Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings

{{Article
|ArticleLayout=Academic Layout
|ArticleTitle=Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings
|AuthorPage=People/Chen, S.
|PubDate=2014
|ArticleSummary=This encyclopedia entry discusses the historical origins and dissemination of the idea that Buddha-nature exists not only in sentient beings but also in insentient things. This doctrine emerged in various ways in medieval China with thinkers such as [[Jingying Huiyuan]] (523-592), [[Jiaxiang Jizang]] (549-623), and most prominently with [[Jingxi Zhanran]] (711-782) of the Tiantai school. This position later spread to Japan, being advocated by figures such as [[Kūkai]] and [[Dōgen]]. The underlying rationale for this position is generally grounded on the principle of nonduality and the idea of the Buddha’s all-pervading and embracing nature. The notion of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings is not only a doctrinal matter but also functions as a meditation technique whereby one learns to view phenomena as direct expressions of ultimate reality and to see oneself and the “outside” world as identical.
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* Chen, Shuman. 2011. “Chinese Tiantai Doctrine on Insentient Things’ Buddha-Nature,” in ''Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal'' 24: 71-104.

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* Sharf, Robert H. 2007. "How to Think with Chan Gong’ans." In Charlotte Furth, Judith Zeitlin, and Hsiung Ping-chen, eds. ''Thinking with Cases: Specialized Knowledge in Chinese Cultural History''. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 205-243.

* Shively, Donald H. 1957. "Buddhahood for the Nonsentient: A Theme in nō Plays." ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 20 (1/2): 135-161.

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* Ziporyn, Brook. 2009. "How the Tree Sees Me: Sentience and Insentience in Tiantai and Merleau-Ponty." In ''Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism'', edited by Jin Y. Park and Gereon Kopf, 61-82. Lanham, MD: Lexington.
|PostStatus=Approved
|ArticleParentPage=Research/Secondary_Sources/Journal Articles
|AuthorName=Shuman Chen
}}