This course provides an introduction to the study of the history, major teachings, and practices of the major Chinese religions and spiritual practices and is deigned to give conceptual tools to appreciate diverse religious practice in East. It covers the development of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and wide range of popular and local religions. From historical perspective we will also explore the development of key theological, religious and philosophical doctrines as well as associated practices. An effort will be made to spend time on each tradition according to its importance to Asia as a whole. We will explore the role of religions in politics and social relations in East and South, South East Asia and China in particular, and will analyze the origins, central teachings, divisions and branches, rituals and practices, influences on culture, and responses to modern challenges for each tradition. The emphasis throughout the course is on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Asian religions in particular. We will explore new Asian religions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
Main Ideas of Chan Buddhism
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Del curso dictado por National Research University Higher School of Economics
Religions and Society in China
66 calificaciones
National Research University Higher School of Economics
66 calificaciones
De la lección
Sinified Buddhism as an almost independent tradition
This module's content outlines the main texts and doctrines of Chan Buddhism, enumerates the main schools and branches, explains the influence that Buddhism had and has on Chinese life and art.
Conoce a los instructores
Aleksey A. MaslovHead
School of Asian Studies
And right now we'll speak about one of the most famous Chinese school.
This school is called Chan Fu or Chan Zu.
Not too much people knows what this means, Chan Fu.
But this school became very famous under his Japanese name, Zen, Zen Buddhism.
Chan and Zen use the same character which means meditation.
Some people think that the Chan Buddhism
or Zen Buddhism is just a school based or the meditation.
It's not completely correct because although Chinese schools of Buddhism,
and even Japanese and Korean school Buddhism, all included the meditational practice.
So, the main question is not about meditation,
the real question is about the appreciation of reality.
So, one of the main ideal for China Buddhism was that this really could not be translated
or understood in the verbal sense, so it could not be verbalized.
So, you cannot use any explanation, any science, any symbols in your rituals.
And it means that you can do anything in this life.
You can be a monk or a lay person, you can stay or seat.
You can sleep, you can teach.
It means that everything that you do in this life,
it's a goal of every day or every moment meditation.
So, you have to put yourself, to bring yourself,
much closer to the complete purify, completely purified mind.
What to do and how to practice it?
That was the main question of the Chan Buddhism.
According to the legend, the first teacher,
the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Bodhidharma,
brought from India to China, four main points, four main reasons or four main practices,
practices that we caught from the four pillars of Chan Buddhism.
All these four pillars was much interpreted near the period of [inaudible].
But anyway, it became a basis of the Chan practice.
So, the first pillar it means 'not relying upon words', Buddha-nature in Chinese.
What does it mean?
It means that it's impossible to gain an enlightenment just by reading sutras,
or by reading any Buddhist scriptures.
It doesn't mean that you have to get rid of all scriptures, to burn it, to take it out.
No, you can use it.
But anyway, it's impossible just by reading or by just by using the sutra gain enlighted.
That was the first idea.
And this idea was a little revolutionary idea for Buddhism at that time
because before Chan Buddhism all schools of Chinese Buddhism
were mainly textual based schools that we later discuss this question.
The second pillar of Buddhism circle,
the teaching could not be transmitted outside the Scriptures.
So, it means that the teaching is not in the words.
It was close connected to the first pillar.
There is a so called the, 'direct transmission', from heart to heart,
from teacher to students.
It means [inaudible] in Chinese, so it means to transmit from heart to heart,
or to transmit the truth by your heart or from your heart.
So, it means the direct line between teacher and student,
between different generation of duration's of teachers and students.
So, it means that you have to keep the one line from the first patriarch,
which is -Bodhidharma, sitting on this picture,
and up to the present day Buddhist followers.
The fourth pillar is this called the pointing directly to the human nature,
or to the human heart.
What does it mean?
It means you have everything for enlightenment at this moment, right now.
You don't have to read, you don't have to meditate,
you don't have to spend too much time about the speculation,
about Buddhism or Buddhist logic or Buddhist theory.
It means that you have to point directly to the enlighment, to the pure mind.
Everything is already in your heart, everything is already in your mind.
You have the same nature and the same heart as Buddha had.
What he seeks about?
Why to seek more?
Just sit, just sit in the quiet place, and finally step by step become Buddha.
That's about the fourth pillar of Chan Buddhism.
So, it means that see your own nature, or looking inside you.
your own nature become a Buddha.
What this means?
It means that Buddha is already inside you.
You don't have to seek Buddha outside you.
It means that you don't have to even to listen to a teacher.
Everything all pure nature.
All the initial nature of Buddha is inside you.
You have to awake it.
It means that Buddha is sleeping inside you and you have to use some methods,
maybe meditation, or maybe other words practice.
For example, martial arts to gain this enlightenment.
Just try to purify your mind, to keep quiet, to keep calm, to look inside your nature
and find inside you the Buddha, Buddha nature.
A lot of people in Buddhism, according to Chan Buddhism, is just afraid to look inside,
the are afraid to meet someone inside you which is a complete stranger for you.
And you don't know how to communicate with someone who is inside you.
That's why a lot of people practicing Buddhism, maybe in China,
in the [inaudible] in the same period.
they speculated a lot about the different levels of enlightenment,
different levels of Buddhism, different different stages of enlightenment.
But at the same time, they meditated just as a sitting position just to keep quiet.
But it's not through meditation.
The real meditation is completely get rid of all troubles in your mind,
of all things inside and outside you.
And finally, and suddenly, and eventually, find Buddha inside you.
And understand that Buddha and you are the same.
There is no Buddha in you, there is Buddha and you as the same.
So, it means Buddha nature of Buddha who that was the main idea of Chan Buddhism,
the practice to meditate to rely on Only on your cautiousness
and on your meditation, that the only way how to get enlightenment in this life.
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