英文摘要
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Attaining Buddhahood through satori (頓悟成佛) is the revolutionary proclamation of the Platform Sutra of Sixth Patriarch (六祖壇經) and the acknowledged practice of Zen Buddhism after its widespread recognition. Yet it is Zhu Daosheng and Hsieh Ling-Yun that provided earlier sources of this concept. Based on Zhu Daosheng's icchantika's potential to attain Buddhahood (阿闡提人皆得成佛) theory and Hsieh Ling-Yun's Bian Zong Lun (辨宗論), therefore, the present study will deal with the Buddhist philosophies of the era in which these two documents were accomplished.
Mahā-parinirvāna Sūtra is the most important basis of the concept ”every living being has buddhata.” But different versions of this Sutra lead to totally contradictory viewpoints regardiog the question of whether or not icchantika possesses buddhata. It may tentatively be argued that Mahā-parinirvāna Sūtra was not written by the same person, during the same period, and in the same region, and that Zhu Daosheng's and Fo Hsing Lun(佛性論) tended to be alert to the conflicting contentions in Mahā-parinirvāna Sūtra. Zhu Daosheng applied the metaphysical method of differentiating between meaning and speech (言意之辨) and mediated the contradictory viewpoints on the possession of buddhata. With the concepts of temporality (權) and constancy (常), Zhu Daosheng ended up with the assertion that icchantika can also become Buddha.
By contrast, Hsieh Ling-Yun's Bian Zong Lun developed another approach. He employed what we may call a negotiation between Confucianism and Buddhism to explain the concept of satori and brought about ideas more advanced than Zhu Daosheng's. As Tang Yongtong (湯用彤) noted in The Buddhist History of Wei, Jin, and North and South Dynasties,” Hsieh Ling-Yun's contribution was no less than proclaiming that the attainment of sainthood can be guaranteed, and in this regard he may anticipate Cheng Yi's (程頤) theory of learning to become a saint.” Thus Hsieh Ling-Yun demonstrated his irreplaceable value in the history of Chinese philosophy. Although both Zhu Daosheng and Hsieh Ling-Yun take a crucial role in Chinese Buddhism, they have received completely different appraisals. This is the issue I term as the contingency of the evolution of Chinese Buddhology.
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