Advanced Contemplation of the Impure: Reflections on a Capstone Event in the Meditation Sutra
| Autor: | Michel Mohr |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Contemplation
lcsh:BL1-2790 media_common.quotation_subject Event (relativity) Buddhism 0603 philosophy ethics and religion lcsh:Religions. Mythology. Rationalism Émile Durkheim Perception 0601 history and archaeology Capstone Meditation contemplation of the impure media_common pure-impure dichotomy 060303 religions & theology 060101 anthropology Religious studies Sign (semiotics) 06 humanities and the arts aśubhā-bhāvanā bújìng guān 不淨觀 Vimalakīrti Sūtra Mary Douglas Six Dynasties Liù Cháo 六朝 Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra Rúláizàng jīng 如來藏經 Meditation Sutra of Dharmatrāta Dámóduōluó chánjīng 達摩多羅禪經 Epistemology Buddhabhadra Fótuóbátuóluó 佛陀跋陀羅 Psychology Mental image |
| Zdroj: | Religions Volume 11 Issue 8 Religions, Vol 11, Iss 386, p 386 (2020) |
| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/rel11080386 |
| Popis: | The present article explores the form of meditation called contemplation of the impure (Skt aśubha-bhāvanā Ch. bú jì ng guān 不淨觀) and its meticulous description in a Chinese text produced in the early fifth century CE. It illustrates the problematic nature of the pure-impure polarity and suggests that, ultimately, &ldquo purity&rdquo refers to two different things. As a generic category, it can be understood as a mental construct resulting from the mind&rsquo s discursive functioning, which tends to be further complicated by cultural factors. The other avenue for interpreting &ldquo is provided in this meditation manual, which describes how meditation on impurity leads to the direct perception of purity, and to the vision of a &ldquo pure land.&rdquo This stage is identified as a &ldquo sign&rdquo marking the completion of this contemplative practice. Examining the specific nature of this capstone event and some of its implications lies at the core of the research whose initial results are presented here. Although this particular Buddhist contemplation of the impure begins with mental images of decaying corpses, it culminates with the manifestation of a vision filling the practitioner with a sense of light and purity. This high point indicates when the practice has been successful, an event that coincides for practitioners with a time when they catch a glimpse of their true nature. The last section of this article further discusses the extent to which positing an intrinsically pure nature&mdash one of the major innovations introduced by Buddhism in fifth-century China&mdash could inform ethical views. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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