Huayan. One of several innovative philosophical
schools that began in China and subsequently influ-
enced Buddhism throughout East Asia, the HUAYAN
SCHOOLcame to prominence during the early Tang dy-
nasty (618–907) as a philosophical articulation of the
meaning of certain Mahayana sutras, most notably
the HUAYAN JING(Avatamsaka-sutra, Flower Garland
Sutra). This sutra is unusual in communicating the
experiences of enlightened BODHISATTVAS, rather than
the Buddha, but the focus of the text is on what the
world looks like from the perspective of awakening.
Reality is “emptiness,” articulated in Huayan as the
enormously complex interplay of all elements in exis-
tence, each dependent on all others. Each aspect of the
world receives its particular shape through the influ-
ence of all other aspects, while its seemingly insignifi-
cant influence radiates out into every dimension of the
universe. Huayan philosophy is staggering in its com-
plexity and sophistication, and it is currently exerting
a profound theoretical influence on the field of eco-
logical studies.
Kyoto school.Working under the influence of mod-
ern Western philosophy, a group of twentieth-century
Buddhist philosophers in Japan has attained interna-
tional recognition. Nishida Kitaro, Tanabe Hajime,
and Nishitani Keiji, all former professors at Kyoto Uni-
versity, are the most famous thinkers in this school.
Although their philosophical writings are too complex
and diverse to summarize, all of them sought to artic-
ulate a philosophical vision of reality in the modern
Western sense, while simultaneously subordinating
this vision to the quest for spiritual awakening, as has
been the custom throughout the history of Buddhism.
Philosophical thinking has its goal in self-awakening,
and its truth is the effectiveness with which it accom-
plishes that primary task. The translation of these
works of philosophy into Western languages has pro-
vided non-Buddhists throughout the world with sub-
stantial examples of the sophistication of the long and
impressive tradition of Buddhist philosophy. It may
very well be that the influence of Buddhist philosophy
on world affairs is only now in its opening stages.
See also:Anatman/Atman (No-Self/Self); Conscious-
ness, Theories of; Dharma and Dharmas; Logic; Psy-
chology
Bibliography
Collins, Steven. Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Ther-
avada Buddhism.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 1982.
Eckel, Malcolm David. To See the Buddha: A Philosopher’s Quest
for the Meaning of Emptiness.Princeton, NJ: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1992.
Garfield, Jay. The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way:
Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika.Oxford: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 1995.
Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism.Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1998.
Griffiths, Paul. On Being Mindless: The Classical Doctrine of
Buddhahood.Albany: State University of New York Press,
1994.
Kalupahana, David. Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1976.
Keown, Damien. The Nature of Buddhist Ethics.Basingstoke,
UK: Palgrave, 2001.
Nagao, Gadjin. Madhyamaka and Yogacara: A Study of Ma-
hayana Philosophies.Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1991.
Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to
the Indian Tradition.London: Routledge, 2000.
Wright, Dale. Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism.Cam-
bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.DALES. WRIGHTPHOENIX HALL (AT THE BYODOIN)The extant Phoenix Hall (Hoodo) of Byodoin is lo-
cated on the west bank of the Uji River southeast of
Kyoto. Regent Fujiwara Yorimichi (990–1074) trans-
formed an inherited villa into the (now lost) Main Hall
of Byodoin in 1051, his sixtieth year. The unprece-
dented Phoenix Hall, consecrated in 1053, was built as
a three-dimensional representation of the depiction of
Amida’s SukhavatPure Land, as found in the Guan
Wuliangshou jing(Visualization Sutra). With its bird-
like wings and tail, the Phoenix Hall faces east and was
designed to be viewed from a small palace on the
opposite shore. The hall and its central Amida
(AMITABHA) icon served as the focus of meditation and
as a backdrop to ceremonies. Narrative paintings de-
picting the nine stages of REBIRTHadorned the doors
and walls surrounding the icon, each showing a sea-
sonal landscape as the setting for a “descent of Amida”
(raigo) to recognizably Japanese devotees. Above the
walls, fifty-two small wood-carved bodhisattvas and
musicians complete the effect of Amida’s descent.
Mimi Yiengpruksawan has made a convincing case
that the Phoenix Hall was the private domain ofPHOENIXHALL(AT THEBYODOIN)