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南都六宗

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: six schools of the southern capital

Senses:

  • The officially recognized Buddhist schools that flourished in the capital Heijō-kyō 平城京 (Nara 奈良) during the Nara period (710–794) as distinguished from the “northern capital” of Heian-kyō 平安京 (Kyōto). The term was coined at a later time to contrast this doctrinal alignment with the two later schools of Tendai 天台 and Shingon 眞言, which surged in popularity during the Heian period (794–1185). The latter two were more practice-oriented, while the six schools were more scholastic and only accessible by a minority of literate clergy. All of these stand in contrast to the popular Pure Land 淨土宗 and Nichiren 日蓮宗 movements during the Kamakura period (鎌倉時代 1185–1333). In sources from the period such as the Taisei kanfu 太政官符 (718), there is mention of 'five schools'  五宗, which included the six except for Kegon 華嚴宗. The Kaden 家傳 (鎌足傳) of the Fujiwara 藤原 clan also mentions Fujiwara no Kamatari 藤原鎌足 (614–669) paying for the research expenses of the five schools at Gangōji 元興寺 in Asuka 飛鳥. The six schools are as follows:
    1. Sanron-shū 三論宗. The “Three Treatises” school, or Chinese Madhyamaka school which focused on three key texts: the Middle Treatise 中論 (Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā), Twelve Gate Treatise 十二門論 (Dvādaśa-mukha-śāstra), and Hundred Verses Treatise 百論 (Śata-śāstra)
    2. Jōjitsu-shū 成實宗. Focused on the study of the Satyasiddhi-śāstra by Harivarman 訶梨跋摩 (c. 250–350)
    3. Hossō-shū 法相宗. The Japanese transmission of Kuijiʼs Weishi 唯識 (Yogâcāra) school
    4. Kusha-shū 倶舍宗. The Japanese transmission of Abhidharma studies (not really a distinct school), especially focused on the Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya 倶舍論 by Vasubandhu 世親.
    5. Risshū 律宗. The Japanese transmission of Chinese Vinaya school with particular emphasis on the practice and exegesis of the Dharmagupta Vinaya 四分律.
    6. Kegon-shū 華嚴宗. Dedicated to the study of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra 華嚴經.

    These represent the prevailing intellectual Buddhist currents that came to Japan through the Korean peninsula during the early-to-mid-Tang period (618–907). The term “school” shū 宗 was initially represented in Japan with the Chinese character shū 衆 (assembly). After the time of the completion of the Daibutsu 大佛 at Tōdaiji 東大寺 in 752, the ideograph shū 宗 came to be widely employed. The former tended to denote a gathering of scholars committed to common research, while the latter reflects focused ecclesiastical communities. In general multiple communities could reside within the same temple, whereas from the Heian period, the tendency was toward 'one temple, one school.'  一寺一宗. For a detailed overview of the doctrines and histories of the schools in Japan see The Essentials of the Eight Traditions 八宗綱要 by Gyōnen 凝然 (1240–1321).

    [Jeffrey Kotyk; source(s): Iwanami, 世界大百科事典]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Iwanami bukkyō jiten 627

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)4442b, (v.9-10)1193c

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    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2003-03-31

    Updated: 2014-08-09