The Awakening of Faith (1967)

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|BookToc=Foreword, by Wm. Theodore de Bary ix
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Preface xi
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**{{i|Preface|vii}}
Introduction 1
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**{{i|Introduction|1}}
Introduction to the Reprint Edition, by Ry[ichi Abé 17
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The Awakening of Faith 29
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*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''The Awakening of Faith''|21}}
Invocation 31
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The Contents of the Discourse 32
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**{{i|Invocation|23}}
Part 1 The Reasons for Writing 33
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**{{i|The Contents of the Discourse|24}}
Part 2 Outline 35
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*{{i|Part 1 The Reasons for Writing|25}}
Part 3 Interpretation 38
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*{{i|Part 2 Outline|28}}
Chapter One: Revelation of True Meaning 38
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*{{i|Part 3 Interpretation|31}}
I. One Mind and Its Two Aspects 38
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**{{i|Chapter One: Revelation of True Meaning|31}}
A. The Mind in Terms of the Absolute 39
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***{{i|I. One Mind and Its Two Aspects|31}}
1. Truly Empty 41
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****{{i|A. The Mind in Terms of the Absolute|32}}
2. Truly Nonempty 42
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*****{{i|1. Truly Empty|34}}
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*****{{i|2. Truly Nonempty|35}}
 
B. The Mind in Terms of Phenomena 43
 
B. The Mind in Terms of Phenomena 43
 
1. The Storehouse Consciousness 43
 
1. The Storehouse Consciousness 43

Revision as of 17:35, 31 July 2020

The Awakening of Faith (1967)
Book
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)

Read more here . . .

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