判教=教判=教相判釋=classification of Buddhist teachings=classification of Buddhism Sects; 中國佛教=Chinese Buddhism
摘要
P'an-chio (classification of teaching ), commonly acknowledged to be a central theme of Chinese Buddhism, is basically an attempt to distinguish and to integrate various strata of Buddhist texts, with a view to highlighting their individual characteristics and to reconciling their apparent disparities. Different Chinese Buddhist traditions, each with its peculiar understanding of the essential meaning of the Buddha's message, naturally consider the significance of the heterogeneous elements of their spiritual heritage differently. Thus, examining and cpmparing their P'an-chio schemes constitute a convenient and reliable way of assessing their particular doctrinal affiliations and determining their respective places in the bewildering labyrinth of Buddhist thought. This article, which investigates how p'an-chio first century, aims at locating the historical, doctrinal and exegetical factors which had given rise to this particular concern of the Chinese Buddhist intellectual world. It is hoped that on gaining a clear picture of the first commencement of the practice of p'an-chio, we shall be in a better position to comprehend its basic aims and trace the direction of its subseqient development.
