Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia: A Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Seas

by Li Rongxi (Translator)

As a source of information, the monk Yijing's Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Seas contains ample materials concerning monastic life, from the choosing of a teacher, under whose guidance one becomes a monk, up to the disposal of the personal belongings left by a deceased monk. It depicts such a complete picture of the life of a monk that it is indispensable and invaluable for research into the conditions of Buddhist monasticism in medieval India. It also provides some insights into Chinese monastic life through Yijing's criticism and comparison of the practices of the two regions.

188 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Lloyd Earickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning about historic cultures through their writing is something of a preoccupation for me, as my catalogue of book reviews amply demonstrates.  Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia falls into that category, and I picked it up with the goal of learning about, well, the monastic traditions of southern Asia around the seventh century.  While such learning is interesting in its own right, and can often offer a broadening of perspective, this title in particular intrigued me for its potential applicability to writing.  Specifically, I wanted to compare and contrast the monastic traditions of Europe in the Middle Ages with those of southern Asia in a similar time period, and this book seemed a perfect opportunity to learn more about the latter, with which I am far less familiar.

Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia: A record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Seas was written as a kind of religious practice travelogue by Śramaṇa Yijing (the copy I read was translated from Chinese by Li Rongxi in 2000 as part of an effort to translate some 84,000 Buddhist teachings into an “English Tripitaka”) and sent back to his colleagues, whom he believed were straying from the proper path in their religious practices.  In context, its goal was to correct the Chinese Buddhist practices which diverged from the southern Asian Buddhist practices, which Yijing considered the “true” teachings and ways of the religion.  In that sense, it is a fascinating insight into the practices of two different Asian, Buddhist, monastic traditions.  It would have been more interesting if it read a little less like a list.

It's not presented as a list – at a glance, the prose appears narrative in format, and there are plenty of “I” statements and some explanations and justifications bracketing the sections describing suggested passages – but the overall effect is of a list of rules which are not explained quite as well as the author seems to think he is explaining them.  What is required is clear enough, but why, and how it contributes to monastic life and the ultimate aspirations of the Buddhist faith remain unclear in most cases.  A great deal has to do with cleanliness, especially as it pertains to the intake of food and water, which makes for interesting comparison with Leviticus.  In fact, despite the very different presentation and religious context, this book reminded me strongly of that Biblical listing of deific decrees.  If a wandering monk were to have attempted to reinvigorate adhesion to the rules and commandments laid out in Leviticus sometime in the early Middle Ages, it might have looked quite similar in form, if not in exact content, to Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia.

If I recall correctly, Buddhism has a fascinating and complicated history in China, somewhat mirroring that nation’s complicated history with India, from whence Buddhism originated.  At the time of Yijing’s writing, China was under the rule of the Tang dynasty, considered one of the more successful Chinese dynasties.  A Sinicized version of Buddhism was prevalent during this time, practiced even by some members of the imperial family, and monasteries flourished.  These monasteries filled many of the same roles in China that Christian monasteries filled in Europe: lodging, scholarship, agriculture, and various protoindustrial activities.  It is not surprising there would be a movement to “return to roots” under these conditions, as it is a pattern replicated across history and cultural contexts.  Unfortunately, I cannot say how influential Yijing’s text may have been in its time, as the book’s translator’s note did not say, and I could not find relevant scholarship on the topic.

Reading Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia is most interesting for its comparisons: to Chinese Buddhism, of course, but also to Christian, European monastic traditions, and to the tenets, rules, and commandments of other religions.  Its list-like nature keeps it from being as interesting of a read as I had hoped – I was hoping for a little more travelogue and explanation – but it’s still worth a read.