Chinese Buddhist Philosophy, Misc

Wang Fuzhi’s 王夫之 remarks on Buddhism have not been given sufficient attention despite increasing research on him. The few works on this topic either focus on just one aspect of his view of Buddhism or fail to disclose the purpose and uniqueness of his attack of it. This essay analyzes his view of Buddhism comprehensively, in particular his insight into the paradox of Buddhist universal love and his rejection of Buddhist retribution and reincarnation from Confucian righteousness and qi 氣-monism. In (...) addition, it also explores the reason, context, and limitations of his criticism, that is, his reaction to the popular approach of “understanding Confucian classics through learning Buddhism” in the late Ming 明, his response to Zongmi’s 宗密 criticism of Confucian cosmology and human nature, and his misunderstanding of some Buddhist concepts. Yet his criticism is still illuminating to our understanding of the interaction of Confucianism with Buddhism and other religions. (shrink)

On August 24, 1966, during the so-called Great Cultural Revolution, my home was ransacked by the "young generals" who called themselves the Red Guards. All my personal belongings, clothes, and books were taken; nothing remained behind after the sweep. Furthermore, I was forced to move from the rooms in the northern wing of the building and to make my abode in the small cottage in the southern part. At the time I was quite upset, but soon I learned to put (...) the matter aside and make nothing of it. In that period of "leisure," I was able to write the following essays in draft form. Since I didn't have a single book for reference, the writing was entirely from memory. By September 6 I had completed the first essay, and subsequently, on November 10, the second was produced. As for the third, I can no longer recall the date of its completion. (shrink)

Buddhism is one of the world's three largest religions. It originated in the fifth century B.C., and to date it has a history of over two and a half millennia. Buddhism had its earliest origins in ancient India and subsequently spread broadly in China, Japan, and many Southeast Asian countries. After entering China through India, Buddhism, transplanted to the soil of China's feudal society, took root and grew, producing its own peculiar structure and forming many schools, branches, and denominational offshoots (...) that possessed special national characteristics of the Chinese people, and became a component of the superstructure of China's feudal society as well as an important part of China's traditional intellectual and ideological culture. (shrink)

Last year, Mr. Liang Shuming arranged, through his own financing, for the publication by China Academia Press of a book that he had completed in the 1970s. The title of the book is Renxin yu rensheng . This spring he presented a lecture on Chinese culture for the "Symposium on Chinese Culture" lecture series sponsored by the Chinese College of Culture. These two events have captured particularly keen attention both within and outside scholastic circles. Thus, at the urging of Tang (...) Yijie, editor-in-chief of Guoxue jikan , I visited and interviewed Liang Shuming, who is already ninety-two years old. (shrink)

This essay will not attempt to provide an analysis or a study of the entire history of Indian Buddhism's introduction into China. Instead, we will simply explore the relationship that existed between Buddhism after it was introduced into China in the Wei-Jin-Northern and Southern dynasties period and the intellectual or ideological culture that already existed in China at the time, and from this demonstrate the significance of studying comparative philosophy and comparative religions.

This article (1) offers a relatively comprehensive survey of criticisms of Buddhism made by the influential Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200) with translations of key passages, and (2) proposes that these criticisms are best understood as targeting the implicit presuppositions and practical implications of Buddhist teachings, not so much the explicit doctrines of the Buddhists. The article examines three sets of criticisms. The first has to do with Buddhist soteriology, the fundamental priority of Buddhist salvation, which Zhu takes to (...) be egoistic and a corruption of the more relationship-oriented nature of ethics itself. The second set of criticisms concerns Buddhist over-reliance on meditation as a form of mental discipline, which in Zhu’s view leaves Buddhists ill-equipped to take independent standards of right and wrong into account. He proposes instead that Confucian “reverential attention” (jing 敬) is the better means by which to reshape one’s intentions and emotions in light of objective standards. The final criticisms are of the Buddhist doctrine of emptiness. Here Zhu seems to be an uncharitable critic, suggesting that Buddhists treat all things as illusory and without a certain ethically significant relationship to the larger world. But a closer examination of the evidence shows that he was both aware of more defensible notions of Buddhist emptiness and, at the end of the day, unconvinced that Buddhist practices were conducive to realizing them. (shrink)

Buddhisms and Deconstructions considers the connection between Buddhism and Derridean deconstruction, focusing on the work of Robert Magliola. Fourteen distinguished contributors discuss deconstruction and various Buddhisms—Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese —followed by an afterword in which Magliola responds directly to his critics.

The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse, and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It is hence often difficult for those with training in Western philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time to know where to start, and difficult for those who wish to introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition, expose students to important primary texts in reliable translations, that (...) contextualize those texts, and that foreground specifically philosophical issues. Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces the philosophical issues it addresses and arguments it presents, providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an essay explaining Buddhist approaches to that subject matter, and the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise. This volume is an ideal single text for an intermediate or advanced course in Buddhist philosophy, and makes this tradition immediately accessible to the philosopher or student versed in Western philosophy coming to Buddhism for the first time. It is also ideal for the scholar or student of Buddhist studies who is interested specifically in the philosophical dimensions of the Buddhist tradition. (shrink)

As Buddhism spread into China, the Mahayana (Dacheng) and Hinayana (Xiaocheng) schools, as well as the kong 空 (empty) or you 有 (being) schools, each developed separately, with all sorts of competing theories emerging. While Chinese Buddhism saw a revival in modern times, Western science also gained ground all over the country, and many scholars, technologists and monks sought to interpret the meaning of kong according the achievements and method of the natural sciences. They used science to interpret the content (...) and methods of Buddhist teachings, ontology, and outlook on life. Of the scholars who did so, Wang Jitong (王季同) and You Zhibiao (尤智表) are the most excellent. (shrink)

In this study, we examine the philosophical bases of one of the leading clinical psychological methods of therapy for anxiety, anger, and depression, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). We trace this method back to its philosophical roots in the Stoic, Buddhist, Taoist, and Existentialist philosophical traditions. We start by discussing the tenets of CBT, and then we expand on the philosophical traditions that ground this approach. Given that CBT has had a clinically measured positive effect on the psychological well-being of individuals, (...) it becomes important to study the philosophical foundations on which this therapy is based. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the correlations of Buddhism with Confucianism and Taoism in Wei (221-265) and both Jin (265-420) periods. The philosophical principles of these three doctrines, their general and peculiarities in three doctrines philosophical principles which defined the forming in China own Buddhist schools have been showed there. The new view to the correlations between Buddhism and Taoism has been showed, the new conception that the correlations between Buddhism and Taoism in period of Wei are the correlations of (...) Prajna-paramita and liu jia qi zong. It is showed, that also Confucianism in periods of Wei and Jin saved its political and social positions in Chinese society and deeply influenced on the forming Buddhism on the earliest period of its spreading in China. (shrink)

Liang Shuming, considered to be the Last Confucian, was a Buddhist.

During the seventh to eighth centuries, China was the site of confluence and lively debate between two major streams within Yogacara studies which solidified into two main sects---the Tz'u-en and the Hsi-ming, which were led by two scholars, K'uei-chi and Won-cheuk, respectively. K'uei-chi, who was Hsuan-tsang's successor, enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most authoritative Yogacara, scholars in Chinese Buddhist history, and was acknowledged as the founder of the Chinese Yogacara School or the Fa-hsiang School. On the other (...) hand, Won-cheuk was marginal as a Korean monk, and suffered the reputation of being the doctrinal divergent of the mainstream Fa-hsiang School. The debate between K'uei-chi and Won-cheuk forms one of the central focus of this thesis. Involved in this debate is not only personal reputation but distinct doctrinal differences as well. ;An examination of Won-cheuk's biography and his works presents an alternative than that found in previous scholarship. The evidence reveals an erudite scholar who was Hsuan-tsang's peer, and who likely received from Hsuan-tsang the original Sanskrit commentaries on Vasubandhu's Trim&dotbelow;sika-vijniapti-karika . Won-cheuk's own systematic, analytical and carefully cited works were based upon his knowledge of these Sanskrit texts, resulting in a unique doctrinal perspective which contrasted with Chinese scholars whose terminology and conceptions were heavily influenced by Confucianism. For example, Won-cheuk's perspective of the Buddha's turning of the Dharma-wheel was not to be viewed in terms of a hierarchical or temporal classification, but rather, the first two turnings should be viewed as "skill-in-means." Won-cheuk defined a "middle path" of scholarship, navigating between the old and the new Yogacara studies. Through this selective process, Won-cheuk could evaluate old and new Yogacara canons, some of which he conserved, some of which he discarded. He analyzed doctrinal differences, yet the overall effect was a welding of what appeared to be incompatible perspectives. In this way, he created his harmonious and syncretic Buddhist thought. (shrink)

The Saddharmapundarika-sutra-upadesa , composed by the eminent Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu in the fourth or fifth century A. D., has the important distinction of being the only Indian commentary on the Lotus Sutra to be preserved in any Buddhist canon. The Lotus Sutra, with a 2,000 year history spanning India, Central Asia, China and Japan, still remains one of the most important of all the Mahayana Sutras. ;This dissertation on Vasubandhu's commentary to the Lotus Sutra is comprised of three parts: Part (...) I contains a survey of its history and significance; Part II covers various philological issues regarding it; Part III is an annotated English translation of its Chinese version. Appendixes covering certain issues involving the quotations from the Lotus Sutra found in the Chinese manuscript of the SPU and a Chinese-English glossary for its translation are also included. ;In Part I, background information regarding the Lotus Sutra as well as the development of Mahayana Buddhism and its Sutra tradition is provided. New terminology for the historical periods of Mahayana Buddhism, a new model for its development in India and a chronology for some of the major Mahayana Sutras, all of which take into consideration modern Japanese scholarship on the subject, are presented. The formation of the Lotus Sutra and its major doctrines, primarily that of Ekayana , is also introduced. ;In Part II, philological issues regarding the Chinese SPU manu- script, such as various linguistic peculiarities and authenticity, are discussed. Although Chinese tradition proposes several translations of the SPU only two are extant: No. 1519 in Vol. 26 of Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo attributed to Bodhiruci and T. 1520 by Ratnamati. Actually a study of the various versions of the SPU, that is T. 1519, 1520 and the versions quoted verbatim in Enchin's and Chi-tsang's commentaries indicates that there is just one translation. ;The manuscript of the Lotus Sutra which Vasubandhu used was closer to the present Sanskrit manuscripts than to the manuscript Kumarajiva used for his translation of the Lotus Sutra . It may well have been a more expanded version of the Lotus Sutra when compared to the present Sanskrit manuscripts. (shrink)

An exceptional contribution to the teaching and study of Chinese thought, this anthology provides fifty-eight selections arranged chronologically in five main sections: Han Thought, Chinese Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, Late Imperial Confucianism, and the early Twentieth Century. The editors have selected writings that have been influential, that are philosophically engaging, and that can be understood as elements of an ongoing dialogue, particularly on issues regarding ethical cultivation, human nature, virtue, government, and the underlying structure of the universe. Within those topics, issues of (...) contemporary interest, such as Chinese ideas about gender and the experiences of women, are brought to light. -/- Introductions to each main section provide an overview of the period, while brief headnotes to selections highlight key points. -/- The translations are the works of many distinguished scholars, and were chosen for their accuracy and accessibility, especially for students, general readers, and scholars who do not read Chinese. Special effort has been made to maintain consistency of key terms across translations. -/- Also included are a glossary, bibliography, index of names, and an index locorum of The Four Books. (shrink)

I explore how the Buddhist icon Kuan Yin is emerging as a point of identification for trans people and has the potential to resolve a tension within feminism. As a figure that slips past the male/female binary, Kuan Yin explodes the dichotomy between universal and particular in a way that captures the pragmatist and feminist emphasis on doing justice to concrete, particular lives without becoming stuck in an essentialist quagmire.

How is devotion (bhakti) related to knowledge (jñāna)? Does one lead to the other? Do they correspond to different paths for different people? Commentators on the Bhagavad-Gītā have debated these questions for centuries. In this essay I will suggest, as many Indian commentators have, that the paths of devotion and knowledge described in the Gītā can be harmonized. I will not draw from Indian texts, however, but from a suggestive parallel in the history of Chinese religions: namely, the development of (...) a tradition of “dual cultivation” of Pure Land and Chan 禪. I will focus in particular on the works of Yunqi Zhuhong 雲棲祩宏 (1535–1615) and his use of the distinction between principle (li 理) and phenomenon (shi 事) to reconcile seemingly divergent religious paths. I will conclude by considering the implications of this synthesis for nondualist interpretations of the Gītā. (shrink)