tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120425972624888162024-02-21T11:44:46.329+09:00Flower Ornament Depository 華嚴藏Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-31852612878098111482020-04-13T12:19:00.000+09:002020-04-13T13:09:11.916+09:00占星術と図像学について<br />
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<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">私は</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">主に中国と日本(宿曜道)</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">の資料</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">を研究していますが、占星術をちゃんと理解するには、インドとイランの背景もよく調べる必要があります。</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">ホロスコープ占星術が西ヨーロッパにも伝えられたため、</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">たまにラテン語の文献と比較する価値も</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">高いです。</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">チベット語の文献の場合、『</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">K</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">lacakra</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">』以外に今まであまり扱っていないですが</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">、その分野も重要でしょう。チベット文化圏の占星術の詳細をよく説明してくれる学者が来れば、幸いです。チベットの資料を漢文の占星術と比較してみれば、面白いでしょう。</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">敦煌文献において漢文の占星術の文書が残っているのです。例えば、「</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pelliot
chinois 4071</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">」はホロスコープの解説です。その内容を分析してホロスコープの図を想像できました。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">British Museum. International Dunhuang Project. Pelliot chinois 4071.</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">日本でもホロスコープの図が残っています。「</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1113</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">年」の宿曜勘文というようなものです。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">「1113年」の宿曜勘文</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">このような資料で唐朝中国と平安時代の日本の占星術を想像し、その文化と技術を説明できると思います。チベットでも似ている占星術がありますが、学術的に説明している学者がいるかどうかは見ていません。今も</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">インドの</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dharamshala</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">に行くと、チベット人の占い師に会えます。ネパールもそういうラマ</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">に会ったことがあります。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">その点で、</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Berthe Jensen</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">先生</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">が紹介してくれたチベットの資料をシェアしたいです。これは</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Leiden</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">大学の図書館のものです。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlwaKm65KY9p_gRzPC5NV5jeQE1KeL4GEnORQ2P5PZof794EQ3ofk2QuVXkLDxvS4Jz2roRmpjw78A09VzPth8-JERQ7V8Qb4jdnH_RaxychXkxfvBobI2lq8IWkpTDVP_Dp2nrmYJflU/s1600/leiden+tibetan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlwaKm65KY9p_gRzPC5NV5jeQE1KeL4GEnORQ2P5PZof794EQ3ofk2QuVXkLDxvS4Jz2roRmpjw78A09VzPth8-JERQ7V8Qb4jdnH_RaxychXkxfvBobI2lq8IWkpTDVP_Dp2nrmYJflU/s640/leiden+tibetan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27.6px;">時代とかの詳細は、私は全く分かりませんが、十二星座</span><span lang="JA" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27.6px;">の図像</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27.6px;">に興味があります。</span></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHyQaQ_MVUZB99aMnLA-59rEWyUvqolPVHyjWT9VkhUOEcBrFxfVlaf-5Ldvxds0HWgL11UpMPmz30pUBNilkKQZy0Fq1lX76_6GOmRr6k4xDYs9aV5LpB8CZWhGJGxW1Rj-NNoUO0zA/s1600/leiden+tibetan2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="426" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHyQaQ_MVUZB99aMnLA-59rEWyUvqolPVHyjWT9VkhUOEcBrFxfVlaf-5Ldvxds0HWgL11UpMPmz30pUBNilkKQZy0Fq1lX76_6GOmRr6k4xDYs9aV5LpB8CZWhGJGxW1Rj-NNoUO0zA/s640/leiden+tibetan2.jpg" width="488" /></a></div>
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<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">唐代中国の占星術もおひつじ座を「白羊宮」と呼ぶのです。やぎ座を「磨羯宮」と呼ばれます。それは梵語の「</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Makara</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">」</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(もともとイルカであった可能性)</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">です。上の図では竜に見える</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">獣であり、実際には中国風の図像です。日本でも非常に似ている図像を指摘できます。例えば、『仏像図彙』(</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1690</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">年)の「十二宮 」における</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">「磨羯宮」</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">。</span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">上のチベットの</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">イメージだけでチベット人はインドではなく中国の図像を意識して利用していたと解釈できるのではないかと思います。このため、</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">占星術の歴史を調べる時、同時に</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">図像学に</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">も</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">よく注意を払うべきだと思います。</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">このような方法で、もともとイラン文化圏まで遡ることができる「中国風」の図像を発見しました。例えば、日本密教の「現図曼荼羅」における土星(土曜)と天秤宮をアラビア語の写本と比較すると、非常に似ていると言わなければなりません。</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">天秤宮 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">左:『Kitāb al-Bulhān 』(十四世紀) 右:『現図曼荼羅』</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "ms mincho";"><span style="font-size: 24px;">天秤ばかりを持っている老人は土曜です。なぜかというと、てんびん座は土星の</span></span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">エグザルテーションからです。『現図曼荼羅』における土曜も老人です。</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "ms mincho";"><span style="font-size: 24px;">この姿は実際にはインド系ではなくイラン系です。以下のイメージを見るだけでそれを更にギリシャ系エジプトの文化圏のクロノスという神</span></span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">まで遡ることができます。</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWOF_sfNhilyMJXpyYLEMEjx3YAKmAgx3W5HOBwk4Q3A7eFacaW9A9I4l1cEJS9oHWu1DDVw2FUmHmLBch8I6thCg8wxkcV9T3rUruPAaNu-ClZLIGn74CYuD-dLtqENwuifuM0EbzU0/s1600/saturnstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="1600" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWOF_sfNhilyMJXpyYLEMEjx3YAKmAgx3W5HOBwk4Q3A7eFacaW9A9I4l1cEJS9oHWu1DDVw2FUmHmLBch8I6thCg8wxkcV9T3rUruPAaNu-ClZLIGn74CYuD-dLtqENwuifuM0EbzU0/s400/saturnstone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">真言宗の『現図曼荼羅』は、</span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">もともと</span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">中国の『胎蔵曼荼羅』から作られたものです。後者を日本に伝えた時、同時に流行っている占星術の図像が曼荼羅に入り込んでしまったのではないかと考えられます。なぜならば、『胎蔵曼荼羅』のインド系の図像を表している『</span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho";"><span style="font-size: 24px;">胎蔵図像</span></span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">』と『</span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho";"><span style="font-size: 24px;">胎蔵旧図像様</span></span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">』(平安時代)における「土星」が全く違う姿だからです。</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYQ0_W4fKxqrwTYyfLmq27GKX8v1DjYD0Ph4GMcmgqle2-u16jWXQ4OZZZcRYbsEiTIzK4IDg6Y_lXiy__FOpuxvInardJocIA4RWBaSRMyv7aZC01J00vEaMqs4Q3V9T9k_WbncHCf0/s1600/saturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="423" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYQ0_W4fKxqrwTYyfLmq27GKX8v1DjYD0Ph4GMcmgqle2-u16jWXQ4OZZZcRYbsEiTIzK4IDg6Y_lXiy__FOpuxvInardJocIA4RWBaSRMyv7aZC01J00vEaMqs4Q3V9T9k_WbncHCf0/s400/saturn.jpg" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">『胎蔵図像』の土星</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">面白いことに日本の美術史における土星は普通に老人の姿です。例えば、以下の絵(ニューヨークのMet博物館)。</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwMcqA3OV3Qz9zHkXff_PRFJUFfRSIZXUHP4c5CMSi821FKM_uGBTgnKEoEu83zB1hbVTN8YJLRNA8vlMrO9ckkfWoTjXLe1apdJyFN6oiqgcoP_PrnQieFbbI9prIURCEuWb6gNrxzLc/s1600/%25E5%259C%259F%25E6%259B%259C%25E5%259B%25B3%25E5%2583%258F+Iconographic+Drawing+of+Saturn+%2528Doy%25C5%258D%2529+MET.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="915" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwMcqA3OV3Qz9zHkXff_PRFJUFfRSIZXUHP4c5CMSi821FKM_uGBTgnKEoEu83zB1hbVTN8YJLRNA8vlMrO9ckkfWoTjXLe1apdJyFN6oiqgcoP_PrnQieFbbI9prIURCEuWb6gNrxzLc/s640/%25E5%259C%259F%25E6%259B%259C%25E5%259B%25B3%25E5%2583%258F+Iconographic+Drawing+of+Saturn+%2528Doy%25C5%258D%2529+MET.jpg" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">New York Met. 1975.268.15.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45617">https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45617</a>.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "ms mincho";"><span style="font-size: 24px;">この土星の杖の先端は</span></span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">鎌(かま)のような形です。ギリシャのクロノスも同じように</span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">鎌を持ち、小麦を収穫する神です。</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 24px;">結論として占星術の歴史を研究する時、美術史は不可欠な分野であると言わなければなりません。</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-36554604220968954042019-01-28T15:13:00.000+09:002019-01-28T15:13:01.523+09:00Neoplatonic Cosmology and Astral Magic<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMonFvvDtMtJOQuKdDKZKZEaZqBYegn2HcoQBCYKaAhyU4rducHeY2OH1pvLr0F6QdrHItxSCL_tNiL5QzW4Eq6aK6FmdAGUXo2rEkxT0U04GvzXB8Lbbnb-dIqg4RiyeJUglAC4Yc5UQ/s1600/49900403_10156358882077669_9132531404075171840_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="479" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMonFvvDtMtJOQuKdDKZKZEaZqBYegn2HcoQBCYKaAhyU4rducHeY2OH1pvLr0F6QdrHItxSCL_tNiL5QzW4Eq6aK6FmdAGUXo2rEkxT0U04GvzXB8Lbbnb-dIqg4RiyeJUglAC4Yc5UQ/s400/49900403_10156358882077669_9132531404075171840_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Over the last two years
or so I have taken an amateur interest in the writings of Plato and the later
Neoplatonic thinkers, especially Iamblichus. At the same time, my research into
the history of astrology has included readings of pre-modern texts on astral
magic. One thing I have noticed is that the cosmology of astral magic during
the medieval period clearly stems in large part from an earlier Platonic
worldview, although of course there are other elements in the mix that reflect
Ptolemaic and Aristotelian concepts. Understanding this cosmology is necessary
to comprehend the theoretical metaphysical framework that underlies the
efficacy of astral magic. My aim here is to provide a rough outline of
Neoplatonic cosmology and how it relates to the practice of medieval astral magic.
This is merely a digestion of a number of materials that I have studied over
the years, as well as my own notes on the subject, so I would welcome any
corrections or comments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The cosmology at
hand is a type of monism, i.e., a metaphysical framework that attributes
existence to a single source. The process of Creation is undertaken in the
Platonic universe by the Demiurge, who is the figurative crafter of our world.
As explained in Plato’s creation myth, titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Timaeus</i>, the Demiurge establishes time through the creation of the
movements of the Sun and Moon. He is responsible for the crafting of the
physical world and the life that inhabits it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Timaeus</i> was the foundational work from
which later Platonic thinkers, especially Plotinus during the third century CE,
developed what we might call the Neoplatonic cosmology. The cosmos in said
cosmology emerges as a continual emanative process, originating from what is
called The One (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to Hen</i>), which is the
first principle of reality. From this comes the divine Intellect, in which the
forms (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eidos</i>) described by Plato are
placed. This leads to the emanation of the Soul (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">psyche</i>), which is the initial activation of the forms. This in turn
leads to an expression of the Body, which is the material world. At this point
in Creation, the emergence of a plurality of souls occurs from the earlier
cosmic Soul. This process is equated to a single beam of light breaking down
into multiple rays when it passes through a prism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0ozsNijNS6ikkDsck509gyxgyrPmV9IUCzbVwHEB3DZWjlW5NO-8qh_o9wFmhK33EB-UvX65Lca8zuMIsllRQhjOmjXy4T7IhMD7Y1fSY_7bYrPYlnS8edMuo8Fl7_7TUxuMXMG_u0A/s1600/Mercury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1353" data-original-width="1600" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0ozsNijNS6ikkDsck509gyxgyrPmV9IUCzbVwHEB3DZWjlW5NO-8qh_o9wFmhK33EB-UvX65Lca8zuMIsllRQhjOmjXy4T7IhMD7Y1fSY_7bYrPYlnS8edMuo8Fl7_7TUxuMXMG_u0A/s400/Mercury.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engraving by C. Lasinio after Raphael, 1516. <br />Wellcome Collection.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">There are gods
that exist at the level of hypercosmic reality, although they operate outside
time and space, since they are immaterial and not subject to movement as we are
within material reality. One Neoplatonic aim is to achieve ascension into this
state, which leads to liberation from suffering (indeed, the parallels with
Buddhism have been noted many times in modern scholarship). The expression of
these divinities extends downward into materiality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">At the height of
the material cosmos are the archons, who are rulers of everything below them.
These deities are equated to the planets. Until the adoption of a heliocentric worldview
during the Renaissance, much of the world conceived of the cosmos from a
geocentric perspective, in which the Earth is stationary while the seven
planets (including the Sun and Moon) revolve around it. The planets were said
to occupy concentric spheres surrounding the Earth, the ordering of which is
traditionally called Chaldean (another name for Babylonian), which reflects the
distance of the planets from the Earth from farthest to nearest: Saturn,
Jupiter, Mars, Sol (Sun), Venus, Mercury, and Luna (Moon).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Although the
planets in Greek were named after the Hellenic gods (Zeus, Ares, etc.), this
process of denomination was just a way of assigning familiar names to the
planetary deities of Mesopotamian religion. The Zeus of this astral religion is
modeled after the Mesopotamian Marduk, hence this Zeus differs qualitatively
from the Homeric Zeus in many ways. Zeus in the astral religion plays the role
of judge, rather than being the lusty figure from Greek myths. That being said,
the Hellenistic world blended together motifs from Greek, Egyptian, and
Mesopotamian sources. There was a deep process of amalgamating divinities from
multiple cultures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The planets as
archons function as the intermediaries between the hypercosmic and material
realities. They are the divine intelligences that design and govern our world,
but they are akin to rulers who remain distant from their subjects. They are
not directly involved in the labor of Creation. Such duties are assigned to
their underlings, who in Neoplatonic writings comprise three classes of
deities: angels, heroes, and daimons. The latter under Christian influence
became what we know as demons, i.e., purely evil beings under the direction of
Satan, but originally daimons were the functional intermediaries between
humanity and gods, akin to what we might think of as spirits in modern terms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Again, we can turn
to Plato for an explanation of the daimons. There is a dialogue in his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Symposium</i> in which the priestess Diotima
explains to Socrates the nature of Love, which is a daimon. The dialogue reads
as follows (translation by Benjamin Jowett):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">'What then is
Love?' I asked; 'Is he mortal?' 'No.' 'What then?' 'As in the former instance,
he is neither mortal nor immortal, but in a mean between the two.' 'What is he,
Diotima?' 'He is a great spirit (daimon), and like all spirits he is
intermediate between the divine and the mortal.' 'And what,' I said, 'is his
power?' 'He interprets,' she replied, 'between gods and men, conveying and
taking across to the gods the prayers and sacrifices of men, and to men the
commands and replies of the gods; he is the mediator who spans the chasm which
divides them, and therefore in him all is bound together, and through him the
arts of the prophet and the priest, their sacrifices and mysteries and charms,
and all prophecy and incantation, find their way. For God mingles not with man;
but through Love all the intercourse and converse of God with man, whether
awake or asleep, is carried on. The wisdom which understands this is spiritual;
all other wisdom, such as that of arts and handicrafts, is mean and vulgar. Now
these spirits or intermediate powers are many and diverse, and one of them is
Love.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Diotima remarks
that all prophecy and sorcery are the workings of daimons, a concept that
generally defined the mechanics of magic until the nineteenth century when
other ideas were proposed and widely embraced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">In the Platonic
worldview, phenomena within material reality are supervised, influenced,
shaped, and/or directed by daimons. The classes of divine beings, however,
multiplied in later centuries. Daimons in classical Neoplatonic cosmology
function as the laborers or custodians under specific divine hierarchies. They
carry out the micro-management necessary for Creation to operate (this includes
affecting emotional states of beings). They are also the enforcers of fate, so
to speak, which is why the eleventh house in horoscopy was called the “good
daimon”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Daimons each fall
under a hierarchy that stretches up to one of the archons. All activities in
the sublunar world (i.e., Earth) are under the direction or co-direction of
these hierarchies. The angels and heroes also have their roles in serving their
divine hierarchies. Angels and archangels form a class above that of the
daimons. This angelic class generally does not descend into generation (our
material world), but the daimons do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Some thinkers,
such as Plotinus, believed that one ought to escape the influence of daimons in
order to transcend fate and ascend to a permanently divine state beyond the
material world. Others, such as Iamblichus, sought to proactively work with
them and modify reality according to one's will, which is connected to the
magical practice of theurgy, a ritual framework designed to bring about
ascension of the person into the higher realms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The issue with
daimons is that they compel the cosmic design to continue unfolding, which is
called generation, i.e., the natural world in which we find ourselves with all
its disorder and suffering. Animal instinct, for instance, is under the
daimonic domain. Animals and one half of humans (according to Iamblichus) are
governed by instinct. This instinct is embedded in beings by design and
reflects a principle of a higher hypercosmic design (that is to say, everything
in material reality is an expression of the divine forms). The faculty of
reason, which human nature possesses as its other half, is divine, and so it is
through reason that one can become a fully autonomous being, rather than simply
obeying that which has been fated, which is characterized by the natural
passions we experience, as well as normal mortal life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">How does this
relate to astral magic?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Moving forward to
the medieval period, since we do not have treatises on astral magic from
Antiquity, we see mature treatises on astral magic, such as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm</i> from around the tenth
century. This work in Arabic was translated into Spanish between 1256 and 1258
at the court of Alfonso the Wise (1221–1284), and sometime shortly thereafter a
Latin translation of the Spanish was produced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Although astral
magic can at times be explained in materialist terms, for instance the theory
of planetary rays, in general the efficacy of talismanic magic and petitions
assumes some kind of negotiation or interaction with spirits or gods. The
practice of astral magic works within this worldview in an attempt to negotiate
fate through the employment of petitions directed to the planets or the
production of talismans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">In the case of the
former, the magician identifies their aim and determines the planetary deity
under whose domain the matter at hand falls. Love would be Venusian. Military
matters would be Martian. Longevity would be Saturnian. The magician then
gathers to himself or herself the appropriate ingredients necessary for the
ritual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The substances
prescribed in spells directed at specific planets in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picatrix</i> and other works sometimes have identifiable sources in
Antiquity. For example, in the Greco-Egyptian papyri, we see some documents
that assign specific metals and stones to each of the planets (Betz PGM CX
1–12): the Sun is associated with gold, the Moon with silver, Saturn with
obsidian, etc. Similarly, PGM XIII. 17–22 associates the planets with different
types of incense. Such associations between planets and substances clearly
started quite early. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">In later “mature
astral magic” that we see attested only from the early medieval period in
languages such as Arabic and Syriac (the Latin translations come later in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries), all organic and inorganic substances and
creatures are said to be ruled by one or sometimes two of the planets. This is
a totalizing system that assigns planetary rulers to everything in the physical
world. This extends even into diseases and emotional states.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">How are the
substances in offerings used? Suffumigation (burning) is the preferred method
of activating material offerings in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picatrix</i>,
although in East Asia some fragments of Iranian astral magic reveal spells that
require an altar to be set up, atop which one places an image of the planetary
deity, plus offerings and incense appropriate to them. The latter is more of a
basic cult offering, whereas the former requires a much more complex ritual
framework, recipe, and most importantly exact timing that considers planetary
configurations (an astrological election).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Determining an
election requires advanced knowledge of horoscopy, since once has to calculate
the positions of the planets relative to the constantly mobile zodiac signs. In
fact, even determining planetary hours requires careful calculation, since
these are what we call seasonal hours. The Greeks divided the day into twenty-four
<i>hṓra</i> or hours, but these differ from the modern convention of each hour
consisting of sixty minutes (equinoctial hours). This model of seasonal hours
divides daytime (sunrise to sunset) and nighttime (sunset to sunrise)
respectively into twelve hours of equal duration each. The length of daytime or
nighttime hours will therefore vary according to latitude and the time of the
year. One must also understand concepts such as latitude and know how to
calculate for it. In other words, determining elections was a demanding but
essential component to astral magic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Returning to the
concept of suffumigation, there are various ways one might conceivably explain
the efficacy of it from an emic perspective (that is to say, from the viewpoint
of an astral magician).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Iamblichus
explained that the commonest link between humans and the divine is through
people and the daimons. This would be akin to meeting a lowly underling of a
king or queen. All but a few human beings have ever directly met with a god,
although meeting an angel or archangel is conceivably more realistic in this
worldview, albeit still rare. This means that when people pray to a god and
sense a response, it is normally interaction with a daimon, not the god itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The daimons
possess little autonomy, and merely carry out the tasks assigned to them (in ancient
Greco-Egyptian magic, interestingly, the magician would compel and coerce these
entities to do his or her bidding using the names of their superiors, but
entities up the hierarchical chain become less susceptible to such compulsion).
The daimons are also the intermediaries between material offerings and the gods
they serve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">There were
different metaphysical speculations on how precisely this occurs. How does an
archon benefit from a person offering them incense and foodstuffs, or blood
sacrifices? One idea was that the daimons actually feed on the fumes of the
material offerings. In effect, one was nourishing the underlings of a god or
goddess. If this proved ample and sufficient, then the hierarchy became aware
of the act and hopefully one’s prayers would be transmitted up the chain of
command, at which point fate might be adjusted at the discretion of the
divinity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvd9Szf7Ybz3NlvUzEy7s1KDbYHnqDzUhEFFrzuEO_HrwJv0bhgheORe3493MzDf4-wRB5-E910_p7nf13zfWS93DZVJHB8NGJAY77vAvTdeeSwVLIB2TTlIogeAqroOIE5BzVrRHTCw/s1600/31743570_10155766246631387_5988023337995993088_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1200" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvd9Szf7Ybz3NlvUzEy7s1KDbYHnqDzUhEFFrzuEO_HrwJv0bhgheORe3493MzDf4-wRB5-E910_p7nf13zfWS93DZVJHB8NGJAY77vAvTdeeSwVLIB2TTlIogeAqroOIE5BzVrRHTCw/s640/31743570_10155766246631387_5988023337995993088_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Ritualized
offering of substances under the rulership of a given planetary deity
effectively constitutes an act of giving unto the ruler the fruits of their
administration. The qualities of the substances are critical in this respect:
one would not give unto Saturn, who is associated with bitter and fermented
flavors, something sweet like honey, which is Venusian in quality. Saturn rules
over substances such as lead and styrax (a type of incense), animals such as
crows, and processes such as decay and fermentation. Saturn co-rules olives
with the Sun. Each of the planets also possess their own sigils, which can
considerably differ according to the manuscript or textual tradition (see the
comparison above). All such lore is necessary in designing spells directed
toward one’s aims. The explanation thus far can be illustrated on the following
figure:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMsLISM4OM22C-DipFsaprj6AyWOrxWNe_1fyA2cyEzVsJC7rh-OFPfnbge9t7rzZyJe2ni6PZ5m1LreursdlEHJGOFKcXn_YTeKTMeaqft-wPDSU5CvNvLcO9Fo1OEkPbJMSqXYvvF0/s1600/cosmology+outline.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMsLISM4OM22C-DipFsaprj6AyWOrxWNe_1fyA2cyEzVsJC7rh-OFPfnbge9t7rzZyJe2ni6PZ5m1LreursdlEHJGOFKcXn_YTeKTMeaqft-wPDSU5CvNvLcO9Fo1OEkPbJMSqXYvvF0/s640/cosmology+outline.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The advanced
petitions explained in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picatrix</i>
basically open a direct channel to a divinity, rather than relying on a simple
prayer, which conceivably would normally only be heard by a daimon of the
divinity to which one has issued a request. The election is essential because
if unfavorable, then the divinity in question is similarly thought to be in an
ill position to grant a favor, whereas if the election is precisely tuned, they
are likely to respond favorably.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The worldview of
astral magic illustrated by this concept of elections is characteristically
feudal (you ought to meet with the King or Queen when they are in a good mood),
but this is by no means a medieval adaptation, since it is clear that such
concepts of rulerships and subordinate deities were a core component in earlier
Platonic cosmologies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Talismans are
another wing of astral magic aside from petitions. This is an art of enchanting
an object with the influence or spirits of a planetary hierarchy. Again, there
are different emic explanations for metaphysically how this occurs. Some
explain that the rays of the planet become embedded in the enchanted object,
such a ring. Other traditions say that the spirits of the planet come to reside
in the talisman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv_WczB-Jj812g3slN36MinkncUKSfE6THcp9sMK4_iofoyjhVbROLUud86xqYpZgGq0bnITSdaYZ49sD5hrXc0LUkC-OT4zNtk8KLFHt-pzENim6m0UjiohDh5ImEAAZnOgNmAoIBLo/s1600/49771571_10155711844726793_3120577728076578816_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="849" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv_WczB-Jj812g3slN36MinkncUKSfE6THcp9sMK4_iofoyjhVbROLUud86xqYpZgGq0bnITSdaYZ49sD5hrXc0LUkC-OT4zNtk8KLFHt-pzENim6m0UjiohDh5ImEAAZnOgNmAoIBLo/s400/49771571_10155711844726793_3120577728076578816_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturn, seven-armed and cross-legged. Manuscript 373.<br />Wellcome Collection.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">These talismans
can be used to benefit oneself or curse others (or curse a specific location).
For instance, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picatrix</i> provides a
spell to banish all dwellers of a place (p. 100, Greer and Warnock translation):
one acquires a lead plate and on it one produces a string of specific
characters with pig brains upon the day and hour of Saturn when Saturn is
rising in the second decan of Capricorn. People will avoid dwelling in the
place in which the plate is deposited. Here the idea is that one harnesses the
divine influence of Saturn to achieve a specific aim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">To sum up, astral
magic is premised on the concept of fate. Fate constitutes divine will or
organization. Numerous types of magic and religious practices are directed at
affecting or changing fate through ritual means, petitions, and prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The magician
utilizes their faculty of reason in coordination with a wide array of natural
forces to produce a desired change. Astral magic necessitates interaction with
the planetary deities. In Antiquity these figures were understood as archons or
divine rulers of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">According to
Iamblichus, humans are in a unique position in that they possess souls
comprised of both animal and rational components. Animal instinct is primarily
governed and compelled by force of fate. This fate is expressed through the
activity of daimons. The faculty of reason that we possess enables us to
observe, analyze, and even modify fate. The practice of astral magic was
conceived of as a tool with which the hard aspects of fate could be negotiated
or modified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-11294520963464632712018-04-08T05:48:00.001+09:002020-10-19T07:20:42.741+09:00Arab and Indian Lunar Stations<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lSybqe810sDFmhXaAy-MERPjP8N5h0DhKzudgodSrTnRu8PdKWgIcYEINE_XksVPZhwlyoHRkeJw3PArkRu1-0Hs4Bq1QjoxaOMshLwlMWBQxKXU5O8H-_jGRSngUHiyQVgAJImfpY4/s1600/0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1572" data-original-width="1445" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lSybqe810sDFmhXaAy-MERPjP8N5h0DhKzudgodSrTnRu8PdKWgIcYEINE_XksVPZhwlyoHRkeJw3PArkRu1-0Hs4Bq1QjoxaOMshLwlMWBQxKXU5O8H-_jGRSngUHiyQVgAJImfpY4/s320/0002.jpg" width="294" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Arab tradition of astrology utilizes a system of twenty-eight lunar stations <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(otherwise called “lunar mansions”) called <i>al-manāzil</i>
or <i>manāzil al-ḳamar</i>. There is no such parallel system to be found in
Mesopotamian or Hellenistic Greek sources, but there exists an ancient Indian
system of twenty-eight lunar stations, called <i>nakṣatras</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
is a lunar station? The Moon revolves around the earth over the course of 27.32
days and it therefore appears from a standpoint on Earth to “lodge” in twenty-seven or
twenty-eight positions throughout its circuit. The Chinese devised their own
unique system of lunar stations (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">二十八宿</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">) independent of any foreign influences, although during the
twentieth century there was much scholarly debate on this matter, even in
Japan, with some arguing for a Babylonian origin. The present evidence,
however, indicates that Indian and Chinese civilizations created their systems
separate from one another. This point is easily demonstrated by the fact that
the system established by the Chinese court in Antiquity does not correspond to
any documented system of <i>nakṣatras</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
is important to note that the original systems of Indian <i>nakṣatras</i> and
Chinese lunar stations divided the ecliptic or celestial equator into uneven
zones. The former, however, was redeveloped following the introduction of
Hellenistic astrology and astronomy during the fourth to fifth centuries CE.
The zodiac signs are each uniformly comprised of 30°, thus dividing a 360° ecliptic
into twelve even zones. At some point in the history of Indian astronomy
someone devised a method of bringing together the <i>nakṣatras</i> and the zodiac
signs into a coherent and workable model. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
revised system was the <i>navāṃsas</i> or ninths of a zodiac sign, in which 27
sidereal <i>nakṣatras</i> are employed (the <i>nakṣatra </i>of Abhijit is
dropped). The ecliptic is comprised of 108 <i>pādas</i> (quarters), with each
zodiac sign comprised of 9 <i>pādas</i>. 108/28 = 3.85, but 27 divides into
integers (108/27 = 4). 360°/27 moreover gives a manageable 13°20. In short,
lunar stations of uneven dimensions were reformatted to fit into a sidereal
zodiacal system of 360°.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Sassanian Persians, perhaps during the third century CE, adopted the <i>nakṣatras</i>
into their system of astrology (called <i>xwurdag</i> in Pahlav</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> or Middle Persian). These
are listed in the Zoroastrian <i>Bundahish</i>, a late Pahlav</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ī
work on Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology (<a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/zor/sbe05/sbe0511.htm" target="_blank">see chapter II.2 here</a>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Did
the Arab tradition acquire the concept of lunar stations from the Persians
after the conquest of the Sassanian empire during the early-seventh century, or
perhaps earlier from the Indians? This is a question that nobody has been able
to satisfactorily answer, but here we might consider some aspects of the Arab<i> manāzil</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
Kunitzsch in the <i>Encyclopedia of Islam</i> (Brill) notes, the Arabs named the lunar
stations after their <i>anwāʾ </i>. The full list is reported by ʿAbd al-Mālik
b. Ḥabīb (d. 852). The <i>anwāʾ</i> collectively refer to the evening setting and
heliacal rising of specific stars or constellations for the purposes of
estimating the passage of time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike
the <i>navāṃsas</i>, the <i>manāzil</i> are tropical (i.e., they are defined
according to the vernal equinox, rather than fixed stars). There are also
twenty-eight, each comprised of approximately 12°51. Why would they be tropical rather than
sidereal? Unlike Indian astronomy, the Arabs adopted the tropical zodiac, most
likely based on the work of Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century CE). If the <i>manāzil</i> were based on the <i>navāṃsas</i>,
it would have made sense to define the lunar stations using tropical rather
than sidereal parameters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another
interesting point to note is that the sequences of the <i>manāzil</i> and <i>nakṣatras</i>
follow a very similar order:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1.
al-s̲h̲araṭān </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2.
al-buṭayn</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3.
al-t̲h̲urayyā (the Pleiades)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4.
al-dabarān</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1.
Aśvinī</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2.
Bharaṇī</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3.
Kṛttikā (the Pleiades)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4.
Rohiṇī</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
oldest model of <i>nakṣatras</i> commenced from Kṛttikā, but later the sequence
was revised with Aśvinī at the start. The reason behind this was likely to
ensure that the starting <i>nakṣatra</i> would line up with the vernal equinox (the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>nakṣatras </i>were still sidereal by definition however)</span>.
The fact that the <i>manāzil</i> and <i>nakṣatras</i> both count their third
lunar station as the Pleiades is either a remarkable coincidence or an
indication that the former borrowed from the latter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
isn’t it possible at present to come to a definitive conclusion regarding the history
of the lunar stations? There is simply a paucity of evidence. I suspect we
could easily solve the problem at hand if we had access to astrological and
astronomical materials from Sassanian Iran, but unfortunately the extant
material is quite scarce and moreover not from works written by professional
astronomers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdLB0cwcj2lVDM1tdYFBiogpyY4c49hOzliHQIH-LFTTQLkHNK-03aWuIe-49iVDlt6OuDfb2p7ETDny3LEzibWbAJVnsXOHkat4kGj8JFYILBCqWyyhD4ma7aQQ7iff7IjgOIj1dWwU/s1600/0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1505" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdLB0cwcj2lVDM1tdYFBiogpyY4c49hOzliHQIH-LFTTQLkHNK-03aWuIe-49iVDlt6OuDfb2p7ETDny3LEzibWbAJVnsXOHkat4kGj8JFYILBCqWyyhD4ma7aQQ7iff7IjgOIj1dWwU/s320/0003.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We know that the Sassanian Persians had a deep interest in
astrology, in light of the testimonies of later Arab sources. One key work in
this regard is the <i>Kitāb al-Fihrist</i> (especially chapter 7.1 & 7.2),
a catalog of texts by Ibn al-Nadim (c. 987–988). He records that the Sasanian
king Šāpur I (r. 239–270) translated into Persian the books of Dorotheus and
Ptolemy as well as an Indian named “Farmāsib”. These works in Persian are now
lost to us, but they show that early Sassanian Iran brought together
Hellenistic and Indian works (hence their concurrent use of zodiac signs and
lunar stations). Early Arab astrologers utilized Persian works to a great extant,
but as far as I know, we cannot identify the source of the <i>manāzil</i>
from their writings.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-16073377558987367972018-03-16T06:36:00.000+09:002018-03-16T06:41:53.269+09:00Dorotheus in East Asia<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.hellenisticastrology.com/astrologers/dorotheus-of-sidon/" target="_blank">Dorotheus of Sidon</a> (c. 75 CE) was arguably one of the most influential authors on astrology
in Antiquity, standing alongside <a href="http://www.hellenisticastrology.com/astrologers/claudius-ptolemy/" target="_blank">Claudius Ptolemy</a> (2<sup>nd</sup> cent. CE),
author of the <i>Almagest</i> and <i>Tetrabiblos</i>, as a sort of canonized
figure in classical horoscopy. Dorothean astrology is predicated on a
theoretical framework of fate in which planetary configurations and movements signal
predestined developments. Ptolemaic astrology, in contrast, is based on a
materialist cosmology in which planetary influences are conceived of as impersonal
physical forces affecting the Earth and its inhabitants. The approach of Ptolemy
it seems was rather unusual among Hellenistic astrologers, but nevertheless his
work became standard among later Arab and European astrologers.</span>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dorotheus’
work, unfortunately, is only partially extant in Arabic translation. We do,
however, possess Latin, Greek and Chinese fragments. Dorotheus’ work was first
translated into Pahlavī (Middle Persian) from Greek during the early years of
the Sassanian dynasty in Iran between 222–267. This version was later expanded
between 531–578, and then around the year 800, this recension was translated
into Arabic by ‘Umar al-Tabarī. It was curiously around the same time that a
certain figure named Li Miqian </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">李彌乾</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> (d.u.), said to hail from Western India (<i>Xi Tianzhu</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">西天竺</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">),
brought an astrological text to China, which was subsequently translated between
785–805 with the title in Chinese <i>Duli yusi jing</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">都利聿斯經</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Some modern scholars in Japan in recent decades identified fragments of this
text. Yano Michio suggested that it might have been a transcription of “Ptolemy”,
but Bill M. Mak in 2014 argued on the basis of the fragments and a very short versified
version of the original text that this work was most likely that of Dorotheus. My
recent dissertation in 2017 (<a href="https://archive.org/details/buddhistastrologykotyk" target="_blank">see here, pages 124–139</a>) examined a number of
additional fragments of Dorotheus in a Daoist astrological work of the ninth or early
tenth century, especially those concerning lots.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lots
or </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">κλῆρο</span><span lang="EL" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ι refer to a technique
in which the distance between two planets or otherwise two points in a chart are
measured and then that same distance is applied from the ascendant in the same
direction. The degree or more generally the zodiac sign upon which the end of
that distance falls is designated as a lot. The lot in question will deal with
some concern, such as parents or marriage.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Being
illiterate in Arabic, I was forced to depend upon David Pingree’s translation
from 1976. In some cases the Chinese matched up with Pingree’s translation so
well that it was very clear that the Chinese text in question was derived from
Dorotheus. For example, the following remark is given concerning the lot of the
mother in the Daoist text:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">日月同在翻復宮,又居東方,此人父母不同類。</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If the Sun and the Moon are in tropical signs,
and also [a tropical sign] is resident in the East [at the ascendant], then
this person’s parents will be of different types.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pingree’s
translation (1976: 174) of the section in Dorotheus concerning the lot of the
mother reads, “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you find the Sun and the Moon in tropical signs, and the ascendant is
a tropical sign, then the parents of this native are not from one race … .”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The term <i>fanfu
gong</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">翻復宮</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, literally “tropical palace” (“palace” means “sign”), in the
Chinese refers to tropical or solstitial signs, i.e., Cancer and Capricorn.
These are the positions in which the Sun seems to “turns” in its apparent
motion during the solstices. The Chinese rendering of <i>fanfu</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">翻復</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
literally “turning” or “reversing”, actually semantically reflects the original Greek term τροπικός
quite well. Similarly, in English we have the term “tropical”, which is etymologically
derived from the same Greek word.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
consulted Pingree’s translation, but last year Benjamin N. Dykes published his
translation of the Arabic translation of Dorotheus. He renders the
aforementioned line as follows (Dykes 2017: 84):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now if you found the Sun and Moon in convertible signs, and the
Ascendant in a convertible sign, then the parents of that native will not be of
one [and the same] nationality …</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dykes’
translation is far more readable than Pingree’s. Dykes also provides numerous
footnotes, comments and a solid introduction to the work with many references
to other relevant texts of Antiquity and the Medieval period. Although I cannot
evaluate the quality of the translation, Dykes has a PhD from the University of
Illinois and has published numerous translations of Latin and Arabic texts, so
I have no reason to doubt his ability to translate the material.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Returning to
the Chinese, we might wonder from which language was the Chinese version of
Dorotheus produced? Although it is vaguely conceivable that the
Arabic translation of ‘Umar al-Tabarī could have been brought to China shortly
after its production, this is highly unlikely for the simple reason that there
were no documented translators who were bilingual in Arabic and Chinese and
moreover familiar with astrology at this point in history. At the time,
however, there were plenty of ethnically Persian men who had been born and
raised in China. Some of them even worked at court directly under the Emperor. It is therefore most likely that a Pahlavī translation of
Dorotheus was used as the source text for the Chinese. Whether it was the same
text that ‘Umar al-Tabarī used is an interesting question, but I have no good
answer for this. What I can say is that the translator(s) of the original Chinese
text, judging from its fragments in Chinese and also Japanese sources, were quite
capable and systematic in their work. The readability of the translation would have
facilitated its popularity in China.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the moment I
am carrying out a research project concerning the sinicization of Indo-Iranian astrology
in Medieval China (eighth to sixteenth centuries). I am examining Dorothean and
Ptolemaic sources of astrology in Chinese translation, in addition to
considering the types of <i>nakṣatra</i> astrology (originally Indian, but Iranians
also adopted it) studied by Chinese astrologers throughout the centuries. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With
respect to horoscopy specifically, I’ve settled on calling it “Indo-Iranian”,
since Chinese astrologers built their traditions upon Indian and Iranian
sources, in addition to adding their own uniquely Chinese concepts and
interpretations. Although Dorothean horoscopy is originally Hellenistic, it is
simply more accurate to call it “Iranian” once it reached China, and moreover
it was integrated into a system that simultaneously utilized <i>nakṣatra</i>
lore. This is why I think we best just call this type of horoscopy “Indo-Iranian”.
Chinese writers by the fourteenth century interestingly forgot about the
originally foreign origin of their horoscopy, so by that point it had become
sufficiently sinicized that we could securely call their horoscopy simply as “Chinese
horoscopy”.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In some
forthcoming publications I will demonstrate the depth of Dorothean astrology in
East Asia. One of the points I want to make is that East Asia was as much heir
to Dorotheus’ work as was the Arabic world. More than that, East Asia was also as
much heir to Persian astrology as was the Arabic tradition. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The study of
horoscopy in East Asia is really in its infancy when we consider that there are
extant manuals that comprise hundreds of pages. Few of them have been read by
modern scholars. In order to make sense of them, you need to read Classical
Chinese in addition to understanding classical horoscopy. There are also numerous
social dynamics that we ought to consider. There were plenty of poets and
literati in the Tang and Song dynasties (particularly between the ninth and
eleventh centuries) who wrote about horoscopy. This art was clearly a part of
aristocratic society until at least the seventeenth century when some Jesuit
influences begin to appear. The deeper I dig into this topic, the more I
realize the scale of what needs to be done.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dykes, Benjamin
N. 2017. <i>Dorotheus of Sidon: Carmen Astrologicum, The ‘Umar al-Tabarī Translation</i>.
Minneapolis: The Cazimi Press.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kotyk, Jeffrey.
2017.<a href="https://archive.org/details/buddhistastrologykotyk" target="_blank"> “Buddhist Astrology and Astral Magic in the Tang Dynasty.”</a> PhD dissertation,
Leiden University.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mak, Bill M.
2014. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yusi Jing</i> – A treatise of
‘Western’ Astral Science in Chinese and its versified version <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Xitian yusi jing</i>.” <i>SCIAMVS</i> 15: 105–169.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pingree, David.
1976. <i>Dorothei Sidonii Carmen astrologicum: interpretationem arabicam in linguam
anglicam versam una cum Dorothei fragmentis et graecis et latinis</i>. Leipzig:
Teubner.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <i>Lingtai</i> <i>jing</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 11.0pt;">靈臺經</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> (DZ 288) or <i>Scripture of the Spiritual Terrace</i>.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-8670191536389403942017-12-04T22:41:00.002+09:002018-12-20T02:51:51.456+09:00The Star of Bethlehem and Magi in Tang China (618–907)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlN8Sl7tL5DvRf4f4x1t7_9GDpE4VvHmSvJI5TE8dI4IdlvR5VDAbVuIbIGml5C2Z6mdmAt_h0hCmqxNF_XD-Xsm_3qDBpjl4wd9zhC7eDwOrQ9v0WV_7XpHO0afDuauIu8JKlOvcQs7E/s1600/Nestorians-1-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlN8Sl7tL5DvRf4f4x1t7_9GDpE4VvHmSvJI5TE8dI4IdlvR5VDAbVuIbIGml5C2Z6mdmAt_h0hCmqxNF_XD-Xsm_3qDBpjl4wd9zhC7eDwOrQ9v0WV_7XpHO0afDuauIu8JKlOvcQs7E/s1600/Nestorians-1-.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">As Christmas
approaches, I thought we might again discuss Christianity in
Tang China (618–907). In an earlier post (<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2016/10/nestorian-christianity-in-tang-dynasty.html" target="_blank">see here</a>), we surveyed the basic history of this religion during the period in question, so I will direct readers to this earlier discussion if they are not already familiar with the topic. What I want to discuss in the current post is the references to the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi in Chinese sources from the Tang period. I believe these references can tell us something about how Christianity was first transmitted and what sort of direction it took over the course of its maturation in medieval China.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
earliest reference to the Star of Bethlehem – and to Jesus himself – is found
in the <i>Xuting Mishi suo jing</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">序聽迷詩所經</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> (T
2142), i.e., the <i>Jesus-Messiah Scripture</i>.
This curious text was apparently rediscovered in the twentieth-century and purchased
in China by Takakusu Junjirō </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">高楠順次郎</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">. Although its authenticity
is not entirely accepted by all modern scholars, I tend to think the text
itself is authentic based on its content and vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">To give
some background to the text, the so-called “Nestorian Stele” erected in 781 explains
that in the year 635, a mission led by Aluoben </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">阿羅夲</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">from the country
of Daqin </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">大秦</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">(a
general term for the Levant) arrived in the Chinese capital Chang</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">an </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">長安</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">. We
also know that in 638, the “Persian monk” (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">波斯僧</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">)
Aluoben presented his scriptural teachings (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">經教)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> to the
court as tribute. These new teachings were considered beneficial, and thus the
court ordered the construction of a monastery in Chang’an, which marks the
beginning of formal Christian activity in China. The <i>Jesus-Messiah Scripture</i> as it presently exists is not fully extant,
although there is still ample content. This text describes the life of Jesus
including the Virgin birth, his baptism by John, his miracles, arrest,
crucifixion and resurrection, in addition to general Christian precepts for
daily life. It also
uses various foreign names and terms in Chinese apparently translated from Syriac
(Jehovah </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">序娑</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, Messiah </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">彌師訶</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, Mary </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">末艶</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, Jesus
</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">移鼠</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, Jerusalem </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">烏梨師</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun-ExtB; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: SimSun-ExtB;">𣫍</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, Jordan </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">述難</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, John </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">若昏</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">,
Pilatus </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">毘羅都思</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, Golgotha </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">訖句</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">). The
author of this text continually insists upon the virtue of filial piety</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, as
well as including frequent respectful addresses to the Chinese Emperor, indicating a conscious adaptation to Chinese
values.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
addition to these features, the Chinese grammar and vocabulary of this text are
highly irregular, even employing Buddhist vocabulary, leading to the impression
that it is probably a literal translation of something from another language, such
as Middle Persian, with further editing to adequately convey religious ideas in
Chinese. It might also not be a translation of a preexisting text, but rather
could be a translation of an oral testimony concerning the history and basic
doctrines of Christianity. It is quite evident that whoever translated was not a professional translator, but we should bear in mind that attempting to convey the ideas of a foreign religion into a new language for the first time would have been considerably difficult. It is not unreasonable to suggest, as scholars have
already done, that the text stems from Aluoben’s mission to China in the 630s.
If this is the case, then the first datable reference to the Star of Bethlehem
in Chinese is around 638. The relevant line reads as follows, which includes a close
translation of the Chinese:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">此天尊在於天上,普署天地。當產移鼠迷師訶</span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">所在世間</span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">居見明果在於天地。辛星居知在於天上,星大如車輪。</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">This Divinely Honored One [i.e., God] is in Heaven, universally
presiding over Heaven and Earth. When Jesus the Messiah was born, being present in the world, there appeared brilliant fruits [signs?] in
Heaven and Earth. A new star was recognized in the sky above. The star was great
like a wagon-wheel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Again,
the Chinese is awkward, but it is clear that this is referring to the Star of
Bethlehem, mentioned in the Book of Matthew (2:1–12), which signaled the birth of
the Messiah. Curiously, the text states Jesus was born “in the city of
Jerusalem in the park [=country] of Rome </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">拂林園烏梨師</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun-ExtB; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: SimSun-ExtB;">𣫍</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">城中</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">.” Here </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">烏梨師</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">𣫍 is clearly from Syriac Urishlim, i.e., Jerusalem (<a href="http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/sureth/dosearch.php?searchkey=273&language=id" target="_blank">see here for pronunciation of the Syriac</a>). </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The character <i>yuan</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">園</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">(park) is a scribal error of <i>guo</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">國</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> (country).
Bethlehem is actually a separate settlement south of Jerusalem, so this is
anomalous. <i>Fu lin</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">拂林</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">here would
have been pronounced at the time in Middle Chinese as <i>pʰjuət ljəm</i> (Schuessler IPA) or something approximating this, which
is the name “Rome” borrowed from an Iranian language, such as Sogdian <i>frwn</i> and <i>brwn</i>, or Middle Persian <i>hrōm</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Christian community was formally established in China in the 630s, but it was generally
insignificant in terms of cultural and religious influence until the
late-eighth century. Their community would have been mostly comprised of
ethnically Iranian people as well as a few other foreigners who had traveled
from the Near East. It is noteworthy that the first datable reference to the seven-day
week in Chinese is also found in the text at hand: “On that day, they took the
Messiah and tied him to wood [i.e., a cross] for five hours. This was on the
sixth fasting day [Friday] </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">其日將彌師訶木上縛著五時是六日齋</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">.” Nevertheless,
the custom of the seven-day week was still unknown to most Chinese until the
following century, when it was Buddhists who implemented its widespread use in
East Asia. This point illustrates that the early Chinese Christian community was limited in its influence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This
community, however, later rose to more significant prominence in the late
eighth-century. The clergyman Li Su </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">李素</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> (743</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">817),
for instance, worked as a court astronomer in the capital. The mature Tang
Christian community also appears to have become increasingly Sinicized, which
is evident from the so-called Nestorian Stele that was erected in 781. The
stele describes Christ’s birth, Christian doctrine, a short history of the
faith in China from the arrival of the first mission in 635, a eulogy, and a
list of names of clergymen. We also see in the inscription the second known reference
to the star of Bethlehem:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">神天宣慶,室女誕聖於大秦。景宿告祥,波斯覩耀以来貢。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
angel proclaimed good tidings. The Virgin gave birth to the Sage in
Daqin [the Levant]. The luminous asterism indicated a portent. The Persian(s) witnessed the
brilliance and came to pay tribute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">This is
in reference to the Book of Matthew (2:1–2):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">1
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">2
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him. (King James Version)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">There
are two things I would like to note here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBglHL3Znp_7MmMz0_6jO61sqElrehKVhawSyc31gGiwuGe0rFbrRs5Ksv1dwoChQuZ4NqpjVc2dCkckps2bTbz7CbXW04jRKvDIQWElN-u6x-VX4vO90un1pne8lVLCgGuE9Vk_ULEQw/s1600/640px-Early_Christian_Magi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBglHL3Znp_7MmMz0_6jO61sqElrehKVhawSyc31gGiwuGe0rFbrRs5Ksv1dwoChQuZ4NqpjVc2dCkckps2bTbz7CbXW04jRKvDIQWElN-u6x-VX4vO90un1pne8lVLCgGuE9Vk_ULEQw/s400/640px-Early_Christian_Magi.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Magi bear gifts to an infant Jesus. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3rd Century Sarcophagus. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Vatican Museum (Rome). </span><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Early_Christian_Magi.JPG" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">First,
in contrast to the stele that reads “Persian(s)” (<i>Bosi</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">波斯</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">), Matthew 2:1 in
Greek reads μάγοι, i.e., Magi, which was translated in the King James Version (completed
in 1611) as “wise men” (<a href="http://biblehub.com/text/matthew/2-1.htm" target="_blank">see here</a>). The <i>Peshitta</i>,
the standard version of the Bible in Syriac, gives “Magoshi” (see English
translation at available at <a href="http://www.peshitta.org/">http://www.peshitta.org/</a>).
The Magi, of course, hail from Persia, so the stele’s choice of vocabulary is
not entirely erroneous, although it is curious. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I suspect the author of the
inscription, the famous translator Adam </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">景淨</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, decided
to use a term which would have been immediately recognizable to Chinese
readers, rather than using a transliteration of Magoshi or some other
functional equivalent from the Buddhist or Daoist lexicons (<i>Fashi</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">法師</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Dharma
Master” or <i>Daoshi</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">道士</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Daoist
Lord” might have worked well in capturing the idea of a figure adept in rituals
and religious lore). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sg4N8aIKtbG7DtX0fK-hbEet8jlPr3lMXKfDd_83jr_SpPcUdmZP3ozvimWQvdbh_9WeauPmu9BL6PitzCMN7WFxO_ynJyam4K49BU2k1smVXC1zEs-kYLUCM01yrsHBraYyzfbDQrI/s1600/persian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="347" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sg4N8aIKtbG7DtX0fK-hbEet8jlPr3lMXKfDd_83jr_SpPcUdmZP3ozvimWQvdbh_9WeauPmu9BL6PitzCMN7WFxO_ynJyam4K49BU2k1smVXC1zEs-kYLUCM01yrsHBraYyzfbDQrI/s320/persian.jpg" width="241" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Depiction of a Persian (6th cent.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Zhigong tu</i> 職貢圖</span><br />
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zhigongtu_full.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
problem here, however, is that the term they used has no such religious or
occult sense to it. In fact, <i>Bosi</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">波斯</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">in this
period had a significantly different connotation: Persians were stereotyped as
wealthy merchants. The <a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%A4%E4%BB%8A%E8%AA%AA%E6%B5%B7_(%E5%9B%9B%E5%BA%AB%E5%85%A8%E6%9B%B8%E6%9C%AC)/%E5%8D%B7133" target="_blank">author Li Shangyin </a></span><a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%A4%E4%BB%8A%E8%AA%AA%E6%B5%B7_(%E5%9B%9B%E5%BA%AB%E5%85%A8%E6%9B%B8%E6%9C%AC)/%E5%8D%B7133" target="_blank"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">李商隱</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> (813</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">–</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%A4%E4%BB%8A%E8%AA%AA%E6%B5%B7_(%E5%9B%9B%E5%BA%AB%E5%85%A8%E6%9B%B8%E6%9C%AC)/%E5%8D%B7133" target="_blank">858)</a>
gives a list of things that are considered “unsuitable” or “unreasonable”
(meant to be humorous), the first of which is a “poor Persian” (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">窮波斯</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">). He
also mentions “an ill physician” (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">病醫人</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">) and “a teacher
illiterate and a butcher reciting sūtras” (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">先生不識字屠家念經</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">). The
idea here is that such things ought not to happen, so it would be amusing if
they did. The stereotype about Persians being wealthy no doubt reflects their
status as merchants in Tang Chinese society. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
point to take away here is that Adam’s choice of word to describe the Magi was,
in reality, a bit off. What does this indicate? It seems to suggest that Adam simply
understood the Magi as Persians who came to offer tribute to the Messiah
when he was born. Although this might be reading too much into the text on my part, there
is another part of the cited passage from the stele that caught my attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
word in Biblical Greek for “star” in Matthew 2:2 is ἀστήρ (astér), which simply means “star” (<a href="http://biblehub.com/text/matthew/2-2.htm" target="_blank">see here</a>). </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The corresponding Chinese term, which I translate as “luminous asterism” is <i>jing xiu</i> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size: 14pt;">景宿</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">. The latter
character in any astronomical context normally refers to the twenty-eight
Chinese lunar stations (i.e., constellations through which the Moon transits)
or, especially in the Buddhist context, the twenty-seven or twenty-eight <i>nakṣatras</i>, which are also constellations
through which the Moon transits over the course of its monthly circuit (in China the
indigenous model was used as a functional equivalent when translating the
Indian terms). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In the year 781 when the stele was erected, Adam <i>should</i> have presumably understood that this character does <i>not</i> refer to a star in
the singular. Although this variance might merely have been a stylistic
decision, I have to wonder if there is more to this than just that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">It is
quite likely that the Chinese Christian community in the later part of the Tang
dynasty had become quite Sinicized. As the available evidence indicates, it
does not appear that their community translated the Bible in its entirety into
Chinese. Although we can probably safely guess that the clergy possessed the
Bible in Syriac, we might speculate that their clerics originally born in China
were not necessarily fully literate in Syriac.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">We can
draw a parallel here with the Buddhist tradition and their approach to
Sanskrit. China in the eighth and ninth centuries had tens if not hundreds of
thousands of Buddhist monks, but very few of them could read <i>and</i> comprehend Sanskrit. Japan preserves
many Sanskrit documents written in <i>siddhaṃ</i>
script that were brought over from Tang China. These are often accompanied by
transliterations of the <i>siddhaṃ</i> lines
into Chinese characters, which shows that on the mainland some Buddhist monks
were, in fact, reading out loud Sanskrit texts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The question remains, however,
how much did they actually comprehend without reference to existing Chinese
translations? East Asian Buddhism as a whole, despite the achievements of monks
such as Xuanzang and Yijing who became fully literate in Sanskrit, never
developed traditions of Sanskrit scholarship, and instead relied almost exclusively on
Chinese translations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.0pt;">Did
something similar occur with the Chinese Christian community? Although Adam was famous for his translations of Christian
literature into Chinese, how many of the native-born clerics – even those
of Sogdian backgrounds – were literate in Syriac? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It is unfortunate that only a handful of documents survive from Tang Christianity, otherwise we might be able to say more about this community. Hopefully in the future more documents from the Christian tradition will be rediscovered in China.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-11798268403159614822017-11-22T23:57:00.001+09:002017-11-22T23:57:29.219+09:00Do Buddhists Believe in a Flat Earth?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghN5pxf2cRHKIqPT2BV44Msm_-aiIoUyu3hVqEel4IqFdA2EWF1Mxed0TN-Aoc_Os5WkjueN21KtovlqoBs7YG-UM856FIqhrhwjeSwjW4pdwJDMLUvfoID8nHl3R231WW_EZ_DbcgOMk/s1600/%25E5%259B%259B%25E5%25A4%25A7%25E9%2583%25A8%25E6%25B4%25B2%25E9%25A0%2588%25E5%25BD%258C%25E8%25AB%25B8%25E5%25B1%25B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1595" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghN5pxf2cRHKIqPT2BV44Msm_-aiIoUyu3hVqEel4IqFdA2EWF1Mxed0TN-Aoc_Os5WkjueN21KtovlqoBs7YG-UM856FIqhrhwjeSwjW4pdwJDMLUvfoID8nHl3R231WW_EZ_DbcgOMk/s400/%25E5%259B%259B%25E5%25A4%25A7%25E9%2583%25A8%25E6%25B4%25B2%25E9%25A0%2588%25E5%25BD%258C%25E8%25AB%25B8%25E5%25B1%25B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount Sumeru and the Four Continents (1921)<br />
(<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%A7%E9%83%A8%E6%B4%B2%E9%A0%88%E5%BD%8C%E8%AB%B8%E5%B1%B1.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div lang="en-US" style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">When
I was traveling around India and Nepal a few years ago, I was told by
some monks that plenty of people in the Himalayas believe that the
world is flat and moreover that many monastic lectures still teach
traditional Buddhist cosmology, especially as it is explained in
texts such as the </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">
by Vasubandhu (chapter 3 deals with cosmology or </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"><i>lokanirdeśaḥ</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US"><i>,
</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">part
of which discusses the physical world</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">)</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span lang="en-US">.
However, some monks also get sent to study modern science and then
express upset over the fact that they spent so much time learning
Buddhist cosmology, only to learn that the rest of the world mostly
accepts a heliocentric spherical-earth model of cosmology.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">When
I say “mostly accepts”, I mean that there is a movement with
quite a large following online that argues that our physical world is
comprised of a stationary flat-earth, atop which the Sun and Moon
orbit. The proponents of this movement often assert that images of
the Earth taken from space by NASA and other agencies are
fabrications, and that spherical-earth cosmology amounts to one giant
fraud. </span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">This movement is still perhaps fringe, but it is growing in significance. A few weeks ago, there was a Flat Earth International
Conference in North Carolina (<a href="http://fe2017.com/">http://fe2017.com/</a>).
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/22/self-taught-rocket-scientist-plans-launch-to-test-flat-earth-theory" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> and other sources are reporting that a man in California
is planning to launch himself into the air using a homemade rocket
and reach 1,800ft (550 metres), where he will be able to make
observations. The Guardian (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/20/flat-earth-believers-youtube-videos-conspiracy-theorists" target="_blank">see here</a>) also quotes a “flat-earth
convert” who states, “It’s almost like the beginning of a new
religion.” This particular comment interests me as a researcher of religions.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Scanning
online forums on the topic of a flat-earth, I've observed that the
inspiration behind belief in this is often stated to be religious –
predominately Christian – in orientation. At present, I am unaware of
any modern Buddhist teacher of note insisting on flat-earth cosmology, but it
still might surprise some Buddhists to know that their religion's
cosmology has much in common with modern proponents of flat-earth
cosmology.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">In
a past post (<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2015/07/buddhisms-flat-earth-cosmology.html" target="_blank">see here</a>), I discussed the Buddhist flat-earth theory. In brief, historically until
relatively recently, most Buddhists in any country believed that the
physical world is comprised of a disc-shaped landmass covered in
water with four continents surrounding an enormous Mount Meru at the
center of the disc, atop which gods such as Indra and his retinue
reside. Around the periphery of the disc is a chain of mountains called </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Cakravāḍa, made of iron. This model differs from what I've observed among present flat-earth proponents. For instance, they generally insist that a wall of ice surrounds the world, rather than a ring of mountains. Their models also don't include a Mount Sumeru. Still, their models of the orbital paths of the Sun and Moon are generally identical. See the following model:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hiOhsKAR6OY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hiOhsKAR6OY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">In a Buddhist model, Mount Meru would stand at the center of the Earth, and its height would surpass the altitudes of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars. If you stood atop the mountain, you would be able to look down at all the luminous bodies circling the disc-shaped earth below.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">What I would like to consider is what the flat-earth cosmology means in relation to modern Buddhism.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmDrzWd0XonP-BIYvuepevqwkFhuTj9lyrAkFKLTN53StCkSFBwP2kFJlY4wIQjYV7bK1dF4muBMef_W4D3zXTJzG4u4kmln6lCc06i8XGs44tiFzycaRFGk1-VvmetXpbzXbxAiwCL4/s1600/Flat_earth.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="543" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmDrzWd0XonP-BIYvuepevqwkFhuTj9lyrAkFKLTN53StCkSFBwP2kFJlY4wIQjYV7bK1dF4muBMef_W4D3zXTJzG4u4kmln6lCc06i8XGs44tiFzycaRFGk1-VvmetXpbzXbxAiwCL4/s320/Flat_earth.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Azimuthal equidistant projection of the entire spherical Earth.<br />
(<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flat_earth.png" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">After
exploring the Buddhist experience of astrology over the ages, it
occurred to me that modern Buddhists have quietly overlooked the
original features of their own cosmology. This isn't necessarily
surprising, given that from the twentieth-century onward, much
attention has been placed on areas such as the nature of mind,
meditation and Buddhist philosophy. Nevertheless, Buddhist cosmology
is a big part of the religion and always has been. Mount Meru and the
four continents are frequently mentioned in scriptures. According to Buddhism, you could, in theory, travel to Mount Meru or the other continents if you possessed sufficient spiritual powers (we live on Jambudvīpa, the southern continent).</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Modern
proponents of Buddhism often insist that Buddhism is scientific and
always has been. I recently read an article by Natalie Quli titled
“Multiple Buddhist Modernisms: Jhāna in Convert Theravāda.”<sup>1 </sup>Quli outlines the general approach to meditation on the part of
traditionally non-Buddhist peoples in modern times. Some of the
features of Buddhist modernism that she describes include “the
extolling of reason and rationality”, “a belief in the
compatibility of Buddhism and modern science” and “a desire to
return to the 'original' teachings of the Buddha, particularly as
ascribed to the Pāli canon”. When dealing with the science of
mind, it is perhaps easy and plausible to open a discussion between modern scientists and proponents of a Buddhist school, and suggest that the Buddhists
have always embraced a scientific approach to reality.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">This empowers Buddhism with a kind of elevated social status that other religious traditions seldom enjoy, but these discussions also ignore long-standing Buddhist theories about the physical world. Historically speaking the Buddhists of ancient India seem to have generally ignored or rejected their contemporary Indian astronomers – all of
whom wrote in the lingua franca of Sanskrit – who provided
mathematical proofs that the world is spherical. This is an
indication that Buddhist thinkers preferred scriptural authority over
scientific investigations.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">What
are the implications of all this? If we point out that the Buddha
taught a flat-earth cosmology, and his word within a Buddhist context
is supposed to be infallible, then we have demonstrable proof that he
got something – and something very significant – completely
wrong. If he was wrong about the physical shape of the world, is it
possible he was also wrong about karma and/or the nature and causes of suffering?</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">If
a Buddhist proponent accepts the fallibility of scripture, then they
surrender the right to exercise </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i>ś</i></span></span><i>abda-pramāṇa</i>,
i.e., the means to knowing something through the testimony of a valid
authority, such as one whose account is recorded in scripture. That
means they cannot defer to the testimony of the Buddha in the context
of a debate. It also hampers attempts to scout for apparent scientific facts in Buddhist scripture.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">The
fact that Buddhists have historically insisted upon a flat-earth
cosmology as physically descriptive and real stands to challenge
modern assumptions that Buddhism is, or ought to be, considered
compatible with science. I would wonder, too, if the modern Buddhist tendency to associate itself with science is what prevents even the most traditionalist of Buddhists from aligning themselves with the contemporary flat-earth movement. If that is true, then modern Buddhist cosmology is entirely shaped, guided and defined by materialist science. It goes without saying that other Buddhist beliefs are likely to end up entirely reevaluated in the same manner.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1 <i>Pacific
World Journal</i> 10, no. 1 (2008): 225-249.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-91755224532080113652017-01-16T05:10:00.000+09:002017-03-03T23:28:06.766+09:00Where was "Western India" 西天竺?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqw2FCYtGkXWlmnsmdagxv8uMGDqjhRZuUkyO-_v3guuN6e4-VO44yu02ca9sYOfAi4qZSsGHECIDq94qx3DBe1VOe2c7Ccly_GQwZ9qkQ7MM_EmuuPbHxmukol0BXP0QOD3gouamrk0/s1600/westernindia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqw2FCYtGkXWlmnsmdagxv8uMGDqjhRZuUkyO-_v3guuN6e4-VO44yu02ca9sYOfAi4qZSsGHECIDq94qx3DBe1VOe2c7Ccly_GQwZ9qkQ7MM_EmuuPbHxmukol0BXP0QOD3gouamrk0/s320/westernindia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In past posts we have discussed the
geographic locations of <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2016/08/where-was-anxi.html" target="_blank">Anxi 安息(Bukhara)</a>, <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2016/04/where-was-jibin.html" target="_blank">Jibin </a><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2016/04/where-was-jibin.html" target="_blank">罽賓</a> </span>and
<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2016/10/nestorian-christianity-in-tang-dynasty.html" target="_blank">Daqin 大秦(the Levant)</a> during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), showing that
the definitions of these place names changed over time. Anxi, for
example, originally referred to the Parthian empire in the first
centuries CE, but the name in Chinese remained in use for several
more centuries, even after the Parthian state was toppled by the
Sassanians in the early third century. During the Tang Dynasty, Anxi
actually referred to Bukhara. Daqin originally referred to the
eastern part of the Roman empire in the early centuries CE, but later
came to specifically refer to the general geographic area of the
Levant and Syria. It later referred to the Byzantium empire, which
had lost its hold on the Levant. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Here I want to discuss the geographic
location of “Western India” <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span lang="zh-CN">西天竺</span>
</span>in some Tang sources. The Chinese Tianzhu <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span lang="zh-CN">天竺</span>
</span>is an approximate transcription of <i>sindhu </i>in
some Central Asian language (it was not derived from
Sanskrit)<i>.</i> The name Tianzhu is attested in the <i>Hou Han shu</i>
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">後漢書 </span>(<i>Book of the
Later Han</i>), the history of the later Han (25–220), states the following:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">天竺國,一名身毒,在月氏之東南數千里。俗與月氏同。</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
The country of
Tianzhu: another name is Shendu. It is located thousands of miles
southeast of the Yuezhi. Their customs are the same as the Yuezhi.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At this point in time, Tianzhu refers to
the territories of the Kuṣāṇa dynasty (1<sup>st</sup> – 3rd
centuries CE). In a later century, the famous Chinese monk Xuanzang
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span lang="zh-CN">玄奘 </span></span>(602–664),
who was proficient in Sanskrit and had studied at Nālanda, rejected
this name for India:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">《大唐西域記》卷</span>2<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">:「詳夫天竺之稱,異議糺紛,舊云身毒,或曰賢豆,今從正音,宜云印度。</span>...
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">印度者,唐言月。月有多名,斯其一稱。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2087, p. 875, b16-20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
Now with
consideration of the names of Tianzhu, there are numerous disputes on
the matter. It was formerly called Shendu, or otherwise Xiandou [Middle
Chinese: <i>hen duwH</i>]. Now we will follow the correct
pronunciation. It should be called Yindu [Middle Chinese: <i>jinH
duH</i>]. … “Yindu” in Chinese means moon. The moon has many
names. This is one of its appellations.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Xuanzang tried to introduce new
terminology and transcriptions of Indian terms into Chinese, and
while he succeeded to some degree, a lot of the old vocabulary
remained in use. Throughout the Tang Dynasty, the name Tianzhu was
still widely used by Chinese authors. The
<i>Tongdian</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">通典 </span>(the
<i>Comprehensive Chronicle</i>), compiled in 801 by Du You <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">杜佑
</span>(735–812), draws upon numerous accounts of Tianzhu. The
Chinese image of India's geography at this point in time had become
rather complex. The <i>Tongdian</i> provides the following details:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">天竺,後漢通焉,即前漢時身毒國。初,張騫使大夏,見邛竹杖、蜀布。問曰:「安得此?」大夏國人曰:「吾賈人往身毒國市之。」即天竺也。或云摩伽陀,或云婆羅門。在蔥嶺之南,去月氏東南數千里,地方三萬餘里。其中分為五天竺:一曰中天竺,二曰東天竺,三曰南天竺,四曰西天竺,五曰北天竺,地各數千里,城邑數百。南天竺際大海。北天竺距雪山,四周有山為壁,南面一谷,通為國門。東天竺東際大海,與扶南、林邑鄰接,但隔小海而已。西天竺與罽賓、波斯相接。中天竺據四天竺之閒。國並有王。</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
The later Han had
contact with Tianzhu, which was the country of Shendu during the
former Han. In the beginning, Zhang Qian [d. 114 BCE] was sent as an
envoy to Daxia [Bactria], where he saw Chinese bamboo staves and
fabrics from Sichuan. He asked, “Where did you get these?” The
men of Daxia said, “Our merchants go to the country of Shendu and
trade for them.” This is referring to Tianzhu. Some call it “Magadha”
or “Brahman”. It is south of the Conglin range [Pamirs]. It is
thousands of miles southeast of the Yuezhi, and its lands are over
thirty-thousand miles. It is divided into “Five Tianzhus”
[Indias]: Central, Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern. Each land
is made up of thousands of miles with hundreds of cities. Southern
India borders a great sea. Northern India meets snowy mountains [the
Himalayas] and is walled in on all four sides by mountains, with a
great valley at its southern face acting as an entryway into the
country.<sup>1</sup>
Eastern India borders a great sea to its east. It is connected to
Funan and Linyi [Southeast Asian polities] with just a small sea in between [the Bay of Bengal]. Western India
connects to Jibin and Persia. Middle India is positioned between the four
Indias. The countries all have their kings.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The “Five Indias” roughly
correspond to modern geographical regions as follows:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Central India: Bihar and Jharkhand.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Southern India: Odisha (Orissa).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Northern India: Kashmir valley.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Eastern India: Bengal.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Western India: Sindh.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The political landscape of India
described by Du You is simplistic and uninformed as a result of
relying on chronologically disparate sources (the Yuezhi were extinct
long before the Tang Dynasty). A point relevant to the present
discussion is that he states that Western India borders Jibin and
Persia. In the year 801, however, Persia did not exist as a polity
any longer. The Sassanian empire was conquered by the Arabs in the
mid-seventh century.<sup>2</sup>
Interestingly, Du You was actually aware that Persia no longer
existed. He cites the travelogue, titled simply <i>Jingxing ji</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">經行記 </span>(<i>Travel Account</i>), of the Chinese author Du Huan <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">杜環</span>,
who traveled to the Abbasid Caliphate and returned to China in 762:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">自被大食滅,至天寶末已百餘年矣。</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
[Persia] was
destroyed by the Arabs. At the end of the Tianbao reign era
[742–756], it had already been over a century.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We actually have another contemporary
East Asian from the eighth century who attests to the destruction of
Persia by the Arabs. The Korean monk Hyecho <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">慧超
</span>(704–787) traveled from China to India between 723–729.
His travelogue<sup>3</sup>
has the following comment:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">《遊方記抄》卷</span>1<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">:「從吐火羅國,西行一月,至波斯國。此王先管大𥦽。大𥦽是波斯王放駝戶。於後叛,便殺彼王,自立為主。然今此國,却被大𥦽所吞。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2089, p. 978, a27-b1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
Traveling for one
month from Tokhara, you arrive in the country of Persia. The king
earlier governed the Arabs. The Arabs raised camels for the Persian
king. Later there was an insurrection and they killed the king,
establishing themselves as rulers. Now this country has been absorbed
by the Arabs.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is clear that the Chinese by the
mid-eighth century were aware that Persia as a polity had been
eliminated. This is important to bear in mind when we consider the
introduction of Hellenistic astrology into China around the turn of
the ninth century. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The <i>Xin Tang shu</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span lang="zh-CN">新唐書</span>
</span>(<i>New Book of Tang</i>), the revised record of the Tang
Dynasty compiled in 1060, lists the following text and account in its
bibliographical catalog (fasc. 59):</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">都利聿斯經,二卷,貞元中,都利術士李彌乾傳自西天竺,有璩公者譯其文</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<i>Duli yusi jing</i>.
2 fascicles. In the <i>Zhenyuan</i> period [785–805] the <i>duli</i>
diviner Li Miqian transmitted it from Western India. There was
someone [named] Qu Gong who translated the text.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Although this text is not extant, we
know from its fragments and later astrological manuals that it was a
translation of the work of Dorotheus of Sidon (c. 75), a major
Hellenistic astrologer. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is curious that the account here states
that Li Miqian hailed from Western India because Dorotheus’ work
was first translated into Pahlavī (Middle Persian) from its original
Greek under the Sassanians between 222–267. Its content was later
expanded sometime between 531–578. This Pahlavī version was
translated into Arabic around the year 800, which was also around the
same time when the Chinese translation was produced (a very curious coincidence).<sup>4</sup> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So far as I know, there was never a Sanskrit translation of
Dorotheus. Li Miqian was most likely Persian, given his surname Li.
Other ethnically Persian men resident in China during these years
also had the surname Li, such as the court astronomer Li Su <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">李素
</span>(743–817). Li Su was actually from Guangzhou, but his ancestors came from Persia. He arrived in Chang'an sometime during the Dali
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">大曆 </span>reign era (766–779).
Li Miqian was clearly Persian and, therefore, most certainly translated Dorotheus from
Pahlavī.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This leads me to wonder why he would
identify himself, or be identified, as hailing from Western India. As
we discussed in an earlier article (<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2016/10/nestorian-christianity-in-tang-dynasty.html" target="_blank">see here</a>), Nestorian (East Syrian) Christian
clergymen originally identified themselves as coming from Persia in
the seventh century, but later from around the year 745, when China
was becoming truly aware that Persia no longer existed, started
identifying themselves with Daqin, even though it was under the
domination of the Arabs. In other words, the Nestorian clerics in
China did not want to identify with the Arab Abbasid empire. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the
case of Li Miqian, we might imagine that he also did not want to identify with the Arab state. Instead, he
chose to identify himself with the vague geographical area of Western
India. We might even imagine him attempting to explain to the Chinese
court through an interpreter that he was not Arab, but actually
Persian, even though the Persian state was long gone. By the time he arrived, the court was well aware this fact. If he were
Sogdian, he would have probably been identified with Samarkand or
Bukhara, and not taken the surname Li.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Of course, I might be mistaken, and, in
fact, he did come from Western India, in which case this leads to
another interesting point: we would have evidence of a practitioner of
Hellenistic astrology originating from the western Indosphere in the
late eighth century. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HcWb5pcrkxJaAo3vb_DGvSQuAlZtcRZQWWtvFGY7ik-_ohKz_5F9uC0BjHTiViVEN9xA3xnYrnjgY4ECQMRRxO98Egd1fRqD9W3Mn1SxxQZGTDjAjEFR2KcEfecyberM9hfn9O-oqf8/s1600/Abbasids850.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HcWb5pcrkxJaAo3vb_DGvSQuAlZtcRZQWWtvFGY7ik-_ohKz_5F9uC0BjHTiViVEN9xA3xnYrnjgY4ECQMRRxO98Egd1fRqD9W3Mn1SxxQZGTDjAjEFR2KcEfecyberM9hfn9O-oqf8/s320/Abbasids850.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abbasids850.png" target="_blank">Abbasid Caliphate c. 850 (Wikimedia Commons)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At present, however, I strongly sense that the
expatriates from the Near and Middle East residing in China during
the eighth and early ninth centuries probably did not feel
particularly inclined to identify with the Abbasid Caliphate, which
ruled over territories from the Levant to the borderlands of western
India. There would have been multiple religious, linguistic, ethnic
and political reasons for such sentiments. This still requires further investigation.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The activities of these men in China have become
of increasing interest in my present research. I continually find
more and more evidence that these men transmitted a great deal of
religious lore and practices, as well as scientific knowledge. The
problem, however, is that identifying from where exactly they came is difficult.
In the case of Indians, it is sometimes expressly stated in their biographies that they came from definite places such as Magadha, but Iranians (both Sogdians
and Persians) and Syrians are seldom identified with specific
polities. The Chinese knew the general geographic layout of India
thanks to accounts by figures such as Xuanzang, but their knowledge
of the areas west of India during the Tang was much less detailed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Notes:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
1 Nepal,
which originally just referred to the Kathmandu valley, was
positioned in “Northern India” during the Tang Dynasty. However,
this is most certainly referring to the Kashmir valley. For details
on Nepal in this period see my earlier article:</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<a href="http://wenyanwen.blogspot.com/2015/03/references-to-nepal-in-classical.html">http://wenyanwen.blogspot.com/2015/03/references-to-nepal-in-classical.html</a></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
2 For
a reliable history of the Sassanian empire, see Iranica Online:</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty</a></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote">
3 For
a complete translation see vol. 10 of the “Collected Works of
Korean Buddhism”.
<a href="http://www.acmuller.net/kor-bud/collected_works.html">http://www.acmuller.net/kor-bud/collected_works.html</a>.
I do not always agree with this translation. I interpret Hyecho's
accounts of the Near East as recorded hearsay, rather than being a
record of a journey there.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdfootnote4">
<div class="sdfootnote">
4 David
Pingree, “Classical and Byzantine Astrology in Sassanian Persia,”
<i>Dumbarton Oaks Papers</i> 44 (1989): 229.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-79573547162255185602016-10-24T17:41:00.001+09:002016-10-24T17:41:48.231+09:00Nestorian Christianity in the Tang Dynasty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3yKyg82weV_nI29_VIq_63Pevc60u2eVSobmHq1Y3R3rvOYdkobAVvi6iGrFIpSUfAy8Okw7-7G4jyv4cGZUFFhvyqPuu1TjxBocxob6dAgR4qzpEQCUry7RlzvII3oCK_TX9PdpOvg/s1600/Nestorians-1-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3yKyg82weV_nI29_VIq_63Pevc60u2eVSobmHq1Y3R3rvOYdkobAVvi6iGrFIpSUfAy8Okw7-7G4jyv4cGZUFFhvyqPuu1TjxBocxob6dAgR4qzpEQCUry7RlzvII3oCK_TX9PdpOvg/s320/Nestorians-1-.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0.05cm;">As of late I've been reading about the Nestorian
Christian (Jingjiao </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode"; text-indent: 0.05cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">景教</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0.05cm;">)
community that thrived in China from the early seventh to mid-ninth
century. Their church was, it seems, largely responsible for
transmitting Hellenistic astrology and even some Near Eastern occult
practices into China, hence my present interest. Their active influence in Chinese religious
history during this period is not always recognized, especially in
Buddhist Studies. There are several documents from their movement
preserved in Chinese, in addition to two steles that were unearthed
in Chang'an and Luoyang, thus we know a fair amount about their
church.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Nestorianism
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">as
a Christian movement </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">initially
developed in the fifth century starting from Nestorios (c.381–c.451),
who was bishop of Constantinople </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">between
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">428–431.
The primary doctrine of Nestorianism is that Christ was comprised of
two separate persons, one human and one divine. This was rejected as
heretical by their opponents. The Nestorian bishops were condemned at
the Council of Ephesus in 431. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">The
result was an eastward spread of the Nestorian movement. It
eventually spread all across the Near East and Central Asia before
reaching China in the year 635 when </span></span>a mission led by
Aluoben </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">阿羅夲
</span><span style="font-size: small;">(also rendered as </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">阿羅本</span><span style="font-size: small;">)
arrived in the capital Chang’an </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">長安</span><span style="font-size: small;">.
His name in Chinese might have been a transliteration of 'Abraham'.
This mission occurred towards the final years of the Sassanian
dynasty (224–650), and was shortly after the first Arab invasions
of Iran starting in 633.<sup>1</sup>
This leads me to wonder if these early Christians in China might have
been refugees.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">By the late eighth century the Nestorian Christian
community was thriving in China. We know this from a famous stele
that was erected in the year 781, often called the 'Nestorian Stele'
</span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">大秦景教流行中國碑</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.
The stele inscription describes the first Christian mission to China,
some basic Christian doctrines and the names of clergymen in Chinese
with parallel Syriac and Persian names written in Syriac script. It
interestingly also provides dates according to the Chinese, Greek and
Persian calendars. The text is composed in very elegant literary
Chinese and was clearly written with elites in mind judging from its
grammar and use of refined vocabulary.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="0756a211"></a>
<span style="font-size: small;">The inscription on the stele was composed by a certain
cleric named Adam </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">景淨
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">from Daqin-si </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">大秦寺</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.
In one Buddhist source, to which we will return shortly, Adam is
also identified as a 'Persian monk' </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">波斯僧</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.<sup>2</sup>
'Daqin-si' referred to a Nestorian Christian church, but in this case refers to the one in Chang'an. Normally,
Buddhist monasteries are indicated by the suffix -<i>si</i> </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">寺 </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">(temple), but throughout the Tang dynasty (618–907), Nestorian churches were
also designated with this suffix. There were such churches in both
capitals (Chang'an and Luoyang). They were originally called 'Persian
temples' </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-TW">波斯寺</span></span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">due to the original
missionaries in 635 having come from Persia, though in 745 an
imperial edict had them renamed to Daqin-si. The following edict
records this.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">天寶四載九月詔曰:波斯經教,出自大秦,傳習而來,久行中國。爰初建寺,因以為名,將欲示人。必修其本。其兩京波斯寺,宜改為大秦寺。天下諸府郡置者,亦準此。</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In lunar month nine of year four [745] in reign era
Tianbao the following edict was issued. The scriptural teachings of
Persia came from Daqin, and long have they been transmitted in China.
They were named [as Persian temples] when they were first built so as
to show people [their origin]. It is necessary to revise their
origin. The Persian temples in the two capitals should be renamed to
'Daqin temples'. All prefectures and counties in which [such temples]
are present will also follow suit.<sup>3</sup></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 'Daqin' </span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">大秦
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">('Great Qin') in the name of the
church is interesting as this term originally referred to the Roman
empire in the early centuries CE, or more specifically its eastern
territories, in particular Alexandria. In the eighth century,
however, it does not appear to refer to the Byzantine empire, but
rather to the Levant in general. The evidence to support this
assertion is actually found in the stele from 781 as it provides the
following hint:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">神天宣慶,室女誕聖於大秦;㬌宿告祥,波斯覩耀以来貢。</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The angel [Gabriel] proclaimed good tidings. The Virgin
gave birth to the Sage in Daqin. The luminous asterism indicated a
portent. The Persians witnessed the brilliance and came to pay
tribute.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This of course is referring to the birth of Jesus Christ
in Bethlehem. In light of this and the otherwise nebulous
understanding of Daqin as being “west of the Western sea (i.e.,
the Caspian Sea),” I am convinced that 'Daqin' refers to the
general geographic region of the Levant. It seems that Nestorians
arriving in China all identified as either from Persia or Daqin,
which is instructive since these territories were under the rule of
the caliphates. They did not, so far as I know, identify as coming
from Arabia. The word for Arabia in Chinese in this period was Dashi
</span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">大食</span><span style="font-size: small;">,
its Middle Chinese pronunciation reconstructed as <i>dâiᶜ dźjək</i>
(Schuessler IPA). This is most certainly derived from Middle Persian
word <i>tāzīk</i> / <i>tāzīg</i>,
'Arab'.<sup>4</sup>
One might imagine Nestorian Christians in China identifying
their ethnicity as Syrian, Persian or Sogdian, but never Arab even
when they had been born under a caliphate.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Incidentally, later on 'Daqin' was changed to 'Fulin'
</span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">拂菻</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.
In Middle Chinese this is reconstructed as </span><span style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0.05cm;"><i>pʰjuət </i>*<i>ljəmᴮ</i>
(Schuessler IPA). This appears to be a transliteration of an Iranian
pronunciation of 'Rome', such Sogdian <i>frwn</i> and <i>brwn</i>, or
Middle Persian <i>hrōm</i>. How do we know that this refers to
Byzantium specifically? The <i>New History of the Tang</i> </span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode"; text-indent: 0.05cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span lang="zh-CN">新唐書</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0.05cm;">,
the revised history of the Tang dynasty compiled in 1060, states the
following.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">拂菻,古大秦也,居西海上,一曰海西國。去京師四萬里,在苫西,北直突厥可薩部,西瀕海,有遲散城,東南接波斯。</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Fulin in former times was Daqin. It is located on the
western sea. One [account] calls it the 'Country on the Western Sea'.
It is forty-thousand <i>li</i> from
the capital [of Chang'an]. It is west of *Shan. To the north
it meets the Turkish Khanate. To the west it approaches the sea,
where there is *Alexandria.<sup>5</sup> To the southeast it meets Persia.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
name Shan </span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">苫
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">here most likely refers to
Damascus. Its Middle-Chinese pronunciation is reconstructed as <i>syem</i>
(Baxter-Sagart 2011). This seems to correspond to al-Shām, the
Arabic name for Syria. A Chinese writer named Du Huan </span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">杜環
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">travelled to the Abbasid Caliphate
and returned to China in 762. His travelogue, the <i>Jingxing ji</i>
</span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">經行記</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">,
states that “the country of *Shan is on the western frontier of the
Arab [state]” (</span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">苫國在大食西界</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">).
</span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yeTBlaP_ZjWn2VbxnRI5X5TmGIzSuO5RTT64twVADeQ-_NQEQyVYwHHf1mSlVY2OUPQM6AZEqIPz7QBzHGK6prJ345_VwejEibCypructZZmXE5_3Vbunjt1mVJRCFYDcWnSxB2MUyU/s1600/The+Byzantine+Empire%252C+c+867.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yeTBlaP_ZjWn2VbxnRI5X5TmGIzSuO5RTT64twVADeQ-_NQEQyVYwHHf1mSlVY2OUPQM6AZEqIPz7QBzHGK6prJ345_VwejEibCypructZZmXE5_3Vbunjt1mVJRCFYDcWnSxB2MUyU/s400/The+Byzantine+Empire%252C+c+867.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Byzantine Empire c. 867</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This
change in name from Daqin to Fulin appears to reflect the ongoing
loss of territory of the Byzantium empire. The Levant in the ninth
century was no longer under the control of Byzantium state. Chinese
scholars only possessed an approximate conception of the Near East's
political and physical geography, which helps to explain why
Alexandria is erroneously placed at its western side. Nevertheless,
it is quite clear that Fulin is a transliteration of an Iranian
pronunciation of 'Rome'. Nestorians initially identified themselves
as having come from Persia. Later they identified as hailing from
'Daqin', a general term for the Levant, likely as a result of the
demise of the Sassanian state by the mid-seventh century. Finally, at
some point in the ninth century it seems that 'Daqin' was understood
to be the former territories of 'Rome' occupied by the Arabs.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Returning back to Nestorianism in China, I want to
discuss its interaction with Buddhism. There is an account of the
aforementioned clergyman Adam translating a Buddhist text with the
Buddhist monk Prajñā </span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">般若</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">請譯佛經。乃與大秦寺波斯僧景淨,依胡本六波羅蜜經譯成七卷。時為般若不閑胡語,復未解唐言,景淨不識梵文,復未明釋教。雖稱傳譯未獲半珠。</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">...
</span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">察其所譯理昧詞疎。且夫,釋氏伽藍,大秦僧寺,居止既別,行法全乖。景淨應傳彌尸訶教,沙門釋子弘闡佛經,欲使教法區分,人無濫涉。</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">They requested he [Prajñā] translate Buddhist
scriptures. Together with the Persian monk Adam of Daqin-si, he translated the *[<i>Mahāyāna-naya-</i>]<i>ṣaṭ-pāramitā-sūtra</i>
in seven fascicles based on a Sogdian edition. At the time Prajñā
did not understand Sogdian or Chinese, while Adam understood neither Sanskrit
nor Buddhism. Although they were said to have translated it, they had
yet to obtain the half-pearls [i.e., ascertain the meaning]. ... Upon
investigating what had been translated, the reasoning was found to be
unclear and the vocabulary off. The Buddhist monastery and Daqin
church were to keep their residences separate and their practices
entirely apart. Adam should transmit the teachings of the Messiah,
while Buddhists shall propagate Buddhist scriptures, so as to keep
the doctrines separate, and the peoples from excessive
intermingling.<sup>6</sup></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This accounts suggests to me that while the state
authorities respected both religions, they desired to keep them
separate. In light of the elegant Chinese that Adam composed for the
stele of 781, we can infer that he was quite learned in the Chinese
classics, and therefore likely mingled with aristocrats in the
capital. In such circles eminent Buddhist monks and Daoist priests
were also active, thus there were many opportunities for elite religious
thinkers to interact.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Another interesting fact about Nestorianism in China is
that their clerics are on record as having practiced medicine in
China. As to the type of medicine they practiced, I have reason to
believe that it was actually Greek. Returning to the travelogue by Du
Huan, he gives the following interesting account.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">其大秦善醫眼及痢,或未病先見,或開腦出蟲。</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Daqin are adept in treating eyes and dysentery. Some
can foresee illness before symptoms emerge. Some can perform
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">trephinations</span></span>
and remove parasites.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
<i>New History of the Tang</i> also mentions such medical practices
in Byzantium.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">有善醫能開腦出蟲以愈目眚。</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are skilled physicians capable of performing
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">trephinations
and removing parasites to heal eye diseases.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Cranial
surgery of this type was well known in ancient Greek medicine. As
Arani and others note, “Cranial trepanation was first recorded by
Hippocrates (460–355 BC).”<sup>7</sup>
This surgery was apparently performed in China as early as the late
years of Emperor Gaozong </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span lang="zh-CN">高宗</span>
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">(r.
649 – 27 December 683). </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">There
is a story recorded in the </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA"><i>Old
Book of Tang</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">舊唐書</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">,
compiled in 945, and elsewhere that a cranial operation was performed on
Gaozong.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">上苦頭重不可忍,侍醫秦鳴鶴曰:「刺頭微出血,可愈。」天后帷中言曰:「此可斬,欲刺血於人主首耶!」上曰:「吾苦頭重,出血未必不佳。」即刺百會,上曰:「吾眼明矣。」</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">The
Emperor was suffering intolerable headaches. His retainer physician
Qin Minghe said, “It could be healed by piercing the head and
drawing a bit of blood.” The Empress [Wu Zetian] behind a screen
said, “He should be beheaded, wanting to draw blood from the leader
of men!” The Emperor said, “My headaches are severe. Drawing
blood is not necessarily bad.” The crown of the skull was pierced.
The Emperor said, “My eyes has cleared up!”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">The
name Qin Minghe </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">秦鳴鶴
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">here
possibly indicates a foreigner. The surname Qin could be derived from
Daqin and in light of the surgery he performed he was likely from
abroad. Huang (2002) and others attempt to identify him as an
immigrant Nestorian clergyman.<sup>8</sup>
Although this is not certain, there are still other accounts that
confirms the presence of Nestorian physicians in Tang China. In year
28 of reign era Kaiyuan </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">開元
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">(740),
the clergyman Chongyi </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">僧崇一
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">healed
the younger brother of Emperor Xuanzong </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">玄宗
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">(r.
712–756).<sup>9</sup>
A report by Li Deyu </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">李德裕
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">(787–849) states that a certain Daqin cleric proficient in optometry (</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">醫眼大秦僧一人</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">)
was present in Chengdu </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">成都
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">at
one point.<sup>10</sup></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">It
is therefore clear that Nestorian clergyman did in fact practice
medicine in China during the Tang dynasty, and moreover they most
likely brought with them Greek medical techniques. They also
introduced other foreign sciences and arts, such as astronomy and
astrology. In 1980 in Xi'an the tombstone of a court astronomer was
discovered. His name was Li Su </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">李素
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">(743–817)
and he is identified as a Persian. It seems that he was a Christian
clergyman from the community of Persians resident in Guangzhou.
Sometime between 766–779 he was summoned to the court to work in
the bureau of astronomy. Later his 'courtesy name' </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">字
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">of
Wen Zhen </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">文貞
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">alongside
the corresponding name 'Luka' in Syriac appears on the list of
Christian clergymen on the stele of 781.<sup>11</sup>
Although not immediately clear from his biographical information, he
likely practiced Hellenistic astronomy in light of his ethnic and
religious backgrounds. Earlier 'foreign' court astronomers, such as
Gautama Siddhārtha, employed and even translated Indian astronomy.
Li Su as a replacement for Gautama Siddhārtha was likely functioning
as a 'second opinion' at court in matters related to astronomy and
calendrical science, providing a perspective based on foreign methods.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.7cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">Nestorian
clergymen clearly played important roles throughout the Tang dynasty.
They were eliminated in China as an institution and religion in 845 when
Emperor Wuzong </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">武宗
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-CA">(840–846),
a Daoist zealot, initiated a purge of foreign religions.
Buddhism, Manichaeism and Christianity were, at least in the capital
region, rapidly dismantled and their assets liquidated. Buddhist
sangha members were defrocked, while Manichean priests were put to
death.<sup>12</sup>
Christianity was to a large part eliminated as a major religion in
China until several centuries later under the Mongols.</span></span></span></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<b>Notes:</b></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
1 <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arab-ii">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arab-ii</a></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">2</span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="zh-CN">《大唐貞元續開元釋教錄》卷</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span><span style="font-family: "dengxian";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="zh-CN">:「大秦寺波斯僧景淨」</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(CBETA,
T55, no. 2156, p. 756, a20-21)</span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
3 This
is reported in fasc. 49 of the <i>Tang huiyao</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">唐會要</span>.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote4">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
4 There
were many ethnically Iranian persons in Tang China, including those
identifying themselves as Persians, but also Sogdians and Bukharans.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote5">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">5 Chisan
</span><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">遲散 </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">here
refers to Alexandria. This is geographically problematic, but the
Chinese understanding of the Near East was pieced together from
multiple, often chronologically disparate, sources. See Yu Taishan,
"China and the Ancient Mediterranean World: A Survey of Ancient
Chinese Sources," <i>Sino-Platonic Papers</i> 242 (2013): 34.
<a href="http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp242_china_mediterranean.pdf">http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp242_china_mediterranean.pdf</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote6">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
6<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">《貞元新定釋教目錄》卷</span>17
. CBETA, T55, no. 2157, p. 892, a7-15.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote7">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
7 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3876527/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3876527/</a></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote8">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
8 Huang
Lanlan <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">黃蘭蘭</span>, “Tangdai
Qin Minghe wei jingyi kao” <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">唐代秦鳴鶴為景醫考</span>,
<i>Zhongshan Daxue xuebao</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">中山大學學報
</span>42, no. 5 (2002): 61–67.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote9">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
9 <i>Jiu
Tang shu</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">舊唐書 </span>(fasc.
95).</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote10">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
10 See
fasc. 703 of the Quan Tang wen <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">全唐文</span>.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote11">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
11 Rong
Xinjiang <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">榮新江</span>, “Yi ge
shi Tangchao de Bosi Jingjiao jiazu” <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">一個仕唐朝的波斯景教家族</span>,
in <i>Zhonggu Zhongguo yu wailai wenming</i> <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">中古中國與外來文明
</span>(Beijing: Sanlian Shudian, 2001), 255–257.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdfootnote12">
<div class="sdfootnote">
12 This
is recorded in the journal of Japanese monk Ennin <span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">圓仁
</span>(794-864):<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";">【四月】中旬
敕下,令殺天下摩尼師。剃髮,令着袈裟,作沙門形而殺之。摩尼師即迴鶻所崇重也。</span></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-22329755661169036272016-08-23T22:02:00.001+09:002016-08-23T22:02:38.148+09:00Where was Anxi 安息?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkiEBSxrqs83BxFXjUOV7ZJku6u-XS4oaaiPYkMG3WhQ6vPXvSTBDMwBS1OWrXaRS0EZ4Ux0ffCFGd1FefhtZfsrJE2kDeX7YgZxHpyDUPDgfHBXukiD5hhsQf6j3-SMRRomOl2R8DNY/s1600/centralasia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkiEBSxrqs83BxFXjUOV7ZJku6u-XS4oaaiPYkMG3WhQ6vPXvSTBDMwBS1OWrXaRS0EZ4Ux0ffCFGd1FefhtZfsrJE2kDeX7YgZxHpyDUPDgfHBXukiD5hhsQf6j3-SMRRomOl2R8DNY/s400/centralasia.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In Chinese dynastic histories, the earliest reference to
Persia is Anxi-guo <span lang="ZH-CN">安息國</span> (the ‘Country of Anxi’). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The word in Chinese is a
transliteration of the Persian Aškānīān, i.e., the Parthian dynasty, which
existed from 250 BCE to about 226 CE when it fell and was replaced by the
Sassanian dynasty. The Middle-Chinese pronunciation of the term is
reconstructed as <i>Ɂân sjək </i>(Schuessler IPA).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), Anxi referred to
Parthia (see fasc. 88 of the <i>Hou Han shu</i>
<span lang="ZH-CN">後漢書</span>),
but in later times we still see the term Anxi being used despite the Parthian
empire having fallen in the year 226. It also appears in Buddhist literature,
such as the <i>Dazhidu lun</i> <span lang="ZH-CN">大智度論</span>
(T 1509) – *<i>Mahāprajñā-pāramitōpadeśa </i>– as translated by Kum<span lang="ZH-CN">ā</span>raj<span lang="ZH-CN">ī</span>va <span lang="ZH-CN">鳩摩羅什</span>
(344–413) in the early fifth century, an extensive commentary on the <i>Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra</i>
attributed to Nāgārjuna:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-CN">《大智度論》卷</span>91<span lang="ZH-CN">〈照明品</span>81<span lang="ZH-CN">〉:「如安息國諸邊地生者,皆是人身,愚不可教化」</span>(CBETA,
T25, no. 1509, p. 705, a22-23)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">… Such as those born in various
frontier lands such as Anxi. They all are of human forms, yet ignorant and
unable to be taught and transformed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In this Indian context (assuming it was written in India),
Anxi clearly refers to a land outside the “Middle Country” <span lang="ZH-CN">中國</span>
(i.e., India) and most likely refers to the general geographical region of what
we call Iran. It is curious though that the term Anxi was still used at this point
in Chinese despite the Parthians having been replaced by the Sassanians.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
Chinese literature, the term that most certainly refers to Sassanian Iran is
Bosi <span lang="ZH-CN">波斯</span>
(Middle-Chinese: <i>puâ sie</i>), i.e., <i>Fars</i>. In English, the word ‘Persia’ (Greek:
Persis) is also derived from the old name for Persia: <i>Parsa</i> (see <a href="http://www.etymonline.com/">http://www.etymonline.com/</a>).
We knows this because in the <i>Zhou shu</i>
<span lang="ZH-CN">周書</span>
(fasc. 50), a history of the Northern Zhou dynasty compiled in 636, Anxi is
said to border Persia <span lang="ZH-CN">波斯</span> and is also included under a separate heading from the
latter. In the year 567 (<span lang="ZH-CN">天和二年</span>), Anxi is recorded as having sent
tribute to the Chinese court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, if Anxi was not Sassanian Iran, who were they in the
mid-sixth century? Saitō (1998) convincingly
argues that from around the mid-sixth century, Anxi refers to Bukhara in
Central Asia. Later (2007) he pointed out that from the 1st to 3rd century, the surname An <span lang="JA">安</span> was used by people in China originally
from the Parthian empire, but later it appears that Sogdians from Bukhara began
using this surname. He suggests that the Chinese identification of Bukhara with
Anxi was a result of said Sogdians using the surname An. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saitō's thesis is
supported by the account of Anguo <span lang="ZH-CN">安國</span> in
the <i>Sui shu</i> <span lang="ZH-CN">隋書</span>
(fasc. 83), the history of the Sui dynasty (581–617), in which An-guo is also
identified under a separate heading from Bosi <span lang="ZH-CN">波斯</span> (Persia).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="JA">安國,漢時安息國也。王姓昭武氏,與康國王同族,字設力登。妻,康國王女也。都在那密水南,城有五重,環以流水。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">An-guo was Anxi-guo in Han times. The king’s
surname is Zhaowu ('Brilliant Martial Virtue'?). He has the same clan as the king of Kang-guo [Samarkand].
His courtesy name is *She-li-deng [MC: <i>śjät
ljək təŋ</i>]. His wife is a princess of Kang-guo. The capital is south of the *Nami
River. The city walls have five layers and are surrounded by flowing water.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here *Nami <span lang="ZH-CN">那密</span> is no doubt a transliteration of Nūmijkat,
another name for Bukhara in Sogdian. The first reference to Bukhara using this
term specifically in Chinese is as Niumi <span lang="ZH-CN">忸密國</span> in
the <i>Wei shu</i> <span lang="ZH-CN">魏書</span>
(fasc. 102), compiled in 559, the Middle-Chinese pronunciation being <i>ṇjuk mjet</i> (Schuessler IPA), which corresponds to </span>Nūmijkat<span style="font-family: inherit;">. The river
mentioned here is the Zeravshan River as it is presently known.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This Chinese identification of Anxi with Bukhara from the
mid-sixth century is important to Buddhism because many monks with the surname
An <span lang="ZH-CN">安</span>
or having come from Anxi were active in China. Again, if they were not Persian,
who were they? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most critical misunderstandings in this respect has
been the longstanding mistake that the ancestors of Jizang <span lang="JA">吉藏</span> (549<span lang="JA">–</span>623), a prolific author on Chinese Madhyamaka and patriarch of the Sanlun lineage 三論宗, were Persian given that his biographical details identify
them as having come from Anxi. In reality, the evidence shows that his
ancestors were likely Sogdians from Bukhara. It becomes easy to conclude that
there must have been some significant Buddhist presence in late Sassanian Iran
if Anxi is understood as Persia, but in reality this is mistaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the sixth century onward, the Persians who did settle in China tended to be Zoroastrians, Nestorian Christians and Manichaeans, and not Buddhists.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">*All <i>Encyclopaedia Iranica</i> content is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For details on the Parthians see “Arsacids” in <i>Encyclopaedia
Iranica</i> (vol. II/5, 525–546).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For details on
pre-Islamic Bukhara see <i>Encyclopaedia Iranica</i> (vol. IV/5, 511–513).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saitō Tatsuya <span lang="JA">斉藤達也</span>. “Ansokukoku Ankoku to Sogudojin” <span lang="JA">安息国</span><span lang="JA">・</span><span lang="JA">安国とソグド</span><span lang="JA">人</span>. <i>Kokusai Bukkyōgaku Daigakuin Daigaku kenkyū kiyō</i> <span lang="JA">国際仏教学大学院大学研究紀要</span> 11 (2007):
1–32.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saitō Tatsuya <span lang="JA">斉藤達也</span>. “Gishin nanboku chōdai no Ansokukoku to Ansokukei no Bukkyō sō” <span lang="JA">魏晋南北朝時代の安息国と安息系仏教僧</span>. <i>Kokusai Bukkyōgaku Daigakuin Daigaku kenkyū
kiyō</i> <span lang="JA">国際仏教学大学院大学研究紀要</span> 1 (1998): 152–176.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-40298381075753166962016-06-19T22:10:00.001+09:002016-06-19T22:10:34.657+09:00A Sanskrit Fragment from the Mahāvairocana-sūtra<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">Matsunaga Yūkei </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">松長有慶</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> (b. 1929), a
scholar of Shingon Buddhism and up until recently the chief at Kōyasan, in 1966
published an article (<a href="http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/130004022268" target="_blank">see here in Japanese</a>)
that pointed out the existence of some Sanskrit fragments of the </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">Mahāvairocana-sūtra</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">大日經</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">. Although no extant Sanskrit version of
the text is known to exist, one fragment from the text is found in a citation
in the <i>Bhāvanā-krama</i> by Kamalaśīla </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">蓮華戒</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"> (fl. 8<sup>th</sup>
century). It is the core phrase of the <i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra
</i>which in Chinese reads as follows: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">「菩提心為因。悲為根本。方便為究竟。」</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">(CBETA, T18, no. 848, p. 1, b29-c1)<br /> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">Bodhicitta is the cause, compassion is the
root, and expedient means (<i>upāya</i>) are
the conclusion.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">The Sanskrit fragment in the <i>Bhāvanā-krama</i> reads: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">tad etat sarvajñānaṃ karuṇāmūlaṃ
bodhicittahetukam upāyaparyavasānam iti |</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">As Matsunaga points out, the first two
phrases are reversed: in the Sanskrit <i>karuṇā</i> is mentioned before <i>bodhicitta</i>. The Song-era translation of
the <i>Bhāvanā-krama</i> by Dānapāla </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">施護</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">(d. 1017) follows
the order of the Sanskrit: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">「如毘盧遮那成佛經</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Microsoft YaHei",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">說</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">。所有一切智智。悲心為根本。從悲發生大菩提心。然後起諸方便。</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">」</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">(CBETA, T32, no.
1664, p. 565, b8-10)<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">As the *<i>Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra</i> states, ‘Omniscience: compassion is the
root; great <i>bodhicitta</i> is produced from compassion, thereafter giving
rise to expedient means.’</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">Matsunaga
suggests this shift to citing compassion first reflects the tendency of the </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">Bhāvanā-krama</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"> to focus on compassion (the introduction states that compassion
comes before <i>bodhicitta</i>). This stands
in contrast to the original <i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra
</i>which is oriented around a Madhyamaka framework with an emphasis on <i>śūnyatā</i>. The Chinese commentary also
reflects this understanding (</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">此菩提心為後二句因</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">In light of that, the Sanskrit fragment is
perhaps not a direct quotation, but rather a paraphrasing of the original.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-81284238985439673002016-04-18T14:39:00.001+09:002016-04-18T14:39:18.067+09:00Where was Jibin 罽賓?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg969fgzMhJCW2-aVR8uttb_iNEV64OP68brqSCE1KEp-ic_3cFoHUg5-G07sFosbaXi5x53wVcQJBojL7L3jsMBhn2qjRuJnIfbdPeydVxhD4ZSuiAlnP0hK6AUxBAIewIFODKRfj4NsE/s1600/map1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg969fgzMhJCW2-aVR8uttb_iNEV64OP68brqSCE1KEp-ic_3cFoHUg5-G07sFosbaXi5x53wVcQJBojL7L3jsMBhn2qjRuJnIfbdPeydVxhD4ZSuiAlnP0hK6AUxBAIewIFODKRfj4NsE/s320/map1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
<i>Han shu</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">漢書
– </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">a history of
the western or former Han dynasty compiled around 82 CE – provides
details on a certain country named Jibin </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">罽賓
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">as one of many
nations in the Western Regions </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">西域</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">.
As was common in Chinese dynastic histories, a section of the <i>Han
shu</i> details the relative locations, customs and commodities of
numerous countries as well as their respective relationships with the
Chinese court. The text positions the Great Yuezhi </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">大月氏
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">to the northwest of Jibin,
which means Jibin was somewhere in northwestern India.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Jibin
is significant to Buddhist history because many of the early Indian
monks in the fourth and early fifth centuries who taught Buddhism in
China were either from or had studied in Jibin (for instance, Jibin
monks had a significant role in the translation of the Āgama and
Vinaya texts). Jibin was also the center of the Sarvāstivāda
school. According to the <i>Han shu</i>, its first diplomatic contact
with China occurred under Emperor Wu </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">武帝
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(r. 140–87 BCE). This
would have been before the Kuṣāṇa empire during the
Indo-Scythian period. The <i>Han shu</i> also seems to suggest the people
of Jibin were originally Saka or Scythians:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">昔匈奴破大月氏,大月氏西君大夏,而塞王南君罽賓。塞種分散,往往為數國。</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Long
ago the Xiongnu destroyed the Great Yuezhi. The Great Yuezhi Western
Lord [governed] Daxia while the Saka King the Southern Lord
[governed] Jibin. The Saka peoples scattered and became numerous
countries all over.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
identification of Jibin has thus been important in reconstructing the
Buddhism taught and practiced in northwestern India in these early
centuries, especially in the large absence of materials from India
itself. Modern scholarship on Buddhism often heavily depends on
Indian literature translated into Chinese as well as Chinese accounts
of India. Chinese materials are thus quite important to the study of
ancient India in the first millennium CE. Tibetan materials only become
available from around the seventh and eighth centuries.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
country of Jibin was thus an important source of Buddhism in China
early on, but where was it? The capital was Xunxian </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">循鮮城
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">as it was rendered into
Chinese. The modern Japanese scholar Shiratori Kurakichi </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">白鳥庫吉
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(1865–1942) believed
this was the ancient capital of Gandhāra, which is Pushkalavati in
modern Peshawar. However, the Sinologist and linguist Edwin
Pulleyblank (1922–2013), who specialized in the reconstruction of
old and middle Chinese, identified Jibin as “*Kaspir for Kashmir.”<sup>1</sup> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pushkalavati is about 280 km from modern Srinagar in the Kashmir
valley. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHXcrTgBZQKDpquTlpmphf1oGR_b-WTH5Yy-lviLQEb-xU3NE1sZ68Gh2c1_1SuZrLHH18WuD-KrNaNsiNfJsy1Jbt36bM-7i35cusbSWaRCqJ8Ig9Jsz8TQKIFdxoloAsghNIlUfG-o/s1600/map2+280km.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHXcrTgBZQKDpquTlpmphf1oGR_b-WTH5Yy-lviLQEb-xU3NE1sZ68Gh2c1_1SuZrLHH18WuD-KrNaNsiNfJsy1Jbt36bM-7i35cusbSWaRCqJ8Ig9Jsz8TQKIFdxoloAsghNIlUfG-o/s640/map2+280km.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> As Enomoto notes, “Previous studies have showed that Jibin
indicated Gandhāra up to the beginning of the 4</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> cent.”</span><sup>2</sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
Kāśmīra and Gandhāra are strictly speaking separate regions,
though they are relatively close to each other. This brings to mind the
possibility that travelers to China from this general area identified it *</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kaspir.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
the Eastern Jin (317–420) and Northern and Southern Dynasties
(420–589) periods, Jibin was at least in some cases very clearly identified as
Kāśmīra. The <i>Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">倶舍論
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(T 1559) translated by
Paramārtha </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">眞諦
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(499–569) translates
Kāśmīra as Jibin </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">罽賓</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">,
whereas Xuanzang </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">玄奘</span>
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(685–762) phonetically
transliterates Kāśmīra into Chinese.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">eṣa
tu kāśmīravaibhāṣikāṇāṃ siddhāntaḥ</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">【真</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">諦</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">】
罽賓國毘婆沙師悉檀判如此</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">【玄</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">奘</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">】
然迦濕彌羅國毘婆沙宗說</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Enomoto's
work however notes that “Ji-bin found in the works of Chinese
Buddhist monks between the 4<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup>
centuries indicated a wider area including Kashmir, Gandhāra and
possibly Tokharistan, that is to say, the whole of north and
north-west India.”<sup>3 </sup></span>This therefore requires one to be cautious in assuming that Jibin must refer to <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kāśmīra simply because </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paramārtha translated it as such</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ancient Chinese geography was only approximate and based on hearsay rather than on objective surveys. Just as an example, consider the following map in a later </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">historical account of Buddhism, the <i>Fozu tongji</i> 佛祖統紀 (fasc. 32), by Song dynasty monk Zhipan 志磐 (1220-1275) which provides a map of the regions west of India based on Xuanzang's account. The map notes it is only approximate. Note that the Himalayas are on the right, the top represents Central Asia and the bottom right is SE Asia. The sea is the Indian Ocean.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNpL_2DvM4QnjtM9dJKt-HupBtDG7sCzJDb6XM2G2rIwtKuYih-Uftr_JgG_kVObJ9l41118b2ZLk4ZRnT5Op9KY2G8mCXjdZjVypJZMr4w_qVzLGRTLhw8mP_Wtlxe4LqE5yGp4l-bQ/s1600/T49p0314+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNpL_2DvM4QnjtM9dJKt-HupBtDG7sCzJDb6XM2G2rIwtKuYih-Uftr_JgG_kVObJ9l41118b2ZLk4ZRnT5Op9KY2G8mCXjdZjVypJZMr4w_qVzLGRTLhw8mP_Wtlxe4LqE5yGp4l-bQ/s640/T49p0314+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As to Jibin's culture, the number of monks from there visiting China in the early centuries immediately indicates a significant Buddhist presence. There is an
interesting account of Jibin, likely from between 265–420, found in the
<i>Zhiseng zai</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">支僧載</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">,
<i>Waiguo shi</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">外國事
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(“Accounts of
Foreign Countries”) preserved in fascicle 76 of the <i>Yiwen leiju</i>
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">藝文類聚
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(compiled in 624):</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zh-CN">罽賓國在舍衛之西。國王民人悉奉佛。道人及沙門,到冬未,中前飲少酒,過中不復飯.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
country of Jibin is west of Śrāvastī. The king and people all
venerate the Buddha. Religious practitioners and <i>śramaṇa</i>-s
in the winter drink a little alcohol before noon. After noon they do
not eat again.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
brings to mind the issue of wine consumption in India (<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2014/12/did-buddha-permit-grape-wine.html" target="_blank">see here</a>) and in
particular Falk's research on wine production in Gandhāra by
Buddhist monastics. This account might indicate that monks in Kāśmīra
also consumed wine at least ostensibly in the winter.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Over
the course of the Sui-Tang period (581–907), Jibin largely ceased
referring to Kāśmīra and instead referred to Kapiśā which is
west of Gandhāra in modern Afghanistan. A Chinese-Sanskrit lexicon
from the Tang period – the <i>Fanyu zaming</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">梵語雜名
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(T 2135) – defines Jibin
as Karpiśaya </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">劫比舍也</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">.
A Buddhist catalog of texts from the year 800 also has a note stating
that Jibin (as a homeland of a monk) is a mistaken abbreviation of </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kapiśā</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">迦畢試</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">,
which is on the border of northern India (it seems it was not
considered a part of India proper).<sup>4</sup></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
shift westward away from Gandhāra is noteworthy. As is well known
in Buddhist Studies, by the time Xuanzang visited in the seventh
century, many old Buddhist sites were in ruins and the religion was
visibly in decline. The collapse of Gandhāran Buddhism and the
migration of Buddhist monks along with Buddhist trading routes to
outlying areas due to Brahmanical colonization and hostility is
something Verardi has discussed (<a href="http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2433/155685" target="_blank">see here for the paper</a>).<sup>5</sup>
Curiously, the <i>Sui shu</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">隋書
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(fasc. 83) – the history
of the Sui compiled in 629 – identifies Caoguo </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">漕國
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(*Zabula) as the Jibin of
Han times. As Verardi notes, Zabula continued to host Buddhist
communities while the religion was attacked elsewhere.<sup>6 </sup></span>Monks from 'Jibin' visiting China might therefore have been coming from even Zabula rather than <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gandhāra and </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kāśmīra. In other words, the seeming 'westward shift' of the definition of Jibin perhaps reflects the movement of Buddhist clergy over time due to external pressures. If Verardi's thesis is correct, this westward movement of Buddhist centers was caused primarily by hostility from Brahmanical traditions and the nobility which supported them.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Much later
the understanding of Jibin's location changed again as the <i>Ming
shi</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">明史 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(fasc.
332) – compiled in 1729 – identifies Samarkand </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">撒馬兒罕
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">as Jibin!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Notes:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
1 E.G.
Pulleyblank, “The Consonantal System of Old Chinese. Part II,”
<i>Asia Major</i> 9, part 2 (1962): 218.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
2 ENOMOTO
Fumio, “A Note on Kashmir as Referred to in Chinese Literature:
Ji-bin,” in <i>A Study on the Nīlamata: Aspects of Hinduism in
Ancient Kashmir</i>, ed. Yasuke IKARI (Kyoto: Institute for Research
in Humanities, 1994), 357.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote">
3 Ibid.,
361.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote4">
<div class="sdfootnote">
4 <span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《貞元新定釋教目錄》卷</span>17<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">:「北天竺境迦畢試國人也</span>(<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">言罽賓者訛略</span>)<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">」</span>(CBETA,
T55, no. 2157, p. 891, c10)</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote5">
<div class="sdfootnote">
5 Giovanni
Verardi, “Buddhism in North-western India and Eastern Afghanistan,
Sixth to Ninth Century AD,” <i>ZINBUN</i> 43 (2012): 147–183.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdfootnote6">
<div class="sdfootnote">
6 Ibid.,
165.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-33434619160451295662016-02-24T01:01:00.001+09:002016-02-24T01:01:39.502+09:00After Xuanzang: Monk Wuxing and Early Tantra in India<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5fjCykbEs7fOufvvPcz7QRnR4zveXdm2Q_gUQI3QQyXKbwwM5Ju8ERbBhpfmSMYzFfFNpC9iv5XnebG-y9xRz2gL3B22iQZMeOrcszVyQLgWZSkhFCsO8rcESGXAYrud1dTJSwtIl9w/s1600/DSC04987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5fjCykbEs7fOufvvPcz7QRnR4zveXdm2Q_gUQI3QQyXKbwwM5Ju8ERbBhpfmSMYzFfFNpC9iv5XnebG-y9xRz2gL3B22iQZMeOrcszVyQLgWZSkhFCsO8rcESGXAYrud1dTJSwtIl9w/s320/DSC04987.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Xuanzang <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">玄奘
</span></span>(602–664) is likely the most famous of Chinese
Buddhist monks who traveled to India to pursue studies and retrieve
texts. He stayed in India between 633–645 and upon returning to
China enjoyed patronage from an imperial government engaged in
aggressive expansionist conquests (see <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2013/09/buddhists-beneficiaries-of-violence.html" target="_blank">here</a>).
There were therefore ample resources directed his way to support his
translation work. In the following decades another generation or two
of Chinese monks followed in his footsteps and made their way to
India. None of them became as famous as Xuanzang, but nevertheless
some of them made significant contributions to the development of
Buddhism in East Asia. The modern historian can also learn a great
deal about the India of the time from not only their direct accounts
and travelogues, but also short remarks in margins and colophons. One
problem in reconstructing the history of ancient India is the paucity
of contemporary accounts and historical documents, which is why
Indologists since the nineteenth century have often had to rely on
surviving accounts by Chinese travelers.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
One Chinese traveler to India who is
less known but nevertheless was quite important was a certain monk by the
name of Wuxing <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">無行 </span>(b. 630).
He was from Jiangling <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">江陵 </span>in
Jingzhou <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">荊州 </span>(modern Hubei).
He also had a Sanskrit name of Prajñādeva, a custom which seems to
have been fairly common among Chinese monks in the Tang dynasty. It
seems he was an erudite scholar monk, having studied under Huiying
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">慧英</span>, who was a disciple of
the Chinese Madhyamaka author Jizang <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">吉藏
</span>(549–623). He also traveled or wandered around China before
also studying under Daoxuan <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">道宣
</span>(596–667), who was the leading scholar and advocate of the
vinaya in China.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At some point he decided to travel to
India. His account is preserved in a collection of biographies of
monks in the early Tang who went to India in pursuit of the Dharma
(<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">大唐西域求法高僧傳</span>; T
2066), which was compiled by Yijing <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">義淨
</span>(635–713). Yijing himself was a very successful scholar and
translator. Like Xuanzang, he studied in India and returned to
translate an enormous quantity of Buddhist literature into Chinese,
in particular the entire Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and related
texts. He also penned a lengthy travelogue detailing his own journey
through India. This was incidentally translated into English 1896 by
Takakusu and can be viewed <a href="https://archive.org/details/recordofbuddhist00ichi" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yijing left China in 671 and returned
in 695, spending time in both India and the Indonesian archipelago.
The latter at the time had a thriving Buddhist sangha apparently
closely modeled on the Indian system. Just like in the Tarim Basin
Buddhist states, they also studied Sanskrit to full literacy. Chinese monks, we are
told, would go there to learn Sanskrit before traveling onward to
India. My impression is that given its central location between the
sea routes linking trade between India and China, they probably had
sufficient numbers of bilingual scholars to provide a suitable
environment for Chinese monks to learn sufficient Sanskrit, both its
spoken and written forms. The elites were also favorable towards
Chinese interests, which likely stemmed from the lucrative trade and
prestige provided by China.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wuxing also traveled to India through
SE Asia. Together with another monk named Zhihong <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">智弘
</span>he initially arrived in *Śrībhuja <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">室利佛逝
</span>before sailing onward to eastern India. He initially had to
find a benefactor, which Yijing said was “somewhat difficult” in
the western country. A guest monk was entitled to be fed, but nothing
more. We can imagine locals happily surprised to meet a bhikṣu from
the remote land of Mahācīna ('Great China'), but one has to wonder
to what extent they would have been regarded as capable scholars. Even if they were well read in Buddhist literature in Chinese
translation, how well could they communicate in Sanskrit or local
languages? Although they had traveled a great distance, we might
imagine locals not necessarily feeling inclined to pay for their
education and living expenses at a prestigious institution like
Nālandā.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wuxing nevertheless managed to find a
patron and studied a number of subjects at Nālandā including
Yogācāra, Madhyamaka, the <i>Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya</i> and the
vinaya. This might also indicate the primary or popular subjects
being studied there in the second half of the seventh century. Later
he moved to a nearby monastery *Tilaśākya <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">羝羅荼寺
</span>where he studied logic including the works of Dignāga and
Dharmakīrti.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sometime during his stay in this area
he also met his compatriot Yijing. Wuxing and Yijing were just two of apparently
several other known Chinese monks studying and wandering around India
at the time. At the time there were three main routes to reach India from China:
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- Through the Tarim Basin and then
coming down through the Hindu Kush or western Himalayas.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- Through Tibet and Nepal and then
south into India, though this route was only generally available when
diplomatic relations allowed for it as Tang China and Yarlung Tibet
were often at war.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- Coming down from southern China by
sea to Indonesia and then sailing west to Sri Lanka or the eastern
Indian coast.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the seventh century there were also
several diplomatic envoys from China that reached India (for some
details see <a href="http://wenyanwen.blogspot.com/2015/03/references-to-nepal-in-classical.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9UcBmh6eaHElb9cfUo99F5uAT72IhOcp5Eu_1n_YciPeWHLd-9fb_LJJgudsK0GLT88zVksegKnABUzQoKKL8KWyzds1IHuX0jfCxa7hxLex2EKkuHk8KMWft81rOMDB6oN6nP1HPXE/s1600/nalandatorajgir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9UcBmh6eaHElb9cfUo99F5uAT72IhOcp5Eu_1n_YciPeWHLd-9fb_LJJgudsK0GLT88zVksegKnABUzQoKKL8KWyzds1IHuX0jfCxa7hxLex2EKkuHk8KMWft81rOMDB6oN6nP1HPXE/s320/nalandatorajgir.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yijing tells us that he went with
Wuxing to visit Gṛdhrakūṭa (Vulture's Peak). The distance
between Nālandā and Gṛdhrakūṭa is around 15 km, so it probably
took them a day to walk there. It was a memorable experience for
Yijing and he remarks how they lamented being born so late and only
seeing the ruins of places mentioned in scriptures.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wuxing also told Yijing that he wanted
to stay in India, but he was also inclined to return to China through
northern India. When Yijing left Nālandā, Wuxing saw him off.
Wuxing at the time was fifty-six years old. This parting happened in
year 1 of Chuigong <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">垂拱元年 </span>(685)
and Yijing notes at the time of writing in 691 that he was unaware of
where Wuxing was or if he was still alive.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is not however the last we hear of
Wuxing. Zhisheng <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">智昇 </span>(669–740)
in his catalog of Buddhist texts compiled in 730 (<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">開元釋教錄
</span>T 2154) reports the following:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">「沙門無行西遊<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>天竺學畢言歸迴。至北天不幸而卒。所將梵本有勅迎歸。比在西京華嚴寺收掌。無畏與沙門一行<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>於彼簡得數本梵經<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>並總持妙門<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>先未曾譯。至十二年隨駕入洛<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>於大福先寺安置。遂為沙門一行譯大毘盧遮那經。」</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
The <i>śramaṇa</i>
Wuxing had traveled west and upon completing his studies in India
said he would return. He unfortunately died in northern India. It was
ordered that the Sanskrit texts he carried be retrieved. These were
deposited at Huayan-si in the western capital [Chang'an].
Śubhakarasiṃha [637–735] and Yixing <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">一行
</span>[683–727] selected a number of Sanskrit scriptures there
plus dhāraṇī practices. They had previously never been
translated. In year 12 [724] they followed the emperor to Luoyang
where they were posted to the temple Dafuxian-si. The
<i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra</i> was subsequently translated by <i>śramaṇa</i>
Yixing [and Śubhakarasiṃha].<sup>1</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It therefore would appear that the
Sanskrit edition of <i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra </i>that
Śubhakarasiṃha's team translated into Chinese was based on the
edition carried by Wuxing who had perished in northern India.
Although this account may be spurious, all of the modern scholars I
have surveyed so far accept it as plausible. I think it is plausible
too because the account was written down only a few years after the
translation was completed. In addition, there is a seldom cited
source which is the letter Wuxing sent to China from India.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At one
point in India he translated an account excerpted from the
Sarvāstivāda Vinaya <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">一切有部律
</span></span>of the
Tathāgata's <i>nirvāṇa</i>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">涅槃
</span></span>in three
fascicles which was forwarded to China. It is unclear to me who
conveyed this back to China (it was perhaps Yijing). He might also
have forwarded his letter to the Chinese sangha with this text.
Regardless of who delivered it to China, it was preserved and
eventually more than a century later a copy of it was brought back to
Japan by the Tendai monk Ennin <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">圓仁
</span>(794–864). He includes Wuxing’s letter to China from India
(<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">南荊州沙門無行在天竺國致於唐國書一卷</span>)
in his record of texts brought back from China.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Unfortunately, it seems the letter is
not extant. However, a single line from it is fortunately quoted by the Japanese monk Annen <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">安然
</span></span>(841–915?) in his <i>Shingon shūkyō jigi</i>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">眞言宗教時義</span></span>:
“Recently the new Mantra teachings have become revered in the
country” <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">近者新有眞言教法擧國崇仰</span></span>.<sup>2</sup>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This simple remark is actually very
historically significant. Xuanzang, who returned to China in 645,
never mentions Mantrayāna in India. Some have speculated this might
have been because he was interested in other subjects, but he was
also interested in <i>dhāraṇī</i> practice so it is unlikely in
his detailed account of India that he would have excluded mentioning
Mantrayāna if it had existed at the time. Wuxing, however, was
already living in India for awhile before 685. It would seem that
between 645 and 685 there emerged an identifiable tradition of
Mantrayāna. Wuxing also recognized this as a new development.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This actually corresponds well with the
traditional lineage of the <i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra</i>
in East Asia that we have discussed before (see <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2015/12/who-wrote-mahavairocana-sutra.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Śubhakarasiṃha's guru
was a certain Dharmagupta from <span lang="en-US">Nālandā</span>
who received the text or its associated Dharma from Vajrapāṇi
Bodhisattva, which suggests he might have been the compiler or author
of the text. Disregarding the legend that he was eight-hundred years
old, he would have presumably been senior to Śubhakarasiṃha who
was born around 637. Dharmagupta therefore likely lived around the
time when Mantrayāna was emerging and perhaps was one of its leading
early proponents. A case can therefore be made that Mantrayāna as an identifiable tradition emerged in the latter half of the seventh century.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is
significant that Dharmagupta was identified with <span lang="en-US">Nālandā
because Wuxing lived in that area as well, so presumably the bulk of
the texts he carried back with him also came from the region of
'Greater Magadha'. It seems more and more likely to me that the early
Tantric tradition was a product of that region. The archaeological
evidence from what is now Bihar and Orissa also support this theory
(see Yoritomi 1999).</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeaMxc6JIMbJm7PjHCMjIanXZ9NIidqWXp_MJLvMJ7cpZdpA7_6mYIASID7cpwDzb5G5k9-5eCJARXqWcI5vKC7r239sGkCX8y6G3wtXWqnLCF6y2-zXw57TW7kTh_J5981O1cHNSJjA/s1600/1653409_10151880205046793_1603321709_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeaMxc6JIMbJm7PjHCMjIanXZ9NIidqWXp_MJLvMJ7cpZdpA7_6mYIASID7cpwDzb5G5k9-5eCJARXqWcI5vKC7r239sGkCX8y6G3wtXWqnLCF6y2-zXw57TW7kTh_J5981O1cHNSJjA/s320/1653409_10151880205046793_1603321709_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Nālandā</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US">It
begs the question why did early Tantra arise around Nālandā and the
neighboring regions? Was it a response to some outside influence or
pressure, or simply the result of several centuries of creative
development? We know that Nālandā </span>scholars studied
more or less the entirety of Buddhist learning including philosophy
and logic, and the more conventional monastic subjects like the
vinaya. Was this insufficient or felt to be lacking in practical
application? The question of why Tantra emerged is an intriguing
question on which much has been already written. Here I just want to
point out that its early form seems to have been connected with
<span lang="en-US">Nālandā</span>,
which was only one of several major centers of Buddhist learning on the
subcontinent.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So, although Wuxing never made it back to China, his deeds still echoed throughout history. If Śubhakarasiṃha had not translated the <i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra</i>, Buddhist history in East Asia would have taken on a very different form.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<b>Notes:</b></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
1 T 2154, 55: 572a15-21.</div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
2 T 2396, 75: 431a11.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yamamoto Shōichirō <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">山本
匠一郎</span>. “Dainichikyō no shiryō to kenkyūshi gaikan”
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">『大日經』の資料と研究史概觀</span>.
<i>Gendai mikkyō</i> <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">現代密教 </span>23
(2012): 73–102.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yoritomi Motohiro <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">頼富本宏</span>.
“Mikkyō no kakuritsu” <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">密教の確立</span>.
In <i>Indo mikkyō</i> <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">インド密教</span>,
ed. Tachikawa Musashi <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">立川武蔵 </span>and
Yoritomi Motohiro, 32–56. Tōkyō: Shunjūsha <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">春秋社</span>,
1999.</div>
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<div id="sdfootnote2">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-80363408964005601092016-01-28T22:42:00.002+09:002016-01-28T22:57:07.306+09:00Zodiac Signs of the Buddhist Maṇḍala<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvPQjXbNV6Ml55R0_hKhJ_UXDe93p8V-GUulHBMICLVgB_QGBhZ2d8R9leMfAxizD_WmwRscWhUn0NyLFaAt-ImWK8no2Hn3PyJW_OnRCKGgxuTAO6JyfZNaBJMJz0T5X_v4Uxhltr5A/s1600/800px-Taizokai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvPQjXbNV6Ml55R0_hKhJ_UXDe93p8V-GUulHBMICLVgB_QGBhZ2d8R9leMfAxizD_WmwRscWhUn0NyLFaAt-ImWK8no2Hn3PyJW_OnRCKGgxuTAO6JyfZNaBJMJz0T5X_v4Uxhltr5A/s320/800px-Taizokai.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">*Garbhadhātu-maṇḍala </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.24in;">The zodiac signs
as we presently know them were devised around the year 500 BCE in
Mesopotamia based on an earlier model of eighteen signs. Within a few
centuries the Greeks were deeply involved in the study of astronomy
and astrology. Hellenistic astrology, which was the foundation for
later European and Islamic traditions of astrology, was largely
produced in Alexandria in Egypt starting around the second century
BCE. Alexander died in 323 and Ptolemy took control of Egypt. The
Ptolemaic Kingdom (305–30 BCE) ruled over Egypt until it came under
Roman domination after the death of Cleopatra (69–30 BCE). The
Romans subsequently took a deep interest in astrology and in the late Republic of
the first century BCE it served as an exotic and alternative system
of divination in competition with traditional Roman divination
(augury and so forth). </span><span style="line-height: 0.24in;">Although the
chronology is somewhat unclear, between the second to fifth centuries
CE, Hellenistic astrology was introduced to India and in various ways
blended with the native systems of religious lore and astrology based
on the twenty-seven or twenty-eight </span><i style="line-height: 0.24in;">nakṣatra</i><span style="line-height: 0.24in;">-s (lunar
stations). </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.24in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.24in;">The scientific astronomy of the Greeks was likewise
introduced in these centuries. The tradition of Indian </span><i style="line-height: 0.24in;">jyotiṣa</i><span style="line-height: 0.24in;">
produced eminent figures like Āryabhaṭa (b. 476) in the Gupta
dynasty, whose work on astronomy entitled </span><i style="line-height: 0.24in;">Āryabhaṭa-siddhānta</i><span style="line-height: 0.24in;">
circulated throughout even the Iranian Sāsānian dynasty (224–651). </span><span style="line-height: 0.24in;">It seems, however, that
Buddhist institutions did not participate much, if at all, in the
development of Indian astronomy. Buddhist Mount Meru cosmology,
particularly that outlined in Abhidharma literature, is unscientific
and based on authoritative statements in scripture. The world is
conceived of as a flat disc with four continents of different shapes
surrounding an hourglass-shaped Mount Meru with the sun and moon
circuiting around it propelled by winds (<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2015/07/buddhisms-flat-earth-cosmology.html" target="_blank">for some details on this see here</a>).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Later on around
the early eleventh century when the K<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">ā</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">lacakra
literature was being produced (the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Śrī-kālacakra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
tantra and its commentary the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Vimalaprabhā</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">),
Buddhist authors demonstrated knowledge of advanced observational
astronomy. The </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Śrī-kālacakra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
(ninth section of chapter one) discusses astronomy for instance. It
describes the corruption of </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>siddhānta</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">-s
(astronomical treatises), which the commentary identifies as those of
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Brahma</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">,
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Sauram</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">,
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Yamanakam</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
and </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Romakam</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">.
The former two are Indian, but so far as I know, not Buddhist. It
seems in any case there were no notable specifically Buddhist schools of
astronomy. The latter two mean </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Yavana</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
(Ionian or “Greek”, or later meaning other foreign cultures) and Roman,
which highlight their foreign origins. The Kālacakra also uses the
tropical zodiac rather than sidereal zodiac, which is significant
because originally it was only late Hellenistic traditions of
astronomy that used the tropical zodiac while Indians continued using
the sidereal model (<a href="http://www.kalacakra.org/calendar/kcal.htm" target="_blank">see Edward Henning's article here</a>). This use of the tropical zodiac in the early eleventh century in India could possibly indicate an Islamic source for that element in light of the vibrant tradition of astronomy in Baghdad and other such centers of learning which Indian traditions were aware of. Islamic learning was not at all remote from India in those years.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Although
Indian Buddhist institutions had limited interest in astronomy for most of their history, they
still took an interest in astrology. There are plenty of early
Buddhist texts that display a passive belief in astrological
determinism, which is a topic of a paper I recently wrote (it is presently under review for publication). Astrological determinism is
the belief that events and qualities of people are somehow influenced or
signaled by celestial bodies. The belief that certain days are
auspicious and conducive to some favorable outcome is an example of
this.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The Buddhist </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>poṣadha</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(sangha
gathering to recite the precepts and carry out business) occurs
according to the Indian lunar (</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>nakṣatra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">)
calendar on specific days of the cycle which are deemed favorable
(such as the full and new moons). Although one might assume it was
merely a convenient way to keep track of time, the
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
(translated into Chinese in the early fifth century) has the Buddha
stating that a specific day “agrees with the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>nakṣatra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">-s”
which is effectively electional astrology (selecting a time to do something based on astrological considerations). The
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya
–</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
even in the early fifth century when the Chinese monk Faxian </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span lang="zh-CN">法顯
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">picked
up a copy in Pāṭaliputra (modern Patna) – was considered in
ancient India to be the oldest recension of the vinaya and some modern
scholarship agrees that this is likely true. That would mean the
early Buddhist sangha believed in astrology or at least a system of
electional astrology based on the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>nakṣatra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
calendar. Perhaps even the Buddha himself believed in astrology.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">There
were therefore few ideological or philosophical obstacles in Buddhism
to adopting elements from foreign systems of astrology, such as the
twelve zodiac signs, from around the sixth century onward. As we
discussed earlier in an earlier post (<a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2015/12/who-wrote-mahavairocana-sutra.html" target="_blank">see here</a>), it seems the teacher of
Śubhakarasiṃha </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span lang="zh-CN">善無畏
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(637–735),
a certain Dharmagupta of Nālandā, was the original human author
behind the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Mahāvairocana-sūtra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">,
an early text in the tantric tradition. Śubhakarasiṃha's
commentary on the text briefly mentions the twelve zodiac signs or
houses, but goes into no details. The *</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Garbhadhātu-maṇḍala</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
associated with the text does however depict these figures around the
perimeter and they are understood as deities, albeit minor ones. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.24in;">The
concept of star worship was by no means alien to Buddhism as the
aforementioned </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.24in;"><i>Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.24in;">
has an invocation of </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.24in;"><i>nakṣatra</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.24in;">
deities. I tend to think that the practice of astral magic was
actually native to Magadha originally. Early Brahmanism on the other hand had a low opinion of astrologers and forbid them from attending sacrifices. The </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 23.04px;"><a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu03.htm" target="_blank"><i>Manusmṛti</i> (chapter three)</a> has the following code:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 23.04px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">162. A trainer of elephants, oxen, horses, or camels, he who subsists by astrology, a bird-fancier, and he who teaches the use of arms, ... (all these) must be carefully avoided.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nevertheless, the importance of observing astrological considerations is highlighted:</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 23.04px;">277. He who performs it on the even (lunar) days and under the even constellations, gains (the fulfilment of) all his wishes; he who honours the manes on odd (lunar days) and under odd (constellations), obtains distinguished offspring.</span></blockquote>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Although astrologers might have been disparaged, the validity of astrology itself was not questioned. There are some examples in Buddhist literature of astrology's validity being attacked, but in general most of the texts that I have surveyed indicate a passive belief in astrology despite the monastic prohibitions against practicing astrology.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
zodiac signs as they were depicted in China are preserved in an
important document in Japan, the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Taizō
zuzō</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span lang="zh-CN">胎藏圖象</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">,
which visually represents the deities of the *Garbhadhātu-maṇḍala.
These representations are based on those brought to Japan from China
by Enchin </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span lang="zh-CN">圓珍
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(814–891).
He copied them in 855 in Chang’an at Qinglong-si </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span lang="zh-CN">青龍寺</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">, a center of learning for esoteric Buddhism. It is believed that these icons were first produced by
Śubhakarasiṃha. The icons therefore have been recopied several
times by Japanese and Chinese hands, but assuming they were faithful
to the originals, we perhaps have a set of zodiac icons as they were
generally envisioned by Śubhakarasiṃha, who represents the late
seventh century </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Nālandā</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
tradition of Buddhism, though at the same time we must concede that
the icons as we presently have them show Central Asian and Chinese
influences. One might even imagine that Śubhakarasiṃha had the
icons in some manuscript from India and then asked a
local artist to reproduce them. Not being an art historian myself, I will not
make any judgments about this and will just present them here.</span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">1. Aries - M</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">eṣa</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">2. Taurus - V</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">ṛṣabha</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">3. Gemini - M</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">ithuna</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">4. Cancer - K</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">arkaṭa</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">5. Leo - S</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">iṃha</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">6. Virgo - K</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">anyā</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">7. Libra - T</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">ulā</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">8. Scorpio - V</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">ṛścika</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">9. Sagittarius - D</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">hanus</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">10. Capricorn - M</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">akara</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">11. Aquarius - K</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">umbha</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">12. Pisces - M</span><span style="line-height: 23.04px;">īna</span></b></div>
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The depiction of Capricorn as a Makara is interesting. Monier-Williams defines <i>makara</i> as follows:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 23.04px;">m. a kind of sea-monster (sometimes confounded with the crocodile , shark , dolphin &c ; regarded as the emblem of kāma-deva [cf. mokara-ketana &c below] or as a symbol of the 9th arhat of the present avasarpiṇī ; represented as an ornament on gates or on head-dresses).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="line-height: 23.04px;">As I mentioned earlier, the zodiac signs were treated as deities and there are also mantras for addressing them collectively with other astral deities. It should be noted that they were minor figures. However, it is interesting that in Buddhist literature they are regarded as deities alongside the planets because in the Greco-Egyptian tradition of astral magic, so far as I know, only the planets are regarded as gods (this was carried over into Latin which is why we still in English say Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 23.04px;">In Hellenistic astrology, the zodiac houses serve as domiciles which planets rule over, but in the associated magical tradition, at least as it is preserved in extant papyri, I am unaware of zodiac signs being treated as sentient gods. The <i>nakṣatra</i>-s had already long been regarded as sentient gods for many centuries in Magadha, so transforming the zodiac signs into such figures was perhaps a natural progression.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-42597282770376327972014-12-27T21:40:00.001+09:002020-10-19T07:21:37.439+09:00Did the Buddha permit grape wine?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In an earlier post <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-did-buddha-prohibit-alcohol.html" target="_blank">“Why did the Buddha prohibit alcohol?”</a> we reviewed the Vinaya literature
(Buddhist monastic codes) that discuss why the Buddha laid down a
precept against the consumption of alcohol. </div>
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There are different
versions of this account, but generally they all agree that a bhikṣu
named Svāgata passed out from drinking too much after celebrating
his defeat of a N<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">āga that had
been terrorizing a region. Whether this really happened or not aside, the
early Buddhist community, like other </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>śramaṇa</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
traditions, looked down on alcohol consumption and thus it sobriety
was highly valued from early on.</span></div>
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However, Buddhists in at least one part
of India were involved in wine production not so long after the
Buddha died. It also seems probable that many of them consumed
alcohol as well, and that it might have become not so unusual in
later centuries.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__13622_136916971"></a>
Harry Falk in his paper <a href="https://www.academia.edu/5363000/Making_wine_in_Gandhara_under_Buddhist_monastic_supervision" target="_blank">“Making Wine in Gandhāra Under Buddhist Monastic Supervision”</a> outlines the archaeological discoveries
indicating that in Gandhāra the Buddhist monks possessed equipment
for making wine, which was a prominent feature of the local culture.
He also discusses how wine drinking was depicted on stūpa panels and
stair raisers. He notes that "it seems that neither non-Buddhist
visitors nor the heads of the monasteries were passionately opposed
to the production, distribution and consumption of wine in connection
with religious festivals."</div>
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Wine making had been a long-standing
practice prior to the introduction of Buddhism. Falk asserts that the
"age-old and non-Buddhist wine-cum-merry-making festival was so
attractive that its organisation was hijacked by the Buddhist
monasteries. It was also adopted by Buddhist communities further
east, in Sanghol and Mathura." While he acknowledges the Vinaya
strictly forbids monks from consuming any alcohol, his final
assertion is that monks eventually legitimized their own
participation in such activities, the monks "finding an excuse
for drinking and erotic encounters by creating religious
constructions which we today subsume under the label of Tantric
Buddhism."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5fcp54DvaaCdxuo3Xw0r3FPN3I6eHSgjdLOudgYKKV2b70xcOp9p8V-Of7rJ3l3itGSYCe6aVHzyye2sgdVMD21WGHYsAQZQssCroKfJ1PXWnCA3-6AM9z7qA20NsRVEUBtTe7FPw6k/s1600/CIMG1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5fcp54DvaaCdxuo3Xw0r3FPN3I6eHSgjdLOudgYKKV2b70xcOp9p8V-Of7rJ3l3itGSYCe6aVHzyye2sgdVMD21WGHYsAQZQssCroKfJ1PXWnCA3-6AM9z7qA20NsRVEUBtTe7FPw6k/s1600/CIMG1211.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gandhāra one will recall is in the
northwest of the Indosphere, which is now Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It is well-known for its Hellenistic style of Buddhist art, though
the western influences run very deep and I would recommend anyone
interested to read "When the Greeks Converted the Buddha:
Asymmetrical Transfers of Knowledge in Indo-Greek Cultures" by
Georgios T. Halkias (see <a href="https://www.academia.edu/5974580/When_the_Greeks_Converted_the_Buddha_Asymmetrical_Transfers_of_Knowledge_in_Indo-Greek_Cultures%20105-106" target="_blank">here</a>).</div>
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This culture of wine consumption on the
part of monks possibly became prominent enough to be mentioned in the
Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. The Vinaya is a section of the Buddhist
canon which details the rules and administrative procedures Buddhist
monks and nuns are to follow. Early Buddhist schools each developed
their own editions, so the Vinaya that a Theravādin monk would
follow would be different from this Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, which
was incidentally probably used at the prominent monastery of <span lang="en-US">Nālandā.
It is also the monastic code used by Tibetan monks (see Berzin <a href="http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/study/history_buddhism/buddhism_tibet/details_tibetan_history/history_mulasarvastivada_ordination.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></div>
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The version of the Mūlasarvāstivāda
Vinaya I'm familiar with is the Classical Chinese translation done by
Yijing (635-713) <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">義淨 </span>in 703.
It has an account of the Buddha apparently instructing the disciples
how prepare grape juice in a way that could easily produce wine.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__13640_136916971"></a>
As the story goes, a yakṣa offered grapes to the bhikṣus on
the outskirts of a monastery. The bhikṣus did not recognize what
they grapes were, so they asked the Buddha. He explains that grapes
are a fruit of the north and are to be “made pure” through fire.
This is a formal gesture that Buddhist monastics are supposed to do
with food where it is disfigured or made imperfect before being
consumed. The following in the <i>Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya
Bhaiṣajya-vastu</i> relates what happened afterward:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__13603_136916971"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">《根本說一切有部毘奈耶藥事》卷</span>9<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「于時葡萄食訖。由尚多殘。佛言。應可押取葡萄汁。煎汁不熟。遂便抒出。佛言。應可熟煎盛貯。供僧伽等非時漿飲。」</span>(CBETA,
T24, no. 1448, p. 39, c17-19)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
At that time, the
grapes had been consumed and because there were still many leftover
the Buddha said, “The grape juice is to be pressed out of them.
Heat the juice but not thoroughly cooking it, and then strain it.”
The Buddha said, “It is to be heated and stored away, to be offered
to the sangha as a beverage when it is untimely [past noon].”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
A similar story is related in the
Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (a different Vinaya from the Mūlasarvāstivāda), but it
says nothing about heating the juice and storing it.<sup>1</sup>
However, a similar story is found in the <i>Mūlasarvāstivāda
Vinaya Nidāna-mātṛkā</i>, also translated by Yijing. The sangha
is offered a basket of fruits from a yakṣa, which includes grapes. After the Buddha explains to the bhikṣus what the
fruits are and how to purify them, he says that the leftovers are to
be mashed into a beverage which may be consumed at will. There were
further leftovers and the Buddha states, “Having boiled it store it
in a jar. It shall be consumed on another day.”<sup>2</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This could actually just be referring
to the production of unfermented grape syrup, which was common in the
Near East. However, this is not entirely certain. Ronald Jackson
mentions an ancient technique of wine making that “entails
concentrating the juice or semisweet wine by gentle heating or
boiling. The treatment results in a loss of varietal character, but
generates a caramelized or baked odor."<sup>3</sup>
Unless the juice has been boiled down to a syrup, it will certainly naturally ferment if stored in jars.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In light of Falk's discussion about
wine production in Gandhāra, I am inclined to think this is tacitly
referring to actual wine production. If there was a concern that the
grape juice could ferment – and they would have been aware of this
– then I imagine it ought to state that if fermentation occurs it
is not to be consumed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The reality is that wine consumption in
the northwest of the Indosphere was quite prevalent and predated the
introduction of Buddhism. Xuanzang's <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">玄奘
</span></span>(602-664) translation of the <i>Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā
Śāstra</i> states, “In the north
poor men drink grape wine while in other places even the rich cannot
obtain it.”<sup>4</sup> </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Xuanzang in his travelogue of India also explains the sorts of
alcohol available in India when he visited in the seventh century. He
states something to the effect that “<i>śramaṇa-s </i>and
Brahmins drink grape and sugar cane beverages, but they are not
called liquors.”<sup>5</sup>
The grammatical structure of the last part of the sentence is
unusual (<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">非 … 之謂也</span>), and
seems to be saying “it is not considered” or “not called”
liquor. Unless the text is corrupted (and it is quoted elsewhere
identically in a premodern source),<sup>6</sup>
then given that he is describing the sorts of liquors available in
India, he is basically explaining that wine (and rum apparently) is consumed by <i>śramaṇa</i>-s
(i.e., Buddhist monks), but simply called otherwise to avoid the
taboo against alcohol. This brings to mind the custom in Japan, which
comes from China originally, where liquor is comically referred to as
“<i>prajñā</i> soup” (<i>hannya-t</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ō</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="ja-JP">般若湯</span></span>).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Although the Vinaya forbids alcohol quite clearly, this does not mean this prohibition was universally upheld or even valued so highly in India. The Vinaya literature was basically in the care of a minority of literate Buddhist clerics, who clearly updated the materials when it suited them. It would be unwise to think their rules and regulations actually reflected the reality of Buddhism on the ground in ancient India.</div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
------</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
Footnotes:</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
1<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">《十誦律》卷</span>26<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「彼頻闍山中有一夜叉鬼。字優耽摩。舊在彼山中住。此鬼信佛言心淨。思惟。我當何物上佛。此中唯有葡萄。即取上佛。佛言。與僧作分。彼即與比丘。比丘不受言。佛未聽我曹噉葡萄。以是事白佛。佛言。從今日聽噉葡萄。時大有葡萄食飽多殘。諸比丘不知當云何。白佛。佛言。壓汁飲。若葡萄不作淨。若汁中不以水作淨。不應飲。若葡萄作淨。汁中不作淨。若汁作淨。葡萄不作淨。不應飲。葡萄淨汁亦淨應飲。」</span>(CBETA,
T23, no. 1435, p. 192, c9-19)</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
2<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">《根本說一切有部尼陀那目得迦》卷</span>10<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「時彼藥叉既承信已。即送葡萄石榴甘橘甘蔗胡挑渴樹羅等成滿筐籠。命餘藥叉送彼庭中令持供養。諸苾芻見而白佛言。此北方果不知如何。佛言。以火作淨然後應食。時諸苾芻一一別淨。佛言。應為一聚但三四處以火淨之。食皆無犯。行與眾已仍有餘長。佛言。應可捼碎作非時漿隨意而飲。復更有餘。佛言。煮已瓨盛餘日當飲。」</span>(CBETA,
T24, no. 1452, p. 454, b30-c8)</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote">
3 Ronald
S. Jackson, <i>Wine Science: Principles, Practice, Perception</i>
(Academic Press, 2000), 400.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote4">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
4<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">《阿毘達磨大毘婆沙論》卷</span>12<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「北方貧人飲葡萄酒餘方富者亦不能得。」</span>(CBETA,
T27, no. 1545, p. 60, c4-5)</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote5">
<div class="sdfootnote">
5<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">《大唐西域記》卷</span>2<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「沙門、婆羅門飲蒲萄、甘蔗漿,非酒醴之謂也。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2087, p. 878, b5-6)</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote6">
<div class="sdfootnote">
6<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">《四分律名義標釋》卷</span>14<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「沙門。婆羅門。飲蒲萄甘蔗漿。非酒醴之謂也」</span>(CBETA,
X44, no. 744, p. 512, c11-12 // Z 1:70, p. 309, b1-2 // R70, p. 617,
b1-2)</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote7">
<div class="sdfootnote">
7 Gregory
Schopen, “The Good Monk and His Money in Monasticism of 'the
Mahāyāna Period'” in <i>Indian Monastic Buddhism Collected
Papers on Textual, Inscriptional and Archaelogical Evidence</i> (New
Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited), 1-2.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdfootnote8">
<div class="sdfootnote">
8 Quoted
in Johannes Bronkhorst, <i>Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism
Handbook of Oriental Studies</i> (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 18-19.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-27825338136154174672013-09-30T14:52:00.001+09:002013-09-30T15:14:36.963+09:00Revisiting Vulture's Peak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvPRmLtP6v5GjvdF6wi1p2SyS9TJ55-5Unvp3Gi18XUeQDRT90yW1LMnnrdbfWfmVv1eeUR7Wk7Rdr1l4PsA9PGii8r8JIHbDKPQBsOQTYkkj6KJsvRyvImvXBcj_VL-bvIvnKVYkO_k/s1600/1012107_10151439728596793_627533221_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvPRmLtP6v5GjvdF6wi1p2SyS9TJ55-5Unvp3Gi18XUeQDRT90yW1LMnnrdbfWfmVv1eeUR7Wk7Rdr1l4PsA9PGii8r8JIHbDKPQBsOQTYkkj6KJsvRyvImvXBcj_VL-bvIvnKVYkO_k/s320/1012107_10151439728596793_627533221_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In June of this year (2013) I had the good fortune to take a trip to
Bodhgaya again. During my stay there I visited the area around Rajgir
with the main purpose of visiting Vulture's Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa)
once again. It is a sacred site in Buddhism chiefly
because the Buddha himself stayed there for a time, even dwelling in
the caves which still remain and are open to the public. The
surrounding mountains and valley are protected natural habitats,
though Shanti Peace Stūpa atop the mountain built by the Japanese monk Nichidatsu Fujii
(my teacher's teacher) is a popular tourist attraction and attracts a lot of visitors who
casually discard their litter on the ground. There are also vendors who blast music out of their mobile phones.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I made my way to Vulture's Peak in the hot sun. As I
crossed the bridge leading up there the sky turned gray providing
refreshing relief. Reaching the top I was pleased to find myself
alone. When I visited in 2011 it was during the cool winter, at which
time there were plenty of people around.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQtwyd-_xvpWTrDZIvrUw7WCIQt2sDEGkf5kGj5kMoLROJUwzylir8qabdEOLEDtJgItc2wTdVPd8TcStHfxoA9NPJX9fl6n9yG-hdA3rd_zs-VvM1nza1w0UlxamT3uSimiQuds614I/s1600/1040375_10151433780951793_490010193_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQtwyd-_xvpWTrDZIvrUw7WCIQt2sDEGkf5kGj5kMoLROJUwzylir8qabdEOLEDtJgItc2wTdVPd8TcStHfxoA9NPJX9fl6n9yG-hdA3rd_zs-VvM1nza1w0UlxamT3uSimiQuds614I/s640/1040375_10151433780951793_490010193_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhhwLj-vHRvGZyc7ChyphenhyphensZBbme_TXHZhyphenhyphenhNzrl6I73iSXrdVxylrN82xSBFvCa9FRFsloWt5YPIMhOGOj2s0vxPCv5o9w9bl2ckYCnyNxYmIGqNQUlN2CRC8cKod0WsqXhykjrfdLX4WY/s1600/DSC09767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhhwLj-vHRvGZyc7ChyphenhyphensZBbme_TXHZhyphenhyphenhNzrl6I73iSXrdVxylrN82xSBFvCa9FRFsloWt5YPIMhOGOj2s0vxPCv5o9w9bl2ckYCnyNxYmIGqNQUlN2CRC8cKod0WsqXhykjrfdLX4WY/s640/DSC09767.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Looking out from the top you are given a sight of natural beauty
quite rare around India these days:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qIsujT9j1BCu2COYJicLaQnk4uHDjuah4NEltePAYaxyEupNFoLOj7uVKzwr_mTABAzBiZcBlFpDL0jQUfWbU0NfZ6pDD4PnPTR5YBrRegZSGorE6n4gVrrMQumFtppCsEXlN4WlTM8/s1600/942113_10151439727851793_1229467456_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qIsujT9j1BCu2COYJicLaQnk4uHDjuah4NEltePAYaxyEupNFoLOj7uVKzwr_mTABAzBiZcBlFpDL0jQUfWbU0NfZ6pDD4PnPTR5YBrRegZSGorE6n4gVrrMQumFtppCsEXlN4WlTM8/s640/942113_10151439727851793_1229467456_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Vulture's peak is located atop a rocky crag not so far down from
the peak of another mountain inside a long valley stretching west to
east:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmMMp3Q7F2X2aOMeNH0DhtcRwG5V9UNfJducVDVw3WOVtVMjA8Qag2iJV-HvzPhHL2CLuQqr0RmYPS_PvCDZm5CgPn-gE01m_UYSCexiku_WNyxUGWT9HjcS6y-4DFkpKoq69g6YbrpU/s1600/vulturespeak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmMMp3Q7F2X2aOMeNH0DhtcRwG5V9UNfJducVDVw3WOVtVMjA8Qag2iJV-HvzPhHL2CLuQqr0RmYPS_PvCDZm5CgPn-gE01m_UYSCexiku_WNyxUGWT9HjcS6y-4DFkpKoq69g6YbrpU/s640/vulturespeak.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The whole area played a core role in the history of the early
sangha and later Buddhist mythology. Many of the formative events of the original sangha happened in this area. I found it quite moving to just sit and survey the area, thinking of all the great figures from the Buddha to all the <span lang="en-SG">Nālandā scholars who visited.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__411_247633761"></a><span lang="en-SG">The site
is not so far south from Nālandā, perhaps a day's walk (or twenty minutes by car). Between the years 399-414 the
Chinese pilgrim named Faxian </span><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">法顯
</span><span lang="en-SG">(338-c423) traveled throughout South Asia
before returning back home. He paid a visit to the area and provides a precious witness account. Modern scholars would be at a
great loss had Faxian's journal not survived. When Faxian visited it
seems there was no largescale monastery built at Nālandā as yet:</span><br />
<div lang="en-SG">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__414_247633761"></a><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《高僧法顯傳》卷</span>1<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">:「從此西南行一由延到那羅聚落。是舍利弗本生村。舍利弗還於此中般泥洹。即此處起塔。今現在。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2085, p. 862, c7-9)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__346_1534186910"></a>Going southwest from here
one <i>yojana</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> one reaches the
village of </span><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">Nālandā.
It is was the birth village of </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">Śāriputra.
Śāriputra returned here for his <i>parinirvāṇa</i>. They built a
st</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">ū</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">pa
which is still extant.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__325_1534186910"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__333_1534186910"></a>
It seems possible that the <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">Śāriputra
St</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">ū</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">pa
presently found at the Nālandā site was rebuilt atop the
original site which Faxian is referring to here. A lot of the
buildings we can presently see at the Nālandā ruins were built atop
older ruins.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKKulfTW4bLnTrKv9a62qwfy-J32Yp84cDBXrYHZr_7OdAyFoVaApLSYQcF4H7Lok087vPgx6SdRk8nllmmmKeonheP_XqCLrhPsMP1oUph5dVUEtVls5vODf-yAAA99ms2JsBRMEjxQ/s1600/DSC05043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKKulfTW4bLnTrKv9a62qwfy-J32Yp84cDBXrYHZr_7OdAyFoVaApLSYQcF4H7Lok087vPgx6SdRk8nllmmmKeonheP_XqCLrhPsMP1oUph5dVUEtVls5vODf-yAAA99ms2JsBRMEjxQ/s640/DSC05043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__357_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__352_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__368_247633761"></a>Faxian then proceeded a short distance to the valley. The
old capital of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimbisara">King Bimbisāra</a> Rājagṛha used to be located inside
the valley, with the mountains forming natural defense. The natural barrier was supplemented with additional fortifications which are still extant (assuming these were built during the Magadha Empire):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuJoieu6D-JU9owSMeU7WRjffC8RZGFMG3gOM68kuUACDaXRsZ7zZxoGPD6nvlUedQtEgw3kWPFjXKTFEWH8NWtg4EFLAfX8uTEmOBUvzooVY3lGWc1raMnkoC3gUyuuR1Eyqgu8o60Q/s1600/DSC04825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuJoieu6D-JU9owSMeU7WRjffC8RZGFMG3gOM68kuUACDaXRsZ7zZxoGPD6nvlUedQtEgw3kWPFjXKTFEWH8NWtg4EFLAfX8uTEmOBUvzooVY3lGWc1raMnkoC3gUyuuR1Eyqgu8o60Q/s640/DSC04825.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The need for such defenses suggests a strong concern for war. The geography of the surrounding plains is conducive to rapid troop movement. Judging from the Buddhist accounts, there was a great deal of bloodshed in the period around the Buddha's lifetime.<br />
<br />
Later a
new Rājagṛha was built just just north of the valley by
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajatashatru">Ajātaśatru</a>, son of Bimbisāra, which probably more or less corresponds to the
present town of Rajgir.<br />
<br />
Faxian writes the following:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__350_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1165_2017727512"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__346_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__355_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__359_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__374_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__371_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__377_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__380_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__396_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__403_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__400_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__406_247633761"></a>
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《高僧法顯傳》卷</span>1<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">:「從此西行一由延到王舍新城。新城者是阿闍世王所造<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>中有二僧伽藍。出城西門<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>三百步<span lang="zh-CN">,</span>阿闍世王得佛一分舍利起塔。高大嚴麗。出城南四里南向入谷至五山裏。五山周圍狀若城郭。即是蓱沙王舊城。城東西可五六里南北七八里。舍利弗目連初見頞鞞處。尼犍子作火坑毒飯請佛處。阿闍世王酒飲黑象欲害佛處。城東北角曲中耆舊於菴婆羅園中起精舍。請佛及千二百五十弟子供養處。今故在。其城中空荒無人住。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2085, p. 862, c9-19) </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__343_1534186910"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__388_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__365_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__363_247633761"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__320_1534186910"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__365_2476337611"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__363_2476337611"></a>
From here going west one <i>yojana</i> one arrives at the new city of
Rājagṛha. The new city was built by <span lang="en-SG">King
</span>Ajātaśatru. In it there are two <i>saṃghārāma</i><span style="font-style: normal;">-s
[monasteries]</span><span style="font-style: normal;">. </span><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">Exiting
the city's west gate three-hundred steps King Ajātaśatru obtained
a part of the Buddha's relics and built a st</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">ū</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">pa.
It is tall and stately. Exiting the south of the city, going four </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><i>li</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">
south, one enters into a valley surrounded by five mountains. The surrounding five mountains are akin to outer city walls. This was the
old city of King Bimbisāra. East to west the city is about five or
six </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><i>li</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">,
and south to north it is seven or eight </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><i>li</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">.
It is the place where Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana first saw
Aśvajit. It is the place where the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><i>nirgrantha</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">
made a fire pit and poisoned rice, and invited the Buddha. It is the
place King Ajātaśatru made a black elephant intoxicated with
liquor, wanting to harm the Buddha. In the northeast corner of the city the Elder
[Jīvaka] built a <i>vihāra</i> in the mango grove, where he invited the
Buddha and his thousand two-hundred and fifty disciples in order to make
offerings. It is still extant. It is vacant inside the city and
nobody lives there.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
His use of <i>yojana</i> here is important because we can discern his own
understanding of the measurement as we know the general distance
between <span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">Nālandā</span></span>
and Rājagṛha. According to Google Earth is roughly just
under fifteen kilometers. Sometimes in his work
his directions and measurements are off, but we can assume he was
providing us with the details the locals provided or his best estimates.<br />
<br />
Faxian then provides a description of Vulture's Peak:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《高僧法顯傳》卷</span>1<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">:「入谷搏山東南上十五里到耆闍崛山。未至頭三里有石窟南向。佛本於此坐禪。西北三十步復有一石窟。阿難於中坐禪。天魔波旬化作鵰鷲住窟前恐阿難。佛以神足力隔石舒手摩阿難肩。怖即得止。鳥迹手孔今悉在。故曰鵰鷲窟山。窟前有四佛坐處。又諸羅漢各各有石窟坐禪處。動有數百。佛在石室前東西經行。調達於山北嶮巇間橫擲石傷佛足指處。石猶在。佛說法堂已毀壞。止有塼壁基在。其山峯秀端嚴。是五山中最高。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2085, p. 862, c19-29)<br />
<br />
Entering the valley and following the mountains southeast and then ascending fifteen <i>li</i> one arrives at Gṛdhrakūṭa. Three <i>li</i> short of the peak there is a cave facing south. The Buddha once sat here in meditation. Thirty steps to the northwest there is another cave. Ānanda sat in it in meditation. The Māra Pāpīyas manifested as a vulture in front of the cave and frightened Ānanda. The Buddha with his supermundane ability parted the stone and stretched out his hand to touch Ānanda's shoulder. His fear was then halted. The bird tracks and hole for the hand are all still extant. Now they call it the "Mountain of the Vulture's Cave". In front of the cave are where four buddhas had sat. Also the arhats each had their own respective caves where they sat in meditation, amounting to several hundred. The Buddha would walk east to west in front of the caves. From among the steep cliffs of the north mountain Devadatta hurled a stone at the Buddha, injuring his toes. The stone is still extant. The hall in which the Buddha taught the Dharma has been destroyed. There are just the brick foundations. The peak of the mountain has is green with vegetation and beautiful. It is the highest of the five mountains.</blockquote>
<br />
Both Faxian and Xuanzang took the time to detail many of the local legends and myths in the places they visited. Buddhist bards early on naturally formulated these tales based on earlier stories, both fictional and historical (although admittedly that dichotomy is a modern one), and the sites became further sanctified as a result.<br />
<br />
The caves mentioned here are still extant. The whole area's geology is conducive to cavern formation. The Jains in ancient times also made use of the area. Vulture's Peak is within easy walking distance of the old and new cities, so it would have been ideal for mendicants living in the caves. Faxian bought necessary items from the nearby town before spending the night at the peak:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《高僧法顯傳》卷</span>1<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">:「法顯於新城中買香華油燈。倩二舊比丘送法顯到耆闍崛山。華香供養然燈續明。慨然悲傷抆淚而言。佛昔於此說首楞嚴。法顯生不值佛。但見遺跡處所而已。即於石窟前誦首楞嚴。停止一宿。還向新城。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2085, p. 862, c29-p. 863, a5)<br />
<br />
I went into the new city
and bought incense, flowers and oil lamps. I asked two old bhikṣus
to take me to the Gṛdhrakūṭa mountain. With flowers and incense
offered and burning lamps bright I sadly wept and wiped away the
tears saying that the Buddha long ago taught the <i>Śūraṃgama</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
[</span><i>Samādhi Sūtra</i><span style="font-style: normal;">] –
I could not meet the Buddha in this life, but could only see vestiges. We recited the </span><i>Śūraṃgama</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
[</span><i>Samādhi Sūtra</i><span style="font-style: normal;">] in
front of the cave entrance and stayed the night before heading back to
the new city.</span></blockquote>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br /></div>
It is noteworthy here that Faxian “buys” the items. The
Chinese verb here <i>mǎi</i> <span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">買
</span>unmistakably means <i>to buy</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
and not to barter or beg. It seems Buddhist monks in north India, at
least in this period, did not object to possessing and using money
and/or precious metals. A few centuries later Yijing </span><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span style="font-style: normal;">義淨
</span></span><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">(635-713)
</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">also notes how the
inheritance system for monks works in India (probably specifically at
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">Nālandā):</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__384_1534186910"></a><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">《南海寄歸內法傳》卷</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">4</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">:「先問負債囑授及看病人。</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">...
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">所有券契之物。若能早索得者。即可分之。如不能者。券當貯庫。後時索得充四方僧用。若諸金銀及成未成器貝齒諸錢。並分為三分。一佛陀。二達摩。三僧伽。佛物應修理佛堂及髮爪窣覩波所有破壞。法物寫佛經料理師子座。眾物現前應分。」</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">(CBETA,
T54, no. 2125, p. 230, a28-c24)</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-SG"><span style="font-style: normal;">First
of all one should make an inquiry as to whether he had any debts, or
he has left a will, and if anyone nursed him while he was ill. ...
Those receipts for loans that are claimable at once may be divided
right away. If not claimable at once, they should be kept in the
monastic treasury, and when the money is reclaimed at a later time,
it should be used to replenish the fund of the community of monks
from the four quarters. All gold and silver, either wrought articles
or unwrought ingots, should be divided into three portions for the
Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The portion for the Buddha should
be spent on repairing the Buddha halls and the stupas containing [the
Buddha's] hair and nails, and for mending other dilapidation. The
portion for the Dharma is used for copying scriptures and maintaining
the lion seat. The portion for the community of monks should be
shared by them right away.<sup>1</sup></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
Yijing also notes that beds inlaid with jewels as well as weapons and armor
are to be dealt with as well. That of course begs the question why
would a monk possess such items, but nevertheless it seems at least some of the clergy at the time amassed plenty of wealth.<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-SG">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__386_1534186910"></a>Xuanzang <span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span lang="zh-CN">玄奘
</span></span>(602-664) also visited Vulture's Peak while travelling
in India between 633-645. His travel account records the following:</div>
<div lang="en-SG">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div lang="en-SG">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《大唐西域記》卷</span>9<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">:「宮城東北行十四五里,至姞栗陀羅矩吒山</span>(<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">唐言鷲峯,亦謂鷲臺。舊曰耆闍崛山,訛也</span>)<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">。接北山之陽,孤摽特起,既棲鷲鳥,又類高臺,空翠相映,濃淡分色。如來御世垂五十年,多居此山,廣說妙法。頻毘娑羅王為聞法故,興發人徒,自山麓至峯岑,跨谷凌巖,編石為階,廣十餘步,長五六里。中路有二小窣堵波,一謂下乘,即王至此徒行以進;一謂退凡,即簡凡人不令同往。其山頂則東西長,南北狹。臨崖西埵有甎精舍,高廣奇製,東闢其戶,如來在昔多居說法,今作說法之像,量等如來之身。精舍東有長石,如來經行所履也。傍有大石,高丈四五尺,周三十餘步,是提婆達多遙擲擊佛處也。其南崖下有窣堵波,在昔如來於此說《法花經》。精舍南山崖側有大石室,如來在昔於此入定。」</span>(CBETA,
T51, no. 2087, p. 921, a20-b7)</div>
<div lang="en-SG">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-SG">
Going northeast for fourteen or fifteen <i>li</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
from the palace city, I reached Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain (known in
China as the Vulture peak or terrace, and formerly mistranscribed as
as Qishejue Mountain). It links with the south side of the North
Mountain, protruding all alone to a great height, where vulture's
perch, and also resembles a high terrace. The verdurous mountain
presents a distinct color in contrast with the sky. During the fifty
years of his missionary career, the Tath</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">gata
stayed on this mountain on many occasions to preach the wonderful
Dharma. </span>
</div>
<div lang="en-SG">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-SG">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In order to hear the
Buddha's preaching, King Bimbas</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ra
sent men to build a road leading from the foot of the mountain to the
summit, more than ten paces wide and five or six </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>li</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
in length, across valleys and over rocks, with stones piled up into
steps. There are two small stupas on the way. One is known as the
place of alighting, from where the king started to walk on foot to
proceed on his way, and the other as the place of preventing ordinary
persons from going further [with the king]. The summit is oblong from
east to west and narrow from south to north. On the brink of the west
side of the precipice is a brick shrine, high and spacious, built in
a marvellous style, with its door opening to the east. The Tath</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">gata
preached the Dharma in it many times. Now there is a life-size statue
of the Tath</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">gata
in the posture of delivering a sermon.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div lang="en-SG">
To the east of the shrine is an oblong stone on which
the Tath<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">gata
walked to and fro. Beside it is a great rock fourteen or fifteen feet
high and more than thirty paces in circumference. This was the place
where Devadatta hurled a stone from a distance to hit the Buddha. To
its south and below the cliff was the place where the Tath</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">gata
preached the </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-sūtra</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
in olden times. To the south of the shrine and beside a steep rock is
a cave where the Tath</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">gata
sat in meditation in days of yore.<sup>2</sup></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div lang="en-SG">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-SG">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The caves he describes, like Faxian, are open to the public. I went and sat inside one of them for a bit
and discovered some bats were hanging inside, so I cautiously exited.</div>
<div lang="en-SG">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2jzrQ-p4mjJgczJXq-r8my6Dhyy0De4WDOiOxmymY2L6_zZI8ql9YOk-KFwtqsbICArEAr8017jmcFJE6PlPjOanyq0CaxzDiw_YEvmXtcS1PgdrJHrBS2LJr_ySn9NawNLMqXSdlbk/s1600/DSC09746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2jzrQ-p4mjJgczJXq-r8my6Dhyy0De4WDOiOxmymY2L6_zZI8ql9YOk-KFwtqsbICArEAr8017jmcFJE6PlPjOanyq0CaxzDiw_YEvmXtcS1PgdrJHrBS2LJr_ySn9NawNLMqXSdlbk/s1600/DSC09746.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-SG">
You can clearly see many centuries of pilgrims have
visited the site. The influx of Tibetans in recent times has ensured plenty of stones with carved mantras are left there along with prayer flags strung all around. A lot of the protruding rocks which make for good
grips when climbing up the peak are polished from centuries of use, though the site seems to have been forgotten for several centuries after the disappearance of Buddhism from that part of India.</div>
Incidentally, a long tradition of sacred mountains is found in Mahāyāna literature. One noteworthy example is in the <i>Lotus Sūtra </i><span style="font-style: normal;">where
Vulture's Peak is the site of the Buddha's teachings. In chapter
sixteen “The Tathāgata's Lifespan” there are the famous verses
where the Buddha declares his omnipresence in the world, which is
centered at Vulture's Peak. The relevant part reads as follows.</span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">《妙法蓮華經》卷</span>5<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">〈</span>16
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">如來壽量品〉:</span></div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1150_2017727512"></a><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span style="font-style: normal;">時我及眾僧, 俱出靈鷲山,</span></span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">我時語眾生: 『常在此不滅,</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">以方便力故, 現有滅不滅。』</span></div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1153_2017727512"></a><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span style="font-style: normal;">餘國有眾生, 恭敬信樂者,</span></span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">我復於彼中, 為說無上法。</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">汝等不聞此, 但謂我滅度。</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">我見諸眾生, 沒在於苦惱,</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">故不為現身, 令其生渴仰,</span></div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_2017727512"></a><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span style="font-style: normal;">因其心戀慕, 乃出為說法。</span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1159_2017727512"></a><span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;"><span style="font-style: normal;">神通力如是, 於阿僧祇劫,</span></span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;">常在靈鷲山, 及餘諸住處。</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
(CBETA, T09, no. 262, p. 43, b24-c5)
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br /></div>
<i>At that time I and the sangha will emerge from Vulture's Peak,</i><br />
<i>I will then say to beings: I am always here, not perishing.</i><br />
<i>With the power of skilful means I thus manifest perishing and
not perishing.</i><br />
<i>In other lands there are beings, reverent and faithful.</i><br />
<i>It is there that I teach the unexcelled Dharma.</i><br />
<i>You all do not hear this, only thinking I have passed away.</i><br />
<i>I see beings drowning in suffering.</i><br />
<i>Thus I do not manifest myself, to make them thirst.</i><br />
<i>When their minds are longing, I then emerge and teach the
Dharma.</i><br />
<i>Supermundane powers like this, for an asaṃkhya kalpa,</i><br />
<i>I am always present at Vulture's Peak and other dwelling
places.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Countless other works highlight the sacred quality of the mountain. This tradition of orienting holy sites on mountains was emulated in China as well. Mt. Wutai came to be associated with Mañjuśrī in the pan-Buddhist world (Indian monks and not just the Chinese in ancient times acknowledged the mountain as Mañjuśrī's earthly abode).<br />
<br />
I always find it interesting to compare these ancient accounts to what is presently extant. In an earlier post <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2012/03/revisiting-ancient-buddhist-india.html">Revisiting Ancient Buddhist India</a> we looked at some period accounts of Kushinagar, Kapilavastu and Lumbini. When you visit these places and know this history, the whole experience is far more enriching. I also feel it is a way of connecting to past figures in a spiritual sense. When I read the works of Faxian and Xuanzang, for example, I am always reminded of the same places we visited, albeit in different centuries.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
------<br />
<br />
Footnotes:<br />
<br /></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote" lang="en-SG">
1 English
translation by Li Rongxi. See <i>Buddhist Monastic Traditions of
Southern Asia</i> (Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research, 2000), 157-161.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote" lang="en-SG">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
2<span lang="en-SG"> English
tr</span>anslation by Li Rongxi. See <i>The Great Tang Dynasty
Record of the Western Regions</i> (Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for
Buddhist Translation and Research, 1996), 270-271.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-64449928522307408232013-07-30T13:34:00.001+09:002014-05-18T04:04:36.521+09:00Rome, Persia, China and Indian Buddhism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6fIcQbAtaX6ch7UtUGv8yizlLcdCljwlRtT5iig2iWZx3NgTFNcwI_J1u4eXPJwKJatq_y0LnGJ2dsuBAh1gdI7wNuNTM8hZuMlD6xJCoKiNAK3nz4XMqMfi5FBTC82xoj7bjgvfpy4/s1600/eurasia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6fIcQbAtaX6ch7UtUGv8yizlLcdCljwlRtT5iig2iWZx3NgTFNcwI_J1u4eXPJwKJatq_y0LnGJ2dsuBAh1gdI7wNuNTM8hZuMlD6xJCoKiNAK3nz4XMqMfi5FBTC82xoj7bjgvfpy4/s1600/eurasia.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Discussion of classical Indian Buddhism
in the early centuries of the first millennium has generally been done
within the geographical limits of the Indosphere stretching from what
is now Afghanistan down through to Sri Lanka. While Buddhism in the
early centuries did expand outside this region to areas like Central
Asia and China, Buddhism as a major institution and civilization was in the 3rd century still largely limited to the subcontinent and Persian borderlands. However, the fortunes of Buddhism in the second through fourth centuries CE have to be understood
within a greater geopolitical context stretching from the Roman
Empire across Asia to China. The prosperity and misfortunes that Buddhism experienced in India were in fact intricately tied to international trade and commerce.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1171_1558965335"></a>
Giovanni Verardi in his recent work <a href="http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Buddhism&month=1109&week=b&msg=TEoBEb8S9F3TIi/ASANIqA"><i>Hardships and Downfall of Buddhism in India</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> explains how
Buddhism in India established an “open society” across the
subcontinent which was effectively an urban pro-trade social model in
contrast to the competing Brahman agrarian model based on caste.
Whereas the sangha was dependent on and intimately connected to
commercial activities and the merchant classes for funding and
protection, the Brahmans sought to secure an alternative agrarian
order which provided them with supreme authority, even over </span><i>kṣatriya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
kings. Such competing social models inevitably led to conflict.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">One
might even describe it as class warfare. In the traditional caste
system a merchant is given a lower position, so it is unsurprising that
they might support Buddhism which rejected a preordained social
order, and moreover provided merchants with prestigious status as
benefactors as well as the opportunity for spiritual attainment. It was
also in the interests of some </span><i>kṣatriya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
kings to favour Buddhism as they could emulate the </span><i><span style="background: transparent;">cakravartin
</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;">ideal and increase their
power base through taxation of merchants, whereas in the orthodox
Vedic model they were supposed to give gifts of cattle and tax-free
land to Brahmans, as well as act as caretaker of a throne with the
real political power being held by the Brahman priests.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The well-being and sustainability of
Buddhism in India in this period effectively rested on trade, which
in India was part of a larger pan-Eurasian network stretching from
Rome to China. In this period Buddhism had already changed into a highly organized Vinaya-based monastic model. It grew increasingly complex by assembling an extensive written canon that needed to be continually physically reproduced. It further came to have sophisticated artistic traditions. All of this required resources and people plus continual investments to maintain everything. The monastic model in India was parasitic on the economy. It generally consumed resources and did not produce much in the way of agricultural products or commodities, though it did function in the tertiary sector of the economy. Buddhist institutions often operated money lending and storage services. All things considered, Buddhism was a capital intensive religion, much as it largely still is in most of Asia. Predictably, any disruption to capital inputs naturally undermined the religion, which indeed is what happened.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is interesting to consider how the political
developments and plagues that occurred in such distant lands could
have impacted Buddhism on the subcontinent in such a deep way, though
we have only to think of the so-called Silk Road to the north and
transoceanic trade to the south which kept goods, bullion and coinage in
circulation around Eurasia. The trade between India and China is
widely understood in Buddhist circles, though the relations between
Rome and India are less known. Romila Thapar explains the
significance of the trade:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Roman historian Pliny complained of the
trade with the east being a serious drain on the income of Rome, to
the extent of 550 million sesterces each year, of which at least a
fifth went to India. Imports from India were largely luxury articles
- spices, jewels, textiles, ivories and animals (apes, parrots and
peacocks) for the amusement of the Roman patrician and his family. It
was therefore thought that the balance of trade was in favour of
India. But recently it has been argued that even if Pliny's figure is
correct, customs dues and taxes on the imports from the east into
Roman Egypt were high enough to compensate for the drain of money in
the initial outlay for this trade. It has also been argued that
Tiberius and later Pliny, both of whom complained about the drain of
Roman wealth to India, may have been more concerned about making a
moral judgement on Roman patrician society with its display of
wealth, and therefore used the trade to underline the point.
Nevertheless, it was a profitable trade for the merchants and chiefs
of the Indian peninsula.<sup>1</sup></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1189_15589653351"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1147_15589653351"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1169_15589653351"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_15589653351"></a>
The peak of Buddhist power in India occurred during flourishing trade
with Rome but also the era of foreign rule over the subcontinent by
the <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushan-dynasty-i-history">Kuṣāṇa dynasty</a> (1st-3rd centuries CE):</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1224_1558965335"></a> The foreign dynasties that from the first century BC to the
second century AD ruled over a considerable part of India could not
make themselves into 'national' dynasties, and allowed Buddhism, and
also neo-Brahmanical movements, to grow. The case of Kaniṣka I is
particularly interesting. Under his reign (second quarter of the
second century AD), Indian Buddhism reached, as documented by the
imposing building activity and the iconographic output, its greatest
economic power and territorial expansion.<sup>2</sup></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSFxZIS_6bkP4iIY6izVGIUcTBrkayqmHbk1ESjhoRqryYJrGJf9pCV8l1triTn-l1ilFrbGrBBgZLO9tdZYZiB07O3yy-jTzfterTI1lQkoeibUFXtqdbGpE0NmqqNYyoaua2JIKlhE/s1600/KanishkaI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSFxZIS_6bkP4iIY6izVGIUcTBrkayqmHbk1ESjhoRqryYJrGJf9pCV8l1triTn-l1ilFrbGrBBgZLO9tdZYZiB07O3yy-jTzfterTI1lQkoeibUFXtqdbGpE0NmqqNYyoaua2JIKlhE/s1600/KanishkaI.jpg" height="152" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold coin of Kaniṣka I with Buddha image.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1169_155896533511"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_155896533511"></a>
<span id="goog_1866886320"></span><span id="goog_1866886321"></span>The trade throughout Kuṣāṇa territories was heavily influenced
by Rome as well. Thapar notes that “the gold coins of the
Kushanas followed the Roman weight standard, partly to ensure that
they would be used as legal tender in areas familiar with Roman
trade. The imitation of particular coins probably had more to do with
the continuity of a medium of exchange than with fashion.”<sup>3</sup>
Furthermore, “products that were in demand in Roman markets were
exchanged mainly for Roman coins. The frequency of hoards of such
coins in the Deccan and south India point to its being a trade of
some substance. Most of the coins are of earlier Roman Emperors, such
as Augustus and Tiberius, the debased coins of Nero not being thought
worthy of hoarding.”<sup>4</sup>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1189_155896533511"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1147_155896533511"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__502_1676393549"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1169_155896533512"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_155896533512"></a>
While Kaniṣka and the Kuṣāṇa dynasty were not strictly
Buddhist, they did support the sangha. Their trade policies also
fostered favorable conditions in which Buddhist institutions thrived.
The well-being of Buddhism partially relied on Indian trade with
Rome. It is thus unsurprising that “once the conditions created by
Kuṣāṇa rule dissolved, and the imposing building activity and
impressive amount of artistic output in key-cities like Mathurā and
in Buddhist sanctuaries came to a halt, India, besides being
de-urbanised, appeared as an iconic desert.”<sup>5</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Any disruption of international trade
would have undermined Buddhist institutions, and this is precisely
what happened. It was not just declining trade with Rome, but also
China. Again, Verardi:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1165_1558965335"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1189_1558965335"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1147_1558965335"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1169_1558965335"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_1558965335"></a>
There is little doubt that the closing down of the open society of
the Buddhists and the resulting weakening of the religion of Dharma
coincides with the fall in international trading activities, and in
particular with the much decreased demand for Indian goods from Rome.
Kuṣāṇa currency, circulating over a vast territory, had been
linked to the Roman currency system. The collapse of the Han dynasty
in China (AD 221) contributed to changing the picture in Central
Asia. By that time, we observe a change in the Indian landscape,
namely, a rapid process of de-urbanisation. It is every
archaeologist's experience that even in the case of continuous human
occupation, post-Kuṣāṇa levels display much poorer building
techniques and reuse of earlier building material. A great number of
small and large towns were abandoned in the third century, and in
certain areas, as is shown by territorial surveys, the collapse of a
whole network of roads and small settlements, which had been kept
functioning by Buddhist monasteries, is observable. This process was
probably aggravated by the collapse of the trading activity with the
West that followed St Cyprian's plague of the years AD 251-66, which
is an important component of the 'crisis of the third century' in the
Roman Empire.<sup>6</sup></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1303_1558965335"></a>
I would add that prior to St Cyprian's plague, there had been another
plague starting a century prior which severely damaged the Roman
economy and significantly decreased the population: the Antonine
plague which reached the empire in 165. Within a few years it had
annihilated a sizable portion of tax payers in Egypt alone, which was also
the bread basket of the empire. There were further outbreaks of
plague in 172, 174, 175, 179, 182 and 189, and thereafter again in
the 250s and 260s. During the Fayum area of Egypt during the Antonine
plague the tax base dropped 33-44%. Other areas saw declines up to
93%, though some of that would have been as a result of flight.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One estimate states up to 10% of the
empire's total population perished, though alternative estimates
would suggest upwards of 30% might have died, which would have been
comparable to the Black Death in western Europe between 1347-80. This
occurred when the empire was already under enormous
demographic-structural stress. Sociopolitical instability and the
subsequent endemic civil war of the third century prevented
population recovery and only contributed to the slow downfall of Rome
over the following two centuries.<sup>7</sup>
All of this no doubt contributed to the currency debasement of the
later empire, which is illustrated in the following chart:<sup>8</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidL42FL39UcO2NqMHxkHPUqVOlDGNQG18alsD_pA1Jmi58idnkHE9SuspP4X_DdbGAb4eBxohnGSLj4NbiziI7-u2cFJtZw8AYrveEbQ6mtY9jQPkIZYRY5sQ7kWJnDadY3fpcucy2-M0/s1600/romedebasement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidL42FL39UcO2NqMHxkHPUqVOlDGNQG18alsD_pA1Jmi58idnkHE9SuspP4X_DdbGAb4eBxohnGSLj4NbiziI7-u2cFJtZw8AYrveEbQ6mtY9jQPkIZYRY5sQ7kWJnDadY3fpcucy2-M0/s1600/romedebasement.jpg" height="284" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Under Domitian (reigned 81-96) the
silver content of the denarius was 3.28 grams, but by the end of the
following century the silver equivalent had fallen to just 2 grams.
By 272 the denarius only had 2.5% silver in it. By the time St
Cyprian's plague hit in 251, the Roman empire was already suffering
critical financial problems, which contributed to the fall in
international trading activities.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Verardi also rightfully notes another
contributing factor in that decline: the collapse of the Han dynasty
in around 220 CE. The Han Dynasty is divded into the western or
former Han (206-9 BCE) and the later or eastern Han (25-220 CE). It
was during the latter that important local changes unfolded which
inevitably reduced China's contribution to the aforementioned
pan-Eurasian trade network which Indian Buddhism depended on. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Emperor
Guangwu 光武帝 (reigned 25-57 CE) abandoned an earlier offensive strategy
along the north frontier against the Xiongnu (barbarian horsemen),
who subsequently increasingly engaged in profitable raiding. Populations fled to the south
leaving many areas depopulated. Nomads had to be settled in abandoned
regions to fend off the Xiongnu. Between 2-140 CE the formally
registered population in the north-west dropped by 70%, while the
population in the south increased as much as 100% in some regions.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Despite the defeat of the Xiongnu
confederation in the 80s, the Xianbei and Qiang tribes replaced them
and continued causing trouble for the Han court. Rebellions occurred
and provinces were abandoned. In 143 official salaries were reduced
and the court had to start borrowing money, demonstrating severe
financial problems. In the end the last Han emperor abdicated to
warlord Cao Cao's son in 220, marking the end of a nominally unified
Chinese empire and the beginning of a ghastly period of perpetual war
and instability.<sup>9</sup> All this meant a sharp decline in
Chinese exports and imports.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One other important factor in the
decline of international trade that Verardi does not mention was the
collapse of the Parthian empire. Parthia incidentally had a role to
play in the aforementioned plague outbreak of 165. The Romans had taken
the Parthian cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, but suffered an
outbreak of what was probably smallpox which they brought back to
the empire with them when they retreated.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The semi-successful Roman invasion
illustrates the exhaustion of the Parthian state which “often
fought or frequently had to fight wars on two fronts, for in addition
to the Seleucids and Romans in the west they had great adversaries in
the east, such as the Greco-Bactrians, the Kushans who succeeded
them, the Sakas, the Alans and other peoples of Central Asia. In the
long run these conflicts overtaxed both the military and the economic
strength of the Parthian empire.”<sup>10</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Incidentally, the rise of the Sasanians
also saw an end to major Buddhist and Brahman activities in Persia.
As we can gather from the inscriptions of the priest Kartīr (on the
Kabah of Zartusht dating from c.290 CE), Zoroastrianism became the
official religion of the Sasanians in 224 CE (this is contested by
some modern scholars however: see Gignoux, 1984). The <i>šaman</i><span style="font-style: normal;">-s
(</span><i>śramaṇa</i><span style="font-style: normal;">-s) were no
longer welcome it seems,</span><sup>11</sup>
though at times Buddhism was still tolerated, which was maybe a friendly gesture to certain subjugated peoples of the empire:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However dominant Zoroastrianism was
under the Sassanians and whatever exclusivistic and even fanatical
tendencies it showed, Buddhism seems to also have been tolerated at
times. Even more than tolerance was present if one considers some
coins of governor Peroz (242–252 AD) and of king Hormizd (256–264
AD), which depict them as paying homage to the Buddha.<sup>12</sup></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
These developments more or less put an
end to the westward expansion of Buddhism, but also quite possibly
economic support which would have come from benefactors
within the Persian heartlands. Firstly it should be noted that only a
few decades before we see the first known reference in the west to
mention the Buddhists (and Jains): <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_of_Alexandria">Clement of Alexandria</a>
(c.150-215),<sup>13</sup>
so Buddhism, or at least knowledge of it, had made its way to the
Roman world prior to its prohibition under the Sasanians. Another
very curious fact which reveals notable Buddhist culture in Persia is
the existence of Buddhist terminology in Manichaean theology:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__537_1676393549"></a>
No Buddhist texts in Parthian are extant, but their existence can
been inferred from the presence of Buddhist and Indian terms in the
Manichaean Parthian theological vocabulary from the earliest texts
onwards (3rd–4th century BC). These terms show that the Manichaeans
developed their apologetics in a Buddhist milieu.<sup>14</sup></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We might surmise that Buddhism in
Persia, albeit a minority religion, still could have played a role in
trade, but also functioned as another major benefactor to Buddhist
civilization both in the Indosphere and Persia. This might not seem
so unreasonable when we consider how later institutions like Nālandā
received sponsorship from lands as far away as Java. The frontiers of
Persia and the Indosphere also had plenty of Buddhist peoples, such as
Bactria.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1169_1558965335111"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_1558965335111"></a>
Setting aside such speculation, Parthia in its later years suffered
chronic civil strife, a devastating epidemic of smallpox and repeated
wars with foreign powers including the Romans, which enabled the rise
of the Sasanians (reigned from 224-650 CE). The leader Ardašir
went on to capture parts of Armenia, northwest Arabia and the western
provinces of the Kuṣāṇa empire. The latter came to be ruled by
Sasanian princes. Thereafter he turned west and secured Roman border
towns and besieiged Hatra. This predictably led to war with the
Romans. We might imagine that the fall of the Parthians and the
subsequent wars both on the western and eastern borders of Persia led
to decreased trade given the conflict. The Sasanians also had to fend
off the nomads from the north, which likewise became a problem for powers in
Europe and East Asia.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1169_1558965335121"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__1156_1558965335121"></a>
To summarize, in the third century we see the Roman empire
increasingly crippled politically and financially as well as the end
of the Kuṣāṇa, Parthian and Han states. The geopolitical
situation on the Eurasian continent was largely quite unstable from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. It is therefore easy to understand why such
a decline in international trade occurred and how it undermined the
sustainability of institutionalized Buddhism which had come to be in
many ways an extension of the Indian mercantile system. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Buddhist
monasteries in India often provided storage and money lending
services in urban areas, which facilitated commercial activities and
no doubt encouraged increased patronage from the merchant classes
which aligned their own interests with that of the sangha. This was
ultimately the undoing of Indian Buddhism for a time, though it did
recover but not without suffering hard times, both in terms economic
support and a shifting religious atmosphere which saw increasing
hostility from forms of Neo-Brahmanism.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The hard times that Buddhism
increasingly faced is further reflected later on in the epigraphical
record as well. Schopen has examined the relevant inscriptions
extensively, which Boucher summarizes stating, “When the Mahāyāna
does begin to appear on the scene in Indian Buddhist inscriptions,
roughly around the fourth or fifth century, the Mainstream schools
increasingly cease to be found epigraphically as recipients of
substantial patronage.”<sup>15</sup>
This likely more reflects the final collapse of the Roman empire and the consequential decrease in coinage in India, but
such a decline can already be traced back to the second and third centuries.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As mentioned above, within India as
well Buddhism was under increasing pressure from rival religious
Neo-Brahmanistic movements, which contrary to former orthodoxy started
portraying the divine in art, a practice they probably adopted from the Buddhists. They furthermore developed popular
practices that substantially deviated from the orthodox Vedic norm,
but unlike the Buddhists they never challenged the caste system. By
the fifth century when the Chinese monk Faxian <span style="font-family: Microsoft YaHei;"><span lang="zh-TW"><span lang="zh-CN">法顯
</span></span></span>(338-c423) visited India, Buddhism was still
present and in some regions thriving, but had undergone a few
centuries of hardship and decreased support as epigraphical evidence
suggests with respect to sponsorship.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__558_1676393549"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__561_1676393549"></a>
Some Mahāyāna sūtras from those hard times take on a particularly
pessimistic tone, speaking of how the end of Buddhism is near, such
as the <i>Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra</i>. Later on the <i>Arthaśāstra</i>
from the Gupta dynasty (320-550 CE) takes on a clearly anti-<i>śramaṇa</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
stance. Nevertheless, </span>following the collapse of the Guptas the
stage was set for the empowerment of Mahāyāna traditions across
north India which prior to that had often been a despised movement. We looked at this in an earlier post <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2013/01/5th-century-india-turning-point-in.html">5th Century India: a Turning Point in Buddhist History</a>.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXtaZdpvdR-Y-p4mud7514tCX2kxe_8MRb6sqntgW3bkL0U9-rV4U7BBZIFfonoXQfiHNYKjkzAxt1U5qY9r64Pi2-Vy25bZRy6yV6w5frd09pxzhwo-w2D6MGFMLtWsLRYryX-f0NVk/s1600/DSC00494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXtaZdpvdR-Y-p4mud7514tCX2kxe_8MRb6sqntgW3bkL0U9-rV4U7BBZIFfonoXQfiHNYKjkzAxt1U5qY9r64Pi2-Vy25bZRy6yV6w5frd09pxzhwo-w2D6MGFMLtWsLRYryX-f0NVk/s1600/DSC00494.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodhisattva head. Gandhāra.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The development of Buddhism in India
has to be understood in this greater geopolitical context. It is
simply not enough to limit one's framework to the Indosphere. This
might seem rather daunting, but in reality to understand the
historical development of Indian Buddhism, one must understand the
greater Eurasian history. The major events in Europe, Persia and
China often had an impact on the development of Buddhism on the
subcontinent. The famous Graeco-Buddhist artwork from Gandhāra, the
descendents of Alexander's men, is one immediately apparent example,
but in terms of philosophy and the arcane as well there are distant
influences at work as well, most notably in <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.com/2013/02/astrology-and-astronomy-in-buddhism.html">Buddhist Astrology</a>.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We will discuss some these subjects in
greater detail in future posts.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
------<br />
<br />
Footnotes: </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
1 Romila
Thapar, <i>The Penguin History of Early India From the Origins to AD
1300</i> (London, England: Penguin Books Ltd, 2002), 242-243.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
2 Giovanni
Veraridi, <i>Hardships and Downfall of Buddhism in India</i> (New
Delhi, India: Manohar, 2011), 91.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote">
3 Romila
Thapar, 253.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote4">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
4 Ibid.,
242.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote5">
<div class="sdfootnote">
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5 Giovanni
Verardi, 107.</div>
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6 Ibid.,
106.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
7 Peter
Turchin and Sergey A. Nefedov, <i>Secular Cycles</i> (Princeton, New
Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009), 233-235.</div>
</div>
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8 Ibid.,
221.</div>
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<br /></div>
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9 See
Mark Edward Lewis, <i>The Early Chinese Empires Qin and Han</i>
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University
Press, 2007), 24-29.</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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10 See
Encyclopedia Iranica Online:
<a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arsacids-index"> http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arsacids-index</a></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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11 <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buddhism-i">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buddhism-i</a></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote12">
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<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
12 Erik
Seldeslachts in "Greece: The Final Frontier" in <i>Handbook
of Oriental Studies The Spread of Buddhism</i>, edited by Ann
Heirman and Stephan Peter Bumbacher (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 143.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote13">
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13 Giovanni
Verardi, 77.</div>
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<div id="sdfootnote14">
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<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
14 Xavier
Tremblay in "The Spread of Buddhism in Serindia" in
<i>Handbook of Oriental Studies The Spread of Buddhism</i>, edited
by Ann Heirman and Stephan Peter Bumbacher (Leiden: Brill, 2007),
80.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote15">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
15 Daniel
Boucher, “Dharmaraksa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China”
in <i>Asia Major</i>, Volume 19, part 1/2,2006, 37.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-36108737764236263002013-03-31T00:29:00.001+09:002013-03-31T00:30:50.335+09:00Indian National Museum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2v8TOoB2TZZhD8Dnr0owYr9YuGr7h8RwKa6mmTtPxkcSRIMM_JvrQ0UMdUt5vuYA36YLdoYe4Im5NrPd8xmoOLnV9ubKfcjjzg5W1sgomxAW_nX11LNcJWwoSdC-mneicD-q5w680_qM/s1600/DSC09429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2v8TOoB2TZZhD8Dnr0owYr9YuGr7h8RwKa6mmTtPxkcSRIMM_JvrQ0UMdUt5vuYA36YLdoYe4Im5NrPd8xmoOLnV9ubKfcjjzg5W1sgomxAW_nX11LNcJWwoSdC-mneicD-q5w680_qM/s320/DSC09429.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The <a href="http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/">National Museum</a> in New Delhi hosts a wide collection of items from India's vast past. This was my third time visiting the museum and like before the rickshaw driver had no idea where the place was and had to ask directions. It was quiet again, even on a Saturday, which leads me to wonder if Indians generally don't take much interest in the museum. This is quite unlike Japan, for example, where on a weekend the <a href="http://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en">Tokyo National Museum</a> is usually crowded.<br />
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Over the last few years I've started reading ancient Indian history and what strikes me is the lack of certainty about key points in India's past history. For instance, was Aśoka really Buddhist? What is the approximate date for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthashastra">Arthaśāstra</a>? Was the Gupta Dynasty intolerant of non-Vedic religious traditions? Was classical Indian astronomy largely learnt from Hellenic sources? Many of these questions are still debated. Ancient India before Muslim rule basically did not keep histories, which was quite unlike the Roman and Chinese worlds where great efforts were made in producing and reproducing histories of their respective civilizations. Scholars of ancient India see the <a href="http://huayanzang.blogspot.in/2012/03/revisiting-ancient-buddhist-india.html">travel accounts of Chinese pilgrims</a> like Faxian (338-c423) and Xuanzang (602–664) as indispensable in reconstructing the history of India in those centuries, and these were just travel accounts written by foreigners.<br />
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Nevertheless, ancient India produced many works of art in durable materials like stone, which have survived the centuries and are on display in museums. I would like to show some of the photos I took at the museum. Please click the images for a larger view.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieunx4fe2Q-yex6yEuN_el3Yj_M_hyphenhyphenez_FyvFvXwGRlZm_K31arZryrCE_5A9KqJE2cQ8CbVKel7B8WnksQGAwJChJ48LDvBwHU1uWolRmah79VT0gNI8ZPpcvsxqS08RV51Sl4tKZpAw/s1600/DSC08985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieunx4fe2Q-yex6yEuN_el3Yj_M_hyphenhyphenez_FyvFvXwGRlZm_K31arZryrCE_5A9KqJE2cQ8CbVKel7B8WnksQGAwJChJ48LDvBwHU1uWolRmah79VT0gNI8ZPpcvsxqS08RV51Sl4tKZpAw/s200/DSC08985.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization">Indus Valley Civilization</a> (3300-1300 BCE) was the earlier civilization that existed before the authors of the Vedas arrived in India. They seem to have produced a script (the <a href="http://ancientscripts.com/indus.html">Indus Script</a>), which remains undeciphered. In this image we see a seal with the script.<br />
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India's next major adoption of script and sculpture came in the Maurya Dynasty (322-185 BCE). Alexander the Great died in 323, and it is understood that many Persians fled his conquests, including artisans who found employment in the Maurya court. It was also in this period that the Brāhmī script, modelled on Aramaic or Phoenician, was used by Aśoka (304-232 BCE) for his <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/dhammika/wheel386.html">edicts</a>. It is notable that Megasthenes (350-290 BCE), a Greek who stayed in India, had remarked that writing did not exist in India. Quite possibly both writing and advanced sculpture techniques were introduced into India through Persia, though scholars might contest this. In any case, India was heavily influenced by both Persians and Greek in the centuries that followed Alexander's conquests, which is most explicit in the following piece.</div>
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This piece is dated to the second century CE and is from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhara">Gandhāra</a>, a region which occupied what is now northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C4%81ndh%C4%81r%C4%AB_language">Gāndhārī language</a>, much like their art, reveals deep Hellenic influences. For instance, the word <i>stratego</i> is found in it:</div>
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<i>bhrada vaga <b>stratego</b> puyaite viyayamitro ya avacaraya maduspasa bhaidata puyita</i></div>
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"brother, the <b>Commander</b> Vaga is honored, and Viyayamitra<br />
( = Vijayamitra), [former] King of Avaca. (His) mother's sister,<br />
Bhaidata (BhagTdatta?) is honored." </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(See p108 in <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CD8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Farchiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de%2Fojs%2Findex.php%2Fjiabs%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F8621%2F2528&ei=OOBWUbefFYfprAfPoYHIDw&usg=AFQjCNFIW-1oC_YdhRs0bAKN86kNIxYHQQ&sig2=HHTBCzYzSfQ-wvgWI5Sdbg&bvm=bv.44442042,d.bmk&cad=rja">"The Indravarman (Avaca) Casket Inscription Reconsidered: Further Evidence for Canonical Passages in Buddhist Inscriptions"</a>).</span></div>
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The artistic influences reveal a direct Hellenic genesis. It is generally thought that the first representations of the Buddha came as a result of Greek or Greek-influenced artists who possibly modelled the Buddha's image after Apollo. This piece to the left, a bodhisattva head, is from the third century CE, a mature period of sculpture.</div>
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The Buddhists were rather innovative in representing their holy figures. Orthodox proponents of the Vedas found the idea of representing their own divine figures as offensive and distasteful. It was only after the Buddhists started crafting such images and neo-Brahmanistic movements arose (those revolving around the <i>Bhagavat Gita</i>, <i>Upaniṣads</i>, and worshippers of Śiva or Viṣṇu) that Brahman society came to endorse iconography. On the left we see Lakṣmaṇa disfiguring Sūrpanakhā, a scene from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana"><i>Rāmāyaṇa</i></a>. It is from the Gupta Dynasty period (320 to 550 CE), fifth century CE. Uttar Pradesh.</div>
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The museum also has some relics of the Buddha himself. The Royal Thai government gave them to the India. They were contained in two capsules and date to the fifth or fourth centuries BCE. They are presently kept on display with a sign asking visitors not to make offerings. It would seem reasonable to have them in a temple somewhere, but given that these were bestowed upon a secular government, it might prove impossible to have them housed anywhere else.<br />
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Other exquisite pieces are on display such as this image of a young woman playing ball. It dates from the eleventh century. Throughout much of ancient India it seems men and women wore scant clothing while going bare chested. Given the heat of Indian summers this indeed would have made sense. I believe Buddhist monks and nuns would have been more modestly dressed than common folk given that, as a rule established in the Vinaya, they must wear several pieces of cloth and cover their chests.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaREECVGOzxYAMvgPMqDNJJAwnpSqXTjpAUdvPhY2RRVGoCclt968lztOyaJOIoD-Eb_d8bHsJKmz-wr5I1GJ0Lr6BN5szeVoa4tPzKc6-pNWxkVL73FSThjH3ODqwvNBHz7OExesXVU/s1600/DSC09098.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaREECVGOzxYAMvgPMqDNJJAwnpSqXTjpAUdvPhY2RRVGoCclt968lztOyaJOIoD-Eb_d8bHsJKmz-wr5I1GJ0Lr6BN5szeVoa4tPzKc6-pNWxkVL73FSThjH3ODqwvNBHz7OExesXVU/s200/DSC09098.JPG" width="150" /></a>Buddhist pieces also depict romantic scenes. The following from the Āyāga Frieze, which depicts scenes from the Buddha's life and from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jataka_tales"><i>Jātakas</i></a>, shows an amorous couple (third century CE). This sort of thing is seen elsewhere, such as at Nālandā (see Dhammika Bhante's blog post <a href="http://sdhammika.blogspot.in/2013/01/blog-post_14.html">here</a>).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDbcW329VPhN7zO1uZXs__yjmmAKCfmimizyYmNf7nEAUVBBm4mJHWI0Fjsj9l9CjBCAw_NIBjy9N1ifV2b_nVlEz_AGN3vHJRVq4CAU_xcbGOQWGtKcZMCmyFgjGJlwshTR2674WgeU/s1600/DSC09314+-+Copy.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDbcW329VPhN7zO1uZXs__yjmmAKCfmimizyYmNf7nEAUVBBm4mJHWI0Fjsj9l9CjBCAw_NIBjy9N1ifV2b_nVlEz_AGN3vHJRVq4CAU_xcbGOQWGtKcZMCmyFgjGJlwshTR2674WgeU/s200/DSC09314+-+Copy.JPG" width="150" /></a>There are also pieces from Central Asia in the public collection. This piece is from the third to fourth centuries CE. It resembles a Greco-Roman fresco. Here we see the Buddha with a moustache, which is a common feature on images from Gandhāra. He is accompanied by six monks, one of which is on the right.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSjp4W_AKpOgyIUxlj1Kzms3AswF4B-ObnxKCuIi9A4BytVz_cczfd059y9WLCCRJxb675gLdRLX7qstvpaTyBPhGg4eSlUHnKdfZ0JztWaPZLrhzh8ehkmyMGlN7-9T5IbB6jkACs1U/s1600/DSC09243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSjp4W_AKpOgyIUxlj1Kzms3AswF4B-ObnxKCuIi9A4BytVz_cczfd059y9WLCCRJxb675gLdRLX7qstvpaTyBPhGg4eSlUHnKdfZ0JztWaPZLrhzh8ehkmyMGlN7-9T5IbB6jkACs1U/s200/DSC09243.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
The Jain tradition likewise produced many icons. This piece is of the twenty-second Jain Tīrthaṅkara, called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neminath">Neminatha</a>. It dates to the eleventh century CE, Rajasthan. It is perhaps easy to mistake Jain images as Buddhist. Generally, Jain saints are depicted bare chested with their genitals exposed, hence it is easy to differentiate them from clothed buddhas or bodhisattvas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk8yTuB6eIOcZF7qNzpQ_dv3vJKRnpA0mDfLmlUXuw1q15mRN5ZHkxhtkUph1DEW80Mhd1cBp2KcEP1f8xzCjjyPQ-WC1a_WgI-Oroup7ef_M0sOkyMIiI1__7vXOOj-igveAn5Y9CeE/s1600/DSC09306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk8yTuB6eIOcZF7qNzpQ_dv3vJKRnpA0mDfLmlUXuw1q15mRN5ZHkxhtkUph1DEW80Mhd1cBp2KcEP1f8xzCjjyPQ-WC1a_WgI-Oroup7ef_M0sOkyMIiI1__7vXOOj-igveAn5Y9CeE/s320/DSC09306.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Finally, there are more relatively recent pieces of art on display. This one caught my eye. It is entitled "Rani Budhawati Hunting Tigers<br />
Kotah, Rajasthan" (circa 1760-70).<br />
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The National Museum is Delhi is worth visiting if you have the opportunity to do so. Fortunately it is a museum which allows, for a fee, visitors to use their cameras to photograph anything they wish. It is located near India Gate between Rajpath and Janpath, so when visiting the core of New Delhi it is easy to access. Be sure to bring a friend.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEXrQwOQ15-qi6xBNQWTQItpHHq3YuOe5knWhc_LZ_PQWCkp7nFbycqBJWfzxMtJH8YUG9Lb9kSur_57K8SiILEttksk9lJ_2ACT1uvJMpuJ5IHkQqpV3q0yNBhtQx7IAj7gsM-tT5lJ4/s1600/DSC09403+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEXrQwOQ15-qi6xBNQWTQItpHHq3YuOe5knWhc_LZ_PQWCkp7nFbycqBJWfzxMtJH8YUG9Lb9kSur_57K8SiILEttksk9lJ_2ACT1uvJMpuJ5IHkQqpV3q0yNBhtQx7IAj7gsM-tT5lJ4/s640/DSC09403+-+Copy.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-63082262883756222192013-01-14T22:48:00.000+09:002013-01-15T10:10:20.918+09:00Buddhism and Time<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichi-go_ichi-e" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXD9rnByguh8kNtB2w0JzhPcg_6ci7XGSiEa2YSFbp2_bZ_mEBTPsKN7jkdRePIz6KXQgNGVBBkzXiJofhpdOSxWixEITIfRlYKq43HXSBa_1RyLvoS89uYBNQG3kyu1sqT4gHhCUc-Mw/s320/DSC01564.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichi-go_ichi-e" target="_blank">"One Time, One Meeting"</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6715_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6738_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6742_37629722"></a>The concept of time is a rich subject of discussion that produced countless metaphysical theories in ancient India. Buddhists likewise joined into the discussion and in due time it seems this attracted the criticism of figures like <span style="font-style: normal;">Nāgārjuna and his later students who refuted any possibility of a substantially existent time.</span> Here I want to take a brief look at how time was divided into two
types by <span style="font-style: normal;">Nāgārjuna</span> and expand on the significance of the two concepts. Outside of Buddhism there were of course many alternative heterodox ideas, such as time being a causal
agent responsible for the creation and destruction of phenomena.
Nāgārjuna sought to refute the theories of both his fellow
Buddhists (namely the Sarvāstivāda) and heterodox schools.
Curiously, one refuted heterodox concept of time came to be adopted
into the <i>Kālacakra Tantra</i>, which is what will consider at the end.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6322_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6483_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6607_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6224_37629722"></a>
According to the <i>Mahāprajñāpāramitā Upadeśa</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">大智度論
</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">(MPU) there are
two types of time.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6217_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6341_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6711_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">《大智度論》卷</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">1</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">〈</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">1
</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">序品〉:「天竺說「時」名有二種:一名迦羅,二名三摩耶」</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">(CBETA,
T25, no. 1509, p. 65, b5-6)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In
India there are said to be two types of time. The first is called
</span><i>kāla</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. The second is
called </span><i>samaya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6327_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6293_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-style: normal;">Now, before we examine these two
terms I should say something about the MPU. Said text is attributed
to Nāgārjuna. It was translated into Chinese by Kumārajīva
(344-413) near the end of his life. As Arakawa Shintaro's <a href="http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2433/87826" target="_blank">study</a>
reveals there are fragments of the text in <a href="http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tangut.htm" target="_blank">Tangut</a> (I suspect they
would be a translation of the Chinese), but otherwise the complete
text only remains extant in Classical Chinese translation. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6246_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6723_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6234_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-style: normal;">There is an ongoing discussion about
whether Nāgārjuna was the true author of it or not, but there is no
unanimous consensus on the matter. Kumārajīva as a translator was
known to add material and edit his translations to make them more
readable, which his contemporaries at the time noted with his edition
of Nāgārjuna's </span><i>Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">中論
</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">(MMK). Jizang
</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">吉藏
</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">(549–623) in
his commentary on the MMK cites a source which states Kumārajīva
would "cut away redundancy and make up for any deficiencies</span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span>"<sup>1</sup>
</span>He likely took the same approach with the MPU. This would help
to explain peculiar parts of the text such as mentioning “India”
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">天竺</span></span>.
If it was a completely faithful translation of an Indian text,
presumably the Indian author would have been addressing an Indian
audience and hence would have had no need to specify “India”.
Consequently, while it is not a completely faithful translation of
the source text, we cannot confidently deny <span style="font-style: normal;">Nāgārjuna
as the author.</span><sup>2</sup>
Here I assume he was the author despite <span style="font-style: normal;">Kumārajīva's
editing</span>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6452_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6734_37629722"></a>
Now, among the many definitions of the term <i>kāla</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
in </span><a href="http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/" target="_blank"><i>Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;">
we find several relevant definitions: </span>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">a
fixed or right point of time , a space of time , time (in general)”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">the
proper time or season for”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">occasion,
circumstance”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">meal-time”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">time
(as leading to events , the causes of which are imperceptible to the
mind of man), destiny, fate”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
“time (as
destroying all things) , death , time of death (often personified and
represented with the attributes of yama, regent of the dead , or even
identified with him: hence kālam- √i or kālaṃ- √kṛ , "
to die " ”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In
Chinese the term is understood as “real time” </span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">實時</span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">.
</span>It refers to specific demarcated portions of time, mostly
notably for the purposes of the Vinaya where midday marks the point
of time where a bhikṣu must not eat anything until dawn the
following day (more specifically when the lines on the palm of one's
hand become visible). </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The MPU denies that time has any ultimate
existence and goes on to refute the suggestion that it does, much like the MMK. It does
however posit that “real time” in the context of the Vinaya is
real only in the conventional mundane sense (<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">世界中實</span></span>).
This is in reference to the two truths: ultimate (<i>paramārtha-satya</i>)
and conventional (<i>saṃvṛti-satya</i>). In the former there are
no phenomena to be perceived. The latter is common reality as it is
perceived by ordinary beings and hence we can speak of “real time”
as it relates to common perceptions.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Kāla</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is also understood by one heterodox school and the late-period
</span><i>Kālacakra Tantra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> as
being the causal genesis of the production and destruction of
phenomena (consider the last dictionary definition above). We will
consider this shortly.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6754_37629722"></a>The term <i>samaya</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> refers to the
sense of time specified in s</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ū</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">tras
and śāstras. S</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ū</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">tras
generally start with </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ekasminsamaye</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
(“at one time”). Monier-Williams defines it as “appointed or
proper time, right moment for doing anything ..., opportunity
,occasion ,time , season”. In Chinese it is understood as “false
time” </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">假時
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">in
contrast to “real time”. The notion behind </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ekasminsamaye</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
is explained as follows in the MPU:</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">《大智度論》卷</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">〈</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal;">序品〉:「隨世俗故有一時無有咎。若畫泥木等作天像,念天故禮拜無咎。說「一時」亦如是,雖實無一時,隨俗說一時,無咎。」</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(CBETA,
T25, no. 1509, p. 64, c13-16)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">According
to mundane convention there is no fault with there being “one
time”. There is no fault if with paint, clay or wood one makes an
image of a deity, and in recollecting the deity thus pays respects. To
speak of “one time” is also like this. Although there really is
no “one time”, there is no fault in speaking of “one time”
according to mundane conventions.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6460_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6747_37629722"></a>
What is unique is that there is soteriological function to <i>samaya</i>.
According to the MPU, <i>samaya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is used instead of </span><i>kāla</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
in order to eliminate views. The former is nebulous and does not make
specific reference to a definite span of time. The latter is
definitive and more importantly associated with heterodox philosophy. </span>Here the
paradigm from the Prajñāpāramitā literature is evident. The
interpretation here posits that the Buddha's aim was to have beings
eliminate attachment to views and this would include reified notions
of time, hence the wide use of <i>samaya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
in s</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ū</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">tras
</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">and few examples of
</span><i>kāla</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> as the MPU
suggests is a result of the Buddha's express intent.</span> In other
words, indefinite time is used for the edification of beings –
more importantly, it is out of the concern that beings will generate wrong views on the matter of time. This is a key concern of the MPU and MMK. It is in direct
response to heterodox assertions that time is permanent and the
causal genesis of all phenomena. The MPU cites two different
arguments suggesting a true existence of time:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6503_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">《大智度論》卷</span></span>1<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">〈</span></span>1
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">序品〉:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6765_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6466_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6476_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6494_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">「有人言:「一切天地好醜皆以時為因,如《時經》中偈說:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6851_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6780_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"> 「『時來眾生熟, 時至則催促,</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"> 時能覺悟人, 是故時為因。</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"> 世界如車輪, 時變如轉輪,</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"> 人亦如車輪, 或上而或下。』」</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6791_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6800_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6678_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">更有人言:「雖天地好醜一切物非時所作,然時是不變因,是實有。時法細故,不可見、不可知、以華果等果故可知有時。往年今年,久近遲疾,見此相,雖不見時,可知有時。何以故?見果知有因故。以是故有時法,時法不壞故常。」」</span></span>(CBETA,
T25, no. 1509, p. 65, b10-21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6785_37629722"></a>
Some say, “The cause for all agreeable and disagreeable things in
heaven and earth is time. As the verses of the <i>Time Scripture</i>
state:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6847_37629722"></a>
<i>Time comes and beings mature,</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>Time arrives and
they hasten,</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>Time can awaken
people,</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>For this reason
time is the cause.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>The world is
like a chariot wheel,</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>Passing of time
is akin to the wheel turning,</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>People are also like
the chariot wheel,</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<i>Some rise and
some descend.</i>”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
Some also say,
“Although all agreeable and disagreeable things in heaven and earth
are not produced by time, time is a static cause and truly existent.
The phenomenon of time is subtle and thus cannot be seen and cannot
be [directly] known. We can know that time exists because of the
result of flowers and fruits. The past year and the present year,
distant and close, slow and fast – seeing these characteristics we
can know that time exists although we do not see time. Why? It is
because in seeing the result we know that there is a cause. Thus the
phenomenon of time exists. The phenomenon of time is indestructible
and thus permanent.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6592_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6804_37629722"></a>
I was initially perplexed as to who this was referring to, but in
reference to this the Edo period Japanese Shingon monk <a href="http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9B%87%E5%AF%82" target="_blank">Donjaku</a> <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">曇寂 </span></span>
(1674-1742) in his <a href="http://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT/ddb-sat2.php?mode=detail&useid=2219_,60,0579a19&key=%E4%BD%9C%E6%96%BC%E4%BA%86%E5%9B%A0&ktn=&mode2=2" target="_blank"><i>Sub-commentary on the Commentary on the Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi Tantra</i></a> <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">大日經住心品疏私記<i>
</i></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">cites Āryadeva's
description of the twenty theories on nirvāṇa by twenty
externalist and Hīnayāna schools. Number seventeen is described as
follows: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6547_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6563_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6816_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6826_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">《提婆菩薩釋楞伽經中外道小乘涅槃論》卷</span></span>1<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">:「問曰。何等外道說諸物皆是時作名涅槃。答曰。第十七外道時散論師作如是說。時熟一切大。時作一切物。時散一切物。是故我論中說。如被百箭射時不到不死。時到則小草觸即死。一切物時生。一切物時熟。一切物時滅。時不可過。是故時論師說。時是常生一切物。名涅槃因。」</span></span>(CBETA,
T32, no. 1640, p. 158, a10-16)<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">。</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6830_37629722"></a>
Question – Which of the externalists teach that all things are
produced by time and that this is called nirvāṇa?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6821_37629722"></a>
Answer – The seventeenth externalist proponent of time dispersal
teaches as follows. “Time matures all elements. Time creates all
things. Time disperses all things. For this reason in my theory we
say that if shot with a hundred arrows you would not die if time had not arrived. When time arrives, you would die immediately if touched by a small blade of grass. Time produces all things. Time matures all
things. Time destroys all things. Time cannot be passed over.” For
this reason the proponent of time teaches that time constantly produces
all things. It is called the cause for nirvāṇa.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Zhanran <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">湛然
</span></span>(711-782) also affirms the aforementioned verses in the MPU
as being heterodox and moreover the soteriological function of these
two types of time as follows.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">《法華文句記》卷</span></span>1<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">〈釋序品〉:「是故外人計時為實。而說偈云。時來眾生熟。時去則催促。時能覺悟人。是故時為因。故須破邪說三摩耶。故今文中以實時示內生善。假時破外斷惡。」</span></span>(CBETA,
T34, no. 1719, p. 162, b1-4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6876_37629722"></a>
Thus the externalist conceives of time as real. In verse they state,
“<i>Time comes and beings mature. Time goes</i><sup>3</sup><i>
and they hasten. Time can awaken people. For this reason time is the
cause.</i>” Thus there is a need to refute error and teach <i>samaya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
Hence now in the text here real time reveals the inner production of virtue
[i.e., the Buddhist Vinaya] while false time refutes externalists
while severing away evil.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6864_37629722"></a>We
need to bear in mind it was not only heterodox schools which reified
time. Jizang<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN"></span></span> also goes on to explain how the Buddhist
Dārṣṭāntika (associated with the Sautrāntika) and Sarvāstivāda
proponents likewise reified time in their respective theories as a substantive entity, which
he notes the MMK sets out to “greatly disrupt” and refute. In his
extensive commentary on the MMK he explains as follows.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6868_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6884_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6873_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6880_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6888_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6920_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6962_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6894_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6891_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6898_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6901_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6910_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6914_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6932_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6927_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6922_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6939_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6917_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6955_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6966_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">《中觀論疏》卷</span></span>8<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">〈</span></span>19
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">時品〉:「所言時者外道有二師。一云。時體常。但為萬物作於了因。不生諸法故非生因。次云。別有時體。是無常法。能為萬化作生殺因。故偈云。時來眾生就。時去則摧促。是故時為因。佛法中亦有二師。一者譬喻部云。別有時體。非色非心。體是常而法是無常。但法於是時中行。如人從房至房。如物從器至器。婆沙云。為止此說,明法即是時,法無常,時即無常。辨因法假名時,離法無別時。三世之時雖無別體。而時中之法則決定不無。薩婆多部中有四大師。立三世不同。」</span></span>(CBETA,
T42, no. 1824, p. 130, c1-12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
In respect to
time, there are two externalist proponents. One states that the
essence of time is permanent. Myriad phenomena just produce the cause
for awareness [i.e., the cause for awareness of time as stated in MPU
quote above; <i>jñāpaka-hetu</i>?]. It does not produce phenomena,
hence it is not the generative cause. Another states that there is particular essence to time. It is an impermanent phenomenon. The
“killing cause” is produced for myriad manifestations [phenomena].
Thus the verse states, “<i>Time comes and beings mature. Time goes
and they hasten. Time can awaken people. For this reason time is the
cause.</i><span style="font-style: normal;">” </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In
Buddhadharma there are also two proponents. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
first are the Dārṣṭāntika which state that there is a separate
essence to time. It is neither material (</span><i>rupa</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
nor mental. The essence is permanent, but the phenomena are
impermanent. Phenomena are only active in time, like when a person
goes from one room to another, or when an object is transferred from
one vessel to another. The Vibhāṣā states, “In order to refute
this theory it is explained that phenomena are time. As phenomena are
impermanent their time is impermanent.” This recognizes time as a
conventional appellation [</span><i>prajñapti</i><span style="font-style: normal;">]
resulting from phenomena. There is no separate form of time apart
from phenomena. While the three periods of time have no distinct
essence, the phenomena within time itself are definitely not
non-existent.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6957_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-style: normal;">The Sarvāstivāda school although
has four great proponents. They establish that the three periods of
time are different. …</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Here we are informed about externalist and Śrāvakayāna schools which see time as being substantial and truly existent. This is problematic for the Madhyamaka project, in India and elsewhere, which sought to refute any possibility of anything at all having substantial existence (<i>svabhava</i>). Again, time is permitted to have a conventional function and existence, though any postulate beyond this will be rejected.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Incidentally, for a recent thesis on
Jizang's ideas on time see Ernest Brewster's work entitled <a href="http://nccur.lib.nccu.edu.tw/retrieve/79353/601401.pdf" target="_blank">“Timeand Liberation in the Three-Treatise Master Jizang's Mādhyamika Thought”</a>.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Interestingly, the definition of <i>kāla</i> <span style="font-style: normal;">in
the <a href="http://www.kalacakra.org/" target="_blank">Kālacakra literature</a> is remarkably different from how Nāgārjuna
in the MPU understood it, but more remarkable is how the former
absorbs aspects of what the latter rejects. Vesna Wallace in her work
</span><a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Inner_K%C4%81lacakratantra.html?id=i_KOOn0BaCoC&redir_esc=y" target="_blank"><i>The Inner Kālacakratantra: A Buddhist Tantric View of the
Individual</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Inner_K%C4%81lacakratantra.html?id=i_KOOn0BaCoC&redir_esc=y" target="_blank"> </a>provides an
explanation of an idea that is quite akin to what is cited in the MPU
above:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
In this tantric
system, the term "wheel of time" (<i>k</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>la-cakra</i>)
designates the dynamic and nondual nature of a single reality that
manifests primarily in two ways—the conventional (<i>saṃvṛti</i>)
and the ultimate (<i>param</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>rtha</i>).
The conventional reality itself appears in two ways—the individual
(<i>adhy</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>tma</i>)
and the individual's environment (<i>b</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>hya</i>),
the macrocosmic and microcosmic aspects of that single reality. With
regard to the external aspect of conventional reality, the term
"wheel of time" refers to the passage of days, month, and
years in the cycle of time. The Vimalaprabh<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>
defines time (<i>k</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>la</i>)
as a circle of twelve solar mansions or zodiacs (<i>r</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>śi-cakra</i>).
The unit day-and-night (<i>aho-r</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>tra</i>)
is also called "time."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
With regard to the
individual, the "wheel of time" denotes a circulation of
<i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pr</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">āṇ</span></span></i></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></i>
within the wheel of the <i>n</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>āḍīs</i></span>
in the body. In view of the close interrelatedness of these two
aspects of conventional reality, the "wheel of time" also
designates a circulation (<i>cakra</i>) of twenty-one thousand and
six hundred pairs of inhalations and exhalations, which takes place
in the course of a day-and-night called "time."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
Even though the
cosmos ultimately neither arises nor ceases, conventionally, the
entire cosmos, with its three worlds, is said to arise and cease due
to the power of time. More specifically, this is said to occur due to
the union of the time of origination and the time of destruction. It
is stated in the <i>Ādibuddhatantra</i>:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
Time brings forth
phenomena, and time always destroys phenomena, for time is the</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
Bhagav<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>n,
<i>vajrī</i>, who has the nature of a day and a night.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
In accordance with
the classification of the mind, a day is the sun, uterine blood,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.5cm;">
and vulva; a night
is the moon, semen, and male sexual organ. Their union is K<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>lacakra, the supreme bliss
(<i>mah</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>-sukha</i>).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">This
indeed sounds like the heterodox theory cited in the MPU. The
difference between the aforementioned externalist theory of </span><i>k<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>la</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
and the </span><i>K<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>lacakra
Tantra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is perhaps that whereas
the former sees causal time as being ultimately real and substantial,
the latter only sees causal time as conventionally real, much like
how Nāgārjuna in the MPU above posits that </span><i>k<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>la</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
functions only as conventionally real. The bhikṣus might not eat
after midday, and hence </span><i>k<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>la</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
serves an expedient function. Likewise it seems in the K</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">lacakra
literature the aspect of causal time being the creator and destroyer
of phenomena is merely a means to an end, and not a view to cling to.
Vesna Wallace explains the ultimate aspect of the K</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">lacakra</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">
as follows:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__7025_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__7017_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__7017_376297221"></a>
With regard to the ultimate reality, the "wheel of time"
indicates the nonduality of two facets of a single reality—namely,
wisdom (<i>prajñ</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span>),
or emptiness (<i>śūnyatā</i>), and method (<i>up</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>ya</i>),
or compassion (<i>karuṇ</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span>).
The word "time" refers to the gnosis of imperishable bliss
(<i>akṣara-sukha-jñ</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ā</i></span><i>na</i>),
which is a method consisting of compassion; and the word "wheel"
designates wisdom consisting of emptiness. Their unity is the Buddha
Kalacakra.<sup>4</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iXYXKLr4jzwrfyEVXgTXiHdIfWA9LGfgGWrglc6p8XbOANeyLdoOvvWnF3RSg-FTqmfVzgNp8DwZyMuGFase06SWmFOpw2ouXXf9SAPQfvETIdBSC_WUquTNo-2HR6jUNUhMz27MO74/s1600/450px-Kalachakra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iXYXKLr4jzwrfyEVXgTXiHdIfWA9LGfgGWrglc6p8XbOANeyLdoOvvWnF3RSg-FTqmfVzgNp8DwZyMuGFase06SWmFOpw2ouXXf9SAPQfvETIdBSC_WUquTNo-2HR6jUNUhMz27MO74/s320/450px-Kalachakra.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kālacakra Maṇḍala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6645_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6695_37629722"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__6636_37629722"></a>
<span style="font-style: normal;">This degree of syncretism is
remarkable, though not unusual for K</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">lacakra
literature. </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">As John
Newman in his article (see <a href="http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/jiabs/article/download/8878/2785" target="_blank">here</a>) “Islam in the Kālacakra Tantra”
explains the</span>“K<span style="font-style: normal;">ā</span>lacakra
tantra syncretism is unusually obvious and is even self-conscious -
the tantra makes little effort to disguise its borrowings from the
Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, and Jaina traditions. The basic structure of
the K<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>lacakra system is
itself non-Buddhist: the K<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ā</span>lacakra
uses the ancient idea of the homology of the macrocosm and the
microcosm as the foundation of its soteriology.”<sup>5</sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Much like how Nāgārjuna granted a practical function to <i>kāla</i>, the Kālacakra literature as a form of expedient means employs what was a heterodox vision of time as well as other non-Buddhist ideas into its soteriological framework, the whole intent of which is to enable rapid liberation from saṃsāra. In other words, time is put to good use for the purposes of liberation.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There could be much more said about the concept of time, especially in respect to how it was conceived in the Śrāvakayāna schools. We might discuss that in a later post.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
------ </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Footnotes:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
1<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> 《中觀論疏》卷</span>1<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">:「法師裁而裨之者。法師即羅什也。裁其煩重裨其乖闕。」</span>(CBETA,
T42, no. 1824, p. 5, a21-22)</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
2 Curiously
the citations of the MMK in the MPU are different from how
Kumārajīva rendered them in his complete translation of the MMK.
See the following: <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2261/2002">http://hdl.handle.net/2261/2002</a>.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote">
3 The
character <i>qu</i> <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">去
</span></span>here is different from <i>zhi</i> <span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span lang="zh-CN">至</span><span lang="zh-CN"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">in the MPU.</span></div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote4">
<div class="sdfootnote">
4 Vesna
A. Wallace, <i>The Inner Kālacakratantra: A Buddhist Tantric View
of the Individual</i> (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001),
92-93.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote5">
<div class="sdfootnote">
5 John
Newman, “Islam in the Kālacakra Tantra” in <i>Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies</i> 21, no. 2 (1998):
313.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-89759342296939154972012-07-15T00:14:00.000+09:002017-01-13T02:58:54.345+09:00Garlic and Cow Dung<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40-7eQx_T-VVqryz-3-PoXDGi39E3XyntbcLneJA458ouP4FP3uCGIWi32Iqu0bkOCaamwCcKb2rsneVwwB5WcRbuC3crpGjjt6n-hMbMvsdkPff7PQ73x0FDohAHfUZkWZFpzKppYbc/s1600/DSC05089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZfgwKCyrkKCJTecQWVS2zi6czNIX9infKRtIdZn6LszucZ4ED87xaNCRD9nbFz61MLevDH4dlGRonPtdTyDeXNyaFHAEqcVCdeM0euQX-sGasWrATPnyZTU-4JACGL2Xhkl0hGfGYUo/s1600/DSC05103.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZfgwKCyrkKCJTecQWVS2zi6czNIX9infKRtIdZn6LszucZ4ED87xaNCRD9nbFz61MLevDH4dlGRonPtdTyDeXNyaFHAEqcVCdeM0euQX-sGasWrATPnyZTU-4JACGL2Xhkl0hGfGYUo/s200/DSC05103.JPG" width="200" /></a> Garlic as an edible substance was forbidden
during the early sangha. It seems that at the time many people found
it to be an utterly offensive substance and this was not limited to
Buddhists. In the Vedic traditions as well we see a strong disdain for
garlic as well as onions. For example, in the <a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu05.htm" target="_blank"><i>Manusmṛti</i> (<i>Laws of Manu</i>)</a>,
which admittedly dates a few centuries after the Buddha's lifetime,
we see the following proscriptions:
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
5. Garlic, leeks and onions, mushrooms
and (all plants), springing from impure (substances), are unfit to be
eaten by twice-born men.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
...</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
19. A twice-born man who knowingly eats
mushrooms, a village-pig, garlic, a village-cock, onions, or leeks,
will become an outcast.</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Buddhist Vinaya literature also
prescribes strict rules against eating garlic, stating that it is
only to be consumed medicinally and even then there are protocols in
place to prevent the garlic eater from offending his fellow monastics
with his odor by becoming something of a temporary outcast. Here I
would like to look at some of the rules and regulations concerning
garlic as it is found in the Indian Vinaya literature as translated
and preserved in Chinese (much Indian Buddhist literature only survives in Classical Chinese I should note). At the same time I would like to point out
how while garlic was considered disagreeable, the substance of cow
dung was not. This kind of sensibility was largely held in common
with Vedic traditions. This is also an interesting cultural
difference to consider given that in modern times in the west and of
course elsewhere it is the complete opposite.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To begin with, the <i>Four Part Vinaya</i>
of the Dharmagupta school forbids the consumption of garlic, though
the severity of the offense differs according to the gender.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__11_1252009157"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__15_1252009157"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__18_1252009157"></a>
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">《四分律》卷</span>25<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">:「若比丘尼噉生蒜熟蒜若雜蒜者咽咽波逸提。比丘突吉羅。式叉摩那沙彌沙彌尼突吉羅。是謂為犯。不犯者。或有如是病。以餅裹蒜食。若餘藥所不治。唯須服蒜差聽服。若塗瘡不犯。」</span>(CBETA,
T22, no. 1428, p. 737, b10-14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__8_1252009157"></a>“If
a bhikṣuṇī (nun) eats raw garlic, old garlic or mixed garlic, it
is a <i>pāyattika</i> offense when swallowed. For a bhikṣu (monk)
it is a <i>duṣkṛta</i> (misdemeanor) offense. For a <i>śikṣamāṇā</i>,
<i>śrāmaṇera</i> (male novice) or <i><span style="text-decoration: none;">śrāmaṇerī</span></i>
(female novice) it is a duṣkṛta offense. This is considered a
violation. A non-violation would be if someone had an illness as such and the
garlic was eaten in a biscuit. If one cannot be cured with other
medicines and only with treatment with garlic will one recover, then
the treatment is permitted. If smeared on a skin sore there is no
violation.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__48_1252009157"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__37_1252009157"></a>
The <i>Sarvāstivādavinaya Saṃgraha</i> offers the following protocol for
a monastic taking garlic medicinally.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__35_1252009157"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__41_1252009157"></a>
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">《根本薩婆多部律攝》卷</span>8<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">:「若服蒜為藥者。僧伽臥具大小便處。咸不應受用。不入眾中不禮尊像。不繞制底。有俗人來不為說法。設有請喚亦不應往。應住邊房服藥既了。更停七日待臭氣銷散。浴洗身衣並令清潔。其所居處牛糞淨塗。」</span>(CBETA,
T24, no. 1458, p. 571, a10-15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__66_1252009157"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__72_1252009157"></a>
“If treating [an illness] with garlic, neither the sangha bedding
nor lavatory should be used. One does not enter in among the sangha.
One does not prostrate to the Buddha or circumambulate <i>caityas</i>.
If a laymember comes, one does not teach the Dharma. Even if
requested one should not go. One should reside in a room on the
periphery [of the monastery]. When the treatment of medicine is completed, one remains
settled for a further seven days to wait for the odor to disperse.
Washing the body and clothes making them pure, the place one stayed
in is to be purified by smearing it with cow dung.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Curiously the last eight characters as
quoted in a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) vinaya commentary have one
slight modification where the “cow dung” is replaced with
“sweeping”.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">《四分戒本如釋》卷</span>5<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">:「其所居處。掃灑淨塗。」</span>(CBETA,
X40, no. 717, p. 237, b8-9 // Z 1:63, p. 60, d4-5 // R63, p. 120,
b4-5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“The place one stayed in is to be
swept and purified by smearing.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Chinese here becomes ambiguous
because what substance one is to smear the room with becomes unclear.
The reader is left to use their imagination, which in Ming Dynasty
China would probably have meant incense or some other agreeable
substance and not cow dung as was the case in the original text. This
modification in the text is quite significant because it speaks of
vast cultural differences. In ancient India cow dung was considered a
pure substance and even used medicinally, which the Buddha approved of according to the record.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The idea of “cleansing” a space
with smeared cow dung is found in ancient Indic literature in
general. For example, in the <a href="http://vedabase.net/sb/11/11/en" target="_blank"><i>Śrīmad Bhāgavatam</i></a> we see the
following:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“First one should sweep and dust
thoroughly, and then one should further cleanse with water and cow
dung. Having dried the temple, one should sprinkle scented water and
decorate the temple with mandalas.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__85_1252009157"></a>There
is an account of the Buddha prescribing a form of <i>panchgavya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
(otherwise called cowpathy in English) in the </span><i>Mūlasarvāstivāda
Nidāna Mātṛka</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> as follows:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span style="font-style: normal;">《根本說一切有部尼陀那目得迦》卷</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">3</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"><span style="font-style: normal;">:「佛言。有無齒牛食噉糠麥。後時便出其粒仍全。用此為麨非時應服。」</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;">(CBETA,
T24, no. 1452, p. 427, b18-20)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
Buddha said, “Have a toothless cow eat husked wheat. Later it will then
eject the grain still whole. Use this for roasted flour and take it
when it is untimely.”</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Untimely
here refers to the time between midday and dawn when a Buddhist monk
or nun is not to normally eat anything. Here the roasted flour is probably
something akin to Tibetan </span><i>tsampa</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
which is roasted barley flour that is made into something like
porridge with butter tea and still consumed by Himalayan people today.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40-7eQx_T-VVqryz-3-PoXDGi39E3XyntbcLneJA458ouP4FP3uCGIWi32Iqu0bkOCaamwCcKb2rsneVwwB5WcRbuC3crpGjjt6n-hMbMvsdkPff7PQ73x0FDohAHfUZkWZFpzKppYbc/s1600/DSC05089.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40-7eQx_T-VVqryz-3-PoXDGi39E3XyntbcLneJA458ouP4FP3uCGIWi32Iqu0bkOCaamwCcKb2rsneVwwB5WcRbuC3crpGjjt6n-hMbMvsdkPff7PQ73x0FDohAHfUZkWZFpzKppYbc/s320/DSC05089.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-style: normal;">It
might seem odd to most modern people that garlic could be considered
so offensive, yet cow dung was seen as pure. Again, this is a large
cultural difference and demonstrates how subjective the “purity”
of substances can be across the cultural spectrum of humanity. We
might think garlic as generally agreeable (at least in cuisine) while thinking cow manure
rather repulsive. In the Buddha's time it seems to have been the
complete opposite. Cow dung is one of the “five pure products”
(</span><i>pañca-gavya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) of a
cow which include urine, dung, milk, cream and butter.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40-7eQx_T-VVqryz-3-PoXDGi39E3XyntbcLneJA458ouP4FP3uCGIWi32Iqu0bkOCaamwCcKb2rsneVwwB5WcRbuC3crpGjjt6n-hMbMvsdkPff7PQ73x0FDohAHfUZkWZFpzKppYbc/s1600/DSC05089.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-style: normal;">Incidentally,
in present day India you can still see plenty of people in the
countryside making discs of dried cow dung with which they heat their
homes and cook their food (as seen here on the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi in a photo I took). As I was informed when I visited the
ruins, even the kitchens of the great Nālandā University in ancient
times were fired with dried cow dung. It is quite a versatile substance, though I hear burning it is bad for the eyes and causes vision disorders after extended periods of time.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3312042597262488816" name="__DdeLink__53_1252009157"></a>To
dispel any doubts that this rule against garlic was limited to just
one sect, we should note that the <i>Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya</i> prescribes
a nearly identical protocol for one taking garlic medicinally. This
text is thought by some scholars to be the most ancient vinaya
rendition available to us, which at the very least in this context
would suggest that there truly was a garlic prohibition in the early
sangha and that this was not a later development.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">《摩訶僧祇律》卷</span>31<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">:「服已應七日行隨順法。在一邊小房中。不得臥僧床褥。不得上僧大小便處行。不得在僧洗脚處洗脚。不得入溫室講堂食屋。不得受僧次差會。不得入僧中食及禪坊。不得入說法布薩僧中。若比丘集處一切不得往。不應遶塔。若塔在露地者。得下風遙禮。七日行隨順法已。至八日。澡浴浣衣熏已得入僧中。」</span>(CBETA,
T22, no. 1425, p. 483, b29-c7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“When the treatment is completed, for
seven days one will abide by [the following] rule. Be in a small
periphery room [of the monastery]. One must not lay on the sangha mattress. One must not
use the sangha lavatory. One must not wash one's feet in the sangha
feet washing area. One must not enter the bathroom, lecture hall and
dining hall. One must not [attend] offering gatherings based on
seniority. One must not enter in among the sangha when eating and the
meditation hall. One must not enter in among the monks when the
Dharma is being taught or precepts are being recited. If the bhikṣus
assemble together in one place together, one must not go. One should
not circumambulate stūpas. If a stūpa is on open ground, one must
do prostrations downwind far from it. Having followed the rule for
seven days on the eighth day one bathes, washes one's clothes and
scents them before being allowed to enter in among the sangha.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Note here there is no mention of smearing cow dung in the living space to purify it. Clearly the smell of garlic was
considered so offensive that such measures were deemed necessary. It
begs the question if the Buddha actually prescribed such protocols.
While it does seem that the Buddha laid down a rule against eating
garlic, the additional material as quoted above found in the vinaya
literature is perhaps from a later period given the mention of stūpas
and <i>caityas</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. In any case,
this led to the ongoing prohibition on garlic consumption in later
times in realms outside India where sensitivities were different. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In the
west I suspect a lot of Buddhists are apathetic when it comes to
dietary restrictions beyond vegetarianism, which is seen favorably
but is by no means universal. Not many people are aware that garlic
was strictly forbidden in the early sangha, let alone onions, leeks,
shallots, and even brewer's yeast and lees (the leftover grain after
brewing alcohol). The latter two are described as capable of
intoxicating people, thus they were forbidden. However, these dietary
restrictions apply to formally ordained renunciates as per the vinaya
(monks and nuns), so it is not really relevant given that in the
western world there are so few bhikṣuṇīs and bhikṣus, though
this could change in time. One issue I see though is that dietary
considerations and formal protocols as outlined above are generally
seen as secondary, even unimportant, in spiritual practice, hence why
it is unlikely to be given any consideration.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Then again we can't expect someone to go into solitary retreat for a week because they ate some garlic and then cleanse their room with smeared cow dung. The Buddha actually provided a caveat in this respect as recorded in the vinaya of the Mahīśāsaka school:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">《彌沙塞部和醯五分律》卷22:「雖是我所制。而於餘方不以為清淨者。皆不應用。雖非我所制。而於餘方必應行者。皆不得不行。」(CBETA, T22, no. 1421, p. 153, a14-17)<br /><br />“Even if it be something I have prohibited, if it is not considered pure [conduct] in other lands, then it all should not be adopted. Even if it is not something I have prohibited, if something must be carried out in other lands, then it all must be carried out.” </span></div>
</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-23804880373015054722012-03-14T04:28:00.011+09:002012-03-24T16:32:51.783+09:00Why did the Buddha prohibit alcohol?<span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8w34WTuCzcoLvm9TtQryj1P5kpbrvm6NzKUnBVlJWmA2QdDO3l3na19LwpZw1lwRuSVmOuCwO6CaXhF1L4Ktt7oVL6ZB9wAMcd2MpijaxHzyeOv5JbK027WC6goaQ3DB_rCs6zhc-CHM/s1600/DSC06032.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 345px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8w34WTuCzcoLvm9TtQryj1P5kpbrvm6NzKUnBVlJWmA2QdDO3l3na19LwpZw1lwRuSVmOuCwO6CaXhF1L4Ktt7oVL6ZB9wAMcd2MpijaxHzyeOv5JbK027WC6goaQ3DB_rCs6zhc-CHM/s320/DSC06032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719466383280967906" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:Times Ext Roman, serif;font-size:100%;" >I have often found that although most Buddhists are aware that the Buddha laid down a rule against alcohol consumption, they are often unaware of precisely why. There are plenty of treatises and writings that describe the benefits of abstaining from alcohol consumption while informing the reader about the faults of the substance. These resources generally inform Buddhists about the ethical issues surrounding alcohol consumption. However, the original reason for the Buddha prohibiting his disciples from consuming alcohol was much more practical.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> It should be firstly noted that prior to the prohibition the disciples were free to receive offerings of alcohol and consume them. There was no prohibition from the start against drinking alcohol. The individual rules in the Vinaya were originally formulated according to circumstances as they arose. When situations arose that required regulations to be implemented the Buddha would lay down a rule suitable to the circumstances. At the beginning, however, there were no rules at all. The disciplinary code only came to exist due to dangerous activities of certain disciples. </span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One other thing to note is that the original Vinaya regulations were neither precepts nor vows, but rules. They might be considered kind of house rules specifically aimed at a male community younger in age.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">With these facts in mind we can then examine the original reason for the alcohol prohibition. For this purpose we can examine the various Vinaya texts that exist in translation in the Chinese canon. These were all translated in the 5<sup>th</sup> century. Preference in this context might be given to the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya as it is probably the earliest and most reliable version. Incidentally, the issue of expanding the Vinaya was an issue that contributed to the first schism in the early sangha. See the following.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“</span><span style="font-size:100%;">The Mahāsāṃghikas were involved in the first division of the Buddhist community in the second century after the demise of the Buddha, that is, the schism between the Mahāsāṃghikas and the Sthaviravādins. This schism was most likely invoked by the expansion of the root Vinaya text by the future Sthaviravādins, an expansion that was not accepted by the later Mahāsāṃghikas.”<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote1anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote1sym"><sup>1</sup></a></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote1anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote1sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We can thus assume that the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="zh-CN">摩訶僧祇律 </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">is the earlier version and likely better reflects the original narrative concerning the incident which led to the Buddha prohibiting alcohol consumption. We might consider the Mahāsāṃghika account in its entirety as follows.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="zh-CN">《摩訶僧祇律》卷</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">20</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="zh-CN">:「佛住拘睒彌國。廣說如上。爾時拘睒彌界有惡龍。名菴婆羅。能使亢旱不雨苗稼不收。人民飢饉。如是種種災患。時尊者善來比丘往降惡龍。如善來比丘經中廣說降伏惡龍已。乃至國土豐樂人民感德。知恩報恩。有五百大家為善來故。各立常施幢幡施設床座。請僧供養。別請善來比丘。其所造家。則設種種美食。時有一家施食之後。因渴施酒色味似水得而飲之。還向精舍。爾時世尊大會說法。酒勢發盛。昏悶躃地。當世尊前舒脚而臥。佛知而故言。是何比丘在如來前舒脚而臥。比丘答言。善來比丘飲酒過多是故醉臥。佛問諸比丘。此善來比丘先曾晝寢不。不也世尊。復問比丘善來。未醉之時頗曾佛前舒脚臥不。不也世尊。復問比丘多飲酒已。欲使不醉可得爾不。不也世尊。復問諸比丘。設使善來比丘不飲酒時聞說微妙不死之法。當欲失是善利。不聽受不。不也世尊。佛語諸比丘。是善來比丘本能降伏惡龍。今者能降蝦蟆不。答言。不能。佛言。設使菴婆羅龍聞者生其不樂。從今日後不聽飲酒。」</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">(CBETA, T22, no. 1425, p. 386, c13-p. 387, a4)</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Buddha was residing in the country of Kauśāmbī teaching as was mentioned above. At that time in the realm of Kauśāmbī there was an evil nāga named Āmra who had caused a drought where the rain did not fall and the crops were not harvested. The people were starving and there were various calamities like this. It was then that the bhikṣu Venerable Svāgata went to placate the evil nāga. As it is explained in the *</span></span></span></em><em><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Svāgata Bhikṣu Sūtra</span></span></i></em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, after placating the evil nāga the country celebrated and the people felt gratitude, aware of the kindness bestowed upon them and wanting to repay it. It was on Svāgata's behalf that five hundred great families each offered up hanging banners and setup seats, inviting the monks for offerings. They made a special invitation to Bhikṣu Svāgata. The households which made [the offerings] provided various kinds of delicious foods. It was then that after one household had offered food that due to his thirst they offered alcohol which appeared as water whereupon he drank it. He returned to the monastery where the World Honored One [the Buddha] was teaching the Dharma in a great assembly at the time. The influence of the alcohol was all too much as he became unwell and fell onto the ground. It was in front of the World Honored One that he stretched out his legs and passed out. </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Buddha was aware of this and thus said, “Which bhikṣu is it here that has stretched out his legs and passed out in front of the Tathāgata?” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The bhikṣus replied, “Bhikṣu Svāgata drank much alcohol and thus has become inebriated and passed out.” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Buddha asked the bhikṣus, “Has Bhikṣu Svāgata here ever slept during the day?” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="text-decoration: none;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No, World Honored One.” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He again asked, “Has Bhikṣu Svāgata prior to being inebriated ever stretched out his legs and passed out in front of the Buddha before?”</span></span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="text-decoration: none;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No, World Honored One.” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He again asked, “The bhikṣu having drank too much alcohol, if he wanted to make himself un-inebriated, would it be possible to do this?” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="text-decoration: none;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No, World Honored One.” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He again asked the bhikṣus, “Suppose Bhikṣu Svāgata at a time when he had not drank alcohol heard an exposition on the excellent and immortal Dharma – would he want to lose this benefit and not listen to it?” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="text-decoration: none;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No, World Honored One.” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Buddha said to the bhikṣus, “This Bhikṣu Svāgata was originally able to placate an evil nāga. Now, could he placate a toad?” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They replied, “He could not.” </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Buddha said, “Suppose Āmra the nāga heard this – it would provoke his displeasure. From today onward it is not permitted to drink alcohol.”</span></span></span></em></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em></em></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Curiously, the accounts of this incident in other Vinaya texts differ in the details of what transpired. </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">The Dharmagupta Vinaya </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration: none"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal">四分律 </span></span></span></span></em><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">is a much longer account of the event and the substance consumed is a “black liquor” which the monks were aware was alcohol. It also states Svāgata not only fell over at the road side, but vomited which caused the birds to be disturbed. The Buddha then tells Ānanda the ten faults of consuming alcohol.</span></span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">The Mahīśāsaka Vinaya </span></span></span></em></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="zh-CN"><em><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal">五分律 </span></span></span></em></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">reports the nāga was causing torrential rains and hail which destroyed the fields, in contrast to the account in the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya which states it was a drought. Svāgata is also seen in a non-violent battle of magical powers with the nāga where the latter loses and is scooped up into the former's bowl and taken to the Buddha who gives him permission to release it. The grateful laity come to the assembly of monks and ask Svāgata if he needs anything. He replies that when he was layperson he enjoyed meat and alcohol. The laity then provided him with both meat and alcohol which resulted in him becoming drunk, vomiting all over robe and bowl, and passing out. The Buddha saw this with his clairvoyant eye from afar and went with Ānanda to tend to Svāgata and clean him up with water from the well. They placed him on a rope-bed and in a drunken haze Svāgata kicked the Buddha. It was then that the Buddha summoned the assembly of monks and spoke to them of the faults of alcohol. He then prohibited the consumption of it.</span></span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">In consideration of all these differing details of the incident we can understand two things. </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Firstly, all the accounts agree that Svāgata became intoxicated due to having consumed too much alcohol following festivities celebrating his placation of an evil nāga that was terrorizing the people of Kauśāmbī, which we can assume more or less reflects the actual event that took place, or at least the general hearsay concerning it, albeit with differing accounts of the details. </span></span></span></em></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Secondly, the differences we find in the various Vinaya collections tell us that when it comes to knowing precisely what was said and done when the Buddha lived we are actually at a loss to safely conclude anything as matter of fact. There is a general tendency in modern Buddhist scholarship to chiefly favor the Theravāda Pāli canon as representing what the “historical Buddha” actually taught and the events of his life.</span></span></span></em><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> However, this is problematic for the simple fact that the canons from other early Buddhist schools such as that of the Mahāsāṃghikas, who incidentally are noted as having disagreed to the expansion of the Vinaya unlike the Sthaviravāda (Theravāda) school, have differing accounts of the Buddha's teachings and the events which occurred in the early community. As noted above, in the case of the alcohol prohibition there is indeed agreement on the general outline of the incident, but the details differ. This is likewise to be expected when it comes to teachings as recorded in the various differing editions of s</span></span></span></em><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">ū</span></span></span></em>tras that we have, many of which are preserved in Classical Chinese which exasperates the problem. </span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><em></em></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">What this means is that essentially we only have the general outline of the Buddha's teachings and the events of his life available to us, thus we must accept this limitation rather than believing any particular scriptural record to be a verbatim record. This is important in the process of exegesis where we must not place too much faith on the fine points of scriptures which record the Buddha's words as said records are in reality quite limited as records and we have really only to rely on their general meanings. In other words, we need to rely on the spirit and general outline of many teachings rather than the letter of how it is recorded as having been presented.</span></span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Returning to the issue of alcohol prohibition, it goes without saying that Buddhism developed in most cultures to generally see alcohol in a negative light, although </span></span></span></em></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">we need to remind ourselves that </span></span></span></em></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">in the early sangha alcohol was not prohibited and Buddhists could and evidently did consume it. There are also a lot of secondary literature such as treatises which discuss the issue in an ethical context as well as in a practical context of how it might affect one's cultivation of mindfulness. It was thus absolutely forbidden. This prohibition also came to be included among the five lay precepts, which is a characteristic set of vows that Buddhist laypeople are generally expected to undertake.</span></span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Many</span></span></span></em> Mahāyāna thinkers reacted against rigid interpretations of rules and precepts arguing that if motivated by compassion or other benevolent purposes, then committing acts that would otherwise be outright violations of one's precepts would actually be meritorious. This perhaps lead to a relaxed attitude towards alcohol consumption both in China and Japan, and elsewhere. There is an expression still favored in Japanese Buddhism to this day to refer to liquor as “prajñā soup” </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="text-decoration: none"><span lang="ja-JP"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal">般若湯</span></span></span></span></em></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">, </span></span></span></em><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">which actually originates in Song Dynasty (960–1279) China. The reasoning seems to have been that by calling it something else then, in good humor, it was not alcohol and thus did not violate any precepts.</span></span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"> </span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPexUL7gBeHvI8HAWaWZtF6ABW906IF2ibgKYaIh2r1g-jlplKps67u47FeiB4A_iOhy2GDGKD2OlL6Au-ZlnCtzHQp5_XbpTUJHeaOPYPoe7rV6Id9b3oUmlfngWyh11Xz89P7qC4Fo/s1600/DSC06024.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPexUL7gBeHvI8HAWaWZtF6ABW906IF2ibgKYaIh2r1g-jlplKps67u47FeiB4A_iOhy2GDGKD2OlL6Au-ZlnCtzHQp5_XbpTUJHeaOPYPoe7rV6Id9b3oUmlfngWyh11Xz89P7qC4Fo/s320/DSC06024.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719468090684488194" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">In summary, we have reviewed the original reason for the Buddha prohibiting alcohol and we can indeed see it was not due to the beverage being inherently unwholesome and evil, but the regulation was actually a practical rule established with the disciples in mind and likely with a wish that no repeat of the incident would occur. In that sense, there is nothing holy or sacred about such a </span></span></span></em><em><i><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">rule</span></span></i></em><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">. This is also an important thing to note: the Vinaya regulations were </span></span></span></em><em><i><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">rules</span></span></i></em><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"> in the beginning rather than </span></span></span></em><em><i><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">vows</span></span></i></em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. The earliest disciples were also free to consume alcohol and they did. The differing accounts of these regulations also leads us to the perhaps unfavorable conclusion that we really cannot faithfully rely on any single account for the fine details of what the Buddha said and the circumstances in which he taught things due to the various records we have differing to the extent that they do. In other words, we have the general outline of his wording and the events which prompted his declarations and statements, but no verbatim text from which fine exegesis based on the letter of the teaching might be executed.</span></span></span></em></span></p><p face="times new roman" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; "><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal"><br /></span></span></span></em></span></p> <div id="sdfootnote1" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote1sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote1anc">1</a>See Bart Dessein in "The First Turning of the Wheel of the Doctrine: Sar and Maha Controversy" in <i>Handbook of Oriental Studies The Spread of Buddhism</i>, edited by Ann Heirman and Stephan Peter Bumbacher (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 15.</span></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3312042597262488816.post-54289599971991214912011-12-29T16:02:00.008+09:002011-12-29T16:42:37.089+09:00Essential Points on Karma<span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> <blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“The teaching of karma, or action, forms the cornerstone of the whole Buddhist doctrine: action is the ultimate explanation of human existence and of the physical world, and it is in terms of karma that the Buddhist masters have constructed their philosophy.” <a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote1anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote1sym"><sup>1</sup></a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Etienne Lamotte</span></span></p></blockquote><p face="times new roman" style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFub172yzJ_98OCSF4xj3CjSTmZ4KWhlJDJBcqw0XXhMLxtlMGOj0WNHYyQywAk1o4ztch5ZeWO4cbegOdgb3ovADIpRfREXeZ9R2II2KziUfTH-Gbu3q1sVHZ_PFE3zHDvzR10YOeIs/s1600/DSC04061.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFub172yzJ_98OCSF4xj3CjSTmZ4KWhlJDJBcqw0XXhMLxtlMGOj0WNHYyQywAk1o4ztch5ZeWO4cbegOdgb3ovADIpRfREXeZ9R2II2KziUfTH-Gbu3q1sVHZ_PFE3zHDvzR10YOeIs/s320/DSC04061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691443946428787026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Karma is indeed the foundation of Buddhist thought, but it is often misunderstood. In the present day English speaking world despite having gained currency in colloquial speech few know the actual meaning of term. The semantic warping of the idea of karma in recent decades is perhaps a topic worthy of investigation, but my purpose here is to provide the basic details of what precisely karma means in Buddhism. Many Buddhists themselves only have a vague idea of what the term means, and more often than not it is cloaked in nebulous sentiments. Nevertheless, as the great Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet stressed, understanding of karma is important:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family: times new roman;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">“Attaining certain knowledge of the definiteness, or nondeceptiveness, of karma and its effects is called the correct viewpoint of all Buddhists and is praised as the foundation of all virtue.”<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote2anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote2sym"><sup>2</sup></a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote2anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote2sym"><sup></sup></a></span><p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Being that understanding karma is absolutely essential for a practitioner of Buddhadharma it would be wise for any interested individual to thoroughly study the subject. It is my hope here to provide the basics as well as resource texts from which further study can be undertaken.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In discussing karma (Pāli: kamma) it would be best to begin with how the term was specifically defined by the Buddha himself. Action (karma) is volition (cetanā) from which a process of activity is carried out via body, speech and mind. The word karma itself is derived from the verb-root <i>kṛ</i> in Sanskrit which is related to the English word <i>create</i>, where the relatively same syllable fulfilling the same function is found. Both Sanskrit and English are Indo-European languages and hence having descended from the same prehistorical language they have such similarities as this. Consider the following quote by the Buddha in the <i>Aṅguttaranikāya</i>:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>"Oh monks, I say that action is volition; after having willed it, one accomplishes action by means of the body, the voice and the mind."<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote3anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote3sym"><sup>3</sup></a></blockquote><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote3anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote3sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Karma produces effects (vipāka-phala) and this is certain according to the Buddha. Furthermore, those actions do not perish.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> </p><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">“</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Action does not perish, even after hundreds of millions of cosmic eras. When the complex [of conditions] and [favourable] times come together, they ripen for their author.”<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote4anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote4sym"><sup>4</sup></a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote4anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote4sym"><sup></sup></a></span><p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The result of karma is primarily, though not exclusively, experienced as agreeable or disagreeable sensation. Tsongkhapa emphasizes this as follows.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> </p><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“</span><span style="font-size:100%;">All happiness in the sense of feelings of ease - whether ordinary or noble beings, including even the slightest pleasures such as the rising of a cool breeze for a being born in a hell - arises from previously accumulated virtuous karma. It is impossible for happiness to arise from nonvirtuous karma.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">All sufferings in the sense of painful feelings - including even the slightest suffering occuring in an arhat's mind-stream - arise from previously accumulated nonvirtuous karma. It is impossible for suffering to arise from virtuous karma.”<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote5anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote5sym"><sup>5</sup></a></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote5anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote5sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote5anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote5sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In other words, good deeds lead to ease while evil deeds bring about suffering. When the Buddha speaks of action not perishing even on a scale of cosmic time he is referring to karmic effects experienced in a future lifetime. Karma is intricately linked to the process of rebirth (punarbhava), whereby postmortem one's psycho-physical continuity re-emerges as a new life due specifically to the ripening of one's past karma. It goes without saying that karma and rebirth are intrinsically related and one may not be deprived of the other.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The quality of karma is threefold consisting of meritorious action (puṇyakarma) / favourable action (kuśalakarma), demeritorious action (apuṇyakarma) / unfavourable action (akuśalakarma), and immovable action (āniñjyakarma), which is favourable action associated with the form and formless realms (rūpārūpyapratisaṃyukta). The form and formless realms are the two higher planes of existence in Buddhist cosmology. These three kinds of karma are karmic formations (saṃskāra), that is to say things arisen due to action, conditioned by ignorance (<span style="font-style: normal;">avidyā). Ignorance is further twofold: ignorance of results, which produces demeritorious formations (</span><span style="font-style: normal;">apu</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ṇ</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ya-</span><span style="font-style: normal;">saṃskāra</span><span style="font-style: normal;">), and ignorance of reality (tattvārtha-avidyā), which produces meritorious and immovable formations (</span><span style="font-style: normal;">pu</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ṇ</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ya-āniñjya-</span><span style="font-style: normal;">saṃskāra</span><span style="font-style: normal;">).</span><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote6anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote6sym"><sup>6</sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now, in simpler terms, these three types of karma foster existence through karma (<span style="font-style: normal;">karmabhava</span>) and these are all conditioned by ignorance, which can be divided into two types. The first is ignorance of result, whereby one is unaware of the effects of deeds driven by such mental afflictions as hatred and greed, resulting in suffering. The second is ignorance of reality, whereby although one has awareness of good and evil (and consequently the causes of ease and suffering), one still continues to produce karma, albeit resulting in favourable circumstances such as being in a state of ease or in dhy<span style="font-style: normal;">āna (meditative stabilization).</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is important to understand that even so-called good karma, while still producing favourable results such as ease (sukha), is conditioned by ignorance and results in further effects propelling one's saṃsāra (i.e., one's involuntary rebirths). In other words, you cannot liberate yourself from saṃsāra on good karma alone. Amassing vast amounts of good karma would result in being reborn as some high deity beyond what most humans could conceptualize, but such a state would be impermanent and when the effect of that karma expired one would fall down into a lower realm on the cosmological ladder.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">That being said, the conditions for liberation from saṃsāra of course will be more available if one is in a state of ease and possessing both the mental capacity and circumstances, such as having the time, resources and teachers, to pursue liberation. Such a capacity and circumstances are unavailable to beings reborn in the lower realms, the cause of such rebirths being demeritorious actions. On the reverse, the causes for being reborn as human and having access to means appropriate for pursuing liberation are meritorious actions. Again, good deeds do not bring about liberation – they only foster the conditions unto which that liberation is made possible.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is why in Buddhist cultures you see individuals, both lay and monastic, frequently engage in activities that generate merit (puṇya) such as making offerings, circumambulating stūpas clockwise (in ancient India this was a way of venerating someone or something) and prostrating themselves before images of buddhas and/or bodhisattvas. The purpose of this is to karmically cultivate favourable conditions whereby one at the most basic level can live a life free of as much distress as possible as well as to foster circumstances, either in this life or in a future life, where one can actively work towards achieving complete liberation from saṃsāra. In liturgy and in prayers practitioners will often dedicate the merit they have accumulated from their recent activities either towards all sentient beings, hoping that they will all without exception karmically benefit from the virtuous deeds recently carried out, or towards their own enlightenment, whereupon they will be liberated from saṃsāra and, at least in the case of Mahāyāna traditions, they will be in an optimal position to be of benefit to others having experientially understood exactly how liberation from suffering was achieved.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is important to understand that ignorance (<span style="font-style: normal;">avidyā) is not some kind of substance or force from which action occurs. Ignorance here is the antonym of knowing. It is the absence of knowing the consequences of results and/or reality itself. When full knowledge of consequences is present, one does not commit unwholesome actions, the results of which will be experienced as suffering. When full knowledge of reality is present, there will be, at least in the case of an individual seeking cessation of rebirth, simply no more karma produced which would result in rebirth. To obtain such knowledge includes a process of ridding oneself of mental afflictions such as malice and greed which hinder attainment of wisdom – namely, wisdom of how reality is and how ones own existence works within it. To do this demands attainments in meditation whereby perceptual objects experienced within the mind are stopped while simultaneously the effect of ceaselessly flowing defilements (pravāha) and their outflow in accordance with the state of the mind (anusraveyus) end. At that point insight, not tainted by perceptual objects which give rise to defilements, manifests.<br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">This raises the question why an individual who completely rids themselves of the aforementioned ignorance still visibly continues to live until physical death. In the case of an arhat, one who has rid themselves of the aforementioned ignorance, they produce no new karma, but are still subject to their old karma for the duration of their physical life. This is called “nirvāṇa with remainder” (sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa). Upon passing away they attain “nirvāṇa without remainder” (nirupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa), whereby having cut away all causes for future rebirths and their old karma finally expiring, they pass into final nirvāṇa like the flame of candle being blown out.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">In the case of a Mahāyāna bodhisattva there would still be full knowledge of reality, though she would still take rebirth, albeit voluntarily, as cessation of rebirth would result in being unable to be of aid to anyone. In some traditions of Mahāyāna it is said that an arhat still suffers subtle ignorance and will eventually re-emerge within reality, albeit in favourable circumstances and walking the bodhisattva path. However, such a view is not universal.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I said above that the result of karma is primarily, though not exclusively, experienced as sensation. As explained above an arhat lives out their old karma while producing no new karma. This is an example of an effect of karma not specifically being sensation. As recorded in the Samyutta Nikaya the Buddha made the distinction between “old karma” and “new karma” as follows.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p><blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"><blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Monks, I will teach you new & old kamma, the cessation of kamma, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma. Listen and pay close attention. I will speak.”</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">"Now what, monks, is old kamma? The eye is to be seen as old kamma, fabricated & willed, capable of being felt. The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect is to be seen as old kamma, fabricated & willed, capable of being felt. This is called old kamma.”</span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>"And what is new kamma? Whatever kamma one does now with the body, with speech, or with the intellect: This is called new kamma.”<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote7anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote7sym"><sup>7</sup></a></blockquote></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote7anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote7sym"><sup></sup></a></blockquote></span></p><p face="times new roman" style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote7anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote7sym"><sup></sup></a></blockquote><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote7anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote7sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p><p face="times new roman" style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote7anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote7sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Old karma is the fruition of past actions in the form of being or existence. New karma are the actions carried out by way of the existence one has obtained via past action.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">At this point there is a distinction to be made between karma that produces rebirth and the karma that will define the qualities of that existence. Asanga defines these two types as follows in the <i>Abhidharmasammucaya</i>:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p face="times new roman" style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> </p><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">“</span><span style="font-size:100%;">The results of favorable and unfavorable actions are produced in the good and bad destinies (sugati, durgati). This also, through the projecting action (ākṣepaka-karma) and the completing action (paripūraka-karma). What is projecting action? It is the action by means of which the result of fruition is produced. What is completing action? It is the action by means of which, after having been born, one experiences good and bad results.”<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote8anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote8sym"><sup>8</sup></a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote8anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote8sym"><sup></sup></a></span><p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In other words, good and evil deeds dictate one's destiny post-mortem – one can be reborn in any of the six realms on the cosmological ladder which includes the hell realms through animal and human embodiments up to celestial existence as a deity. Evil deeds drive a being into the hell realms. Good actions lead one into more favourable kinds of existences. There is action which specifically “projects” or specifically produces a future life while there are other actions which dictate what kind of life it will be.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is often asked if there is such a thing as collective karma. In other words, is it possible for a group of individuals to collectively produce karma and mutually experience its effects? While there might be some who would contest this, Vasubandhu in the <i>Abhidharmako</i><i>ś</i><i>a</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> explains the reality of collective karma using the example of an army or group set on killing.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family: times new roman;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">When many persons are united with the intention to kill, either in war, or in the hunt, or in banditry, who is guilty of murder, if only one of them kills?<br /><br />As soldiers, etc., concur in the realization of the same effect, all are as guilty as the one who kills.<br /><br />Having a common goal, all are guilty exactly as he who among them kills, for all mutually incite one another, not through speech, but by the very fact that they are united together in order to kill.<br /><br />But is the person who has been constrained through force to join the army also guilty?<br /><br />Evidently so, unless he has formed the resolution, "Even in order to save my life, I shall not kill a living being."<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote9anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote9sym"><sup>9</sup></a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote9anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote9sym"><sup></sup></a></span><p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The magnitude of this is potentially frightening as an individual participating in a military of a million personnel at war has the potential to suffer immeasurably in the future even if they themselves do not harm anyone. It is not just the pilot dropping the bomb who commits an evil deed, but every member of logistics and command supporting the action is equally guilty of the act.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This being said, a simple examination of Buddhist nations will reveal such ideas are not visibly accepted. Most Buddhist countries or countries with significant Buddhist populations support the death penalty with minimal opposition to it. The supporting participants in a justice system which executes a criminal support the act of killing, and it is not simply the executioner and judge which condemns the convict to death who are guilty, but a whole organization of individuals who support and aid in carrying out the deed, both by condoning the act and actively aiding in it by their own free will. Nevertheless, justice systems in places like Thailand and even Japan are notoriously inhumane and brutal to prisoners, despite their ancestral religion attempting to teach compassion.<br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">On a cosmological scale karma also plays a key role. In contrast to theists who assert the universe was created by a supreme deity, in Buddhism it is said that the universe and all its variety comes into existence due to karma. In other words, intelligent design by way of a deity is flat out rejected. Again, quoting Vasubandhu:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; font-family: times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"></span></p><blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Who created the variety of the world of living beings and the receptacle-world which we have described in the preceding chapter?</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">It was not a god who intelligently created it.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 2.5cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">The variety of the world arises from action.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">The variety of the world arises from the actions of living beings.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">But in this hypothesis, how does it happen that actions produce at one and the same time, pleasing things, - saffron, sandalwood, etc. - on the one hand, and bodies of opposite qualities on the other?</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">The actions of beings whose conduct is a mixture of good and bad actions produce bodies resembling abscesses whose impurities flow out through the nine gates, and, in order to serve as a remedy to these bodies, they also produce objects of pleasing enjoyment, colors and shapes, odors, tastes and tangibles. But the gods have accomplished only good actions: their bodies and their objects of enjoyment are equally pleasing.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote10anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote10sym"><sup>10</sup></a></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote10anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote10sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sentient beings, which includes both human and non-human beings, collectively create reality via their volitional activity. This is of course quite alien to prevailing ideas in the modern western world, which at their core are inherently materialistic and deny ontological legitimacy to the mental sphere of our reality. In one sense this is to be expected of ordinary people who accept their sensory experience as solid and real, though in Buddhism such experiences are seen in a much different light. Mental activity is the basis of reality, not innate physical matter and insentient physical processes.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The process of how karma comes to fruition as vipāka was historically a long debated topic amongst Buddhist intellectuals in India. In other words, everyone agreed that volitional action resulted in the effects as outlined above, but the actual process of how that occurred was never something everyone agreed upon. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">For example, the early Theravadins asserted that actions persisted in an unripened state until meeting with the causes for fruition, though they failed to account for a link of continuity between the cause and effect. The Sarvāstivāda school in Kashmir conceived of the result of karma persisting like a debt. The Sautrāntika school of thought said that actions created traces (vāsanā) within the continuum of mind, whereby they came to fruition when the mind encountered specific circumstances which enabled the ripening of a past action. The Saṃmitīya school taught the existence of a dharma which they called “indestructible” – while not mental, it followed the mind until it came to fruition via cause and condition, or death. When an individual died, one special “indestructible”, based at the moment of death on the state of mind of the dying, would determine whether they took rebirth in a higher and lesser realm.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The nature or mechanism of how karma ripens into a result experienced by the original agent was never unanimously agreed upon. This fostered a lot of scholastic debate in ancient India and influenced later doctrines and practices. In any case, everyone did agree with the original assertion of the Buddha that volitional action results in either suffering or ease depending on the quality of the original action. The mechanism of how this occurred was left to later thinkers to ponder and discuss.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ultimately, the whole point of understanding karma is soteriological in nature – that is to say liberation from suffering. It is through understanding and penetrating karma that one abandons those actions and mental inclinations towards nonvirtuous ends, whereupon one then fosters favourable circumstances in which spiritual practices may be directed towards liberation. Here I will conclude with another quote from Tsong Khapa:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family: times new roman;"></p><blockquote style="font-family:times new roman;"><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;">At this point master the classifications of virtue and nonvirtue, as well as their effects. You must then make it your practice to properly cast aside nonvirtues and adopt virtues. For, unless you reflect at length on the two kinds of karma and their effects, and then properly cast aside the nonvirtuous and adopt the virtuous, you will not stop the causes of miserable rebirths. Thus, you may fear the miserable realms and yet not be able to escape what you fear.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Consequently, in order to be protected from the miserable realms at the time when you must experience the effects, you have to restrain the mind from engaging in nonvirtue at the time when you are creating the causes. This, in turn, is contingent upon attaining conviction about karma and its effects.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote11anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote11sym"><sup>11</sup></a></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" name="sdfootnote11anc" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote11sym"><sup></sup></a></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; font-family: times new roman;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4R1i1H2LkM83UzWhNYn1oQon3rDv2deuGC8Vkox6NfDrH8Msd0rKRQTSqPIYUWHx1zF941mYctnmcb1LRrKpQ-73XWHyFJMYgH1PgrELHMs9RD-HJAY1mvVoke46xwb6_THUctxunoo/s1600/DSC04123.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4R1i1H2LkM83UzWhNYn1oQon3rDv2deuGC8Vkox6NfDrH8Msd0rKRQTSqPIYUWHx1zF941mYctnmcb1LRrKpQ-73XWHyFJMYgH1PgrELHMs9RD-HJAY1mvVoke46xwb6_THUctxunoo/s400/DSC04123.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691444462875702418" border="0" /></a> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Suggested Further Reading:</b></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The following texts are essentially classical textbooks written by erudite Buddhist masters which go into great detail elucidating not only karma, but all aspects of Buddhadharma. Historically they have played a key role as foundational reference works which were thoroughly studied. They are all available in English translation.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p class="sdfootnote" style="font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Karmasiddhi Prakarana The Treatise on Action </i><span style="font-style: normal;">by Vasubandhu. An extensive treatise on the prevailing theories of karma in Vasubandhu's time. See Vasubandhu, </span><i>Karmasiddhi Prakarana The Treatise on Action by Vasubandhu</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Translated into French by Etienne Lamotte. English translation by Leo M. Pruden. Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press: 1987.</span></span></p> <p face="times new roman" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p class="sdfootnote" style="font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Abhidharma-kośa-bhāsya </i><span style="font-style: normal;">by Vasubandhu. There is a chapter in this work specifically dedicated to discussing karma. See Vasubandhu, </span><i>Abhidharma-kośa-bhāsya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Translated into French by Louis de La Vallee Poussin, English translation by Leo M. Pruden. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1991.</span></span></p> <p class="sdfootnote" style="font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p class="sdfootnote" style="font-weight: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Abhidharmasamuccaya</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> by Asanga. Another work worth investigation as it explains karma in fine detail. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">See Asanga, </span><i>Abhidharmasamuccaya The Compendium of the Higher Teaching (Philosophy)</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Translated into French and annotated by Walpola Rahula, English translation by Sara Boin-Webb. Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 2001.</span></span></p> <p face="times new roman" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Footnotes:</b></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </p> <div id="sdfootnote1" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote1sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote1anc">1</a><span style="font-style: normal;">Vasubandhu, </span><i>Karmasiddhi Prakarana The Treatise on Action by Vasubandhu</i>. Translated into French by Etienne Lamotte. English translation by Leo M. Pruden (Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press: 1987), 15.</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote2" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote2sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote2anc">2</a><span style="font-style: normal;">Tsongkhapa, </span><i>Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzan-grags-pa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment</i>. Volume One. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000), 211</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote3" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote3sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote3anc">3</a><i>Cetanāhaṁ bhikkhave kammaṁ vadāmi, cetayitvā kammaṁ karoti kāyena vācāya manasā</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. See </span><i>Karmasiddhi Prakarana The Treatise on Action by Vasubandhu,</i> 15.</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote4" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote4sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote4anc">4</a><i>Na praṇaśyanti karmāṇi kalpakoṭiśatair api sāmagrīm prāpya kālaṁ ca phalanti khalu dehinām</i>. Ibid., 16.</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote5" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote5sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote5anc">5</a><i>Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzan-grags-pa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span> 210.</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote6" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote6sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote6anc">6</a>See Asanga, <i>Abhidharmasamuccaya The Compendium of the Higher Teaching (Philosophy)</i>. Translated into French and annotated by Walpola Rahula, English translation by Sara Boin-Webb (Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 2001), 116-117</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote7" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote7sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote7anc">7</a>See <i>Kamma Sutta: Action</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span> translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/index.html</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote8" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote8sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote8anc">8</a><i>Abhidharmasamuccaya</i>, 115-116</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote9" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote9sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote9anc">9</a>Vasubandhu, <i>Abhidharma-kośa-bhāsya</i>. Vol. 1. Translated into French by Louis de La Vallee Poussin, English translation by Leo M. Pruden (Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1991), 649.</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote10" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote10sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote10anc">10</a><i>Abhidharma-kośa-bhāsya</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span> 551</span></p> </div> <div id="sdfootnote11" style="font-family:times new roman;"> <p class="sdfootnote"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" name="sdfootnote11sym" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3312042597262488816#sdfootnote11anc">11</a><i>Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzan-grags-pa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span> 209.</span></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0