Putting Yogacara Buddhism into Practice

Posted: September 5, 2010 | Author: Doug | Filed under: Buddhism, Hosso, Japan, Shingon | 6 Comments »

Ever since I took an interest in Yogacara/Hossō Buddhism last year, one question that has often arisen for me (possibly others) is how do you practice it? Texts and treatises elude to special types of meditation within the monastic community, but for lay people or people who are simply curious, what can they do? This post is a first-attempt to try and answer this question. The Hossō (Yogacara) school in Japan is one of the original Six Schools of Buddhism in Japan, but is overshadowed by more well-known and popular sects like Zen and the Pure Land sects, so information in English is very minimal. The best introduction so far has been Rev. Tagawa’s book, Living Yogacara, translated by Prof. Charles A.C. Muller (who also did some nice translations online for the Chinese Classics too). The book mostly explains Yogacara philosophy, since it is less of a sect and more of a strain of thought within the larger Buddhist religion, but there are still some clues to be gleaned from this and from my recent trip to Kofukuji Temple in Nara, Japan.

There’s nothing real surprising or secret about the contents of this post, but help provides some sense of direction. Historically, the Six Schools of Nara Buddhism functioned as specialized, “study groups” for general East-Asian Mahayana Buddhism, so many of the elements are shared throughout:

• Focus on the awakening of the aspiration for the Bodhi Mind, or Awakened Mind.
• The traditional Mahayana cosmology: Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Buddhas, ancillary figures, etc. The upward progression toward the stage of the Bodhisattva, then finally full Buddhahood.¹
• Emptiness as the foundation of all phenomena. All phenomena, thoughts, people, etc exist on a contingent basis, and only for a limited time.
• Emphasis on “expedient means” to explain the variety of teachings and practices to suit the wide variety of inclinations people have.

On that note, I noticed that Kofukuji Temple offered prayer books for sale which were none other than the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra is almost universal as a lay-devotee liturgy for Mahayana Buddhism, since it’s both simple to recite and includes a very concise explanation of the Emptiness doctrine (see above). So, as far as liturgy is concerned for Hossō Buddhism, reciting the Heart Sutra is a good start.

Second, while there, I noticed that they did incorporate some esoteric Buddhist elements. When I visited the Eastern Golden Hall, the central statue was of the Medicine Buddha, because the Emperor at the time, Emperor Shomu, wanted to help his wife recover, and this was a way of building up good karma.² In any case, the statue remains, and I noticed there was a small wooden plaque in front of it, bearing the public mantra for the Medicine Buddha: on koro koro sendari matogi sowaka. Later, when I read about the life of Jōkei, a prominent Hossō monk in the 13th century, his Buddhist teachings blended exoteric elements of Buddhism and practice, along with esoteric or “tantric” elements to bolster the practice. Hossō Buddhism, like the other original schools, is not fundamentally tantric or esoteric, but absorbed popular practices from the mainland as they trickled in, so individual practices may vary depending on which Buddhist figure one is devoted too. This was later augmented with the arrival of Shingon Buddhism to Japan (via priests Kūkai) who provided a thorough platform for which to study and practice tantra. Still, I think though one should be careful not to focus on this aspect too much, as you’ll see shortly.

Rev. Tagawa in his introduction to Yogacara, delves briefly into the Buddhist path in the traditional sense:

In Buddhism, concentration is commonly referred to as one of the basic three Buddhist disciplines: moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom

This in fact is definition of Buddhism you see in many other sects too such as Theravada Buddhism, among others. Compare with Ven. Walpola Rahula’s book “What the Buddha Taught”:

These eight factors [the Noble Eightfold Path] aim at promoting and perfecting the three essentials of Buddhist training and discipline: namely (a) Ethical Conduct (sīla), (b) Mental Discipline (samādhi) and (c) Wisdom (paññā). (pg. 46)

So, the Hossō Buddhist view of “the path” is essentially the same, and quite consistent with traditional Buddhism.

One feature I noticed emphasized in Hossō Buddhism is repentance. Repentance in Buddhism is not quite the same notion found in other religions. Buddhism, at its heart is a religion of self-reflection with the Buddhist teachings as an objective guide, and thus actions tend to fall into the bucket of “skillful actions” or “unskillful actions”. Skillful actions are those that are praiseworthy by others, faultless and give freedom from guilt or self-loathing. Unskillful actions obviously are the opposite. So in Buddhism, especially Mahayana Buddhism, this is a common practice to reflect on one’s unskillful actions, renounce them before a priest or an image of the Buddha and strive not to do them again. Hosso Buddhism exemplifies this with the story of the Ashura, similar to the Greek Titans at constant war with the Gods. The famous Ashura statue at Kofukuji Temple (head of the Hossō school) shows him weaponless and with a peaceful expression implying that through the Dharma he has renounced his war-like ways and has become a disciple.

Indeed, repentance and self-reflection are critical to rebuilding one’s self, as Rev. Tagawa explains:

Nonetheless, we still have the capability of saying to ourselves “this isn’t a good idea,” and from this moment forth, being to recreate ourselves as new beings. Indolence is transformed to diligence, and laziness is turned into zeal…Despite the fact that our present self has been created from our past activities and experiences, the past is still the past. We are now actively creating a future that has a different quality from this past, and it will be the focus of our experience henceforth. (pg 92, trans. Prof. Charles A.C. Muller)

and later:

Human beings all have the ability to realistically reflect on themselves and seek mental equanimity, and to actively avoid indolence and craving. If we steadily handle our lives in this way, thought it may take time, we will certainly be thrust upward to the world of the Buddha. This is the core principle of Yogācāra Buddhism. (pg. 93)

So if I can sum up this post:

• A good starting liturgy for home practice is the Heart Sutra.
• Periodically reflecting on your skillful and unskillful actions and repenting before a personal shrine is a good idea.
• The Noble Eightfold Path, and the three basic disciplines (moral conduct, practice and wisdom) are something we should all strive to follow in a balanced way.
• Related to that, mindfulness is a very valuable tool to achieving the above. Recently I finished reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “The Miracle of Mindfulness” and was deeply impressed by its explanation and how to put it into practice in our daily lives. I hope to write more about it later.

So that’s a brief, and incomplete look, at how one might put Yogacara Buddhism (Hossō Buddhism) into practice for lay people like ourselves. Of course, most of this advice pertains to Mahayana Buddhism in general, including more well-known schools, but I wanted to ensure Yogacara Buddhism received some much-needed attention.

P.S. Typo fixes mostly, but also check out the comment by Prof. Muller as well for additional advice.

¹ Defined in the Lotus Sutra among other places, but Yogacara is unusual in that it views the progression to Enlightenment slightly differently due to the Doctrine of the Five Natures (compared to the Lotus Sutra schools and offshoots like Zen and Pure Land).

² The State in early Japan heavily sponsored Buddhist institutions for their “practical” benefit in averting disasters and promoting health and peace. This is definitely different than what exists today, but throughout the medieval period, this was a common practice by rulers in Japan, and likely elsewhere. In today’s terms, an eminent priest or minister might be invited by the government to help commemorate a special day with a speech.

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