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68-693: This concept originated in India but was a major influence in the development of East Asian Buddhism , where it was equated with the concept of Buddhadhātu , "buddha-element" or "buddha-nature". The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras include the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra , Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra , Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra . Related ideas are in found in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and Avataṃsaka Sūtra . Another major text,

136-400: A tathāgata-garbha ( Buddha-nature ) that is not eternal, for the eternal dhātu , the buddha-dhātu (Buddha Principle, Buddha Nature), the dhātu adorned with infinite major and minor attributes, is present in all beings. Belief and faith in the true reality of the tathāgatagarbha is presented by the relevant scriptures as a positive mental act and is strongly urged; indeed, rejection of

204-400: A cave of consciousness running hither and thither seeking to explain the self. The pure self has to be realized first hand; that is the matrix of realization [Tathagatagarbha], inaccessible to speculative thinkers." The tathāgatagarbha doctrine became linked (in syncretic form) with doctrines of Citta-mātra ("just-the-mind") or Yogācāra . Yogācārins aimed to account for the possibility of

272-589: A collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism . In Hinduism, sutras are a distinct type of literary composition, a compilation of short aphoristic statements. Each sutra is any short rule, like a theorem distilled into few words or syllables, around which teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven. The oldest sutras of Hinduism are found in

340-505: A concealed state (concealed by mental and behavioural negativities) in every single being, even the worst - the icchantika . Although attempts are made in the Buddhist sutras to explain the tathāgatagarbha , it remains ultimately mysterious and allegedly unfathomable to the ordinary, unawakened person, being only fully knowable by perfect Buddhas themselves. The tathāgatagarbha itself needs no cultivation, only uncovering or discovery, as it

408-454: A derivation from Vedic or Sanskrit sūkta (well spoken), rather than from sūtra (thread). In Jainism, sutras, also known as suyas , are canonical sermons of Mahavira contained in the Jain Agamas as well as some later (post-canonical) normative texts. The Sanskrit word Sūtra ( Sanskrit : सूत्र, Pali : sutta , Ardha Magadhi : sūya ) means "string, thread". The root of the word

476-464: A major innovation, and is rather unsystematic, which made it "a fruitful one for later students and commentators, who were obliged to create their own order and bring it to the text". According to King, its most important innovation is the linking of the term buddhadhātu with tathāgatagarbha . Buddhadhātu , "Buddha-nature", "the nature of the Buddha", that what constitutes a Buddha, is a central topic of

544-585: A mass of clay of one sort by his own manual skill and labour combined with a rod, water, and thread, Mahamati, that the Tathagatas preach the egolessness of things which removes all the traces of discrimination by various skilful means issuing from their transcendental wisdom, that is, sometimes by the doctrine of the Tathagata-garbha, sometimes by that of egolessness, and, like a potter, by means of various terms, expressions, and synonyms. For this reason, Mahamati,

612-407: A teacher to student, memorized by the recipient for discussion or self-study or as reference. A sutra by itself is condensed shorthand, and the threads of syllable are difficult to decipher or understand without associated scholarly Bhasya or deciphering commentary that fills in the " weft ". The oldest manuscripts that have survived into the modern era that contain extensive sutras are part of

680-446: A teaching completely consistent with and identical to emptiness. It synthesizes tathāgatagarbha with the emptiness ( śūnyatā ) of the prajñāpāramitā sutras. Emptiness is the thought-transcending realm of non-duality and unconditionedness: complete freedom from all constriction and limitation. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra describes the tathāgatagarbha as "by nature brightly shining and pure," and "originally pure," though "enveloped in

748-457: Is siv , "that which sews and holds things together". The word is related to sūci (Sanskrit: सूचि) meaning "needle, list", and sūnā (Sanskrit: सूना) meaning "woven". In the context of literature, sūtra means a distilled collection of syllables and words, any form or manual of "aphorism, rule, direction" hanging together like threads with which the teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven. A sūtra

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816-509: Is already present and perfect within each being: An unknown treasure exists under the home of a poor person that must be uncovered through removing obstructive dirt, yielding the treasure that always was there. Just as the treasure already exists and thus requires no further fashioning, so the matrix-of-one-gone-thus [i.e. the tathāgatagarbha ], endowed with ultimate buddha qualities, already dwells within each sentient being and needs only to be freed from defilements. Charles Muller comments that

884-514: Is any short rule, states Moriz Winternitz, in Indian literature; it is "a theorem condensed in few words". A collection of sūtras becomes a text, and this is also called sūtra (often capitalized in Western literature). A sūtra is different from other components such as Shlokas , Anuvyakhayas and Vyakhyas found in ancient Indian literature. A sūtra is a condensed rule which succinctly states

952-463: Is concerned with the actual attainment of nirvana as opposed to nirvana as a timeless phenomenon. In the later Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra it is said that the tathāgatagarbha might be mistaken for a self, which it is not. In fact, the sutra states that it is identical to the teaching of no-self. In Section XXVIII of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra , Mahāmati asks Buddha, "Is not this Tathagata-garbha taught by

1020-602: Is free from arising and cessation, the inconceivable pure Dharmadhatu." Every being has Buddha-nature ( Buddha-dhatu ). It is indicated in the Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra that if the Buddhas themselves were to try to find any sentient being who lacked the Buddha-nature, they would fail. In fact, it is stated in this sutra that the Buddhas do discern the presence of the everlasting Buddha-nature in every being: Even though all Buddhas themselves were to search assiduously, they would not find

1088-434: Is imagistically reminiscent of Mahāyāna descriptions of the Buddha himself sitting in the lotus posture within his own mother's womb prior to birth: "luminous, glorious, gracious, beautiful to see, seated with his legs crossed" and shining "like pure gold ..." Some of the earliest and most important Tathāgatagarbha sūtras have been associated by scholars with certain early Buddhist schools in India. Brian Edward Brown dates

1156-410: Is no proof that it is not. (Sutra 1, Book 6) This different from body, because of heterogeneousness. (Sutra 2, Book 6) Also because it is expressed by means of the sixth case. (Sutra 3, Book 6) With Vijnanabhiksu's commentary bhasya filled in: Soul is, for there is no proof that it is not, since we are aware of "I think", because there is no evidence to defeat this. Therefore all that is to be done

1224-640: Is present in all sentient beings: [the Buddha] expounds the doctrine that this quality [of the hidden interior, wondrous treasury] is not only common to buddhas but to all living beings as well. This does not mean that sentient beings are at present endowed with the qualities of a Buddha, but that they will have those qualities in the future. It is obscured from worldly vision by the screening effect of kleshas , tenacious negative mental afflictions. The most notable of which are greed, hatred, delusion, and pride. Once these negative mental states have been eliminated, however,

1292-619: Is the Taishō Tripiṭaka , produced in Japan between 1924 and 1932. Besides sharing a canon of scripture, the various forms of East Asian Buddhism have also adapted East Asian values and practices which were not prominent in Indian Buddhism , such as Chinese ancestor veneration and the Confucian view of filial piety . East Asian Buddhist monastics generally follow the monastic rule known as

1360-510: Is to discriminate it from things in general. (Sutra 1, Book 6) This soul is different from the body because of heterogeneousness or complete difference between the two. (Sutra 2, Book 6) Also because it, the Soul, is expressed by means of the sixth case, for the learned express it by the possessive case in such examples as 'this is my body', 'this my understanding'; for the possessive case would be unaccountable if there were absolute non-difference, between

1428-1046: The Awakening of Faith , was originally composed in China, while the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra was considerably extended in China . Comparing the tradition of Tathāgatagarbha sūtras to the Yogachara and Madhyamaka schools, Paul Williams writes that this collection appears to have been less prominent in India, but became increasingly popular and significant in Central Asian Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism . The Sanskrit term tathāgatagarbha ( traditional Chinese : 如来藏 ; pinyin : rúláizàng ; Japanese : にょらいぞう ; Korean : 여래장 ; Vietnamese : như lai tạng ) may be parsed into tathāgata "the one thus gone" (referring to Buddhahood ) and garbha "root, embryo, essence". In

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1496-579: The Lotus Sutra , are termed sutras despite being attributed to much later authors. In Theravada Buddhism , suttas constitute the second "basket" (pitaka) of the Pāli Canon . Rewata Dhamma and Bhikkhu Bodhi describe the Sutta Pitaka as: The Sutta Pitaka, the second collection, brings together the Buddha's discourses spoken by him on various occasions during his active ministry of forty-five years. In

1564-614: The Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra . Despite East Asian Buddhism's propensity for the concepts found in the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras, the Ratnagotravibhāga has played a relatively small role in East Asian Buddhism. This is due to the primacy of sutra study and the centrality of the Awakening of Faith in East Asian Buddhism. The Ratnagotravibhāga sees the Buddha-nature ( tathāgatagarbha ) as "suchness" or "thusness" -

1632-494: The Anguttara Nikāya , the Buddha refers to a " luminous mind ". The canon does not support the identification of the "luminous mind" with nirvanic consciousness , though it plays a role in the realization of nirvana. Upon the destruction of the fetters, according to one scholar, "the shining nibbanic consciousness flashes out of the womb of arahantship, being without object or support, so transcending all limitations." Though

1700-619: The Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas . Every school of Hindu philosophy , Vedic guides for rites of passage, various fields of arts, law, and social ethics developed respective sutras, which help teach and transmit ideas from one generation to the next. In Buddhism, sutras, also known as suttas , are canonical scriptures , many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha . They are not aphoristic, but are quite detailed, sometimes with repetition. This may reflect

1768-782: The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya . One major exception is some schools of Japanese Buddhism where Buddhist clergy sometimes marry, without following the traditional monastic code or Vinaya . This developed during the Meiji Restoration , when a nationwide campaign against Buddhism forced certain Japanese Buddhist sects to change their practices. Buddhism in China has been characterized by complex interactions with China's indigenous religious traditions, Taoism and Confucianism , and varied between periods of institutional support and repression from governments and dynasties. Buddhism

1836-541: The Japanese invasion of Korea in the 16th century, leading to a slow period of recovery that lasted into the 20th century. The Seon school, derived from Chinese Chan Buddhism , was introduced in the 7th century and grew to become the most widespread form of modern Korean Buddhism, with the Jogye Order and Taego Order as its two main branches. Bordering southern China, Buddhism may have first come to Vietnam as early as

1904-551: The Nirvana sutra . According to Sally King, the sutra speaks about Buddha-nature in so many different ways, that Chinese scholars created a list of types of Buddha-nature that could be found in the text. The "nature of the Buddha" is presented as a timeless, eternal "Self", which is akin to the tathāgatagarbha , the innate possibility in every sentient being to attain Buddhahood and manifest this timeless Buddha-nature. This "hidden treasury"

1972-473: The Silk Road and the missionary work of generations of Indian and Asian Buddhists. Some of the most influential East Asian traditions include Chan (Zen) , Nichiren Buddhism , Pure Land , Huayan , Tiantai , and Chinese Esoteric Buddhism . These schools developed new, uniquely East Asian interpretations of Buddhist texts and focused on the study of Mahayana sutras . According to Paul Williams, this emphasis on

2040-408: The Vedas , dated from the late 2nd millennium BCE through to the mid 1st millennium BCE. The Aitareya Aranyaka , for example, states Winternitz, is primarily a collection of sutras . Their use and ancient roots are attested by sutras being mentioned in larger genre of ancient non-Vedic Hindu literature called Gatha , Narashansi , Itihasa , and Akhyana (songs, legends, epics, and stories). In

2108-421: The tathāgatagarbha as a virtual Buddha-homunculus, a fully wisdom-endowed Buddha, "a most victorious body ... great and indestructible", inviolate, seated majestically in the lotus position within the body of each being, clearly visible only to a perfect Buddha with his supernatural vision. This is the most "personalist" depiction of the tathāgatagarbha encountered in any of the chief Tathāgatagarbha sutras and

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2176-486: The tathāgatagarbha is linked with highly adverse karmic consequences. In the Angulimaliya Sutra it is stated that teaching only non-self and dismissing the reality of the tathāgatagarbha karmically lead one into most unpleasant rebirths, whereas spreading the doctrine of the tathāgatagarbha will bring benefit both to oneself and to the world. The later Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra presents the tathāgatagarbha as being

2244-474: The 3rd or 2nd century BCE from the Indian subcontinent or from China in the 1st or 2nd century CE. Vietnamese Buddhism was influenced by certain elements of Taoism , Chinese spirituality , and Vietnamese folk religion . Sutra Sutra ( Sanskrit : सूत्र , romanized :  sūtra , lit.   'string, thread') in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or

2312-605: The 8th century, the Chan school began to emerge, eventually becoming the most influential Buddhist school in East Asia and spreading throughout the region. Buddhism was officially introduced to Japan from China and Korea during the 5th and 6th centuries AD. In addition to developing their own versions of Chinese and Korean traditions (such as Zen , a Japanese form of Chan and Shingon , a form of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism), Japan developed their own indigenous traditions like Tendai , based on

2380-499: The Blessed One the same as the ego-substance taught by the philosophers?" The Buddha's response: No, Mahamati, my Tathagata-garbha is not the same as the ego taught by the philosophers; for what the Tathagatas teach is the Tathagata-garbha in the sense, Mahamati, that it is emptiness, reality-limit, Nirvana, being unborn, unqualified, and devoid of will-effort; the reason why the Tathagatas who are Arhats and Fully-Enlightened Ones, teach

2448-580: The Buddha's emancipatory reality, the very core of his sublime nature . Michael Radich provides the following list of key Indian sutras associated with Tathāgatagarbha: A similar and related sutra which synthesizes buddha-nature with Yogacara is the Ghanavyūha Sūtra . Karl Brunnhölzl, drawing on the Tibetan tradition, provides the following list of 24 sutras "explicitly or implicitly associated with tathagatagarbha": The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra presents

2516-530: The Buddha-nature doctrine is closely related to that of Buddha-matrix (Sanskrit: tathāgatagarbha ). In the Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa , the Buddha links the tathāgatagarbha to the Dharmadhātu (ultimate, all-equal, uncreated essence of all phenomena) and to essential being, stating: "What I call "be-ing" ( sattva ) is just a different name for this permanent, stable, pure and unchanging refuge that

2584-576: The Chinese Tiantai , Nichiren , and Jōdo Shinshū (a Pure Land school). Buddhism was introduced to Korea from China during the 4th century, where it began to be practiced alongside indigenous shamanism. Following strong state support in the Goryeo era, Buddhism was suppressed during the Joseon period in favor of Neo-Confucianism . Suppression was finally ended due to Buddhist participation in repelling

2652-652: The Jain tradition, sutras are an important genre of "fixed text", which used to be memorized. The Kalpa Sūtra is, for example, a Jain text that includes monastic rules, as well as biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras . Many sutras discuss all aspects of ascetic and lay life in Jainism. Various ancient sutras particularly from the early 1st millennium CE, for example, recommend devotional bhakti as an essential Jain practice. The surviving scriptures of Jaina tradition, such as

2720-560: The Mahāsāṃghikas, and conclude that the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region were responsible for the inception of the Tathāgatagarbha doctrine. According to the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra , the tathāgatagarbha is "not born, does not die, does not transfer, does not arise. It is beyond the sphere of the characteristics of the compounded; it is permanent, stable and changeless." Moreover, it has been described as "the sphere of experience of

2788-465: The Tathagata-garbha. Yet in the concluding Sagathakam portion of the text, coming after the above-quoted passage, the sutra does not deny the reality of the Self; in fact it castigates such denial of the 'pure Self'. According to Thomas Cleary, "The original scripture rigorously rejects nihilism and does not ultimately deny either self or world", and quotes the sutra: "Confused thinkers without guidance are in

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2856-635: The Tathāgatagarbha sutra material: Furthermore, there are three other Indian buddha-nature treatises preserved only in Chinese: Of disputed authorship, the Ratnagotravibhāga (otherwise known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra or just Uttaratantra - " The Supreme Continuum "), is the only Indian attempt to create a coherent philosophical model based on the ideas found in the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras. The Ratnagotravibhāga especially draws on

2924-654: The Tathāgatas [Buddhas]." The Nirvana Sutra is an eschatological text. Its core was written in India in a time which was perceived as the age in which the Buddha-dharma would perish, and all the Mahayana sutras disappear. The sutra responds to this awaited end with the proclamation of the tathagatagarbha, the innate Buddhahood present in all man. According to Sallie B. King, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra does not represent

2992-680: The Vedic era to be necessary for reading the Veda, the second two for understanding it, and the last two for deploying the Vedic knowledge at yajnas (fire rituals). The sutras corresponding to these are embedded inside the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas. Taittiriya Aranyaka, for example in Book 7, embeds sutras for accurate pronunciation after the terse phrases "On Letters", "On Accents", "On Quantity", "On Delivery", and "On Euphonic Laws". The fourth and often

3060-458: The abiding reality of all things - in a state of tarnished concealment within the being. The idea is that the ultimate consciousness of each being is spotless and pure, but surrounded by negative tendencies which are impure. Paul Williams comments on how the impurity is actually not truly part of the Buddha-nature, but merely conceals the immanent true qualities of Buddha mind (i.e. the buddha-nature) from manifesting openly: The impurities that taint

3128-529: The attainment of Buddhahood by ignorant sentient beings: the tathāgatagarbha is the indwelling awakening of bodhi in the very heart of samsara . There is also a tendency in the tathāgatagarbha sutras to support vegetarianism, as all persons and creatures are compassionately viewed as possessing one and the same essential nature - the Buddha-dhatu or Buddha-nature. There are two very influential treatises (shastras) on buddha-nature which draw on and systematize

3196-631: The belief that "all that was spoken by the Lord Buddha was well-spoken". They embody the essence of sermons conveying "well-spoken" wisdom, akin to the Jain sutras. In Chinese, these are known as 經 ( pinyin : jīng ). These teachings are organized as part of the Tripiṭaka , specifically referred to as the Sutta Pitaka . Numerous significant or influential Mahayana texts, such as the Platform Sutra and

3264-574: The body or the like, and the Soul to which it is thus attributed as a possession. (Sutra 3, Book 6) Reality is truth ( prāma , foundation of correct knowledge), and what is true is so, irrespective of whether we know it is, or are aware of that truth. In Buddhism, a sutta or sutra constitutes a segment of the canonical literature. These early Buddhist sutras, unlike Hindu texts, are not aphoristic; rather, they tend to be quite lengthy. The Buddhist term sutta or sutra likely derives from Sanskrit sūkta ( su + ukta ), meaning "well spoken," reflecting

3332-484: The buddhadhātu is said to shine forth unimpededly and the buddhadhātu can then be consciously "entered into", and therewith deathless Nirvana attained: [T]he tathagatagarbha is none but Thusness or the Buddha Nature, and is the originally untainted pure mind which lies overspread by, and exists in, the mind of greed and anger of all beings. This bespeaks a Buddha Body that exists in a state of bondage. The development of

3400-537: The composition of the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra to the Andhra Ikshvaku in the 3rd century CE, as a product of the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region. Wayman has outlined eleven points of complete agreement between the Mahāsāṃghikas and the Śrīmālā , along with four major arguments for this association. Sree Padma and Anthony Barber also associate the earlier development of the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra with

3468-512: The doctrine pointing to the Tathagata-garbha is to make the ignorant cast aside their fear when they listen to the teaching of egolessness and to have them realise the state of non-discrimination and imagelessness. I also wish, Mahamati, that the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas of the present and future would not attach themselves to the idea of an ego [imagining it to be a soul]. Mahamati, it is like a potter who manufactures various vessels out of

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3536-426: The garments of the skandhas , dhātus and ayatanas and soiled with the dirt of attachment, hatred, delusion and false imagining." It is said to be "naturally pure," but it appears impure as it is stained by adventitious defilements. Thus the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra identifies the luminous mind of the canon with the tathāgatagarbha . It also equates the tathāgatagarbha (and ālaya-vijñāna ) with nirvana, though this

3604-420: The history of Indian literature, large compilations of sutras, in diverse fields of knowledge, have been traced to the period from 600 BCE to 200 BCE (mostly after Buddha and Mahavira), and this has been called the "sutras period". This period followed the more ancient Chhandas period , Mantra period and Brahmana period . (The ancient) Indian pupil learnt these sutras of grammar, philosophy or theology by

3672-945: The last layer of philosophical, speculative text in the Vedas, the Upanishads, too have embedded sutras such as those found in the Taittiriya Upanishad . The compendium of ancient Vedic sutra literature that has survived, in full or fragments, includes the Kalpa Sutras , Shulba Sutras , Srauta Sutras , Dharma Sutras , Grhya Sutras , and Smarta traditions . Other fields for which ancient sutras are known include etymology, phonetics, and grammar. Example of sutras from Vedanta Sutra अथातो ब्रह्मजिज्ञासा ॥१.१.१॥ जन्माद्यस्य यतः ॥ १.१.२॥ शास्त्रयोनित्वात् ॥ १.१.३॥ तत्तुसमन्वयात् ॥ १.१.४॥ ईक्षतेर्नाशब्दम् ॥ १.१.५॥ Some examples of sutra texts in various schools of Hindu philosophy include Sutra, without commentary: Soul is, for there

3740-578: The message, while a Shloka is a verse that conveys the complete message and is structured to certain rules of musical meter, an Anuvyakhaya is an explanation of the reviewed text, while a Vyakhya is a comment by the reviewer. Sutras first appear in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layer of Vedic literature. They grow in number in the Vedangas, such as the Shrauta Sutras and Kalpa Sutras. These were designed so that they can be easily communicated from

3808-439: The mind and entail the state of unenlightenment ( samsara ) are completely adventitious ... On the other hand from the point of view of the mind's pure radiant intrinsic nature, because it is like this it is possessed of all the many qualities of a Buddha's mind. These do not need actually to be brought about but merely need to be allowed to shine forth. Because they are intrinsic to the very nature of consciousness itself they, and

3876-490: The numerically largest body of Buddhist traditions in the world, numbering over half of the world's Buddhists. East Asian forms of Buddhism all derive from sinicized Buddhist schools that developed during the Han dynasty and the Song dynasty , and therefore are influenced by Chinese culture and philosophy . The spread of Buddhism to East Asia was aided by the trade networks of

3944-432: The philosophers' doctrine of an ego-substance is not the same as the teaching of the Tathagata-garbha. Thus, Mahamati, the doctrine of the Tathagata-garbha is disclosed in order to awaken the philosophers from their clinging to the idea of the ego, so that those minds that have fallen into the views imagining the non-existent ego as real, and also into the notion that the triple emancipation is final, may rapidly be awakened to

4012-476: The primary religious texts for other countries in the region. Early Chinese Buddhism was influenced by translators from Central Asia who began the translation of large numbers of Tripitaka and commentarial texts from India and Central Asia into Chinese . Early efforts to organize and interpret the wide range of texts received gave rise to early Chinese Buddhist schools like the Huayan and Tiantai schools. In

4080-492: The rest of East Asia at large. Such religious transmissions were able to be afforded to enable the inexorable percolation of Buddhism into East Asia over a millennia due to the vibrant cultural exchanges that were able to be made at that time as a result of the Silk Road . Chinese Buddhism has strongly influenced the development of Buddhism in other East Asian countries, with the Chinese Buddhist Canon serving as

4148-617: The rules of musical meters for Samaveda chants and songs. A larger collection of ancient sutra literature in Hinduism corresponds to the six Vedangas, or six limbs of the Vedas . These are six subjects that said in the Vedas to be necessary for complete mastery of the Vedas. The six subjects with their own sutras were "pronunciation ( Shiksha ), meter ( Chandas ), grammar ( Vyakarana ), explanation of words ( Nirukta ), time keeping through astronomy ( Jyotisha ), and ceremonial rituals (Kalpa). The first two, states Max Muller, were considered in

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4216-468: The same mechanical method which fixes in our (modern era) minds the alphabet and the multiplication table. Traditional Some of the earliest surviving specimens of sutras of Hinduism are found in the Anupada Sutras and Nidana Sutras . The former distills the epistemic debate whether Sruti or Smriti or neither must be considered the more reliable source of knowledge, while the latter distills

4284-399: The state of supreme enlightenment. Accordingly, Mahamati, the Tathagatas who are Arhats and Fully-Enlightened Ones disclose the doctrine of the Tathagata-garbha which is thus not to be known as identical with the philosopher's notion of an ego-substance. Therefore. Mahamati, in order to abandon the misconception cherished by the philosophers, you must strive after the teaching of egolessness and

4352-510: The study of the sutras contrasts with the Tibetan Buddhist attitude which sees the sutras as too difficult unless approached through the study of philosophical treatises ( shastras ). The texts of the Chinese Buddhist Canon began to be translated in the second century and the collection continued to evolve over a period of a thousand years with the first woodblock printed edition being published in 983. A major modern edition of this canon

4420-465: The tathagatagarbha and the Buddha-nature do not have exactly the same meaning, in the Buddhist tradition they became equated. In the Angulimaliya Sūtra and in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra the terms "Buddha-nature" ( Buddha-dhātu ) and " tathāgatagarbha " are synonyms. All are agreed that the tathāgatagarbha is an immortal, inherent transcendental essence or potency and that it resides in

4488-414: The tathagatagarbha is the mind's original pure nature and has neither a point of origination nor a point of cessation: ' tathagatagarbha expresses the already perfect aspect of the original nature of the mind that is clear and pure without arising or cessation.' The tathāgatagarbha is the ultimate, pure, ungraspable, inconceivable, irreducible, unassailable, boundless, true and deathless quintessence of

4556-523: The very state of Buddhahood, will never cease. East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon . These include the various forms of Chinese , Japanese , Korean , and Vietnamese Buddhism in East Asia . East Asian Buddhists constitute

4624-492: Was first introduced to China during the Han dynasty , at a time when the Han empire expanded its nascent corresponding geopolitical influence into the reaches of Central Asia. Opportunities for vibrant cultural exchanges and trade contacts along the Silk Road and sea trade routes with the Indian subcontinent and maritime Southeast Asia made it inevitable that the percolation of Buddhism would penetrate into China and gradually into

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