Dosho
(629-700) Japanese monk who built the first Hosso hall in Japan
Dosho entered the priesthood after his initial studies at Gango-ji, an early Buddhist temple at Asuka (moved to Nara in 718). In 653 he went to China, where he became a student of the famous Chinese traveler and translator Xuan Zang (602-664). Xuan Zang taught Yogacara Buddhism teachings to the young student. He also introduced Dosho to Chan.
Upon his return to Japan, Dosho passed along the Yogacara teachings as the Hosso, or Dharma Marks, school. He built the first Hosso meditation hall in Japan, adjacent to Gango-ji, and there deposited a number of texts he transported from China. Dosho is considered the founder of the Hosso school, which took root in Nara in the eighth century and had some importance for several centuries. He did not successfully establish the Hosso lineage, however, since he did not receive his teachings from an enlightened master.
Dosho’s body was cremated after his death, seemingly the first incident of cremation in Japan.
Dozan
(d. 1593) outstandingJodo-Shu priest
The Nagoe subgroup of Jodo-Shu taught that multiple invocations of Amitabha were not needed; even a single sincere repetition of the NEMBUTSU was all that was necessary for salvation. There was no special benefit from multiple repetitions of the nembutsu—daily or for a lifetime. This group spread primarily through the northern half of Honshu, the largest of Japan’s four main islands, and it failed to found a temple in Kyoto. Such was still the case when Dozan appeared on the scene in the 16th century. Dozan emerges out of obscurity as the student of Ryoga (1507-85), who resided in Shinano Province, with whom he continued to work into the mid-1560s. Dozan began his career as a Pure Land priest spreading the teachings in towns along the Shinano River.
In the 1570s he worked in Echizen Province and recruited a number of Pure Land Buddhism temples formerly associated with another Jodo subgroup into the Nagoe camp, beginning with the Saifuku-ji temple in Matsubara. Saifuku-ji became the headquarters temple for the Nagoe and from it Dozan planned the group’s entrance into Kyoto. It would be 1582, however, before he received imperial sanctions to begin work in the big city. He began work at Shojoke-in, a Pure Land temple, and gradually rose to become its head priest. He led it into the Nagoe group, and eventually it became the group’s new headquarters temple.
While acquiring a foothold in Kyoto, Dozan was still not satisfied. He wanted to assume control of a temple with some direct connection to Honen (possessing relics of Honen or an image carved centuries earlier while he was still alive) but was unable to secure the cooperation of the leadership at Shojoke-in.
Drigung Kagyu
Drigung Kagyu is one of the eight lineages within the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, all deriving from Gampopa (1079-1153). The Drigung Kagyu was one of the first schools to establish the uniquely Tibetan institution of transmission of authority via reincarnation. The Drigung lineage of the Kagyu school was founded by Jikten Gonpo (1143-1212), a disciple of Phagmo Drupa (1118-70), who, in turn, was a disciple of Gam-popa. According to his biographies, he was born into the O-tron branch of the Kyura clan. Jikten Gonpo’s father died when the boy was young, and as a result his family fell on hard times. He turned to the practice of Buddhism at an early age and, as a layman, became an accomplished spiritual practitioner. He first studied with a master of the Kadampa school and later became the disciple of Phagmo Drupa. He was ordained as a monk at Phag mo Dru monastery. He later set out on his own and established the Drigung monastery in 1179 c.e.
The Drigung lineage was named after the monastery. Jikten Gonpo was succeeded by his nephew, On Sherab Jungne. Both Jikten Gonpo and On Sherab Jungne were noted for their scholarship, and together they formulated the influential "single intention" teachings, which sought to harmonize the Kagyu Mahamudra teachings with the "Path-Fruit" teachings of the Sakya school.
The Drigung lineage never became widespread and was based at the monastery that gave it its name. Eventually, authority in this tradition was passed down from generation to generation by reincarnation, as was also the case in the Karma Kagyu school. During the Cultural Revolution, the Drikung monastery was destroyed in Tibet. However, the lineage reestablished its institutional basis with the completion of the Jangchubling Drikung Kargyu Institute in 1989, at Dehra Dun in India.
Dristi
Literally, "seeing, sight, view," dristi usually refers to false views. The Buddha emphasized that such views were dangerous because they led to unwholesome action and thus rebirth. Some sources list seven dristi: belief in an ego, repudiation of the law of karma, eternalism, nihilism, observing false SILAS (precepts), regarding karma resulting from bad deeds as good, and doubting the truths of Buddhism. The Sarvastivada (Sar-vastivadin) school originally developed a list of 62 separate dristi, which was later reduced to a standard list of five: the view that the aggregates (skandhas) are equal to the self; such extreme ideas as that the body and spirit are eternal, or that death ends all existence; perverse ideas that reject the function of cause and effect; stubborn views that one’s ideas alone are correct; and, last, attachment to wrong positions, such as ascetic practices. This list of five was later adopted by Yogacara Buddhism as well.
Drukpa Kunleg
(1455-1570) Tibetan Buddhist master
Drukpa Kunleg, credited with converting Bhutan to Buddhism in the 16th century, was a practitioner of Drugpa, one of the subschools of Kagyu Buddhism. Rather than living in a monastery, however, he chose a wandering life modeled on those of the mahasiddhas, the name given to a set of independent Buddhist adepts who lived in the period from the sixth to the 12th century. They were distinguished by the individualistic search for liberation in a single lifetime, a quest that often led them into extremes and/or the use of sexuality as a tool for enlightenment. Tales of the mahasiddhas were especially valued within the Kagyu school.
Drukpa Kunleg was seen as a reincarnation of several of the mahasiddhas and some saw him as a "holy madman." He impressed the followers of the indigenous Bon religion throughout the Himalayas, where he chose to spend most of his life, and the poems and songs attributed him have become part of the folklore. Among his many accomplishments was, reputedly, the defeat of the local demons.
Dukkha
Dukkha is a key concept in Buddhism. It is often translated into English as "suffering," but this translation is limited. The Pali/Sanskrit word means, among other things, "discomfort," "imper-manence," and "imperfection." Life is not simply pain and suffering; life is filled with unsatisfying events and sensations, and overall impermanence. Thus even experiences that we would normally perceive as happy are part of dukkha.
Dukkha comes into being through craving (tanha). These cravings may be for sensual pleasures or they may be for more fundamental aspects, such as the very desire to be (volition). The Buddha taught that tanha is the mechanism through which dukkha (suffering) comes forth. Dukkha is thus the fundamental ground of samsara.
Dzogchen
The term Dzogchen is an abbreviation of the Tibetan term dzog pa chen po, which means "Great Perfection." It refers both to the natural and primordial state of the enlightened mind that all sentient beings possess, and to a set of teachings that are designed to aid one in the realization of this. According to both the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon tradition of Tibet, it is the ultimate state, the realization of which is equivalent to enlightenment, and the Dzogchen teachings that bring this about are considered the highest "vehicle" or spiritual approach by both traditions. Dzogchen teachings aim to attain a state of non-perception. Dzogchen differs from Zen Buddhism and VIPASSANA (insight) traditions of meditation— which also cultivate nonperception—in its incorporation of indigenous Tibetan techniques, for instance, visualizations.
According to the Nyingma tradition, the teachings of Dzogchen were first taught in India by a master named Garab Dorje, who was from Oddiyana, the Swat valley in present day Pakistan. These teachings were taken to Tibet in the late eighth and early ninth centuries by the Indian saint Padmasambhava, who arrived in Tibet in the late eighth century at the invitation of the Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen (r. 755-797). He was aided in this transmission process by two Indian masters named vimalamitra and vairocana. These three figures were responsible for the transmission to Tibet of three distinct series, known as the Mind Series (sem-de), Space Series (long-de), and Secret Instruction Series (men-ngak-de). In these one is first introduced to the primordial state of mind, then given exercises and instructions to deepen one’s experience of this.
The Bon tradition holds that Dzogchen teachings originated with the founder of the Bon tradition, Tonpa Shenrab, who lived 18,000 years ago, ruling the kingdom of Tazik to the west of Tibet. He transmitted these teachings to the region of Zhang-zhung, which is the far western portion of the Tibetan cultural world, including the contemporary region of Ladakh. The Bon tradition also divides Dzogchen into three distinct systems, known as Dzogchen, A-tri, and the Zhang-zhung Aural Lineage (zhang-zhung nyen-gyu).
Despite the claims that Dzogchen has an ancient lineage originating in India or Tazik, there is no record of Dzogchen prior to the 10th century, when Tibetans began writing texts concerning it. It is certainly possible that Dzogchen is a unique Tibetan teaching, and there is also interesting (but inconclusive) evidence suggesting that there may have been a connection between the Tibetan Dzogchen and Chinese Chan traditions. A pivotal figure in the history of Dzogchen was Longchenpa Rabjampa (1308-64, possibly 1369), who systematized the somewhat haphazard collections of Dzogchen teachings that were circulating in Tibet at this time.
While Dzogchen is primarily taught by Nyingma and Bon lamas, Dzogchen is also traditionally studied, practiced, and taught by a number of lamas in the Kagyu. It has also been practiced by several of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet, most notably by the Fifth Dalai Lama, Lob-sang Gyatso, who was originally trained in the Nyingma tradition, as well as the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatsu (1935- ), who has actively encouraged nonsectarianism among Tibetans and has specifically sought to ameliorate the hostility that has characterized relations between the Gelug and Nyingma schools for the past several centuries.
Ecology and environmentalism in Buddhism
The numerous problems of human coexistence with nature are a widespread concern in all places today. Indeed characteristic of our times are widespread anxiety and disillusionment about the environment. These concerns can be summarized as human effect on the global climate and atmosphere; toxic wastes; land loss, including deforestation, loss of agricultural land and topsoil, erosion, desertification; the reduction in biodiversity, including the loss of sources for medicine and traditional habitats; overall loss of wilderness areas; reduction in the numbers of native peoples previously able to lead lifestyles separate from mainstream societies; a lifestyle of massive, unsustainable consumption; and genetic engineering, which, although not yet proved to be damaging, causes consternation concerning its future impact on life.
To varying degrees, modern religions have responded to the environmental concerns. Some have stuck to traditional views on nature. others have incorporated environmental concerns, just as they have incorporated the points of view of feminism and multiculturalism. Ecotheologies have developed in four general directions:
1. A reinterpretation of traditions—rereading classical texts in the light of current crisis
2. An extension of traditional beliefs to include nature
3. A creative synthesis of views on nature from different traditions, for instance, incorporating Daoist concepts into Christian thinking
4. Creation of new concepts on religion’s role in nature
Today some Buddhist leaders are actively involved with environmental issues while others do not appear concerned at all. Indeed it is difficult to speak of a single Buddhist perspective on contemporary ecological problems. The best we can do is illustrate possible directions that incorporate a Buddhist perspective.
BUDDHISM’S TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Buddhism seen as a whole is a flexible set of viewpoints and practices that has generally excelled at adapting to local circumstances. Nevertheless there are ingrained perspectives and leanings seen from the first teachings of the Buddha. The earliest depictions of the Buddha and his followers in fact show them living in close harmony with nature.
Such trees as the sal, the Bodhi (or pipal, Ficus religiosa), and the banyan figure prominently in Buddhist stories. There is an overall respect for nature and other beings. For instance the Pra-timoksa (rules for monks) forbids monks to cut down a tree, dig the earth, or empty a container of water with living creatures onto the ground. Such teachings parallel and resonate with the modern perspective of ecology.
Respect for animals reinforces the idea of karma, in which humans may be reborn as animals. In the Jataka Tales, which relate the past lives of the Buddha, an animal is the central character in half of the narratives. Given the recognition that animals are beings in the six paths of samsara, the world of suffering, Buddhism argues consistently for fair treatment of animals and indeed all living beings. And any individual whose living involves the killing of animals will bear karmic consequences.
The early Buddhist emperor Asoka also followed a strict conservation program. He planted trees throughout his realm and called for medicinal herbs and fruit trees to be available to all. In addition he planted shade trees by roadsides. He also forbade the needless burning of forests.
Philosophically, Buddhism’s emphasis on the individual’s analysis of craving and its cause has potential influence on today’s culture of consumption. In this sense Buddhism offers a radical rethinking of modernity’s materialist obsession, and the attendant attitudes toward exploiting the natural environment.
A second concept in Buddhist philosophy that resonates strongly with ecology is PRATTYA-SAMUTPADA, codependent arising, a concept that emphasizes the interconnected nature of all life.
Socially, monasticism, the central institution of Buddhism, can be viewed as a radical alternative to modernity’s forms of social organization, which in turn influence attitudes toward the environment. The monastery is a relatively frugal community that fits easily into the local economy and environment.
Despite such ecological leanings, it is also true that Buddhist-oriented societies, today as in the past, are perfectly capable of allowing ecological degradation. The contemporary ecological movement is essentially a response to modernity and its impact on the environment. Modernity interacts with Buddhism in a variety of ways in different cultures. We may best look at individual cases to see how Buddhist culture and values apply to ecological thinking. Two well-known cases are Ladakh, a Buddhist culture in northwest India, and Thailand. Ladakh has struggled to deal with the severe degradation brought on by tourism and dependency on imports. As a result a strong self-sufficiency movement has taken root. For its part Thailand has responded to severe deforestation, drought, and sedimentation with a strong ecological movement. Activist leaders there, such as the monk Buddhadasa, have built on Buddhist concepts to motivate social action.
18 schools of early Buddhism
Buddhism had a complex development in India before the development of Mahayana and its major thrust into Central and East Asia. Several schools developed from this early, pre-Mahayana period, of which only the Theravada has survived into the modern period. These schools are traditionally numbered at 18, although a strict count would total 25 or 26. The last of these early schools was founded in the fourth century C.E.; the cutoff time for the first 18 would be around 50 b.c.e. All of the schisms that divided these early schools concerned points of doctrine. One school, the Dhar-maguptaka, for instance, agreed with the doctrines of the Sthaviravada school except it placed extra emphasis on gifts and donations made to the Buddha as opposed to gifts made to the community (the sangha). The Dharmaguptaka also emphasized the honoring of pagodas (shrines). The Dharmaguptaka school broke away around the third century B.C.E. and later experienced much success in spreading into Central Asia.
At the same time there were geographic reasons for the division into different groups. There was from the beginning—in the time of the Buddha—a distinction between the Mathura area in the west of India and the vaisali area to the east. The very first schism, between the Sthaviravadins and the Mahasanghikas, found the Sthavirava-dins less popular in the east. The Mahasanghikas remained firmly based in the capital of Pataliputra and other areas to the east. In the third major division of Buddhist schools, Mathura split off and became, with the areas north, the region of the Sarvastivada school. This split was reflected in traditions concerning the Third Council of Buddhism.
It is interesting to note that schisms were more common during the period of greatest growth in India, when monks were moving great distances and setting up new communities in an almost pioneer effort. It is perhaps inevitable that periods of growth will lead to different points of view.
The major early schools include four groups that had the greatest impact on Buddhism’s later development. The Sthaviravada and the Maha-sangha formed after the first great schism, in Vesali in 350 b.c.e. The Sthaviras (elders) were the conservative faction who followed closely the Vinaya, the monastic code, and who held to the Buddha’s exact words and did not adapt easily to new interpretations. The Sthaviravada Tripitaka was written in Pali, the first of several sacred languages used by Buddhists, and is therefore one of the most authentic and oldest of all the Tripitakas from the different schools—that is, it contains few later additions.
The second school that resulted from the schism at Vesali was the Mahasangha, or "great assembly." The Mahasanghikas are associated with a democratic tendency within the sangha, as well as a liberal interpretation of doctrine. Significantly, the Mahasanghikas started to elucidate the image of the bodhisattva, an ideal type that would be definitively described by the Mahayana school.
A third major early school is the Sarvasti-vada, which means literally "those who hold the doctrine that all is." The Sarvastivadins were an outgrowth of the Sthaviravada. By the time of the fourth of the Councils of Buddhism held during the reign of Kaniska, around 100 C.E., the Sarv-astivadins are mentioned as a widespread school. The school dominated that council and wrote commentaries, inscribed on copper plates, on the Tripitaka. This school is important because it occupied the key crossroads between India and Central Asia, the area around Gandhara in what is today northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sarv-astivadins are largely responsible for the transmission of much of the literary record of Buddhism to Central Asia and China.
The Sarvastivadins had a particularly large commentarial literature. Today only a few sections of the Sarvastivadin canon exist in Sanskrit, the original language. However, all of the Sarvasti-vadin Tripitaka was translated in China, and the canon can today be studied in its entirety.
The fourth important early school, and the only one that exists today, is the Theravada. By the time of the Council of Asoka, around 250 b.c.e., the earlier Sthaviravada school had split into three other groups, the Vatsiputriya-Sammatiyas, the Sarvastivadins, and the Vibhajyavadins. The Vibhajyavadins later split into two others, the Mahisasakas and the Theravadins. Theravada eventually spread throughout Southeast Asia and today remains dominant in the region. The entire Theravada Tripitaka is still in existence, in the Pali language, along with a major noncanonical com-mentarial literature, including such great works as the Visuddhimagga by the great Theravadin monk Buddhaghosa.
Eightfold Path
MARGA, the correct path, is the fourth of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. Teachings on marga are traditionally broken down into eight interrelated sections: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. These categories cover nearly all of the Buddha’s teachings and can be seen as the core of his message. The Eightfold Path is not sequential. Individuals are expected to begin at any point and cultivate all sections simultaneously. Work in one section will assist progress in the others.
The Eightfold Path is called in Sanskrit arya-astangika-marga, the "noble way of eight parts." This title implies it is the way of the arya, or sage. It is, however, not other-worldly. It is expressly designed to be practiced in the world of everyday life.
The Eightfold Path is often summarized by a threefold formula of SILA (morality), SAMA-DHI (concentration), and PRAJNA (wisdom), what some writers call the "threefold practice," or the three "trainings." Right view and right thought are associated with wisdom; right speech, right action, and right livelihood with morality; right mindfulness and right concentration with sama-dhi; and right effort with all three areas of practice.
Eight immortals (baxian)
The eight immortals are popular figures in Chinese legend and literature. These eight figures are found throughout Chinese-speaking cultural regions, as well as in Japan. Some were historical figures, while others were deities of unknown origin. It is not known why the eight became grouped together from the end of the Tang dynasty (618-906 C.E.). In subsequent periods stories about the eight continued to be told at all levels of society. By the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) the stories had become more or less fixed and thereafter were transmitted without major revision. Thus the figures included in the list of eight are first of all folk heroes. The following list summarizes the eight:
1. Lu Dongbin is the most popular of the eight because of his association with longevity, healing, and powerful spells. He is a powerful deity. He carries a sword, the zhan-yaoguai (devil slayer), which he uses to combat evil spirits whenever he is invoked.
He also carries a fly whisk, symbolizing his ability to fly.
2. Li Tieguai is associated with medicine. His iron crutch is a traditional symbol for a pharmacy. His second symbol is a gourd. He is imagined as a beggar, one with a feisty temper who is willing to fight for the rights of the downtrodden.
3. Zhang Guolao (Zhang Guo) is seen riding a donkey, often backward, and playing a bamboo mouth organ. He helps to bring offspring, so his image is often hung over newlyweds’ beds.
4. Cao Goujiu was a powerful court official, a dangerous man to cross. His symbol is either a pair of wooden sounding blocks or an imperial tablet used for official pronouncements. He is dressed as an official.
5. Han Xiangzi is the patron of musicians. He is seen holding a jade flute. He symbolizes also the love of nature and solitude.
6. Zhungli Quan (Han Zhongli) was a court official in the Han dynasty (207 b.c.e .-220 C.E.). He is said to have invented the pill of immortality. He is seen in full beard, sometimes dressed as a general. He carries a feathered fan, by which he can control the oceans, or a peach, symbolizing immortality.
7. Lan Caihe, along with Li Jieguai, is another trickster figure in the group. Lan’s gender changes; usually depicted as male, he is at times depicted as female. He is seen as somewhat crazy. He carries a basket of flowers.
8. He Xiangu is revered as a powerful religious ascetic; she was made immortal because of her meditational attainments. She holds a lotus flower, symbol of wisdom.
With the exception of Lu Dongbin, Li Guaili, and Zhang Guolao, these figures are not worshipped alone; they are most often seen together in a group.
There is some question as to how this group of eight merged in popular consciousness. Possibly the best explanation is the manner in which they seem to reflect the functions of the eight trigrams (ba gua). The eight trigrams, ancient divinatory tools found in the Book of Changes, symbolize fundamental forces in nature. And each of the eight immortals is closely associated with one of the eight gua. Thus He Xiangu, the lone complete woman in the group, is associated with the trigram kun, composed of three broken lines. Her polar opposite, Li Jieguai, is known for his hot temper and so is associated with the strong yang trigram of three unbroken lines, qian. Each trigram is also correlated with a particular direction, a constellation, and many other elements. If we see the interaction of the eight fundamental trigrams as the underlying processes of nature, then the dramatic interaction of the eight immortals, as found in numerous plays and stories, is simply the in-the-flesh depiction of these forces at work. The eight immortals, then, embody basic notion of religious Daoism.
