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Master Kyeong-heung

by George Gatenby

Master Kyeong-heung (Kyogo) lived in seventh century Korea and was a monk of the Dharma-lakshana (Hosso) or Vijnaptimatrata School. In two places in the Kyo-Gyo-Shin-Sho, Shinran Shonin draws on Kyeong-heung's commentary on the Larger Sutra.

At the end of the section on True Teaching, Kyeong-heung explains the meaning of the passage in the Larger Sutra, which describes a dialogue between Shakyamuni Buddha and his cousin and disciple Ananda. Shinran cites this passage as evidence of the supreme importance of the Larger Sutra as the vehicle for our understanding of the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha, which is the source of universal liberation from the round of birth-and-death.

Master Kyeong-heung comments on the Larger Sutra:

'Today, the World-honored one abides in the dharma most rare and wondrous': These words indicate the form manifested through the Buddha's supernatural powers. Not only do his features surpass the ordinary, there is none his equal. 'Today, the Great Hero abides where all Buddhas abide': Abiding in the samadhi of universal sameness, he subdues all maras, even the powerful demon-king of the sixth heaven. 'Today, the World's Eye abides in the activity of guide and teacher': The Buddha's five kinds of vision are termed the activity of guide and teacher; he is unsurpassed in drawing and guiding sentient beings to enlightenment. 'Today, the Preeminent one of the world abides in the supreme enlightenment': The Buddha, alone and matchless as he abides in the four forms of wisdom, is completely unrivaled. 'Today, the Heaven-honored one puts into practice the virtue of all Tathagatas': In his attainment of highest truth, the Buddha is the one most revered in all the heavens. He has awakened to the truth that Buddha-nature is not void. 'Know, Ananda, the perfect enlightenment of the Tathagata': that is, the dharma rare and wondrous. His insight knows no impediment: This describes the most excellent way. Nothing can obstruct it: This refers to the virtue of the Tathagata.¹

i. Enlightenment

Kyeong-heung, the great master of Korea, here makes clear the true nature of the events, which led to the disclosure of the Larger Sutra. His explanation of Ananda's description of the Buddha's appearance makes it clear that the crowning moment of Shakyamuni Buddha's mission has arrived.

When Shakyamuni became enlightened under the bodhi tree, Lord Brahma convinced him to go forth and teach the dharma. On his way to the Deer Park of Isipatana, Shayamuni was greeted by Upaka, a follower of a false path. Upaka was struck by the serenity of the Buddha and said, 'Your appearance is truly serene, pure and lucid.' The Buddha replied that from now on he would turn the Wheel of Dharma 'in this blind world.'

Shakyamuni then walked on to Deer Park, where he met five mendicants (bhiksus). They were old friends, with whom he had spent time engaging in ascetic practices before leaving them to seek full Enlightenment. To these five bhiksus, he preached his first sermon (dharmacakra pravartana sūtra). The main feature of the dharma talk was the Four Noble Truths:

The Noble Truth of Suffering. Birth is suffering. Old age, sickness, and death are all suffering. To have contact with something hateful, to part with someone you love, and not to obtain what you seek are all suffering. In short to exist as a human is suffering.

The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering. Thirsting lust produces new life, accompanied by pleasure and greed, resulting in the pleasures of lust in this and that realm. There are three kinds of lusts, the lust of passion, the lust for existence, and the lust for non-existence.

The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering. Suffering ceases when its cause is removed.

The Noble Truth of the Path that Leads to the Cessation of Suffering. It is the Eightfold Noble Path of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation.²

The Four Noble Truths are the catalyst for everything that derives from the Buddha Dharma - every kind of insight and understanding, every way of travelling through life, every theory and metaphysical teaching, every sutra, every moment absorbed in dhyana, and the moment of liberation. There is nothing of the Buddha Dharma which is not, before and behind, at base, imbued with the Four Noble Truths.

Over many years, as I have constantly read Shinran, I have been impressed by the centrality of the Four Noble Truths in his concerns and thinking, although he barely mentions them explicitly at all. In the Kyo-Gyo-Shin-Sho, there are two oblique references in the Chapter on True Practice and the Chapter on the True Buddha and Land. Yet one can see that the Four Noble Truths were the underlying principle for Shinran throughout his life.

The force of Master Kyeong-heung's commentary on the passage leading into the disclosure of the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha, suggests that this is a moment akin to Shakyamuni Buddha's First Sermon and the presentation of the Four Noble Truths. You will remember Upaka's comment about Shakyamuni's serenity and lucid features as he was on his way to deliver the First Sermon. Now, Kyeong-heung's explanation of the exquisite features of Shakyamuni Buddha's superlative appearance testify to the marvellous dharma that is about to be uncovered. The Larger Sutra is of universal relevance; it is not only addressed to bhiksus.

The Larger Sutra was delivered in the presence of both bhiksus and bodhisattvas. It is the way for all people who take refuge in the Triple Gem. Such is the all-encompassing significance of Shakyamuni's 'Samadhi of Universal Equality,' 'performance of the leader's duty,' and 'supreme Enlightenment' that he is 'lord of the ultimate reality' and his 'virtue is unhindered' as he prepares to deliver the Larger Sutra

The Larger Sutra, indeed, eclipses Shakyamuni's First Sermon, while incorporating its truth entirely. The Larger Sutra equally conveys the Four Noble Truths but in a universal and pure form that transcends any limitation of era and the circumstances of its audience. We need no dharma but the teaching of the Larger Sutra, where the Four Noble Truths are revealed, although in reverse order.

The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering and the Noble Truth of the Path are reflected in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. The perfection of the Noble Eightfold Path is manifest in the career of Bodhisattva Dharmarkara.³ We will discover that those who accept, in shinjin, the Name and Vow of Amida Buddha receive all the virtue of the Noble Eightfold Path, while still remaining bombu. Towards the end of the Sutra, we are reminded in harrowing detail of the Noble Truth of Suffering, and the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering.

Now everything that is taught in the dharma, all sutras, practices, and paths are subsumed by the Larger Sutra. Everything, from the Agamas to the Garland Sutra, can be heard, in its light. For it is the Sutra that gives us the dharma of Amida Buddha's Primal Vow, the perfect accomplishment of the Four Noble Truths.

ii. More About Master Kyeong-heung

The fine Korean dharma master Kyeong-heung shows where his interests lie when he says, '"Today, the World-Hero dwells in the Buddha's abode" shows that he dwells in the Samadhi of Universal Equality.' The Buddha was abiding in this samadhi when he was about to deliver the The Scripture on the Explication of Underlying Meaning (sandhinirmocana sutra), which makes explicit the dharma-lakshana, the characteristics of dharmas. In this case dharmas are the elements of thought and matter.

By pointing out the nature of Shakyamuni Buddha's samadhi in this way, Kyeong-heung is highlighting the true and profound significance of the Larger Sutra, because he places it on an equal footing with one of the foundation scriptures of his own school. The samadhi is such that the Buddha's perception and insight is perfectly clear, sound and free from any obfuscation or obstruction. It is, therefore, completely trustworthy, and imbued with the truth of the Dharma Realm

Bodhisattva Vasubandhu, the second dharma master of Jodo Shinshu, was one of the founders of the Vijnaptimatrata, or Mind Only school. The Scripture on the Explication of Underlying Meaning is one of the main texts of this school. Its most enduring quality is its elegant description of the storehouse consciousness (alaya-vijnana), to explain the workings of the law of karma.

There are eight consciousnesses and the alaya-vijnana is the eighth. It is the underlying consciousness, which is a receptacle for the experience, and ideations that impact upon it through the medium of the other seven consciousnesses. These are the organs of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, thought and the manas - thought, reason, and concepts.

The impact of events on the seven consciousnesses, results in 'perfumings' of the alaya-vijnana and the formation of bijas or seeds (latencies), which are stored for future germination, resulting in the formation of ongoing thought, individual and collective existence, and environment.

I like to think of the various masters whom Shinran quotes in the Kyo-Gyo-Shin-Sho as his guest speakers, whom he invites to talk on te main themes of his experience and thought. Kyeong-heung, who lived in the seventh century is invited to give testimony in the Kyo-Gyo-Shin-Sho three more times. In the Chapter on True Buddha and Land there is another quotation from his commentary on the Larger Sutra.

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1: Collected Works of Shinran, Vol 2, Jodo Shinshu Hongwani-ha, p. 9.

2: Buddha-Dharma, Numata Center for Translation and Research, pp. 29-31

3: op. cit., pp. 95-96

 

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