The Madhyamika Dimension of Yinshun
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THE MADHYAMIKA DIMENSION OF YINSHUN A R esta tem en t o f t h e S c h o o l o f N a g a r ju n a in 20th C e n t u r y C h in e se B u d d h ism STEFANIA TRAVAGNIN Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD DEPARTMENT OF THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 2009 1 ProQuest Number: 10673046 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673046 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 To my mother 2 Declaration by candidate I have read and understood the School regulation concerning plagiarism and I undertake: that all material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person, and that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in this Ph.D. Dissertation. Signed Date 3 ABSTRACT Yinshun (1906-2005) is regarded as one of the eminent monks representative of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. He has been valued for his large corpus of writings and scholarly achievement, as well as for his contribution to the change and development of Chinese Buddhism in the twentieth century and his influence on the formation of the future Chinese Buddhist community. Yinshun undertook the mission of re-commenting on and re-promoting the study of the Madhyamika scriptures. His efforts provoked a revival of interest towards the Madhyamika School among contemporary Chinese Buddhist and, a re assessment of the writings of Nagarjuna within Chinese Buddhism. This research reveals the Madhyamika patterns in Yinshun's works and practice and argues that the Madhyamika dimension of Yinshun should be interpreted within the context of the religious, intellectual and national restoration that twentieth-century China was subject to. At that time Chinese Buddhists came to create a new theoretical framework on which to base the new Buddhism, and adopted the latter as a symbol of the new Chinese identity. Yinshun articulated his own mission to restoring Chinese Buddhism, and the first part of his plan was the establishment of new standards of authority and a modern orientation towards tradition. For this purpose, he theorised a “negotiation strategy” that combined the figure and teachings of Nagarjuna with the mainstream Chinese San-lun doctrine. This work aims to present a still unexplored level of analysis of Yinshun, as well as an unprecedented reconstruction of the modem history and exegesis of the Madhyamika/San-lun in China. Finally, with the argument that Yinshun's negotiation between traditions was intended for a Buddhist recovery of the nation, this dissertation can also locate itself in the discipline of historical studies of China. 4 The Madhyamika Dimension of Yinshun A Restatement of the School of Nagarjuna in 20fll Century Chinese Buddhism CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................. .................10 LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................................11 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................12 PART ONE THE STATE OF MADHYAMIKA SCHOLARSHIP IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CHINESE BUDDHISM..................................... 32 I. YINSHUN: LIFE, WORKS AND MADHYAMIKA................................................33 I. 1 The first approach to Buddhism through Chinese Madhyamika and Yogacara texts............................................................................................................................................ 36 I. 2 Taixu and Fazun from the Chinese Sanlun to the Indo-Tibetan Madhyamika ............................................................................................................................. 38 I. 2. 1 Education under Taixu: Yogacara and Tathagata garbha ................................39 I. 2. 2 In-depth knowledge of the Chinese Buddhist Canon .....................................43 I. 2. 3 Influence by the International scholarship ...................................................... 48 1. 2. 4 Fazun: the discovery of Tibetan Buddhism ..................................................... 52 I. 2. 5 The first exposition of Madhyamika ................................................................ 55 I. 3 Yinshun’s Early Works on Madhyamika ......................................................................59 I. 3. 1 Zhongguan lun songjiangji Commentary on the Mulamadhyamakakarikd ................................................................................................62 I. 3. 2Xingkongxue tan yuan First Treatise on Emptiness ................63 I. 3. 3 Zhongguan jin lun Modern Restatement of the Madhyamika Doctrine .................................................................................................... 64 I. 3. 4 Concluding remarks .......................................................................................... 66 I. 4 Yinshun’s Later Works on Madhyamika.....................................................................67 I. 4. 1 Kongzhi tanjiu Revised Treatise on Emptiness ............................67 5 I. 4. 2 Da zhi du lun zhi zuozhe jiqi fanyi Within the Debate on the Mahaprajnaparamitci sastra.............................................. 68 I. 4. 3 Concluding remarks .............................................................................................68 II. THE MADHYAMIKA SCHOOL IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CHINA 70 II. 1 The Madhyamika and San-lun Schools in China .......................................................71 II. 1. 1 The Publication Market: the contribution of the Jinling Scriptural Press 72 II. 1.2 Non-Buddhist Voices on Madhyamika: The Case of Mou Zongsan (1909-1995) .......................................................... 75 II. 1.3 Issues of Research Methodology. ...................................................................85 II. 2 Madhyamika Scholarship as advanced by Chinese monks during the twentieth century. ...............................................................................................................94 II. 2. 1 Taixu (1890-1947): the traditional reformist scholar-monk ............. 96 II. 2. 2 Yanpei (1917-1996): the Chinese reception of the CandrakTrti and Prasangika traditions ......................................................................... 100 II. 2. 3 Xurning (1918-1966): making Yinshun into an authoritative Madhyamika voice ......................................................................................................................................... 106 II. 2. 4 Cihang M ill (1895-1954): lecturing on Shi'er men lun.............................110 II. 2. 5 Dao’an jlr£r (1907-1977): a philosophical theory on emptiness .............112 II. 3. Madhyamika Scholarship as advanced by Chinese laity Buddhists during the twentieth century. .............................................................................................................114 II. 3. 1 Ouyang Jingwu (1871-1943): Nagarjuna as exponent of the Dharmalaksana School? ....................................................................115 II. 3. 2 Lti Cheng S/ljr (1896-1986): really the lay counterpart of Yinshun? .....................................................................................................................116 II. 3. 3 Zhang Chengji (1920-1988): the philosophy of emptiness is not simply Western logic ........................................................................119 II. 4 Concluding Rem arks ....................................................................................................122 III. THE HERITAGE OF YINSHUN’S MADHYAMIKA IN TODAY TAIWAN ................................................................ 127 III. 1 Defining Yinshun’s entourage .................................................................................... 131 III. 1. 1 Reconstructing a lineage from the Fuhui pagoda 132 III. 1. 2 ‘Modem’ value and features of lineage? ......................................................136 III. 2 Mission of education and its Madhyamika pattern .................................................. 141 III. 2. 1 A renewed Buddhist education for a ‘new’ Chinese nation ........................ 146 III. 2. 2 Fuyan Buddhist In stitu te^ iH f^ ^ pjnand 6 Huiri Lecture Hall |§ El tft's'....................................................................................... 148 III 3 Followers of Yinshun’s Interpretation of Madhyamika ............................................ 155 III. 3. 1 Monastic Disciples ..........................................................................................157 III. 3. 2 Lay Scholarship ............................................................................................... 159 III. 4 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................160