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Value in Tiantai Thought

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Value in Tiantai Thought SIX Value and Anti--value in Tiantai Thought The basic principles of Tiantai philosophy-the Three Truths, the mutual inherence of provisional and ultimate truth, omnicentric holism and inter­ subjectivity-provide important premises for Tiantai value theory, specifically the theory of value paradox. In this chapter, I first develop the value implica­ tions of these concepts and then discuss the texts in which Zhiyi and Zhanran explicitly treat the question of evil (Part I). Then, I consider the value theory in Zhili's version of the Tiantai tradition (Part II). This will prepare us to at­ tempt to apply this theory in a summary way to some concrete questions (in the Conclusion). PART I: GOOD AND EVIL IN ZHIYI AND ZHANRAN Value paradox can be derived from the basic Buddhist value of "non­ attachment." This ultimate value necessarily involves a value paradox since at­ tachment to "non-attachment," as any direct and non-paradoxical assertion of its value would entail, turns out to be an anti-value. The same can be said of attachment to the idea expressed in the previous sentence, and so on ad infi­ nitum. As the following discussion shows, the Tiantai tradition is very faithful to this early Buddhist notion, with non-attachment taking the form of an in­ tricate dialectic for overcoming all subtle forms of bias, a dialectic embodied in the Three Truths. This freedom from bias remains the ultimate value for Tiantai, but several other distinctive Tiantai notions combine to develop and Value and Anti-value in Tiantai Thought 241 intensify the value paradoxes inherent in this ultimate value. Value paradox can also be derived ( 1) from the notion of upaya, ( 2) from the two-tiered structure of "mind-contemplation," (3) from the inherence of the Three Thousand quiddities in each moment of experience, and (4) from the concept of intersubjectivity. We will touch on each of these sources of value paradox in the discussion to follow. Value-Paradoxical Consequences ofTiantai Upaya Theory The notion of upaya naturally entails the other three aspects listed in the pre­ ceding paragraph. As noted above, according to the Tiantai tradition, provi­ sional and ultimate truth are equal in value and ultimately identical, on the model of the relation between Provisional Positing and Emptiness in the structure of the Three Truths. Provisional truth, moreover, is the antecedent, the premise, and indeed the cause of ultimate truth, a structure akin to that of the set-up and punch line of a joke. Let us now look in more detail at the spe­ cifics of this arrangement, as it impacts on the question of value paradox. In Tiantai, sentient beings are referred to as the "cause" and buddhahood as the "result" or fruit. The nine realms of purgatory, hungry ghosts, animals, Asuras, humans, gods, Sravakas, Pratyeka-buddhas, and bodhisattvas are the cause of the tenth realm, buddhahood. These nine realms are, in contrast to the Buddha-realm, evil. Evil, then, is the cause of good. Moreover, these nine realms are not other than the tenth realm itsel£ The cause is identical to the effect, as the provisional is identical to the ultimate, as the Truth of Provi­ sional Positing is identical to the Truth of Emptiness, and to the Mean. The nine realms are the operation of the Buddha-nature as Conditioning Cause (yuanyin ~ IE!) and as Revealing Cause (liaoyin T IEJ), and the tenth is the Buddha-nature as Cause Proper, the objective fact to be realized (zhengyin lE. IEJ), which turns out to be nothing but the absoluteness (or, since this implies not being relative to any particular standpoint, objectivity) and non-duality of the Conditioning and Revealing causes. These three types of Buddha-nature qua cause are identical to each other, as are all other Tiantai triads, on the model of the Three Truths. Indeed, these three type of Buddha-nature are just another name for the Three Truths as predicated of the Three Thousand good and evil existents, that is, all the particular characteristics of all the realms from purgatory to buddhahood. As Zhanran says, "The Three Thou­ sand are Emptiness: this is the [Buddha-nature as) Revealing Cause. The Three Thousand are Provisional Posits: this is the Conditioning Cause. The .
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