Research On Lushan Huiyuan Mission

Huiyuan(慧远)Mission of Lushan is a Buddhist practice group established in Lushan Mountain in the Eastern Jin Dynasty whose core is Huiyuan. Research on Huiyuan Mission not only strengthens the study of the Buddhist Mission, but also broadens and deepens the research of Hui Yuan. This paper attempts on the basis of previous studies, by virtue of kinds of documents, to the overall perspective, as far as possible,to show Huiyuan Mission as a whole in front of the readers.In the Huiyuan Mission, smart, noble monks and those with Zen meditation are the core, gentle upasakas are the periphery. The monk group was composed of Donglin Temple Sangha and wandering monks, and the Upasaka group was composed of hermits like Liu Yimin (刘遗民),scholars like Zong Bing (宗炳), celebrities like Wang Ningzhi (王凝之)With strict self-discipline, Huiyuan Mission paid attention to strengthening contact with the Shu(蜀)Mission, Jingxiang(荆襄) Mission, Southeast China Mission and Northern Chang’an(长安)Mission, which set a powerful Mission, a broad-based united organization of monks.In the Huiyuan Mission period, the City Buddhism in China began to transform to the Mountain Buddhism. Quiet natural environment, a strong religious atmosphere, the special position of political and religious and the seclusion culture of China, Indian Buddhist way of meditation are the factors to promote Huiyuan Mission to select Mt Lushan.Huiyuan Mission’s selection of mountains did not mean breaking off relations with the city, or the decline of City Buddhism either, but it did show an attitude of the relationship between the Chinese Buddhist monks and laymen. From the "failing depend on the king, the religious affairs is difficult" to Huiyuan "would like to Danapati safe, so does he", which neutrality policy is an attempt to pursue independent. Although Huiyuan made the victory of disrespect to the king of the dispute, but a strong secular kingship and culture in the royal supremacy still made Hui Yuan give up the right of monitoring monks, so that the clerical system was brought into line with the secular system. The backward state of commandment in the Buddhism Scriptures spreading process made the Chinese Buddhist monks establish their regulations under the fundamental Buddhism, with the actual circumstances of China. Interpretation of Chinese Buddhist Mission should come from the Chinese regulations rather than the Indian commandment. The Yuan Regulations of Huiyuan Mission is far away from our knowledge, but from the system of "seven-sorrow-day", and the what had been done with Tanyong (昙邕),Sengche(僧彻),we can say that although the Lushan Mission were engrossed in the Buddhism Scriptures, had made significant contribution in the interpretation, but still run with Buddhism regulations rich in Chinese characteristics.Education is the best index of purpose and righteousness of a group, which also stand for the ideal of this group. Education of Lushan Mission can be divided into Yijie (义解)、Kuangzheng(匡拯)、Jiexing(�'行)、Chansi(禅思),monks in Lushan could learn something according to their own wishes. They take Changdao(唱导)and self-study as primary education way and formed a system of seven-year-study-period. Particularly importantly that the learning confucian canon and poetry is open in Huiyuan Mission which shows that the mission absorbed the beneficial elements of indigenous culture consciously. It is quite different from Chang’an Kumarajiva(鸠摩罗什)Mission and made one direction of Chinese Buddhism.Huiyuan Mission also was actively involved in the Buddhist interpretation activities, from the Mountain Lushan, Fajing(法净),Faling (法领),Baoyun(宝云)came out and made a long march to the Western Regions. Faling, in particular, had invited four Western monks and two hundred Buddhism Scripture books and was praised as guide and bridge by Sengzhao(僧肇)Huiyuan Mission also built Prajna Vihara in Lushan, sending for monks, translating scriptures, where Samghadeva (僧伽提婆),Bbuddhabhadra (佛驮跋陀罗) had translated many classic. On this basis, Daoliu(道流),Daozu(道祖) edited the "Wei Dyansty Record ", "Wu Dynasty Record ", "Jin Dynasty Record ", "Hexi Dyansty Record".Lushan Mission also actively built good karma, Huiyuan said:"The Buddhism tells us three, one, Zen meditation, two, read the classic, three, build good karma." As the good karma of Lushan Mission had got little academic attention, this article is to complete the fact of a variety of image of the Buddha in Lushan and supplement the Hui Yuan litchi tower using field research and oral historical data on the basis of Li Xingling(李幸玲)’s work "Lushan Huiyuan research ".