Huayan
Encyclopedia
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
that flourished in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the Tang period. It is based on the Sanskrit Flower Garland Sutra
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....
(S. Avataṃsaka Sūtra, C. Huayan Jing) and on a lengthy Chinese interpretation of it, the Huayan Lun. The name "Flower Garland" is meant to suggest the crowning glory of profound understanding.
History
The doctrines of the Huayan school ended up having profound impact on the philosophical attitudes of all of East Asian Buddhism. Established during the period of the end of the SuiSui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
and beginning of Tang dynasties (c. 600-700 C.E.), this school centered on the philosophy of interpenetration and mutual containment which its founders perceived in the Flower Garland Sutra. Yet despite basic reliance on this sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
, much of the technical terminology
Technical terminology
Technical terminology is the specialized vocabulary of any field, not just technical fields. The same is true of the synonyms technical terms, terms of art, shop talk and words of art, which do not necessarily refer to technology or art...
that the school becomes famous for is not found in the sutra itself, but in the commentaries written by its early founders.
The founding of the school is traditionally attributed to a series of five "patriarchs" who were instrumental in developing the schools' doctrines. These five are (Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
in brackets):
- DushunDushunDushun was the First Patriarch in Hua-yen school of Chinese Buddhism. The Indian Avatamsaka Sutra is its central scripture. This school originated in China. It is known as Kegon in Japan. The Avatamsaka's seminal chapter once circulated separately and is known as The Gandavyhua Sutra. Each...
(Tu-Shun), 杜順 - ZhiyanZhiyanZhiyan was the second patriarch of the Chinese Buddhist Huayan school....
(Chih-yen), 智儼 - FazangFazangFazang was the third of the five patriarchs of the Huayan school. He is said to have authored over a hundred volumes of essays and commentaries. He is famed for his empirical demonstrations in the court of Empress Wu Zetian. His essays "On a Golden Lion" and "On a Mote of Dust" are among the most...
(Fa-tsang), 法藏 - ChengguanChengguan (monk)Chengguan was an important representative of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism, under whom the school gained great influence. Chengguan was the master of several emperors. With his special relationship to the political leaders, Cheng-kuan earned the title "the Hua-yen Bodhisattva" and was...
(Ch'eng-kuan), 澄觀 - ZongmiZongmiGuifeng Zongmi was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar-monk, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze lineage of Southern Chan.He wrote a number of vitally important essays on the contemporary situation of Buddhism in Tang China, and is one of the most...
(Tsung-mi), 宗密, who is simultaneous a patriarch of the Chan tradition.
Another important figure in the development and popularization of Huayan thought was the lay scholar Li Tongxuan (李通玄). Some accounts of the school also like to extend its patriarchship earlier to and Nāgārjuna
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
.
Although there are certain aspects of this patriarchal scheme which are clearly contrived, as for example, Chengguan was born 26 years after Fazang's death, it is fairly well accepted that these men each played a significant and distinct role in the development of the school. For example, Dushun is known to have been responsible for the establishment of Huayan studies as a distinct field; Zhiyan is considered to have established the basic doctrines of the sect; Fazang is considered to have rationalized the doctrine for greater acceptance by society; Chengguan and Zongmi are understood to have further developed and transformed the teachings.
After the time of Zongmi and Li Tongxuan the Chinese school of Huayan generally stagnated in terms of new development, and then eventually began to decline. The school, which had been dependent upon the support it received from the government, suffered severely during the Buddhist purge of 841-845, initiated by Emperor Wuzong
Emperor Wuzong of Tang
Emperor Wuzong of Tang , né Li Chan , later changed to Li Yan just before his death, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, reigning from 840 to 846. Emperor Wuzong is mainly known in modern times for the religious persecution that occurred during his reign...
, never to recover its former strength. Nonetheless, its profound metaphysics, such as that of the Four Dharmadhātu
Four Dharmadhatu
The Four Dharmadhatu , is a philosophical concept propagated by Master Tu-shun . It builds upon and is a variant of the Dharmadhatu doctrine. Tu-shun is the founder of Hua-yan school. The Four Dharmadhatu were outlined in Tu-shun's treatise which has been rendered into English as 'On the...
(四法界) of interpenetration, had a deep impact on surviving East Asian schools.
Philosophy
The most important philosophical contributions of the Huayan school were in the area of its metaphysics, as it taught the doctrine of the mutual containment and interpenetration of all phenomena: that one thing contains all things in existence, and that all things contain one.Distinctive features of this approach to Buddhist philosophy include:
- Truth (or reality) is understood as encompassing and interpenetrating falsehood (or illusion), and vice versa
- Good is understood as encompassing and interpenetrating evil
- Similarly, all mind-made distinctions are understood as "collapsing" in the enlightened understanding of emptiness (a tradition traced back to the Buddhist philosopher NagarjunaNagarjunaNāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
)
Huayan makes extensive use of paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
in argument and literary imagery. The following quote from Dale S. Wright
Dale S. Wright
Dale S. Wright is David B. and Mary H. Gamble Distinguished Professor of Religion at Occidental College in Los Angeles. He is author of Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism, and coeditor with Steven Heine of The Koan: Text and Context in Zen Buddhism, The Zen Canon: Textual Foundations of Zen...
(1982) summarizes the range of such devices a reader is likely to encounter in a first foray into Huayan literature: