Ekavyūhasamadhi Quoted by Daochuo 道綽: A Comparison with Daoxin 道信

Abstract

Daochuo 道綽, a monk of Pure Land affiliations in the Sui~Tang era, in his Anle ji 安楽集, referred to the ekavyūhasamādhi 一行三昧 from the Saptaśatikā Prajnāpāramitā as supporting evidence for his discussion of the Buddha mindfulness samādhi 念仏三昧 of the Guan Wuliangshou jing. He interpreted the ekavyūhasamādhi as one of the practices for birth in the Pure Land.

In contrast, in the same period Daoxin 道信, known as 4th preceptor of the Chan lineage, aimed to understand the dharmadhātu 法界 by practicing the ekavyūhasamādhi as a Chan technique. Between Daochuo and Daoxin there is thus a difference of interpretation of ekavyūhasamādhi.

Finally, to organize the descriptions of Daochuo and Daoxin, there is a possibility that Pure Land and Chan monks disputed with each other in the early 7th century.