In East Asian Buddhism,

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 Lu ...

of the Essential Teachings (Chapters 15-28) of the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

is considered the eternal Buddha. In the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha reveals that he actually attained Buddhahood in the inconceivably remote past. The Eternal Buddha is contrasted to Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment for the first time in India, which was taught in the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. The belief in the Eternal Buddha transcends through time and is commonly associated with

, but can also refer to both his past and future incarnations. However, no exact definition of the ''Eternal Buddha'' is defined in the Lotus Sutra, which was also revealed by

Siddhartha Gautama 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 Lu ...

; thereby making open interpretations to various religious groups.

Lotus Sutra and tathagatagarbha doctrine

In east-Asian Buddhism, the Buddha of the

is regarded as the eternal Buddha. "The Tathagata´s Lifespan" chapter (ch 16) of the

portrays the Buddha as indicating that he became awakened countless aeons ("kalpas") ago. The sutra itself, however, does not directly employ the phrase "eternal Buddha". In China the ''Lotus Sutra'' was associated with the ''

Mahaparinirvana Sutra In Buddhism, ''parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') is commonly used to refer to nirvana-after-death, which occurs upon the death of someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth a ...

'', which propagates the tathagatagarbha-doctrine, and with the '' Awakening of Faith''. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra presents the Buddha as eternal, and equates him with the Dharmakaya. The ''Lotus Sutra'' itself does hardly seem to accept the tathagatagarbha-teachings. According to Paul Williams, this association may be explained by the systematization of the ''Lotus Sutra'' teachings by the Tiantai school, using teachings from other schools "to equate the Buddha of the ''Lotus Sutra'' with the ultimate truth and to teach a cosmic Buddha."

Understanding in east-Asian Buddhism

China

The Chinese

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the ''Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy ...

scholar

Zhiyi Zhiyi (; 538–597 CE) also Chen De'an (陳德安), is the fourth patriarch of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi (沙門智顗), linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism. Zhiyi i ...

(538–597) divided the sutra into the "trace teaching" about the historical Shakyamuni Buddha (ch 1-14) and the "origin teaching" (ch 15-28) revealing the original Buddha of inconceivable life span. Zhiyi viewed Shakyamuni Buddha of Ch 16 of the Lotus Sutra as a unification of the three Buddha bodies, possessing all three bodies, whereas other sutras are taught from the standpoint of a single Buddha body.

Japan

The

Nichiren Shu Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of B ...

, Rissho Kosei Kai and Kempon Hokke schools of

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism ( ja, 日蓮仏教), also known as Hokkeshū ( ja, 法華宗, meaning ''Lotus Sect'') is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one o ...

revere Shakyamuni of Chapter 16 of the

as the eternal Buddha. They also regard Shakyamuni of Ch 16 as a "Unification of the Three Bodies", as taught by Tiantai. Other Buddhas, such as Amida of the Jōdo and Jōdo Shinshū Schools, and Mahāvairocana of the Shingon School are seen as provisional manifestations of the Original Buddha Shakyamuni. In Jōdo Shinshū or Pure Land Buddhism, Amida Buddha is viewed as the eternal Buddha who manifested as Shakyamuni in India and who is the personification of Nirvana itself.What is Pure Land Buddhism?
da Sho-on Hattori, ''A Raft from The Other Shore Honen and the Way of Pure Land Buddhism'', published by Jodo Shu Press

Shingon Buddhism Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

sees Vairochana Buddha as the personification of the dharmakaya, and hence as the eternal Buddha, and some within Shingon, following

Kakuban Kakuban (覚鑁/覺鑁; 1095–1143), known posthumously as ''Kōgyō-Daishi'' (興教大師) was a priest of the Shingon sect of Buddhism in Japan and credited as a reformer, though his efforts also led to a schism between and . Kakuban is als ...

, equate Vairochana and Amida.Richard Karl Payne, Kenneth Kazuo Tanaka (Editors); 'Approaching the Land of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitåabha'; Studies in East Asian Buddhism, 17 (Book 17); Univ of Hawaii Pr; 1st edition (October 1, 2003); p.7

Notes

References

Sources

* * * Leighton, Taigen Dan (2007). Visions of Awakening Space and Time, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press * Pye, Michael (1978). Skilful Means - A concept in Mahayana Buddhism. London, UK: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd. 2nd edition: Routledge 2003. . * * *