Research On The Musical Aesthetics Of The Avatamsaka Sutr

Avatamsaka Sutra is one of the main scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism and also an important scripture on which Huayan Buddhism was established,occupying an important position in history.This article explores and sorts out literature related to sound in Huayan scriptures,and combines Buddhist philosophy to study the musical aesthetic ideas in the Avatamsaka Sutra.The first chapter of this article explores the historical origin and framework structure of the Avatamsaka Sutra.There are three versions of the Avatamsaka Sutra,which were first introduced to China during the Eastern Jin Dynasty,and the subsequent two versions are supplements and extensions to it.Among them,the version translated by Siksananda from the Tang Dynasty is the most researched version due to its richer content and smoother translation.Regarding the framework structure of the Avatamsaka Sutra,based on the research of Chengguan and Fang Dongmei,this Sutra can be divided into four parts: "Faith,Explanation,Action,and Evidence",which respectively discuss the wonderful scenes in the Huayan realm,the profound philosophy behind the phenomena,the methods of entering the Huayan realm,and specific practical cases.The musical aesthetic ideas in the Avatamsaka Sutra are also contained within this framework.The second chapter mainly analyzes the relevant literature describing the characteristics and essence of music in the Avatamsaka Sutra.In terms of musical characteristics,the Avatamsaka Sutra portrays the beautiful scenery of the world of Huazang,demonstrating the timeless and eternal nature of music,as well as the characteristic of mutual integration and absorption in space.In the essence of music,the Avatamsaka Sutra explains the principle behind the emergence of the aforementioned wonderful realm.The scripture believes that time is relative,and the three concepts of the past,present,and future can be interchanged.The cause and effect before and after are no longer contradictory,so music is constant and continuous;It is believed that space is mutually inclusive,and properties such as size and height can be mutually inclusive,thus music is a correspondence between one and many.And based on this,it is concluded that music is only produced by karma and combination,and its essence is emptiness.This wonderful realm is based on the theoretical foundations of the realm of reason and matter,and can only be manifested by melting the two into the mind.The third chapter mainly discusses the methods and practical cases for reaching the wonderful realm.In terms of methodology,the Avatamsaka Sutra believes that in specific music practice,we should not be obsessed with exploring the essence of music or indulging in the phenomena presented by music,but should constantly cycle back and forth between the theoretical and practical realms symbolizing essence and phenomena.In order to illustrate this return,the Huayan Sutra elaborates on the way to break away from the obsession with the methods and understanding of the legal world through the practical case of the 53 visits of Sudhana,thus revealing the path to mutual harmony between essence and phenomenon...