Chinese Intellectual History

Presentation on theme: "Chinese Intellectual History"— Presentation transcript:

1 Chinese Intellectual History
Seminar on Chinese Intellectual History 9. Sengzhao and the Early History of Buddhism in China Chun-chieh Huang National Chair Professor National Taiwan University Research Fellow, Academia Sinica

2 I. Lecture Notes:

3 1. Introduction Sengzhao (僧肇, 384– 414) Buddhism and Chinese thought:
Confrontation and Assimilation

4 The Eastward Dissemination of Buddhism

5 1:1. The introduction of Buddhism Shakyamuni (566?-486? B.C.)
Zhu Shixing (朱士行) Faxian (法顯, ) Xuanzang (玄奘, )

6 1:2. The "Concept-matching" (Ge yi, 格義): "Period of domestication"
‧“Non-being 無” vs. “emptiness 空”

7 1:3. The spread of Buddhism: a) Translation
Master Kumarajiva (鳩摩羅什, ) arrived at Changan in 401. b) Interpretations: Prajña (wisdom,般若): things possess no self- nature (無自性) Sengzhao Zhu Daosheng (竺道生, ?-434) c) Organization: Daoan (道安, )

8 1:4. Confrontation between Buddhism and Chinese
Thought: "Acculturation" Value orientation Behavioral level

9 a) Confrontation in the realm of social ethics
b) Confrontation in the realm of political ethics: the concept of universal kingships the śramana (沙門) should not venerate anything worldly c) Buddhist confrontation with Chinese cultural nationalism: Gu Huan (顧歡), "Treatise on the Barbarians and the Chinese" (夷夏論)

10 2. Buddhism in Eastern Jin: A.D. 317-420
Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, Erected amidst the gentle rains. (Du Mu’s 杜牧 ( ) “Spring of the South of Yangzi River”) 南朝四百八十寺 多少樓台煙雨中 (杜牧《江南春》)

11 2:1. Buddhism in North China: a) Before the arrival of Kumarajiva
Seven schools:  The doctrine of original non-being (本無宗)  Before there was any dharma of form, there was first of all non-being (本無異宗)  Theory of matter as it is (即色宗)  Theory of the non-being of mind (心無宗)  Theory of consciousness being contained (識會宗)  All dharma of worldly truth are illusory (幻化宗)  The theory of causal union (緣會宗)

12 Although all the seven schools claim to be schools of prajna (wisdom), they were heavily influenced by Daoist metaphysics. b) After Kumarajiva, many Sutras were translated into Chinese.

13 3. Sengzhao and His Philosophy:
Among Kumarajiva's pupil, Sengzhao was the most important and most profound: a bridge between Taoism and Buddhism.

14 3:1. "The Immutability of Things." (物不遷論)
Significant piece for the following reasons: 1) Negation of flux of becoming as reality:

15 夫生死交謝，寒暑迭遷。有物流動，人之常情。余則謂之不然。
Current theory: "That birth and death alternate, that winter and summer repeatedly succeed each other, and that all things move on like a current is an ordinary belief of men. But I think that it is not the case." (Chan, p.344) 夫生死交謝，寒暑迭遷。有物流動，人之常情。余則謂之不然。

16 Shengzhao’s argument:
"What other people mean by motion is that because things of the past [have gone away] and do not reach the present, therefore they are said to have moved and are not at rest (continue to exist). What I mean by rest is that, similarly, because things of the past do not reach the present, therefore they may be said to be at rest and have not moved...Thus the situation [that past things have neither come to the present nor have gone anywhere] remains the same but our viewpoints are different.

17 夫人之所以謂動者，以昔物不至今，故曰動而非靜。我之所謂靜者，亦以昔物不至今，故曰靜而非動。動而非靜，以其不來。靜而非動，以其不去。然則所造未嘗異，所見未嘗同。(《物不遷論》)

18 Philosophical significance:
Wang Bi: "non-being" He Yan: Dao in its "genetic process" ∴ Dao becomes existence (not reality)  distortion of classical Daoism (Dao is transcendent, and therefore is existence) Xiang Xiu: "being" Guo Xiang: each thing has its own autonomy, "sagehood"

19 3:1. "The Immutability of Things." (物不遷論)
Significant piece for the following reasons: 2) Sense of mutability depends upon man's perception:

20 今而無故，以知不來。古而無今，以知不去。若古不至今，今亦不至古，事各性住於一世，有何物而可去來？ (《物不遷論》)
"Since there is no past in the present, we know that it does not come, and since there is no present in the past, we know that it does not go. As neither does the past reach to the present nor does the present reach to the past, every thing, according to its nature, remains for only one period of time. What thing is there to come and go?" (Chan, p. 349) 今而無故，以知不來。古而無今，以知不去。若古不至今，今亦不至古，事各性住於一世，有何物而可去來？ (《物不遷論》)

21 Merit: leads to the establishment of subjectivity
 prajna Weakness: no responsibility ∴ Conclusion: The oneness of Activity and Tranquility

22 3:2. "The Emptiness of the Unreal" (不真空論)
Analyze the concept of "emptiness" and defines this concept as "unreal" which is neither existent nor nonexistent. Why? 1) Existence depends on causes to be existent (待緣而後有).

23 2) Because things arise through causation,
therefore they are not nonexistent (緣起故不 無). Philosophical background: Wang Bi and He Yan: "being "  "non-being“; contradictory Guo Xiang: "being" Sengzhao: See “being” in the emptiness (non-existence) See "non-being" in the existence

24 4. Conclusion: 4:1. Being and non-being are one.
4:2. Sengzhao as a bridge between Buddhism and indigenous Chinese thought. a) Being and Becoming. b) The notion of time.

25 II. Assignments:

26 ．Chan, Chapter 21, pp ．陳榮捷，下冊，廿一章，頁 ．勞思光，第二冊，第三章（三）， 頁

27 Discussion Questions:
III. Discussion Questions:

28 1. What are the intellectual and historical factors
accountable for the spread of Buddhism in the period of disunion? 2. What are the disputes between the Chinese and Buddhists during the period of disunion? *3. In what sense can Sengzhao be regarded as a bridge between Daoism and Buddhism? 4. Analyze the notions of time and Being in Sengzhao's philosophy.

29 IV. 討論問題

30 僧肇如何論證事物變遷現象之不真實性。 僧肇如何破：(1) 動vs靜 (2 )真vs俗 →之對立 (3) 去vs住 僧肇之論述方式與《道德經》之論述方式有何異同。

31 Keyword: The immutability of things
Existence depends on causes to be existent Because things arise through causation, therefore they are not nonexistent