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CHINESE BUDDHISM
Chinese Buddhism was dominated by
two trends:1. Popular devotion
2. Inner mystical experience
THE POPULAR DEVOTION
SCHOOL – PURE LAND
• The Pure Land School was founded by Hui –
Yuan (or T’an Luan as he is sometimes known).
He was born in 476C.E. and died in 542 C.E. He
founded Pure Land in the latter part of the 4th
century C.E.
• Basically, those who call on Amitabha (The
Buddha of boundless light) might be assured of
their next rebirth in paradise due to the
transference of merit (remember bodhisattva
work?)
WHAT IS THIS PURE LAND LIKE?
• It is on the western edge of the world
• There are terraces and jewelled branches
of trees
• There is some “marvellous music”!
WHY WAS PURE LAND INITIALLY
POPULAR?
• It satisfied the layman
• It short circuited rebirth and karma
• The picture given of a loving saviour of a
Buddha is close to theism
• It satisfied those who found Theravada too
difficult
• It satisfied those who did not like the concept of
local spirits and the deities of the woods
• Some self effort was required
THE INNER MYSTICAL
EXPERIENCE SCHOOL or CH’AN
(Meditation School)
• According to tradition, this type of Buddhism was
first brought to Canton in 520 C.E. and has been
an important element in Buddhism ever since
• Basically, it arose against a background of
Indian philosophy or Madhyamaka, whose
beliefs were:• The world about us has no substance
• We falsely distinguish between Samsara and
Nirvana
• The realisation of the above comes through
philosophical thought
WHY WAS CH’AN INITIALLY
POPULAR?
•
•
•
•
It was anti – intellectual
It made the learner act spontaneously
It had a very strong feeling for nature
Illumination can come suddenly or
spontaneously
• People saw the gradual processes of “the
self” being broken down
PURE LAND BUDDHISM
• Pure Land, like Ch’an or Zen, is a Mahayana
school based on the premise that enlightenment
is possible for all.
• It sets out to make the path accessible to all
classes and levels of people.
• Shin and Jodo are the two main sects of Pure
Land Buddhism and there are probably some 25
million followers today.
• Of the two schools of Pure Land Buddhism, Shin
seems to be the most popular today
MAIN PRACTICES OF PURE
LAND BUDDHISM
• They encourage donations and charity to the
needy
• They propagate the Dharma
• They paint religious pictures
• If you become ill, as a Pure Land follower, you
can ask the monks for chanting to bring you
back to full health
• They observe vows
• They follow particular laws connected with
abstinence
What are the main beliefs of Pure
Land Buddhism?
• Believers will be gathered after death as a
reward for faith and good works
• The saviour figure is Amida (in sanskrit –
Amitabha)
• According to the Sukhavativyuhu – he was a
king who left his throne and heard the Buddha’s
sermon. He was so moved by it, he became a
wanderer, dedicated to achieving ‘buddhahood’
and made a vow to renounce reward of his own
efforts in order to preside over the Buddha land
of SUKHAVATI until ALL beings had arrived
there
DESCRIPTIONS OF PURE LAND
• It is like Islamic paradise
• It is material
• It is a state of bliss to work hard for
SUMMARY OF PURE LAND
BUDDHISM
• Buddhism flourished in China during the T’ang dynasty – 618 – 907
C.E.
• We know something of its appeal e.g. :• Sophisticated philosophy of Buddhist texts appealed to the more
scholarly Chinese
• There is now an opportunity for an improved rebirth in the Buddha
Amida’s Western paradise
• The use of architecture and art appealed to ordinary people
• Buddhist funeral rites helped dispel anxieties about the fate of dead
relatives
• Many Emperors supported Buddhism because it was seen as
encouraging moral and peaceful citizens
• The concept of enlightenment, rebirth and karma offered individuals
the responsibility for their own fate and an opportunity for salvation
So……What are the similarities
between Pure Land and Zen?
• Both Mahayana
• Enlightenment is possible for all
• Both deny it is necessary to divorce oneself completely from the
everyday world in order to gain spiritual insight
• Both present the individual with the optimistic view that spiritual
attainment is to be had without necessarily subjecting oneself to the
rigorous discipline of a monastic life
• Both schools bring spiritual and religious ideals within the grasp of
the common populace
• Both aim to provide the ‘great vehicles’ necessary to carry all beings
to ‘the further shore’
• Both accept the Dharma attributed to the historical Buddha –
Siddhartha Gautama
Differences between Pure Land
Buddhism and Zen
• Pure Land Buddhism believes acts of devotion
are important and Zen doesn’t!
• Pure Land is very much a religion of Tariki
(another’s effort) and Zen Jiriki (self effort)
• Zen follows the Trikaya doctrine but holds that
Buddha nature is present in all. Pure Land relies
on spiritual development through the
Bodhisattva’s – particularly the transcendent
ones like Amida
• In Zen, words are used in the form of koans only
but in Pure Land, recitations of the formula
“Namu Amida Butsu” are used
Where can you read more?
• The Idiots guide to Buddhism - pages 217 – 223
• The World of Buddhism – Gombrich – pages
221 – 224
• The Buddhist handbook – Snelling – pages156 –
157
• Buddhism – John Snelling – pages 84 – 87
• Buddhism – Pushpesh Pant – pages 76 – 77
• A Short History of Buddhism – Conze – pages
65 – 74
• The Sacred Texts of the World – Smart and
Hecht – pages 265 - 266