The Awakening of Faith (1967)

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{{Book
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|PersonName=Yoshito S. Hakeda
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|BookToc=**{{i|Foreword, by ''Wm. Theodore de Bary''|v}}
|BookToc=**{{i|Foreword, by ''Wm. Theodore de Bary''|v}}
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******{{i|a. Permeation of Ignorance|56}}
******{{i|a. Permeation of Ignorance|56}}
******{{i|b. Permeation of Suchness|58}}
******{{i|b. Permeation of Suchness|58}}
*******{{i|(1) Permeation Through Manifestation of the Essence
*******{{i|(1) Permeation Through Manifestation of the Essence of Suchness|59}}
of Suchness|59}}
*******{{i|(2) Permeation Through Influences|61}}
*******{{i|(2) Permeation Through Influences|61}}
********{{i|(a) The Specific Coordinating Causes|61}}
********{{i|(a) The Specific Coordinating Causes|61}}
********{{i|(b) The General Coordinating Causes|63}}
********{{i|(b) The General Coordinating Causes|63}}
***{{i|II. The Essence Itself and the Attributes of Suchness, or The Meanings of Mahā|64}}
****{{i|A. The Greatness of the Essence of Suchness|64}}
****{{i|B. The Greatness of the Attributes of Suchness|65}}
****{{i|C. The Greatness of the Influences of Suchness|67}}
***{{i|III. From Samsara to Nirvana|72}}


II. The Essence Itself and the Attributes of Suchness, or
**{{i|Chapter Two: The Correction of Evil Attachments|73}}
The Meanings of Mah1 66
***{{i|I. The Biased Views Held by Ordinary Men|74}}
A. The Greatness of the Essence of Suchness 66
***{{i|II. The Biased Views Held by the Hinayanists|78}}
B. The Greatness of the Attributes of Suchness 66
C. The Greatness of the Influences of Suchness 68
III. From SaÅs1ra to Nirv1âa 72
Chapter Two: The Correction of Evil Attachments 73
I. The Biased Views Held by Ordinary Men 74
II. The Biased Views Held by the HEn1yanists 77
vi contents
Chapter Three: Analysis of the Types of Aspiration for
Enlightenment, or The Meanings of Y1na 79
I. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through the Perfection
of Faith 79
II. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through
Understanding and Deeds 83
III. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through
Insight 84


Part 4 On Faith and Practice 88
**{{i|Chapter Three: Analysis of the Types of Aspiration for Enlightenment, or The Meanings of Yāna|80}}
On Four Faiths 88
***{{i|I. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through the Perfection of Faith|80}}
On Five Practices 89
***{{i|II. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through Understanding and Deeds|86}}
The Practice of Cessation 91
***{{i|III. The Aspiration for Enlightenment Through Insight|87}}
The Practice of Clear Observation 94
 
Part 5 Encouragement of Practice and the Benefits Thereof 96
*{{i|Part 4 On Faith and Practice|92}}
Notes 99
**{{i|On Four Faiths|92}}
Chinese Character Glossary 105
**{{i|On Five Practices|93}}
Selected Bibliography 107
**{{i|The Practice of Cessation|96}}
Index 111
**{{i|The Practice of Clear Observation|100}}
 
*{{i|Part 5 Encouragement of Practice and the Benefits Thereof|103}}
 
**{{i|Notes|105}}
 
**{{i|A Selected Bibliography|119}}
 
**{{i|Index|123}}
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Latest revision as of 19:20, 11 September 2020

The Awakening of Faith (1967)
Book
Book

The text known as the Dasheng qixinlun (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna) is a short treatise occupying only nine pages in the Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripitaka.[1] The reconstructed Sanskrit title of the work is Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda-śāstra; it is said to have been written in Sanskrit by Aśvaghosha and translated into Chinese in A.D. 550 by the famous Indian translator of Buddhist texts, Paramārtha. No Sanskrit version of the text exists today, however, and all our knowledge of the work is based on this Chinese version and a second version that dates from a somewhat later period.
      The work is a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the product of a mind extraordinarily apt at synthesis. It begins with an examination of the nature of the Absolute or enlightenment and of the phenomenal world or nonenlightenment and discusses the relationships that exist between them; from there, it passes on to the question of how man may transcend his finite state and participate in the life of the infinite while still remaining in the midst of the phenomenal order; it concludes with a discussion of particular practices and techniques that will aid the believer in the awakening and growth of his faith. In spite of its deep concern with philosophical concepts and definitions, therefore, it is essentially a religious work, a map drawn by a man of unshakable faith, which will guide the believer to the peak of understanding. But the map and the peak are only provisional symbols, skillful and expedient ways employed to bring men to enlightenment. The text and all the arguments in it exist not for their own sake but for the sake of this objective alone. The treatise is, indeed, a true classic of Mahāyāna Buddhism. (Hakeda, introduction, 1–2)

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Citation Hakeda, Yoshito S., trans. The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Aśvaghosha. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.