The Awakening of Faith

What It's About

The Awakening of Faith is one of the most influential texts in Mahayana Buddhism, occupying a place in Buddhist literature sometimes compared to that of the New Testament in Christianity. It sets out the fundamental doctrines of the Mahayana school, addressing the nature of absolute reality (enlightenment) and relative reality (nonenlightenment), and how the two relate to one another. The relationship between mind, thought, and ignorance is illustrated through the well-known metaphor of wind stirring waves on the surface of an otherwise still ocean. The text also considers the practice and advantages of Mahayana faith, and includes a comparison between Buddhism and Christianity.

Key Concepts

Central to the text is the distinction between original enlightenment and nonenlightenment, and the process by which the latter can be overcome. It also treats the concept of Nirvana and the practical cultivation of faith as a path toward realising enlightenment.

About the Author

The Awakening of Faith is traditionally attributed to Aśvaghoṣa, an Indian Buddhist philosopher, poet, and dramatist thought to have lived around 80–150 CE and born in Saketa in northern India. He is credited with other works including the Buddhacarita, a life of the Buddha in verse. However, no Sanskrit original of the Awakening of Faith has ever been found, and most modern scholars now believe the text was actually composed in China several centuries later, with the attribution to Aśvaghoṣa being traditional rather than historical.

About This Edition

This is a 1907 translation by Timothy Richard.