Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra
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The ''Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra'' (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
; ; Vietnamese: Kinh Bát Chu Tam Muội) is an early Mahayana Buddhist scripture, which probably originated between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE in the
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
area of northwestern
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The full title for this text is ''Pratyutpannabuddha Saṃmukhāvasthita Samādhi Sūtra'', which translates to, "Sūtra on the Samādhi for Encountering Face-to-Face the Buddhas of the Present". The ''Pratyutpanna'' is a particularly important Mahayana sutra in East Asian
Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
and
Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the f ...
(Jp:
Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...
) Buddhism, since it contains key teachings on
Buddha contemplation 265px, A Japanese scroll of the Taima Mandala (c. 14th century) depicting the scenery of the Amitāyus Contemplation Sūtra, ''Sutra of the Contemplation of Amitayus'' Buddha contemplation (Chinese: ''guānfo'' 觀佛), is a central Buddhist me ...
and Buddha recollection (
nianfo 250px, Chinese Nianfo carving The Nianfo ( zh, t= 念佛, p=niànfó, alternatively in Japanese ; ; or ) is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. The Chinese term ''nianfo'' is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' ("recollection of th ...
). It is the main source for the Tiantai school's "constantly walking samadhi" practice (taught in Zhiyi's '' Mohe Zhiguan''), also known as the pratyutpanna-samādhi (the meditative absorption of direct encounter f the Buddhas. The sutra was commented on and relied upon by numerous Chinese Pure Land masters, like Huiyuan,
Shandao Shandao (; ; 613–681) was a Chinese Buddhist scholar monk and an influential figure of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism.Jones (2019), pp. 20-21 Shandao was one of the first Pure Land authors to argue that all Pṛthagjana, ordinary people, and e ...
(613–681), Cimin Huiri, and Fazhao.


History

The ''Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra'' was first translated into Chinese by the Kushan Buddhist monk Lokaksema in 179 CE, at the Han capital of
Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...
. This translation is, together with the '' Prajnaparamita Sutra'', one of the earliest historically datable texts of the
Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
tradition. In 2018, the discovery of fragments of a birch bark manuscript in the Gāndhārī language and written in
Kharoṣṭhī Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara, Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara along ...
script was announced by scholars Paul Harrison, Timothy Lenz, and Richard Salomon, who wrote regarding the dating of the manuscript: The post-script of the same paper notes that as the article went to press, scholar Mark Allon brought to the authors' attention "another set of birch-bark fragments, possibly from the same scroll or set of scrolls, containing a large section of Chapter 9 of the PRaS", which the authors state will be included in a follow-up article in the future.


Contents

The ''Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra'' contains the first known mentions of the Buddha
Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...
and his
pure land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
, said to be at the origin of
Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
:


Pratyutpanna samadhi

The full practice developed by
Zhiyi Zhiyi (; 538–597 CE) also called Dashi Tiantai (天台大師) and Zhizhe (智者, "Wise One"), was a Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, Buddhist philosophy, philosopher, meditation teacher, and Exegesis, exegete. He is considered to be the foun ...
is 90 days long. Lay practitioners often take a much shorter time. Any practice that exceeds one day requires a bystander called a dharma protector (護法) to look after the practitioner. The exercise includes constant walking or praying to Amitabha, sometimes accompanying or helped by the bystander. The practitioner should avoid sitting, laying, resting or sleeping during the period of practice. The bystander would warn the practitioner if he or she engages in prolonged resting. Very few Buddhists practice this. Shi Yinguang (印光) suggested that people should practice the much easier recitation of name of the Buddha
nianfo 250px, Chinese Nianfo carving The Nianfo ( zh, t= 念佛, p=niànfó, alternatively in Japanese ; ; or ) is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. The Chinese term ''nianfo'' is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' ("recollection of th ...
instead. But some buddhists have said that they feel healthier after the practice.般舟三昧及现代行法系列资料--向往、爱乐般舟行法的同修,一起来学习、实践和守护这个法门


See also

* The Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life * The Contemplation Sutra *
Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...


References


Bibliography

* Harrison, Paul; McRae, John, trans. (1998)
The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sutra and the Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sutra
Berkeley, Calif.: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. * Harrison, PM (1979)
The Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhavasthita-samadhi-sutra
an annotated English translation of the Tibetan version with several appendices, thesis, Australian National University * Harrison, Paul (1978)
Buddhanusmriti in the Pratyutpanna-Buddha-Sammukhavasthita-Samadhi-Sutra
Journal of Indian Philosophy 6 (1), 35–57 * Harrison, Paul (1990). ''The Samādhi of Direct Encounter with the Buddhas of the Present: An Annotated English Translation of the Tibetan Version of the Pratyutpanna-Buddha-Saṃmukhāvasthita-Samādhi-Sūtra with Several Appendices Relating to the History of the Text'', Studia Philologica Buddhica 5. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies


External links

{{wikiquote

– Translation by Rev. Hisao Inagaki

– English Translation from the Chinese Canon Mahayana texts Yogacara