The way
86-769: The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen East Mountain Teaching ( traditional Chinese : 東山法門 ; ; pinyin : Dōngshān Fǎmén ; lit. 'East Mountain Dharma Gate') denotes the teachings of the Fourth Ancestor Dayi Daoxin , his student and heir
172-465: A Pure Land. The Buddha then opens the stupa. Thereafter Prabhūtaratna invites Shakyamuni to sit beside him in the jeweled stupa. This chapter reveals the existence of multiple Buddhas at the same time as well as the idea that Buddhas can live on for countless aeons. According to Donald Lopez "among the doctrinal revelations that this scene intimates is that a buddha does not die after he passes into nirvāna ." Chapter 12: Devadatta The Buddha tells
258-528: A buddha for someone else." According to Reeves, the story of the little Dragon Girl promotes the idea that women can also become Buddhas just like monks. Reeves sees this as an inclusive message which "affirms the equality of everyone and seeks to provide an understanding of Buddha-dharma that excludes no one." Although the term buddha-nature ( buddhadhatu ) is not mentioned in the Lotus Sūtra , Japanese scholars Hajime Nakamura and Akira Hirakawa suggest that
344-509: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from
430-425: A gathering at Vulture Peak , Shakyamuni Buddha goes into a state of deep meditative absorption ( samadhi ), the earth shakes in six ways, and he brings forth a ray of light from the tuft of hair in between his eyebrows ( ūrṇākośa ) which illuminates thousands of buddha-fields in the east. Maitreya wonders what this means, and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī states that he has seen this miracle long ago when he
516-452: A number of alternative situations: One may achieve "bright purity" of mind either with or without undertaking the extended practice of "viewing the mind." One may also achieve enlightenment either solely through one's own efforts or, conversely, with the aid of a teacher's instruction. The point of these alternatives is that a true teacher must be able to understand which students are best suited for which approach and to teach them differently on
602-511: A sense of timelessness and the inconceivable, often using large numbers and measurements of space and time. Jacqueline Stone writes that the Lotus Sūtra affirms the view that the Buddha constantly abides in our present world. As the Lotus states in chapter 16, the Buddha remains "constantly dwelling in this Sahā world sphere, preaching the dharma, teaching and converting." According to Stone,
688-530: A seventh name that of Shen-hsiu (605?-706) Faru (法如, 638-689) was "the first pioneer" and "actual founder" of the Northern School. His principal teachers were Hui-ming and Daman Hongren (Hung-jen). He was sent to Hongren by Hui-ming, and attained awakening when studying with Hung-jen Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are a standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan ,
774-633: A story about how in a previous life he was a king who became the slave of a rishi just so he could hear the Lotus Sūtra . This rishi was none other than Devadatta, who is destined for Buddhahood in the future as the Buddha Devarāja. In another story, Mañjuśrī praises the nāga king Sāgara's daughter and says she can attain Buddhahood. The bodhisattva Prajñākūṭa is skeptical of this, and then the nāga princess appears. Śāriputra says that women cannot attain Buddhahood. The nāga princess makes an offering to
860-550: A symbol of Buddha-nature. Zimmermann noted the similarity with the nine parables in the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra that illustrate how the indwelling Buddha in sentient beings is hidden by negative mental states . Chapter 9: Prophecies for the Learners and Adepts Ānanda , Rāhula , and two thousand bhikṣus aspire to get a prophecy, and the Buddha predicts their future Buddhahood. Chapters ten to twenty two expound
946-416: A unity." Similarly, though there are said to be many Buddhas, they are all closely connected with Shakyamuni and they all teach the same thing. Another important teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is that all beings can become Buddhas. The sutra sees the awakening of a Buddha as the only and ultimate goal, and it claims that "of any who hear the dharma, none shall fail to achieve buddhahood." Numerous figures in
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#17327724100981032-869: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;
1118-616: Is also influential for other East Asian Buddhist schools, such as Zen . According to the British Buddhologist Paul Williams , "For many Buddhists in East Asia since early times, the Lotus Sūtra contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha —complete and sufficient for salvation." The American Buddhologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. writes that the Lotus Sūtra "is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist texts ," presenting "a radical re-vision of both
1204-495: Is argued to be unfounded in light of the documents found amongst Dunhuang manuscripts recovered from the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang. Shenhui's Southern School incorporated Northern teachings as well, and Shenhui himself admittedly saw the need of further practice after initial awakening. Yuquan Shenxiu 's prominent position in the history of Chán, despite the popular narrative , is recognized by modern scholarship: No doubt
1290-596: Is between approaches. Shenhui characterised the Northern School as employing gradual teachings , while his Southern school employed sudden teachings : suddenness of the South, gradualness of the North" (Chinese: nan-tun bei qian ; Japanese: nanton hokuzen ). The term "East Mountain Teaching" is seen as more culturally and historically appropriate. But the characterization of Shenxiu's East Mountain Teaching as gradualist
1376-662: Is famously worded in the Platform Sutra , a text which originated after Shenhui's death. Its core may have originated within the so-called Oxhead school . The text was subsequently edited and enlarged, and reflects various Chán teachings. Although the Southern School traces itself to Huineng, the Platform Sutra de-emphasizes the difference between the Northern and the Southern School. The first chapter of
1462-419: Is heard from within praising the Lotus Sūtra . The Buddha states that another Buddha resides in the stupa, Prabhūtaratna , who attained awakening through the Lotus Sūtra and made a vow to make an appearance to verify the truth of the Lotus Sūtra whenever it is preached. Countless manifestations of Shakyamuni Buddha in the ten directions are now summoned by the Buddha into this world, transforming it into
1548-836: Is immeasurable and that therefore, he did not really pass on into final Nirvana (he only appeared to do so as upāya ), but is still active teaching the Dharma . The earliest known Sanskrit title for the sūtra is the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra , which can be translated as "the Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma " or "The Discourse on the White Lotus of the True Doctrine." In English,
1634-603: Is mentioned as Hongren's authorized successor. In Shenxiu's shadow, Jingjue mentions 'old An' 老安 (see A) as a 'seasoned' meditation teacher and some minor 'local disciples' of Hongren. Shenxiu wrote a treatise on meditation called the Kuan-hsin lun ("treatise on contemplating the mind"). It combines some of the meditation practices taught by Zhiyi with ideas from the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana. The story of Huineng
1720-559: Is none other than the myriad skillful means which are its expressions and modes. As the Buddha says in the sutra, "seek as you will in all ten directions, there is no other vehicle, apart from the upāyas of the buddhas." The One Vehicle is associated with the Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle"), which is a path that rejects the cutting off of rebirth (the individual nirvana or "extinction" of the Buddhist saint ) and seeks to heroically remain in
1806-508: Is only one single vehicle to Buddhahood, i.e. the Mahāyāna. The sutra emphasizes that this is not a lie, but a compassionate salvific act. Chapter 4: Belief and Understanding Four senior disciples including Mahākāśyapa address the Buddha. They tell the parable of the poor son and his rich father (sometimes called the "prodigal son" parable). This man left home and became a beggar for 50 years while his father became incredibly rich. One day
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#17327724100981892-513: Is overjoyed. The senior disciples say that they are like the son, because initially they did not have the confidence to accept full Buddhahood, but today they are happy to accept their future Buddhahood. Chapter 5: The Parable of Medicinal Herbs This parable says that the Dharma is like a great monsoon rain that nourishes many different kinds of plants in accordance with their needs. The plants represent Śrāvakas , Pratyekabuddhas , and Bodhisattvas, and all beings which receive and respond to
1978-493: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to
2064-483: The Lengqie shizi ji is achieved by meditating on a single Buddha. The third technique was the practice of concentrating the mind on one thing ( guan yi wu ) until the mind becomes fixed in samadhi. The goal of all of these practices was to not be hindered by the stream of thoughts which clouds the mind and allow the practitioner to gain insight into the pure, radiant consciousness in everyone. According to John R. McRae
2150-698: The Kensiu language . Lotus Sutra The Lotus Sūtra (Sanskrit: Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram , Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, Chinese : 妙法蓮華經 ) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras . It is the main scripture on which the Tiantai along with its derivative schools, the Japanese Tendai and Nichiren , Korean Cheontae , and Vietnamese Thiên Thai schools of Buddhism were established. It
2236-467: The Lotus is like digging a well and finding only dry earth, while a bodhisattva that knows the Lotus is like striking water. The Buddha also says that he will send emanations to protect the teachers of the sutra. Chapter 11: The Emergence of the Jeweled Stupa A massive jeweled stupa (a stylized Buddhist reliquary burial mound ) rises from the earth and floats in the air. Then a voice
2322-399: The Lotus Sūtra also teaches that the Buddha has many embodiments and these are the countless bodhisattva disciples. These bodhisattvas choose to remain in the world to save all beings and to keep the teaching alive. For Reeves "the fantastically long life of the Buddha, in other words, is at least partly a function of and dependent on his being embodied in others." The sutra is presented in
2408-533: The Lotus Sūtra is the idea that the Buddha's lifespan is immeasurable and that he is still present in the world. The text states that the Buddha actually achieved Buddhahood innumerable eons ago, but remains in the world to help teach beings the Dharma time and again. The lifespan of the Buddha is said to be incalculable, beyond imagination, "ever enduring, never perishing." The biography and apparent death ( paranirvana , "final nirvana") of Sakyamuni Buddha (i.e.,
2494-600: The Lotus Sūtra : "Ever since I became a buddha, I have used a variety of causal explanations and a variety of parables to teach and preach, and countless skillful means to lead living beings." The Lotus Sūtra declares also all other teachings are subservient to, propagated by and in the service of the ultimate truth of the "One Buddha–Vehicle", a goal that is available to all. This can and has been interpreted by some figures in an exclusive and hierarchical sense, as meaning that all other Buddhist teachings are to be dispensed with. However, Reeves and other interpreters understand
2580-640: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝ 'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for
2666-623: The "first explicit statement of the sudden and direct approach that was to become the hallmark of Ch'an religious practice" first appears in a Chinese text named the Ju-tao an-hsin yao-fang-pien fa-men (JTFM, Instructions on essential expedients for calming the mind and accessing the path), itself a part of the Leng Ch'ieh Shih Tzu Chi (Records of the Masters of the Lankavatara). The Records of
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2752-670: The Buddha Gautama) are portrayed as an illusory manifestation, a skillful means meant to teach others. The idea that the physical death of a Buddha is the termination of their life is graphically refuted by the appearance of another Buddha, Prabhūtaratna , who has taught the Lotus countless aeons ago. The Lotus Sūtra indicates that not only can multiple Buddhas exist in the same time and place (which contrasts with earlier Indian views), but that there are countless streams of Buddhas extending throughout all of space and through unquantifiable eons of time. The Lotus Sūtra illustrates
2838-515: The Buddha vehicle ( buddhayāna ). This concept is set forth in detail in chapters 3–9, using parables , narratives of previous existences and prophecies of awakening. Chapter 2: Skillful Means Shakyamuni explains his use of skillful means to adapt his teachings according to the capacities of his audience. He also says that his ways are inconceivable. Śāriputra asks the Buddha to explain this and five thousand monks leave because they do not want to hear this teaching. The Buddha then reveals that
2924-566: The Buddhist path and of the person of the Buddha ." Two central teachings of the Lotus Sūtra have been very influential for Mahāyāna Buddhism . The first is the doctrine of the One Vehicle , which says that all Buddhist paths and practices lead to Buddhahood and so they are all actually " skillful means " of reaching Buddhahood. The second is the idea that the lifespan of the Buddha
3010-498: The East Mountain Teaching: In the words of the Awakening of Faith — which summarizes the essentials of Mahayana — self and world, mind and suchness, are integrally one. Everything is a carrier of that a priori enlightenment; all incipient enlightenment is predicated on it. The mystery of existence is, then, not, "How may we overcome alienation?" The challenge is, rather, "Why do we think we are lost in
3096-741: The East Mountain Teachings was its nonreliance on a single sutra or a single set of sutras for its doctrinal foundation as was done by most of the other Buddhist sects of the time. The East Mountain School incorporated both the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutras . The view of the mind in the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana also had a significant import on the doctrinal development of
3182-645: The East Mountain prior to the death of the Fourth Patriarch Tao-hsin (580-651). The earliest indication appears in the epitaph for Faru (638-689), one of the '10 outstanding disciples' of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren (601-674). The author of the epitaph is not known, but the list comprises six names: after Bodhidharma and Huike follow Sengcan, Daoxin, Hongren, and Faru. The Ch'uan fa-pao chi takes this list over and adds as
3268-625: The East Mountain teaching. The East Mountain School was established by Daoxin ( 道信 580–651) at East Mountain Temple on Potou (Broken Head) Mountain, which was later renamed Shuangfeng (Twin Peaks). Daoxin taught there for 30 years. He established the first monastic home for "Bodhidharma's Zen". The tradition holds that Hongren ( 弘忍 601–674) left home at an early age (between seven and fourteen) and lived at East Mountain Temple on Twin Peaks, where Daoxin
3354-595: The Fifth Ancestor Daman Hongren , and their students and lineage of Chan Buddhism . East Mountain Teaching gets its name from the East Mountain Temple on the "Twin Peaks" ( Chinese : 雙峰 ) of Huangmei (modern Hubei). The East Mountain Temple was on the easternmost peak of the two. Its modern name is Wuzu Temple ( Chinese : 五祖寺 ). The two most famous disciples of Hongren, Huineng and Yuquan Shenxiu , both continued
3440-864: The Masters of the Lankavatara is associated with the early Chan tradition known as the "East Mountain School" and has been dated to around 713. This method is named "Maintaining the one without wavering" ( shou-i pu i, 守一不移). According to McRae: ...the practical explanation of "maintaining the One without wavering" is that one is simply to contemplate every aspect of one's mental and physical existence, focusing on each individual component with unswerving attention until one realizes its essential emptiness or non-substantiality. The interesting aspect of this regimen is, paradoxically, its apparent conventionality. Although further examination will reveal significant differences between this and traditional Buddhist meditation practice,
3526-555: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China
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3612-538: The Platform Sutra relates the story of Huineng and his inheritance of the East Mountain Teachings. The tradition of a list of patriarchs, which granted credibility to the developing tradition, developed early in the Chán tradition: The consciousness of a unique line of transmission of Bodhidharma Zen, which is not yet demonstrable in the Bodhidharma treatise, grew during the seventh century and must have taken shape on
3698-587: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,
3784-506: The assembly are confused. The Buddha responds with the parable of the burning house, in which a father (symbolizing the Buddha) uses the promise of various toy carts to get his children (sentient beings) out of a burning house (symbolizing samsara ). Once they are outside, he gives them all one large cart to travel in instead. This symbolizes how the Buddha uses the three vehicles , as skillful means to liberate all beings – even though there
3870-460: The basis of that understanding. Daoxin is credited with several important innovations that led directly to the ability of Chan to become a popular religion. Among his most important contributions were: Hongren was a plain meditation teacher, who taught students of "various religious interests", including "practitioners of the Lotus Sutra , students of Madhyamaka philosophy, or specialists in
3956-460: The concept is implicitly present in the text. An Indian commentary (attributed to Vasubandhu ), interprets the Lotus Sūtra as a teaching of buddha-nature and later East Asian commentaries tended to adopt this view. Chinese commentators pointed to the story of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging in chapter 20 as evidence that the Lotus taught buddha-nature implicitly. Another key concept introduced by
4042-498: The description given so far would apply equally well to the most basic of Mahayana techniques: the insight-oriented contemplation of the non-substantiality of the body. Although this type of contemplation is the common property of virtually all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, its presentation here differs in at least two ways from that found in more traditional texts. First, no preparatory requirements, no moral prerequisites or preliminary exercises are given. Instead, one moves directly into
4128-402: The first place?" There were three main meditation techniques taught by this school. One was a meditation on śūnyatā "emptiness" in which one contemplates all dharmas of body and mind as empty. Another practice was the contemplation of some 'ultimate principle', this was associated with the 'one-practice samadhi ' ( Chinese : 一行三昧 ; pinyin : yīxíng sānmèi ) and in some texts such as
4214-543: The form of a drama consisting of several mythological scenes. According to British writer Sangharakshita , the Lotus uses the entire cosmos for its stage, employs a multitude of mythological beings as actors and "speaks almost exclusively in the language of images." According to Gene Reeves the first part of the sutra "elucidates a unifying truth of the universe (the One Vehicle of the Wonderful Dharma)",
4300-427: The formula has little to do with geography. Like the general designations of Mahāyāna ("the universal vehicle") and Hīnayāna ("the individual vehicle"), the formula carries with it a value judgement. According to the mainstream of later Zen, not only is sudden enlightenment incomparably superior to gradual experience but it represents true Zen — indeed, it is the very touchstone of authentic Zen. The basic difference
4386-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from
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#17327724100984472-542: The magic city represents the "Hinayana Nirvana", created merely as a rest stop by the Buddha, and the real treasure and ultimate goal is Buddhahood. Chapter 8: Prophecy for Five Hundred Disciples Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra is declared by the Buddha to be the supreme teacher in his saṅgha and is given a prediction of future Buddhahood (his name will be Dharmaprabhāsa). The Buddha then gives prophecies of future Buddhahood to twelve hundred arhats. The five hundred arhats who had walked out before confess that they were ignorant in
4558-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as
4644-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In
4730-983: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often
4816-756: The monastic regulations of Buddhist Vinaya ". Following Daoxin, Hongren included an emphasis on the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutras, including the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra , along with the emphasis on the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra . Though Hongren was known for not compiling writings and for teaching Zen principles orally, the classical Chan text Discourse on the Highest Vehicle , is attributed to him. This work emphasizes
4902-476: The most important personage within the Northern school is [Shenxiu], a man of high education and widespread notoriety. Kuiken (undated: p. 17) in discussing a Dunhuang document of the Tang monk and meditator, 'Jingjue' (靜覺, 683- ca. 750) states: Jingjue's Record introduces Hongren of Huangmei 黃梅宏忍 (d.u.) as the main teacher in the sixth generation of the 'southern' or 'East Mountain' meditation tradition. Shenxiu
4988-468: The needs of their disciples. This concept of Buddhist pedagogical strategies is often explained through parables or allegories . In the Lotus Sūtra , the many 'skillful' or 'expedient' practices and teachings taught by the Buddha (including the " three vehicles " to awakening) are revealed to all be part of the "One Vehicle" (Skt.: ekayāna , Ch.:一乘; yīchéng ), the supreme and all encompassing path that leads to Buddhahood. Moreover, this single vehicle
5074-677: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as
5160-422: The one vehicle in a more pluralist and inclusive sense which embraces and reconciles all Buddhist teachings and practices. Some have even applied this universalism to non-Buddhist teachings. Reeves also notes that the theme of unity and difference also includes other ideas besides the One Vehicle. According to Reeves "on more than one occasion, for example, the many worlds of the universe are brought together into
5246-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as
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#17327724100985332-441: The past and attached to the inferior nirvana but now they are overjoyed since they have faith in their future Buddhahood. The arhats tell the parable of a man who has fallen asleep after drinking and whose friend sews a jewel into his garment. When he wakes up he continues a life of poverty without realizing he is really rich, he only discovers the jewel after meeting his old friend again. The hidden jewel has been interpreted as
5418-548: The practice of "maintaining the original true mind" that "naturally cuts off the arising of delusion." Originally Shenxiu was considered to be the "Sixth Patriarch", carrying the mantle of Bodhidharma's Zen through the East Mountain School. After the death of Shenxiu, his student Shenhui started a campaign to establish Huineng as the Sixth Ancestor. Eventually Shenhui's position won the day, and Huineng
5504-561: The practice of contemplation. Second, the technique of "maintaining the One without wavering" is in itself completely without steps or gradations. One concentrates, understands, and is enlightened, all in one undifferentiated practice. McRae further notes that the JTFM makes allowance for both sudden apperception of the Buddha Nature and gradual improvement in the brightness and purity of the concentrated mind...the JTFM actually allows for
5590-729: The predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by the People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such is a retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to
5676-474: The request of his sixteen sons, he then taught the Lotus Sūtra for a hundred thousand eons. His sons proceeded to teach the sutra. The Buddha then says that these sons all became Buddhas and that he is one of these. The Buddha also teaches a parable about a group of people seeking a great treasure who are tired of their journey and wish to quit. Their guide creates a magical illusory city for them to rest in and then makes it disappear. The Buddha explains that
5762-418: The role of the bodhisattva and the concept of the immeasurable and inconceivable lifespan and omnipresence of the Buddha. The theme of propagating the Lotus Sūtra which starts in chapter 10, continues in the remaining chapters. Chapter 10: The Dharma teachers The Buddha states that whoever hears even just one line from the sūtra will attain Buddhahood. This chapter presents the practices of teaching
5848-448: The same One Vehicle in different forms. Chapter 6: Bestowal of Prophecy The Buddha prophesies the future Buddhahood of Mahākāśyapa , Mahāmaudgalyāyana , Subhūti , and Mahākātyāyana . Chapter 7: A Past Buddha and the Illusory City The Buddha tells a story about a past Buddha called Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū, who reached awakening after aeons under the Bodhi tree and then taught the four noble truths and dependent origination. At
5934-415: The second part "sheds light on the everlasting personal life of the Buddha (Everlasting Original Buddha); and the third part emphasizes the actual activities of human beings (the bodhisattva way)." The following chapter by chapter overview is based on the expanded Chinese version of Kumārajīva, the most widely translated version into other languages. Other versions have different chapter divisions. During
6020-405: The set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education and standardized in the Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until the middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of
6106-554: The shortened form Lotus Sūtra is more common. Translations of this title into Asian languages include the following: The Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) regarded the title as the summary of the Lotus Sūtra 's teachings. The chanting of the title is the basic religious practice he advocated during his lifetime. The Lotus Sūtra is known for its extensive instruction on skillful means (Sanskrit: upāyakauśalya or upāya , Ch.: fangbian , Jp.: hōben ), which refers to how Buddhas teach in many ways adapted to
6192-497: The simplest forms of devotion will eventually reach Buddhahood. The Buddha also states that those who reject and insult the Lotus Sūtra (and those who teach it) will be reborn in hell. Chapter 3: The Parable of the Burning House The Buddha prophesies that in a future eon ( kalpa ) Śāriputra will become a Buddha called Padmaprabha. Śāriputra is happy to have heard this new teaching, but says that some in
6278-403: The son arrives at the father's estate, but the son does not recognize his father and is afraid of such a powerful man. The father therefore sends low class people to offer him a menial job cleaning trash. For over 20 years, the father gradually leads his son to more important and better jobs, such as being the accountant for all the father's wealth. Then one day he announces his identity and the son
6364-668: The sutra receive predictions of future Buddhahood, including the ultimate Buddhist villain Devadatta . In chapter 10, the Buddha points out that all sorts of people will become Buddhas, including monks, nuns, laypeople, along with numerous non-human beings like nagas. Even those, who practice only simple forms of devotion, such as paying respect to the Buddha, or drawing a picture of the Buddha, are assured of their future Buddhahood . According to Gene Reeves, this teaching also encourages this potential for Buddhahood in all beings, even in enemies as well as "to realize our own capacity to be
6450-417: The sutra which includes accepting, embracing, reading, reciting, copying, explaining, propagating it, and living in accordance with its teachings. The teachers of the Dharma ( dharmabhāṇaka ) are praised as the messengers of the Buddha. The Buddha states that they should be honored as if they were Buddhas and that stupas should be built wherever the sutra is taught, recited or written. Someone who does not know
6536-461: The sūtra has also been interpreted as promoting the idea that the Buddha's realm ( buddhakṣetra ) "is in some sense immanent in the present world, although radically different from our ordinary experience of being free from decay, danger and suffering." In this view, which is very influential in Tiantai and Japanese Buddhism , "this world and the pure land are not, ultimately, separate places but are in fact non dual ." According to Gene Reeves,
6622-462: The teachings according to their respective capacities. Some versions of the sutra also contain other parables, such as one which compares the Dharma to the light of the Sun and moon, which shine equally on all. Just like that, the Buddha's wisdom shines on everyone equally. Another parable found in some versions says that just like a potter makes different types of pots from the same clay, the Buddha teaches
6708-459: The three vehicles ( yānas ) are really just skillful means, and that they are in reality the One Vehicle ( ekayāna ). He says that the ultimate purpose of the Buddhas is to cause sentient beings "to obtain the insight of the Buddha" and "to enter the way into the insight of the Buddha." The Buddha also states the various benefits for those who preserve the sutra, and that those who perform even
6794-636: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with
6880-985: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write
6966-518: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being
7052-587: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c. 200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c. the 5th century . Although
7138-401: The world of suffering to help others attain awakening , all while working towards complete Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sūtra , the One Vehicle encompasses many different and seemingly contradictory teachings because the Buddha's great compassion and wish to save all beings ( bodhicitta ) led him to adapt the teaching to suit many different kinds of people and contexts. As the Buddha states in
7224-555: Was a student of the Buddha Candrasūryapradīpa. He then says that the Buddha is about to expound his ultimate teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma . In fact, Mañjuśrī says this sutra was taught by other Buddhas innumerable times in the past. Modern scholars suggest that chapters 2–9 contain the original form of the text. In Chapter 2 the Buddha declares that there ultimately exists only one path, one vehicle,
7310-485: Was recognized as the Sixth Patriarch. The successful promulgation of Shenhui's views led to Shenxiu's branch being widely referred to by others as the "Northern School." This nomenclature has continued in western scholarship, which for the most part has largely viewed Chinese Zen through the lens of southern Chan. The terms Northern and Southern have little to do with geography: Contrary to first impressions,
7396-596: Was the abbot. Upon Daoxin's death [in 651 C.E]. at the age of seventy-two, Hongren assumed the abbacy. He then moved East Mountain Temple approximately ten kilometers east to the flanks of Mt. Pingmu. Soon, Hongren's fame eclipsed that of his teacher. The East Mountain community was a specialized meditation training centre. The establishment of a community in one location was a change from the wandering lives of Bodhidharma and Huike and their followers. It fit better into Chinese society, which highly valued community-oriented behaviour over solitary practice. An important aspect of
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