The ''Vajrasamadhi-sutra'' is the reconstructed

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

title of a Buddhist

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an ap ...

ascribed to

Shakyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...

but produced in Korea under the name ''Kumgang sammae kyong'' (), or the ''Adamantine Absorption Sutra''. Although it was originally believed to have been a Chinese translation from a Sanskrit text, scholars have recently found that it was produced in Korea in about 685 CE and that it may be connected with the emergence of Seon in Korea.

History

According to Buswell, the ''Vajrasamadhi-sutra'' is thought to be an

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

scripture written by a Korean monk around 685 CE.Robert E. Buswell (1989), ''The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea: The 'Vajrasamadhi-Sutra', a Buddhist Apocryphon''. Princeton University Press Hagiograpic accounts claim a supernatural origin for the text: when a

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

king sent an envoy to China in order to find medicine for his sick queen, the party was taken to bottom of the sea by a dragon king who entrusted the text to them, saying the text should be arranged by the unknown monk Taean and commented on by

Wonhyo Won Hyo (617 – April 28, 686) was one of the leading thinkers, writers and commentators of the Korean Buddhist tradition. Essence-Function (), a key concept in East Asian Buddhism and particularly Korean Buddhism, was refined in the syncretic p ...

. In reality the text was likely connected with the emergence of Seon in Korea, and if this is the case it would be only the second known Korean text in this tradition.

wrote a commentary on the text shortly after its production called the '' Kumgang sammaegyong non'' in which he speculates that it may have been the inspiration for the ''

Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna'' (reconstructed Sanskrit title: ''Mahāyāna śraddhotpādaśāstra''; ) is a text of Mahayana Buddhism. Though attributed to the Indian master Aśvaghoṣa, no Sanskrit version of it exists and it is now ...

'', which was in fact written over a hundred years earlier. The text includes quotations of

Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...

, who lived in the 6th century CE, and references to the East Mountain Teachings of

Daoxin Dayi Daoxin ( Chinese: 道信; Pinyin: ''Dàoxìn;'' Wade–Giles: ''Tao-hsin;'' Romanji: ''Dōshin''), who lived from 580–651, was the fourth Chán Buddhist Patriarch, following Jianzhi Sengcan ( Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: ''Jiànzhì ...

and Hongren, both of whom lived in the 7th century. The aim of the text appears to be the synthesis of newly introduced

Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit ''dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century Common Era, CE onwards, becoming e ...

with already established

Huayan Buddhism 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 (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based pri ...

The ''Adamantine Absorption Sutra'' presents itself as a fusion of all pre-existing

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

ideas with the

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...

precepts that work together to give a complete system of

Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...

. The aim of the text appears to be the synthesis of

, which had just been introduced to Korea, with already established

. The text includes quotations of

and references to the East Mountain Teachings of

and Hongren. The author may have been attempting to fuse these disparate Chan traditions. The text also includes elements of the philosophy from the ''

'', specifically the notion of one mind that has an aspect of true thusness on the one hand and arising/ceasing on the other.

References

External links

The Vajrasamadhi Sutra, English translation
Mahayana texts {{Buddhist-text-stub

History

Contents

See also

References

External links