Fazang

Original works Fazang wrote numerous works on Buddhism, his magnum opus is a commentary on the Avatamsaka (Huayan) sutra, the Huayan jing tanxuan ji (華嚴經探玄記, Record of Investigating the Mystery of the Huayan jing) in 60 fascicles.

Jin shizi zhang 金獅子章 (The Treatise on Golden Lion), an essay that encapsulates the key teaching of Huayan Buddhism Huayan wujiao zhang 華嚴五教章 (Treatise on the Five Huayan Teachings), which contains the key panjiao (doctrinal classification) system of Huayan. It has an alternate name: Paragraphs on the Doctrine of Difference and Identity of the One Vehicle of Huayan (Huayan yisheng jiaoyi fenqi zhang, 華嚴一乘教分齊章, T. 1866). It has been translated twice into English, once by Francis Cook as Fa-tsang’s Treatise on the Five Doctrines: An Annotated Translation (1970) and the more recent one by BDK, the Treatise on Doctrinal Distinctions of the Huayan One Vehicle. The Gist of the Huayan Sutra (Hua-yen ching chih kuei) Outline of the Text and Doctrine of the Huayan Sutra (Hua-yen ching wen i kang mu) Dasheng qixin lun yiji 大乘起信論義紀 (Commentary on the Treatise of the Mahayana Awakening of Faith). This work remains one of the most important commentaries on this treatise. An English translation has been published by Dirck Vorenkamp. Huayan jing wenyi gangmu (Essentials of the Teachings of Huayan Jing, Taisho 35, no. 1734), this text explains the "ten mysteries" doctrine. A Record Conveying the Meaning of the Tenets of the Treatise on the Twelve Gates, a commentary to Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Twelve Gates (十二門論, pinyin: Shiermenlun, T. 1568). A translation of this commentary has been published by Dirck Vorenkamp. Cultivation of Contemplation of the Inner Meaning of the Huayen: The Ending of Delusion and Return to the Source (Hsiu hua-yen ao chih wang chin huan yuan kuan). This was written in Fazang's old age as a concise summary of the Huayan teaching. A commentary to the Ghanavyūha Sūtra, called Dasheng miyan jing shu (大乘密嚴經疏, no. X368 in the supplement to the Taisho canon, Xu zang jing 續藏經 vol. 34). A commentary on Saramati's Dasheng fajie wu chabie lun 大乘法界無差別論, Skt. Dharmadhātu-aviśeṣa śāstra; Treatise on the Non-Distinction of the Dharmadhātu of Mahāyana, Taisho no. 1626) titled Dasheng fajie wu chabie lun bingxu (大乘法界無差別論疏 并序, Taisho no. 1838).

The Huayan fajie guanmen 華嚴法界觀門 (Method of Mental Examination on the Realm of Dharma) has been traditionally attributed to Dushun (557–640), but some scholars argue that it is actually by Fazang.

In East Asian Buddhism, the Dharmadhatu (法界, fajie, realm of dharma) is the whole of reality, the totality of all things, the absolute. Fazang develops this idea and brings together various Huayan teachings into a holistic view of the entire universe, which Alan Fox calls the Huayan "Metaphysics of Totality". Two key elements of Fazang's understanding of the absolute are "dharmadhatu pratītyasamutpāda" (法界緣起, fajie yuanqi, the dependent arising of the whole realm of phenomena), which for Fazang refers to the interrelatedness and interfusion of all phenomena (dharmas); and "nature origination," (xingqi) which refers to how phenomena arise out of an absolute nature, which is buddha-nature, or the "One Mind".

Interpenetration and perfect interfusion A key element of Fazang's understanding of the totality of things is a unique view of the Buddhist theory of dependent arising, which is informed by Mahayana sources like the Avatamsaka sutra. This unique Huayan view of dependent arising is called "dharmadhatu pratītyasamutpāda" (法界緣起, fajie yuanqi, the dependent arising of the whole realm of phenomena).

The six characteristics are: Fazang also warns readers of the extremes of “annihilationism” (seeing phenomena as non-existent) and “eternalism” (seeing phenomena as uncaused, independent and eternal). These are both ontological extremes that the Buddha originally rejected in embracing the “Middle Way”.

The three natures (sanxing) Drawing on the Awakening of Faith, Fazang presents a unique interpretation of the Yogacara theory of the Three Natures (Skt. tri-svabhāva; 三性, sanxing): the “discriminate nature” (fenbie xing), “dependent nature” (yita xing), and “true nature” (zhenshi xing). The Awakening of Faith states that there is one mind (the pure buddha-nature) and two aspects (a samsaric and a nirvanic aspect). Fazang draws on this model and argues that each of the three natures also has two aspects: a fundamental aspect that is unchanging, pure, and also empty, and a derivative aspect that is fully interdependent, conditioned, and relative. As noted by Hamar, for Fazang, nature origination (utpatti-sambhava) means "the appearance of the Absolute in the phenomenal world...this is the appearance of Tathagata in the world as a teacher for benefit of living beings and the appearance of the wisdom of Tathagata in living beings." Vairocana is also equated with the ultimate principle (li), and as such, Vairocana is "the substance underlying phenomenal reality" according to Francis Cook. Furthermore, this ultimate reality is immutable and yet it changes according to conditions, and emanates everything in the phenomenal world. It is thus both unchanging and also interdependent (and therefore empty) and dynamic. Cook has called this view of an all pervasive cosmic Buddha "pan-Buddhism", since it holds that everything is the Buddha and the Buddha is omnipresent in all things.

Cook is careful to note that Buddha Vairocana is not a monotheistic God, nor has the functions of a God, since he is not a creator of the universe, nor a judge or father who governs the world. However, other scholars have positively compared the Huayan view with theism. Weiyu Lin sees Fazang's conception of Vairocana, which is "omnipresent, omnipotent and identical to the universe itself", as containing elements which resemble some forms of theism. However, Lin also argues that Fazang's metaphysics of emptiness and interdependence prevents any reification of Vairocana as a monotheistic God. The ten bodies are: All-Beings Body, Lands Body, Karma Body, Śrāvakas Body, Pratyekabuddha Body, Bodhisattvas Body, Tathāgatas Body, Jñānakāya Body, Dharmakāya Body, and the Space Body. The number ten also has symbolic meaning, since it signifies perfection and infinitude. According to Fazang, the ten bodies also encompass the “three worlds”, and thus, he equates the ten bodies with all phenomena in the universe. For Fazang, the Buddha pervades and is included in all dharmas. This includes all beings as well as all inanimate phenomena.

The path to awakening and the nature of time

Fazang's understanding of the Buddhist path to awakening is informed by his metaphysics of interfusion and interpenetration. According to Fazang, “in practicing the virtues, when one is perfected, all are perfected.” Furthermore, he also writes that: “when one first arouses the thought of enlightenment [ bodhicitta] one also becomes perfectly enlightened”. Thus, Fazang's model of practice is one of sudden and non-dual awakening which holds that as soon as bodhicitta arises, full awakening is present within it. Since any phenomenon contains and is interfused with the entire universe, any element of the Buddhist path contains the entire path – even its fruit (buddhahood). Thus, Fazang writes:Because an instant has no essence, it penetrates the eternal, and because the lengthy epochs have no essence, they are fully contained in a single instant...therefore, in an instant of thought all elements of the three periods of time – past, present, and future-are fully revealed. Fazang thus seems to be rejecting any linear causation and to be supporting some form of retrocausality. However, Fazang does not understand this process in a linear manner, since each of these stages and practices are all said to be interfused with each other and with Buddhahood itself (as with the example of the rafter, which is only a rafter due to its dependence on the whole building).