The Experience of Knowing: Illusion and Illumination in the Zhuangzi and the Platform Sūtra
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE EXPERIENCE OF KNOWING: ILLUSION AND ILLUMINATION IN THE ZHUANGZI AND THE PLATFORM SŪTRA by Wayne Gary Kreger B.A. Honours, The University of Saskatchewan, 2004 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) July 2010 © Wayne Gary Kreger, 2010 ABSTRACT This paper aims to compare and contrast the concepts of “delusion” and “knowledge” as found in the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi and the Platform Sūtra. Employed in this analysis is the methodology of conceptual metaphor analysis, a method that identifies the source domain for metaphors employed in the dissemination of both doctrine and mystical experience. By acknowledging their metaphorical entailments, such metaphors can be used to more clearly elucidate the meaning of said disseminations. Ultimately I will argue that both works exhibit a similar conception of the afflictions of “non-enlightened” persons and the cognitive abilities of “enlightened” persons, though they arrive at different conclusions regarding the source of these abilities. Part one of this paper will introduce the methodology of conceptual metaphor analysis as developed by Lakoff and Johnson, and will illustrate the ways this methodology can serve the pursuit of studies in comparative religion. Following this background information relevant to the interpretation of both the Zhuangzi and the Platform Sūtra will be given. Part two investigates the metaphors and “realization” moments found in the Zhuangzi. Part three uses similar methodology to analyze the Platform Sūtra. The final part compares and contrasts the two works. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract................................................................................................................................ii Table of Contents................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................iv I Introduction.......................................................................................................................1 I.I Introduction...................................................................................................................1 I.II The Zhuangzi................................................................................................................1 I.III Integrity of the Text....................................................................................................2 I.IV Guo Xiang and Xuanxue.............................................................................................4 I.V Cheng Xuanying and Chongxuan................................................................................5 I.VI Translation and Edition..............................................................................................6 I.VII The Platform Sūtra....................................................................................................6 I.VIII Origins of the Platform Sūtra..................................................................................7 I.IX Polemics and Crisis in Early Chan Buddhism..........................................................10 I.X Content of the Platform Sūtra....................................................................................12 I.XI Translation and Edition............................................................................................12 I.XII The Zhuangzi and the Platform Sūtra Together......................................................13 I.XIII Methodology..........................................................................................................14 II Zhuangzi.........................................................................................................................19 II.I DREAMS AS IGNORANCE in the Zhuangzi.................................................................19 II.II The Great Awakening...............................................................................................19 II.III Discussion of Mengsun...........................................................................................21 II.IV The Butterfly Dream...............................................................................................24 II.V Existing Scholarship.................................................................................................24 II.VI Metaphor: DREAMS AS IGNORANCE......................................................................28 II.VII HEART-MIND (心) AS MIRROR in the Zhuangzi....................................................31 II.VIII Using Xin Like a Mirror.......................................................................................32 II.IX The Advice of Shen Tujia........................................................................................33 II.X Existing Scholarship.................................................................................................35 II.XI ILLUMINATION AS KNOWING Metaphors in the Zhuangzi.....................................37 II.XII Using Illumination.................................................................................................38 II.XIII Existing Scholarship.............................................................................................40 II.XIV Metaphor: KNOWLEDGE AS ILLUMINATION........................................................42 II.XV Yan Hui's Fasting of the Mind...............................................................................44 II.XVI Yan Hui's Forgetting.............................................................................................46 II.XVII Liezi's Realilzation..............................................................................................48 III Platform Sūtra...............................................................................................................51 III.I Awakening in the Platform Sūtra..............................................................................51 III.II Knowing in the Platform Sūtra...............................................................................52 III.III “Encounter Dialogue” in the Platform Sūtra.........................................................59 IV Conclusion....................................................................................................................63 Works Cited........................................................................................................................66 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge foremost the support and encouragement of my entire family, especially my parents Gary and Mil, my grandmother Helen, and my aunt Gloria and uncle Greg. I am also grateful to the many excellent professors I have had over the course of my education, in particular my thesis committee. Finally, I owe a great deal to my friends and fellow students, especially my friend Matt Hamm, who provided help unceasingly throughout the entire course of my preparation and writing. iv I Introduction I.I Introduction The Zhuangzi makes extensive use of metaphors to convey a picture of reality distinct from that presented by other texts from the Warring States period. These metaphors give us a greater insight into what the author of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi wanted to explain to his readers. The picture to be examined here is that of illusion and illumination; that is, wrong understandings of the world and correct ones. The Zhuangzi uses the metaphor of “dreaming” to indicate those who are wrong about the nature of reality, and employs metaphors of “mirrors” and “light” to give a picture, using optical meta phors, of what “seeing” reality is like. The text also presents us with fictionalized dialogues, which show the reader the process of going from not-knowing to knowing. As the first steps in a comparative project it is fruitful to examine parallel metaphors in the Platform Sūtra, a critical text in the Chan Buddhist tradition. This text employs the mirror and light metaphors when discussing the experience of knowing reality, and maintains one of the common metaphors in Buddhism for having understanding - awakening - while lacking the equivalent “dreaming” metaphor as found in the Zhuangzi. As well, the process in the Platform Sūtra is presented as much quicker than in the Daoist text. Using the tools of conceptual metaphor analysis, along with a close reading of the texts, one sees that the Zhuangzi and the Platform Sūtra are closely associated with one another, though with different approaches to illusion and illumination. I.II The Zhuangzi The Zhuangzi, when read in the context of its time, presents us with what was a shocking alternative to prevailing wisdom. The complex social negotiations and pageantry of Confucian ritual is, in the text, at best ignored and at worst deplored, and the revered sage Confucius becomes a puppet for 1 the author, praising the very people the followers of Confucius would condemn. The followers of Mozi, advocating for a society that relies on language to get clear about what is right and wrong, are explicitly singled out and their errors are identified, and their entire project is deemed untenable. While the Zhuangzi is often grouped with the Laozi as “Daoist” texts, elements of the former stand in stark contrast to the general message of the latter - that