In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, "ekayāna" took on special significance as a metaphor for a spiritual journey. The phrase vedānāṃ vāk ekayānam translates approximately to "the one destination of the Vedas is the spirit of the word".[1][2]
While the "One Vehicle" Buddhism declined in India along with the rest of Buddhism, it became a key aspect of the Chinese acculturation and acceptance of Buddhism. The Chinese assimilation of Buddhism met in the vast diversity of Buddhist texts the problem of sorting through them for the core of Buddhist teaching.
This problem was solved by Chinese Buddhist teachers by taking up one or more of the Ekayana Sutras as central to the understanding of the diversity of Buddhism. The doctrines and practices of Tiantai (Japanese Tendai) and Huayen (Japanese Kegon) Buddhist sects were able to present a synthesis of the diversity of Buddhism that was understandable and palatable by the Chinese worldview.
Chan Buddhism affected this synthesis in a unique way by focusing on the practice of meditation as taught in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra as the core method of personally realizing the Ekayana teachings while at the same time acknowledging the transcendental and devotional aspects represented by the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, respectively.[citation needed] The Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma (c. 5th to 6th century), who is considered the founder of Chan Buddhism, was said to have brought the "Ekayāna school of Southern India" to China and passed it down along with the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra to his primary disciple, Dazu Huike (487-593), known as the Second Founding Ancestor of the Chan lineage.[7], [8][page needed]
Guifeng Zongmi (780 - 841) was an accredited master of both the Chan and Huayan lineages. In his treatise, The Original Person Debate (Chinese: 原人論), he explicitly identifies the Ekayāna teachings as the most profound type of spiritual realization and equates it with the direct realization of one's own nature:
Buddha's teaching itself goes from shallow to profound. In outline there are five classes: 1. The teachings of human and heavenly beings. 2. The Small Vehicle's (Hinayana) teaching. 3. The Great Vehicle's (Mahayana) teaching of Dharma characteristics (dharmalaksana). 4. The Great Vehicle's teaching of destroying characteristics. 5. The One Vehicle's (Ekayana) teaching of manifesting Nature."[9]
Thus, according to Zongmi who was a lineage master of both Huayan and Chan, he clearly distinguished the Ekayana from the Mahayana, and the Mahayana teachings of Yogacara (his Mahayana class 3) and Madhyamaka (his Mahayana class 4) were eclipsed by the more profound Ekayana teaching of "manifesting nature."
^Bṛhadaraṇyaka Upaniṣad in romanized Sanskrit (sanskritdocuments.org)
^Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, translated by Swami Madhavananda (II.iv.11,p. 363 and IV.v.12, p. 780)
^ abBuswell, Robert E., Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton: Princeton University Press, p.281-2
^ abGrosnick, William (1981). Nonorigination and Nirvana in the Early Thatagatagarbha Literature, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 4/2, 34
^Kern, Johan Hendrik, tr. (1884). Saddharma Pundarîka or the Lotus of the True Law, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XXI, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Reprints: New York: Dover 1963, Delhi 1968. (Upaya chapter)
^Vaidya, P. L. (1960). Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtram 2014-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning. (Romanized Sanskrit)
^D.T. Suzuki in his Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra relates a portion of the biography of Fa-ch'ung on his special relationship with the Lankavatara Sutra: "Fa-ch'ung, deploring very much that the deep signification of the Lankavatara had been neglected for so long, went around everywhere regardless of the difficulties of travelling in the far-away mountains and over the lonely wastes. He finally came upon the descendants of Hui-k'e among whom this sutra was being studied a great deal. He put himself under the tutorship of a master and had frequent occasions of spiritual realisation. The master then let him leave the company of his fellow-students and follow his own way in lecturing on the Lankavatara. He lectured over thirty times in succession. Later he met a monk who had been instructed personally by Hui-k'e in the teaching of the Lankavatara according to the interpretations of the Ekayana (one-vehicle) school of Southern India." (pp. 51-52.)
^Yampolsky, Philip B. (1967). The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch(PDF). Columbia University Press. Retrieved 19 May 2015. In the biography of Fa-ch'ung in the Hsu kao-seng chuan, T50, p. 666b, there is mention of the 'One-vehicle sect of India (Nan-t'ien-chu i-ch'eng tsung)' in reference to Bodhidharma's teaching.
^佛教自淺之深。略有五等。一人天教。二小乘教。三大乘法相教。四大乘破相教(上四在此篇中)。五一乘顯性教 T45n1886_p0708c12(00) to p0708c14(01) 2008-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
Apple, James B. (2015), "The Single Vehicle (ekayāna) in the Avaivartikacakra sūtra and Lotus sūtra" (PDF), Bulletin of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, 30: 13-43
Kotatsu, Fujita; Hurvitz, Leon, trans. (1975). "One Vehicle or Three". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 3 (1/2): 79–166. doi:10.1007/bf00157332. JSTOR 23438660. S2CID 170267103.
Nattier, Jan (2007). , Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 10, 181-200
Pye, Michael (2003). Skilful Means - A concept in Mahayana Buddhism. Routledge. ISBN0203503791.
Gethin, Rupert M.L. (2001). The Buddhist Path to Awakening, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, pp. 59–66. ISBN1-85168-285-6
January 29, 2023
ekayāna, confused, with, ekayana, magga, direct, path, mentioned, satipaṭṭhāna, sutta, sanskrit, एकय, traditional, chinese, 一乘, pinyin, yīchéng, japanese, いちじょう, korean, 일승, sanskrit, word, that, mean, path, vehicle, used, both, upanishads, mahāyāna, sūtras, c. Not to be confused with Ekayana Magga direct path as mentioned in the Satipaṭṭhana Sutta Ekayana Sanskrit एकय न traditional Chinese 一乘 pinyin Yicheng Japanese いちじょう Korean 일승 is a Sanskrit word that can mean one path or one vehicle It is used both in the Upanishads and the Mahayana sutras Contents 1 Upanishads 2 Mahayana Buddhism 2 1 Chinese Buddhism 2 1 1 Chan Buddhism 3 See also 4 References 5 BibliographyUpanishads EditIn the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ekayana took on special significance as a metaphor for a spiritual journey The phrase vedanaṃ vak ekayanam translates approximately to the one destination of the Vedas is the spirit of the word 1 2 Mahayana Buddhism EditEkayana sutras of primary influence are the Lotus Sutra the Srimaladevi Siṃhanada Sutra 3 the Ratnagotravibhaga and the Tathagatagarbha sutras 4 which also include the Tathagatagarbha Sutra the Mahayana Mahaparinirvaṇa Sutra and the Aṅgulimaliya Sutra Sutras with similar teachings include the Laṅkavatara Sutra and the Avatamsaka Sutra 4 The Lotus Sutra declares that the three vehicles of the Sravaka disciple Pratyekabuddha Solitary Buddha and Bodhisattva are actually just three expedient devices upayacausalya for attracting beings to the one buddha vehicle via which they all become buddhas 3 5 6 Chinese Buddhism Edit While the One Vehicle Buddhism declined in India along with the rest of Buddhism it became a key aspect of the Chinese acculturation and acceptance of Buddhism The Chinese assimilation of Buddhism met in the vast diversity of Buddhist texts the problem of sorting through them for the core of Buddhist teaching This problem was solved by Chinese Buddhist teachers by taking up one or more of the Ekayana Sutras as central to the understanding of the diversity of Buddhism The doctrines and practices of Tiantai Japanese Tendai and Huayen Japanese Kegon Buddhist sects were able to present a synthesis of the diversity of Buddhism that was understandable and palatable by the Chinese worldview Chan Buddhism Edit Main article Chan Buddhism Chan Buddhism affected this synthesis in a unique way by focusing on the practice of meditation as taught in the Laṅkavatara Sutra as the core method of personally realizing the Ekayana teachings while at the same time acknowledging the transcendental and devotional aspects represented by the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lotus Sutra respectively citation needed The Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma c 5th to 6th century who is considered the founder of Chan Buddhism was said to have brought the Ekayana school of Southern India to China and passed it down along with the Laṅkavatara Sutra to his primary disciple Dazu Huike 487 593 known as the Second Founding Ancestor of the Chan lineage 7 8 page needed Guifeng Zongmi 780 841 was an accredited master of both the Chan and Huayan lineages In his treatise The Original Person Debate Chinese 原人論 he explicitly identifies the Ekayana teachings as the most profound type of spiritual realization and equates it with the direct realization of one s own nature Buddha s teaching itself goes from shallow to profound In outline there are five classes 1 The teachings of human and heavenly beings 2 The Small Vehicle s Hinayana teaching 3 The Great Vehicle s Mahayana teaching of Dharma characteristics dharmalaksana 4 The Great Vehicle s teaching of destroying characteristics 5 The One Vehicle s Ekayana teaching of manifesting Nature 9 Thus according to Zongmi who was a lineage master of both Huayan and Chan he clearly distinguished the Ekayana from the Mahayana and the Mahayana teachings of Yogacara his Mahayana class 3 and Madhyamaka his Mahayana class 4 were eclipsed by the more profound Ekayana teaching of manifesting nature See also EditMahayana sutras YanaReferences Edit Bṛhadaraṇyaka Upaniṣad in romanized Sanskrit sanskritdocuments org Brihadaranyaka Upanishad translated by Swami Madhavananda II iv 11 p 363 and IV v 12 p 780 a b Buswell Robert E Lopez Donald S Jr 2014 The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism Princeton Princeton University Press p 281 2 a b Grosnick William 1981 Nonorigination and Nirvana in the Early Thatagatagarbha Literature Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 4 2 34 Kern Johan Hendrik tr 1884 Saddharma Pundarika or the Lotus of the True Law Sacred Books of the East Vol XXI Oxford Clarendon Press Reprints New York Dover 1963 Delhi 1968 Upaya chapter Vaidya P L 1960 Saddharmapuṇḍarikasutram Archived 2014 10 13 at the Wayback Machine Darbhanga The Mithila Institute of Post Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning Romanized Sanskrit D T Suzuki in his Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra relates a portion of the biography of Fa ch ung on his special relationship with the Lankavatara Sutra Fa ch ung deploring very much that the deep signification of the Lankavatara had been neglected for so long went around everywhere regardless of the difficulties of travelling in the far away mountains and over the lonely wastes He finally came upon the descendants of Hui k e among whom this sutra was being studied a great deal He put himself under the tutorship of a master and had frequent occasions of spiritual realisation The master then let him leave the company of his fellow students and follow his own way in lecturing on the Lankavatara He lectured over thirty times in succession Later he met a monk who had been instructed personally by Hui k e in the teaching of the Lankavatara according to the interpretations of the Ekayana one vehicle school of Southern India pp 51 52 Yampolsky Philip B 1967 The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch PDF Columbia University Press Retrieved 19 May 2015 In the biography of Fa ch ung in the Hsu kao seng chuan T50 p 666b there is mention of the One vehicle sect of India Nan t ien chu i ch eng tsung in reference to Bodhidharma s teaching 佛教自淺之深 略有五等 一人天教 二小乘教 三大乘法相教 四大乘破相教 上四在此篇中 五一乘顯性教 T45n1886 p0708c12 00 to p0708c14 01 Archived 2008 10 23 at the Wayback MachineBibliography EditApple James B 2015 The Single Vehicle ekayana in the Avaivartikacakra sutra and Lotus sutra PDF Bulletin of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy 30 13 43 Kotatsu Fujita Hurvitz Leon trans 1975 One Vehicle or Three Journal of Indian Philosophy 3 1 2 79 166 doi 10 1007 bf00157332 JSTOR 23438660 S2CID 170267103 Nattier Jan 2007 One Vehicle in the Chinese Agamas Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 10 181 200 Pye Michael 2003 Skilful Means A concept in Mahayana Buddhism Routledge ISBN 0203503791 Teiser Stephen F Stone Jacqueline Ilyse eds 2009 Readings of the Lotus Sutra New York Columbia University Press Gethin Rupert M L 2001 The Buddhist Path to Awakening Oxford Oneworld Publications pp 59 66 ISBN 1 85168 285 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ekayana amp oldid 1094980111, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
