Introduction

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Historical Overview

Nichiren Buddhism

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Historical Buddha

• Buddha = Shakyamuni = Gautama Buddha = Siddharta• Lived from ~ 560 to ~ 480 BCE• "Shakyamuni" means "sage of the Shakyas," Shakya being the

name of the tribe or clan to which his family belonged. • Family name was Gautama (Best Cow), first name Siddhartha

(Goal Achieved).• Son of King Shuddhodana. • Renounced secular life at age nineteen (twenty-nine) and

attained enlightenment at thirty (thirty-five). • In the fifty years (forty-five) from the time of his awakening until

he died (at the age of eighty), Shakyamuni continued to travel through much of India to disseminate his teachings.

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三蔵 Tripitaka - “Three Baskets”

• The Buddhist canonical texts are: 1. Sutra Pitaka - the Buddha's doctrinal teachings,

2. Vinaya Pitaka - rules of monastic discipline

3. Abhidharma Pitaka - commentaries on the sutras and vinaya

• 20 different versions of the Tripitaka were made

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Buddhist Councils

• The First Council to compile Shakyamuni's teachings– In the 480 BCE, the year of Shakyamuni death

– Cave of the Seven Leaves near Rajagriha

– Ananda recited the sutras and Upali recited the vinaya.

• The Second Council to settle interpretations of the teachings– In the 390 BCE, in Vaishali

• The Third Buddhist council to purify the Buddhist movement– In the 250 BCE, at Asokarama in Patiliputta

– Under the patronage of Emperor Asoka

– The pali canon (Tripitaka) was drafted.

• 18 Buddhist schools were active in India and Nepal at the end of the II century BCE.

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The Tripitaka Koreana

• The Tripitaka Koreana – thirty scribes completed the work in 1251– 81,258 woodblocks– weighs 280 ton– 30 years to read

• The woodblocks– cut in wintertime to prevent warping– soaked in sea water for three years to remove

every trace of resin– boiled in salt water to prevent insect

infestations and mould.• In 2000 finally digitalized

– after nine years of work– involved one hundred experts– cost of 8 million dollars

• Work is underway to transfer the characters onto copper plates

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The Tripitaka Koreana Storage

• Built in 1398 at Haeinsa temple• The largest wooden storage complex in the

world• Design true wonder

– Each wall has an upper and lower windows different in size

– Naturally good ventilation• Mud walls and floor maintain temperature• Several layers of charcoal, salt and limestone

beneath the floors which maintain humidity level

• Attempt to transfer the woodblocks to a modern cement storehouse in the 1960s failed. Wood started to rot.

• Many things are not fully understood.– Mysteriously, insects and animals do not approach

the complex.– Since the founding of Haeinsa temple, there have

been seven fires. The Tripitaka Koreana and the storage buildings have never been burned or damaged.

UNESCO World Heritage (http://whc.unesco.org/)

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Kumarajiva (344 - 413)

• Kumarajiva– translated 98 sutras and

essays from Sanskrit to Chinese

– 52 are available today

• The best translations of the sutras in classic Chinese– Excellent linguistic skills– Very good understanding

of the concepts

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Dependent Origination, Non-self and Non-Substantiality

• Any phenomenon “exists” only because of the “existence” of other phenomena (Dependent Origination) in a complex web of cause and effect covering past, present and future.

• Because all things are thus conditioned and transient (Non-Substantiality), they have no real independent identity (Non-Self) and the perception of a constant “self” is an illusion.

------------• “You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters

are ever flowing on to you.”– Heraclitus, Greek philosopher (540 BC - 480 BC), On the Universe

• No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man

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The Four Noble Truths

1. There is suffering (birth, aging, death, separation)

2. There is the origin of suffering, which is attachment to desire

3. There is the cessation of suffering

4. There is the way out of suffering - The Noble Eightfold Path:– right views (understanding)– right thinking (aspiration)– right speech– right action

– right way of life– right endeavour (effort)– right mindfulness– right meditation (concentration).

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Theravada School

• Theravada = Teaching of the Elders • School formed in India approx. one hundred years

after Shakyamuni's death• Conservative, emphasizing strict adherence to the

established precepts and a literal interpretation of doctrine as stated in the Pali Tripitaka.

• Introduced to Sri Lanka, where it developed and spread to other parts of South and Southeast Asia.

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Theravada Believer

• Aims at personal awakening.• Applies a strict control on himself cancelling the

influence of desires as a source of sufferings.• Desires will disappear temporarily with the death and

definitively with the conclusion of the cycle of reborn and reaching the nirvana

• Only Shakyamuni could aspire to the status of Buddhahood.

• Only monks can reach the status of arhat (one worthy of respect) and the nirvana.

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Mahayana School

• Mahayana = The Great Vehicle• Around the end of the first century BCE a new Buddhist

movement arose. • Its adherents called it Mahayana, indicating a teaching that can

serve as a vehicle to carry a great number of people to a level of enlightenment equal to that of the Buddha.

• The new ideas where written in Sanskrit in contrast with the pali used in the Tripitaka of the Theravada tradition.

• Mahayana school emphasizes altruistic practice (called the bodhisattva practice) as a means to attain enlightenment for oneself and help others attain it as well.

• Mahayana school excludes monks, pratyekabuddha, women and evil people from attaining enlightenment.

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Mahayana Schools

• Before II century - Madhyamika period– Madhyamika (Nagarjuna teachings on Wisdom Sutra)– Flower Garland– Pure Land of Amida Buddha– Zen (Vimalakirti sutra)

• Betwenn II and IV century - Vijnanavada period– Yogochara (Asaga and Vasunbandhu own teachings)– Tíen-tái (Tíen-tái teachings on Nirvana sutra)– Zen (Lankavatara sutra)

• From IV century - Mahavairochana period (exoteric)– Pure Word (Mahavairochana and Diamond Crown sutras) based on

mantra, muda and mandala

• From XIII century - Nichiren Daishonin (1222 - 1282)– Teachings based on Lotus sutra

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Shakyamuni’s Last teachings and Words

Last 8 years of Shakyamuni’s teachings - Lotus Sutra– All human beings have a potential for the enlightenment – Sufferings come from the delusion about life, which is

eternal

…. he calmly lay down and spoke his last words. • "You must not think that your teacher's words are not

here any more, or that you are left without a teacher. The teachings and precepts I have expounded to you shall be your teacher."

• His final words: "Decay is inherent in all composite things. Work out your salvation with diligence."

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Historical Overview - End