Essay on the Golden Lion

work by Fazang

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June 11, 2026

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Fazang, a Buddhist monk born in 643 CE, is credited with founding the Huayan school of Buddhism in China. This school teaches that all phenomena are interconnected, and every living being possesses inherent Buddha-nature. Fazang systematized the doctrines of the Huayan school, drawing heavily from the Avatamsaka-sutra (Garland of Flowers Classic).12

His influential Essay on the Golden Lion illustrates the school's core philosophy: the identity of principle (li) and manifestation (shi). In this essay, gold represents the essential nature, and the lion represents its form. This concept suggests that each part of a phenomenon embodies the whole, and all phenomena are mutually interdependent expressions of ultimate reality. The Huayan school, known as Kegon in Japan, significantly influenced neo-Confucian thought.21

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Buddhism
Avatamsaka (Huayan/Kegon)
Thus, in Fazang’s Essay on the Golden Lion, written for the empress Wu Hou, gold is the essential nature or principle (Chinese: li), and lion is the particular manifestation or form (Chinese: shi; literally, “event”). Moreover, as gold, each part or particle expresses the whole lion and is…
Read More
Thus, in Fazang’s Essay on the Golden Lion, written for the empress Wu Hou, gold is the essential nature or principle (Chinese: li), and lion is the particular manifestation or form (Chinese: shi; literally, “event”). Moreover, as gold, each part or particle expresses the whole lion and is…
Read More