Huayan Buddhism (Kegon Buddhism)

Formation: sixth century CE

Founders: Dushun, Zhiyan, Fazang, Chengguan, Zongmi

Huayan Buddhism is a Chinese school of Buddhism and belongs to the Mahayana branch of Buddhist philosophy. It is also sometimes referred to as the Flower Garland School after its principal text, the Avatamsaka Sutra (the Flower Garland Sutra). Huayan Buddhism’s main belief centers both on the idea that all things and events are interconnected and interdependent as well as on the relationship between the absolute and the relative. Oftentimes, Fazang is considered to be the father of the school; however, Huayan Buddhism is thought to have five patriarchs, all of whom played an important role in the development and popularization of the school.

Although Huayan Buddhism was never widely practiced, its philosophy has provided the basis for Zen and much of contemporary East Asian Buddhism. Huayan Buddhism also exists in Japan, where it is known as Kegon, having arrived there after the Chinese monk Shen-hsiang introduced the school of thought to the island in 740 CE. Huayan Buddhism also has a presence in Korea, where it is known as Hwaeom.

History

The Huayan school was first established in China at the beginning of the Tang dynasty between 600 and 700 CE. The school is thought to have had five main founders who shaped the school’s doctrine and helped spread its message. The first was Dushun (557–640), who was responsible for establishing Huayan and creating a space for it as a separate form of Buddhism. The second patriarch was Zhiyan (602–668), who established the basic principles of Huayan.

Fazang (643–712), the third founder, is the most well known; he played a large role in modifying and interpreting the doctrine so that it would make sense and appeal to society at large. At the time the school relied heavily on support from the government, and Fazang served as a teacher to Empress Wu. Fazang used metaphors and practical experiments in order to demonstrate the complex ideas of Huayan and make their meanings more accessible to the empress. One such metaphor employed by Fazang to explain that concept of the coexistence of the universal and the particular relied on a golden lion statue that was present at her palace. He showed the empress that the lion was entirely gold but that at the same time its form was unmistakably that of a lion. Therefore, the statue could be seen and described as either gold or lion because it was both completely gold and completely a lion.

The fourth and fifth patriarchs of Huayan, Chengguan (737–838) and Zongmi (780–841), worked together to take the development of the school’s ideas even farther. After the time of Chengguan and Zongmi, however, the school did not continue to develop and elaborate on its principles in any significant way, leading to a decline in popularity. Furthermore, the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution from 841 to 845, led by Tang Emperor Wuzong, attempted to rid China of any foreign influences, and Buddhists across the nation were persecuted. After this Buddhist purge, Huayan never returned to its full status. Despite this fact, however, the Huayan school’s deep roots in the philosophy of metaphysics and its teaching of the ways to view reality, heavily influenced and affected the other surviving East Asian schools of Buddhism.

Beliefs and Practices

Huayan Buddhism draws much of its influence and core principles from the Avatamsaka Sutra, an ancient text with roots dating back to about 400 BCE. The Avatamsaka Sutra is compiled of many sutras, which are rules or aphorisms, but at its core it is centered on the philosophy of interpenetration and the oneness of absolute and relative: "All in One, One in All. The All melts into a single whole. There are no divisions in the totality of reality." (Dumoulin, Heisig, and Knitter 47). While Huayan Buddhism was inspired by and heavily relied on the sutra, much of the technical language that became hallmarks of the school came from commentaries written by its early founders, Dushun and Fazang. Perhaps the most important commentary was On the Meditation of the Dharmadhatu, written by Dushun, which discusses the important Four Dharmadhatu principles, or ways of viewing reality, of Huayan Buddhism. Additionally, the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, an abridgment of Chinese thought about enlightenment and reality, was an important text for Fazang.

In its metaphysics, Huayan Buddhism teaches that nature is the source of all of the universe’s phenomena, but at the same time, nature is part of those phenomena. The classic metaphor used to describe this idea is called Indra’s Net. Indra’s Net describes a net that spins infinitely throughout the universe. The net is comprised of many knots, and at each of these knots, there is a many-sided jewel. Each of these individual jewels reflects every other jewel in the net as well as the reflections of all the other jewels. This is the way that followers of Huayan Buddhism see the interconnectedness of the universe’s phenomena—nothing can exist on its own, and all things are interdependent. Additionally, this means that good also encompasses evil, and truth and reality encompass lies and illusion.

Huayan Buddhism also teaches the Four Dharmadhatu, which are four ways to view reality. The first two clarify what followers consider the two vital aspects of spiritual practice as well as life as a whole—the absolute and the relative, or the universal and the particular. Thus, the first dharmadhatu says that the universal can be seen through meditation, a practice that focuses on the internal to help inform a greater understanding of absolute truths. The second dharmadhatu then brings this absolute understanding back into the particular. The third dharmadhatu recognizes that an absolute, universal truth cannot exist without being part of a particular situation. This, therefore, means that the universal and the particular exist simultaneously, interacting but never inhibiting the other, and this is the fourth dharmadhatu.

Bibliography

"Avatamsaka-sutra." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 06 July 2015 <http://britannica.com/topic/Avatamsaka-sutra>.

Chang, Garma C. C. The Buddhist Teaching of Totality – The Philosophy of Hwa Yen Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Barnarsidass Publishers, 1992. Print.

Dumoulin, Heinrich, James W. Heisig, and Paul F. Knitter. Zen Buddhism: A History—Volume I: India and China. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2005. 41–62. Print.

Hamar, Imre. Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism. Germany: Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co., 2007. Print.

Haui-Chin, Nan. Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1997. Print.

Leighton, Taigen Dan. "Huayan Buddhism and the Phenomenal Universe of the Flower Ornament Sutra." Buddhadharma. 2006. Print.