Dhyānabhadra (also known as Sunyadisya, Chi-Gong and Zhikong Chanxian) (1289–1363 C.E.) was an Indian Buddhist monk and translator born in the Magadha region. He taught first in China but later came to teach in Korea towards the end of the Goryeo dynasty.[1] He was affiliated with esoteric schools of Buddhism.[2]
Zhikong Chanxian | |
|---|---|
Dhyānabhadra | |
 Portrait of Dhyānabhadra at Silleuk Temple, South Korea | |
| Titel | 108th Chan Patriarch |
| Personal | |
| Born | c. 1289 CE |
| Died | c. 1363 CE |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Lineage | Mahayana |
| Bildung | Nalanda |
Sources
editMuch of what we know about Dhyanabhadra come from a collection of primary sources from both China and Korea. These include:[3]
- Record of Chan Essentials by the Monk Zhikong (Chanyao lu)
- Zhikong’s Travel Record (Xinglu)
- Zhikong’s Text of the Precepts of (Neither Arising Nor) Non-arising (Wushengjie Jing)
Leben
editKorean sources including the writings of Yi Saek detail that Dhyānabhadra was born as the third son of a minor chief in Magadha in 1289 C.E. Dhyānabhadra grew up in a period when much of India had begun to feel the threat of Islamic invasions. The sources from his life detail that Dhyānabhadra had a natural affinity for ascetism from an early age. He was able to memorise many religious texts and also avoided foods that were said to "arouse the passions" including meat and alcohol.[4]
At the age of eight, his father, the king, became ill and his mother was advised by a fortune teller that he would recover if her son was ordained as a monk. Her mother then made the difficult decision to enrol Dhyānabhadra at Nalanda monastery at some point between 1295 and 1298 where he studied under the guidance of the Mahayana teacher Vinayabhadra.[1] As part of his initiation at Nalanda, his head was shaven and he received the five precepts. In Nalanda, Dhyānabhadra received an education in various texts including the Maha-Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, Lotus Sutra and the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra. He was also required to familiarise himself with non-Buddhist teachings.[4]
Vinayabhadra encouraged him to travel to Sri Lanka where he subsequently studied under Samantaprabhāsa who resided in Sigiriya so that he could study the "meaning of truth" in more detail. In 1324, he travelled to Tibet and then later on he travelled through China to arrive in Korea. During his time there, he founded the Hwaeomsa Temple in 1328, modelled on Nalanda.[3] A stupa inscription claims that he died in China in 1366 C.E. During his time travelling through China and Korea, it was suggested that he had a role in instigating revolts against the ruling Mongols. He also had audiences with the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty.[5] 10 years following his death, and after the Mongols had been overthrown from Korea, his disciples erected a stupa on top of his remains. Much of what we know about him comes from the poetic inscription left on his stupa.[6]
He was so revered in Korea that after he died in 1363, King Gongmin of Goryeo had his relics brought back to the country where they were first placed in the royal palace and later placed at the Hoemsa temple.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Buswell, Robert; Lopez, Donald (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 1056. ISBN 9780691157863.
- ^ Orzech, Charles; Sørensen, Henrik; Payne, Richard (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill. pp. 609–610. ISBN 9789004184916.
- ^ a b Nath Prasad, Birendra (2021). A 'Nālandā Monk' in the Late Thirteenth–Early Fourteenth Century India, Tibet, China and Korea: A Note on the 'Poetic Inscription' on a Korean Stūpa Erected in the Memory of Dhyānabhadra. Routledge. pp. 140–149. ISBN 9781032117225.
- ^ a b Dziwenka, Ronald James (2010). "'The last light of Indian Buddhism'—The monk Zhikong in 14th century China and Korea (PhD dissertation)". The University of Arizona.
- ^ Biran, Michael Biran (17 August 2023). The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire. Cambridge University Press. pp. 839–840. ISBN 978-1-009-30197-8.
- ^ Thapa, S (2006). "Transmission of Indian Buddhist Thought in East Asian Historiography: Dhyānabhadra (Chi-Gong) and Buddhism in 14th Century Korea". Sixth World Korean Studies Congress.
- ^ Huntley Grayson, James (2002). Korea: A Religious History. Routledge. p. 99. ISBN 9781136869181.