Buddhist sutra is only a series of words??

bohiruci SG

Here i am to base on the tientai school of Buddhist sutra classification for everyone to have deeper understanding of Buddhist sutra

Buddhist sutra classification was discovered by the famous master known as

Dao an from eastern jin dynasty in china ,

after the fall of the han dynasty

china throw into a series of warlords rule right after the end of the 3 nations
wu ,wei and shu

the eastern jin dynasty was imposed feudalistic idea but continued to keep Buddhism growing during this time

venerable master dao an , wasnt very dignified look, instead he looks
very ugly ,according to anecdotes

at first , many criticise dao an ,an short and ugly-looking monk
that his action is preposterous

that there is a "obvious classification and format"
in Buddhist sutra
because not many Buddhist sutra around

but when more Buddhist sutra appears and being translated and does concur wth the indian text

many ppl is convinced of his wisdom

An Eternal Now SG

Can you elaborate what you mean by "obvious classification and format", what kind of classification and format in general speaking?

bohiruci SG

next in the classification of Buddhism comes an important school
the school that leads to tientai Buddhism

that is the 3 treatise school

the 3 treatise school based on

zhong lun (the madhyamika treatise)

bai lun (one hundred verse treatise)

and twelve door treatise (twelve dependent origination treatise)

and the Great Perfection of Wisdom Treatise

though 3

the 3 treatise do include the 4th treatise to be the main treatise school

as more teachings appear ,the classification of buddhist terms becomes in process

thus give birth to the total classification and categorisation of Buddhist sutra

bohiruci SG

wait zenith .... can let me finish this posting Smile

so in every sutra u find

there is an format which the teaching is passed down

the most popular in the Southern School is the 4 stanza

"thus have i heard..."

why is this inside every sutra Buddha spoken
This is the answer when Ananda goes to ask how should the beginning of the sutra be

this "I" is a human as in the subject matter ,much different from the Indian vedic or God's religion of Invoking the God's name

then there is the 6 kind of achievement

one the time achievement

why is it called once ?
and not a particular timing

as there will be confusion if stated which exact ,becos in ancient times
there are more than 20 kinds of calendar
so to prevent dispute on which exact date

the "once" is used

Buddhist sutra is like having a meeting

the format is usually

who attended
the list of who's who

this is not for fun to put who's who in the list

not anyhow written down

bohiruci SG

like for example in Amitabha Sutra

who attended as the prominent figures
like first

the Chief Disciples name as inside

then comes the bodhisattva

their names mentioned are discussed in individual sutra commentary

then the location achievement - where is it held

in vulture peak ?
vaisali (GUang yan city)
or
magadha (mo jie tuo guo)

bohiruci SG

altogether there are 6 fold of achievement in the beginning of every sutra

then we talk abt the "obvious classification and format"

in the Buddhist sutra

the first part is the xu feng (introduction )
which consist of the 6 fold of achievement

and then the zheng zhong feng -main content

and the final part is the liu tong feng (who Buddha entrusted to pass down this particular teachings)
not sutra ,becos that time it is not committed to words yet

bohiruci SG

for a comprehensive idea on what this classification is about

be patient i will find the url available

An Eternal Now SG

Thanks for your comprehensive explanation Smile

bohiruci SG

havent finished Smile

i hope to continue until

i reach the "teaching and visualisation , theme and motto " book

that is the most comprehensive on classification of Bodhisattva stages (Bhumis)

and the four kinds of land
u know wat i meant ,zenith

e.g. Shi bao zhuang yan tu

of course in future i will include the

the teaching of Great Contemplation of Insight and Cessation of thoughts meditation

Mo he zhi guan by ven master zhi zhe da shi of Tang dynasty

An Eternal Now SG

So far I have heard Hua Yen’s and Tientai’s classification of Buddhist sutra according to the 49 year Timeline of Buddha’s dharma discourses.

An Eternal Now SG

Ok Smile Look forward to your posts.

bohiruci SG

okie ,let me explain

the 49 years timeline is not really timeline
Buddha spoke to many people on many occasion

to the Higher faculties - the Bodhisattvas
the average faulties - arhats and srvakas and lay community and the royalties
the lower faculties - zhou li pan tie qie

the main 5 periods of teaching

He attained Enlightenment on the by deep samadhi and after His struggle with Mara thousand army of desire, temptation and despair .

at first in the first 49days ,He feels that the teaching He awakened was too deep for any to understand ,and wish to enter Parinirvana with Mara's request

The lord Brahma ,together with his retinue ,request Buddha Sakyamuni to turn the wheel of Dharma for the sake of those who is still suffering in the 6 realms of existence

the first period -Flower Adornment
on the first 3 - 7 days ,Buddha was in the Heavens talking to the nagar(dragons) and Dieties

He preached the Assembly of Buddhalands which in chinese known as Flower Adornment Sutra

the Adornment of Various Flowers symbolise all Mahasattvas and Bodhisattvas and Buddhas specialising in their areas of Attainment to periodical appear in the Saha world and other world to help sentient beings

Next , Buddha realised that His few disciple are Sound-hearer (sravaka ) and
renounce-affinity ( yuan jue ) are not able to understand the Mahayana teaching of Greatness , so He start from the 4 Noble Truth , the Noble Eightfold path , the 12 dependent originations

thus the turning of the wheel in Deer park(sarnath)
that is the Agama Period

then when the arhat have inspired the great path and many royalties came along with Mahasattvas in the assembly , Buddha initiated the period of teaching of Vaipulya Period (fang guang) means the Magnamious and Greatness of the Great Vehicle in the path of Bodhisattva to Buddhahood

third period ,Buddha teaches the Prajna period ,which He specifically taken 22 years for the assembly on 10 occasion to understand the whole concept of Emptiness

on the fourth period , which tientai also refers to akin to a Sun at the 4pm-5pm , He teach the teachings of Dharma Flower Period also known as Lotus Sutra

Finally as He about to enter Parinirvana,the final few years ,He gives the teachings of nirvana Period ,in this period ,He reiterates the teachings of the Great Vehicles ,the coming of Buddha Maitreya ,the decline of Buddhism in future aeons exhort the assembly to carry on the practice

His famous Last words is
"Subject to change are all things"
"Strive on with Dilligence"

An Eternal Now SG

Oh I see... thanks for your comprehensive explanation again Smile

Sadly... I am neither an Arhant, nor a Bodhisattva... with very low faculty Crying or Very sad

An Eternal Now SG

Just to correct you on a small point: 12 interdependant origination belongs to Pratyekabuddha, slightly higher than sravaka