Moheyan
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| Moheyan | |
|---|---|
| Tibetan name | |
| Tibetan: | ཧྭ་ཤང་མ་ཧཱ་ཡཱ་ན |
| Wylie transliteration: | hwa shang ma hā yā na |
| Tournadre Phonetic: | Hashang Mahāyāna |
| pronunciation in IPA: | [haɕaŋ mahajana] |
| official transcription (PRC): | Haxang Mahayana |
| other transcriptions: | Mahayana, Mo-ho-yen, Ho-shang Mo-ho-yen |
| Chinese name | |
| traditional: | 摩訶衍 |
| simplified: | 摩诃衍 |
| Pinyin: | Móhēyǎn |
Moheyan (n.d.) is a Chinese phonetic approximation of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism usually uses the term Héshang Móhēyǎn 和尚摩訶衍 (in Wade-Giles transcription: Ho-shang Mo-ho-yen; Chinese for Mahayana Monk) to refer to one specific individual. Ying Chua (1998) holds that:
The name Hva-shang is the Tibetan transcription of the Chinese, ho-shang, meaning monk. Hvashang in turn is a Central Asian transcription of the Sanskrit title, upadhyaya.[1]
That individual was a Chinese Buddhist monk active in the late 8th century CE.
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[edit] Dunhuang sojourn
Ray (2005) holds that whilst the East Mountain Teachings (pejoratively known as the "Northern School" Ch'an) were in decline post-political intrigue, misinformation and lineage fabrication of Shen-hui (a student of Hui-neng), Mo Ho Yen resolved to travel to Tibetan occupied Tun-huang in 781 or 787CE.[2] Ray (2005) states that for Mo Ho Yen "...a new door had been opened for the spread of (Northern) Ch'an Buddhism." [3]
Ray (2005) holds that:
"Although it is not clear what exactly Hva Shan Mahayana did in Tun-huang, we do know, according to the Tun-huang text Settling the Correct Principle of Suddenly Awakening to the Great Vehicle (Tun-wu ta-ch'eng cheng-li chueh), that the King K'ri-sron-lde-bstan invited him to Lhasa. This invitation was not an unusual occurrence, considering that Ch'an had been in Tibet for years before Hva Shan's [sic] arrival and that the king had been interested in learning about different Buddhist schools."[4]
[edit] Iconography
According to Ying Chua (1998), Moheyan is often iconographically depicted holding a shankha (Sanskrit) and a mala (Sanskrit):
He is usually depicted as a rotund and jovial figure and holding a mala, or prayer beads in his left hand and a sankha, conch shell in his right. He is often considered a benefactor of children and is usually depicted with at least one or more playing children around him.[5]
An iconographic thangka depiction of Moheyan is held in the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (SAMA) collection, St. Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania and may be seen here [11] (accessed: January 14, 2008). This thanka was included within the Mirrors of the Heart-Mind: The Rezk Collection of Tibetan Art from the Permanent Collection of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (1988) curated by Michael Tomor.[6]
[edit] Council of Lhasa
After teaching in the area of Dunhuang, Mo Ho Yen was invited by King Trisong Detsen of Tibet to settle at Samye Monastery. Móhēyǎn promulgated a variety of Ch'an and disseminated teachings from Samye where he attracted a considerable number of followers.
However, in 793 some sources state that Trisong Detsen resolved that Mo Ho Yen did not hold the true Dharma. Following intense protests from Móhēyǎn’s supporters, Trisong Detsen proposed to settle the matter by patronising a debate: dialectic is an ancient aspect of the Indian and Chinese religions, as it is in Himalayan tradition. The most famous of these suite of debates has become known as the "Council of Lhasa", even though it took place at Samye. Samye is a considerable distance from Lhasa. For the famed Council of Lhasa, an Indian monk named Kamalaśila was invited to represent Indian Buddhism, while Móhēyǎn represented Chán and Chinese Buddhism. Some sources state that the debate was decided in Kamasila’s favour and Móhēyǎn was required to leave the country and that all sudden-enlightenment texts be gathered and destroyed by royal decree. This was a pivotal event in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, which would afterward continue to follow the late Indian model with only minor influence from China. That said, royal decree whether or not this was historically accurate, cannot be considered evidence that the popularist grass-roots promulgation of Chan and sudden enlightenment teachings and discourse within the Himalayan tradition lessened. Móhēyǎn’s teachings were a mixture of the 'East Mountain Teachings' {Chinese: tung-shan fa-men; given the diminutive modern appellation of "Northern School" Chan by Shenhui (670-762)} associated with Shenxiu and Baotang Chán.
[edit] Móhēyǎn’s Teaching
Most of what is known of Héshang Móhēyǎn’s teaching derive from fragments of writings in Chinese and Tibetan found in the Mogoa caves at Dunhuang, Gansu, China. The manuscript given the appellation IOL Tib J 709[7] is a collection of nine Ch'an texts, commencing with the teachings of Moheyan.[8]
Héshang Móhēyǎn taught in the tradition of the “sudden enlightenment” school of Southern Chan (as opposed to the “gradualist” school of Northern Chan). This dichotomy is a historical construction as both Northern and Southern Schools contained 'gradualist teachings' (Chinese: tun-men) and 'sudden teachings' (Chinese: chien-men) and practices. Móhēyǎn held that all thought (thinking and ideation) prevented enlightenment: “Not thinking, not pondering, non-examination, non-apprehension of an object---this is the immediate access [to liberation]."[9] He also believed that carrying out good or evil acts leads to transmigration rather than liberation as these acts “lead to heaven or hell.” [10]
An important aspect of Héshang Móhēyǎn’s teaching was that if all thought, good or bad, obscures enlightenment, then all actions must be based on the simplest principles of conduct. To achieve proper conduct, all conceptions, without exception should be seen as false: “If one sees conceptions as no conception, one sees the Tathāgata.” [11] To rid oneself of all conceptions, one must practice meditation, trance, and contemplating the mind: “To turn the light [of the mind] towards the mind’s source, that is contemplating the mind. …one does not reflect on or observe whether thoughts are in movement or not, whether they are pure or not, whether they are empty or not.” [12]
While Héshang Móhēyǎn took a radical approach to the achievement of enlightenment (and defended it vigorously), his position was weakened when questioned by, and entering into debate with, those people who could not meditate, who could not “turn the light of the mind towards the mind’s source.” He conceded that practices such as the “perfection of morality”, studying the sutras and teachings of the masters and cultivating meritorious actions were appropriate. These types of actions were seen as part of the “gradualist” school and Héshang Móhēyǎn held that these were only necessary for those of "dim" facility and “dull” propensity. Those of “sharp” and "keen" facility and propensity do not need these practices as they have “direct” access to the truth through meditation. This concession to the “gradualists”, that not everyone can achieve the highest state of meditation, left Móhēyǎn open to attack on the basis of a dualistic approach to practice. To overcome these inconsistencies in his thesis, Móhēyǎn claimed that when one gave up all conceptions, an automatic, all-at-once attainment of virtue resulted. He taught that there was an “internal” practice to liberate the self (‘prajñā’ or wisdom) and an “external” practice to liberate others (‘upaya’, or expedient means). These were seen as two independent practices, a concession to human psychology and scriptural tradition.
[edit] Legacy
The teachings of Moheyan and other Ch'an masters were unified with the Kham Dzogchen lineages {this may or may not be congruent with the Kahma (Tibetan: bka' ma) lineages} through the Kunkhyen (Tibetan for "omniscient"), Rongzom Mahapandita.[13]
Sam van Schaik (2007) states that the Dzogchen ("Great Perfection") School of the Nyingmapa were often identified with the 'sudden enlightenment' (Tibetan: cig car gyi ‘jug pa) of Moheyan and called to defend itself against this charge by avowed members of the Sarma lineages that held to the staunch view of 'gradual enlightenmnent' (Tibetan: rim gyis ‘jug pa):
The Great Perfection’s teachings on technique free meditation were subject to accusations of being no more than the simultaneous method of Hashang. Nyingma scholars were often forced to defend the validity of the Great Perfection against this accusation in polemical texts.[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Chua, Ying (1998). Arhats. Source: [1] (accessed: January 14, 2008)
- ^ Ray, Gary L.(2005). The Northern Ch'an School and Sudden Versus Gradual Enlightenment Debates in China and Tibet. Source: [2] (accessed: December 2, 2007)
- ^ Ray, Gary L.(2005). The Northern Ch'an School and Sudden Versus Gradual Enlightenment Debates in China and Tibet. Source: [3] (accessed: December 2, 2007)
- ^ Ray, Gary L.(2005). The Northern Ch'an School and Sudden Versus Gradual Enlightenment Debates in China and Tibet. Source: [4] (accessed: December 2, 2007)
- ^ Chua, Ying (1998). Arhats. Source: [5] (accessed: January 14, 2008)
- ^ Source: [6] (accessed: January 14, 2008)
- ^ Moheyan (undated). IOL Tib J 709 (title attributed). Source: [7] (accessed: January 14, 2008)
- ^ Source: [8] (accessed: January 14, 2008)
- ^ Gōmez, p 71
- ^ ibid p 71
- ^ ibid p 90
- ^ ibid p 93
- ^ Barber, A. W. (1990). The Unifying of Rdzogs Pa Chen Po and Ch'an. "Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal". Vol.3 April, 1990. Source: [9] (accessed: November 30, 2007)
- ^ van Schaik, Sam (2007). The Great Perfection and the Chinese Monk: rNyingmapa defences of Hwashang Mahāyāna in the Eighteenth Century. Source: [10] (accessed: January 14, 2007)
[edit] Primary sources
Moheyan (undated). IOL Tib J 709 (title attributed). Source: [14] (accessed: January 14, 2008)
[edit] Secondary sources
Gōmez, Luis O, 1983, The Direct and the Gradual Approaches of Zen Master Mahayana: Fragments of the Teachings of Mo-Ho-Yen in Studies in Ch’an and Hua-Yen, Robert M. Gimello & Peter N. Gregory (eds) University of Hawaii Press, 3rd printing, (1990) ISBN0-8248-0835-5
^ A. W. Hanson-Barber (1985). "‘No-Thought’ in Pao-T’ang Ch’an and Early Ati-Yoga". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 8, no. 2: 61-73.
^ Yamaguchi Zuihō (1997). "The Core Elements of Indian Buddhism Introduced into Tibet". In Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson (ed.), Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, pp. 220-241. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1949-1.
