Mahāyāna, East Asian Buddhism, and Shintō (Readings)(Incomplete) Flashcards
Incomplete
What are the preparations for a traditional Buddhist funeral procession in Sri Lanka?
The route is prepared by filling potholes, cutting grass and weeds, and placing flowers along the way.
What happens at the cemetery during a traditional Buddhist funeral?
The body is placed in a temporary wooden structure above a funeral pyre. A service follows, including chants, prayers, and a water-pouring ritual where family and friends pour holy water from one container to another while a long prayer is chanted. The pyre is then lit, ideally by the eldest son of the deceased.
What are the post-funeral rituals in Buddhist tradition?
A dharma-preaching service is held on the sixth night, followed by a dana on the seventh day. Additional memorial dana rituals occur after three months and one year, often including chanting by bhikshus and family reunions.
How do Buddhist rituals help individuals cope with loss?
Through years of prayer and meditation on the inevitability of death, Buddhists develop a realistic view of the end of life. Rituals remind the living of the impermanence of all things.
What adjustments are made when a crematorium is used instead of a pyre?
Some traditional ceremonies, such as the water-pouring ritual, are postponed until the seventh-day dana. Bhikshus still recite prayers over the body.
What is vipassana meditation?
Vipassana, or mindfulness meditation, is a Theravada Buddhist practice focusing on breathing or other aspects of the body, emotions, or relationships to develop mindfulness.
How is breathing used in vipassana meditation?
Practitioners concentrate on the sensation of air passing through the nostrils or the rising and falling of the abdomen. Breaths are usually counted in cycles of 10 to focus the mind.
What is Vesak?
Vesak, or Buddha Day, is a festival celebrated on the full moon in the “rains” month, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha.
What is the ultimate goal of vipassana meditation?
To cultivate a totally mindful way of living.
How is Vesak celebrated in Sri Lanka?
Buddhists travel to see special paintings depicting Buddha’s life, listen to talks, and participate in Buddha-pujas.
When did Mahayana Buddhism emerge?
Around the first century CE, becoming dominant along the Silk Road by the third or fourth century CE.
What is the doctrine of the Three Buddha Bodies (Trikaya)?
The three bodies are:
-Nirmanakaya: The earthly manifestation body.
-Sambhogakaya: The heavenly body presiding over buddha-realms.
-Dharmakaya: The absolute essence of the universe.
How does Mahayana Buddhism differ from Theravada?
- It allows laypeople to strive for enlightenment.
-It views Shakyamuni as one manifestation of buddhahood.
-It emphasizes bodhisattvas and supernatural assistance.
What is the significance of the trikaya doctrine?
It unifies the Buddha’s manifestations and moves Mahayana towards a theistic religion, contrasting with Theravada’s view of the Buddha as an exceptional human.
What is the Mahayana interpretation of skillful means (upaya)?
Teachings are provisional, tailored to an individual’s capacity to guide them toward enlightenment, like a boatman ferrying passengers across a river.
What is the role of the Lotus Sutra in Mahayana Buddhism?
It emphasizes upaya and teaches that earlier teachings are provisional steps toward deeper understanding.
How does Mahayana Buddhism view bodhisattvas?
Bodhisattvas are spiritually advanced beings who share their merit with those who pray for help, dedicating themselves to the salvation of all beings.
How does Mahayana Buddhism contrast with Theravada regarding merit?
Mahayana teaches that merit can be transferred from bodhisattvas, while Theravada emphasizes individual effort without supernatural assistance.
What is the bodhisattva vow?
A pledge to attain buddhahood and work toward the liberation of all beings.
How does Mahayana Buddhism incorporate the lay sangha?
Laypeople can earn karmic merit through pilgrimages and spiritual practices, pursuing enlightenment without becoming bhikshus or bhikshunis.
What is the Madhyamaka school’s central teaching?
The Madhyamaka school, founded by Nagarjuna, teaches the emptiness (shunyata) of all things and the Middle Way, rejecting all dogmatic positions about ultimate reality.
What is the concept of merit transfer in early Buddhism?
Early Buddhism taught that merit (karma) is made solely by the individual and not by external agents, except for transferring merit to benefit dead relatives and all beings in rituals like the Theravada dana.
What are “buddha-realms” in Mahayana Buddhism?
Buddha-realms are heavens where buddhas and bodhisattvas reside. Devotees believe they can be reborn into these realms through veneration, as emphasized in Pure Land Buddhism.
What are key differences between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism?
Mahayana differs in scriptures, views of the Buddha, efficacy of prayer, and the role of celestial figures like bodhisattvas.
How are bodhisattvas compared to figures in other religions?
Bodhisattvas are likened to savior figures, such as Jesus in Christianity, due to their compassionate self-sacrifice and roles as intercessors.
What is the practice of taking bodhisattva vows?
It involves dedicating oneself to the salvation of all beings, aiming to become a buddha while helping others, often by transferring merit or accepting rebirth in heavenly realms.
What is Avalokiteshvara known for?
Avalokiteshvara, originally masculine, is revered as the “Bodhisattva of Compassion” and is venerated in female form as Guanyin in China. Guanyin is believed to aid in childbirth, care for deceased infants, and help believers.
How does Mahayana Buddhism expand the concept of merit transfer?
In Mahayana Buddhism, buddhas and bodhisattvas are believed to transfer merit to human beings, allowing devotees to appeal to them for assistance, similar to Christians praying to saints.
How does Mahayana Buddhism criticize early Buddhist ambitions?
Mahayana philosophers viewed the early Buddhist focus on personal liberation (Arhatship) as self-centered, instead emphasizing altruistic goals through bodhisattva vows.
What is the role of Bodhisattva Manjusri in Mahayana Buddhism?
Bodhisattva Manjusri is the guardian of Buddhist wisdom, often invoked by novices for guidance and inspiration.
What is Bodhisattva Maitreya’s significance?
Bodhisattva Maitreya is understood as the future buddha who will turn the dharma wheel again. Devotees pray to be reborn in his era for easier enlightenment.
How did the Madhyamaka school divide in the sixth century?
Bhavaviveka’s Svatantrika school accepted distinctions in conventional truth, while Buddhapalita’s approach rejected independent inference, emphasizing the self-contradictory nature of all knowledge.
What is Nagarjuna’s paradox of samsara and nirvana?
Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka claims that samsara (the worldly cycle) and nirvana (liberation) are dialectically identical, with no ultimate distinction between them.
Who was Kumarajiva?
Kumarajiva (334–414) was a translator of Buddhist texts into Chinese, introducing Madhyamaka philosophy through translations of Nagarjuna’s works.
What is the Sanlun school?
Sanlun, the Chinese Madhyamaka, restates Nagarjuna’s idea that everything is empty because nothing has independent reality. It emphasizes the dream-like nature of distinctions.
What is the significance of prajna in Mahayana Buddhism?
Prajna is a special wisdom central to enlightenment, discussed in texts like the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra, and highlights the emptiness of all phenomena.
What is the story of Jewel Brocade?
In the Sutra of Sagara, Jewel Brocade refutes patriarchal views by arguing that distinctions between male and female spiritual abilities are invalid, as true perception through Emptiness transcends such distinctions.
Who was Seng Zhao?
Disciple of Kumarajiva and an outstanding exponent of Madhyamaka in China.
What texts did Seng Zhao produce?
Three texts collectively called Zhaolun (The Treatises of Zhao).
What is the Middle Way in Madhyamaka?
A method to reconcile extremes and grasp the paradoxical reality that things both exist and do not exist.
What is tathata (thusness)?
The ultimate reality that can only be apprehended through sagely wisdom, not rational thought.
Who founded the Yogacara school?
Maitreyanatha, Asanga, and Vasubandhu in the late fourth century.
Why is it called Yogacara and Vijnanavada?
-Yogacara: Emphasis on meditation.
-Vijnanavada (Consciousness Only): Focus on the idea that external realities are unknowable, and only consciousness can be known.
What is alaya-vijnana (storehouse consciousness)?
A repository shaped by past karmic actions and attachments that produces the images in our consciousness.
How does Yogacara describe sensory impressions?
-As “seeds” that lead to acts or thoughts:
–“A seed produces a manifestation, a manifestation perfumes a seed…”
What is the Yogacara view on perceiver and universe?
Both exist only in the process of perceiving.
What are the Chinese names for Yogacara?
Weishi (“Consciousness Only”) and Faxiang (“Dharma Character”).
How does Yogacara differ from traditional Buddhist doctrines?
Critics argue it resembles the Hindu Atman, but Yogacara denies eternal, unchanging substance.
Who introduced Faxiang to China?
Xuanzang in the sixth century.
What inspired Xuanzang’s journey to India?
To better understand Asanga’s Compendium of Mahayana.
What is the significance of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda?
Built in Xi’an to house the manuscripts Xuanzang brought from India.
How did Faxiang influence other schools?
Influenced Neo-Confucianism and other Buddhist traditions.
Who is Amitabha (Amida)?
A buddha of a previous age who vowed to establish the Pure Land, a heavenly realm for salvation.
What are Amitabha’s 18th Vow promises?
All beings who sincerely desire rebirth in the Pure Land and think of him will be reborn there.
What are the three main Pure Land texts?
1.Larger Sutra on the Pure Land.
2.Smaller Sutra on the Pure Land.
3.Meditation on Amitayus Sutra.
What is “other power” in Pure Land Buddhism?
Reliance on Amitabha’s power of salvation rather than self-effort.
What is the Pure Land?
A paradise where suffering, old age, and death are unknown, and progress toward nirvana is easy.
What is Pure Land called in Chinese?
Jingtu; Amitabha is called Amituofo.
What is unique about the Pure Land’s salvation?
Based on faith in Amitabha’s compassion, not individual merit.
Who assists Amituofo in Jingtu?
Bodhisattvas like Guanyin (compassion).
What is nianfo?
Recitation of praise to Amituofo, often with prayer beads.
Who is Guanyin?
A bodhisattva associated with compassion, children, and protection—symbolizing worldly focus.
How does Jingtu differ from Indian Pure Land?
Strong focus on worldly assistance, especially through Guanyin.
What is Pure Land called in Japanese?
Jodo; Amitabha is called Amida.
What practice did Honen emphasize?
Chanting Homage to Amida Buddha mantra (nembutsu).
Who introduced Pure Land to Japan?
Honen (1133–1212).
What did Shinran teach about salvation?
Emphasized “other-power” over self-effort and salvation of the wicked through faith.
What is the Tannisho’s view on salvation?
Amida’s vow aims to save wicked people who rely on his power rather than their own merit.
What is the “cat grace” analogy?
Salvation is like a mother cat carrying her kitten, contrasting with the “monkey grace” of self-reliance.
How is chanting performed in Jodo?
Chanting nembutsu builds to a feverish pace during services, heightening consciousness.
What is the story of the Flower Sermon?
Shakyamuni Buddha held up a white lotus flower instead of giving a dharma talk, leaving everyone silent except for Kashyapa, who attained enlightenment.
What does the Flower Sermon symbolize?
The transmission of enlightened consciousness directly from master to disciple without the need for words or doctrines.
Who is Kashyapa?
Kashyapa is the disciple who experienced enlightenment during the Flower Sermon and became known as Mahakashyapa, the first patriarch of a lineage focusing on dhyana (meditation).
Who is Bodhidharma?
An Indian monk who brought Chan Buddhism to China in the early sixth century, known for meditating for years facing the wall of his cave.
How are koans used in Zen practice?
They create dilemmas that cannot be solved rationally, requiring a response from beyond logical thinking.
What legend is associated with Bodhidharma’s meditation?
After nine years of meditation, his legs atrophied, inspiring the creation of Daruma dolls in Japan.
What is a Zen koan?
A paradoxical question or statement designed to transcend rational thought and provoke enlightenment, such as “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
What is significant about Shaolin Monastery?
It is the home of Chan Buddhism and many East Asian martial arts traditions.
What are Bodhidharma’s four lines of teaching?
-A special transmission outside of doctrines.
-Not setting up the written word as an authority.
-Pointing directly at the human heart.
-Seeing one’s nature and becoming a buddha.
Why is Bodhidharma’s cave important?
It’s where he practiced “wall-gazing meditation” and began teaching self-defense exercises to his students.
What is unique about Chan-Zen’s approach to enlightenment?
It focuses on direct transmission “outside the scriptures,” independent of words, and advocates freeing the mind from external influences.
What is unique about schools in Shaolin?
They combine academic studies in the morning with martial arts training in the afternoon.
What does “mind-to-mind transmission” mean?
Enlightenment is transmitted directly from master to disciple without reliance on texts or rational argumentation.
What did Bodhidharma demand from Huike?
Proof of resolve; Huike cut off his left arm and presented it to Bodhidharma.
What lesson did Bodhidharma teach Huike about the mind?
When Huike said he couldn’t find his mind, Bodhidharma replied, “So there, I have pacified your mind!”
Who was Huike?
Bodhidharma’s disciple, known for his resolve and depicted in Chan art handing his severed arm to Bodhidharma.
Why are Chan monasteries often located in the mountains?
The cool, dry atmosphere is believed to optimize the chances of spiritual breakthroughs.
Who was Huineng?
A young boy who became the sixth Chan patriarch after demonstrating profound understanding of enlightenment.
What was the senior disciple’s poem in the contest?
-This body is the Bodhi-tree;
-The soul is like the mirror bright;
-Take heed to keep it always clean,
-And let no dust collect upon it.
What analogy does the Platform Sutra use to explain the relationship between meditation and wisdom?
Meditation and wisdom are like a lamp and its light. The lamp is the substance, and the light is its function. Although they have two names, they are not separate in substance.
What was Huineng’s counter-poem?
-The Bodhi (True Wisdom) is not like the tree;
-The mirror bright is nowhere shining:
-As there is nothing from the first,
-Where does the dust itself collect?
What does Huineng’s poem signify?
It emphasizes the emptiness central to Mahayana Buddhism and a deeper understanding of enlightenment beyond traditional imagery.
What method did Linji’s master, Huangbo, use to teach him?
Huangbo used unexpected methods, such as delivering physical blows, to provoke breakthroughs in understanding.
According to the Platform Sutra, how can sentient beings save themselves?
Sentient beings must save themselves by recognizing their inherent enlightenment and adopting correct views, despite heterodox views, passions, ignorance, and delusions.
What teaching did Huineng spread, and where did it expand geographically?
Huineng spread the teaching of intuitive wisdom, later known as satori in Japanese. It expanded to southern China, then to Korea (Seon) and Japan (Zen).
Who compiled the Platform Sutra, and when was it compiled?
The Platform Sutra was attributed to the sixth Chan patriarch, Huineng, and compiled by one of his disciples in the early 700s.
What did the fifth patriarch give Huineng, and what advice accompanied it?
The fifth patriarch gave Huineng the robe and staff of the patriarch’s office, advising him to return to the south.
Who is Linji, and what is his significance in Zen Buddhism?
Linji was a ninth-century Chan monk whose training under Master Huangbo led to the founding of the Linji (Rinzai) sect, which emphasizes sudden enlightenment or satori.
