By Morten Schlütter, Stephen F. Teiser
The Platform Sutra includes a variety of very important Chan/Zen Buddhist teachings. imagined to include the autobiography and sermons of Huineng (638--713), the mythical 6th Patriarch of Chan, the sutra has been well known between monastics and the trained elite for hundreds of years. the 1st examine of its variety in English, this quantity bargains essays that introduce the background and ideas of the sutra to a common viewers and interpret its practices. prime experts on Buddhism talk about the text's ancient historical past and its vaunted legacy in chinese language tradition.
Incorporating fresh scholarship and concept, chapters comprise an outline of chinese language Buddhism, the the most important function of the Platform Sutra in the Chan culture, and the dynamics of Huineng's biography. They probe the sutra's key philosophical arguments, its paradoxical teachings approximately transmission, and its place on ordination and different associations. The booklet contains a personality word list and vast bibliography, with invaluable references for college kids, normal readers, and experts all through. The editors and participants are one of the most dear students within the examine of Buddhism, they usually determine where of the Platform Sutra within the broader context of chinese language idea, establishing the textual content to all readers attracted to Asian tradition, literature, spirituality, and religion.
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Extra info for Readings of the Platform Sutra (Columbia Readings of Buddhist Literature)
Example text
The account is meant to promote Baolin Monastery at Caoqi, where Huineng supposedly taught. For our purposes, the Biography of the Great Teacher of Caoqi demonstrates the important variations in the biography of Huineng and the influence of local Buddhist politics on the development of the emerging Chan tradition. The Caoqi biography emphasizes the role of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra (not the Diamond Sūtra), and there is no mention of a poetry contest or Shenxiu. The rest of the account is about the relationship of Baolin Monastery and its master, Huineng, with the imperial court.
Teiser and Jacqueline I. , Readings of the Lotus Sūtra, Columbia Readings of Buddhist Literature (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009). For an explication of Yogācāra, partly informed by the Japanese tradition, see Tagawa Shun’ei, Living Yogacara: An Introduction to Consciousness-Only Buddhism (Somerville, MA: Wisdom, 2009). See Francis. H. Cook, Hua-yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra, Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions (University Park: Pennsylvania State Univer- 10/28/11 1:05 PM introduction: the platform sūtra , buddhism, and chinese religion 23 21.
On the development of encounter dialogue, see John R. McRae, “The Antecedents of Encounter Dialogue in Chinese Ch’an Buddhism,” in The Kōan, 46–74. See Morten Schlütter, “Transmission and Enlightenment in Chan Buddhism Seen Through the Platform Sūtra (Liuzu tanjing),” Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 20 (2007): 379–410. 10/28/11 1:05 PM 2 the figure of huineng JO H N JO R GE N SEN T he biography of Huineng offered in the Platform Sūtra is a compelling story of a hero who perseveres against great odds.