20110716 heart sutra and Satyasiddhi School

Updated Mar 2010

加拿大佛教會湛山精舍　

禪修學佛入門 Introduction to

Buddhism and Meditation2011/07/16

Buddhist Association of CanadaCham Shan Temple

Updated Mar 2010

Buddhist Association of CanadaCham Shan Temple

ná mó fó tuó南無佛陀

Namo Buddha

ná mó dá mó 南無達摩

Namo Dharma

ná mó sēng qié南無僧伽

Namo Sangha

加拿大佛教會 © 2006 Buddhist Association of Canada

Buddhist Association of Canada

1 Take refuge in the Three Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

皈依佛法僧 ( 三寶 )2 Earnestly cultivate the Three Perfections of

Morality, Calmness, and Wisdom. 勤修戒定慧 ( 三學 )3 Shed the Three Poisons of Greed, Anger and

Delusion. 息滅貪瞋癡 ( 三毒 )4 Purify the Three Karmas of Action, Speech

and Thought. 清淨身口意 ( 三業 )

Buddhist Practice and Cultivation in Four Lines



Satyasiddhi School

成實宗



• This school is based upon the Satyasiddhi Sastra [成實論 ] by Harivarman (4th century A.D.) translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva (5th century).

• This School flourished during the six-Dynasty and T'ang Dynasty (5th & 6th century).

• The main teaching of this school is to look upon the cosmos in realms:

o the worldly realm and the supreme realm.

• A disciple of this school has to meditate on the unreality of self and the unreality of things in order to achieve Nirvana.



Name

Cheng-shih [ 成實 ] was translated from Sanskrit word 'Satyasiddhi', which was the short form of a shastra written by Harivarman called 'Satyasiddhi Shastra'. The sect was named after the shastra, as it was the principal text of this sect. In Chinese, 'Cheng' means 'establishment' and 'Shih' means 'truth'. The name of the text is derived from the claim that it emphasizes the true meaning of the shastra.



Development

The shastra was translated in Chinese by Kumarajiva. His followers studied it and established as a sect. The sect was popular in Six Dynasties till Tang Dynasty.

Principal Text

Satyasiddhi Shastra is the principal text, written by Harivarman in the 3rd century. The shastra was widely studied from the time of its translation in Chinese by Kumarajiva in early 5th century.



Main Doctrines

This sect is regarded as the most liberal amongst Hinayana sects. It expounded the views on the emptiness of 'self' and 'Dharma', which was unique and spectacular by that time.

Two-Truth or Two-Emptiness TheoryThere are 2 main truths:1. Contemplating the emptiness of Five Skandhas,

we should not hold the views of self, others, or sentient beings as a real and concrete entity.

2. Contemplating the emptiness of all Dharmas derived from Five Skandhas, we should understand these are just names given or titles adopted by us, but their own entities.

If all Dharmas and human beings are empty in nature, all the existence and phenomena will be reverted to the state of Nirvana the ultimate truth of Hinayana



Two-Obstruction or Two-Hindrance TheoryThere are 2 kinds of obstructions that hinder us from

Enlightenment:1. The obstruction by afflictions -- it is equivalent

to the delusion of the views and thought. The obstruction can be removed by contemplating the emptiness of self and others.

2. The obstruction by knowledge -- the worldly knowledge is the accumulation of our experiences in the past, which is conditional.

That means it is not universally true. It may lead many people to become more subjective, thus hinder us from Enlightenment. The obstruction can be removed by contemplating the emptiness of Dharmas.



Fruition upon cultivation

This sect lists 28 levels of fruition in the course of cultivation. The highest level is Arhatship. Thus the sect is regarded as Hinayana, though its doctrines are close to Mahayana, particularly the Theory of the Emptiness of Dharma.As an Arhat, the practitioner enters in the state of Non-residual Nirvana, which transcends the Three Realms and, of course, liberate from reincarnation. However, amongst the Ten Realms, Arhat is inferior to Bodhisattva and Buddha. The practitioner has to give back Hinayana and set goal to Mahayana and One Vehicle. During the attainment of the Supreme Enlightenment in Buddhahood, all will be empty, including Samsara , Nirvana, and even Buddhahood and emptiness itself.



Esoteric Buddhism in ChinaEsoteric teachings followed the same route into northern China as Buddhism itself, arriving via the Silk Road sometime during the first half of the 7th century, during the Tang Dynasty. Esoteric Mantranaya practices arrived from India just as Buddhism was reaching its zenith in China, and received sanction from the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. During this time, three great masters came from India to China: Śubhakarasiṃha善無畏 , Vajrabodhi金剛智 , and Amoghavajra不空 . These three masters brought the esoteric teachings to their height of popularity in China. During this era, the two main source texts were the Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi Tantra大瑜伽續 , and the Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra 大日經金剛頂經 . Traditions in the Sinosphere still exist for these teachings, and they more or less share the same doctrines as Shingon, with many of its students themselves traveling to Japan to be given transmission at Mount Koya.



Chinese Esoteric BuddhismEsoteric traditions in China are similar in teachings to the Japanese Shingon school, though the number of practitioners was greatly reduced, due in part of the persecution of Buddhists under Emperor Wuzong of Tang, nearly wiping out most of the Chinese Esoteric Buddhist lineage. In China and countries with large Chinese populations such as Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism is commonly referred as Tángmì ( 唐密 ) "Tang Dynasty Secret Buddhism," or Hànchuánmìzōng ( 漢傳密宗 ) "Secret Buddhism of the Han Transmission" (Hànmì 漢密 for short), or Dōngmì ( 東密 ) "Eastern Secret Buddhism." In a more general sense, the Chinese term Mìzōng ( 密宗 ) "The Secret Way", is the most popular term used when referring to any form of Esoteric Buddhism. These traditions more or less share the same doctrines as the Shingon school, with many of its students themselves traveling to Japan to be given transmission at Mount Koya.According to Master Hsuan Hua, the most popular example of esoteric teachings still practiced in many Zen monasteries of East Asia, is the Śūraṅgama Sūtra 楞严经 and its dhāraṇī (Sitātapatroṣṇīṣa Dhāraṇī), along with the Great Compassion Dharani (Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāranī), with its 42 Hands and Eyes Mantras.



Different stages of development of Buddhist Tantra :

1. Mantrayana was developed during the fourth century. It enriched Buddhism by the appurtenances of magical tradition for enlightenment. Many mantras, mudras, deities and mandalas were introduced randomly into Buddhism. 2. Vajrayana was developed during the middle of the eighth century. All previous teachings were systematized and grouped with the system of Five Tathagatas.

3. Kalacakra was developed during the tenth century. Kalacakra emphasizes astrology and syncretism.



Key Features of Vajrayana

1. Ritual2. Goal and Motivation3. Upaya – Skillful Mean4. Two Truths Doctrine5. Vows and Behaviour6. Esoteric Transmission – Directly between master and student



Catergories of Tantra

I. Action Tantra (Kriya-Tantra) Deities are visualized as external. Rituals and ceremonies are the main methods. Susiddhi Sutra is the main text. Methods used include mantras, seals, cleaning

environment and ownself.

II. Performance Tantra (Carya_Tantra) Deities are identical as adept. Rituals and internal methods are used, but rituals

are being used more than internal methods. The training of "Body tantric, oral tantric, and mind tantric in harmony" is emphasized. Mahavairocana Sutra is the main text.

III. Yoga Tantra Power of deities are recognized as arisen from non-duality. Rituals and internal

methods are equally emphasized.



IV. Highest Yoga Tantra

Only internal methods are used. The Nyingmapa sect divides highest yoga Tantra into 3 sub-categories:

a. Mahayoga Visualization of deity is gradual. Focuses on the development stage.

Emphasizes the clarity and precision of visualization as skillful means. Meditation on emptiness.

b. Annuyoga Emphasizes energy centers, wind and energy. Visualization on deity is

generated instantly. c. Atiyoga Emphasizes mind development.



THE TRAINING METHODS OF TANTRIC BUDDHISM (a) EMPOWERMENT Empowerment (Abhiseka in Sanskrit or Wong in

Tibetan) is a ceremony: 1. to authorize the disciples to learn certain Tantric

lessons. 2. to cleanse obscurations 3. to confer power to the disciples, and 4. to establish relationship with certain deities in the

mandala.

(b) THE THREE SECRETS OF BODY, MOUTH AND MIND(c) THE THREE PROCEDURES OF TANTRIC TRAINING



Basic Terms10 Chinese schoolsLife story of the BuddhaBuddhist History in IndiaBuddhist History in ChinaPractice



The Ten Schools of Chinese Buddhism:

1. Reality School or Kosa School or Abhidharma School.2. Satysiddhi School or Cheng-se School. 3. Three Sastra School or San-lun School.*4. The Lotus School or T'ien-t'ai School *5. The Garland School or Hua-yen School or Avatamsaka School. 6. Intuitive School or Ch'an School or Dhyana School.7. Discipline School or Lu School or Vinaya School. *8. Esoteric School or Mi School or Mantra School.9. Dharmalaksana School or Wei-Shi School or Fa-siang School.*10. Pure-land School or Sukhavati School or Ching-t'u School.

* Topic is still available for presentation.

中国的佛教共分十宗，分别是：俱舍宗、成实宗、三论宗、天台宗、华严宗、唯识宗、律宗、禅宗、净土宗、密宗。



The following topics are for the upcoming Saturday Meditation Class:

1. July 16 - Satysiddhi School by Waifun Lai2. July 23 - Chan School by Kitty Cheung3. July 30 – Reality School by Kevin Loi4. August 6 – Garland School by Lee McCallum5. August 13 – Lotus School by Phyllis Parr6. August 20 - Dharmalaksana School by Dennis Yap7. August 27 – Vinaya School by Anson Law8. September 3 – Wutaishan Footages by Moshay

Allen



www.ChamShanTemple.org

www.shengguangshi.blogspot.com

[email protected] Shi 釋聖光Tom Cheung 張相棠Kam Cheung 張仁勤Dennis Yap 葉普智

Questions and Comments 討論



yuàn xiāo sān zhàng zhū fán năo

願消三障諸煩惱We wish to rid ourselves of the three hindrances and all klesas.

yuàn dé zhì huì zhēn míng lĭao

願得智慧真明了We wish to gain wisdom and real understanding.

pŭ yuàn zuì zhàng xī xiāo chú

普願罪障悉消除 We wish all sinful hindrances to be totally eradicated.

shì shì cháng xíng pú sà dào

世世常行菩薩道In one life after another we always follow Bodhisattvas’ paths.

回向Parinamana (Transfer of Merit)

Spiritual

20110716 heart sutra and Satyasiddhi School