Gyōnen
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Gyōnen
Gyōnen (凝然; 1240–1321) was a Japanese Buddhist monk of the Kegon school who resided at Tōdai-ji Temple in the late Kamakura period. He studied the history of Buddhism in India, China, and Japan, compiling documents on this subject in pursuit of a comprehensive understanding of Japanese Buddhism. Biography Gyōnen, also known as Jikan, was born in Iyokuni (present-day Ehime Prefecture). He received the Bodhisattva Precepts at Mt. Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by ... in 1255. At the age of 18, he received the novice precepts and was fully ordained by Enshō (1220–1277) at Tōdaiji Temple when he was 20. He studied the teachings of a number of traditions of Buddhism including Sanron and Hossō under various masters around Japan before setting into Tōda ...
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East Asian Mādhyamaka
East Asian Madhyamaka refers to the Buddhist tradition in East Asia which represents the Indian Madhyamaka (''Chung-kuan'') system of thought. In Chinese Buddhism, these are often referred to as the ''Sānlùn'' ( Ch. 三論宗, Jp. ''Sanron'', "Three Treatise") school, also known as the "emptiness school" (''K'ung Tsung''),Hsueh-li Cheng, Empty Logic: Mādhyamika Buddhism from Chinese Sources, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1991 p. 9. although they may not have been an independent sect. The three principal texts of the school are ''the Middle Treatise'' (''Zhong lun''), ''the Twelve Gate Treatise'' (''Shiermen lun''), and ''the Hundred Treatise'' (''Bai lun''). They were first transmitted to China during the early 5th century by the Buddhist monk Kumārajīva (344−413) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The school and its texts were later transmitted to Korea and Japan. The leading thinkers of this tradition are Kumārajīva's disciple Sēngzhào (Seng-chao; 374−414), and the later J ...
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Huayan
The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primarily on the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'' () as well as on the works of the Huayan patriarchs, like Fazang. The name ''Flower Garland'' is meant to suggest the crowning glory of a Buddha's profound understanding of ultimate reality. The Huayan School is known as Hwaeom in Korea, Kegon in Japan and Hoa Nghiêm in Vietnam. This tradition also had a strong influence on Chan Buddhism. History Origins There are various versions of the ''Avatamsaka sutra.'' The earliest texts associated with the ''Avatamsaka sutra'' are the ''Dousha jing'' (Taisho 280), produced by Lokaksema (Buddhist monk), Lokaksema in the latter part of the second century CE and the ''Pusa benye jing'' (T. 281), translated by Zhi Qian in the early to mid third century ...
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Tōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergone several reconstructions since then, with the most significant reconstruction (that of the Great Buddha Hall) taking place in 1709. Its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 ''Daibutsuden'') houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as ''Daibutsu'' (大仏). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. History Origins The beginning of building a temple where the Kinshōsen-Ji complex sits today can be dated to 728 CE, when Emperor Shōmu e ...
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Kamakura Period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan. During the early Kamakura period, the shogunate continued warfare against the Northern Fujiwara which was only defeated in 1189. Then, the authority to the Kamakura rulers waned in the 1190s and power was transferred to the powerful Hōjō clan in the early 13th century with the head of the clan as regent (Shikken) under the shogun which became a powerless figurehead. The later Kamakura period saw the invasions of the Mongols in 1274 and again in 1281. To reduce the amount of chaos, the Hōjō rulers decided to decentralize power by allowing two imperial lines – Northern and Southern ...
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History Of Buddhism
The history of Buddhism spans from the 5th century BCE to the present. Buddhism arose in Ancient India, in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha, and is based on the teachings of the ascetic Siddhārtha Gautama. The religion evolved as it spread from the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent throughout Central, East, and Southeast Asia. At one time or another, it influenced most of Asia. The history of Buddhism is also characterized by the development of numerous movements, schisms, and philosophical schools, among them the Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions, with contrasting periods of expansion and retreat. Shakyamuni Buddha (5th cent. BCE) Siddhārtha Gautama (5th cent. BCE) was the historical founder of Buddhism. The early sources state he was born in the small Shakya (Pali: Sakya) Republic, which was part of the Kosala realm of ancient India, now in modern-day Nepal.Harvey, 2012, p. 14. He is thus also known as the ''Shakyamuni'' (literally: "Th ...
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Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tokushima Prefecture to the east, and Kōchi Prefecture to the southeast. Matsuyama is the capital and largest city of Ehime Prefecture and the largest city on Shikoku, with other major cities including Imabari, Niihama, and Saijō. Notable past Ehime residents include three Nobel Prize winners: they are Kenzaburo Oe (1994 Nobel Prize in Literature), Shuji Nakamura (2014 Nobel Prize in Physics), and Syukuro Manabe (2021 Nobel Prize in Physics). History Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime Prefecture was known as Iyo Province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongolian invasions. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugaw ...
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Bodhisattva Precepts
The Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla'', , ja, bosatsukai) are a set of ethical trainings ('' śīla'') used in Mahāyāna Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path to becoming a bodhisattva. Traditionally, monastics observed the basic moral code in Buddhism, the prātimokṣa (such as that of the Dharmaguptaka), but in the Mahāyāna tradition, monks may observe the Bodhisattva Precepts as well. The Bodhisattva Precepts are associated with the bodhisattva vow to save all beings and with bodhicitta. Sets of Precepts ''Brahmajāla Sūtra'' The ''Brahmajāla Sūtra'', translated by Kumārajīva (c. 400 CE), has a list of ten major and forty-eight minor Bodhisattva vows. The Bodhisattva Precepts may be often called the "Brahma Net Precepts" (), particularly in Buddhist scholarship, although other sets of bodhisattva precepts may be found in other texts as well. Typically, in East Asian Mahāyāna traditions, only the ten major precepts are considered ...
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Mount Hiei
is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by Saichō in 788 and rapidly grew into a sprawling complex of temples and buildings that were roughly divided into three areas: # The area near the summit, and technically in Kyoto Prefecture. # The area, also near the summit, where Enryaku-ji Temple was first founded, and located just within Shiga Prefecture. # The area near the northernmost end of Mount Hiei. Due to its remoteness, as a temple complex it experienced periods of revival and decline, starting with Ennin, later revived by Ryōgen and made famous by the scholar-monk Genshin. Due to its position north-east of the ancient capital of Kyoto, it was thought in ancient geomancy practices to be a protective bulwark against negative influences on the capital, which along with the r ...
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East Asian Yogācāra
East Asian Yogācāra (, "'Consciousness Only' school" or , "'Dharma Characteristics' school") refers to the traditions in East Asia which developed out of the Indian Buddhist Yogachara systems. The 4th-century Gandharan brothers, Asaṅga and Vasubandhu, are considered the classic philosophers and systematizers of this school, along with its other founder, Maitreya-natha.Siderits, Mark, ''Buddhism as philosophy'', 2017, p. 146. Asian Buddhist scholars such as Xuanzang and his students Kuiji, Woncheuk and Dōshō were also pivotal to the founding and development of the tradition in East Asia. Etymology The term ''Fǎxiàng'' itself was first applied to this tradition by the Huayan teacher Fazang ( zh, 法藏), who used it to characterize Consciousness Only teachings as provisional, dealing with the phenomenal appearances of the dharmas. Chinese proponents preferred the title ''Wéishí'' (), meaning "Consciousness Only" (Sanskrit ''Vijñaptimātra''). This school may also be ...
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13th-century Buddhist Monks
The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe. The conquests of Hulagu Khan and other Mongol invasions changed the course of the Muslim world, most notably the Siege of Baghdad (1258), the destruction of the House of Wisdom and the weakening of the Mamluks and Rums which, according to historians, caused the decline of the Islamic Golden Age. Other Muslim powers such as the Mali Empire and Delhi Sultanate conquered large parts of West Africa and the Indian subcontinent, while Buddhism witnessed a decline through the conquest led by Bakhtiyar Khilji. The Southern Song dynasty would begin the century as a prosperous kingdom but would eventually be invaded and annexed into the Yuan dynasty of the Mongols. The Kamakura Shogunate of Japan would be invaded by the Mongols. Goryeo resisted ...
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Kamakura Period Buddhist Clergy
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamakura was the ''de facto'' capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333 as the seat of the Kamakura Shogunate, and became the nation's most populous settlement during the Kamakura period. Kamakura is a popular domestic tourist destination in Japan as a coastal city with a high number of seasonal festivals, as well as ancient Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples. Geography Surrounded to the north, east, and west by hills and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay, Kamakura is a natural fortress. Before the construction of several tunnels and modern roads that now connect it to Fujisawa, Ofuna ( ja) and Zushi, on land it could be entered only through narrow artificial passes, among which the seven most important were called , a name some ...
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