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Continuation of Chapter Two
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(d) THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM
Two major groups of Buddhism were formed around the
middle of the third century:
1. Hinayana Buddhism (Lesser Vehicle)
2. Mahayana Buddhism (Major Vehicle)
Hinayana means "The Lesser Vehicle." It is called by
its followers: Theravada, "The way of the ancient." This
is more conservative and closer to the original teaching
of Gautama. It spreads over the most part of south and
southeastern Asia. Some Mahayanists prefer to call the
Hinayanists' teachings "Fundamental teachings" instead of
"The way of the ancient".
Mahayana means "The Greater Vehicle." It spreads over
northern India, Kashmir, central Asia, Korea, Japan and
China---particularly Tibet.
This sect of Buddhism is more adaptable to change and
to accommodate the needs of different regions and of different
eras. It has been more acceptable than Hinayana Buddhism.
From the Mahayanists' point of view, Mahayana is designed
to help the masses to attain enlightenment while the Hinayana
is designed to enlighten oneself.
It is said that Buddhism was introduced into China
in the Han region approximately around third century B.C..
Tantric Buddhism was introduced during the early fourth
century together with other exoteric scriptures.1.21
Around 520 A.D., Bodhidharma, a Hindu Buddhist monk
belonging to the Brahmin caste, came to China via the sea.
He embarked at Canton (Kwang Chou) and traveled north to
the then capital of China and had an audience with the
Emperor Wu Ti of Liang dynasty. The Emperor was disappointed
that their viewpoints differed. Bodhidharma eventually went
to the Shaolin monastery in the Honan province where he tried to
blend in and not call attention to himself. He meditated for nine years
facing a stone wall and passed away. He was credited as the founder of the Ch'an
(Zen) school.
think that Bodhidarma was a fictional character, created by the Sixth Patriarch.
In the eighth century, three Indian monks, Subhakarasimba
(637-735), Vajrabodhi (670-741) and Amoghavajra (705-740)
imported into China, Tantric systems of the non-Shaktic type
and won great influence of the court of Tang emperors. This
influenced the acceptance of Tantric Buddhism by the King of
Tibet through the marriage of the daughter of the Tang emperor,
Princess Wen Chen to the King of Tibet.
There are eight major sects1.3 of Mahayana Buddhism
in China, but the most widely practised sects are: Ch'an
Buddhism, which is popular in the central part of China, and
Tantric (Esoteric) Buddhism, which is popular in the western and
northern part of China, like Tibet and Inner Mongolia, Qing Hai,
Gansu, Sichuan, Hsi Kang, Yunnan and Outer Mongolia (which
later became an independent state).
During the third century, there was an important
development in Buddhism in India, which was the forming of
Buddhist Tantra.
The Buddhist Tantra went through different stages of
development:
1. Mantrayana was developed during the fourth century.
It enriched Buddhism by the appurtenances of magical tradition
for enlightenment. Many mantras, mudras, deities and mandalas
were introduced randomly into Buddhism.
2. Vajrayana 1.31 was developed during the middle of
the eighth century. All previous teachings were systematized
and grouped with the system of Five Tathagatas. 1.32
3. Kalacakra was developed during the tenth century.
Kalacakra emphasizes astrology and syncretism.
CHAPTER III HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TIBETAN RELIGIONS
(a) SHAMANISM AND EARLY BUDDHISM OF TIBET
It is not clear when Buddhism came to Tibet. According
to the legend, Buddhism was introduced to Tibet two thousand
years ago.
The more reliable version is that Buddhism was brought
to Tibet around 641 A.D. by two of Tibetan king Songtsan
Gampo's brides, Wen Chen, a princess of the Tang Dynasty,
and Bhrikuti Devi, a princess of Nepal. Each brought with
her an image of Buddha Sakyamuni. Temples were built for
these two images of Buddha.
Before Buddhism was introduced, Bon was the main
religion in Tibet. The word "Bon" came from the Chinese Han
language referring to a region in China where the founders
of the Bon religion came from. The founders of Bonism were some of
the members of the clan of Li Shi, ancestors of Lao Tze
(author of Tao Te Ching). The ancestors of Lao Tze were knighted
in the region of Bon. Bonism is a polytheistic religion.
It was popular among the nobles.
According to the legend, Bon was founded thirteen
hundred years ago. Shen, a thirteen old boy was kidnapped
by a demon. He was released thirteen years later when he
was twenty -six years old. When he came back, he possessed
magical powers of exorcism and prophecy. He taught people
how to worship and to fight and get rid of demons. He did
not have any religious scriptures or doctrines.
In Bonism there were three different worlds: the
heaven, the earth, and the underworld. People painted their
faces red to ward off evil spirits. This pre-Tantric stage of
Bon is called Dol Bon.
Later, a Bon scholar named Pandita Shamthab Ngonpo
introduced the six different doctrines of non- Buddhist
philosophic schools that had developed during the time
of Buddha Sakyamuni. He combined these six different
philosophic doctrines with Bon teachings. This is known as
the Kyar Bon.
During the later half of the eighth century, during the period
of King Trisung Detsan (755-797) who was a devoted Buddhist,
a Bon scholar named Gyalwa Changchub translated Buddhist
scriptures claiming them as Bonism's own. King Trisung Detsan
sentenced Gyalwa Changchub to death and ordered all Bon
followers to convert their belief to Buddhism. Later, the
King was overthrown by his elder brother, Lang Darma, who was
a monk and the tutor of his younger brother.. Together with several nobles, Lang
Darma staged a palace coup and murdered Trisung Detsan while
he was drunk. Persecution of Buddhism followed. Several Bon
scholars continued the translation and reform of the Buddhist
scriptures and enriched the Bon doctrines. This period is
called Gyur Bon.
After Lang Dharma seized power, he destroyed Buddhist
monasteries, slaughtered monks and forced them to live secular
lives. Bon became the main religion of Tibet. Assasination
of Lang Dharma was being planned. A monk who was well versed
in martial arts volunteered to carry out the plan. His name
was Lhalung Paldor. He rode a white horse painted with water
soluble black paint, and wore a black cloak with white lining
and concealed a sword under the cloak and a bow and arrows
in his broad sleeves. He shot Lang Dharma while the latter
was taking a stroll. He was able to fight his way out of
the area and rode his horse across a river to wash off the
black paint on the horse and turned his cloak inside out so
it looked white. He escaped successfully to the Kham region
(Sichuan) where Buddhism was restored to life.
During the reign of Trisung Detsan, Bon religion became
divided into three sects: White Bon, which sided with Buddhism,
Black Bon which retained its primitive form of shamanism,
and Striped Bon, which was the mixture of Bonism and Buddhism.
When Buddhism was first introduced into Tibet, it
encountered difficulties with the Nobles and the Bon priests.
Around the year of 775 A.D. king Trisung Detsan invited
two scholar monks from the Han region to translate Buddhist
scriptures and to preach Buddhist doctrines. He also invited
the then famous Tantric monks Shantirakshita and Padma
Sambhava from Kashmir and India (now Northern Pakistan) to
teach Buddhism to the Tibetans.
According to the legend, Padma Sambhava was born eight
years after the death of Sakyamuni and was more than a
thousand years old 1.33 because of his training in Tantra.
As his name implies, he was born in the shape of a lotus
blossom. Padma Sambhava sympathized with the Bon religion.
One of the assigned duties of Padma Sambhava was to subdue
the demonic forces that were obstructing the building of
the first Buddhist monastery (Samye Monastery) in Tibet.
After subduing these forces, he travelled throughout Tibet
subduing other local demonic forces and preaching Buddhism
as well. Because of his supernormal powers that he had
developed from his tantric training, and through the
introduction of the tantric deities and magical forces,
Padma Sambhava was able to appeal to the local shamanist
priests (Bonpos) and their followers to accept tantric
Buddhism.
He was successful in spreading Buddhism in Tibet. Part
of the religious rituals, deities and religious theories of
the Bon religion were absorbed into the Tantric Buddhism. Today,
Padma Sambhava is addressed in Tibet as Guru Rinpoche.
Before Tantric (Esoteric) Buddhism came to Tibet, Ch'an
(Zen) Buddhism had been in Tibet for many years. According
to Buddhist legend Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism was introduced into
middle part of China from India by an Indian monk Bodhidharma
around 520 A.D. After absorbing local culture, including the
philosophies and practices of Taoism, Confucianism, and general
Chinese value, it became today's Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. Ch'an
was introduced to Tibet before Tantric Buddhism arrived there.
Thus, Tantric and Ch'an (Zen) co-existed in Tibet for many years.
During the end of the eighth century, the King of
Tibet invited the then prominent monks1.1 of Tantric and of
Ch'an (Zen) to debate publicly. The public debate lasted
three years from the year 792 to 794. The Monks of the Tantric
sect won the debate. Since then, Tantric Buddhism became the main Buddhist
the exoteric teachings (sutras) and tantric practices.
or connection, especially the lineage of teachers and disciples.
It also means "to weave," which denotes action. Today, it still
carries the same meaning, but it also means the part of teachings
that points to the methods that have been recorded in sacred
(and secret) writings that open the short path to enlightenment.
Tantric Buddhism is a sect of Buddhism that was well
developed by the third century in India, before the development
of Hindu Tantra. The difference between Hindu Tantra and Buddhist
Tantra lies in the perception of divine powers (shakti). The
Hindu Tantra emphasizes divine power, which is their focus of
interest, while the Buddhist Tantra emphasizes wisdom (prajna).
The Buddhist deems that the divine power (shakti) corrupts and
creates illusion and only wisdom (prajna) can liberate it. Thus,
the Tantric Buddhists try to use divine power and transform it
into prajna (wisdom) so that it becomes one of the forces of
enlightenment.
Vajrayana Buddhism. (See II (d) The Development of Buddhism).
The Tantric followers call themselves the sons and younger brothers
of the Adamantine Vehicle.1.11
Tantric Buddhism consists of two major schools: the Eastern
Tantric Buddhism and Tsang (Tibetan) Tantric Buddhism. The Eastern
Tantric is found in Japan,
(Tibetan) Tantric is
and southwestern parts of China.
To learn Tantra, one has to learn it from a qualified
teacher. Teaching is carried on from mouth to ear. The Tantric
writings can only be understood through a teacher. Tantra emphasizes
master and disciple (teacher-student) relationships. The teacher
is considered more important than the deities. When paying
respect to one's teacher and the deities, one should respect the
teacher first before respecting the deities. Those who study Tantra
have to study under a teacher. The training methods are always
kept secret. They are not revealed in writings for the outsiders.
Because of political struggles and wars, and because the
different groups emphasized the different aspects of the Buddhist
doctrine, eventually Tibetan Tantric was divided into four major
groups; namely the red sect, the yellow sect, the white sect,
the variegated sect. (Some deem that there are five groups-----
including the black sect.)
1. The Red sect, (Red Cap) Nyingma was founded in the
eighth century. Nyingma means "the ancient ones." The monks
wear red hats 1.12 while preaching. The red sect uses
meditation as a training method. It was criticized and exiled
to the Khrisrong area of eastern Tibet and eventually moved on to
the middle part of Tibet. During the early stage, this sect
maintained a village -type of organization. Religious gatherings
were conducted in small groups in homes and small temples.
During the eleventh century, it started to build monasteries.
Compared to other sects, the Nyingmapas are initiated
into the Tantras early and spend little time on other sacred
studies.
Padma Sambhava was credited to be master of this sect.
Its priests and followers can get married and have families.
2. The White sect, bKa-rgyud, which means "Order of oral
transmission." The name is derived from the fact that the
teaching is passed on orally by master to disciple. It is
very similar to the Red sect in that it stresses tantric practice
and spends little time on Buddhist philosophy.
The masters of the White sect are not all priests. The founders
of this sect, such as Marpa, Milarepa and others used to wear
white clothes while meditating. The walls of the monasteries
were painted white. Maybe because of this, this group is known
as the White sect.
The lineage of this sect can be traced back to Lama Marpa
(eleventh century A.D.) and his Indian teacher Naropa.
The bKa-rgyudpas are generally austere and adhere strictly
to the the Buddhist rules of discpline. Many spend much of their
lives in lonely caves practicing meditation that is closely
identical with that of Ch'an (Zen). Many practiced a type of
psychic energy exercise call gtum-mo (Chuo Huo Ting, or psychic
heat), which enables an adept to live in freezing temperature
with only a thin layer of clothing.
The White sect can be further grouped into four different
sub-groups:
a. Mrla-ras-pa
b. phag-mo-grll-pa (Pagdru)
c. Karma-pa (Kama)
d. hBrug-pa (Dug)
3. The Yellow sect, (Yellow Cap) Gelug came from a reformed
version of the bKa-gdam sect (Brom-slon). The name Yellow
sect is the abbreviation of "Yellow Cap sect." Its lamas
wear bright yellow colored headdresses.
The bKa-gdam sect was one of the earliest sects of Tibet.
bKa-gdam means "Buddha's commandments" and the sect teaches
the original Buddhist doctrines.
The bKa_gdam sect was founded by Domtonpa Gyalwa who was a
disciple of the prominence monk Atisa. After Atisa passed away,
Domtonpa founded the Rating Monastery in 1056 A.D..
The bKa-gdam sect stresses discipline, steps in meditation,
and the relationships between Tantra and Buddhist philosophy.
One of its principal Buddhist writings is Atisa's work of
"Bodhipathapradipa" (The Lamp that Shows the Path to
Enlightenment), which distinguishes the practices according to
three levels of spiritual development:
a. The lowest: seeking happiness in this world , considering
only their own interest.
b. The second: seeking happiness for their own but more
intelligently, by leading a virtuous life.
c. The third: having the salvation of all at heart.
The Yellow sect was founded by Lopsang Drakpa, who is better
known as Tsong-ka-pa, during the fifteenth century. He was a monk
from Amdo (Qing Hai province of western China). When he was
sixteen, he went to Tibet to study Buddhism. He studied under
the masters of different sects. When the religion became
degenerated, Tsong-ka-pa went to the island of Qing Hai Lake
of Qing Hai province to preach. (Qing Hai derived its name
from the its large lake Qing Hai, meaning green sea). He
then went back to Tibet to reform the bKa-gdam sect. Eventually
bKa-gdam sect merged with the new teaching and became Gelug
sect (Yellow sect). This is the main stream of Tibetan
Tantric Buddhism. It held the political and religious power of
Tibet until the Chinese Communists took over the whole of mainland
China in 1950.
The Gelug sect stresses discipline and learning. Often
Lamas of this sect are expected to spend twenty years on sutra
and scholastic study before starting on the Tantras.
Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are from this sect.
4. The Variegated sect, Sakya, is very similar to the Yellow sect.
The main monastery is Sakya Monastery, situated in the Sakya
Region where the sect gets its name.
This sect was popular in Tibet during the thirteenth
century. The walls of the monasteries are painted with wide
vertical stripes of red, white and black, symbolizing the
three Bodhisattvas:
Jampeyang (Manjusri), Chenresig (Avalokitesvara), and Chanadorje
(Vajrapani). Because of these colors, this sect is known as the
Flowery (variegated) sect to the Han race (the majority race of China).
The Sakya sect was founded by Khon Konchog Gyalpo of the
Khon clan in Sakya. As a boy, he studied the ancient tantric
Buddhism with his father, and later he studied new tantric
Buddhism from Brogmi (992-1072), a great scholar and translator
who had studied in India. It emphasized education and translation
of Buddhist writings. The Sakya Region is strategically situated
on the trade route linking Nepal Valley and Shigatse. The sect
flourished rapidly and established numerous monasteries. Many
of its members became wealthy from trading between Tibet and
Nepal. This sect is very similar to the Yellow sect (Gelug).
It was famous for the learning of its teachers who were active
in translating the Indian Buddhist scriptures.
Just like the Red sect, the priests and followers of the
Sakya sect can get married and have families.
(c) THE BLACK SECT
The Black sect originally was the primitive Bon religion
of Tibet.
Most religious scholars do not classify Bon religion as
one of the Buddhist sects. Bon later absolved the teachings
of Buddhism and mixed with the rituals of polytheism.
Bon is divided into three different sects, namely: the
Black Bon, the White Bon, and the Striped Bon. The White Bon
has assimilated itself with Buddhism. The Black Bon still
follows the original teachings. The Striped Bon is a mixture
of the Black and White Bon.
In Tibet, the followers of Black Bon usually do not
mingle with the followers of other sects and do not marry
followers of other sects.
During the period of the 13th Dalai Lama, an injunction was
issued to restrict the activities of the Bon religion. Now,
it is said that the 14th Dalai Lama expressed that the Bon
religion that had accepted Buddhism can be accommodated.2
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