Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume One A -L Robert E. Buswell

S ENTIENT
B EINGS
Sengzhao made multiple contributions to the world
of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. One is his tenfascicle
commentary to the Weimojie suo shuo jing
(Su tra of Vimalaklrti’s Discourses; Sanskrit, Vimalaklrtinirdeśa-su
tra), which elevates lay Buddhism above the
monastic path of the clergy. Sengzhao is known to have
been converted to Buddhism by this sutra. His commentary,
written to Kumarajva’s translation of this text,
reportedly inspired hundreds of Chang’an literati to
practice Buddhism. Another contribution is a collection
of philosophical treatises in which the Madhyamaka
philosophy of NAGARJUNA (ca. second century C.E.) was
expounded through the use of devices and language provided
by traditional Chinese thinkers, particularly those
of the Xuanxue (Dark Learning) school. Several such
treatises were collected by later editors of the Tripitaka
under the name of ZHAO LUN (The Treatises of [Seng]
zhao). Other works attributed to Sengzhao, such as
Zongben yilun (Treatise on the Foundational [Principles
of the Doctrine]) and the apocryphal Baozanglun (Treasure
Store Treatise), circulated as independent treatises.
The greatest philosophical importance of Sengzhao’s
writings is the introduction to China of the Madhyamaka
ideas of Nagarjuna as they were shaped by Kumarajva’s
understanding of these issues. Sengzhao’s own Daoist
mystical inclinations contributed to the great emphasis
placed on the idea of the TATHAGATAGARBHA (buddhanature)
in Kumarajva’s translated texts, thus paving
the way for the next phase in the development of Chinese
Buddhist thought.
See also: Catalogues of Scriptures
Bibliography
Ch’en, Kenneth. Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1964.
Liebenthal, Walter, trans. and ed. Chao lun, The Treatises of
Seng-chao: A Translation with Introduction, Notes, and Appendices,
Vols. 1 and 2, second revised edition. Hong Kong:
Hong Kong University Press, 1968
Sharf, Robert H. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A
Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise. A Kuroda Institute
book. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002.
T’ang Yung-t’ung. Han Wei Liang-Chin Nan-pei ch’ao fo-chiaoshih.
Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1938.
SENTIENT BEINGS
TANYA STORCH
Sentient beings is a term used to designate the totality
of living, conscious beings that constitute the object
and audience of the Buddhist teaching. Translating
various Sanskrit terms (jantu, bahu jana, jagat, sattva),
sentient beings conventionally refers to the mass of living
things subject to illusion, suffering, and rebirth
(SAM SARA). Less frequently, sentient beings as a class
broadly encompasses all beings possessing consciousness,
including BUDDHAS and BODHISATTVAS.
The Pali nikayas and the Sarvastivada Abhidharma
differentiate the mass of deluded beings subject to
sam sara into a hierarchy of five paths or destinations
of REBIRTH based upon KARMA (ACTION): DIVINITIES
(deva), humans (manusya), animals (tiryak), spirits
of the dead (preta), and denizens of hell (naraka). An
alternative list of six categories, which was attributed
to the Vatsputryas and gained popularity in East
Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, places a class of demonic
beings (asura) between humans and gods.
All of these beings reside in the three realms of existence
(tridhatu) that comprise the entirety of the
Buddhist universe. The realm of desire (kamadhatu) is
residence for beings from all the categories, while the
realm of form (ru padhatu) and the realm of formlessness
(aru ypadhatu) are reserved for gods of higher
achievement. Among these paths of rebirth, the
denizens of hell, spirits of the dead, and animals are
regarded as unhappy destinies, while rebirth as humans
and gods (as well as asura in the list of six) are
considered desirable, most importantly because it is
only through the human and deva destinies that enlightenment
can be obtained.
Although the Buddhist message from its inception
held as its goal the liberation of sentient beings from
the cycle of rebirth, the concern for sentient beings
took on even greater urgency with the emergence of
the MAHAYANA tradition, since all called to this tradition’s
bodhisattva vocation were entrusted with the
welfare and ultimate liberation of all sentient beings.
The compassion, transfer of merit, and cultivation of
UPAYA (skill in means) that are central in the cultivation
of the bodhisattva path are all concerned with the
salvation of sentient beings. The Mahayana tradition
furthermore came to maintain that all sentient beings
possessed the buddha-nature, which meant that all inherently
had the potential to become enlightened. In
later developments in East Asian Buddhism the possession
of this nature was extended to insentient existents
as well.
See also: Cosmology; Ghosts and Spirits; Karun a
(Compassion); Merit and Merit-Making; Tathagatagarbha
760 E NCYCLOPEDIA OF B UDDHISM