Keenan, J.
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The intent of this paper is to treat this latter concern. It will attempt to describe the basic doctrinal focus of four early Yogācāra texts, suggest the intent of their authors, and draw a hypothesis concerning the lines of development of early Yogācāra as seen in these texts. The texts selected are the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, the Mahāyānābhidharmasūtra, and the Madyāntavibhāgaśāstra. All four texts were composed before the time of the classical formulation of Yogācāra by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu. Although it is not possible to determine with any degree of certitude the temporal relationship among these texts, insight into their doctrinal emphases would help to identify the overall problematic that led the early, pre-Asaṅgan Yogācārins to develop their thinking. (Source Accessed Jan 28, 2020)
To illustrate this general point Keenan considers the case of the translator Paramārtha and his amanuensis Hui-k'ai, and shows that in their work on Indic texts they not infrequently added references to tathtāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature where no such mention was made in the originals; they thus contributed to the centrality of Buddha Nature thought in East Asian Buddhism. (Griffiths and Keenan, introduction to Buddha Nature, 5)
Volume 16
The basic sūtra of the Faxiang School, The Scripture on the Explication of Underlying Meaning expounds the thought of the Yogācāra or Mind-Only School (Vijñānavāda), stating that all phenomena are manifestations of the mind. It belongs to the middle period of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism and is considered to have been composed at the start of the fourth century A.D. It is divided into eight chapters, and gives a detailed exposition of the philosophy of the Yogācāra School. Judging from the fact that the greater part of this sūtra is quoted in the Yogācārabhūmi (Taishō 53), and that numerous citations from it are to be found in such works as the Mahāyānasaṃgraha (Taishō 57) and Jō-yui-shiki-ron (Taishō 54), it is clear that it exerted considerable influence in later times.
Source
(Source: BDK America)
Volume Volume 31
A Mahayana Demonstration on the Theme of Action
Despite its brevity, A Mahayana Demonstration on the Theme of Action (Karmasiddhi-prakaraṇa), attributed to Vasubandhu and translated into Chinese by the scholar-monk Xuanzang, is a densely packed philosophical argumentation on the correct interpretation of scriptural references about the three kinds of actions of body, speech, and mind. The text reflects Yogācāra philosophy, including discussion of the storehouse consciousness (ālayavijñāna).
Source
Skt. Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa, translated by Xuanzang into the Chinese as Dasheng chengye lun (大乘成業論). 1 fascicle.
Translator(s): John P. Keenan
Taishō 1858 Volume Volume 45
Essays of Sengzhao
Sengzhao’s Essays (Zhao lun) comprise an introductory chapter, four essays, and an exchange of letters. The work can be seen as an extended meditation on sagehood, a perennial theme in Chinese religio-philosophical thought. These writings offer an original response to a set of concerns unique to Sengzhao, his community, and his times, and are an important voice in the religious speculation of early medieval China. Includes Zongmi’s annotations.
Source
Ch. Zhao lun (肇論).1 fascicle.
Translator(s): Rafal Felbur
Taishō 1886 Volume Volume 45
Treatise on the Origin of Humanity
The Treatise on the Origin of Humanity (Yuanren lun) by the Huayan patriarch Zongmi classifies various teachings of Buddhism on a scale of relative profundity, and specifically critiques the weaknesses of the teachings of Confucianism and Daoism, which he regards as inferior to Buddhism. This work formed the basis for some of the arguments in later East Asian history on the relationship of the three teachings.
Source
Ch. Yuanren lun (原人論). 1 fascicle.
Translator(s): Jan Yün-hua
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