surrounding a temple, and people may enjoy the relaxing quiet, and the special environment there.
You should not use the discriminating mind to compare this monk/nun with another based on what s/he said or how s/he looked to you as a visitor to the temple. You simply cannot understand the culture of a temple that you have only visited once or twice. It is difficult for you as a visitor to understand and to judge when you haven't had a complete picture of what you are judging. It takes a long time to understand a person and a culture, and anything related to a person and a culture.
Most importantly, visitors should not turn temples and monasteries into places to discuss worldly affairs and pleasures, such as family problems and disputes,or financial issues. Any forms of human transactions should have no place in such places.
If you plan to visit a temple or a monastery, you should not believe in what others said about the edifice and about those who dwell in it. You have to come and see for yourself. Only your experiences will help you discover the reality and the true values of such a place and such people.
The gist of your visit to a temple is what spiritual lessons remain with you afterwards.
Temples and monasteries are places to learn the Dharma, and to learn how to transform the untamed mind into a better and skillful one. They are definitely not places to socialize and show off Dharma knowledge. They are not tourist resorts, nor summer retreat areas, even though there are usually beautiful landscapes surrounding a temple, and people may enjoy the relaxing quiet, and the special environment there.
You should not use the discriminating mind to compare this monk/nun with another based on what s/he said or how s/he looked to you as a visitor to the temple. You simply cannot understand the culture of a temple that you have only visited once or twice. It is difficult for you as a visitor to understand and to judge when you haven't had a complete picture of what you are judging. It takes a long time to understand a person and a culture, and anything related to a person and a culture.
Most importantly, visitors should not turn temples and monasteries into places to discuss worldly affairs and pleasures, such as family problems and disputes,or financial issues. Any forms of human transactions should have no place in such places.
If you plan to visit a temple or a monastery, you should not believe in what others said about the edifice and about those who dwell in it. You have to come and see for yourself. Only your experiences will help you discover the reality and the true values of such a place and such people.
The gist of your visit to a temple is what spiritual lessons remain with you afterwards.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Some Common Problems of Zen Practitioners
According to Most Ven. Thich Thanh Tu, some common problems Zen practitioners often face are:
1. Wrong perceptions about self confidence which lead to overconfidence and arrogance: The practitioner thinks s/he has been practicing long enough, and up to a level that s/he no longer needs to listen to any Zen masters nor other practitioners. S/he does not show respect to any, even the Buddha, does not feel remorseful about him-/herself, and looks down upon all rituals and religious formalities.
2. Wrong perceptions about "freedom" or "liberation" in Zen. The practitioner thinks s/he has been practicing long enough, and up to a level that s/he no longer needs to follow any rules nor precepts. S/he becomes untamed.
3. The practitioner's words and deeds are contradictory. S/he enjoys Zen discussions, arguments, and knowledge show-off, but does not actually practice regularly and rigorously.
4. The practitioner neglects practice, becomes lazy, and does not have any self-discipline.
Source:
Thich Thanh Tu, Thien Tong Vietnam Cuoi The Ky 20. Written in Thuong Chieu Zen Monastery (1991). Circulated by Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen monasteries in Vietnam and abroad.
1. Wrong perceptions about self confidence which lead to overconfidence and arrogance: The practitioner thinks s/he has been practicing long enough, and up to a level that s/he no longer needs to listen to any Zen masters nor other practitioners. S/he does not show respect to any, even the Buddha, does not feel remorseful about him-/herself, and looks down upon all rituals and religious formalities.
2. Wrong perceptions about "freedom" or "liberation" in Zen. The practitioner thinks s/he has been practicing long enough, and up to a level that s/he no longer needs to follow any rules nor precepts. S/he becomes untamed.
3. The practitioner's words and deeds are contradictory. S/he enjoys Zen discussions, arguments, and knowledge show-off, but does not actually practice regularly and rigorously.
4. The practitioner neglects practice, becomes lazy, and does not have any self-discipline.
Source:
Thich Thanh Tu, Thien Tong Vietnam Cuoi The Ky 20. Written in Thuong Chieu Zen Monastery (1991). Circulated by Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen monasteries in Vietnam and abroad.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Vietnamese Thiền from the Late Twentieth Century -- Part II
Based on the Second Patriarch's tradition, Most Ven. Thich Thanh Tu taught his disciples how to pacify the mind or keep the mind from being driven by illusory thoughts. Whenever a thought arises while the practitioner is meditating, s/he recognizes it. Knowing that it is illusory, s/he simply lets it go. Such thoughts, like waves caused by winds on the water surface, gradually will die out, and the river (the mind) remains calm and clear.
From the Sixth Patriarch's teachings, Most Ven. Thich Thanh Tu taught his disciples how to use wisdom to observe the dependent origination law in action in all phenomena, to keep the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind from being contaminated by sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings (sensations from touching), and illusory ideas and phenomena. The practitioner, undisturbed by surrounding happenings, is to dwell calmly in the Buddha Nature, or the natural calmness, the clear vast space which always exists from within us and in the Universe.
From the tradition disseminated by Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Founder, King Tran Nhan Tong, Most Ven. Thich Thanh Tu taught his disciples how to be free from duality thinking and from being bogged down in the transient world, and how to live with the Real.
In short, the four guidelines for a Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen practitioner are:
1. Do not be driven or bogged down by any illusory thoughts. Just let them go,
2. Do not be disturbed by the outside world that is dependent-originated by nature,
3. Do not get trapped by a mind of discrimination, or in the dualistic way of thinking and perception (good vs. bad, long vs. short, rich vs. poor, success vs. failure, happiness vs. unhappiness....)
4. Always dwell in the Buddha Nature (the vast,clear and unperturbed space, the Ultimate Truth and Reality which unites you with the Universe).
Sources:
Thich Thanh Tu, Thien Tong Vietnam Cuoi The Ky 20. Written in Thuong Chieu Zen Monastery (1991). Circulated by Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen monasteries in Vietnam and abroad.
http://www.truclamvietzen.net/MasterTTT.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Thanh_Tu
Philip Taylor,Modernity and Re-enchantment: Religion in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam (Maryland, USA, 2008).
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/9709-Triet-hoc-Tran-Thai-Tong.html
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/3604-Phat-hoang-Tran-Nhan-Tong.html
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/4245-Phat-hoang-Tran-Nhan-Tong-viet-ve-Thay.html
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/tu-sach-dao-phat-ngay-nay/6103-Chuong-12-Gioi-thieu-Mot-so-trung-tam-tu-hoc-tai-Viet-Nam.html
From the Sixth Patriarch's teachings, Most Ven. Thich Thanh Tu taught his disciples how to use wisdom to observe the dependent origination law in action in all phenomena, to keep the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind from being contaminated by sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings (sensations from touching), and illusory ideas and phenomena. The practitioner, undisturbed by surrounding happenings, is to dwell calmly in the Buddha Nature, or the natural calmness, the clear vast space which always exists from within us and in the Universe.
From the tradition disseminated by Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Founder, King Tran Nhan Tong, Most Ven. Thich Thanh Tu taught his disciples how to be free from duality thinking and from being bogged down in the transient world, and how to live with the Real.
In short, the four guidelines for a Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen practitioner are:
1. Do not be driven or bogged down by any illusory thoughts. Just let them go,
2. Do not be disturbed by the outside world that is dependent-originated by nature,
3. Do not get trapped by a mind of discrimination, or in the dualistic way of thinking and perception (good vs. bad, long vs. short, rich vs. poor, success vs. failure, happiness vs. unhappiness....)
4. Always dwell in the Buddha Nature (the vast,clear and unperturbed space, the Ultimate Truth and Reality which unites you with the Universe).
Sources:
Thich Thanh Tu, Thien Tong Vietnam Cuoi The Ky 20. Written in Thuong Chieu Zen Monastery (1991). Circulated by Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen monasteries in Vietnam and abroad.
http://www.truclamvietzen.net/MasterTTT.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Thanh_Tu
Philip Taylor,Modernity and Re-enchantment: Religion in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam (Maryland, USA, 2008).
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/9709-Triet-hoc-Tran-Thai-Tong.html
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/3604-Phat-hoang-Tran-Nhan-Tong.html
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/con-nguoi-vn/4245-Phat-hoang-Tran-Nhan-Tong-viet-ve-Thay.html
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/tu-sach-dao-phat-ngay-nay/6103-Chuong-12-Gioi-thieu-Mot-so-trung-tam-tu-hoc-tai-Viet-Nam.html
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