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Hsu Yun Buddhist
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LINKS TO OTHER PAGES Information on Tucson, AZ Temple. Master Hsu Yun's Discourses II Master Hsu Yun's Poetry Chinese Schools of Buddhism
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Amida Buddha On these pages are some of the teachings of Ven. Master Hsu Yun. Also by following the links on the left you will find more more information on meditation and Buddhism. Our temple in Tucson which is open to all may also be accessed on the left. The Buddha said that just as in the great ocean there is but one taste, the taste of salt, so in his doctrine and discipline there is but one taste, the taste of freedom. The taste of freedom that pervades the Buddha's teaching is the taste of spiritual freedom, which from the Buddhist perspective means freedom from suffering. In the process leading to deliverance from suffering, meditation is the means of generating the inner awakening required for liberation. From the beginning Buddha's goal was the elimination of suffering. To achieve that goal the Buddha gave us many tools and principals. He gave us the Four Noble Truths, Eight Fold Path and encouraged us to use the threefold practice of morality, meditation and wisdom. The Threefold practice (trini siksani) is the foundation of all Buddhist practice. It is believe the student will not progress to wisdom (transcendental) without morality and meditation. It is important that all three be practiced simultaneously as they are all related. Buddhist meditation techniques first entered China toward the end of the second century. Meditation should be based on morality, while wisdom is based on meditation. Buddhism is a religion of practice without practice there can be no real progress towards liberation. Consistency is the key to success. With consistency the practitioner will develop the insights and knowledge that will encourage further practice. Buddhism in China has a long and rich tradition, which for the most part has not been widely available or known in the west. Almost all of Chinese Buddhism fits into the Mahayana school of Buddhism. Long before Buddhism arrived in China, Chinese thinkers taught a philosophy (Daoism) that was striking similar to Buddhism.. This philosophy is thought to have originated with Lao-tzu and Zhuangzi approximately six hundred years before the common era. Buddhism was gradually introduced to China over the silk road starting in about 67 AD . Two monks from India, Kasyapa Matangfo and Dharmaraksha are thought to been influential in bringing Buddhism to China.. The White Horse Monastery that was built for them is still in existence today. From China, it later spread to Korea in 372 AD and then to Japan in 552 AD. The Buddhism practiced in China was and is Mahayana or literally the Great Vehicle. The Mahayana practitioner seeks liberation for all people. This is the goal of the Bodhisattva - to help all beings before himself. The other major school of Buddhism is the Hinayana or Smaller Vehicle which seeks liberation for the individual. One school is not superior to the other they are just different approaches. The Hinayana school is found mainly in southeast Asia. We will discuss Chinese Buddhism from the point of view of two of the most popular schools i.e. Chan (Zen) and Pure Land. Additionally there are 6 other major schools of Chinese Buddhism. Of course each of the major schools had various sub sects. In Chan alone there were five major sub sects. Click on "Chinese Schools of Buddhism" for a overview. The following is a quotation by the contemporary Chinese master Venerable Yin Shun "In sum the Buddhist teachings are very diverse and befitting to all. Those who are unable to integrate and organize them systematically will make the mistake of taking only parts of them. In so doing they will abandon the whole. This style of practice has brought Buddhism to its present narrowness and poverty." In Chinese monasteries monks study Buddhism from a broad prospective not limiting themselves to just one school or another. Precepts are the rules by which monks, nuns and lay people abide by. Typically there are 250 for monks and 348 for nuns; this may vary from monastery to monastery. Lay people can elect to take as many precepts as they want. The most common is five. All Buddhist schools (Chinese or Japanese) focus on the Five Precepts: no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying and no use of drugs or alcohol. Following these precepts is the first step to moral purity. Complimentary to the Precepts and part of the Four Noble Truths is the Eight Fold Path. Which is; Right Understanding, Right thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. With Buddhist practice will come a deep respect for all things both animate and inanimate. The practitioner will eventually see that there is no separation between self and other. There is only the One. May all beings attain happiness and the sources of happiness, May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May they dwell in deep equanimity, free from passion, aggression, and ignorance.
For more information concerning the Venerable Master Hsu Yun, Chan (Zen)
and Buddhism in general please click either of the two links in blue
below:
About Zen and Master Hsu Yun (English and Spanish). Click on this link to email: Venerable Dao Chuan
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