Absolute Delusion, Perfect Buddhahood : The Rise and Fall of a Chinese Heresy

In spite of the common view of Buddhism as non-dogmatic and tolerant, the historical record preserves many examples of Buddhist thinkers and movements that were banned as heretical or subversive. The San-chieh (Three Levels) was a popular and influential Chinese Buddhist movement during the Sui and Tang periods, counting powerful statesmen, imperial princes, and even an empress, Empress Wu, among its patrons. In spite, or perhaps precisely because, of its proximity to power, the San-chieh movement ran afoul of the authorities and its teachings and texts were officially proscribed numerous times over a several-hundred-year history. Because of these suppressions San-chieh texts were lost and little information about its teachings or history is available. The present work, the first English study of the San-chieh movement, uses manuscripts discovered at Tun-huang to examine the doctrine and institutional practices of this movement in the larger context of Mahayana doctrine and practice. By viewing San-Chieh in the context of Mahayana Buddhism, Hubbard reveals it to be far from heretical and thereby raises important questions about orthodoxy and canon in Buddhism. He shows that many of the hallmark ideas and practices of Chinese Buddhism find an early and unique expression in the San-chieh texts. The Origins Of A Buddhist Heresy -- Hsin-hsing--a Buddhist Heretic? -- The Rhetoric Of Decline -- The Beginning: Decline As Polemic -- The Chinese Systematization: Decline As Doctrine -- Hsin-hsing: Decline As Human Nature -- Absolute Delusion, Perfect Buddhahood -- The Refuge Of The Universal Buddha -- The Refuge Of The Universal Dharma And Universal Sangha -- The Economy Of Salvation -- Practice For The Degenerate: The Inexhaustible Storehouse -- The Suppressions Of The Three Levels Movement -- Time, Transcendence, And Heresy -- P'u Fa Ssu Fo: The Refuge Of The Four Buddhas Of The Universal Dharma -- Wu Chin Tsang Fa Lueh Shuo: Abridged Explanation Of The Dharma Of The Inexhaustible Storehouse -- Ta Sheng Fa Chieh Wu Chin Tsang Fa Shih: Commentary On The Dharma Of The Inexhaustible Storehouse Of The Mahayana Universe -- Reproduction Of The Tun-huang Texts. Jamie Hubbard. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 313-324) And Index. Uses manuscripts discovered at Tunhuang to examine the doctrine and institutional practices of the San-chieh movement in the larger context of Mahayana doctrine and practice.