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Dear
Dharma Friends,
Welcome
to this three part series of Dharma talks. In the next three days,
we are going to discuss the eight schools of Chinese Buddhism and
the varying ways of practice emphasized by each of these schools.
This is a very broad topic, and the time we have can hardly do
justice. The purpose is to give an overview of each of these schools
so that each of you can find one that best suits your needs. When
the Buddha was alive, he purposely taught varying ways of practice
because sentient beings were different in temperament and spiritual
maturity. He did not, however, introduce the idea of different
schools of Buddhism. Such a classification came at a much later
date. After the Buddha entered parinirvana, different accomplished
Dharma teachers emphasized different parts of the Dharma based on
their own inclination. Because of their varying interests and
practices, they each approached the Dharma from a slightly different
angle. They each thought that their interpretation of the sutras
best represented the Buddha's teachings and formalized their own
view as a different school of Buddhism.
There
are eight schools of Chinese Buddhism. Four of them emphasize the
meaning of the Dharma. They are T'ien-t'ai, Hua-yen (or Avatamsaka),
Fa-hsiang (or Yogachara) , and San-lun (or Madhyamika). The other
four schools are weighted more towards practice. They are the Ch'an,
Pure Land, Vinaya, and Mantra schools.
Each
of the eight schools has its unique characteristics, and there is a
verse that highlights the differences.
Mantra
[school for the] rich, Ch'an poor, Pure
Land convenient.
Yogachara meticulous, Chia-hsiang emptiness.
Hua-yen classical, Vinaya discipline.
T'ien-t'ai methodic in presenting the teachings.
The
first line tells us that if one wants to practice in the Mantra way,
one should be fairly well off. The Mantra school has many rites and
rituals. Altars have to be exquisitely decorated, and implements
call for materials such as gold, silver or bronze. The array of
implements is extensive, and the time required for each practice is
long. The practitioner is also expected to honor his or her teacher
with substantial offerings. All in all, one should have adequate
time and financial resources to practice in this tradition.
Contrary
to the Mantra way of practice, Ch'an followers do not have to be
well to do. One does not need much material support to practice
Ch'an. Many Ch'an masters live a simple life. A roof over the head
and a place to meditate are all that is required. In ancient times,
some Ch'an masters lived in the woods. They dressed simply and ate
wild plants and fruits. While their lives might seem poor and
meager, they were enriched by the joys of samadhi .
The
Pure Land school of Buddhism is based on mindfulness of the Buddha.
Most Pure Land followers practice their mindfulness with recitation
of the name of Amitabha. Regardless of one's profession or one's
circumstance, one can continually practice such mindfulness. This is
why the verse describes Pure Land as convenient.
Those
who are drawn to the Yogachara school are patient and meticulous.
This school espouses the Mind Only philosophy. Its teachings are
full of complicated names and are difficult to follow. If you are
not patient enough to sort through the terminology and how one idea
relates to another, then there is little chance that you will
understand the meaning of the teachings.
Chia-hsiang
is the founder of the San-lun school of Buddhism, and this school is
also refereed to as the Chia-hsiang school. This school bases its
doctrines on the Sata-sastra (The Hundred Verses, A.D. 404), the
Dvadasanikaya-sastra (On the Twelve Points, A.D. 408), and the
Madhyamaka-sastra (The Middle, A.D. 409). The common theme of these
three sastras is the nature of emptiness and conditionality. Thus,
we associate the San-lun school with the teachings on emptiness.
Chinese
Buddhism generally follows the Mahayana tradition, and the best
school to represent this tradition is the Hua-yen school. This is
what's meant by "Hua-yen classical" in the third line of
the verse. This sentiment is also echoed by Venerable Tai-hsu, a
renowned monk of this century. He once said that while all eight
schools of Buddhism were equally important, he himself was a
follower of the Hua-yen tradition. This school is based on the Avatamsaka
Sutra. Early patriarchs of the school took the teachings of the
sutra and together with their personal insights formulated an
accessible approach to the understanding of conditionality and
dharma nature. In addition to their contributions in this area, the
school also teaches various methods of contemplation as ways of
practice. In due course, the teachings of the Avatamsaka Sutra
became a cornerstone of Chinese Buddhism.
The
second part of the third line tells us that the teachings of the
Vinaya school are focused on discipline and ethics. Without personal
integrity, we simply cannot mature spiritually. Once we are in
control of our mind and body, then we are primed to see the truth
and ready to discover the wisdom and radiance within ourselves.
Of
all the schools, T'ien-t'ai is best in presenting a complete picture
of all the Buddha's teachings. The founder of the school, Venerable
Chih-che, was the first one to classify the teaching life of the
Buddha into five periods and eight skillful means. These eight
skillful means consist of four modes of teaching methods and four
types of expositions of the Dharma. The four modes of teaching
methods are sudden, gradual, esoteric (or secret), and varied. The
four types of expositions of the Dharma are treasured (the teachings
in the Tripitaka), common (the teachings common to sravakas,
pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattvas), different (the teachings unique
to the bodhisattva), and complete (the path to buddhahood). In a
very scientific and methodical way, he organized the Tripitaka and
the twelve divisions of the Mahayana canon into various sections
based on the kinds of sentient beings the specific teachings were
trying to reach. With explanations and comparisons he described the
various kinds of practice and different stages of enlightenment. It
is no wonder we say the T'ien-t'ai school is the most methodical and
comprehensive in presenting the Buddha's teachings.
While
each of the eight schools has their own characteristics, they all
share commonalties. For one, they all flourished around the same
time, during the Sui and T'ang dynasty. Their influence on Chinese
culture is pervasive, and they played a key role in the prosperity
of that era. That was the golden age of Chinese Buddhism. Sadly
enough, the state of these schools nowadays cannot compare to that
period. Some are on the decline. While others are still popular,
they have yet to regain the acceptance they once enjoyed.
Which of the eight schools should we start with? To help us decide,
we may take a cue from the Buddha and start with the Hua-yen school.
After Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree
on that starry night, he became the fully enlightened Buddha. The
Dharma that he initially addressed after enlightenment was later
captured in what is now called the Avatamsaka Sutra. The
chronological order of the other sutras is as follows:
Avatamsaka
the first three seven-day periods.
Agamas twelve, various eight.
Twenty-two years discoursing prajna.
Lotus and Nirvana totaled eight years.
[While
we speak of the various sutras, we should point out that the sutras
were compiled after the Buddha entered parinirvana and were based on
what his disciples, primarily Ananda, remembered of the Buddha's
teachings.] The Avatamsaka Sutra covers the teachings of the
first twenty-one days. Included in the Agamas are teachings
that covered the next period lasting over twelve years. Various
sutras such as the Amitabha Sutra, the Medicine Buddha
Sutra, and the Vimilakirti Sutra span another eight
years. It took the Buddha twenty-two years to teach the Dharma that
is now included in the Prajna Sutra, while those included in
the Lotus Sutra and Nirvana Sutra took eight. Like the
Buddha who started his preaching life with the Avatamsaka Sutra,
we will begin our discussion on the eight schools of Chinese
Buddhism with the Hua-yen school.
The
Hua-yen School and Its Practice
A.
The History of the Avatamsaka Sutra
Among
the vast collection of sutras, the Avatamsaka Sutra has been
referred to as the sutra of all sutras. Over the span of nine
discourses and seven different locations, the Buddha expounded on
the teachings in this sutra. During that time, no one could
completely understand the profound meaning of these teachings.
Legend has it that the sutra was later hidden in the royal palace of
the king of a serpent-worshipping clan in India. It took six hundred
years before Nagarjuna discovered the existence of the sutra. With
his extraordinary wisdom, he managed to memorize the last third of
the sutra before he was discovered by the royal guards of the palace
and expelled. After Nagarjuna left the palace, he wrote down what he
had memorized. This is the beginning of the Avatamsaka Sutra.
In
China, there are three Chinese translations of the Sanskrit
original. First, there was a translation by Buddhabhadra who arrived
in China in A.D. 406. His translation consists of sixty sections and
is also known as the Chin translation. The second translation was
completed by Siksananda during the T'ang dynasty (about A.D. 700).
There are eighty sections and this version is also referred to as
the T'ang translation. The last version comprises of forty sections
and was translated by a man named Prajna who lived during the T'ang
dynasty at about A.D. 800. Regardless of which translation, the
teachings contained are similar.
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B.
The Hua-yen Way of Classifying the Buddha's Teachings into Three
Periods
Fa-tsang Hsien-shou, the third patriarch of Hua-yen, used the
analogy of the sun's movement during the day to classify the
Buddha's life teachings into three periods. When day breaks and the
sun rises, it first shines on the mountains. In a similar way, after
the Buddha attained enlightenment, he first taught the Dharma to
bodhisattvas who were ready to accept the Dharma. The sutras of this
period include the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Brahmajala
Sutra.
When the sun continues to rise, its light shines on other parts of
the landscape. This is the second period of the Buddha's teachings.
Initially, the sun's rays pierce through the mountains and shine in
the valleys below. This is not unlike the Buddha trying to reach the
unenlightened and practitioners of other faiths. The teachings of
this period included the Three Refuges, Five Precepts, Four Noble
Truths, and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. A
representative sutra of these teachings is the Agamas. Next,
the sun shines past the valleys and reaches the high plateaus. This
symbolizes that some of the sentient beings were now ready to
practice the bodhisattva path. The teachings directed at the
audience could be found in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment,
the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Maharatnakuta Sutra, and
the Lankavatara Sutra. The third and last phase of this
period is midday when the sun is high above. It shines on the great
plains, symbolizing the multitude of beings who were then ready to
understand the Dharma. The sutras of this phase include the Diamond
Sutra and the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra.
The
third period is when the Buddha was about to enter parinirvana. This
is similar to the time of the day when the sun is about to set. Its
light permeates the whole land, symbolizing that the Buddha's
teachings are for all-we all have buddha nature and the ability to
become buddhas. This was the period of the teachings of the
buddha-yana. This vehicle of oneness known as the buddha-yana is
also called the One Vehicle, the final or complete teachings of the
Buddha. These teachings are now found in the Lotus and the Nirvana
Sutra.
While
the Hua-yen school looks at the Buddha's teachings this way, the
T'ien-t'ai school begs to differ. They believe that their own
classification of the Buddha's teachings into five periods is more
complete and accurate.
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C.
The Buddha Realm of Oneness-Complete, Seamless, and Totally Free
Of
all the sutras, the teachings in the Avatamsaka Sutra are the
most complete and profound. When the Buddha gave these discourses,
not even all of the bodhisattvas and celestial beings present could
understand. Arhats, too, were no exceptions.
Among
the sutras, some such as the Diamond Sutra speak of
emptiness. Others focus on the teachings of mind only existence.
Some schools are proponents of sudden realization, while other
schools emphasize a gradual approach. The Hua-yen school integrates
all these different teachings and creates one that is seamless with
them. The Avatamsaka Sutra speaks of the buddha realm, a realm which
embraces all phenomena without exclusion. In this realm, there is no
distinction between true reality and apparent reality, between
sentient beings and buddhas. This realm is beyond all dualities.
Substance is form, and form is substance. This is the realm of
absolute equality. If we can experience this realm, we can expand
our horizon and realize that life is endless and ceaseless. In life,
we all fear death and shun poverty. But if we are in tune with the
buddha realm of oneness, we are essentially free from the shackles
of the dualistic world, a world where we continually jockey for
wealth over poverty, life over death, or abundance over scarcity. A
thorough understanding of this realm can help us not only
spiritually but also in the way we function in our everyday lives.
When
we move beyond duality, we will see that billions is not necessarily
more, and one is not necessarily less. We all know that when we
count, we start with one, but the word one can also connote
immeasurable greatness. We say that we are all grounded in oneness,
and all phenomena are but one reality. The one here is definitely
not a small measure. All myriad things and innumerable changes stem
from one reality. A grain of sand, a speck of dust, a galaxy, and
even the whole universe are all embodied in this oneness or one
reality. While we think of billions as an enormous amount, but
implicit in this concept is a definite, bounded measure. [When we
look at the world and all phenomena as one, then every thing,
however minute, is an entry point to this one totality. Take the
example of lifting a shirt, whether we try to lift the shirt by its
sleeves or by the collar or even by a tiny little button, it is
still the same shirt that is being lifted.] In a similar way, a
grain of sand is not merely a grain of sand but also part and parcel
of the immeasurable three thousand great chiliocosms . Let me give
you another example. When we first started to give Dharma talks many
years ago, all we needed was a room in the temple. As we grew, we
progressively moved into larger and larger auditoriums. From a few
people to a few thousand, from a small room to a huge auditorium, it
is still one Dharma talk. Even if we were to expand to the rest of
the world, it would still be one Dharma talk, not two, not three.
The meaning of this "oneness" is deep, and we should learn
to see the immeasurability of "one."
Like
the dualistic concepts of one versus billions, we also instinctively
think of a speck of dust as minute and space as vast. Such thinking
is also biased. Within the buddha realm of oneness, big and small
are not different. The following story will further illustrate this
point. Once there was a scholar visiting a temple. In the temple, he
saw this two-line stanza:
Sumeru
contains mustard seeds;
Mustard seed embraces Sumeru
He
looked at the stanza and found it ludicrous. He thought to himself,
"It is one thing to say that we can find mustard seeds in Mount
Sumeru, but to say that Mount Sumeru is contained in a mustard seed
is quite an exaggeration." Lost in his thoughts, he muttered
out loud, "How ridiculous!" A monk nearby overheard his
comment and went up to ask him, "Sir, there is no contradiction
in this stanza. You are a scholar, so you must have heard of the
saying that if one was to have studied over ten thousand scrolls,
one could write as if there was magic in the pen. Let me ask you,
where do all the words go when one studies?"
The
man patted his tummy and said, "It's all in here." The
monk took a book and told the young man, "Please put this in
your tummy." The scholar replied, "What I mean is that the
learning goes in here, not the book itself."
The
teachings in myriad scrolls can all be absorbed. This is how big and
small can co-exist without contradiction. This is also what the Avatamsaka
Sutra means when it says that the big and small embody each
other. We say that the inside of the Tathagata is large enough to
contain heaven and earth and that we all have buddha nature. The
vastness of space is, therefore, also contained within us. It is up
to us to expand the world inside of us so that we may see the
vastness within us.
When
we look at cities like Taipei or New York, we see that such
metropolises are very congested. With limited space and a huge
population, it is unrealistic for us to expect a lot of living
space. If we apply the teachings of the Avatamsaka Sutra, we
can expand the world inside of us and deal with the congestion with
ease. When we open our mind to the buddha realm of oneness, we will
see that any living space is expansive like the whole dharma realm.
In this mindset, the conflict over congestion will be minimized.
In
Buddhism the word "ksana" means an extremely brief moment
of time. To give you an idea of how brief it is, we say, "When
a youth snaps his finger, sixty-three ksanas have elapsed."
Compared to our everyday measure of time, a second is about a few
hundred times longer than a ksana. At the other extreme, the word
"kalpa" denotes a very, very long duration. An "asamkhya
kalpa" is such a long period of time that any attempts to
visualize it will be difficult.
By
most measure, we think of a ksana as brief and a kalpa as long. This
is not necessarily true. Some insects live only for a day-born in
the morning and die by nightfall. Though its life is only a day
long, it is still a cycle of life. Other animals, such as tortoises
or cranes, live for hundreds of years. While its life is a few
hundred years long, it is also a cycle of life. A cycle of life is
nothing more than a chapter in our endless cycles of rebirth. While
we live and die, our buddha nature is forever present, in which
context the duality of long and short loses its meaning. Yes, it is
true that human life has a beginning and an end, but these changes
are not lasting. The end of one's life marks the beginning of
another. This continuity is like a person moving from one house to
the next. Our body is like a house. When it is old and worn, we
change into a new body. While the bodies may be different, we are
reborn again and again. In the Avatamsaka Sutra, it is said
that life itself is limitless and ceaseless.
Some
people live a brief existence, but their contribution to humanity
lasts a long time. Among the disciples of Kumarajiva, the great
translator, was one named Venerable Seng-chao. Though he died when
he was only thirty years of age, the commentaries he left behind had
a tremendous impact on Buddhism. Others live for a long time, but
does a long life necessarily mean a better one?
Some
of you may have the experience of having a dream that seems to go on
and on. In Chinese literature, there is a story about a poor student
who had a dream covering a fifty-year period. This student, Lu-sheng,
was on his way to the capital to take the civil servant examination.
He stopped at a roadside inn for the night. The owner of the inn was
just about to light a fire to start cooking. While gazing at the
fire, Lu-sheng fell asleep. In his sleep, he dreamed that he
traveled to another kingdom and married a beautiful wife. He became
a high ranking official and had a few sons. In his dream, fame and
fortune were on his side. Everything was going fine until he became
ill some fifty years later. When he was dreaming of himself dying,
he turned over and woke himself up. When he woke up, he realized
that it was just a dream, and the innkeeper had not even finished
his cooking. In dreams, time flows at a different pace.
As
in dreams, time also flows at a different pace in samadhi . What may
feel like a short time in samadhi is in fact many days. Once, when
the renowned Venerable T'ai-hsu was meditating in the temple of
P'u-t'o Shan, he could still hear the ringing of the dusk bells when
he went into samadhi. When he came out of samadhi, a whole night had
passed and it was just the time for the ringing of dawn bells. He
thought he was in samadhi only for a short duration and that the
dusk bells were still being sounded.
Time
is relative. To someone who is in samadhi, time passes at warp
speed. To someone who is serving a prison sentence, time slows to a
crawl, and a day feels like a year. Time disappears when we are
having fun, but time lingers when we are miserable. Our mindset
plays a pivotal role in how we view time.
Once
we begin to internalize the buddha realm of oneness, we will see
that presence and absence are not all that distinct, to have and
have not are not all that different. What we call filth is not
filthy, and what we call clean is not pure. Stepping backwards is
not falling behind and marching ahead is not advancing. This is a
realm where have or have not, purity or filth, front or back, big or
small, long or short are all illusive and not for real. This realm
is beyond time and space. One thought spans hundreds and thousands
of kalpas, and conversely, hundreds and thousands of kalpas are
contained in one thought. A speck of dust is, in fact, the land of
all ten directions, and the converse is also true. The buddha realm
of oneness is a complete, seamless, and totally free realm where
"one is all, and all is one."
Anyone
who has yet to read the Avatamsaka Sutra does not know the
treasures within Buddhism. This sutra can help us expand our horizon
and see how profound and rich the Buddha's teachings are.
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D.
The Early Patriarch of Hua-yen school
The
founding father of Hua-yen was Venerable Tu-shun. Born in A.D. 557
in Shan-hsi province, he became a monk at the age of eighteen and
dedicated his life to the study of the Avatamsaka Sutra. He
wrote the Contemplation of the Dharma Realm, in which he
talked about the practice of contemplating the profound teachings of
the Avatamsaka Sutra in samadhi. He was a great proponent of
combining understanding and practice, and he taught his disciples
the threefold contemplation of the dharma realm: "True
emptiness is devoid of appearance and attribute. Truth and
phenomenon are unimpeded . [The dharma realm] is everywhere."
His life was peppered with many miraculous, or unexplainable,
events. A blind man regained his sight after paying the venerable
respect. A deaf man was also similarly cured. Once when he was
traveling across a stream, the water actually stopped flowing until
he had finished crossing. He was very well respected by the emperor,
who conferred on him the title Venerable Ti-shun (literally the
emperor's heart). He passed away in the Yi-shan Temple in A.D. 640.
The
second patriarch of Hua-yen was the monk Chih-yen. Even when he was
a child, he liked to build make-believe stupas out of stones and
pebbles, topping them with flowers. He would pretend to be a Dharma
teacher and asked his playmates to listen to him talk. After he
became a monk, he devoted himself to studying the Avatamsaka
Sutra. At twenty-seven, he wrote a commentary on the sutra. His
written works numbered in excess of twenty. Besides being a prolific
writer, he was also a great educator. He predicted his own death and
passed away on the 29th day of the tenth month in Ch'ing-ch'an
Temple at the age of sixty-seven.
The
third patriarch of Hua-yen was Venerable Hsien-shou Fa-tsang.
Fa-tsang was his dharma name, and Hsien-shou (i.e. Foremost in
Virtue) was the name conferred on him by the emperor. When he was
sixteen, he went to Fa-men Temple in Shan-hsi province. It was there
in front of the stupa containing relics of King Asoka that he burned
his finger with incense to signify his commitment to spreading the
teachings of the Buddha. Later, when he had the chance to listen to
Chih-yen preach the Avatamsaka Sutra, he became one of his
leading disciples. His contribution to Hua-yen was immense. He
helped Siksananda with his translation of the sutra. During his
lifetime, he preached the sutra over thirty times. He was well
versed in the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Brahmajala Sutra,
and the Lankavatara Sutra. He wrote commentaries and analyses
on these sutras, compiling over thirty volumes of written works.
Using the Avatamsaka Sutra as a framework, he gave structure
to the works of earlier patriarchs and formalized what Hua-yen
represented. Because of his contribution, the Hua-yen school
blossomed, and the school also became referred to as the Hsien-shou
school.
The
fourth patriarch was Venerable Ch'ing-liang Ch'eng-kuan (i.e.
Pure-cool Clear-contemplation). He was the imperial teacher of seven
emperors. Ch'ing-liang literally means refreshing and was a title
conferred on him by the emperor to describe his delight upon hearing
the venerable teach the Dharma. He wrote a commentary on the Avatamsaka
Sutra and even held a Dharma service upon its completion. He
never visited with laymen, and he always carried his three robes and
one alms bowl, in strict observance of the monastic rules. Anything
that could detract him from his cultivation, he kept at bay. After
he became a monk, he always slept in a sitting meditation position,
never lying down. Everyday he recited the Avatamsaka Sutra
and was always mindful of the Buddha. His diligence in practice was
what made him a great patriarch.
The
fifth patriarch was Venerable Tsung-mi Kuei-feng. He was a protege
of the Fourth Patriarch. Drawing on his knowledge of the Avatamsaka
Sutra, he wrote a very detailed commentary on the Perfect
Enlightenment Sutra. Even to this day, his work is a gold
standard that others compare to.
These are the five great patriarchs of the Hua-yen school. Through
their hard work and insights, Hua-yen became one of the great
schools of Chinese Buddhism.
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E.
The Hua-yen Practice
The
Hua-yen school teaches many ways of practice. One such way is the
practice of the four universal vows: To save all living beings
without limit, to sever all delusion without end, to learn all
Dharma methods and means however numerous, and to become perfect in
the supreme buddha way. Many of you have heard of these vows, and
monastics have to recite these vows every morning. As familiar as we
are with them, how many of us truly take them to heart? Only when we
are totally committed to these vows can we resonate with the buddha
realm of oneness spoken of in the Avatamsaka Sutra.
Samantabhadra
Bodhisattva is often associated with the Avatamsaka Sutra.
The Bodhisattva made ten vows, and they clearly show us the
dedication and diligence of bodhisattvas. The ten vows are: 1) to
pay respect to all buddhas; 2) to give praise to the Tathagata; 3)
to give alms; 4) to be remorseful of our unwholesome ways; 5) to
practice sympathetic joy; 6) to pray that the Buddha and the Dharma
will always be with us; 7) to ask the Buddha to turn the Dharma
wheel; 8) to continually practice the Buddha's teachings; 9) to use
skillful means to influence others; and 10) to transfer all merit to
sentient beings. Through these ten vows, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva
shows us that the buddha realm of oneness does not discriminate
between self and others, and when we help others, we help also
ourselves.
Meditative
contemplation is an important practice in the Hua-yen school and is
a gateway to experiencing the buddha realm of oneness. Meditative
contemplation in the Hua-yen school is similar to the Ch'an school
meditation and involves six preparatory steps. First is the sitting
posture. One can either sit in a full lotus position or a half lotus
position. The full lotus position is when both feet are rested on
opposite thighs like what we see in buddha statues. The half lotus
position is when only one foot rests on the other thigh. Either
position may take some getting used to, and in the beginning one can
simply sit cross-legged. The advantage of sitting in a lotus
position is that it can help us focus our mind. The position also
helps our bodies to stay calm. When we are under the weather,
sitting in this manner can help us regain our strength. It can also
help us recharge our bodies when we are tired. Five minutes of
sitting meditation is more restful than an hour of sleep. If we want
our bodies to stay healthy and flexible, we should develop the habit
of sitting in a lotus position when we eat.
Second,
when we sit, the body should be straight, eyes looking down, and
hands folded in the lap. Eyes should be slightly closed as it is
easy to become distracted when they are wide open. When I was young,
I was curious and inattentive, and I kept looking around when I did
sitting meditation. My teacher finally gave me a good slap and
directed me to focus my mind. The hands should be folded with the
left hand over the right one. This arrangement of the hands is also
known as the Amitabha mudra .
Third,
clothing should be loose fitting and comfortable. Suits or
tight-fitting skirts are not appropriate because they can restrict
breathing. Before sitting meditation, one should first move the body
slightly from side to side and massage the back of the head and the
bottom of the feet a few times to get the blood flowing. This will
help the body stay comfortable and the mind focused.
Fourth,
we should pay attention to our breathing. It should not be rushed or
forced. The breathing should be gentle and smooth. It should also be
even so that inhalation is just as long as exhalation. Rhythmic
breathing like this prepares us to calm the mind.
Now
that the body is settled, the fifth step is to calm the mind. An
untrained mind is like a wild monkey or untamed horse. It is easily
distracted and runs in all directions. Sitting meditation is only as
good as how focused our mind is. If we train our mind well, we will
always stay calm regardless of whether we are alone in the woods or
in the middle of a busy street. When the external environment loses
its grip on the internal peace, then our wisdom will grow.
In
sitting meditation, sitting is only half of the equation, and we
should not lose sight of the meditation or contemplation part. This
is the last, but not the least, part of sitting meditation. We can
contemplate the dignified countenance of any buddha or the wisdom
embedded in the words of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Contemplation
is different from everyday thinking and reasoning. The key to
contemplation is a calm mind. Let me illustrate this with the
example of water. With turbulence, all that we can see is the
ripples or waves on the water's surface. Only water that is still
can reflect the world around it. When we contemplate, we should not
disturb the mind. To go a step further, we should not even
reason, recall, deduce, or calculate. The mind should remain still
so that it is like a bright, clear mirror or a perfectly still pool
of water. A bright and clear mirror reflects everything in its path.
Water that is not still loses its ability to reflect what is around
it. Likewise, when our mind is rippled with thoughts, it loses its
ability to see the buddha realm of oneness.
Sleeping
is also a form of practice in the Hua-yen school. While the body is
not active in sleep, the mind is, and it is important to keep a calm
mind even in sleep. Some people suffer from insomnia. Others
complain of sleep that is not restful, and they wake up tired. The
Hua-yen school has a practice that can calm our mind and help us get
restful sleep. Sleep is an important part of the daily routine. It
helps us rest our bodies so that we can function properly during the
daytime.
There
are a few things that we can do to ensure a good night sleep. First,
use warm water to wash the feet before sleeping. This will help with
circulation and is inductive to sleeping. Second, sleep on the right
side of the body, like what we see in pictures and statues of the
Buddha entering parinirvana. Sleeping on the back or the stomach
hampers blood flow and breathing. Most of us are not used to
sleeping on our side. To get used to this sleeping position, we
should not move the body excessively once we lie down. Most people
who have trouble falling asleep often complain of having to toss and
turn in bed. They do not realize that it is precisely the tossing
and turning that prevents them from falling asleep in the first
place. Once we are used to this position and can keep the body
still, we will fall asleep in no time. Third, contemplate a warm,
gentle radiance in the distance. Some people cannot sleep with any
amount of light; others want a night-light to fall asleep. A good
habit is to contemplate brightness, so that when the eyes are
closed, you sense radiance but do not actually see a light. If we
can do this, we will not dream excessively and will not be disturbed
by people's moving or talking. Also, make sure that the bedding is
appropriate for the weather. While sleep is crucial to recharge our
bodies, too much sleep will actually make us feel tired and
lethargic.
I
can speak from experience that this practice really works. People
have often asked me what my secret is to my being tall. My secret is
really nothing more than a good restful sleep every night. When I go
to bed, I usually fall asleep in no time, even before my head hits
the pillow. I am a heavy sleeper, but I can also wake up at any time
I need to. Many of the things that I have learned from Buddhism are
not rocket science, but I get a lot of use from them.
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F.
Testimonials of ancient Hua-yen masters
Throughout
the history of Chinese Buddhism, there are many records of ancient
masters leaving behind miraculous phenomena as testimonials to the
fruit of their practice. The first example I want to share with you
is Venerable Cheng-shun of the Yuan dynasty. He recited the Avatamsaka
Sutra everyday and practiced the threefold contemplation of the
dharma realm. Each time he entered samadhi, it was customary for him
to stay in samadhi for three to five days at a stretch. People at
the time also called him Hua-yen Bodhisattva. When he was dying, his
disciples pleaded with him to leave them some last words of advice.
He told them:
Time
immemorial neither comes nor goes,
Contemplate how to use it.
Turn around and step into space.
Totally disregard all worldly conflict.
When
he passed away, a resplendent dragon appeared on the memorial altar,
flying amid the candle light in the temple.
The
second example is about a T'ang dynasty bhiksu by the name of Cheng-hui.
He renounced his household life under Venerable Fa-shun. He lived a
secluded life in the woods, subsisting on wild plants and leaves.
Whenever he recited the Avatamsaka Sutra, a handful of people
would appear out of nowhere to listen to his recitation. They made
him offerings of flowers and fruits. The flowers stayed fresh for
days, and the fruits kept him nourished for a long time. When the
bhiksu asked them who they were, they told him, "We are spirits
of the mountain. Since you have been reciting the Avatamsaka
Sutra, the whole mountain has become peaceful and tranquil. We
just want to show you our respect."
The
two examples above only touch on the peripheral benefits of the Hua-yen
practice. When we live in accordance with the teachings of the
sutra, we are in touch with buddha nature, and we are no different
from the buddhas. We will see that the mind, buddha, and sentient
beings are the same. Our being is without beginning or end, without
coming or going, and without being born or dying. When we are able
to calm the body and mind any where and any time, our wisdom will
grow, and we will experience the buddha realm of oneness.
Let
me conclude our discussion on the Hua-yen school with this verse:
If
one wants to thoroughly understand
All buddhas of past, present, and future,
Contemplate the nature of the dharma realm-
All are creation of the mind.
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The
Mantra School and Its Practice
The
Mantra school is also known as the Esoteric school. Actually, there
is nothing esoteric about this school. All of the Buddha's teachings
are open to all, and there are no hidden secrets. The word esoteric
here simply refers to the use of mantras as a form of practice.
Mantras, the meaning of which is not apparent, are also referred to
as true words. Among the eight schools of Chinese Buddhism, this
school is unique in its prevalent use of mantras. The line between
the Mantra school and the other seven exegetic schools is actually
not definitive. The Mantra school also studies the Buddha's
teachings, and the other schools also use mantras in Dharma service.
It is just a matter of emphasis. The same can be said of sutras
versus mantras. Many of the sutras, such as the Medicine Sutra,
the Ksitigarbha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, have a
mantra at their conclusion. Even the extremely concise Heart
Sutra also ends with this mantra, "Gate, gate, paragate,
parasamgate, bodhi svaha." Very often, the practice of one
involves the other.
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A.
Understanding the Practice of Reciting Mantras
The main practice of the Mantra school is the recitation of mantras.
The word mantra is the English translation of the Sanskrit word dharani.
A dharani contains infinite meaning, and the word has also been
translated as "true word" or "absolute
practice." Take the practice of reciting the name of Amitabha
Buddha, pronounced as "O-mi-to-fo" in Chinese. While the
words "O-mi-to-fo" refer to the Buddha's name, they are
like a dharani in the sense that they, too, embody infinite
significance. When we see someone, we say "O-mi-to-fo" to
mean "How are you?" When we take leave, we say
"O-mi-to-fo" to mean "Goodbye." When we step on
someone accidentally, we say "O-mi-to-fo" to mean that we
are sorry. When others give us a present, we say "O-mi-to-fo"
to express our thanks. When we see someone getting hurt, we say
"O-mi-to-fo" to show our sympathy. A few words, yet they
embody so much meaning.
Within
the Mantra school a common practice is to recite the mantra Om mani
padme hum. These Sanskrit words mean "taking refuge in the mani
jewel in the lotus." The recitation of mantras is not so much
in the understanding of what the words mean but in focusing the mind
away from deluded thoughts. While this may sound easy in theory, it
is hard in practice. According to the sutras, if we can say this
mantra with one-pointedness of mind, we can be free from the cycles
of rebirth and be reborn in the Pure Land. The Mahayanasutra-lamkara-tika
describes the merit of reciting this mantra as follows, "The
Buddha wanted it to be known to all good men and women that this
dharani is the wondrous original mind of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
If one sees this, one knows the way of liberation."
How
well we say a mantra depends not so much on how accurately we
pronounce the words but how focused we are. We need to focus our
mind as we say one word after another. As long as we are mindful, it
does not matter even if we say it wrong inadvertently or
mispronounce some of the words. I do mean this literally, and I have
a story to illustrate my point. Many years ago in a remote part of
China lived an elderly woman. She wanted very much to practice
Buddhism, but she lived in a very inaccessible place and had not yet
had a chance to meet a teacher. One day, a lay Buddhist passed by
the village, holding a string of prayer beads in his hands. As he
walked, he kept up with his prayers. The elderly woman was delighted
to find a Buddhist in her midst. She went up to the man and asked
him how she should practice. The man was pleasantly surprised for no
one had ever asked him such a question. He told the elderly woman,
"I'll teach you a mantra."
The
woman asked, "What mantra?"
The
man replied, "Om mani padme niu." The Chinese
character for hum is written very similar to the character for cow
(pronounced as "niu"), and he mistakenly pronounced
"hum" as "niu."
The woman was delighted that she had finally learned a way to
practice. Every day she recited the mantra like the man had shown
her. To keep track of how many times she had recited, she kept a
pile of beans in front of her. Each time she said the mantra, she
moved a bean from one side to the other. With utmost sincerity and
singular focus, she said the mantra day in and day out. As time
passed, her practice progressed to the point that the body, mind,
and mouth were all reciting the mantra in unison. Every time she
said the mantra, a bean would automatically jump from one side to
the other. She did not have to move the beans at all.
Years passed. One day a mendicant monk passed through the village.
The woman was ecstatic to see a monastic coming through, and as it
was getting late, she invited the monk to stay for the night. When
it was time for her evening practice, she began to say the mantra,
"Om mani padme niu, …."The monk immediately
realized that she mispronounced the mantra and corrected her on the
spot. Now that the woman realized she had been mispronouncing the
mantra, she wanted to correct herself. From that point on, the beans
no longer jumped across the table on their own accord. In the past
when there was no discrimination in her mind, she was able to say
the mantra with single mindedness, so much so that even an inanimate
object like a bean was moved by her sincerity. Now that she was
worried about pronouncing the mantra correctly, she could no longer
keep her mind focused like before, and her practice actually
suffered. From this, we can see that while it is important to learn
the sutras and mantras correctly, it is even more critical to focus
the mind and do so with sincerity.
When
we recite a mantra, we should not just recite it with our speech. We
should also do so with our body and mind, or else the recitation is
empty of meaning. Our hands should be in a mudra, and our mind
should focus on what we are saying. To help the mind focus, it is a
common practice in the Mantra school to contemplate the Sanskrit
symbols of mantra words. When we recite mantras with our body, mind,
and mouth, [we are in essence keeping the three doors of karma
closed to delusion] and providing the conditions for our practice to
grow. Reciting mantras in this manner can also help us grow in
wisdom, keep our mind on right thought, mollify the effects of our
unwholesome karma, attract goodness, and keep us from harm's way. In
fact, when non-Buddhists hear a recitation of a mantra, a buddha
seed is planted in their consciousness, which will germinate given
the right conditions. On a more practical note, reciting mantras in
a focused manner can help us stay calm in the face of crises and
help us view our problems in perspective.
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B.
How to Practice Mindfulness of Mantras
There
are five ways to practice mindfulness of mantras. First is the lotus
method which means that the practitioner recites the mantra out
loud. The recitation should be fluent, and the practitioner should
pay attention to each word said. Second is the diamond method which
means that the practitioner recites the mantra in silence. The mouth
is closed, and the mantra is said in the mind. Although the mantra
is not uttered, each word should still be clearly said in the mind.
Third is the samadhi method. In this method, the practitioner first
calms the mind with meditation and then contemplates the mantra
words in samadhi. Fourth is the deep absorption recitation method.
The practitioner first visualizes a lotus flower on top of which
sits a white clam, emitting the Sanskrit sounds of the mantra. The
practitioner then follows this lead to recite the mantra. Fifth is
the radiance method. When the practitioner says the mantra out loud,
he or she contemplates a ray of light emanating from the mouth. The
ray of light symbolizes the practitioner's tutelary deity and its
emergence from the mouth symbolizes that the person reciting the
mantra and the tutelary deity are of one nature.
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C.
How to Gain Entrance into the Mantra School
Generally,
when one is ready to become a Buddhist, one takes refuge in the
Triple Gem of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Taking refuge
is a rite in which one proclaims one's devotion to the Buddha's
teachings and one's intention to walk in his path. To become a
disciple of the Mantra school of Buddhism, there are six objects of
refuge. In addition to taking refuge in the Triple Gem, one also
takes refuge in the lama, a tutelary deity, and a dakini. The lama
is the teacher and plays a pivotal role in guiding the practitioner
in his or her cultivation. A tutelary deity is a special form of the
Buddha with whom the practitioner has special affinity. A dakini is
a deity who protects the practitioner in the seeking of the Way. The
selection of the dakini should be made with caution. If not, the
practitioner may select the wrong deity or inadvertently upset other
deities, inviting troubles for oneself.
The Mantra school is a school of many rites and rituals, such as
abhishekha , reciting mantras, doing mudras, and the selection of a
dakini. The teacher plays a very important role in the learning and
performing of these rites and rituals. Unless we have access to a
good teacher, it is best that we practice in the exegetic tradition
and use the recitation of mantras to supplement our practice.
This concludes the first part of this three-part series. Today, we
have merely scratched the surface of what the Hua-yen and Mantra
school represent. In the next two days, we will discuss the other
six schools of Chinese Buddhism.
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