Aviv, E.

Eyal Aviv

Dr. Aviv is interested in Buddhist philosophy and intellectual history. He studies topics of intersections between early Buddhist Philosophy, especially of the Abhidharma and the Yogacara traditions, and contemporary philosophy. His interest includes topics such as philosophy of mind, cognitive science, ethics and contemplative practices. His intellectual history research focuses on religion in the modern period, especially the Buddhist renaissance in modern China. In addition, he is also interested in the way the Yogacara school was received and developed in pre-modern China. His current book project explores the role of Indian Buddhist philosophy in the formation of modern Chinese Buddhist thought. (Source Accessed June 8, 2023)

Library Items

Article

The Debate over the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna (Aviv 2020)

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No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:

The debate over the role of the Awakening of Faith in the theory and practice of Chinese Buddhism is one of the central ongoing debates among both Chinese Buddhists and scholars of Buddhism in the modern period. To understand this debate, and the views contained within it, it is necessary to contextualize it within the history of modern East Asian Buddhism. The following review focuses both on a critical assessment of the Awakening of Faith’s authenticity, as well as the role Ouyang played in shifting the course of this debate. This disputation was at the heart of Ouyang’s quest for authenticity. The chapter will not be a comprehensive treatment of all the thinkers involved in these debates; I will deal here only with dimensions of the text that became contentious for Ouyang and with the contribution of other participants who carried forward the debate at that time. (Aviv, introduction, 69)

Notes

1. The Awakening of Faith exists in two purported “translations.” One is attributed to Paramārtha, T.32.1666.0575a03–0583b17, in 554 ce; the other, later version is attributed to Śikṣānanda, T.32.1667.0583b21–0591c22, in 695–700 ce. While the title includes the term Mahāyāna, and the text is often translated as the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna or according to the Mahāyāna, I take the term Mahāyāna as part of the customary classificatory term in the canon rather than as part of the actual title, as is common with other texts with the same classificatory term and other texts marked with terms such as Abhidharma (阿毘達磨) or the mothers of the Buddha (佛母).

Aviv, Eyal. "The Debate over the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna." In Differentiating the Pearl from the Fish-Eye: Ouyang Jingwu and the Revival of Scholastic Buddhism, 60–106. Leiden: Brill, 2020.

Aviv, Eyal. "The Debate over the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna." In Differentiating the Pearl from the Fish-Eye: Ouyang Jingwu and the Revival of Scholastic Buddhism, 60–106. Leiden: Brill, 2020.;The Debate over the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna (Aviv 2020);Dasheng qixin lun;Eyal Aviv

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abhidharma - Abhidharma generally refers to the corpus of Buddhist texts which deals with the typological, phenomenological, metaphysical, and epistemological presentation of Buddhist concepts and teachings. The abhidharma teachings present a meta-knowledge of Buddhist sūtras through analytical and systemic schemas and are said to focus on developing wisdom among the three principles of training. The Abhidharma is presented alongside Sūtra and Vinaya as one of the three baskets of the teachings of the Buddha. Skt. अभिधर्म Tib. ཆོས་མངོན་པ། Ch. 阿毗达磨

The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism.

The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism.