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The Chinese Buddhist Wheel...
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third mot on are very similar; and because they are dramatically presented in the charter of Tsung-mi's book, However, when one looks into the text itself, all the three motions are there. From a soteriological viewpoint, the three divisions seem more explicit than the two.
Comparing the ten spokes of the Chinese Wheel with the well-known twelve links of the Indian Wheel, the differences between the two are not merely in numbers, but also in content and in characteristics. The most important item is, of course, the Original Enlightenment which is placed very prominently at the highest point of Tsung-mi's system.
The earlier usage of the term Original Enlightenment' occurs in The Awakening of Faith, 19 where the term has been defined as “The essence of Mind is free from thoughts.” It is "none other than the undifferentiated Dharmakāya,” and it is “called the original enlightenment” because the Mind is grounded on the Dharmakāya. Thereafter, the term became one of the most important concepts in Hus-yen ( Avataṁsaka ) Buddhism. Tsung-mi himself explained the term in this words : “ The Original Enlightenment” meant “all sentient beings originally and fully possess pure wisdom, (Buddha] Nature and innumerable excellent qualities.":8• The Ming edition which Ui has translated into Japanese reads as folluws : “ This means all the sentient beings possess the True Mind of Original En. lightenment”. 91 In other words, the term is a synonym of other Buddhist terms on Absolute.
Whenever the term Absolute comes, it is always a troublesome problem. Disciples from the Theravāda school, along with some other scholars are afraid of using absolute terms for understanding Buddhism as it would conflict with the Middle position. However, there is no doubt that a positive attitude towards the religious goal, bodhi or nirvāṇa, has persistently been maintained by all Buddhist schools throughout their histories. Otherwise there would be no need for religious knowledge and cultivation. The problem is how to define the
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