Abstract

This article presents a case of the application of Buddhist yinming logic in a public debate between Buddhists and Daoists at the court of Emperor Tang Gaozong, as recorded by Daoxuan in his Ji Gujin Fo Dao Lunheng. The application was successful in the sense that the Buddhist vanquished his Daoist opponent. Yet, yinming logic was not used in other debates against Daoists, not even by Buddhists trained in this particular logic. Why? Looking for answers to this question, the article argues for the importance of common analytical ground in inter-religious, and by extension intercultural debate.