Purity in Buddhism
Translations of kleshas | |
---|---|
English | purity |
Rōmaji: shōjō) | |
Khmer | សុទ្ធ វិសុទ្ធ បរិសុទ្ធ (UNGEGN: sŏtth, vĭsŏtth, bârĭsŏtth) |
Korean | 청정 (RR: cheongjeong) |
Vietnamese | thanh tịnh |
Glossary of Buddhism |
Purity (Pali: Vissudhi) is an important concept within much of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, although the implications of the resultant moral purification may be viewed differently in the varying traditions. The aim is to purify the personality of the Buddhist practitioner so that all moral and character defilements and defects (kleśas such as anger, ignorance and lust) are wiped away and nirvana can be obtained.
Theravada
So important is this notion of purity in Theravada Buddhism that the famed Buddhist monk and commentator Buddhaghosa composed a central thesis on dhamma called The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga).
Mahayana
Tathāgatagarbha
Controversially, according to the Mahayana
In the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, there are two primary states of the Tathāgatagarbha. One is when it is covered with defilements and known as the "embryo of the Tathāgata" (Tathāgatagarbha). The other is when it becomes free from defilements, and is no more the "embryo", but the Tathāgata or Dharmakāya.
The Mahābherīharaka Sūtra elaborates that at the time one becomes a Tathāgata, one dwells in Nirvana and may be referred to as "permanent", "steadfast", "calm", "eternal" and "self" (ātman). These contaminants are seen as extrinsic to, rather than inherent within, the essence of the being.[2]
The attainment of Buddhahood, resulting after eliminating the kleśas, is referred to in the Tathāgatagarbha literature and in the works of the Tibetan
Perfection of wisdom
In contrast to the Tathāgatagarbha theory, the
See also
- Anattā and Ātman (Buddhism)
- Bhavana
- Four Noble Truths
- Luminous mind
- Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
- Noble Eightfold Path
- Reality in Buddhism
- Threefold Training
- Visuddhimagga
Further reading
- Purity of Heart: Essays on the Buddhist Path, by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Amaravati Publications (2012)
- Hopkins, Jeffrey (2006). Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix - by: Dolpopa, Jeffrey Hopkins, Snow Lion Publications, Hardcover, 832 Pages. ISBN 1-55939-238-X
- The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes tr. by Kosho Yamamoto, ed. by Dr. Tony Page, Nirvana Publications, London, 2000.
- The Srimala Sutra tr. by Dr. Shenpen Hookham, Longchen Foundation, Oxford, 1995.
References
- ^ Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes, tr. by Kosho Yamamoto, ed. by Dr. Tony Page, Nirvana Publications, London, 2000, Vol. 3, pp. 7-8 and passim, and The Srimala Sutra tr. by Dr. Shenpen Hookham, Longchen Foundation Press, Oxford, 1995, p. 34).
- ^ Wayman, Alex; Wayman, Hideko (1974). The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā: A Buddhist Scripture on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory. Columbia University Press. p. 45.
- ISBN 978-1559392389.