Gelug (Yellow Hat school) To Guan Gong (Guang Ti, Kwan Kong) (Buddhism)

Gelug (Yellow Hat school)

The Gelug school is a major school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term literally means "virtuous ones." The school began in the 14th century through the efforts of Tsong Khapa (1357-1419), the great teacher from Amdo in central Tibet. Since Tsong Khapa had studied with so many teachers— according to tradition, more than 100—the Gelug school teachings include elements of many other traditions. The school stresses ethics and careful scholarship. Gelug teachings are collected into Lamrim lectures. The Dalai Lama is always from the Gelug school.

By the 14th century the four major Tibetan Buddhism schools of Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug had formed. The Gelug-pa wore yellow hats, which served to distinguish them from the Nyingma-pa (old school), who wore red hats.

The Gelug school rose to political prominence in Tibet through the support of the powerful Mongol Altan Khan in 1578. In 1642 Lobsang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama, was made the ruler of Tibet. Although all Dalai Lamas are of the Gelug school, they are not, strictly speaking, the heads of the school. The head of the Gelug-pa is called the Gaden Tripa. Tsong Khapa died at the age of 60 and passed his position as head of the monastery of Ganden, which he had founded in 1409, to a successor. Today that position or "throne" is held by the 99th successor, Yeshi Dhondup. The major Gelug-pa monasteries are now Ganden, Sera, Drepung, and Tashi Lhunpo. Since the Dalai Lama’s retreat from Tibet in 1959, Gelug-pa Tan-tric colleges have also been established in India, and leadership of the school is now based in a set of institutions at Dharmasala.


Genshin (Eshin)

(942-1017) one of the founders of Jodo Buddhism in Japan

Genshin, a Japanese Tendai priest who influenced the development of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism (Jodo-Shu), was born at Taima, Yamota province. He went to Mt. Hiei to study with the great Tendai monk Ryogen (912-85) and was eventually ordained there. He later served in the imperial court and composed a major work on logic.

Around his 40th year, Genshin retired to Mt. Hiei to devote himself to Pure Land practice built around the recitation of the NEMBUTSU (in the Tendai style). His practice led to his most famous work, the poem ojo yoshu (Compendium on the essence of rebirth), which reviewed all Pure Land literature up to his day. He recommended various means of meditation upon Amitabha Buddha, different methods suited to different people. This widely read work helped promote devotion to Amitabha Buddha and prepare the way for Honen (1133-1212) and the emergence of Pure Land Buddhism as a separate Buddhist sect in Japan.

Genshin also painted (or perhaps simply directed) what one scholar calls the greatest Japanese religious painting: The Descent of Amida from Heaven. This vast canvas in three sections is based on Genshin’s vision of heaven and hell.

Ge Xuan and the Ge family tradition

Ge Xuan was the granduncle of the Daoist alchemy master Ge Hong. In later Daoist writings Gu Xuan is mentioned as an immortal.

The Ge family were aristocratic landowners in southern China from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 c.e.). The family members were known as seekers after immortality. They are associated with the development of alchemical techniques; Ge Hong in this case is perhaps the most prominent in a long line of inner cultivation experimenters. The family is associated with such charts as the Wuyue zhenxing tu (True shape of the five peaks).

Another well-known member of the Ge family was Ge Chaofu (456-536 c.e.), of the second generation after Ge Hong. Ge Chaofu studied Ge Hong’s writings and was instrumental in the development of the Lingbao tradition in Daoism.

Geyi (ke-yi, matching concepts)

Geyi is a Chinese term whose literal meaning is "parallel concepts." It describes a method used in post-Han dynasty China (after 220 c.e.) to understand and interpret Buddhism, then a new and often incomprehensible system of ideas. Since educated Chinese were familiar with Daoist philosophical concepts, they tried to match unfamiliar concepts with familiar ones. For example, the Sanskrit concept TATHATA (suchness, ultimate reality) was matched with the Daoist concept benwu (original being).

Daoists at this time, especially in southern China, engaged in detailed investigation of such Buddhist concepts as the nature of being and non-being. These investigations resulted in the seven early schools of Chinese Buddhism that arose during the Six Dynasties period (222-589 c.e.). Neo-Daoism and such tools as geyi were instrumental in the establishment of these schools’ identities.

Early Chinese translators eventually concluded that the material described by Buddhist texts and experience went beyond anything they knew. They discarded geyi and existing Daoist concepts in favor of a completely new vocabulary, the Chinese vocabulary of Buddhism.

Ghosananda, Maha

(1929- ) supreme patriarch of Buddhism in Cambodia

Maha Ghosananda is the leader of an international effort to rebuild Cambodian Buddhism after the devastation of the Pol Pot regime. Born in Takeo Province in south central Cambodia, Ghosananda became a monk in 1943 at the age of 14. He later studied at the Buddhist university in Phnom Penh and at Nalanda University in India, where he received his doctorate in 1969. Because Cambodia was involved in a civil war when he completed his formal education, he took up residence at a meditation center in Thailand managed by Achan Dhammadaro.

Between 1975 and 1978, one of the modern world’s greatest tragedies took place in Cambodia. Approximately 1.7 million people (21 percent of the country’s population) were killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, including most of the thousands of Buddhist monks in Cambodia; only about 80 survived.

Ghosananda survived because he was in Thailand. Beginning in 1978, he became active in establishing Buddhist temples in the refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border.

After the collapse of the Pol Pot regime, Ghosananda became the head of an international effort to rebuild Buddhism in Cambodia. Through much of the 1980s he lived in Rhode Island and directed the revival of Buddhism in the Cambodian resettlement communities in North America, Europe, and Australia. He also worked to recruit and educate a new generation of Buddhist monks and launched an array of programs to garner support to rebuild Cambodia and work for peace in general. In 1988 he was elected the Supreme Patriarch of Buddhism in Cambodia.

In 1992 Ghosananda led delegations to the united Nations-sponsored peace negotiations that preceded the Cambodian elections. He also guided Pope John Paul II around the Cambodian killing fields during the pope’s visit to Cambodia. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize four times and is popularly known as "The Gandhi of Cambodia."

Globalization and Buddhism

Globalization refers to the widespread convergence of communications and interaction, an intensified increase in contact between previously separate peoples. Although not a new phenomenon in history, technological change and economic interdependence are currently unprecedented in scale and a source of social disruption.

Buddhist groups have responded to this convergence in a range of ways. First, many focus on counteracting what is seen as a growing monoculture, the loss of indigenous cultures and the growing formation of a single economy and monolithic cultural forms. Many Buddhists see the "invisible hand" of the Western economic model in the rise of global cities and mass consumption trends. Buddhist groups point to the Buddhist sangha as a democratic social form that runs counter to such tendencies. unlike authoritarian forms of social life, the sangha develops values of social interdependence.

A second Buddhist response to globalization is an emphasis on Buddhist-inspired individual values. To counter the widespread belief in the value of advanced technology, Buddhist social critics such as Sulak Sivaraksa argue for nonat-tachment to such notions as technology, the belief in progress, and the idea that the individual is in ultimate control. Sivaraksa recommends a renewed emphasis on small scale over large scale. The ideas of the economist E. F Schumacher in his 1973 work Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered seem to match such Buddhist thinking on community. Schumacher’s emphasis on small-scale economic activity fits well with the Buddhist emphasis on generosity, compassion, nonattachment, and community.

In particular, economic globalization has resulted in a renewed awareness of the value of right livelihood, a component of the Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha. Right livelihood traditionally means shunning certain occupations, such as hunting. It also means ethical behavior in business. The serious Buddhist has an obligation to define and follow a clear code of business ethics.

A fourth broad trend is an awareness of individuals as "global citizens." In this sense the sangha is a model for all of society. Each member should treasure and balance society in addition to seeking economic growth for the sake of growth. The sangha model results in an emphasis on general welfare through focus on each individual’s compassion toward others.

Such a general concern for all members of society has led certain Buddhist groups to focus on world peace. Soka Gakkai International, itself a thoroughly globalized Buddhist movement, cautions that the benefits of globalization should not divert attention from such horrors as war. Soka Gakkai in 1993 founded the Boston Research Centers for the 21st Century to foster peace.

Not all Buddhist groups focus on peace movements. In fact many traditional teachings focus on self-cultivation and do not comment on geopolitical issues. However, leading contemporary spokespersons for modern Buddhism, such figures as the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, consistently support the ideal of peace.

A fifth response of Buddhism to globalization has been ecumenical. Globalization has reconfigured the way Buddhists see themselves, resulting in a pan-Buddhist movement in which Buddhists of many types meet and discuss issues felt to be common to all Buddhists. The World Fellowship of Buddhists, founded in Sri Lanka in 1950, reflects a revised sense of what it means to be a Buddhist in the modern world. An international Buddhist university focused on countering some of the effects of globalization was established in Bangkok in 2000. The new school, called the World Buddhist University, was sponsored by the World Fellowship of Buddhists.

Goddard, Dwight (1861-1939) early proponent of Buddhism in North America Dwight Goddard, a former Christian missionary in Fujian, southern China, founded the Fellowship Following Buddha, an early Buddhist monastery in the united States.

Goddard was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. After working for 10 years as a mechanical engineer, he entered Hartford Theological Seminary with the goal of becoming a Baptist missionary. He left for China in 1894.

Goddard worked for 20 years as a missionary but slowly began to believe that he should be looking toward a syncretism of Christianity and Buddhism. In 1924, he proposed the formation of a Christian/Buddhist Fellowship. In 1927 he published a brief work, Was Jesus Influenced by Buddhism? In the meantime, having concluded that it was closest to the teachings of the Buddha, he had begun to study Zen Buddhism at Shokoku-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan.

By the early 1930s he had created a vision of an American Buddhist organization, the Fellowship Following Buddha. He hoped to have two centers, one in Vermont and one in California, and in 1934 he settled in union Village, Vermont, as a first step. He also founded a magazine, Zen. Though a few people adhered to the fellowship, it never developed as Goddard had hoped.

In 1938 Goddard published the volume that proved his major contribution to the emergent Buddhist community, A Buddhist Bible, an anthology of key Buddhist writings. He died in 1939.

Goenka, Satya Narayan

(1924- )Burmese vipassana teacher

The Theravada Buddhist leader Satya Narayan Goenka established the Vipassana International Academy in 1976. Goenka is an unusual Buddhist leader in that he is not a monk and has a business background. Goenka was born and raised in Burma (Myanmar). While still a young man he met the Burmese meditation master U Ba Khin (1899-1971). He initially studied meditation in order to cure his migraine headaches. However, after 14 years with Ba Khin, he had become an accomplished practitioner. Goenka later moved to India and in 1969 began teaching vipassana. He has increasingly devoted his time to teaching and establishing vipassana training centers, in the United States, Japan, Europe, and other areas.

Gohonzon

Gohonzon, the Great Object of Devotion, was created by the Japanese prophet Nichiren (122282) as an expression of his devotion to the Lotus Sutra as the preeminent written text of Buddhism. The Gohonzon is a large mandala originally inscribed by Nichiren, before which believers repeat the mantra namu myoho renge-kyo, that is, "devotion to the marvelous Dharma of the Lotus Flower teachings." Nichiren believed that in this time of MAPPO, in which the Buddha’s teachings are degraded, the correct object of devotion for people is the title (diamoku) of the Lotus Sutra, and that title, namu myoho renge-kyo, is the essence of the sutra.

The text of the Gohonzon is centered on the words namu myoho renge-kyo, which are written vertically in the middle of the mandala. On the four sides are written the names of the four main points of the compass. To the right and left are the names of Sakyamuni Buddha and another Buddha named Taho (Prabhutaratna, or Many treasures), who is mentioned in the 21st chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Flanking the two Buddhas are four leading bodhisattvas, whose names in English mean "Superior Practices," "Boundless Practices," "Pure Practices," and "Firmly Established Practices." The rest of the Gohonzon carries the names of many other bodhisattvas and lesser spiritual beings representing the various cosmic realms. Toward the bottom are the names of Tien Tai and Dengyo, honored teachers who transmitted the true lineage of Buddhism. Nichiren also left a declaration, "This is the great mandala never before known in the entire land of Jambudvipa [Indian subcontinent] in the more than 2,230 years since the Buddha’s passing."

Copies of the Gohonzon dominate Nichiren temples, and individual members often have a smaller version on an altar in their homes. The Gohonzon is used by all Nichiren-shu sects including the Nichiren Shoshu and its former lay affiliate group the Soka Gakkai International, and by various new groups such as Rissho Kosei-kai and Reiyukai.

Soka Gakkai International, the largest Nichi-ren Buddhist organization in the world, had operated as the lay arm of Nichiren Shoshu since its founding. Members had looked to priests of Nichiren Shoshu to issue their own authorized reproduction of the Gohonzon. In 1993, after the break between the Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, Soka Gakkai International began to issue reproductions of its own.

Goma Fire Rite

This purification ritual dating from vedic times (c. 1500 b.c.e.) in India was introduced to Japan by the early Buddhist masters Saicho and Kukai. To this foundation were added elements of the mystical practices of yamabushi (mountain ascetics) in medieval Japan.

In theory, the Goma Fire Rite can be performed anywhere. The first step is to transform a place into a sacred spot with an altar and a pile of wood. In some interpretations 108 pieces of wood are burned, symbolizing the 108 human sins. The fire burns off the human passions, the KLESAS (defilements).

The Goma Fire Rite is performed in six stages: a fire offering to Agni, the Vedic god of fire; a fire offering to Buddha-Locana, one form of the Buddha; a fire offering to the usnisa Buddha in the Golden Moon (Ichiji Kinrin), envisioned as the 11-headed Kannon (Guan Yin) with 42 arms; a fire offering to Acala Buddha (who eliminates that which is against Buddhist teachings) and Vairo-cana (the supreme Buddha in the universe), both of whom symbolize the supplicant’s good and bad deeds; a fire offering to the Buddha, Lotus, and Vajra (diamond) worlds; and a fire offering to the spirits of Vedic, Daoist, and Shinto deities. Finally, after the flames are extinguished, the monks involved meditate. During each stage the monks throw three sets of various offerings into the flames. Each offering and action has symbolic meaning, and each stage is envisioned as part of a mantra or mandala (a patterned cosmic chart with a Buddha at the center).

Today both Shingon and Tendai schools of Japanese Buddhism perform the ritual. The two versions share the same MUDRA hand symbols, the same Sanskrit mantras (magical chants), and the same mandalas. However they support different philosophical interpretations, with the Tendai version tending toward a Madhyamika (rationalist) interpretation and the Shingon a Yogacara (idealistic) interpretation.

A large Goma Fire Rite is performed annually in Kyoto by Agon Shu Buddhists.

Govinda, Lama Anagarika

(1898-1985) early Western Buddhist

Anagarika Govinda is the religious name of Ernest Lothar Hoffmann, an early 20th-century Western adherent of and writer about Buddhism. He was born in Waldheim, Germany. He served in World War I and subsequently attended the University of Freiburg. In 1918 he moved to Sri Lanka. The following year he was ordained as a Buddhist monk and received the title Anagarika in Burma (Myanmar). over the next years he continued his studies in Buddhism and Pali. Then, in 1931, he encountered Tibetan Buddhism for the first time.

As a result of his discovery of Tibetan Buddhism, Hoffman traveled to Darjeeling, where he met Tomo Geshe Rinpoche, who became his primary teacher. He would remain in the Himalayan region through the World War II era (during which he was interned). When his guru died, he founded Arya Maitreya Mandala as an organization to spread Tibetan Buddhism in the West. In 1947 he became a citizen of India. He eventually settled at the Kasar Devi Ashram in northern India.

In 1952 he ordained Hans Ulrich Rieker and sent him to Germany to found the first Western chapter of the Arya Maitreya Mandala. It opened in 1953. The organization spread through Europe and soon developed an Eastern European headquarters in Budapest, Hungary.

During the postwar years, he began to write, and several of his books became classic presentations of Tibetan Buddhism, especially Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism (1959) and Way of the White Clouds (1966). In the 1960s and 1970s he traveled widely in the West to lecture on Buddhism, and a u.S. chapter of the Arya Maitreya Mandala appeared.

In 1980, he traveled to the United States for medical treatment. His health did not allow his return to India, and he settled in Mill Valley, California, where he lived out the rest of his life.

Grimm, George

(1868-1945) pioneer of Buddhism in Germany

George Grimm was one of the leading Buddhist figures in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. Grimm grew up in Germany at a time when Western intellectuals were first becoming aware of Buddhism and basic texts were becoming available in European languages. He started on a career in theology but, after completing his studies, switched to law. He became a judge in Bavaria and had a distinguished life of public service.

He seems to have been introduced to Buddhism through reading the works of the philosopher Schopenhauer (1788-1860). He then developed long-term relationships with the Indol-ogist K. E. Neumann (1865-1915), who made many of the original translations from the Pali canon into German, and the philosopher Paul Deussen (1845-1919), who introduced Germans to Indian philosophy.

Grimm began his own study of Sanskrit and Pali in 1908. The first result of his study was his most famous book, Die Lehre des Buddha (translated into English in 1926 as The Doctrines of the Buddha).

By 1920 he had retired. He spent the rest of his life in quiet seclusion, his primary activity being the writing of additional books. He did, however, in cooperation with the Indologist Karl Seidenstucker (1876-1936) found the Altbuddhistische Gemeinde (old Buddhist Community) in 1921. This group survived until closed by Nazi authorities in 1933.

Guan Gong (Guang Ti, Kwan Kong)

Guan Gong, or "Duke Guan," the god of war, is one of the most popular gods in popular Chinese religion. Guan Gong is depicted in a general’s clothing, usually carrying a halberd, with a furious scowl on his face. The scowling face is often painted red.

Guan Gong is an example of a deity based on a historical figure, Guan Yu (162-219 c.e.). Guan Yu is a well-known figure from the Sanguo yanyi (Romance of the three kingdoms), a 15th-century novel written by Luo Guanzhong and edited in the 17th century by Mao Lun and Mao Zhonggang. The novel was in turn based on the Sanguo zhi (Records of the three kingdoms), a work by Chen Shou describing political events in the immediate post-Han period (220-280 C.E.).

Guan Yu was a confidant of Liu Bei, ruler of Shu. Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei (167-221 c.e.) had sworn loyalty to Liu Bei (161-223 c.e.), and both are today symbols of absolute loyalty. Chen Shou, author of the Sanguo zhi, classed Guan Yu as one of the powerful five tiger generals; his courage was widely known. At the same time, he also criticized Guan Yu for being overly stubborn and proud.

Guan Yu was not worshipped as a god until the seventh century, when his image took on both Daoist and Buddhist qualities. As a Daoist deity he was known as the protector of officials.

Temple to the popular Chinese deity Guan Gong, Taipei, Taiwan (Institute for the Study of American Religion, Santa Barbara, California)

Temple to the popular Chinese deity Guan Gong, Taipei, Taiwan (Institute for the Study of American Religion, Santa Barbara, California)

As a Buddhist figure Guan Gong was treated as a bodhisattva and protector of Buddhist temples. In the popular imagination he was also known as the "Ruler Who Banishes Demons." He was portrayed in painting and sculpture in two major poses: either in military garb, holding his halberd, often standing next to his horse, or sitting in official clothes, holding a Confucian classic, the Spring and Autumn Annals (Qunqiu).

Guan Gong’s popularity increased with time. He was given numerous titles by successive emperors, culminating in his promotion to "Military Emperor" during the 19th century. He was officially worshipped twice a year by state officials,and numerous temples dedicated to him were built throughout the empire. After the fall of the Chinese Qing dynasty in 1911 he became solely a figure in popular religion. Along with Ji Gong he was a popular subject of FUJI, revealed texts. He is known as the god of war. Also, perhaps curiously, he has become associated with success in one’s studies and is today often worshipped by families of students.

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