RG ST 21 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Mahayana, Daoist Meditation, Bodhidharma
18 Oct 2018
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Document Summary
Buddhism travelled from india => china in 1st-6th centuries ce. Indian monks brought many texts to be translated. Resistance to monasticism by chinese society centered on family. Nuns/monks = no sexual activity => no children. Ancestors were highly revered in chinese culture through children. Buddhism still adopted by chinese tradition with east asian character. Zen: fusion of indian buddhism with chinese cultures. Represents amalgamation of indian and chinese influences (huayan) No counterpart in indian buddhism (chan, zen) All forms of buddhism transmitted to china. Hinayana more strict on rules, cult practices, metaphysical. Zen influenced by mahayana texts and concepts. Emptiness (sunyata): all things are empty of concrete/substantial essence. Buddha-nature (tathagata-garbha): all beings possess innate buddha. Mind-only: reality is a flow of non-dualistic experience, free from subject and object. Helped transmit buddhism (mahayana) to chinese culture. Daoism & mahayana share negative language and cosmic perspective. Dao: similar to emptiness, nirvana, buddha-nature, buddha-mind, etc. Associated to meditation since 6th century bce.
