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

H UINENG
origin of all things, it postulates that each phenomenon
is determined by the totality of all phenomena of
which it is a part, while the totality is determined by
each of the phenomena that comprise it. Therefore,
each phenomenon is determining every other phenomenon,
while it is also in turn being determined by
each and every other phenomenon. All phenomena are
thus interdependent and interpenetrate without hindrance,
and yet each one of them retains its distinct
identity.
According to Huayan’s viewpoint, any individual
thing or phenomenon, being empty of self-nature and
thus identical to the principle, can be seen both as a
conditioning cause of the whole and as being caused
by the whole. In addition, every phenomenon conditions
the existence of every other phenomenon and
vice versa. Accordingly, nothing exists by itself, but requires
everything else to be what it truly is. The Huayan
analysis of causality is not concerned with temporal sequencing
and does not postulate causal processes that
involve a progressive unfolding of events. Instead, its
philosophy represents an attempt to elucidate the
causal relationships that obtain among all phenomena
in the universe at any given time.
A popular metaphor that exemplifies Huayan’s notion
of mutual interpenetration of all phenomena is
that of Indra’s net. The image of Indra’s net of jewels
originally comes from the Huayan jing, which describes
how in the heaven of the god Indra there is a
vast net that extends infinitely in all directions. Each
knot of the net holds a gleaming jewel, and because the
net is limitless in size it contains an infinite number of
jewels. As the multifaceted surface of each jewel reflects
all other jewels in the net, each of the reflected jewels
also contains the reflections of all other jewels; thus
there is an unending process of infinite reflections.
Notwithstanding the complex and recondite character
of much of Huayan doctrine, its principles found
resonance within large segments of the Buddhist world
in East Asia. As they became key influences on religious
and intellectual life, they were absorbed as elements of
the native cultures. Huayan thinkers constructed a
compelling and deeply satisfying worldview that was
distinctly Chinese, yet based on essential concepts and
teachings presented in the Buddhist canon. Huayan religious
philosophy still retains its relevance to vital
human concerns and has stimulated a significant crossfertilization
of ideas and viewpoints with modern
philosophical and humanistic movements, including
ENGAGED BUDDHISM and environmentalism.
Bibliography
Chang, Garma C. C. The Buddhist Teaching of Totality: The Philosophy
of Hwa Yen Buddhism. University Park and London:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1971.
Cleary, Thomas. Entry into the Inconceivable: An Introduction to
Hua-yen Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
1983.
Cook, Francis H. Hua-yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra.
University Park and London: Pennsylvania State University
Press, 1977.
Gimello, Robert. “Apophatic and Kataphatic Discourse in Mahayana:
A Chinese View.” Philosophy East and West 26, no.
2 (1976): 117–136.
Gimello, Robert. “Li T’ung-hsüan and the Practical Dimensions
of Hua-yen.” In Studies in Ch’an and Hua-yen, ed. Robert
M. Gimello and Peter N. Gregory. Honolulu: University of
Hawaii Press, 1983.
Gregory, Peter N. Tsung-mi and the Sinification of Buddhism.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.
Gregory, Peter N., trans. Inquiry into the Origin of Humanity:
An Annotated Translation of Tsung-mi’s Yüan jen lun with a
Modern Commentary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
1995.
HUINENG
MARIO POCESKI
Huineng (ca. 638–713) is the putative sixth patriarch
of the Chinese CHAN SCHOOL. It is best to recognize
two Huinengs, historical and legendary. Very little is
known of the rather insignificant historical figure, who
was an early Chan teacher of regional prominence in
the far south, perhaps a member of a local gentry family.
Even his most famous student and promoter, Heze
Shenhui (684–758), remembered virtually nothing
about his master’s biography. The dates given for
Huineng’s life are at least approximately correct, but
they derive from a later legendary source.
The far more important legendary image of Huineng
is based primarily on the PLATFORM SU TRA OF THE
SIXTH PATRIARCH (LIUZU TAN JING), which appeared
around 780. Here Huineng is depicted as an illiterate
and impoverished layman whose grandfather had been
banished to the far south and who supported his
mother by the very humble endeavor of collecting firewood.
Hardworking and filial, in spite of his total lack
of social advantages this Huineng possessed innate spiritual
insight. This gift led him to the monastic training
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