聞熏習

Readings

Pinyin: wén xūnxí

Wade-Giles: wen hsün-hsi

Hangul: 문훈습

Korean MC: mun hunseup

Korean MR: mun hunsŭp

Katakana: モンクンジュウ

Hepburn: mon kunjū

permeation by hearing

• The imbuing of the mind with the Buddhist teaching from hearing it preached. This becomes a latent energy within the mind, beneficial to spiritual practices (Skt. śruta-vāsanā). 〔成唯識論 T 1585.31.8b14〕 [resp. Ockbae Chun; ref. Nakamura, Hirakawa]
• There were various interpretations of śruta-vāsanā in China during the Sui 隋 and early Tang 唐 dynasties. According to the Shelun 攝論 school, the ālayavijñāna had both aspects of the real 眞 （jiexing 解性; "nature of gnosis"） and unreal 妄 (guobao 果報; "retribution"). It was understood that jiexing becomes a cause of enlightenment (dharma-kāya-bījas 法身種子) when it is attuned with śruta-vāsanā. This interpretation came from the Mahāyāna-saṃgraha 攝大乘論 translated by Paramârtha 眞諦, which contained Vasubandhu’s comments based on Tathāgatagarbha thought, and the Awakening of Faith 大乘起信論, which posited the ālayavijñāna as being equivalent to tathāgatagarbha.

  On the other hand, Xuanzang 玄奘, who also translated the Mahāyāna-saṃgraha in 649, made it clear that there were no passages based on Tathāgatagarbha thought in the original text; the ālayavijñāna was nothing other than the unreal vijñāna. However, Tathāgatagarbha-based interpretations of śruta-vāsanā did not disappear, even among his own disciples. Therefore, Xuanzang gave a strict definition of śruta-vāsanā in his translation of the Cheng weishi lun 成唯識論 in 659.

  1. The śruta-vāsanā in the Mahāyāna-saṃgraha is a contaminated śruta-vāsanā; it is not a direct cause of the uncontaminated seeds 無漏種子 but their indirect cause.
  2. Although the uncontaminated seeds are contained inherently, they differ among śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattva, and some beings are without them.
  3. The uncontaminated seeds are not contained within the ālayavijñāna; they adhere to it externally.

  Based on this, the different opinions disappeared in the Weishi 唯識 school. However Tathāgatagarbhic interpretations of śruta-vāsanā were kept alive in the texts of the Huayan school 華嚴 and continued to influence later scholars. See YOSHIMURA, Makoto, Chūgoku yuishiki ni okeru mon kunjū ni tsuite 中国唯識における聞熏習説について (On the Theory of the Śruta-vāsanā ("permeation by hearing") in Chinese Yogâcāra). Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, vol. 58-1 (2010).

  [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): M.Yoshimura]

Dictionary References:

Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura), 1371c

Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa), 0959

Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki), (v.1-6)721c

Copyright © 2010 -- Charles Muller

generated: 2013-08-30