2022 Glorisun International and Intensive Program, with Yale University – Student Forum

Return to the main program page.

 

2022 Glorisun Student Forum on Buddhist Studies

August 2, 4, 2022 | with Yale University

Sponsor:          Glorisun Charity Foundation 旭日慈善基金會

Co-hosts:         FROGBEAR (www.frogbear.org) at UBC 加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學拔地入雲計畫

                           Global Network for Buddhist Studies @ Yale, @ UBC 旭日全球佛學研究網絡@ 耶魯, @ UBC

 

Vancouver New York London Paris/Hamburg Beijing/Tapei
Panel 1 – August 2 6:10 7:45 9:10 10:45 14:10 15:45 15:10 16:45 21:10 22:45
Panel 2 – August 2 7:55 9:05 10:55 12:05 15:55 17:05 16:55 18:05 22:55 0:05
Panel 3 – August 4 6:10 7:40 9:10 10:40 14:10 15:40 15:10 16:40 21:10 22:40
Panel 4 – August 4 7:50 9:20 10:50 12:20 15:50 17:20 16:50 18:20 22:50 0:20

 

Panel 1: Textual Studies (Chair: Laura Boyer; Co-discussants: Matthew Orsborn [1.2 + 1.3 + 1.4] & Birgit Kellner [1.1 + 1.5])

  • 1.1 CAI Tiantian 蔡田田 (UoWisconsin-Madison 威斯康星大學麥迪遜分校): What We Could See about Prapañca
  • 1.2 LIAN Haochen 廉皓晨 (ZhejiangU 浙江大學): The Revision of Catalogues of Buddhist Scriptures in Medieval China: A study on the Chu San-tsang chi-chi出三藏記集
  • 1.3 Valeria SOLOSTOVA (Kazan Federal U 喀山聯邦大學): On the influence of translations of the Buddhist sutras of the Northern and Southern dynasties period on modern Mandarin
  • 1.4 JIAO Xuewei 焦雪瑋 (Beijing Normal U. 北京師範大學): 文字學視角下的房山石經本求那跋摩《比丘尼羯磨經》研究
  • 1.5 SHI Fachi 釋法馳 (Suzhou Śīlapatāka Buddhist Research Institute 蘇州戒幢佛學研究所): Diplomatic Transcriptions and Translation of Skandhaparīkṣā, Prasannapadā Chapter 4

1.1 Tiantian CAI: What we could see about prapañca

In Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā, Nāgārjuna noted that conceptualization arises from prapañca, which indicates the fundamental account of prapañca for the elimination of suffering and further enlightenment. In Yogācāra epistemology, the notion of prapañca refers to various dimensions of the conceptual process, in aspects ranging from consciousness, language formation, discrimination, the conceptualization of subject-object duality, mental defilement, and ignorance. Given that the Lakāvatāra Sūtra conveys the richness of early tenets for both the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka tradition, an investigation of the meaning and discourse context of prapañca is a necessity. This paper conducts a contextual examination of the concpet of prapañca, primarily addressing 1) a range of meanings; 2) possible characteristics; 3) conditions and consequences, especially the associations with the conceptualization (vikalpa); 4) the significance of the elimination that the corresponding dialogue implies.

1.2 LIAN Haochen: The Revision of Catalogues of Buddhist Scriptures in Medieval China:A study on The Chu San-tsang chi-chi出三藏记集

《出三藏記集》是研究中古史,尤其是早期佛教史的重要文獻。蘇晉仁曾在中華書局點校本序言中提到,此書存在僧祐及後人“增補之迹”。文本增改關係到僧祐此書之文獻價值,而蘇說又多有缺漏與值得商榷之處。本文通過尋繹僧祐著述體例等內證,較爲全面地清理了《祐録》文本的增改問題,並討論了本書的“定型—增改”過程。經考證,《出三藏記集》的第一個定稿本即十卷本,約於梁初定型,此後僧祐對本書續有增補,但並未將之定型爲新的版本。僧祐去世後,後人又對此書進行增補,且非出於一手。直至開元入藏,後人才將《祐録》重新編輯並接納了此前所有的增改,將之定爲十五卷,此爲本書的第二個定稿本,也就是我們今天所看到的文本面貌。

 1.3 Valeriia SOLOSTOVA: On the influence of translations of the Buddhist sutras of the Northern and Southern dynasties period on modern Mandarin

The report is expected to discuss grammatical constructions atypical for the Chinese language associated with the influence of language contact during the Northern and Southern dynasties. With this period, linguists associate the beginning of a new stage in the evolution of the Chinese language – Middle Chinese. The translation of “Wu Shang Yi Jing” (無上依經) by Paramartha will be analyzed as a source. Cross-linguistic errors found in his translation are subsequently noticed in later non-religious texts. The report attempts to relate this to the influence of the original language of the sutras, as well as the native languages of the first translators. The study analyzes four grammars, each of which is considered from the perspective of borrowing or interference.

1.4 JIAO Xuewei: 文字學視角下的房山石經本求那跋摩《比丘尼羯磨經》研究

房山石刻中冠名求那跋摩的《比丘尼羯磨經》經歷了從印度原典譯出,但被中國編纂文獻替代的過程,對了解中土戒律史十分重要。本文以其早期形態房山石經本為底本,從該石刻文字環境入手,將其分別與相關石經文獻和藏經版文獻進行文字對比,針對石經文字特殊處參看唐初其餘律類文獻文字使用,以期能夠找到石經律類文本所依底本及相關律師僧團組織傳承情況。

第一部分,問題緣起。從佛經目錄、僧團交往和中土戒律傳播角度簡述文本選擇依據。

第二部分,石經本《尼羯磨》文字特點及刊刻情況。包括石經本《尼羯磨》文字情況研究和石經相關文獻用字比較研究。以其早期形態房山石經本為底本,從文字構形入手,對比石經《尼羯磨》與相關石經字體,推斷該經為第二期玄導所刻,此時四分戒律與菩薩戒同時被房山地區接受。

第三部分,石經本《尼羯磨》與藏經本文字比較。我們將石經本《尼羯磨》用字情況與思溪藏國圖善本、趙城金藏廣勝寺本和清本、興圣寺平安末期長寬元年(1163)至嘉應元年(1166)間抄本、金剛寺鐮倉中期寫本、嘉興藏和大正藏收錄的《四分比丘尼羯磨法》用字進行對比。結果分為無意混用情況和有意選擇情況,從正-俗字、本-借字等層次分析。

結論如下:

第一,房山石經本《比丘尼羯磨經》屬於玄導主持刊刻的第二批石經。其文字形體和筆勢和根據題記等文獻資料確定為玄導所刻的《摩訶般若波羅蜜》《胜天王般若波罗蜜经》《大乘大集地藏十轮经》形體變易方式相近。與此系列刊刻文字形體筆勢接近的律類文獻還有《四分大尼戒本》一卷、《僧羯磨经》一卷、《佛說四分戒本》一卷與《菩萨戒法羯磨文》一卷。說明此時房山地區僧團同時接受四分系戒律和大乘菩薩戒,但以四分系為主。

第二,石經本《比丘尼羯磨經》中,部分與藏經本不合的特殊用字與長安法礪、道世、懷素、定賓等律師的注疏撰集用字相同。該僧團存在師承關係,為靈裕一脈,以長安西明寺、大覺寺等為活動中心。這與房山石經主持者靜琬、玄導傳自慧光、靈裕的師承脈絡相合。《比丘尼羯磨經》依據底本應是經慧光刪改后,存長安西明寺等地的戒律文獻。

第三,石經本《比丘尼羯磨經》與藏經本不同的用字,多與可洪《隨函錄》文字使用情況相同。該階段石經應與《隨函錄》以同一批長安藏經為底本,因此與日本興圣寺、金剛寺寫本用字情況相同。《隨函錄》用字多被契丹藏繼承,進入金藏系統,與南方以福州藏為底本的思溪藏用字選擇有較為顯著差異。

1.5 SHI Fachi: Diplomatic Transcriptions and Translation of Skandhaparīkṣā, Prasannapadā Chapter 4

This paper consists of two sections. In the first part diplomatically edits six manuscripts of Candrakīrti’s Prasannapadā Chapter 4, which are the Potala manuscript, the Oxford manuscript, the Cambridge manuscript, the Tucci manuscript, the NGMPP manuscript and the Tokyo No.251 manuscript. The selection of the manuscripts based on the “manuscript description stemma” from Pro. Anne MacDonald’s In Clear Words The Prasannapadā, Chapter One. In the second part, gives a Sanskrit-English translation based on the six diplomatical editions.

 

Panel 2: Doctrines (Chair: Amelia Antolini; Co-discussant: Jackie Stone [2.1 + 2.2] & Eric Greene [2.3 + 2.4])

  • 2.1. CHAN, Chu Kwan (UoHamburg 漢堡大學): A Taxonomy for Interpreting Chinese Buddhist Philosophy
  • 2.2. LIANG  Yuchen 梁宇辰 (Emory U. 埃默里大學): Being as Nothingness: Ontological Difference in the Concept of Nothingness in Chan Buddhism
  • 2.3. SHI Zhirui 釋知瑞 (Fo Guang U. 佛光大學): 天台圓教對《首楞嚴三昧經》修證內涵之解讀 (The Practice and Achievement Sequence of Śūraṃgamasamādhi from the View of Perfect Teaching of Tiantai)
  • 2.4. ZHENG Yutong 鄭羽彤 (CUHK 香港中文大學): 從李提摩太《起信論》英譯至鈴木禪:卡爾•榮格的禪學吸收進路

2.1 CHAN Chu Kwan: A Taxonomy for Interpreting Chinese Buddhist Philosophy

How should one interpret Chinese Buddhist philosophy? Interpretations of Chinese Buddhist philosophy are always subjected to two sets of criticisms. The first investigates whether the interpretations are Chinese, Buddhist or philosophical enough. The second follows and investigates what Chinese, Buddhist or philosophy are. These are worthy of investigation, but the three components are not always compatible or directly proportional to each other. And, for different purposes, interpreters have different weighting for each component. For example, in dealing with a slightly self-contradictory text, to be more philosophically constructive, an interpreter may inevitably be less textually faithful, resulting in a less Chinese or Buddhist interpretation. Similarly, to be more Chinese or Buddhist coherent, an interpretation may inevitably be less philosophically constructive and include less reference from contemporary philosophy. It is right to question whether the weighting is suitable for the corresponding purpose, but it is irrelevant to criticise it for being unsuitable for other purposes. These irrelevant criticisms due to the confusion of interpretation’s purpose are common as the underlying purposes of Chinese and Buddhist traditions are often significantly different from each other and those of western academic philosophy. Such confusion hinders the mutual understanding and contribution of world philosophy and Chinese Buddhist thought. This paper argues that the way to interpret Chinese Buddhist philosophy should depend on the interpretations’ purposes. With a brief case study of the recent interpretations of Zhiyi’s concept of Yinian Sanqian, it shows that critics may overlook an interpretation’s purpose and make irrelevant criticisms. It, then, develops a taxonomy of purpose with the possible relations between the three components – Chinese, Buddhist, and philosophy – to categorise interpretations and avoid irrelevant criticisms and confusion of interpretation’s purposes. It is hoped that the taxonomy could be further applied to other philosophical traditions and other fields in Buddhist Studies.

2.2 Yuchen LIANG: Being as Nothingness: Ontological Difference in the Concept of Nothingness in Chan Buddhism

Nothingness has always been a central topic for Chan Buddhism. Chan Buddhists are however also notoriously reluctant to define their key concepts, including nothingness. It is difficult to fit Chan nothingness into the one of the traditional Western metaphysical categories of nothingness envisioned by Kant and continuedly used by modern comparative philosophers such as Pang Pu and Yao Zhihua. Scholars like Yao attempt to make Chan nothingness relevant in Western metaphysics by assigning it to the category of “nothing as being”. However, doing so will lead to the trivialization of the usage of nothingness in Chan texts: Why emphasize nothing when it is just a special kind of being? In Chan, nothingness is reciprocal but not equivalent to being, a possibility outside of the imagination of traditional Western philosophers. I will show that this impossibility stems from traditional Western metaphysics’ failure to account for what Martin Heidegger described as “ontological difference”. Heidegger claims that being as the relationship between “beings as objects” is not an object itself, or in ordinary language, a nothing. For Heidegger nothing is being and being is nothing. This understanding treats nothing as a valuable concept in itself, making non-reductive appreciation of Chan nothingness possible.

2.3 SHI Zhirui釋知瑞:  天台圓教對《首楞嚴三昧經》修證內涵之解讀 | The Practice and Achievement Sequence of Śūraṃgamasamādhi from the View of Perfect Teaching of Tiantai

本文依循天台的圓教立場及六即理論,探討東晉僧鳩摩羅什譯《首楞嚴三昧經》,所呈現之首楞嚴定修證內涵,藉此梳理此經在文句上所潛藏之複雜而不一致的議題,這些待解之議題包含:

第一、首楞嚴定、佛性與般若三者齊等之始末;
第二、首楞嚴定總攝六度波羅蜜與一切善法之內涵;
第三、首楞嚴定降伏魔冤的原理,如何取得佛魔一如的境界。

前半段探討首楞嚴三昧之修學次第,即從觀修到證入中道觀的過程;後半段聚焦探討經文有關度化魔眾的方式,期藉此展現此修證次第之積極性和對治性。本文是從此三昧之性質、修觀方法以及實踐精神等三個面向,透過天台的教義,期將首楞嚴定所蘊含之佛性、中道實相、勇猛無畏等特性,勾勒出《首楞嚴三昧經》之完整面貌。

This paper aims to analyze the the practice and achievement sequence of the śūraṃgamasamādhi 首楞嚴三昧 demonstrated in the Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra 首楞嚴三昧經translated by Kumārajīva. With ideas of six identities六即 in the Perfect Teaching 圓教 taught in Tiantai school, author clarifies some complicated and even inconsistent sentences appear in the content of the Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra. These sentences involve different dimensions such as:

First, the reason that śūraṃgamasamādhi, Buddhahood, and prajñā are deemed as a whole.
Second, the reason that śūraṃgamasamādhi as dhyāna-pāramitā is perfectly integrated with other five pāramitās according to whether its principle or phenomena.
Third, the reason that śūraṃgamasamādhi conquers māras (demons) with an impartial mind which regards māra and Buddha are the same.

The former part of this paper discusses the theory of Perfect teaching, in which the contemplation of the Middle Way 中道觀 played a critical role in this sequence; the latter part discusses the employment of śūraṃgamasamādhi in teaching and converting māras.

This paper anticipates to draw a complete picture of śūraṃgamasamādhi respectively involving its essence, method of contemplation and realization. Besides, from this sequence based on the Perfect Teaching of Tiantai theory, śūraṃgamasamādhi shows its characteristics such as Buddhahood, the Middle Way and bravery.

2.4 ZHENG Yutong: 從李提摩太《起信論》英譯至鈴木禪:卡爾·榮格的禪學吸收進路

精神分析家榮格(C.G Jung)受禪宗影響頗深。前人研究主要關切鈴木禪與榮格理論的互滲,或有指出榮格(C.G Jung)對李提摩太(Richard, T.)譯本《大乘起信論》的理論吸收,然而更多流於表面地一筆帶過。本文嘗試填補學界這一空缺,擬從傳教士李提摩太《起信論》翻譯中對於「真如」、「一心二門」等概念的定義和補充,進一步探究李譯本對榮格早期佛學研究的影響及相適性,兼論《起信論》中各個層面的「不二觀」對榮格原型(Archetype)、自性(the Self)等概念生成發展的推動作用,以及日本禪中「覺悟」(Satori)之過程與榮格自性化過程之相似性,進而指出榮格意識與潛意識融合無二且追求整體性的精神分析理念與《起信論》核心有本質趨同性,亦完善了榮格對於鈴木禪的理解,以期從榮格對於禪宗「明心見性」之「覺悟」,探索對西方精神分析理念的推動作用。

 

Panel 3: From Dunhuang to Simsim: Media and the Transmission of Buddhism (Chair: Davide Zappulli; Discussant: Eugene Wang)

  • 3.1. YANG Jiuhong 楊久紅 (Nankai U. 南開大學): 敦煌佛教願文源流芻議
  • 3.2. YANG He 楊賀 (Jiangsu Second Normal U. 江蘇第二師範學院): 敦煌佛教戲劇寫本生成路徑研究
  • 3.3. Olga KIENZLER (UoHamburg 漢堡大學): Representation of the Pretas on the Wall Painting in Simsim Cave 41 and Their Possible Meaning within the Socio-Cultural and Economic System

3.1 YANG Jiuhong: 敦煌佛教願文源流芻議 

作为重要的佛事应用文,愿文之概念、演变、思想基础等是当前研究中亟待解决的重要问题。本文首先从敦煌愿文构成入手,结合文本的应用场景与功能对敦煌愿文作出界定。其次参考利用吐鲁番出土文书、域外汉籍等文献中的愿文相关资料与印度石窟铭文梳理愿文形态之演变。最后沿波讨源追溯佛教乃至其他印度宗教的咒愿传统,论述“愿”之意涵与愿文中的功德思想。

3.2 YANG He: 敦煌佛教戏剧写本生成路径研究

There are four ways to generate Dunhuang Buddhist drama scripts: the first is to adapt Buddhist Scripture stories, such as the prince Chengdao drama adapted by Sakya. The second is the art form of absorbing folk songs and dances, such as stepping on the rocking mother. The third is to combine the Buddhist sutra stories with the inherent picture reading and recitation in the Central Plains to create Buddhist dramas, such as Mulian drama. The fourth is to integrate oral literary forms such as the spoken and sung literature in the Central Plains and the spoken and sung literature in the western regions, and finally form a drama form that combines Chinese and Western styles. In the murals of Jiaohuang, we can further find more specific images of Buddhist opera, such as The Mogao Grottoes Xuda, which is confirmed by the prince Cheng Dao Jing (volume 2240) and the little Huang Gong Yang Zan (volume s.1497) Take the prince Bensheng story mural as many as 67. For example, the north wall of the niche in the east of the central column of cave 9, in front of the top of cave 419.

3.3 Olga Kienzler: Representation of the Pretas on the Wall Painting in Simsim Cave 41 and Their Possible Meaning within the Socio-Cultural and Economic System

On the inner wall of the right corridor of the central pillar cave 41 in Simsim (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China), is a kneeling monk with a bowl in front of the standing Buddha. Behind the monk, near a river, are pretas turning towards the Buddha and worshipping him. In Buddhist texts there are many stories about pretas that have been translated into a Western language. However, the story that might be represented here has not yet been translated. One of the stories dealing with pretas in Sanskrit and in Tibetan Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya may be depicted here. The rituals and instructions mentioned in Buddhist texts associated with pretas provide a picture of the socio-cultural and economic function of them. That leads to further ideas and assumptions about the function of the Kucha caves.

 

Panel 4: Practices (Chair: Olga Kiezner; Discussant: Barend ter Haar)

  • 4.1. MA Zhujun 馬竹君 (UoColorado-Boulder 科羅拉多大學博爾德分校): Practicing Intimacy: Reconsidering the Gendered Implications of the Pilgrimage to the Goddess of Mount Tai in Late Imperial China (1368–1912)
  • 4.2. WEI Zhaoyuan 魏兆源 (UoChinese Academy of Social Sciences 中國社會科學院大學): 文宣帝的佛舍利:北齊前期的信仰、王權與政局 (Buddha’s Śarīra of Emperor Wenxuan: Religions, Kingship and Politics in Early Northern Qi)
  • 4.3. SHI Heyi 释合一 (Shanghai Buddhist College 上海佛學院): 戒律在時空流轉中的總持
  • 4.4. LI Junyi  (Victor) 黎俊溢 (TsinghuaU 清華大學): 神聖意識:聖典與聖地

4.1 Zhujun Ma: Practicing Intimacy: Reconsidering the Gendered Implications of the Pilgrimage to the Goddess of Mount Tai in Late Imperial China (1368–1912)

The Goddess of Mount Tai has been one of the most popular deities in north China plain in the late imperial period (1368–1912). Women were strongly associated with her worship in popular depictions, which attributed this to her often mentioned efficacy in female reproduction and childrearing. Obscured behind a one-sided image of a mother goddess in charge of female reproduction, the greater complexity of the Goddess of Mount Tai’s images as well as her relationships with her devotees are yet to be fully reflected in current scholarship.

This article examines how pilgrimage practices are represented in the four precious scrolls about the Goddess of Mount Tai: Precious Scroll of the Efficacious Lady of Mount Tai (Lingying Taishan Niangniang baojuan 靈應泰山娘娘寶卷), Efficacious Precious Scroll of the Celestial Transcendent Sacred Mother of Mount Tai (Taishan Tianxian Shengmu Lingying baojuan 泰山天仙聖母靈應寶卷), Mount Tai Precious Scroll of the Origins of the Celestial Transcendent Sacred Mother (Tianxian Shengmu yuanliu Taishan baojuan 天仙聖母源留泰山寶卷), and Sea of Misery Precious Scroll of the Sacred Mother of Mount Tai (Taishan Shengmu Kuhai baojuan 泰山聖母苦海寶卷).

These precious scrolls about the Goddess of Mount Tai assign ample hands-on practices to cater to diverse audiences with differing levels of religious knowledge, commitment, and motivation. The precious scrolls present these practices in an intentionally specific way, which creates a symbolic parallel to the Goddess’s journey to become a goddess from a human girl in her origin story. Both female and male pilgrims are embraced in this parallel in their pilgrimage: they follow the Goddess’s footprints and replicate the Goddess’s practice through their own body. By engaging in the textual production and circulation of precious scrolls about the Goddess, devotees amplify, enhance, and spread the Goddess’s story and her message of saving all sentient beings. Intimacy is already prescribed in these practices recommended to audiences and pilgrims. When pilgrims follow these practices, they construct a personal, direct, intimate relationship with the Goddess.

Furthermore, by investigating how female protagonists are depicted in the precious scrolls, I showcase how women find a validated space for their knowledge in religious practices and female labor like embordering in the cult of the Goddess of Mount Tai. Through its nuanced view of femininity, the cult of the Goddess of Mount Tai serves as a religious resource for women to negotiate with the social expectations for their gender roles and to access the world and social networks outside the home. By imbuing female labor with a religious dimension, the cult of the Goddess enhances its value within the family and beyond. The Goddess is a source of power, which women borrow, embody, and self-legitimize to pursue transcendence beyond their socially conditioned roles.

4.2 WEI Zhaohuan:《文宣帝的佛舍利:北齊前期的信仰、王權與政局》(Buddha’s Śarīra of Emperor Wenxuan: Religions, Kingship and Politics in Early Northern Qi) 

安陽修定寺遺址出土的北齊天保五年舍利函由文宣帝高洋及宗室成員供養。該舍利函在形製、銘文內容結構上受當時從印度、中亞輸入的域外文化影響,又被安置在文宣帝高度重視的皇家寺院,反映了北齊佛教的異域性以及官方化特征,同時瘞埋該舍利的“塔婆”從印度俗語thuva直譯,並仿建自貴霜知名佛跡雀離浮圖,表明文宣帝對迦膩色伽王的效法,體現了他對自身轉輪王身份的宣傳;而佛塔崇拜作為文宣帝佛教王權理念的核心,在北齊境內得到廣泛實踐,暗含著對梁武帝的借鑒與超越。關於舍利供養發生的背景和動機,政治上天保五年前後高洋對外取得對南朝的軍事優勢,對內籠絡生母與故妻皆的平陽王高淹以鞏固皇權;宗教上高洋本人的奉佛愈加強烈,《魏書·釋老志》的編纂、地論師的活躍與《涅槃經》的實踐等因素推動舍利與佛塔崇拜知識的傳播;最終高洋選擇在佛誕日進行舍利供養亦具有建立信仰共同體的效果。修定寺舍利折射出北齊前期信仰、王權與政局諸層面,有助於進一步理解6世紀中印文化交流與隋唐舍利供養。

A Buddhist reliquary which was discovered under the site of Xiuding Temple in Anyang, was consecrated by Emperor Wenxuan and his royal members of Norhern Qi Dynasty in 554. The shape of the reliquary and the structure of its inscription were influenced by the foreign culture from India and Central Asia. This reliquary was placed in a royal monastery to which the Emperor attached great importance. These reflects the exotic and official nature of Buddhism in Northern Qi. The stūpa in which the relic was buried was called “ta po”, a direct transliteration of Indic Prakrit term “thuva”. And the stūpa was modelled on the famous Kushan Buddhist site of Cakra Stūpa, indicating Emperor Wenxuan’s emulation of King Kaniṣka and the propaganda of his status as a Cakravartin.  The cult of stūpa, as a crucial part of the Emperor’s Buddhist kingship ideology, was widely practised in Northern Qi, implying a transcending of Emperor Wu of Liang. In terms of the background and motivation for the relic offerings, politically, Emperor Wenxuan gained a military advantage over the Southern Dynasties around 554; and he consolidated his imperial power by enlisting Gao yan, the Prince Pingyang, whose died wife and mother both supported Buddhism. Also at that time, Emperor Wenxuan had more enthusiasm for Buddhism, the compilation of Weishu Shilaozhi, the activities of eminent monks from Dilun School and the practice of Mahāparivāra Sūtra, all these promoted the spread of relic cult and stūpa worship. The choice of the day of the Buddha’s birthday by Emperor Wenxuan for the relic to be enshrined also had the effect of establishing a common connection of belief. The relic reflects the religions, kingship and politics in early Northern Qi, also help us to further understand the cultural exchanges between India and China in 6th century and the relic cult in Sui and Tang dynasties.

4.3 SHI Heyi 释合一 :  戒律在时空流转中的总持

契理契机,回应时代是佛法留存于世间的生机。佛法之于人,如香含于木,经由世事的淬炼方可显真。大乘佛法的因果观超越时间和空间,念念因果生佛互摄,摄心成戒,定慧等持。是故世间种子籍四大众缘,慈悲方便万行圆极,应机接物究竟能事。本文以随缘不变、菩提心为因、契理契机为三个方面显发通过持戒就行,开遮持犯依菩提心,不以二元为对立,即空即假即中地分析论述念念相应念念佛。

4.4 LI Junyi (Victor): 神聖意識:聖典與聖地

以往研究往往把清談佛教和後來的佛教視作一股連續性的發展,但其實作為玄理的佛學並不是作為一種宗教而被看待,而是一種“遊戲”中的資源,並不具知識的神聖性。而佛教之所以逐漸獨立成為一種宗教或知識,正是因為他在晉宋之際的作為聖典的知識整理,以及作為宇宙觀的聖地意識,兩者共同推動了佛教在此後成為一個獨立的宗教實體。