Punyayashas
Punyayashas
1st c. BCE – Unknown
Puṇyayaśas, eleventh patriarch in the Chan list, is named in the *Jǐngdé Chuándēng Lù* as the disciple of Pārśva and teacher of Aśvaghoṣa[1]. The Chan account preserves the encounter narrative between Puṇyayaśas and Aśvaghoṣa as one of the more developed dialogues in the early section of the transmission-of-the-lamp literature: Aśvaghoṣa, then a brahmin debater hostile to Buddhism, was won over not through doctrinal argument but through Puṇyayaśas's direct response to a challenge about the meaning of the term "Buddha"[2].
Dumoulin notes that the placement of Puṇyayaśas in the lineage—immediately preceding the historically attested Aśvaghoṣa—reflects the Chan compilers' care to lodge each significant Mahāyāna figure within a recognizable teacher-student relationship within the Indian sequence[3].
Names
Disciples of Punyayashas
Teachers and lineage of Punyayashas
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
Aśvaghoṣa was a renowned brahmin philosopher who had defeated sixty Buddhist teachers in debate. When Puṇyayaśas came to his city, Aśvaghoṣa challenged him: 'I will debate you on the question of what is a Buddha.' Puṇyayaśas said: 'I do not debate.' Aśvaghoṣa said: 'Then you have already lost.' Puṇyayaśas said: 'Yes. I lost long ago, and since then I have known great peace.' Aśvaghoṣa fell silent. Then he bowed.
Other masters in Indian Patriarchs
Master Record Sources
- datesZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
trad. 1st c. BCE
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Punyayashas
- schoolZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Indian Patriarchs
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Parshva
Puṇyayaśas is counted the tenth Indian patriarch in Chan/Zen lineage lists; the Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia records his transmission role between Buddhamitra and Aśvaghoṣa.