Transcript Slide 1 - 中国人民大学教务处

Chinese Buddhism
中国佛教
温海明
Prof. WEN Haiming
2017/4/5
Associate Professor, School of Philosophy
Renmin University of China
中国人民大学哲学院副教授
Ph.D. University
of Hawaii
Prof. Haiming Wen, School of Philosophy, Renmin
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University of China
夏威夷大学哲学博士
History of Chinese Buddhism
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Took place in first half of the 1st Century CE
1st, 2nd Centuries: considered occultism
Daoist story of Buddha as Laozi’s disciple
Designed to imply sutras were foreign variant of
the Daodejing
Originally interpreted by analogy
5th Century: analogy abandoned, terminological
similarity used
synthesized Buddhism and Daoism
General Buddhist Concepts
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Several schools (Hinayana, Mahayana, etc)
but agree on basics
The theory of karma
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Thoughts and deeds have effects on the
Samsara, or Wheel of Birth and Death
Sufferings are rooted in ignorance of true
nature of things (Avidya, Wu-ming)
Hope lies with Enlightenment, or Bodhi, and
emancipation from rebirth cycle, Nirvana
Mahayana School on Universal Mind
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Mahayana school believed in ‘universal mind’
Nirvana means individuals’ identification
with the universal mind
AKA the ‘Buddha-nature’
School of the Middle Path described Nirvana
differently
School of the Middle Path
on Theory of ‘Double Truth’
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“Double truth” means common sense and
higher sense truth
Three levels of double truth (you=being,
wu=non-being)
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Saying things are you is common sense, saying they
are wu is higher truth
Saying things are both is common sense, saying
they are neither is higher
Saying they are neither is common sense, saying
they are neither you nor wu, neither not-you nor notwu, and the middle path is neither one-sided nor
not one-sided is higher
End Results - Zhuangzi
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School of the Middle Path, all things must be
denied, for they are unreal
When all is denied, including the denial of
the denial of all, one is enlightened
Similar like Zhuangzi’s “Sitting in
forgetfulness”
A state of nirvana ?
Seng Zhao
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Great Middle Path thinker
Kumārajīva - Indian, born in what is now
Chinese Turkistan
Seng Zhao: Things are in constant flux
A thing of one moment is an entirely new
thing
The story of Fan Zhi
Dao-sheng
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A monk so learned rocks nodded in agreement
“A good deed entails no retribution”
Following wu-wei=having no cravings,
Karma is due to cravings, therefore no retribution
Buddhahood by Sudden Enlightenment
Everyone has the Buddha-nature
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Realizing this through learning, practice frees you
There is no ‘Pure Land’ – Buddha is here already
Icchantika can achieve Buddhahood
Chan or Zen Buddhism
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Dao-sheng and Seng Zhao had laid
philosophical groundwork for Chan
Buddhism
Northern-Southern school split
Hui-neng succeeded Hong-ren as patriarch
Writing the best poem summarizing Chan
Buddhism
Teaching of the First Principle
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“First Principle” (same as ‘double truth-3rd
level’)
Unspeakable and unnamable
Asking about the First Principle elicited no
response, hitting, irrelevant answers
No scriptures or sutras have real connection
to the First Principle
Cultivation
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Best way to cultivate is to not cultivate
To cultivate oneself is to have effort, or you-wei
Do things without effort or purposefulness
Act without effects and Karma will be exhausted
Don’t worry about institutionalized religion
Original ignorance and naturalness are gifts of
nature
knowledge of un-knowledge and cultivation through
non-cultivation are products of spirit
Sudden Enlightenment is result of non-cultivation
Attainment of Non-Attainment
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Nothing further than Enlightenment
The mountain is the mountain, the river is
the river
The story of riding the ass
2017/4/5
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Prof. Haiming Wen, School of Philosophy, Renmin
University of China