Akegarasu Haya’s Reading of the <i>Huayan Sūtra</i>

Abstract

During the Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa eras, Japanese Buddhists faced the task of reestablishing Buddhism as a modern religion. Their efforts in meeting the challenge included reading major sūtras from new viewpoints, as exemplified by the study of the Huayan Sūtra by Inoue Enryō, Sasaki Gesshō, and D. T. Suzuki, among others. This paper examines Akegarasu Haya’s reading of the Huayan Sūtra, focusing on his booklet “The Purport of the Huayan Sūtra” (華厳経の帰趣). Akegarasu saw the idea of ‘turning’ (転, parivarta) found in the Asaṅkhyeya Chapter (阿僧祇品) as the gist of the sūtra, arguing that it signifies the impermanence of all phenomena (諸行無常). He went on to claim that an authentic way of life is to adhere to the Huayan teaching of ‘non-basis’ and ‘non-dwelling’ (無所依, 無所住) and to embrace the truth of impermanence and flux, both of all phenomena and the very self, concluding that one must live each moment as an independent being (独立者) making constant efforts (精進) to be true (正直) to oneself. Although his interpretation may easily become a pretext for indulgence and self-righteousness, his singular reading of the Huayan Sūtra provides us with insights into its essence often forgotten in traditional, doctrinal hermeneutics.