1、Chapter 4： Changan and Chinese Buddhist SchoolsSection 6： Tantra of Buddhism in ChinaTantra is one of the 8 schools in Chinese Buddhism, which is established by the Three GreatMasters of Kaiyuan, Master Huiguo, and the others in Changan.The Formation of Tantraubhakarasiha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra
2、 came to China to promote Tantra successively inKaiyuan Period in Tang Dynasty (7 1 3 -7 4 1 AD). In the history, they are calledthe Three Great Mastersof Kaiyuan.ubhakarasiha, Vajrabodhi are the fifth ancestors of Tantra. They disseminated the dharma toAmoghavajra, who became the sixth ancestor. Am
3、oghavajra disseminated the dharma to Huiguo inQinglong Temple, who then was the seventh ancestor of Tantra. Huiguo disseminated the dharma toKkai, who took Tantra back to Japan, and established Shingon Buddhism in Japan.The biggest characteristics of the study in Tantra is to practice Buddhism throu
4、gh sounds andlanguages. Therefore, it focuses on convey the ideology of Vairocana by using mantra on Sdhan. Soit is also called Shingon School.Tantra takes references from Mahavairocana Tantra and Vajraekhara Tantra. It suggests tochant mantra, which is called mystery of speech; to conduct mudra, wh
5、ich is called mystery of body;to meditate, which is called mystery of mind. It advocates to conduct the three tantra simultaneouslyso as to obtain the wisdom and transcend to Buddha.Integration of Womb Realm and Diamond RealmIn Kaiyuan Period in Tang Dynasty, the eminent monk ubhakarasiha from India
6、 translatedmany classics of Tantra, among which Mahavairocana Tantra became the main classic of Tantra.Thich Nhat Hanh, the disciple of ubhakarasiha, inherited the theory of Womb Realm ofubhakarasi ha, and wrote the 2 0 volumes commentaries of Mahavairocana Tantra. Hiscommentaries transmitted the ta
7、ntra, which mainly focused in Womb Realm (also known as rupa).This is the official beginning of transmitting Chinese Tantra.Indian eminent monk Vajrabodhi arrived at Luoyang to transmit Tantra. His disciple,Amoghavajra, translated Vajraekhara Tantra in China,which is also the classic of Tantra. The
8、contentlectured by Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra mainly focused on Diamond Realm.Tantra assumes that everything in the world, be it Buddha or being, are made with earth, water,fire, wind, emptiness, and intelligence. The first five elements are rupa, which belong to WombRealm; while intelligence is cit
9、ta, which belongs to Diamond Realm. These two realms all exist in theheart of living creatures.The Sdhan of Tantra mainly advocates to combine Womb Realm and Diamond Realm, which iscalled the integration of Womb and Diamond Realms.Tantra believes that the wisdom of Tathgata can break the obstacles o
10、f troubles and puzzles,which is as firm and sharp as diamond. So it is called the Diamond Realm. It represents the wisdomthat has undergone Sdhan and then presents. At the same time, all beings have characteristics,which contains the function of being enlightened and transcending to Buddha. So it is
11、 called WombRealm, which means we all have the nature in our characteristics.Womb Realm is the cause, which is an inherent part of everyone. Diamond Realm is the effect,which can only be achieved after Sdhan. Only the saint can obtain it.You have the cause, but you will still be an ordinary person w
12、ith fresh and bones if you dont doSdhan. You can transcend to Buddha only by Sdhan. Your body given by your parents can alsoarrive the level of Buddha via Sdhan. This is called body transcendence to Buddha.Correspondence of three tantrasTantra means to learn and practice the Three Esoterica,namely t
13、he mystery of body, speech,and mind. When the Three Esoterica correspond to each other, you can obtain the achievement andtranscend to Buddha.The mystery of bodyIt means to perform all kinds of mudras. Performing mudras is the main approach of practicingof the mystery of body in tantra.The different
14、 shapes performed by hands and fingers are calledmudras. There is a great amount of mudras in Tantra.The mystery of speechIt is also called the mystery of language, which mainly refers to chanting mantras. Mantras arecalled incantations, which has various kinds of manifestations. Buddhism believes t
15、hat the mantrashas powerful mental functions. Of course, from the view of science, mantra is a certain kind of soundwave.Through chanting mantras, it creates waves inside our body, which has the effect of openingthe meridians in the body and in turn opens our wisdom and prolongs our lives. Therefore
16、, utteringmantras can help us focus and eliminate distractions. It is a very effective way to meditate. There area dazzling array of mantras in Tantra.The mystery of mindThe mystery of mind The mystery of mind is the most important aspect of the Three Esoterica.The mystery of body and speech both de
17、pend on our mind to be effective. The mystery of mind is tovisualize via consciousness. The approach of visualization is to produce the figures that we imagine byusing the power of our mind. The image will get clearer eventually, and appear in front of you. Thereare mainly 4 visualizations, which ar
18、e called 4 Mandalas.The first visualization is via words, such as visualizing the Sanskrit and the Tibetan scripts.The second visualization is via matters, like visualize the moon, or the blooming of lotus.The third visualization is via the law, such as visualizing the benevolence, the happiness and
19、abandon.The fourth visualization is via people, like observing your master or yourself.The practitioners practice Buddhism via the integration of the Three Esoterica to achieve a realm,in which they are the Buddha and the Buddha is them. This is the most basic and most importantpractice of Tantra. A
20、ll the practice of Tantra is carried out based on this.Mudras of TantraThe mystery of body in the Three Esoterica refers to mudras. The human body is equivalent to areceiver, and mudras are the antenna,which can connect people with people, people with theuniverse and people with all beings.There are
21、 3 common mudras in Buddhism. They are called the 5 mudras of kyamuni.Dharmachakra-MudrIt means to twist the thumb and middle finger or index finger together, and preach. WhenGautama Buddha first lectured scriptures in Sarnath, he used this mudra.Abhaya Mudr (gesture of fearlessness)Raise the arms i
22、n front of your chest and stretch the fingers naturally with your palms outwards,this is the gesture of fearlessness.It means that the Buddha can make all beings feel calmand fearless.Varada-MudrSag the hands naturally on both sides and point fingers downwards with your palms outwards.Itmeans that a
23、ny hope and demand from living creatures will be satisfied without any problems. Allare given to you to fulfill your wishes. Abhaya Mudr and Varada-MudrYou can see the mudras ofcan be found from Grand Buddha at Ling Shan.Bhumyakramana-MudrPut the right hand on the right knee with the finger touching
24、 the ground. It is also called earth-touching. When the Buddha was transcending, the demon came to make troubles. Buddha touchedthe earth with his fingers and let the earth prove. So the god of earth came out to prove thatGautama Buddha has already transcended. The demon was terrified, and never dar
25、e to cause anytroubles.Dhyana-MudrPut your hands up in front of your lower abdomen with the right hand above left hand and thetips of two thumbs touching gently. This mudra means that you must be peaceful when you meditate.It is said that the Gautama Buddha used this gesture when he was sitting unde
26、r the bodhi treemeditating.Vairocana of Womb Realm also used Dhyana-Mudr.The mantras of TantraThe mystery of speech in the Three Esoterica is mantras. Mantras are the most effective meansto help people achieve their aspirations in life.There are many functions of mantras. Such as praying for rain, e
27、xorcism, prolonging life, andcuring. These mantras can greatly solve problems in real life.Are these mantras really effective?There is Zen implied. Let me tell you a story, then you willknow if it really works or not.There was an old lady, who was very sincere. She chanted the mantras of Avalokiteva
28、ra, whichis om mani padme hum. She chanted this mantras for 2 0 years and she invited an Avalokitevara.Every time she chanted the mantra, the Avalokitevara shone, and turned the mountain red.One day, a monk walked by the old lady s shelter. He heard the old lady chanting, and realizedthat the last w
29、ord of the old lady s mantra was wrong. She chanted as om mani padme moo.The master said, oh your elderly, you are wrong. That word is not moo but hum. Om manipadme hum is the correct pronunciation.The old lady was confused upon hearing this, and felt infinitely guilty. She said, ah, I was wrongfor
30、2 0 years. It is a sin that I pronounced it wrong.So she corrected and chanted om mani padme hum. It took a lot of efforts to say this wordcorrectly. She looked at that Avalokitevara, but it never shone again. Whats wrong? Because herheart was not calm anymore.So, as long as you are sincere it doesn
31、t matter if you pronounce correctly or not.Master Hanshan in Ming Dynasty said, If you chant with your mouth but without a calm heart, itisuselessevenifyouhurtyourthroat.(FeiXianSong)The essence of TantraThe essence of Tantra, according to Master Thich Nhat Hanh, is to solve all the pain, and to giv
32、elimitless happiness. (Mahvairocana Tantra volume 1) This is the statement that grasps the essenceaccurately.Tantra has a very deep emotion of protecting the country and blessing the people.In the 3 Scriptures of protecting the country in Buddhism, namely Karunika-rja Prajpramitsutra , Golden Light
33、Sutra, and Lotus Sutra, the first two are the exclusive classics of Tantra. They allhave the purport of protecting the country and blessing the people.When Amoghavajra retranslated Karunika-rja Prajpramit sutra, he said that this scripturecan protect the country. After Karunika-rja Prajpramit sutra
34、was translated, the monks wouldhold a puja to pray for the country when there were important events. This was normal.So from the view of blessing the people, Tantra told the Buddhists that practicing Tantra cansolve all kinds of difficulties in life. Under the help of Tantra,People can obtain a bett
35、er life form.The protectors and bodhisattvas in Tantra all wish to protect and pray for people.The mudras, mantras and all kinds of rituals in Tantra are all aiming to protect and pray forpeople and to let them get a happier life status.The decline and continuation of the lineageTantra has almost no
36、 complete inheritance in China after Tang Dynasty due to the historicalreason such as the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution. The ancestry of Tantra was basically broken inHan region after Tang Dynasty. But the ritual of Tantra was still passed down, and never stopped.Lots of mantras in Tantra have bee
37、n included in the morning and evening chanting of HanBuddhism, and were widely used in various Buddhist activities. The monks in Han region chantShurangama Mantra and Nlakaha Dhra , and 1 0 short mantras during their morning andevening chanting. These are all mantras of Tantra.During the Republic of
38、 China, in view of the interruption of Tantra, monks and ordinary peoplesused to travel to Japan and hoped to invite back the Tang Tantra of Japan.In recent year, the masters in Daxingshan Temple and Longmen Temple, the ancestral courts ofTantra, also inherited this legacy and continued Tang Tantra in the ancestral court.Tang Tantra, founded in Changan in Tang Dynasty, is a treasure of the traditional culture.As the entire revitalization of Chinese extraordinary traditional culture, Tang Tantra is alsoregaining its power,and making a positive contribution to Chinese culture.
