Influence of Eastern Buddhism and Chinese Poetry

JPN 375 Midterm

Shuyan (Fiona) Li

1. The Developing Path of Buddha: Doctrine VS Zen

Buddhism is one of the three greatest religions in the world. Originating from Ancient India in approximately 6th Century BCE, it had been spread widely along the Silk Roads, and brought about immeasurable influence within the history and development of China. There are two major categories of Buddhism in China: The Tiantai School (The Lotus School) and School of Chan (The Platform Sutra). The two sects applied their unique philosophies and practices to achieve the Buddha Path.

The Tiantai School, founded by the great Chinese monk Zhiyi (538-597) on the Tiantai Mountain, is categorized as School of Doctrine. The basic scripture of the school is the Lotus of the Wonderful Law, which is said to be the last but most valuable teaching from the World-Honored One, for it represents the culmination of all his teachings before his final translation into nirvana. According to Schools of Buddhist Doctrine, it illustrates “(1) the fulfillment of successive stages in the Buddha’s teaching in the One Great Vehicle; (2) the principle of accommodation or expedient means and the parables used for this comprehension; (3) the revelation of Sakyamuni, the human Buddha, as identical with the ageless Eternal Buddha; (4) the Lotus Sutra itself as embodying the Buddha’s truth; (5) the salvation of women; and (6) the personification of expedient means in the popular Bodhisattva of Compassion or Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin”. (The Lotus School, P446) Therefore, the Lotus Sutra is also regarded as Upaya, guiding all ten realms along the Buddhist Paths and attain Buddhahood more conveniently. This especially holds true for women and non-human beings. It is claimed that “because a woman’s body is soiled and defiled”, it cannot become “a vessel for the Law” (The Daughter of the Dragon King, P454), not to mention a woman from the four lowest realms. But with the Lotus Sutra she is able to proceed to the Spotless World of the South quickly, as suggested in the parable “The Daughter of the Dragon King”.

The founder of the Tiantai School, Zhiyi, based on his learning from his teacher, a northerner called Huisi as well as his several years of self-practicing, combined both contemplative and philosophical approaches and applied them to the Tiantai School. As a result, the Tiantai School laid great emphasis on meditative practice and centered around the principle of the Perfectly Harmonious Threefold Truth – Emptiness, Tentativeness, and the Mean (The Lotus School, P445): All phenomena are empty of self-nature; they exist provisionally from a worldly perspective; and they are both empty of existence and exist provisionally at once. Through calming and contemplation, all the realms are able to see through the illusions of the world and perceive the ultimate truth of Buddhism