Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters

Revision as of 16:00, 27 May 2020

Dissertation

Abstract

This dissertation argues that the Yogâcāra Buddhism transmitted by the Indian translator Paramârtha (Ch. Zhendi 真諦) underwent a significant transformation due to the influence of his later Chinese interpreters, a phenomenon to which previous scholars failed to paid enough attention.
      I begin with showing two contrary interpretations of Paramârtha's notion of jiexing 解性. The traditional interpretation glosses jiexing in terms of "original awakening" (benjue 本覺) in the Awakening of Faith and hence betrays its strong tie to that text. In contrast, a contrary interpretation of jiexing is preserved in a Dunhuang fragment Taishō No. 2805 (henceforth abbreviated as T2805).
      The crucial part of this dissertation consists in demonstrating that T2805 and the Awakening of Faith represent two competing lineages of the interpreters of Paramârtha. The first clue is that modern scholars have voiced objection to the traditional attribution of the Awakening of Faith to Paramârtha. In addition, I discovered that striking similarities exist between T2805 and Paramârtha's corpus with respect to terminology, style of phrasing, and doctrine. I further draw attention to the historical testimonies about two different doctrinal views held by Paramârtha's interpreters. Therefore, I argue that there were two lineages in the name of Paramârtha's disciples around 590 CE: the indirect lineage interpreted Paramârtha through the lens of the Awakening of Faith; and the direct lineage—represented by T2805—preserved Paramârtha's original teachings but died out prematurely. Later Chinese Buddhist tradition mistakenly regards the indirect lineage as Paramârtha's true heir and attributes the Awakening of Faith to Paramârtha.
      This implies that Paramârtha may have agreed with Xuanzang 2T5c (600–664) much more than scholars used to assume. For example, Xuanzang's characterization of the notion of "aboriginal uncontaminated seeds" looks very similar to how Paramârtha depicts jiexing. It also implies that we should distinguish the strong sense of the notion of "tathāgatagarbha" in the Awakening of Faith from its weak sense. The fact that even Vasubandhu endorses the weak sense of "tathāgatagarbha" strongly challenges the received wisdom that Yogâcāra and Tathāgatagarbha were two distinct and antagonistic trends of thought in India.

Citation	Keng, Ching. "Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramārtha (499–569) and His Chinese Interpreters." PhD diss., Harvard University, 2009.

Abstractiii
Table of Contentv
List of Tables and Figuresxii
Acknowledgementxiii
Abbreviationsxvii
Dedicationxviii
0. Introduction1
0.1 Yogâcāra and Tathāgatagarbha as Two Competing Traditions1
Yogâcāra Tradition (Acquired Gnosis) v.s. Tathāgatagarbha
Tradition (Inherent Gnosis)2
Paramârtha's Life and Work in China4
0.2 The Traditional Image of Paramârtha and Its Problems7
The Traditional Image of Paramârtha7
The Traditional Interpretation of Jiexing: Jiexing— "Original Awakening"9
Problematizing the Traditional Image of Paramârtha11
0.3 Toward a New Image of Paramârtha: Methodological Considerations13
Situating My Dissertation in the Study of Religion17
Difficulties with Reconstructing the Original Teachings of Paramârtha21
(A) Reconstructing from Indian Sources with the Help of Chinese and
Tibetan Sources?21
(B) Reconstruction from Later Testimonies?25
A New Approach to the Study of Paramârtha27
0.4 Review of Previous Scholarship: Three Dubious Assumptions30
(1) The Awakening of Faith Was Related to Paramârtha in a Certain Way30
(2) Paramârtha Stood Against Xuanzang34
(3) Yogâcāra and Tathāgatagarbha Are Two Distinct and Antagonistic
Traditions36
The Internal Diversity of Yogâcāra39
More Than One Kinds of Tathāgatagarbha Thought40
The Unawareness of the Heterogeneity of the Shelun Masters41
Other Related Studies of Paramârtha and of the Sixth Century Chinese
Buddhism44
0.5 Outline of Chapters48
Chapter 1. Two Competing Readings of the Notion of Jiexing 52
1.1 The Initial Passages on Jiexing52
Shelun Jiexing Passage (1)53
Shelun Jiexing Passage (2)54
The Relation between the Two "Shelun Jiexing" Passages"?54
Ui 's Interpretation of Jiexing56
1.2 The Genealogy of our Current Understanding of Jiexing62
(1) The First Stage: Jiexing Identified with the "Original awakening"62
Dasheng qixinlun yishu 大乘起信論義疏 by Tanyan (516-588)62
Jingying Huiyuan 淨影慧遠 (523-592)65
Dasheng zhiguan famen 大乘止觀法門67
She dasheng lun chao 攝大乘論抄72
Jizang 吉藏 (549-623)74
(2) The Second Stage: Two Kinds of "Original Awakening"75
Faxiang School: Wǒnch'ǔk 圓測 (613-696)76
Huayan School: Wǒnhyo 元曉 (617-686)79
(3) The Third Stage: Return to the First Stage81
Huayan School: Fazang 法藏 (643-712)82
Faxiang School: Tunnyun 遁倫 (active around 700?)84
1.3 "Permanence Reading" (Awakening of Faith) vs. "Impermanence Reading"
(T2805)86
The Implications of Reading Jiexing as "Original Awakening"86
The "Permanence Reading" of Jiexing90
1.4 An Alternative Reading of Jiexing Suggested by T280590
T2805 Jiexing Passage (1)91
T2805 Jiexing Passage (2)92
Kimura's Study of Jiexing in T280594
Preliminary Observation of Jiexing in T280595
Impermanence Reading of Jiexing96
The Testimonies for the Impermanence Reading of Jiexing97
Zhiyi 智顗 (538-597)99
Zhaolun shu 肇論疏100
1.5 Conclusion103
Chapter 2. Doubts about the Connection between the Awakening of Faith and Paramârtha105
2.1 The Early Reception of the Awakening of Faith105
2.2 The Inconsistency among the Chinese Buddhist Catalogues108
2.3 Three Claims Made regarding the Provenance of the Awakening of Faith111
(A) Hirakawa: Paramârtha Translated the Awakening of Faith111
Regarding the Doubt Cast by the Fajing lu111
Regarding the Terminological Differences between the Awakening of Faith and other works by Paramârtha112
The Awakening of Faith was Based on Indian Scriptures113
(B) Mochizuki, Takemura: Paramârtha Had Nothing to Do with the Awakening of Faith114
Mochizuki115
The Terminological Differences between the Awakening of Faith and Paramârtha119
Strengthening Mochizuki's Arguments: Takemura's Observations121
(C) Kashiwagi, Yoshizu: the Awakening of Faith is connected with Paramârtha, although he may not have translated it125
2.4 How Does the Awakening of Faith Deviate from the Indian Yogâcāra Texts?129

Awakening of Faith: Thusness Is Permeated ............................................. 130 MSg, MSgBh, CWSL: Unconditioned Dharmas Cannot Be Permeated ............... 131 Thusness as the "Object" of the "non-discriminating cognition" in Paramartha ..... 133 Thusness as the Object-support Condition in the Yogaciirabhumi ..................... 136 The notion of zhenru suoyuanyuan zhongzi ~tl□Pfr~~flr ........................1 38 2.5 Conclusion .................................................................................... 141

@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 *{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Zhiyi 智顗 (538-597)|99}}
 *{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''Zhaolun shu'' 肇論疏|100}}
-*{{i|1.5 Conclusion|103}}
+*{{i|1.5 Conclusion|103}}<br><br>
+*{{i|'''Chapter 2. Doubts about the Connection between the ''Awakening of Faith'' and Paramârtha'''|'''105'''}}
+*{{i|2.1 The Early Reception of the ''Awakening of Faith''|105}}
+*{{i|2.2 The Inconsistency among the Chinese Buddhist Catalogues|108}}
+*{{i|2.3 Three Claims Made regarding the Provenance of the ''Awakening of Faith''|111}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(A) Hirakawa: Paramârtha Translated the ''Awakening of Faith''|111}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regarding the Doubt Cast by the ''Fajing lu''|111}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regarding the Terminological Differences between the ''Awakening of Faith'' and other works by Paramârtha|112}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ''Awakening of Faith'' was Based on Indian Scriptures|113}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(B) Mochizuki, Takemura: Paramârtha Had Nothing to Do with the ''Awakening of Faith''|114}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mochizuki|115}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Terminological Differences between the ''Awakening of Faith'' and Paramârtha|119}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Strengthening Mochizuki's Arguments: Takemura's Observations|121}}
+*{{i|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(C) Kashiwagi, Yoshizu: the ''Awakening of Faith'' is connected with Paramârtha, although he may not have translated it|125}}
+*{{i|2.4 How Does the ''Awakening of Faith'' Deviate from the Indian Yogâcāra Texts?|129}}
+Awakening of Faith: Thusness Is Permeated ............................................. 130
+MSg, MSgBh, CWSL: Unconditioned Dharmas Cannot Be Permeated ............... 131
+Thusness as the "Object" of the "non-discriminating cognition" in Paramartha ..... 133
+Thusness as the Object-support Condition in the Yogaciirabhumi ..................... 136
+The notion of zhenru suoyuanyuan zhongzi ~tl□Pfr~~flr ........................1 38
+.5 Conclusion .................................................................................... 141
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