Padma-symbolism
in Pure Land Thought
with Particular Reference to the Modes of Birth
Hisao
Inagaki
The development of early Buddhism to Mahayana implies, to a, large extent, the shif ting of basis of theory and practice from the empirical to the transcendental. As the image of the historical Buddha became blurred by the gradually accumulating dust of time, the transcendental quality of Buddhahood came to the fore. In early Buddhism, emphasis was placed on analysis of the empirical world, examination of the cause-effect relation-ships of empirical existence and of the path leading to the non-empirical realm (nirvana). Mahayana set out by exploring the transcendental ; it clarifies the sphere beyond empirical knowledge and reveals the relation-ships between the empirical and the transcendental.
The Pure Land School of Mahayana Buddhism is, a path provided by the transcendental will and wisdom to connect the transcendental with the empirical. It is not a one-way path, but the path of the perpetual inter-action between the two. When the transcendental and the empirical interact, the former is expressed through symbolism. As such, Amida Buddha and His Pure Land are symbolic manifestation of the transcendental in its per-sonal and environmental aspects, respectively. The Pure Land is described in all its glory and splendor, but the only distinction between this and a utopia is that the latter is devoid of reality and substantiality but the Pure Land is given substance by the transcendental which it symbolizes. Since the Pure Land is a symbolic manifestation, the modes of birth therein are also presented through symbolism. In the Pure Land sutras, the modes of birth are variously described, and we can even trace in them the process
through which symbolism in relation to birth developed.
In the earliest stage of the development of the concept of, "birth in
-396-(49) Padma-symbolism in Pure Land Thought
Buddha's land". symbolism was rarely used. In the Ashuku Bukkoku Kvb,
阿 閾 佛 國 経which is considered in many respects to represent an older
concept than Amidism, lotus-flowers are used, for instance, in relation to the Tathagata Aksobhya's footsteps ; that is, as the sutra describes, wherever he walks there naturally grow from the earth thousand-petaled lotus-flowers. ' But we cannot find cases in which lotuses are used symbol-ically. The sutra also gives descriptions about women. In Aksobhya's land, calld "Abhirati", there are women as well as men, but women are free from any faults or hindrances. When they bear babies, there is no pain.2
The various texts of the Larger Sutra, however, agree that there are no women in Amida's Pure Land and that, when an aspirant is a woman, she is turned into a man on attaining birth therein. This naturally cre-ates a problem of how aspirants are born into the Pure Land. Of the four modes of birth talked about in Buddhism, 3 birth from a womb is certainly irrelevant because there are no women, nor is birth from an egg or mois-ture suitable because it is a low mode of birth. Thus, there is left only the birth by sudden transformation. According to the Majjhima-nikaya, devas, those in hell, and some men and some in the evil realm are born by sud-den transformation. 4 Sutras on Amida Buddha adopted this mode of birth.
The Dai Amida Kyo大 阿 彌 陀 経even provides a vow assu血g that those
coming to the Pure Land are born by sudden transformation in the lotus flowers on the jeweled ponds.5 In a different version of Amida's vows contained in the Karunapundarika Sutra, there is a vow to the same effect.6 One's entrance into the transcendental realm is best expressed by this mode of birth, although, in order to glorify it, same aesthetic embellish-ment is necessary. And that which represents birth ought to have some association with procreation. It is no wonder that "padma " (lotus) was selected to this end, for "padma" represents purity and symbolizes, among other things, the female sexual organ. Now, let us examine how different versions of the Larger Sutra use padma-symbolism in relation to the as-pirants' birth into the Pure Land.
395-Padma-symbolism in Pure Land Thought (50)
(i)Byodogaku Kyo平 等 畳 経and Dai Annida. Kyo: The aspirants are
invariably born transformed in the lotus-flowers on a jeweled pond. Only those with shallow faith and less diligence stay for five hundred years in the seven-jeweled- palace where there is the jeweled pond.7
(ii)Shogon Gyo荘 嚴 経: Whosoever is born in the Pure Land is born
by sudden transformation onto the jeweled lotus-flowers.8
(iii). Muryoju Kyo無 量 壽 経:Those who have performed various
me-ritorious acts and have had deep faith are born transformed in the seven-jeweled lotus-flowers. They sit on them cross-legged and their physical glories instantly become the same as those of other Bodhisattvas. The less diligent aspirants who harbor doubt, however, are born in the palace and stay there for five hundred years without seeing or hearing the Three Treasures. 9
(iv)Nyorai E如 來 會, Skt. and Tib. text: The aspirants of faith and
assiduity are born transformed (aupapaduka) in the lous-flowers (padma). But those with doubt are born into the lotus-buds. They stay in the calyx of a lotus (garb havasa) for five hundred years without seeing or hearing the Three Treasures. Within the closed lotus-flowers they enjoy pleasures as though they were playing in a garden or a palace. 1o
The above study leads us to formulate the following three stages of the development of padma-symbolism in the birth-concept of Pure Land Buddhism : (1) As shown in (i), the padma-symbolism applies to all the aspirants. But, at this stage, the palace is also presented in relation to birth of a lower degree. (2) The J uryoju Kyo simplifies the first stage,
and gives two disti:nct modes of birth, viz. birth in the padma(kesho化
生, or birth by transformation)and birth in the palace(taisho胎 生, or
womb-birth). (3) The development of padma-symbolism has reached its peak in the Nyorai E and the extant Skt. text and the Tib. version, in which the two modes of birth for two kinds of aspirants are equally pre-sented through padma-symbolism. The higher class of aspirants stay in the closed flowers. The palace is also mentioned here but is used only as an analogy.
394-(51) Padma-symbolism in Pure Land Thought
Throughout the developmental process of the birth-concept, -lotus (pa-dma) and palace (vimana) have been used together. But, as clarified above, "lotus" became predominant over "palace", until, at the last stage, " palace" is used only as an analogy. In the Meditation Sutra (Kan
Mur-yoju Kyo観 無 量 壽 経), we find the most developed form of
padma-symbol-ism adapted to various modes of birth of different classes of aspirants. Here" palace" is not mentioned even as an analogy.
The concept of birth in the pure Land appears to have some relation-ship with that of the Bodhisattva's birth in this world. In this case, the Bodhisattva in his last existence (caramabhavika) is in question. According
to the Samaya-bhedoparacanacakra(Ibushurin. Ron異 部 宗 輪 論),11 the
Maha-samghikas, Ekavyavaharikas, Lokotaravadins, and Kaukkutikas maintained that the embryo Bodhisattva does not undergo such embryonic changes as kalala, arbuda, pesin, and ghana. The Mahavastu, 22 a step further, describes that Bodhisattvas are not born of the intercourse of a father and a mother, but are born upapaduka by their own merits. Biographies of the Buddha add more glory to the forth-coming Bodhisattva in the last existence. The Lalitavistara13 states that at the time of conception he is already a six-month old embryo, and that for ten months he sits cross-legged in a jeweled palace within the mother's womb. Thus, "womb" and " palace " are associated with the aupapaduka birth of the Bodhisattva, whereas in Pure Land thought "padma" takes the place of " womb "; and " palace" remained for some time as representative of the inferior mode of birth but gradually became less popular until it gave way wholly to padma-symbolism.
Notes : 1. Taisho. XI, 756c, 2. ibid., 756b, 3. "Catasso yoniyo. yoni, jalabuyayoni, sarhsedaja-yoni." (DN. III, 230), 4, MN, I, 73, 5. Shinshu Shogyo Zensho (abbreviated as SSZ.) I, 136, 6. " sarva-sattvas copapadukah syuh", 7. SSZ. I, 146, 161-165, 8. SSZ. 1, 238, 9. SSZ. I, 43-44, 10. SSZ. 1., 209-210, 11. Taisho. XL, 15c, 12. Mahavastu, I, 145, 13. Chap. VI, 99.
