英文摘要
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Zen Buddhism was introduced to China by its first patriarch Bodhidharma, and later gained immense popularity in Chinese Buddhism through the sixth patriarch Hui Neng. Early followers of Bodhidharma were innitiated according to the Lankāvatāra Sūtra; therefore, Hu Shi termed early Zen Buddhism as ”Lankāvatāra school.” However, Hu Shi also believed that, since the fourth Patriarch Dao Xin, Prajnaparamita Sutras were gradually taking over the place of the Lankāvatāra Sūtra. Until the time of Hui Neng, the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism, the approach to enlightenment had completely changed from ”gradual cultivation” to ”sudden awakening.” It was regarded that Hui Neng had revolutionized the practice of Zen Buddhism. Nevertheless, Hu Shi and his fellow historians' comments were somewhat biased, since their observations on the changing Zen thought were based on the phenomenon of ”the rise of Prajnaparamita Sutras, and the decline of Lankavatara Sutra”, but not on the theory of Zen practice itself.By first examining the Lankāvatāra thought, this paper argued that the Zen practice passed down from early Zen patriarchs was indeed Tathagatagarbha-dhyana, as prescribed in the Lankavatara Sutra. Then, according to the Lankavatara Sutra, the paper went on to explain that ignorance was the cause for Tathagata-garbha to be transformed into Alayavijnana. Practitioners must realize that that there is no permanent human ego, and no permanent independence of self or things. Alayavijnana can thus be cleansed and restored back into Tathagatagarbha. For this, Sakyamuni proposed four methods for gradual cultivation: the dhyana practiced by the ignorant, the dhyana devoted to the examination of meaning, the dhyana with Tathata (suchness) for its object, and the dhyana of the Tathagatas. For the brightest practitioners, Sakyamuni then offered the method of sudden awakening, revealing the realm of unthinkable knowledge which belongs to Buddhahood. This framework of practice incorporated both gradual cultivation and sudden awakening for Alayavijnana to be cleansed and restored back into Tathagatagarbha. Based on the framework, this paper argued that both gradual cultivation and sudden awakening belonged to Lankāvatāra dhyana.Patriarchs may differ in their respective focuses, such as ”entrance by ways of both reason and conduct” stressed by Bodhidharma, ”calming the mind” by Dao Xin, and ”enlightenment through the sudden teaching, abandoning the grasp onto the cultivation of external things” by Hui Neng. However, further investigation into dhyana practice proposed by patriarchs, as referenced to the Lankavatara Sutra, showed that their approaches belonged to the Lankavatara dhyana, which stressed both ”gradual cultivation” and ”sudden awakening”, instead of Prajnaparamita dhyana, as believed by Hu Shi to replace Lankavatara dhyana.
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