Jacqueline Stone at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium - 21 of 23
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Description
Jacqueline Stone discusses the doctrine of original enlightenment (hongaku hōmon) and the debate over whether such a concept negates the need for practice and legitimates sinful acts. She explores the notion of original enlightenment as it is portrayed in the twelfth-century text known as Shinnyo kan (Contemplation of Suchness).
Abstract from the Author
From Buddha Nature to Original Enlightenment “Contemplating Suchness” in Medieval Japan
Most theories of buddha-nature circulating in medieval Japan entailed the proposition that all phenomena, being empty, are nondual and mutually inclusive, each encompassing and pervading all others without losing its individual character; thus the “buddha” is somehow present in ordinary beings. To many Buddhist thinkers, this suggested the possibility that buddhahood could be attained quickly. “Realizing buddhahood with this very body” (sokushin jōbutsu)—what it might mean, its preconditions, and the practices for achieving it—was vociferously debated. Concern for rapid attainment culminated in the Tendai Buddhist doctrine of original enlightenment (hongaku hōmon), which asserts that buddhahood is not a goal at all but the true status of all things: Suffering arises from the failure to realize this, while liberation lies in the insight, or even the faith, that one is buddha already. Hongaku thought has often been disparaged in modern scholarship as an uncritical world affirmation that, in valorizing all phenomena as expressions of original enlightenment, in effect negated the need for practice and legitimated sinful acts. It is more accurately understood, however, as a radical inversion of practice and attainment: buddhahood is not a future achievement but inherent from the outset, and practice is not a means to realize buddhahood but its paradigmatic expression. This paper will examine how original enlightenment thought grew out of major strands of East Asian Mahāyāna thinking about buddha-nature. It will also illustrate some of its defining features as seen through a twelfth-century text known as Shinnyo kan (Contemplation of Suchness), which asserts that buddhahood lies precisely in contemplating self and others—humans and animals, pebbles and trees—as buddhas, just as they are.
Sources Mentioned
Commonly referred to as the Lotus Sūtra, this text is extremely popular in East Asia, where it is considered to be the "final" teaching of the Buddha. Especially in Japan, reverence for this text has put it at the center of numerous Buddhist movements, including many modern, so-called new religions. The esteemed status of this scripture is epitomized in the Nichiren school's sole practice of merely paying homage to its title with the prayer "Namu myōhō renge kyō".
People Mentioned
About the video
| Featuring | Jacqueline Stone |
|---|---|
| Creator | University of Vienna, Tsadra Foundation |
| Event | Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia (19 July 2019, University of Vienna, Austria) |
| Related Website | Buddha-Nature Project |
| Video Web Location | Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia |
| Creation Date | 19 July 2019 |
| Citation | Stone, Jacqueline. "From Buddha Nature to Original Enlightenment: 'Contemplating Suchness' in Medieval Japan." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 47:26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zXXWsD39hc. |
