Huayan in the context of "Zhiyan"

East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhism. East Asian Buddhists constitute the numerically largest body of Buddhist traditions in the world, numbering over half of the world's Buddhists.

East Asian forms of Buddhism all derive from the sinicized Buddhist schools which developed during the Han dynasty and the Song dynasty, and therefore are influenced by Chinese culture and philosophy. The spread of Buddhism to East Asia was aided by the trade networks of the Silk Road and the missionary work of generations of Indian and Asian Buddhists. Some of the most influential East Asian traditions include Chan (Zen), Nichiren Buddhism, Pure Land, Huayan, Tiantai, and Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. These schools developed new, uniquely East Asian interpretations of Buddhist texts and focused on the study of Mahayana sutras. According to Paul Williams, this emphasis on the study of the sutras contrasts with the Tibetan Buddhist attitude which sees the sutras as too difficult unless approached through the study of philosophical treatises (shastras).

Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism (traditional Chinese: 漢傳佛教; simplified Chinese: 汉传佛教) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism and is the largest institutionalized religion in mainland China. As of 2017, there are an estimated 185 to 250 million Chinese Buddhists in the People's Republic of China. It is also a major religion in Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, as well as among the Chinese diaspora.

Buddhism was first introduced to China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). It was promoted by multiple emperors, especially during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), which helped it spread across the country. The translation of a large body of Indian Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and the inclusion of these translations (along with Taoist and Confucian works) into a Chinese Buddhist canon had far-reaching implications for the dissemination of Buddhism throughout the East Asian cultural sphere, including Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Chinese Buddhism also developed various unique traditions of Buddhist thought and practice, including Tiantai, Huayan, Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric Buddhism.

Qingliang Chengguan (Chinese: 澄觀; pinyin: Chéngguān; Korean: Jinggwan; Japanese: Chōgan, 738–839 or 737-838 CE), was an important scholar-monk and patriarch of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism also known as Huayan pusa (bodhisattva Avatamsaka) and Qingliang Guoshi (Imperial Preceptor "Clear and Cool", Clear and Cool is a name for Mount Wutai).

Chengguan is most widely known for his extensive commentaries and sub-commentaries to the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (Huayan jing), as well as for his translation of a new Gandhavyuha sutra version, together with the Indian monk Prajña. Chengguan's commentaries on the Avataṃsaka quickly became one of the authoritative sources for Huayan doctrine. Chengguan lived through the reigns of nine emperors and was an honored teacher to seven emperors starting with Xuanzong (玄宗) until Wenzong (文宗). Chengguan was also the teacher of the influential Huayan patriarch Zongmi.

Guifeng Zongmi (Chinese: 圭峰宗密; pinyin: Guīfēng Zōngmì; Japanese pronunciation: Keihō Shūmitsu) (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar who is considered a patriarch of both the Huayan school and Chan Buddhism. Zongmi wrote a number of works on several Mahayana Sutras, Chan and Huayan, and he also discussed Taoism and Confucianism. His works are a major source for studying the various Chan schools of the Tang.

Zongmi was deeply interested in both the practical and doctrinal aspects of Mahayana Buddhism, especially the teachings of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment and the Mahayana Awakening of Faith. Zongmi's work is concerned with harmonizing the various Chan teachings (especially the doctrines of sudden awakening and original enlightenment) with other Chinese Buddhist traditions, especially Huayan, though he also drew on the work of Tiantai Zhiyi in his ritual works. His philosophy attempts to create a comprehensive worldview that includes and sublimates all Buddhist and non-buddhist teachings of his time into a single harmonious spiritual vision.

Li Tongxuan (Chinese: 李通玄) (635–730) was a lay Chinese Buddhist scholar and meditation master of the Huayan school.

Samantabhadra (lit. 'Universal Worthy' or 'All Good') is a great bodhisattva in Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, he forms the Shakyamuni Triad in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva.

In Chinese Buddhism, Samantabhadra is known as Puxian and is associated with action, whereas Mañjuśrī is associated with prajñā (transcendent wisdom). As such, his name is often prefixed with the epiphet Daheng (大行; Dàhèng), meaning “He of Great Practice”. In the Huayan tradition, he is regarded together with Vairocana Buddha and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī as one of the “Three Noble Ones of Huayan” (華嚴三聖; Huāyán Sānshèng) due to their preeminence in the Avatamsaka Sutra. In the Chinese Pure Land tradition, the Chapter of the Practices and Vows of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra from the Avatamsaka Sutra where Samantabhadra expounds on his ten vows is often regarded as one of the “Five Pure Land sutras” that are seen as foundational texts. In Japan, Samantabhadra is known as Fugen, and is often venerated in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism. In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra is also the name of the Adi-Buddha, often portrayed in indivisible union (yab-yum) with his consort, Samantabhadrī. In wrathful form he is one of the Eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahayoga and he is known as Vajramrtra, but this Samantabhadra buddha and Samantabhadra bodhisattva are not the same.

The Ratnagotravibhāga (Sanskrit, abbreviated as RGV, meaning: Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage, Investigating the Jewel Disposition) and its vyākhyā commentary (abbreviated RGVV to refer to the RGV verses along with the embedded commentary), is an influential Mahāyāna Buddhist treatise on buddha-nature (a.k.a. tathāgatagarbha). The text is also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra (The Ultimate Teaching of the Mahāyāna). The RGVV was originally composed in Sanskrit, likely between the middle of the third century and no later than 433 CE. The text and its commentary are also preserved in Tibetan and Chinese translations.

The Ratnagotra focuses on the buddha nature present in all sentient beings, which is eternal, blissful, unconditioned and originally pure. This buddha nature is obscured by defilements, but when they are removed, the buddha nature is termed dharmakaya, the ultimate Buddha body. The buddha nature is what is referred to as the "jewel disposition" or "jeweled lineage" (ratnagotra) of the Buddhas. The RGVV often quotes from various tathāgatagarbha sutras and comments on them. The Ratnagotravibhāga is an important and influential text in Tibetan Buddhism and was also important for the Huayan school.

The Yujia Yankou rite (Chinese: 瑜伽燄口, pinyin: Yújiā Yànkǒu, lit: "Yoga Flaming-Mouth Food Bestowal"), also known as the Yuqie Yankou rite, is an esoteric Chinese Buddhist ritual typically performed to fulfil several different goals, including to nourish and liberate hungry ghosts, to promote longevity and prolong the lifespans of the living, as well as to avert calamities and prevent disasters. The ritual is commonly performed during or at the end of regular religious temple events such as repentance rites (懺悔, Chànhǔi), Buddha recitation retreats (佛七, Fóqī), the dedication of a new monastic complex or gatherings for the transmission of monastic vows. It is also widely performed as a post-mortem rite within Chinese society during funerals and other related occasions such as the Ghost Festival. While the ritual originated as a rite to feed hungry ghosts, or egui (餓鬼, Èguǐ), certain traditional commentaries have expanded its scope and significance to include the nourishment and ultimate liberation of all sentient beings, including devas, asuras and humans. Due to the eclectic and non-exclusivist nature of Chinese Buddhism, where monks and nuns are usually trained in multiple Buddhist traditions and there is historically little to no sectarianism between the different traditions, the Yujia Yankou is practiced by monastics who are trained across all different traditions in Chinese Buddhism, such as Chan, Esoteric, Pure Land, Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism.

The ritual combines features of Chinese operatic tradition (including a wide range of instrumental music as well as vocal performances such as solo deliveries, antiphonal and choral singing), the recitation of sūtras similar to other Mahāyāna rituals as well as esoteric Vajrayāna practices (including maṇḍala offerings, recitation of esoteric mantras, execution of mudrās and visualization practices involving identifying oneself with a divinity). In particular, the usage of mantras, mudrās and maṇḍalas in the ritual correspond directly to the concept of the "Three Mysteries" (三密, Sānmì) in tantric Buddhism: the "secrets" of body, speech and mind. The ritual is one out of several esoteric Chinese Buddhists rites dedicated to the salvation of sentient beings, such as the Mengshan Shishi (蒙山施食, Méngshān Shīshí, lit: "Mengshan food bestowal") that is carried out in daily liturgical services. It is also usually performed as part of the more extensive Shuilu Fahui ceremony (水陸法會, Shuǐlù Fǎhuì, lit: "Water and Land Dharma Assembly"), where its function is to aid in the salvation of all sentient beings.