Why ‘determine’: the Zhiguan fuxing chuanhong jue in the landscape of the Buddhist commentarial tradition

Japanese Buddhism originates from Chinese Buddhism, on what basis? Books, music, dance, architecture and other arts and cultures are the carriers of Buddhism. Murals and sculptures are no exception and are visual media that can strongly embody cultural interaction. Through the existing academic research, the author understands the artistic style of flying Buddha statues in the Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties. On this basis, this paper takes several flying Buddha figures recorded in Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang as the typical flying Buddha figures and discusses the mural art of Northern Wei Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. It further compares the aesthetic characteristics of the flying Buddha statues in the Heian Period of Japan with the two dynasties of China. This paper discusses the communication and development of flying Buddha figures in color, face, body posture, costume, shape, and specific styles in Northern Wei Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and Heian period. Finally, this paper concludes that the flying Buddha statues of Heian period imitated the flying Buddha statues of Northern Wei Dynasty and Tang Dynasty while developing the style of localized Japanese flying Buddha statues.

The modern reclamation of Esoteric Buddhism by Chinese Buddhists, commonly referred to as “The Tantric Revival,” began in China during the waning days of the Qing dynasty (1664–1912) and has since blossomed into a global phenomenon consisting of both independent and loosely interconnected communities in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Unites States. Despite this diversity, the architects of the revival are united by their desire to resurrect what they perceive as an extinct form of Chinese religiosity—referred to as “Tang-dynasty esotericism” (tangmi唐密), “the esoteric school” (mizong密宗), or more commonly “Zhenyan” (真言)—that they believe disappeared from the Chinese Buddhist landscape after the Tang dynasty. The revival began during the late Qing dynasty and early Republican period (1912–1949), when Chinese Buddhists started studying Esoteric Buddhism in Japan and Tibet, where forms of Esoteric Buddhism have thrived unabated for centuries. However, interest in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism quickly waned, and the popularity of Tibetan Vajrayāna eventually superseded the desire to resurrect Tang-dynasty Zhenyan. Moreover, no independent Chinese chain of Esoteric Buddhist transmission was established during this time. Thus, the first phase of the Tantric Revival, in a sense, failed. Beginning in the 1970s, however, the importation of Tibetan Buddhism to Taiwan renewed the desire to resurrect—as they saw it—Tang-dynasty Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and essentially revived the revival. Similar to the early Qing-dynasty and Republican-period revivalists who left China to study Esoteric Buddhism abroad, a number of Taiwanese monks traveled to Kōyasan, Japan, where they were ordained as priests within the Japanese Buddhist tradition of Shingon, which descends from the original form of Esoteric Buddhism in China. However, unlike their Chinese-revivalist predecessors, some of these monks were successful in establishing independent and self-propagating Zhenyan lineages. Moreover, a number of their students went on to establish their own Chinese Esoteric Buddhist communities throughout the world.

Since the first century, when Buddhism entered China, the foreign religion has influenced and been influenced in turn by traditional Chinese culture, and eventually became an important part of it. That is one of the great historical themes not only for China but also for East Asia. This book explores the elements of Buddhism, including its classics, doctrines, system, and rituals, to reveal the basic connotation of Buddhism as a cultural entity. Regarding the development of Buddhism in China, it traces the spread in chronological order, from the introduction in Han Dynasties (202 BC–220 AD), to the prosperity in the Sixteen Kingdoms (ca. 304–439 AD), and then to the decline since the Five Dynasties (907–ca. 960 AD). It is noteworthy that the Buddhist schools in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589 AD) and the Buddhist sects in Sui and Tang Dynasties (581–907 AD) contributed to the sinicization of Buddhism. This book also deals with the interesting question of the similarities and differences between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism, to examine the specific characters of the former in terms of thought and culture. In the last chapter, the external influence of Chinese Buddhism in East Asia is studied. Scholars and students in Buddhism and Chinese culture studies, especially those in Buddhist countries, will benefit from the book. Also, it will appeal to readers interested in religion, Chinese culture, and ancient Chinese history.

The formation of Buddhist schools during the Sui and Tang Dynasties is the most significant achievement in the Sinification of Buddhism and holds profound significance in the history of civilization. This article takes ‘Fulfilling the Threefold Training’ as the core of the sectarian concept and explores the Sui and Tang Dynasty Buddhist schools within the three major dimensions of truth, sanctity and daily life. It discusses various elements such as the Division of the Buddha’s teaching, Dependent Arising, meditative contemplation, patriarchal tradition and monastic discipline. The formation of Buddhist schools was based on a methodology of inheritance, interpretation and innovation, representing a civilization exchange of ‘difference and unity.’ Simultaneously, the formation of these schools signifies the central role of Mahāyāna Buddhism in China, contrasting with the peripheral position of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India, presenting a mutual civilizational learning of ‘periphery and center.’

This chapter examines the factional motives in the Chan Buddhism in China during the Tang Dynasty using transmission records. It reviews early Chan transmission records that exposes the rise of factionalism in Chan just as these factions are beginning to forge a successful identity in Chinese Buddhism. It analyzes the factional nature of the claims of the three full-blown multilineal transmission records compiled around the beginning of the Song Dynasty including the Patriarch's Hall Anthology, Jingde Record Lamp, and the Tiansheng Extended Transmission of the Lamp.

Buddhist plant patterns are an important form of visual art for disseminating Buddhist doctrines and various regional cultures. This paper aims to explore the symbolic meanings of plant patterns in Chinese Buddhist art during the Tang Dynasty and how they reflect Buddhist thought. Therefore, the objectives of this study are: (1) to enhance understanding of Buddhist culture; (2) to advance the development of art history and aesthetics research; (3) to promote the protection and utilization of cultural heritage; and (4) to deepen the recognition and transmission of traditional culture. The methodologies employed in this study include: (1) literature review; (2) case study analysis; (3) semiotic analysis; and (4) field research. By analyzing specific artworks and documentary materials, the study reveals that Buddhist plant patterns not only had a profound influence on the aesthetics of Tang Dynasty art but also played a significant role in conveying Buddhist teachings and beliefs.

Ever since Dao-An began to compile the bibliography of Buddhist texts, the Buddhist monks and scholars in ancient China had always called the Buddhist scriptures translated from Sanskrit of India or Turkish of Chinese Turkestan (western regions of ancient China) as tire True Sutra and referred to those texts forged by Chinese people in the name of Buddha as Suspicious Forged Soya. The Suspicious Forged Sates, a native product sad in the name of Buddha, has been neglected for years However, the value of certain suspicious texts is undeniable because they not only truly reflect the historical facts and the social conditions at that time, but also do act betray the Buddhist principles. Some eminent monks even thought highly of them and 'Hsiang Fa Chueh Yi Sates' collected in Gu Yi Bu & Yi Si Bu (A Section of missing or suspicious forged sutras in old ages) of Ta Cheng Sutra, Vol. 85 is one of many examples. As there are not many studies on this scripture and certain serial conditions in Suei and Tang dynasties was fully reflected in this book, more investigations should be made, Therefore, circulation of this scripture in Suei and Tang dynasties will be examined in the content of the scripture with a view to research and the origin antisocial situations from Nan Pen to Suei and Tang dynasties will be traced and explored via the content of the scripture with a view to revealing the epochal significance this scripture represents.

The article is devoted to the study of Buddhist temples in Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty. The author relies on a limited number of reference works, as well as on his own study of such primary sources as “Ju Tangshu” (“Old History of Tang”), “Zizhi tongjian” (“Universal Mirror, Helping Management”), “Xu Gaosen zhuan” (“Continuation of the Life of Worthy Monks”), “Chang'an zhi” (“Chang'an Records”). It is shown that the Tang dynasty was a period of prosperity of Chinese Buddhism, and also a period of flourishing construction of Buddhist monasteries in China. In Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, there were many famous and majestic Buddhist temples. They were mainly located in the west and east of the city and in the southeast and northeast corners. This article is the first to examine the historical formation of the monastery in its physical and spatial dimension of a specific period. As a result, it is shown that the Tang period witnessed changes in the composition of the temples, when the influence of Buddhist religion on China's official circles becomes particularly evident. Thus, the central place in the temple ensemble began to occupy the main temple with statues of Buddha. Pagodas were built on the side of the temple, behind the temple, in other courtyards or even the courtyard did without them at all. The article notes that the ban on the construction of pagodas in the main courtyard of Buddhist temples began in the early years of the reign of Emperor Gao Zong of the Tang dynasty. By the end of his reign, the new arrangement of pagodas in other courtyards had become a widespread rule. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, two main types of Buddhist temples of the Tang period are shown on the basis of translated research materials: Buddhist temples with one courtyard (danyuanshi fosi) and Buddhist temples with several courtyards (doyuanshi fosi). It is revealed that all of them were concentrated in the center of the Buddha Hall. Changes in architecture and layout were defined, which influenced the future architecture of temple complexes in China. Since that time, the principle of building a Buddhist ensemble brought from India is replaced by the indigenous Chinese architectural tradition. The central place, and consequently the place of sacred object, in temple complexes and monasteries is occupied not by a pagoda, but by a temple with an altar. This layout was an important turning point in Chinese Buddhist temple architecture and had a far-reaching influence not only on Chinese Buddhist temples, but also on the layout of the Buddhist temple in Shangjing near Bohai Bay, the Buddhist temple in Silla, the Fujiwara House, and the Buddhist temples in Heian-kyo. Overall, the paper demonstrates that the Tang Dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in Chinese history, and its Buddhist architectural planning also reflected a high degree of prosperity, strong creativity and self-confidence. Above all, the scale, multi-functionality and height of the buildings reflected the prosperity of the society, and with it the Buddhism of the period.

ABSTRACT“Everything is interconnected” is a central theme of Chinese Buddhism. This article examines how four prominent Chinese Buddhist schools—Tiantai 天台, Sanlun 三論, Huayan 華嚴, and Chan 禪—engaged with interconnectedness during the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581–907 CE), the golden age of Chinese Buddhism. While Tiantai, Sanlun, and Huayan developed distinctive theses of interconnectedness by advancing beyond the Indian Buddhist doctrine of emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā), which denies that objects have intrinsic nature (Sanskrit: svabhāva), their insights were echoed and integrated in practice‐oriented Chan Buddhism. This article analyzes this historical development through two lenses: first, by tracing the evolution of interconnectedness in Chinese Buddhism, it reveals how Chinese Buddhists developed distinctive views that further the Indian doctrine of emptiness; second, by showing how contemporary concepts of identity and dependence can elucidate historical Chinese Buddhist theses while revealing alternative perspectives to contemporary views, it demonstrates how Chinese Buddhism and contemporary metaphysics can be mutually enriching.

In this article1, I would like to first briefly discuss the current misconception of the nature of Buddhist meditation in early Chinese Buddhism shared by most scholars of Buddhism. Many western scholars, under the influence of the Zen-related studies starting from D. T. Suzuki, see the Buddhist meditation before Chan School established during the Tang Dynasty as “the preparations” for the rise of Chan. In contrast, Zyrcher and Demieville’s contributions to our understanding of early Chinese Buddhism through their detailed and specialized research of early Chinese Buddhist meditation have not received the attentions they deserve. This approach is insufficient in that it is not able to fully unveil the nature of early Chinese Buddhist meditation and its difference with Chan. Shi Chan Boluomi Cidi Famen, a work by Zhiyi and also regarded by Master Taixu as the epitome of early Chinese Buddhist meditation, had “Four Dhyānas,” a practice inherited from Indian Buddhism, as its basic framework. Therefore, in this article, I would like to trace the practice and development of “Four Dhyānas” in early Chinese Buddhism.

In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were many types of Buddhist scripture-interpretation literature, including xuanyi 玄義, xuanlun 玄論, yishu 義疏, yizhang 義章, etc. These exegetical forms are related to Chinese traditional literary style, but mainly inherit the tradition of Indian Buddhist hermeneutics. In this paper, all such types would be summarized as yi (義, exegesis), lun (論, treatise) and shu (疏, commentaries), which are described as follows.BR The style of yi is related to the interpretation tradition of the Confucian classic Spring and Autumn Annals, which finds two variants in the interpretation of Buddhist scriptures. The first is yizhang as the general interpretation of Buddhist ideas, such as Dasheng yizhang by Jingying Huiyuan, and the second is xuanyi as the general exegesis of a Buddhist scripture, such as Fahua xuanyi by Zhiyi.BR Lun for Buddhist treatises is the same term used for Chinese traditional treatise lun, but its connotation mainly derives from Indian Buddhist hermeneutics. There are two variants of this style, one is a general interpretation, such as the Dasheng xuanlun by Jizang, and the other is general exegesis, such as Fahua xuanlun by Jizang. Sometimes, this style is also titled with yizhang and xuanyi.BR Shu as a genre of literature, which is related to Chinese tradition of classical annotation, usually means record, classification, and interpretation of various commentaries. When interpreting Buddhist scriptures, this genre explains Buddhist scriptures from the perspective of yi and is later called yishu, such as in Qixin lun yishu by the author Jingying Huiyuan. It is often also referred to as yiji 義記, jijie 集解 or wenju 文句.BR Yi and lun are actually the same style or genre, typically having a small number of volumes (juan 卷, rolls or scrolls) and focusing on a few profound meanings. There are many examples of yishu that had such a wide influence that the term changed to become zhangshu 章疏—together with yizhang—since the Tang dynasty. In the history of Chinese Buddhism, yi and lun gradually faded out while zhangshu continued to be produced. This change is an indication that the focus of Chinese Buddhism shifted from Indian Buddhist scriptures to Chinese patriarchal works deriving from Buddhist schools, such as Tiantai, Huayan, Chan, and Pure Land Buddhism.

Buddhism is a major religion in China, and its influence extends beyond China to other regions of East Asia, particularly Korea and Japan, and other areas in Asia and throughout the world affected by the Chinese diaspora. The history of Chinese Buddhism covers roughly two thousand years, from its entrance into China through India and central Asia in the 1st century ce, down to the present. Not only was the advance of Buddhism momentous for China and its East Asian neighbors; it also invites interest from historians of religion and culture. Buddhism in China is one of the few instances in the premodern era in which two advanced, highly literate, and sophisticated cultures encountered each other, resulting in a hybrid mix that transformed both Buddhist teaching and Chinese culture. Buddhism is historically the most successful of the “foreign” religions in China, and its status has long been the subject of debate. Throughout this history, Buddhism has enjoyed eras of growth and prosperity punctuated by periods of persecution, decline, and neglect. In spite of questions regarding Buddhism’s place in China’s cultural identity, the religion has manifested an enduring resilience and has continued to thrive. Fluctuating borders impacting China’s territorial expanse have also affected the ethnic makeup of the Chinese nation and the types of Buddhism practiced in China. This raises the question of what constitutes “Chinese” Buddhism. China’s current borders (for which there is premodern precedent as well) include Tibetan and Mongolian regions, as well as territories occupied by Theravada-practicing ethnic groups in China’s southeast. In this case, an argument could be made that Chinese Buddhism includes representation from each of Buddhism’s major “vehicles” (or yanas): Theravada, Mahayana, and Tantrayana. For the purposes of this review, however, Chinese Buddhism is restricted primarily to its traditional definition as regarding those developments pertaining to Chinese-language sources, practices, and so forth, of Han Chinese ethnicity. Until recently, research into Chinese Buddhism was largely confined to developments leading up to a hypothetical “golden age” in the Tang dynasty (618–906), and this remains the area of greatest research strength. In addition to post-Tang and modern developments, more recent scholarship has expanded into areas beyond doctrine and intellectual history to include popular and folk Buddhist practices as emerging areas of investigation. Because of the temporal expanse and wide range of phenomena that this bibliography on Chinese Buddhism covers, both the scope of topics and numbers of citations have been limited. The vast corpus of secondary literature in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean languages has also been largely omitted. It should also be noted that no attention has been given here to doctrinal schools and developments, which will be covered in a separate bibliographic article on Chinese Buddhist doctrines and practices.

The dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism began during the Tang dynasty (618–907) when East Syrian Christian missionaries from Persia arrived in China in 635. At this time, Buddhism was prospering under the Tang Empire, and the “Church of the East” was established, known as the “Brilliant (or Radiant) Teaching” (Jingjiao 景教). Historical records and archaeological evidence indicate that the Jingjiao church employed the method of “matching concepts” (geyi 格義). This methodology, initially utilized in the early stages of Buddhism’s dissemination from India and Central Asia to China for the translation of Buddhist texts, was similarly applied to the translation of Christian texts and concepts. These translation efforts and dissemination activities represent the earliest documented encounters between Christianity and Buddhism in premodern times. Furthermore, recent archaeological discoveries reveal that the dialogue between the two religions in China transpired through textual and visual representations (iconography) in the form of “borrowing pictures”. This study investigates these interactions across disciplines, exploring the evidence of early cultural exchange between Buddhism and Christianity while reviewing the motivations behind the missionaries’ translation and dissemination activities. It addresses pivotal questions regarding these early dialogues by examining the proselytization strategies employed and analyzing the reasons why imperial authorities sanctioned Christian activities and facilitated their propagation during the Tang dynasty.

I Spontaneity Of Life, Individualization, Beingness.- Harmony in Becoming: The Spontaneity of Life and Self-Individualization.- Toward a More Comprehensive Concept of life.- Confucian Methodology and Understanding the Human Person.- Heidegger's Quest for the Essence of Man.- A Comparative Study of Lao-tzu and Husserl: A Methodological Approach.- II Human Faculties of Life.- Mind and Consciousness in Chinese Philosophy: A Historical Survey.- Transcendental Consciousness in Edmund Husserl's Phenomenology.- Life-world and Reason in Husserl's Philosophy of Life.- Consciousness and Body in the Phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty: Some Remarks Concerning Flesh, Vision, and World in the Late Philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty.- Language, Consciousness, and Mind in Neo-Confucian Philosophy: The Crossbow Pellet.- Conscience and Life: The Role of Freedom in Heidegger's Conception of Conscience.- III Life, Morality and Inwardness.- A Reevaluation of Confucius.- Conscience, Morality and Creativity.- Confucian Moral Metaphysics and Heidegger's Fundamental Ontology.- The Concept of Tao: A Hermeneutical Perspective.- Phenomenology in T'ien-t'ai and Hua-yen Buddhism.- Chinese Buddhism as an Existential Phenomenology.- A Critical Reflection on the Methods of Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and the Idea of Contextualization in Religious and Theological Studies.- IV The Locus of Art In Life.- The Tenets of Roman Ingarden's Aesthetics in a Philosophical Perspective.- The Literary Work and Its Concretization in Roman Ingarden's Aesthetics.- The Writer as Shaman.- A Glimpse of the Fundamental Nature of Japanese Art.- A Phenomenological Perspective of Theodore Roethke's Poetry.- Virginia Woolf's Theory of Reception.- The Aesthetic Interpretation of life in The Tale of Genji.- Index Of Names.

This chapter examines the history of the official recognition of Chan Buddhism in China during the Tang Dynasty, or the period from 618 to 906. It reviews two partisan debates related to the Chan struggle for recognition in order to show the role played by government officials and secular literati in the development of Chan. It suggests that the debate associated with the struggle between rival Chan factions in the early Song Dynasty was instrumental in defining the principles that came to characterize Chan, and served as the foundation for the acceptance of Chan as a leading school of Chinese Buddhism in the Song.