Huayan Sect in Han Buddhism
The Huayan sect, also called the Xianshou or Avatamsaka sect, is predicated on the Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya-sutra (Garland Sutra). Its founder was Fazang (643-712), an eminent monk of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Fazang, a native of Soghdiana who was styled as Xianshou, grew up in China and was educated in Chinese culture as an intelligent, boy prodigy. At 17, he went to Mount Taibai and became a disciple of the famous monk Zhiyan (602-668). He won his master's favor by excelling in his studies of the Garland Sutra. In 670, Fazang passed an imperial examination and won the opportunity to be sworn into his monkhood at the imperial court. Empress Wu Zetian selected ten famous monks to preside over the ordination ceremony for him and named him “Xiaoshou.” For a while, he was part of the celebrated monk Xuanzang’s team of Buddhist translators, but he quit after failing to see eye to eye with Xuanzang on some translation problems. Together with Yijing, who had just returned from his studies in India, he joined Siksananda (652-710) in translating the 80-volume Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya-sutra. After this work was finished he participated in a translation workshop organized by Yijing.
A prestigious Buddhist during the Tang Dynasty, Fazang personally bestowed the Bodhisattva Commandments on two Tang emperors, Zhongzong (r. 705-709) and Ruizong (r. 710-712). For this he was decorated as an “Imperial Tutor.” With his wide knowledge and high moral accomplishments, he made great contributions to the development of Buddhism during his lifetime. He left behind a wealth of works, most of which were findings on his research into the Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya-sutra. He became the father of the Huayan sect.
Though the Huayan sect was founded by Fazang, the idea for it was Du Shun’s.
Du Shun (557-640), also known as Fashun, was an expert on dhyana and samadhi. Legend has it that he was also in possession of certain divine skills. Li Shimin, or Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, adored him and bestowed on him the title “Heart of the Emperor.” Hence his nickname, “Venerable Heart of the Emperor.” According to historical records, Du Shun had the following divine skills:
(1) Once, Du Shun asked a patron to donate a meal for a large crowd. The man prepared enough food for 500 people, but unexpectedly, more than 1,000 arrived. The patron flushed with embarrassment and did not know what to do. Du Shun comforted him and asked him to go ahead and serve the meal as if nothing had happened. The result was that all those present were able to eat their fill.
(2) A herdsman by the name of Zhang Hongchang took the cows and horses he had raised to the market, but these animals were so ferocious nobody dared to buy them. When Du Shun saw what was happening, he murmured into the ears of the cows and horses, which, as if having seen the point, immediately became docile and obedient.
(3) Du Shun and his disciples were practicing austerities and meditating on the Buddha’s holy words in a monastery where they had to grow their own vegetables. But the vegetable garden was infested with insects, making it impossible for them to sow the seeds. When Du Shun heard about this, he went to the garden and said something to himself. After that the garden was disposed of all the insect pests.
These anecdotes may sound ridiculous to a layman, but Buddhists have never doubted their credibility, because they firmly believe that the force of divinity is a real thing.
Du Shun classified the teachings of Sakyamuni into five divisions, and formulated five forms of meditation. Zhiyan inherited and built on the ideas of Du Shun. But it was Fazang who summarized all the research results of the Buddhavatamsaka-mahavai-pulya-sutra and established the Huayan sect.
The Huayan sect has adopted the five kinds of teachings established by Du Shun as its guidance. Actually, the doctrines of this sect cover all the Five Divisions of Buddhism (the Hinayana Teachings for Savakas, which interprets nirvana as annihilation; the Primary Teachings of the initial stage of Mahayana, with two sections — the realistic and the idealistic; the Terminal Teachings of Mahayana in its final stage, teaching the universal Buddhahood; the Teachings for Immediate Comprehension, applied in Mahayana as the key to immediate enlightenment by right concentration of thought, or faith; and the Complete Teachings of the Huayan sect, combining all the rest into one all-embracing vehicle) and the Ten Sects, the Six Characteristics (whole and parts, unity and diversity, entirety and its fractions), and the Ten Metaphysical Entrances of Thought: (1) All phenomena are present simultaneously and correlate with each other; 2) The relationship between them is like the endless Indra Net; 3) The visible phenomena exist within one unit; 4) Even the smallest particles retain their own nature while mutually penetrating. 5) Dharmas in ten epochs are manifest without separation; 6) Dharmas in all traditions have virtues whether pure or impure; 7) Each thing and all other things inter-penetrate, but do not lose their own character; 8) Various dharmas exhibit phenomenal identity, free from resistance; 9) All dharmas exist as the reflection of the Tathagata’s mind; 10) Profound theory can be illustrated and perceived with things.). The universe is all-inclusive. All the things in it, be they samskrta (active beings) or asamskrta (non-active beings), have their origins in pratityasamutpada (conditional causations), interact with one another in harmony, and form what looks like a multileveled and inexhaustible network. From the perspective of the nature of the various doctrines, one is all, and all is one, and the relationship between all things is one of harmony and mutual incorporation, with no distinctions made between them. Such a relationship is not only one of interdependence between the phenomenal and the noumenal, but also interdependence among the phenomenal. That is why the Huayan sect is called the sect of perfect harmony without impediments.
After the Huayan sect was established during the Tang Dynasty, it spread extensively, but its dissemination was cut short by Emperor Wuzong’s persecution of Buddhism during his reign (841-846) of the Tang Dynasty. All the literature of this sect was lost as a result, though some of it was later retrieved from Korea and Japan during the Song Dynasty. Some people were devoted to the study and rejuvenation of this sect during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Among those in modern times were Yuexia (1858-1917) and Yingci (1873-1965). In 1914 (3rd year of the Republic), Yuexia established Huayan University in Shanghai and Hangzhou, and made his contributions to the Huayan sect by training a contingent of successors.
