Huayan School - Classification of Buddhist Teachings

Classification of Buddhist Teachings

Buddhism was introduced into China in bits and pieces. When the knowledge of Buddhism grew larger, various schools attempted to get a grip on the Buddhist tradition by developing classifications of teachings, such as the Five Periods and Eight Teachings of the Tiantai-school.

The Hua-yen school developed a fivefold classification:

1. The Hinayana-teachings, especially the Sarvastivadins
2. The Mahayana-teachings, including Yogacara, Madhyamaka
3. The "Final Teachings", based on the Tathagatagarbha-teachings, especially the Awakening of Faith
4. The Sudden Teaching, "which 'revealed' (hsien) rather than verbalised the teaching"
5. The Complete, or Perfect, Teachings of the Avatamsaka-sutra and the Hua-yen school.

Since Chán emphasised sudden awakening, the teachings of the Chán-school were regarded as inferior to the Hua-yen teachings. The Chán-school polemitized against this classification, by devising its own rhetorics in defense.