W

Wachirayanwarorot. [alt. Wachirayan Warot] (Thai) (1860–1921). See VAJIRAÑĀṆAVARORASA.

wajō. (和上). An alternate Japanese transcription of the Sanskrit term UPĀDHYĀYA, or “preceptor,” which is also pronounced kashō in the TENDAISHŪ. This term is often interchangeable with OSHŌ. See HESHANG.

wall contemplation. See BIGUAN.

Wanfosi. (J. Manbutsuji; K. Manbulsa 萬佛寺). In Chinese, “Monastery of Myriad Buddhas”; located outside the western gate of the old city wall of Chengdu in Sichuan province; currently only an archeological site. The monastery was founded during the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE) and survived through the end of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), changing its name several times in the course of its history. It was known as Anpusi during the Liang dynasty (502–556), JINGZHONGSI during the Tang dynasty (618–907), Jingyinsi during the Song dynasty (960–1279), and Zhulinsi, Wanfusi, and, finally, Wanfosi, during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), after which it fell into disrepair. Since the rediscovery of the site in 1882, some two hundred sculptures and other sacred objects have been uncovered during successive excavations, most of which are currently kept in the Sichuan Provincial Museum. The sculptures date mainly from the North–south Dynasties through the Tang periods. During the Tang, when the monastery was known as Jingzhongsi, it was the residence of the early CHAN monk CHŎNGJUNG MUSANG (680–756, alt. 684–762), a Korean monk from the Unified Silla dynasty (668–935), whose prosperous Sichuan Chan lineage came to be known as the JINGZHONG ZONG line. His toponym Chŏngjung (Jingzhong) comes from this monastery of Jingzhongsi.

Wangnyunsa. (王輪寺). In Korean, “Royal Wheel Monastery”; a major doctrinal (KYO) monastery located on Mt. Songak in the Koryŏ capital of Kaesŏng. It was one of the ten monasteries built in the capital in 919 by Wang Kŏn (T’aejo, r. 918–943), the first king of the Koryŏ dynasty, in conjunction with his policy to establish his new state on the foundations of the religious power of Buddhism. This monastery was the site for the ecclesiastical examinations (SŬNGKWA) for monks in the Doctrinal (Kyo) school, which were established during the reign of King Kwangjong (r. 949–975). Such important Koryŏ Kyo monks as the state preceptor (KUKSA) Chigwang Haerin (984–1067) and the royal preceptor (WANGSA) Hyedŏk Sohyŏn (1038–1096) were appointed to their positions after taking the examinations at Wangnyunsa. Although Wangnyunsa seems not to have been as heavily patronized by the royal family as some of the other monasteries in Kaesŏng, the Koryŏsa (“History of Koryŏ”) notes a number of religious ceremonies that were held there during the dynasty. The monastery burned to the ground in 1236 during the Mongol invasion of the Korean peninsula and was subsequently rebuilt in 1275 by King Ch’ungnyŏl (r. 1274–1308). Wangnyunsa seems to have received special patronage during the reign of King Kongmin (r. 1351–1374). After his queen Noguk’s (d. 1365) death, Kongmin sited her memorial hall of Inhŭi chŏn at Wangnyunsa; his own memorial hall, Hyemyŏng chŏn, was built in 1376 at the west of the campus, the last reference to the monastery to appear in Korean historical materials. See also KWANGMYŎNGSA.

Wang o Ch’ŏnch’ukkuk chŏn. (C. Wang wu Tianzhuguo zhuan 往五天竺國傳). In Korean, “Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India”; composed by the Korean monk-pilgrim HYECH’O (d.u.; c. 704–780). After being ordained in Korea, Hyech’o left for China sometime around 721 and spent perhaps three years on the mainland before departing for India (the Ch’ŏnch’ukkuk of the title) via the southern sea route in 724. After landing on the eastern coast of the subcontinent, Hyech’o subsequently spent about three years on pilgrimage to many of the Buddhist sacred sites, including BODHGAYĀ, KUŚINAGARĪ, and SĀRNĀTH, and on visits to several of the major cities in north central India. He then traveled in both southern and western India before making his way toward the northwest, whence he journeyed on into KASHMIR, GANDHĀRA, and Central Asia. Making his way overland across the Central Asian SILK ROAD, Hyech’o arrived back in Chinese territory in December of 727, where he spent the rest of his life. Like other pilgrims before him, Hyech’o kept detailed notes of his pilgrimage, and his travelogue does not differ significantly in terms of style and content from the earlier and more famous records left by FAXIAN and XUANZANG; unfortunately, unlike their works, only fragments of his account survive. His text is largely organized according to the kingdoms, regions, and pilgrimage sites that Hyech’o visited. Hyech’o offers a general description of the geography, climate, economy, customs, and religious practices of each place he visited, and, when necessary, he clarifies whether MAHĀYĀNA, HĪNAYĀNA, or some combination of the two traditions was practiced at a specific site. Although Hyech’o is known to have been the disciple of VAJRABODHI and AMOGHAVAJRA, considered by some as patriarchs of esoteric Buddhism, he makes no mention in his travelogue of tantric texts or practices. Hyech’o does note the dilapidated state of some major STŪPAs and monasteries, the advance of the Turkic tribes into Buddhist areas, and the absence of any Buddhist practice in Tibet at that early date. In these and other respects, Hyech’o’s memoir serves as a valuable resource for the study of Buddhism and regional history along the Silk Road.

Wang Rixiu. (王日休) (d. 1173). Chinese lay Buddhist during the Song dynasty (960–1279), who played an important role in revitalizing the PURE LAND (JINGTU) tradition, also known by his Buddhist name of Longshu. Although Wang was an accomplished Confucian scholar, he renounced all aspiration for civil office and instead devoted himself to pure land devotions, charitable activities, and a daily regimen of one thousand prostrations. Wang is best known as the author of Longshu zhengguan jingtu wen (“Longshu’s Extended Writings on the Pure Land”), written in 1160, an extensive compendium of materials on the SUKHĀVATĪ pure land of AMITĀBHA, drawn from sūtras, commentarial writings, and biographical materials, with Wang’s own exegeses. The collection offers practical instructions on how to have faith, and achieve rebirth, in the pure land, as well as a series of edifying tales about the successful rebirths and miracles that others generated through their own devotions.

wangshen. (J. bōshin; K. mangsin 亡身). In Chinese, lit., “loss of body,” viz., “self-immolation.” See SHESHEN.

wangsheng. (J. ōjō; K. wangsaeng 往生). In Chinese, “going to rebirth”; referring especially to rebirth in AMITĀBHA’s PURE LAND of SUKHĀVATĪ. In its broadest sense, the term is sometimes used to refer to rebirth in either the three realms of existence (LOKADHĀTU) or other buddhas’ or BODHISATTVAs’ pure lands, such as the ABHIRATI pure land of the buddha AKṢOBHYA or the TUṢITA heaven of the bodhisattva MAITREYA. The term has a distinctive usage in the East Asian PURE LAND traditions, however, where it refers specifically to rebirth in sukhāvatī. The seminal pure land sūtra, the SUKHĀVATĪVYŪHASŪTRA, regards this kind of rebirth as the achievement of the stage of nonretrogression (S. AVAIVARTIKA), one of the stages of the BODHISATTVA path. The Wangshenglun zhu, a commentary by TANLUAN on VASUBANDHU’s WULIANGSHOU JING YOUPOTISHE YUANSHENG JI (*Aparimitāyuḥsūtropadeśa), says that rebirth in sukhāvatī is to be distinguished from the cycle of rebirth in the three realms of existence, because birth in the pure land frees one from any prospect of subsequent rebirths in SAṂSĀRA. In order to go to rebirth in sukhāvatī, the pure land tradition offered the simple practice of chanting the buddha Amitābha’s name (C. NIAN FO; K. yŏmbul; J. NENBUTSU; see also NAMU AMIDABUTSU). Ritual practices associated with taking rebirth in the pure land also include the deathbed recitation of the name of Amitābha, which is introduced in the Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra as the eighteenth of the forty-eight vows that DHARMĀKĀRA made before he attained enlightenment. According to this vow, a person may be reborn in sukhāvatī by sincerely calling out Amitābha’s name a mere ten times. The quality of rebirth in the pure land will be dependent on the practitioner’s level of achievement, viz., as superior, average, or inferior. Superior disciples are those who arouse the thought of enlightenment (BODHICITTA) and maintain mindfulness of Amitābha, while cultivating meritorious qualities. Average disciples are those who arouse the thought of enlightenment and maintain mindfulness of Amitābha, but who do not cultivate meritorious qualities to the same extent as do superior disciples. Inferior disciples are those who arouse the thought of enlightenment and maintain mindfulness of Amitābha, but who have not yet consistently begun to cultivate meritorious qualities. Several collections of testimonials regarding the efficacy of wangsheng practice exist in China, including the seventh-century Wangsheng zhuan by Jiacai (fl. c. 627) and the FAYUAN ZHULIN by Daoshi (d. 683).

Wangsheng Jingtu zhuan. (往生淨土傳). In Chinese, “Biographies of Those Who Have Gone to Rebirth in the Pure Land.” See JINGTU ZHUAN.

Wang Wei. (J. Ō I; K. Wang Yu 王維) (701–761). Chinese poet, painter, and musician during the Tang dynasty and close associate of masters in the early CHAN school; his cognomen was Mojie. In 721, Wang Wei passed the imperial civil service examination and was appointed as assistant director of the Imperial Music Office. By 759, shortly after the An Lushan rebellion, he had risen to the high bureaucratic rank of right assistant director of the Department of State Affairs. Wang Wei is known to have maintained close relationships with several major figures in the thriving Chan tradition and wrote the funerary inscriptions for such monks as JINGJUE (683–c. 760), author of the LENGQIE SHIZI JI, and the sixth patriarch (LIUZU) HUINENG. Although there is no direct evidence of Buddhist influences in his writing, it is commonly asserted that his close relations with these Chan figures contributed to Wang Wei’s subtle and reflective descriptions of nature in his landscape poetry.

wangxiang. (J. mōzō; K. mangsang 妄想). In Chinese, “deluded thoughts,” “fantasies,” viz., thoughts that arise from ignorance (AVIDYĀ), craving (TṚṢṆĀ), conceptualization (VIKALPA), or inverted views (VIPARYĀSA), which must be eliminated in order to achieve enlightenment. The Chinese term corresponds variously to such Sanskrit terms as PARIKALPITA (imaginary), VIKALPA (thought or conception), and KALPANĀ (conceptual construction). In Korean SŎN Buddhism, distracting thoughts or fantasies that arise during meditation practice, no matter how salutary, are denigrated as mangsang. The term has also entered vernacular Korean to mean “daydreaming,” “flights of fancy,” or even “paranoia.”

Wangyal, Geshe. (1901–1983). Tibetan monk-scholar of the DGE LUGS sect who played an important role in the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the United States. He was born in the region of Kalmykia of Czarist Russia, whose Mongol population practiced Tibetan Buddhism, and became a novice monk at the age of six. He was selected by AGVAN DORZHIEV to continue his studies in LHA SA, enrolling at the Sgo mang college of ’BRAS SPUNGS monastery in 1922. After nine years of study, he traveled to Beijing and then to Calcutta, where he was hired to serve as translator for Sir Charles Bell (1870–1945), British political officer for Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet, during his travels in China and Manchuria. In India, he met the British mountaineer Marco Pallis, with whom he spent four months in England in 1937. With the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he left Tibet for India, coming to the United States in 1955 at the invitation of the Kalmyk community of New Jersey. In 1958, he founded the Lamaist Buddhist Monastery of America, known in Tibetan as the Bslab gsum bshad grub gling (Labsum Shedrup Ling), in Freewood Acres, New Jersey, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the United States. At the monastery and subsequently at Retreat House (later named Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center) in Howell, New Jersey, he brought a number of monks to the United States and gave teachings to a large number of students, several of whom went on to become scholars of Buddhism. His full name was Dge bshes Ngag dbang dbang rgyal.

Wanshan tonggui ji. (J. Manzen dōkishū; K. Mansŏn tonggwi chip 萬善同歸集). In Chinese, “The Common End of Myriad Good Practices,” in three rolls; a primer of Buddhist thought and practice composed by the Song-dynasty CHAN master YONGMING YANSHOU (904–975). Written largely in catechistic style, the Wanshan tonggui ji relies heavily upon scriptural quotations to answer questions raised concerning everything from meditation and making offerings of flowers to reciting the name of the buddha AMITĀBHA (see NIANFO). The overall message of the text is that all practices done properly return to the “true mark” of reality (shixiang), and this message is often interpreted as supporting the notion of “the unity of Chan and the teachings” (Chan jiao yizhi) and that of “sudden awakening (followed by) gradual cultivation” (DUNWU JIANXIU).

Wanshousi. (萬壽寺). In Chinese, “Long Life Monastery”; located on Mt. Jing, Hangzhou prefecture, in present-day Zhejiang province of China; the first of the so-called “five mountain” (wushan, cf. GOZAN) monasteries of the CHAN tradition in China. Wanshousi, also known as Jingshansi, was established by the Chan master FAQIN during the Tianbao reign (742–756) of the Tang dynasty. During the Song dynasty, the monastery was designated as a public monastery, or “monastery of the ten directions” (SHIFANG CHA), and was renamed on several occasions as Chengtian Chanyuan (Upholding Heaven Chan Cloister), Nengren Chansi (Śākyamuni Chan Monastery), and Xingsheng Wanshou Chansi (Flourishing of Holiness, Long Life Chan Monastery). Wanshousi attracted many eminent abbots, such as DAHUI ZONGGAO and WUZHUN SHIFAN, and flourished under their supervision. The famous Japanese pilgrims DŌGEN KIGEN and ENNI BEN’EN also studied at Wanshousi. The monastery was destroyed in a conflagration at the end of the Yuan dynasty but was reconstructed during the Hongwu era (1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty. Largely through the efforts of the abbot Nanshi Wenxiu and others, Wanshousi regained some of its past glory.

Wanthadipani. (P. Vaṃsadīpanī). In Burmese, “Lamp on the History [of the Religion]”; the first of four Burmese thathanawin, or Buddhist chronicles, that were composed in Burma (Myanmar) during the Konbaung dynasty (1752–1885). Written c. 1799 in the Burmese language by the monk Mehti SAYADAW, the text records the history of the THERAVĀDA saṅgha (S. SAṂGHA) from its inception during the lifetime of the Buddha, through cycles of decline and restoration in ancient India, Sri Lanka, and Burma, up through a reformation of the Burmese saṅgha begun at the capital AMARAPURA in 1784, of which Mehti Sayadaw himself was a leader. The text relies heavily on the Pāli chronicles SAMANTAPĀSĀDIKĀ and MAHĀVAṂSA for its account of the ancient tradition in India and Sri Lanka. It takes its material for the history of Buddhism in Burma among the Pyu, Myamma (ethnic Burmans), and Mon peoples from a variety of indigenous sources, including the KALYĀṆĪ INSCRIPTIONS (1479), the YAZAWIN-KYAW (1502), and U Kala’s MAHAYAZAWIN-GYI (c. 1730). The text concludes with an account of Mehti Sayadaw’s missionary activities in the city of Taungoo, where he was dispatched to propagate the new monastic reforms among the local saṅgha.

Warren, Henry Clarke. (1854–1899). One of the first American scholars of Buddhism, known for his translations from the Pāli; born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1854. Warren suffered a crippling injury as a result of a childhood fall that left him with permanent spinal damage and excruciating physical pain throughout his life. After graduating from Harvard University in 1879, Warren studied with the eminent Sanskrit scholar Charles Lanman at Johns Hopkins University and, together with Lanman, founded the Harvard Oriental Series. Warren visited Oxford in 1884, where he met T. W. RHYS-DAVIDS and joined the PĀLI TEXT SOCIETY around the time of its foundation; he also made a substantial financial donation to the organization. Warren’s best known work is an extensive anthology of Pāli materials, Buddhism in Translations, published in 1896 as the third volume in the Harvard Oriental Series. He also published an edition of BUDDHAGHOSA’s VISUDDHIMAGGA as volume 41 in that series. Warren died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of forty-five as a result of his debilitating spinal injury.

wat. In Thai, Khmer, and Lao, the most common term for a VIHĀRA or monastic complex. Wat is derived from the Pāli term vatta, meaning “practice, function, observance,” which by extension comes to be interpreted as a “place where practice is performed,” and thus a “monastery” (wat). Although Pāli regulations technically require a complex to have at least three monks in residence to be classified as a vihāra, the term wat is used in Thailand to refer to the deserted ruins of monasteries as well as to Hindu temples and Christian churches.

Wat Arun. In Thai, “Monastery of the Dawn,” deriving from the Sanskrit and Pāli Aruṇa, the personification of dawn; located in Bangkok on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. After defeating the Burmese in 1767, King Taksin (Boromrāja IV) is said to have arrived at the Wat Makok (“Olive Monastery”) at dawn and renamed it Wat Jaeng (“Bright Monastery”). King RĀMA IV bestowed on the monastery its present name. The monastery is best known today for its tall prang, or Khmer-style tower, which was constructed during the reigns of kings Rāma II and Rāma III. The central tower is 250 feet tall and symbolizes Mount SUMERU. The temple was briefly the seat of the Emerald Buddha (see PHRA KAEW MORAKOT) before the image was moved to WAT PHRA KAEW in 1784.

Wat Benchamabophit. In Thai, “Monastery of the Fifth King,” deriving from the Sanskrit Pañcamapavitra, with pañcama (Thai, benchama) meaning fifth, and pavitra (Thai, bophit/bophitra) meaning holy or benificent one, a synonym for “king”; the monastery is commonly known in English as the “Marble Temple.” Located in Bangkok, it is one of the most renowned modern monasteries in Thailand. Construction began in 1900 at the request of the eponymous RĀMA V (Chulalongkorn), and the complex is built from Italian marble. It houses a large bronze statue of the Buddha called Phra Phuttha Chinnarat (Buddhajinarāja), which is a replica of the original. The ashes of Rāma V are enshrined under the image.

Wat Bowonniwet. [alt. Wat Bovoranives]. In Thai, “Monastery of Excellent Abode” (P. Pavaranivesa); the royal monastery that is the Bangkok headquarters of the THAMMAYUT sect of Thai Buddhism. Built in 1829, it is most famous as the monastery where Prince Mongkut, the future king RĀMA IV and leader of the Thammayut reform movement, served as abbot, beginning in 1836, before he ascended the throne in 1851. The future king lived as a monk (his ordination name was Vajirañāṇa) for twenty-seven years, fourteen of which he spent as abbot of this monastery, before he returned to lay life in order to assume the throne of the Chakri dynasty. Subsequent members of the royal family have served the traditional period of temporary ordination as monks of this monastery; his son, the eminent scholar-monk VAJIRAÑĀṆAVARORASA (1860–1921), was the long-time abbot of the monastery. The main temple enshrines the buddha image called Phra Phuttha Chinnasi (Buddhajinaśrī), said to date from 1357. Wat Bowonniwet is also the home of Mahamakut Buddhist University, one of Thailand’s two public Buddhist universities.

Water and Land Ceremony. See SHUILU HUI.

Wat Mahathat. In Thai, “Monastery of the Great Relic” (P. Mahādhātu); the abbreviated name of several important Thai monasteries. ¶ Wat Mahathat in the ancient Thai capital of AYUTHAYA was constructed in 1374 and served as the seat of the SAṄGHARĀJA of the Kamavasi (P. Gāmavāsi, lit. “city-dweller”) sect. The temple complex was expanded and restored several times before the city was sacked by the Burmese in 1767; it remains in ruins. Excavations in 1956 unearthed relics. ¶ Wat Phra Mahathat Woromaha Vihan (P. Mahādhātuvaramahāvihāra), located in Nakhon Si Thammarat and thus also known as WAT PHRA THAT NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, was founded c. 757 CE and was originally a ŚRĪVIJAYA MAHĀYĀNA Buddhist monastery. Its famous STŪPA, modeled on the MAHĀTHŪPA in Sri Lanka, was built in the early thirteenth century to house a tooth relic of the Buddha brought back from the island. ¶ The best-known of the contemporary wats with this name, Wat Mahathat Yuwaraja Rangsarit Raja Woramaha Wihan (P. Mahādhātuyuvarāja [Thai, Rangsarit] Rājavaramāhavihāra), dates from the Ayuthaya period (when it was called Wat Salak), and was named the relic temple for Bangkok in 1803. Because of its location near the palaces, it has often been used for royal ceremonies. Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya, Thailand’s largest Buddhist university, was located on its grounds until 2008, when the main campus was moved to Wangnoi, Ayuthaya.

Wat Pho. In Thai, “Monastery of Awakening” (P. BODHI); also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon (P. JETAVANA); the oldest and largest monastery in Bangkok, constructed in the sixteenth century and occupying twenty acres of land. It was extensively rebuilt in 1781 by King Rāma I and renovated in the first half of the nineteenth century by King Rāma III. The site also houses Thailand’s largest reclining buddha image and the largest number of buddha images in the country. The reclining buddha image, constructed in the reign of King Rāma III, is 153 feet (forty-six meters) long and fifty feet (fifteen meters) high. Modeled out of plaster around a brick core, the image is finished in gold leaf, with mother-of-pearl inlay in the eyes. The feet display the 108 different auspicious characteristics of a buddha. In all, the monastery contains over a thousand buddha images, many from the ruins of the former capitals of AYUTHAYA and SUKHOTHAI, and a total of ninety-five STŪPAs of various sizes. Other features are a series of 152 marble slabs depicting the second half of the epic Rāmakian story (the Thai version of the Hindu epic the Rāmāyaṇa), as well as numerous chapels, rock gardens, statues, and bell towers. Sometimes referred to as Thailand’s first university, Wat Pho also contains an encyclopedic collection of engravings and paintings dealing with astrology, botany, herbal medicine, massage, and yoga. The wat is still a center for teaching traditional Thai massage.

Wat Phra Kaew. [alt. Wat Phra Kaeo]. In Thai, “Temple of the Emerald Buddha,” perhaps the most famous Buddhist temple in Thailand, located on the grounds of the royal palace in Bangkok. Much of the construction had been completed when Rāma I moved the Thai capital to Bangkok in 1785. It is a large-walled complex, containing dozens of golden pagodas, many shrines, and two libraries. Unlike most other Buddhist temples in Thailand, the complex does not include monastic quarters because of its location inside the palace grounds. The temple is best known as the site of the Emerald Buddha, or PHRA KAEW MORAKOT, the most sacred buddha image in Thailand; Kaew is an indigenous Thai word for “glass” or “translucent”; morakot derives from the Sanskrit word for emerald (S. marakata).

Wat Phra Pathom Chedi. (P. Paṭhamacetī). In Thai, “Temple of the First Reliquary”; the monastery built at the site of what is said to be the tallest Buddhist CAITYA (P. cetī) in the world at over 394 feet (120 meters); located in the Thai town of Nakhon Pathom. See PHRA PATHOM CHEDI.

Wat Phra Phutthabat. In Thai, “Monastery of the Buddha’s Footprint” (P. BUDDHAPĀDA); a Thai monastery located in Saraburi province. In the seventeenth century, a hunter encountered a large puddle of water that appeared to be a footprint of the Buddha (buddhapāda). Once this identification was verified, a monastery was built to enshrine the footprint. Visiting this monastery is considered a source of great merit, and it is traditional for the Thai king to make an annual pilgrimage to the site to pay homage to the relic.

Wat Phra Thammakai. (Thai). See DHAMMAKĀYA.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. In Thai, “Monastery of the Relic at Mt. Sudeva” (‘That’ is the Thai word for relic [P. dhātu], Suthep is the Thai pronunciation of the Pāli proper name Sudeva, and Doi is a non-Thai northern word for mountain). A famous mountain monastery in northern Thailand, built on a site that has long been considered sacred and the home of guardian spirits. According to legend, the site was chosen in 1371 CE by a white elephant that was sent out by local monks to find an auspicious location for enshrining a relic (DHĀTU; ŚARĪRA). The site has been expanded several times with the addition of buildings, murals, bells, and parasols. See also KHRUBA SI WICHAI.

Wat Phra That Nakhon Si Thammarat. In Thai, “Monastery of the Relic (P. Dhātu) in Nakhon Si Thammarat” (P. *Nagara-Sīri-Dhammarāja), also known as Wat Phra Mahathat Woramaha Wihan (Mahādhātuvaramahāvihāra); the oldest and most revered Buddhist site in southern Thailand. The monastery dates to 757 CE and was originally a ŚRĪVIJAYA MAHĀYĀNA Buddhist monastery. Its famous STŪPA, modeled on the MAHĀTHŪPA in Sri Lanka, was built in the early thirteenth century to house a tooth relic brought back from the island. See also WAT MAHATHAT.

Wat Phra That Phanom. In Thai, “Monastery of the Relic (P. DHĀTU) in the city of Phanom” (Phanom is the Lao and Khmer term for mountain); the most revered Buddhist shrine in northeast Thailand, located in the town of Nakhon Phanom. The STŪPA on the site has a history dating back some fifteen hundred years, according to some local traditions, while other legends claim that it was originally built in 535 BCE, eight years after the death of the Buddha, as a reliquary for his breastbone. The structure is Lao in style, with a square base surmounted by slender tapering vertical columns in the shape of an elongated lotus bud. Its present appearance dates from 1977, after its predecessor collapsed under heavy rains in 1975, and is modeled after WAT THAT LUANG in Vientiane, Laos.

Wat Phu. [alt. Wat Phou; Vat Phu]. In Lao, “Mountain Monastery”; an important Khmer monastery complex located in Champassak province on the Mekong River in southern Laos. The first monastery was probably constructed in the fifth century CE, although the surviving structures (now largely in ruins) date from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries. Originally a Śaiva temple, the ruins contain a shrine to Śiva’s bull Nandin, as well as pediments depicting INDRA, Kṛṣṇā, and Viṣṇu. The temple complex was converted to Buddhist use in the thirteenth century, with Buddhist images added to many of the shrines. In 2001, the site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wat Suthat Thepwararam. [alt. Wat Suthat]. In Thai, “Beautiful Noble Garden of the Devas” (P. Sudassanadevavarārāma); an important Thai monastery in Bangkok, founded by King Rāma I in 1807. It houses an image of the Buddha seated in the “earth-touching” (BHŪMISPARŚAMUDRĀ) pose. The image, known as Phra Sisakayamuni (derived from Śrī-ŚĀKYAMUNI), is considered the largest (over twenty-five feet tall) and oldest bronze buddha image in Thailand; it was brought from SUKHOTHAI by boat. The monastery is also known for its intricately carved wooden doors, created during the reign of Rāma II (r. 1809–1824) and now housed in the National Museum, and its murals of the Buddha’s previous lives, from the reign of Rāma III (r. 1824–1851). The large ordination hall of the monastery is considered one of the most beautiful in Thailand. The temple grounds also contain twenty-eight pagodas, representing the twenty-eight buddhas of the auspicious eon. The temple is the traditional seat of the brāhmaṇa priest who oversees important Thai royal ceremonies, such as the annual plowing ceremony. In front of the monastery is a giant swing, once used in an annual festival in which young men tried to swing high enough to retrieve a sack of gold suspended at a height of seventy-five feet. The festival was banned in the 1930s because of the number of deaths that resulted from the competition.

Wat That Luang. In Lao, “Monastery of the Royal STŪPA”; located in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, it is one of the most important Buddhist sites in Laos. According to legend, the original monastery was founded by monks sent by AŚOKA in the third century BCE. Relics from the early twelfth century have been uncovered, although these may derive instead from a site in modern-day northern Thailand. The prestige of That Luang may have been enhanced due to its proximity to earlier Buddhist sites. The present monastery was constructed on a small hill south of the city in 1818 during the reign of King Manthaturat (r. 1817–1836). It is said to have been built partially from branches of a BODHI TREE located near Wat Keo Fa. The large bronze and gilded buddha in the nave was transferred from the now defunct Wat Aham Mungkhun, located a short distance from That Luang. That Luang has long been one of the important ritual sites in Laos for Buddhist, folk, and royal ceremonials. There are two large STŪPAs on the grounds. The golden funerary stūpa in front of the main hall contains the ashes of the popular and last crowned Laotian king, Sisavang Vong (r. 1904–1959). The grand stūpa, which towers over the rear of the main hall, dates from 1818 and is said to contain relics (DHĀTU; ŚARĪRA) of the Buddha. The wat also contains a number of smaller stūpas that contain ashes of kings, other members of the royal family, and a variety of other dignitaries. The wat has one of Vientiane’s larger communities of monks and novices.

Wat Traimit. In Thai, “Monastery of the Three Friends” (S. Traimitra), so named because it was founded by three friends who emigrated from southern China; its full name is Wat Traimit Wittayaram Wora Wihan (S. Traimitravidyārāmavaravihāra). This monastery is located in the Thai capital of Bangkok and is commonly known in English as “The Temple of the Golden Buddha.” It contains what is said to be the world’s largest gold buddha image, named Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon (P. Buddhamahāsuvaṇṇapaṭimā), seated in the “earth-touching” (BHŪMISPARŚAMUDRĀ) pose. The image itself is almost ten feet tall and is claimed to be composed of over five tons of solid gold. The statue, in the SUKHOTHAI style, is believed to have been originally installed in the ancient Thai capital of Sukhothai, perhaps in the thirteenth century. In order to protect it from being plundered by Burmese invaders, it was covered with a layer of plaster. The plastered statue was eventually installed in Wat Phraya Krai during the reign of King Rāma III (r. 1824–1851). When that monastery fell into disrepair around 1931, the image was placed in storage. When it was being moved to its present location in the mid-1950s, the plaster cracked, revealing the golden buddha image inside.

Watts, Alan. (1915–1973). A widely read British Buddhist writer. Born in Kent, Watts was inspired to study Buddhism after reading such works as W. E. Holmes’ The Creed of the Buddha. At the age of fifteen, he declared himself a Buddhist and wrote to the Buddhist Lodge of the Theosophical Society in London, becoming a student and protégé of the head of the Lodge (later the Buddhist Society), CHRISTMAS HUMPHREYS. At the age of nineteen, Watts wrote his first book, The Spirit of Zen, largely a summary of the writings of DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI. Shortly thereafter, he assumed the editorship of the journal Buddhism in England (later to become The Middle Way). In 1938, he married the American Eleanor Everett, the daughter of Ruth Fuller Everett (later, RUTH FULLER SASAKI). They immigrated to the United States during World War II (Watts, a pacifist, did not serve) and lived in New York, where Watts studied briefly with Shigetsu Sasaki, a Japanese artist and Zen practitioner known as Sokei-an. Watts gave seminars in New York and published a book entitled The Meaning of Happiness. Shortly after his wife had a vision of Christ, Watts decided to become a priest and entered Seabury-Western Theological Seminary near Chicago. He became an Episcopal priest and served for five years as chaplain at Northwestern University, ultimately resigning from the priesthood shortly after his wife had their marriage annulled. He later worked for six years at the newly founded American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco. He published The Way of Zen in 1957, followed by Nature, Man, and Woman in 1958, and Psychotherapy East and West in 1961. He supported himself as a popular author and speaker and played a leading role in popularizing Buddhism and Zen until his death in 1973.

weikza. [alt. weikza-do]. In Burmese, a “wizard,” deriving from the Pāli vijjādhara (S. VIDYĀDHARA). In Burmese popular religion, the weikza is portrayed as a powerful thaumaturge possessed of extraordinarily long life, whose abilities derive from a mastery of tranquillity meditation (P. samatha; S. ŚAMATHA) and a variety of occult sciences such as alchemy (B. ekiya), incantations (P. manta; S. MANTRA), and runes (B. ing, aing). Collectively, these disciplines are called weikza-lam or “the path of the wizard.” Training in this path is esoteric, requiring initiation by a master (B. saya), and votaries typically are organized into semisecret societies called weikza-gaing (P. vijjāgaṇa). Although concerned with the acquisition of supernatural powers and an invulnerable body, these attributes are ultimately dedicated to the altruistic purpose of assisting good people in times of need and protecting the Buddha’s religion from evil forces. In this regard, weikza practitioners often act as healers and exorcists, and in the modern era weikza-sayas with large followings are among the country’s notables, who have built monumental pagodas and restored national shrines. The perfected weikza has the ability to live until the advent of the future buddha Metteya (S. MAITREYA), at which time he can choose to pass into nibbāna (S. NIRVĀṆA) as an enlightened disciple (P. sāvaka arahant; S. ŚRĀVAKA ARHAT), vow to become himself a solitary buddha (P. paccekabuddha; S. PRATYEKABUDDHA) or a perfect buddha (P. sammāsambuddha; S. SAMYAKSAṂBUDDHA), or simply continue living as a weikza. Weikza practitioners typically eschew the practice of insight meditation (P. VIPASSANĀ; S. VIPAŚYANĀ) on the grounds that this might cause them to attain nibbāna too quickly. Although largely domesticated to the prevailing worldview of Burmese THERAVĀDA orthodoxy, weikza practice and orientation ultimately derive from outside the Pāli textual tradition and show striking similarities to the Buddhist MAHĀSIDDHA tradition of medieval Bengal.

Weimojie suoshuo jing zhu. (J. Yuimakitsu shosetsukyōchū; K. Yumahil sosŏl kyŏng chu 維摩詰所説經註). An influential commentary on the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA. The commentary is attributed to KUMĀRAJĪVA, but it was actually written by his disciple SENG ZHAO, who recorded the interpretations of his teacher and combined them with those offered by other of Kumārajīva’s disciples, such as DAOSHENG and Daorong. The commentary offers a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of the sūtra and follows the order of Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of the sūtra. It is the first of the many commentaries on this famed rendering of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa and is still the most frequently cited.

weinuo. [alt. weina] (S. *karmadāna/*karmādāna; T. las su bsko ba; J. ina/ino; K. yuna 維那/唯那). In Chinese, “rector”; a term designating either the process of overseeing, or the specific supervisor of, such crucial monastic activities as apportioning dwellings, managing the refectory, arranging sleeping quarters, cleaning the monastery grounds, etc. According to various VINAYA codes and Chinese pilgrimage accounts such as YIJING’s NANHAI JIGUI NEIFA ZHUAN, it was the rector’s duty to strike instruments, such as gongs or chimes (GHAṆṬA), to remind others of the monastic schedule. Assemblies, meals, and services were conducted with the help of the rector’s announcements. Because of his formal role in maintaining the monastic schedule, the rector may have thus come to serve as the principal supervisor or manager of daily activities in the monastery. The Sanskrit term *karmadāna does not appear in the extant corpus of Indian Buddhist literature, although it is attested in the MAHĀVYUTPATTI Sanskrit-Tibetan lexicon, and the reconstruction is confirmed in Chinese transcriptions. In India, however, karmadāna may not necessarily have referred to a specific monastic office, but rather to the general act of “assigning” (lit. giving, DĀNA) “duties” (lit. action, viz., KARMAN) within the monastery. The Chinese term weinuo, however, clearly refers to a monastic office. The term is typically parsed as a combination of a lexical translation and phonetic transcription, and means something like “regulating (wei) the [dā]na,” an interpretation related to the literal sense of the Sanskrit term as “assigning duties,” and becomes used in East Asian Buddhism as the specific title of a monastic administrator who delegates responsibilities within the monastery—and thus a “rector.” According to the Chinese monastic codes (QINGGUI), the rector was responsible for all matters regarding the SAṂGHA and especially the saṃgha hall (SENGTANG). The rector not only was in charge of the physical maintenance of the hall itself, but he also was called upon to settle issues, such as the determination of relative seniority or the appropriate punishment for transgressions committed by residents of the saṃgha hall. The rector had the responsibility for appointing various low-ranking positions within the monastery, such as attendants, and conducted the tea ceremony. The weinuo also was in charge of leading the formal chanting at daily services, which involved much use of gongs and percussion instruments; weinuo is thus sometimes translated as functionally equivalent to the Western monastic office of “precentor,” the leader of the monastic choir. In Korean monasteries, the yuna serves as a “rector” in that he has formal responsibility for enforcing discipline, making work assignments, and arranging the time for group work; in addition, however, he also serves as nominal head of the meditation compound in the monastery and spiritual advisor to the meditation monks.

Weishan jingce. (J. Isan Kyōsaku [alt. Keisaku]; K. Wisan Kyŏngch’aek 潙山警策). See GUISHAN JINGCE.

Weishan Lingyou. (J. Isan Reiyū; K. Wisan Yŏngu 潙山靈祐) (771–853). Alternate Chinese pronunciation of GUISHAN LINGYOU, cofounder of the GUIYANG ZONG [alt. Weiyang zong] of the mature CHAN tradition. See GUISHAN LINGYOU.

Weituo tian. (J. Idaten; K. Wit’a ch’ŏn 韋馱天). A Buddhist guardian deity, who is especially popular in East Asia, where he is often designated as a BODHISATTVA (pusa) or divinity (DEVA; C. tian). Weituo is connected to the god Kārtikeya, also known as Skanda, whom the Buddhist tradition appropriated from the Hindu pantheon. Kārtikeya, the six-headed son of Śiva, is a Hindu god of war who helps defend the gods; in Buddhism, he became one of the many guardian deities who protect the dispensation, its sacred objects, and its sacred spaces. Weituo is the spirit commander of the thirty-two divine generals subordinate to the four heavenly kings (CATURMAHĀRĀJA; see LOKAPĀLA), as well as one of the eight generals under VIRŪḌHAKA, the heavenly king of the southern quarter of the world. He is also identified with KUMĀRABHŪTA (C. Dongzhen). His East Asian name “Weituo” is apparently a mistaken Sinographic transcription from “Sijiantuo” or “Jiantuo tian,” both Chinese transcriptions of Skanda. Weituo’s role as a dharma protector (DHARMAPĀLA) is reflected in a story from the Daoxuan lüshi gantong lu (“Preceptor Daoxuan’s Record of Miraculous Stories,” c. seventh century), written by the Chinese VINAYA master DAOXUAN (596–667), which relates that Weituo was instructed by the dying Buddha to protect the dharma whenever it was disturbed by demonic forces (MĀRA). From the Tang dynasty onward in China, Weituo was considered the guardian of monasteries and Buddhist practitioners, as well as a symbol of fierce determination in spiritual training. One of Weituo’s specific roles was to protect the STŪPAS that enshrine the Buddha’s relics (ŚARĪRA). In a popular story involving Weituo, a group of malevolent demons steals one of the Buddha’s tooth relics immediately following his death and cremation. Weituo battles the demons, saves the relic, and thereby earns a reputation as a fierce protector of the dharma. Weituo is typically depicted as a young man in full armor, with the headgear of a Chinese general. He is also often shown leaning on his weapon, sometimes a sword, but usually a VAJRA. In many East Asian monasteries, Weituo’s image is found to one side of, and facing, the Buddha image in the main shrine hall (TAEŬNG CHŎN). Weituo is also seen in the company of, and sometimes back to back with, AVALOKITEŚVARA and MAITREYA. His visage also frequently appears at the end of Chinese editions of the SŪTRAs, as a reminder of his role in protecting the dharma.

Weixin jue. (J. Yuishinketsu; K. Yusim kyŏl 唯心訣). In Chinese, “Essentials of Mind Only”; an exposition on CITTAMĀTRA by the CHAN master YONGMING YANSHOU. In this short treatise, Yongming launched a critique of more than 120 differing Buddhist positions, and argued instead that these variant views are but manifestations of a single, true mind. By cutting through to this mind, Yongming argued that all conceptual dichotomies (e.g., gain and loss, right and wrong, sudden and gradual) would be brought to an end and an inconceivable awakening would be attained.

weixin jingtu. (J. yuishin no jōdo; K. yusim chŏngt’o 唯心淨土). In Chinese, “the mind-only PURE LAND”; an interpretation of the pure land influential in the PURE LAND, CHAN, HUAYAN, TIANTAI, and esoteric schools; synonymous with the phrase “AMITĀBHA Buddha of one’s own nature/mind” (zixing Mituo/weixin Mituo/jixin Mituo). Rather than seeing Amitābha’s pure land of SUKHĀVATĪ as a physical land located to the west of our world system, this interpretation suggests that the pure land is actually identical to, or coextensive with, the mind itself. One understanding of this interpretation is that the concept of “pure land” is simply a metaphor for the innate brilliance and eternality of one’s own mind. In this case, “the mind-only pure land” stands in distinction to the idea of the pure land as an objective reality, and many pure land exegetes rejected this interpretation for implying that the pure land existed only metaphorically. In other interpretations, a pure land is understood to manifest itself differently to beings of different spiritual “grades.” In this case, “mind-only pure land” is the highest level, which is accessible or visible only to those enlightened to the true nature of the mind; by contrast, the objectively real pure land is an emanation of the true pure land that manifests itself to unenlightened practitioners, but nonetheless is still a literal realm into which one could be reborn. In this case, “the mind-only pure land” is one level of the pure land, which does not, however, negate the reality of an external pure land. Such an interpretation was more amenable to pure land devotees and was sometimes incorporated into their exegetical writings.

Weiyang zong. (J. Igyōshū; K. Wiang chong 潙仰宗). Alternate Chinese pronunciation of the GUIYANG ZONG, one of the so-called “five houses” (wu jia; see WU JIA QI ZONG), or distinct lineages, that developed within the mature CHAN tradition during the late-Tang dynasty. See GUIYANG ZONG.

Wencheng. (T. Rgya mo bza’ kong jo, C. Wencheng gongzhu 文成公主) (d. 680). The Tang-dynasty Chinese princess who married the Tibetan king SRONG BTSAN SGAM PO. Although she was in fact a person of little historical significance, she figures prominently in competing Tibetan and Chinese versions of the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet and of Sino-Tibetan relations. According to Tibetan sources, she was given in marriage to the Tibetan king under threat of invasion and became one of the king’s five wives: three Tibetans, one Nepalese, and one Chinese. The Nepalese and Chinese brides were Buddhists and converted their husband to the faith. Each also brought a buddha image as part of their dowry. Princess Wencheng brought the JO BO SHĀKYAMUNI, eventually housed in the JO KHANG in LHA SA, and considered the most sacred buddha image in Tibet. The Nepalese princess BHṚKUTĪ brought the JO BO MI BSKYOD RDO RJE, housed at RA MO CHE. The journey of the Chinese princess and her statue was fraught with difficulties, as the giant demoness (srin mo), whose supine body is the landscape of Tibet, tried to impede their progress. As a result, the king built a series of temples to pin down her body (MTHA’ ’DUL GTSUG LAG KHANG). Later sources would identify the Chinese princess as an incarnation of the bodhisattva TĀRĀ. Chinese sources depict the princess as a kind of cultural ambassador, helping to introduce Han culture into the wilds of Tibet and convincing her husband to abandon a variety of barbaric customs. This view of Princess Wencheng has been promoted in various Chinese media (including martial arts films) since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950. Contrary to both versions, it appears that Princess Wencheng arrived at the Tibetan court as a twelve-year-old girl, intended as the bride of Srong btsan sgam po’s son, who had died by the time that she arrived. Srong btsan sgam po, by then an old man, made her one of his wives, dying himself a few years later. She did not produce a royal heir and does not seem to have played a significant role at court.

wenda. (J. mondō; K. mundap 問答). In Chinese, lit. “question and answer”; pedagogical technique used in the CHAN (J. ZEN; K. SŎN) school that involves an “exchange” or “dialogue” between a Chan master and a disciple regarding the Buddhist teachings. The exchange often consists of questions from the disciple and the master’s response, but sometimes the master would also question the disciple to check his or her level of understanding and attainment. The master’s answers are typically not a theoretical or discursive response to the question, but instead will employ logical contradiction, contextual inappropriateness, and illocutionary uses of language in order to challenge the understanding of the student. The master’s answer might not even be a verbal response at all but might instead employ “the stick and the shout” (BANGHE) as a way of goading the student out of his conventional ways of comprehension. The ultimate goal is to prompt not mere intellectual understanding but an experience of awakening (C. WU; J. SATORI). The recorded sayings (YULU) of eminent Chan masters often include a section on their wenda. These wenda constitute a major part of the GONG’AN literature of the Chan tradition, and the practice of wenda is itself performed using phrases drawn from the gong’an texts. During the Song dynasty in China, Chan monks were appointed to monastic positions, such as “interrogating monk” (wenseng) or “Chan receptionist” (chanke), whose responsibility was to ask questions of the master on behalf of the congregation, transforming wenda into a formal, ritualized occasion.

Wenyan. (C) (文偃). See YUNMEN WENYAN.

Wenyi. (C) (文益). See FAYAN WENYI.

wenzi Chan. (J. monjizen; K. muncha Sŏn 文字禪). In Chinese, “lettered Chan”; a designation coined by JUEFAN HUIHONG (1071–1128) during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) to refer to a literati style of Chan exegesis that valorized belle lettres, and especially poetry, in the practice of CHAN. Huihong himself traces the origins of “lettered Chan” to the “five ranks” (WUWEI) of CAOSHAN BENJI (840–901), although Caoshan himself attributes the five ranks to his teacher DONGSHAN LIANGJIE (807–869); in these ranks, Huihong finds the first evidence within the Chan tradition that the manipulation of language in the analysis of the sayings attributed to the ancient Chan masters can bring about awakening. This style of Chan is especially emblematic of monks in the HUANGLONG PAI collateral lineage of the LINJI ZONG.

Wesak. (S. Vaiśākha; P. Vesākha; T. Sa ga zla ba). A modern rendering of Vesākha, the Pāli name for the fourth lunar month of the traditional Indian calendar (thus corresponding to April–May in the solar calendar); by extension, the term refers to the important event(s) in the life of the Buddha that occurred during that month and to their annual commemoration. According to the THERAVĀDA and Tibetan traditions, it was on the full moon of the fourth lunar month that the Buddha was born, was enlightened, and passed into PARINIRVĀṆA. This date is therefore the most important in the Buddhist calendar of many traditions. Wesak is widely celebrated across much of the Buddhist world, but especially in Southeast Asia, where it is considered an especially important time to perform meritorious deeds. According to many East Asian traditions, the full moon of the fourth lunar month marks only the date of the Buddha’s birth, with his enlightenment and passage into PARINIRVĀṆA occurring in the twelfth and eleventh lunar months, respectively; Wesak is therefore not nearly as important in the East Asian calendar as it is in Southeast Asia and Tibet.

wheel of dharma. See DHARMACAKRA.

wheel of life. See BHAVACAKRA.

White Lotus Society. See BAILIAN SHE.

Wild Goose Pagoda. See DACI’ENSI.

wisdom. See PRAJÑĀ.

wisdom derived from cultivation/meditation. See BHĀVANĀMAYĪPRAJÑĀ.

wisdom derived from hearing/learning. See ŚRUTAMAYĪPRAJÑĀ.

wisdom derived from reflection/analysis. See CINTĀMAYĪPRAJÑĀ.

Wŏlchŏngsa. (月精寺). In Korean, “Lunar Essence Monastery”; the fourth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Odaesan (see WUTAISHAN) in Kangwŏn province. The monastery’s history is closely linked to the VINAYA master CHAJANG (fl. c. 590–658). While Chajang was on pilgrimage at Wutaishan in China, he came across a mysterious old monk who interpreted a prophetic dream he had had and gave him relics (K. sari; S. ŚARĪRA) of the buddha to take back to Korea with him. Seven days later, a dragon told him to return to Odaesan in Korea to build a monastery; in 643, Chajang arrived at Odaesan, where he eventually constructed Wŏlchŏngsa. Wŏlchŏngsa’s main shrine hall, Chŏkkwang chŏn (Calm Radiance Hall), enshrines an image of ŚĀKYAMUNI as well as a mysterious statue that was found in the diamond pond south of the monastery. This statue, delicately carved in a style common to the eleventh century, is believed to be of BHAIṢAJYAGURU. In front of the main hall is a nine-story octagonal pagoda, fifty feet (15.2 meters) high, that was constructed in the tenth century. Skillfully carved and multiangled, it is representative of Koryŏ-era STŪPAs. In front of the stūpa is a seated BODHISATTVA, perhaps MAÑJUŚRĪ, making an offering. The statue has been carved with detailed attention to ornamental accessories and clothing. The Chŏngmyŏl pogung (Precious Basilica of Calm Extinction) houses the relics of the Buddha that Chajang brought back to Korea and is one of four major shrine halls in Korea that does not enshrine a buddha image (the relics take the place of an image). One of Wŏlchŏngsa’s most famous residents during the twentieth century was the monk HANAM CHUNGWŎN (1876–1951), who helped save some of its buildings from soldiers who had been ordered to burn them down during the Korean War (seventeen buildings were unfortunately burned and had to be reconstructed). Sangwŏnsa, one of Wŏlchŏngsa’s branch monasteries (MALSA), is famous among Korean monasteries for its spectacular scenery and is a popular tourist stop.

Wŏlmyŏn. (K) (月面). See MAN’GONG WŎLMYŎN.

womb maṇḍala. See TAIZŌKAI.

Wŏnbulgyo. (圓佛教). In Korean, “Wŏn Buddhism” or “Consummate Buddhism”; a modern Korean new religion, founded in 1916 by PAK CHUNGBIN (1891–1943), later known by his sobriquet SOT’AESAN. Based on his enlightenment to the universal order of the “one-circle image” (IRWŎNSANG), Sot’aesan sought to establish an ideal world where this universal order could be accomplished in and through ordinary human life, rather than the specialized institution of the monastery. After perusing the scriptures of various religions, Sot’aesan came to regard the teachings of Buddhism as the ultimate source of his enlightenment and in 1924 named his new religion the Pulpŏp Yŏn’gu hoe (Society for the Study of the Buddhadharma); this organization was later renamed Wŏnbulgyo in 1947 by Sot’aesan’s successor and the second prime Dharma master of the religion, Chŏngsan, a.k.a. Song Kyu (1900–1962). Since the tenets and institutions of Wŏnbulgyo are distinct from those of mainstream Buddhism in Korea, the religion is usually considered an indigenous Korean religion that is nevertheless closely aligned with the broader Buddhist tradition. Sot’aesan used the “one-circle image” as a way of representing his vision of the Buddhist notion of the “DHARMAKĀYA buddha” (pŏpsinbul), which was reality itself; since this reality transcended all possible forms of conceptualization, he represented it with a simple circle, an image that is now displayed on the altar at all Wŏnbulgyo temples. Sot’aesan’s religious activities were also directed at improving the daily lot of his adherents, and to this end he and his followers established thrift and savings institutions and led land reclamation projects. Wŏnbulgyo has focused its activities on the three pillars of religious propagation (kyohwa), education (kyoyuk), and public service (chasŏn): for example, the second prime master Chŏngsan established temples for propagation, schools such as Wŏn’gwang University for education, and social-welfare facilities such as hospitals and orphanages. These activities, along with international proselytization, were continued by his successors Taesan, Kim Taegŏ (1914–1988), who became the third prime master in 1962, Chwasan, Yi Kwangjŏng (b. 1936), who became the fourth prime master in 1994, and Kyŏngsan, Chang Ŭngch’ŏl (b. 1940), who became the fifth prime master in 2006. The two representative scriptures of Wŏnbulgyo are the Wŏnbulgyo chŏngjŏn (“Principal Book of Wŏn Buddhism”), a primer of the basic tenets of Wŏnbulgyo, which was published by Sot’aesan in 1943, and the Taejonggyŏng (“Scripture of the Founding Master”), the dialogues and teachings of Sot’aesan, published in 1962 by his successor Chŏngsan. Wŏnbulgyo remains an influential religious tradition in Korea, especially in the Chŏlla region in the southwest of the peninsula; in addition, there currently are over fifty Wŏnbulgyo temples active in over fourteen countries.

Wŏnch’ŭk. (T. Wen tsheg; C. Yuance; J. Enjiki 圓測) (613–695). In Korean, “Consummate Keenness”; Silla-dynasty monk renowned for his expertise in Sanskrit and YOGĀCĀRA doctrine, who was influential in Chinese and in later Tibetan Buddhism. Wŏnch’ŭk is said to have left for Tang-dynasty China at the age of fifteen, where he studied the writings of PARAMĀRTHA and the She lun, or MAHĀYĀNASAṂGRAHA, under Fachang (567–645). Wŏnch’ŭk later became the disciple of the Chinese pilgrim-translator XUANZANG who, in accordance with the new Yogācāra teachings of DHARMAPĀLA that he had brought back from India (see FAXIANG ZONG), denounced the existence of the ninth “immaculate consciousness” (AMALAVIJÑĀNA), which Paramārtha had advocated, and taught instead the innate impurity of the eighth “storehouse consciousness” (ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA). These crucial doctrinal issues are said to have caused a split between the major disciples of Xuanzang: Wŏnch’ŭk and his followers came to be known as the Ximing tradition in honor of Wŏnch’ŭk’s residence, XIMINGSI, and was said to have been more open to positions associated with the earlier SHE LUN ZONG; and the lineage of his fellow student and major rival KUIJI (632–682), which came to be known as the Ci’en tradition after Kuiji’s monastery, Da CI’ENSI, and honed more rigidly to Xuanzang and Dharmapāla’s positions. Wŏnch’ŭk’s famed Haesimmilgyŏng so (C. Jieshenmi jing shu), his commentary on Xuanzang’s translation of the SAṂDHINIRMOCANASŪTRA, includes traces of Wŏnchŭk’s earlier training in She lun zong thought and Paramārtha’s expositions on the controversial notion of amalavijñāna. Wŏnchŭk regarded the amalavijñāna as simply another name for the inherent purity of the ālayavijñāna, but, unlike Xuanzang, he considered the ālayavijñāna to be essentially pure in nature. He also disagreed with Xuanzang’s contention that the ICCHANTIKA could not attain buddhahood. Hence, his work seems to be an attempt to reconcile the divergences between the old Yogācāra of Paramārtha and the new Yogācāra of Xuanzang. Wŏnch’ŭk’s commentary to the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra was extremely popular in the Chinese outpost of DUNHUANG, where CHOS GRUB (Ch. Facheng; c. 755–849) translated it into Tibetan during the reign of King RAL PA CAN (r. 815–838). Only nine of the ten rolls of the commentary are still extant in Chinese; the full text is available only in its Tibetan translation, which the Tibetans know as the “Great Chinese Commentary” (Rgya nag gi ’grel chen) even though it was written by a Korean. Five centuries later, the renowned Tibetan scholar TSONG KHA PA drew liberally on Wŏnch’ŭk’s text in his major work on scriptural interpretation, LEGS BSHAD SNYING PO. Wŏnch’ŭk’s views were decisive in Tibetan formulations of such issues as the hermeneutical stratagem of the three turnings of the wheel of the dharma (DHARMACAKRAPRAVARTANA), the nine types of consciousness (VIJÑĀNA), and the quality and nature of the ninth “immaculate” consciousness (amalavijñāna). Exegetical styles subsequently used in all the major sects of Tibetan Buddhism, with their use of elaborate sections and subsections, may also derive from Wŏnch’ŭk’s commentary. Consequently, Wŏnch’ŭk remains better known and more influential in Tibet than in either China or Korea. Wŏnch’ŭk also wrote a eulogy to the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀHṚDAYASŪTRA, and commentaries to the RENWANG JING and Dharmapāla’s *VIJÑAPTIMĀTRATĀSIDDHI, the latter of which is no longer extant.

Wŏndon sŏngbul non. (圓頓成佛論). In Korean, “The Perfect and Sudden Attainment of Buddhahood”; posthumous publication on the convergence of HWAŎM (C. HUAYAN) and SŎN (C. CHAN) thought and practice by the mid-Koryŏ reformer POJO CHINUL (1158–1210). The Wŏndon sŏngbul non is said to have been found in a wooden box belonging to Chinul after his death and published posthumously by his disciple CHIN’GAK HYESIM. The text provides Chinul’s most sustained presentation of his views on Hwaŏm thought and practice, which were profoundly influenced by LI TONGXUAN’s (635–730) idiosyncratic commentary on the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA, the HUAYAN JING HELUN. Chinul seeks to demonstrate that the sudden understanding-awakening (K. haeo; C. JIEWU; viz., knowing that one is a buddha) is attained at the first level of the ten stages of faith (sipsin), which were usually thought to be a preliminary stage of training, rather than at the first arousing of the thought of enlightenment (BODHICITTOTPĀDA), which occurred at the first of the ten stages of abiding (sipchu). Chinul supports this argument by drawing on the Hwaŏm concept of “nature origination” (XINGQI), which he finds superior to the alternative Hwaŏm theory of the conditioned origination of the dharmadhātu (FAJIE YUANQI). This Hwaŏm understanding at the very inception of practice that one is endowed with the fundamental nature of buddhahood is compared to the CHAN and SŎN notion of “seeing one’s nature and attaining buddhahood” (JIANXING CHENGFO). But because Chan/Sŏn does not sanction the prolix conceptual descriptions of this experience that are found in the Hwaŏm school, it is the true “perfect and sudden” school. See also YUANDUN JIAO.

Wŏn’gam Kuksa. (K) (圓鑑國師). See MIRAM CH’UNGJI.

Wŏn’gwang. (C. Yuanguang 圓光) (542–640). In Korean, “Consummate Brilliance”; Silla-dynasty monk known as an early exponent of the VINAYA tradition in Korea. Wŏn’gwang went to the Chinese kingdom of Chen and studied various texts such as the *TATTVASIDDHI and the MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA. After the fall of the Chen dynasty, Wŏn’gwang traveled to Chang’an, where he attended lectures on ASAṄGA’S MAHĀYĀNASAṂGRAHA delivered by the monk Tanqian (542–607). Wŏn’gwang returned to Korea in 600 and devised a set of lay precepts known as the “five secular injunctions” (Sesok ogye) at the request of two “flower youths” (hwarang) named Kwisan (d.u.) and Ch’uhang (d.u.). These injunctions adapted Confucian and Buddhist moral codes to the needs of a militant society involved in the ongoing peninsular reunification wars. The five are (1) loyalty, (2) filial piety, (3) trust, (4) not killing wantonly, and (5) not retreating in battle. According to his biography in the HAEDONG KOSŬNG CHŎN, Wŏn’gwang was also a renowned thaumaturge and tamer of autochthonous spirits. He passed away at the royal monastery of HWANGNYONGSA. Two commentaries on the TATHĀGATAGARBHASŪTRA, the Taebangdŭng yŏraejanggyŏng so and Yŏraejanggyŏng sagi, are attributed to Wŏn’gwang, but neither is extant.

Wŏnhyo. (C. Yuanxiao; J. Gangyō 元曉) (617–686). In Korean, “Break of Dawn”; famous monk of the Silla dynasty and probably one of the two most important monks in all of Korean Buddhist history, who was renowned for both his scholastic achievements and his efforts to propagate Buddhism among the common people. He is reputed to have written over one hundred commentaries, of which some twenty are extant. According to the hagiographical accounts of Wŏnhyo in the SONG GAOSENG ZHUAN and the SAMGUK YUSA, Wŏnhyo tried, but failed, to travel to China with his friend ŬISANG in order to study with the Chinese translator and YOGĀCĀRA exegete XUANZANG. While on the road, Wŏnhyo is said to have attained enlightenment after a traumatic experience in which he discovered that the earthen sanctuary in which the two travelers had taken refuge one stormy night was in fact a tomb. This experience prompted his awakening that all things are created by mind, which led Wŏnhyo to realize that he did not need to continue on to China in order to understand Buddhism. (Ŭisang did travel to the mainland, where he studied with the early HUAYAN exegete ZHIYAN.) As the legends about Wŏnhyo’s enlightenment experience evolve, this story becomes even more horrific: Wŏnhyo is said to have discovered that the sweet water he drank in the tomb to slake his thirst was actually offal rotting in a skull, a traumatic experience that immediately prompted his realization that the mind creates all things. Wŏnhyo spent much of his life writing commentaries to the many new translations of Buddhist scriptures then being introduced into the Korean peninsula. A brief affair with the widowed princess of Yosŏk palace led to the birth of a son, who would grow up to become the famous literatus, Sŏl Ch’ong (c. 660–730), the creator of Idu (“clerical writing”), the earliest Korean vernacular writing system. After the affair, Wŏnhyo changed into lay clothes and traveled among the peasantry, singing and dancing with a gourd he named Unhindered (Muae) and practicing “unconstrained conduct” (K. muae haeng; C. WU’AI XING). ¶ In Wŏnhyo’s many treatises, he pioneered a hermeneutical technique he called “reconciling doctrinal controversies” (HWAJAENG), which seeks to demonstrate that various Buddhist doctrines, despite their apparent differences and inconsistencies, could be integrated into a single coherent whole. This “ecumenical” approach is pervasive throughout Wŏnhyo’s works, although its basic principle is explained chiefly in his Simmun hwajaeng non (“Ten Approaches to the Reconciliation of Doctrinal Controversy,” only fragments are extant), TAESŬNG KISILLON SO (“Commentary to the ‘Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna’”), and KŬMGANG SAMMAEGYŎNG NON (“Exposition of the VAJRASAMĀDHISŪTRA”). Wŏnhyo was versed in the full range of Buddhist philosophical doctrines then accessible to him in Korea, including MADHYAMAKA, YOGĀCĀRA, Hwaŏm, and TATHĀGATAGARBHA thought, and hwajaeng was his attempt to demonstrate how all of these various teachings of the Buddha were part of a coherent heuristic plan within the religion. Since at least the twelfth century, Wŏnhyo’s hwajaeng exegesis has come to be portrayed as characteristic of a distinctively Korean approach to Buddhist thought.

wŏnju. (C. yuanzhu; J. inju 院主). In Korean, lit. “chief of the campus”; the preferred term in Korean monasteries for the “prior.” See JIANYUAN.

Wŏnmyo Yose. (圓妙了世) (1163–1240). In Korean, “Consummate Sublimity, Knower of the World”; monk during the mid-Koryŏ dynasty, who is considered an influential figure in the revitalization of the Korean CH’ŎNT’AE (C. TIANTAI) tradition. Yose also played a major role in the popularization of a movement known as the PAENGNYŎN KYŎLSA, or White Lotus retreat society (see also JIESHE; BAILIAN SHE). Yose was ordained by the monk Kyunjŏng (d.u.) at the monastery of Ch’ŏllaksa in present-day Hapch’ŏn. In 1185, he passed the clerical examinations (SŬNGKWA) and led a retreat at a monastery known as Changyŏnsa on Mt. Yŏngdong. The eminent SŎN monk POJO CHINUL is known to have sent Yose a letter with a poem at that time, inviting Yose to his “Samādhi and Prajñā retreat society” (CHŎNGHYE KYŎLSA) at Kŏjosa. Yose subsequently joined the society and practiced Sŏn meditation with Chinul, but left the society when Chinul moved the society to the monastery of Kilsangsa (present-day SONGGWANGSA). With the support of some prominent lay followers, Yose restored a group of dilapidated buildings on Mt. Mandŏk and established a White Lotus Society there in 1211. Yose continued to reside at the site after the restoration was completed five years later in 1216. He was posthumously awarded the title of state preceptor (K. kuksa; C. GUOSHI) and given the funerary name Wŏnmyo. He is the reputed author of the Samdaebu chŏryo, which is no longer extant.

Wŏnyung chong. (圓融宗). In Korean, “Consummate Interfusion school”; an alternate name for the Hwaŏm (C. HUAYAN) school in Korea. See KYO.

World Fellowship of Buddhists. The first international Buddhist organization, founded in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1950, by representatives from twenty-seven countries, and headed by GUNAPALA PIYASENA MALALASEKERA (1899–1973). Although most Buddhist traditions around the world are actively involved in the organization, THERAVĀDA Buddhists of Southeast Asia have traditionally played a central role: all its previous and current headquarters have been located in countries where the Theravāda tradition predominates (e.g., Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand) and all its presidents have also come from those countries. The WFB has more than 130 regional centers in over thirty countries, including India, Australia, the United States, Korea, Japan, and some African and European countries. The organization aims to promote the teachings of the Buddha, strengthen collegiality among Buddhists of different national traditions, and contribute to world peace by participating in social, educational, and humanitarian activities. The current headquarters is located in Bangkok, Thailand.

wu. (J. satori; K. o 悟) In Chinese, “awakening,” “enlightenment”; one of the common Chinese translations for the Sanskrit term BODHI (awakening); often seen in English through its indigenous Japanese pronunciation of SATORI. The precise content of this awakening differs according to the various schools of Buddhism. In the East Asian tradition, wu could typically involve a gradual awakening (JIANWU), but it is more commonly associated with “sudden awakening” (DUNWU), especially in the CHAN ZONG (J. ZEN; K. SŎN). Sudden awakening refers to the view that the mind is inherently enlightened (cf. “buddha-nature,” or FOXING) and thus does not need to be purified of its afflictions (KLEŚA) in order for that buddha-nature to be realized. Gradual awakening, by contrast, refers to the view that enlightenment is the result of a process of purifying the mind of its afflictions over a series of stages, which may take several lifetimes to complete. The Chan scholiasts GUIFENG ZONGMI and POJO CHINUL, following earlier taxonomies of awakening in the HUAYAN ZONG, distinguish between two kinds of awakening: an initial sudden understanding-awakening (JIEWU), i.e., the instant when one first comes to know that one is innately a buddha; and, following a lengthy period of gradual cultivation (jianxiu), a final realization-awakening (ZHENGWU), when one is able fully to act on the potential inherent in one’s initial awakening and not only be a buddha but also act like one. This description of the soteriological process is called sudden awakening followed by gradual cultivation (see DUNWU JIANXIU). Chan authors discuss many other possible permutations in this awakening and cultivation binary, including gradual cultivation/gradual enlightenment, sudden awakening/sudden cultivation, etc. Although the SUDDEN-GRADUAL ISSUE is most commonly associated with the CHAN school, there are precedents in Indian Buddhism. The so-called BSAM YAS DEBATE, or Council of Lha sa, that took place in Tibet at the end of the eighth century is said to have pitted the Indian monk KAMALAŚĪLA against the Chan monk Heshang MOHEYAN in a debate over the issue of whether enlightenment occurs gradually or suddenly.

wu. (J. mu; K. mu 無). In Chinese, a Sinograph meaning “not have,” “without,” “no,” and, as a philosophical term, “nonbeing,” “nothingness.” Exegetes in the Dark Learning (XUANXUE) school of Chinese philosophy, which was influential in early Chinese Buddhist thought, first explored the philosophical implications of the term wu. Based on their reading of the Daode jing (“The Way and Its Power”), a seminal Daoist classic traditionally attributed to the legendary Laozi, they interpreted wu as meaning either (1) “nonexistence” or “nonbeing,” in distinction to the Sinograph you, viz., “existence,” or “being”; or (2) the metaphysical substratum of the universe, viz., “nothingness,” which transcended the dichotomy of you and wu. Wu in this second denotation did not indicate simply voidness or negation; it rather referred to the source of the DAO itself or the principle underlying all existence. In this sense, wu was inseparable from you, the phenomenal expressions of the dao. This wu was termed “original nothingness” (benwu), because it served as the ultimate foundation of the myriad of existing things in the universe, and thus represented a preconceptual reality that transcended dichotomous existence (you). Wang Bi (226–249), traditionally regarded as the founder of Xuanxue, defined a person who attained wu as a sage (shengren). ¶ Early Chinese Buddhist thinkers, such as DAO’AN (312–385) and Zhu Fatai (320–387), drew on this Xuanxue concept of benwu to render the Buddhist concept of emptiness (ŚŪNYATĀ); SENGZHAO (374–414) in his ZHAO LUN also equates the original nothingness (benwu) with the dharma-nature (DHARMATĀ). As Chinese Buddhists gradually refined their understanding of the Buddhist notion of emptiness, prompted especially by the influence of KUMĀRAJĪVA’s translations of the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ texts, this rendering of śūnyatā as wu was ultimately replaced by the new term kong (emptiness). ¶ In the context of the CHAN ZONG, wu was often used to emphasize the mental state of nonattachment. However, ever since the character wu (pronounced mu in Japanese and Korean) was singled out by Chan master DAHUI ZONGGAO as a meditative topic (HUATOU) in Chan practice, Chan adepts began to use “wu” as an aid in their “questioning meditation” (KANHUA CHAN). This meditative topic was derived from a popular GONG’AN (KŌAN) attributed to ZHAOZHOU CONGSHEN: “Does a dog have buddha nature, or not?” Zhaozhou answered, “wu” (“no,” lit. “it does not have it”). The Sinograph wu was also a frequent subject of monochrome brushstroke calligraphy, which was and is still often hung on the walls of the abbot’s quarters (FANGZHANG) in Chan monasteries. See WU GONG’AN; GOUZI WU FOXING.

wu’ai xing. (J. mugegyō; K. muae haeng 無礙行). In Chinese, “unhindered action” or “unconstrained conduct”; one of the types of practice of a BODHISATTVA-MAHĀSATTVA, as expounded especially in the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA, referring to a conduct that is not constrained by the restrictions of customary morality or mundane societal expectations. Other related terms that are described as unhindered include “unhindered physicality” (wu’ai shen), “unhindered SAMĀDHI” (wu’ai sanmei), “unhindered wisdom” (wu’ai zhi), “unhindered dharma” (wu’ai fa), “unhindered path” (wu’ai dao), etc. The actions of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva conform to those of the buddhas themselves and any merit forthcoming from them are freely transferred (huixiang) to other sentient beings to help them with their salvation; for this reason, their actions are free from any kinds of hindrances. The MAHĀYĀNASAṂGRAHA (She Dasheng lun) also explains “unhindered action” as the merit of a buddha, which is obtained through the purest of wisdom. Unhindered action sometimes refers to a particular stage or practice of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva: the BODHISATTVABHŪMI (Pusa shanjie jing) presents it as the tenth of the twelve conducts of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, along with such advanced practices as the signless practice, untainted practice, practice-less practice, and contented practice. In this context, unhindered action refers to the stage where a bodhisattva cultivates the realm of reality (DHARMADHĀTU) that transcends all discrimination and teaches the true dharma (SADDHARMA) for the sake of innumerable sentient beings. This status is said to correspond specifically to the ninth of the ten bodhisattva stages (DAŚABHŪMI), and the bodhisattva on this stage is described as being endowed with four types of analytical knowledges (PRATISAṂVID), which in Chinese were known as the four “unhindered knowledges” (C. si wu’ai jie): i.e., unhindered knowledge of (1) phenomena (DHARMA), viz., one makes no mistakes in one’s teachings; (2) meaning (ARTHA), viz., to be unhindered with regard to the content and meaning of one’s teachings; (3) etymology or language (NIRUKTI), viz., the ability to comprehend all languages; and (4) eloquence (PRATIBHĀNA), viz., ease in offering explanations. CHENGGUAN (738–839) states in his massive HUAYAN JING SHU (“Commentary to the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA”) that the bodhisattva is able to abide in unhindered action (lit. “unhindered abiding”) because he no longer has any cognitive obstructions (JÑEYĀVARAṆA). The practice of unconstrained conduct has been a prominent, if controversial, feature of Korean Buddhism throughout its history. Several eminent Korean monks were known as practitioners of unconstrained conduct, including WŎNHYO (617–686), Chinmuk (1562–1633), and KYŎNGHŎ SŎNGU (1849–1912), and they followed ways of life that disregarded the standards of conduct typically incumbent upon ordained monks.

Wubai wenlun shiyi. (C) (五百問論釋疑). See FAHUA WUBAI WENLUN.

wuchong xuanyi. (J. gojūgengi; K. ojung hyŏnŭi 五重玄義). In Chinese, “five layers of profound meaning” according to the TIANTAI school. See FAHUA WUCHONG XUANYI.

wudao song. (J. godōju; K. odo song 悟道頌). In Chinese, lit. “hymn on awakening to the way (DAO)”; an “enlightenment hymn.” See YIJI.

wufa. (J. gohō; K. obŏp 五法). In Chinese, “the five [aspects of] dharmas.” According to various Chinese scholastic traditions, deriving from translations of the LAṄKĀVATĀRASŪTRA and YOGĀCĀRA materials, these five delineate the full ontological and epistemological range of all dharmas: phenomena (SHI), characteristics (xiang), conceptual discrimination (fenbie), correct knowledge of the way things are (zhengzhi), and suchness (ZHENRU). The first three aspects are called “factors associated with delusion/unenlightenment” (mifa) because the multiplicity, duality, and reality of “phenomena” and “characteristics” are merely “imagined” and “superimposed” by the discriminatory property of the unenlightened mind (which is covered by the third aspect, fenbie, viz., PARIKALPITA). In contrast, the last two aspects are called “factors associated with enlightenment” (wufa), with “knowledge” being the ability to discern the true “suchness” of things without conceptual superimpositions.

wu gong’an. (J. mukōan; K. mu kongan 無公案). In Chinese, “the case ‘no’”; an influential CHAN case or precedent (GONG’AN) associated with the Tang-dynasty Chan master ZHAOZHOU CONGSHEN (778–897). In this exchange, once a student came to Zhaozhou and asked, “Does a dog have the buddha-nature (FOXING), or not?” Zhaozhou answered, “No” (lit., “It does not have it”). The complete exchange from which this gong’an is drawn continues: “Everything has buddha-nature, from the buddhas above, to the ants below. Why wouldn’t a dog have it?” Zhaozhou replied: “Because he has the nature of karmically conditioned consciousness.” This response seems to be associated with Chan debates concerning the Sinitic Buddhist doctrine of the “buddha-nature of the insentient” (wuqing foxing), which presumed that all insentient things, including rocks and tiles, trees, and grass, were also endowed with the buddha-nature; thus, if even rocks have the buddha-nature, why not dogs? Since the answer to the student’s question should unequivocally be “Yes, a dog does have the buddha-nature,” Zhaozhou’s enigmatic response, which Wumen calls a “checkpoint of the patriarchs,” seems to challenge one of the foundational beliefs of East Asian Buddhism; in so doing, it engenders a question in the student’s mind, which will help to foster inquiry and ultimately a sense of doubt (YIQING). This answer “WU” (“no”) became a popular meditative topic (HUATOU) in the Chan meditation practice of “questioning meditation” (KANHUA CHAN) and is one of the most important gong’ans used in kanhua Chan training, especially in the Chinese LINJI ZONG and Japanese RINZAISHŪ lineages, as well as in the Korean CHOGYE CHONG. The wu gong’an is the first case collected in the gong’an anthology WUMEN GUAN (“Gateless Checkpoint”), and its use in kanhua practice was popularized by the Chinese Linji teacher DAHUI ZONGGAO (1089–1163). See also GOUZI WU FOXING.

wuhui nianfo. (J. goe nenbutsu; K. ohoe yŏmbul 五會念佛). In Chinese, “five-tempo intonation of [the name of] the buddha” (see NIANFO). A method of intoning the name of the buddha AMITĀBHA devised by the Tang-dynasty monk FAZHAO (d.u.). While in SAMĀDHI, Fazhao is said to have received instructions for the wuhui nianfo technique directly from Amitābha himself. The practice seems to be based on the larger SUKHĀVATĪVYŪHASŪTRA, which speaks of the bejeweled trees that produce music in five tempos when swayed by the wind. The first tempo is a leisurely chant performed in a high tone (ping). The second tempo is a high and rising tone (pingshang). The third tempo is neither leisurely nor rapid, and the fourth gradually becomes rapid. The fifth tempo is a rapid and repetitious recitation of the four characters “A-mi-tuo-fo,” the Chinese pronunciation of Amitābha. According to Fazhao, the practical aim of this practice is to focus on the three jewels (RATNATRAYA) until one attains “no-thought” (WUNIAN) and nonduality (ADVAYA). Fazhao recommends wuhui nianfo for both clergy and lay who wish to rid themselves of the five types of suffering and the five hindrances, or to purify the five sense organs (INDRIYA) and attain the five powers (BALA). The ultimate purpose of the practice is to attain rebirth in the PURE LAND of SUKHĀVATĪ. Two manuals by Fazhao detailing the practice of wuhui nianfo, the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüefa shiyi canben (“Praise for the Abbreviated Ritual Manual of the Pure Land Five-Tempo Intonation of [the Name of] the Buddha”) and the Jingtu wuhui nianfo songjing guanxing yi (“Rite for Intoning the Buddha’s Name, Reciting Scripture, and Performing Meditation According to the Five Tempos of the Pure Land”), were recovered in the DUNHUANG manuscript cache.

wujiao. (C) (五教). In Chinese, the “fivefold taxonomy of the teachings” according to the Huayan school. See HUAYAN WUJIAO.

Wujiao zhang. (C) (五教章). See HUAYAN WUJIAO ZHANG.

wu jia qi zong. (J. goke shichishū; K. oga ch’ilchong 五家七宗). In Chinese, “five houses and seven schools.” According to the traditional historical narratives of the CHAN tradition, the lineages of the sixth patriarch (LIUZU) HUINENG’s two major disciples NANYUE HUAIRANG and QINGYUAN XINGSI grew into five houses and eventually seven schools. The five houses refer to the lineages of the GUIYANG [alt. Weiyang] ZONG, LINJI ZONG, CAODONG ZONG, YUNMEN ZONG, and FAYAN ZONG of the Tang dynasty. Each of these “houses” (jia) is said to have had its own unique teaching style (jiafeng) and was respectively named after its purported founder or “patriarch”: the Guiyang was named after GUISHAN LINGYOU and his disciple YANGSHAN HUIJI, the Linji after LINJI YIXUAN, the Caodong after DONGSHAN LIANGJIE and his disciple CAOSHAN BENJI, the Yunmen after YUNMEN WENYAN, and the Fayan after FAYAN WENYI. Among these houses, the Linji became predominant during the Song dynasty, when it further split into two separate lineages known as the HUANGLONG PAI (named after HUANGLONG HUINAN) and the YANGQI PAI (named after YANGQI FANGHUI). These two Song-dynasty lineages, together with the original listing of five houses, constitute the so-called seven schools. According to the Chan historian GUIFENG ZONGMI, the early Chan lineages known as the NIUTOU ZONG, Heze zong (see HEZE SHENHUI), JINGZHONG ZONG, BAOTANG ZONG, BEI ZONG, and NAN ZONG were eventually supplanted by the flourishing lineages of Nanyue’s disciple MAZU DAOYI (i.e., the Guiyang and Linji) and Qingyuan’s disciples SHITOU XIQIAN (i.e., the Caodong and Yunmen) and XUEFENG YICUN (i.e., the Fayan).

wujinzang yuan. (J. mujinzōin; K. mujinjang wŏn 無盡藏院). In Chinese, “inexhaustible storehouse cloister”; the emblematic institution of the Third Stage Sect (SANJIE JIAO), a major school of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The wujinzang yuan was established at Huadusi (Propagation and Salvation Monastery) in the capital Chang’an early in the Tang dynasty, probably between 618 and 627. The institution was based on the concept of “merit-sharing,” i.e., that one could enter into the universal inexhaustible storehouse of the dharma realm, as articulated by the sect’s founder XINXING (540–594), by offering alms to the wujinzang yuan on behalf of all sentient beings. By 713, when the Tang emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–756) issued an edict closing it due to charges of embezzlement, the wujinzang yuan had served as a major agency for promoting the sect for almost a century. Drawing on the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA and the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA, the sect interpreted the Sinographs wujin (inexhaustible) to mean that both the field of reverence—viz., the three jewels (RATNATRAYA)—and the field of compassion—viz., sentient beings—were inexhaustible. The wujinzang yuan, therefore, was the place where the sect’s sixteen kinds of almsgiving (DĀNA) were to be practiced, through offerings made to (1) the buddha, (2) the dharma, (3) the saṃgha, and (4) all sentient beings; (5) works that serve to ward off evil; (6) works that serve to do good; and offerings of (7) incense, (8) lamps, (9) the monks’ baths, (10) bells and chants, (11) clothing, (12) dwellings, (13) beds and seats, (14) receptacles for food, (15) coal and fire, and (16) food and drink. There were two kinds of offerings made to the wujinzang yuan: (1) regular offerings collected in the form of a daily levy and (2) offerings received at particular times of the year. A Sanjie jiao text discovered at DUNHUANG says that a person is expected to offer one fen (a hundredth of a tael) of cash or one ge (a tenth of a pint) of grain per day, or thirty-six qian (a tenth of a Chinese ounce) or 3.6 dou (pecks) of grain per annum. However, the offerings were mostly made at specific times of the year, such as on the fourth day of the first lunar month, the day commemorating Xinxing’s death, and the ULLAMBANA festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. For those adherents who could not make offerings directly at Huadu monastery, the sect would temporarily open local branches, called “merit offices” (gongde chu), especially at the time of the Ullambana festival. The assets of the wujinzang yuan consisted for the most part of such tangible assets as money, cloth, gold and silver, and jade. The offerings were used, for example, to fund the restoration of monasteries and the performance of religious services (i.e., the reverence field of merit, jingtian), and to provide alms to the poor (i.e., the compassion field of merit, beitian; see PUṆYAKṢETRA). People could also receive loans from the wujinzang, a function comparable to today’s microloans made to help raise people out of poverty. During the reign of Empress Wu, Fuxiansi in Luoyang was for a brief time also the site of a wujinzang yuan. See also XIANGFA JUEYI JING.

Wuliangshou jing. (J. Muryōjukyō; K. Muryangsu kyŏng 無量壽經). In Chinese, “Sūtra of Infinite Life.” See SUKHĀVATĪVYŪHASŪTRA.

Wuliangshou jing lun. (C) (無量壽經論). See WULIANGSHOU JING YOUPOTISHE YUANSHENG JI.

Wuliangshou jing youpotishe yuansheng ji. (J. Muryōjukyō upadaisha ganshōge; K. Muryangsugyŏng ubajesa wŏnsaeng ke 無量壽經優婆提舎願生偈). In Chinese, “Verses on the Wish for Rebirth and the Exposition of the Limitless Life Scripture”; also known as the Wuliangshou jing lun (“Commentary on the Limitless Life Scripture”), Jingtu lun (“Treatise on the Pure Land”), Wangsheng lun (“Treatise on Rebirth”), and Yuansheng ji (“Verses on the Wish for Rebirth”). The Wuliangshou jing youpotishe yuansheng ji is attributed to VASUBANDHU and was translated into Chinese by BODHIRUCI at the monastery of YONGNINGSI in 529. The text is largely a commentary on the larger SUKHĀVATĪVYŪHASŪTRA and is comprised of a twenty-four-line verse and prose commentary. The verse section begins with an exhortation to be reborn in the country of peace and happiness (ANLEGUO) or PURE LAND (JINGTU) of the buddha AMITĀBHA, which it subsequently describes in detail, and ends with the dedication of merit (PARIṆĀMANĀ). The prose commentary explains the ritual means of rebirth in terms of “five gates of recollection” (wu nianmen). These five gates are veneration (libai), praise (cantan), vow (zuoyuan), discernment (guancha), and dedication (huixiang). The text came to be held in high regard in China and Japan after the eminent Chinese monk TANLUAN composed an influential commentary on the text. Along with the shorter and longer Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtras and the GUAN WULIANGSHOU JING, the Japanese monk HŌNEN recognized the Wuliangshou jing youpotishe yuansheng ji as a central scripture of the school now known as the JŌDOSHŪ. See also JINGTU LUN.

Wuliang yi jing. (J. Muryōgikyō; K. Muryang ŭi kyŏng 無量義經). In Chinese, “Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings,” one of the “Three [Sister] Sūtras of the ‘Lotus’” (FAHUA SANBU [JING]), along with the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA (“Lotus Sūtra”) itself and the GUAN PUXIAN PUSA XINGFA JING (“Sūtra on the Procedures for Contemplating the Practices of the Bodhisattva SAMANTABHADRA”). The Wuliang yi jing, is presumed to be the prequel to the influential Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, while the Guan Puxian pusa xingfa jing is usually considered its sequel. The extant version of the scripture, in one roll, is attributed to the Indian translator *Dharmāgatayaśas of the Southern Qi dynasty (479–502), and is claimed to have been translated in 481; the LIDAI SANBAO JI scriptural catalogue also refers to a second, nonextant translation. There is, however, no evidence that a scripture with this title ever circulated in India, and no such text is ever cited in Indian sources. In addition, there are issues with the biography of the alleged translator (*Dharmāgatayaśas is otherwise unknown and this is his only attributed translation), and peculiar events in the transmission of the scripture, which suggest that attempts were made to obscure its questionable provenance. The scripture also includes unusual transcriptions and translations of Buddhist technical terminology, and peculiar taxonomies of Indian doctrinal concepts. Because of these problematic issues of provenance and content, the sūtra is now suspected of being an indigenous Chinese composition (see APOCRYPHA). Such Chinese exegetes as Huiji (412–496) and TIANTAI ZHIYI (538–597) presumed that this scripture was the otherwise-unknown MAHĀYĀNA sūtra titled “Immeasurable Meanings” that is mentioned in the prologue to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, which the Buddha is said to have preached just prior to beginning the “Lotus Sūtra” proper. The Wuliang yi jing is in three chapters (pin). The first chapter is the prologue, where the bodhisattva “Great Adornment” (Dazhuangyan pusa) offers a long verse paean describing the Buddha’s many virtues. The second chapter is the sermon itself, where the Buddha explains the doctrine of immeasurable meanings as being the one teaching that will enable bodhisattvas to quickly attain complete, perfect enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAṂBODHI). This doctrine reveals that all phenomena (DHARMA) are void and calm in both their natures and their characteristics and thus are empty and nondual (ADVAYA). Hence, the immeasurable meanings of all descriptions of dharmas derive from the one dharma that is free from characteristics. The final chapter is the epilogue, which describes the ten kinds of merit that accrue from hearing the sūtra.

Wumen guan. (J. Mumonkan; K. Mumun kwan 無門關). In Chinese, lit., “Gateless Checkpoint,” or “Wumen’s Checkpoint”; compiled by the CHAN master WUMEN HUIKAI, after whom the collection is named, also known as the Chanzong Wumen guan (“Gateless Checkpoint of the Chan Tradition”). Along with the BIYAN LU (“Blue Cliff Record”), the Wumen guan is considered one of the two most important GONG’AN (J. kōan; K. kongan) collections of the Chan tradition. In the summer of 1228, at the request of the resident monks at the monastery of Longxiangsi, Wumen lectured on a series of forty-eight cases (gong’an) that he culled from various “transmission of the lamplight” (CHUANDENG LU) histories and the recorded sayings (YULU) of previous Chan masters. His lectures were recorded and compiled that same year and published with a preface by Wumen in the following year (1229). Another case (case 49), composed by the layman Zheng Qingzhi, was added to the Wumen guan in 1246. The Wumen guan begins with a popular case attributed to ZHAOZHOU CONGSHEN, in which Zhaozhou replies “WU” (no) to the question, “Does a dog have buddha nature, or not?” (see WU GONG’AN). Wumen himself is known to have struggled with this case, which was given to him by his teacher Yuelin Shiguan (1143–1217). The Japanese monk SHINICHI KAKUSHIN, who briefly studied under Wumen in China, brought the Wumen guan to Japan. Although the collection was once declared to be heretical by the SŌTŌSHŪ in the mid-seventeenth century, many Japanese commentaries on the Wumen guan were composed at the time, testifying to its growing influence during the Edo period.

Wumen Huikai. (J. Mumon Ekai; K. Mumun Hyegae 無門慧開) (1183–1260). In Chinese, “Gateless, Opening of Wisdom”; CHAN master in the LINJI ZONG; author of the eponymous WUMEN GUAN (“Gateless Checkpoint”), one of the two most important collections of Chan GONG’AN (J. kōan; K. kongan). A native of Hangzhou prefecture in present-day Zhejiang province, Huikai was ordained by the monk “One Finger” Tianlong (d.u.), who also hailed from Hangzhou (see also YIZHI CHAN). Wumen later went to the monastery of Wanshousi in Jiangsu province to study with Yuelin Shiguan (1143–1217), from whom Huikai received the WU GONG’AN of ZHAOZHOU CONGSHEN; Huikai is said to have struggled with this gong’an for six years. In 1218, Huikai traveled to Baoyinsi on Mt. Anji, where he succeeded Yuelin as abbot. He subsequently served as abbot at such monasteries as TIANNINGSI, Pujisi, Kaiyuansi, and Baoningsi. In 1246, Huikai was appointed as abbot of Huguo Renwangsi in Hangzhou prefecture, and it is here that the Japanese ZEN monk SHINICHI KAKUSHIN studied under him. Emperor Lizong (r. 1224–1264) invited Huikai to provide a sermon at the Pavilion of Mysterious Virtue in the imperial palace and also to pray for rain. In honor of his achievements, the emperor bestowed upon him a golden robe and the title Chan master Foyan (Dharma Eye).

wunian. (T. bsam pa med pa; J. munen; K. munyŏm 無念). In Chinese, “no-thought”; a Chinese meditative term that appears in the sixth-century DASHENG QIXIN LUN but finds its locus classicus in the eighth-century CHAN classic, the LIUZU TAN JING. The putative author of the Liuzu tan jing, the sixth patriarch (LIUZU) HUINENG, defines “no-thought” as “not to think even when involved in thought.” Thought, therefore, is not the issue, but rather the attachment to thought, which would encourage the proliferation of conceptualization throughout all of one’s sensory experience and thus render one a hapless victim of the conceptualizing tendency (cf. PRAPAÑCA). The Liuzu tan jing also explains no-thought in terms of “non-form” (wuxian) and “non-abiding” (wuzhu) and parses the term as follows: wu (“no”) refers to the absence of duality and nian (“thought”) to thinking about thusness (TATHATĀ). HEZE SHENHUI used the term “no-thought” to criticize the teaching of the “transcendence of thoughts” (linian) espoused by SHENXIU and his followers in the so-called Northern school (BEI ZONG). According to Shenhui, whereas the “transcendence of thoughts” (linian) emphasized the progressive wiping away of afflictions (KLEŚA) and conceptual thinking, “no-thought” (wunian) by contrast implied that there was no need for such effort since one had only to “see one’s nature” (JIANXING) in order to attain enlightenment. Thus, wunian became a central feature of those who espoused a “sudden” theory of enlightenment (see DUNWU). In some radical cases, the notion of wunian was used as theoretical justification for the abandonment of all ritual and practice, including meditation and the conferral of monastic precepts. This extreme form of “no-thought” doctrine played an important role in the LIDAI FABAO JI and the antinomian teachings of the Sichuan early-Chan lineages of the JINGZHONG ZONG and BAOTANG ZONG, the latter of which may have had some influence in the development of RDZOGS CHEN thought in Tibet.

Wunian dahui. (C) (五年大會). See WUZHE HUI.

wushi. (J. goji; K. osi 五時). In Chinese, “the five periods [of the Buddha’s teaching]”; the TIANTAI school’s temporal taxonomy of Buddhist doctrines (JIAOXIANG PANSHI), according to which the Buddha’s teachings differ because he preached them at different points during his pedagogical career. The initial account of his awakening that the Buddha taught immediately after his enlightenment was described in the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA; this stage is thus termed the HUAYAN period (huayan shiqi). This account of the experience of buddhahood was, however, so unadulterated and sublime that many ŚRĀVAKA disciples were utterly unable to comprehend its message. The Buddha therefore began his teaching anew in a second period that was termed Luyuan shiqi (after the Deer Park, MṚGADĀVA, where many of the ĀGAMA scriptures were taught) or ahan shiqi (after the āgamas, which were the compilation of the Buddha’s words from this period). This period was said to be an explicit attempt on the part of the Buddha to accommodate those disciples who were confounded during the first period, by teaching his insights in their most elementary form. The third period is called fangdeng (VAIPULYA) shiqi, where the “HĪNAYĀNA” teachings of the second period were superseded by teaching the aspiration for the MAHĀYĀNA. Various sūtras that explicitly compare Mahāyāna favorably to “hīnayāna”—such as the ŚRĪMĀLĀDEVĪSIṂHANĀDASŪTRA and the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA—were supposedly products of this period. The fourth period is termed the bore shiqi, after its eponymous sūtras, the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ. This was the stage of the Buddha’s teaching career where he began to remove the boundaries separating Mahāyāna and “hīnayāna” by leading his audience from the presumption that there were two separate vehicles to instead a common realization of emptiness (ŚŪNYATĀ). The final period is called Fahua Niepan shiqi, after its two representative sūtras, the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA and the MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA. The teachings associated with this period are described as the “consummate” or “perfect” teachings (YUANJIAO) because they espouse the idea of one vehicle (or the one buddha vehicle; C. YISHENG; S. EKAYĀNA), which Tiantai claimed was the truest form of the Buddha’s original intention (benyuan; see PŪRVAPRAṆIDHĀNA). The Tiantai school also compares these five stages of the teachings to the five stages in the clarification of milk (see WUWEI, “five tastes”). See also TIANTAI BAJIAO.

wushi bajiao. (J. goji hakkyō; K. osi p’algyo 五時八教). In Chinese, “five periods and eight teachings”; a classification of teachings (PANJIAO) attributed to the TIANTAI systematizer TIANTAI ZHIYI. A detailed explanation of the wushi bajiao is found in the text by the Korean exegete CH’EGWAN, the CH’ŎNT’AE SAGYO ŬI (C. Tiantai sijiao yi). The five periods correspond to what is believed to be the five major chronological periods (WUSHI) of the Buddha’s teaching career (represented by the name of a SŪTRA or group of sūtras preached during each period), namely, (1) Huayan (AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA), (2) ĀGAMA, (3) VAIPULYA, (4) PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ, and (5) Lotus (SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA) and Nirvāṇa (MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA). According to Zhiyi, the Buddha also employed different techniques of conversion or pedagogical modes (huayi) for audiences of varying capacities, which are broadly divided into four: the sudden, gradual, indeterminate, and secret. The sudden and gradual teachings are distinguished by their variant uses of skillful means (UPĀYA), and indeterminate refers to the differing levels of the understanding of individuals. Zhiyi’s contribution to these well-established categories was his further division of the indeterminate teachings into “secret” and “manifest” based on the awareness of the presence of others in the assembly. The content of the Buddha’s teachings (huafa) is further described in terms of the four categories of TRIPIṬAKA, common, distinct, and consummate. This division is based on whether the teachings are that of TRIPIṬAKA (viz. HĪNAYĀNA), MAHĀYĀNA (distinct), both (joint), or neither (consummate). Zhiyi referred to the central sūtra of his own Tiantai school, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, as consummate. Zhiyi’s own classification system is based on those of earlier exegetical traditions of the north (wujiao shizong) and south (sanjiao), which he sought to unite and ultimately transcend. See TIANTAI BAJIAO.

wushi jiao. (C) (五時教). See WUSHI.

Wutaishan. (五臺山). In Chinese, “Five-Terraces Mountain”; a sacred mountain located in northern Shanxi province, which, together with EMEISHAN, PUTUOSHAN, and JIUHUASHAN, is one of the “four great mountains” (sidamingshan) of Buddhism in China. The name Wutai is derived from its five treeless, barren peaks (one in each cardinal direction and the center) that resemble terraces or platforms. During the Northern Wei dynasty (424–532), Wutaishan came to be identified with the mythic Mt. Qingliang (Clear and Cool) of the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA, which speaks of a mountain to the northeast where the bodhisattva MAÑJUŚRĪ is said to be constantly preaching the DHARMA. From the time of the identification of Mount Wutai as Mt. Qingliang, numerous testimonies to the manifestation of Mañjuśrī on the mountain have been reported. Mt. Wutai thus came to be known as the primary abode and place of worship for Mañjuśrī and for this reason drew pilgrims from across the continent, including South Asia and, later, Tibet. Numerous monasteries and hermitages of both Buddhists and Daoists occupy its peaks. The first Buddhist monastery on Wutaishan, Da Futu Lingjiusi (Great Buddha Vulture Monastery), is claimed to have been built by KĀŚYAPA MĀTAṄGA (d.u.) and Dharmaratna (d.u.) sometime during the first century (see also BAIMASI and SISHI’ER ZHANG JING). The name of the monastery was changed to Xuantongsi and then to (Da) Huayansi during the Tang dynasty to reflect its role as the center of HUAYAN studies. The Huayan patriarch CHENGGUAN (738–839) composed his great HUAYANJING SHU at this monastery. The esoteric monk AMOGHAVAJRA also assisted in the establishment of another monastery on Mt. Wutai, which was given the name Jingesi (Gold Pavilion Monastery) in 770 after its gilded tiles. Emperor Daizong (r. 762–779) declared Jingesi as an important center for the new esoteric teachings (MIJIAO) brought to China by Amoghavajra. The monk FAZHAO also established the monastery of Zhulinsi (Bamboo Grove Monastery) on the model of a majestic monastery that Mañjuśrī had revealed to him in a vision. The monasteries Qingliangsi, Beishansi, Manghaisi, and Da Wenshusi are also located on the mountain. During a pilgrimage to Wutaishan by the Korean monk CHAJANG (d.u., c. mid-seventh century), he had a vision in which Mañjuśrī guided him to a Korean analogue of the mountain; that mountain is now known as Odaesan (the Korean pronunciation of Wutaishan) and is itself a major pilgrimage center of Korean Buddhism. During the Qing dynasty, Wutaishan was also the major center for the study of Tibetan Buddhism in China.

wuwei. (J. mui; K. muwi 無爲). In Chinese, lit., “nonaction,” “effortless action,” in later contexts “uncompounded”; a key term that appears in early Chinese classics such as the Lunyu (“Analects of Confucius”), the Daode jing (“The Way and Its Power”), and the Zhuangzi. “Nonaction” suggests action that takes place naturally or without artifice; thus variously interpreted as “effortless action,” “unattached action,” etc. Nonaction thus refers to the ideal mode of behavior for a sage, in which the sage “does nothing and yet there is nothing not done” (wuwei er wu buwei). Rather than acting by fiat, the sage acts by establishing a “sympathetic resonance” (GANYING) with the natural movements of heaven, which brings everything naturally to perfection, just as a tree grows naturally without making any effort to grow. The term is frequently used in indigenous Chinese texts in the context of good governance, where wuwei thus refers to the ultimate type of “soft power”: by “practicing nonaction,” a ruler creates an appropriate environment in which “the people are able to look after themselves” (Daode jing, chapter 49); he does not impose his point of view but instead allows common cause with his constituency to develop naturally. In certain Chinese contexts, wuwei could also connote something that was “unproduced,” and the early Chinese Buddhists drew on this connotation to translate the seminal Sanskrit term NIRVĀṆA and nirvāṇa’s putative “inactivity”; this misleading translation was eventually abandoned in favor of the phonetic transcription niepan. The Buddhists did however retain the term wuwei in this denotation to translate the concept of “uncompounded” or “unconditioned” factors (ASAṂSKṚTADHARMA), such as nirvāṇa and in some schools space (ĀKĀŚA), which are not conditioned (SAṂSKṚTA) and are thus not subject to the inevitable impermanence (ANITYA) to which all conditioned dharmas are subject.

wuwei. (J. goi; K. owi 五位). In Chinese, lit., “five ranks”; a doctrinal formula generally attributed to the CHAN master DONGSHAN LIANGJIE (807–869), the putative cofounder of the CAODONG ZONG of the mature Chan tradition. The antecedents of these five ranks are traced to SHITOU XIQIAN’s CANTONG QI, which discusses the mutual “turning back on one other” (huihu) of the terms brightness and darkness. This dichotomy is eventually generalized as “relative” (pian), lit., “askew” or “partial,” referring to that which is bright, conceivable, effable, and phenomena (SHI); and absolute (zheng), lit., “upright,” correlating with what is dark, inconceivable, ineffable, and principle (LI). Although these two valences of relative and absolute may be discrete, they are interconnected, interdependent, and mutually defining, thus constantly “turning back on one other.” The five ranks are systematized by Dongshan in his “Verses on the Five Ranks” (Wuwei song) as follows. (1) The relative within the absolute (zhengzhong pian): this valence suggests that the ordinary person constantly abides in original enlightenment (BENJUE), but is unaware of it. (2) The absolute within the relative (pianzhong zheng): the practitioner may have become aware of the reality of original enlightenment, but still treats it as an object to be understood conceptually, rather than directly experienced. (3) [The relative] emerging from the absolute (zhengzhong lai): as the Chan practitioner experiences the pervasiveness of emptiness, that emptiness turns back on itself and transforms into a more dynamic and luxuriant way of experience of reality. (4) [The relative and the absolute] jointly accessible (jianzhong zhi): as the reality of each and every independent phenomenon (shi) is experienced, the reality of principle (li) is simultaneously accessed. (5) Integration of the absolute and the relative, or lit. “arriving within together” (jianzhong dao): the bifurcations between relative and absolute, the experiencing subject and the object experienced, the realizer and the realized, etc., all drop away, so that the practitioner continues to practice but now without practicing anything, and seeks buddhahood while understanding that there is no buddhahood to be sought. In some interpretations, the first two ranks evoke the famous passage in the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀHṚDAYASŪTRA: “form is emptiness, emptiness is form” (see RŪPAṂ ŚŪNYATĀ ŚUNYATAIVA RŪPAM). The third rank implies the bodhisattva practice of returning to the world after his or her attainment of enlightenment (BODHI). Similarly, the fourth and fifth ranks imply the bodhisattva vow to save all living beings so that they may all access NIRVĀṆA together. Despite the use of the term “rank,” a systematic progression is not necessarily implied, and some commentators suggest that all five ranks may be experienced simultaneously in a moment of sudden awakening (DUNWU); thus, the five ranks may be an attempt to demonstrate how gradual and sequential outlines of Buddhist soteriology can be integrated with the more subitist soteriologies that become emblematic of the mature Chan tradition. The five ranks are also sometimes correlated with the five wisdoms (PAÑCAJÑĀNA) of a buddha in the MAHĀYĀNA, and specifically in the YOGĀCĀRA school. Dongshan’s “five ranks” were frequently used in East Asian GONG’AN collections as a means of checking a student’s level of understanding. In one of the modern Japanese RINZAISHŪ systematizations of kōan training, the final stage in the practice that follows initial sudden awakening (J. SATORI, C. dunwu) also involves mastery of the five ranks (J. goi).

wuwei. (J. gomi; K. omi 五味). In Chinese, lit. “five tastes”; an originally Indian list of the five stages in the clarification of milk that is derived from the MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA: milk, cream, curds, butter, and ghee. This list was used in the TIANTAI ZONG as a simile for the five chronological periods (WUSHI) in the Buddha’s preaching of the dharma. According to this school’s taxonomy of the teachings (JIAOXIANG PANSHI), the various teachings of Buddhism may be categorized according to these five “tastes”: milk symbolizes the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA period; cream, the ĀGAMA period; curds, the VAIPULYA period; and butter, the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ period; the subtlest and more clarified form of milk, the flavor of ghee (tihuwei; see MAṆḌA), is finally compared to the “consummate” period of the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA and the MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA.

Wuwei sanzang chanyao. (J. Mui sanzō zen’yō; K. Muoe samjang sŏnyo 無畏三藏禪要). In Chinese, “Essentials of Meditation by the TREPIṬAKA ŚUBHAKARASIṂHA”; a relatively short treatise that purportedly records a sermon that the esoteric master Śubhākarasiṃha prepared for a debate he had with CHAN master SHENXIU’s disciple Jingxuan (660–723) sometime after 716. The sermon is largely concerned with the conferral of the BODHISATTVA precepts, repentance, the threefold pure precepts (SANJU JINGJIE; see ŚĪLATRAYA), and what Śubhākarasiṃha calls the secret essentials of meditation. Śubhākarasiṃha critiques Jingxuan and other fellow practitioners of meditation for their adherence to the doctrine of “no-thought” (WUNIAN) and offers instead a meditation technique that involves uttering a series of DHĀRAṆĪs, gesturing in a series of MUDRĀs, mindful breathing, and visualizing a lunar disk.

wuwei zhenren. (J. mui no shinnin; K. muwi chinin 無位眞人). In Chinese, “true man of no rank”; a CHAN expression attributed to LINJI YIXUAN (d. 867), which is used to refer to the sentience, or “numinous awareness” (LINGZHI), of the mind, that constantly moves through the sense faculties, thus enabling sensory experience; equivalent to the buddha-nature (FOXING). Linji contrasts this true man of no rank with the “lump of red flesh” (CHIROUTUAN), the physical body that is constantly buffeted by sensory experience. The term zhenren is also used within the Daoist tradition to refer to a Daoist “perfected,” who has realized perfect freedom both mentally and physically by achieving immortality and transcending all dichotomies. See also GANSHIJUE.

Wuxiang. (C) (無相). See CHŎNGJUNG MUSANG.

wuxiang jie. (J. musōkai; K. musang kye 無相戒). In Chinese, “formless precepts”; a type of precept mentioned in the LIUZU TAN JING, where they are said to help constrain practitioners so that they are able to gain enlightenment. The formless precepts reflect the early CHAN community’s effort to offer its own understanding of the MAHĀYĀNA precepts. Although no clear explanation of exactly what these precepts are is provided in the text, the wuxiang jie are said to be the premier type of precepts, which are superior to the usual types of constraints taught in earlier types of Buddhism, which sought to develop wholesome ways of action and deter unwholesome actions. The conferral of these precepts appears to have occurred at the start of a kind of initiation ceremony, which subsequently followed with acceptance of the four great vows (SI HONGSHIYUAN), repentance (chan), the three refuges (TRIŚARAṆA), and PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ.

wuxin. (J. mushin; K. musim 無心). In Chinese, lit. “no-mind.” The term wuxin appears in the Chinese classic the Zhuangzi and was adapted by the early Chinese Buddhists exegetes of PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ literature as a gloss on the Madhyamaka notion of ŚŪNYATĀ or “emptiness.” These exegetes were collectively known as the “school of the nonexistence of mind” (xinwu zong) and belonged to the larger tradition known as “Dark Learning” (XUANXUE). In later Buddhist treatises, most notably those belonging to the CHAN tradition, “no-mind” came to refer ambiguously either to a state in which all mental activity had ceased or one in which the mind was free of all discrimination, making it effectively equivalent to nonconceptualization (see NIṢPRAPAÑCA). In this latter sense, the term is closely synonymous with “no-thought” (WUNIAN). See also WUXIN LUN.

Wuxin lun. (J. Mushinron; K. Musim non 無心論). In Chinese, “Treatise on No-Mind”; an early CHAN treatise attributed by tradition to the legendary monk BODHIDHARMA, which, in both content and style, resembles NIUTOU FARONG’S JUEGUAN LUN. As the title indicates, the treatise is concerned with the notion of WUXIN, or “no-mind,” which the text attempts to elucidate by enumerating a long list of dichotomies, such as visible and invisible, bright and dark, and differentiated and undifferentiated. The treatise argues largely in catechistic format that the attainment of no-mind engenders a state that is unmarred by the myriad afflictions (KLEŚA), birth and death, and even NIRVĀṆA. The treatise was largely unknown until its rediscovery in the manuscript cache at the DUNHUANG caves at the end of the nineteenth century.

Wuxue Zuyuan. (J. Mugaku Sogen; K. Muhak Chowŏn 無學祖元) (1226–1286). Chinese CHAN master in the LINJI ZONG, who was the founder of the influential monastery of ENGAKUJI in Kamakura, Japan; also known as Ziyuan. On the advice of his brother, Wuxue entered the Chinese monastery of Jingcisi, where he was ordained by Beijian Jujian (1164–1246). Wuxue later became the student of the Linji Chan master WUZHUN SHIFAN (1178–1249) and received his seal of transmission (YINKE). Wuxue also studied under XUTANG ZHIYU (1185–1269) and Wuchu Daguan (1201–1268) and spent the next few decades residing at various monasteries in Zhejiang prefecture. In 1275, Wuxue left for Nengrensi to avoid the invading Mongol troops of the Yuan dynasty. In 1279, at the invitation of Hōjō Tokimune (1251–1284), the eighth regent of the Kamakura shogunate, Wuxue reluctantly left China for Japan. Upon his arrival in Kamakura, Wuxue was appointed abbot of KENCHŌJI, succeeding the third abbot LANXI DAOLONG. In 1282, Tokimune established Engakuji to commemorate the defeat of the invading Mongol troops and installed Wuxue as its founding abbot (J. kaisan; C. KAISHAN). Serving as administrator of the two most powerful Buddhist institutions in Japan at the time, Wuxue established a firm foundation for the success of the RINZAISHŪ in Japan. Wuxue was given the posthumous title state preceptor (J. kokushi, C. GUOSHI) Bukkō (Buddha Radiance). His students included Japan’s first female Zen master, MUGAI NYODAI (1223–1298), and KŌHŌ KENNICHI (1241–1316), the son of Emperor Gosaga (r. 1242–1246) and the teacher of MUSŌ SOSEKI. Wuxue’s teachings appear in his Bukkō kokushi goroku.

wuyun shijian. (J. goun seken; K. oon segan 五蘊世間). In Chinese, “the world of the five aggregates.” See SATTVALOKA.

Wu Zetian. (J. Bu Sokuten; K. Mu Ch’ŭkch’ŏn 武則天) (624–705). Chinese concubine and empress who was an important patron of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty and the short-lived Zhou-dynasty interregnum (684–704). Wu Zetian entered the palace as a concubine of Emperor Taizong (r. 626–649) while she was still in her teens. After the emperor’s death, she became a Buddhist nun, but was summoned again to the palace as a concubine of Taizong’s successor and son, the Gaozong emperor (r. 649–683). She bore Gaozong a son in 652 and began to exert much influence in court. Despite fierce opposition from court officials, Gaozong enthroned Wu Zetian as the new empress in 655. Wu Zetian quickly exiled all her foes in court and had the former empress Wang killed. In 657, she reinstated Luoyang as the cocapital of the empire and permanently moved the entire court there after Gaozong’s death in 683. She subsequently exiled the Zhongzong emperor (r. 683–684, 705–710) and established her own dynasty named Zhou (684–704). Wu Zetian was an ardent supporter of Buddhism. She associated with such eminent monks as XUANZANG, SHENXIU, FAZANG, and YIJING. In an attempt to legitimize her reign, Wu Zetian also ordered the circulation of the MAHĀMEGHASŪTRA (“Great Cloud Sūtra”), which described a female reincarnation of MAITREYA and her rule over the whole world. She also arranged for the construction in every prefecture of the empire of monasteries all known as DAYUNSI (Great Cloud Monastery). In 705, she abdicated the throne to the restored Emperor Zhongzong.

wuzhe hui. (J. mushae; K. much’a hoe 無遮會). In Chinese, “unrestricted assembly”; an assembly hosted by the reigning monarch to make offerings to clergy and laity regardless of their status or station in life. The assembly was typically held every five years and is therefore also known as the “five-year great assembly” (C. wunian dahui; S. pañcavārṣikapariṣad). The first such assembly is attributed to King AŚOKA. Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (LIANG WUDI) is known to have held a wuzhe dahui in 529 for an assembly said to have numbered fifty thousand. The famous pilgrim XUANZANG also witnessed an unrestricted assembly during his travels along the SILK ROAD. In 596, Empress Suiko (554–628) held the first reported unrestricted assembly in Japan. In 732, HEZE SHENHUI organized an unrestricted great assembly (wuzhe dahui) at the monastery of DAYUNSI in Henan prefecture, where he attacked SHENXIU and his followers.

Wuzhensi. (悟眞寺). In Chinese, “Awakening to Truth Monastery”; located in the Wuzhen Valley of ZHONGNANSHAN near the capital of Chang’an (present-day Xi’an). The monastery is comprised of two compounds, known as the upper and lower monasteries. The upper monastery is also named Zhulinsi, or Bamboo Grove Monastery, because of the bamboo forest surrounding it. Wuzhen Monastery was founded by the Sui-dynasty Buddhist monk Jingye (564–616), who stayed there from 595 to 608. He was accompanied by other eminent monks including Huichao (546–622), a disciple of the TIANTAI master HUISI (515–568), and Facheng (563–640). The latter was instrumental in expanding the monastery by building the Huayan Hall and another hall to enshrine images of a hundred buddhas. He also inscribed Buddhist verses on cliffs surrounding the monastery and along its roads. Due to his efforts, Wuzhen monastery became renowned during the Tang dynasty for its majesty and became a favorite haunt of literati. Eminent SAN LUN ZONG monks such as HUIYUAN (523–592), Baogong (542–621), and Huiyin (539–629) also either resided here or were affiliated with the monastery. It was either at Wuzhensi or LONGCHISI that the HUAYAN master FAZANG (643–712), at the behest of the Ruizong emperor of Tang (r. 684–690, 710–712), is said to have famously performed a ritual to pray for snow in order to stave off a severe drought the region was experiencing. During the Song dynasty, the monastery was renamed CHONGFASI, or Monastery of the Esteemed Dharma.

wuzhong xuanyi. (J. goshu no gengi; K. ojong hyŏnŭi 五種玄義). In Chinese, “five categories of profound meaning”; a list of five general hermeneutical issues that should be addressed prior to undertaking an in-depth exegesis of any SŪTRA, attributed to TIANTAI ZHIYI (538–597) and emblematic of scriptural exegesis in the TIANTAI SCHOOL. These five are (1) explicating the meaning of the text’s title (shiming), (2) analyzing the fundamental intent of the sūtra (bianben), (3) clarifying its principal themes or doctrines (mingzong), (4) expounding the sūtra’s “function” or impact on its audience (lunyong), and (5) classifying the sūtra (PANJIAO), viz., delineating its place within the entire corpus of sūtras expounded by the Buddha. These five issues typically would be addressed by the commentator prior to beginning the exegesis of the sūtra proper. See also SANFEN KEJING; JIAOXIANG PANSHI.

Wuzhu. (C) (無住) (714–774). See BAOTANG WUZHU.

Wuzhun Shifan. (J. Bujun Shihan/Bushun Shiban/Mujun Shihan; K. Mujun Sabŏm 無準師範) (1178–1249). Chinese CHAN master in the LINJI ZONG. After his ordination in the winter of 1194, Wuzhun studied under a series of famed Chan masters, including FOZHAO DEGUANG and Po’an Zuxian. Wuzhun eventually attained awakening under Po’an and succeeded his lineage. During his illustrious career at such important monasteries as WANSHOUSI on Mt. Jing, Wuzhun also taught the Japanese pilgrims Hōshin (d.u.), Dōyū (1201–1258), and the famed ENNI BEN’EN, who is now regarded as the first exponent of ZEN in Japan. Wuzhun was later summoned by Emperor Lizong (r. 1224–1264) to provide a public lecture at the Pavilion of Benevolent Illumination in the imperial palace. The emperor later bestowed upon him the title Chan master Fojian (Buddha Mirror). Wuzhun left many famous disciples such as WUXUE ZUYUAN and Mu’an Puning, both of whom went to Kamakura in Japan and served as abbots of the powerful monastery of KENCHŌJI.

Wuzu Fayan. (J. Goso Hōen; K. Ojo Pŏbyŏn 五祖法演) (d. 1104). Chinese CHAN master in the LINJI ZONG. Wuzu was a native of Mianzhou prefecture in present-day Sichuan province. After being ordained at the age of thirty-four, Fayan studied YOGĀCĀRA doctrine in his home province, but later went south where he studied under Huilin Zongben (1020–1099), Fushan Fayuan (991–1067), and BAIYUN SHOUDUAN. Fayan eventually became Baiyun’s disciple and inherited his Linji lineage. After staying at various monasteries in Anhui province, Fayan moved to Mt. Wuzu (also known as East Mountain) in Hubei province, where he acquired his toponym. The mountain itself received its name, Wuzu (fifth patriarch), from its most famous past resident, the fifth patriarch of Chan, HONGREN. Mt. Wuzu thus became an important center for the Linji lineage, and it was there that Fayan taught his famous disciples YUANWU KEQIN, Taiping Huiqin (1059–1117), and Foyan Qingyuan (1067–1120), known collectively as the “three Buddhas of East Mountain.” Wuzu’s teachings are recorded in the Wuzu Fayan chanshi yulu.