Yinshun views

[zamotcr]

Hello, I would like to know what do you think about Master Yinshun views on tathagatagarbha, Pure Land, mantras and Buddhism history.
It seems he had a very different approach to buddhism.

[Huifeng]

Hello, I would like to know what do you think about Master Yinshun views on tathagatagarbha, Pure Land, mantras and Buddhism history.
It seems he had a very different approach to buddhism.

He is just one of the first Chinese monastics to use the historical textual approach to doxography. While this makes him like the majority of Buddhist studies scholars, he still maintains what he considers to be the basic truths of the spiritual path, eg. cyclic existence, karma, possibility of awakening, etc., as opposed to the usual hermeneutics of suspicion.

He can thus argue that while teachings like Tathagatagarbha, much of pureland thought, and use of mantras all appeared later in the process of Buddhist history, and thus not taught by Sakyamuni himself, they still may have some expedient value as methods for certain kinds of individuals, even if not ultimate teachings.

~~ Huifeng

[JKhedrup]

Ven. Huifeng,
How is your translation of that Yinshun text going? I'm excited to see it!

[Huifeng]

Ven. Huifeng,
How is your translation of that Yinshun text going? I'm excited to see it!

Contract is in hand.
Will be putting more time into it once I get back to Tw after the winter break. Still, at least a year is needed, according to the editor / publisher.

~~ Huifeng