Study on the Teachings of the Founding Teachers on ‘the Enlightenment of Yogācāra and ‘the Enlightenment of Chan (Seon. 禪)'
Study on the Teachings of the Founding Teachers on ‘the Enlightenment of Yogācāra and ‘the Enlightenment of Chan (Seon. 禪)'
Kyungbong Kim*
Buddhist Studies, Dongguk University, Korea
- Corresponding Author: Kyungbong Kim, Buddhist Studies, Dongguk University, Korea
Abstract:
This study proposed to find connective meanings between Yogācāra (唯識) and Chan (禪, Seon, Zen) from the teachings of the antecedent Buddhist masters, the literatures. To achieve this, the study investigated the core descriptions and meanings in common bridging of the two approaches from the literatures. Therefore, based on the Buddhist patriarchs' discourses, the patriarchs encourage us to encompass the two different views in our Buddhist practices in the way
of realizing the Buddhahood. The two approaches are shown to have two different characteristics in terms of awakening progress and the length of time required to realize enlightenment. Yogācāra (唯識觀) uses descriptive and doctrinal teaching and considers attaining Buddhahood a gradual experience (漸悟). On the other hand, Chan directly points us to our human heart with no written words. It aims for sudden awakening (頓悟), especially in the KanwhaSeon (看話禪). However, the
end goal of the two approaches is the same, the attainment of Buddhahood. This end result which is the attainment of Buddhahood suggests that our Buddhist practice system needs to sincerely consider what realistic ways are needed to assist people in different spiritual experiences and ones in agony in the contemporary society. Not by emphasizing on the enlightenment through a specific practice method for all people but by tailored practice methods based on each one's faculties in understanding Buddhism.
Keywords: Yogācāra (唯識), Chan (禪, Seon in Korean, Zen in Japanese), neutral karmic resultant (異熟), Four Wisdoms of the Yogācāra (唯識四智), Transformation of Consciousness into Wisdom (轉識成智, prāvṛttivijñānalabdhajñāna), Enlightenment.
1. INTRODUCTION
All Buddhist teachings focus on solving the suffering of all living things, which reincarnate in perpetuity through entrapment in a state of unenlightenment (無明). Bodhidharma, the founder of Chinese Chan Buddhism, brought the teachings of Buddha from India to China and unfolded those teachings in a way that was fitting to the character of the Chinese people. Dharma gained the heart of unbreakable diamond (金剛不壞心) through wall-gazing (壁觀), taught the way of satori
by entering one‟s nature through non-attachment to words and writings/special transmission outside the scriptures/mind-to-mind transmission, and established Chan Buddhism in China by this means. Ultimately, Chan is a way to gain sudden enlightenment by eliminating unenlightenment, which is the root of suffering, and considers the core of asceticism to entail learning to „exceed the form (相) of the boundary on the outside, and be silent without confusion on the inside‟
. On the other hand, the path of Yogācāra (唯識) Buddhism comprises achieving nirvana by cleaning one‟s „(afflicted) consciousness (識)‟, which is the source of all suffering, and considers achieving Wisdom (智) of „the level of mere mind(唯識無境界)‟ to be the core of asceticism. Yogācāra Buddhism, which began with Maitreya of India and was established by Asańga and Vasubandhu, is based on the teachings of the Buddha and focuses on asceticism to achieve Wisdom that all things (諸法) are an action of consciousness.
Chan (禪, Seon in Korean, Zen in Japanese) asceticism, which includes the ganhwa-seon of DahuiZonggao (大慧宗杲), the Shikantaza of HongzhiZhengjue (宏智正覺), and the zhiguan of TiantaiZhiyi (天台智懿), is rooted in active participation through sitting in meditation to reach sudden enlightenment and seeing nature (頓悟見性), rather than asceticism through reasoning that is focused on the faith, interpretation, performance, and evidence or realization of the fruit of Buddha‟s doctrine (信解行證). Stages in the Buddhist Path that are gained by sudden enlightenment and seeing nature, as well as sudden enlightenment of
inexpressible profound teachings (頓悟玄旨) through the practice of Samatha and Vipassana in harmony (止觀雙修), ultimately include wisdom and mercy to achieve a completely free nature. Therefore, the core ideology of Chan is that enlightenment is based on the practitioner‟s sudden enlightenment and achievement of the seeing nature, and on the practice of mercy toward living creatures. On the other hand, the practice of Yogācāra establishes the concept of „vijñāpti (識)‟, which entails the process of eliminating one‟s imputed nature, which is mistaking the illusion that is created by the confused mind for reality and becoming obsessed therewith .Vijñāpti occurs through practice of the five stages of spiritual development (修行五位), with the aim of achieving a state of Buddha nature
(佛性體) by gaining the Four Wisdom (四智) as a step toward ultimately achieving enlightenment. During this process, we can say that the system and process for enlightenment involve reasoning in the four divisions in cognition (四分說), three kinds of cognition with three kinds of objects (三類境說), five stages of spiritual development (修行五位), three kinds of nature (三種自性說), three features of essence of existence without self-nature (三無性說), and transformation of consciousness into Wisdom (轉識成智, prāvṛttivijñānalabdhajñāna), which together comprise the core of the practice of Yogācāra. The prakrti-prabhasvara-citta of Yogācāracan be said to comprise current practice of the true nature of Buddha through non-birth (無生; non-arising), non- thinking(無念; non-thought), and the wisdom of non-discrimination (無分別智).This is achieved by eliminating contamination(染汚法) in order to gain the level of great aspiration, while simultaneously gaining wisdom. In practicing word contemplation meditation, enlightenment occurs at the very moment that the sensation of doubt, a lump of doubt, and the impenetrable wall of hwaduare overthrown at once [[[頓悟]]], and the system of practice and process is not explained with reasoning. On the other hand, in the practice of Yogācāra, one must go through the five stages of spiritual development from the stage of accumulating the supply or virtue to the ultimate stage of cultivation without any defilement, to achieve „Wisdom from transformation of consciousness
(Prāvṛttivijñānalabdhajñāna)‟, and these stages of practice are presented using Yogācāra reasoning. In addition, the practice of Yogācāra establishes the concept of Vipaka(異熟識) which is avyakta (無記, unmanifested), which is a resulting characteristic to explain enlightenment; the concepts of the 6th form and 7th form of change from within causality(因中轉), and the 5th form and 8th form of change from result(果上轉) are examples(例) of reasoning that are gained through enlightenment.
Therefore, with the aim of creating material that explains the relationship between the practice of Yogācāra and the practice of Chan as paths toward enlightenment , this study examines the teachings(了語) related to Yogācāra from the quotations of the founding teachers(祖師) in an attempt to understand the meaning within the teachings.
From the literature relevant to the purpose of this study, we selected quotations from the founding teachers that both mention the core material of the practice of Yogācāra and the practice of Chan recorded in „the TaishōTripiṭaka (大正新修大藏經)‟and „the Manji zokuzō(卍續藏經)‟. Of the material selected, we focused on quotations from the China and Shilla periods, which we judged to include both Chan and Yogācāra ideologies. Contents regarding the practice of Chan
and enlightenment[[[覺]]] focused on the „enlightenment (覺)‟ of Chan Buddhism, including word contemplation meditation. The contents regarding the practice of Yogācāra and enlightenment focused on „Wisdom‟, which was uniformly presented in the process of development from Maitreya, Asańga, and Vasubandhu from India,Xuanzang and Kuiji of the Tang dynasty, and Wonhyo of Korea. Reaching Huineng, it was linked to „one can gain four types of wisdom Bodhi through enlightenment‟ in his „the Platform Sutra (六祖壇經)‟, which shows that there is a need for research on the commonalities that exist between Yogācāra and Chan. The enlightenment(覺) in the practice of Yogācāra and Chan presented in the title of this study each have the meanings of „rolling back ignorant consciousness to reach the Four Wisdoms(四智)‟ and „totally overcoming delusion(妄念) to reach wisdom by enlightenment through realization of the truth of one‟s pure self-nature‟.
The limitation of this study relates to the literature used to achieve the study purpose; there is almost no previous research on the relationship or commonality between the practices of Yogācāra and Chan. However, this limitation also serves to demonstrate the need for this study, and we focused on making this the first step in future research on this subject.
2. THE COMMONALITIES BETWEEN CHAN (禪) AND YOGĀCĀRA (唯識) AS SEEN THROUGH THE TEACHINGS(了語) OF THE FOUNDING TEACHERS (祖師)
In the quotations they left to their students, the founding teachers of Chan Buddhism focused on nondependence on words and letters, direct pointing to the mind, seeing self-nature, and attaining Buddhahood. The contents related to the practice of Yogācāra include the interrelationship or commonality between the practice of Chan and Yogācāra. Haenung, who was the 6th patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism(六祖慧能), in his writings the „Platform Sutra(法寶壇經)‟, directly uses concepts from Yogācāra reasoning such as „Wisdom from transformation of consciousness (prāvṛttivijñānalabdhajñāna)‟ and this is considered to have an important meaning in respect to considering the commonalities between the practices of Chan and Yogācāra. The quotations of the founding teachers considered in this study are set out below. In the process of translating each literary work, the researcher first presented it in consideration of the time period, then based on its relevance to the commonality between Chan and Yogācāra, and finally also included Yongshun, whose periods of life and death are unknown, and Wonhyo of Shilla.
2.1. The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng(六祖慧能)
From the following teachings in „the Platform Sutra‟,Hui Neng states (說), through Yogācāra reasoning, that immaculate Dharmakaya/ the complete and blissful body of Sambhogakaya/ thousands and millions of Nirmanakaya which are completely fulfilled with self-nature(自性), is not a separate entity that appears from the outside but is the manifestation of the mind. Therefore, it is emphasized that Trikaya (三身) is not found by establishing form and name, but is only manifested as the Buddha and appears to living things in the mind [唯心]. This means that there is no originally established consciousness; it is only an illusion caused by the reflected interdependent nature of things (依他起性) and imputed nature (遍計所執性).Thus, we can see that he is referring to the three bodies and four wisdoms in showing that this is not true Wisdom.
„The immaculate Dharmakaya of the Trikaya is your mind, the complete and blissful body of Sambhogakaya is your wisdom, and thousands and millions of Nirmanakaya is your action.
Regardless of one‟s original nature, if one sees the Trikaya and establishes a name and calls one‟s body Jitong, there will not be a transformation of consciousness into wisdom of the four wisdoms, and if one learns that the self-nature is not in the Trikaya, then the four wisdoms of Bodhi will come to light naturally. Listen to my verse. If one has established the Trikaya in one‟s self-nature, then enlightenment will occur of its own accord, all diverse particularity will not leave the law of causality, and one will reach the sudden enlightenment stage of Tathagata with what one sees and hears. Listen to my words again. If you trust and follow this true absolute truth (眞諦), you will never again be confused so that there will be no need for further enlightenment[學], and so that finally you will teach Bodhi all day long‟.
In addition, in the same text,Hui Neng explains the Dharma(法) that changes the concept of contamination (汚染) of consciousness to the concept of wisdom as explained in Yogācāra, in order to dissolve all „deluded thought(妄念)‟and achieve the enlightenment that is the Buddha-ground. It is emphasized that the self-nature is originally pure and should not be trapped by deluded thought because of contaminated consciousness, and that is the serenity of transcendent wisdom and nothought. The Yogācāra state that has achieved the level of Wisdom by escaping from the state of contaminated consciousness has commonality with the meaning of self-awakening of the original realization (本證自覺) and the state of enlightenment (悟). The teachings on this are as follows:
„When the light of wisdom occurs, right at this moment deluded thought will disappear in an instant, and when one meets true Chan wisdom and becomes enlightened, one will immediately arise into the Buddha-ground. When seen from the wisdom of self-nature without delusion and confusion (自性心地法), when the inside and outside are illuminated, one comes to see one‟s nature. If one has come to know one‟s basic mind, one will instantly achieve enlightenment, and if one has already been enlightened, one will reach the serenity of transcendent wisdom. When one understands the serenity of transcendent wisdom, one will soon reach no-thought. Where does this no-thought come from? If the no-thought sees the one quintessence and still does not obsess on the one quintessence, one‟s self-nature will always be pure‟.
The core ideology of Hui Neng is contained in the verse section in the same text where Chitsū gains wisdom through sudden enlightenment, and in this lies the fact that achieving the four wisdoms is an awakening of the complete unobstructed interpenetration of things through sudden enlightenment. Moreover, terms such as no-thought(無念), non-doing(無作), non-arising), no-attachment(無住), noseeking(無求), no-action(無行), Prajnaparami (般若波羅蜜),etc., are expressions in the HataekSinhoithat show the background to awakening and relate to becoming one with the four wisdoms that Chitsū gained through sudden enlightenment. The teachings on this are as follows:
„Chitsū asked again, “How may I carry the deep reason of the four wisdoms?”Yukjosaid, “If you have already understood the Triyaka, then the four wisdoms will be revealed by themselves so then why are you asking again? If you try to attain the four wisdoms without the Triyaka, it is like having wisdom but no body, and if you have wisdom it will become so that instead you have no wisdom”.‟
„Chitsū gained wisdom through sudden enlightenment and finally wrote a verse and presented it. The Triyaka become my original body, the four wisdoms are illuminating my original mind, the Triyaka and the four wisdoms allow complete unobstructed interpenetration of things to respond to all things and following form is always free. The consciousness of practice is all deluded action and even through it is guarded and settled, there is no true law; the ethereal nature was revealed through the teacher so that not even the name contamination remains‟.
2.2. ShitouXiqian (石頭希遷)
In the texts of the „Patriarchs‟ Hall Anthology (祖當集)‟, in the verses where ShitouXiqian was reading the „theory that nirvana has no name (涅槃無名論)‟from „Chaolun(肇論)‟ at the time hehad „a sudden flash of great awakening(豁然大悟)‟,11 the character „Sook(孰)‟ has the meaning of completion of wisdom and can be interpreted to mean the gaining of pure nirvana where there is no need for further effort. Related to this, the „熟‟ character in the 8th form neutral karmic
resultant (異熟) can be interpreted to contain the process of achieving the path to completion by practicing and gaining merit. This is a verse that shows that ShitouXiqian gained complete enlightenment through a sudden flash of great awakening. In addition, in the question and answer between Daejeon and his student, they use the concept of „three weights (三量)‟ from Yogācāra ideology to say that the state of enlightenment is measured from the manifest. As founding teachers of Chan Buddhism, we can say that the fact that they deeply understood Yogācāra clearly showed the path of Chan. The teachings related to this are as follows:
„A saint has no body of his own and has nothing that is not his. The dharma-body is immeasurable, so where is oneself and others? During the time in which the distant view shows space, the form of all things clearly reveals itself. When boundaries and wisdom return to the true one and become mature[孰], coming and going becomes free‟.12
„That position where one cannot face all things is the real thing, and that position when true things cannot be acquired is your mind‟s measuring from the manifest (現量), so be well aware‟.13
2.3. BaizhangHuaihai(百丈懷海)
According to the text of „Baizhangqingguizhengyiji (百丈叢林清規證義記)‟, BaizhangHuaihai states that seeing all things in the universe as Buddha can only be achieved through enlightenment of the mind, and that when all the principles of the universe are learnt, consciousness becomes like a clear round mirror. In his teachings on enlightenment, Baizhangpresents the enlightenment of Yogācāra and its perfect harmony, and by teaching the Samadhi, that is Chan, it can be interpreted that the wisdom of Yogācāra, and wisdom(慧) of Chan are used together to describe the state of enlightenment. The related teachings are as follows: „The appearance of everyone (頭頭) is the Samadhi of consciousness-only; if the dharma (法法) is well understood, it is the perfect harmony of Yogācāra. If one knows to distinguish with Wisdom (智) and wisdom (慧), then there is no dislocation in actions or vows (行願)‟.14
2.4. GuifengZongmi(圭峰宗密)
In the following text in the „Yuanrenlun(原人論)‟, Guifeng Zongmistates that the mind of the living thing that lives, dies, and reincarnates makes forms(相) from delusion, and due to this, covers the originally pure Tathagatagarbha of self-nature with contamination. Due to this Tathagatagarbha, the eight consciousnesses are enlightened (覺) or not enlightened (不覺) based on the mind of the living thing, and the pure and bright eight consciousnesses become covered. In Chan, they utilize the
起修皆妄動, 守住匪真精, 妙旨因師曉, 終亡染污名.”
11『萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄』卷6(大正藏卷48,286a).“會萬物為己者, 其唯聖人乎, 豁然悟道. (It is only saints who play with all things and make it themselves. Clearly understood with this sentence.); 方立天,「
石頭宗心靈湛圓說述評」『佛教與中國文化國際學術會議論文集』中輯, 中華佛學研究所, 1995, p.387.“這句話. 而深受啟迪，並感嘆道, 聖人無己.” (Spoken with amazement after gaining a very deep understanding at these words.)
12『祖當集』卷4(高麗大藏經,補遺45, 258b).“聖人無己, 靡所不己, 法身無量, 誰云自他, 圓鏡虛覽於其間, 萬像體玄而自現, 境智眞一孰爲去來.”
13『祖當集』卷4(高麗大藏經,補遺45, 264a). “對曰無物則眞物, 石頭云眞物不可得, 汝心見量意旨如次也, 雖護持.”
14『百丈叢林清規證義記』卷6(卍新續藏第63, 443c).“頭頭顯唯心之三昧, 法法了唯識之圓融, 所謂智慧了辦, 行願無虧也.”
perspective from Yogācāra that contamination from delusion should be stopped and realizing absolute true emptiness is the path to realizing the bright original self-nature.
„In the beginning, there was only one bright true nature. This mind does not arise nor can it be destroyed; it does not grow or shrink, it does not change or transform. However, from the beginning of time, what all living things have not realized due to delusion is because delusion is covering the Tathagatagarbha. If we rely on this Tathagatagarbha, then the mind that lives and dies occurs. That is the true mind of arising and destroying (生滅真心) and the Vikalpa of arising and destroying (生滅妄想) becomes one, so that there is no life or anything and this is the eight consciousnesses. This consciousness has two meanings of enlightened and not enlightened‟.
In addition, in the text of the „the Collection of Ch‟ an Sources (禪源諸詮集都序)‟, Zongmi directly and indirectly used the concepts of Yogācāra to explain the Chan that sees the steadfast mind which is that of the Buddha. More concretely, Zongmi established mind concepts such as Hulidaya in the following teachings to explain that the understanding that there is no living and dying in the mind is the act of practicing ending, once and for all, the life and death of the mind, and therefore includes commonality between Chan and Yogācāra.
„Generally, there are four types of mind. The Sanskrit version is different from other translations. First, the Sanskrit is Hulidaya, and this is the mind of right and wrong (肉團心) which speaks with the five organs (五臟) and mind in the body. Second, the eight forms of the reflecting mind (緣慮心) are all conceptual thinking that has self-awareness. (Colour is the target of visual consciousness, and as the seed of behaviour it rose from the physical world and therefore is a target of the eight consciousnesses. Each links with one other to use as sustenance). These eight types of caittas occur differently in good
minds and evil minds to make all caittas. Third, Jildaya is also called the rising gathering mind (集起心), which discerns between good mind and evil mind. It only mentions the eight consciousnesses, and this is because the seed that was brought by it before time met a cause to become current action. The forth is geonyulda, which is also called steadfast mind (堅實心)/proper mind (貞實心)/true mind (眞心). The eighth form itself is merely the true mind since it is not discerning, but not realizing this causes the meanings of harmony and discord to form due to various delusions. The meaning of harmonizing includes
contaminated[[[染]]] and pure[淸], and they all become eyes of the storehouse of consciousness. Discord means that the body (體) is a never changing Tathata, and it becomes a dharma eye that shows Tathagatagarbha‟.
2.5. DahuiZongao(大慧宗杲)
In „the Letters of Chan Master DahuiPujue (大慧普覺禪師書)‟, DahuiZongao states that the three worlds are only in the mind and that diverse particularity is in Yogācāra, and emphasizes the importance for practitioners of Chan to understand Yogācāra. In stating that not knowing Yogācāra and sitting wordlessly below the Heishan ghost cave is meditation practice and can be an excuse for not knowing the great law, he emphasizes the importance of Yogācāra mastery. The teachings related to this are as follows:
„Chan gate creates many types of discrimination to speak what they know wrong. Therefore, they are very afraid to meet one who knows Yogācāra. One who has not understood the great law wishes to use this as an excuse, therefore not knowing these principles is not right‟.
„If an eye meets a target, it can see the colour; if an ear meets a target, it can hear the sound. This is all in the triple realm, is only a manifestation of the mind, and everything is but the mind. News of one who practices meditation without speaking or having a language sitting in the ghost cave of Mt. Hui(黑山鬼窟), shaving their eyebrows, and closing their eyes is from before the time the parents were born(父母未生前) for WieumWangna(威音王那)‟.
2.6. HanshanDeqing(憨山德淸)
In the teachings of the text of „The conventional wisdom of the palsikkyugeo (八識規矩通說)‟, Hanshan Deqing emphasized mastering the Yogācāra(唯識心境) and then directly solving the problem of death, and by doing so connects the enlightenment of the Yogācāra with sudden enlightenment. The teachings emphasized that the reason one cannot realizeone‟s original pure self-nature is because of contamination by Avidya and non-enlightenment (不覺), to introduce the teachings of the Yogācāra. Hanshan states that to become one mind (一心), to leave all form[[[相]]] forever, and to achieve enlightenment, one must understand the Yogācāra to remove the mind of life and death and understand the great doctrine of Yogācāra to enter peace of mind(安心). By presenting the doctrine of Yogācāra to enter the peaceful mind with the will of heaven if one had not realized one-mind, he is stating that, to the uninitiated, the practices of Chan and Yogācāra are not different. The teachings related to this are as follows:
„One point of proper dharma arises from a circular and bright pure marvellous mind. If one knows that there are no things and no one body, how can the world of the mind wait facing the great effort and sight. Although various delusions are merely the shadows of causality, the original state of the mind is all made up of the Avidya and unenlightened so that it becomes consciousness deluded in one mind. The subjective and objective parts have changed from Yogācāra; the subjective creates the mind, and the objective creates the various delusions that become the target of vigilance. The principles of accepting and rejecting the
beautiful and ugly is all the doing of the deluded mind. If the self-nature of the mind meets the target of consciousness to achieve enlightenment, the deluded mind never occurs again. The various delusions do not occur so that one has one-mind enlightenment; they depart from all forms (相) forever. If one has not achieved one-mind now, one should understand the Yogācāra to solve the problem of life and death right in this instance and return to the one-mind. If one understands the great doctrine of Yogācāra, one will be able to enter peace of mind‟.
In addition, in the same text, Hanshan explains, using the „three weights(三量)‟ of Yogācāra, the fact that living things do not understand the Yogācāra and cause subjective mind actions, to emphasize that, with only the mind to measure, measuring from the manifest itself due to conceptual thinking is far away from enlightenment. If silent illumination meditation or key-phrase meditation is mentioned as the way to lose the measuring mind, from the perspective of word contemplation, meditation on the key word in the object part of perception becomes one with the sensation of doubt in the subjective part of the conceptual
thinking so as to obtain emptiness of self and emptiness of material where the boundaries of great effort and dust disappear. Then, the afflictive hindrances that prevent cultivation and attaining enlightenment and cognitive hindrances disappear by themselves from Yogācāra so that the action of conceptual thinking stops, and soon Whaduwill be eliminated so that it is not different from the principle. This is translated as a teaching that shows that suffering can be eliminated to reach enlightenment through the reasoning of Yogācāra and the straightforwardness of Chan by clearly understanding the concepts of the four divisions in the eight kinds of cognition presented by Yogācāra in the practice of Chan. Related teachings are as follows:
„Even if the living being looks, hears, and observes with awareness, the reason the mind cannot leave the target of vigilance is because they have the mind of conceptual thinking. The reason the mind has the three weights is because there is a measure of weight (量). True wisdom cannot be sorted out with
measurements[[[量]]], but the deluded consciousness facing its target is measured to gain the three weights in the mind. If one thought is understood, the division between measuring from the manifest/wrong decisions/division of wrong decision will no longer occur, and form and language will not face each other; so, even if it is measured and calculated, it cannot be found by the mind. The form reflected in the mirror becomes measuring from the manifest, and if consciousness suddenly arises to divide, it becomes wrong decisions, and if division is made wrongly by seeing illusions, then it becomes wrong decisions. These three weights come from the mind of conceptual thinking‟.
In the same text, Hanshan states that meditation practice occurs away from consciousness and the boundary of delusion, and emphasizes directly mastering it from the roots without measurements [三量]. If one understands that the one quintessence is transformation of consciousness, one gains the mind of no-form, so for the person teaching meditation practice, understanding Yogācāra can be an important method for the practice of Chan. The teachings related to this are as follows:
„The Buddha taught everything is but the mind. To say one knows Yogācāra is to say that one knows that other things do not arise outside one‟s mind, and if one knows that one cannot find the background of the mind, then one gains no-thought(無常). He tells the person teaching the subject of meditation price to investigate away from the boundary of delusion. The person who places importance on the proper dharma will instantly understand his roots and teach that there are no personal things‟.
In the text „Separate Note on Ta ch`eng chi hsinlun (大乘起信論別記)‟, Wonhyo teaches enlightenment [[[覺]]]using the concept and content of Yogācāra by the fact he expressed that „the inceptive (始覺) and subsequent unenlightenment (枝末不覺) are minds within the eight consciousnesses‟. In addition, there is also commonality with the enlightenment[[[悟]]] of Chan that the Perfection of Transcendental Wisdom in Yogācāra is a diverse form of conceptual thinking that gathers all suffering to make one reach wisdom.
„The original awakening means to leave the form of the unenlightened from the mind, and when reflected in the nature of enlightenment, it becomes original awakening. It is as the next sentence: We can know that a great light can occur within the body of one‟s self-nature. If the essence of the mind for inceptive awakening is affected by Avidya, it becomes deluded thought, and if strength is borrowed from the hume by the original awakening, one reaches the supreme state using inceptive awakening. This is a different name for inceptive awakening (始覺). There are two types of speech in non-enlightenment. One is fundamental unenlightenment and the other is secondary unenlightenment. Fundamental unenlightenment becomes unenlightenment in the eight consciousnesses. It is the same as the next message. It means that the enlightenment on existence and non-existence occurs in the eight consciousnesses. Secondary unenlightenment is recollection of one quintessence of dharma. They all take the name of nonenlightenment‟.
In addition, from the „Essentials of the Nirvana Sutra (涅槃宗要)‟in the text below, Wonhyo teaches that the eight consciousnesses become the body of Buddha nature, and this includes the fact that the eight consciousnesses become the main body of the Buddha. Achievement of enlightenment in the eight consciousnesses includes the meaning that soon one will reach Buddha-nature; it is the same meaning as the emphasis in the teachings of Haenung that the enlightenment of the eight consciousnesses was soon the wisdom of evolving consciousness.
„The dharma (法爾) of the eight consciousnesses becomes the seed for the Buddha-nature body. The content of this sentence is the same as in scriptures. The Buddha-nature body refers to the seed of the way within any okttarasammakbori. ...when the Amala perception of Buddha Amala is understood, one becomes a body with Buddha-nature, and in some scriptures it is recorded that the Buddha-nature is the ultimate truth of emptiness, and the ultimate truth of emptiness (第一義空) becomes wisdom.
2.8. Rongshun(融順)
In the texts of „Bubgaedogichongsurok(法界圖記叢髓錄)‟, Rongshun stated that the diverse particularity of one quintessence was all rooted in the eight consciousnesses, so he explained the enlightenment of Chan using the concepts of Yogācāra. With diverse particularity as the reason for existing or not existing (有無為位) for all Dharmadhatu, it is a consciousness with no filth(無垢識), that does not have the filth[垢] of contamination, and it is also called bright and clear pristine consciousness (白淨識). This is due to Yogācāra seeing it as the deluded mind (妄識) due to delusions, and also from the perspective of pure Tathata(眞如), which is originally wisdom. When seen from the perspective of Chan practice, one thought may occur and that thought might arouse another thought, and this onevehicle ideology is not a means for the supreme Dharma but for sudden enlightenment. The onevehicle ideology is consciousness and the one vehicle becomes the background for consciousness, which shows the commonality between practicing Yogācāra and practicing Chan. Teachings related to this are as follows:
„From olden times (古記), Lindu (林德) went into Tang to worship the patriarch Rongshun and asked, of the one vehicle, what is consciousness (黎耶)? Rongshun replied, the diverse particularities of the one quintessence all become the basis of consciousness, and if the large and immeasurable thing is examined, there are five branches, the first of which is the pristine consciousness with three natures. The second is Amala, which has the virtue of infinite numbers[恒沙]. The third arises from the essence of the universe and has shipbeobup. The fourth is Dharmadhatu expansion, which has three types of worldly existence. The fifth is Beopkkyeintarasik, which has inexhaustible indarani. All Dharmadhatu is finite and unformulated and so becomes consciousness. This is formed from the three characteristics of human nature, the unformulated principle, and great mercy‟.
3. CONCLUSION AND PROPOSAL
As has been considered above, in the teachings by the founding teachers that speak of the direction and meaning of practices to achieve seeing self-nature and attaining Buddhahood, they directly and indirectly present the contents of Yogācāra, including the concept of consciousness and evolving consciousness, to achieve enlightenment. These points can be interpreted as the enlightenment of Yogācāra and the enlightenment of Chan all having the same roots, in that all self-nature is originally pure and they aim to understand the complete and harmonious nature of dharma. If we examine the relationship and commonality between the practice of Yogācāra and the practice of Chan through these teachings, we can find that the founding teachers are explaining the same concept of „enlightenment[[[覺]]]‟ differently, based on the characteristics of each place. This encapsulates the concept that, rather than the fixed viewpoint that the teachings of the Buddha are to be achieved using one method, the methods all merge as one, but when one actually participates, a choice needs to be made on the most core method that fits the current circumstances of the individual.
The teachings of the founding teachers considered above comprised processes of „meditation practice that aimed to rise above the deluded mind to leave the storehouse of consciousness and not be restrained by illusions any more‟, which means that there are cases when logical explanation is needed regarding each person‟s characteristics or recent state of mind. In terms of Yogācāra, the eight forms of eight consciousnesses state that when delusion is removed from the unconscious, one will instantly reach one‟s original state of pure self-nature where there is no case of wandering the state of delusion. Thus, one achieves direct pointing to the mind/seeing self-nature and attaining the
Buddhahood. The reason that the founding teachers use Yogācāra to explain enlightenment is to explain the path of sudden enlightenment using the name without a name, based on the current status and characteristics of the person wanting to learn. Alternatively, they use it to teach people not to distort reality by entering a practice that hangs entirely on words, using the example of nondependence on words and letters.
In addition, to the founding teachers, enlighten mentdoes not differ in things that can be seen from the exterior such as gradual progress or sudden enlightenment but can be interpreted as an expediential guide based on the current state or characteristics of the person wanting to learn. Regarding enlightenment, the mind of evolving consciousness of Yogācāra or the sudden enlightenment to see nature in Chanboth contain gradual enlightenment and sudden enlightenment simultaneously, and the enlightenment in both the practice of Yogācāra and Chan can be said to have sudden enlightenment in the moment at which the person gains enlightenment due to the unenlightened person‟s endless Viriya effort (功力). In Chan, this Samadhi of a specific mode is compared to
„Yeomyoposeo (如猫捕鼠)‟, which states that „in order for the cat to catch the mouse, it does not take its eyes off the mouse, not for an instant; that is, if the great resolve to attain supreme enlightenment is established, then efforts should be made not to miss a minute to gain enlightenment in one try‟. Therefore, the enlightenment of Yogācāra and the direct pointing to the mind of Chan are different ways of arriving at the same destination, not two ways. Like the metaphor of Yeomyoposeo, we can use the name of the moment of gaining enlightenment „sudden enlightenment‟ (頓悟見性), while at the same time it can be seen as one with gaining the mind of evolving consciousness through change from within causality(因中轉) and change from result(果上轉).
The fact that Yogācāra and Tathagatagarbha ideology is included in the „Lankavatara Sutra (楞伽經)‟, which was delivered by Bodhidharma the founder of Chan Buddhism, and the fact that the contents of YukjoHaenung‟s „Dankyong‟ state that enlightenment(覺) can be gained through the Four Wisdoms of Yogācāra, show a large degree of commonality. The root of this can be found in „all things are created by the mind alone(一切唯心造)‟ in the „Avatamsaka Sutra‟, which is the basis for the „triple realm is only a manifestation of the mind or consciousness‟/„everything is but the mind or consciousness‟ ideology , which holds the
Buddhist ideology that enlightenment is reached through actual participatory practice that sees(觀) everything emerging and disappearing from the mind, while at the same time by deeply understanding that everything is an illusion created to gain the Dharmakaya of consciousness. This study has added to the extant research into the commonalities of enlightenment in the practices of Chan and Yogācāra, which has previously been lacking, through the results of the
literature review. Future in-depth research (深度) is required on the meaning and progress that is emphasized in the respective practice ideologies of „sudden enlightenment‟ in the practice of Chan and the „mind of evolving consciousness‟ in Yogācāra with a more systematic and widespread examination of the literature on a more concrete topic(論旨). In addition, by emphasizing the enlightenment of Yogācāra with the logic of „shikjeoneui(識轉依) toward the mind of evolving consciousness‟ and the enlightenment of the practice of Chan as the „shilchamgu (實參究) of enlightenment(悟)‟,the meaning of the difference in the exterior in terms of the commonality between Yogācāra and Chan is another topic for future research.
REFERENCES
Original Text Material
[1] 『六祖大師法寶壇經』(大正藏 48).
[2] 『解深密經』Book 1(大正藏31).
[3] 『南宗頓教最上大乘摩訶般若波羅蜜經六祖惠能大師於韶州大梵寺施法壇經』Book 1(大正藏 48).
[4] 『萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄』Book 6(大正藏卷48).
[5] 『祖當集』Book 4(高麗大藏經,補遺45).
[6] 『百丈叢林清規證義記』Book 6(卍新續藏第63).
[7] 『原人論』(大正藏45).
[8] 『禪源諸詮集都序』Volume 1 (大正藏48).
[9] 『大慧普覺禪師書』Book 29(大正藏47).
[10] 『大慧普覺禪師書』Book 30(大正藏47).
[11] 『八識規矩通說』(卍續藏55).
[12] 『大乘起信論別記』(大正藏44).
[13] 『涅槃宗要』(大正藏38).
[14] 『法界圖記叢髓錄』Book 2(大正藏45).
[15] 『入楞伽經』Book 3(大正藏16).
[16] 『成唯識論述記』Book 3(大正藏43).
[17] 『新譯華嚴經七處九會頌釋章』Book 1(卍續藏36).
2nd Stage References
[1] Kim, Kyungbong, “An examination of the relationship between the five stages of the yogacarapath to enlightenment (唯識五位) and the ten ox-herding pictures (十牛圖).” Asian Philosophy 27(3) (2017): 189–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/09552367.2017.1348441
[2] Lee,Bubsan, “Investigation on Seon (Chan, Zen) in Nāgārjuna's philosophy of emptiness,” [[[Korean]] Journal of] Indian Philosophy 29 (2010): 205-226. [3] Muller, Charles. “TheYogācāra Two Hindrances and their Reinterpretations in East Asia,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 27(1) (2004): 211-219.
[4] Park, Moongi(Jongho), “The sudden and gradual from the theory of tolerance,” Korean Buddhist Studies67 (2013): 269-293.
[5] Lee,Bubsan, “Investigation on Seon (Chan, Zen) in Nāgārjuna's philosophy of emptiness,” [[[Korean]] Journal of] Indian Philosophy29 (2010): 205-226. AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHY
Kyungbong Kim is a Buddhist monk, Bhikkhu, in the Jogye order of Korean Buddhsm. He is a Head of Haeinsa Lotus Dharma Center.
