Moheyan
| Moheyan | |||||||||
| Tibetan name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tibetan | ཧྭ་ཤང་མ་ཧཱ་ཡཱ་ན | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 摩訶衍 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 摩诃衍 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Wylie | hwa shang ma hā yā na |
| Tibetan Pinyin | Haxang Mahayana |
| Lhasa IPA | [haɕaŋ mahajana] |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Héshang Móhēyǎn |
Heshang Moheyan (和尚摩訶衍; Wade-Giles:Ho-shang Mo-ho-yen; Héshang Móhēyǎn or Hvashang Moheyan in Tibetan sources) was a late 8th century Chan monk associated with the Northern School. He became famous for representing Chán in the so called "Council of Lhasa," a debate between adherents of the Indian teachings of "gradual enlightenment" and the Chinese teachings of "sudden enlightenment," which according to tradition was won by the "gradual teachings."
Hva-shang is a Tibetan approximation of the Chinese hoshang, meaning monk. Hoshang in turn comes from the Sanskrit title upadhyaya.
Whilst the East Mountain Teachings (pejoratively known as the "Northern School" Chan) were in decline, having been attacked by Heze Shenhui (a student of Dajian Huineng) as a supposed "gradual enlightenment" teaching, Moheyan traveled to Dunhuang, which at the time belonged to the Tibetan Empire, in 781 or 787. For Moheyan, this was a new opportunity for the spread of (Northern) Chan.
After teaching in the area of Dunhuang, Moheyan was invited by King Trisong Detsen of Tibet to settle at Samye Monastery, then the center of emerging Tibetan Buddhism. Moheyan promulgated a variety of Chan and disseminated teachings from Samye where he attracted a considerable number of followers.
However, in 793 Trisong Detsen resolved that Moheyan did not hold the true Dharma. Following intense protests from Moheyan’s supporters, Trisong Detsen proposed to settle the matter by sponsoring a debate. The most famous of these debates has become known as the "Council of Lhasa", although it may have taken place at Samye, a considerable distance from Lhasa. For the famed Council of Lhasa, an Indian monk named Kamalaśila was invited to represent Indian Buddhism, while Moheyan represented Northern School Chán and Chinese Buddhism.
...
Wikipedia