Moheyan

Heshang Moheyan was a late 8th century Buddhist monk associated with the East Mountain Teaching. Moheyan (摩訶衍) is a brief translation of Mahayana in Chinese, so the name literally means a Mahayana monk. He became famous for representing Chan Buddhism in the so called "Council of Lhasa," a debate between adherents of the Indian teachings of "gradual enlightenment" and the Chinese teachings of "sudden enlightenment," which according to tradition was won by the "gradual teachings."

Etymology Hwashang is a Tibetan approximation of the Chinese héshàng "Buddhist monk . This, in turn, comes from the Sanskrit title upādhyāya "teacher".

Biography

Dunhuang sojourn and question of lineage affiliation Whilst the East Mountain Teachings (known as "Northern School" Chan) were in decline in China, having been attacked by Shenhui (a student of Huineng) as a supposed "gradual enlightenment" teaching, Moheyan traveled to Dunhuang, which at the time belonged to the Tibetan Empire, in 781 or 787. For Moheyan, this was a new opportunity for the spread of (Northern) Chan. However, as van Schaik observes, the exclusive association of Moheyan with the Northern School is problematic, as Moheyan may have actually counted Shenhui as one of his teachers, and texts containing Moheyan's teachings exhibit an attempt at harmonizing sudden and gradual aspects of practice.

Luis Gómez observes that while Moheyan's sectarian affiliations are unclear, he seems to have belonged to a late Northern branch which leaned strongly toward Southern Chan teachings. Gómez regards Moheyan as doctrinally closer to the sudden teaching of the Southern School than Northern gradualism. For Gómez, Moheyan's doctrinal stance is more important than his lineage affiliation, which he regards a matter of religious politics. There is also evidence that Moheyan had connections to the Baotang school. However, according to Gómez, the exclusive focus on "spiritual lineage" in the traditional sense overlooks that Moheyan was not trying to conform to a received doctrine. Gómez states rather that "he [Moheyan] was his own man, a moderately creative religious specialist who borrowed and innovated at will. The concepts of 'teacher' and 'lineage' serve a variety of ahistorical functions in his hagiography, as they do in that of so many other Buddhist masters—they are devices for recognizing or claiming inspiration, influence, and political and institutional allegiance."

Council of Lhasa

After teaching in the area of Dunhuang, Moheyan was invited by Trisong Detsen of the Tibetan Empire to settle at Samye, then the center of emerging Tibetan Buddhism. Moheyan promulgated a variety of Chan Buddhism and disseminated teachings from Samye where he attracted a considerable number of followers.

However, in 793 Trisong Detsen resolved that Moheyan did not hold the true Dharma. Following intense protests from Moheyan’s supporters, Trisong Detsen proposed to settle the matter by sponsoring a debate. The most famous of these debates has become known as the "Council of Lhasa", although it may have taken place at Samye, a considerable distance from Lhasa. For the famed Council of Lhasa, an Indian monk named Kamalaśīla was invited to represent Indian Buddhism, while Moheyan represented Chinese Chan Buddhism. In the so-called “Great Debate” that the sources tell us took place at the then newly founded monastery of Bsam yas between 792 and 794 c.e., the renowned Indian scholar Kamalaśīla is supposed to have debated the Chinese Ch’an master, Hwa shang Mahayana. The Tibetan sources tell us that the debate (shags) took place before the emperor. Kamalaśīla was the advocate of a “gradualist” (rim gyis pa) position, the view that enlightenment is attained through the incremental purification of the mind that takes place by the practice of the six perfections. This path, he held, requires analytical mental activity and a commitment to the intentional accumulation of merit. Hwa shang held the “simultaneist” (cig car ba) view—that (for advanced adepts at least) enlightenment is not attained gradually through the purification of the mind, that for these individuals analytical activity is a distraction and the accumulation of merit unnecessary. Instead, he claimed, enlightenment, as something that is already immanent in the individual, can immediately be accessed by directing the mind internally, by ceasing mentation, and by becoming aware of the nature of mind itself. Most of the Tibetan accounts tell us that Kamalashila won the debate, and this is said to have sealed the fate of Tibetan Buddhism forever. King Khri srong lde’u btsan, who served as “arbiter” or “judge” (dpang po) in the debate, declared that henceforth Tibetans would follow the Indian Buddhist tradition, in particular the system of Nagarjuna.Most Tibetan sources state that the debate was decided in Kamalaśīla's favour (though many Chinese sources claim Moheyan won) and Moheyan was required to leave the country and that all sudden-enlightenment texts were gathered and destroyed by royal decree. This was a pivotal event in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, which would afterward continue to follow the late Indian model with only minor influence from China.

Nevertheless, Chan texts were produced until the 10th century in Tibet, which casts doubt on these Tibetan sources.

Teachings

Sudden teachings

Moheyan’s teachings were a mixture of the East Mountain Teachings associated with Yuquan Shenxiu and Baotang Chan. Broughton gives the following nomenclature:

The dichotomy of the gradual north and sudden south is a historical construction, as both Northern and Southern Schools contained "gradualist teachings" and "sudden teachings" and practices.

Master Moheyan’s Introduction to Instantaneous Meditation states:

The Samten Migdrön gives the highest of Moheyan’s "five means" as follows:

Liberation from vikalpa-citta Gómez gives a detailed account of the doctrinal differences that were at stake at the "council of Lhasa", based on Buton Rinchen Drub's Chos-'yun, which in turn may have been based on Kamalaśīla's Third Bhāvanākrama. Buton Rinchen Drub had chosen two points to summarize the conflict, which entails complex doctrinal and historical issues.

Most of what is known of Moheyan’s teaching comes from fragments of writings in Chinese and Tibetan found in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang (now in Gansu, China). The manuscript given the appellation IOL Tib J 709 is a collection of nine Chan texts, commencing with the teachings of Moheyan.

By practicing dhyana, awareness should be reverted toward this awareness itself:

By turning the attention inward, one discovers that no "self-nature" can be found in the movements of the mind. Eventually, dhyana leads to the realisation that awareness is empty, and cannot be grasped by concepts:

Position regarding the six paramitas According to Moheyan, while the paramitas may be necessary for beings who are unable to attain awakening suddenly, for beings of higher spiritual capacity one can neither speak of the necessity nor non-necessity of the paramitas. For beings who have attained no-thought, the paramitas arise without conscious effort, in a kind of "automatic practice." On the other hand, for beings yet to attain non-conceptuality, the paramitas should be practiced, yet "without expectation of reward." Moheyan also makes a distinction between external and internal paramitas. The external paramitas refer to upāya, external practices which benefit others; while the internal paramita refers to prajñā, the non-conceptual wisdom by which one liberates oneself.

Influence The teachings of Moheyan and other Chan masters were unified with the Kham Dzogchen ("Great Perfection") lineages through the Kunkhyen (Tibetan for "omniscient"), Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo. The Dzogchen of the Nyingma was often identified with the subitist ("sudden enlightenment") of Moheyan, and was called to defend itself against this charge by avowed members of the Sarma lineages that held to the staunch view of "gradual enlightenment"

Iconography According to Ying Chua, Moheyan is often iconographically depicted holding a conch shell (Skt. shankha) and prayer beads (Skt. mala): quote|He is usually depicted as a rotund and jovial figure and holding a mala, or prayer beads in his left hand and a sankha, conch shell in his right. He is often considered a benefactor of children and is usually depicted with at least one or more playing children around him.