The Awakening of Faith (1967)

Book

The text known as the Dasheng qixinlun (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna) is a short treatise occupying only nine pages in the Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripitaka.[1] The reconstructed Sanskrit title of the work is Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda-śāstra; it is said to have been written in Sanskrit by Aśvaghosha and translated into Chinese in A.D. 550 by the famous Indian translator of Buddhist texts, Paramārtha. No Sanskrit version of the text exists today, however, and all our knowledge of the work is based on this Chinese version and a second version that dates from a somewhat later period.
The work is a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the product of a mind extraordinarily apt at synthesis. It begins with an examination of the nature of the Absolute or enlightenment and of the phenomenal world or nonenlightenment and discusses the relationships that exist between them; from there, it passes on to the question of how man may transcend his finite state and participate in the life of the infinite while still remaining in the midst of the phenomenal order; it concludes with a discussion of particular practices and techniques that will aid the believer in the awakening and growth of his faith. In spite of its deep concern with philosophical concepts and definitions, therefore, it is essentially a religious work, a map drawn by a man of unshakable faith, which will guide the believer to the peak of understanding. But the map and the peak are only provisional symbols, skillful and expedient ways employed to bring men to enlightenment. The text and all the arguments in it exist not for their own sake but for the sake of this objective alone. The treatise is, indeed, a true classic of Mahāyāna Buddhism. (Hakeda, introduction, 1–2)

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Citation	Hakeda, Yoshito S., trans. The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Aśvaghosha. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.

Foreword, by Wm. Theodore de Baryv
Prefacevii
Introduction1

The Awakening of Faith21

Introduction to the Reprint Edition, by Ry[ichi Abé 17 The Awakening of Faith 29 Invocation 31 The Contents of the Discourse 32 Part 1 The Reasons for Writing 33 Part 2 Outline 35 Part 3 Interpretation 38 Chapter One: Revelation of True Meaning 38 I. One Mind and Its Two Aspects 38 A. The Mind in Terms of the Absolute 39 1. Truly Empty 41 2. Truly Nonempty 42 B. The Mind in Terms of Phenomena 43 1. The Storehouse Consciousness 43

a. The Aspect of Enlightenment 43 (1) Original Enlightenment 43 (2) The Process of Actualization of Enlightenment 44 (a) Purity of Wisdom 46 (b) Suprarational Functions 47 (3) The Characteristics of the Essence of Enlightenment 47 b. The Aspect of Nonenlightenment 48 c. The Relationships Between Enlightenment and Nonenlightenment 50 (1) Identity 50 (2) Nonidentity 50 2. The Cause and Conditions of Man’s Being in SaÅs1ra 51 a. Mind 52 b. Consciousness 53 c. Defiled States of Mind 55 d. Comments on the Terms Used in the Foregoing Discussion 56 3. The Characteristics of Beings in SaÅs1ra 57 a. Permeation of Ignorance 59 b. Permeation of Suchness 60 (1) Permeation Through Manifestation of the Essence of Suchness 62 (2) Permeation Through Influences 63 (a) The Specific Coordinating Causes 63 (b) The General Coordinating Causes 64

II. The Essence Itself and the Attributes of Suchness, or The Meanings of Mah1 66 A. The Greatness of the Essence of Suchness 66 B. The Greatness of the Attributes of Suchness 66 C. The Greatness of the Influences of Suchness 68 III. From SaÅs1ra to Nirv1âa 72 Chapter Two: The Correction of Evil Attachments 73 I. The Biased Views Held by Ordinary Men 74 II. The Biased Views Held by the HEn1yanists 77 vi contents Chapter Three: Analysis of the Types of Aspiration for Enlightenment, or The Meanings of Y1na 79 I. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through the Perfection of Faith 79 II. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through Understanding and Deeds 83 III. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through Insight 84

Part 4 On Faith and Practice 88 On Four Faiths 88 On Five Practices 89 The Practice of Cessation 91 The Practice of Clear Observation 94 Part 5 Encouragement of Practice and the Benefits Thereof 96 Notes 99 Chinese Character Glossary 105 Selected Bibliography 107 Index 111

Aśvaghoṣa. Mahāyānaśraddhotpādaśāstra. (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun). 63 (4), Taisho Volume 32, No. 1666.