Abstract
In discussing the arrival of Buddhism to China, Erik Zürcher describes the meeting of “a jungle of Buddhist metaphysics” with other local philosophies and practices. This period was a transformative encounter with wide-ranging ramifications, including for textual traditions. Non-complete Emptiness (Bu zhenkong lun 不真空論), written by Seng Zhao 僧肇, is one product of this encounter. While explaining the principle of emptiness, Non-complete Emptiness incorporates Daoist and Confucian terminologies and elements. Nevertheless, the text is considered formative for the development of Buddhist writing and practice during the critical period of Buddhism’s assimilation into China in the third to fifth centuries AD. This study of Non-complete Emptiness looks at the philosophical and cultural relevance of the text. It suggests a methodological solution to some of the tensions that have arisen from Seng Zhao’s notion of emptiness. The article begins by looking into the historical and hermeneutical tendencies in the scholarship of Non-complete Emptiness. The following section provides a textual and cultural analysis of the text and its author, viewing the sage as an “open entity”, to understand Seng Zhao’s idea of emptiness. This analysis suggests that a multiple dialectic approach should be followed to improve the understanding of the text’s Buddhist message and Seng Zhao’s position as a scholar-monk in medieval China.
Highlights
The complexity of the essay Non-complete Emptiness and its inclusion of subtle messages from the eminent monk and esteemed writer Seng Zhao 僧肇 have resulted in this text lacking popularity among Western scholars
According to Shohei Ichimura, the fifth-century Chinese understanding of Buddhist terms was very advanced and the grasp of the term Emptiness at the time was correspondingly accurate. He suggests that the reason for this was the transcultural nature of the dialectic method of Madhyamaka, and The Treatise of Seng Zhao is evidence of this (Ichimura 1992, p. 51)
I contend that this dialectic relationship continues further to the relationship between Seng Zhao’s monastic identity and the identity of the sage he conveys, an entity guided by senses
Summary
The complexity of the essay Non-complete Emptiness and its inclusion of subtle messages from the eminent monk and esteemed writer Seng Zhao 僧肇 have resulted in this text lacking popularity among Western scholars. some important works have been written about the essay in previous decades. Seng Zhao was a member of this translation team and one of Kumārajıva’s main disciples He was born to a poor family and began his career as a book copier, which allowed him to become thoroughly familiar with a great range of classic Confucian and early Daoist works. I hold that beyond the general acceptance of the order and the soteriological aim, reading the essays strictly as a Buddhist cultivation path might leave out some details that are important for understanding Seng Zhao’s message. Adding to this approach, I propose that every part of the Treatise of Seng Zhao should be carefully read and situated. Does Seng Zhao’s Emptiness represent a purely ascetic point of view? I do not wish to give a clear-cut answer to these questions, but rather to use them as a hermeneutical tool for understanding the text and its author
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