Recommendations for Yogacara works?

General forum on the teachings of all schools of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Topics specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.
ItsRaining
Posts: 301
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 7:45 am

Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by ItsRaining »

Hey! I wanted to get to know a bit more about the Yogacara do you guys suggest any works? I've read Living Yogacara, the Sandinirmocana, as well as the 20+30 verses with a short commentary and wanted to know a bit more.
User avatar
Wayfarer
Former staff member
Posts: 5150
Joined: Sun May 27, 2012 8:31 am
Location: AU

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Wayfarer »

Here’s a useful essay that’s I edited for my Dharma group - not my content, it was an existing web essay - I just edited into an easier-to-read format.

:namaste:
'Only practice with no gaining idea' ~ Suzuki Roshi
ItsRaining
Posts: 301
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 7:45 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by ItsRaining »

Wayfarer wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:33 am Here’s a useful essay that’s I edited for my Dharma group - not my content, it was an existing web essay - I just edited into an easier-to-read format.

:namaste:
Thanks, but this seems to just go through the terminology used in Yogacara which I'm mostly familiar with.
User avatar
Astus
Former staff member
Posts: 8883
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:22 pm
Location: Budapest

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Astus »

1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
User avatar
fuki
Posts: 210
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:51 pm
Location: Netherlands

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by fuki »

ItsRaining wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:04 am Hey! I wanted to get to know a bit more about the Yogacara do you guys suggest any works? I've read Living Yogacara, the Sandinirmocana, as well as the 20+30 verses with a short commentary and wanted to know a bit more.
The links Astus posted should be enough I reckon :smile:

After Buddhism was brought to China from India, the initial focus on sutra translation gradually evolved into the eight Chinese schools of Mahayana Buddhism: the Three Treatise (Sanlun), Pure Land, Tian Tai, Consciousness-Only (also known as Yogachara), Huayan, Vinaya, Chan, and the Tantric schools. The late Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) compared the approaches of the eight schools to modern fields of study, stating: “The approach of the Consciousness-Only school resembles that of science, and the Three Treatise school is akin to philosophy. The approaches of the Huayan and Tian Tai schools parallel literature. The mantra school (Shingon shū) and Pure Land can be considered forms of aesthetics. Meanwhile, Chan embodies the core teachings of the Buddhadharma. Master Taixu [1890–1947] also said, ‘The crux of Chinese Buddhism is Chan,’ where the teaching of any of the other schools can be reduced to the spirit of Chan. As for the disciplines (Vinaya) school, it is the foundation of Buddhism.” (Master Sheng Yen 2007, 128)
meldpunt seksueel misbruik in boeddhistische gemeenschappen nederland.
https://meldpuntbg.nl/
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Malcolm »

fuki wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:21 pm
ItsRaining wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:04 am Hey! I wanted to get to know a bit more about the Yogacara do you guys suggest any works? I've read Living Yogacara, the Sandinirmocana, as well as the 20+30 verses with a short commentary and wanted to know a bit more.
The links Astus posted should be enough I reckon :smile:

After Buddhism was brought to China from India, the initial focus on sutra translation gradually evolved into the eight Chinese schools of Mahayana Buddhism: the Three Treatise (Sanlun), Pure Land, Tian Tai, Consciousness-Only (also known as Yogachara), Huayan, Vinaya, Chan, and the Tantric schools. The late Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) compared the approaches of the eight schools to modern fields of study, stating: “The approach of the Consciousness-Only school resembles that of science, and the Three Treatise school is akin to philosophy. The approaches of the Huayan and Tian Tai schools parallel literature. The mantra school (Shingon shū) and Pure Land can be considered forms of aesthetics. Meanwhile, Chan embodies the core teachings of the Buddhadharma. Master Taixu [1890–1947] also said, ‘The crux of Chinese Buddhism is Chan,’ where the teaching of any of the other schools can be reduced to the spirit of Chan. As for the disciplines (Vinaya) school, it is the foundation of Buddhism.” (Master Sheng Yen 2007, 128)
And the essence of Chan be further reduced to Prajñāpāramitā, the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching and its source.
User avatar
Matt J
Posts: 1440
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:29 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Matt J »

I don't know about that. The prime text of Chan used to be the Lankavatara.
Malcolm wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:44 pm And the essence of Chan be further reduced to Prajñāpāramitā, the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching and its source.
"The world is made of stories, not atoms."
--- Muriel Rukeyser
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Malcolm »

Matt J wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:25 pm I don't know about that. The prime text of Chan used to be the Lankavatara.
Malcolm wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:44 pm And the essence of Chan be further reduced to Prajñāpāramitā, the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching and its source.
I wasn't referring to a book.
ItsRaining
Posts: 301
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 7:45 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by ItsRaining »

Thanks! I could only find a couple scholarly works from modern authors and they were pretty bad, like when the author is not Buddhist the stuff they write just doesn't seem to be helpful and too academic.
ItsRaining
Posts: 301
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 7:45 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by ItsRaining »

Malcolm wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:44 pm
fuki wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:21 pm
ItsRaining wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:04 am Hey! I wanted to get to know a bit more about the Yogacara do you guys suggest any works? I've read Living Yogacara, the Sandinirmocana, as well as the 20+30 verses with a short commentary and wanted to know a bit more.
The links Astus posted should be enough I reckon :smile:

After Buddhism was brought to China from India, the initial focus on sutra translation gradually evolved into the eight Chinese schools of Mahayana Buddhism: the Three Treatise (Sanlun), Pure Land, Tian Tai, Consciousness-Only (also known as Yogachara), Huayan, Vinaya, Chan, and the Tantric schools. The late Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) compared the approaches of the eight schools to modern fields of study, stating: “The approach of the Consciousness-Only school resembles that of science, and the Three Treatise school is akin to philosophy. The approaches of the Huayan and Tian Tai schools parallel literature. The mantra school (Shingon shū) and Pure Land can be considered forms of aesthetics. Meanwhile, Chan embodies the core teachings of the Buddhadharma. Master Taixu [1890–1947] also said, ‘The crux of Chinese Buddhism is Chan,’ where the teaching of any of the other schools can be reduced to the spirit of Chan. As for the disciplines (Vinaya) school, it is the foundation of Buddhism.” (Master Sheng Yen 2007, 128)
And the essence of Chan be further reduced to Prajñāpāramitā, the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching and its source.
Relevant Quote from the Zong Jing Lu.

"When the great master Bodhidharma came from southern India transmitting only the Mahayana dharma of the mind. Sealing the minds of sentient beings of the Lankavatara Sutra, fearing that (Sentient beings) believe not in the dharma of the mind. The Lanka states: "The Buddha taught the mind to be the lineage (or essence) and no gate as the dharma gate.

Why did the Buddha speak of the mind as the lineage? When the Buddha spoke of the mind, that mind is the Buddha. These present words are the mind’s words. So it is said “The Buddha spoke of the Mind as the lineage, no gate as the Dharma gate.”

Realising the original nature is empty, there is not even a single dharma. The nature itself is the gate, it is without appearance nor does it have a gate. So it is said “no gate as the Dharma gate” is also known as the Empty Gate, the Form Gate. Why? Emptiness is the Emptiness of the Dharmadatu, form is the form of the Dharmadatu. Being without shape or form it is known as emptiness. Having awareness and view without limit it is known as existence (or form but existence fits better hear)."
ItsRaining
Posts: 301
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 7:45 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by ItsRaining »

Do you recommend a version of the Madhyantavibhaga?
ItsRaining
Posts: 301
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 7:45 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by ItsRaining »

Malcolm wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:44 pm
fuki wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:21 pm
ItsRaining wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:04 am Hey! I wanted to get to know a bit more about the Yogacara do you guys suggest any works? I've read Living Yogacara, the Sandinirmocana, as well as the 20+30 verses with a short commentary and wanted to know a bit more.
The links Astus posted should be enough I reckon :smile:

After Buddhism was brought to China from India, the initial focus on sutra translation gradually evolved into the eight Chinese schools of Mahayana Buddhism: the Three Treatise (Sanlun), Pure Land, Tian Tai, Consciousness-Only (also known as Yogachara), Huayan, Vinaya, Chan, and the Tantric schools. The late Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) compared the approaches of the eight schools to modern fields of study, stating: “The approach of the Consciousness-Only school resembles that of science, and the Three Treatise school is akin to philosophy. The approaches of the Huayan and Tian Tai schools parallel literature. The mantra school (Shingon shū) and Pure Land can be considered forms of aesthetics. Meanwhile, Chan embodies the core teachings of the Buddhadharma. Master Taixu [1890–1947] also said, ‘The crux of Chinese Buddhism is Chan,’ where the teaching of any of the other schools can be reduced to the spirit of Chan. As for the disciplines (Vinaya) school, it is the foundation of Buddhism.” (Master Sheng Yen 2007, 128)
And the essence of Chan be further reduced to Prajñāpāramitā, the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching and its source.
Hello, can you please recommend a version of the Madhyāntavibhāga? I'm interested in reading it and there seems to be three versions available: one from the Khenpo Shenga from the Nyingma school, another from Thrangu Rinpoche of the Kagyu Shentong tradition and the last one is a commentary from Sthiramati who Xuanzang lists as one of the ten great masters of the Yogacara and according to some people author of the commentary on the Uttaratantra which I read. The Kagyu one seems to be most recent whereas the Sthiramati is from 1936 so I don't know how accurate the translation will be.

I don't know much about Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, I'm more familiar with Chan and general Mahayana sutras so is there a particular one I should read?


https://www.amazon.com/Middle-Beyond-Ex ... 1559392703

https://libgen.pw/item/adv/5a1f04ea3a044650f5081ab5
User avatar
fuki
Posts: 210
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:51 pm
Location: Netherlands

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by fuki »

ItsRaining wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 11:27 am
Hello, can you please recommend a version of the Madhyāntavibhāga?
It's been many years and I gave the book away, but if memory serves I read the Mario D'Amato one.
meldpunt seksueel misbruik in boeddhistische gemeenschappen nederland.
https://meldpuntbg.nl/
User avatar
Losal Samten
Posts: 1591
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 4:05 pm

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Losal Samten »

Mipham's commentaries on the Madhyantavibhaga and Dharmadharmatavibhanga are very clarifying.
Lacking mindfulness, we commit every wrong. - Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche
འ༔ ཨ༔ ཧ༔ ཤ༔ ས༔ མ༔
ཨོཾ་ཧ་ནུ་པྷ་ཤ་བྷ་ར་ཧེ་ཡེ་སྭཱ་ཧཱ།།
ཨཱོཾ་མ་ཏྲི་མུ་ཡེ་སལེ་འདུ།།
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Malcolm »

ItsRaining wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 11:27 am
Malcolm wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:44 pm
fuki wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:21 pm

The links Astus posted should be enough I reckon :smile:

After Buddhism was brought to China from India, the initial focus on sutra translation gradually evolved into the eight Chinese schools of Mahayana Buddhism: the Three Treatise (Sanlun), Pure Land, Tian Tai, Consciousness-Only (also known as Yogachara), Huayan, Vinaya, Chan, and the Tantric schools. The late Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) compared the approaches of the eight schools to modern fields of study, stating: “The approach of the Consciousness-Only school resembles that of science, and the Three Treatise school is akin to philosophy. The approaches of the Huayan and Tian Tai schools parallel literature. The mantra school (Shingon shū) and Pure Land can be considered forms of aesthetics. Meanwhile, Chan embodies the core teachings of the Buddhadharma. Master Taixu [1890–1947] also said, ‘The crux of Chinese Buddhism is Chan,’ where the teaching of any of the other schools can be reduced to the spirit of Chan. As for the disciplines (Vinaya) school, it is the foundation of Buddhism.” (Master Sheng Yen 2007, 128)
And the essence of Chan be further reduced to Prajñāpāramitā, the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching and its source.
Hello, can you please recommend a version of the Madhyāntavibhāga? I'm interested in reading it and there seems to be three versions available: one from the Khenpo Shenga from the Nyingma school, another from Thrangu Rinpoche of the Kagyu Shentong tradition and the last one is a commentary from Sthiramati who Xuanzang lists as one of the ten great masters of the Yogacara and according to some people author of the commentary on the Uttaratantra which I read. The Kagyu one seems to be most recent whereas the Sthiramati is from 1936 so I don't know how accurate the translation will be.

I don't know much about Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, I'm more familiar with Chan and general Mahayana sutras so is there a particular one I should read?


https://www.amazon.com/Middle-Beyond-Ex ... 1559392703

https://libgen.pw/item/adv/5a1f04ea3a044650f5081ab5
I think the one by Mario D' Amato is the probably the best. Maitreya’s Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga) Along with Vasubandhu’s Commentary (Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāsya): A Study and ... (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences)
User avatar
Astus
Former staff member
Posts: 8883
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:22 pm
Location: Budapest

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Astus »

Matt J wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:25 pm The prime text of Chan used to be the Lankavatara.
The Lankavatara was relevant within the East Mountain ("Northern") School, but the Diamond Sutra was the most prominent with the Southern School, and continues to be up until today. There are only three commentaries on the sutra itself in the Taisho: T1789, 4 vols, by Zongle (Linji Chan, 1318–1391); T1790, 1 vol, by Fazang (Huayan, 643–712); T1791, 10 vol, by Baochen (?-688?). But there are other commentaries in the Zokuzokyo, in volumes 17 and 18 there are 14 in all (2 from Tang, 3 from Song, 8 from Ming, 1 from Qing era), like X321, 3 vols, by Zhiyan (671?-722?); X323, 6 vols, by Shanyue (Tiantai, 1149-1241); X324, 4 vols, by Zhengshou (Yunmen Chan, 1147-1209); X329, 9 vols, by Zhixu (Jingtu, 1599-1655).
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
User avatar
Matt J
Posts: 1440
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:29 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Matt J »

Is it your position that the Lankavatara was not passed down from Bodhidharma to the early Patriarchs?

Unfortunately, when I actively practiced Zen under the guidance of a teacher, I wasn't aware of the various schools of Buddhist teachings--- i.e. Madhyamaka, Yogacara, etc. I would say now that Zen draws a lot of its teaching from the Tathagatagarbha/Yogacara strands of Buddhism. However, unlike Tibetan Buddhist teachers, the Zen teachers I have worked with did not lay out the teachings in this way--- which for me led to a lot of confusion. I think that going to the Tathagatagarbha teachings without a thorough grounding in Madhyamaka is what gives rise to the notion that Zen teaches a universal cosmic mind.

Also, many Tibetan Buddhist teachers reference Sutra teachings, such as Madhyamaka, as being at the level of intellectual analysis (which I think is a helpful category in the Tibetan Buddhist context, but not in other contexts). Other TB teachers treat Zen as a method for achieving mental blankness or suppressing thoughts. In my experience, this is not Zen at all.

Astus wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:55 pm
Matt J wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:25 pm The prime text of Chan used to be the Lankavatara.
The Lankavatara was relevant within the East Mountain ("Northern") School, but the Diamond Sutra was the most prominent with the Southern School, and continues to be up until today. There are only three commentaries on the sutra itself in the Taisho: T1789, 4 vols, by Zongle (Linji Chan, 1318–1391); T1790, 1 vol, by Fazang (Huayan, 643–712); T1791, 10 vol, by Baochen (?-688?). But there are other commentaries in the Zokuzokyo, in volumes 17 and 18 there are 14 in all (2 from Tang, 3 from Song, 8 from Ming, 1 from Qing era), like X321, 3 vols, by Zhiyan (671?-722?); X323, 6 vols, by Shanyue (Tiantai, 1149-1241); X324, 4 vols, by Zhengshou (Yunmen Chan, 1147-1209); X329, 9 vols, by Zhixu (Jingtu, 1599-1655).
"The world is made of stories, not atoms."
--- Muriel Rukeyser
User avatar
Astus
Former staff member
Posts: 8883
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:22 pm
Location: Budapest

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Astus »

Matt J wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:54 pm Is it your position that the Lankavatara was not passed down from Bodhidharma to the early Patriarchs?
As for the role of the Lankavatara Sutra: "Although this scripture apparently had some kind of mysterious appeal to the followers of early Ch'an, there is no evidence that its contents had any particular impact on the development of the school." (John R. McRae: The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism, p 29)

And even if the Lankavatara Sutra was used to some extent by the early Chan teachers - although there is little evidence for that - the later tradition clearly did not use it much. Just a quick search showed that in the Blue Cliff Record the sutra is referenced twice, in Dahui's letters and the Book of Serenity quoted once and referred to once, and in the Collected Works of Chinul, in Dogen's two works (Shobogenzo, Eihei Koroku), in the Records of Baizhang and Linji there is no mention of it at all.
I would say now that Zen draws a lot of its teaching from the Tathagatagarbha/Yogacara strands of Buddhism.
Chan was supplemented mostly by Sanlun (Madhyamaka), Tiantai, and Huayan teachings, if we want to specify particular sets of doctrines. Neither the Faxian (Yogacara) teachings, nor the Yogacarabhumishastra is used as a source material to support Chan teachings.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
User avatar
Matt J
Posts: 1440
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:29 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by Matt J »

Astus,

I'm not really sure why you want to divorce Zen from the Buddha.

Some quips from Red Pine, who knows more than me about Chan and the Lankavatara:
If there ever was a sutra that presented the underlying teaching of Zen, this is it. It is unrelenting in its insistence on the primacy of personal realization and is unlike any other teaching attributed to the Buddha in this regard. D.T. Suzuki, the previous translator of the Lankavatara, put it this way: "The reason why Bodhidharma handed this sutra to Hui-k'o as containing the essence of Zen Buddhism must be sought in this, that the constant refrain of the Lankavatara is the all-importance of an inner perception...or self-realization...)
Red Pine: Lankavatara Sutra, p.5

As for Yogacara, you're probably the first scholar/practitioner I've come across who denies that Yogacara had an influence on Zen/Chan.
Astus wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 9:28 pm
Matt J wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:54 pm Is it your position that the Lankavatara was not passed down from Bodhidharma to the early Patriarchs?
As for the role of the Lankavatara Sutra: "Although this scripture apparently had some kind of mysterious appeal to the followers of early Ch'an, there is no evidence that its contents had any particular impact on the development of the school." (John R. McRae: The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism, p 29)

And even if the Lankavatara Sutra was used to some extent by the early Chan teachers - although there is little evidence for that - the later tradition clearly did not use it much. Just a quick search showed that in the Blue Cliff Record the sutra is referenced twice, in Dahui's letters and the Book of Serenity quoted once and referred to once, and in the Collected Works of Chinul, in Dogen's two works (Shobogenzo, Eihei Koroku), in the Records of Baizhang and Linji there is no mention of it at all.
I would say now that Zen draws a lot of its teaching from the Tathagatagarbha/Yogacara strands of Buddhism.
Chan was supplemented mostly by Sanlun (Madhyamaka), Tiantai, and Huayan teachings, if we want to specify particular sets of doctrines. Neither the Faxian (Yogacara) teachings, nor the Yogacarabhumishastra is used as a source material to support Chan teachings.
"The world is made of stories, not atoms."
--- Muriel Rukeyser
thecowisflying
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2017 12:35 am

Re: Recommendations for Yogacara works?

Post by thecowisflying »

Matt J wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2018 3:15 am Astus,

I'm not really sure why you want to divorce Zen from the Buddha.

Some quips from Red Pine, who knows more than me about Chan and the Lankavatara:
If there ever was a sutra that presented the underlying teaching of Zen, this is it. It is unrelenting in its insistence on the primacy of personal realization and is unlike any other teaching attributed to the Buddha in this regard. D.T. Suzuki, the previous translator of the Lankavatara, put it this way: "The reason why Bodhidharma handed this sutra to Hui-k'o as containing the essence of Zen Buddhism must be sought in this, that the constant refrain of the Lankavatara is the all-importance of an inner perception...or self-realization...)
Red Pine: Lankavatara Sutra, p.5

As for Yogacara, you're probably the first scholar/practitioner I've come across who denies that Yogacara had an influence on Zen/Chan.
Astus wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 9:28 pm
Matt J wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:54 pm Is it your position that the Lankavatara was not passed down from Bodhidharma to the early Patriarchs?
As for the role of the Lankavatara Sutra: "Although this scripture apparently had some kind of mysterious appeal to the followers of early Ch'an, there is no evidence that its contents had any particular impact on the development of the school." (John R. McRae: The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism, p 29)

And even if the Lankavatara Sutra was used to some extent by the early Chan teachers - although there is little evidence for that - the later tradition clearly did not use it much. Just a quick search showed that in the Blue Cliff Record the sutra is referenced twice, in Dahui's letters and the Book of Serenity quoted once and referred to once, and in the Collected Works of Chinul, in Dogen's two works (Shobogenzo, Eihei Koroku), in the Records of Baizhang and Linji there is no mention of it at all.
I would say now that Zen draws a lot of its teaching from the Tathagatagarbha/Yogacara strands of Buddhism.
Chan was supplemented mostly by Sanlun (Madhyamaka), Tiantai, and Huayan teachings, if we want to specify particular sets of doctrines. Neither the Faxian (Yogacara) teachings, nor the Yogacarabhumishastra is used as a source material to support Chan teachings.
Astus might mean the Faxiang Yogacara school which brought the “complete” Yogacara teachings from India which may not have that much influence on Chan. But he early Yogacara schools like Shelun and Dilun has strong influence authoring works like the Awakening of Faith.
Post Reply

Return to “Mahāyāna Buddhism”