text:
Derek and the Dominos

Derek and the Dominos was a short-lived English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by singer-guitarist Eric Clapton, keyboardist-singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previously played together in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, during and after Clapton's brief tenure with Blind Faith. Dave Mason supplied additional lead guitar on early studio sessions and played at their first live gig. Another participant at their first session as a band was George Harrison, the recording for whose album All Things Must Pass marked the formation of Derek and the Dominos.

The band's only release, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, was produced by Tom Dowd, which also featured extensive contributions on lead and slide guitar from Duane Allman. A double album, Layla did not immediately enjoy strong sales or receive widespread radio airplay, but went on to earn critical acclaim. Although released in 1970 it was not until March 1972 that the album's single "Layla" (a tale of unrequited love inspired by Clapton's infatuation with his friend George Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd) made the top ten in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album is often considered to be the defining achievement of Clapton's career.

Background and formation
Derek and the Dominos came about through its four members' involvement in the American soul revue Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. The group were anchored by the musical duo Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett with a rotating ensemble of supporting members. Delaney & Bonnie and Friends supported Blind Faith, Eric Clapton's short-lived supergroup with Stevie Winwood, on a US tour in the summer of 1969. While on that tour, Clapton was drawn to Delaney & Bonnie's relative anonymity, which he found more appealing than the excessive fan worship lavished on his own band.

Together with his fellow future Dominos – Bobby Whitlock (vocals, keyboards), Carl Radle (bass) and Jim Gordon (drums) – Clapton toured Europe and the United States again between November 1969 and March 1970, this time as a member of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. In addition, the entire band backed him on his debut solo album, Eric Clapton, recorded over the same period. Disagreements over money led several members to leave Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. Whitlock, recalling other difficulties with Delaney and Bonnie, noted the couple's frequent fights and described Delaney as a demanding band leader in the manner of James Brown. Gordon, Radle and other Friends personnel, including drummer Jim Keltner, immediately joined Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with Leon Russell, but Whitlock remained with Delaney and Bonnie for a short time.

In April 1970, at the suggestion of his friend and mentor Steve Cropper, Whitlock travelled to England to visit Clapton. Whitlock subsequently lived in Hurtwood Edge, Clapton's house in Surrey, where the two musicians jammed and began to write the bulk of the Dominos' catalogue on acoustic guitars. Many of the new songs reflected Clapton's growing infatuation with Pattie Boyd, the wife of his best friend George Harrison, who had joined Clapton as a guitarist on Delaney & Bonnie's European tour in December 1969.

Soon after Whitlock's arrival, he and Clapton were eager to form a new band and contacted Radle and Gordon in the United States. Although their first choice for a drummer was Keltner – like Radle and Russell, a native of Tulsa – he was busy recording with jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó. Gordon, however, had been invited to London to work on Harrison's post-Beatles solo album All Things Must Pass. In May that year, Clapton, Whitlock, Radle and Gordon reunited in London at a session for P.P. Arnold, before going on to serve as the backing band on much of Harrison's album. In a 1990 interview, Clapton said, "We made our bones, really, on that album with George", since the four musicians had "no game plan" other than living at Hurtwood Edge, "getting stoned, and playing and semi-writing songs".

Clapton biographer Harry Shapiro comments on the unprecedented aspect of Clapton's bond with his new bandmates, in that from the Blind Faith tour onwards, the guitarist "had been able to build a working relationship in a slow and natural fashion" for the first time. Among the friendships formed before the group officially came into existence, Shapiro continues, "the empathy ... outcropped most noticeably in Bobby Whitlock, in whom Eric found an accomplished and sympathetic songwriting partner and back-up vocalist." Clapton and Whitlock considered adding the Delaney & Bonnie horn section to their new band, but this plan was abandoned. Whitlock later explained the ethos of Derek and the Dominos: "we didn't want any horns, we didn't want no chicks, we wanted a rock 'n' roll band. But my vocal concept was that we approach singing like Sam and Dave did: [Clapton] sings a line, I sing a line, we sing together."

Concert debut
Towards the end of the sessions for the basic tracks on All Things Must Pass, Dave Mason – another former guitarist with Delaney & Bonnie – joined the Dominos at Clapton's home. With the lineup expanded to a five-piece band, Derek and the Dominos gave their debut live performance on 14 June 1970. The event was a charity concert in aid of the Dr Spock Civil Liberties Legal Defence Fund, held at London's Lyceum Theatre.

The group had been billed as "Eric Clapton and Friends", but a discussion ensued backstage just before their appearance, with Harrison and pianist Tony Ashton among those involved, in an effort to find a proper band name. Clapton recalls that Ashton suggested "Del and the Dominos", having taken to calling the guitarist "Derek" or "Del" since the Delaney & Bonnie tour the previous year. Whitlock maintains that "the Dynamics" was the name chosen and that Ashton, following his opening set with Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, mispronounced it when introducing the band. Writing in 2013, Clapton and Whitlock biographer Marc Roberty quoted Jeff Dexter, the compere at the Lyceum show, who recalled that "Derek and the Dominos" had already been decided on before they went on stage. According to Dexter, Clapton was immediately taken with the name, but Whitlock, Radle and Gordon – all Americans – were concerned that they might be mistaken for a doo-wop act.

The reception afforded the band from critics and fans was mixed. Together with the unfavourable reviews for Clapton's eponymous solo album, particularly in Britain, this reaction was reflective of a widespread reluctance to view Clapton as a singer and frontman, rather than as the virtuoso guitarist synonymous with his role in bands such as Cream and The Yardbirds. In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton wrote that his main recollection of the Lyceum show was consulting New Orleans–born musician Dr. John, a self-styled practitioner of voodoo, and receiving a package made of straw that would serve as a means of winning Boyd's affection.

Recording with Phil Spector
In return for the Dominos' assistance on All Things Must Pass, Clapton and Harrison had agreed that the latter's co-producer, Phil Spector, would produce a single for the new group. On 18 June, the five band members, together with Harrison on guitar, took part in a session for the single at the Beatles' Apple Studio in central London. With Spector producing, two Clapton–Whitlock compositions were recorded that day – "Tell the Truth" and "Roll It Over" – along with two instrumental jams that would be included on the Apple Jam disc of Harrison's triple album.

After this London session, Mason departed from the lineup; he later told Melody Maker that he was impatient to see the band start working full-time whereas Clapton was committed to helping Harrison complete All Things Must Pass. Clapton and Whitlock then contributed to the overdubbing phase of Harrison's album, including adding backing vocals with Harrison (as "the George O'Hara-Smith Singers") to tracks such as "All Things Must Pass" and "Awaiting on You All". In addition, while continuing to rehearse at Hurtwood Edge, all four band members participated in London sessions for Dr. John's album The Sun, Moon & Herbs (1971).

UK summer tour
Early in the summer of 1970, Clapton asked former Apple Records employee Chris O'Dell to find accommodation for Whitlock, Gordon and Radle in central London, telling O'Dell that they were "going bonkers" out in the Surrey countryside. The band then moved into a two-storey flat at 33 Thurloe Place, close to South Kensington tube station. The flat also served as a meeting place for Clapton and Boyd, who found herself flattered by Clapton's attention in light of her husband's infidelities and his preoccupation with Eastern spirituality. In his autobiography, Clapton wrote that he was both inspired and "tormented" by his feelings for Boyd, which he channelled into his music, beginning with a UK tour by Derek and the Dominos.

For three weeks from 1 August, the group performed in clubs and other small venues in Britain, where Clapton chose to play anonymously, still weary from the fame that he felt had plagued Cream and Blind Faith. Admission for the shows was set at £1, and clauses in the contract with each venue stipulated that Clapton's name was not to be used as a crowd-puller. Shapiro writes that the band had "made great strides" since the Lyceum concert; their set list included "Tell the Truth", covers of Billy Myles' "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" and Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing", and songs such as "Bottle of Red Wine" and "Don't Know Why", both from the Eric Clapton album. Clapton has said of this UK tour, "no one knew who we were, and I loved it. I loved the fact that we were this little quartet, playing in obscure places, sometimes to audiences of no more than fifty or sixty people."

Layla sessions
The band flew to Miami, Florida, on 23 August 1970 to begin recording with Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd. Until early September, sessions took place at Criteria Studios for what became the double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Most of the material, particularly the track "Layla", was inspired by Clapton's unrequited love for Boyd. After Clapton and Whitlock's initial experimentation with heroin while recording All Things Must Pass, the band's time in Miami was marked by all four members' excessive use of hard drugs. According to Clapton, "We were staying in this hotel on the beach, and whatever drug you wanted, you could get it at the newsstand. The girl would just take your orders." The Thunderbird Motel, in current Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

The first few days of the Layla sessions were unproductive. On 26 August, Dowd, who was also producing the Allman Brothers Band's album Idlewild South, took the Dominos to an Allman Brothers concert, where Clapton, already a fan of the Nashville-born guitarist, first heard Duane Allman play in person. After Clapton invited the whole band back to Criteria that night, he and Allman formed an instant bond that provided the catalyst for the Layla album. Over ten recording dates, Allman contributed to most of the tracks on the album, in between his commitments to the Allman Brothers Band. Only three songs – "I Looked Away", "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Keep on Growing" – were recorded without his participation. The band remade "Tell the Truth" during the sessions and subsequently attempted to have the Spector-produced single cancelled. In the United States, Atco Records released the original version of "Tell the Truth" backed with "Roll It Over" in September, but soon withdrew the single.

Clapton has described Allman as "the musical brother that I never had, but wished I did". Allman's slide guitar playing elevated the album's blues covers, which included "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (by Jimmy Cox), "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (the Billy Myles song, originally recorded by Freddie King) and "Key to the Highway" (Big Bill Broonzy). Clapton invited him to become a member of Derek and the Dominos, but Allman demurred, choosing to remain loyal to his own band. According to Whitlock, however, Allman was "a hired gun" and an "unnecessary" addition; Whitlock added, "He played with us twice, and it was not good both times he played, because he was not a fluid player ... He could play parts, but he couldn't sing with his guitar." The jams from Allman's first night at Criteria with the Dominos were issued on the second CD of The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition in 1990.

The album's best-known track, "Layla", was compiled from recordings from two separate sessions. The main, guitar-oriented section was taped on 9 September, after the band had recorded their version of Hendrix's "Little Wing"; the closing section was added several weeks later, after Clapton had decided that the song lacked a suitable ending. The answer was an elegiac piano piece composed by Gordon (and an uncredited Rita Coolidge) and played by the drummer, with Whitlock providing a second piano part to cover Gordon's relative inexperience on the instrument. During the Layla sessions, Gordon had been writing and playing songs for an intended solo album when, by chance, Clapton first heard the piano piece. According to Clapton's recollection, in return for continuing to use the Dominos' studio time for his own project, Gordon agreed to have the segment used as the ending for "Layla".

October–December 1970 live shows
After the recording of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, the four-piece Derek and the Dominos returned to the UK to continue touring there before heading back to America to start the US tour on 15 October. Allman performed two shows with the group near the end of the US tour: at Curtis Hixon Hall, in Tampa, Florida, on 1 December, and at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York, the following night.

Whitlock recalled of their drug consumption during the tour: "We didn't have little bits of anything. There were no grams around, let's just put it like that. Tom couldn't believe it, the way we had these big bags laying out everywhere. I'm almost ashamed to tell it, but it's the truth. It was scary, what we were doing, but we were just young and dumb and didn't know. Cocaine and heroin, that's all and Johnny Walker." Elton John, who opened for them, said that despite the reports of drugs and booze, "They were phenomenal. From the side of the stage, I took mental notes of their performance ... it was their keyboard player Bobby Whitlock that I watched like a hawk ... You watched and you learned, from people that had more experience than you." In 1973, a live double album, titled In Concert, was released, culled from the band's October 1970 shows at the Fillmore East in New York City. Six of the recordings from that album were digitally remastered, remixed and expanded with additional material from the same shows to become Live at the Fillmore, released in 1994.

Album release
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was issued in November 1970. According to Shapiro, relative to the band and Dowd's high expectations, it was a "critical and commercial flop". Clapton similarly describes Layla as having "died a death" on release. Although it received favourable reviews in Rolling Stone and The Village Voice, the album missed the top ten in the United States and failed to chart at all in the United Kingdom, until a reissue on CD resulted in a one-week stay at number 68 in 2011. It garnered little attention, partly as a result of a lack of promotion by Polydor, and partly due to the public's ignorance of Clapton's presence in the band. Dowd said that he "felt it was the best album I'd been involved with since The Genius of Ray Charles" and was disappointed at the lack of acclaim it initially received.

"Layla" was included on The History of Eric Clapton in 1972, and Atlantic issued the song as a single in July that year. It became a hit, reaching number 10 in America and number 7 in Britain. The success of the title track in 1972 led to a reappraisal of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. It has since received widespread critical acclaim and has been ranked among the best albums of all time by VH1 (at number 89) and Rolling Stone (number 115). Layla is considered one of Clapton's most outstanding achievements.

Johnny Cash Show appearance
The band appeared on The Johnny Cash Show, in their only television appearance. Filmed at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast on 6 January 1971, the band performed "It's Too Late" and then joined Cash and Carl Perkins to play Perkins' "Matchbox".

Tragedy and dissolution
Tragedy and misfortune dogged the group throughout and following its brief career. In September 1970, Clapton was devastated by the death of his friend and professional rival Jimi Hendrix; having just recorded a version of "Little Wing" in Miami, the Dominos included the track on Layla as a tribute to Hendrix. In October 1971, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. Clapton later wrote in his autobiography that he and Allman had been inseparable during the sessions at Criteria. In addition, Clapton took the lukewarm critical and commercial reception to Layla personally, which accelerated his spiral into drug addiction and depression. In 1985 when talking about the band, Clapton said: "We were a make-believe band. We were all hiding inside it. Derek and the Dominos – the whole thing. So it couldn't last. I had to come out and admit that I was being me. I mean, being Derek was a cover for the fact that I was trying to steal someone else's wife. That was one of the reasons for doing it, so that I could write the song, and even use another name for Pattie. So Derek and Layla – it wasn't real at all."

In February 1971, Radle and Gordon participated in sessions, produced by Spector and Harrison, for a planned solo album by Ronnie Spector. Later that year, the Dominos disbanded acrimoniously in London, just before they could complete their second LP. In a subsequent interview with music critic Robert Palmer, Clapton said the second album "broke down halfway through because of the paranoia and tension. And the band just dissolved." After the dissolution, Clapton turned away from touring and recording to nurse an intense heroin addiction. This three-year career hiatus was interrupted only by his participation in Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh shows in August 1971, along with a large cast of musicians, including Leon Russell, Keltner and Radle; a guest appearance at Russell's December 1971 show at London's Rainbow Theatre; and his own Rainbow Concert, in January 1973. The latter event was organised by Pete Townshend of The Who to help Clapton kick his drug habit and build momentum for his return. Whitlock signed with the US record label ABC-Dunhill, for which he recorded the albums Bobby Whitlock and Raw Velvet. Both albums were released in 1972 and included contributions from all the Dominos (recorded in early 1971), along with Harrison, the Bramletts, Keltner, and the former Delaney & Bonnie horn section.

Following Clapton's return as a solo artist in 1974, he and Radle worked together until 1979, when Clapton abruptly dismissed him from his band. Radle died in June 1980 of complications from a kidney infection associated with alcohol and drug use. Whitlock and Clapton did not work together again until 2000, when they performed on Jools Holland's BBC show Later... with Jools Holland. In 1983, Gordon, who had undiagnosed schizophrenia at the time, killed his mother with a hammer during a psychotic episode. He was confined to a mental institution in 1984, until his death in 2023. Recordings from the 1971 sessions for the band's cancelled second album were included on Clapton's four-CD/cassette box set Crossroads, released in 1988.

Band members
Official line-up
 * Eric Clapton – vocals, guitars (1970–1971)
 * Bobby Whitlock – vocals, keyboards (1970–1971)
 * Carl Radle – bass guitar (1970–1971; died 1980)
 * Jim Gordon – drums, percussion (1970–1971; died 2023)

Occasional members
 * Dave Mason – guitar (1970)
 * Duane Allman – guitar (1970; died 1971)

Discography
Pre-album single Recorded during the sessions for George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass; produced by Phil Spector but pulled by Clapton, stating it didn't reflect their sound. "Tell the Truth" was later re-recorded for the band's debut album, but "Roll It Over" was only performed live. Harrison and Dave Mason contributed guitar to "Roll It Over". Both tracks were included on the 2011 reissue of Layla.
 * "Tell The Truth" / "Roll It Over" (September 1970)

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
 * Debut album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs recorded during September 1970, released on 9 November. Billboard 200 # 16
 * In 1990 a new mix was released as The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition with unreleased tracks and jams. Billboard 200 # 157
 * The original version was reissued in 2011 as the 40th Anniversary Edition with other unreleased tracks.
 * several other reissues

Singles
 * "Bell Bottom Blues" / "Keep on Growing" (1971) Billboard Hot 100 # 91
 * "Layla" / "I Am Yours" (1971) Billboard Hot 100 # 51
 * "Layla" / "Bell Bottom Blues" (1972) Billboard Hot 100 # 10
 * "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?" / "Presence of the Lord" (1973) Bubbling Under Hot 100 # 120

Other songs recorded during Layla sessions
 * Tell the truth Jam (released on "The History of Eric Clapton" in 1972)
 * "Got to Get Better in a Little While" (wasn't completed but was played live. The incomplete version with only Clapton's verse vocals was released on Clapton's Crossroads box set, credited as a '71 Olympic Studios track. The 40th deluxe edition of Layla features a version with chorus vocals performed by Whitlock in 2010 mixed into the original take.)
 * "Mean Old World" (T-Bone Walker cover, released on Crossroads, The Layla Sessions and the 40th deluxe edition).
 * "(When Things Go Wrong) It Hurts Me Too" and "Tender Love" (Short jams officially released on The Layla Sessions).
 * various untitled jams (five were released on The Layla Sessions).

Live recordings Live recordings of the concerts at the Fillmore East on 23 and 24 October 1970 were released on those two live albums (some of the recordings are present on both albums). The band's performance aired on 6 January 1971. This is the only known video performance of the band. It was officially released as part of the 40th anniversary edition of their debut album.
 * In Concert (1973), Billboard 200 # 20, and Live at the Fillmore (1994)
 * live at the Johnny Cash Show recorded on 5 November 1970.
 * 1) "It's Too Late"
 * 2) "Got to Get Better in a Little While"
 * 3) "Matchbox" (Carl Perkins cover played with Cash and Perkins)
 * 4) "Blues Power"

Sessions for the second album, Olympic Studios, April and May 1971 All available in bootlegs. Some were officially released on the Crossroads box set and the Layla album's 40th anniversary deluxe edition.
 * "Gold Devils Roads" (recorded at Clapton's home in March, features vocals by Gordon's wife, Renée Armand)
 * "One More Chance" (officially released)
 * "Mean Old Frisco" (officially released)
 * "High" (instrumental officially released on the Clapton "12 Bars" documentary soundtrack)
 * "Snake Lake Blues" (officially released)
 * "Evil" (Willie Dixon cover, officially released)
 * "Son of Apache"
 * "Moody Jam"
 * "Chocolate"
 * "I've Been All Day"
 * "Got to Get Better in a Little While" (new jam version, officially released)
 * "Sick at Heart"
 * "Is My Love"
 * "It's Hard to Find A Friend", "Will I See You Again" and "Yes, I Love You" (Jim Gordon original songs)

General sources

 * Boyd, Pattie; with Junor, Penny (2007). Wonderful Today: The Autobiography. London: Headline Review. ISBN 978-0-7553-1646-5.
 * Clapton, Eric; with Sykes, Christopher Simon (2007). Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. London: Century. ISBN 978-1-8460-5309-2.
 * The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (1995). New York: Fireside/Rolling Stone Press. ISBN 0-684-81044-1.
 * O'Dell, Chris; with Ketcham, Katherine (2009). Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved. New York: Touchstone. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.
 * The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (1995). New York: Fireside/Rolling Stone Press. ISBN 0-684-81044-1.
 * O'Dell, Chris; with Ketcham, Katherine (2009). Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved. New York: Touchstone. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.
 * Whitlock, Bobby; with Roberty, Marc (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6190-5.

title: Derek and the Dominos


text:
East Asian Yogācāra

East Asian Yogācāra refers to the traditions in East Asia which developed out of the Indian Buddhist Yogācāra (lit. "yogic practice") systems (also known as Vijñānavāda, "the doctrine of consciousness" or Cittamātra, "mind-only"). In East Asia, this school of Buddhist idealism was known by the names of "Consciousness-Only school" and "Dharma Characteristics school" ).

The 4th-century Gandharan brothers, Asaṅga and Vasubandhu, are considered the classic founders of Indian Yogacara school. The East Asian branch of the tradition was founded through the work of scholars like Bodhiruci, Paramārtha, Xuanzang and his students Kuiji, Woncheuk and Dōshō.

Names
In Chinese Buddhism, the overall Yogācāra tradition is mostly called Wéishí (Ch: 唯識, Ko. yusik; Jp. yuishiki), which is a translation of "Consciousness Only" (Sanskrit: vijñapti-mātratā). The consciousness-only view is the central philosophical tenet of the school.

It may also be referred to as Yújiāxíng Pài (瑜伽行派), a translation of Yogācāra ("Yogic praxis").

The term Fǎxiàng (dharma characteristics) was first applied to this tradition by the Huayan scholar Chengguan, who used it to characterize the teachings of the school of Xuanzang and the Cheng Wei Shi Lun as provisional, dealing with the characteristics of phenomena or dharmas. As such, this name was an outside term used by critics of the school, which eventually was adopted by Weishi nevertheless.

Another lesser known name for the school is Yǒu Zōng (有宗 "School of Existence").

Yin Shun also introduced a threefold classification for Buddhist teachings which designates this school as Xūwàng Wéishí Xì (虛妄唯識系 "False Imagination Mere Consciousness System").

Characteristics
Like the Indian parent Yogācāra school, the East Asian Weishi tradition teaches that reality is only consciousness, and rejects the existence of mind-independent objects or matter. Instead, Weishi holds that all phenomena (dharmas) arise from the mind. In this tradition, deluded minds distort the ultimate truth, and project false appearances of independent subjects and objects (which is termed the imagined nature).

In keeping with Indian Yogācāra tradition, Weishi divides the mind into Eight Consciousnesses and the Four Aspects of Cognition, which produce what we view as reality. The analysis of the eighth, the ālayavijñana, or store-consciousness (阿賴耶識) which is at the root of all experience, is a key feature of all forms of Weishi Buddhism. This root consciousness is also held to be the carrier of all karmic seeds (種子). Another central doctrinal schema for the Weishi traditions is the schema of the three natures (三性).

The central canonical texts of Weishi Buddhism are the classic Indian sutras associated with Yogācāra, such as the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra and the Daśabhūmikasūtra, as well as the works associated with Maitreya, Asanga and Vasubandhu, including the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Mahāyānasaṃgraha, Viṃśatikā, Triṃśikā, and the Xianyang shengjiao lun (顯揚聖教論, T 1602.31.480b-583b). Besides these Indic works, the Chéng Wéishì Lùn (成唯識論, The Demonstration of Consciousness-only) compiled by Xuanzang is also a key work of the tradition.

There are different sub-sects of the East Asian Weishi, including the early "Dharma-nature" schools such as Dilun and Shelun, the school of Xuanzang, as well as Korean and Japanese branches of Weishi.

History in mainland Asia
Translations of Indian Yogācāra texts were first introduced to China in the early fifth century. Among these was Guṇabhadra's translation of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra in four fascicles, which would also become important in the early history of Chan Buddhism. Another early set of translations where two texts by Dharmakṣema (Ch: Tan Wuchen 曇無讖; 385–433): the Bodhisattvabhūmi-sūtra (Pusa di chi jing 菩薩地持經; Stages of the Bodhisattva Path), and the Bodhisattva Prātimokṣa (which contains excerpts from the Yogācārabhūmi).

The earliest Yogacara traditions were the Dilun (Daśabhūmika) and Shelun (Mahāyānasaṃgraha) schools, which were based on Chinese translations of Indian Yogacara treatises. The Dilun and Shelun schools followed traditional Indian Yogacara teachings along with tathāgatagarbha (i.e. buddha-nature) teachings, and as such were really hybrids of Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha. While these schools were eventually eclipsed by other Chinese Buddhist traditions, their ideas were preserved and developed by later thinkers, including the Korean monks Woncheuk (c. 613–696) and Wohnyo, and the patriarchs of the Huayan school like Zhiyan (602–668), who himself studied under Dilun and Shelun masters and Fazang (643–712).

Dilun school
The Dilun or Daśabhūmikā school (Sanskrit. Chinese: 地論宗; pinyin di lun zong, "School of the Treatise on the Bhūmis") was a tradition that derived from the translators Bodhiruci (Putiliuzhi 菩提流支; d. 527) and Ratnamati (Lenamoti 勒那摩提; d.u.). Both translators worked on Vasubandhu's Shidijing lun (十地經論, Sanskrit: *Daśabhūmi-vyākhyāna or *Daśabhūmika-sūtra-śāstra, "Commentary on the Daśabhūmikasūtra"), producing a translation during the Northern Wei.

Bodhiruci and Ratnamati ended up disagreeing on how to interpret Yogacara doctrine and thus, this tradition eventually split into northern and southern schools. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties era this was the most popular Yogacara school. The northern school followed the interpretations and teachings of Bodhiruci (6th century CE) while the southern school followed Ratnamati. Modern scholars argue that the influential treatise called the Awakening of Faith was written by someone in the northern Dilun tradition of Bodhiruci. Ratnamati also translated the Ratnagotravibhāga (究竟一乘寶性論 Taisho no. 1611), an influential buddha-nature treatise. According to Hans-Rudolf Kantor, one of the most important doctrinal differences and points of contention between the southern and northern Dilun schools was "the question of whether the ālaya-consciousness is constituted of both reality and purity, and is identical with the pure mind (Southern Way), or whether it comprises exclusively falsehood, and is a mind of defilements giving rise to the unreal world of sentient beings (Northern Way)."

According to Daochong (道寵), a student of Bodhiruci and the main representative of the northern school, the storehouse consciousness is not ultimately real and buddha-nature is something that one acquires only after attaining Buddhahood (that is, the storehouse consciousness ceases and transforms into the buddha-nature). On the other hand, the southern school of Ratnamatiʼs student Huiguang (慧光) held that the storehouse consciousness was real and synonymous with buddha-nature, which is immanent in all sentient beings like a jewel in a trash heap. Other important figures of the southern school were Huiguangʼs disciple Fashang (法上, 495–580), and Fashangʼs disciple Jingying Huiyuan (淨影慧遠, 523–592). This school's doctrine was later passed on to the Huayan school via Zhiyan.

An important founding figure of the southern Dilun, Huiguang (468–537) was the leading disciple of Ratnamati, who composed various commentaries, including: Commentary on the Ten Grounds Sutra (十地論疏 (Shidilun shu), Commentary on the Flower Garland Sutra (華嚴經疏 Huayanjing shu), Commentary on the Nirvana Sutra (涅槃經疏 Niepanjing shu) and Commentary on the Sutra of Queen Srimala (人王經疏 Renwangjing shu).

Shelun school
During the sixth century CE, the Indian monk and translator Paramārtha (Zhendi 真諦; 499–569) widely propagated Yogācāra teachings in China. His translations include the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, the Madhyāntavibhāga-kārikā, the Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā, Dignāga’s Ālambana-parīkṣā (Wu xiang si chen lun 無相思塵論), the Mahāyānasaṃgraha and the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī (Juedingzang lun 決定藏論; a part of the a Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra). Paramārtha also taught widely on the principles of Consciousness Only, and developed a large following in southern China. Many monks and laypeople traveled long distances to hear his teachings, especially those on the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. This tradition was known as the Shelun school (摂論宗, Shelun zong).

The most distinctive teaching of this school was the doctrine of the "pure consciousness" or "immaculate consciousness" (amalavijñāna, Ch: amoluoshi 阿摩羅識 or wugou shi 無垢識). Paramārtha taught that there was a pure and permanent (nitya) consciousness that is unaffected by suffering or mental afflictions, is not a basis for the defilements (unlike the ālayavijñāna), but rather is a basis for the noble path (āryamārga). Thus, the immaculate consciousness is the purifying counteragent to all the defilements. According to Paramārtha, at the moment of enlightment, one experiences a “transformation of the basis” (āśrayaparāvṛtti) which leads to the cessation of the storehouse consciousness, leaving only the immaculate consciousness. Some texts attributed to Paramārtha also state that the perfected nature (pariniṣpannasvabhāva) is equivalent to the ''amalavijñāna. '' Furthermore, some sources attributed to Paramārtha also identify the immaculate consciousness with the “innate purity of the mind” (prakṛtiprabhāsvaracitta), which links the idea with the doctrine of Buddha nature.

Xuanzang's school

By the time of Xuanzang (602 – 664), Yogācāra teachings had already been propagated widely in China, but there were many conflicting interpretations among the different schools. At the age of 33, Xuanzang made a dangerous journey to India in order to study Buddhism there and to procure Buddhist texts for translation into Chinese. He sought to put an end to the various debates in Chinese consciousness-only Buddhism by obtaining all the key Indian sources and receiving direct instruction from Indian masters. Xuanzang's journey was later the subject of legend and eventually fictionalized as the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, a major component of East Asian popular culture from Chinese opera to Japanese television (Monkey Magic).

Xuanzang spent over ten years in India traveling and studying under various Buddhist masters. These masters included Śīlabhadra, the abbot of the Nālandā Mahāvihāra, who was then 106 years old. Xuanzang was tutored in the Yogācāra teachings by Śīlabhadra for several years at Nālandā. Upon his return from India, Xuanzang brought with him a wagon-load of Buddhist texts, including important Yogācāra works such as the Yogācārabhūmi-śastra. In total, Xuanzang had procured 657 Buddhist texts from India. Upon his return to China, he was given government support and many assistants for the purpose of translating these texts into Chinese.

As an important contribution to East Asian Yogācāra, Xuanzang composed the treatise Cheng Weishi Lun, or "Discourse on the Establishment of Consciousness Only." This work is framed around Vasubandhu's Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā ("Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only") but it draws on numerous other sources and Indian commentaries to Vasubandhu's verses to create a doctrinal summa of Indian consciousness only thought. This work was composed at the behest of Xuanzang's disciple Kuiji, and became a central representation of East Asian Yogācāra. Xuanzang also promoted devotional meditative practices toward Maitreya Bodhisattva.

Xuanzang's disciple Kuiji wrote a number of important commentaries on the Yogācāra texts and further developed the influence of this doctrine in China, and was recognized by later adherents as the first true patriarch of the school. His Cheng weishi lun shuji (成唯識 論述記; Taishō no. 1830, vol. 43, 229a-606c) is a particularly important text for the Weishi school.

After Xuanzang, the second patriarch of the Weishi school was Hui Zhao. According to A.C. Muller "Hui Zhao 惠沼 (650-714), the second patriarch, and Zhi Zhou 智周 (668-723), the third patriarch, wrote commentaries on the Fayuan yulin chang, the Lotus Sūtra, and the Madhyāntavibhāga; they also wrote treatises on Buddhist logic and commentaries on the Cheng weishi lun." Another important figure is Yijing 義淨 (635–713), who traveled to India in imitation of Xuanzang. He translated several works of Vinaya, as well as Yogācāra commentaries by Dharmapāla on Dignāga’s Ālambana-parīkṣā and on Vasubandhu’s Viṃśikā.

Wŏnch’ŭk's school and Korean Yogācāra
While the lineage of Kuiji and Hui Zhao was traditionally considered the "orthodox" tradition of Xuanzang's school, there were also other lineages of this tradition which differed in their interpretations from Kuiji's sect. Perhaps the most influential heterodox group was a group of Yogācāra (Korean: Beopsang) scholars from the Korean Silla kingdom, mainly: Wŏnch’ŭk, Tojŭng, and Taehyŏn (大賢).

Wŏnch’ŭk (圓測, 613–696) was a Korean student of Xuanzang as well as a disciple of the Shelun master Fachang (567–645). He composed various texts, including Haesimmilgyǔng so (C. Jieshenmi jing shu), an influential commentary to the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra which was even translated to Tibetan and is known as the "Great Chinese Commentary" to Tibetans. This work later influenced Tibetan scholars like Tsongkhapa.

Wŏnch’ŭk's interpretations often differ from that of the school of Xuanzang and instead promotes ideas closer to those of the Shelun school, such as the doctrine of the "immaculate consciousness" (amalavijñāna) and the idea that the ālayavijñāna was essentially pure. Due to this, Wŏnch’ŭk's work was criticized by the disciples of Kuiji. Wŏnch’ŭk's tradition came to be known as the Ximing tradition (since he resided at Ximingsi monastery), and it was contrasted with Kuiji's tradition, also called the Ci'en tradition after Kuiji's monastery at Da Ci'ensi.

While in China, Wŏnch’ŭk took as a disciple a Korean-born monk named Tojŭng, who travelled to Silla in 692 and propounded and propagated Woncheuk's exegetical tradition there where it flourished. In Korea, these Beopsang teachings did not endure long as a distinct school, but its teachings were frequently included in later schools of thought and also studied by Japanese Yogācāra scholars.

Another influential figure in Korean Yogācāra is Wŏnhyo (元曉 617–686). While he usually seen as a Huayan scholar, he also wrote many works on Yogācāra and according to Charles Muller "if we look at Wŏnhyo’s oeuvre as a whole, along with accounts of his life, his involvement in Yogācāra studies looms large, and in fact, in terms of sheer quantity, forms the largest portion of his work." His work was influential on later Chinese figures like Fazang.

Dharma characteristics vs Dharma nature debates
With the rise of other Sinitic Mahayana schools to prominence, like Huayan and Chan, the Yogacara tradition of Xuanzang came under some doctrinal criticism. Sinitic schools like Huayan were influenced by the buddha-nature and ekayana (one vehicle) teachings, especially the doctrines of the Awakening of Faith. They were thus connected with the teachings of the Dilun and Shelun schools. As such, their doctrines differed in significant ways from that of the school of Xuanzang.

The scholars of the Huayan school like Fazang (643–712), Chengguan (738–839), and Zongmi (780–841), critiqued the school of Xuanzang, which they termed "Faxiang-zong" (dharma-characteristics school, a term invented by Chengguan), on various points. A key contention was that Xuanzang's school failed to understand the true Dharma-nature (Ch: fa-xin, dharmata or tathata, i.e. the buddha-nature, the one mind of the Awakening of Faith), even if they did understand the nature of dharmas (fa-xiang). According to Dan Lusthaus, "This distinction became so important, that every Buddhist school originating in East Asia, including all forms of Sinitic Mahayana, viz. T' ien-t' ai, Hua-yen, Ch'an, and Pure Land, came to be considered Dharma-nature schools."

The Huayan school sees the Dharma nature as dynamic and responding to conditions (of sentient beings), it also sees the Dharma nature (the buddha-nature, original enlightenment) as the basis and source of samsara and nirvana. As such, Huayan scholars like Zongmi critiqued the view of the Xuanzang "Faxiang" school which held that the Dharma nature (suchness) was "totally inert" and "unchanging" in favor of the view found in the Awakening of Faith which sees the one mind (the dharma nature) as having both an unconditioned and a conditioned aspect. This conditioned aspect of the dharma nature is an active and dynamic aspect out of which all pure and impure dharmas arise. As Imre Hamar explains:"The issue at stake is the relationship between the Absolute and phenomena. Is the tathata, the Absolute, dependent arising, or is it immovable? Does the Absolute have anything to do with the phenomenal world? According to the interpretation of the final teaching of Mahayana (i.e. Faxingzong), the Absolute and phenomena can be described with the 'water and wave' metaphor. Due to the wind of ignorance, waves of phenomena rise and fall, yet they are not different in essence from the water of the Absolute. In contrast with this explanation, the elementary teaching of Mahayana (i.e. Faxiangzong) can be presented by the metaphor of 'house and ground' . The ground supports the house but is different from it."Another key distinction and point of debate was the nature of the alayavijñana. For Xuanzang's school, the alayavijñana is a defiled consciousness, while the so called "Dharma-nature" position (following the Awakening of Faith) is that the alaya has a pure untainted aspect (which is buddha-nature) as well as an impure aspect.

The schools which were more aligned with the "Dharma-nature" position (like Huayan, Tiantai and Chan) also affirmed the ultimate truth of the one vehicle, while the Xuanzang school affirms the difference among the three vehicles. They also reject Xuanzang's view that states that there is a certain class of very deluded beings called icchantikas who can never become Buddhas. The Xuanzang school also maintained the Five Natures Doctrine which was seen as provisional and as being superseded by the one vehicle teaching by schools like Huayan and Tiantai.

Later history
After the third patriarch, the influence of the school of Xuanzang declined, though it continued to be studied at certain key centers, such as Chang’an, Mt. Wutai, Zhendingfu (now) Shijiazhuang), and Hangzhou. The Weishi (consciousness-only) school survived into the Song and Yuan dynasties, but as a minor school with little influence. However its texts have remained important sources for the study of Yogācāra thought down to today.

The Xuanzang school's influence declined due to competition with other Chinese Buddhist traditions such as Tiantai, Huayan, Chan and Pure Land Buddhism. Nevertheless, classic Yogācāra philosophy continued to exert an influence, and Chinese Buddhists of other schools relied on its teachings to enrich their own intellectual traditions.

An important later figure associated with Yogācāra studies was the syncretic Chan scholar monk Yongming Yanshou (904–975), who wrote some commentaries on Yogācāra texts. During the Ming dynasty, two scholars also wrote Weishi commentaries: Mingyu 明昱 (1527–1616) and Zhixu 智旭 (1599–1655).

Other Yogācāra teachings remained popular in Chinese Buddhism, such as devotion to the bodhisattva Maitreya (who was associated with the tradition and is seen as the founder of Yogācāra). Various later Chinese figures promoted Maitreya devotion as a Pure Land practice and as a way to receive teachings in visions. Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623) was one figure who describes a vision of Maitreya.

Modern revival

The 20th century saw a revival in Weishi studies in China. Important figures in this revival include Yang Wenhui (1837-1911), Taixu, Liang Shuming, Ouyang Jingwu (1870–1943), Wang Xiaoxu (1875-1948), and Lu Cheng. Weishi studies was also revived among Japanese philosophers like Inoue Enryō.

Modern Chinese thinkers of the Weishi studies revival also discussed Western philosophy (especially Hegelian and Kantian thought) and modern science in terms of Yogacara thought.

In his 1929 book on the history of Chinese Buddhism, Jiang Weiqiao wrote:"In modern times, there are few śramaṇa who research [Faxiang]. Various laypeople, however, take this field of study to be rigorous, systematic and clear, and close to science. For this reason, there are now many people researching it. Preeminent among those writing on the topic are those at Nanjing's Inner Studies Academy, headed by Ouyang Jian."

Ouyang Jian founded the Chinese Institute of Inner Studies, which provided education in Yogācāra teachings and the Prajñāparamita sūtras, given to both monastics and laypeople. Many modern Chinese Buddhist scholars are second-generation descendants of this school or have been influenced by it indirectly.

New Confucian thinkers also participated in the revival of Weishi studies. New Confucians like Xiong Shili, Ma Yifu, Tang Junyi and Mou Zongsan, were influenced by the philosophy of Indian Yogācāra philosophy, and by the thought of the Awakening of Faith, though their work also critiqued and modified Weishi philosophy in various ways.

The work of Xiong Shili was particularly influential in the establishment of what is now called New Confucianism. His A New Treatise on Vijñaptimātra (新唯識論, Xin Weishi Lun) draws on Yogacara and Confucian thought to construct a new philosophical system.

History in Japan

Early period
The Consciousness-Only teachings were transmitted to Japan as "Hossō-shū" (法相宗, Japanese for "Faxiang School"), and they made considerable impact. There were various key figures who established early Hossō in Japan. One of them was Dōshō 道昭 (629–749), a student of Xuanzang from 653 to 660. Dōshō and his students Gyōki and Dōga followed the "orthodox" texts and teachings of Xuanzang's school and transmitted these to Japan at Gangōji Temple. Other important figures who also studied under Xuanzang were Chitsu and Chitatsu. Together with Dōshō they defended the orthodox interpretations of Kuiji.

Another line of transmission was that of Chihō, Chiran, and Chiyu (all three visited Korea and then China c. 703), as well as the later figures Gien / Giin (653-728) and Genbō (d. 746). This tradition is known as the "Northern Temple transmission" since the lineage came to be based at Kōfuku-ji. This tradition was known to follow the teachings of the school of the Korean monk Wŏnch’ŭk in contrast to the "southern temple" tradition of Gangōji.

The northern and southern temple traditions debated each other for centuries over their varying interpretations (Kuiji's "orthodoxy" vs the views of the Silla Korean masters and their commentaries). These debates can be found in various later Hossō doctrinal sources, including: Record of the Light of the Lamp of Hossō (Hossō tōmyō ki 法相燈明記; 815) by Zen’an, Summary of the School of the Weishi lun (Yuishikiron dōgakushō 唯識論同學鈔) by Ryōsan 良算 (1202–?) and Chapters Providing a Brief Study of the Mahāyāna Yogācāra (Daijō hossō kenjinshō 大乘法相硏神章序) by Gomyō (750–834).

Hossō was an influential school during the Heian period. Hossō scholars also frequently debated with other emerging schools of Japanese Buddhism at the time. Both the founder of Shingon, Kūkai, and the founder of Tendai, Saichō, exchanged letters of debate with Hossō scholar Tokuitsu. Saichō condemmed the school for not accepting the one vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra, which was seen as a provisional teaching in Hossō. Kukai, who became an influential figure at Nara, was more conciliatory with Hossō, and maintained amicable relations with the tradition. After Kukai, Shingon scholar monks often studied and commented on Hossō sources, while Hossō monks adopted Shingon ritual practices. However, over time, the universalist doctrine of the Tendai school won out and the Hossō position (which held that only some beings can become Buddhas and some beings called icchantikas have no hope for awakening) became a marginal view.

Kamakura revival and modernity

The tumultuous Kamakura period (1185–1333), saw a revival (fukkō) and reform (kaikaku) of Hossō school teachings, which was led by figures like Jōkei (1155–1213) and Ryōhen. The reformed doctrines can be found in key sources like Jō yuishiki ron dōgaku shō (A Collaborative Study of the Treatise on Consciousness-only), Jōkei's Hossōshū shoshin ryakuō and Ryōhen's Kanjin kakumushō (Summation on Contemplating the Mind and Awakening from a Dream). A key element of Jōkei's teachings is the idea that even though the five classes of beings and the one vehicle teaching are relatively true, they are not ultimately so (since all phenomena are ultimately empty, non-dual and "neither the same nor different"). He also affirms that even icchantikas can attain enlightenment, since they will never be abandoned by the Buddhas and their compassionate power (which is not bound by causal laws).

In a similar fashion, Ryōhen writes:"Thus it should be remembered that in our school the doctrine of one vehicle and the doctrine of five groups of sentient beings are regarded as being equally true, for the doctrine of one vehicle is formulated from the standpoint that recognizes the unchangeable quality of the underlying substance of dharrnas, whereas the doctrine of the five groups of sentient beings has its roots in the distinctiveness of conditioned phenomena.… Thus, since our standpoint is that the relationship between the absolute and conditioned phenomena is one of “neither identity nor difference,” both the concept of one vehicle as well as the concept of five groups of sentient beings are equally valid."During the Kamakura, several new Buddhist schools were founded, with the various Pure Land sects derived from Hōnen becoming especially popular. As a novice monk, Hōnen had studied with Hossō scholars, but he later debated them while promoting his Pure land path. Jōkei was among Hōnen's toughest critics.

Jōkei is also known for popularizing the devotional aspects of Hossō, and for working to make it accessible to a wider audience. Jōkei promoted devotion to various figures, like Shakyamuni, Kannon, Jizo, and Maitreya, as well as numerous practices, like various nenbustu seeking birth in a pure land, dharani, precepts, liturgy (koshiki), rituals, lectures, worship of relics, etc. His pluralist and eclectic teachings thus offer a contrast to the more exclusive Kamakura schools who focused on one Buddha (Amitabha) or one practice (nembutsu etc.). For Jōkei, difference and diversity matters and people are not all the same (on the relative level), and thus it is not true that one practice or one Buddha is suitable for everyone. However, like the Pure Land schools, Jōkei stressed the importance of relying on the "other power" (of a Buddha or bodhisattva) and of birth in a pure land (Jōkei stressed the pure land of Maitreya), as well as practices that were accessible to less elite practitioners.

Jōkei is also a leading figure in the efforts to revive monastic discipline at places like Tōshōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji and counted other notable monks among his disciples, including Eison, who founded the Shingon Risshu sect.

Although a relatively small Hossō sect exists in Japan to this day, its influence diminished due to competition from newer Japanese Buddhist schools like Zen and Pure Land. During the Meiji period, as tourism became more common, the Hossō sect was the owner of several famous temples, notably Hōryū-ji and Kiyomizu-dera. However, as the Hossō sect had ceased Buddhist study centuries prior, the head priests were not content with giving part of their tourism income to the sect's organization. Following the end of World War II, the owners of these popular temples broke away from the Hossō sect, in 1950 and 1965, respectively. The sect still maintains Kōfuku-ji and Yakushi-ji.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: East Asian Yogācāra


text:
KLM Cityhopper

KLM Cityhopper is the regional airline subsidiary of KLM, headquartered in Haarlemmermeer, North Holland, Netherlands. It is based at nearby Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. As a subsidiary of Air France–KLM, it is an affiliate of SkyTeam. The airline operates scheduled European feeder services on behalf of KLM.

History
The airline was established on 1 April 1991; it started operations the same year. It was formed from the merger of NLM CityHopper and Netherlines. Following the 1991 merger, KLM Cityhopper had Europe's largest fleet composition of Fokker-built aircraft: the Fokker 50, 70 and 100.

In 1998, KLM acquired AirUK, which they rebranded KLM uk.

In November 2002, KLM merged its regional subsidiaries under the KLM Cityhopper name. It had 910 employees as of March 2007.

In 2008 the airline announced its fleet renewal programme, starting with an order of up to 17 Embraer E190 aircraft to replace its ageing and inefficient Fokker 50 aircraft and older Fokker 100 jets. Five Fokker 70 jets would also transfer over from Air France subsidiary Regional. Deliveries of the Embraer began in 2009 and by March 2010 KLM Cityhopper had operated its last Fokker 50 flight. The carrier began to phase out its older Fokker 100 jets. Further Embraer jet orders came in 2012 and allowed KLM Cityhopper to remove the last five remaining Fokker 100 aircraft from its operation.

In October 2012, KLM reportedly presented a plan to its unions that foresaw splitting the airline into two separate units. According to a report by Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, KLM was considering splitting off its European operations that would operate with a lower cost base than today and include its subsidiary KLM Cityhopper. This would effectively mean an intercontinental operation to include only the wide-body fleet of KLM and a European fleet operating the short to medium-haul routes as a separate entity, including the current KLM Boeing 737 fleet and the entire KLM Cityhopper fleet.

The plan proved unpopular with unions and the CEO at the time and was parked. KLM then began the process of streamlining its operation, reducing costs and negotiating increased productivity from staff.

In 2013, KLM Cityhopper installed brand new slim-line leather seats from British company Acro on its Fokker 70 fleet. At the same time, the seat pitch was adjusted on all Fokker & Embraer aircraft to offer a 3 tier cabin product with a Business Class, Premium Economy zone & Economy zone. Also announced in 2013 was a lease agreement with BOC to take another six Embraer E190 jets, delivery from the end of the year up to April 2014. In turn, the early retirement of 7 Fokker 70 aircraft was announced. On 30 April 2014 KLM Cityhopper took delivery of its 28th Embraer E190 making it the largest operator of the type in Europe. A brand new livery was also launched on the same day with the aircraft arriving into Amsterdam sporting a new drooped cheat line and revised titles. Fondly referred to as "the smiling Dolphin design", the adapted livery was commissioned to better suit the nose profile of modern aircraft such as the Embraer. The new look was created in-house by KLM designers and would be painted on all KLM Cityhopper aircraft and KLM aircraft in time.

Since 2014, KLM started to add new "niche" short-haul destinations to its network, with the majority served by KLM Cityhopper. The new routes were Bilbao, Turin, Zagreb, Montpellier, Kraków and Belfast. KLM Cityhopper also increased capacity from Bristol and Leeds-Bradford – upgrading the destinations to an Embraer E190 operation instead of the Fokker 70. On 9 December 2015 KLM announced new KLM Cityhopper services to Southampton, Inverness, Dresden and Genoa. The new flights commenced in spring 2016.

In 2015, following a long tendering process with several manufacturers, KLM Cityhopper announced that the Embraer E175+ would replace the Fokker 70 fleet overall. The last Fokker 70 was scheduled to leave on 29 October 2017. The deal with Embraer saw an acceleration of the Fokker 70 withdrawal, starting in December 2015, and the arrival of two more Embraer E190 aircraft, bringing that fleet to 30 in total. 7 Fokker 70s were sold to Air Niugini, with four going to Cypriot carrier Tus Airways and two to Peruvian start-up Wayraperú. On 20 March 2016, the first Embraer E175+ was delivered, operating in tandem on Fokker 70 routes and the Embraer E190 network when required. Its dual-type rating and commonality would allow overnight introduction of the Embraer E175+ as both flight deck & cabin staff trained on the Embraer E190 will be able to operate on the Embraer E175+ after a brief "differences" session.

The Embraer E175+ (Enhanced or Mark II) is the second variant of the Embraer E175, differing from the original build. It is not to be confused with the E2. It has an improved angled winglet as well as other aerodynamic improvements and weight savings. KLM Cityhopper has also ordered a high density 88Y configuration with slim, lightweight seats.

On 13 January 2016, KLM Cityhopper confirmed 2 out of 17 options for additional aircraft from Embraer – bringing the order total for the E175 to 17. The first E175 was delivered on 20 March 2016. In March 2016, KLM Cityhopper became the largest European operator of the Embraer E170/190 jet family, with 30 Embraer E190s in service as of December 2015 and an order for 17 Embraer E175+ jets. KLM Cityhopper now operates one of the youngest regional jet fleets in the world after the Fokker 70 was retired from operation.

On 23 February 2021, KLM Cityhopper received its first E195-E2.

Ownership
KLM Cityhopper is 100% owned by KLM, itself a part of the Air France–KLM Group.

Head office
KLM Cityhopper's head office is in the Convair Building on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Schiphol-Oost, Haarlemmermeer. In 1999 Schiphol Real Estate (SRE) contracted out a parcel of land to begin construction of the Convair Building. The building also houses the offices of KLM Recruitment Services. Originally the KLM Cityhopper head office was in the airport's Building 70.

Corporate design
The company identity is identical to that of its parent carrier with the addition of “Cityhopper” after the KLM crown logo and the absence of “The Flying Dutchman” and “Royal Dutch Airlines” on its aircraft livery. A revised font style was introduced in 2010. In May 2014, KLM Cityhopper also introduced a revised livery.

Destinations
Several of KLM's intra-European routes are operated by both KLM and KLM Cityhopper. Seasonal changes are common with routes switching between the Boeing 737 fleet of KLM to KLM Cityhopper as required, usually in concert with the start/end of IATA timetable seasons. The airline had five fully crewed UK bases in operation, inherited from its purchase of Air UK and subsequent merger of the KLM UK brand. Several hundred British cockpit and cabin crews continued to operate KLM Cityhopper flights from the UK and the Netherlands throughout the carrier's network. All UK bases for cabin crew members were closed in 2017 with the last pilot-only bases closed in May 2020.

Current fleet
As of October 2023, the KLM Cityhopper fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Government aircraft
KLM Cityhopper was also responsible for the operation of the state-owned Fokker 70 aircraft, registration PH-KBX. This Fokker was used by the Dutch Government and the royal family and often flown by H.M. King Willem-Alexander himself, but was sold to an Australian-based buyer in 2017. A Boeing 737-700 BBJ Boeing Business Jet, registered PH-GOV, replaced the Fokker 70 and is operated by KLM mainline.

Historical fleet
When KLM Cityhopper was formed in 1991, its fleet consisted of mostly Fokker types. These have later been phased out and replaced by more efficient Embraer E-Jets, with the last airframe being retired on 28 October 2017. Today the airline's fleet consists entirely of Embraer E-195 E2s, E-190s and E-175s.

In-flight services
KLM Cityhopper offers passengers complimentary drinks and refreshments on all scheduled flights. Duty-free/tax-free products are not available. Business Class passengers are offered continental breakfast boxes, sandwiches & dinner salads together with bar service. Economy Class passengers are offered sandwiches or a drink and complimentary snack depending on the time of day and duration of the flight.

In line with its parent carrier, KLM Cityhopper offers a two-class cabin service on all of its scheduled routes. Rows 1 on all aircraft is reserved for Europe Business Class passengers, and the section can be increased to additional rows subject to demand. These classes are defined by the designation "C" - For Europe Business Class & "M" For Europe Economy - in reservation systems.

From 2011, KLM committed to blocking middle seats on its short-haul fleet so that business class passengers would always have an empty seat next to them for extra comfort. This meant that Seats C and E on any business class row on the Fokker fleet were no longer used, and a maximum of three passengers are seated on each row - reducing the maximum capacity of the Fokker 70 on scheduled services to 78 passengers. Seat blocking is not done on the Embraer E190 or E175 fleet which only has four-abreast seating. From 22 April 2013, KLM began charging for hold baggage on all European flights (including all KLM Cityhopper services) unless passengers are on a Business Class ticket or an Elite tier member of the 'Flying Blue' frequent flyer program. The baggage fee will also be waived if the KLM Cityhopper flight is just one leg of an intercontinental trip.

Economy Comfort seats can be purchased on all KLM Cityhopper flights, up to row 7 on the Embraer E190, offering economy passengers additional legroom and the convenience of forward-situated seats for quicker disembarkation. The availability of this section fluctuates depending on the number of Business class seats sold on the flight.

Incidents and accidents

 * On 4 April 1994, a Saab 340 operating KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 crashed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, killing three and seriously injuring nine people. A faulty warning light caused the crew to mistakenly believe that the engine suffered from low oil pressure. On final approach at a height of 90 ft, the captain decided to go around and gave full throttle, however only on the number one engine, leaving the other in-flight idle. Because of this, the aircraft rolled to the right, pitched up, stalled and hit the ground at 80 degrees bank.
 * On 29 May 2024, an airport worker died after being ingested into the engine of an Embraer 190 operating KLM Cityhopper Flight 1341. The incident occurred on the apron at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol during pushback as the aircraft was preparing to depart for Billund. Investigators from the Dutch Safety Board determined that the worker intentionally jumped into the running engine to commit suicide.

Notable pilots
In 2017 Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands revealed that he had been flying secretly as a copilot twice a month for KLM Cityhopper for the past 21 years, including the state plane.

title: KLM Cityhopper


text:
Huineng

Dajian Huineng (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism. According to tradition he was an uneducated layman who suddenly attained awakening (Chinese: 見性, jianxing) upon hearing the Diamond Sutra. Despite his lack of formal training, he demonstrated his understanding to the fifth patriarch, Daman Hongren, who then supposedly chose Huineng as his true successor instead of his publicly known selection of Yuquan Shenxiu.

Twentieth century scholarship revealed that the story of Huineng's Buddhist career was likely invented by the monk Heze Shenhui, who claimed to be one of Huineng's disciples and was highly critical of Shenxiu's teaching.

Huineng is regarded as the founder of the "Sudden Enlightenment" Southern Chan school of Buddhism, which focuses on an immediate and direct attainment of Buddhist enlightenment. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, which is said to be a record of his teachings, is a highly influential text in the East Asian Buddhist tradition.

The Platform Sutra
The Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch is attributed to a disciple of Huineng named Fahai and purports to be a record of Huineng's life, lectures and interactions with disciples. However, the text shows signs of having been constructed over a longer period of time, and contains different layers of writing. According to John McRae, it is "...a wonderful melange of early Chan teachings, a virtual repository of the entire tradition up to the second half of the eighth century. At the heart of the sermon is the same understanding of the Buddha-nature that we have seen in texts attributed to Bodhidharma and Hongren, including the idea that the fundamental Buddha-nature is only made invisible to ordinary humans by their illusions."

According to Wong, the Platform Sūtra cites and explains a wide range of Buddhist scriptures listed here in the order of appearance:
 * Diamond Sutra
 * Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
 * Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
 * Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra
 * Brahmajāla Sūtra
 * Vimalakirti Sutra
 * Lotus Sutra
 * Śūraṅgama Sūtra
 * Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana

Early life and introduction to Buddhism
According to Huineng's autobiography in the Platform Sutra, Huineng's father was from Fanyang, but he was banished from his government position and died at a young age. Huineng and his mother were left in poverty and moved to Nanhai, where Huineng sold firewood to support his family. One day, Huineng delivered firewood to a customer's shop, where he saw a man reciting the Diamond Sutra: "On my way out of the gate I saw someone reciting a sutra, and as soon as I heard the words of the sutra my mind opened forth in enlightenment." He inquired about the reason that the Diamond Sutra was chanted, and the person stated that he came from the Eastern Meditation Monastery in Huangmei District of the province of Qi, where the Fifth Patriarch of Chan lived and delivered his teachings. Huineng's customer paid his ten silver taels and suggested that he meet the Fifth Patriarch of Chan.

Meeting the Fifth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism
Huineng reached Huangmei thirty days later, and expressed to the Fifth Patriarch his specific request of attaining Buddhahood. Since Huineng came from Guangdong and was physically distinctive from the local Northern Chinese, the Fifth Patriarch Hongren questioned his origin as a "barbarian from the south," and doubted his ability to attain enlightenment. Huineng impressed Hongren with a clear understanding of the ubiquitous Buddha nature in everyone, and convinced Hongren to let him stay. The first chapter of the Ming canon version of the Platform Sutra describes the introduction of Huineng to Hongren as follows: "The Patriarch asked me, "Who are you and what do you seek?" I replied, "Your disciple is a commoner from Xinzhou of Lingnan. I have travelled far to pay homage to you and seek nothing other than Buddhahood." "So you're from Ling-nan, and a barbarian! How can you expect to become a Buddha?" asked the Patriarch. I replied, "Although people exist as northerners and southerners, in the Buddha-nature there is neither north nor south. A barbarian differs from Your Holiness physically, but what difference is there in our Buddha-nature?"

Huineng was told to split firewood and pound rice in the backyard of the monastery and avoid going to the main hall.

Poem contest
Eight months later, the Fifth Patriarch summoned all his followers and proposed a poem contest for his followers to demonstrate the stage of their understanding of the essence of mind. He decided to pass down his robe and teachings to the winner of the contest, who would become the Sixth Patriarch. Shenxiu, the leading disciple of the Fifth Patriarch, composed a stanza, but did not have the courage to present it to the master. Instead, he wrote his stanza on the south corridor wall one day at midnight to remain anonymous. The other monks saw the stanza and commended it. Shenxiu's stanza is as follows: "The body is the bodhi tree. The mind is like a bright mirror's stand. At all times we must strive to polish it and must not let dust collect."

The Patriarch was not satisfied with Shenxiu's stanza, and pointed out that the poem did not show understanding of "[his] own fundamental nature and essence of mind." He gave Shenxiu a chance to submit another poem to demonstrate that he had entered the "gate of enlightenment," so that he could transmit his robe and the Dharma to Shenxiu, but the student's mind was agitated and could not write one more stanza.

Two days later, the illiterate Huineng heard Shenxiu's stanza being chanted by a young attendant at the monastery and inquired about the context of the poem. The attendant explained to him the poem contest and the transmission of the robe and Dharma. Huineng asked to be led to the corridor, where he could also pay homage to the stanza. He asked a low-ranking official named Zhang Riyong from Jiangzhou to read the verse to him, and then immediately asked him to write down a stanza that he composed.

According to McRae, "the earliest version of the Platform Sutra contains two versions of Huineng's verse (left and middle). Later versions, such as the Zongbao edition (c. 1291) from the Yuan era, contain one version of Huineng's stanza, somewhat different from the two verses found in the c. 8th century Dunhuang edition (right):

"Yuan dynasty text: Bodhi originally has no tree. The mirror has no stand. The Buddha-nature is always clear and pure. Where is there room for dust?

Dunhuang text: The mind is the bodhi tree. The body is the bright mirror's stand. The bright mirror is originally clear and pure. Where could there be any dust?

Dunhuang text: Bodhi originally has no tree. The bright mirror also has no stand. Fundamentally there is not a single thing. Where could dust arise?"

The followers who were present were astonished by the work of a southern barbarian. Being cautious of Huineng's status, the Patriarch wiped away the stanza and claimed that the author of the stanza had not reached enlightenment.

Interpretation of the verses
According to the traditional interpretation, which is based on Guifeng Zongmi, the fifth-generation successor of Shenhui, the two verses represent respectively the gradual and the sudden approach. According to McRae, this is an incorrect understanding: "[T]he verse attributed to Shenxiu does not in fact refer to gradual or progressive endeavor, but to a constant practice of cleaning the mirror [...] [H]is basic message was that of the constant and perfect teaching, the endless personal manifestation of the bodhisattva ideal."

Huineng's verse does not stand alone, but forms a pair with Shenxiu's verse: "Huineng's verse(s) apply the rhetoric of emptiness to undercut the substantiality of the terms of that formulation. However, the basic meaning of the first proposition still remains."

McRae notes a similarity in reasoning with the Oxhead School, which used a threefold structure of "absolute, relative and middle", or "thesis-antithesis-synthesis". According to McRae, the Platform Sutra itself is the synthesis in this threefold structure, giving a balance between the need of constant practice and the insight into the absolute.

Succession of Hongren
However, on the next day, the Patriarch secretly went to Huineng's room and asked, "Should not a seeker after the Dharma risk his life this way?" Then he asked, "is the rice ready?" Huineng responded that the rice was ready and only waiting to be sieved. The Patriarch secretly explained the Diamond Sutra to Huineng, and when Huineng heard the phrase "one should activate one’s mind so it has no attachment," he was "suddenly and completely enlightened, and understood that all things exist in self-nature."

The Dharma was passed to Huineng at night, when the Patriarch transmitted "the doctrine of sudden enlightenment" as well as his robe and bowl to Huineng. He told Huineng, “You are now the Sixth Patriarch. Take care of yourself, save as many sentient beings as you can, and spread the teachings so they will not be lost in the future.

Escape from monastery
He also explained to Huineng that the Dharma was transmitted from mind to mind, whereas the robe was passed down physically from one patriarch to the next. Hongren instructed the Sixth Patriarch to leave the monastery before he could be harmed. "You can stop at Huai and then hide yourself at Hui." Hongren showed Huineng the route to leave the monastery, and rowed Huineng across the river to assist his escape. Huineng immediately responded with a clear understanding of Hongren's purpose in doing so, and demonstrated that he could ferry to "the other shore" with the Dharma that had been transmitted to him.

The Sixth Patriarch reached the Tayu Mountains within two months, and realized that hundreds of men were following him, attempting to rob him of the robe and bowl. However, the robe and bowl could not be moved by Huiming, who then asked for the transmission of Dharma from Huineng. Huineng helped him reach enlightenment and continued on his journey.

Teachings
The earliest and most important source for the teachings of Huineng is the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Chinese: 六祖壇經; pinyin: Liùzǔ Tánjīng). There are various editions of this text, the earliest of which are copies from Dunhuang which date to the 9th century. The original may have been composed in around 780 CE. According to modern scholars like Yanagida Seizan and John McRae, the early Platform Sutra was composed within the Oxhead school, not within the so called "Southern School" as was previously believed. The text continued to be edited and expanded until the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), when Zongbao (宗寶) produced an edition that eventually became part of the standard Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Chinese Buddhist canon.

Non-thought, non-attribute, and non-abiding
According to Peter Gregory, the most important ideas in the Platform Sutra, for which it is best known, form a set of three key interrelated doctrines: no-thought (wunian), nonform, also translated as nonattribute (wuxiang), and nonabiding (wuzhu).

In the Platform Sutra, Huineng taught "no-thought", the "pure and unattached mind" which "comes and goes freely and functions fluently without any hindrance". It does not mean that one does not think at all, but is "a highly attentive yet unentangled way of being [...] an open, non-conceptual state of mind that allows one to experience reality directly, as it truly is." Regarding non-thought, Huineng says:

"Thoughtlessness is to see and to know all dharmas [things] with a mind free from attachment. When in use it pervades everywhere, and yet it sticks nowhere. What we have to do is to purify our mind so that the six vijñānas [aspects of consciousness], in passing through the six gates [sense organs], will neither be defiled by nor attached to the six sense-objects. When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to come or to go, we attain samādhi of prajñā, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of thoughtlessness. But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view." For Huineng, no-thought does not refer to a blanking out of the mind. Rather, Huineng says, "Freedom from thought means having no thought in the midst of thoughts." He says that such things as "sitting without moving, getting rid of falsehood, and not giving rise to thoughts" just lead to insentiency. This is to obstruct the Way which should, on the contrary, be allowed to flow freely, without any obstruction. For Huineng, suchness and thought exist together in an essence-function relationship. He says, "Suchness is the essence of thought, thought is the function of suchness."

Related to the teaching of non-thought, Huineng also taught "non-attribute." Just as non-thought does not eradicate thoughts, non-attribute for Huineng likewise is not a world-denying negation of the attributes of sensory experience, the vast array of things and characteristics which make up the basic features of life in the world. Rather, for Huineng, non-attribute has a this-worldly orientation which affirms human experience and the world of characteristics. It does not mean literally to be without any attributes at all, but rather to be free of attributes while right in the midst of attributes. For Huineng, our self-nature is free of attributes, not in the sense of excluding them, but in the sense of equanimity (捨), embracing them all without attaching to them. In this way, our self-nature can be compared to space, while particular attributes are like the things appearing in that space.

Huineng says:

"Learned Audience, the illimitable void of the universe is capable of holding myriads of things of various shape and form, such as the sun, the moon, stars, mountains, rivers, men, dharmas pertaining to goodness or badness, deva planes, hells, great oceans, and all the mountains of the Mahāmeru. Space takes in all of these, and so does the voidness of our nature. We say that the essence of mind is great because it embraces all things, since all things are within our nature."

In addition to non-thought and non-attribute, Huineng also taught non-abiding. He says rather than attach to characteristics and obstruct the Way, one should not abide in things. Again, like non-thought and non-attribute, non-abiding for Huineng means all things and thoughts are allowed but not attached to, similar to space. However, as Brook Ziporyn points out, Huineng's teaching of non-abiding puts a spin on the motionlessness of the spacelike self-nature. That is, unlike the traditional Buddhist emphasis on stillness and quiescence, which register no attributes and give rise to no activity; for Huineng, non-abiding means that true motionlessness is a kind of hyperintense motion that never dwells or stays in the same place.

In this way, Huineng's teaching resonates with indigenous Chinese notions which give a positive value to change and transformation. For Huineng, enlightenment is associated with flow, constant change and transformation. He says, "Good friends, one’s enlightenment (one’s Way, dao) must flow freely. How could it be stagnated? When the mind does not reside in the dharmas, one’s enlightenment flows freely. For the mind to reside in the dharmas is called ‘fettering oneself.’ If you say that always sitting without moving is it, then you’re just like Śāriputra meditating in the forest, for which he was scolded by Vimalakīrti!" Similarly, the alleged Northern school's emphasis on quiet contemplation was criticized by Huineng thus:

"When alive, one keeps sitting without lying down: When dead, one lies down without sitting up. In both cases, a set of stinking bones! What has it to do with the great lesson of life?"

Historical impact and Influences

Doctrinally, the Southern School is associated with the teaching that enlightenment is sudden, while the Northern School is associated with the teaching that enlightenment is gradual. This is a polemical exaggeration, since both schools were derived from the same tradition, and the so-called Southern School incorporated many teachings of the more influential Northern School. Eventually both schools died out, but the influence of Shenhui was so immense that all later Chan schools traced their origin to Huineng, and "sudden enlightenment" became a standard doctrine of Chan.

According to modern historiography, Huineng was a marginal and obscure historical figure. Modern scholarship has questioned his hagiography, with some researchers speculating that this story was created around the middle of the 8th century, beginning in 731 by Shenhui, who supposedly was a successor to Huineng, to win influence at the Imperial Court. He claimed Huineng to be the successor to Hongren, instead of the then publicly recognized successor Shenxiu:"It was through the propaganda of Shenhui (684-758) that Huineng (d. 710) became the also today still towering figure of sixth patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism, and accepted as the ancestor or founder of all subsequent Chan lineages [...] using the life of Confucius as a template for its structure, Shenhui invented a hagiography for the then highly obscure Huineng. At the same time, Shenhui forged a lineage of patriarchs of Chan back to the Buddha using ideas from Indian Buddhism and Chinese ancestor worship."

In 745, Shenhui was invited to take up residence in the Heze temple in Luoyang. In 753, he fell out of grace, and had to leave the capital to go into exile. The most prominent of the successors of his lineage was Guifeng Zongmi. According to Zongmi, Shenhui's approach was officially sanctioned in 796, when "an imperial commission determined that the Southern line of Ch'an represented the orthodox transmission and established Shen-hui as the seventh patriarch, placing an inscription to that effect in the Shen-lung temple".

According to Schlütter and Teiser, the biography of Huineng explained in the Platform Sutra is a compelling legend of an illiterate, "barbarian" layman who became a Patriarch of Chan Buddhism. Most of what we know about Huineng comes from the Platform Sutra, which consists of the record of a public talk that includes an autobiography of Huineng, which was a hagiography, i.e. a biography of a saint portraying him as a hero.This pseudoautobiography was written to give authority to the teachings of Huineng. The Sutra became a very popular text, and was circulated widely in an attempt to increase the importance of the Huineng lineage. As a result, the account might have been altered over the centuries. Shenhui (685-758) was the first person to claim that Huineng was both a saint and a hero. As a result of this contested claim, modifications were made to the Platform Sutra, a manuscript copy of which was later found at Dunhuang.

It turns out that little was known about Huineng before Shenhui's account of him. "It took all the rhetorical skills of Shen-hui and his sympathizers to give a form to the name Huineng,"; thus, the character Huineng described by Shenhui was not completely factual. In the Platform Sutra, following Huineng's sermon was a narrative by Fahai, who addressed a few interviews between Huineng and his disciples, including Shenhui. It is likely that "much of the Platform Sutra was built on the inventions of Shenhui," and the textual evidence suggests that "the work was written soon after his death." After Huineng's death, Shenhui wanted to claim his authority over Chan Buddhism, but his position was challenged by Shenxiu and Puji, who supported the Northern lineage that taught gradual enlightenment. It is reasonable to assume that this autobiography was likely an attempt by Shenhui to relate himself to the most renowned figures in Zen Buddhism, which essentially enabled him to connect to the Buddha through this lineage.

An epitaph of Huineng inscribed by the established poet Wang Wei also reveals inconsistencies with Shenhui's account of Huineng. The epitaph "does not attack Northern Chan, and adds new information on a monk, Yinzong (627-713), who is said to have tonsured Huineng." Wang Wei was a poet and a government official, whereas Shenhui was a propagandist who preached to the crowd, which again leads to questions about his credibility.

"As far as can be determined from surviving evidence, Shenhui possessed little or no reliable information on Huineng except that he was a disciple of Hongren, lived in Shaozhou, and was regarded by some Chan followers as a teacher of only regional importance." It seems that Shenhui invented the figure of Huineng for himself to become the "true heir of the single line of transmission from the Buddha in the Southern lineage," and this appears to be the only way he could have done so.

On a related note, the Chan Buddhist practices, including the wordless transmission and sudden enlightenment, were much different from the traditional training of a monk. According to Kieschnick, "The Chan accounts ridicule every element of the scholar-monk ideal that had taken shape over the centuries in traditional hagiography," with examples found in the immense literature of the "classical period."

Mummification
A mummified body, supposedly that of Huineng, is kept in Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan (northern Guangdong). This mummy was seen by the Jesuit Matteo Ricci who visited Nanhua Temple in 1589. Ricci told the European readers the story of Huineng (in a somewhat edited form), describing him as akin to a Christian ascetic. Ricci names him Liùzǔ (i.e. 六祖, "The Sixth Ancestor").

During the Cultural Revolution, the mummy was damaged by the Red Guards.

Liang Kai's Portrayal of Huineng
The two paintings to the right were both completed by Liang Kai, a painter from Southern Song dynasty, who left his position as the court painter in Jia Tai's court to practice Chan. These paintings depict Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism. The protagonist occupies the lower central portion of both paintings, with his face turned to the side, so that his facial features are not portrayed.

"The Sixth Patriarch Cutting the Bamboo" depicts the process that Huineng went through to attain enlightenment, and exemplifies Huineng's concentration and contemplation in doing so through the process of chopping bamboo. This particular enlightenment moment of his is only documented in this painting, and not in any literary sources. He holds an ax in his right hand, and extends his left arm to steady a stalk of bamboo while scrutinizing it. The brushstrokes are loose and free but construct a simplistic and lively image: they indicate a subtle motion of pulling the bamboo towards him. Huineng wears a shirt with sleeves rolled up, which is suggested by the crease at the edges of the shoulders. He puts his extra cloth into a hair bun. The light and dark ink indicate gradation and contrast, and the light shadow on his right arm and body of bamboo implies the source of light.

Similarly, The Sixth Patriarch Tearing a Sutra adopts a similar style in portraying the same figure, Huineng, performing a different mundane action. This reaffirms the focus of the Southern Chan Tradition, which is to attain sudden enlightenment without having to train to be a monk in the conventional way or to study Buddhist scriptures.

Film

 * A Chinese biopic entitled Legend of Dajian Huineng is based on Huineng. The film is adapted from an older version of the story, found in youtube as "Story of a Zen Master" in Wutang Collection.

title: Huineng


text:
Eno

Eno may refer to:

Music

 * English National Opera, London
 * Eno, an album by Japanese band Polysics

Organisations and businesses

 * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories business
 * Eno Center for Transportation, a non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C.
 * European Northern Observatory, a group of astronomical observatories
 * Environment Online, an international educational network

Places

 * Eno, Finland, a former municipality, now part of Joensuu
 * Eno, North Carolina, United States, an unincorporated community
 * Eno River, North Carolina

In business

 * Amos Eno (1810–1898), owner of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York
 * Henry Lane Eno (1871–1928), American banker, poet and philanthropist
 * James Crossley Eno (1820–1915), British pharmacist
 * Norbert Éno (1793–1841), merchant and politician in Lower Canada
 * William Phelps Eno (1858–1945), American businessman

In music

 * Brian Eno (born 1948), English electronic musician, music theorist and record producer
 * Jim Eno (born 1966), one of the founding members of the band Spoon
 * Kenji Eno (1970–2013), Japanese musician and video game designer
 * Roger Eno (born 1959), English ambient composer, brother of Brian
 * Eno Barony (born 1991), Ghanaian rapper
 * Eno (rapper) (born 1998), German rapper

Other fields

 * Eno Benjamin (born 1999), American football player
 * Eno Raud (1928–1996), Estonian children's books writer
 * Daikan Enō, the Japanese name of Zen patriarch Dajian Huineng
 * Sarah Eno, American physicist
 * Will Eno (born 1965), Obie-Award winning American playwright

Peoples

 * Eno people, North American tribe
 * Eno, a name given to Ibibio people

Other uses

 * Eno (drug), an antacid
 * Eno (1973 film), a documentary short film
 * Eno (2024 film), a documentary film
 * En'ō, a Japanese era
 * Exhaled nitric oxide, measured in a breath test for asthma
 * ENO methods (essentially non-oscillatory) in mathematics

title: Eno