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The Origin and Development of Buddhist Literature in China

Buddhist literature refers to literary works with the theme of Buddhist content and the purpose of promoting Buddhist beliefs. Tracing back to the source of Buddhist documents can be traced back to the introduction of Buddhist scriptures into China. With the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, the literary works in Buddhist scriptures were immediately recognized and accepted by Chinese people, followed by the literary creation of monks. Since China has a tradition of communication between scholars and monks since ancient times, scholars in past dynasties have also written a large number of literary works expressing Buddhism and Zen. From Buddhist literature to monk literature, and then to literati literature, the development of Buddhist literature in China comes down in one continuous line.

First, the origin of Buddhist literature

Buddhist literature originated from Buddhist scriptures. Since Indian Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese, Buddhism has blossomed in China. When the Buddha was alive, in order to let his disciples know the profoundness of Buddhism, he often used methods such as "responding to illness and medicine" and "responding to opportunities" to talk about Buddhism. The methods he used were mainly figurative metaphors. For example,> China Buddha said: When I talk about Buddhism, there are countless conveniences, various karma and figurative words. Later, the popular way of spreading Buddhism adopted by the Buddha was inherited by his disciples, and he showed a high literary standard when collecting Buddhist scriptures. When Buddhism was introduced into China, where literature was highly developed, this tradition was further developed. In the process of translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, the translator adopts transliteration, free translation and literal translation, and at the same time uses various literary techniques to polish them, so as to keep the original appearance of Indian Buddhist scriptures as much as possible.

Among the Buddhist scriptures we have seen, there are many classics that partially use various literary techniques. Such as> Vimalakīrti's laity orator's description of supernatural power:

At that time, the elder Vimalakīrti believed that Manjusri should follow the crowd, that is, vacate the room with divine power, remove all waiters, buy only one bed and be ill in bed. Manjushri immediately entered his room and found that his room was empty and there was nothing. He slept alone in a bed. ...

This passage describes that when Manjushri asked questions, Vimalakīrti showed that God had turned his residence into a one-square-foot empty room with nothing but a bed, which showed the principle of emptiness in various laws.

In < < French Sentence Classics >; & gt There are also a large number of scriptures that use figurative rhetoric, such as:

If you live to be a hundred years old, you won't learn well. It's better to live day by day and collect the Dharma. I feel that I can quit the three evils and use drugs to eliminate many poisons. The life and death of a healthy person is like a skinned snake.

The scripture here uses familiar things as a metaphor, which vividly and profoundly explains the truth that life should accept the right law and turn evil into good. In fact, it is also a philosophical poem with profound implications.

Some Buddhist scriptures can also be read as literary works. The most famous of these classics is>.

& lt& lt The Life Sutra of the Buddha >> It is a collection of stories that records the merits and demerits of the Buddha in this woman's world. It is based on Indian folktales, myths and legends, poems and aphorisms. This collection of stories, with vivid stories, praises the Buddha's past self-interest and altruism and helps all sentient beings? , with universal educational significance.

Every story in<& lt Buddha's Sutra is roughly divided into three parts. The first part is the situation of Buddha in this world. The other part is his past behavior, which shows that he is a deer, a monkey, a rabbit, a pigeon or a king, a nobleman, a businessman and a poor man in order to get rid of the suffering of all beings. The last part is the related language, which is explained by the secular Buddha, pointing out that the good doer is the Buddha himself and the evil doer is the one who hurts or opposes the Buddha, thus enlightening the disciples. & lt& lt The Life of the Buddha >> The characters are distinctive and the plot is touching, which is a rare literary masterpiece.

Another Buddhist literary work is; & gt。 Mr. Lu Xun, the father of modern literature in China, spoke highly of this and printed it at his own expense. & lt& lt Bai Yujing >; & gt It is a collection of 100 fables, and each story illustrates a profound truth through a complete story. If there is an article,

Once upon a time, there was a rich elder who wanted what he wanted, and everyone around him was respectful. When the elder vomits, the left and right waiters put their feet on it.

There is a fool who can't step on it, but says, "if you spit on the ground, everyone will step on it;" When I want to vomit, I will go first. 」

So when the old man is about to cough; Even if the fool puts his foot on the old man's mouth, his lips will be broken and his teeth will be broken.

The elder said to the fool, "Why did you step on my lips? 」

The fool replied, "If the elders spit on the ground, the left and right flatterers would have been trampled clean. Although I want to step on it, I often miss it. To this end, I am eager to export, and I want to step on my feet first.

Everything takes time. Before the time is up, we must make up our minds and get our troubles back. Therefore, the world should know "time" and "time"

This is a story about a rich man's servant trying to please him, but it backfired. Explain that everything has a time, and when it doesn't, it will bring suffering. Let the world know when and what to do is timely, and we can't do it reluctantly at an inappropriate time or before karma comes.

The introduction of Buddhist literature is the beginning of China's Buddhist literature. Various expressive techniques and artistic skills in Buddhist scriptures laid a good foundation for the development of Buddhist literature later.

Second, the development of monk literature

The spread and prosperity of Buddhism in China benefited from the promotion of eminent monks in past dynasties. In the way of studying in the evening, they are not limited to oral preaching, but also spread in the form of poetry. Many of them have also become famous poets in history. Monks' works include not only poems and eulogies, but also popular proverbs and variants.

The rise of monk poetry began after the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Zhi Dun (3 14-366) was the earliest monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China, and there were only three Baguanting Poems in his works.

Monk Cheben (? -9 16) > is a famous monk poem that has been praised by us so far.

The poem says:

Reach into the field with green seedlings and lower your head to see the water in the sky.

A pure heart is the way, and retrogression is the progress.

Walking, living, sitting, lying, carrying water and chopping wood in the Zen Gate are all Zen. This poem is based on the experience of transplanting rice seedlings. In the poem, the author not only emphasizes the philosophy of life such as "step back and broaden the horizon", but also emphasizes the relativity of things. Under certain conditions, low is high, and retreat is progress. Understand this truth, you can broaden your horizons, adjust your world outlook, and let your mind and behavior reach a higher level.

Some monks not only write poems, but also write poems to express the realm of consciousness. & gt that's an ode.

Zhuo Yun:

It was not difficult to grind bricks to make a mirror, but suddenly it lit up.

Those who can laugh, meditate and recite Buddha will have more whips on their cows.

This poem was written for Zen master to enlighten Mazu. The first two sentences say that after Chen Can was enlightened, it was not difficult to have a bright heart and to be a mirror. The key is enlightenment. The last two sentences say that people who only know how to meditate and seek enlightenment are like whipping a cow, but they don't understand the necessity of seeking outward, so they can only blindly "grind bricks and make mirrors."

Master Xuanjue's

Walking is Zen, sitting is Zen, and words move silently.

It is always refreshing to give a knife to every front, and it is also idle to spare poison.

My teacher can see the burning Buddha statue and rob many people, which is a shame for the gods.

……

The heart is the root and the law is the dust, both of which are like marks on the mirror.

Only by removing the traces of dirt can it be revealed, and the forgetting of mind and statutes is true.

There are still many monks in the past dynasties who interpret Zen in the form of ode and ballad. For example, < < Enlightenment >>, Longshan Jackson's>, free Zen master's.

The highest achievement in the development of Buddhist literature of monks is the appearance of common sayings and different scripts in the Tang Dynasty.

Folklore is a religious rap activity that uses various artistic techniques to preach scriptures and teachings to the people. At first, it evolved from the "transfer reading" and "singing guidance" of Buddhism since the Six Dynasties. Popular speakers are all eminent monks, that is, the so-called popular monks. Do they have lords? The Ministry of scripture, the mage explained by the Lord, Brahma praised by the Lord, etc. Generally speaking, there is a certain etiquette, Na Wei chimes everyone; Mages are all about going online and doing Brahma chanting Buddha; Say vows, open a topic, say solemnity, repent, accept three returns, ask for five precepts, call Buddha names, etc. In a formal lecture, everyone will recite a batch of original texts first, then the master will explain the scriptures, and then sing. At the end of a paragraph, use examples to urge menstruation; So they all talked about chanting several times, and the second time was explained by the mage. Repeat this process until the lecture ends with a solution. The popular basic book is to talk about scripture. Popular scripture is a combination of rhythm and rap. Speak in plain classical Chinese or spoken English; Sing with seven, six or five words. There are often words such as flat, broken, horizontal and chanting on it, indicating vocal singing.

Folklore, also known as Tanjing, is all based on Buddhist scriptures, and its ideological content is impermanence, selflessness, emptiness, confusion, reincarnation of life and death, karma, meditation, wisdom to get rid of nirvana and so on. Some of these works, with vivid plot, narrative, description, lyricism and other techniques, are widely compared and tell stories vertically and horizontally, often breaking through religious barriers and reflecting the real world, attracting people with their rich life breath, novel and unique content, relaxed plot and popular and vivid language. For example, the purpose of> is to explain that to support the human teachers and monks is to worship Buddha and Bodhisattva. The story expresses the story of a king who resolutely abandons the splendor of the world, is still willing to support the immortals after suffering, and persistently pursues the truth of Mahayana. The plot is ups and downs, and the story is beautiful. Another example is>, which is large in scale, imaginative and literary. Among them, the description of witches is extremely fine and colorful, with the rhythmic beauty of parallel prose.

Bianwen is a new style of folk creation in Tang Dynasty, and its genre is rap, which was later borrowed by Buddhist folklore. The "change" of bianwen refers to the change of Buddhist scripture text and becomes the meaning of "popular saying" However, when Bianwen became a special term, it was not limited to perfunctory Buddhist stories, but was reinterpreted with a new human body that combined the poems and songs that people loved at that time, making it easy to understand. Therefore, Bianwen is rap popular literature, and it is the base for artists to sing. Most of the variants we see now are preserved in Dunhuang rap works. For example, the transformation of>, < Demon Transformation >>, < Damu Ganlian's "Saving Mother from the Yin House" and the merger of the first volume & gt, < Eight-phase Transformation > > and so on, the characteristics of Bianwen are: first, the combination of rap and rhyme to tell stories. When it comes to confession and preaching, use common sayings or simple prose; Singing method is linear singing method, mostly seven-character rhythmic poetry, with rhyme. Although this system is similar to talking about classics, variations generally do not quote the original classics, and the last sentence of the lyrics does not have the rhetoric of urging classics, nor does it mark "flat", "broken" and "square". Secondly, when talking and singing, there are always some commonly used phrases as hints, such as "If ……". For example, "Da Mu Gan Lian saved his mother from the dead and came back to life" is a variant:

The jailer went to the seventh cell, picked up the slate and knocked on the iron drum: "Is there Mrs. Qingti in the seventh cell?" "At that time, I was nailed for twenty-nine days in the seven divisions of the Qing Dynasty, and Ding on the iron bed did not dare to answer. ..... When the warden heard this, he helped Mrs. Qingti to get up, but her mother was thin and twenty-nine, and nailed an iron chain to her waist to drive her out. Mother and child want to see:

The scale of a stick is like snow, and the sin of a thousand years is unknown.

There is blood in seven holes, and fierce fire comes out of the mother's mouth.

Tribulus walks in from the air, for example, from the sound of broken cars 500 times.

Can the waist and kidney be in the building? The jailer can cover it with a fork.

……

A Niang used to be very proud and went in and out of Luo Wei brocade shop.

That's what deserves to suffer from this mud plow, and it's been a thousand years since I changed my ways.

Pull out your tongue a thousand times in your mouth and plow your chest a hundred times.

The tendons and skins of the joints were broken everywhere, and the sword withered effortlessly.

……

I won't say goodbye to the empress today, so when shall we meet?

It is worth listening to this wave of pain, its heart is hanging in pain.

Hell is irreplaceable, but famous people are famous.

You can't help each other every once in a while. Your son is anxious to die in front of the prison with the queen.

This essay and verse are very harmonious, and the place where mother and son meet is used as a step-by-step hint of rhythmic transition. Thus, the story of Manglietia Manglietia saving her mother is earth-shattering. The third is the performance of changing the text, or supplemented by pictures. This can be seen from the title of the book "Da Mu Gan Lian Ming Jiu Mu Bian Wen and Figure Volume I and Preface". There are six pictures on the front of the book, and the six aria on the back responding to the copying and painting content is the proof of the book's pictures.

Generally speaking, there are three kinds of variation materials: one is the religious variation of Buddhist stories, such as the variation of demons, the variation of demons, and the variation of mothers being saved in the underworld. This kind of variant prose publicizes the basic teachings of Buddhism through Buddhist scripture stories. But it's not the same as talking about scripture. They don't quote scripture directly, but often choose the most interesting parts of Buddhist stories, which are perfunctory and less bound by Buddhist scriptures. Second, historical variations, such as Wu Zixu's variation and Wang Zhaojun's variation. Most of them are based on a historical figure, capturing anecdotes and absorbing folklore to render. The third category is the variation of folklore, such as the variation of filial piety by Shunza and the variation of Liu Yuxin.

The prosperity of Buddhism promoted the change of the missionary way of monks in Tang Dynasty. Vulgarity and literary variation are the result of this change. The appearance of catchwords and variations has turned the profound meaning of Buddhism into plain, thus facilitating more people to accept Buddhism. On the other hand, these two special literary forms created by monks greatly expanded the genre of Tang literature and injected vitality into the prosperity of Tang literature.

Buddhist literature of monks is another literary form after Buddhist literature. In poems, songs and ballads, the monks of past dynasties not only expressed their understanding of the classic teachings and the experience of revising scriptures, but also expressed their own voices and cared about the sufferings of people's livelihood. The emergence of proverbs and variations has popularized profound Buddhist teachings and played an important role in the spread of Buddhism. Monk literature supplements the deficiency of China literature in content and genre, and is an outstanding contribution made by monks to China literature.

Third, the prosperity of literati Buddhist literature.

Ancient literati in China have always had a tradition of interacting with monks. There are many reasons why scholars associate with monks. Some people regard Buddhism as a kind of spiritual comfort when their careers are prosperous. Some people are deeply influenced by their families and believe in Buddhism since childhood; There are also those who seek liberation and contact Buddhism when they are frustrated and depressed in officialdom, and so on. After contacting Buddhism, many of these literati became devout laymen. Because the ancient literati in China have always had the tradition of anti-poetry, they will naturally write a large number of poems related to Buddhism in their poetry creation, so as to express their feelings and express their firm beliefs.

After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Buddhist literary works of literati appeared. From then until modern times, all writers who have made great contributions to literature and have far-reaching influence have been influenced by Buddhism to varying degrees. Among them are Xie Lingyun, Shen Yue, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Liu Zongyuan, Su Shi, Gong Zizhen, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. They are all outstanding figures representing the ideological and academic level of a generation. They all created a large number of Buddhist literary works, and some absorbed the advantages of Buddhist literature and monk literature, and created many poems with profound philosophy and beautiful artistic conception, which promoted the great development of Buddhist literature.

Xie Lingyun (385-433) is the earliest poet in the history of Buddhist literature, and also the earliest poet who wrote a large number of landscape poems in the history of China literature. He has been a good Buddha all his life. Write the preface to Buddhism and participate in the revision of Nirvana Sutra. His poems are deeply influenced by Buddhism. Xie Lingyun once wrote Ode to the Infinite Life Buddha:

France hides the palace, and goes abroad. I'm willing to say forty-eight, and I swear to live in groups.

Pure land is wonderful, and everyone who comes is clear. If you want to send it safely in your old age, take advantage of the signs in the morning.

This poem tells the story of the Buddha's forty-eight willingness to help the poor when he became a monk in his last life. Enthusiastically praised the Buddha's sad wisdom.

Du Fu (7 12-770), a great realistic patriotic poet in the Tang Dynasty, is not only an outstanding poet who cares about the country and the people, but also has a special liking for Buddhism. He wrote many Zen poems in his life, expressing his life depression and his determination to go to Buddha. His "Zen Master in Zhenyidian" is about his admiration for Buddha. Poetry cloud:

At the height of Lanruo Mountain, there is a heavy haze.

The frozen spring grows loose with fine stones and fine snow.

Ask the law to read poetry and watch wine.

Unable to cut off his wife, Buzhai approached the peak.

Du Fu has said many times that "poetry is my home" and "it's not surprising that words will never stop". However, in this poem, the poet calls "poetry" "stupidity". It can be seen that his thoughts have changed obviously because he came to the Buddhist temple and became close to the Zen monk. This is his feeling after many vicissitudes. His desire to convert to Buddhism is real, because he has experienced too many hardships and his heart needs rest.

Su Shi, a writer in Song Dynasty, had the closest contact with monks, and there are many stories about this in history. Su Shi also wrote a lot of poems full of philosophy of life, such as the famous Mianchi Huaizi:

What is life like everywhere? It should be like Hong Fei stepping through the snow.

I accidentally left my fingers and claws in the mud, and Hong Fei was driving that complicated thing.

The old monk is dead and has become a new tower. There is no reason to look at the old topic with a broken wall.

Do you know the rugged past? Passers-by are long and sleepy.

This poem was written by Su Shifeng and Zi You (Su Zhe). In the first year of Jiayu, Su Shi and Zi You went to Beijing to take the exam together and passed a temple in Mianchi. They had a good talk with Feng Xian, an old monk, and Su Zhe wrote a poem "Huai Mianchi sends a son to take care of his brother" inscribed on the old wall. A few years later, Su Shi revisited his hometown, the old monk died, and the poems on the wall disappeared. The poet lamented that life is impermanent, just like the paw prints left by Hongyan in the snow. When the snow dries, there is nothing.

Yan Yu in Song Dynasty (1197—1241) had a great influence on later generations. He once wrote a monograph on literary theory, Cang Lang Shi Hua. In Cang Hua. Zhong compared the understanding of poetry to the Zen master's understanding of Zen, which truly and aptly revealed the close relationship between Zen and poetry. In addition, he also wrote an article "Interview with Master Hui Lanre":

Looking for violet rain alone and crossing the white sand beach.

All the way into the scattered snow, several peaks are cold.

Monks in the mountains like tourists, and pavilions are for people to see.

After singing, the clothes are brushed away, and the bell stays outside the cloud.

This poem was written by a poet who went to a temple to visit a monk alone. Cold beaches, snowy trails formed by footsteps, vast pine forests, and mountains and peaks form a clear and steep picture. Monks like tourists, so they point out the pavilion, and poets like the seclusion of temples, so they pay for poetry. At the end of the story, the bells outside the cloud are endless, which is in harmony with this picture and makes the incident endless.

The above examples cite several literati poems, from which we can get a glimpse of the whole leopard. In fact, the Buddhist literary works of literati have various genres, not only poems and essays, but also plays and novels. It is these works with diverse genres and different contents that promote the prosperity and prosperity of Buddhist literature.

From the process of the rise, development and prosperity of Buddhist literature, we can see that Buddhist literature is the source of Buddhist literature in China. Monk literature has enabled Buddhist literature to innovate and develop, and a large number of Buddhist literary works of scholars have appeared, which has contributed to the prosperity of Buddhist literature. Buddhist literature is not only a powerful tool to propagate Buddhist teachings, but also an important part of China literature.