Tan Bee Leng - The Conception of 'Nien-fo' in the Ching'Tu-shih-i-lun

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1-1-1979

The Conception of "nien-fo" in the Ching-t'u-shih-i-lun (Treatise on the Ten Doubts Concerning the

Pure Land)Bee Leng Tan

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Recommended CitationTan, Bee Leng, "The Conception of "nien-fo" in the Ching-t'u-shih-i-lun (Treatise on the Ten Doubts Concerning the Pure Land)"(1979). Open Access Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2751.http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/2751

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,

The Concept.ion o£ . " ~ - ~ " in the Ching

t . 'u-shih-i- lun(Treat. ise on t.he Ten Doubt.s

Concerning the Pure Land)

.0. . . • •• a.

Bee Leng T ~ B.A.

•A Thesis

Submit .t .ed t.o t.heSchool of Graduate Studies

in Par t i a l Fulfillment. of the Requirements

for the Degree

Mast.er o£ Art.s

McMast.er Universft::r .

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THE CO:O<CEP'l'ION' OF . " ~ _ ~ " IN THE CHING-T'U-SHIH-..

I.ImL(TREATISE ON THE TEN DOUBTS CONCERNING THE PURE

LAND).

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, - °oL\STER OF ARTS· (1979)

R e l ~ & i o u s Studies -4Il

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McMa.ter Univera! t:rBud.lton, Ontar io

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T;ITLE:

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SUPERVISOR:

The Conc;:eption ot " ~ - . ! 2 . "in the Ching-t 'u-shih-i- lun

(Treatise on the Ten Doubts,C o n c e r n i n ~ the Pure Land)

- Bee Leng Tnn, B.A.

Dr. Graeme MacQueen

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NIDIBER OF PAGES:, iv , 122.

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-'- - - ~ . _ ~ - - - : ' - - - - - - _ . -

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This t h ~ s i s ~ X D J D i n ~ a th e c o n c ~ p t i o n ot " ~ ! ! ? ' ..' .

( l i t ! r a l iy , " th ink ing ot the Buddha"}.in t he Ch i ng - t'u - sh i h- .

i-1UD, an' ~ i g h t h c ~ n t u r y C h i n ~ s ~ t ' ~ x t on t h Bud<Uia Amitiibha

a n d ~ s W ~ s t ~ r n P u r ~ Land.

~ - ! ! ? haa a l _ y s been an impor tan t pa r t o t ~ r e l i . s i o u ap r a c t i c ~ fo r many d i t f ~ r e n t school s o f Buddhism in China, . ~ ~ e c i a l l yfo r the T ' i ~ n - t ' a i and P u r ~ ~ schools . In ~ ' i e n - t ' a i Buddhism,

th e ~ - ! ! ? samiidhi is c o n s i d e r e ~ as a means t o . a ~ c o m p l i s hconcen tra t ion and - in s igh t ; it i s bu t o n among the various methods

o f m e d ~ t a t i o n . Considered as s u c ~ ,t h a t sa lvat ion i s achieved t h r ~

. .the ~ - ! ! ? prac t ice implies

the p ~ a c t i t i o n e r ' s own d i l i gen t

•

cu l t iva t ion o f mind. On the other hand, th e Pure Land 'n ien- to

- .:\ - -~ d h i . i s es sen t ia l ly devout invocat ion o f tho name of Amitiibha

Buddha. N i e n - ~ as invocat ion emphasizes sa lvat ion ds an ac t · o f

the Great Comp,;ssion o f .uni t abha . The concern of th i s the: ; is i s• .

to c la ri f y th e .l i nk betw:en t h e s e . ~ f u n d a m e n t a l meanings o f ~ to in the contex t o f one p a rt ic u la r te x t in which both forma o r

the prac t i ce appear .,

The f i r s t chapter gives an overview of the T ' i en - t ' a i

and Pure Land prac t i ces of ~ - ?ased upon a care fu l ana lys i s

o f re levant passages taken f ...om s t a n ~ o r k ; S of ~ h two schools .

The second chapt er unde rt ake s a t ho rough examina ti on

o f the ~ - f : ! . concept in the Chin5- t ' u - "h ih - i - l un .

The thes i s concludes V i th a look ' a t the r e l a t i onsh ip

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.-be t _ en the l D ~ t a t i o D A 1 . and d ~ v o t i o n a l . paths to salvat ion in

Chinese Buddhi_ . The two p3ths- are. essen t ia l ly re l a t ed . · expressing

two aspee ts o£ the bodhisat tVa path .

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TABLE Oi; CONTENTS

-A C X N O ~ \ iv

I ~ " " r R O D U C T I O N : : : 1" .

CllAPTER ONE " ~ _ ~ " no THE T'IEN'-T'AI AND PURE LAND

SCHOOlS : 5

CllAPTER TwO "NIEN_FO" IN THE CHING-T'U.:.SHIH-I-LUN • • • • • • • • • • • 30•

CONCLUSION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • "• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 70

TRANSLATION CHING-T'U-SHIH-r-LUN(TREATISE OS THE TEN DOUBTS•

CONCERNING THE PURE LAND) ••• _ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ".76

•"FOOTNOTES • • • • • • • • • • ; • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • "107

BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • "• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ; • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 120{ " ,

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,

...

I thank Dr. Graeme 1·:acQueen and" Dr. K oichi Shinohara

for t h e i r i n v a l u a b l ~ ass i s t ance a n ~ p e r s o n a l concern fo r

the success fu l c o ~ l e t i o n o f th i s t h e s i s ~ . n r . Jan Yan-hua

for h is helpfu l s u g g e s t ~ o n s •

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IYfRODUCTIC:\ •

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TIle aim o f t h i s paper i s t o d i s c u s s t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

o f t h e ~ - f o ( ~ 1 $ ) c o n c e P t i n one p a r t i c u l a r t e x t b e l o n ; i n g to

t h e Chi ne se Bu dd hi st t r a d i t i o n . namely t h e C h i n ~ - t ' u - s h i h - i - l u n

l o r T r e a t i s e on t h e Ten Doubts C o n c e r n i n ~ t h e

Pure Land.1which i s a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e T ' i e n - t ' a i master Chih- i

...

(" i . 538-597) . The term ~ - f o u s u " l l y r e q u i r e s the t r a n s l a t i o n s ,

" n U d d h ~ - r e c o l l e c t i o n f l t "lJuddha-medi"tation" ~ ItBuddha-reci ta t ion" .

I t i s , t h u s , a form o f r e l i ; i o u s p r a c t i c e which t " k e s place i n a

r e l a t i o n s h i p with t h e Dnddha. ~ b a t i s t h e meanin; o f t h i s

r e l a t i o n s h i p ? In Chinese,Buddhism t h i s r e l " t i o n s h i p has been

var ious ly conce ived . but we may note tw o dominant t rends . Fir s t ,

there nre those who,' e m p h a s i z i n ~ the wisdo'i1 a t t r iuu t e o f the

Duddha, tend to i n t e r p T e t the r e l " ti o n s h i p i n terms of mind(hsin

;<.:.,) .The Dud,lh" i s s a i d to have a t t " i n e d wisdom while deep i n

m c d i t a ' t . i o n . ~ i n c e i .t is so , the Duddhist path c.ould b e conceived,

a s a path o f m e d i t a t i o n . In l).is wisdom, t h e Duddha tenches t h a t

man's l!asic problem i s t h e I:li.nd t h a t c o n t i n u o u s l y c l i n ; s t o t h a t

-..... . ....



2 •

.which is known as ' : ego"<- t t ) . Therei"ore. t1"U-e" l i b e r a t i on is

cu t t i ng through t ha t bas i c i" ixation and it.is by th e power.oi"

~ i s d o m t h a t the mind is ab le to i"ree i t se l i" from at t achment .

For such i"ollowers oi" th e wisdom t ra d it io n . r e la ti n g .t o the

Duddha means knowing one ' s own mind. which one bas in ofteseli"

a l l the t ime . It

one _ ~ r k s on the

m';ans ,y:s mind is the path and in medi ta t ion

mind to awaken it to see fo r i t s el i" the t ru th

.'

which the Buddha t eaches i n b is "-i.sdom. l Ience. t he re i s na tu r a l ly

a need i"or grea t emphasis on th e p r a c t i ~ e o f medi ta t ion . One

such s e c t which ta ke s m edita tio n and wisdom to be the two p i l l a r s,

o f Buddhist prac t i ce i s the T ' i en - t ' a i s c h o o ~ with its very

comprehensive s ys tem o f-mi nd cu l t iva t ion known as ~ - k u a n ( ~~ t ) o r ' c e s s a t i o n and con templa t ion . On the o the r hand, there

a re those who, e ~ p h a s i z i n s t ~ c o m p a s s i o n a t t r i bu t e o f the Buddha,

tend to i n t e r p r e t the r e l a t i om;h ip i n t e rms of f a i t h ( ~ ' / f a l .In h is compassion, the Cudelha has vowed to save a l l suf fe r ing

beings . The e I: lphasi s in th i s case i s always .on the f a i th fu lnes s ,

the t r u s twor th ines s , the r e l i ab i l i t y of· the Buddha who wil l not

abandon any s u f f e r i n ~ being . For such fol lowers of th e d ev otio na l

t r a d i t i on , r e l a t i n ~ to the l luddha means r e s o l v i n ~ to have complete

fa i th in the power o f the bodh isa t tva ' s vows anel to al low h imse l f

to he saved by the I ludr lha. The l u re Land school i s a c lass i c

r e p r e s e n t ~ t i v e of devot ional Buddhism.

Since the ~ - . ! 2 prac t i ce has its r oo t s in both the

~ e c l i t a t i o n nnd d e v o t i o ~ " l t r ad i t ions o f Buddhism, th e term i t s e l f ,

nicn-ro , has come to re f er sometime to devout - invocat ion o f the- -



:so

name o f . ~ ~ 3 b h a tuddha, a ~ 3 o t h e r ~ i m e s ~ m e n ~ 3 1 " c o n ~ ~ m p l a ~ i o no f

a s

.\mi. t a b h a . ".I'hen n i e n - f o is p r a e t i s e d a s mental contemplat ion,

i i t h e T ' i e n - t ~ s e b o o l , it is u n d e r s t o ~ d a s a means

•

to accomplish c o n c e n t r a t i o n ~ n i n s i g h t . Considered a s s u c h , t h e

n i e n - f o p r a c t i c e i m p l i e s t h a ~ s a l v a t i o n i s t h e . o u t c o c e o f t h e-n

p r a c ~ t ~ e r ' s d i li g e n t c u l ti v a ti o n o f c l n d . On t h e o t h e r h ~ n d ,~ - f ~ a s ~ o c a t i o n , which i s t h e c e n t r a l form o f p r a c t i c e i n

t h e Pure Land! school , eophasizes t h a t s a l v a t i o n t a k e s p l a c e i n aIwith t h e lluddha , ~ i t 3 b h a t h a t i s ~ n t i r e l y dependent

on Amitabha's s a v i n ~ a c t i o n . Consider ing t h a t n i e n - f o has t h i s- - - . -dual c o n n o t a t i o n it becomes ~ o r ~ h ~ h i l e to ask ~ h q u e s t i o n

whether , d u r i n ~ i t s v a r i o u s phases o f development i n Chinese

B u d ~ h i s m , t h e r e has been drawn a d i v i d i n g l i n e between m e d i t a t i v e

~ - ! £ . ~ n invocat ive ~ - ! . 2 . or whether t h t rad i t ion 016 0.

whole has t r ied to sec them as one so tha t on c loser examinat ion,•

we cannot s e p a r a t e them. I t i s the purpose o f the p r e s c n t paper

to ~ d d r c s s th i s i n t r i ~ u i n ~ quest ion to the C h i n ~ - t ' u - S h i h - i - r u n ,•

i n which both forms o f ~ - f o p r a c t ~ c e appear •...

It i s the t h e s i s o f t h i s paper t h n t the C h i n : : - t ' u - s h i h -

"i- lun, when it usC's the term ~ - r o , docs not want to tel-l the

reader tha t medi ta t i ve n i e n - ~ is e s s en t i a l l y d i f f e r en t frOID

i n v o c a t i v e ~ - . ! 2 . ; it wa.nts. ~ t e l l the reo.der t h n t " l t h o u ~ h the

two tncnnin.t;'s :\rc distin;::::uishoblc, invocat ion or r c c i t . ~ t i o n cannot

be abst ro .c ted front medito.t ion. The i d e a tho.t one could d i s c u s s

invocn.tiv'c ~ - wi thaut a n ~ · reference to mecli t a t i ve. ~ - f o. i s forei: ;n t o th is . p a r t i c u l a r t e x t . At., t h e very most "'e could

s a y t h a t t h " Chinu: :" t 'u-shih- i- lun i s s e e i n g them a s t " o s i d e s o f



4.

o n e r e l ~ t i o n s h i p . On th e b as is o r s u c h de tu i l ed s t u d y o f the

nien- fo ' c o n c e p t in th e C h i n ~ - t ' u - s h i h - i - l u n , a n a t t e m p t . ~ l l · b e--.m3de to r e f l e c t upon y e t ~ n o t h e r ' q u e s t i o n c e n t r ~ l to C h i n e s e

G u o d h i ~ ~ , n a ~ e l y ~ e t h e r these t ~ concept ions o f ~ - i nd i ca t e

t h ~ t the re a re , in C h i n e s e ~ U d . o h i S I l l , tw o separa te pa ths to

sa l va t i on , o r w h e t h e r t h e ~ e i s bu t a s i n ~ l e p a t h ?

T h i s p a p e r wi l l c on sis t o f the ? r e s e n t ' i n t r o d u c t ~ o n ,

th e oain body in t ~ chapters a n d a conclus ion . Th e f i r s t c h ~ p t e rwi l l ~ i v e a b r i e f sketch o f t h e . T ' i e n - t ' a i an d P u r e Land

.. •u n d e r s t a n d i n ~ of ~ - b a s e d upon ca r e fu l ana lys i s o f re le va nt

p a s s a ~ e s t a k e n from s t andard w o r k s of the tw o schoo l s . The s e c o n d. .chapter wi l l conta in a d e ta il ed a n a ly s is o f the ~ - concep t ,

in the Chins:-t '"u-shih- i - lun. A n ~ ~ in the. c o n c l u s i o n ~ an at tempt

w i ~ l be made t o d iscuss t h e n ~ t u r e of th e r e la t ionship b e t w e e n

r e l i ~ i o u s fn ith on the one hand and Cuddhist c c d i t a ~ i o n and

p h i l o s o p h y on t h e o the r . Th e t he s i s work wi l l o.lso include an

Zn;:::lish t r o . n s l o . t i o n of t h e C h i n c : - t ' U - S h i h - i - l u n ~ . 2

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. •.CHAPTER ONE

"NJ:EN-FO" IN '!'HE T'IEN-T ' l l AND PURE LAND SCHOOLS_. .

'. X i . e n . - ~ in the T ' ien - t . ' a i sehoo l .

rere w; wi l l discUSs tWo'.

o f four met.hods·of eul t . ivat ion

.whieh Chih - i , the Great Dh,= ~ ; a s t e r . . . r n o j ,s r e s p o ~ S ± b l e fo r th e

sys t ema t i za t i on o f T ' r ~ n - t ' a ! . Q o c t r ~ e s and medi ta t ion , expounds

i n h is M o - ~ O - e h i h - k u a n ( . r f : " i ~ :.± ~ ) ' ~ e ' i Y ' C h ' i m l 1 : - h s l n ~ - ~ n - ~('* H';.. ~ ~ Constant ly Walkins: Samadhi a n ' ~ h ' a n ~ t s o - = n - ~ •

.,( -:fi 1: . = . . *o r Constant.:4' ~ t t i ng Samadhi . · Doth t,hese met.hods

ent .a i l some fOrt:! o f ~ . ! E . . pract . ice./ ~ '.. .

The main T' ien- t · ' a i .t ~ x t .

from w hic h we vi . l l borrow. ..n : at .e r ia l s i f' - Chi.h-i .....' t i " . . . , ~ . . . . : : = i : . : h : : . · -_k:,:U==..., In addi t i o ; , r we. wil l

• make· ~ s of t . ~ ~ othe T ' ien - t . ' a i text . s , t.he T ' u n ~ - m e n ~ - c h i h - k u a n(j .l!=. ~ ~ 4 a n d t ~ : l " U ~ f " r i l t - P i ~ , ; - n i e n - · f . o - m e n ( ~ , 1 t i1i-fM. \ I t . h o ~ l ; h - · t h e former.,writ1.:,!;'? a re genuine' works of Chih- . i , t.he. ,

. l a s t is s u s p e c t , ' T ~ a d i t i o n a t t r i bu t e s th e W U - f a n ~ - p i e n - n i e n - r o ~ m e n:,. . -

~ t Chih- i 'but m o d ~ r ~ scholar s a re. . - . .

o f the opinion t h a t it i s ' no t . - .'" .

T ' i e n - t ' a i t r a d i ~ i o n r e v e r e ~is

the

work. l ' ieverthc1.ess, .s ince· th e

•ext. as Chih - i ' s ....e lIIlly regurd it as one representa t ive o f

"

l a t e r .T ' i e n - t ' a i t h O ~ h t : In add t t i on to the three T'ien-t .Yai

•'.

text .s we ~ ~ l l look a t t.wo su t r aa , namely ~ h P a n - e h o u ~ s n n - m e i - c h i n ~

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Accordinl; tb Chih-i , the method o£ doing the Constant ly

by Lokar;Ucsa' in 178 .'I..I>. ,: ' nnd t h Wen-shu-shih;"li-so-shuo-chinlli. - J - ~ . • •

(x. t, Jr.1 H , - t i . ~ 7 . M . ~ . ~ s t ransl l l ted b ! " ~ I a n - t '1)-lo-hsien

, ,< !i 1t ~ c l . f l in ~ A.D.

(

Walking Samadhi. comes £rom the, Pan-cliou-san-cei-chins which

de'Scribes th: ; snmadhi practicCl< cal led oan-chou-san-mei, and th;:ot o£.. - ----doing· the Constant ly Si t t ing Sacadhi eomes £rom the two sutras

cal led the. ~ e n - s h u - s h i h - l i ~ s o ~ s b u o - c h i n ~ and the ~ e n - s h u - s h i h - l i -

- .',

i-hsinc;-snn-meiC - {:;. ;. . 1 3 ; ( ~ ' o r One l ' r ac t ice S " m a d h i ~_ _ _ l . l

',.

The discussion will. be div,.ided into" three sect ions:

i ) I : ! ! ! . - ~ - ~ c u ~ i .i i ) ! - h s i n c ; ~ s a ~ - ~ .i i i ) C h ' a n g - h s i n ~ - s a n - ~ e i ;:ond c h l a n ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ .

P n n - c h o u - ~ a n - m e i .- - --- - - - -. '

/ -.

The

on the'body of the Buddha. I f successful ly. . . '

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ i s a ,method of viewin; Amitabha.

. . .... .--requi res the prac t i t ioner to engage. in n i e ~ f o for ' a

days, medit : : ' t ingintent ly o the ~ m of- ,~ . . .

pract ice

, . s p e c ~ number of

Amit;bha bs well as

pract ised, it would make the Duddh;:o appear b efo re th e e y of the

prac t i t ioner . To quote from the ~ a n - c h o u - s a n - m e i - c h i n ~ ,

wi ll in st an tl y

Buddhas o£ the

,.

"lIe who upholdSo< th i s method 'o f pract ice

;:ottain s;:OmDdhi, and the. ~

present wil l a l l be•

st;:onding be£ore him. I f there be • .

bhiksu or bhiksun !, upa saki Or upasika. .who pract ises according to the method,

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,and u j l h o l ~ the comple'te and. en t i r e s e t

• . ... If

of : p r e ~ e ; p t s and", stay-inE; i n one sphe re ,

p r a c t i s e s ( ! ! ! . ~ >., the ' ; ,\ali t i bha ~ Duddha ~ th e U'estern Land- nil present ly

become manif:est • • •That Duddha l=d , which

is m y r ~ a d s of. B U d d h a - l ~ d s away f:rom

he re , is ca l l ed ~ - ! ! ! 2 - ! ! ( S JfJlE ).Wi th one mind, p rac t i s e nien on it f:or

'. "

ei"ther one day, and one niE;ht o r seven

days and seven n igh t s . Af:ter seven days

have passed he wi l l see it . . . .. 'What

method should o n uphold so t h a t one may

ge t to be born in to the lap d? ' The Duddha

Amitabha informs , 'As fo r desir inE; to come

and be born: If: a person should th ink

(n ien) o f my name un in te r rup ted ly he wi l l

then ge t to come and be bo rn . ' The Duddha

says , 'Decause one thicl<s i n t e n t l Y C ~ )

one gets to be r eborn . I ll e should cons tan t ly

th inkC'$ )o f the Buddha-b'ody as having

t h i r ty - two s i! ;ns and e ighty k inds o f marks,

with numerous l i o h t ra ys s hin in g for th

\

"

br igh t l y and

incomparably

br i ' l l i an t l y , as being

. h d . h t ,, 8upr:q; t an s tr tu .g ' , ' •

From th e above quote we l ea rn th at r eb ir th i s o b t a i ~ e d

by thiru<ing u n in te rr up te d ly o f the Buddha 's name. In t e res t ing ly ,

it is th e " , o r d , , , ~ , , C ± ' land no t " ch ' eng"C* i t ) t h a t the su t r a

as soc i a t e s with th e Buddha 's name. As fo r th e Buddha 's name, one

could th ink o f h is name e i t h e r voca l l y o r menta l ly or both . This

su t ra emphasizes the menta l aspec t o f the prac t i ce . n , i s impl ies

"'h a t Pure Land r eb i r t h i s o b ~ a i n e d by medi ta t ion .

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Documents

Tan Bee Leng - The Conception of 'Nien-fo' in the Ching'Tu-shih-i-lun