The Awakening Of Faith Sutra

[Shi Da Dao]

The Awakening Of Faith Sutra.
www.sacred-texts.com/bud/taf/index.htm

'AÇVAGHOSHA, the first expounder of the Mahâyânistic doctrine and one of the deepest thinkers among the Buddhist patriarchs, is known to most Western Buddhist scholars simply as the author of the Buddha-caritakâvya, 1 the famous poem on the life of Buddha. The accounts of his life and of the significance of his philosophy are so few that the important influence exercised by him upon the development of the Mahâyâna Buddhism has been left almost entirely unnoticed. That he was one of the most eminent leaders among earlier Buddhists; that he was in some way or other connected with the third convocation in Kashmir, probably presided over by the Bhikshu Parçva; that he had a wonderful poetical genius which rendered great service in the propagation of Buddhism,--these facts sum up almost all the knowledge possessed by scholars about Açvaghosha. The reason why he is not known as he ought to be, is principally that the Sanskrit sources are extremely meagre,'

Thank Dazen - for suggesting this Sutra and link.

[dazen]

Thank you shidadao.
The awakening of faith was composed to provide a bridge between the concept of the Tathagatagarbha found for instance in the mahaparinirvana sutra and the notions of the Yogacara School.This in turn links to the most profound,wonderful sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra.If I remember clearly this also links into much that Nagarjuna was developing.
D.T. Suzuki did a wonderful translation of the Lankavatara Sutra.

[dazen]

Greetings All,
May I suggest that anyone interested might wish to look out Hsin Hsin Ming-
On believing in mind / Shinjin no mei by Seng tsan 3rd Patriarch.
This can be found at www.buddhanet.net manual of Zen Buddhism
D.T.Suzuki