Due to the geographical position of China, direct contacts with India were limited to the long journey by way of the silk road or the southern sea route by way of the straights of Malacca. For this reason there was relatively little direct contact with India. Those who made the arduous journey to India usually brought back large collections of Buddhist Texts. The authenticity of the primary texts of a school served to legitimize the various schools, all of which were vying for support amoung the ruling class. With the exception of the Ch'an/Zen School, which was acclaimed as "A Direct Transmission outside of the Sūtras" and whose legitimacy was the subject of much controversy, schools not based on recognized Indian texts did not survive long.
The table below outlines the schools, texts, and founders of the early Chinese Mahāyana schools which later, in turn, were carried on to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
School | Fundamental Texts | Founder(s) | development | spread to Japan, Korea, Vietnam |
Mahāyana | ||||
Satysiddhi (s) Ch'eng-shih (ch) Jōjitsu (j) |
Satyasiddhi Śāstra by Harivarman (4th cent) trans. Kumārajīva |
Seng-t'ao Seng-sung |
flourished in the Six-Dynasties and T'ang Dynasty | Taken to Japan by a korean monk in the 7th cent. |
San-lun (Three Śāstra) |
Mādhyamika-Kārikā Dvādashadvāra Śāstra by Nāgārjuna Shata Śāstra by Āryadeva trans. Kumārajīva |
Seng-lang (Tao-sheng) (Seng-chao) |
Flourished in the 6th cent. due to Fa-lang and Chu-tsang | Taken to Japan by the korean monk Ekwan in the 7th cent. |
T'ien-t'ai | Buddhāvamtamsaka-Sūtra Āgamas Vaipulyas Sūtras Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra Saddharmapundarīka-Sūtra (Lotus Sūtra) Mahāparinirvāna Sūtra |
Chih-i/Chih-che Chisha (j) (538-597) |
T'ien-t'ai school absorbed the Nirvana school | Taken by Saichō (767-822) to Japan, where it is known as the Tendai School |
Nieh-pan (ch) (Nirvāna) |
Mahāparinirvāna-Sūtra | Tao-sheng (355-434) |
||
Avatamsaka (s) Hua-yen (ch) Kegon (j) |
Buddhāvatamsaka-Sūtra | Tu-shun (557-640) Chih-yien (602-668) Fa-tsang (643-712) Ch'en-kuan (737-820) Tsung-mi (780-841) |
The Hua-yen absorbed the Daśabhūmika and the Samparigraha-Śāstra schools) | Taken to Japan by Shen-hsiang (Shinshō) in 740 |
Daśabhūmika (s) Ti-lun (ch) |
Daśabhūmivyākhyāna Śāstra (Shih-ti-ching-lun) by Vasubandhu trans. in 508 by: Bodhiruci Ratnamati Buddhasanta |
- | ||
Dhyāna (s) Ch'an Zen |
Direct transmission | Bodhidharma Liang Dynasty-6th cent. |
Early Chinese Ch'an Nangaku/Nan-yüeh Seigen/Ch'ing-yüan Rinzai/Lin-chi Sōtō/Ts'ao-tung Rinzai Yōgi/Linchi Yang-ch'i Igyō/Kuei-yang School Rinzai Ōryō/Linchi Huang-lung Ummon/Yün-mên Hōgen/Fa-yen |
Japanese Sōtō Japanese Ōtōkan Rinzai Japanese Obaku Vietnam |
Dharmalaksana (s) Ch'u-en Fa-siang |
Sandhinirmocana-Sūtra Abhidharma-Sūtra Yogacaryabhumi Śāstra Vijnaptimatrasiddhi Śāstra The Great Sukhavati Vyuha-Sūtra The Small Sukhavati Vyuha-Sūtra |
Shuan-chuang | - | - |
Sukhāvatī (s) Ching-tu (ch) Jōdo-shū (j) Pure Land |
Sukhāvatī Vyūha Sūtras Amitābha-Sūtra Amitāyurdhyāna-Sūtra |
Hui-yüan (334-416) |
flourished in the T'ang | Hōnen (1133-1212) founded the Jōdo-shū in Japan |
Fa-hsiang (ch) Hossō (j) |
Views of Dharmapāla a student of Dignāga) Vijñaptimātratā-Sūtra |
Hsüan-tsang (596-664) K'uei-chi (632-682) |
- | Taken to Japan by Dōshō (629-700) in 653 |
Tantric | ||||
Chen-yien/ Mi-tsung (ch) Shingon/ Mikkyō (j) |
Mahāvairochana-Sūtra trans. Shubhākarasimha Diamond Apex-Sūtra Susiddhi-Sūtra |
Shubhākarasimha (s) Shan-wu-wei (ch) (637-735) Vajrabodhi (s) Chin-kang-chih (ch) (663-723) Amoghavajra (s) Pu-k'ung (ch) (705-774) |
- | In 800 the Mönch Kūkai (774-835) brought the Shingon teachings to Japan Mönch Saichō (767-822) brought the Mikkyō teachings to Japan. |
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