JIABS Journal of the International

Association of Buddhist Studies

Volume 29 Number 1 2006 (2008)

Jikido T AKASAKI,

Between translation and interpretation - Cases in the Chinese Tripitaka - (Presidential address at the XIVth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, London, August 29 - September 3, 2005). . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3

Ben BROSE

. Crossing thousands of Li of waves: The return of China's lost Tiantai texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21

William CHU

Syncretism reconsidered: The Four Eminent Monks and their syncretistic styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 43

J ohan EL VERSKOG

The Mongolian Big Dipper Siitra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87

JuhyungRHI

Fasting Buddhas, Lalitavistara, and KarUlJiipu1Jljanka . . . . . . .. 125

Martin SEEGER

The Bhikkhunf-ordination controversy in Thailand. . . . . . . . . . .. 155

Notes on the contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 185

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EDITORIAL BOARD

KELLNER Birgit

KRASSER Helmut

Joint Editors

BUSWELL Robert CHEN Jinhua

COLLINS Steven

Cox Collet

GOMEZ Luis O.

HARRISON Paul

VON HINDBER Oskar

JACKSON Roger JAINI Padmanabh S.

KATSURA ShOryii KuoLi-ying

LOPEZ, Jr. Donald S.

MAcDoNALD Alexander

SCHERRER-SCHAUB Cristina

SEYFORT RUEGG David

SHARF Robert

STEINKELLNER Ernst

TILLEMANS Tom

ZDRCHER Erik

Print: Ferdinand Berger & Sohne GesmbH, A-3580 Hom

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION

. - CASES IN THE CHINESE TRIPI'f AKA -

(Presidential address at the XIVth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, London, August 29 - September 3, 2005)

JIKIDO TAKASAKI, THE PRESIDENT

My colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to deliver an address here in my capacity as the president of the lABS.

At the same time, however, I am afraid that my address is unwor­thy of the title given here, as I could not prepare sufficient materials in advance. I gave here the title "Between Translation and Interpreta­tion" aiming to clarify the characteristics of the Chinese translations of Buddhist texts as far as known to me in the course of my research on them. My choice of this title was rather tentatively made. When requested from the IABS office to present this address, I was en­gaged in translating the Bussho-ron (Fo-hsing-Iun 1~tHA1l *Buddha­dhiitu-sastra) into Japanese. (To this 'Japanese translation,' I will refer later.) As I had trouble understanding the text when its Sanskrit counterparts couldn't be found, I felt it necessary to find rules for translating Indian texts into Chinese. In any case I immediately an­nounced the address title in reply to the office without due considera­tion and preparation. So the materials I'm going to use are limited to the Fo-hsing-Iun and some other texts translated by Paramartha.

Before entering the main subject, I would like to refer to the two groups of scholars who are currently doing research on the Sanskrit and Indian Buddhist manuscripts newly discovered in Central Asia (Afghanistan) and in Tibet, respectively.

The first group consists of those scholars who are working on the Buddhist manuscripts in the so-called Sch0yen Collection. The col­lection contains about 10,000 Buddhist manuscripts, mostly discov-

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29' Number 1 • 2006 (2008) pp. 3-20

4 JIKIDO TAKASAKI

ered at the Bamiyan caves in Afghanistan. They were sent to London via Pakistan and appeared on the antiquities market in 1996. This information soon reached scholars at the lABS conference held in Leiden, after most of the manuscripts had been purchased by the wealthy Norwegian collector Mr. Martin Schl2lyen. Prof. Kazunobu Matsuda, together with Prof. Jens Braarvig, University of Oslo, asked for Mr. Schl2lyen's permission to do research on the collec­tion's manuscripts, finally receiving his permission and starting the work in November 1997 with a project group of scholars including Prof. Matsuda, lead by Prof. Braarvig.

So far the group has published two large volumes as the result of their research, with the title: BUDDHIST MANUSCRlPTS IN THE

SCH0YEN COLLECTION I (Oslo, 2000), & IT (2002).

Prof. Matsuda has told me that the third volume will appear soon and that as the number of manuscripts studied so far is only ten percent of the collection, the group members will be able to enjoy the con­tinued research for ten more years.

There is no need to explain the significance of the collection, which contains materials of the Sectarian Buddhism as well as Ma­hayana scripts. I greatly admire the efforts of the group and expect further fruitful research results for Buddhist studies internationally.

The second group of scholars I wish to refer to here is affiliated to the Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism at Taisho Uni­versity, Tokyo. They have conducted research for more than a dec­ade on the Buddhist manuscripts preserved by several organizations in the People's Republic of China, the first result of their work hav­ing been published in 1994 as the "Facsimile Edition of the Srtivaka­bhami Sanskrit Palm-leaf Manuscript."

In the ensuing years, the group, lead by Prof. Y. Matsunami, fur­ther approached the Chinese government, including the Administra­tive Department of the Potala Palace, requesting permission to allow them access to the Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts kept there. They finally received permission in 1997. After two years of research in other palaces in Lhasa, they were allowed to enter the Potala Palace,

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION 5

which is said to hold about one hundred bundles of manuscripts of Buddhist Sanskrit scriptures.

·On July 30,.1999, Prof. Hisao Takahashi, a member of the group, came across a manuscript on which he foUnd the title lfiiiniilokii­larrtkiira. As it intrigued him, he took a closer look at the bundle and found that it contained complete versions of the Vimalakfrtinirdesa (VKN) and the lfiiiniilokiilarrtkiira (JAA), both very important Maha­yana scriptures. He told his colleagues that his finding was made purely by chance, but Prof. Matsunami called it 'serendipity', using the word coined by Horace Walpole.

They decided to work first on these two scriptures, completing the transliteration of the texts into Roman script and preparing the fol­lowing volumes:

VIMALAKiRTINIRDESA, Transliterated Sanskrit Text Collated with Tibetan and Chinese Translations

. JNANALOKALA¥KARA, Transliterated Sanskrit Text Collated with Tibetan and Chinese Translations and with an Introduction to VKN and JAA

Both were edited by the group mentioned above and published together as a set by the Taisho University Press, Tokyo, in 2004.

The significance of thisfmding is somehow different, I think, from the Buddhist manuscripts from the Bamiyan caves. In the case of the Bamiyan manuscripts, they were excavated from the ruins of Buddhist temples where monks once lived and perhaps recited and wrote scriptures. That is to say, the excavated manuscripts are sim~ ply the scriptures that were used there on a daily basis. By contrast, in the Tibetan case, the manuscripts found by the TaishO group had been stored in a temple as sacred treasures, probably worshiped daily, but not recited at all. Rather they were kept in secret, no one being allowed to see them. (Their existence had been revealed to foreigners who had visited Lhasa earlier, such as Rev. E. Kawagu­chi, but the Dalai Lama never gave permission for them to be seen. Remember that this time permission was given by an administrative authority, not by the Dalai Lama!)

But why were these manuscripts stored secretly? They are no doubt the scriptures (siitras, vinayas, and siistras) that were used as

6 JIKIDO TAKASAKI

the so.urce texts for the Tibetan translations. After the translations were completed, the Sanskrit manuscripts became of no use and were kept in a storehouse. In their place, the scriptuTes that had been translated into Tibetan must have been used to recite, read and inter­pret the Buddhist doctrines. We can expect many more manuscripts to be 'found' in Tibetan monasteries, considering great numbers of scriptures contained in the Tibetan Tripi!aka!

How, then, was the case in China, where another big collection of Buddhist scriptures exists, namely the Chinese Tripitaka, the Bud­dhist Tripi!aka in Chinese translation. So far we haven't· heard that Sanskrit manuscripts have been found anywhere in China. This may be another problem to be dealt with in relation to our main subject.

The Dharma should be taught in a vernacular language

Asking disciples to propagate his dhamma, the Buddha told them: may it be that the dhamma be taught in the vernacular language of the respective land.

Following this principle, disciples scattered allover India to teach the dhamma. One of these groups settled perhaps in the Magadha area, later collecting their dhamma as taught in the Magadhyan ver­nacular, Pali or the Holy Words, and still later (?) writing it down. Thus was the genesis of the PaIi Tipitaka. And once its authority was established, this Tipi!aka remained basically unchanged, spreading allover India along with the order, which regarded this Tipi!aka as sacred. Finally, it spread via Sri Lanka or SiIphala outside of India, reaching the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Cambodia,

.. Burma and others, where it is still used today. Here it should be noted that in these countries the PaIi Tipi!aka is used untranslated, being only transcribed into the respective script.

Other groups moved towards north-western India, e.g., the Gan­dhara area, establishing orders there and compiling their sacred texts in Gandhari However, they later changed their principles and changed their sacred language to Sanskrit, retaining certain vernacu­lar elements peculiar to Buddhism. We now call this Buddhist Hy­brid Sanskrit. It was used by the orders of the Sectarian Buddhism and also by a new group who called themselves Mahayana.

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION 7

The groups in north-western India also spread their power outside of India, but the transmitted scriptures remained the same since the areas being reached could be termed a part of the Indian cultural sphere, where Indian languages, primarily Sanskrit, were commonly used or at least culturally understood. Bamiyan is located within this area. The common language of Buddhist texts gradually changed to Sanskrit, in accordance with the so-called Sanskritization of Indian society after the unification of India by the Gupta Dynasty.

For the further propagation of Buddhism beyond the Indian cuF tural sphere, however, the scriptures had to be translated into the lan­guages of respective areas. This corresponded well to the principle laid down by the Buddha. There may be cases of their translation into languages of Western countries in the ancient period, but as far as we know, the only important case in ancient days (apart from the later Tibetan translation) was the advance of Buddhism into the Chi­nese cultural sphere. This was accompanied by the translation of the scriptures into Chinese, beginning in the first century A.D., five hun­dred years after Buddha's Mahaparinirvfu.1a.

Now I should return to today's main theme, the problems of the Chi­nese translation.

Characteristics of the Chinese letters or characters

First of all, we must recognize that the Chinese language is an iso­lating language, that is to say, it has no inflections as in the Indo­European languages nor does it have postpositions as in Tibetan and Japanese. Moreover, Chinese characters are usually classified as ideograms or ideographs, resulting in each character having a meaning independent of its pronunciation. In other words, a change of pronunciation does not affect its meaning. These characteristics caused various problems in the translation of Buddhist texts.

Translation of the Buddhist concepts and idioms

To begin with, I will offer the term triratna, i.e., Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, as an example (see Table no. 1).

8 JIKIDO T AKASAKI

Th~ term 'buddha' was quite a new concept for the Chinese. They provisionally accepted it with transliterations, such as Juto (ju-t'u 1*-111) butsuda (fo-t'o 1iJt~t) or butsu (fo 1iJt), finally settling on the latter, butsu (fo 1iJt), for buddha, just as the Sanskrit word buddha is commonly used in modem Western languages. The Chinese grasped the term's meaning quite well and translated it with kakusha (chueh­che or chiao-che Jt~), "the awakened one." Interesting is the Chi­nese character they selected. The character butsu (fo) consists of two parts, nin (jen), a sign for a human being, and pu (fu), a sign of nega­tion (5i). The original meaning was a human being wh<;>se appear­ance or features are vague or unclear. It was applied to the Buddha, probably because he is a human being, but, at the same time in a common sense, is not. The wit and originality of the Chinese as shown here is particularly appealing.

The term butsu (fo) came to be well adapted in the Chinese con­text, and is widely used not only for denoting the Buddha himself, but also as an adjective for things and concepts concerning Bud­dhism, just like the Western term 'Buddhist' (e.g., bukkyo (fo-chiao, 1iJtf&) for 'Buddhist teaching' (*buddha-Siisanii, dharma).

The second term, 'dharma,' was translated with ho (fa rt), except when used as a part of proper names, e.g., Bodhidharma (:g::J'fil:J¥m). The Chinese gave the Sanskrit word dharma an exactly identified meaning, namely "a principle rule to be followed." Once established, they applied the same term ho (fa) to various other cases, in spite of the difference of meaning (e.g., buppo, ftt-fa 1iJtrt for buddha­dharma, "Buddha's teaching"; shohomuga, chu-Ja-wu-wo ~rt~:tZ for "all phenomena are without a self'). This introduced another problem for understanding Buddhism in its Chinese translation.

The third term, 'sangha,' was first transliterated, like buddha, by two characters, so (seng 1Wi!!) and ga (chia 1fJO), both newly created characters for transliterating Sanskrit words. The term's meaning was interpreted as a group of people (shu, chung ~) assembled with the purpose of attending the Buddha's teaching, but in the end the Chinese settled on another way of transliterating sangha, namely by abridging it to the first character so (seng 1Wi!!). Although it started as a collective noun, soon it came to mean the individual monks who

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION 9

belong to the sangha, except when indicating the third part of the triratna .

. Next I will refer to some idiomatic expressions or stock phrases used in the Buddhist scriptures. As one example, let me examine the beginning portion of the Saddharmapw}¢arfka (see Table no. 2).

eva'!1 maya srutam / ekasmin samaye bhagavan Rajagrhe viharati sma Grdhraka{e parvate mahata bhik~usarighena sardhaJ?1. dvadasabhir bhik~u­

sataiJ:t sarvaiJ:t -. (Saddharmapw}rj.arfka)

jzQ;lll::~Jj!Jo -aif{~HE:£ ij':9~~IT1!l~mhlJ CPo ~*J;l::;li~~= =f}.. {~o -§';lll::~iiJ

ff.l~o (ff.l1t~ ~fi'Pf:t~~ )

For the first sentence, Kumarajlva shows the commonly accepted formulation, which follows the Sanskrit wording (ju shih for evam, wo for maya, and wen for srutam), while Dharmapala omits the term for maya. This omission is said to be true to the Buddhist doctrine of anatman, no-self. However, if a word denoting the first person were put at the beginning, DharmapaIa's translation would show the nat­ural style of a Chinese sentence. It is said that Kumarajlva finally fixed the present wording.

As for the second long sentence, both translations are quite literal, showing a correct meaning in accordance with the originaL

The point of the sentence is found in the phrase 'yo dai-bi-ku-shu gu (yu ta-pi-ch'iu chung chu,' ~*-l::tli~1J!.) in Dharmapala's translation, which is equivalent to the Sanskrit 'mahata bhik~usaY[l­ghena sardham.' (The character chu iJ!. is, together with the charac­ter yu ~ functioning in the instrumental case, equivalent to the San­skrit sardham in the sense of 'together with' or 'accompanied by.')

In the Sanskrit original, following the phrase mentioned above are terms that explain the number and qualifications of the monks who are part of the sangha. These terms are all in the instrumental case ending. Dharmapala's translation follows the meaning of the terms faithfully, but does not show the case. Thus it would be possible to read this portion as a separate sentence, with bi ku sen ni hyaku (pi­ch'iu tsien er po .l::tli"f = l~n as the subject, although an inconspi­cuous one.

10 JIKIDO TAKASAKI

Kumarajlva, however, through his own ingenuity, rearranges the first group of terms explaining the number of bhik~us (which he carelessly miscounts) within the phrase. Ending the sentence after the phrase, he starts a new sentence explaining the qualifications of the bhik~u with the heading kai ze (chieh shih, ~fi!::) 'all of them are' Ci-ts'i --so in Dhamiapiila's tr.). This expression was quite com­fortable and understandable for the Chinese, and after Kumarajlva, this stock phrase became established by Buddhist translators.

Additional interpretation and insertion of commentary words -Cases in Paramartha's translation

When any language tries to accept a foreign language in translation, it may need certain explanations in addition to the direct, literal translation. In Chinese Buddhist translations, too, we observe many cases of explanations that were provided especially for Chinese readers. Particular to Paramartha's translation are his insertions of sentences explaining his own doctrinal interpretation as well as quotations from other texts to support this interpretation.

Tripi!akacarya Paramartha, Chen-ti (Shindai Ji:~*) in Chinese translation, was a Yogacara-vijfianavadin active in the fifth to sixth century AD who contributed to the transmission of many texts of the Yogacara school, including the Mahiiyiinasaligraha of Asanga and others.

In his translation of Vasubandhu's (Shih-chin/Seshin -tJttll.) com­mentary on the Mahiiyiinasaligraha, it is well known that at some places he added interpretations that are not found in other transla­tions such as that of Hstian tsang. I myself have established that these inserted sentences are basically identical with sentences found in the Ratnagotravibhiiga, an important basic text for understanding the Tathagatagarbha doctrine. I thus realized that Paramartha was a Ta­thagatagarbhavadin who wished to combine the Tathagatagarbha­vada with the Vijfianavada. I will quote here one or two examples of his interpretation.

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRET A TION 11

1. About 'aniidikiiliko dhatu!]' (see Table no. 3)

This famous verse of the so-called Abhidharma-Mahayana-Satra, of which the Sanskrit original is attested in the Ratnagotravibhaga (RGV) and Sthiramati' s commentary on the Vijfiaptimatrata-TriY[L­sika, is quoted in the Mahiiyanasangraha (MS) as the proof for the existence of alaya-vijfiana, which is the basis for objects to be known (ouchi-eji/ying chih i chih Jl!~p{t;;:ll:). It is indicated here in terms of 'aniidikaliko dhiituJ:t' (the basis without beginning). While the RGV quotes it as the proof for the 'tathiigatagarbha' serving as the basis, Paramartha adopted the interpretation of the MS, developing his unique doctrine of the adhiinavijfiana.

Now the first question is how to read the sentence kai i-ge wi-sho (chieh i-chieh wei-hsing JY.y~~~'ri). This sentence, stating that A i B wei C, is to be read: A with B constitutes its C, i.e., A's C is B. Thus C, the nature (hsing) of A, 'dhiitu' (kai, chieh JY.), is B, 'ge' (chieh ~~) (understanding, interpretation). Thus traditionally this nature was called 'understanding nature' (ge-sho/chieh-hsing ~ni), but its actual meaning is quite uncertain. According to other transla­tions of equivalent passages as well as in Paramartha's second inter­pretation, the term 'dhatu' is explained as 'hetu' (cause) (see Table no. 3,1). I wish to suggest the following manner to read the sentence in question: '" dhatu' should be understood as nature (svabhava (hsing/sho 'ri) (the nature of the Buddha, as well as of sarvasat­tvas)." (It is equivalent to the first meaning, 't'i-lui' (fti[) , of the five meanings next listed by Paramartha.)

Another point that I wish to mention here is his clear and literal translation appearing in the quotation of a passage from the Srfmala­sutra (no. 3 in Table no. 3). The quotation is used as proof for the phrase 'sarvadharma-samasrayaJ:t.' In comparison to the RGV trans­lation, one sees that Paramartha's translation is far more under­standable and doctrinally correct (especially noteworthy is the translation of the term 'amuktajfia' or 'amuktajfiana' as an adjective of asaY[Lskrta-dharma; a comparison with the translation of the Srf­mala-sutra is also worthwhile).

According to Paramartha's translation, the meaning of this pas­sage can be understood as follows:

12 JIKIDO TAKASAKI

As is said in the scripture:

o Lord, this nature of consciousness (shiki-kai ~.J'f.) is the basis (nisraya {;fx:), the support (adhara f¥), and the standing place (prati~thii Yl:s'z:) for those qualities of Buddha (dharma 1\11l:9Ji~) that are always connected with (it) (samhaddha t§E!\\), inseparable from (it) (avinirhhiiga 7Ft§l!lfE), not rejected wisdom (a~lUktajiiiina/amuktajiia 7F:Ji1f~), of the. asalJ'lskrta character and greater in number than the grains of sand in the Ganga. 0 Lord, also for those dharmas of the salJ'lskrta character which are not connected, separated, or rejected wisdom is it the basis, the support, and the standing place. Thus the verse says, 'support of all the dharmas.'

(The Chinese translation is problematic in that it doesn't show the case relations. 'For' is emended above. To do this, we must base ourselves on the Sanskrit.)

2. What is the Buddha nature (buddha-dhiitu)?

In connection with Paramartha's deep knowledge of the RGV, I will refer next to the Fo-hsing-Iun (Bussho-ron) (FHL) , another work that he translated.

The text is an explanation of the buddha-dhatu, otherwise called tathagatagarbha. It consists of four parts, but the main section, the Nidana-parivarta or Introduction, the third portion of the third part, which discusses the nature (svabhava) of the tathagatagarbha, and the entire fourth part, on the ten characteristics of the tathagatagar­bha, are all based on the RGV. The introduction is equivalent to the RGV's desana-prayojana-parivarta, the section on the purpose of the teaching, and the RGV's verse 1,27 and its commentary are used to explain the nature of the tathagatagarbha in terms of dhannakaya, tathata, and tathagatadhatu. The fourth part, on the characteristics of the tathagatagarbha, is based entirely on the first chapter of the RGV into which passages from other chapters of the RGV have been inserted. The only differences are occasional references to the Vi­jfianavada (esp. of asrayapariv[tti, the change of the basis). The pur­pose of the FHL's composition may have been to insert these refer­ences after a rearrangement of the RGV.

BETWEEN TRANS LA TION AND INTERPRET A TION 13

. Now I will consider a few passages that show signs of being com­mentary by the translator and some sentences that were inserted to explain certain technical terms for the Chinese readers (see Table no. 4).

1. The first example is in a passage in the first chapter of the fourth part, which teaches the nature of tathiigatagarbha. The introductory phrase 'shaku-yetsu (shih-yueh *' B)' marks the beginning of a com­mentary passage, but there is no sign showing how long the passage continues. From the context, I have judged it to be a maximum of six lines (796c, 9-14). Whether the character 'ko (ku ~)' belongs to the commentary is uncertain. It is possible. that it should be considered part of the original source, indicating the ablative case ending of· a Sanskrit word in the original. It is also possible to regard the whole paragraph, including the quotation from the Anfinatviipiir,!atvanir­deia, as being a commentary. If this were the case, the passage would show a closer affinity to the passage I discuss below. In any case, the commentator, probably Paramartha himself, was well versed in the RGY.

2. The second example shows a sample of a definition of a term. The term in question, 'nyun-katsu (jun-hua ¥~{it),' is the translation of the single Sanskrit word snigdha, meaning wet or moist. But the definition explains the two characters individually. Cases of a single concept being translated with two characters of similar meaning are often observed. One reason is that the Chinese are fond of con­structing words with two characters, so that the phrases and sen­tences are rhythmical. In any case, according to the interpolated definition, 'jun' denotes the meaning of commitment or penetration, while 'hua' means averting fault and asking for virtue.

3. The third example is again a definition of a technical term. The term 'nyonyo (juju ~mfto)' is Paramartha's unique translation of the Sanskrit word tathatii, which is usually translated as 'shin-nyo (chen­ju j'j;.ftO).' The latter translation is also used by Paramartha. The def­inition explains that worldly 'suchness' or truth (su-ju {1tftO) is noth­ing but true 'suchness' (chen-ju j'j;.ftO) and vice versa, because the

14 JIIUDO TAKASAKI

two kinds of 'suchness' are not different. If this definition were reall:y written by hili, it would be very important. But the content is doubtful. The parallel use of the characters 'chen (~)' and 'su (f1:t)' reminds us of the paramiirtha-satya and the sarrwrti-satya, and their advayatii may be all right. But to apply them to each character is rather nonsensical.

4. To conclude, I will consider two cases where the Fo-hsing-lun (FHL) utilizes verses from the ROV (see Table no. 5). The Fo-hsing­lun is mainly written in prose, and its verses are mostly quotations whose sources are clearly mentioned in most cases. Among the verses I found two cases that are similar to verses in the ROV. In the first case the verse is said to be from the Ge-setsu-kyo (Chieh-chieh­ching i91fi11P*&) , and in the second case there is no mention of the source.

a. The first case is a commentary verse in the ROV preceding the passage on the unchangeable character of the tathiigatagarbha or tathiigatadhiitu, the verse being a summary (pilJt!iirtha) of the fol­lowing explanation. The position of the verse in the FHL parallels this exactly. While the title of the Sutra said to be the source is the same as that of the basic Sutra of the Vijfianavada (Sandhinirmo­cana) , neither this verse nor the name of the attending Bodhisattva (Kai-chi, Hai-chih $~ can be identified with Sagaramati) can be found there.

b. The second case is also parallel in the two texts. Both passages refer to the four kinds of people who cannot understand the real na­ture of the tathiigatagarbha, this nature being shown in the verses. The verses in the ROV are based on the Srfmiilii-sfitra, as shown in the quotation that follows. In contrast, the FHL summarises the con­tent of the verses in prose, probably by consulting the ROV as well as the quotation from the Srfmiilii-siltra. In this doctrine, the concept tathiigatagarbha or tathiigatadhiitu is always identified with the tathatii. Here, its nature is defined as being empty (silnya) of pollu­tions and non-empty (asilnya) of Buddhas' qualities, as shown in the first example of the Mahiiyiinasangraha.

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRET A TION 15

Here too, the Chinese of Paramartha's translation is far more comprehensible than the translation of the RGY. But why is the. source not mentioned in the FHL? Was it a direct borrowing of the oiiginal text, or was it perhaps the work of the translator? We cannot deny the possibility of the latter. It is even not impossible to imagine that Paramartha himself was the real author or composer of the FHL and that it had no original source from which it was translated.

Conclusion

The Chinese Tripitaka, i.e., the Buddhist scriptures translated into Chinese, together with commentaries on them and independent texts written by the Chinese, spread gradually all over the Chinese cultural sphere of East Asia, including Korea, Japan and Vietnam, lands where Chinese characters and its writing system were officially used. Until today, there has been no attempt in these areas to translate the Chinese Tripi!aka into the vernacular languages. Rather the attempt was made to write articles and books in Chinese. The situation has not yet changed.

For example, in Japan Buddhism was first introduced via Korea early in the sixth century AD and then directly from China during the Sui and the T'ang Dynasties. After the invention of Japanese let­ters based upon Chinese characters in the early ninth century, the Japanese started to interpret Chinese texts using Japanese, inventing a way of reading and writing sentences that combines Japanese let­ters with Chinese characters. (Japanese letters or syllabary are called 'ka-na' ({~q;) 'provisional letters,' in contrast to Chinese characters, which are 'ma-na' (~q;), 'original, true letters.') This method is applied when reading Chinese texts as well. It is a unique way of translating, called yomikudashi in Japanese. It is practised even to­day.

And even today the Japanese write their Japanese sentences with a mixture of Chinese characters and Japanese kana syllabaries. Chi­nese characters are sometimes read with the Chinese pronunciation (but in a Japanese manner) (on if), and sometimes according to their meaning with the Japanese pronunciation (kun ~JI[). It is quite easy to catch the meaning of Chinese ideograms.

16 ITKIDO TAKASAKl

Now my lecture has returned to. the subject that introduced it. Pleas·e let me close my lecture here. Thank you for your attention.

Tables

Table No. 1: triratna (ratna-traya) =. Buddha {till

Dhanna i'~

Sangha <{~{j]D (~)

Table No.2: Stock phrases at the beginning of siitras (example from the SaddharmapU1:ujarfka)

evarrz mayii srutam I ekasmin samaye bhagaviin Rajagrhe viharati sma, Grdhra­kute parvate mahatii bhik~usal]lghena siirdharrz dviidasabhir bhik~uiatai/:l, sar­vair arhadbhi/:l k~lniisravair ni/:lkle§air vaSfbhiitai/:l suvimuktacittai/:l suvimukta­prajfiair ajfiiineyair mahiiniigaih, krtakrtyai/:l krtakarGlJlyair apahrtabhiirair anupriiptasvakiirthai/:l parik~ll}abhavasarrzyojanaih samyag-iijfiii-suvimuktacit­tai/:l sarvacetovasitiiparamapiiramitiipriiptair abhijfiiiniibhijfiiitair mahiiiriiva­

kai/:l II

(tr. by Kumarajlva)

~~a~o -~.$~*~ •• ~~ CPo Jli!*J;tli~;i;==f A{~o ~~JliiJ ~~o ~iffimBitio 1!¥,1~JJH~0 Jt1~C. ;flj~~:ff~o 1~'1~ 13i:Eo

(tr.by Dhannapala)

~:tm~o -a~{tIIliQf~*~!I}I;~o .EIii

*J;tli~{~o J;tli=f=so -iW1!¥, ~ 0 ~iffim Biti1!¥,i~~~o B1~ 13i:EJt 1~C.;fljo ±}EB*~~l'lPfltlTo -iWi±l B1ioc1!¥,tpgo Bm~';'~>~,:f§~1~OCo

Table No.3: A Comparative table of Paramartha's translation of the Mahiiyiinasmigraha on the verse of the Abhidharmamahiiyiinasu­tra, 'aniidikiiliko dhiitu!:t' and the commentary on it, and a parallel passage in the Ratnagotravibhiiga

(P) 156c-157a

Jlt3'f.1!¥,frila~ -iWi'M&ll:

(RGV) pp. 72. 13-73. 8

aniidikiiliko dhiitu/:l sarvadharmasam­iisraya(l I

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION 17

~13

1. [~] ~f§~~ 't':L . JtI:;~;fnL~o --:-It~~ ... =1Z9~ ... .=.1:~ ll9iii.~ ... 3i~~o

2. ift'JJ1:t~ 0 ~ilt~IDi,o

rJ;I:;.fi:, ~1::m~:>FPITJ¥o ~1lI'l $~, 1i:~m~, g\(:¥jftJ!\(:~, 'Iff~ ~~{!Il3, ... 'Iff~3Cjgo J;1:;.fi:, 7k ~PJJJl:I:;~~'!lt*, J11~1i:~,t~'!lt.Ifn. j!;ijJ

IEJtI:;~t.tc %I r~~iinifJo

3. PJJ~~ 0 r ilt~, JtI:;~~, ;I'lk {t(, ;I'lkf~\ ;I'lk$o t~;j;13~liZ. :>F:fll/!JjE:>F:Jti ~, ~$, ,t~1bolV~~~{i)fgb~o ilt .,*fl3JJ!\,fl3/!JjE,:Jti~,'Iff~mf ~,;I'lk{t(,;I'lk~,;I'lk~J~,~ r­.gur~{t(lI::J 0

4. PJJ~~~ 0 r ilt., ~PJJ*~'Iff, IE:>F T~fc PI ~, 1:~;I'lk'lff J ~ ~ r~ 'Iff, mfjg'lff J 0

5. PJJ~~~ 0 r ilt., ~PJJ*~*'Iff, ~ *~~~,~~~~~,~,mJ~ ~ rliZ.'lff1~Y3l.~Jo

tasmin sati gatiJ:z sarvii nirviilJiidhiga­mo 'pi call

2. (after 1) dhiitur iti I yad iiha I yo 'yam bhagaval]1s, tathiigatagarbho lokottaragarbhaJ:z pralqtiparilLfddha­garbha iti I

1. tatra katham aniidikiilikaJ:z

yat tathiigatagarbham eviidhikrtya bhagavatii piirvakopr na prajiiii­yata

iti desital]1 prajiiaptam I

3. sarvadharmasamiiSraya iti I yad iiha I tasmiid, bhagaval]1s, tathiigata­garbho nisraya iidhiiraJ:z prati~thii

sal]1baddhiiniim avinirbhiigiiniim amu­ktajiiiiniiniim asal]1skrtiiniil]1 dharmii­IJlim I asambaddhiiniim api, bhagavan, vinirbhiiga(dharmiilJiim) muktajiilinli­niil]1 sal]1skrtlinlil]1 dharmiilJiim; nisra­ya iidhiiraJ:z prati~thii tathiigatagarbha iti I

4. tasmin sati gatiJ:z sarveti I yad iiha I sati, bhagaval]1s, tathiigatagarbhe, sal]1sara iti parikalpitam asya vaea­nam iti

5. nirviilJiidhigamo 'pi eeti I yad iiha I tathiigatagarbhas eet, bhagavan, na sylit, na syiid duhkhe 'pi nirviilJeeehii priirthanii pralJidhir veti vistaraJ:z II

(Pao-hsing-Iun, p. 839a-b) W.11:Wiili~ PHL

Jtl:;3ifjllftit~g11='='fj~~!flZ9o ~;I'lk~~, IDi,PJJ*'t1:lZ9o JtI:;~{iiJ~o Jtl:;9=JIlI'l,t1:~ ~$IZ9~o ~;I'lk~~, ~~9=J{~~o

~~iiilt*11: {1=mf~{t(lI:: {t(,t1:'lffmfjg liZ.~Y3l.~*

18 JIKIDO T AKASAKI

Jl;t1~~{iiJ~0 2. ,~ft{,.tltJ'Hil\ :frD*~~J 130

~1~:frD*, 1]\;:frD*~, ~~*1:.~~il*r~/F"iiJq~:3;OJ "/iY:o

1. m i3 "tiJ l'", :frD~l'"JJJ11U~13 0

,t!t~, :frD*~, :frD*~l'", ;lH~)'j!.~o tl:lt!tF~'r~!t~o tl:lt!tr~'J:.J:.~o 13 ,ti¥tH-¥r~!t~o 13" 'ti¥~1-¥:frD*~J 89:0

3. '{'F~1H~1]\;Jl::J l'"o :frD~l'"JJJ1.*~ i3 0

,t!t~, ~89::frD*~, ~1]\;, ~:f,f, ~{:±:f,f ~Jl.sLo ti!:~, /FlilfL /Flilt !§\" /FIWi< /Fnlt, /F~, ~~, /F,\I:!-~{~r~o t!t~, <iff1'ri!tIT, nlt, ~, 5'1-, IilfL lilt!§\" 1'r~r~o <iff1]\;, <iff:f,f, <iff{:±:f,f, <iffJl .sL, 1]\;:frD *~J "/iy:o

4. '~'ti1'r~iJ!J l'", :frD~l'"JJJ1.*~13o

,t!t~, 1:.%l'"1]\;:frD*~o t!t~, 1'r:frD*~89:, ~1:.%0 ~~ ~ ~J 89:0

5. '.Rm¥!E.~*J l'", :frD~l'"JJJ1.ft~ i3 0

,t!t~, 1]\;:frD*~"/iy:, 1'r 1:.%0 1]\;:frD*~89:, m¥!E.~o ti!:~, ;f1f;l!\li:frD*~ l'", /Fq~ml*, ~*¥!E.~o /F~¥!E.~, /FJjfj¥!E.~J 89:0

Jl;t~{iiJ~o ~:frD*~~~:frD*r~!t/F~jjlJo ~:frD~'lH§~~7E{~-t:1~1!t ~-tm a~, -tm*1:.!tJ:j=l-§'~~ffiL )$:3;00

Table No.4: A comparative table of the Fo-hsing-Iun (FHL) and the Ratnagotravibhiiga (RGV /PHL)

1. An example of the basic textual construction

(FHL)

(796a-c) {~ti~illimt§51-~1Zl:l J:j=l 13 H:t§J',,*-1llk, {~'ti-tmOflt§1'r+~, )$:3;00 13+t§l'"o - 13 H:t§o =l2SIt§o .. ,+~~jjIJt§o - 13 H:t§l'", 1'r =flo -l'"JJlJt§o =l'"@ t§o JJlJt§1r~Oflo {iiJl'"~~o -l'":frD~:9J

1i~Hio =l'"~(JJIJ)~tio ~l'"~¥iHio fiJi' i3 :frD~:9J1iffl.t§l'"0 ~j!j:frD*~1'rJiOflo .'. (796c)

=~JJIj~'til'", fL*·~)".R~{~~51-JJIJ Ji:",t1J&J~·:9J1iffl.·~~¥~1-¥~, IjL~~

Mio V::frDiJ[~o .x:frD±·jj.lh%:~o Jl;t~!ill

~, fffi;lt'ti~, -§'~~o ~~/FJJIJ89:, ~

(RGV)

dasavidhiirtha: v.29. (p.26) svabhiiva, heftt, etc. (1) svabhiiva: v.30ab, 31. svalakljalJa: prabhiiva, ananya­thiibhiiva, snigdhabhiiva, ... cintii­maIJi-nabhoviiri-visuddhaguIJasii­dharmya.

ananyathiibhiiva: Prthagjaniirya­sambuddhatathatiivyatirekatab / (v.45ab) (6) vrtti taddoljagulJaniljthiisu vyiipi sii­miinyalakljalJam / (v.50ab) (8)

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND lNTERPRETATION 19

1!\Ii)3IjJH~0 l~80 ~ fiMl~J 41r, ~f!ifLxo f;iJ 1i!\J 41r, &P1f "-'MAo f Yi:~1~i-j3' J

. 41r, &P~{~o· J1:t~~1RlY-*, ffiJ~j1/F

~o J1:t&P8±llIlkfLxo wlllllk"-'OjI3\ ~ 1lIlk~{~0 !iljH~:~$:11~, ffiJA~'~~-

1I$:0 .xNo1f·1~l'-j3'·ij~}fiIi~~~, 11*~1!\li~~ o ¥~l'-j3'M1!\Ii~~0 ~YfiIi~Jj1!\li.~$:o {~i!fO%flJ5io * ~1:Jf-/F~$:~0 It:~/F~~~9J!.o JiI J1:t ~$:o 1!\L1!\li)3ljo i!l11~*0

t!DNo{?jl'~~o ~ ~{ll:9=', IjZ~~Yfilio Jill'-j3'/F 7-j3'J'p1!\li~~tj(, $:IDttz[lJ;j[~'~~o

sarvatraga

mrdu-jata-suvarulJabhiijana (p. 41; 14)

(of iikiisa, exact source unknown, textual position unfixed) *Q. from the Am7natviipLlrl}atva­

nirde.fa

tasmiic chiiriputra niinyaf:t sattva­dhiitur niinyo dharmakiiyaf:t / ... advayam etad arthena / vyaiijana­miitrabheda iti / (p. 41,15-17) (cf. p. 41, 18-19)

(806b) ~1jlljJ'p~}~

Vtzo ±wl~~$: 9=' J;j[~~1filiIjZ~1!\li~ )31j, tzo*$:9J!.~YfiIi~1ll:9='$~tzoNoo No$:,~&~~,IDt~~~ ~1!\li~

PHL 832b for RGV, (8) sarvatraga

iMl;iJ1i!\.~ ~¥:&lRJt§ T9='Jl91~~ tzOJ;j[~9='~ ~{~l3JlfiiJ~o

~iiJ~, Notzo *9J!. , ~~{ll:9=', -to ~~, ~1!\li:!,.o **iE51~0 Vtzo J;j[~, -to~fj/F9131~L /F9i3~0

tf±wl~$:, J;j[~~~, ~1!\li:!, .0

5~tzoJ;j[~, 1:E:awl~~fj$:9=', IjZ~

1!\li~1!\li~J3Ij, -to~1fo 8No~$:,

@9='IDt11~~~~~/F*/F.@i

* o%flJ 5i, /F1il1~~9J!.1fIt:~ 0

/F1il11t:~11 ~~9J!.0 ~~9J!. &Prt: ~o ¥t:~&P~~9J!.o o%fU5i, J1:t= ¥t:41r~-~ ~$:o

2 & 3. Examples of interpolated explanations of technical tenus

2. FHL 797a, 11.12-15

fil'41ytJ 41r, f1~J 8MA9EHI~0 fytJ 41r~A1\'~fi'iJ1i!\ for Skt ~o Vtz07.kW, $11=9130 -J!1j9131l'llyA~0 (=)i!l1t/FiiIJE snigdha(tii) $:0 Jilr~tj:, 913110 JiI¥t$:, /Fiit $:8i1'41*~I2SI, 81t41r ~*o $:S~I2SI*~o

20 JIKIDO TAKASAKI .

3. FHL 805c, 11.23-24

rtwtwJ 1!f, ~tlo~p~tlOo ~tlo~P{~tlOo ~{~=tlo, ~J.lIjAi!ifco

for Skt tatha(tii)

Table No.5: A Comparative table ofRGV verses in FHL and PHL

a. RGV, v. 1,51: ayarrz ca te!fiirrz pj,:uf-iirtho veditavyaJ:t I dO!fiigantukatiiyogiid gU1)apralqtiyogataJ:t I yathii piirvarrz tathii pa!ciid avikiiritvadharmatii II 51

FHL806c PHL832b

a ~iW~~~U, ~DfflJ~m9&tfi1~o ~U[i~f~ao

t~~~~, ~~~~, ~%lo ~ao

$J~!H§~$: ~ i3 t!t~$: ~DiW~$. !k~~.t13

b. RGV, v. I, 154-5:

~l&I$~* 't1::9J~f§~ lit¥:ta/F~ ~D*~$.

tatra katamaJ:t sa tathiigatagarbhasiinyatiirthanaya ucyate I niipaneyam ataJ:t kirrzcid upaneyarrz na kirrzcana I dra!ftavyarrz bhiitato bhiitarrz bhiitadarsfvimucyate 11154 siinya iigantukair dhiituJ:t savinirbhiigalak!fa1)aiJ:t I aSiinyo 'nuttarair dharmair avinirbhiigalak!fa1)aiJ:t II 155

FHL 812b

~D*»i*, Jl~fliJf§o ~Df~~ a 0

~-¥:t1'Jm ~-¥:t1'J~ ~~lr~Djl' ~jl'1~~~JM. m$~$:~ ~¥:t3'f.tI311J ~J:.¥:t/F~ ~¥:t3'f.f§~

PHL840a

J2J.f1iJ~¥:t, !k~D*»io ~ a 0

/F~~D*»i m~J:.fflJ¥:t /FtI3:ftllJt13 /F~~-¥:t ~D*~~:lit i3 ,t1:**~ . $~~~ ** i3 ,t1:~

CROSSING THOUSANDS OF Ll OF WA YES:

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS'

BENJAMIN BROSE

In 953, the ruler of the small independent kingdom of Wuyue wrote a letter requesting the return of a collection of Chinese Buddhist texts that had been lost in China but were rumored to exist abroad. The ruler was particularly interested in texts from the Tiantai tradi­tion which had been destroyed during the wars and rebellions that precipitated the fall of the Tang dynasty a century earlier. The letter was delivered to the captain of a merchant ship who was scheduled to set sail that year on a trading mission overseas. This captain was to serve as the ruler's envoy conveying the letter and hundreds of gifts to foreign leaders in an attempt to regain the lost texts.

When the ship returned in the fall of that same year, the Chinese crew counted a foreign monk among their ranks. After arriving in the port city of Mingzhou ~JHi'I (present Ningbo $rEl), the monk, along with the hand-copied manuscripts in his charge, was escorted to the capital of Wuyue where he was honored by the court and cele­brated throughout the kingdom. Like the reintroduction of Aristotle's work to Europe from the Middle East in the twelfth century, the reintroduction of these core doctrinal texts reinvigorated a flagging philosophical tradition. The second half of the tenth century wit­nessed a surge of economic development and intellectual output cen­tered on Mount Tiantai and radiating outward through the kingdom of Wuyue. These developments culminated a generation later with the great Tiantai exegetes of the early eleventh century.

• This essay has benefited from the comments of Bernard Faure, Carl Bielefeldt, Fabri­zio Pregadio, Raoul Birnbaum, Yang Zhaohua, and an anonymous reader. I gratefully ack­nowledge their help.

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29' Number 1 • 2006 (2008) pp. 21-62

22 BENJAMIN BROSE

The story surrounding the return of the lost Tiantai texts is intrigu­ing not just as a turning point in the history of Chinese Buddhism, but also because it is set against the broader backdrop of cultural exchange in East Asia. The conditions necessary for the successful completion of such an exchange were exceedingly complex. The diffusion of Tiantai texts was carried out in large part through international pilgrimage which played a critical role in both the spread of the Tiantai tradition and the re-invigoration of that tradi­tion within China. Furthermore, in addition to the diplomatic relationships that existed· between the courts of China,. Korea, and Japan, this series of events also necessitated a high level of coopera­tion between monks of various religious affiliations, indeed various kingdoms, as well as close ties between the clergy and the court. It was this international, eclectic culture of Wuyue that created the conditions necessary for the re-vitalization of Chinese Tiantai.

While all of these factors suggest a tightly interwoven set of relationships both in China and abroad, this storyjs complicated by yet another factor: there are two opposing historical accounts which describe the return of the lost Tiantai texts to China. The first and most widely accepted of these holds that the texts were sought and returned from the Korean kingdom of Koryo, with the monk Cheg­wan ~*U (dates unknown) acting as emissary. The second narrative claims that the Tiantai texts were purchased from Japan and subse­quently delivered to the kingdom of Wuyue. Recent scholarship in the United States and, to a lesser extent, China and Japan has recapitulated the Korean narrative while dismissing or ignoring the Japanese account. I am by no means the first to take note of the dis­crepancies in the source materials however. Both Japanese and Chi­nese scholars have discussed various aspects of these events and my own work is greatly indebted to their careful studies. 1 This paper builds on the insights of a number of these scholars and offers a re-

1 In particular, see Kimiya Yasuhiko for a detailed account of cultural exchange be­tween Wuyue and Japan during the Five Dynasties. On China's efforts to retrieve texts from overseas see Wang Yong (1996). See Shen Haibo for an argument against a Korean provenance for the Tiantai texts. For an excellent review of the primary materials and a slightly different reading than that provided by Shen, see Zhang Fenglei.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 23

view of the various sources pertaining to these events with the hope of· shedding more light on this critical period in Chinese Buddhist

history.

The case for Koryo

The Comprehensive History account

Chegwan's biography in the Comprehensive History of the Buddhas and Patriarchs (Fozu tongji 1~H.§.:@*c; hereafter Comprehensive His­tory) is the locus classicus for the story of the reintroduction of the lost Tiantai texts to China from the Korean kingdom of Koryo. It reads:

Dharma Master Chegwan was from Koryo. Early on, the king of Wuyue was reading the Yongjia Collection [Yongjiaji zl<;a:~]. He could not understand the phrase "[The stage of Buddhahood according to the Tripitaka Teaching] is the same [as the Complete Teaching] in removing the four levels of attachment," so he asked National Teacher [De]Shao who said, "This is about doctrine. You can ask Xiji from Tiantai." The king summoned him immediately. [Xiji] responded by saymg, "This phrase is from Zhizhe's The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra [Miaofa lianhuajing xuanyi fr.Pr£Jl~ ~~~] (The Profound Meaning had been scattered and lost and was no longer extant. Having never examined it, how could he know this? It must have been that Master [Xi]ji had once seen an incomplete manuscript). Since the end of the Tang, the [Tiantai] texts have been scattered abroad. None of them are available now." Thereupon the king ofWuyue sent an envoy with a

·letter and fifty kinds of treasure to Koryo to seek the scriptures.

The king of Koryo ordered Chegwan to go and present the teachings [to the court of Wuyue]. But [the king] prohibited the transmission of the Commen­tary on the Great Peifection of Wisdom Silstra (Zhilun shu ~~i91E), Com­mentary on the Benevolent King Sutra (Renwang shu f=x:iEJ1t), Essential Con­tents of the Huayan Sutra (Huayan gumu ~~~ §), Five Hundred Gates (Wubai men ]i8r~ ), and others. Furthermore, he ordered Chegwan to search for a teacher in China and to ask him difficult questions. If the teacher could not answer them, [Chegwan] would have to return home without transmitting the scriptures. When Master Chegwan arrived in China he heard that Luoxi [Xiji] was a skilled teacher and went to see him immediately. At first glance he was deeply impressed and revered him as his master.

24 BENJAMIN BROSE

[Chegwan] had already written the Outline of the Fourfold Teachings [Sijiao yi IZ9fi&{~] and had hidden it in a chest. Nobody knew of it. Master Chegwan stayed with Luoxi for ten years. One day he passed ,away in a sitting posi­tion. Later, people saw a light coming out of the chest and upon opening it only saw this book, nothing else. Since then, it has been widely circulated among various countries and has the reputation of being an important aid for instructing beginners.2

Chegwan's biography succinctly recounts a series of events leading to the return of the lost Tiantai texts and subsequent production of an important textual synopsis of Tiantai doctrine, the Outline of the Fouifold Teachings. 3 Since it was first published some eight hundred years ago, this biography has been central to understanding the changes that were taking place in China and abroad during the tenth century. And yet, a close examination of this brief passage reveals a number of historical contradictions. As I will try to show, portions of this narrative appear to be willful fabrications. In what follows I would like to reconsider the people and places mentioned in Cheg­wan's biography in an attempt to separate historical fact from fiction.

Qian Chu ~~ (r. 947-978)

Aside from Chegwan himself, the first person to appear in the biography is the king of Wuyue ~iMf. Qian Chu ~{,1N was the last of five rulers to reign over the kingdom of Wuyue. The small kingdom was established by Qian Chu's grandfather Qian Liu ~~, (r.907-932) in 907, after the collapse of the Tang dynasty (618:....907). With the dissolution of the Tang, China was divided into a number of small sovereign states, collectively known as the Five Dynasties and

2 Taisho shinsha daizokyo, volume 49, number 2035, page 206, lines a18-28; hereafter titles from this work are abbreviated as follows: T49n2035:206a18-28; My translation here is modified from David Chappell, pp. 28-29. Here and in other translations through­out this paper my own additions are placed within brackets while commentaries found within the passage itself are placed within parentheses.

3 The background of the Outline of the Fouifold Teachings is discussed in Chapell's introduction to his translation and in John Jorgensen's unpublished conference paper, "The 'History' of the T'ien-t'ai ssu-chiao i."

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 25

Ten Kingdoms. Although small in size, Wuyue was one of the most stable and wealthy of all the kingdoms of the Tang-Song inter­regnum.4 The Qian family, who controlled Wuyue for eighty-five years, was a' .great patron of local religious traditions. This was especially true of Qian Chu who developed close relationships with several Buddhist and Daoist clerics. The combination of economic affluence and political support made Wuyue an attractive destination for Buddhist monks throughout China.s Yet, as dramatized in Cheg­wan's biography, the inability of the king and two leading monks to interpret a passage in Yongjia Collection, an important text that drew on a wide range of Buddhist thought, suggests that the once flourish­ing Buddhist tradition had been severely damaged during the fall of the Tang dynasty and the tide of violence that followed in its wake.6

How exactly the Tiantai tradition was affected during this period is difficult to determine. According to some accounts, the majority of Tiantai texts were destroyed during the An Lushan *ifr~UJ rebellions (755-63) and, to a greater extent, the Huichang 1W~ persecutions (845-46), but this may be only partially true. Guoqing Temple ~¥fll' ~, the headquarters of the Tiantai tradition, was destroyed during the Huichang era and then rebuilt in 851. Just one year later, when the Japanese monk Enchin III~ (815-891) was on pilgrimage in the Tiantai mountains, the monastic establishment was fully functioning. Enchin's catalogue of texts acquired in China, the Catalogue of the

4 Wuyue consisted of thirteen prefectures and eighty-six sub-prefectures. At its height, its territory corresponded to present Zhejiang as well as Jiangsu south of the mouth of the Yangzi and east of Lake Tai, and the northeast quadrant of Fujian, including Fuzhou (ap­pended in 947). Wuyue's population totaled approximately 550,700 households, many of whom lived in active commercial centers and major seaports. See Edmund Worthy, p. 19.

5 Historically the Jiangnan region (comprised of southern Jiangsu, Anhui, and northern Zhejiang), had long been a stronghold of Buddhist culture in China. During the early Tang, before the An Lushan rebellion, more monks and nuns lived in this area than any other. During the later Tang, while the population of monastics in every other region of China was reduced to nearly half of their prior numbers, in Jiangnan alone their numbers continued to increase. See Li Yinghui.

6 The Yongjia Collection was written by Xuan Jue :tJl; (665-713) who, legend has it, briefly studied with Huineng ;;;Ii~, the sixth patriarch of the Chan tradition. For his biographies see T50n2060:758a-b and T48n2014:397a.

26 BENJAMIN BROSE

Japanese Monk Enchin's Journey to the Tang in Search of the Dharma (Nihon bikuEnchin nitta guM mokuroku f3 *J:;tJI:IE~)\m ~1t: fl ~1), makes it clear that at the time of his visit there was still a substantial library of Tiantai texts housed at both Guoqing and Chanlin Temples f-,-*#, two of the largest monasteries on Mount Tiantai at the time.7 Local histories record further military activity on that mountain in 859 which coincides with the peasant rebellion of Qiu Fu ~1i in Zhejiang.8 Qiu Fu's uprising was quelled in 860 but was soon followed by the rebellion of Huang Chao :;: '* (874-884). The Huang Chao rebellion also resulted in heavy political and cultural losses throughout China and particularly in eastern Zhe­jiang which was directly attacked by rebel forces. It is likely that Tiantai's libraries were destroyed during these uprisings.9

Tiantai Deshao :Rii1!$ (891-972)

While the precise details regarding the loss of Tiantai texts during the late Tang remain unclear, historical sources agree that by the reign of Qian Chu the textual tradition of Tiantai had been virtually

7 T55n2172:1097b6-1101c26.

8 Tiantai xianzhi bianzuan weiyuanhui, p. 3. On Qiu Fu's rebellion, see Somers, pp. 688-92.

9 The loss of Tiantai texts was just one aspect of the destruction of literary collections during this period. The scholastic Huayan tradition also suffered a serious blow from which they would not fully recover until key texts were returned from Korea by Uich'on ~:;R late in the eleventh century. Other texts were also returned to China from the Korean kingdom of Koryo during the Five Dynasties period. According to the 110'h fasic1e of the Jiu Wudai shi, "Zhou shu: Gongdi ji )1!iJ ii : $**2": In the eighth month of the sixth year of Xiande reign of the Later Zhou (959), "The kingdom of Koryo sent a tribute of the texts Biexu xiaojing 7:lUff:#~!, Yuewang xiaojing xinyi ~:E#~!~Jf~, Huangling xiaojing .¥~ #~!, and Xiaojing citu #~nfEliI" (See Qing Xitai, p. 414).While in the north the Later Zhou kingdom was replenishing their depleted stock of texts, Wuyue in the south was also trying to restore its once celebrated collection of Daoist texts housed at Tongbai Abbey on Mount Tiantai. This was accomplished through the support of Qian Chu for the efforts of the Daoist master Zhu Xiaowai *.:71-. In 952, Qian Chu is said to have donated 200 cases of books and supported the construction of a new hall to house them (See "Chongjian daozangjingji" ]jlJli1l:jU~~2, in Tiantai shan zhi kiJ'i1J0; CT 603, pp. 14335-14344).

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 27

destroyed.10 Yet in spite of the poor state of Tiantai' s libraries during the first half of the tenth century, the monastic institution was on the rise. This was due in part to the activities of another figure in Cheg­w~n's biography, National Teacher Deshao.

Tiantai Deshao was born and raised in Wuyue. He became a monk in his thirties and studied with various teachers until fmally complet­ing his training under Fayan Wenyi ¥:t;HJt3tiiit (885-958). He later settled on Mount Tiantai and attracted the attention of Qian Chu, who was then the governor of the region. Deshao is said to have im­pressed Qian Chu by predicting his eventual enthronement. ll When the event came to pass and Qian Chu was installed as the king of Wuyue, Deshao was subsequently appointed National Teacher. Al­though Deshao is typically described as the second patriarch of the Payan house of Chan (the flfth and fmal of the s.o-called Five Chan Houses), he spent much of his life restoring the Buddhist institution of Mount Tiantai. He is credited with establishing more than a dozen temples on Tiantai and serving as the abbot of Guoqing Temple.12

During his .lifetime Deshao was said to have been the reincarnation of the founder of the Tiantai tradition, Zhiyi!&~ (538-597), because they shared the same surname (Chen il*) and both developed Mount Tiantai through imperial support. Furthermore, his position as the personal teacher to Qian Chu made him the most influential cleric in the kingdom. In Chegwan's biography, Deshao is the first person Qian Chu turns to with questions on Buddhist doctrine. Deshao's own biography, published in the Jingde Era Record of the Transmis­sion of the Lamp (Jingde chuandeng lu :J:1~.M~; hereafter Trans­mission of the Lamp) about thirty years after his death, also recounts the story of Deshao' s role in the revitalization of Tiantai:

In the first year of the Qianyou ~1;ti era of the [Later] Han [948], the ruler inherited the throne. He dispatched an envoy to greet Deshao and expressed

10 In addition to the community based at Mount Tiantai, there were also substantial Tiantai communities in Chang'an and on Mount Wutai but there is no evidence that the texts existed in either the north or the south of China. See Linda Penkower, p. 320.

11 Song gaoseng zhuan *iiifi\1fi T50n2061:789a

12 Ibid., See also Ding Tiankui, p. 254.

28 BENJAMIN BROSE

his desire to become Deshao's disciple. [At that time] the transmitter of Zhizhe's teaching, Xiji, repeatedly spoke with the Master saying, "Zhizhe's teachings have gradually been scattered and lost. The !dngdom of Silla still has the original texts. If not through the power of your compassion, then how will we be able retrieve them?" The Master thereupon spoke with Zhongyi [Qian Chu] and the ruler dispatched an envoy to retrieve the texts. He departed for that kingdom and returned after copying a sufficient number of the texts. They have prevailed in the world up until the present. 13

Luoxi Xiji !flm~.~ (919-987)

According to Deshao's biography in the Transmission of the Lamp, he intervened on the behalf of a monk named Xiji to encourage Qian Chu to seek the lost texts overseas. This is similar to the passage in Chegwan's biography which notes that when Deshao was unable to answer Qian Chu' s question he recommended that the ruler speak with Xiji, who had a greater knowledge of Tiantai doctrine. 14 Xiji succeeded Deshao as abbot of Guoqing Temple and is convention­ally identified as the fifteenth patriarch of the Tiantai school. Yet, according to the accounts quoted above, in his early years he could do no more than identify the origin of the passage, explaining to Qian Chu that the texts themselves had been lost.

The state of Tiantai would have been well-known to Xiji. Accord­ing to his own biography in the Song Biographies of Eminent Monks (Song gaoseng zhuan *rm{~1t; hereafter Song Biographies) Xiji had grown up in the town of Y ongjia, near the southern coast of present Zhejiang province. He was first instructed in the Lotus Satra after becoming a monk at an early age. Following his reception of the complete precepts, he traveled north to Kuaiji ltii' (present Shao­xing ;f,g~) to study the Nanshan Vinaya. Xiji next went south to

13 T51n2076:407c4-9. Another biography of Deshao is found in Hui Hong's ~;,;Jt (1071-1128) Chanlin sengbao zhuan tljLj;H!!lW{\!j: (Dainippon zoku zokyo, volume 79, number 1560, pages 505b22-506a22; hereafter titles from this work are abbreviated as follows: X79 n1560:505b22-506a22) reproduces the Transmission of the Lamp version.

14 In Chegwan's biography however, it is stated that the lost texts could be found in Koryo, while the above biography of Deshao erroneously places them in Silla, which had surrendered to Koryo in 935.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 29

Mount Tiantai in order to study calming and contemplation medita­tion (zhiguan ll:::D). At Tiantai, Xiji discovered that while Tiantai meditation was still being practiced, Tiantai's doctrinal texts were no longer extant. IS He thereupon resolved to collect the foundational works and re-establish the textual tradition for which Tiantai had once been famed. To this end, he set out for the ancient library at Jinhua 1iz:~ (also located in present Zhejiang) but even there he could find no more than a single commentary to the Vimalakfrti

Siitra. 16

Wuyue and Koryo

It was after this failed attempt that Xiji indirectly urged Qian Chu to seek the lost texts overseas. According to Chegwan's biography, Qian Chu sent a letter and various gifts to the kingdom of Koryo in an attempt to procure the lost texts. This was not the first diplomatic exchange between the two kingdoms. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Wuyue had official relations with the leaders of sev­eral kingdoms in what is now Korea. Even before the fall of the Tang dynasty, the soon to be founding patriarch of Wuyue, Qian Liu, had bestowed titles on Kyon Hwon ¥mw, the militarist who ruled the state of Later Paekche (892-935) on the southwestern tip of the Ko­rean peninsula. As early as 900, Kyon sent an envoy to Wuyue and Qian Liu responded by promoting him to the titular rank of Honor-

. 15 The Comprehensive History also notes that from the Huichang persecution to the time of Xiji and the return of the lost texts from overseas, Tiantai masters only taught calming and contemplation (zhiguan) and not doctrine (T49n2035:l89c24-l90a3). One of Xiji's contemporaries, his nephew in the dharma Wuen II!)~I, (912-986), was also initially fru­strated in his attempts to study Tiantai doctrine. His biography reads, "After the Huichang persecution, the doctrinal writings of the Tiantai school were fragmented. The texts that had discussed the marvelous [teachings] had fallen into obscurity. [For this reason], Wuen delved into the doctrine of the 'ten subtleties,' (shimiao +t£rJ» and researched the essence of the 'five levels' (wuzhong ji.lll.:)." Yet later in life Wuen was noted for his frequent lectures on key Tiantai texts (T50n2061:752a23-29).

16 T50n206l:752b4-l4. Xiji originally settled along Luoxi stream at Mount Tiantai and is thus also referred to as Luoxi Xiji (also occasionally written as Yiji ~)f,j(). I have fre­quently and gratefully made use of John Kieschnick's unpublished translation of the Song Biographies, though all errors are my own.

30 BENJAMIN BROSE

ary Grand Protector. In 918, Kyon presented horses to Wuyue and Qiari Liu conferred another promotionY Sometime after 921, when Qian Liu declared himself the "King of Wuyue,",he sent envoys to the kings of Silla and Parhae (Bohai) to initiate tributary relation­ships.IS Prior to this there had been a long history of cultural ex­change between the two regions and this was especially true in the case of Buddhism. Both before and during the tenth century several Korean monks traveled to Wuyue to study with various Chinese masters, resulting in the gradual transmission of Buddhist traditions from China back to Korea. 19

While some aspects of this transmission are well understood, the transmission of Chinese Tiantai texts to Korea and the early stages of Tiantai in Korea (Kor. Ch'ont'ae) remain unclear. Briefly recounted, monks of Korean origin studied what would later come to be called the Tiantai tradition from its very inception with Huisi .,~ (515-577) and his disciple Zhiyi. The first of these was the Korean monk Hyon'gwang :!Z."Jt (dates unknown) who traveled to China in the sixth century, eventually meeting Huisi on Mount Heng 1lrUJ.20

After some time studying under Huisi's guidance, Hyon'gwang is said to have returned to his native country and subsequently attracted numerous disciples. Although Hyon'gwang returned to Korea, unlike many Korean monks who remained in China, his reputation continued to linger. When a hall was built for the patriarchs of Nanyue (Mount Heng), Hyon'gwang's portrait was hung among twenty-seven others. Also, in the early Song dynasty another portrait was placed in the Ancestor's Hall at Guoqing Temple. It may be for these reasons that Hyon'gwang is sometimes credited with establish-

17 Worthy, p. 34.

18 Ouyang Xiu, p. 568.

19 An overview of Chinese-Korean Buddhist relations can be found in Chen Jingfu (1994). For a convenient listing of international exchanges between China, Korea, and Japan see Taigai kankeishi s6g6nempy6 henshu iinkai.

20 Various sources give Paekche or Silla as his kingdom of origin. His biography is found in the Song Biographies T5On2061:820c-821a. For more on Hyon'gwang see Jona­than Best, pp. 139-197.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 31

ing a nascent form of the Tiantai in Korea even though he never studied with Zhiyi.2l

. Hyon'gwang was followed by a mollk from Koguryo ~1D~ (37 BCE - 668 CE), P'ayak iSZ;g: (562-613), who did study under Zhiyi on Mount Tiantai. His biography relates that at Zhiyi's behest, P'ayak practiced austerities for sixteen years on Mount Tiantai. P'ayak never returned to Korea, having died at Guoqing Temple at the age of fifty.22 Since most of the texts which formed the founda­tion of the early Tiantai school were edited by Zhiyi's disciple Guan­ding iiL~ (561-632) in the years after Zhiyi's death, it would have been impossible for either Hyon'gwang or P'ayak to have conveyed any of these works to Korea at this early date.

The beginning of the Tang dynasty marked a shift of imperial fo- . cus away from the Tiantai tradition, which had been so favored by the preceding Sui dynasty (581-618). As a result, little is known about the century that preceded the life of Zhanran rillt~ (711-782), the great systematizer of Zhiyi's legacy, and his master Xuanlang 3K AA (673-754). According to the Orthodox Lineage of the Buddhist Tradition (Shimen zhengtong ~FqlH1E; hereafter Orthodox Lineage) and the Comprehensive History, three Korean monks studied under Zhanran: Pomyling r~i\!!l!., lung ~H! and Sunyong ;Wi~.23 Aside from these rather late records, written nearly four hundred years after their deaths, nothing more is known about these men. Although they are often credited with the transmission of Tiantai to Korea, there is no discernable Tiantai movement in Korea that can be traced back to this period.

According to the Samguk yusa = ~JI:., a history of the Three Kingdoms written by the Korean monk lryon -r~ (1206-89) in the thirteenth century, collections of Buddhist texts were brought to Ko­rea first in 565, later in 851, and again 929.24 One can only speculate

21 See for example He Jinsong and Chih-wah Chan (2005).

22 For P'ayak's biography see Xu gaoseng zhuan T50n2060:570c-571a.

23 See Fozu tongji T49n2035:188b and 444c. See also Young-ja Lee, pp. 121-177.

24 Samguk yusa ~~jf*, T49n2039:994b17. See also Lewis Lancaster, p. 173.

32 BENJAMIN BROSE

about the contents of these texts since neither the collections th~m­selves nor their catalogues are extant. The first transmission in 565 would have occurred before the Tiantai texts had been written and the last in 929 would have been after the Chinese editions had been lost. The 851 transmission is of particular interest because the Ko­rean monk Poyo -'W-lIi (dates unknown) is specifically said to have retrieved the texts from the kingdom of Wuyue during a period in which it is fairly certain that the texts were still in circulation. This is the strongest evidence of a transmission of Tiantai texts to Korea before the tenth century but it is not without problems. In the same passage that mentions Poyo's role in bringing the Buddhist canon to Korea, it is noted that another Korean monk, Uich'on ~.:R (1055-1101),discussed below, was responsible for introducing the Tiantai teachings to Korea. Furthermore, the first section of the pre­sent Korean canon (Kl-1087) reproduces the Kaibao canon that was transmitted to Koryo in 991.25 Even though this project was initiated after the lost texts had been returned to China, the works of Zhiyi and Zhanran had not yet been canonized and were not included.

There is also no reason to believe that Tiantai was popular with the community of Korean emigre monks in China. Ennin IE f= (794-864), the Japanese Tendai monk who had traveled to China in order to visit Mount Tiantai and study with prominent Chinese Tian­tai masters, was waylaid for some time at Pophwa Temple (Fahua yuan r~1i~JG) at Mount Chi 7ffi f.lj, Shandong province, where a large community of Korean monks was living. Ennin notes in his mid-ninth century travel diary that there were twenty-nine resident monks and up to 250 laypeople present at Lotus Sutra lectures. Be­

.cause of the community of Korean monks and laypeople it served, the temple was also known as the Silla Fahua Temple. The name of the temple, coupled with the large Lotus Sutra lecture assemblies that were held there suggest that it was a possible center for the propaga­tion of Tiantai doctrine. Yet Ennin does not engage in any study at Fahua Temple. In fact, it is clear from his diary that he is anxious to

25 The Kaibao zang 00 }!fit engraved under imperial supervision between 971 and 983 in 130,000 blocks, was the first printing of the entire Buddhist canon.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 33

leave and as soon as he obtains permission to travel he sets out for Mount Wutai in search of the Tiantai teachings. If Koryo had by this time developed a Ch'ont'ae tradition, it was not reflected in re­sources at Shaildong's Fahua Temple.26

Of course, the fact that there is no evidence for a large scale trans­mission or study of Tiantai texts by Koreans does not mean that these texts and teachings had not found their way north to the Ko­rean peninsula, but it does make it more difficult to corroborate this portion of Chegwan's biography. Chegwan's role as not only the transmitter of texts but also as the personal instructor to the leaders of the Tiantai community implies a developed Ch' ont' ae tradition in Korea. And yet, if such a tradition did exist its imprint on the histori­cal record has been remarkably faint.

It is clear that the kingdom of Koryo was at the very least cogni­zant of the Chinese Tiantai tradition. The Comprehensive History contains a brief record of a monk from the Tiantai area who engaged in missionary activities: "Dharma master Zilin -=f M was from Sirning. During the second year of the Qingtai era (936), he traveled to Koryo, Paekche, and Japan to spread the teachings of Zhizhe [ZhiyiJ. Koryo dispatched Yi Inil $1= S to accompany him on his return journey west. [QianJ Liu, the king of Wuyue, built a temple in the capital for [ZilinJ and his disciples."27 Unfortunately, nothing else in known about this monk.

Zilin's visit to Koryo took place in the same year that the kingdom of Silla surrendered thereby uniting all three Korean kingdoms under Koryo's rule. Around this same time the first king of Koryo, T'aejo *t£l. (r. 918-943), was advised to adopt the Tiantai tradition in an at­tempt to establish unity among Citizens of the previous three king­doms:

When our king, T'aejo, established the state of Koryo, Haenggul, Pokchon, and Nunggung submitted a memorial, saying: [We] heard that in the Tang empire the profound teaching of unifying the three vehicles into one vehicle,

26 See Chen Jingfu (1994) pp. 105-9 and Edwin Reischauer, pp. 282-3.

27 T49n2035:246b.

34 BENJAMIN BROSE

the Lotus SCUra, and the meditation teaching of three contemplations of one riIind advocated by Zhizhe of the Tiantai tradition were taught. These teach­ings coincide with your majesty's achievement of ul}ifying the three king­doms into one country. The situation of the country is in harmony with those teachings. If we adopt those teachings, then the coming generations of the royal family will prosper. The duration of our country will be prolonged and the imperial authority will not be terminated. The country will always be unified.28

Zilin's proselytizing may have provoked a new interest in Chinese Tiantai. It is also possible that an existing Ch'ont'ae group had found support with these ministers. The impetus and outcome of this move­ment remain obscure in part because the king did not heed his minis­ters' advice and Ch'ont'ae was not recognized by the state for centuries to come. The dubious honor of state-sponsored ideology went instead to Fayan Chan, known in Koryo as Pobon Son. This paralleled developments in China where Chan masters were closely aligned with political leaders, and particularly in Wuyue, where De­shao and his students were becoming the most influential monks in the kingdom.

Fayan Chan and Koryo

The relations between leading Wuyue monks and Koryo monks shed new light not only on the cultural exchange between the two king­doms, but also on the influence of Fayan and his disciples in both kingdoms. The Fayan school was popular among the rulers of Wu­yue in part because of its syncretic approach to the Buddhist teach­ings. In a time when China was bitterly divided, Fayan Wenyi preached harmony between the various Buddhist factions of his time, particularly the mutual importance of Chan and doctrinal traditions, much like Zhiyi had done centuries earlier. The political applications of such a syncretic approach may also be responsible for the new Pbban school's quick rise to prominence in Koryo during the reign of Kwangjong 7\:;* (r. 949-975), who was ruling over a country that had been unified for less than fifteen years.

28 See Kim Chang Seck (1978) p. 21, translated in Chih-wah Chan (2005) p. 238, n. 30.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 35

.Fayan Wenyi had dozens of disciples. Among them was a Korean monk named Hyeko ftm (dates unknown).29 According to his short biography in the Transmission of the Lamp, word of Hyeko' s accom­plishments in China reached K wangjong, the fourth king of Koryo, who sent envoys to invite him to return home.3D In Koryo, Hyeko was elevated to the position of National Teacher and subsequently set up a center for the propagation of Fayan's teaching at Yongguk Temple ~~=ij:, located on Mount Tobong **. By 971, Hyeko's temple was one of only three imperially recognized "Immovable Monasteries" (Pudong sanmun7Fi!H.uF~) in all of Koryo, making the Pobanschool one of the most powerful of its day.3! Hyeko's disciple, ChiSgyon Yongjun ;&r.~~{~ (930-1018), also traveled to China to study within the Fayan lineage. By the time he arrived, sometime before 972, Fayan had already passed away and Deshao was in the final years of his life. ChOgyon became the disciple of Y ongming Yanshou 7kfj,FJJJf8 (904-975), the most prominent of Deshao's stu­dents.32 After his return to Koryo in 972, ChOgyon was appointed abbot of Pongnim Temple ti;j;t=ij: and went on to develop close rela­tions with the royal family during the reigns of Hyonjong iJX;* (r. 975-981) and Songjong mi* (r. 981-997). ChOgyon was not the only Korean Poban monk to study with Yanshou. One of Yanshou's earliest biographies states:

[Yanshou's] teachings were spread outside the country. When the king of Korea read the teachings expressed through the Master's words, he dis­patched an envoy bearing a letter in which [the king] humbly assumed [the position] of the Master's disciple, and presented [Yanshou] with such gifts

29 T51n2076:414b. Another monk from Koryo said to have studied under Fayan was Ryongkam Ji~ (dates unknown) T51n2076:420a. Biographies for both these monks are extremely brief and provide little historical information.

30 According to Kim Tu-chin, Hyeko returned to Korea no later than 968. My analysis of the development of the Korean Poban school is based in part on Kim's study and I am indebted to Se-Woong Koo for his help in reading the original Korean.

31 The other two were Hiiiyang Temple RlJHl;~Jo and Kodal Temple i'iii~~Jo (Ibid. 31). All three monasteries were affiliated with the Son tradition.

32 At least one other Korean studied under another of Deshao' s disciple. The Korean Chinkwan Sokch'o Ji::ilH'I'tl. is said to have received transmission from Longce Xiaorong jf[f!lta~~; Ibid. 32.

36 BENJAMIN BROSE

as a robe woven of gold thread, numerous [rosary] beads made of purple crystal, and a gold pot for washing. [The Master] personally received thirty-six monks from the king's country [i.e., Kore~] and [provided them with] stamped documentation [verifying their realization]. Each and every one of them returned to their country of origin to spread [the Master's teach­ings] in their individ~al areas.33

It is likely that the Koryo monk Chijong ~* (930-1018) was one of the thirty-six who were dispatched by Kwangjong to study with Yan­shou in 959. Although he is primarily honored as one of the founding monks of the P6ban school, after two years with Yanshou, Chijong went on to study under Xiji from whom he received instruction in the Great Calming and Contemplation (here given as Da dinghui lun *AE71~Ifjj, probably a variant title for the Mohe zhiguan) and other Tiantai teachings. By 968 he had sufficiently mastered the material to the extent that he was asked by Zanning to lecture at Xiji' stemple, Chuanjiao 1t~~JE, on the Great Calming and Contemplation and the Lotus Satra. He returned to Koryo in 970 after eleven years of study and was received by Kwangjong. Chijong was thereafter supported by successive kings and appointed to various official positions. After his death in 1018, he was posthumously awarded the title of National Teacher. 34

Chijong's study with Xiji would have preceded and then coincided with Chegwan's activity. Yet from his biography it appears that the Tiantai teachings were not well known to Chijong previous to his trip to China. It was only after his tenure with Xiji that he was able to sufficiently master the Tiantai teachings. This may simply be due to his lack of earlier exposure or interest. More troubling is the fact that he received doctrinal instruction from Xiji before the arrival of Chegwan, suggesting that the Tiantai texts were already present in China at that time.

33 T50n2061:887a-b; translated by Albert Welter, p. 197.

34 "Zengshi Yuankong guoshi shengmiao zhi ta beiming bingxu" ~!!I~I!I~~~iPJl!il'M->z J;&~l\!ji;jJfzff:, in Chosen sotokufu lji;Ijffif,f,%t'%f (ed.) Chosen kinseki saran lji;Ijffifolz:~*!@.jl. For a study of the biographical material on Chijong and a reproduction of the inscription, see Chen Jingfu (1998). Some information is also reproduced in Kim Tu-chin, p. 29, and Young-jaLee,pp.121-177.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 37

UIt'ong ~jj (927-988)

While the Payan-Koryo connection is easily traced, the history of early Ch'ont'ae monks in Korea is more difficult to ascertain. How­ever, the activities of several other Korean monks associated with Chinese Tiantai are well documented. Among these was the monk Uit'ong, one of the most prominent Tiantai masters after Zhahran.35

Vit' ong was of royal Koryo birth and traveled to China sometime

Deshaa 1.~(ffl

'---'--.-"'\ I

I I \ I \ \ \ \ I I \ , I, ~ , \ , \ , \

/ I

I I

, \ , \ I \

I \ I \

, I I \

-----'--...... ', \',----'----......

Figure 1: Relational chart of Chinese and Korean monks (Korean monks indicated in bold)

35 Materials pertaining to Uit'ong's life are collected in Siming zunzhe jiao xing lu II9I¥l .*!l!!<rr~ T46n1937:856-933. A second version of his biography is found in the Com­prehensive History T49n2035:191b.

38 BENJAMIN BROSE

between 936 and 944, initially studying with Tiantai Deshao.36 He later also studied the Tiantai teachings with Xiji. After completing his studies of Tiantai doctrine, Uit'ong set out to return to Koryo with the intention of transmitting the Tiantai tradition to, in his words, "all those who have never heard about it.,,37 But along the way he was waylaidby Qian Chu's son and convinced to remain in China. One of the ruling family's residences in Mingzhou, later named Chuanjiao Temple 1i~1l1G (Temple for Transmitting the Teachings) after his teacher Xiji's temple at Mount Tiantai, was do­nated to him and thus became his center for the propagation of Tiantai. By the time of his death in 988, Uit'ong had produced two of the most influential Tiantai monks of the Northern Song: Zhili ~Q jjll (960-1028), traditionally recognized as the seventeenth patriarch of the tradition, and his equally prominent contemporary Zunshi Jt:J:t (964-1032).38

While there is much that is remarkable about Uit'ong's life, here I would only like to draw attention to the fact that he, like Chijong before him, initially came to China to study Fayan Chan and was only later introduced to Xiji and the Tiantai teachings. The fact that Uit' ong wanted to bring those teachings back to his native country implies that they were not yet widely known or well established in Korea. It was the Chan school that dominated the religious culture of Koryo during the tenth century, eclipsing attempts to establish the Tiantai teachings. Yet Chegwan's biography suggests, if not an established tradition of Tiantai learning, at least a substantial collec­tion of texts, but the existence of such a collection cannot be verified. As we have seen, there are some suggestions that Chinese Tiantai may have been introduced to Korea in the eighth or ninth century, but the first real evidence for an established Ch'ont'ae tradition does not surface until the end of the eleventh century through the life and work ofUich'on.

36 The Comprehensive History places these dates later, between 947 and 960.

37 "Wu yu yi ci dao zhu wei wen" :g:1:i!\J;J,j/:t1~,m*1i,fJ (T46nI937:930a6).

38 On Zhili see Chi-wah Chan (1999) and Brook Ziporyn. On Zunshi see Daniel Steven­son.

TIffi RETURN OF CIDNA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 39

tJich'on ~7C (1055-1101)

'The prominent position of the Poban school of Son in Koryo, which drew heavily on Huayan metaphysics, was partly responsible for the rising interest in Huayan (Kor. Hwaom) studies in the eleventh cen­tury. Uich'on, the fourth son of the Koryo king Munjong X* (r. 1046-1083), traveled to China in 1085 with the intention of deepen­kg his understanding of Huayan, but once in China also became mterested in the doctrinal traditions of Tiantai.39 He began collecting texts from both traditions and by 1090 had assembled nearly 5000 scrolls. Later he used travelers and monks to gather another 1740 scrolls. In China Uich'on was based out of the capital of Wuyue, Hangzhou, at Huiyin Temple ~12SI~, a monastery known for its lIuayan learning. Not only is Uich'on honored, along with his teacher Jingyuan ~71Jli: (l011-1088), with the revival of the Huayan tradition in China, but he is also recognized as the first patriarch of Korean Ch'ont'ae.4o The wooden blocks used to print the texts that Uich'on sent from China to Korea were later destroyed in a fire and all that remains today is his catalogue, the Sinp 'yon chejong kyojang ch'ongnok ~~~*t!fc.*J&~.41 This catalogue contains a substan­tial number of Tiantai commentarial texts. Indeed, the very text whose loss was said to have spurred the effort to retrieve the entire collection, Zhiyi's Miaoxuan (or Fahua xuanyi ~¥::t~), was among the texts brought to Korea by Uich'on. Perhaps these texts already existed in Koryo and Uich'on was simply gathering other editions, but this is the first concrete evidence of the existence of

39 Uich~on's biography is recorded in the "Epitaph of National Teacher Taegak: of Yongt'ong-sa," the "Epitaph of National Teacher Taegak, the Founder of Korean Ch'ont'ae School of Sonbong-sa," and in the record on the memorial stone at Hilng-wang-sa (see Lee Yong-ja, p. 143). For a study of Uich-on's activities in China see Huang Chi-chiang, pp. 242-276.

40 After his return to Korea Uich'on sent large quantities of texts to Jingyuan thus reviving the textual study of Huayan during the Song. For Huiyin Temple see Wei Daoru, pp. 222-230 and Bao Zhicheng. For a thorough treatment of Uich-on's life and work see Chen Jingfu (1994) pp. 400-649.

41 T55n2184. See also Lancaster, pp. 173-199.

40 BENJAMIN BROSE

Tiantai texts in Koryo. Furthermore, in the Song Biographies several of the texts that Xiji was known to have lectured on are noted:

Xiji lectured on the Scripture of the Lotus of the Law (Fahuajing l~~*!!lD to­gether with the Profound Doctrine (Xuanyi ~~) more than twenty times. He also spoke several times each on scriptures such as the [Golden] Light ([lin] guangming [~]7't~), the VimOalaklrti (Jingming i*~), and Brahma's Net (Fanwang J-t*Jl'J); treatises such as the Calming and Contemplation (Zhiguan JJ:iJ[) and the Golden Pin (Jingang bei ~ilItlIJ&!\!); works on conte~plation such as the Dharma Realm (Fajiel~!Jf-), and the Return to the Source (Huan­yuan guan ~YliRiJ[); as well as the Explanations on the Origins of Chan (Chanyuan quan jjI!j!1~~i), and the Yongjia Collection (Yongjiaji 7kllt~). His compositions included abridgements of [Zhanran's] Examples of the Doc­trine of Calming and Contemplation (Zhiguan yili JJ:iJ[~{jiJ), and the Unique Doctrine of the Ten Marvelous Gates of the Lotus (Fahua shimiao buer men l~~+fr.t:P/f=F~) in several fascicles.42 .

From this list it is evident that later in his life Xiji had access to sev­eral texts that were unavailable to him in his earlier years. Many of the commentaries mentioned here were sought out and brought back to Korea by Uich'on, raising the suspicion that they had not yet been introduced to that country.43 Another text that was brought back to Korea from China and is found in Uich'on's catalogue is a commen­tary to the Renwang jingo This was one of the texts that, according to the Comprehensive History, was forbidden to Chegwan to transmit to China. Vich'on's notes next to his entry for this text in his catalogue read: "At Tiantai, they say this text came from Japan. Awaiting fur­ther investigation.,,44

42 T50n2061:752c.

43 These are, with their corresponding notices in Uich-i5n's catalogue: Fajie guan (1166bI4), Huanyuan guan (1l66c07), fingang bei (1168b12), Shimiao buer men (1168c22), and the Zhiguan yili (1177c27).

44 T55n2184:1170b22. The record of Zhili provides some details regarding the difficulty in acquiring this text: "Early in the Song the Tiantai teachings were gradually brought to Wuyne by sea. These included the three great works that are transmitted today. The copy of the commentary to the Renwang jing that was brought was not the real text. First there were two volumes but everyone rejected them as fakes. Earlier Fazhi [Zhili] had been sent the hair of a Pratyekabuddha from the Japanese Zen master [Gen] shin. He answered his [Genshin's] twenty questions and then requested a copy of the commentary to the Ren­wang jing, which [Gen]shin then sent. [But] the boat could not stay on course through the

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 41

After returning to Korea in 1086, Uich'on lamented the domi­nance of Son and began laying the foundations for doctrinal study. He was supported by his mother, Queen Inye, and his brother, King S~kchong j'i*. (r. 1095-1105). It has been suggested that this shift in imperial focus from Son to Ch'ont'ae mirrored the shifting politi­cal allegiances of King Munjong (r. 1046-1083) and his successor, King Sukchong.45 Whatever the case, the rapid rise to power of the new Ch'ont'ae school was clearly linked to imperial support. A new temple for Uich'on was built in 1097 and named Kukch'ong Temple (Ch. Guoqing si) after the monastery at Mount Tiantai.46 The newly established Ch' ant' ae school started its own examinations for monks in 1099 and higher exams in 1101. From the late eleventh century on, the Ch'ont'ae tradition became a significant force in Korean Buddhism. With Uich'on the history of Korean Ch'ont'ae comes into focus but Chegwan's role remains obscure. How did Chegwan ac­quire such a thorough knowledge of Tiantai more than a century ear­lier? What do we know of Chegwan's life and legacy?

Chegwan ~U (dates unknown)

Chegwan's name is well known for at least two reasons. First, he authored the Outline of the Fouifold Teachings, an influential Tiantai primer; and second, he is said to have returned the lost Tiantai texts to China. Yet Chegwan himself remains a shadowy figure. His birth and death dates are unknown, as is his background. The only per-

great winds and terrifying waves. The sailors chanted [sutras] but this did not quell the dragon's fury so they threw the commentary into the sea which then became calm. Fazhi then sought two monks with strong memories to go to the place where [Gen]shin lived in order to memorize the text and then return. Unfortunately those two monks died in Japan." (Siming zunzhe jiao xing lu 1191jfij~1lf~1TJlfi'<, T46n1937:916a). The Orthodox Lineage

.. reproduces this story exactly but adds: "Early in the Yuanfeng era (1078-1085) sea mer­chants came to Siming carrying the present commentary to the Renwang Uing] in two fascicles." (X75n1513:268c19-20) The three great works (san dabu ~*ll1l) are the Miaofa lianhua jing xuanyi M>1~Jl~iU~~~, Miaofa lianhua jing wenju M>1~Jl~\Uil!Jt1D, and the Mohe zhiguan ~WiJ.il:ill..

45 Kim Chang Seok (1980) pp. 41-50.

46 For more information on the history of this temple see Kwon Sangno, pp. 182-187. This was one of at least four temples with this name within Korea.

42 BENJAMIN BROSE

sonal information conveyed in his Comprehensive History biography is that he was from Koryo, went to study with Xiji at Tiantai, and wrote the Outline of the Fourfold Teachings. This biography gives the date of Chegwan's arrival in China as 962, some three hundred years before the biography itself was written.47 There is no mention of Chegwan in any Chinese biographical collection pre-dating the Comprehensive History and all later biographical accounts are based on this biography. Although he is said to have died in China, there are no surviving memorial inscriptions and no mention of where his body or relics were interred. Other figures involved in the Tiantai revival, such as Deshao, Xiji, and Uit'ong, were eulogized after their deaths by the rulers of Wuyue and prominent officials, but no such honors were accorded Chegwan.

The earliest references to Chegwan are in the works of Uich' on and his master Jingyuan. In Uich'on's catalogue of texts collected in China he lists Chegwan as the author of the Outline of the Fourfold Teachings.48 Also, in his vow made in front of Zhiyi's reliquary Uich'on notes that Chegwan's work had essentially disappeared from Koryo. Jingyuan, on receiving three commentaries from Uich'on, remarked that "his eminence Chegwan of your country re­corded the Outline of the Fourfold Teachings, which is current in China and which Zhiyi's descendents seek as a guide." 49 Although Chegwan is consistently mentioned as the author of this important Tiantai text, there is nothing to suggest Chegwan's role in the actual transmission of texts from Koryo to Wuyue. Since there is no surviv­ing information linking Chegwan to the reintroduction of Tiantai texts prior to the biography in the Comprehensive History, this text warrants closer examination.

47 T49n2035:0249b.

48 T55n2184:1l78a.

49 See John Jorgensen (2005) p. 123 n. 86,

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 43

The Comprehensive History account revisited

The Comprehensive History was published by Zhipan ;G;~ (dates Ji1known) between 1258 and 1269. Zhipan's extensive history of the Tiantai school was based in part on Zongjian's *~ (d. 1206) Ortho­dox Lineage of the Buddhist Tradition (Shimen zhengtong ~f\fr~JEif1E; hereafter Orthodox Lineage), posthumously published in 1237.50

The text of the Comprehensive History is composed of several Clverlapping narratives. The various layers of this text are clearly seen in Xiji' s biography:

Previously the Tiantai teachings had been scattered since the time of An and Shi. (This was the last year of Tianbao J;:J'f [756]. An Lushan 'iCw!kr.L! and Shi Siming 5I:.,~JlJj were both fomenting rebellion.) More recently [texts] were destroyed in the Huichang [persecutions] ([Emperor] Wuzong's iEt* Huichang reign lasted five years. Monks and nuns were secularized and tem­ples were destroyed). Master [Xiji] deeply regretted this and made a great effort to collect [the texts]. First he went to the ancient library at Jinhua but was only able to obtain one commentary to the Vimalaklrti [Sutra].

The ruler of Wuyue, Qian Chu, was looking over the Yongjia Collection which said, "[The stage of Buddhahood according to the Tripitaka Teaching] is the same [as the Complete Teaching] in removing the four levels of attachment. In this regard, they are identical. But as for overcoming fundamental ignorance, the Tripitaka [Teaching] is inferior [to that of the Complete Teaching]." He asked National Teacher Shao (Transmitter of the Flame, National Teacher Tiantai Deshao had the family name Chen. He was the heir of Chan Master Qingliang Wen[yi]. [Deshao]went to Mount Tiantai looking for the traces of Zhizhe. It was just as if he had lived there in the past. He also had the same family name as Zhizhe and [people of the] time suspected that he was [Zhizhe's] reincarnation.). [De]shao said, "The meaning of this is found in the [Tiantai] teachings. You can ask Tiantai Master [Xi]ji." The ruler summoned [Xiji] and the master went out to Jinmen [to greet him]. [Qian Chu] had him lecture and then asked about the aforementioned passage [of the Yongjia Collection]. The master said, "This comes from Zhizhe's Miaoxuan f;j;;tz;.. Since the end of the Tang [his teachings] have been scattered and destroyed. Now they are all overseas."

50 For the background of the Comprehensive History and Orthodox Lineage, see Koichi Shinohara.

44 BENJAMIN BROSE

Because of this the ruler of Wuyue sent out eighteen emissaries to travel to Japan in search of the texts. When they returned, the ruler built Luoxi temple for [Xiji]. He was called Dinghui :<i:7Il and awarded t4e title Dharma Master Jingguang f¥J't;.51

[Xiji] requested that titles be posthumously awarded to all the Tiantai patri­archs (up to the siXteenth). Because of the Master's effort, .the study of [Tiantai] doctrine flourished and the school was revived. (According to the Ershi kouyi =~iji I=l~, "The ruler of Wuyue dispatched emissaries with fIfty different types of precious goods to travel to Koryo in search of [the lost] texts. The [court of Koryo] sent Chegwan to come and make an offering [of these texts]." But the Commentary of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Siistra, Commentary on the Benevolent King Sutra, Essential Contents ojthe Huayan Sutra, Five Hundred Gates among others were not to be transmitted. Accord­ing to this we know that emissaries were sent to two overseas countries. If the treasured teachings and commentaries were returned to China, this is certainly because the Korean Chegwan was sent to present them.)52

The fIrst biographical layer states that emissaries were sent to Japan to retrieve the lost texts; no mention is made of Korea or Chegwan. In addition there is Zhipan' s commentary, shown above in parenthe­ses, where the variant narrative of Koryo and Chegwan is set forth. Zhipan was basing his biographical material on one source, the Orthodox Lineage, and adding his commentary based in part on the Ershi kouyi (OraZ Instructions of the Two Masters), an eleventh cen­tury Tiantai history written by Jizhong ~J'iI;', (1012-1082). This text, which now only exists in fragments, may be one of the earliest sources for the role of Chegwan in these events. Koichi Shinohara has demonstrated that Jizhong played a pivotal role in the schisms that plagued the Tiantai community in the eleventh century. He was a grandson disciple of Zhili, through Shangxian [t,jJf (dates un­known), and one of the primary editors of Zhili's texts and a great reviver of the works of Zhili's master, Xiji's student Uit'ong. It was

51 The letter Qian Chu sent to Xiji awarding him his new title and a purple robe is pre­served in the Luoxi zhenzu ji ~~~t1l.~ (X56n94:6780c2--4). Xiji's temple, Chuanjiao, was completed in 964. The founding of this temple is also described in the Luoxi zhenzu ji (780c2l-782a13), though the origin of the returned texts is not mentioned. The name was changed to Dong dinghui yuan JIil:li::ttlliG in 1008 (Chen Qiqing, j. 28).

52 T49n2035:190c-191a.

THE RETURN OF CHJNA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 45

"through Jizhong's efforts that the "orthodox Tiantai lineage" was '~linked to Zhili and his heirs in Mingzhou (the shanjia faction) rather than Qingsong and his followers in Hangzhou (the shanwai faction). :It'thus seems c~ear that Jizhong had a vested interest in establishing ithe importance of at least one Korean master, Uit'ong, and perhaps Chegwan as well.

The Orthodox Lineage account

:Mule one can only speculate about the contents of the Ershi kouyi, ~the biography of Xiji found in the Orthodox Lineage mirrors that of the one reproduced in the Comprehensive History with one signifi­cant difference. In this earlier version, it is clearly stated that the lost texts were sought and returned from Japan:

... King Qianzhong [Qian Chu] was reading Buddhist scriptures but failed to , understand the relations between the [various] teachings. He called on Na­

tional Teacher [De]shao, who said that Master [Xiji] had a thorough under-. standing of the [Tian]tai path. The King called on Master [Xiji] to give a talk.

[Xiji suggested] that he send envoys to Japan in search of the lost texts. Later [the king] built a temple for [Xiji] and awarded him the name Jing­guang.53

.,This is the earlier layer used by Zhipan in his work. In Zongjian's : history, there is no mention of emissaries being sent to Koryo. Fur­thennore, the Orthodox Lineage makes no mention of Chegwan's

; tole as the transmitter of lost texts; he is only listed elsewhere as the author of the Outline of the Fourfold Teachings. The Orthodox Line­,age biography of Xiji also quotes from a eulogy by Zha'an 1!t~ (dates unknown) stating that Japanese monks had come to study with Xiji. It further states that he trained ten Korean (Haidong ~*) stu-'pents but mentions only Uit'ong by name. Xiji appears to have in­structed a very international group of disciples but his biography suggests that prior to the Comprehensive History account that credits

. ~hegwan with the return of the Tiantai texts, there was an earlier

S3 X75n1513:278c3-5.

46 BENJAMIN BROSE

tradition which held that the texts were originally sought and ob­tained from Japan. 54

The case for Japan

Earlier accounts

The Orthodox Lineage account of the Japanese provenance for the lost texts is in fact supported by a number of earlier texts which are briefly reviewed below. According to his entry in the Song Biogra­phies, Xiji "asked Chan Master [De] shao to urge someone to take a boat to Japan and purchase the texts there. In this way, Xiji's knowl­edge was broadened."55 Not long after the publication of that biogra­phy, Yang Yi t£{~ (974-1020), an influential lay figure in early Song Buddhism, noted that

The Qian dynasty that ruled the kingdom of Wuyue had friendly relations [with Japan] through [commercial] delegations. [At that time] many of the more than five hundred volumes known to have been written by Zhizhe of the Tiantai sect no longer existed [in China]. After a merchant reported that these books could be found in Japan, Qian Hongchu [Qian Chu] wrote a let­ter to the ruler of that country and, offering five hundred ounces of gold,

54 The Orthodox Lineage elsewhere mentions the return of the lost texts to the kingdom of Wuyue but the text is ambiguous about the country of origin, leaving the reader uncertain if they came from Silla, Japan, or both countries:

Jingxi [Zhanran] transmitted the teachings to three Silla monks named Pomyung ¥t:~~, lung mlJi! and Sunyong {f;i[:;R. Earlier these teachings had been established in Japan and were flourishing overseas. Due to the disorder in the Central Plains the textual corpus had been destroyed. But these teachings could not be eliminated and survived through the difficulties. Like when dawn breaks and reddens the rising clouds, the true· men were destined to see [the works] of civilization. During the early Song period these texts were gradually brought to Wuyue by boat. These are the three great works of Master Zhiyi that are transmitted today. (X75n1513:268c7-12)

55 T50n2061:752bl4-15. Zanning, the editor of this collection, also composed Deshao's stupa inscription. Yet in Deshao's previously mentioned biography in this same collection, it is stated that the texts came from Silla.

THE RETURN OF CIllNA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 47

asked to have copies made. He thus obtained the books, and today the teach­ings of the Tiantai school are widespread in the Jiangzuo region. 56

Moving forward chronologically, there is also Chen Guan's Il*Ii ·(1060-1124) st~le inscription for Yongming Yanshou entitled "True Praise for Chan Master Zhijue" (Zhijue chanshi zhenzan ilrJl;iif~§ijl~ Jr) which states, "In the past, the teachings of Tiantai Zhizhe from Wuyue were incomplete. Master [Desaho] said to Qian [Chu], 'The kingdom of Japan has [the complete texts].' Qian [Chu] followed the master's advice and sent a letter along with a gift of gold to seek out and copy the original texts. The fact that these teaching are flourish­ing in Jiangzuo, creating faith and establishing true practice, is due to the effort of the master."57 Again, in 1203, with the publication of Zongxiao's *H~ (1151-1214) volume on the life and work of the Xiji's disciple Ui'tong, we find a recounting of Xiji's biography that initially relies on the Song Biographies account. Then, after recount­ing the devastation of the Tiantai texts and Deshao's urging that the

56 Yangwen gongtan yuan t£-j(J:;;~:!I1i. (cited in Shen Haibo, pp. 187-205). Yang Yi had personally met at least two of the Japanese monks who had traveled to China from Hieizan in Japan several decades after the re-introduction of the lost Tiantai texts. The Yangwen gongtan yuan notes that in the third year of the Jingde era (1004-1007), when Yang Yi was serving in the Memorial-forwarding office, the Japanese monk JakushO ;J1i( Bg (962-1034), or Entsu Daishi p:J im7dill, came to pay tribute. The monk reported that he Was from Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei (which he refers to as "Mount Tendai"), where 3000 monks were in residence. J akushi5 was the monk who was sent by the Tendai establish­ment on Mount Hiei with a list of twenty-seven questions to ask Zhili. Yang Yi questioned him about matters of Japanese religion, state and possession of Chinese texts. Jakusho informed him that, in addition to a large quantity of secular texts, Japan preserved "Bud­dhist treatises, commentaries, compendiums, biographies, and collections too numerous to enumerate." (This same passage is reproduced in the Zenrin kokuhoki ~~OO~~c, a fif­teenth century Japanese chronicle of relations with China from the seventh through the thirteenth centuries. See the translation of the entire text by Charlotte von Verschuer [1999]). Yang Yi also met the Japanese Tendai monk ChOnen Ji1f~ (938-1016) who traveled in China from 983-6. Chonen met with the Song Emperor Taizong and was later awarded the purple robe. Chonen' s summary of his visit to China, including his pilgrimage to Wutai, was sealed away in a sandalwood statue of the Buddha that he brought back with him to Japan for installation at his Kyoto temple, Seiryo-ji 1~1*~, where it was discovered in 1954. For more on ChOnen see Tsukamoto Zenryu. An English translation of that account is found in Henderson and Hurvitz. See also Robert Gimello and Wang Zhenping.

57 Qiandao siming tujing fz:i!i:I11:IIJIlIil*!! (cited in He Yongqiang, pp. 412-413).

48 BENJAMIN BROSE

lost texts be retrieved, it states that "The ruler also sent eighteen men to travel to Japan. They obtained the Tiantai canon and then re­turned. The master was awarded the name 'Great Master Pure Radi­ance'. The posthumous naming of the nine patriarchs [of the Tiantai school] is due to the work of the master. It is because of this that the master is regarded by all to be the reviver of the school.. And it was because [De]shao had the same surname as Zhizhe that he was able to lend support to our school."58 Finally, thirty-five years later with the publication of Zongjian's biography of Xiji in the Orthodox Line­age the same version of events is again recounted.

Tiantai and Japan

While Japanese historical sources provide little specific detail regarding this tenth century diplomatic exchange, the possibility of a textual transmission from Japan is made more probable in light of the substantial collection of Tiantai texts that are known to have ex­isted in Japan at that time. The formative years of Japanese Tendai have been well documented and I review it here only in brief, focus­ing on the importation of Chinese Tiantai texts. 59 The process spanned more than a century, beginning in the eighth century when the Chinese Vinaya master Iianzhen ~~ (688-763; J. Ganjin), along with fourteen of his disciples arrived in Nara. 60 Although Jianzhen is primarily known as the man who brought the Four Part Vinaya (Sifenlii [g:5:1~; Dharmagupta-vinaya) to Japan, he also

58 Siming zunzhejiaoxing lu rmlJll.tf"~1T~ T46n1937:929b16-19.

59 Paul Groner has provided a detailed examination of the establishment of the Japanese Tendai tradition in his Saicho: The Establishment of the Tendai School, and Ryogen and Mount Hiei: Japanese Tendai in the Tenth Century. My recapitulation of early Japanese Tendai relies on Groner's work.

60 See his biographies in Song gaoseng zhuan *~{j;l1f, T50n2061:0797a, and You fang ji chao ilifj)fE',fY, T51n2089:988a. The earliest source for Ganjin is To daiwajo tosei den ~*fDJ::.*1iE{$, composed by Mahito Genkai Jl;.A5cim (a.k.a. Omi Mifune )3tiliE:=.mf!;, 722-785) in 779. This account was based on the (now lost) biography written by Ganjin's disciple Situo ,\S\~, Da Tang chuanjieshi sengming ji Daheshang lianzhen zhuan *~{$:W: i5r1i{~i'l"ilc.*5fOJ::.iiJl;{f (also known as "Da Heshang zhuan" *5fOJ::.{f, or "Heshang xing­ji" fDJ::.fT§C.). For modern studies of Ganjin, see Ando, Kuranaka, and Wang Xiangrong.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 49

introduced a collection of Chinese Buddhist texts, among them were the lectures and writings of the Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi. 61

SaichO ;;:¥1t (767-822) first became aware of the Tiantai teachings through the texts left behind by Jianzhen. He later traveled to China where he spent a total of nine months, primarily in Taizhou il'1'I'/ where Mount Tiantai is located. In addition to receiving transmission in different Buddhist traditions, SaichO spent several months copying works from libraries with the help of a team he had assembled. Upon SaichO's return to Japan in 805, his first task was to submit biblio­graphies of the works he had collected to the Japanese court, who in tum ordered that copies be made and distributed to the seven great temples of Nara. The list of texts collected from the Tiantai area, the Dengyo daishi shOrai Taishu roku 1f~*sjjJM%-*il'1+/~i, totaled 120 \Yorks in 345 fascicles. 62 Saicho quickly rose to prominence and established a new center for the propagation of Tendai on Mount Hiei, outside of Kyoto.

One of Saicho's prominent disciples, Ennin iH= (794-864), trav­eled to China together with Ensai /IIttJ: (d. 877) in 838. Although Ennin was denied permission to travel to Mount Tiantai, the main goal of his pilgrimage, he was able to collect a number of Tiantai texts during his nine years in China.63 While Ennin was confined to northern China, Ensai had been granted permission to travel to Mount Tiantai where he studied the Tiantai teachings at Guoqing Temple under Guangxiu .1~ (771-843), conventionally hailed as the eleventh patriarch of the Tiantai school. Ensai remained in China for forty years and sent at least thirty texts back to Japan.64

6( Groner (2000) pp. 6-10.

62 T55n2159.

63 Ennin collected over 500 fascicles of texts in China. His three catalogues are Nihon kokujawa go nen nitta guhO mokuroku S *~*fp3iiF.Am*~ fI ~ (T55n2165), likaku daishi zaita sa shinroku iti\:W:*~ijJ:f±m*~~ (T55n2166), and Nitta shingu shOgya moku­roku .Am*Ji*~~ fI ~ (T55n2167).

64 Groner (2002) p. 26 (citing Tendai Kahya, Dainihon Bukkya zensho (Suzuki ed.), 41, 21Sb).

50 BENJAMIN BROSE

Another Japanese Tendai monk, Enchin ~~ (814-91), traveled to China in 853. He met Ensai at Guoqing Temple where he studied Sanskrit and the Tiantai teachings.65 Guoqing Temple was destroyed during the Huichang persecutions but by 851 was rebuilt by the or­der of Emperor Xuanzong 13* (r. 847-860).66 Not only was Enchin able to study at Guoqing Temple, where he paid to have a hall for visiting Japanese monks constructed, but he also found the monastic libraries well-stocked. The catalogue of texts he brought back with him to Japan, mentioned earlier, lists sixty-seven texts in 227 fasci­cles from Guoqing Temple alone and 157 texts in 387 fascicles from Guoqing Temple and Chanlin Temple combined. The works of both Zhiyi and Zhanran are included.67 These are in addition to further Tiantai texts that he was able to collect from other locations in the course of his travels. After Enchin returned to Japan in 858, there is no record of any Japanese monks visiting or collecting texts from the Tiantai area until the middle of the tenth century, when the lost texts were returned.

Even without taking into account the various texts that may have been unofficially transmitted to Japan, the catalogues of SaichO, En­nin, Ensai, and Enchin alone are enough to establish that a substan­tial collection of Chinese Tiantai texts was preserved in Japan by the mid-tenth century. At that time, the Tendai community at Mount Hiei had been established for more than 150 years. Given the trade relations between Wuyue and Japan, it would have been a natural move to seek the lost texts from the collections housed at Mount Hiei.

65 Enchin left an extensive account of his travels but now only fragments remain: Gy6rekishO il')j'jtl'Y (Travel fragments). The extant fragments along with a modem compilation of his writings that includes his memorial (ChisM Daishi yoM hennen zasshii), and his early biography (Tendaishu Enryakuji Zasu Enchin den) appear in Dai Nihon Bukkyo zensho 72, 188-92, 198-224, and 145-52, respectively. For a detailed study of the diary, see Ono Katsutoshi (cited in Borgen, p. 86 n. 6).

66 See Chen Qiqing, fascicle 28.

67 See T55n2172:1098c29-1101bI6 for a complete listing of the texts.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 51

wuyue and Japan

he cultural exchange that allowed for. such large-scale importation ofTiantai texts and teachings from China to Japan in the ninth cen­tury was facilitated by the diplomatic relationship that had existed between the two countries since the Sui dynasty. From the onset of Japan's official diplomatic missions to China (known as the Ken­suishiJl~w1~ and Kentoshi Jlm1!e) in 600 to their termination in 894, approximately two dozen embassies were exchanged between the twocountries.68 From the early ninth century on, the official trade route was from KyiishU to Mingzhou, located 140 kilometers north­east of Mount Tiantai. The close proximity of the port to Tiantai made it easily accessible to the Japanese monks on board diplomatic and merchant ships. After the Tang, no official missions were sent from Japan until the fifteenth century, but this did not put an end to economic and cultural exchange, particularly with the kingdom of Wuyue. Throughout the tenth century, Wuyue continued to send emissaries to the Japanese court to foster trade relations and gain recognition as an imperial state. Though no official relationship, tributary or otherwise, appears to have been established, the lines of communication remained open. It was merchants rather than ambassadors who served as the representatives of Wuyue's interests in Japan. The court of Wuyue would deputize the captain of a ship as an envoy or bearer of gifts and messages. Japan reciprocated these gestures by using the same Chinese ships to deliver goods and letters back to Wuyue.69 According to Japanese historical records, at least sixteen trips were made by Chinese merchants between Wuyue and Japan from 909 to 959.70 During the tenth century, most Japanese were forbidden to travel to China. However, an exception was made for monks and it is certain that some of those merchant ships re­turned to Wuyue from Kyiishu with a cargo of Japanese clerics.

68 Verschuer, p. 3; Gimello, p. 74.

69 See Worthy, p. 35.

70 See Kimiya Yasuhiko, pp. 222-224. Also reproduced in He Yongqiang, pp. 267-271.

52 BENJAMIN BROSE

The Baoqieyin Pagodas

The Japanese presence in Wuyue can be traced through archaeologi­cal evidence. Japanese coins dating from the year 859 have been discovered in the central chamber of the Leifeng ~~if pagoda, built along the southern edge of West Lake in Hangzhou by Qian Chu between 972 and 976.71 This monument to the Buddhistfaith of the last king of Wuyue finally collapsed in 1924, yielding a number of treasures when it was fully excavated in 2000-2001. Among them were two small pagodas which contained printed copies of the Yiqie rulaixin mimi quanshen sheli baoqieyin tuoluoni jing -'----IW:tzo*,L.'fM w;~~'@fflj}f~FP~t,mJ§*£ (hereafter Baoqieyin).72 The text of this short dhiiral}-lsutra teaches that any devotee who places this stitra within a stupa will enjoy the protection of all buddhas in the ten directions. The printed text bears a preface which states that in 956 Qian Chu had 84,000 sutras printed and inserted into the same num­ber of miniature metal pagodas.73 In imitation of King Ashoka, Qian Chu distributed the pagodas throughout greater East Asia. They have been found as far north as Hebei, as far south as Fujian and also in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, and Henan. An inscription from a temple in Hangzhou entitled the Record of Shengxiang Temple (Shengxiang si ji Jl91t§ ~~e.) states that Qian Chu also sent 500 pago­das to Japan. To date, six have been found.74

71 See Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiu suo #JirI'il'Jt!j&.):.i5il.liJf1Em. 72 The satra was translated by Amoghavajra (705-774) and can be found in Tl9nl022

(Sanskrit: Sarvatathiigata-adhisthiina-hrdaya-guhya-dhiitu-karawjamudrii-dhiira1Jf-sutra). For a summary of the text see Eugene Wang, pp. 191-193 (who follows Soren Edgren, p. 144). On the Baoqieyin pagodas, see Yoshikawa Isao and Wang Li.

73 Preface reproduced in Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiu suo, p. 72. Another set of prints was done in 975 and inserted into the hollow bricks of the pagoda to protect against destruction and looting.

74 The inscription is transcribed in Zhu Zhao and reproduced in Wang Y ong (2004) pp. 224-235. The locations of the six Japanese pagodas are listed in Yoshikawa Isao, p. 29.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 53

:Nichien 13}l!;

Details regarding Qian Chu's reasons for casting the pagodas and printing the satras, as well as their transmission to Japan, can be found in an account written by the Japanese monk Daki JH:@: in 965, the Record of the Baoqieyin Sutra (Hokyoin kyoki .~f=P*~~c). Daki nbtes that a Japanese monk by the name of Nichien traveled to China during the Tengya era (938-947) and returned to Japan sometime during the Tenryaku era (947-957) bearing various gifts, including several Baoqieyin pagodas?5 The Fuso ryakki ~*!IIi§-~c also contains a passage which states that Nichien presented the provincial gover­nor of Hizen ~EM (present Nagasaki) with a pagoda.76 More than a century later, when Jajin P.lG~ (1011-1081) set out on his famous pilgrimage to China's Mount Tiantai and Mount Wutai, he men­tioned several of his predecessors who had gone before him, recall­ing that Nichien had been in China during the Tenryaku era.77 When Jajin finally arrived at Tiantai's Guoqing Temple, he recorded that he saw some of Nichien's poems there.78 A brief mention of Nichien is also found in a Pure Land text which states that "In the fourth month, ninth day of the second year of the Tiande era (945), the monk from Enryaku Temple, Nichien, crossed the sea. (In the Wu­yue prefecture of the great Tang he was called Great Master Huiguang ~7'6, recipient of the purple robe.) He urged that the writ­ten works be preserved and passed down.,,79

Nichien has been the subject of a number of studies by Japanese scholars, yet only a few details of his life are known. so He was origi-

75 The relevant portion of the text is reproduced in Wang Li, p. 30.

76 See SaitO Tadashi, p. 121. Incidentally, recent research by Wang Yong has shown that after the pagodas were delivered to Japan, another Japanese monk named Tenchi ifi;i'

,traveled to Wuyue on the return ship and subsequently built a large statue of Guanyin which was later worshipped by several Song emperors.

77 The others are Kan'en JtJj£ in 938, Ch6nen in 978, and Jakush6 in 999.

78 Hirabayashi Fumio, p. 64.

79 Wangsheng xiJangjingtu ruiying zhuan j.t1:Wihi'¥±:£;'IjjJl\1* (T51n2070:108b).

80 On Nichien see Ono Genmy6, pp. 614-640; Nishioka Toranosuke; Takeuchi Riz6; T6 Yuki); and Wang Yong (1996).

54 BENJAMIN BROSE

nally from Hizen on the island of Kyushu and later studied at En­ryaku Temple on Mount Hiei under the Vinaya master Ninkan {=~1. Nichien made his mark on Japanese history through his introduction of Qian Chu's Baoqieyin pagodas, which would later be replicated throughout Japan, and a new version of the Chinese calendar.81 After his return to Japan, he was awarded his own temple, Daiho *lffi~, in the Dazaifu :t:~M area.82 For more than a thousand years, Ni­chien has been recognized for his contributions to Japanese culture, but the initial impetus for his journey to China had been forgotten. However, new discoveries in the last fifty years have made it clear that Nichien made an equally substantial contribution to Chinese Buddhist culture.

In the 1950's, Takeuchi Riz6 discovered a text in a shrine in northern KyushfI. Known as the Dazaifu jinja bunsho :t:~Mt$t±Jt iI=, it was written in the sixth year of the EishO era (1051).83 In addi­tion to recounting Nichien's activities once he arrived in Wuyue, such as being awarded the purple robe by Qian Chu and traveling to Mount Tiantai, it also recounts the reason for his travel from Japan to China:

Previously, the monk Nichien entered the Tang, leaving during the seventh year of the Tenryaku era (953). He copied out the teachings and delivered them [to China] for the great monk Jinen ~~, head of Mount Tendai's ;R.is !-U [Hiei] H5d5in J($llm1c, [who was responding to] a letter from the great Tang monk Tiantai Deshao. He boarded the return boat of a man from Yue named Shi Chengxun ili*J,b and, crossing thousands of li of waves, visited Mount [Tian]tai in Sizhou [Siming]. 84

Jinen is another name for EnshO ~ ~ (880-964), the fifteenth prelate (zasu ,@I3=:) of Enryaku-ji, appointed in 946 and serving until his death in 964. Emperor En'yu granted him the posthumous name Jinen in 979. According to the Dazaiju text, Deshao sent a letter to

81 On Nichien within the broader context of the dissemination of the Tang calendar in East Asia, see Wang Yong (2002).

82 The exact location of this temple is not known.

83 Takeuchi Riz5 reproduces the entire text with annotations.

84 Ibid, p. 59.

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 55

lMount Hiei requesting that a copy of the lost texts be sent to Mount ~Tiantai. Nichien was then chosen by the head of the Japanese Tendai fbstablishment, Jinen, to deliver the texts' to Wuyue . . , '.. .

It is significant that the name of the man on whose ship Nichien (:gailed is mentioned. Shi Chengxun was a merchant from Wuyue who £admade the triP. between China and Japan many times. Japanese ;h1~torical records note his arrival in Japan from China in the years ~935, 936, 938, and 953.85 The HonchO bunsui 7-js:ljiJl::>tW, written in ~e eleventh century, records that in 953 Shi's ship arrived in Japan ~ftom Wuyue and that Shi, functioning as an official emissary of Qian !7ChU, delivered a letter along with various gifts to the Minister of the fRight Fujiwara Morosuke ~!*~rUm (908-960).86 The same text :hotes that in the seventh month of that same year, Shi returned to 'Chlna carrying with him gifts and a letter addressed to Qian Chu from Morosuke.87 The Dazaifu record of Nichien setting sail in 953 ~aboard Shi' s ship provides strong evidence that it was at this time Ithat the lost texts were returned to China from Japan.

~~~Immediately after Nichien reintroduced the Chinese Tiantai texts ;fr:om Japan there was a flurry of building activity that was unparal­~leled in the history of the Tiantai range. At least ten new temples or 'snbtemples were built between the years 954 and 966. According to 'the Jiading Chicheng Gazetteer, the earliest local history for the re­;tion, of these ten half are associated with Deshao, one with Xiji, one !)Vith Qian Chu (three have no founders listed).88 Nichien's arrival set

;;85 See Kimiya, pp. 222-224 and Taigai kankeishi sogonempyo henshii iinkai, pp. "100-110, for a listing of all known trade contact between Japan and Wuyue between 909 iand 959 .

. ;! .. 86 Fujiwara Morosuke was the most powerful man in government at the time and strong supporter of the Tendai school through his relationship with Ryogen .&1Jili: (912-985). See :Paul Groner (2002) passim.

"e 87 Taigai kankeishi sogonempyo henshii iinkai, p. 110.

88 These are: Shixiang yuan J!r:mlllt (954-960; Deshao), Huguo si 'gf~~ (958; Deshao), Jingrning yuanj'!ji-IlJ1~JG (958; Deshao), Yongning yuan 7kl'fl1llt (958; Qian Chu), Jingfu yuan :IlttRiIllt (960; Deshao), Zhenguo yuan ~~Illt (960), Zhengjiao yuan ~tJ&1llt (960; Deshao), Chuanjiao si {itJ&~ (also known as Dong dinghui yuan Jlutlf.lllt; 964; Xiji), Xi Anyin yuan W*~~1llt (963), Dajue yuan *:l:1llt (966). See Chen Qiqing, j. 28.

56 BENJAMIN BROSE

in motion a revival which would restore the once faltering Tiantai tradition to its past prominence.

Conclusion

Nichien's journey from Mt. Hiei across the East ChinaSea to the kingdom of Wuyue was only the final act in a lengthy drama. The texts he carried with him to China were copies of texts written nearly four centuries earlier by the founding figures of Tiantai Buddhism. Over the years, those same texts were reproduced, reorganized, and reworked by later generations of monks. They were disseminated throughout China and were later transported overseas eventually reaching both Japan and Korea. From its original center on Mt. Tian­tai, Tiantai Buddhism went on to spawn new centers in the cities of Chang'an, Kyoto, and Kaesong. When the textual tradition was de­stroyed in China during the ninth century, the community at Mt. Tiantai had to look to Mt. Hiei for help in restocking their vacant libraries. The request for the return of the lost texts circled through many messengers: from the Tiantai monk Xiji to Deshao, from King Qian Chu to the Wuyue merchant Shi Chengxun, from the Japanese minister Fujiwara Monosuke to the head of Enryaku-ji, and finally from Nichien back to Mt. Tiantai. The initial revitalization of Chi­nese Tiantai resulted from the cooperation of broad range of individuals in both China and Japan.

The reinvigoration of the Tiantai tradition in the later half of the tenth century is also deeply indebted to native Korean monks, most notably Vit' ong and Chegwan. The contribution of these men to Tiantai learning in China is indisputable. What this paper has called into question is Chegwan's role in the reintroduction of the lost Tian­tai texts. Although Chegwan is unambiguously mentioned in contem­porary sources as the author of the Outline of the Fouifold Teach­ings, it is not until three hundred years later that he is linked with the re-introduction of lost texts. Of course, there is always the possibility that sources which would support Chegwan as the transmitter of texts have simply been lost, but in the absence of such evidence ex­tant records suggest a conscious effort to obscure the Japanese origin of these texts and spuriously elevate Chegwan and Koryo as the soli-

THE RETURN OF CHINA'S LOST TIANTAI TEXTS 57

tary revivers of Chinese Tiantai. With the acceptance of the Compre­hensive History as the orthodox history of the Tiantai tradition, the Japanese transmission was almost entirely eclipsed. If the story of Chegwan's rolein the re-introduction was in fact a thirteenth century creation, the motives behind it require further investigation. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were divisive times for the Tiantai community. It is possible that the sectarian struggles for orthodoxy led to the retrospective elevation of the Korean dharma-ancestors of the Shanjia faction. Moreover, the lack of any evidence linking Chegwan to these events does not necessarily preclude a Korean provenance for a portion of the returned Tiantai texts. If an early, undocumented introduction of Tiantai texts to Korea is posited, there is the possibility of a dual transmission of texts to China. The pres­ence of Korean monks in Wuyue and their role in the transmission of Fayan Chan back to Koryo together with the near constant cultural exchange between China, Korea, and Japan may be enough to sug­gest that the Tiantai texts were preserved in both Japan and Koryo. If this were true, perhaps the earlier Japanese collection was incom­plete and additional texts were later sought from Koryo. But this is all mere speculation. If we limit ourselves to the surviving textual record, we see a clear and singular line leading to Japan as the source of the returned Tiantai texts. Our recounting of the respective roles of Korea and Japan in the reintroduction of Chinese Tiantai must be revised.

Finally, the fact that large quantities of texts were imported from the Japanese Tendai headquarters at Mt. Hiei introduces the possibil­ity, indeed the probability, that works of Japanese Tendai exegesis were included among the native Chinese texts.89 To what degree did Japanese Tendai, especially its esoteric synthesis (Taimitsu), influ­ence later developments in Song Tiantai? Questions regarding the mutual influences between Mt. Tiantai and Mt. Hiei in the tenth and eleventh centuries await further investigation.

89 We know that Japanese pilgrims did bring Japanese texts to China during the tenth century. To cite one known example, the monk Kanken Jt~ traveled to China in 926 carrying four collections of Japanese poetry and a volume of calligraphed poems. See Verschuer (2006) p. 37.

58 BENJAMIN BROSE

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Wang Xiangrong ¥.I!tJ~, colI. and annot. Tang daheshang dongzheng zhuan Ii j::jfQf/;j*1iE~. Beijing: Zhonghua shujU9='*'!IJEJ 1979.

Wang Yong J:.~. "Nihon so Tenchi no nyu Goetsu jiseki ni tsuite:Shi chO ken­bun roku to shOsoji ki shiryo kaidoku 0 kanete" 13 *f~fi"8'O)A~~$)lJ));f;: 0v'-C : WImiji)jR,IJ.i'l~j ~ r!JJ}t§~~c.J 5!:f-l-~1t~:a:-%ttJ.-C. In Tanaka Takaaki S3 9=' ~iaB (ed.), Nihon kodai bungaku to higashiajia 13 *t1{~::t$ ~]/{7:; 7. Tokyo: Benseishuppan 2004, pp. 224-235.

cc---. "Tangli zai Dongya de chuanbo m~1:E*~~'Jl.f1i." In Taida lishi xuebao itt:. J1[5!:J11¥~ 30 (2002) pp. 33-5l.

-----. "Kokugai kyusho" 00:71-*1'. In Oba Osamu *~11j!j' and Wang Yong (eds.), Tenseki A*i. Nitc;hu bunka koryushi sosho 13 9='::t1r;xdrE5!:B:J: se­ries, vol. 9. Tokyo: Taishlikan 1996, pp. 365-385.

Wang Zhenping. "Chonen's Pilgrimage to China, 983-986." In Asia Major 7/2 (1994) pp.63-97.

Wei Daoru ~.mJ!l:{~. Zhongguo Huayanzong tongshi 9='00~F*@5!:. Zhongguo Fojiao zongpaishi congshu 9='00{~~*M5!:M~, Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe iI ;jj:t1*iI±lAAt± 200l.

Welter, Albert. The Meaning of Myriad Good Deeds: A Study of Yong-ming Yen ShOH and the Wan-shan t'ung-kue chi. New York: Peter Lang 1993.

Worthy, Edmund H. Jr. "Diplomacy for Survival: Domestic and Foreign Rela­tions of Wu Yueh." In Morris Rossabi (ed.), China Among Equals: The Mid­dle Kingdom and its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries. University of California Press 1983, pp. 17-34.

X = Dainippon zoku zi5kyi5 j:: B *~,j{~~. Kyoto: Zokyo Shoin 1905-1912. Yoshikawa Isao iSiiiT;iJ. Sekizi5 hi5kyi5inti5 no seiritsu ;;Pm:li~F~ * 0) .6X::sL.

Tokyo: Daiichi shobo ~-:J:m 2000.

62 BENJAMIN BROSE

Young-ja Lee. "Ch'ont'aePhilosophy," In The Korean Buddhist Research Insti­tute (ed.), Buddhist Thought in Korea. Seoul: Dongguk University Press 1994, pp. 121-177.

Zhang Feng1ei slJ:JXI §§. "Wudai Songchu Tiantai jiaoji fugui zhongtu wenti de zaijiantao" :li1~*19J3<:il'~~~f::F:P±10]Jl!llii3<jf3ttfli'i. In [Nanchang] liang­xi daxue xuebao [i¥i §§]5Ii2:!l*~~¥R, 2004/6, pp. 32-40.

Zhejiangsheng wenwu kaogu yanjiu suo WTiI::§')(~15"i!:l{iJf5Em, ed. Leifeng yizhen §§ ~!JI:~. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe 2002.

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SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED:

THE FOUR EMINENT MONKS AND THEIR SYNCRETISTIC STYLES

WILLIAMCHU

The coexistence of and dynamic interactions between the three major Chinese religious traditions have molded distinctive characteristics of Chinese Buddhism in no less a way than the latter has indelibly influenced Confucianism and Daoism. 1 Mter the Song Dynasty (960-1276), with the philosophical maturation of Neo-Confucianism iIl particular, a plethora of relentless inter-religious vilifications on the one hand, and passionate defense of the inherent harmony of the three religions on the other, became some of the most prominent fea­tures on the Chinese religious landscape.

The apparent similarities between the religions notwithstanding, the self-awareness of one's unique lineage paradoxically and increa­singly asserted itself in the Song dynasty, when sectarian self-cons­ciousness in both Buddhism and Confucianism gave rise to notions of distinct "schools" and "lineages" on an unprecedented scale. The conception of an inviolably intact transmission of Confucian ortho­doxy (daotong Jiif0':) was echoed in the Buddhist flurry to construct their sectarian "lines of patriarchs" (zupu *.[~).2

Most religious syncretists devised a dialectic strategy that as­sumed both the positions that all religious traditions are inherently compatible, and that at the same time their own tradition is still the

1 Wing-tsit Chan even went so far as to remark that the very Chinese character is one that is predominantly represented by Neo-Confucianism modified by Buddhism and Dao­ism. See A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, p. ix. Robert Sharf, too, in his Introduction to Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism, argued that the confluences and interactions between these religious traditions were so pervasive that the very idea of independent, autonomous entities of religious traditions is quite problematic.

2 For a discussion on the notion daotong, see Julia Ching, "Truth and Ideology: The Confucian Way (Dao) and Its Transmission (Dao-T'ung)."

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29· Number 1 ·2006 (2008) pp. 63-86

64 WILLIAMCHU

most efficacious and/or the most comprehensive in scope. While avoiding claims to religious exclusivity, they nevertheless retained allegiance to a primary religion despite their universalistic proposi­tions, using that religion as an interpretive frame of reference through which the other religions were polemically assessed or ecumenically appreciated. One of the earliest syncretists compared Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism to the "sun, moon, and the five stars," respectively, and praised their celestialluminosity.3 What appeared to be a gesture at illustrating the resplendent merits of all three was really not an equitable treatment of them at all, if we con­sider the relative brilliance of these heavenly bodies and the partial­ity implied in that order.

We could see many examples of such "unequal ecumenism" in the works of the so-called Four Eminent Monks of the W anli Era (Wanli si gaoseng ~Ml2]rm{ftI - Hanshan Deqing !ftrlrl~~f!f,41546-1623; Daguan Zhenke J¥tiJr~ 1543-1603; Yunqi Zhuhong ~;fli**5 1535-1615; Ouyi Zhixu ~~~M 1599-1655), whose syncretistic styles will be the primary focus of this paper: Zhixu maintained that both Buddhism and Confucianism advocat filial piety,6 but that this virtue was fulfilled to the greatest extent only in Buddhism.? Zhu­hong, too, pointed out that all three religions promote the ideas of "commiserating with" and "protecting" livingcreatures,8 but when it comes to the universality and thoroughness of compassion, no relig­ion can be on par with Buddhism.9

3 Cited in Edward Ch'ien, Chiao Hung and the Restructuring of Neo-Confucianism in the Late Ming, p. 13.

4 For more on Hanshan's life and syncretistic efforts, see Sung-pen Hsu, A Buddhist Leader in Ming China: The Life and Thought of Han-Shan Te-Ch'ing.

5 Zhuhong's life and contribution to Buddhist revival movement in Ming is covered in detail in Chlin-fang Yli, The Renewal of Buddhism in China.

6 Ouyi dashi wenxuan, p. 182.

7 Ibid, p. 146-147.

8 Lianchi dashiji, p. 91-92.

9 Ibid. He also argued the same thing about the precepts or moral codes of the three religions, with that of Buddhism to be the most outstanding.

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Many scholars in comparative religions have failed to differentiate ia . genuine synthesis or fusion of religious ideas from syncretism because they did not fully take into account the two-pronged dialec­ti~. It should be kept in mind that one of the most important elements in the exegetical and syncretistic exercises on the part of both Bud­'dhists and Confucians had been their insistence on the uncompromis­ing distinctness of their own traditions. The ensuring of the \.1nparalleled uniqueness of one's religion, always the primary agenda in genuine syncretistic schemes, was never lost amidst the ecumenical paragons, which often were just a subsidiary device serv­ing the former. As we will see, the simultaneously donning a tolerant posture while claiming the overriding-ness of one's religion was in fact a distinct phenomenon from what could be called "synthesis," and has in actuality characterized many syncretistic endeavors in Chinese history. 10

If Buddhism and Confucianism were represented as being situated on the two opposite ends of an imaginary ideological spectrum, both can be described as working consciously or unconsciously closer to the middle in the course of their interactions. Timothy Brook, among many others, had described what in scholarship now is almost a tru­ism, namely, that there was a division of labor between Buddhism and Confucianism before the Song, with Buddhism specializing in the metaphysical and Confucianism in the ethicalY Let us entertain this generalization for heuristic purposes just for now, and it would Seem that the advocates of both traditions had consistently tried to expand their "sphere of specialty" into the other's purported "turf," by actively incorporating those elements that they felt were in short

10 Some have argued that the Confucian Taizhou (t11'1'1) School was attempting synthe­sis instead of mere syncretism. However, it did so largely through the hermeneutical frame of Confucianism and with the intention of expanding the scope of Confucianism. Genuine, unreserved synthetic movements that resulted in the emergence of a distinct new religious organization were very rare. Some have argued that the best example was the "Sect of Three as One" (Sanyi jiao .::: -~) formed in the late Ming, though I still have reservations about calling it truly synthetic. For a discussion on this Millenarian sect, see Judith Ber­ling, The Syncretistic Religion of Lin Chao-en, and Edward Ch'ien, Chiao Hung and the Restructuring ofNeo-Confucianism in the Late Ming, p. 11-15 & 21-22.

11 Praying for Power, p. 15-16.

66 WILLIAMCHU

supply in their own traditionY In this case, the Confucian's most ur­gent task was to construct a metaphysical system strengthened in sophistication and coherence, coupled with a systematic and worka­ble approach for personal spiritual cultivation, worthy of challenging Buddhism's near monopoly and undisputed appeal in these arenas. 13

And this they went to great length to accomplish much. In fact Confucians were so successful in their endeavor, some scholars attri­buted the consequent decline of Buddhism and Daoism to the Confu­cian self-strengthening in precisely these regards. One of these scholars observed that "by incorporating into it the best that was in Daoism and Buddhism ... [Neo-Confucianism] succeeded in stealing the thunder from its rivals, weakening them so much that they never recovered.'* This could not have taken place without the accurate diagnosis of the perceived weaknesses in Confucianism by the Confucians themselves. Even the most staunchly sectarian of Neo-Confucians such as Zhu Xi *~ (1130-1200) - one of the most

12 In addition to the Confucians retrofitting itself in various metaphysical aspects such as the mind's status, Frederick Mote has also observed that Confucian "efforts were made to supersede Buddhist primacy in philanthropy, as in the maintenance of orphanages, in providing primary education, in medical services and famine relief, in maintaining homes to care for old people who had no family, and in offering free burials for the indigent." Im­perial China 900-1800, p. 161-

13 Taylor in The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism explored the soteriological as­pects of the said "religion" and maintained that they existed from its inception. However, I must point out that the spiritual elements that pertained to personal cultivation and the attainability of sagehood (comparable to the Buddhist idea of miirga and Buddhahood) were not nearly as developed and emphasized before Confucianism's exposure to Bud­dhist ideas. (Even though its nascent form was present in, say, Mencius' ideas. See Tu Wei-ming's Humanity and Self-Cultivation, in the chapter "On the Mencian Perception of Moral Self-Development.") Liu Wu-chi's observation that Neo-Confucianism "disposed of the last few religious elements that had strayed into the K'ung system" (A Short History of Confucian Philosophy) suggested a resultant sterilely rationalist Neo-Confucian tradition that simply did not correspond to historical reality. Though some, for the lack of better term, "religious" elements had been ferreted out by the Neo-Confucians intent on reifying their tradition, the elements being "disposed of' were primarily the ritualistic and shamanistic aspects of pre-Han Confucianism along with the tendency to deify Confucius. As for the "religious" elements that involved notions like the attainment of enlightenment and sagehood through a systematic soteriological/cultivational scheme, they definitely re­mained a key feature of N eo-Confucianism.

14 Liu Wu-chi, A Short History of Confucian Philosophy, p. 164.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 67

outspoken critics of Buddhism - was keenly aware of certain defi-6iencies on the part of Confucianism that gave Buddhism an uncanny appeal over his fellow co-religionists:

There are many adepts nowadays who turned to the heretic religions [Bud­dhism and Daoism]. Why is that? It has to do with the fact that their endeav­ors in our own tradition were flawed and proved fruitless, and that they could [rod no viable means to set to peace their disquieted minds. They also thought that the [theories of] our own tradition sounded barren and simplistic and provided no good remedies to relieve their feelings of helplessness. The teachings of the [Buddhist] Chanists, on the other hand, were touted to be expedient and easy to put into practice, how could [these practitioners not be tempted] to follow [the Chan teachings]? 4"z~*, 1i1±?tlwA~*{iiJ$:? ~ .~ § *ili11!!.:;!:J:1<::1fjc~~, *{iiJiliIL'::fT&l'1Il..~. X~ § *ilir.l, ~JH~*i91E Wjl-, ~M~Hl'JjJ, ¥il"1~{lli~9.*{iiJm;IL'. ffij"~*Z§Jt ... m1~ft;±lli~px:=I*'I'R:, ~O{iiJ ::f[lj!i:!1 ?15

Propelled by the same logic to cover one's weakest bases, the Bud­cihists, in response to the most cornmon invectives traditionally pillo­ried at them, also had to address the ways in which Buddhism could become, or at least represented to be, more socially responsible and less antinomian and eremitic in outlook. The Buddhists, too, had in­deed put much effort in steering themselves away from those reviled stereotypes. Just as Confucianism was building up its soteriological and philosophical arsenal to the ends of eschewing the impression that it was primarily concerned with secular establishment and there­fore decidedly less spiritual, Buddhism also tried to underscore its more kataphatic and world-engaging doctrines in order to appear less out of place amidst the supposedly pragmatic-natured Chinese. Dahui Zonggao's *1l** (1089-1163) equation of the Buddhist enlightened mind with the secular virtue of loyalty and righteous­ness, and Zibo Zhenke's urging of his fellow Buddhists to compas­sionately participate in the government, were all examples in this re­gard. This shift towards the "middle" on the part of both religions was a logical maneuver to avoid being intransigently pigeonholed in a negative light, all the while to appeal to what was deemed the most sensible values to the Chinese audience.

15 Cited in Jiang Yibin, Songru yUfojiao, p. 269.

68 WILLIAMCHU

The surge of syncretistic literatures after the Song could be seen as partly a reaction towards the enmity and magnified contradictions engendered by the Neo-Confucian controversy and its state-sponsor­ed exclusive truth-claim. Most Ming Buddhist scholars of promi­nence who spoke oithe subject of inter-religious relationship did so in reference to the Song Neo-Confucians - an evidence of the far-reaching impact of the purist legacy and th~ir divisive proposi­tions. Though some scholars had characterized the Confucian criti­cism of Buddhism as primarily based on ethical arguments, since the Song dynasty Neo-Confucians had in fact mounted attacks from philosophical, nativistic, soteriological, and other angies, the Ming Buddhist apologists had to match the vigor and breadth of the Confu­cians' standard-setting aspersions in a similarly comprehensive manner. 16

Edward Ch'ien outlined two historical justifications that Chinese syncretists used for asserting the fundamental congruence of the three religions. One was based on the argument that the "Three Teachings" shared "one source" (sanjiao tongyuan .::::.ti&fPJtJffi). The other was based on the idea that "different paths" lead to the "same goal" {shutu tonggui ~~fPJ!W).17 Based on my examination of syncretistic literature of the Four Eminent Monks, I would like to propose two more grounds on which the argument that the three religions are inherently compatible can be presented. (Indulge me to use literary Chinese idioms as Ch'ien did for continuity and rhetori­cal purposes). One is that "the division of labor constitutes mutual complement" (hufu gongcheng lLtfB*pj(;), and the other justification appeales to the notion that different religions not only accomplish the "same goal," but also do SO through comparable soteriological venues (yiqu tonggong ~ Ifu fPJ I).

The first category of justification - that all three religions are of the same historical or spiritual provenance - was probably initially

16 Zhu Xi's mUlti-pronged attack On Buddhist epistemology, ontology, and meditation theories, for example, were unique but not singular. See some of the criticisms he directed at Buddhism in Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, p. 646-653.

17 Chiao Hung and the Restructuring of Neo-Confucianism in The Late Ming, p. 3.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 69

employed by Daoists. In a spurious text that the Daoists composed to besmirch Buddhism, Laozi Huahu Iing ::g-=r1r:Mr£, Laozi was re­;created to be the teacher of the Buddha (who was the "hu" barbarian '..ein this case).lS Ironically, this pejorative recast of Buddha's histori-6alstatus was used by later Daoists as a syncretistic strategy to point tothe same source of Daoism and Buddhism in the person ofLaozi. Interestingly, in the Ming, the "same-provenance" argument was also put forth by the Buddhists for syncretistic purpose, except that this time, the initially purported teacher-disciple relationship was re­:V~rsed. The legend of Laozi retiring himself to an identified west­:Ward destination was reinterpreted as a deliberate measure on his part to go west, that is, to India, to receive higher training from the Buddha, who was historically roughly contemporaneous. Despite the vagueness of the term "western region" used in the original mytho­logical account, which covered a broad geographical region that sloppily included everything west of China, Deqing was unequivo­cally convinced that Laozi indeed went to India:

Laozi yearned for India, which was why he rode his blue ox [to travel west­ward] ... He was humble and subdued-in-self, content with little and fully ob­. serving moderation. He mingled with the ordinary while concealing his bril­liance, and his real age was known to none. It was therefore that his nature

. was praised [by Confucius] 19 as resembling that of a dragon. [:5~] *,fjii't~j§~, *.t:l1f4= ... ~m1!\€fZ, 5;p,lE~Pll:, ilM~fQ7't, ~~;IJ:;;f,C, ~fliiJ~t~?O Moreover, Laozi, being a person of the Central Kingdom, arrived at profound insights without the benefit of knowing Buddhism; he surely can be called a person of exceptionally keen faculty. If he had had the chance to meet our Lord the Buddha on even one occasion, and allowed the Buddha to verify his experience and resolve [his remaining doubts], it would be conceivable that Laozi would have instantaneously attained the genuine21 realization of the 'non-production [of all dharmas].' My opinion is that his journey westward

18 See Robert Buswell, "Introduction," in Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, p. 10.

19 This fabled encounter of Confucius with Laozi was also initially a conjured-up tale by the Daoists.

20 Hanshan dashi mengyou ji, vol. iii, p. 1879.

21 Deqing seemed to want to emphasize that the outlook of Daoist teaching may resem­ble that of the Buddhist "emptiness," but it was still not the "genuine" Czhen) experience.

70 WILLIAMCHU

into the desert wa,s not without [such ulterior] reason. R:£-, 7J9='Im:z.A-lli. *JUIll¥t;rm~ill.¥j/:[:, RJ~~w~flj;j:1H€:. {{f{~ - Jt"fr{~, rmFMtz, :'i!t/F~~ ~1!\Ii1:..lfP i'f~Wi58?mt¥y, :'i!t1!\li~~AA?22

What might seem like laudatory remarks paid to Laozi at first sight was, for all purposes, really a relegation of him to the status of a pu­pil in comparison to the Buddha. Moreover, the host of virtues by which Laozi was extolled was ostensibly in Buddhist terms - yet an­other example of how syncretists evaluate other religions through the conceptual framework of their primary tradition. By dissecting and calibrating the rival religion through the presuppositi~nal prism of Buddhist doctrine, Deqing fulfilled the dual-goal of showing how both Buddhism and Daoism were grounded on compatible logic and values, and of how Daoism, being the tradition of lesser scope and profundity, could be fully gauged by and assimilated into the greater Buddhist culture.

Zhenke provided another illustration of the "same provenance" argument, in which all the various spiritual traditions were said to have drawn from the same source of spiritual inspiration:

There was something that existed prior to the inception of the body and mind, which was also something beyond the body and the mind, and was utterly pristine and self-abiding (possibly referring to the Buddha-nature). It was through the comprehension of this that [the sage] Fu Xi was inspired to draw the Eight Hexagrams; and through the comprehension of the same thing, Zhongni (Confucius) was moved to write a commentary on the Book of Change; Laozi, too, comprehended this thing and proceeded to compose the two Sections [of Dao and De of the Daode ling]; after realizing the same thing, our Enlightened Lord the Great Ancient One (the Buddha) 'plucked the flower and smiled to the audience on the Vulture Peak' (a Chan imagery of the preaching Buddha). (X~'L'ZW, ~1!\Ii~IL'*' rl?tllJmirm~;ff~. {j\:~ ~~zrm.*,~m~~zrm.a,:£-~~Z=.7J*,i'f*.:£-A~z,~ :mIll'@'" 1:., t~1't~~).23

The second form of justification upon which syncretistic arguments were based pertained to the idea that "all religions lead to the same

22 Hanshan dashi mengyouji, p. 243l.

23 Zibo dashi ji, p. 6. I have corrected the original punctuation.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 71

~fid;~"...what we may call a teleological convergence of all three reli-1i6hs. Zhixu once proclaimed that all religions are but expedient llfatagems, like the "willow leaves and empty fists" used to pacify .,'{hle children/'24 and that their ultimate purpose is to help sentient ~!ings "untangle:' themsel~es. from "bondag~s" and "g.eneral a~ach­ID:ents.,,25 In Deqmg's convIctIOn that "there IS not a thmg that IS not ~i:iddhadharma, and the [founders of all the] Three Religions were :Without exceptions perfected sages (--SJJ~#1!1i¥*, '='~~?FM ~),"26 he also argued that all of them shared the common goal of lielping to rid people of the "attachment to self': fti'''oc

'In response to the fact that everyone in the world invariably suffers from the "sIckness of ego-attachment ... Laozi had taught that there is no greater I[source of] troubles than one's self. Confucius the Sage was the founding 'patriarch of a tradition that elaborated on ethical human relations. He there­fore [in his discretion] did not dare to casually preach about [the deep mean­ing of] the eradication of ego-attachment to people of mediocre and inferior qualities (i.e. whose quality reflected the nature of such religious traditions). The only exception was Yanzi (supposedly the brightest of his disciples), to 'whom Confucius taught about the "restraining of the ego" ... about how not :to be stubborn in one's intentions, how not to be fixated [to anything], and how not to insist on what the self [pleases]. These very teachings are not ;different from the Buddhist and Daoist cardinal doctrine of 'no-self.' bl.:Jtiit A, ~bl.fJtz-*~rrs ... ~-T$S, .*,m~$t. bl.1U!~~~~*:±, $::!t4' r*A'/Fj&~i§j1i&:fJt~; Pftf,fMT, JJ.IJS:R:c, ... m:~m:~,m:~m:fJt27 ... ]l.p Jtl;z~,1Jl!;Ilki?ll~bl.~fJt~*1:!2.z8

~:, ,24 The "willow leaves" (yangye ~.; the character yang could be interpreted to be a va­;''I1ant of the similar character with the wood radical. An alternate reading of the compound ~icould be "the leaves that have been tossed into air" if the yang is to be read as it is and ei­(ther in adjectival or verbal form) resembled the shape of a form of ancient currency and ;'the undiscerning were said to be fooled into collecting them. Whereas the "empty fists" \ (kongquan ~~) duped unsuspecting kids into believing that enticing toys are held in ;:them. These analogies were often used by Buddhists to refer to the duplicitous but 'ihell-intentioned expedient means (upiiya) resorted to by Buddhist teachers.

25 Ouyidashi wenxuan, p. 17-18.

, 26 Hanshan dashi mengyouji, p. 2416.

" T1 The first to take these four Confucian formulations as the equivalent to the Buddhist 'idea of no-self, was probably Yang Jian (1if'lli' 1141-1159). A brief description of his Juesi :ji ~1l!l1iS can be found in Edward Ch'ien, Chiao Hung and the Restructuring of Neo-Con-

72 WilLIAM CHU

Ev~n in recognizi;ng a common objective of all three religions the Buddhists did not fail to apply polemical recontextualization. In this case, Daoist and Confucian teachings were reinterpreted through Buddhist semantics. If in its formative periods Chinese Buddhism had to resort to the ~'matching of meanings" (geyi ;jlg.~) in order to graft itself onto indigenous traditions, Buddhism in the Ming was assertive enough to reverse the practice in many instance"s by "matching" the others' meaning to Buddhist concepts. In this case, Laozi's lamentation of the troubles physical bodies would bring was read as an explicit description of the Buddhist teaching of "no-self." It is not clear whether the Chinese character "shen" ~ in the original Daode Jing passage refers to the physical body or is used as the reflexive referent "self;" judging from its context, it more likely re­fers to the corporeal body. In any case, Deqing apparently found it convenient to read it unequivocally in the latter sense.

The third group of Buddhist syncretistic argument was based on the vision that the different supposed functions and specializations of the three religions somehow complement each other and, together, could provide a more holistic regimen for religious life. This usually involved a hierarchical chart where Confucianism was almost consistently ranked as the most elementary of the three religions by the Buddhists. Daoism was either omitted altogether or evaluated as an intermediate training leading to the highest tier occupied by Bud­dhism. One example of this arrangement was proposed by Deqing:

Confucius was the sage belonging to the 'Vehicle of the Human Abode,' he therefore upheld the Heavenly [Way] in instructing the people. Laozi was the sage of the 'Vehicle of the Celestials.' He was untainted by desires and had transcended the 'Human Abode' to enter the 'Heavenly Abode.' The Buddha, in contrast, was the sage who transcended [the duality of] the sagely and mundane altogether. He therefore was capable of [manifesting himself in both the realms of] the sagely and the mundane. As for [the Buddha's] capability [to manifest himself in both] the sagely and the mundane, how could this be accomplished and matched by [other] sages and mortals? 1L-=f

jucianism in the Late Ming, p. 20.

28 Hanshan dashi mengyouji, voL iv, p. 2443-2445.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 73

f..~:z~m, "liJ:*;R0J~A. ~-=r;R*Z~m, 8t¥fIl'i-¥~W\, !I.ltLA.rmJ-..;R ... f~ ~IJJfli~}L:z~m, 8tili3~ili3}L ... R;Kili3~ili3fL~, li~}Lmili3i\Ji;?9

Drieimplication of the "division of labor between the three relig­ibis" was that they were perceived to mutually redress excesses and fuake up for their respective deficiencies. Zhixu implored both Bud­ahists and Confucians to tap into the other's spiritual resources in or­;der to deepen their own experiences: r,:+:,;.

Those who aspire to become genuine Confucians should, as a side quest, also strive to become genuine Buddhists. I have always said that anyone who is less than a genuine Buddhist would be unable to competently regulate the ,world (traditionally perceived to be a Confucian undertaking). It is a fact that the 'Three Gems [of Buddhism], have the capacity to constantly guard over and aid the [people in the] world; and a true Confucian is also capable of transcending the world (traditionally conceived to be a Buddhist undertaking) ... Those who are in possession of right wisdom, surely can penetrate the meaning [of my words], and understand that this [mutual complementarity] is where the welfare and collective good of the world lies. f:f;t;~~{~~, [~] Jl}]pJGJlt~~**. ~a~?F~f'7FJE~r'3ilt. :flk~ --IJJ~Il, 'itili3tMHliltFI'I9; jjff~{~ZJl'JE~lliilt ... J'!"lH~~, &::'ili3~Jt~~, ~iltFl'I9ti J33f:f1:E*.30

''the idea that somehow secular involvement could redress Bud­'<il1ism's excessive eremitic proclivities was not a new one. However, the issue of political reform and activism was rarely touched by Bud­:dhist syncretists in the Ming. Zhenke was a notable exception, and he paid dearly with his life for eventually incurring the ire of the political authority. Very few pre-modern Chinese Buddhists 'broached the possibility of the ideal of a political bodhisattva, let alone lived it. In the turmoil of the political situation of the late Ming

"",hen partisan intrigues and malicious conspiracies loomed large, Zhengke envisioned a syncretistic scheme where Buddhism and , Confucianism would complement each other in a joint force of right-eousness, collectively exerting a purifying influence in the political arena, which Zhengke felt neither religion could accomplish independently:

29 Ibid, p. 2416.

30 Ouyi dashi wenxuan, p. 149 ..

74 WILLIAMCHU

Alas! When corruption ran amuck as people tried to 'institute policies according to the whims of conditions,' it took governance based on principles of benevolence and trustworthiness to rectify the situa,tion. When the rule en­acted through benevolence and trustworthiness also became rife with corrup­tion, then governance through wisdom and courage was needed to cure the problem. By the time the rule through wisdom and courage also fell prey to burgeoning corruption, the situation was beyond redemption, which has been our situation for many years. When the Ming Emperor of the Han Dynasty dreamt the propitious dream [of the Golden Buddha], and with the arrival of Mo[teng] and Zhu [Falan]31 from the West, the [Buddhist] world-trans­cending teaching was employed to salvage what was previou~ly a unsalvage­able situation. That was a logical course of action at the time. For if the world-transcending teaching was not used to balance and supplement the mundane teachings once [the latter] have reached their limit, [the latter] would simply continue to deteriorate without end. [Similarly], if the trans­mundane path became deviant and excessive, and the mundane teachings were not taken to correct [the fQrmer], [the former] would also deteriorate without end ... However, among the Confucians and Buddhists, there are few who have the foresight and vision [to understand this]. My opinion is that if the two religions do not complement each other in checking corruption, their only alternative would lead to the undermining of one another and [political] corruption would surely become more rampant. P1l3f! JZgmf;;(fJilifcz~1:, JtIH= {~zril"$c~; 1=1~zril"~1:, Jtlj~~zril"$c~; ~~zril"~1:, Jtlj~~~ftii$c;f, ~T<¥*!~~IjIj~ls~, ., ~W*, JtIJ£I,-I±\t!tZ7ft, $c~$cZ~, JIU.!l!~~ -t!1. ~t!trft~tEM, /F£I,I±\t!t¥ft$cZ, JtIj~~~Jl; 1±\t!t¥ft~tEM, 1m/F£I,t!t7ft$c Z, J!IJ;l:t~#~/FJl ... ~:rL, ~z1.t, t1t/F~:Ji~~~zA, m£l,=~/F~~;f§ ~ftii$c~, JtIj&:,;f§~ffii~;fi!;1:~.32

By urging a unified front of the two religions, Zhengke tried to di­vert some of the Confucian criticisms against alleged Buddhist

,,' escapism, transforming them into constructive rapprochement. His .' frequent and highly charged apology that Buddhists could assertively

contribute to political amelioration only matched the prevalent Con-fucian conviction that Buddhism was disassociated from and indif-

31 For the traditional account involving the Ming emperor of the Han (58-75) and his dream, see Kenneth Ch'en, 29-31. Moteng .. JlI and Zhu Falan ~ l't i!ili were semi-legendary foreign figures who reportedly brought to China the first set of Buddhist imageries and scriptures.

32 Zibo dashiji, p. 105. I have rearranged the punctuation in Chinese.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 75

f~rent to soc~al govem~ce. Wang Yangm~ng was most. blunt in flaring the pomt: "Buddhists care about nothing. They are mcapable ~'fregulating the world" [{~.s;;]--gJJ:f:1f, /FRJfAiir*T.33 In re­~ponse to this Iqnd of diatribe, all four Eminent Monks and many of bi6ir Song predecessors advocated a balanced approach to the ~functionality" and "calmness" aspects in one's spiritual training. hey were vehement in their insistence that the dimension of "calm­h~ss" automatically entailed the potential to spontaneous actions and WJtality, which include the judiciousness and impassioned conviction ii~eded for active political participation. Apparently these apologet­~~s were a direct reaction to Neo-Confucians just like Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, who continued to characterize Buddhism as a form 6f idle quietism, utterly dysfunctional for advancing practical social ~()ods.

>The final group of dialectic grounds for syncretism, for our pur­pose, had to do with the similar outlook, orientation, and focus of the praxis between the three religions. Deqing and Zhixu both pointed to tlie practice of "tranquility and insight" (zhiguan ll:ill) to be the hall­hlark commodity shared by all three religions. As was expressly ~tated in the following passage, Deqing was convinced that the spe­i:ializations and spiritual functions of religions might differ prima fa­.~ie, but their respective training was connected by a noticeable com­inon emphasis on the development of mental tranquility (samatha) as ~prerequisite to generating insight (vipatyana): iF'·

;f; We certainly should know that the teachings of Confucius and Laozi in re­gard to the mind are not necessarily incongruous. It was due to the [Confu­cian] need to maintain artificially installed sectarian boundaries and to safe­guard and preserve the overriding national status of their religion that they could not help but [insist on their irreconcilable uniqueness]. Confucius fo­cused [his teaching] on managing the temporal affairs, Laozi's [teaching] fo­cused on becoming obliviously carefree from worldly worries, while the

: Buddha predominately [taught] the transcendence of the world. Although their ultimate fruitions are different, 34 the entry point [of the three] is all

33 Cited in Chen Rongjie, Wangyangming yu chan, p. 79.

'" 34 It is interesting to note that somewhere else in his anthology (p. 2443), Deqing added ;ia stipulation to his universalistic observation: "The respective systems of tranqUility and

76 WILLIAMCHU

about doing away with ego-attachment, and their cultivational techniques all begin with the practice of tranquility and insight. ;!j~J~Il:fL:t!;,c.dti;*'!FFt!f. ~ r~~:fJrti:~.l-lf1ff:rilt~, /F1~/Fm. 0-:fLr.:f:nNifilt, ~.:r:ffiil1n~~ilt, 1i)jjffiil1~tfjilt . ~~~1Rl/F1RJ, ;\t;1f~10-;\:!7, ~fJ.pm:#;¥A~±, :;iJx~S:I.ll:ill.ffii.A.35

The practice of zhiguan (tranquility and insight) was a fundamentally Buddhist motif. Moreover, what Deqing was referring to as the Confucian version of "tranquility and contemplation" practice, was from a passage in the Confucian Great Learning taken out of con­texts.36 Deqing explained the relevant passages of the Great Learning in the following way:

Confucius then said, 'only by knowing tranquility and thereafter would one know about stability.' He also talked about the 'elucidation of bright virtue;' certainly we should understand the term 'elucidation' to mean 'enlighten­ment.' :fLr~ljl3, ~.ll:ffii1HnE, XI3I¥jI¥l1~; ~~IjJ'j!lPT'I~:z.~.37

Seen in traditional Confucian context, the term "zhi" 1.1:: comes from an earlier line in the same section of the Great Learning. It referres to the practitioner's "abiding" or "staying" in the "ultimate good" once he has accomplished the designated virtue (zhiyu zhishan 1.I::D~ ~~). This understanding of "zhi" as "residing" or "abiding" is clearly conveyed in Zhu Xi's and numerous other pre-Song com­mentaries.38 Yet it was not only Deqing who read "zhi" as denoting a kind of quasi-Buddhist tranquility practice. The greatest irony was that even among Neo-Confucians, especially those of the idealist camp, various attempts were made to interpret it as such, possibly to

insight of the three religions differ in their degree of profundity." C=.i)jtJ..l::ill.,~i:ii1/F IPJ)

35 Hanshan dashi mengyouji, voL iv, p. 2446. My emphasis.

36 One of the great ironies in syncretistic history was that, while the Four Classics were most likely promoted by Song Neo-Confucians to corne up with an on-par soteriological system and to reassert their doctrinal integrity, the Four Classics also became a favorite among Buddhist syncretists for use of their own agenda. The Classics became the most fervent ground for the practice of reversed "meaning-matching" as mentioned, and their passages were freely and frequently conflated and recontextualized to the Buddhists' exploitation. Examples abound in all of the commentaries written by the Four Eminent Monks on these texts.

37 Ibid, p. 2443.

38 See, for example, Sishu Jijie, p. 6-8.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 77

;bblster the soteriological content of the Confucian tradition as we ~~ve discussed. :~,.The manipulation of meanings did not stop there. The expression l'lning mingde".in the context of the Great Learning referres to the !Confucians' desire to edify the world through promulgation of vir­fues (ming mingde yu tianxia §!j §!j 1~"M: xT). "Ming" (the first of the two mings) is a simple verb meaning something roughly like "to kake known," or "to elucidate the meaning of." Through Deqing's hnaginative reinterpretation, it became the equivalent for the Bud­Inrist idea of "to become enlightened." The expression "ming mingde ~it tianxia" was as a whole read by him as "to become enlightened to ilie [innate] luminescent virtue and then to teach the world about this :enlightenment experience." Finally, instead of treating "luminescent ~irtue" just as a virtue, Deqing rendered it as the highly Buddhistic h~ssence of the Mind," pure and "luminescent" from the beginning 16ftime.39 L~ . ,/l<.With no more subtlety than Deqing's play on semantics, Zhixu hlso participated in this trend of "matching Confucian concepts to 'Buddhist meanings." It might seem hypocritical for Zhixu to point but some of the more notorious instances of the misreading of the

1.iGreat Learning by Deqing - probably in deference to the shrill out­f;cries of Confucian protests following Deqing's free rendering - only rto interject yet another grossly 'buddhicized' reinterpretation of the I!~ame passage! To understand Zhixu's free-reading of the Confucian ;~iext, a translation of the relevant passages of the Great Learning is in ~!order. The following is the beginning part of the Confucian text, '.translated as closely as possible to the spirit of Zhu Xi's standard {commentary on the text: ., l'~ . The way of the Great Learning lies in the elucidation of manifest virtues ... • f: and it lies in abiding in the Highest Good. Only by knowing how to abide in

the highest good one would be able to attain peace ... And only by realizing proper contemplation one would know how to arrive at [the Way of the Great Learning].

39 Hanshan dashi Mengyo!tji, vol. iv, p. 2377-2378.

78 WILLIAMCHU

Focusing on this passage, Zhixu completely reconfigured its mean­ing and came up with an interpretation that conformed neatly to the Buddhist doctrinal scheme. Just like Deqing, he read the "manifest virtue" as an ontological entity as expressed in Buddhist notions like the "undefiled, luminescent mind substance" or "Buddha-nature." By playing with the meaning of the sentence "Only by knowing how to abide in the highest good and thereafter would one know about tran­quility," he infused a distinctively Buddhist ethos in his rendering of the same part

As for the term 'zhi' (ll::), it merely denotes the very essence 9f the 'luminous virtue.' A point of utmost importance in this piece of instruction is encapsu­lated in the word 'zhi' (!m). The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment taught that, 'As soon as one realizes the illusory [nature of things, one immediately] tran­scends [the illusion]. No further effort is required - the transcendence of what is illusory is itself the enlightenment.' In [the Great Learning], zhi (!m) is the equivalent of 'sublime enlightenment,' while ding, jing, an, and Iii (fl::, /W, '1i., Lt, respectively) constitute 'sublime cultivation.' And de (if!\) refers to 'sub­lime attainment' ... which [has the capacity to] instantaneously transport [the practitioner beyond all] (an expression from the Sura'!lgama-sutra that refers to the 'sublime function' derived from spiritual attainment). ll::z-=F= ... .R ~~if!\*H. JIUIH~l\1IiA~, ~.m:1:E!mZ-=F=. [§IJUli:\j3;-, !m~l&PJilt; :f:fpjJif ,Jilt~l&PJt ... Jl:~9=J~Q~kP'I~, fl::/W*l\t~kP{I2', 1~~kP~ ... m~~ ~.40

So much loaded ontological meaning was tortuously read into the simple character zhi (~O), which is simply the verb "to know," or "to be proficient at." Yet many Ming Buddhist syncretists indulged themselves in freely associating Confucian concepts with Buddhist ones through elaborately woven arguments. The categories of "en­lightenment," "cultivation," "attainment," and "function" that Zhixu employed to arrange the stages of Confucian practice also were extracted directly out of traditional Buddhist soteric schema. The ecumenical claim that different religious venues were of the same orientation and principle was only made after they were already completely reinterpreted and re-presented in Buddhist light. By first demonstrating how Confucian practices could be readily and smoothly translated into comparable Buddhist terms, the syncretists

40 Sishu ouyijie, p. 9

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 79

i.ofien would then proceed to argue a posteriori that indeed all the 'different religious praxis were largely analogous and compatible.

For many Buddhists, the Tathagatagarbha doctrinal formulation 'was equally useful for intra-religious engagements as well as in­'ter-religious ones. In other words, not only was Tathagatagarbha to a large extent the common currency for post-Tang Buddhist schools, it was the common currency between Buddhism and Confucian ideal­ism - ontological idealism as the hermeneutical frame to polemically assess and interpret other religions was the same one employed for the different Buddhist schools. One may even go so far as to argue that one of the most discernible indication of decline in pre-modem Chinese Buddhist scholasticism coincided with an intellectual cul­ture that was homogenously Tathagatagarbha in outlook. This doc­trinal conformity in the Ming also spelled lack of dissent and self-critique in Buddhist scholarship, as should not be the case in a truly diverse academic culture, and it had led to the observation that . the Ming represented an unoriginal and monotonous period in terms of intellectual vibrancy.

One of the distinguishing marks that set Ming Buddhist syncretists apart from their predecessors was their preoccupation with using Yogacara hermeneutics to classify, subsume, and make sense of Confucian and Daoist practices. The Chinese Yogacara tradition -the Faxiang School - had been in such a moribund and marginalized state for many centuries, that its sudden rise in scholastic cynosure in the Ming warrants further study. But one of the most obvious rea­sons for this otherwise inscrutable revival was that the school pro­vided the syncretists with a highly developed theoretical tool to substantiate their syncretistic and panjiao outlines (~fj~ - the tradi­tional Buddhist schemes to classify and rank the different strands of teachings). As so many Ming Buddhists had lamented the abuses and excesses of uneducated clergy, with several even specifically point­ing out how government partiality toward Confucianism and the resultant repressive policy had encouraged rampant corruption amid Buddhist circles, many identified the re-establishment of a theoreti­cally robust scholasticism as the only solution to remedy the "hol-

,/

80 WILLIAMCHU

lowed" Buddhist practices.4i What better candidate was there than the 'encyclopedic and meticulously technical Faxiang School? Some­how the analytical language, technical taxonomies, and the precise definitions of basic Buddhist tenets and soteric contents of Yogacara scholarship had come to be viewed as signs of a tradition that Was comparatively the h~ast corruptible. While Buddhist, Chan practices often fell prey to criticism that they were play of witty words and that Chan masters often postured irrational behavior and flouted conventions to attract attention, in contrast, Y ogacara' s demand for meticulous canonical corroboration and rigorous exercises in the ra­tional seemed a direct antidote to Chan's degenerate 'recklessness. What might have at a different time been faulted as excessively cere­bral and cumbersomely pedantic, Yogacara exegetical literature was upheld by many MIDg Buddhists to be the most comprehensive con­veyor of the most fundamental teachings - principles badly needed to prop up Chan's style of subjective and often unbridled spontane­ity. It is unrivaled in its meticulous methodologies and unambiguous pedagogical style. It was no coincidence that even in the latter part of the 19th century when Chinese Buddhism encountered unprecedented difficulties, Y ogacara was looked upon once again as a corrective for rampant doctrinal ignorance in the clergy and for the harsh ideological challenges coming from outside the religion.

The Buddhist's nostalgia for the Golden Days of their religious tradition and their grim appraisal of their own times were not com­pletely a groundless fancy, either. The contacts with Indian Buddhist scholarship had abruptly been severed with the Muslim devastation of North Indian Buddhism in the eleventh century, and the transmis­sion of learned Indian treatises to China was already declining sev-eral centuries before that. 42 Many scholars understand the weaned Chinese Buddhism as an increasingly self-assured tradition asserting its independence and creativity, which in many respects is a valid

41 Zhang Zhiqiang' has outlined a detail account of the pessimistic assessment on the Ming Buddhists' part on their own condition, and the political environment that had contributed to that perceived condition. See "Weishi sixiang yu wanming weishixue yanjiu," especially p. 356-362,

42 Mote, Imperial China, p. 162-163.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 81

observation. But at least some of this independence and creativity arose out of necessity rather than out of a deliberate choice to part ways with the Indian host culture. In addition to the aforementioned disruptive Indian factor, the ruthless and methodical persecutions that Buddhism suffered in the late Tang extirpated much of its urban, academic base and propelled the rapid displacement of the so-.called "scholastic schools" (jiaoxia or jiao ~ r) by "practice-heavy Schools" (zongmen or chan *F~; wi). Contrary to the Chan School's romantic, self-painted picture of its being voluntarily non-reliant on scriptural tradition, it was at least partially due to its having few other options that it consoled its followers with the assertion that theirs was a tradition that could be transmitted "outside the [scholas­tic] teachings."

In light of the Ming Buddhists' diagnosis that the degeneration of their religion was caused by the vacuum left from its weakened scholastic foundation, Yogadira and its repository of basic Abhi­dharmic concepts and elaborated stages of spiritual transformations (marga) must have stood out as a matchless candidate for salvaging their plight. The Ming Buddhists saw in the school many useful tools for constructing a doctrinally rigorous and soteriologically reliable system, with the potential to bring substance to especially the Chan practices that were seen as becoming increasingly unrestrained by and deviant from normative doctrines.

This tendency to substantiate the praxis-oriented traditions with the theory-oriented tradition in the Ming was evidenced by the fact that all four Eminent Monks looked to Y ogacara for guideline in their Chan regimens. It is conceivable that the detailed descriptions of meditation and psychology in Yogacara compendiums had brought more concrete standards of verification and more tangible pointers to the highly elusive, concept-defying Chan experiences. It was out of this consideration that Deqing tried to explain the impor­tance of grounding spiritual enlightenment in rigorous doctrinal learning as that transmitted in the Yogacara tradition:

"As for the five sense faculties within, and the six sensory objects without, they all belonged to the category of 'perceived objects' (of the bipartite distinction between the subject and object) of the Eighth Consciousness. Those who practice Chan must first slough off the body and mind internally,

82 WILLIAMCHU

and eradicate the (attachment to the] world externally, the purpose of which is precisely °the extinction of the two divisions [consiting in] 'perceived ob­jects' and 'perceiving subjects' ... Therefore upfamiliarity with the [Yogacara's delineation of] the body, mind, and the external environment would always lead to impediments to [liberation from the cycles of] rebirth." I*JliJlt ?1-t:\~, lm~j\.~m~. $:$=ffr.~'%I*JBR:,Jit{", ?1-Jl"t!t$f..1'f, IE~ilHt tEl, ~=~ ... $:,Jit,L't!t$f../F~, *!!l~~~Z~:;lit!Jf.43

Zhenke in the same vein also commented on the danger of doctri­nally unmediated Chan practices and the pressing need to consult Y ogacara scholarship in one's spiritual experimentations. In refer­ring to a Yogacara commentary, he said:

"Idle sitting and quietistic introspection are unwholesome [forms of] Chan meditation. [All the more reasons] that one cannot afford not to steep oneself in the ocean of doctrinal learning ... And when one does intend to steep one­self in the ocean of doctrinal learning, shouldn't this [Yogacara text] serve as [the best] compass and steering oar for the impending journey?" t!;~l!!JtJW.~ $~, ?F,Jitm~m/F1'iJ ... *W\,Jitm~m, Jl.IjJl:t~:JitJilitMEt~3f.44

To its Ming proponents, Yogacara's usefulness in providing organi­zation and coherence to religious praxis was not confined to Bud­dhist schools. Its in-depth delineation of stages of spiritual progres­sion, differentiation of nuances between enlightenment and quasi-en­lightenment experiences, the rich vocabulary that enabled these func­tions, in addition to all the other mentioned strengths, was also useful for the Ming Buddhists in their critique, qualification, and mollifi­cation of non-Buddhist traditions. The fastidiously construed typolo­gies and hermeneutical structures in Y ogacara meant that Buddhists could polemically assign rival religions on Buddhism's own clearly delineated hierarchical pyramid (or spectral classification, depending on what kind of hermeneutical structure was used). Deqing gives us an example of how he came to rate the other traditions in such a manner:

In regard to the Eighth Consciousness, heretics and non-Buddhists either [wrongfully] attached to it as their nihilistic refuge, as the [uncaused] Na-

43 Cited in Shi Shengyan, Mingmo Jojiao yanjiu, p. 233.

44 Cited in ibid, p. 206.

SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 83

ture,45 or as unfolding worldly conditions46 ... To speak in accord to the truth, those who upheld Confucianism were entrapped in [the notion that the consciousness is simply about] the unfolding worldly conditions; those who 'upheld Daoism were entrapped in [the notion that it is the same as] the un­caused Nature. In a nutshell, they all failed to transcend from the [epistemic confines of! consciousness,47 unable to fully penetrate into [the meaning of! the One Mind." (J1:tm)\.~, 1~Yl-J!l:1!fJ!X:fJrz~~~*, J!X:f)1.Z~13~, w;ttl.z~ r&I~t48 .. , ~JfffiHilil, fML1!f5&;I2§~t, ttl.:'131!f1l:!! El~, ~~*~i~'~1:, /f~~~~ _'l,'/ij:lli)49

Just as the Tiantai school revolved its hermeneutical taxonomy (pan­]iao) around the rubric of the "Five Periods and Eight Teachings," the Ming syncretists found an equally, if not more, sophisticated interpretive apparatus in Y ogacara expressions like the "Hundred Categories of Dharmas," "Fifty Two Stages of Bodhisattvahood," and the "Eighteen Marks of Buddha's Wisdom Distinguishing [Him from Non-Buddhists and Heretics]." Indeed, I would venture to say that one of the most original doctrinal reinvention on the part of the Ming syncretists lied in their employment of Yogacara concepts in classifying and evaluating the teachings of other religions.5o In all

45 Deqing is referring to an Indian philosophical tradition that was labeled in the Chi­nese Buddhist tradition as the "Nature heretics" (ziran waidao i3 ~)i.ii) - probably refer­ring to the AjIvakas whose thought system was associated with Makkhali Gosara. For a discussion on these Indian "heretics" during Buddha's time, see the first chapter of Mi­zuno K6gen, Genshi bukky6.

46 Clearly the term "yinyuan ft;j~" used here was not the same thing as the Buddhist no­tion of "conditions" or "conditionality." Judging from the context, especially by its associ­ation with Confucianism, it was most likely referring to secular accomplishments such as those in governance and worldly successes.

47 Proponents of the Dharma-nature School traditionally faulted the Dharma-character­istics School for dabbling in the doctrine of the [defiled] consciousness rather than being able to realize the higher category of the immaculate Mind.

48 Hanshan dashi mengyouji, vol. iv, p. 2432-2433.

49 Ibid, p. 2435.

50 The Ming had had a long history of being relegated by scholars as an uninteresting continuation of the Song intellectual developments. Michel Strickmann is among those who insist that the research on syncretism of the early formative periods of Chinese Bud­dhism is more worthy than the study of syncretism in the Ming. His reason is that "most of the evidence adduced·in illustration of fIfteenth- and sixteenth-century syncretism can al­ready be found together in scriptural texts written a thousand years earlier." He therefore

84 WILLIAMCHU

these aforementioned capacities the Ming syncretists truly had out­done their predecessors. Contrary to the prevalent painting of Ming Buddhism as a lackluster continuation of Song legacy, the Ming Buddhists were creative, vibrant, and confident, conscious of the original ways in which they argued for the syncretistic cause. Their originality might not lie in their general conclusion that all religions are compatible while Buddhism stands alone as the most complete and efficacious revelation, but they stood peerless in the pre-modem times in the methods and philosophical arguments employed to prove that end.

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SYNCRETISM RECONSIDERED 85

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Non-English works

Chen Rong ~t3:lt. 1984. Sishu Jijie 1Z9~~f§i¥. Tainan: Zhengyan.

Chen Rongjie (Wing-tsit) ~~~. 1984. Wangyangming yu chan ::E~JlJi¥J~ffr'". Taibei: Taiwan Xueseng.

Hanshan dashi mengyou ji, 4 volumes ~0J*~ijl.iQf~(~lZ9fffi} 1989. Re­printed in Hong Kong: Puhui Lianshe.

Jiang Yibin JW~~. 1997. Songru yufojiao *1$~1\11l~. Taibei: Dongda.

86 WILLIAMCHU

Lianchi dashi ji Ji?t!L*~jjJ~. Compiled by Sengchan {!!!iii;. 1981. Reprinted in Hong Kong: Zhonghua Fojiao Tushuguan.

Mizuno K6gen 7.k!llBLj[;. "Zoagonkyo no Kenkyu to Shuppan" *lJliiJ-g-*~O)1i3f5{; ~ i±lJlffi:. Bukkyo Kenkyu, 17 (1988), pp. 1-45.

Ouyi dashi wenxuan 5~~*BjjJX~. Compiled by Zhongjing ffil~. 1976. Re­printed in Taibei: Fojiao Chuban She.

Ouyi Zhixu i/.ll~1§'M (1599-1655). Sishu ouyijie 1Z9.i/.ll~~~. Reprinted in Tai­bei: Xianzhi, 1973.

----. Zhouyi chanjie m£iIr'!jI.~~. Reprinted in Taibei: Xinwenfeng, 1979.

Shi Shengyan ~~~. 1987. Mingmofojiao yanjiu i!Jt'K{~~1Vf~. Taipei: Dong­chu.

Zhang Ziqiang 5Jlt § 'liiL 2001. "Weishi sixiang yu wanming weishixue yanjiu." IJfUlllUil:,1l\~Il!E~Ilt.ID!li~1iJfY'E. In Zhongguo fojiao xueshu lundian, no. 7 cp~ 1~~~*~A1l$ 7, 291-439, ed. Foguangshan Wenjiao Jijinghui. Kaohsiung: Foguangshan Wenjiao Jijinghui.

Zibo dashiji :mtS*BjjJ~. Compiled by Sengchan {!!!i'IJt. 1978. Reprinted in Tai­bei: Fojiao Chub an She.

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA

JOHAN EL VERSKOG

Introduction

Ever since the European discovery of Buddhism and the subsequent development of Buddhist Studies, there has been an intense focus on ;:'the text" and its implied notions of authority. The origins of this methodological propensity and its ramifications are now rather well-known, and many scholars have begun to re-evaluate previous categories that shaped the trajectory of this textual criticism. One such category is the entire concept of the "canon" and its tandem concepts of "apocryphal," "authentic" and ultimately "true/pure" -~lements that have shaped both Buddhist and academic discourse. 1 In much the same way as East Asian Buddhists produced graded hierar­chies of the Buddha's Dharma, scholars have produced graded scales of value towards the "canons" that allow them access to the Dharma. The Pali and Chinese canons (as well as the Tibetan, depending on the topic) are recognized as essential and authoritative, while the Tangut, Mongol and Manchu canons are relegated to the category of secondary or tertiary importance. It also needs to be recognized, however, that any intellectual mapping has an agenda and that it pro­duces aporias with inevitable implications. In the case of Zhiyi 9@)!@i and his Tiantai ~ir tradition, the result of this "theological"/intel­lectual engagement with the Dharma was the elevation of the Lotus Siitra to the pinnacle of the Buddha's teachings, a development with profound consequences for the history of the Buddhist tradition. While it is unlikely that the contemporary scholarly evaluation of the Buddhist canon will have as much impact as did Zhiyi, it is still necessary for scholars of Buddhist history to continually interrogate

I For a valuable introduction to issues surrounding the problem of Buddhist "canon(s)" see Buswell, and more recently Freiberger.

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29 • Number 1 • 2006 (2008) pp. 87-123

88 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

ourown canonical categorizations, in particular how they potentially repress or distort the historical development of the Buddhist tradi­tion. It is with this aim in mind that I present the following transla­tion of the Mongolian Big Dipper Sutra with a discussion of its theoretical and historical implications.

Overview of scholarship and translation history

This translation is based on the text of the Big Dipper Sutra as found in the Kanjur, the Mongolian translation of the Tibetan bKa'-'gyur (the collected teachings of the Buddha), with reference to two manu­script copies housed in the Inner Mongolian Academy of Social Sci­ences.2 This is not the first translation of this Buddhist sutra. Scho­lars have paid close attention to this work for nearly a century. The first, Berthold Laufer, noted in 1907 that according to the colophon of the Tibetan version of the sutra it had been translated into Uygur, the Turkic language of northwest China. This claim was corrobo­rated when German expeditions in the Tarim Basin discovered thou­sands of fragments of Uygur Buddhist texts, several of which were in fact translations of the Big Dipper Sutra. These fragments were subsequently published by the Turkologist G.R. Rachmati with the sinological commentary of Wolfram Eberhard (1937). Subsequently, these fragments, their history, relation to other translations, cultural implications, etc. have been the focus of numerous scholarly endea­vors,3 culminating in the magisterial study of Herbert Franke, who

2 This translation is based on Ligeti's transcription (1963: 103-114) of the Mongolian Doli/yan ebiigen neretii odun-u sudur found in the Beijing Kanjur (vol. 92 No. 1123 [Ligeti 1942-44: 303]), in addition to two manuscripts housed in the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences, Hohhot, China (CMC #588 and 589 - 49.328 1403:1 and 49.328 1403:2). The two manuscripts do not differ in any substantial way from the Kanjur version, except that both lack the important colophon. There are no early extant Mongo­lian fragments from the Yuan period that would provide evidence of its translation history (Cerensodnam and Taube 1993), particularly the relation of the Mongol text to the Uygur fragments. Aside from the two manuscripts used in the preparation of this edition there are extant manuscript copies in the Mongolian collections in Copenhagen (Heissig 1971: 221), Germany (MHBL #287) and the library at the University of Inner Mongolia (CMC #590).

3 For a bibliography of studies on the Uygur fragments and related works, see Elverskog (1997: 93-95).

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA. 89

V€()ropared the Chinese, Tibetan, Uygur and Mongolian Buddhist ver­l%ions and showed their Daoist origins (1990). In the wake of his :lWork, Jampa Panglung prepared an edition and translation of the Ti­~i)~tan version "(1991).4 Henrik S0rensen translated a Korean ritual ~text for the worship of the Big Dipper and investigated the tradition iliiKorea (1995). And most recently Charles Orzech and Jam~s San­[ford published three texts from the Chinese canon involved with the ~iworship of the Big Dipper (2000).

~Va1ue of new translations to scholarship

~~variablY, one may wonder what is the value of translating a secon­~aary, or perhaps even tertiary, Mongolian text. Indeed, what is the tpoint of exploring the Mongolian version of a work that was clearly jproduced in a Chinese cultural context and is found in the Chinese ~anon?

ii;, A valid point. However, our own theoretical suppositions make 'such a conjecture valid. The primary such supposition is that the

•. j:hinese canon is of paramount historical importance (a claim ampli­;fled in this case with reference to the Daoist borrowings of the }work). As a result, it is generally taken for granted that the Chinese :version contained in the TaishO canon is the "ur-text" and thus it is 'the reference point for all others.5 This may be true, but such an ; assumption is not without problems. Much may be lost in selecting a text produced in Japan,6 and found in a canon compiled in Japan dur­ing the 1920s over a text clearly produced in China and dated to the early 14th century. While this is a philological problem beyond the bounds of this paper, for our present concern, the modern focus on

. the Chinese canon and its perceived authority has had two ramifica-

4 The Tibetan text Sme-bdun zhes-bya-ba'i skar-ma'i mdo is found in the Peking bKa'-'gyur (Suzuki 1955--61: vol. 40, p. 370-372, P286b6-290a8).

5 This text (Fo shuo beidou qi xing yan ming jing {~~~t4-1:;JiiUj];1frt~) is found in vo­lume 21 of the TaishO shinshu daizi5-kyi5, T 1307: 425b-426b.

6 The canonical version in the TaishO includes a picture of the Big Dipper, the "Ladies of the Dipper" and the amulets corresponding to each star are labelled with a Japanese .kana symbol (Orzech and Sanford 2000: 387).

90 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

tions. First, it has obscured the simple fact that the Taishi'i text and the Mongolian siltra are not the same, thus affecting our understand­ing of the development of this tradition. Second" the fixation on the "Chineseness" of Big Dipper worship has obviated the fact that this work was important among the Mongols, and thus has led us to ne­glect what this worship among the Mongols tells us about Mongolian Buddhism and the process by which new ideas and practices cross both religious and cultural boundaries.

Regarding the first issue, the importance of the Mongolian text and its history lies in the fact that it preserves a Chin!!se Buddhist text for the worship of the seven starslBuddhas of the Big Dipper that is not found in the Chinese canon. The opening passage of the Mongolian text provides a history of its translation: it was translated from Chinese into Mongolian, which in tum was used as the basis for the Tibetan translation. The colophon also notes that an Uygur translation was prepared and printed, but it never states explicitly whether it was used as an intermediary in the translation from Chi­nese into Mongolian. This fact, coupled with the fragmentary nature of the Uygur pieces, has led to as yet unresolved speculation as to its possible role in the translation process. Regardless, it is clear that both the Uygur and the Mongolian texts are based on some Chinese original, and the text always referenced in this regard is the Chinese text found in the Taisho canon. If one compares the Chinese and Mongolian versions, however, it becomes clear that there are promi­nent differences between the two.

The Mongolian version is, first of all, twice as long. The narrative of the Mongolian text can be broken down into six major sections:?

1. List of the seven Buddhas, their food offerings, relations to cyclical birth signs and amulets.

2. Invocation of the Buddhas affiliated with each star and their respective dhiiralJls.

7 This division is based on Franke's discussion of the text; however, he notes eight sec­tions instead of six (1990: 86). For my analysis, the other two sections, the introductory passage with the text's translation history and the colophon, are not relevant in terms of the Chinese text.

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 91

. 3. Buddha's sermon to Mafijusrl on the benefits of this sutra.

4. List of the relation between the color of a person and the ele­ment to which he belongs.

5. Hymn of praise to the seven Buddhas.

6. A list of days when lamps for worshipping the seven stars should be lit.

Of these six sections, the canonical Chinese version (T 1307) con­tains only the first three. The Mongolian version of these three sec­tions is a nearly verbatim translation of the Chinese text, but the Mongolian continues where the Chinese ends. Indeed, the Mongolian text proclaims after section three, the end of the Chinese text, "One chapter of the scripture of the God of Gods, Buddha's preaching of The Satra on Prolonging One's Life Through the Big Dipper is fin­ished." The final three sections also reflect a Chinese origin, most strikingly the explanation found in section four of the connection be­tween people's birth colors and their natural element. As a result, it is clear that the canonical Chinese text (T 1307) is a truncated ver­sion of what is preserved in the Mongolian translation. 8 Exactly how this came to be is rather unclear, but, the popularity of the work, its complicated development in China, and its translation history pro­vide some avenues for investigation.

Aside from the Mongolian version studied here, there are also ex­tant other texts and fragments of the Buddhist worship of the Big Dipper that provide evidence of the existence and persistence of rit­ual texts outside the canonical matrix. The 1651 Korean work, the Pukdu ch'ilsong chong uimun it4-t£~wfiJt,9 includes sections two and three of T 1307, as well as a lengthy introduction and sec-

8 Taking into account the differences between the texts it is important to re-evaluate S0rensen's critique of Franke's dating of "the text" to the Yuan dynasty (1995: 74-79). While it is clear there was an earlier version of the text produced during the Tang dynasty, the time and place of the origin of the Sino-Mongolian text from the Yuan is far from clear. Perhaps it was produced during the Yuan using the earlier text as a model? Nevertheless, by ignoring the differences between the two works the complexity of its transmission and historical development is overlooked.

9 This text is translated in S0rensen 1995: 97-100.

92 JOHAN EL \'ERSKOG

tion six of the "Mongolian" text. Uygur fragments from the Yuan pe­riod and a text produced in Singapore in the 1960s also differ from T 1307. What is distinctive about these two texts is that both of them contain the worship of nine stars of the Dipper, as opposed to the seven of T 1307 and other Buddhist works (Franke 1990:96). This variety points to the dear fact that multiple versions, or texts, of the Buddhist worship of the Big Dipper. were being produced and used in China and Inner Asia. Which is more "authoritative"? In tradi­tional philological analysis and the production of textual lineages, it is valid to highlight the importance of the Chinese version since it appears to be the "original" core of later texts. Yet, mIght not this Chinese version only be a later Japanese redaction from a/the fuller, and certainly more Daoist influenced text, as found in the Mongolian version? Where do the Uygur fragments and the Singapore text fit into the genealogy? Are they a different tradition entirely? Perhaps.

However, while these questions are important and worthwhile, it is also important to understand how this sort of textual criticism, focusing on textual transmission and perceived categories of author­ity, operates in the same manner as Buddhist lineage production to obviate the most obvious question: how and why do Daoist concepts and ritual practices become Buddhist? In the same way as modern scholarship has focused on the Chinese text in lieu of the Mongolian text because of constructed notions of authority, it is important to investigate how and why medieval Chinese Buddhists appropriated Daoist concepts and the process of legitimation that made them Bud­dhist.

. Chinese background of siitra

Of course, the cultural conflict that ensued upon the introduction of Buddhism to China is well known. 10 Likewise it has been amply illu­strated that the Buddhist and Daoist traditions developed within an interface of mutual borrowing. Just as the Daoist Lingbao .1l tradi-

!O See for example Zurcher 1959, Gregory 1991, Teiser 1988, Sharf 2002, and Kiesch­nick 2003.

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SDTRA 93

tion adopted and transformed Buddhist concepts within a Chinese sensibility (Bokenkamp 1990, 1997: 373-392), it is not surprising that Buddhists incorporated Chinese concepts into their own reli­gibus framewcirkY And one of the most prominent features of Chi­nese religion that has continued from the earliest dynasties until the present day is the worship of the Big Dipper. 12 Already during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), the Dipper was painted on the ceil­ing of many tombs and its recognized power had reached such levels that it was incorporated into the rituals of emperorship. In his at­tempt to seize the throne, the usurper Wang Mang ::E~ (r. 9-23 CE) adopted the Dipper as a symbol of power and a protective talisman against his enemies (S0rensen 1995: 72). At the same time a cosmo­gonic dance attributed to the legendary hero Yti the Great of the Xia dynasty also developed, intended to increase the life-span of the practitioner and also help the state relieve the suffering of the em­pire's people from various disasters.u In accord with these concep-tions Emperor Huan tllw of the Han ~ (140-187 CE), paralleling Constantine on the Milvia Bridge, was advised by his court ritual specialists (jangshi :1J±) to carry a standard bearing an image of the Big Dipper (Robinet 1997: 43).

The imperial appropriation of the Dipper was grounded in pre-Daoist cosmology, which saw the Pole Star as the abode of the Supreme One, Tai Yi j:-. Thus as the Dipper circumambulates the divine abode the rhythms of the universe are enacted. This concen­trated visual representation shaped the subsequent Daoist conceptu-

liOn the early interface between Buddhism and Daoism, see Strickmann 2002.

12 The Big Dipper was venerated as a deity as early as !be late Shang p,;j dynasty (13-1lth century BCE) (Little 2000: 128). In regards to its continuing worship, Schipper notes in his study of contemporary Daoist practice in Taiwan !bat the most important ritual the priest performs is !be worship of the Big Dipper (1993: 72-75). Franke (1990: 96) also notes !bat !be worship of !be Big Dipper continues among !be Chinese Buddhist commu­nity, as evidenced in the recent publishing of !be Miraculous Sarra of the Great Bear that Dispels Calamaties and Prolongs Life in Singapore.

13 For a representation of this dance as found in the Taishang zhuguo jiumin zongzhen biyao *J:.Jl!J~~B~J,~,~~Ji)~ TT 987, see Robinet (1993: 223). On !bis practice see Robi­net (1993: 221-225), and for its origins and development see Andersen (1989-90) and Schafer (1977).

94 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

alization of the Big Dipper as the center of the Celestial Bureauc­racy, where the cosmic order is put into place. This is an idea that is echoed in Ge Hong's i5r# (ca. 284-363) Baa pu zi ~Hr, one of the earliest collections of Daoist practices, where worship of the Dipper is understood to protect against plague, avoid calamities, and bestow blessings (Sorensen 1995: 73). Also in the 4th century Daoist practice known as "Method of Holding the Three Ones" (shou sanyi "'f -=--), the worship and meditation upon the Dipper played a piv­otal role (Sorensen 1995: 73; Andersen 1980). By the 3rd-4th cen­tury the basic shape of future Daoist understandings o,f the Dipper was in place. The Dipper regulated the fate of one's life - not only the nature of one's life, through its arbitrary fluxes, but more impor­tantly, the length of one's life. Many of the Daoist texts that involve the Dipper are concerned with the issue of asking for pardon of one's sins and having one's name erased from the register of the dead. Both of these areas are under the authority of gods resident in the Big Dipper. Paralleling these related duties, in an early Daoist text of the Shangqing J:rjlf revelations (364-370 CE), the Text of the Three Diagrams That Open the Sky,I4 the Big Dipper is affiliated with death and the hell realms. And yet, through proper practice and meditation on the Dipper one can achieve the ultimate goal of immortality (Robinet 1997: 146).

With this understanding of the historical importance of the Big Dipper in China and the early Daoist textual explication of its wor­ship in place, the question arises, why in the process of cross­fertilization did the Buddhist tradition not· engage with these ideas until several centuries later? Only at the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th century were Buddhist texts explicating the worship of the Big Dipper produced. IS The answer lies in the important linkage be-

14 Kaitian santu jing OO:::R~IIl*,l£ IT 1027.

15 Vajrabodhi's (669-741 CE) Ritual Procedures for Invoking the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper (Beidou qi xing niansong yigui ~t4-l::;Jj:L~~ill{~th. T 1305, translated in Orzech and Sanford 2000: 392-393), Yixing's (673-727 CE) The Method of Making aHoma Offering to the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper (Beidou qixing humo fa ~t4-l::;£~~¥~ T 1310), and Guiding'S (d.u.) The Secret Essentials for Performing a Homa Offering to the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper (Beidou qixing humo mimi yao yigui ~t4-l::;£a~:fb!$~{~

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SDTRA 95

tween the Big Dipper and state power noted above, and its relation to the political climate in China. Although Buddhism had a certain political influenc.e d~ring .t~e post-Han p~riod, it was a time of great political and SOCIal mstabIhty and BuddhIsm never became a funda­mental element in the production of legitimate emperorship. This continued up through the Tang g dynasty (618-907), during which the court held Daoism above Buddhism in all religious matters (Weinstein 1987). In 684, however, Empress Wu Itt!§" seized power and set about creating a Buddhist empire (Forte 1976), and it is then that the earliest Buddhist ritual texts for the worship of the Big Dip­per appear. This is likely not a simple coincidence. Instead, the importance of the Big Dipper in Chinese statecraft mandated, or al­lowed for, its incorporation into the Buddhist tradition at a time when a Buddhist held the throne. 16

The Big Dipper and the Medicine Buddha

Another element that lends credence to this hypothesis is the identification of the stars of the Big Dipper with the Seven Healing Buddhas. This connection is not made in the three earliest Buddhist texts for the ritual worship of the Big Dipper. However, in the later canonical Chinese text (T 1307), produced in the second half of the Tang dynasty, the connection is made (S0rensen 1995: 77). As a re­sult, what factors can explain the appearance of the Seven Healing

tiL T 1306, translated in Orzech and Sanford 2000: 393-395).

16 A similar example of the Big Dipper continuing its relevancy in statecraft in the face of a radical political shift is found in a tourist guide to Beijing prepared in 1957. This guide was prepared shortly after the 1949 communist victory over Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist government while Tiananmen Square was being created as the sacred center of the new China.

T'ien-an-men is known to us all. Its beautiful features form an important part of our state emblem. People tum to T'ien-an-men and see it as the people's Great Dipper. The people of the entire world are very familiar with T'ien-an-men; T'ien-an-men symbolizes magnificent new China (quoted in Wagner 1992: 392).

Although this was at the apogee of Marxist-Leninist thought in China the cultural map-ping of the new ideology and its attendant nation building enterprise drew upon a well recognized cultural symbol. Paralleling the phenomenon that occurred in the Buddhist tradition during the reign of Empress Wu.

96 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

Buddhas and their respective dhiira~fs (section 2) in T 1307? Again, the political changes at the Tang court provide some clues. Empress Wu died in 705 and the son whom she had sent into exile when she seized the throne in 684 returned to rule as the Zhongzong r:p * em­peror (r. 684/705-710). During his period of banishment he had prayed to Bhai~ajya-guru, the medicine Buddha. Feeling .indebted to this Buddha upon his return, he requested the learned monk Yijing to translate a new version of the Bhai~ajya-guru Satra into Chinese. The monk completed the translation in 707, with the emperor acting as recording scribe.17 Two important developments in this text from the earlier versions of the Bhai~ajya-guru SLitra were the expansion of the Medicine Buddha into seven manifestations, and the inclusion of protective dhiirii~fs given by the Seven Buddhas (Birnbaum 1979: 70). These are exactly the two elements that appear in the new Bud­dhist ritual text for the worship of the Big Dipper. 18

The appropriation of the Seven Medicine Buddhas as the stars of the Big Dipper fused the earlier Daoist concepts of the Big Dipper with Buddhist ideas about Bhai~ajya-guru. As noted above, in the Daoist tradition, the Big Dipper was the controller of one's fate, and the ritual aim of these practices tried to erase one's name from the registry of the dead thereby prolonging one's life. In the early Bhai­~ajya-guru Satra, one can pray to the Medicine Buddha for exactly the same thing. In this work it is described that at death, Yama, the king of the dead, sends out emissaries to collect the two inner spirits

17 Satra on the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of the Seven Buddhas of Lapis Lazuli Radiance, the Masters of Healing (Yaoshi liuliguang qifo benyuan gongde jing ~gjjJ7't-t;{!IIl *jjj:I;l]l~*,<f T 451, vol. 14). Translated in Birnbaum (1979: 173-216).

18 Franke (1990: 95) has identified the names of the Buddhas affiliated with stars 2, 3,4, 6 and 7 as the names of the Medicine Buddhas found in Yijing's ~;1il- 707 translation of the Bhai~ajya-guru Satra (Siltra on the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of the Seven Buddhas of Lapis Lazuli Radiance, the Masters of Healing [Yaoshi liuliguang qifo benyuan gongde jing ~gjjJ7't-t;{!IIl*jjj:I;l]l~*,<f T 451, vol. 14]. Translated in Birnbaum [1979: 173-216]). Why the names of the first and fifth Buddhas in the Big Dipper Satra do not correspond to the Medicine Buddhas "Auspicious King" and "Thundering Sound of the Dharma Sea" is unclear. Does the Big Dipper Satra reflect an earlier or different tradition of the Seven Medicine Buddhas now lost? Did the difference arise in an attempt to pro­duce a modicum of differentiation? Unfortunately, these questions cannot be answered with the available sources.

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 97

of the deceased. These two spirits are brought to his tribunal and on the basis of their deposition of all the person's deeds Yama decides their destiny. If one prays to Bhai~ajya-guru, however, one can change one's destiny and even overcome death (Strickmann 1990: 83). Similarly, the Big Dipper texts allow one to alter one's karmic registry, which is controlled by the Big Dipper, thereby prolonging one's life. Guiding's The Secret Essentials for Performing aHoma Offering to the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper (T 1306) proclaims, "On behalf of those who make the offerings, these deities will order the appropriate natal star to remove them from the death records and restore them to the life records" (Orzech and Sanford 2000: 394). Vajrabodhi's text (T 1305) presents a parallel passage, "If you want long life [they will] scratch out your karmic register and restore your life register" (Orzech and Sanford 2000: 392-393). This represents a dear parallel to the Daoist image of the Big Dipper and its worship, and thus the linkage of the Seven Medicine Buddhas with the Big Dipper fully coalesces these traditions - a development eloquently captured in a visual representation from the important Scripture of the Ten Kings that developed in the 7th-9th centuries. In this work,

. which ushered Chinese visions of hell and purgatory into the Bud­dhist tradition, Yama is portrayed as wearing the mian ~, an empe­ror's hat decorated with the Big Dipper (Teiser 1994: 175).19 Bud­dhist worship of the Big Dipper may have developed in a particular .context, but, it continued in a multiplicity of ways.

Politics also served to fuse the worship of the Big Dipper with the Medicine Buddha tradition and perpetuate its practice. As noted above, the Dipper was not only linked to long life in the Chinese tradition but also to imperial rule and the maintenance of harmony

19 S0rensen (1995: 73) argues that the most important Daoist text for the worship of the Big Dipper probably dates to the second half of the Tang dynasty (The Perfect Scripture of the Highest Arcane Marvel, the Great Dipper Fundamental Extension of the Length of Life, Taishang xuanling beidou ben mingyan sheng zhen jing ;tJ::~%~t4*-$J1f1:JU~ TT 622). In light of the growing Buddhist appropriation of Big Dipper worship in the begin­ning of the 8th century, it is possible to conjecture that this Daoist text may have been produced in reaction to these Buddhist texts.

98 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

within the empire:20 Both the oldest version of the Bhai~ajya-guru &Ura and the version of the text found in the fifth century Consecra­tion Satra (Guanding jing ¥IUU~ T 1331), articulate one idea re­garding the worship of the Medicine Buddha: "By doing homage to Bhai~ajyaguru a consecrated king can resolve all problems in his dominions: eclipses, drought, disease, demonic attacks, and the like." (Strickmann 1990: 83) While this factor certainly played a role in the development of this Buddhist ritual practice during the Tang, it was the multivalency of Dipper worship that enabled its continued appro­priation especially during the Mongol Yuan dynasty (j[; 1271-1368).

Big Dipper rites during the Yuan

As was the case with the later Manchu Qing dynasty 0'-1644-1911), the Mongols were a foreign people ruling the predominantly Han, though also multi-ethnic, Chinese empire. As a result, their systems of rule entailed a multiplicity of rhetorics for political legitimacy.21 In both of these dynasties the notions of imperial identity explicated in the Confucian-Daoist and Tantric Buddhist traditions were em­ployed simultaneously, a policy which at times created tensions with political and social implications. In such a climate, a practice which fused both of these traditions, or at least the Chinese and Buddhist conceptualizations, offered unique possibilities for ritual and ideo-

20 A fine example of the continued importance of worshipping the Big Dipper as a part of Chinese imperial rule is found in the 1568 Marvelous Scripture of Salvation that Pro­longs Life. This superbly illuminated manuscript written in gold is a collection of Daoist texts for the worship of the Big Dipper and the gods of the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Central Dippers for the benefit of the emperor and the nation. The colophon reads, "Respectfully manifesting a sincere heart, [I] have inscribed in gold characters [these] various Dipper Scriptures. [I] look up and pray that the great perfected on high bless [this] august nation, and guard the path of the emperor so that it is enduring and prosperous, so that all households and the nation enjoy prosperity, that the people be at peace, that all things be abundant, and that all dwellings be in order, forever abiding in good fortune and extended years" (Little 2000: 246-247).

21 The multiple identities of the Manchu emperors and the process of creating the Qing emperorship has recently been the focus of extensive scholarship (e.g. Farquhar 1978, Rawski 1998, Crossley 1999, Di Cosmo 1999 and Elliott 2001). However, it is important to recognize that the Mongol rulers of the Yuan were engaged in a similar enterprise (e.g. Franke 1978, Langlois 1981, Chan and de Bary 1982, Rossabi 1983).

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SDTRA 99

l()gical innovation, especially since worship of the Big Dipper had always been an element of Chinese imperial rule.

During the reign of Khubilai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dy­hasty, Daoist masters of the Taiyi *- sect were commissioned to perform the Big Dipper rituals. Franke writes:

Like other rituals for deities, those for the Great Bear stars were regarded as a duty of the state. On the first day of the new moon in the eighth lunar month of 1285 (September 1, 1285) the responsible officials were ordered to worship the Great Bear for three full days. A similar edict was issued at the end of the lunar year (January 25, 1286), presumably to pray for upcoming good luck and prosperity (1990: 107).

Worship of the Big Dipper drew upon both Daoist and Buddhist precedents, but it also allowed for the incorporation of Mongolian religio-cultural concepts. This amalgam was of crucial political importance as one of the perpetual divisions within the Yuan ruling elite was between Confucian and Mongolian steppe theories of role.22 And just as Big Dipper worship could mobilize Chinese and Buddhist symbols and ideas, it also coalesced with Mongolian cosmology and soteriology, for they too believed that the stars of the Dipper were gods who controlled one's fate and therefore needed to be offered animal sacrifices (Banzarov 1981-2: 55). The worship of the Big Dipper therefore operated as a perfect medium in the crea­tion of a multi-ethnic emperorship, incorporating disparate conceptualizations in forms recognizable across cultural, linguistic and religious boundaries.

The importance of the connection between the Big Dipper and forging the emperorship through modes of cultural continuity is also reflected in the appearance of these new and multiple translations during the early 14th century. The only dated Uygur colophon is from a text prepared in 1313 and then published in a thousand copies (Zieme 1985: 161). The merit for this scriptural production is pre­sented to the emperor, the empress-dowager and the empress. This may be considered a standard supplication. But it is important to

22 The following discussion of the debate between Confucian and "Mongolia-oriented" politics during the Yuan is based on the work of Dardess (1973).

100 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

keep in mind that the Renzong emperor (f=* r. 1313-1321) had only taken the throne the year before and that his succession had been marred by the escalating violence between the "Mongo­lia-centred" and "China-centred" factions within the Yuan ruling elite. The Renzong emperor, well-known for his filial devotion to his mother, Confucian learning, and Chinese orientation, took the throne after the death of his brother, an ardent anti-Chinese ruler and sup­porter of "Mongolia-centred" policies. As a result, the course of Yuan rule was radically shifted towards a "China-centred" focus. Notably, in 1315 the Renzong emperor re-instituted the Confu­cian-based civil service examination. In this volatile religio-cultural and political context, the Uygur Big Dipper Sutra, with its embedded multi-vocality, was produced in honor of the Renzong emperor.

After his death, however, the over~arching feud between these fac­tions continued to shape the course of Yuan political culture. His successor, the Yingzong emperor (g!f* r. 1320-1323), continued with his predecessor's policies and advocated a Confucian-oriented style instead of supporting the Turko-Mongol elite. Because of this policy he was assassinated and replaced by the Taiding emperor (~ IE r. 1323-1328) who repudiated the coup, yet he made no attempt to purge his administration of anti-Confucian elements. Rather he at­tempted to force a reconciliation between the two factions, which, instead of producing equanimity, culminated in the coup d'etat of the "restoration" forces of 1328. The "restoration" consisted in the re­turn to Mongolia-oriented policies by a powerful clique of Mongol and Turkic elites who put the Mingzong emperor (1jJj* r. 1328) on the throne. Shortly thereafter he was killed by his younger brother, the Wenzong emperor (Jt* r. 1328-1332), and the restoration continued. It is again in this chaotic period of shifting political winds and the attendant vision of the emperorship that a high-ranking Uygur official in the Wenzong court, Urug Bake, had the Big Dipper Sutra produced in Mongolian in 1328 and two thousand copies printed. At the same time, Alin Tam-lir, another Uygur official at the Wenzong court, had a thousand copies of an Uygur version of the sutra printed. That these texts appeared at two separate times in the service of competing political wills, again underscores the power of

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SDTRA 101

the worship of the Big Dipper to function as a medium of imperial inulti-vocality.

The Big Dipper and the Post-Yuan Mongols

The connection of Big Dipper worship to political power is further .fe-confirmed in the example of the Tibetan translation and in the production of the text among the post-Yuan Mongols.23 In 1337 a Tibetan translation of the Mongolian text sponsored by Urug Bake was prepared at Gung-thang monastery outside of Lhasa. The blrcumstances surrounding the translation are unclear. We do know, however, that in 1330 the Wenzong emperor ordered Tibetan monks to worship the stars, thus this practice was not entirely foreign to the Tibetans prior to the translation (Franke 1990: 107). In addition on December 18, 1336 in a purge of the Wenzong clique at court under the Shundi emperor (JilJi:m r. 1333-1368), Urug Bake, the sponsor of the 1328 Mongolian text was "sent to Tibet to become a Buddhist monk" (Franke 1990: 83). It is unlikely that he had anything to do with the translation as this phrase was simply a euphemism for exile. Rather, Urug Bake was purged because of his support of the Wen­long emperor at a time when Bayan held supreme power during the early years of the Shundi emperor's reign. Bayan was a strident anti-Confucianist and once again the Yuan was seized in spasm of political orthodoxy. Possibly, the multiplicity of the Big Dipper Su-tra offered an alternative to this rigidity, which was invariably doomed to failure in the multi-ethnic Yuan, and thus it was trans­

. lated in Tibet in 1337. This seems even more likely since the monas­

. tery where it was prepared had strong connections with the Mongol court. Nevertheless, the text made no lasting impact upon the Tibet­ans (Panglung 1991: 400). Shorn of its religio-cultural and, most

•. importantly, its political implications the Big Dipper Sutra survived in the Tibetan milieu only as cultural relic of the past, though its

23 Nor was its importance solely limited to the Mongols as evidenced in the Hongwu #t JB'; emperor's tomb in Nanjing i¥Iffi:, which was layed out according to the shape of the Big Dipper.

102 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

preservation in Tibetan allowed it to be mobilized again in the multi-ethnic rhetoric of a new hmer Asian empire.

In 1572, in accordance with their peace treaty with Altan Khan, the Ming court sent Buddhist monks, texts, statues, artisans etc. to the Mongol ruler. In addition, Altan Khan's envoys were allowed to cross Ming territory in order to go to Tibet to obtain Tibetan satras and bring them back to Mongolia. A letter by the Ming statesman Wang Chonggu ::E~(i!l records that the Big Dipper Satra was among these texts (Coyiji 1996: 15). As evidenced in the 1607 Mongolian history of Altan Khan, the Jewel Translucent Satra,24 Altan Khan envisioned himself as a new Chinggis or Khubi1ai Khan, a universal ruler of a multi-ethnic empire.25

The religio-cultura1 multiplicity of the Big Dipper Satra was again mobilized in creating an emperorship that incorporated Mongols, Tibetans and Chinese. A mode of rule that was emulated for the last time in the failed attempt of Ligdan Khan to once again revive the Yuan or Mongol empire. Before he was defeated by the Manchus and the Mongols were brought into the Qing dynasty, Ligdan Khan tried to recreate himself in the mold of the great Yuan emperors. He even rejected the Dalai Lama's Dge-Iug-pa lineage in favor of the Sa-skya as the Yuan had done. He built stupas, received tantric initiations, and most importantly, he had the entire Kanjur

24 This important Mongolian history is available in Mongolian (Jiirungga 1984), Chinese (Zhu-rong-ga 1990), Japanese (Yoshida et aL 1998: 111-207), Gennan (Kollmar-Paulenz 2001) and English (Elverskog 2003).

25 In this work Altan Khan is presented as not only ruling over the Mongols, but also the Chinese and Tibetans, thus he was in fact re-creating the Yuan. As an example, in the text when Altan Khan met the Dalai Lama in 1578, he "gave" Tibet back to the leader of the Dge-lugs-pa, much as in Buddhist histography it is imagined that Khubilai Khan presented Tibet as an appanage to 'Phags-pa Lama of the Sa-skya schooL In addition, the work in­eludes multiple references to Chinese and Altan Khan's relations with them in his role as emperor. This representation was not purely fanciful grandiosity on the part of Mongol historians. Chinese sources, most notably Qu Jiusi's 1[:fL,\!:, Wanli Wugong Lu i!il;li!fJtl;:9J ~%, record that 50,000 Chinese, either Ming rebels, White Lotus practitioners or economic refugees had re-settled in Altan Khan's territory. Thus Altan Khan's empire was in fact multi-ethnic, and this reality is reflected in the Jewel Translucent Satra and its presentation of Mongol emperorship.

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 103

(re)translated into Mongolian.26 The director of this multi-volume project was the monk Kun-dga' 'od-zer who is also identified as the translator of thirteen sutras, including the 1624 Mongolian re~translation of the 1337 Tibetan Big Dipper Sutra. That this translation was done before the Kanjur project began in 1628 reflects lts distinctiveness relative to the canonical sutras of the Tibetan hKa'-'gyur. Its earlier translation at a time when Ligdan Khan was frantically attempting to re-unite the fractious Mongols, and possibly requesting support from the Ming in the face of Manchu expansion, 1.lI1derscores its ritual and symbolic importance for multi-ethnic emperorship. In addition, that Kun-dga' 'od-zer, the most illustrious translator at the court, prepared the translation, reinforces the influ­ence of this text and the power of Big Dipper worship in echoing inultiple cultural voices.

Conclusion

Of course, while it is vital to recognize the political dimension in the transmission of the Big Dipper Sutra from the Tang dynasty up through the Qing, other cultural or religious factors cannot be dis­missed. After the fall of Ligdan Khan and any possible linkage of the

26 The oldest redaction of the Mongolian Kanjur is from the time of Ligdan Khan, who commissioned its translation in 1628-1629. At that time six manuscript copies were supposedly prepared, one written in gold (now housed in the Library of the Academy of .social Sciences in Hohhot, which, however, may actually be older [Heissig 1998: 158]), and five in black ink (one of whiCh is housed at St. Petersburg University [Kasyanenko 1993]; Kollmar-Paulenz has recently argued this may be a draft of the final version [2002]). However, as evidenced in this work and in several colophons (including one which confirms the translation of the Kanjur in 1602-1607 as claimed in the Jewel Translucent Satra [Kasyanenko 1993: 158; Kollmar-Paulenz 2001: n. 771]) it is clear that the idea, and possibly even the work of translating the entire Kanjur, was begun and com­pleted at the time of Altan Khan and his descendants (Heissig 1998; Uspensky 1997: 113). It is possible that when Ligdan Khan was engaged in his failed campaign against the Ordos in 1627 he acquired a copy while residing in Hohhot (Altan'orgil, Narancogtu, Altanjiya-a 1999: 22), after which he returned east and began the re-translation project of 1628-29; which included the altering of colophons to erase the evidence of Altan Khan's initial work and the reorganization of the contents. A similar phenomenon occurred when the Kangxi emperor ordered a Mongolian Kanjur to be prepared in Beijing in 1718-20 (Reissig 1954: 110).

104 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

Big Dipper Sutra with Mongolian imperial aspirations, the sutra Was included in a collection of important Buddhist dhiiralJ-f texts printed in Beijing by the Qing court in 1707 (Matsukawa 1994:185). Only ten years later it was incorporated into the imperial Kanjur prepared during the reign of the Kangxi emperor (J3iit~~ r. 1662-1723). Thus, it began, in a sense, to have a life of its own. Though its connection with polyvalency was not lost on the Manchus?? who, for example, incorporated its power and imagery into one of the central incense burners in Yonghegong, the imperial center of Qing Buddhism.

The Big Dipper Sutra, however, also had resonances and influ­ences among the Mongols far beyond the rarefied realm of emperor­ship and political discourse. The Mongols called upon the Big Dip­per in hunting rituals, rituals to make one shoot straight, and most Buddhist and "shamanist" rituals in genera1.28 An important measure of the sutra's influence in Mongol culture generally is its name: By the Qing, the Big Dipper is no longer called by its traditional name the "Seven Old Men" in Khalkha (the main Mongolian dialect), but the Seven Buddhas. Of course, it is through such a broad and deep cultural penetration that the Big Dipper Sutra became such a pivotal element in the production of emperorship. It was this breadth and depth that produced and preserved the Mongolian text in a static form over the centuries, but this should not blind us to the multiple versions of the text and different visions of Big Dipper worship that existed at various times and in different cultural areas. What began within the narrow confines of a Tang dynasty Buddhist-Daoist dis­course spread over all East Asia with extraordinary, diverse re­ligio-cultural and political implications. It is important that we recognize that, in the same way that the Big Dipper Satra was used to create emperorship by concealing difference, our own focus on the Chinese canon and its implied representation limits our vision of the multiple narratives of the Buddhist tradition. Only by moving beyond its confines can we begin to understand and appreciate the

27 On the polyvalency of Qing imperial ritual see Waley-Cohen 2002.

28 See Bawden (1963), the "shamanist" texts collected by Rintchen (1959), and the "folk religion" texts in Reissig (1966).

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 105

fich complexity of the Buddhist life and its spread over the vast cul-ltirallandscape of Asia. ,

Translation

INamowa buddhay-a :: Namowa dharmay-a :: Namowa sangghay-a !fi29 -l!&~:: @ Chinese [this text is called]: Bei deuci sing ging.30

l;;~;'c lIn Mongolian [this text is called]: The Constellation of the Seven Old ~en Siltra.31

1b Tibetan [this text is called]: Smi dun zis byau-a skarnwi mdowa.32 _ f,.

-i' 29 This opening homage praising the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is a standard introductory formula found in almost all Mongolian Buddhist texts. It is a formula that :was borrowed from Uygur Buddhist texts which may have derived from a Sogdian . convention (Nattier 1986).

")30 The Mongolian transcription Bei dellci sing ging, and the corresponding Tibetan tran­"scription Bea dll ehed zing ging are both transcriptions of the Chinese Bei dOli qi xing jing ~t4-t;£~, Satra of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper. The full title of work, how­:~ver, is Satra Spoken by the Bllddha that Prolongs Life throllgh the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper (Fo shllo bei dOli qi xing yan ming jing -Ml~~1::;4-t;£Jjf-$~) which is corroborated by the Uygur fragment U 4829a (Zieme 1985: 160).

',31 The Mongolian name for the Big DipPl!r, doloyan ebiigen "seven old men," is found in the oldest Sino-Mongolian glossary, the Zhi Yllan Yi yll 3§:j[;~iiI't, prepared during the reign of Khubilai Khan CLigeti 1990: 259-277). However, in the Hila yi Yi yll ¥~~iiI't, a Sino-Mongol glossary from 1389, the Big Dipper is called simply doloyan odlln "seven stars" (Mostaert 1977). This variety is also reflected in modem Mongolian languages e.g. Daur dolo xod "seven stars"; Santa doloTJ xoduTJ "seven stars;" though it is interesting to note the influence of this text on Khalkha where the Dipper is indeed called the "Seven Buddhas," doloon bllrxan (Kara 1990: 279-344; see also Birtalan 2001: 970-971).

32 This is the Mongolian transcription of the Tibetan title of this work, Sme-bdun zhes­bya-ba'i skar-ma'i mdo. The term Sme-bdun is a common literary term for the Big Dip­per; however, the more common term is byang-skar spun-bdun, "the seven star brothers of the north" (panglung 1991: 400). This difference certainly does not explain the Tibetans' disregard for this ritual text, though it does reflect some of the disconnect between this ritual text and its cultural connections in Tibet. Unlike in China and among the Mongols the Big Dipper did not playa prominent role in Tibetan religion and culture and therefore even though it was translated within a particular context -it had no lasting influence. Among the Mongols this was obviously not the case and thus in 1624 Kun-dga' 'od-zer prepared a new Mongolian translation of the work based on the 1337 Tibetan translation.

106 -JOHAN EL VERSKOG

Homage to the Seven Tathagathas.

Thence the Blessed One, the God of Gods, Buddha said to the youth­ful Bodhisattva Mafijusrl, "In the constellation of the Big Dipper the first star is named Tan-Iang.33 Its amulet is this:34

As a result this opening passage, with its chronological presentation of the text's history, is a direct copy of the Tibetan text. Indeed, the 1624 Mongolian text is a near verbatim copy of the 1337 Tibetan version, attesting to Kun-dga' 'od-zer's translation skill. He did, how­ever, make one mistake. In Kun-dga' 'od-zer's colophon the sponsor of the l328 Mongo­lian text is identified with the title yeke sikiirtii ("great parasol holder"), though in the Yuan period there was actually only the title "sikiirtii." And indeed the 1337 Tibetan text transcribes his title as zu-gur-ehe. Kun-dga' 'od-zer mistook the ehe as an adjective (Tib. ehen=great) and over-translated it withyeke, "great" (Matsukawa 1994: 184).

33 The Mongolian Tan-lang, Tibetan Ta-lang (P 286b8), and Uygur [tJamlang are tran­scriptions of the Chinese name for the first star (a) in the dipper's bowl: Tan lang 1i:~1l:, "greedy wolf." The fact that the Uygur and Tibetan transcriptions retain the Old Mandarin final -m, while Mongolian has the more recent final -n points to Mongolian version being a more recent revision (Franke 1990: 87). The names in this text correspond to the following stars:

Wu-qu ~rt!! Lian-zhen ~ffi[

Po-jun$'~ Wen-qu :>crt!! Lu-cun ffrikff: 0

Tan lang 1i:~N:

o Ju-men §~~ Previously, the names for the stars comprising the Big Dipper in this work were consi­dered "bizarre" (Levi 1908: 453); however, Franke (1990: 103-107) has shown that the names can be traced back to the fifth century astrological and chronomantic treatise of Xiao Ji.~ (d. 614) the Compendium o/the Five Agents (Wu xing da yi 1i1t**ii;), which in tum is based on the the Dipper Chart of the Yellow Emperor (Huang di dOLl tLl) ~* ~ III (Kalinowski 1991: 339). In other astronomical works and in the most important Daoist text on Beidou ~t4 worship, e.g the Tai shang xuan ling bei dOLl ben ming yan sheng zhen jing .:t:l:.y,:%~t4*fJJ~1:JU~ (TT 622, vol. 341), the stars have other names, 1) Yang-ming Jl!j;~; 2) Yin-jing ~:m; 3) Zhen-ren ~A; 4) Xuan-ming y,:;ii!;; 5) Dan-yuan ft 7C ; 6) Bei-ji ~U,j; 7) Tian-guan ~~. For a comprehensive list of other names used for these stars see Kalinowski (1991: 102-103)

34 Neither the canonical Mongolian nor Tibetan version of this work contains the amu­lets which are found in the canonical Chinese text (see T 1307 or Orzech and Sanford 2000: 390). The early Uygur fragments do have these amulets and they are similar to the ones found in the Chinese text (Rachmati 1937: Plate 5). Why the Tibetan and Mongolian Kanjur versions do not have these amulets is not certain. Nevertheless, the amulets con­tained in the Chinese and Uygur Buddhist texts both graphically and ideologically seem to be premised on the Daoist concepts of amulets (iu r-t). This system is premised on the idea that amulets are bipartite, one piece existing in heaven and the other on earth, and through possessing the earthly amulet one receives protection from the deities in heaven (see

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SDTRA 107

A person [born in the] year of the Rat is born under the jurisdic­tion of this star. 35 Its food offering is large-grained millet. If there are ~vi1 spirits and obstacles,36 this scripture is to be worshipped and this ;UUulet shouldQe worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spirits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will become very joyful.

The second star is named Giyu-men.37 Its amulet is this:

A person [born in the] years of the Ox and the Pig is born under the jurisdiction of this star. Its food offering is pearl millet. If there are evil spirits and obstacles, this scripture is to be worshipped and this amulet should be worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spirits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will become very joyful.

The third star is named Lu-cun.38 It's amulet is this:

A person [born in the] years of the Tiger and the Dog is born un­der the jurisdiction of this star. Its food offering is rice. If there are evil spirits and obstacles, this scripture is to be worshipped and this amulet should be worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spirits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will become very joyful.

The fourth star is named Uen-kiuu.39 Its amulet is this:

Kaltenmark 1960, Legeza 1975, Seidel 1983).

35 In Daoist texts it is understood that depending upon the time of one's birth, a particu­lar star/god of the Big Dipper governs the course of one's life, or "root destiny" (benming * trJ). "Six times each year, on the cyclical day of one's 'root destiny,' the 'Root Des­tiny Realized Officer' of that cyclical day would descend to the human world, at which time people born under the influence of that officer were to fast and make offerings" (Little 2000: 248).

36 "Evil spirits and obstacles" is a translation of ada todqar, an Uygur (ada tuda) hen­diadys loanword originally meaning "danger, obstacle, hindrance" (Clauson 1972: 40; Rohrborn 1977: 43-45). After it was borrowed into Mongolian, ada quickly became personified as a demon or evil spirit, while todqar kept the original meaning of "obstacle" (Lessing 1995: 9, 813).

37 Mongolian Giyu-min, Tibetan Ku-men (p 287al), and Uygur Kumun are translitera­tions of Chinese lumen §:p~, "Great gate."

38 Mongolian Lu-cun, Tibetan Lu-sun (p 287a3), and Uygur Liusun are transliterations of the Chinese Lucun ~!F:1T, "Happiness retained."

39 Mongolian Uen-kiuu, Tibetan 'Un-khu (P 287a4), and Uygur Yunkiu are translitera­tions of the Chinese Wenqu Jt~, "Literary song."

108 JOHA1\[ EL VERSKOG

A person [born in the] years of the Hare and the Chicken is bam under the jurisdiction of this star. Its food offering is wheat. If there are evil spirits and obstacles, this scripture is to be worshipped and this amulet should be worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spi­rits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will become very joy­ful.

The fifth star is named Liyan-cim.40 Its amulet is this:

A person [born in the] years of the Dragon and the Monkey is born under the jurisdiction of this star. Its food offering is hemp seeds. If there are evil spirits and obstacles, this scripture is to be worshipped and this amulet should be worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spirits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will become very joyful.

The sixth star is named Vuu-kiUU.41 Its amulet is this:

A person [born in the] years of the Sheep and the Snake is bam under the jurisdiction of this star. Its food offering is black beans. If there are evil spirits and obstacles, this scripture is to be worshipped and this amulet should be worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spirits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will become very joyful.

The seventh star is named Bo-jiyun.42 Its amulet is this:

A person [born in the] year of the Horse is born under the jurisdic­tion of this star. Its food offering is green beans. If there are evil spirits and obstacles, this scripture is to be worshipped and this amu­let should be worn on one's own body, and thus the evil spirits and obstacles will be annihilated, and one will be very joyful.

40 Mongolian Liyan-cim, Tibetan Lim-chim (P 287a5-6) and Uygur Limcin are transliterations of the Chinese Lianzhen !:llt~, "Pure virtue."

41 Mongolian Vuu-kiuu, Tibetan Vu-khu (P 287a7), and Uygur Vukuu are transliterations of the Chinese Wuqu JitalJ, "Military song."

42 Mongolian Bo-jiyun, Tibetan Bu-gum (P 287b 1 and pu-gun in the Berlin manuscript bKa'-'gyur [Pang1ung 1991: 446]), and Uygur Pakun are transliterations of the Chinese Pojun 1illl~, "Destroyer of armies."

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SDTRA 109

,Now we do homage: To the sanctity of the star Tan-lang. You are ian emanation of the Buddha, "Who Has Penetrated the Wisdom of rthe Mind's Will," of the Most-Surpassing-World of the East.43 His ~hara1J-fis nama~ samanta budda nan om amidhayayi suva-ha.44

We do homage to the sanctity of the star Giyu-men. You are an 'emanation of the Buddha, "Powerful in Scintillating Voice," .of the Sublime-Bejeweled-World in the East. His dhiira1J-f is, namah sa­~fnanta budda nan om cinda hum ni suva-hii.

f~We do homage to the sanctity of the star Lu-cun. You are an 'Jmanation of the Buddha, "Completely Gone Beyond Gold-Col­'bred," of the world like a perfect full moon in the East. His dhiira1J-f Xs nam-ah samanta budda nan om ni mirini angata-n45 bar-a ma 'rutu-sit suva-hii .

..... We do homage to the sanctity of the star Den-kiuu. You are an 6manation of the Buddha, "Most Supremely Holy Bliss," of the Sin­iess World in the East. Your dhiira1J-f is nam-ah samanta budda nan. bm vi-ha suva-ha.

l )~_,

We do homage to the sanctity of the star Liyan-cim. You are an ~manation of the Buddha, "Effortlessly Breaking Through All Ob­stacles with Intellect and Wisdom," of the Completely-Pure-Land in the East. His dhara1Jf is nam-ah samanta budda nan om prati cer-a maran-a suva-ha.

We do homage to the sanctity of the star Vuu-kiuu. You are an emanation of the Tathagatha Sakyamuni, "Who delights in the Ocean of Dharma," of the Dharma-Worshipping-World in the East. His dhara1J-f is nam-ah samanta budda nan om sarva dhar-a samay-a suva-ha.

43 On the names of the Buddhas see note 18.

44 These dhlira/;zfs seem to be in Sanskrit; however, they do not correspond to any recognizable Sanskrit text or those found in Yijing's Bhai~ajya-guru Satra T 451. Instead it is more likely that these are "artificial" Sanskrit dhiiraTJfS that lend a tone of authority to Chinese texts.

4S Ms I (5r) has this term as laka-ha, with a Tibetan interlinear gloss la-ga-ha-na.

110 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

We do homage to the sanctity of the star Bo-jiyun. You aTe an emanation of the Buddha, "Who is the Emperor of Herbalists with Lapis Lazuli Splendor," of the World made of Lapis Lazuli and jew~ els in the East. His dharalJf is nam-ah samanta budda nan: om sapita par-a manica suva-hiJ.

If anyone is confronted with an evil spirit in one's [birth/animal] year, then that person should pray to this Dharma Jewel seven times. And thus all evil spirits and. obstacles will be pacified and one will become happy.

The God of Gods, Buddha said to the Bodhisattva MafijusrI, "Oh MafijusrI, this sutra which I have preached is the most supreme, majestic, scintillating, great and powerful of Dharmas. It is a protec­tor and hedge against all the tortures and afflictions for beings who have gone astray. It is the pacifier and disperser of the demons' calamities and misfortunes, characterized by sins and obstacles. Monks, nuns, princes and princesses, townsmen and women, famous people, men and women of high stature, the respectable and the unrespectable; whoever, great or small, hears, learns, memorizes and personally worships this Dharma, and even more, if you enlighten, teach and establish it for your friends, retinue and family, you will in this life obtain the good rewards of this merit.

Whatever gentleman or lady, [whose ancestors] have passed away and been born in hell and made to suffer various bitter sufferings, if they revere and worship this scripture with devout minds, their

. majestic souls will be liberated and saved from the sufferings of hell, and they will be born in the Very Blissful World, the realm of Ami­Hibha Buddha.

If whatever gentleman or lady who is held in contempt by zombie ghosts,46 or tormented by evil demons, or if they dream evil dreams,

46 For the Mongolian term "zombie ghosts," eliy-e Cidkiir, the Tibetan text has gdon (Panglung 1991: 412), meaning "an evil spirit, a demon causing disease" (Das 1985: 663), and the Chinese is translated as "imp" by Orzech and Sanford (2000: 39l); nevertheless, the exact form of this malevolent spirit is unclear. However, based on Bawden's study of the various types of disease causing entities refered to as eliye it seems likely that, in particular on account of its connection with Cidkiir, eliye in this case should be "that of a

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SOTRA 111

liild if they are frightened and terrified after having seen wicked and 'had omens; if they hear, learn, memorize and worship this scripture, they will be liberated and relieved from these evil spirits so that their ifuind will become firm and pacified, and all their fears will be com­pletely dispersed.

\Vhatever gentleman or lady, or whoever, if they personally meet it prince and princess and wish, 'I want to become their confidante and a member of their retinue;' if that person, especially if s/he is a ,servant, comes across this scripture and worships and reveres it with a devout mind; then s/he will become an intimate favorite of the prince and princess, and as a result his/her fame will increase and s/he will become famous, and there will be vast, great rejoicing.

If a gentleman or lady contracts some [disease] and chronically suffers from a severe illness, and if they wish to be liberated from 'that illness, if they light incense in a pure house,47 make offerings to this scripture, and have this Dharma recited, their illness will be healed.

Whatever gentleman or lady who goes on the road and travels far, [who feels] they are content doing business to gain profit, and obtaining goods and merchandise; if they wish to vastly increase the inheritance for their children and grandchildren, then worship and revere this scripture with a devout mind. Forthwith what he desires will be fulfilled according to his wishes. Whether at home or abroad, there will be vast, great rejoicing.

Also if some gentleman or lady plants grain or fruit and does not . get a harvest, and if there is a plague among the animals,48 then if

dead person who has been transformed into a ghost" (1994: 70). In this case the "zombie ghost" is thus one of a host of disease causing spirits in Mongol world. For more informa­tion on these entites see the illustrated survey in Bethlenfalvy (2002).

47 The Mongolian ariyun ger, "pure house," is a calque of the Chinese jingzhu ¥¥1±:, "pure abode," a term for a Buddhist monastery.

48 It is interesting to note that translators of Buddhist siitras use different culturally spe­cific terms in their translations. For example, a translation prepared in the north of China will use the locally grown "dry rice," while a Southern translation of the same text will speak of "wet rice," Similarly in this work, the Mongolian and Tibetan texts describe the problems of a poor grain and fruit harvest (Tib. zhing-la la-tog dang / shing-tag-gi

112 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

one lights incense in a pure house and worships this Dharma Jewel the "grains and earth will become good, and one's animals will greatly increase. Also there will not be any other ~vil spirits or obsta­cles.

Gentleman and lady, if there is a fetus in the womb, and if you come across an inauspicious month, if you then worship and revere this scripture with a devout mind, you will be liberated from this evil spirit and you will be healthy and safe. Your son or daughter that is born will be fortunate, blessed and have a long life.

Also, gentlemen and ladies, you should know, people who are born are all the same in that the Big Dipper rules over [your fate].49 The Big Dipper decrees when one lifetime begins and ends, and can protect against however many evil spirits and obstacles, useless and vain debates, and those hundred evil bad omen marks. Thus, you should know and understand if you worship and revere the meaning of this Dharma with a devout mind, all the evil spirits and obstacles will not be able to harm you," preached [the Buddha].

Then the four-fold community, led by the youthful MafijusrJ:, re­vered and established this Dharma teaching, and led [them] in bow­ing down and prostrating themselves with the five skandhas. Nama ratn-a cir-a citima-hiidica cir-a ayabar-a ay-a suva-hii.

One chapter of the scripture of the God of Gods, Buddha's preaching of the &itra on Prolonging One's Life Through the Big Dipper is finished.

A person with a metal50 blessing has a white body. A person with a wood blessing has a blue body. A person with a water blessing has a black body. A person with a fire blessing has a red body. A person with an earth blessing has a yellow body.51

'bras-bu [Panglung 1991: 413]); however, the Chinese version talks of the hazards ofrais­ing silkworms, and the danger of empty cocoons (Orzech and Sanford 2000: 391).

49 The idea that the gods resident in the Big Dipper are the protectors and deciders of one's fate is an integral element of Daoist thought, see introduction.

50 The text reads altan, "gold," however, it is based on the Chinese jin :1i'i: and thus here translated "metal" according to the five elements.

51 These correspondences are based on the Chinese concept of qi ~ as the underlying

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 113

These are the eulogies praying for blessings from the Big Dipper:

You are the Goddess of the Earth, Supreme Mother, who dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru which is 80,000 yojanas high.

You are the Supreme Great Power over all four continents.

My God, you are the Protector of a being's four births52 and five

fates.53

You are like a rosary that is made to be worn as a diadem by the ~roperor of the Gods, Indra.

You are the one who causes the sun and moon, at the head of the seven planets, the 28 lunar mansions and the 30,000 billion stars, to 'worship [yourself].

My God, you are the Wish Granter of all that is desired in this life.

Deign to satisfy whatsoever thought I think and desire that I de­sire!

My God, you are the destroyer and annihilator of a hundred types ;of evil spirits and obstacles.

You are the one who prolongs long life. Deign to accomplish every good deed.

I will speak of the days for lighting candles for the Big Dipper. On the seventh day of the first moon of Spring; on the second day of the j;hird moon of Spring; on the 27th day of the first moon of Summer; on the fifth day of the second moon of Summer; on the 23rd day of the last moon of Summer; on the 20th of the first moon of Fall; on the 17th of the second moon of Fall; on the 20th of the third moon of

l11atter of existence. In Chinese thought, qi is understood as the lineaments that shape the system as a whole, which is characterized by change in a regular and cyclical pattern. It is a cycle that is mapped out according to yin and yang, the five phases and the eight tri­grams, whereby qi is the matrix in which things on the same point of the cycle influence one another (Bokenkamp 1997: 15-16). In the passage here, the connections are based on the five phases, of which a detailed chart can be found in Boehmer (1977: 5).

52 The four different births are from moisture, from an egg, from a womb and miracu­lously.

53 The five fates refer to a person's possible reincarnation in one .of the the lower five realms in the wheel of life: hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, and asura.

114 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

Fall; on the 11th of the first moon of Winter; on the 15th of the sec­ond moon of Winter; and the eighth of the last moon of Winter, can­dles are to be lit and [the scripture] is to be worshipped. The Big Dipper Sfttra is finished.

[Colophon]:

Knowing well of the benefits for whoever worships mindfully with an intent to rely on the fully enlightened Buddha Teacher's preaching of the Big Dipper Siitra, Urug B6ke,54 a Great Parasol Holder,55 continually recited [this text] with humility and a reverent and pure mind. [He prepared this text] because he prays for the intercession of his blessing, hoping for the long life of the Meritori­ous Lord, an incarnation of the Buddha who performs Liberation, Tug Temiir;56 and wishes that he will be the greatest Emperor of all,

54 Urug Biike was a prominent Uygur Buddhist official who at the end of his life was purged for his support of the Wenzong emperor (r. 1328-1332). He is first mentioned in the Yuanshi ~5!: in 1328, when he was promoted to Deputy Censor and shortly thereafter made commissioner of the Bureau for Imperial Cults (Taixi zongyin yuan *ffli*Jii]Ii~]\;). In 1330 he was promoted to Chief Censor, the title he holds in the colophon, yet shortly thereafter he requested to resign though the emperor refused until the following year. He was then stationed in the south and ordered to suppress rebellions among the inhabitants of Hainan liiti¥i. Afterwards, the sources are silent about Urug Biike until 1336, when it is recorded that he was "sent to Tibet to become a monk," a euphemism for exile. Between 1336 and 1340 he passed away and in a 1340 edict he is described as a "rebellious offi­cial" for his support of the Wenzong emperor (Franke 1990: 81-83).

55 "Great Parasol Holder" is an over-translation of sikurtii (see note 4), meaning "para­sol holder." It was a title during the Yuan given to those, numbering 400, who were responsible for the personal accoutrements and needs of the emperor (Cleaves 1957: 438 n.41).

56 Tug Temiir was put on the throne as the Wenzong emperor (:)Gj~ r. 1328-1332) after his elder brother Qoshila (Mingzong I¥l*, r. 1328) was assasinated in the name of the restoration of 1328. This coup d'etat was engineered by the Kipchak El Temiir and the Merkid Bayan in the name of Tug Temiir's father, Qaishan, the Wuzong emperor (JEt* r. 1307-1311). In the eyes of the restoration forces Qaishan had been the last "steppe" ruler whose style of rule had been replaced by Confucian-oriented rulers beginning with Qai­shan's successor, the Renzong emperor ({=* r. 1312-1321). The restoration was there­fore reputedly an attempt to restore the lineage and ruling style of Qaishan; however, it in fact ushered in Confucianism as the dominant ideology of the latter Yuan. As a result, there was extensive internal political power struggles and purges within the ruling elite, however, in general the empire as a whole remained peaceful during Wenzong's reign.

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 115

ihebeing a pure minded Bodhisattva Lord. Having learnt Wisdom flnd SIdll and Means he will take the throne of Sechen Khan.57

. [previously], whoever wished one's own mind to be free of !ittachments and doubts, had to produce faith in this Dharma in Uy­~r, since this Dharma Sutra was not translated. Saying, "In order to 1iave many Mongol subjects worship it with faith," I [Urug Boke], !had it translated into pure Mongolian. In order to accomplish my idea, "To satisfy the wishes of a thousand people, and thus satisfy Jili.eir desires,"one thousand complete copies were printed and all ~ere disseminated.

~iBY the power of the fruit of this good merit may the Lord Em­p~ror, the Queen, the Imperial lineage, all eternally rejoice, spread hierit, and finally obtain the sanctity of the Buddha. May the agitat­~g enemies of the Empire be pacified, and there be peace with no :t2: A;>' Nevertheless, on account of his rise to power with the help of Bayan, who launched an fulti-Confucian campaign in 1337-1340, in 1341 with the triumph of Confucian politics

. Jhe Wenzong emperor was vilified and his ancestral tablet removed from the imperial ~iemple (Dardess 1973).

~;57 Sechen Khan, "Wise Khan," is the Mongolian reign title of Khubilai Khan .11215-1294, r. 1260-1294, Shizu i!!:t.l3.), the second son of Tolui, Chinggis Khan's young­;'es! son. In 1251 his elder brother Mongke was elected khan, wresting power away from Sjhe designated successors of Ogedei' s lineage. Khubilai was given northern China as an ~ppanage and given the duty of defeating the Dali :kl1l! kingdom in Yunnan ~i¥i. Mer

;ilii.s success he began consolidating his power in north China and began the building of a ·~ity' north of the capital called Shangdu J:'/i1l, and acted as mediator in the fierce Bud­dhist-Daoist debates of the 1250s. In 1258 Mongke and Khubilai began the conquest of the ,Southern Song i¥i* (1127-1279), though a year later Mongke died and although Khubilai ,'was elected khan a bitter succession struggle ensued with his younger brother Arig Boke. 'this feud continued until Arig Boke suddenly died in 1266. Afterwards Khubilai turned 'Iris attention to conquering the Song, which was fought on both land and sea, yet did not 'eIld till the last Song emperor died at sea in 1279. During this protracted engagement, in 1271 Khubilai proclaimed the founding of the Yuan 5G dynasty (1271-1368), subjugated Korea, and launched a disastrous invasion of Japan in 1274. Yet as his power increased in the East, his right to rule was being threatened from Central Asia by steppe-oriented Mon­,gols under Khaidu, though they were also defeated in 1279. Mer he had consolidated his control Khubilai turned to reforming the government, particularly in the economic and legal spheres. Yet, although he tried to foster social and economic advances, his rule was beset with financial problems, stemming from tax policies, the building of the Grand Canal extension to the capital and failed campaigns in South Asia. Nevertheless, during his rule there were improvements in other areas, including science, trade, and the arts (Rossabi 1988).

116 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

evil spirits and obstacles. Mayall of the various weathers and rains come at the proper time, may there be no destruction or insufficiency of the livestock, and may whatever I think and speak be accom­plished. By means of this scripture may my wishes and those of my parents, relatives and children, living and deceased older and younger brothers and. all living beings be satisfied in this world, and may they all reach the peaceful world of Sukhavati58

In the first year of Tianli,59 a Dragon year, on the first day of the tenth month, wooden blocks [of this slUra] were carved. This book was brought from India by an Indian par:t<;lita and the wise Xuan­zang,60 and it was translated in China. When it completely spread in the Land of Supreme Customs,61 the nobles and officials of the Great Emperor gave rise to Bodhicitta and became complete in their faith, wisdom and samadhi-dhyana.

When he brought these things to mind, Parasol Keeper and Chief Censor62 Urug Bake had the Lord of the Religion63 of the Uygurs,

58 SukhavatI, the Land of Bliss in the west, is the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha.

59 The Mongolian teng-Ii and Tibetan then-Ii are transcriptions of Tianli ::RM, the first reign year title (nian hao <¥-5m) of the Wenzong emperor (r. 1328-1332).

60 Xuanzang :t!!i!§ is identified in the Mongolian as Tang san chang and Tibetan as Thang zam chang, which are transliterations of the famous Tang n!f dynasty pilgrim and translator Xuanzang's title "Tang Traipitika" Tang san zang n!f~iii. The claim that Xuan­zang brought this work back from India is incorrect; however, it fits the pattern of attribut­ing Chinese texts to Xuanzang in order to bolster their authenticity. This attribution to Xuanzang is not found in either the Chinese (T 1307) or the Uygur fragments. The Chi­nese text attributes its appearance in China to an Indian monk. Orzech and Sanford trans­late the Chinese bo-Iuo-men seng ,f.i~~{1;J as "Brahman monk," though as pointed out by Paul Demieville (1987: 25) this phrase means simply an "Indian monk" (Franke 1990: 81). One of the Uygur colophon fragments also notes that the text was brought to China by an "Indian monk," iiniitkiik toyin (Zieme 1981: 390). The connection with Xuanzang as found in the Mongolian colophon is therefore "new," or at least differs from the other two ver­sions. This variation again only reaffirms the multiplicity of texts for the worship of the Big Dipper produced in China and Inner Asia.

61 The "Land of Supreme Customs" (Mong. erkin yosud-un oron) is an an epithet for the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368).

62 The Mongolian Gin-si gong lu tai buu: giui sUn tai buu and Tibetan Gim rce gong lu ta'i hu'i gyu'i shi tha'i hu are transcriptions of Urug Biike's titles in Chinese, lin zi guang lu da fu 1fi:~J'tff,jlck;R:, a high court rank and Yu shi da fu 1&1l5!::::k;R:, "chief censor" (Franke 1990: 81).

THE MONGOLIAN BIG DIPPER SUTRA 117

fR.iljfiasrf"4 translate it into Mongol language and script, and had two ffi6usand copies printed. Alln Tamtir65 translated it into Uygur, and a fuousand woodblock prints were collected and distributed as Dharma thus among tli€< Mongols and Uygurs. The Grand Empress Dowa­~er;66 who had previously held the principles of the Mongolian reli­gion, truly entered the Buddha's Dharma and experienced the rranquility of the gUf.las of meditation by the blessing of this scrip­trtre. Afterwards in the Ding Ox year,67 the translator Matiphala and

~~,.~The Mongolian Sajin-u ejen and Tibetan Yu-gur-gyi bstan-pa'i bdag-po are render­f,i/lgs of the. original Uygur title Shazi'n ai"yuci", "speaker for the religious discipline" !(Franke 1990: 85). j,t, j

~t~ Mongolian Bra-dir-a-siri and Tibetan Bra-jiili-iri are transcriptions of the Sanskrit il'rajiiliSri, who was an Uygur from Qamul (present day Hami PflIifl in Xinjiang ji'5I:). He iWas a multi-lingual translator and poet who was a favorite of several emperors, and under :Wenzong received the title State Preceptor (Guoshi ~Bi!i), though in the following year, )332, he was accused of being a conspirator with Urug Temiir and was executed (Franke :1990: 84-85). ~' ~. '

:ir.6S Aim Tlimiir's dates are uncertain though he was a prominent Uygur official in the ~Yuan adminstration, and this sentence notes the fact that he prepared an Uygur translation :af this work. He is first mentioned in Chinese sources in 1311 on account of his role as a Hanlin 1!ft;J;t;; expositor, and the Renzong emperor had just read a Tang manual of statecraft '(the Zhenguan zhengyao ~iJl.jJjf(~) and being duly impressed wanted Ali'n Tiimiir to trans­late it into Mongolian. In 1317 he was ordered to translate the Daxue yanyi *~m~ into Mongolian, and by 1326 he had become a chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. At that time he was asked to prepare a Mongolian translation of the early Yuan emperors' precepts and admonitions. In 1330, he was bestowed with the rank of Dasitu *'i§]j;E, and began a Mongolian translation of the Yuan statutes. Later he became a prominent supporter of the ;Wenzong emperor (Franke 1990: 77-78).

66 The Grand Empress-Dowager (Mong. Tai quu; Tib. Ta'i hu; Ch. Tai hou :;t JIi) is not identified by name, thus who it refers to is unclear. Though since other elements point to a later date for the colophon than the year of printing 1328, e.g. Urug Bake's title of chief censor which was not received unti11330, one can wonder whether the Empress-Dowager cited herein is the Wenzong emperor's wife the Qonggirad Budashiri. After he passed away in 1332 she became a powerful figure and played a key role in bringing Togan 'femUr to the throne (Dardess 1973: 54-56). In the context of the affiliation of all the

h'individuals in the colophon with the Wenzong Emperor, it is possible that the Grand Em­;; press is here a reference to Budashiri.

;f,

01 The Ding T Ox Year was 1337, which corresponds with the Tibetan text of the Fire Ox Year, me gZang-gi Zo, 1337.

118 JOHAN EL VERSKOG

SrI Anandavajra, at Gung Thang monastery,68 corrected and trans­lated it into Tibetan language and script.

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Orzech, Charles and James Sanford. 2000. "Worship of the Ladies of the Dip­per." ill Tantra in Practice, ed. David Gordon White, 383-395. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Panglung, Jampa L. 1991. "Die tibetische Version des Siebengestirn-Siitras." In Tibetan History and Language. Studies Dedicated to Uray Giza on his Seven-, tieth Birthday, ed. Ernst Steinkeller, 399-416. Wien: Arbeitskreis fiir Tibeti-sche und Buddhistische Studien Universitat Wien. .

Rachmati, G.R. 1937. Tiirkische TurJantexte VII. Berlin: Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akadernie der Wissenschaften.

Rawski, Evelyn S. 1998. The Last Emperor: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Rintchen, B. 1959. Lesmateriaux pour l'etude du chamanisme mongol, I: Sources Litteraires. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.

Robinet, Isabelle. 1993. (trans. J.F. Pas and N.J. Girardot) Taoist Meditation. The Mao-shan Tradition of Great Purity. Albany: State University of New York Press.

-----. 1997. (trans. Phyllis Brooks) Taoism: Growth of a Religion. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Rohrborn, Klaus. 1977. Uigurisches Worterbuch: Sprachmaterial des vorislami­schen tiirkischen Texte aus Zentralasien. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner.

Rossabi, Morris, ed. 1983. China among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries. Berkeley: University of California.

-----. 1988. Khubilai Khan. His Life and Times. Berkeley: University of Califor­nia.

Schafer, Edward H. 1977. Pacing the Void: Tang Approaches to the Stars. Berkeley: University of California.

Schipper, Kristofer. 1993. (trans. Karen C. Duval) The Taoist Body. Berkeley: University of California.

Seidel, Anna. 1983. "Imperial Treasures and Taoist Sacraments-Taoist Roots in the Apocrypha." ill Tantric and Taoist Studies, ed. Michel Strickmann, vol. II, 310-316. Bruxelles.

Sharf, Robert. 2002. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.

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II'fensen, Henrik H. 1995. "The Worship of the Great Dipper in Korean Bud­"'Ytlhism." In Religions in Traditional Korea, 71-105. Copenhagen: Seminar for Buddhist Studies.

IStrlckmann, Mich~l. 1990. "The Consecration Sutra: A Buddhist Book of [Spells." In Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, ed. Robert Buswell, Jr., 75-118. "Honolulu: University of Hawai' i Press. .

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------. 1985. Buddhistische Stabreimdichtungen der Uiguren. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.

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SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART:

FASTING BUDDHAS, LALITA VISTARA, AND KARWjAPUljpARlKA'

JUHYUNGRHI

I

The relationship between text and image is hardly as simple as 'linsophisticated explorers may presume. When conspicuous parallels ~re found between a text and a visual image, one may be naturally tempted to ascribe it to the text as being a source for the visual im­age. But the dependency of an image upon a textual account varies widely in its mode and extent according to diverse regional traditions or periods as well as individual circumstances. (Obviously it was Illore marked in the East Asian tradition than that of the Indian subcontinent in the early periods.) It is also equally possible that the relationship was in reverse with an image being an inspiration for a text or a text being a testimony to an image. Or a textual account and a visual image may have been derived from a common source; or they simply represented a shared idea with or without mutual aware­ness. Without explicit evidence, even in the most fortunate instances the relationship between the two is usually hard to establish beyond one that is simply inferred on the basis of relative precedence. Still, the issue fascinates us immensely.

As regards visual images from Gandhara, a number of texts have attracted our attention. The Larger Sukhiivatfvyilha, the Millasar­viistiviida-vinaya, and the A~tasiihasrikii-prajfiiipiiramitii, are a few of them, which I hope to be able to examine more carefully in rela­tion to visual images on other occasions. 1 My primary concern in

, I would like to thank Professors Richard Salomon, Hubert Durt and Joanna Williams for giving me valuable suggestions during the revision work on this paper, which was ini­tially presented at the 14th lABS conference in 2005.

1 The Larger Sukhlivatfvyaha has been noted as a possible source for the famous Mo-

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies

Volume 29 • Number 1 • 2006 (2008) pp. 125-153

126 JUHYUNGRHI

this paper is the KarulJiipulJtjarfka-sutra, a Mahayana text. The Karu~iipulJtjarfka exists in several versions that comprise some eight Sanskrit recensions and one Tibetan and two Chinese translations:

• KarulJiipulJtjarfka.2

• Dasheng beifentuolijing *~?~)jWEflj*£, trans. anonymous, late 4th century, T158, 3:233c-289a.

• Beihuajing ?~~*£, trans. Dharmak~ema, 419, T157, 3:167a-233c.

• 'Phags pa sfiili rje pad rna dkar po ses bya ba theg pa chen po'i rndo, trans. Jinamitra (from Kashmir), Surendrabodhi, ·Prajiiavar­man et aI., 9th century, Pe 780.

Of these, the two Chinese translations, which date from the late fourth to early fifth centuries, are the earliest extant recensions, while the Tibetan translation dates from the ninth century and the ex­tant Sanskrit manuscripts, most of them datable to the 19th century, reflect the latest stage of its philological history.3 On this basis, as well as the observation that it presupposes the knowledge of such texts as the SaddharmapulJtjarfka, the Larger Sukhiivatfvyuha, and the Ak~obhyavyuha, the composition, or compilation, of this sutra has been generally attributed to a period not far from the translations in Chinese, perhaps during the third to fourth centuries.4 Chinese Bud­dhist catalogs record that already from the second century on various parts of the KarulJiipulJtjan1ca existed as a number of smaller sepa­rate sutras in Chinese translations; thus they could have contributed

hamed-Nari stele in Lahore Museum by a number of scholars such as John Huntington ,:(1980), Aramaki Noritoshi (1999) and Paul Harrison (2000). The Miilasarvasti­vada-vinaya has been discussed by Gregory Schopen (2005, 108-153) for its reference to Bodhisattva images under the Jambu tree. The A4rasahasrika-prajiiaparamita has been discussed by me on a few occasions (e.g., Rhi 2005, particularly 204-205).

2 Yamada (1968).

3 Yamada (1968, II) 8-10, 21.

4 Supposedly two more translations of this sutra, Xianyoujing ~lM!*,J (I volume) by Dharmar~a and another Beihuajing (10 volumes) by Daogong ili:. are listed in Chinese Buddhist catalogs. But the former is regarded as a different sutra in modem scholarship. See BusshO (1964) 9: 127; Yamada (1968, 1) 18-20.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 127

to the compilation of the larger sutra as its base materials, predating it by one or two centuries.s But there is a question whether they were Indeed earlier translations of separate parts or they were simply. excerptions of the larger sutra, which were attributed in later periods to the translators who lived earlier.6 In any case, overall this sutra seems to have enjoyed considerable attention in China between the fourth and seventh centuries and perhaps fairly wide circulation out­side China as well in whatever form.?

The sutra mainly tells a story of the brahmalJa SamudrareI).u, a previous incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha, who led thousands of living beings to develop anuttarasamyaksa/!Zbodhi and took a vow to attain enlightenment in the Saba world, which had much more harsh and rugged conditions compared to paradises of supreme happiness such as Sukhavat!. While examining this sutra in search of a parallel for the installation of a relic in Gandbaran Buddha images,8 I was struck by a number of passages that strongly recalled visual images from Gandbara. The most prominent of them concerned the austeri­ties (du.Jkaracarya) of the Buddha, which are lavishly extolled in a short biographical account of Sakyamuni Buddha presented in the vow by SamudrareI).u.

As is well known, the popularity of fasting Buddha images9 is one of the most distinctive features in Buddhist art of Gandbara. The Buddha's austerities were a common theme in narrative reliefs of the

5 Yamada (1968, I) 167-174.

6 For a negative assessment, see Sanada (1957).

7 Previous works on this sutra, mostly by Japanese scholars, treated its limited aspects, particularly focusing on its relationship to the Sukhtivatfvyfiha and the Amitabha cult. Sev­eral notable works are: Nishio (1931), Sanada (1955), Inagaki (1963), Ujitani (1969), Narimatsu (1975).

8 Rhi (2005) 184-203.

9 Strictly speaking, Gautarna while practicing fasting is not yet a Buddha, and thus it would be more accurate to call his representation of this stage "the fasting Bodhisattva" rather than "the fasting Buddha." But since the appellation "Buddha" has been commonly - and naturally - used for the pre-enlightenment period as well and the term "fasting Buddha" has also been customarily applied, I follow this convention in this paper avoiding unnecessary complication.

128 JUHYUNGRHI

Buddha's life,lO and were also represented in a magnificent form in larger independent statues, whose foremost examples are preserved in museums in Lahore and Peshawar (Figures 1, 2).,Nowhere outside Gandhara did the theme enjoy such prominence. Up to the Gupta pe­riod in India proper, absolutely no example is known. In Chinese Central Asia we find several examples at such cave sites as Bing­lingsi, Dunhuang (Mogao caves) and Kizil datable as early as the fifth century, but they were evidently derived from the Gandharan prototypesY An ivory carving from Kashmir dated to the eighth cen­tury in the Cleveland Museum of Art also appears to have a source in Gandhara. 12 Otherwise, during the seventh century, Xuanzang re­corded the presence of a fasting Buddha image in a shrine at Bodhgaya, which is the first recorded example from the middle Gangetic valley,u We know nothing about its origin and stylistic fea­tures except for the description "thin and withered away," but I am tempted to suspect that some influence was felt from the Northwest at least in idea if not form. The image at Bodhgaya probably stimu­lated the creation of other examples in eastern India. A fasting Bud­dha appears in one of small scenes from the Buddha's life surround­ing a bhTlmisparsa Buddha in a stele possibly made in Burma under the Pilla influence.14 A similar scene is also found in a metal piece from NepaU5 The famous image at the Ananda temple in Pagan may also have an origin at Bodhgaya.16 But this image is in the bhami-

10 For examples, see Foucher (1905) figs. 192c, 193, 200a; Ingholt and Lyons (1957) pI. 55. There are many other pieces in various colIections that include those of questionable authenticity .

11 For these examples as welI as one at Yungang, see lin (2004) figs. 6-15.

12 Czuma (1989) 69-72.

13 Beal (1884, II) 128, cf. T2087, 51:917b; Brown (1997) 112.

14 While opinions regarding the regional origin of this piece are divided between eastern India and Burma, Robert Brown supports the latter. See Brown (1997) 25-27; Brown (1988) 114-115.

15 Pal (1985) 104 (S23).

16 For this image, see DuroiselIe (1917) 90-91 and fig. 45. Enthusiasm for Bodhgaya of Burmese Buddhists from Pagan is weII known, as attested in the Mahabodhi Temple built in Pagan during the thirteenth century in imitation of the great shrine of Bodhgaya. Cf. Brown (1988) 101-124.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDH.A.RAN ART 129

~parSamudrii unlike all other extant examples, which invariably take the dhyiinamudrii, and may well be defined as a reinterpretation of an lInage of enlightenment rather than a fasting image, although we do 'not know how the fasting Buddha at Bodhgaya would have looked.

The prominence of fasting Buddha images in Gandhara has long puzzled me. It is not just the matter of regional prominence but the question of why the theme gained such conspicuousness despite the negative implication with which the austerities of the Buddha were imbued in his sacred biography. It is a common knowledge that, al­though he practiced extreme austerities including fasting for six years (or seven years in some traditions), the Buddha gave them up with a realization that they were not the right way that leads to enlightenmentY The moment is described in the Mahiivastu in the following words:

ye kecid bhavantaft sramalJii vii briihmalJii vii iitmopakramikiif!! sarfropatii­

pikiif!! duftkhiif!! tfvriif!! khariif!! katukiif!! vedanii vedayanti ettiivatpiiramite

imaf!! pi na keniipi saf!!bhulJanti / atfta1'!l bhik~avaft adhviinaf!! etarahif!! pi

bhik~avaft pratyutpanne ye kecid bhavanto sramalJii vii briihmalJii vii iitmopa­

kramikiif!! sarfropatiipikiif!! duftkhiif!! tfvriif!! khariif!! katukiif!! vedanii veda­

yanti ettiivatpiiramite imaf!! pi na keniipi saf!!bhulJanti / na kho punar ahaf!!

abhijiiniimi imiiye du~karaciirikiiye kaf!!cid uttarimamt~yadharmal'Jl alam

iiryaf!! jiiiinadarsanaf!! vise~adhigamaf!! siik~atkartuf!! nayaf!! margaf!! bodhii­

ya / (Senart 1890, II, 130)

Those worthy recluses (sramalJas) and brahmalJas who undergo unpleasant, bitter, cruel, and severe feelings which torment their souls and their bodies do so to gain perfection (paramitii), but in no wise do they attain it. Those worthy recluses (sramalJas) and brahma~las who have in the past undergone, as well as those who now undergo, unpleasant, bitter, cruel and severe feelings which torment their souls and their bodies, have done so, and do so, to gain perfection, but in no wise have attained it. Neither I, also, with all this practice of austerities am aware of the state of "further man" (uttariya­

manu~ya), which enables one to realize the distinct achievement of truly aryan knowledge and insight. This is not the way to enlightenment (bodhO.lS

17 Thomas (1927) 64-66; Bareau (1963) 55; Nakamura (1992) 259-28l.

18 After Jones (1952, II, 125), with slight modifications including the insertion of paren­theses. According to the account of this text, when Siddha:rtha reached Mt. Gaya:§Ir~a, he

130 JUHYUNGRH1

This kind of remark, . although varied in expression, is not limited to ; the Mahiivastu, but also found in the majority of sources of the BUd­dha's life. 19

How could, then, the Buddha emaciated to the extreme through severe austerities be represented with such magnificence as in the fa­mous fasting Buddha in Lahore? Was it simply meant to provide a lesson for a path not to be taken? I am strongly skeptica1.20 One can sense immediately in this image that the austerities are glorified with utmost importance. In the extreme physical state almost reduced to a skeleton covered with withered skin, the Buddha still epgages the viewer with a penetrating gaze; his body is upright without any sign of weariness; the veins are full of energy and tension. The Buddha is truly overcoming physical obstacles in a heroic manner. I have often been at a loss with how to explain the image properly in light of the course taken by the Buddha in his life; for, in our general under­standing, it was not austerities but the renouncement or rejection of it that was highlighted in the sacred biography of the Buddha.21 My provisional answer has been that perhaps the Buddhists in Gandhara may have wished to see a more concrete and vivid symbol for the highest level of practices the Buddha pursued, although it may not have concerned a direct cause to enlightenment, and they chose fast-

started austerities with a thought, "I shall live with both body and mind withdrawn from sensual pleasures, and with my thoughts of them, my fondness for them, my feverish long­ing for them and my attachment to them subdued. Although I undergo unpleasant, bitter, cruel and severe feelings which torment my soul and my body, I shall be capable of the state of 'further men,' of knowledge, insight and enlightenment" (Jones 1952, II, 119, cf. Senart 1890, II, 123). This is quite contrastive to the remark cited above, and his conces­sion of a failure in this approach is clear enough .

. 19 For particularly similar accounts found in the Majjhima-nikaya and Lalitavistara, see n. 30 and pp. 134-135 in this paper.

20 The scene carved on the pedestal of the Lahore Buddha shows six monks in the pose of veneration toward what appears to be a fire altar (Figure 1). Rather than simply a scene of fire worship, it more likely represents monks offering puja to the fasting Buddha above with fire or incense burning in the altar. It is unthinkable that the fasting accompanied by such a scene was presented with a negative meaning.

21 Interestingly enough, previous works on the Buddha's life in Gandharan art is almost silent on this problem. For example, see Foucher (1905) 379-382, cf. Foucher (1987) 137-139; Zwalf (1996): 169-171.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 131

fug Buddha images as a most powerful visual reminder, more readily comprehensible than a simple image of samiidhi.22

II

The Buddha's austentles are invariably referred to in diverse ~ccounts of the Buddha's life in extant textual sources, and those tex­tual accounts exhibit fairly uniform features. However, as I examined them more carefully, an interesting pattern has emerged, Which seems to provide a clue for understanding perceptions of the incident among early Buddhists. They are classifiable largely in the following three groups.23

22 Rbi (2003) 62. Robert Brown has suggested that emaciated Buddhas from Gandhara actually represented another period of long fasting after enlightenment prior to receiving food from two merchants. See Brown (1997) 106-111. However, one wonders whether­and for what reason - the Buddha's fasting in the post-enlightenment period, which in­stantly appears quite insignificant compared to the fasting during austerities, would have been presented in such a glorified manner and with such magnitude. Although Brown cites

-in support of his argument a passage from the Nidanakatha that the Buddha fasted for seven weeks after enlightenment, the fasting period was merely seven days in texts datable

'early enough - and probably more relevant to Gandharan fasting image - such as the Taizi fuiyingbenqi jing (trans., early 3,d century; T185, 3:479a) and the Puyaojing (the earlier Chinese translation [dated 308] of the Lalitavistara, T186, 3:526b; in this account the Buddha even eats right after enlightenment and eats again a week after, taking the food presented by the two merchants), and apparently only in later traditions including the ac­count from the Nidanakathti (ed. Fausblilll 1877, 77-80, cf. trans. Rbys Davids 1925, 200-205), it was expanded to seven weeks (e.g., Fangguang dazhuangyanjing [the later Chinese translation of the Lalitavistara, dated 683], T187, 3:601bc; the extant Sanskrit edition of the Lalitavistara, ed. Lefmann 1902, 379-381; Fobenxingjijing, T190, 3:801a; the extant Sanskrit edition of the Mahtivastu, ed. Senart 1890, II, 272-303, cf. trans. Jones 1952, II, 261-291). Given that the account of seven weeks' fasting after enlightenment was most probably an elaboration that came at a late stage in the accounts of the Buddha's life, it is hardly likely that Gandharan Buddhists chose to represent the Buddha of the

, post -enlightenment period in such an emaciated form. Although a scene of two merchants offering food carved on the pedestal of the Peshawar fasting Buddha (Figure 2) is pre­sented as another piece of evidence for Brown's argument, the fact that the Buddha in the scene is in a non-emaciated form, as Brown admits, obviously undermines it. The offering of food to the Buddha could have been carved in contrast to the great fasting of the Buddha, but not in a direct narrative sequence.

23 Julius Dutoit produced in 1905 an admirable work on textual accounts of the dUekaracarya, making detailed comparisons between various versions. But his work

132 JUHYUNGRHI

A

• Jiitaka (Nidiinakathii), Fausb¢ll (1877, I) 67-69.24

• Mulasarviistiviidavinaya-saf!1ghabhedavastu,' Gnoli (1977, I) 100-111.

• Genbenshuoyiqieyoubu pinaiye posengshi tB:*§5t--l:!J]1lf:g:~m~ 11~1iJ!({~* (trans. Yijing ~¥¥, 700-711), T1450, 24:119c-122c. Translation of Mulasarviistiviidavinaya-saf!1ghabhedavastu.

• Sifenlu iB=J5t1f (trans. Buddhayasas and Zhu Fonian ""'{~~, 408), T1428, 22:780c-781a. Translation of Dhar,maguptakavi­naya.

• Buddhacarita, XII, Johnston (1984, I) 139-143.25

• Fosuoxingzan 1~ffl1T~ (trans. Dhannak~ema, 414--426), T192, 4:24b--c. Translation of Buddhacarita.

• Mahiivastu, Senart (1890, II) 123-130, 202-205, 231-232, 263-264, 299.26

• Fobenxingjijing 1~*1T;~U~ (trans. Jiianagupta, 587-591), T190, 3:764c-771b.

• Fobenxingjing 1~*1T*~ (trans. Baoyun .~, 421-453), T193, 4:75a.

• Lalitavistara XVII, XVIII, Lefmann (1902) 243-264.21

• Fangguang dazhuangyanjing jj IjV~HffH~ (trans. Divakara, 683), T187, 3:580c-584a. Translation of Lalitavistara.

• Guoqu xianzai yinguojing :i&J:ft~1:EIEI**~ (trans. GUl,labhadra, 435-443), T189, 3:638b-639a.

treated quite limited sources available to him - the Majjhima-niktiya, the Mahavastu and the Lalitavistara - and, in reflection of his time, mainly concerned the process of the canonization of the accounts.

24 Cf. Rhys Davids (1925) 182-187.

25 Cf. Johnston (1984, II) 182-187.

26 Jones, trans. (1952, II) 119-129, 193-196,219-220,248,280.

27 The account in the Tibetan translation (Foucaux 1884: 210-228) is almost identical to the Sanskrit version.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 133

• Zhongxi mohedijing ,*~q::~~"iiJ~**~ (trans. Faxian ¥~~, 1001), T191,3:948c-949b.

B

• Majjhima-nikiiya, XII (Mahiisfhaniidasutta), Trenckner (1888) 77-83; XXXVI (Mahiisaccakasutta), Trenckner (1888) 240-251.28

• Zengyiahanjing ±jf-~iiJ~*~ (trans. Gautama Sarpghadeva, 397), XXXI-8, T125, 2:670c-67Ic. Translation of Ekottara-iigama.

c • Xiuxing benqijing {rt1T*!Ea*~ (trans. Zhu Dali /;ftj;:j] and Kang

Mengxiang ~Ji:tf., late 2nd century), T184, 3:469b-470a.

• Taizi ruiyingbenqi jing *TJffiiB!*j@*~ (trans. Zhi Qian, early 3rd century), T185, 3:476c-477a .

.. Puyaojing -'Mf al *~ (trans. Dharmarak~a, 308), T186, 3:511a-512a. Translation of Lalitavistara.

The majority of them, classified in Group A, have a well-known standard format:

1) The Bodhisattva29 (Siddhartha) practices austerities.

2) He realizes that performing the austerities is not the right way.

3) It occurs to him that enlightenment should be achieved through a meditation such as the one he conducted under a J ambu tree when he was a prince.

4) He renounces the austerities and takes food for himself.

28 Cf. Horner (1954, I): 103-110,295-305. Dutoit (1905,1-15) also cites the Ariyapari­yesanasutta (26), the Bodhiriijakumiirasutta (85) and the Smigiiravasutta (100) from the ,same text, but the accounts in these suttas, often repeating the words of the other two sut­tas above, are not much significant as narratives recounting the austerities.

29 In this paper, whenever it is used - unless otherwise specified - the "Bodhisattva" means exclusively Siddhiirtha, or Sakyamuni before attaining enlightenment, as invariably so in the literary accounts of the Buddha's life listed above.

134 JUHYUNGRill

5) Five fellow practitioners leave him.

6) He takes bath in the,Nairaiijana River.

7) He eats food offered by a daughter (or daughters) of a village householder at Uruvilva.

8) He advances to ,the' Bodhi tree.

In all the sources of this group, the most notable feature for our con­cern is that the Bodhisattva gives up austerities and chooses to pur­sue an alternative path. In a number of small details, however, natu­rally there are variations attributable to transformati9ns of the narrative in diverse regional, temporal or individual circumstances. Although I do not intend to dwell on this, in the Nidiinakathii, for in­stance, the practice of austerities, which is depicted with lengthy de­tails elsewhere, is considerably reduced, while the offering by Sujata is elaborately magnified; overall I suspect that this text shows a rela­tively late form in the development of this narrative. In the Chinese Fobenxingjijing, which also reveals signs of lateness, the Bodhisattva continually eats (!): before starting austerities, during austerities, af­ter renouncing them, and before proceeding to the Bodhi tree.

In Group B, the Mahiisaccakasutta of the Majjhima-nikiiya as well as its equivalent part in the Chinese Ekottara-iigama tells basically the same story as Group A. The austerities are abandoned by the Bodhisattva also in a negative spirit. But unlike Group A, there is no remark on the Bodhisattva receiving food from Sujata or any girl equivalent to her, as he just proceeds to meditation after feeding himself; it is possible, however, that the Sujata story may have been deemed an unnecessary detail in the context of this sutta. In the

;Mahiisfhaniidasutta of the Majjhima-nikiiya, the practiees conducted by the Bodhisattva during austerities are lengthily described - but with little delineation of narrative details - followed by a remark about their futility, which is quite similar to the one cited above from the Mahiivastu.30

30 The relevant part in the Mahlisfhanadasutta of the Majjhima-nikiiya reads: "santi kho pana sariputta eke samarzabrahmalJa evaJ?1vadino evaJ?1dirrhino: ahlirena suddhfti ... Itaya pi kho ahaJ?1 sariputta iriyaya faya pappadaya faya dukkarakarikaya najjhagamal?l uttariJ?1

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 135

What interests us more with regard to the Gandharan images is Group C. In the Chinese Xiuxing benqijing (trans. second century) there is no negative remark at all on austerities. Through austerities, tIieBodhisattva :;tttains the third meditation (tftfyam dhyanam) , and then receives a bowl of rice milk from Sujata; having regained power, he moves to the Bodhi tree and reaches the fourth meditation (caturtham dhyanam). There are absolutely no words that the Bodhi­sattva decides to receive the milk rice because the austerities are not the right way. The account in the Taizi ruiyingbenqijing (trans. third century) is more brief, but no negative perception of the austerities is found here as well.

This is more clearly exhibited in the Puyaojing, the earliest extant Chinese translation of the Lalitavistara by Dharmarak~a from the beginning of the fourth century. The account of austerities starts at the end of the chapter titled "Three False Teachers (parapravadin)" after the description of diverse practices conducted by heretics.

manussadhamma alamariYanalJadassanavisesaT[!, tal!~ kissa hetu: lmlssa yeva arzyaya pannaya anadhigama ya 'yal!~ ariya paniia adhigata ariya niyyanika niyyati takkarassa samma dukkhakkhayaya /" (Trenckner 1888, 80-81) (There are, Sariputta, some recluses and brahmans who speak thus and are of this view: "Purity is through food." ... But I, Sariputta, even by this procedure [=extreme fasting], by this course, by this mortification [dukkarakarika], did not reach states of further-men or the excellent knowledge and in­sight befitting the ariyans. What was the cause of this? It was that by these there is no reaching the ariyan intuitive wisdom which, when reached, is ariyan, leading onwards, and which leads onwards the doer of it to the complete destruction of anguish. - trans. Homer 1954, I, 107-108, with slight modifications and the insertion of brackets). A simi­lar remark is also found in the Mahasaccakasutta of the Majjhima-nikaya: "na kho panahaT[! imaya ka{ltkaya dukkharakarikaya adhigacchami uttariT[! manussadhamma aiamariyanalJadassanavisesaT[!, siya nu kho anna maggo bodhiiyati" (Trenckner 1888, 246) (But I, by this severe austerity, do not reach states of further-men, the excellent knowledge and vision befitting the ariyans. Could there by another way to awakening? -trans. Homer 1954, I, 301). The account in the corresponding part in the Chinese Ekot­tara-agama is slightly different further from the two: "At the time I thought, 'This is not the foundation for attaining enlightenment. Thus, there must be a different path ... 0 monks, although I had, of old, thus practiced austerities, I was not able to grasp the foundations of the four things. What are the four? That is, I was not able to attain the aryan precepts, the aryan wisdom, the aryan liberation, and the aryan samadhi" (mail' :f.Z i!HF£~ :J.p:f.Z.fiX;i!i:Z* t;j['&~1f~i!i: ... J:t£i: fttr*1T7J~.oN\Jr ~/f3ilmrtz* ~{iiJ mlm mill1l'in~_Jt!G1f~a~JlH\l Jt~~l!~a~~m Jt~Il1fIlll:~A~~~ Jt~-=iW~a~~J;\l­T125,2:671b).

136 JUHYUNGRHI

Now I will show the pure conduct (brahmacarya) to convert those who fol­low false teachings. As I disclose the true act and have them remove defile­ments, they will not follow the false teachings and. will convert to the teaching of the Buddha. (4-fZ."T1f~rn1T 0Jtltl!&:Yi-~z~ milE~~~ f,§:~~ m';%~1T 1ikffi!.5JPI'1fE1Bt~*Af;jj3i!l: - T186, 3:510c-51la )31

The Bodhisattva's austerities are presented as if an expedient to de­liver heretics who devote themselves to harsh or bizarre asceticism; and it is a great expedient. The next chapter "Austerities" starts with the following words of the Buddha:

At the time, the Bodhisattva reflected, "For six years, the grt<at industrious austerities will be performed. Why are they called 'industrious austerities'? It is because they are hard to reach and impossible to obtain. Among living beings, devas and humans are not capable of achieving this task; only a Bodhisattva of the ultimate ekajiitipratibaddha (bound [to be enlightened] in the next life) can achieve it. Thus it is called 'hard to achieve.' " (JJ~a'lf~iil {'F~}1!!,'i'lt h~Z t:p 1f:kiJr1ii'1ti1!;z1T bl{ilJ~ilj:4S iIJ'*1T ~~~lt&AFfi/j\ Ja3: ~ilj:4S SJli,*1T~ ~±Zt:po ;g:*i:!tA/fIl~{~1T PX~.$Jlt* pt1'f~~-'-­±fm~~Jll nll~1'rzilj:SlIHJ.$ - T186, 3:511a)32

Thus he conducts various difficult austerities, and anyone who sees his practice greatly admires it. By performing austerities for six years, he is said to have taught innumerable devas and humans to stand in the three vehicles. After completing austerities, he reaches a high level of miraculous power and wisdom. But he worries:

Even though I have attained supernatural faculty, sacred knowledge and the power of wisdom - if I now advance to the Buddha tree [Bodhi Tree] with his emaciated body, later people in remote areas will falsely accuse me

31 Translations are mine unless otherwise specified. Cf. Lefmann (1902) 240; T18?, 3:581a. Converting heretics by performing austerities is referred to a few more times in the account of austerities in the Puyaojing as well as the later versions of the Lalitavistara. Interestingly enough, such remarks are seldom found in any other texts including the Mahavastu and Pali canonical sources. A very rare incidence closest to those of the Lalitavistara is in a giithii in the Fobenxingjijing: "Having reached the Nairafijana River, the Bodhisattva took a seat at a shore with a pure mind. Since those who seek the way do not follow the right path, I desire to practice austerities to teach them (~iilllI~ft!.ilfpJ f( mi¥'L'J¥il~ ~~*jEPfJlj;i\JI: W\1T**{~f&:J[B - Tl90, 3:?66b).

32 Cf. Lefmann (1902) 240; Tl8?, 3:580b.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 137

Figure 1. Fasting Buddha, Gandhara, from Sikri, h. 84 cm, Lahore Museum. (GandhliranArtofPaldstan, Tokyo, 1984, pI. I-I)

saying, "He achieved enlightenment by starving himself." I would rather eat tender food and regain strength in the body. Afterwards I would proceed to

138 JUHYUNGRHI

under the tree and attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. (!ill;;ff'f$.®~f)Ejl! jJ ~:g.JJ,£i\.Jl~H 1±~IHl/3m Htti!1€1&iJtjJt1B~~~~~3JZ-lij!j~~1~~ ~:l1r $"T~IH1~ljiJ\1t '¥1j!;ltH{J!l:~~jJ ~1&]J1±~;ltmTpj(;f\lllJ!l: - T186 3:511b)33 '

Then he simply chooses to take food offered by a daughter of a householder. Again one sees here absolutely no sign of negative perception to the austerities, while taking food is depicted as an act of expediency, as the austerities themselves are.

This is more intriguing when we compare it with the later Chinese translation of the Lalitavistara (Fangguang dazhuangyanjing), the Tibetan translation, and the extant Sanskrit edition, where the ac­counts of a more standard form as we saw in Group A appear. Like the Puyaojing, these three later versions also have a separate chapter titled "Du~karacarya." Although the accounts of the austerities in this chapter are much more elaborate here, its outline is not much different.34 As in the Puyaojing, the prose part in each version ends with the remark that, with the successful accomplishment of austeri­ties, the Bodhisattva had innumerable living beings mature in the three vehicles. But in the following chapter "Nairafijana," the spirit suddenly changes: the Bodhisattva rather abruptly thinks of the futil­ity of austerities.

ye kecic chramal}a brahmal}a va atftanagatapratyutpanne~v adhvasvatmopa­

kramikal"(! sarfropatapikal"(! duf:zkhal"(! tfvral"(! kharal"(! katukamamanapa'11 vedanal"(! vedayanty etavat paramal"(! te duf:zkham anubhavanti / ... anayapi

khalu maya caryayanayapi pratipada na ka1cid uttari maml~yadharmadalam aryajii.anadarsanavise~af:z sak~atkrto naya'11 margo bodher nayal"(! marga

33 A similar remark is found in the Guoqu xianzai yinguojing (Tl89, 3:639b): "Heretics will say that my starvation [or fasting] was the cause of parinirviil}a. Although I have the power of NarayaI,la in every joint, I will not achieve the reward of enlightenment with this. After receiving and eating food, I will attain enlightenment." But this is preceded by the following words (ibid, 639a): "Although having practiced austerities for six full years, I was not able to attain liberation, and thus knew that austerities were not the way."

34 The account of the visit to Udraka Ramaputra (Rudraka Ramaputra in the Sanskrit Lalitavistara) and the witnessing of diverse practices by heretics, which is told in a sepa­rate chapter preceding the chapter "Du~karacarya" in the Puyaojing, appear at the begin­ning of "Du~karacarya" in the three later versions. Otherwise the accounts are quite similar.

SOl\1E TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 139

iiyatyiil'[! jiitijariimaral}asal'[!bhaviiniim astal'[! gamiiya / syiit tadanyo miirgo

bodher iiyatyiil'[! jiitijariin1ara~laduf:zkhasamudayiiniim astal!l gamiiyeti / (Lef­mann 1902, 253)35

Those sramalJas and briihmal}as who undergo unpleasant, bitter, poignant, cruel, severe and unfavorable feelings which torment their souls and bodies in the past, present or future to gain perfection experience suffering ... By this practice, and by this path, by me, the dharma of "further men," which enables one. to realize the distinctive achievement of truly iiryan knowledge and insight, can never be attained. This is not the way to enlightenment. Nor is it the way leading to the cessation of future birth, old age and death. Probably there is a way other than this to enlightenment leading to the cessa­tion of the origin of future birth, old age and death.

Following this, the Bodhisattva considers taldng a different path such as the first meditation he conducted as a prince under a Jambu tree, and receives food from a daughter of a householder. One may have noticed that the remark above is almost identical - except for the last two sentences - to the words cited above from the Mahavastu and similar to those from the Majjhima-nikaya and the Ekottrara-iigama.36 Quite possibly, it was borrowed from earlier tex­tual accounts and incorporated in the account of the Lalitavistara of this stage unless the earlier translator Dharmarak~a unjustifiably abridged the original in the translation of the Puyaojing. Overall, it appears that the account of the austerities in the Lalitavistara was transformed in later versions, or, much less likely, that Dharma­rak~a's translation reflects an unorthodox regional tradition.37 In any case, what we have seen clearly suggests the presence of a separate tradition where the Bodhisattva's austerities were never perceived in

35 Cf. TI87, 3:582c-583a.

36 See n. 30 above.

37 In a detailed survey of the Lalitavistara, Hokazono Koichi expresses the opinion that the Puyaojing shows the earliest form among the extant versions and its original was later expanded and transformed into the extant Sanskrit version and the Chinese Fangguang daZhuanyanjing in two different offshoots. He also supports the view that the text probably originated in the northwestern region (or Punjab) of the subcontinent. Hokazono (1993) 91-110.

140 JUHYUNGRHI

a negative spirit, which obviously parallels the glorified represen­tations of the austerities from Gandhara.38

38 We may note here a fourth group of textual accounts treating the austerities of the Buddha. These accounts mainly concern the cause for the austerities, i.e., for what wrong­doing in previous lives the Buddha had to endure such horrible ordeals for six years prior to enlightenment. A number of texts deliver such stories, e.g., the Pali Apadiina, the Xingqixing jing ~Jl'Q1n,if (trans. Kang Mengxiang, late 2nd century; T197, 4:172c-174a), the Malasarviistiviidavinaya-bhai~ajyavastu (Yijing' s Chinese translation, Genbenshuoyi­qieyoubu pinaye yaoshi tR*~-tv1fW~m*l[~~~, T1448, 24:96b; Tibetan and Sanskrit versions in Honfinger, 1990,35-45, cf. 102-115), the Wubaidizi zishuobenqijing 3iEf~-=r § ~*JI'Q*,if (trans. Dharmarak~a, late 3,d-early 4th century; T199, 4:202a; the austerities are not referred to explicitly, but an incident told in other texts such as the Xingqixing jing as having led to the ordeals is briefly mentioned), and the Liudujijing :t;}~jf~,*,if (trans. Kang Senghui, 2nd half of the 3,d century; T152, 3:30ab). Many of these accounts are known as part of the Anavataptagiithii, of which manuscript fragments in Gandhan also exist (Salomon 1999, 30-33; Salomon 2003, 79, 82). For these texts and the problem of asceticism, see: Hara (1997) 249-260 (including the translation of the account in the Liudujijing), cf. Bechert (1961) 204-247. Naturally these accounts tend to perceive the Buddha's austerities in a negative sense. In the Puyaojing one can see that such conception was known to those who reworked the text, for it tells in the verse, "For deriding the ton­sured for not having the truth, [the Bodhisattva] had to practice for innumerable kalpas and paying off for the sin for six years" (~:@:{ilJ1fi!t 1T1!W~l!cM :t;if-~A~ - T186, 3:511c). This is clearly an allusion to the incident referred to in the Anavataptagiithii where Jotipala (Skt. Jyotipala, the Bodhisattva in a pervious life) disparaged Ka§yapa Buddha with the words, "How is enlightenment (possible) for a shaveling, for enlighten­ment is the most difficult thing to be obtained (kulo nu bodhi mwu;lassa bodhi pra­rama-dullabhii)" (from the Pali Apadiina translated in Hara 1997: 251). But the Puyaojing does not fully comply with the conception; it says earlier in the prose, "In order to eluci­date the reward of merit, [the Bodhisattva] showed the purification of the body, mouth and mind. Eating a seed of sesame or rice each day for six years, he practiced and achieved the industrious austerities hard to attain, which was not liable to destiny" (~:S-jjIJ~:9J1~Z¥R !fIAn.:l 'IY~'1Tmi¥ 13 R~-M-* :t;if-z r.:p {ltft~1Jd~iJ*Z1T isifiJl'{jf - T186, 3:511a). Although the last clause is syntactically awkward, it seems clear contextually that the Puyaojing tries to interpret austerities in a more positive sense. Intriguingly, such words are not instantly found in later versions of this text. But in the part of the verse in the Sanskrit Lalitavistara that approximately corresponds to the passage cited above from the Puyaojing, two slokas read, "nihatii!1 parapraviidii dhyiimfkrta tfrthikii mativihfnii!1 I karmakriyii ca darsita yii proktii kiiSyape viicii II krakuchandakasya bodhi bodhiriha mudurlabhii bahubhi kalpai!1 I janaliiyii ityarthaf!1. dhyiiyatyiisphiinakaIJ1 dhyiinaf!1. II" (Lef­mann 1902, 260). The line "karmakriyii ca darsita yii proktii kiiiyape viicii," which seems puzzling at first sight, can be understood only in light of the J otipala incident. I wonder whether there was possibly a corruption in this part generated by the lack of proper under­standing of the meaning. Similarly, the equivalent part in the Fangguang dazhuangyan jing, "ZJl'8lm1'i'~ 7F{~1f,§,~ ftD~*:'§'~ 1!W:i;M~11'}," is not readily comprehensible.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHA.RAN ART 141

III

Now we come back to the KanllJiipWlcJarfka, the text of our primary concern, where the positive spirit for the austerities as we saw in the puyaojing continues in an even more prominent form. 39 In a lengthy

. vow proclaimed by the briihmalJa Samudrare:Q.u, the life of his later and final reincarnation as Sakyamuni is briefly delineated starting with the descent from the Tu~ita heaven. It proceeds with standard episodes such as the birth, taking seven steps, going to school, austerities and enlightenment up to parinirviilJa. Out of these pas­sages, approximately one fourth is allotted to the account of austeri­ties, obviously a disproportionately large space. It begins with the depiction of the Bodhisattva seated under the Bodhi tree with grass spread on the vajriisana. Thus, his austerities are performed on the vajriisana, not some other places near the Nairafijana River or Uru­vilva as in most other textual sources.

svayaYJ1 cahaYJ1 tfl:lasaYJ1staralJaYJ1 grhlJfyaYJ1 bodhivrk:;amalavajrasane prajiia­payeyaYJl ni:;fdeyaYJ1 parymikam abadhva rjukena kayena; tatharupam aham asphanakaYJ1 dhyanaYJ1 dhyayeyaYJ1, asvasaprasvasa vyupasameyaYJ1; eka­varaYJ1 divasena dhyanad vyutti.JtheyaYJ1, vyutthaya caham ardhatilakaphalam aharam ahareyaYJ1, ardhaYJ1 pratigrahakasyanuprayacceyaYJ1 / tavac ciraYJ1

The phrase "Kasyapa and others (ltm'lll1~)" apparently indicates that the translator unders­tood Kasyapa as "Uruvilva Kiisyapa and his followers" and probably did not grasp its meaning properly. But understood in light of the Jotipala incident, the original meaning becomes clear: "For not having believed that Kasyapa [Buddha] has bodhi, [the Bodhi­sattva] had difficulty in attaining such great bodhi." A similar problem is also revealed in the Tibetan translation (cf. Foucaux 1884: 224, n. 38, 39). I suspect that the memory of the Jotipala incident may have faded by the time the Sanskrit Lalitavistara and the originals of the Fangguang dazhuangyan jing and the Tibetan translation were reworked on, while the incident was fairly well known at the time of the original of the Puyaojing, which had to defend its position of eulogizing the austerities against perhaps a more common concep­tion.

39 Yamada (1968, II) 242-245; Tl58, 3:267b--268a; Tl57, 3:207c-208b; P. Cu 260a2-261 as. As far as this part is concerned, there is little difference between various versions in Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan. Considering the relative lateness of extant San­skrit recensions, this is quite remarkable. Of the two Chinese translations, compared with Sanskrit and Tibetan versions, the account in the Dasheng beifentuolijing (Tl58) seems closer to the original, while that of the Beihuajing (Tl57) reflects slight embellishment. I am grateful to Dr. Kim Seongcheol for assisting me to check the Tibetan translation.

142 JUHYUNGRHl

ciiham eVaIJlnlpiilJ!. dUfjkaraciirikiilJ1 careya1Jl, yiivad akanifjthabhavanapary_

antena sarve devii ye sahe buddhak:;etre paryiipanniis ta upasa1Jlkriimeyur

mama ca pL7jii1J1 kurviilJiiJ:t, sarve me siik~ilJaJ:t syu~ du~karacaryiiYii1Jl I (Yamada 1968, I, 242)

I would grab a bundle of grass for myself, spread it on the vajriisana under the Bodhi tree and sit crosslegged with the body upright. I would practice the iisphanaka meditation and stop the inhaling and exhaling of breath. I would awake from the meditation once a day; having awoke, I would eat a half grain of sesame40 and give away another half. I would practice austeri­ties in this form until all devas up to the Akani~tha heaven and those in the SaM buddhafield would approach, paying homage to me and .would be wit­nesses to my austerities.41

The Bodhisattva practices the asphiinaka-dhyana (breath-holding meditation) and then restricts food to minimum, a half grain of ses­ame a day; this is part of the standard phrase in the description of austereties found in virtually any textual account of the Buddha's life. As he performs these austerities, all the living beings up to the Akani~!ha heaven who hear of his practice will come to his place and offer paja; they will witness the superiority of the austerities per­formed by the Bodhisattva. This is all that directly concerns the depiction of the austerities in this account of the Buddha's life, the rest being focused on the benefits to be gained by witnessing the austerities.

yais ca tatra sriivakayiine bfjam avaruptalJ! syiit te~iiT[l bhadante bhagavan

kleiavyupasamiiya santiine bhaveyalJ!, caramabhavikiis ca mama vaineyii

bhaveyuJ:t; ye pratyekabuddhayiinikii yiivad yatha pL7rvoktalJ! / evalJ! niiga­

yak:;iisuraganu;iakinnaramahoragapretapisiicakumbhiilJtj.iiJ:t paiiciibhijiiiir~a­

ya upasalJ!kriimeyur mama pL7jiikarmalJe, sarve ca me siik#lJo bhaveyur du~­

karacaryiiyiilJ!; ye ca sriivakayiinikii yiivad yathii pL7rvokta1Jl / ... (Yamada 1968, II, 242-243)

Then, 0 the honorable one, for those who have planted a seed in the ve­hicle of sriivakas, I would calm their afflictions in mind, and they would

40 The Chinese Beihuajing (T157, 3:207c) tells, "a half grain of sesame and a half grain of rice," while the phrase in Dasheng beifentuolijing is the same as the Sanskrit version.

41 Since the account of the Buddha's life appears in the vow of Samudrarel).u, most verbs are in optative forms, which are here translated literally.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 143

Figure 2. Fasting Buddha, Gandhara, from Takht-i-Bahi, h. 83 em, Peshawar Museum. (Jngholt and Lyons, Gandhiiran Art in Pakistan, 1957, pI. 53)

144 JUHYUNGRHI

be converted to me in the last existence. For those who follow the vehicle of praiyeka-buddhas, may it be the same as said above. Likewise, may niigas, yak~as, iisuras, ganu!as, kinnaras, mahoragas, pretas, pisiicas, kumbhiindas r~is with five-fold supernatural knowledge approach to pay homage t~ ~e: may all of them be witnesses to my austerities. May those who follow th~ vehicle of sriivakas do the same as said above.42 ...

Non-humans (amanLl~a) will teach heretics who practice austerities, telling that their austerities will never surpass the Bodhisattva's which they ought to witness and venerate for themselves.43 Th~ account continues:

te ca ttirrz du~karacaryiirrz utsrjya mama du~karacaryiirrz dr~tvii y~~iirrz sriiva­kayiinasantiinabfjeilikurarrz prati~thitarrz syiit, yiivad yathti purvoktarrz / ye maml~yariijii vii bhatta vii naigamajiinapadii grhasthapravrajita grhiigiira­sarrzpanniis te 'pi mama du~karacaryiim upasarrzkriimeyur, yiivac chriiva­kayiinika yathii pilrvoktarrz / (Yamada 1968, II, 243-244)

May they [=heretics], having abandoned their austerities and seen mine, plant a seed for the vehicle of sriivakas as said above. May human kings, officials, city dwellers, householders, mendicants or family businessmen ap­proach to pay homage to my austerities as was said for those who follow the vehicle of sriivakas.

A woman who witnesses the Bodhisattva's austerities will be reborn as a man; an animal which does the same will never be reborn as such. The account of the austerities ends with the following words:

tiivac cirarrz ciiham evarrzrupiirrz du~karacaryiirrz careyarrz ekaparymikena yiivad bahusattvakotfnayutasatasahasrii/Ji du~karacaryiiyiirrz siik~fbhiitii (Ya­mada: siik~iO) bhaveyuJ:t iiScaryapriiptiis ca, te~iirrz ca santiine 'prameyiisarrz­

khyeyiiniirrz mok~abfjiirrz praropayeyarrz / tathtiriipiim aharrz du~karacaryiilJ'l

careyarrz yathii na purvarrz kenacit sattvasarrzkhyiitena anyatfrthikena vii sriivakayiinikena vii pratyekabuddhayiinikena vii anuttaramahiiyiinikena vii .

evarrz du~karacaryiicfr/JapurvaJ:t syiit; na ca punaJ:t pasciit kascit sattvasalJ'l-

42 While the Sanskrit version and the Chinese Dasheng beifentuolijing refer to sravakayana and pratyekabuddhayana only, the Beihuajing speaks of mahayana as well. I am tempted to suspect that this is an interpolation by the Chinese translators, although it needs further corroborations.

43 The words here directed to heretics recall similar references to heretics in various ver­sions of the Lalitavistara. See n. 31 above.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 145

;'kylitas caret anyatfrthikli vif4 evaJ'!lriipliJ'!l du~karaclirikliJ'!l saktliJ'!ls carantu ,yathliha"f!l careya"f!l / (Yamada 1968, II, 244-245)

For so long will I practice austerities in this form once seated cross legged, rtntll innumerable ~undred-thousand living beings witness my extraordinary

:austerities and may they plant immeasurable seeds of liberation. Such austerities as I would conduct never have been practiced before by any living bemgs, be they heretics, those who follow the vehicle of sriivakas, those who follow the vehicle of pratyekabuddhas, or those who follow the

! supreme Mahayana; again such austerities as I have conducted would never 'be practiced afterwards by any living beings or heretics.

~s is foll?wed by the accounts. that ~e Bodhisattva will destr~y Mara and his army before he attams enlightenment and how he will ~eliver living beings in the SaM world afterwards by means of di­~~rse expedients until parinirviilJa.

;:,~ In the passages from the KarulJiipulJtjarzka discussed above, we do ~6t [md the slightest indication of negative perception toward the ~hsterities of the Buddha (=Bodhisattva). Instead, they are exalted as ~ne of the major acts performed by the Buddha to deliver living be­~gs and almost as the greatest of them.45 We may recall here the ~ords referred to above as being addressed to heretics to witness the ~~ddha's austerities, which end with the following advice:

,fl

sli du~'karacaryii rnaharddhikii sii rnahliphalli rnahiivistiirli, na cireT}iisau anuttarliJ'!l sarnyaksaJ'!lbodhiJ'!l abhisaJ'!lbhotsyate / sa cen na sraddhadhvaJ'!l gacchata svayaJ'!l paSyata / (Yamada 1968, II, 243)

This austerity, conducive to great supernatural power and great reward, before long will achieve anuttarasarnyaksa"f!lbodhi. If you do not believe, go and see for yourself.

:;; 44 After anyatfrthikli vii, the words "sravakayiinikena vii pratyekabuddhayanikena va :f~nuttaramahayanikena va" may have been lost in the transmission of the Sanskrit version.

!; 4S At the end of the account of the Buddha's life in this text (Yamada 1968, II, 249), the ;austerities are enumerated as one of the major events the Buddha shows for living beings 'who suffer in the Saha world: (1) the birth (saTJltu~itabhavanavataral)am matur garbhe ;jiituTJl upadarsayeyC/Tfl) , (2) the child play and variops skill contest (kumarakrfdasilpa­karmasthiina), (3) the austerities (du~karacaryii), (4) the defeat of Mara (maradhar~al)a), '(5) the enlightenment (bodhyasaTJlbudhyana), (6) the first sermon (dharmacakrapravar­tana), (7) the whole duty of the Buddha (sakalabuddhakiirya), (8) the death (parinirviil)a).

146 JUHYUNGRHI

Surprisingly, the reward of practicing austerities is even related to attaining anuttarasamyaksaf!1bodhi, the supreme enlightenment. Austerities are not a wrong path to be abandoned in the quest of enlightenment but one of its direct causes. Obviously, this remark corresponds in spirit to the following words from the Puyaojing, which the Bodhisattva resolutely proclaims when he first takes a seat under the Bodhi tree:

Even if my body is parched to destruction with flesh being utterly decayed and bones dried up, I shall never rise without attaining the enlightenment of the Buddha. Having practiced austerities with perseverance for innumerable billions of kalpas, now I have achieved this; there will be no tUrning back. (~~:!ir~JlJL 1ft,!; Ji!itA:!ir1l$~ /f PX: 1iJ!lJ!l:~/f ~ ill ff£1l\Ii:9ct'l:{~~~t;bifJ~ '* 1T4-7Jf~z ~/fi@~)46

Here again, the austerities are clearly referred to as an important premise to enlightenment.

If visual monuments can be of any relevance as a reference, the only tradition we could recall where the austerities were elevated with such magnitude is nothing but that of Gandhara. And Gandha­ran fasting images are best understood in light of such accounts as those from the Puyaojing or the KarulJiipulJr;larfka. They represent the unequalled austerities performed by the Buddha, which easily eclipsed any such practice by heretics, and thus were a most eloquent symbol of the Buddha's superiority over all those following heresy even in their privileged methods. At the same time, they were images of the austerities par excellence the Buddha endured through his

46 Cf. TI86, 3:515b, cf. 515a for a similar remark. Interestingly enough, the later ver­sions of the Lalitavistara including the Sanskrit and Tibetan editions give a slightly differ­ent account in the corresponding passages. For instance, the passage in the Fangguang daZhuangyanjing reads, "If I do not achieve annutarasamyaksarrzbodhi, I shaH never rise from this seat even though my body may be destroyed" (TI87, 3:588a). There are no fur­ther words about superb austerities he practiced, which were the cause of his current state toward enlighterunent. This is even more intriguing when we find no remark at all on austerities in the corresponding passages in most other texts of the Buddha's life belonging to my Group A (see pp. 132-133 above): e.g., "If I do not attain enlighterunent, I shall never rise from this seat" (Guoqu xianzai yinguojing, T189, 3:639c); "I am seated on this seat. If I do not remove all the asravas and if I do not achieve liberation, I shall never rise from this seat" (Fobenxingjijing, TI90, 3:778b).

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 147

numerous incarnations, which were perceived even close to an indispensable part of practice toward enlightenment. 47

In the account of austerities in the Karw:zlipw:uj,arfka we note an­other interesting aspect: living beings achieve diverse benefits from seeing the austerities of the Buddha.

• yiivad akani~!habhavanaparyantena sarve devii ye sahe buddhak~etre paryii­panniis ta upasaT[!kriimeyur mama ca pi/jiiT[! kurviilJiiJ:!, sarve me siik~ilJaJ:! syur du~karacaryiiyiiT[! (Yamada 1968, II, 242)

• te ca tii'll du~karacaryiiT[! utsrjya mama du~karacaryii,!l dr~!Vii ye~iiT[! sriiva­kayiinasantiinabfjiilikuraT[! prati~?hitQl!l syiit, yiivad yathii parvoktaT[! (Ya­mada 1968, II, 243)

• yas ca miitrgriimo mama darsaniiyopasaT[!ramet, sa tasya pascimako miitr­griimapratiliibho baved iti, ye sriivakayiinika yathii parvoktaT[! (Yamada 1968, II, 244)

• ye mrgapak~ilJo du~karal!l caramiilJaT[! ni~alJlJa,!l pasyeyus sa te~aT[! pasci­makas tiryagyonipratiliibho bhaved iti (Yamada 1968, II, 244)

• bahusattvakotfnayutasatasahasriilJi du~karacaryiiyiiT[! siik~'ibhiitii (Yamada: siik~iO) bhaveyul} iiscaryapriiptas ca ... (Yamada 1968, II, 244)

The viewing48 of the Buddha practicing austerities is highlighted as an immensely beneficial act. In another place in the same account of the Buddha's life, seeing the first bath of the Buddha is referred to in the same manner:

47 Minoru Hara (1997: 250) says, "The successive occurrence of asceticism and enlightenment in his biography naturally puts these two events into contrast. The contrast seems to become more and more striking, as the second, that is his final enlightenment, becomes .invested with greater importance. As a result, the asceticism which precedes the enlightenment, the most auspicious event in his life, is destined to be treated negatively and regarded even as inauspicious." The Puyaojing and the KarU/}iipU/:ujarfka presumably represent the tradition that precedes this development.

48 Strictly speaking, delicate semantic distinctions may exist between the words used here for "viewing" - pas (to see, observe, behold), drs (to see, observe, regard) and sakein (seeing with eyes, observing, witnessing) - particularly between sakein and the others. However, in the passage cited above, pragmatically they seem to have been used in an interchangeable way. The two Chinese translations use jiem ~ or guiin ill. for pas and drs, and zheng ~ or zhengmfng ~1JIl for sakein. But here as well, in actual usage one finds lit­tle difference between these words.

148 JUHYUNG RIll

ye cC} sattvii miil'J1. sniipayamiiniil'J1. patyeyus te sarve tribhir yiinair eval'J1.n7piin gUT}iin adhigaccheyuf:/ yathii proktal'J1. (Yamada 1968, n, 241)

Those who see me being bathed would gain such quality in the three vehicles in the same way as said above.

Although these are all we fmd among quite a limited number of epi­sodes presented in this account of the Buddha's life in terms of the benefit of seeing the act of the Buddha, the importance with which such viewing is accorded is remarkable enough. Seeing the actual events or auspicious signs that appear on such occasions may have been meant on the surface; but it could well have alluded to the "see­ing" or dariana of visual images or illustrations. This instantly re­minds us of numerous narrative reliefs representing the Buddha's life carved on stupas in Gandharan monasteries. Of two fasting Bud­dha images in Lahore (h. 83.8 cm, from Sikri) and Peshawar (h. 82.6 cm, from Takht-i-Bahi), the Lahore image is fortunately known to have been found in one of the chapels standing aligned in the eastern side of the main stupa in the same manner as ordinary cult statues.49

Although we cannot be sure that the chapel was its very first place of installation - as numerous changes would have taken place in the monastery in the period following its dedication - the image must have been the object of dariana (ritual viewing) for ardent visitors in a similar architectural context. As regards the Peshawar image, which was discovered in the 1907-08 excavation season at the fa­mous monastery at Takht-i-Bahi, little is known about its original context. But it was quite possibly installed in one of the chapels surrounding the court of many stupas in the middle (between the court of the main stupa and the monastic quarter) on which much of .the excavation work was conducted in the season. 50 The image must have been venerated in a similar way as the Lahore Buddha.51

49 Dar (1999/2000) 23-25.

50 Spooner (1911) 131-148.

51 A fasting Buddha image (h. 47 cm without the head) was discovered in situ at Shoto­rak against the southern face of the plinth of stupa F1, close to its stairway, but this does not seem likely its original placement. See Meunie (1942) 12 and pI. ill: fig. 7, XVI: fig. 53.

SOME TEXTUAL PARALLELS FOR GANDHARAN ART 149

As we have explored so far, reading the passages recounting the austerities in the Karw}iipu1}¢arfka and their emphasis on the merit of seeing the image of austerities, one has the impression that the au­thor actually saw yisual images of the Buddha conducting austerities _ such as the Lahore Buddha - venerated for such purpose, or at least had the knowledge of them. Since it is not clear that the date of the original Karu1}iipu1}¢arfka or its relevant part in an equivalent text is at least contemporary with Gandharan fasting Buddhas, I am reluctant to say that the images were made in pursuance of this tex­tual account. But considering definite parallelism between the ac­count in Karu1}iipu1}¢arfka and Gandharan images; I cautiously suspect at least that the textual account was inspired by such magnificent images as the Lahore Buddha, if the text was created later than the images during the third and fourth centuries; or if a smaller sutra that supposedly corresponds to the relevant part of the Kanl1}iipu1}¢arfka indeed existed earlier by the second century, an account similarly extolling the austerities could already have been there as a contemporaneous textual parallel for visual images.52

In the Karu1}iipu1}¢arfka, one finds a number of other motifs that could be parallels for visual image of Gandhara. Another prominent one is the theme of Indrasailaguhii, which seems rather abruptly re­ferred to in a lengthy note at the end of the text and strongly recalls

52 Among smaller sutras listed as separate parts of the Karll1:Ztipw:u;iarfka in Chinese Buddhist catalogs, the Dabeibiqiu benyuanjing *;lJ;J;I:;.fi:*P*,rg, supposedly translated by Faju and Fali during the late third century, seems to correspond to the part of our interest from the larger sutra, i.e., the Karw:ztipw}l;iarfka. If the earlier presence of this sutra is acceptable, its original could have been contemporary with or even earlier than Gandhiiran fasting Buddhas, whose dates are equally problematic as any images from this region but are attributable provisionally to the second century. But a question has been raised regard­ing the reliability of this tradition because the smaller sutras appear as such in Chinese Buddhist catalogs only at a relatively late date from the seventh century. Sanada (1957) 1-23. For the records in Chinese Buddhist catalogs, see Zhongjing mulu ji~J,rg I"l ~ by Fa­jing ft;*,rg (dated 594), T2146, 55:124a-b; Zhongjing mulu of the reign Renshou {=S (602), T2147, 55:162c-163a; Zhongjing mulu by Jingtai IW~ (664), T2148, 55:197b-c; Dazhou kanding zhongjing mulu *~ flj JE~J,rg I"l ~ (695), T2153, 55:391b-c. The Dabeibiqiu benyuanjing is also listed as Faju' s translation, but without the reference to the Karul)tipu!u;iarfka, in Lidai sanbaoji (597), T2034, 49:54b. Although there are grounds for questioning, it may be too hasty to reach a definite conclusion.

150 JUHYUNGRHI

several magnificent Gandharan steles representing the theme. 53 I hope that these problems could be treated in a sequel to this paper.

References

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Dar, Saifur Rahman. 1999/2000. "The Sikri Sculptures: Prolegomena on an Exceptional, but Unstudied, Collection of Gandharan Art in the Lahore Mu­seum." Silk Road Art and Archaeology 6: 57-76.

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53 Yamada (1968, II) 345-347; TI58, 3:286a-b; TI57, 3:230c-231a. For Gandhiiran representations of indrasailaguha, see Ingholt and Lyons, pis. 130, 131.

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Dutoit, J. 1905. Die du~karacaryii des Bodhisattva in der buddhistichen Tradi­tion. Strassburg: Verlag von Karl J. Triibner.

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Foucher, Alfred. 1905. L'Art greco-bouddhique du Gandhdra, tome 1. Paris: Im­primerie Nationale.

Foucher, Alfred. 1987. La vie du Bouddha d'apres les textes et les monuments de l'Inde. Originally published in 1949; reprint, Paris: J. Maisonneuve.

Gnoli, Raniero, ed. 1977. The Gilgit Manuscript of the Sanghabhedavastu, part 1. Rome: IsMEO.

Hara, Minoru. 1997. "A Note on the Buddha's Asceticism: The Liu du ji jing (Six Piiramitii-satra) 53." Indica et Tibetica 30: 249-260.

Harrison, Paul. 2000. "Buddhist Visions of Perfection: Interpreting the Earliest Sources of the Sukhavatl Tradition." Paper delivered as the Evans-Wentz Lecture at Stanford University, April 2000.

Hofinger, Marcel. 1990. Le congres du Lac Anavatapta, II: Legendes du Boud­dha (Buddhiivadiina). Louvain-l-Neuve: Institut Orientaliste, Universite Catholique de Louvain.

Hokazono Koichi :9i-lii$-. 1993. Raritavisutara no kenkya '7 V lJ r/-1 A lJ '7 O)liFf'iE, vol. 1. Tokyo: Taito shuppansha.

Homer, I.B., trans. 1954. The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, vol. 1. London: Pali Text Society.

Huntington, John. 1980. "A Gandharan Image of Amitayus' SukhavatL" Annali dell'Istituto Orientale de Napoli 40 (n.s. 30): 652-672.

Inagaki Hisao. 1963. "Amida Iataka and His Vows in the KarulJiipUl:u!arfka Sa­tra." Shinshagaku ~** 29/30: 1-20.

Ingholt, Harald, and Islay Lyons. 1957. GandhiiranArt in Pakistan. New York: Pantheon Books.

Jin Shen ~$. 2004. "Guanyu shijiafode kuxingxiang *T~~{9lli¥J'i5fT{~." In his Fojiao meishu congkao {9ll~~3Z!t~~, 42-50. Beijing: Kexue chuban­she, 2004.

Johnston, E.H. 1984. The Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha. Originally pub­lished in Lahore, 1936; reprint Delhi, 1984.

Jones, J.J., trans. 1949-56. The Mahi'ivastu. 3 vols. London: Luzac & Co.

Lefmann, S., ed. 1902. Lalitavistara. Halle A. S.

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Meunie, Jacques. 1942. Shotorak, Memoires de la Delegation Archeologique· Franraise en Afghanistan, tome 10. Paris: Les Editions d'Art et d'Histoire.

Nakamura Hajime 9=IltjG. 1992. Gotama butta :::i'57"/''/'5 1. Nakamura Ha­jime sensha 9=I*;fjG~~, vol. 11. Tokyo: Shunjusha,

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Zwalf, Wladimir. 1996. A Catalogue of the Gandhilra Sculpture in the British Museum. 2 vols. London: British Museum Press.

THE BHIKKHUN[-ORDTNATION CONTROVERSY TN THAILAND!

MARTIN SEEGER

In February 2001, Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, a Thai scholar of Bud­dhism, was ordained a female novice (siimmy,erl) in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism. Two years later, she took Higher Ordination (upasampadii) and became BhikkhunI Dhammananda. Her ordina­tion has sparked fervent debates in Thai society, not only about the validity of her ordination itself, but more generally about whether the vanished female ordination lineage of Theravada Buddhism can legi­timately be revived. I want to emphasize strongly that in this paper, I do not plan to examine this debate from the perspective of gender studies. My aim is rather to present and compare the differing opinions held by various influential Thai thinkers and academics, both lay persons and monks/maechis (mae chis are white-clad women who have shaved their heads and eyebrows and practice the eight or ten precepts).lt is, of course, impossible to take into account all of the many comments that have been made by a large number of Thai monks, Buddhologists, feminists and sociologists in connection with this debate. My purpose is to provide a sampling of representative opinions and lines of argumentation in order to explore the conflicts emerging from, on one hand, the respect paid to the authority of canonical scriptures and the desire to preserve the integrity of Thera­vada Buddhism, and on the other, a growing demand for an order of nuns. Although for the most part I will discuss the Thai debate about

1 Sections of this paper were, in an earlier version, first published in German in my PhD thesis (Seeger 2005). Many parts of it, however, are the outcome of more recent ideas and research. I want to thank the following persons for their valuable suggestions and critique: Ven. Jampa Tsedroen, Dr. Petra Kieffer-Piilz, Dr. Ute Hiisken, Dr. Frances Weightman, Dr. Emma Tomalin, Dr. Mike Pamwell and Prof. Mark Williams. Also, I would like to thank BhikkhunI Dhammananda, Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta and Maechi Suphaphan na Bangchang for their valuable time and kindness in support of this research. Finally, I wish to express my thankfulness to Dr. Birgit Kellner for her many valuable comments and suggestions.

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29' Number 1 • 2006 (2008) pp. 155-183

156 MARTIN SEEGER

the possibility of revivIng a nun's order, I will also present the stances of some influential Thai Buddhist women who do not follow the example of BhikkhunI Dhammananda,2 but rather prefer to prac­tice Buddhism in ways that are more commonly recognized in Thai society. One question I will not address, however, is the problem of the authenticity of canonical Theravada scriptures. For the purpose of this article I will only investigate current inner-Theravadin con­flicts that have emerged in Thailand due to the different understand­ings and approaches people have regarding the relevant texts from the Pali canon.

According to Theravada tradition, five hundred arahants (literally: "worthy ones," i.e. awakened ones) convened for a rehearsal (sangf­ti) three months after the passing away of the Buddha (parinibbiina) in order to compile a collection of authoritative texts of two types: the dhamma and the vinaya.3 In this context, "dhamma" is the name for the soteriology propounded by the Buddha. "Vinaya," on the other hand, designates the code of discipline for his disciples that the Buddha established during his lifetime. Theravadins believe that the dhamma deals with eternally valid truths about life and the path to deliverance (vimutti). In contrast to this, the vinaya is not trans­historical (akiilika), but a reaction to the social realities of northern India during the lifetime of the Buddha. According to canonical scriptures, the individual training rules (sikkhiipada) of the vinaya and the elaborations upon them developed as immediate responses to

2 For the sake of simplicity, in the following I will refer to Chatsumarn Kabilsingh by her ordination name Bhikkhunl Dhammananda, even though some of the events described in this paper took place before her higher ordination.

3 Vin.n.285-289. In this article I will not address the issue of the historicity of this re­hearsal or of how far the Plili canon contains the original words of the Buddha. In many cases, the Western text-critical approach has convincingly shown that Theraviida beliefs in connection with their tradition must be questioned (for the historical problems of the First Rehearsal, see Prebish 1974, pp. 239-254; Holt 1981, pp. 43-44; Hallisey 1991, pp. 138-140). Another important point which must be mentioned is that in this article the terms "authority" and "consensus" play a vital role and will, therefore, reoccur several times. In spite of the fact that an investigation of these two terms from a sociological perspective would allow many further valuable insights, I have not engaged in such a discussion here, since this will be a topic of another article and would be beyond the objectives of this paper.

THE BHIKKHUN!-ORDTNATION CONTROVERSY TN THAILAND 157

historical events in which monks or nuns behaved in ways that were not in harmony with the dhamma and were perceived as harmful to the newly-founded religion and the image of the Buddhist community. At the same time, however, the vinaya was also designed as a system for creating an optimal environment for spiritual prac­tice, taking into account the social conditions of the time.4 Fully aware of the historicity of the vinaya, and despite the fact that the Buddha had explicitly allowed his order to abrogate minor training rules of vinaya texts,S the five hundred arahants at the First Re­hearsal decided to freeze all training rules of the vinaya, agreeing unanimously that these rules must not be changed.6

As a consequence of this decision, the Theravada school devel­oped a conservatism that has formed a central part of its identity. Texts from the Theravada tradition? indicate that, from time to time, additional rehearsals were organized during which authoritative texts were communally recited (saligiiyanii) or the monks' faithfulness to the original life-style was reviewed. The aim of these rehearsals was to "[purify] the teaching from all impurities."s This conservatism is also clear in the following quotation from the Nfu;1odaya:9 "every single letter of the Buddha's teaching has the same value as a single Buddha image."lO

4 A.Y:70; A.I.98, Vin.ffi21.

5 Akankhamana, ananda, sangho mamaccayena khuddanukhuddakani sikkhapadani samiihanatu (D.ll.154).

6 Sangha appaiiiiatta1'[l nappaiiiiapeti, paiiiiatta1'[l na samucchindati, yathapaiiiiatteslt sikkhapadeslt samadaya vattati (Vin.ll.288).

7 Prebish 1974; Hallisey 1991.

8 Sabba1'[l sasanamala1'[l sadhetva (Sp.l.34).

9 In the 1963 Thai edition of the Nii:Qodaya (Buddhaghosa 2506), its authorship is attri­buted to the great Theravada commentator Buddhaghosa. This is questionable, however, as v. Hiniiber points out that even though in the Mahavarpsa a monograph called Nii:Qodaya (NOJ].odaya nama pakara7;LQ1'[I) is ascribed to Buddhaghosa as one of his early works, U[n]othing else is known about it. (von Hiniiber 2000, p. 103).

10 Ekakkhara1'[l ekamekaiica satthupariyattisasana1'[l akkhara1'[l buddhariipaiica samam eva phala1'[l siya (Buddhaghosa 2506, p. 35). This conservatism is also nicely expressed in a lecture that the famous Thai Theravada monk Buddhadiisa gave in Rangoon in 1956 during the Chatthasailghayana, the Sixth Rehearsal according to the Burmese Theravada tradition: U[b]eing the only teaching that succeeds in preserving the ancient pure Buddhism by

158 MARTIN SEEGER

The rigidity with which the Theraviida tradition wants to preserve the dhamma and the original form, i.e. the monastic lifestyle and the legal acts prescribed for the monastic community (sanghakamma) , aims at conserving what is believed to be the most original form of Buddhism. This endeavour is motivated by the fear of losing original meaning by a process of historical er9sion, i.e. oblivion or intentional manipulation. Through the course of its history, the Theravada tradi­tion has considered the vinaya as pivotal for safeguarding the continuity and longevity of Buddhism. This is nicely expressed in the commentary SumailgalaviHisinI: " ... the vinaya is the durati-on of the Buddha's teaching. When the vinaya is existent, it means that the teaching is existent."ll

As I will show in this paper, due to its historicity and relativity, the frozen vinaya is in a state of increasing tension with contemporary society and, at the same time, with the dhamma that Theraviidins be­lieve to be trans-historical and absolute. This tension will be investi­gated in the context of contemporary Thai society by studying the controversy concerning the possibility of introducing a bhikkhunf­order into Thai Theraviida. This controversy, which actually largely concerns the legitimacy of Higher Ordination for women, was sparked by the novice ordination (pabbajja) of Chatsumarn Kabilsingh as a female novice (samarterl). My aim here is to examine how Theraviida's conservatism has been challenged thereby and, at the same time, what rationale has been brought forward in its de­fence.

adhering to the principle of admitting only the additional that would enhance the strictness of the original while being against the revoking, changing or altering of the original even in its least form ... We have no warrant of addition in such a manner that would make Bud­dhism develop according to influence of the opportunity and locality, or to any other circumstances, to the extent that it loses its original principle; such is the addition that effects the fall of the doctrine, directly or indirectly ... We are afraid of doing such a· thing, We [sic] are glad to admit to the accusation that we are cowards. By means of this very cowardice, Theravada is still remaining in its pristine form of the original doctrine. May we be in cowardice in this way forever." (Buddhadasa 2530, pp. 345-350). For conservat­ism in Theravada, see also: Seeger 2005, p. 94-108,120-134,160-232.

11 ••• vinayo nama buddhasasanassa iiyu. Vinaye {hite siisanal'{l {hital'{l nlima hoti. (Da.I.13).

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDTNATION CONTROVERSY TN THAILAND 159

The debate about the ordination of Chatsumarn Kabilsingh

Shortly after Chatsumarn Kabilsingh's ordination as Samm:teri Dhammananda, the possibility of a legitimate Higher Ordination act for women began to be debated heatedly in Thai society.12 The equality between men and women in terms of their spiritual potential for awakening (bodhi) does not seem to have been doubted by any­one involved in this debate (at least explicitly); rather, the contro­versy revolved around whether an ordination act (re-)initiating a fe­male ordination lineage could be sanctioned by the vinaya.

For her ordination, Bhikkhuni Dhammananda was "harshly at­tacked from senior monks who ... dismissed the possibility of female ordination within the Thai clergy."13 This reaction can inter alia be explained by the fact that the once-existing Theravada nun or bhikkhunf-order was extinguished as many as a thousand years ago. Moreover, according to the traditional reading of stipulations for the ordination procedure as outlined in the vinaya, a valid ordination of a bhikkhunf requires a double ordination: a woman seeking Higher Ordination must be ordained by both monks and nuns who have been ordained in a legitimate ordination act. But since there are no longer any legitimately ordained nuns available within the Theravada tradi­tion, the valid ordination of a nun is simply not possible.

There is no evidence to suggest that there have ever been Thera­vada nuns in Thai history. The first attempt to establish a bhikkhunf­order in Thailand is thought to have been undertaken in 1927 by the former government official and engaged lay-Buddhist Narin Phasit, when he had his two daughters, Sara and Congdi, ordained as siima­lJerfs. They received ordination from a monk, but no definite details became known as to precisely which monk had performed the ordination. Only two months after their ordination, the two sisters were heavily criticized from both governmental and clerical sides. A monk suspected to have ordained the two sisters was asked by his superior to leave the monkhood. After this monk left the order, how-

12 Sanitsuda Ekachai 2001a.

13 Sanitsuda Ekachai 2001 b.

160 MARTIN SEEGER

ever, he denied that he had conducted the ordination. The highest clerical administrative body in Thailand, the Mahatherasamakhom, accused Narin of wanting to destroy Buddhism. The Mahatherasa_ makhom further called on the two sisters to cast off their robes. Fi­nally, this controversy resulted in a legal case. The two sisters were ordered to remove their robes, and Sara was sentenced to imprison­ment and a fine of 20 Baht. When Narin asked the then-reigning King of Siam (Thailand), Rama VII, for help, his plea was refused. As a reaction to the ordination of Sara and Congdi, the Thai Sangha­raja signed a regulation that was promulgated on 18 June 1928. This regulation forbids Thai monks to ordain women as samalJerf, sikkha­mana (probationer),14 or bhikkhunz. The regulation is still in effect today 15 and was reportedly also endorsed by the current Thai Sangharaja in a speech he gave during the annual graduation ceremony of the Mahamakut University for monks only three months after Bhikkhunl Dhammananda's novice ordination. 16

According to Bhikkhunl Dhammananda, this sangha regulation contradicts the Thai constitution, 17 which guarantees equality between men and women in Paragraph 5, and in Paragraph 38, free­dom in Thailand to adhere to and practice any religion. Since, as BhikkhUnl Dhammananda maintains, the constitution is the highest authoritative body of laws in Thailand, the aforementioned sangha regulation that contradicts it is, as a matter of course, invalid. IS In connection with this point, the academic Kulavir Prapapornpipat, who is affiliated to the Women's Studies Center at Chiang Mai University and describes herself as a "Buddhist feminist," perceives an inconsistency between the Thai sangha's attitude to the "law of the country" and the approach of the Buddha. She explains:

14 See: Juo-Hsiieh Shih 2000, pp. 406-453.

15 Wirat ThiraphanmethifThongbai Thiranantbangkun 2546, p. 61; Duean Khamdi 2544, pp. 228-230.

16 'Daily News' of Monday, 4 June 2544, p. 19 (quoted in: Duean Khamdi 2554, appen­dix p. 48).

17 BhikkunI Dhammananda here refers to the constitution of 1997, which was current at tbe time of her writing, but has in tbe meantime become abolished in the coup of 2006.

18 Nasak Atcimathon 2544, pp. 74--75; Atiya Achakulwisut 2001a.

THE BHIKKHUN!-ORDINATION CONTROVERSY IN THAll.,AND 161

.,. the [Thai] sangha gives the justification that the state or alJacakka [wheel of power] should not get involved in the affairs of the sangha institution or sa,sanacakka [the wheel of the religion]. Regarding this point, if we look back to the stanqe of the Buddha ... , when the practical regulations of the sangha were at odds with the principles of the country's law, the Buddha had the sangha conform to the law of the state in order to avoid conflict ... 19 .

Kulavir suggests that" ... those parts of the sangha regulations and laws that are at variance with the principles of constitutional law [should be reconsidered]."2o

At the same time, however, a bhikkhunf ordination in Thailand might be rendered judicially precarious by a paragraph in the Thai penal law, according to which a person who is not properly ordained, but wears the robes of clerics, can be sentenced to imprisonment of no longer than one year or to a fine of not more than 20,000 Baht, or both.21

Against the opinion that seems to prevail among the Thai sangha, BhikkhunI Dhammananda maintains that a revival of the bhikkhunf­sangha is still possible. Prior to her ordination, she delved into a comparative study of transmitted versions of the bhikkhunf-piiti­mokkha. 22 Based on her investigations, as well as on further . historical research, she has concluded that the ordination lineage of nuns to which she belongs descends from the original Theravada tradition. She is reported to have said that:

... I assure you that the ordination of Chinese nuns has its origin in a Thera­vada Buddhist lineage. But despite this, our [contemporary] Theravada tries to reject its own descendants, instead of accepting them in admiration that they have been able to remain firm and to transmit [their tradition].23

19 Kulavir Prapapompipat 2548, p. 37; note that all translations from the Thai quoted in this paper are my own. Kulavir Prapapompipat is probably referring here to Vin.I.138, where the Buddha says: "Bhikkhus, I ask you to act according to [the laws] of kings" (anujiiniimi bhikkhave riijiinam anuvattitunti).

20 Kulavir Prapompipat 2548, p. 40.

21 Duean Khamdi 2544, p. 239.

22 See: Chatsumam Kabilsingh 1991. "Piitimokkha" is the name of the texts that contain the 227 or 311 training rules (sikkhiipada) for monks and nuns respectively.

23 Quoted in: Phimphan Hansakun/Bunkhanit Worawithayanon/Chaiwat Premcan 2544, p.142.

162 MARTIN SEEGER

The Chinese nun tradition that BhikkhunI Dhammananda has in mind follows the vinaya texts of the Dharmaguptaka, which, accord­ing to BhikkhunI Dhammananda, is a subgroup of Theravada.

Thai monks fu'1d· scholars of Buddhism, however, counter this argument by saying that the lineage she is referring to was transmit­ted with the help of "Mahayana monks": they argue that two differ­ent sang has performed the ordination act. For them, this makes the ordination problematic if not invalid. At this point, however, it must be noted that Mahayana did not develop its own vinaya texts but used vinaya texts of pre-Mahayana Buddhist schools, of which'Theravada and Dharmaguptaka are only two. The designation "Mahayana monks," which is widely used in the Thai nun ordination contro­versy, therefore disguises the problem at the core of the disagreement about nun ordination, namely the interpretation of the vinaya. Historically, the differentiation between Mahayana and other Bud­dhist schools (nikiiya) did not emerge from disagreements about the vinaya, but rather arose from different understandings of Buddhist soteriology (dhamma). In this regard, Bechert writes that: "Whereas

. the nikiiyas were defined as groups of monks that mutually acknowl­edged the validity of their upasampadii or Higher Ordination and made use of particular recensions of the sacred texts, the rise of Mahayana Buddhism was a development which pervaded the whole sphere of Buddhism and all nikiiyas."24 While Bhikkhunl Dhamma­nanda is right when she says that the Chinese nun's lineage relies on Dharmaguptaka vinaya texts, the above-mentioned argument that the Dharmaguptaka school is a descendant of Theravada might be seen as problematic, since both Dharmaguptaka and Theravada are sub­groups of the Sthavira schoo1.25

Be that as it may, traditionalists consider an ordination that relies on the lineage of Chinese nuns to be a cross-sangha ordination, a

24 Bechert 1973, p. 11; see also: Williams 2000, pp. 99-100.

25 Choong 2000, pp. 2-5; Kieffer-Ptilz 2005, p. 2, 5. In an interview I held with Bhikkhunl Dhammananda (30/03/2007), she said that she is aware of this: "All the vinaya lineages, now, are all Theravada ... I refer to Theravada, now, with the understanding that it keeps the continuation from the old [Theravada, i.e. Sthavira school]."

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDINATION CONTROVERSY IN THAILAND 163

case of so-called nanasal'{lvasa ("a different community").26 When a monk is temporarily "excluded" (ukkhita) from the order, or - and this is relevant here - when a monk or several monks develop/pro­pound a different interpretation of the vinaya, these monks are then called nanasal'{lvasaka, "belonging to a different community," by the sangha from which they have been excluded or whose vinaya inter­pretation they no longer share. And, according to traditional under­standing, a valid ordination act cannot be performed by "members of a different community" (nanasal'{lvasaka).27 For proponents of the bhikkhunz-ordination, however, this argument is not valid. They ar­gue that since at the time the Buddha laid down the rules for the ordination procedure there was no division into different schools, to require that the nuns who perform their part of the ordination must be Theravada is "beyond the domain of the Buddha's teaching [dhammavinaya]." In her book "The Transmission of the bhikkhunz­sangha in Sri Lanka," Bhikkhuni Dhammananda writes that the insistence on such a requirement shows "to what degree those who so strongly keep up the congregations [nikaya] ... are attached to tri­fling matters [!~eJ':m~lJ'f1iJlJ]."28

Two further concerns have been raised in connection with cross­sangha ordination and the intactness of the ordination lineage. The first relates to the requirement that the texts used during the ordina­tion procedure, these being certain of the set phrases that accompany the various sangha acts (kammavaca), have to be recited in keeping with the Pali canon's wording and language. This is because, according to traditional Theravada understanding, flaws in the ordination formulae lead to the "failure" (vi patti) of the ordination act and, .consequently, the ordination is invalid. Since the Dharmaguptaka school uses a language other than PaIi - the lan­guage of the Theravadins - during the ordination act, Theravadins might perceive this as kammavacavipatti, that is, as invalid ordina­tions due to incorrect wording. A further problem arises from the

26 Phra Sipariyattimoli 2544, pp. 110-111; Chamnan Nisarat 2544, p.73,

27 Kieffer-Ptilz 1992, pp, 53-54, 64; Chamnan Nisarat 2544, p. 73.

28 Dhammananda Samal).erI 2544, p, 21. See also: Phra Phaisan Wisalo 2546, pp. 360-361.

164 MARTIN SEEGER

significant differences between the Theravada and Dharmaguptaka schools in designating the so-called szma. Szma is the boundary that clearly defines the area in which legal acts (sanghakamma) can be carried out. The Dharmaguptaka school, for example, uses more markers for defining the szma than Theravada does and also makes use of certain markers that are not permissible in the Theravada school. As the rules for authorizing szma form another legal re­quirement for a valid ordination procedure, Theravadins might consequently perceive an ordination that is perfectly valid according to Dharmaguptaka standards as invalid according to ·their own requirements. 29 Before traditional Theravadins can move towards agreement concerning a revival of the bhikkhunz-order, these legal discrepancies must be resolved.

However, the concerns that have been raised with regard to the legitimacy of a cross-sangha ordination do not pertain exclusively to differences in the vinaya. Charnnan Nisarat, a Thai scholar of Bud­dhism, voices another objection to the validity of the ordination act when he explains that the term nanasaf!lvasa indicates differences between sanghas due the absence of both sllasamafifiata ("congruity of moral rules") and ditthisamafifiata ("congruity of right views"). From this explanation follows that, 'since the order from which Bhik­khunI Dhammananda derives her ordination lineage not only has a different vinaya but also an understanding of the dhamma that is different from the Theravada's, the two communities are nanasaf!l­vasa to each other. And it is for this reason that, according to Cham­nan, a cross-sangha ordination act between these two schools is not possible.30

Sllasamafifiata and ditthisamafifiata constitute the fifth and sixth points respectively of the six saral}zyadhammas ("states of concilia­tion"), which are found twice in canonical scriptures. The Buddha explains that the practice of these six saral}zyadhammas "leads to" (saf!lvattanti) a number of beneficial things, namely to "solidarity" (sangahaya), "absence of dispute" (avivtidaya) , "harmony" (samag-

29 Phra Sipariyattimoli 2544, pp. 98-117; interview with Phra Payuttto (04/01/2004); Kieffer-Piilz 1992; Kieffer-Piilz 2005, pp, 4--6.

30 Chamnan Nisarat 2544, pp, 72-73,

THE BHIKKHUNI"ORDINATION CONTROVERSY IN THAILAND 165

giyii) and "unity" (ekfbhiiviiya).31 And it is unity, harmony, coher­ence and consensus that the foremost authority on canonical ques­tions in Thailand, the monk scholar Phra Payutto, perceives as major factors for the successful continuation of the Theravada tradition. Diversification and fragmentation into different schools might lead to the loss or distortion of the original meaning of the Buddha's teach­ing and, thereby, to the disappearance of authentic Buddhism.32 This concern is exemplified in the way he counters Suwanna Satha­Anand's understanding of the pertinent canonical passages and her argumentation in favour of the establishment of a bhikkhunf-order.

In the Buddha's decision to allow the ordination of bhikkhunfs in a socio-cultural environment that was influenced by patriarchal atti­tudes, Suwanna Satha-Anand, a scholar of religious studies at the Philosophy Department of Chulalongkorn University, perceives a principle that prefers "ultimate truth" (paramatthasacca) to "con­ventional truth" (sammutisacca). While paramatthasacca, in this context, appealS to the equipotentiality of awakening for men and women, sammutisacca reflects "the cultural constraints of that time" which "would have disallowed the nuns' order." Suwanna, therefore, requests that the contemporary Thai sangha not accept that "one accident in history [i.e. the interruption of the female ordination line­age] ... triumph[s] over the Buddha's decision.'>33 As the Buddha ad­justed the vinaya according to the social conditions of his time, "when conditions of lay society change, the Buddha would desire the sangha to change as necessary."34 Since contemporary society has become more open-minded on women's issues, Suwanna demands that the vinaya be changed accordingly:

... [t]he principle of [ultimate] truth over convention[al truth] should serve as a basis for future feminist interpretations and negotiations of the Buddhist scriptures. It should also serve as a basis for institutional decisions of the Sangha in relation to women's issues. What is at stake is not only the human

31 D.III.245; A.III.288-9.

32 Interview with Phra Payutto (04/01/2004).

33 Atiya Achakulwisut 2001b; Suwanna Satha-Anand 2001, pp. 281-291; see also: Dhammananda 2546, pp. 69-71.

34 Suwanna Satha-Anand 2001, p. 288.

166 MARTIN SEEGER

rights of women, but also the philosophical universality and institutional integrity of Buddhism itse1f.35

However, according to Phra Payutto, such a deliberate change of vinaya texts could lead to the emergence of different interpretations and, therefore, to diversification and fragmentation into different schools, since even a superficial change of these authoritative texts risks bringing about the loss of consensus. For who has the authority to change these texts after the death of the Buddha? The only answer can be: the sangha. But it seems rather unlikely that the whole sangha - either historically or geographically - could come to a unanimous decision on this point. Phra Payutto maintains that as long as the original texts are preserved and the practices being conducted aim at being in accordance with them, the Buddha remains the highest and only authority, which means that "there is one centre and therefore one view [mati].,,36 To Phra Payutto, this is the only realistic means to achieve and maintain consensus.

Therefore, in his view, an adaptation of the vinaya to the contemporary situation risks a fragmentation into different schools. But the unity (siimaggf) of the sangha is - as mentioned above - a necessary factor for the preservation and successful continuation of the Theravada tradition. Phra Payutto expresses this idea as follows: "if a [Theravada] group in any country develops a new view [mati], this means that Theravada commences to break Up.'037 At the same time, however, Phra Payutto is aware that Theravada's adherence to the agreement of the five hundred arahants at the First Rehearsal can cause "difficulties" (mllJ~lmhlJ1fl) for the tradition and "certainly in­volves negative points" (llll'lHltliJ'Il'mnv).38 In this regard, he says that the Theravada tradition has to "sacrifice itself' (!naIHl~"'t<J~) for the purpose of preserving the original Buddhist teaching. This means that flexibility is set aside for the sake of consensus. As a conse-

35 Suwanna Satha-Anand 2001, p. 290.

36 Interview with Phra Payutto on 04/01/2004.

37 Interview with Phra Payutto held on 04/01/2004.

38 Interview with Phra Payutto held on 04/01/2004; Dhamma-talk of P.A. Payutto on 1/08/2006 (available as MP3 at: http://www.watnyanaves.net/sounds/2549.php. accessed on 15/08/2007).

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDTNATION CONTROVERSY TN THAILAND 167

quence, the tradition's longevity is believed ensured and original forms are assumed preserved. For him, the First Rehearsal has al­ready shown that an agreement as to which rules might be considered for change is very difficult to achieve: the five hundred arahants were not able to agree on what the Buddha meant by the "minor rules" (khuddiinukhuddakiini sikkhiipadiini) that he allowed to be abrogated if required by the sangha (iikankhamiino ... sangho). 39

In connection with the bhikkhunf-ordination controversy, the Thai Buddhologist Somphan Phromtha notes that Theravada Buddhism "acts as if the Buddha were a god whose regulations are things that cannot be touched and adjusted." He perceives this attitude to contra­dict the character of original Buddhism. He contends that "whereas original Buddhism seems to have had no owner, it became clear that it developed into something which has an owner.,,40 Somphan states that "without questioning we seem to have accepted that the five hundred arahants own [Buddhism].,,41 For him and Channarong Bunnun, another Thai scholar of Buddhism who has actively taken part in the debate about the ordination of nuns, the decision of the five hundred arahants at the First Rehearsal can be interpreted as not being in conformity with the intention of the Buddha, who gave his community explicit permission to abrogate "minor" rules. For Chan­narong Bunnun, the rigidity with which the Theravada tradition abides by the agreement of the five hundred arahants at the First Re­hearsal to forbid any change to the vinaya rules is not in line with the flexibility with which the Buddha reacted to his own social environ­ment. By allowing for such changes, Channarong Bunnun claims, the Buddha wanted the sangha not only to have the authority but also the duty to decide what the minor rules are.42

Recently, primarily in connection with the bhikkhunf controversy, some Thai thinkers have uttered doubts about the proceedings and motivations of the participants .of the First Rehearsal. For the

39 D.II.l54.

40 Somphan Phromtha 2547, p. 2.

41 Somphan Phromtha 2547, p. 3.

42 Channarong Bunnun 2543, 7; Channarong Bunnun 2545, p. 8; Channarong Bunnun 2547b, pp. 8-9. See also Channarong Bunnun 2547a.

168 MARTIN SEEGER

sociologist Aphinya Fuengfusakun, for example, the events dUring> the First Rehearsal show that there was "dissatisfaction with women" (fm'1i'Vl!lt~~11tii~) which "exploded" during the First Rehearsal.43

However, some hold that this interpretation could have grave consequences for the identity of the Theravada tradition. As the young scholar monk W. Wachiramethi suggests:

if someone carelessly accuses the senior monks who took part in the First Rehearsal of having had prejudices [agatz1 towards women, he/she might just as well say that these senior monks were not real arahants.44

Indeed, this contention is explicitly made by Mettanando Bhik­khu, who concludes from his text-critical examination of various canonical scriptures the following:

... the actual intention of the First Rehearsal was not the compilation of the dhammavinaya45 ••• in order to - according to the words of Mahiikassapa -protect the [Buddhist] religion from decline, but [the intention was] the en­tire and rapid elimination of the bhikkhunf-sangha. For this reason, the essence of the Rehearsal was to reform the vinaya, particularly all those parts that deal with the bhikkhunfs . .. 46

Apart from Ananda, Mettanando Bhikkhu claims, all other 499 participants of the First Rehearsal "had deeply entrenched brahmani­cal values ... Probably, they were not real arahants [ ... J. [despite the fact that in the canonical texts it is stated that they actually were ara­hants (V.n.285)]. These are only pretensions.,,47

Another argument that has been brought forward for the introduc­tion of a bhikkhunf-order is based on an untraditional reading of the

43 http://www.geocities.com/finearts2544/newpagel.html (accessed on 10/10/2005)

44 W. Wachiramethi Phikkhu 2545, p. 78. According to Theraviida understanding, an ara­hant is free of any prejudices (agati).

45 Dhammavinaya in this context refers to the teachings and monastic regulations of the Buddha.

46 Mettanando Bhikkhu 2545, p. 226.

47 Mettanando Bhikkhu 2545, p. 215. This hypothesis, together with its many implica­tions, is, of course, hugely challenging for the identity of Theraviida Buddhism. Under­standably, Mettanando Bhikkhu's publication and his talks that express this and a number of other challenging hypotheses have caused turmoil in Thai society, for an analysis of which see Seeger 2005, pp. 160-213.

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDTNATION CONTROVERSY TN THAILAND 169

pertinent vinaya texts. Rabiaprat Phongphanit, a senator from Khon Kaen province and and avowed feminist,48 argues that the Buddha never cancelled hjs permission for monks to perform the full ordina­tion procedure for -women. As a result, any Thai monk in Thailand is allowed to conduct such an ordination act.49 She refers to a passage in the vinaya texts where the Buddha explicitly permitted monks to ordain the five hundred women companions of his stepmother MahapajapatI: after her ordination, she had asked what she should do with her companions, who also wished to be ordained. 50 According to traditional understanding, however, this permission was replaced by a more elaborate ordination procedure which requires that both sanghas (ubhatosanghe) conduct the ordination act. In the vinaya, the following reasons are given for this development: before a candidate can be admitted to the order, she has to be interviewed as to whether she fulfils the admission criteria, i.e. has no "obstacles for ordina­tion" (antariiyikii dhammii). Originally, these interviews were con­ducted by monks. But since some of the questions relate to delicate issues such as menstruation, sexual orientation and private parts,51 the women were so embarrassed that "they were not able to an­swer." 52 For this reason, the Buddha proclaimed the double­ordination process: the aspirants were first interviewed by nuns. Provided they passed the interview (visuddhiiya), they were then fully admitted by the male sangha. Double-ordination is also pre­scribed in the eight "heavy dhammas" (garudhammii)53 that the Bud­dha wanted MahapajapatI to accept for herself and all other female

48 In addition to relying on this argument, Rabiaprat, as did Bhikkhuni Dhammanandii, also appeals to the Thai constitution. Conversely, Bhikkhuni Dhammanandii, like Rabia­prat, also refers to the Buddhis permission for monks to ordain women (see: Dhamma­nandii 2546, p. 85; interview with Bhikkhuni Dhammanandii on 30/03/2007).

49 Phucatkansapda 2546.

50 katham bhante imaslI sakiyanfslI pappajjamfti (Vin.II.256).

51 Vin.II.271.

52 Tena kho pana samayena bhikkha bhikkhunfna1!l antarayike dhamme pucchanti. Upa­sampada pekkhtiyo vitthtiyanti malika honti na sakkonti vissajjetu1!l (Vin.II.271).

53 While Gombrich and Juo-Hsiieh Shih translate "garudhamma" with "rules of hierar­chy" (Juo-Hsiieh Shih 2000, pp. 463-464), Hiisken gives the translation "wichtige Regeln" (Hiisken 1993, p. 154).

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aspirants when she requested her ordination as the first woman in the history of Buddhism.54

The arguments for an (re-)initiation of a bhikkhunf-order that have been presented so far are largely based on canonical scriptures. The proponents of a bhikkhunf-order refer to these scriptures in various ways: they try to comply with their literal meaning, as in the case of BhikkhunI Dhammananda55 or Rabiaprat, they try to identify their "original spirit," as in the case of Suwanna Satha-Anand, or they dis­cover discrepancies within the texts and thus try to isolate the earliest text layers, as in the case of Mettanando Bhikkhu. At the same time, there are other voices that mainly raise social arguments.56 A num­ber of renowned scholars demand the right for women to receive the upasampada because they believe that the opportunity to become or­dained would help offset the socio-structural inequality between Thai men and women. As one Thai academic puts it, "[t]he existence of a bhikkhuni order could provide a new opportunity for poor rural girls who otherwise would end up in sweat shops or brothels."57 In con­trast to Thai women, Thai men have the opportunity to enter the sangha and thereby gain an education if their parents cannot afford to send them to school. Furthermore, solely by virtue of his ordination, a Thai monk is elevated to the peak of social esteem and enjoys a

54 dve vassiini chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhiiya sikkhamiiniiya ubhatosanghe upasam­padii pariyesitabbii (Vin.lI.255). Many Western Buddhologists have expressed their doubts with regard to the historicity of the account of Mah3:pajapatI's ordination and the authentic­ity of the eight garudhammas {Hiisken 1993, pp. 169-170; Iuo-Hsiieh Shih 2000, p. 13, 417-453; Kieffer-Piilz 2005, p. O. Thai scholars likewise doubt the authenticity of the eight garudhammas (see e.g.: Tavivat Puntarigvivat 2002, p. 111). For Mettanando Bhikkhu these eight rules are interpolations that were put in the mouth of the Buddha after his death. The actual intention of the eight garudhammas was "to eliminate the order of nuns com­pletely and rapidly" (Mettanando Bhikkhu 2545, p. 125).

55 Although BhikkhunI Dhammananda, like other Thai scholars, seems to have doubts about the authenticity of certain passages, she still basically tries to comply with the regulations as they are prescribed in canonical texts (see, e.g.: Dhammananda 2546, p. 61; interview with BhikkhunI Dhammananda on 30/03/2007).

56 This does not mean that the aforementioned proponents of a bhikkhunf-order do not also use these social arguments.

57 Tavivat Puntarigvivat cited in: Atiya Achakulwisut 2001b; see also Chatsumarn Kabilsingh 2002, pp. 97-98, Ouyporn Khuankaew 2002, pp. 16-17, Channarong Bunnun 2545, p. 28, Suwanna Satha-Anand 2001, p. 289.

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDINATION CONTROVERSY IN TIIAILAND 171

range of privileges regardless of his individual social background: he receives free shelter and clothing, pays reduced travel fares, and receives the highest respect from all strata of Thai society, including royalty.58 Under ·the current conditions, this is a position that Thai women can never reach, since they are barred from access to this institutional avenue of social mobility. In connection with social dis­crimination, proponents of the introduction of bhikkhunfs also refer to the Thai constitution59 which - as already mentioned - guarantees freedom of adherence to and practice of religion.

Still, for Phra Payutto the initiation of a bhikkhunf-order remains impossible, for while women continue to have the basic right to be­come ordained, there are no Theravada nuns who could perform their part of the ordination procedure - thus, the necessary factors for the ordination of women are no longer available. For him, the basic objective in resolving the current difficulties is therefore "to support the women, but not to damage the dhammavinaya [i.e. the original teaching and monastic regulations of the Buddha]."60 Thai society as a whole, including the sangha, should attempt to fmd other (realiz­able) solutions to help disadvantaged women out of their social mis­ery and level out social inequality.61

Despite his firm stance against the initiation of a bhikkhunf-order, Phra Payutto is in favour of the introduction of a para-monastic institution. He sees possible advantages if the tradition is augmented with new elements. Based on men and women's equal potential to attain awakening and the still existent basic right for women to be­come ordained, Phra Payutto points out that it might be possible to introduce an alternative institution: the establishment of a "bhikkhunf [order] in a new form" (iifllJw"u~1l1mi).62 However, by doing this, "we

58 This can be understood as a kind of "charisma of office." Individual monks may of course, additionally enhance their charisma through special skills or knowledge, like knowledge of the scriptures, mind-reading powers, the power of prediction, and so forth, or through a high position in the hierarchy within the Thai sangha.

59 That is, the Thai constitution of 1997, which was abolished in the coup of 2006.

60 Phra Thammapidok 2544, p. 10.

61 Phra Thammapidok 2547, pp. 72-73.

62 Interview with Phra Payutto on 15/07/2002. See also Phra Phaisan Wisalo 2546, pp.

172 MARTIN SEEGER

[would have to] accept the fact that [these nuns] are not bhikkhunfs according to the regulations of the Buddha [buddhapafifiatti]."63 I have shown how this stance represents Theravada's perception of it­self as a historically grown entity that endeavours to work against natural or deliberately created erosion. This entity was shaped espe­cially by the events at the First Rehearsal, three months after Bud­dha's death, and by the sUbsequent growth and closure of the PaIi canon together with the composition of the various layers of the Theravada commentaries (Anhakatha, Tika and Anu!ika).64 In this endeavour, maintaining form (vinaya) is regarded as essential for preserving content (dhamma). Or in the words of Phra Payutto: "as long as the form [lU] is existent, it is easier to invigorate the content [1~<l]."65

In addition to his positive stance regarding the introduction of a new sort of order of nuns, Phra Payutto also emphatically argued, al­ready well before the bhikkhunf ordination controversy, that the so­cial status of Thai maechis needs to be raised in order to provide Thai women with more opportunities to gain access to education.66 For Phra Payutto, maechis, through their acts of social services, would be more enriching for society than bhikkunfs. The bhikkhunfs would necessarily be constrained by their 311 training rules (sikkhiipada) , making their contact with society rather difficult. Phra Payutto fur­ther opines that an improvement of the status of maechis, which has been an institution in Thailand for centuries, might be more likely to be socially accepted within conservative Thai circles. The introduc­tion of bhikkhunfs might lead to "factionalism and disharmony."67 But in order to improve the status of maechis, better education facili-

360-362.

63 "~~IJi'm111m1~11 1li'l<!iiin'jwmIJVjl'llilltyty1i" (interview with Phra Payutto on 15/07/2002).

64 See Seeger 2005, p. 124-127; Seeger 2007 a, p. 7.

65 Interview with Phra Payutto on 04/01/2004.

66 Phra Payutto gives a much wider meaning to "education" than is normally understood. For him, "real" education comprises the threefold training (sikkhi'ittaya), which consists of morality (sfla) , mental training (samiidhi) and the creation of wisdom (paiiiiii). These things, however, are nothing less than the three aspects of the Path to Awakening (majjhimii patipadii), cf. further Seeger 2005, pp. 273-274.

67 Sanitsuda Ekachai 1999, pp. 227-234; Sanitsuda Ekachai 2001c, pp. 218-227.

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDINATION CONTROVERSY IN THAILAND 173

ties are crucial, legal amendments are necessary, and the active engagement of the mae chis themselves is needed.68

The problem with the current situation of mae chis is that they are not really regarded as clerics and have, to some extent, low prestige in Thai society. Although it seems that there is a growing number of educated middle-class women who have been "ordained" as maechis, thus giving the institution wider respect in Thai society (see below), and although there are maechis who are highly respected for their so­cial engagement or knowledge, mae chis on the whole still have a rather negative reputation in large parts of Thai society: they are, for instance, said to have chosen spiritual life because of a broken heart or because they are homeless and deprived of other opportunities. In addition, begging maechis can often be seen in the streets of Bang­kok, which further damages their general reputation. With respect to the clerical status of maechis, in fact, the Thai state has an ambivalent stance: whereas the Ministry of Transport and Communications re­gards them as not ordained, the Ministry of Interior treats them as ordained - unlike monks, maechis must pay full travel fares for pub­lic transport, but, like monks, they are not allowed to vote.

In the following section, I would like to present the stances of three influential Thai Buddhist women who do not follow the exam­ple of Bhikkhunl Dhammananda, but rather prefer to continue to practice Buddhism in ways that are more commonly recognized in Thai society. As a sample of the voices of such women, who explic­itly say that they do not want to be ordained, I shall present the view­points of Mae Chee [maechi] Sansanee Sthirasuta,69 very famous in Thai society, of the acknowledged tipitaka-expert Suphaphan na Bangchang, who also is a maechi, and of the well-known disciple of Buddhadasa, Prof. Rancuan Intharakamhaeng, a Buddhist upiisikii,

68 In this connection, Phra Payutto has suggested alternative appellations for maechis, like nekkhammika ("woman who gives up the world") or bhavika ("women who trains her­self'). (Interview with Phra Payutto on 04/01/2004). See also Parichart Suwanbubbha 2003, pp. 68-73; Seeger 2007b.

69 Here, "Mae Chee" is the equivalent of "Maechi," but since it is used in connection with a proper name, I respect the preferred way of transliteration that is used by Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta herself.

174 MARTIN SEEGER

i.e. a female lay follower. For Maechi Suphaphan na Bangchang, the Pali canon clearly renders female ordination impossible due to the requirement of the double-ordination. Furthermore,' in her view, "changing the tipitaka [Pali canon] would be papa [demeritorious] and akusala [unwholesonie]." She also perceives being a bhikkhunf as "risky" (l~V~) due to the 311 training rules of the patimokkha, espe­cially the eight parajika rules that a bhikkhunf would have to follow. In contrast, as a maechi she does not feel constrained in her spiritual practice at all, but perfectly able to practice and disseminate the Bud­dhist teaching. Maechi Suphaphan na Bangchang reports that, like Thai monks, she goes for alms every morning and is treated with great respect, be it on the bus or at the university. According to her, this shows that the once rather "negative" image of maechis in Thai society is changing. She states that there are a large number of highly respected maechis who teach monks in Abhidhamma studies, a sub­ject that is currently flourishing in Thailand.70

Mae Chee Sansanee likewise claims that being a maechi does not negatively influence her spiritual practice. For both Mae Chee San­sanee and Maechi Suphaphan na Bangchang, practicing Buddhism means transcending gender identity as male or female. For them, the absence of the bhikkhunf institution in Theravada Buddhism does not necessarily raise the question of gender inequality. Mae Chee San­sanee also doubts that the introduction of a bhikkhunf or sama/Jerf institution could provide a viable alternative education model for Thai women or girls, similar to the male sangha institution. For even though Mae Chee Sansanee is very popular in Thai society, and even though women can be ordained as maechis at her institution Sathira­Dhammasathan, thereby gaining an education,71 only a small number decide to do SO.72 According to her, more and more Thais are interested in studying Buddhism, but the number of people who are

70 Interview with Maechi Suphaphan na Bangchang on 12/04/2006.

71 Thai girls and women also have the possibility to enrol in the Thammacariniwitthaya School located in Ratburi, which is run by maechis, or to become member of the Dhamma­mata Hermitage (Thammasom Thammamata) in South Thailand (see footnote 76).

72 Interview with Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta on 19/04/2006.

THE BHIKKHUNi-ORDTNATION CONTROVERSY TN THAILAND 175

seriously committed to becoming ordained is quite limited or, in the case of male novices (silmalJera), even dropping.

Prof. Rancuan Intharakamhaeng also regards the re-initiation of the Theravada Buddhist bhikkhunf-order as impossible and, at the same time, as unnecessary: "If you ask me if I myself want to be a bhikkhunf, I answer that I do not need this. The only thing I need IS to be a practitioner of the dhamma." Demanding a bhikkhunf-order would add more "conflict" to Thai society. The "duty" of practicing Thai Buddhist women is not to demand a bhikkhunf institution but "to improve and develop themselves in order to become valuable per­sons." In this way women are able to increase their self-respect and, by doing this, to also earn greater respect, instantly and by them­selves, from Thai society.73

Here, it must be noted that these three women represent an edu­cated elite, and thus their views cannot stand for all Thai maechis. In addition, it is still unclear to what extent their way of practice is a real alternative to bhikkhunf ordination. This sample of three views of female practitioners has nonetheless shown that Thai Buddhist women are by no means unanimous or united concerning the ques­tions that have been fervently discussed since Bhikkhunl Dhamma­nanda's ordination. In fact, it must be understood that only a minority of Thai Buddhist women are proponents for introducing a bhikkhunf­order (albeit their numbers seem to be growing).

It seems that in Thai society there exist an increasing number of opportunities for women to study and practice Buddhism intensively in monasteries or monastery-like environments, for instance, in the dhammamiltil programme initiated by Buddhadasa,74 the ten pre­cepts-keeping sikkhamiitu of Santi Asok, or in Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta's Sathira-Dhammasathan. 75 Moreover, the prestige of

73 Phikun Wiphatprathip (ed.) 2547, pp. 37-39.

74 Buddhadasa intitiated this programme to make up for the lack of a bhikkhunf order. In order to become a Dhamma-Mother (Dhammamata) one has to be between 25 and 65 years old and free of chronic illness (see: http://www.buddhadasa.org/html/life-work/ dhammadana/dhammamata.html; accessed on 26/05/2006; Phikun Wiphatprathip (ed.) 2547).

75 Phikun Wiphatprathip (ed.) 2547, p. 32.

176 MARTIN SEEGER

women who practice dhamma seems to be growing, as can be seen by the strong and wide reverence for female dhamma teachers like Mae Chee Sansanee, Upasika Rancuan Intharakamhaeng, Maechi Khonnokyung and Khun Mae Siri Krinchai.76

Summary of the debate and future prospects

As I have shown, opinions regarding the establishment of a· Thera­vada Buddhist bhikkhunf-order in Thailand are quite diverse and of­ten contrary to one another. Although the Buddha said that on,e of the parts (miga) that makes his religion "complete" (paripiira) is the existence of a bhikkhunf-order,77 the majority of the contemporary Thai sangha seems to have accepted that the bhikkhunflineage has been irrecoverably extinguished. At present relatively few scholars of Buddhism, academics or feminists in Thailand demand the (re­)introduction of the bhikkhunf-order, although their numbers are increasing. They have presented a variety of arguments which have been circulated in books and articles or brought forward in seminars, talks or even in a discussion in the Thai Senate. The arguments for the possible introduction of Thai Theravada bhikkhunfs incorporate a variety of approaches and sources. These include using Western­influenced text-criticism that attempts a historical stratification of canonical texts in order to isolate the earliest text layers, which are then considered more authoritative, references to the Thai constitu­tion and its principles of religious freedom, hermeneutics that favour the spirit over the letter, and considerations of gender inequality in contemporary Thai society. The arguments that result from these di­verse approaches are - as shown above - opposed by traditionalists who refer to the authority of the Theravada canon. Due to their opposition, traditionalists, who according to their understanding are only trying to do their "duty," namely to preserve the integrity of the Theravada tradition, have been accused of being prejudiced against women. In this connection, some proponents of bhikkhunf ordination have asked whether this is a bias already inherent in the Theravada

76 See also Seeger 2007b.

77 nIll.l23-12S,

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDINATION CONTROVERSY IN THAILAND 177

Buddhist canon itself that is being perpetuated.78 At the same time, there are - as has been shown - influential female Buddhist practitio­ners who maintain that a bhikkhunf-order is simply not necessary since Thai society offers sufficient alternatives for women to practise thedhamma.

As a way out of this controversy, the "successful ... transmissIon of Theravada to British society" might serve as a model. In one sense, the British Theravada, which was "imported" from Thailand, has been very conservative in its preserving traditional forms, thus satisfying the British lay community who "wanted 'real' monks."79 But it has also proven to be innovative in founding an order of nuns: the women are known by the Pali term slladhara (upholder of virtue) but are most commonly referred to as nuns.so Bell writes about these sfladharas: "the nuns do not live by the same Vinaya rules as the original Theravada nuns' order... but by a set of rules elaborated from the Ten Precepts of the male siima'(lera (novice) ordination and informed by the spirit of the Vinaya .. .. "SI

This act of introducing a new institution on the basis of canonical sources can be understood as an upholding of tradition and its values and, at the same time, as using its creative potential. In this way, one of the central needs of a great tradition has been fulfilled: a stable balance between conservation and accommodation to changed circumstances.

According to Phra Payutto, an amplification of the tradition is only possible if the principle of coherence is safeguarded and existent structures are not thereby abandoned. For him, the history of Buddhism has shown that if Buddhism is to survive and to be meaningful to people, for its success and longevity to be guaranteed, not only conservation of the original meaning ofthe Buddha's teach­ings is absolutely necessary, but also cultural adaptation. Indeed, in some aspects Thai Theravada Buddhism seems to have been very

78 Channarong Bunnun 2547, pp. 89-95.

79 Bell 2000, p. 17.

80 Bell 2000, p. 18.

8! Bell 2000, p. 18.

178 MARTIN SEEGER

flexible and creative when satisfying "religious needs" or addressing modern problems. For instance, the Thai Theravada tradition has incorporated the belief in spirits and the amulet cult. It has also pro­vided the conceptual and practical framework for a number of social movements, such as the initiative of Phra Khru Phitak (a monk in northern Thailand) to ordain trees in order to protect them from be­ing felled,82 or the work of 'development monks', who interpret Buddhist teachings within the specific context of local development with the aim of building sustainable and largely self-reliant local economies. 83 At the same time, however, canonical scriptures have always been used to impose authority on the followers of Theravada, and to enforce censorship of views or behaviour that were regarded as a deviation from the canonical norm.

It remains to be seen whether the establishment of para-monastic institutions or the amelioration of the situation of maechis, as alternatives to the bhikkhunf-order, will be able to satisfy the demands of those who support the introduction of a bhikkhunf­saJigha. In Thailand, becoming a monk, having a son ordained as a monk or a novice, or giving donations to male members of the saJigha are believed to be very efficient ways of generating religious merit (punna). In comparison, maechis are usually poorly supported by the lay community since it is widely believed that rather little punna is produced by giving them donations. Having the opportunity of being a 'real' bhikkhunf would allow Buddhist women to have similar prospects as men to generate punna or to be the "field of merit" (punnakkhettaY[l) for others. Furthermore, having a bhikkhunf­order would eventually allow women to gain social and legal status equal to bhikkhus.

A solution to which both the traditionalists and the proponents of introducing a bhikkhunf-order can subscribe is not easily found. It seems that the innovation of a new order of nuns within the tradition can only take place if it is not perceived as being in direct conflict with the Pali canon, i.e. it can be interpreted as being in harmony

82 Darlington 2007.

83 Seeger and Pamwell 2007.

THE BHIKKHUNI-ORDfNATION CONTROVERSY fN THAll..,AND 179

with the principles of the dhammavinaya, which means that it has to be based on consensus. Achieving such a broad consensus in Thai Theravada Buddhism will require a great deal of effort and rethink­ing from all parties involved: the male sangha, the state and the Bud­dhist lay community.

Let me flnish by citing the intellectual monk Phra Phaisan Wisalo, who says: " ... once the female clerics in a new form practise pre­cepts [sfla] with similar rigour as bhikkhunfs, they will eventually be accepted as clerics [phra]. [It is not relevant whether these clerics in a new form will develop out of the maechis or will emerge sepa­rately.] Although they do not have the name 'bhikkhunf,' they will, nevertheless, become bhikkhunfs in the mind of the people [i'lJlhiifl'1J!N1h~'111'11'1l]"84

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NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Benjamin BROSE is a doctoral candidate at Stanford University. The article printed here stems from his dissertation which examines the relationship between religion and politics in medieval China and is titled Buddhist Empires: Sangha-state Relations during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

William CHU has received his doctorate in 2007 in Buddhist Studies from University of California, Los Angeles, with a dissertation on Yinshun (1906-2006), the interplay of Buddhist academe and Buddhist spirituality, and on normative debates in modern Chinese Buddhism. He has contributed to the translation of significant portions of the Madhyamagama and the Fayuan zhulin as part of the Numata Taish6 Project, and has published articles on Chinese apo­cryphal precepts, Yogacara in late imperial China, and the practice of "reverse meaning-matching" in the same period. His research interests also include Buddhist meditation, Buddhist epistemology, and their contemporary dialogues with Western philosophy and cognitive psychology.

Iohan ELVERSKOG is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University. He is the author and editor of five books including "Our Great Qing: The Mongols, Buddhism and the State in Late Imperial China" (2006) and "Biographies of Eminent Mongol Buddhists" (in the press). He is currently a Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study completing a book on the history of Buddhist-Muslim interaction in Inner Asia.

Iuhyung RHI is a Professor of Art History at Seoul National Uni­versity. He is a specialist on Buddhist art of early India (particularly Gandhara) and Korea. His latest works include "Bodhisattvas in

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29 • Number 1 • 2006 (2008)

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Gandharan Art: An Aspect of Mahayana in Gandharan Buddhism" (in Gandharan Buddhism, 2006) and "Identifying Several Visual Types in Gandharan Buddha Images" (forthcoming in· the Archives of Asian Art, 2008).

Martin SEEGER is University Lecturer in Thai Language and Culture at the University of Leeds, UK. He received his Ph.D. in Thai Studies from the University of Hamburg in 2005. His research has focused on modern Thai Buddhism, especially on life and work of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and Phni Payutto. Currently, he is working on the changing roles of women in Thai Buddhism and on Development Monks in the Northeast of Thailand.

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