Daoist liturgies and rituals
Daoist liturgies are keyi. A ke originally meant a "rule." A keyi was a liturgical instruction, the actual texts that Daoist priests follow during rituals. Early Daoist collections of the Zhengyi school, the Celestial Masters, founded by Zhang Daol-ing in 142 C.E., included five separate works that included rules. These liturgies became increasingly important in Daoist practice. There were liturgies associated with exorcism, meditation, alchemy, and priestly ordination, as well as such practical issues as marriage.
One important form of ritual throughout Daoist history has been the zhai, or "fast." The word originally meant the fast undertaken by the emperor and officials in preparation for sacrifices. it later meant a formal audience accompanying worship. The structure of such worshipping sessions continued to retain the flavor of imperial rites, however. Today the zhai is still performed and has taken on a colorful aspect, with dramatic performances and feasting for the entire community. Zhai community rituals typically last three, five, or seven days.
Dao Sheng (Tao-sheng)
(c. 360-434) early Chinese interpreter of Buddha nature
Dao Sheng was an early Chinese master whose chief contribution was a commentary on the Lotus Sutra. He was born during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420 c.e.), a very active period in the importation of Buddhism into China. And he was born in the early Buddhist center of Peng Cheng, in eastern China (modern Jiangsu). His father was a local magistrate. Dao Sheng began to study with a Buddhist master, Zhu Fatai (319-387 c.e.) from the age of 11. Given his background, Dao Sheng’s involvement in Buddhism is not surprising.
Zhu Fatai, who had been a student of the Kuchean missionary Fotudeng (d. 349), did not emphasize textual knowledge. Thus Dao Sheng had only limited knowledge of some prajnaparam-ita (wisdom) texts. Nevertheless he became a well-known teacher and debater. When Zhu Fatai died in 387, Dao Sheng began to travel. He eventually settled in the major Buddhist center of Mt. Lu in 397 c.e. Here he had contact with Sanghadeva, a Kashmiri missionary and Abhidharma expert. Although Dao Sheng stayed at Mt. Lu for seven years, there is no evidence that he became close to or was much influenced by the famous Hui Yuan (334-417), who had also moved to Mt. Lu.
In 405 or 406, Dao Sheng departed Mt. Lu and moved to Chang An to study with Kumarajiva, one of the greatest translators in Buddhist history. Kumarajiva had arrived in 401 and soon attracted more than 3,000 hopeful students. Dao Sheng was perceived as being highly knowledgeable and competent, but it is unclear to what extent he actually assisted in Kumarajiva’s various translation projects. Nevertheless, Dao Sheng was present in the capital during the period of feverish translation of such important texts as the Great Wisdom Treatise (Mahaprajnaparamita-sastra, Ta Zhi Du Lun), the VIMALAKIRTI-NIRDESA SUTRA, the LOTUS SUTRA, and the Astasahasrika-prajnaparamita. He soon wrote commentaries on the last three.
In 408 Dao Sheng returned to Mt. Lu in the south and the following year settled in Jian Kang, at the Qingyuan Temple, where he continued to write. One conclusion he reached was that ICCHAN-TlKAs (condemned people), who were generally seen as being outcasts in the path to enlightenment, had Buddha nature just as everyone else had. For this controversial stand he was expelled from the Buddhist sangha in 428 or 429.
Dao Sheng retreated once more to Mt. Lu, where his risky belief was exonerated once the complete translation of the Nirvana Sutra (by Dharmaksema) was disseminated. In this translation it was clear that icchantikas were indeed seen to have Buddha nature. Vindicated, Dao Sheng died on Mt. Lu in 434, having first composed a commentary on the Lotus Sutra.
Dao Sheng’s life was spent in three major centers of Buddhism, and on many subjects he occupies an intermediary position among the three. In his thinking he particularly emphasized the doctrine of sudden enlightenment and the doctrine of Buddha nature.
Dao Xin (Tao-hsin)
(580-651) fourth Chinese patriarch of Chan Buddhism
Dao Xin lived in the early days of the Tang dynasty (618-906 C.E.), a period in which Buddhism vied with Daoism for influence over the Chinese court. He is said to have been commanded to visit the emperor but refused, an action for which he was willing to risk death.
Dao Xin introduced a method of training using ekavyudi-samadhi, "the samadhi of specific mode." In this practice the cultivator practices nienfo chan, or "reciting the Buddha’s name." This term does not refer to the Pure Land repetition of the name of Amitabha Buddha. Instead Dao Xin taught that it is up to the practitioner to decide which particular Buddha’s name he recites.
While previous masters normally lived alone in thatched huts, Dao Xin established a community of several hundred monks near Mt. Shuangfeng in Huangmei. Another innovation he introduced was to emphasize work as part of Chan practice, making his community of monks economically self-sufficient.
Dao Xin is said to have slept sitting up for most of his life, a practice still common among Chinese monks. He is also said to have died seated, in meditation. His body is still preserved, one of many famous Buddhist mummies.
Daozang (Tao-tsang, Daoist Canon)
A general term for the texts used by Daoists, the Daozang contains 5,485 separate works. It was compiled in 1445 during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), during the reign of one emperor, Zhengtong, and issued again under Emperor Wanli. The Daozang is divided into three overall categories, or dong (grotto, cavern), and further divided into four fu and 12 lei, or types (explained later). The three dong are Dongzhen (The Cavern Truth, containing the Shangqing revelation), Dong Xuan (The Cavern Mystery, containing the Lingbao revelations), and Dong Shen (Cavern Spirit, containing the Sanguang revelations). Each of the three "caverns" is preceded by an introduction said to have been dictated by a major deity: Dongzhen by the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), Dongxuan by the Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Dao-jun), and Dongshen by the Supreme Master Lao (Taishang Laojun), or Laozi.
All of the three dong are divided into 12 types or forms of writings, such as original documents, charms, and spiritual diagrams. The key point about the dong literature, and most of the Daozang, is that the material is revelatory, that is, revealed by a deity figure and written by a chosen follower.
There is a further category of texts, called collectively the sifu, or "Four Lacunae." These are texts that did not fit the original categorization by dong. They contain, nevertheless, great works of Daoist literature: the Taixuan, or Great Mystery; the Taiping, or Great Peace; the Taiqing, or Great Purity; and the Zhengyi, or Orthodox Oneness.
There were several attempts to collect the major texts of Daoism throughout Chinese history, beginning in the eighth century c.e. That effort collected between 3,744 and 7,300 volumes of material, which unfortunately was lost by the 10th century. In the Song dynasty (960-1279 c.e.) another effort resulted in 4,359 volumes of text, expanded later into 4,565. By the Yuan dynasty this collection was expanded to 5,481 volumes. Some of this was lost during the Yuan. With additions the current, Ming dynasty version was finalized. it was reissued in Shanghai in 1923-25.
The study of the Daozang has been part of Daoist practice for centuries. Chinese scholars are perennially drawn to the Daozang; however, serious modern scholarly research into the Daozang, by scholars from all cultures, is still in its infancy. Much of the Daozang remains untranslated, understudied, and, perhaps fittingly, a mystery.
Darsana
Darsana is the Buddhist concept of seeing, or gaining knowledge by seeing. Darsana was a Hindu term meaning a school of philosophy, a teaching, and philosophy in general. In Buddhist Abhidharma theory darsana was a stage attained by those on the path of enlightenment. This scheme was first elaborated on the basis of the Buddha’s lecture to the five ascetics in the Deer Park at Sarnath. These five ascetics went through three stages of progress, the so-called three turns of the wheel. The first of the turns, when the cultivator gains theoretical awareness, is darsana-marga. (The second and third turns are bhavana-marga, the Way of Practice, and asaiksa-phala, the stage of knowing there is no more to learn—that is, an arhat.) Darsana is thus the first step in this scheme of Buddhist enlightenment.
These teachings also developed into an eight-stage path to the goal of becoming an arhat,beginning with the dharsana-marga. A person at this stage is a stream-winner, one who enters the stream of the sages. The Mahayana teachings also recognize darsana-marga as a stage on the bodhisattva path.
David-Neel, Alexandra
(1868-1969) transmitted Tibetan Buddhism to the West
Alexandra David-Neel, who wrote and lectured about her explorations of Tibetan Buddhism in the early 20th century, was born in Paris in 1868. Six years later, the family moved to Ixelles, near Brussels, where she grew up and developed her passion for travel.
In 1889, she left her family, who had continually blocked her efforts to move out and see the world. She settled in Paris, where she could attend meetings of the Theosophical Society and audit classes in oriental languages at the several Paris universities. She joined secret societies and associated with anarchists.
In 1899 she authored her first writing for publication. Her significant other, jean Haustont, saw to its private publication. Still not satisfied, she studied music and received favorable reviews for her starring roles in several operas.
Her life changed considerably in 1890. With a small inheritance from her godmother, she was able to spend a year in India, where she first heard Tibetan music, and she studied with a guru, Swami Bhaskarananda. Her next trip was to North Africa. In Tunis she met her future husband, Philippe Neel. They were married in 1904.
He was wealthy enough to support her desire for further travel.
In 1911 she left on what would be a 14-year journey. She arrived in Sikkim in 1912. While there she met the young Aphur Yongden, whom she later adopted, and made several forays into Tibet, for which she was expelled from Sikkim in 1916. After World War I began, she moved on to Japan. There she met the philosopher Ekai Kawagushi, who had disguised himself as a Chinese monk and spent 18 months in Lhasa. She next headed for Korea and then China. She made her way across the Gobi desert and spent three years studying at a Tibetan monastery. She and Aphur Yongden then abandoned all their possessions, adopted local dress, and headed for Lhasa. They arrived in 1924. After two months the pair were discovered, and David-Neel and her young companion had to leave quickly via Sikkim and India.
In 1928, she settled at Digne in Provence, France, and built a home for meditation and contemplation, Samten-Dzong. She now focused on writing books about her travels and what she had learned. She also went forth on lecture tours throughout Europe.
By 1937, the wanderlust had risen again and with money from her husband, who remained her close friend despite their separation in 1928, she and Yongden set off via Russia for China, now at war with Japan. This journey lasted 10 years and was marked by visions of the war and ended in India only in 1946. She subsequently returned to Digne to write and lecture. She died in 1969, having passed her 100th birthday. In 1973 her ashes and those of her adopted son were scattered in the Ganges.
While David-Neel left behind a number of books, she is most remembered for two of them, My Journey to Lhassa (1927) and With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet (1929, English edition, 1931), which recounted her appropriation of Tibetan Buddhism.
Desire (canda)
Desire (canda) is a recurring topic in Buddhist discourse, although it is not the fundamental focus. In early Buddhist writings of the Sarvastivadins, canda was simply one of the 10 mental functions. Different people would have minds characterized by certain functions. Thus one person’s nature may be heavily associated with desire, while another’s would be heavily associated with feeling (vedana). in the Buddha’s formulation of the 12-fold Chain of Origination, desire is a result of craving, which in turn is a result of ignorance. Thus ignorance is a root cause, while cravings and desires are expressions. But desires are only one type of craving—the others are craving for existence and craving for nonexistence. The particular subtypes of desires are those associated with the five senses: touch, smell, sight, taste, and hearing.
It is perhaps common to assume that Buddhism involves the control or overcoming of natural desires and urges. But it is a mistake to see the Buddhist as simply a world renouncer. instead Buddhism teaches the need to understand the place of desire in nature, the importance of observing how desires arise and fade away, the thoughts associated with desires, and the effect of desire on our actions.
Devadatta
(c. 500 b.c.e.) early follower of the Buddha who turned against him
Devadatta was a disciple (and a cousin) of the Buddha who later denounced him. Devadatta had vied with Prince Gautama for the hand of Yaso-dara, Gautama’s eventual wife. After becoming a disciple he grew jealous and fomented discord within the order. He is said to have arranged several attempts on the Buddha’s life. He finally fell into hell. Nevertheless, the Buddha, in topic 12 of the Lotus Sutra, is said to have predicted that Devadatta would eventually become a Buddha called Tian Wang (Devaraja, "heavenly king").
Despite his overwhelmingly negative associations, the treatment of Devadatta in the Buddhist literature is not consistent. in the Sarvastivadin Vinaya he is said to have acted as a saint for the first 12 years after his ordination as a monk. He meditates frequently and lives as an ascetic in the forest. Therefore, Devadatta is a complex character, an accomplished master as well as a diabolical person.
One interpretation of the presence of this personality within the Buddhist literature is that he represents a schism within the sangha, one that actually occurred after the major split between the Mahasanghikas and Sthaviravadins (c. 350 b.c.e.). The two Chinese pilgrims Fa Xian and Xuan Zang, who visited India between the fourth and seventh centuries c.e., report the presence of individuals who were actual followers of Devadatta. These followers did not worship Sakyamuni; nor did they drink milk products. indeed his followers may have adhered to very strict dietary codes, something forbidden for Buddhist monks.
Dhammakaya
The Dhammakaya (body of the Dharma) movement began in the early 1970s in Thailand. Dhammakaya is influential for several reasons, including its ability to attract educated urban dwellers as well as politically powerful followers. Dhammakaya controls most of the Buddhist associations in Thai universities. And overall its image is one of purity and noncorruption—in stark contrast to its frequent criticism of Thai society, including the sangha, for corruption and materialism. In contrast to traditional Buddhist monks, Dhammakaya followers wear white robes.
Two students at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Chaiyaboon Sitthiphon (b. 1944) and Phadet Phongasawad (b. 1941), studied meditation with the monk Monkhon Thepmuni (Luang Pho Sot) and the lay teacher Khun Yay (1909- ) at Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen in Bangkok. Both Sitthip-hon and Phadet were ordained as monks (in 1969 and 1973, respectively), after graduating. The Wat Dhammakaya movement was officially registered in 1978 and has been the fastest growing organized movement in Thai Buddhism since.
Dhammakaya grew quickly from 1970, when 80 acres was donated to the movement by a wealthy widow. Its rapid growth is due to the focus on urban residents, especially college-educated youth. Dhammakaya generally presents an image of being nonmaterialistic and free of corruption, qualities that resonate with urban Thai.
The movement is headquartered on 1,000 acres at Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok. Here ceremonies such as the Buddhist Rains Retreat are attended by up to 100,000 people.
Dhammakaya has been criticized for its wealth and influence. It is active in recruitment, creating a nearly evangelistic atmosphere. And some see it as simply a mouthpiece for the politically powerful elements in Thai society. Despite such criticisms Dhammakaya is in many ways the face of modern Thai Buddhism.
Dhammapada
The Dhammapada, literally "the sayings of the dhamma [dharma]," is perhaps the most popular book in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism. It consists of some 423 verses, all said to be the words of the Buddha. Many of these verses are also found in other parts of the Buddhist canon, and there are very similar works in other, non-Buddhist Indian texts such as the Mahabharata. The contents of the Dhammapada were collected over time. We therefore can say that they carry a large amount of local folk wisdom from ancient Indian times, as well as Buddhist thought.
A tradition of commenting on the Dham-mapada quickly developed. The commentaries helped explain the texts, some of which may have become difficult to understand. They also took on the character of a narrative linking the various verses. When monks arrived in Sri Lanka around 300 b.c.e. to spread Buddhism, they also introduced an understanding of these commentaries. When this commentarial material was finally written down in Sinhalese, the local language in Sri Lanka, it became known as the Sinhala Commentary, or Sihalatthakatha.
By the fifth century c.e., a movement under the direction of the great scholar Buddhaghosa began to translate Sinhalese materials back into Pali, the language of the Theravada canon. Although Buddhaghosa himself did not translate the Dham-mapada, it too was translated into Pali around this time. The Singhalese version and commentary thus fell into disuse, though it was relatively older.
The tradition of commenting on the Dhamma-pada died out during Sri Lankan Buddhism’s dark age of decline, from the 1500s through the 1700s. After Buddhism was revived in the late 18 th century by the arrival of monks from Thailand, the commentaries started again. By the late 1800s, study of and publishing on the Dhammapada were growing in Sri Lanka.
Today the Dhammapada is used by practicing Buddhists in all countries as a concentrated selection of Buddhist wisdom, and by non-Buddhists as a clear introduction to Buddhist thought. Here is one example:
Verse 25—On Awareness (Appamada-vaggo) The path to the Deathless is awareness;
Unawareness, the path of death.
They who are aware do not die;
They who are unaware are as dead. [from Carter and Palihawadana, p. 25]
Dhammayuttika Nikaya
Dhammayuttika Nikaya (school) is the reform branch of Thai Buddhism, established in the mid-19th century by King Mongkut or Rama IV (r. 1851-68 C.E.). Mongkut had spent 25 years as a monk while his brother was on the throne of the Thai state. As a monk he focused on scholarly activity and reform, in addition to learning English and gaining knowledge of the West. (King Mongkut was in fact the king in the play The King and I, although the depiction bears little resemblance to the historical Rama IV)
Once he assumed the throne Mongkut focused on reform of the Thai sangha. He tightened monastic examinations and called for a revision of the Thai Buddhist canon that was already under way. His reform efforts in general were known as dhammayuttika, or "adherence to the dharma," and this became the label of a new sect within Thai Buddhism, the Dhammayut. Today the Dhammayut is the second largest branch of Thai Buddhism.
Mongkut attempted to interpret the Thai canon in several ways. First, he made a distinction between early Tripitaka elements and later additions. Second, he attempted to reinterpret the mystical or magical elements in the light of Western notions of rationality. These efforts may have been a reaction to the criticisms of Western missionaries. Similar efforts were under way in Sri Lanka and Burma, both of which were also under the influence of Western colonial forces.
Dharma/dharmas (dhamma)
Dharma is a fundamental concept in Buddhism, and one easily misconstrued. There are two major senses. The first sense is the Buddha’s teachings, or Law. Dharma in this sense is the second of the three treasures of Buddhism. The second sense is dharma as a constituent of nature. For convenience, the first sense is usually capitalized, as in "The Buddha’s Dharma," and the second sense is written in lowercase and usually pluralized, as in "the conditioned dharmas of existence."
The Buddha’s Teachings: Dharma as the Law refers to the teachings of the Buddha, as well as the canonical expression of those teachings in the Buddhist Tripitaka. Early Buddhism considered only the Buddha’s teachings, the part of the Tripitaka called the sutras, to be Dharma. Later the concept was expanded to include the other two "baskets" of the Tripitaka, Vinaya and Abhidharma.
As doctrine, Dharma means the teachings of Buddha, and Buddhism in general. Dharma is a moral imperative for a Buddhist, for it is through observing the Buddha’s teachings that one can reach enlightenment and nirvana. By following the Dharma one will see immediate results; one will experience it at once, without lag. Dharma in this sense is a means toward salvation. This then is the religious imperative behind Buddhism as a whole. Dharma is what makes Buddhism relevant, today as well as in the past.
The dharmas of existence: Early Buddhism used the idea of dharmas to mean elements of existence. The idea embraced all aspects of reality, including mind. Some schools also included unconditioned aspects of reality, such as those found in the state of nirvana, while other schools meant the term dharmas to apply to only the objects of consciousness. In Buddhism there were three types of dharmas: the five aggregates (skan-dhas), the 12 sense fields, and the 18 elements of existence. Later schools expanded upon these categories to form complex lists of dharmas. The Sarvastivadins, for instance, counted 75 dharmas in five categories. And the Yogacarins had their own list of 100 dharmas in five categories. Pali philosophy, not to be outdone, had a separate list of 170 dharmas in four categories. Regardless of the details, these schemes served as detailed road maps of reality for Buddhist practitioners. While these analytical structures remain in place today, such thinking was deemphasized in Mahayana practice with the development of the concept of sunyata, teaching on the emptiness of all dharmas.
Dharma Drum Mountain Association
The Dharma Drum Mountain Association is one of the larger Buddhist groups in Taiwan. It exists to promote the teachings of Chinese Chan Buddhism, especially as taught by Master Sheng Yen (1931- ). The organization was first formed as Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan in 1989. It was reorganized as an international organization in 1996 by the merger of the International Cultural and Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain with the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Culture in New York. More than 300,000 people now view themselves as adherents of the Dharma Drum Mountain Association.
These two organizations had emerged over the previous decades as the primary expressions of the work of the Chan master Sheng Yen. Sheng Yen was born in China and moved to Taiwan in 1949 at the time of the Chinese Revolution.
In 1959 he was named a Dharma heir (successor) in both the Linji and Caodong Chan traditions, completed his education at Rissho University in Japan (M.A., 1971; Ph.D., 1975), and received full transmission in the two Chan traditions, Caodong (1975) and Linji (1978).
Since his reception of the higher Chan credentials, Master Sheng Yen has moved to spread Chan meditation practice throughout Taiwan, around the Pacific Basin, and in Europe. In 1979 he became the abbot of Nung Ch’an Monastery in Taiwan, which became a seedbed for ordained monks and nuns who currently assist with the growing movement. In 1980, he founded the Ch’an Meditation Center and the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Culture in New York to help develop the work in North America. In 1985 he added a graduate school, the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, in Taipei. His growing following in Taiwan was organized into the international Cultural and Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain in 1989.
