Introduction
After the death of the historical Buddha occurred and his lineage had ended with Buddha Sakyamuni, his teachings spread in two main directions, southward (Theravada tradition) and eastward into China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan (Mahayana tradition). In East Asia, these teachings developed into ten different schools, several of which remain important to this day: Zen, Tantric and Pure Land (Li 4 April 2016). These schools of thought differ in many ways but also have overlapping similarities. In my essay, I will explain three underlying differences and similarities between Zen and Pure Land Buddhism and its relation to emptiness and compassion. The differences the reader will encounter will be the role of language, the role of practice, and approaches towards life and death. While there are many differences, there also lay similarities, including śūnyatā (emptiness), bodhisattva’s compassion and ono-mama or sono-mama (isness or suchness).
2. The Role of Language
Zen’s school of thought in the context of language is seen through jiriki (self-power).The koan, one of the foundation of zen learning, uses its approach by believing that one must embody and realize the koan (Shinran PG#). Realizing the koan means to comprehend and embody Zen meditation completely. The goal of Zen Buddhism is to look towards the future, searching to attain satori (awakening). Through jiriki nembutsu (self-power chanting) the person is hakarai (calculating) their spiritual and material
A brief comparison between Zen and Pure Land Buddhism, both of these are very popular amongst the Vietnamese community. The word Zen has been used many times in the West, due to the hard work of Japanese culture; Zen Buddhism does not have a strong influence as that of the Pure Land Buddhism. Also in the school of Zen, "they reject claims of scriptural authority and embrace many different practices". Zen Buddhism rests on claims to an exclusive lineage that has been passed down from teacher to disciple in a succession from "Shakyamuni", or the historical "Buddha", all the way to the present day.
Pure Land Buddhism offers a way to enlightenment for people who can’t handle the subtleties of meditation, endure long rituals, or just live especially good lives. The essential practice in Pure Land Buddhism is the chanting of the name Amitabha Buddha with total concentration, trusting that one will reborn in Pure Land, where it is much easier for a being to work towards enlightenment. Pure Land Buddhism is particularly popular in China and Japan.
Even though Zen and Pure Land Buddhism are usually considered to be quite different, they are actually part of the same type of Buddhism, Mahayana, and thus have an underlying similarity. This essay will argue that, in particular, the Mahayana concepts of non-duality and no-self are present in both schools, and that the ways employed in each school to reach their respective goals can be analyzed in a similar fashion, proving that these two schools are part of, rather than deviations of, Mahayana Buddhism.
Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism are considered as two popular schools in Mahayana Buddhism. The two are regarded as polar opposites. In this paper, I argue that Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism are not entirely different, they still have underlying similarities instead.
This paper is a book report on “Living Buddha, Living Christ,” written by, Thich Nhat Hanh. In this paper I will discuss the four themes; Mindfulness, Understanding, Interbeing, and Wisdom. I will define the themes, and explain how each theme listed is a part of my life and whether this theme, can be co-related along with my faith.
The aspiration of all sentient beings is to reach enlightenment; to realize their Buddha-nature and ascend to Buddhahood. The path and method to reach enlightenment, however, differs depending on the perspective from which one views Buddhism. Dogen, in his teachings on Zen Buddhism, promotes the practice of zazen to reach enlightenment. Shinran and the Pure Land sect are devoted to Amida Buddha, who they believe will bring them to the Pure Land, and enlightenment. The ways espoused by Dogen and Shinran are similar in some aspects, but differing enough in others to warrant the separate sects of Buddhism in Japan. For the purposes of this examination, the two sects can be summarized by how they look at reaching enlightenment: Zen Buddhism focuses inwardly, while Pure Land focuses outwardly. By examining their own words on how one is to reach enlightenment, the similarities and differences in their methods can be seen, allowing a better understanding of the teachings of their respective sects.
The topic of Zen Buddhism and understanding how it fits into a framework that was designed to
In The Heart of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh’s uses simple but powerful words and real world examples to illustrate the profound Buddhist philosophy from the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, an important representative of Mahayana Buddhist literature. The Mahayana school of Buddhist teachings emphasizes the doctrine of Sunyata- emptiness. The doctrine of emptiness, one of the most important Mahayana innovations, focuses on the relational aspect of existence. Thich Nhat Hanh coins and introduces a new word- interbeing to explain the state of emptiness. This idea of interbeing not only illustrates emptiness well but also provides understanding of other fundamental Buddhist ideas such as No-Self, impermanence and non-duality.
Pure Lands Buddhism is highly influenced by the doctrines and practices in Tendai, especially the Lotus Sutra. However, Pure Lands Buddhism began to spread throughout Japan because of the shift from the Heian period to the Kamakura period. The “uncertainty of life” and the belief that mappō was occurring allowed the shift to Pure Lands Buddhism to become popular (Earhart 130). I believe that this shift occurred because of the inclusive nature of Pure Lands Buddhism. The main belief that “Amida has compassion for and wants to save all human beings” allowed Buddhists to focus more on reaching salvation by going to the Pure Lands (Earhart 131). Pure Lands Buddhism allowed monks to ignore the decline of the Buddha’s law, or mappō, that was supposedly
Zen, also known as Ch’an Buddhism in China, is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that was established in China about 1500 years ago. Zen is a form of religious practice of mainly concentrating the mind to a single point in which then results in self-realization and/or enlightenment. Zen philosophy is interpreted that all humans are capable of reaching enlightenment, which is generally blocked by ignorance. The idea emphasizes enlightened masters over forms of scriptures, and is the least “academic” of all the Buddhist schools.
While reading Walt Whitman’s compilation of poetry found in the comprehensive collection Leaves of Grass, it is nearly impossible to ignore the multitude of connections made to Buddhist teachings. His poetry mimics the main principles of Buddhism to the point that some authors have gone as far as to call him the American Buddha. In particular, Whitman subtly makes a connection between two of the most essential dualistic principles in Buddhism, not one not two, and death without dying. In fact, rather than merely demonstrating these teachings, Whitman, through his powerful language, portrays the latter as a continuation of the former in a way that comes irresistibly close to describing the mystery surrounding Buddhist dualism. [In fact, Whitman portrays death without dying as a continuation of not one not two; through his powerful language his descriptions are irresistibly close to the mystery that surrounds Buddhist dualism rather than merely demonstrate the teachings.]
Mastering Enlightenment by Doing Less: A Comparative Approach of the Difficulty of Achieving Enlightenment in Zen and Pure Land Traditions in Japan
In the United States there are over four million buddhists, one thousand temples, study groups, or Buddhists associations (Monroe 108). This number has come from just one man searching to find happiness and eventually enlightenment. Buddha’s story is how buddhism became a religion all over the world. It teaches a peaceful manner, reveals the key to happiness for the mind, and eliminates the desire in life. Not just the history of buddhism is important, but how it has spread through the world and what it looks like today.
Compassion is basically considered to be one of the most virtues in almost all religious traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Buddhism and Christianity are two different religions but both of them are interrelated. Both religions have hope of life after death, hope of reincarnation of Buddhists, eternal life of Christians, but live consciously. Both Buddhism and Christianity were founded by spiritual leaders and masters who tried to prove a way of salvation. Based on religious writings, this paper explores the way Buddhism and Christianity are different and in what ways they similar from the point of salvation, life after death, and love.
- 800 A.D.) The second section will deal with Zen Buddhist views on modern education. In this effort, the following questions will be addressed: i) What is the meaning of education in Zen Buddhism ? and ii) How can Zen Buddhism assist modern education? I shall interpolate typical Zen positions with non-technical observations in order to balance between scholarly and non-scholarly views. The third section will present a conclusion of this paper.