《法華經》「方便」與《壇經》「無念」之會通―以智顗和神會為主=A study of the Lotus Sutra Focusing on Upāya Kauśalya Thoughts of Zhiyi and the Platform Sutra Focusing on Wu-nien(No-thought) of Shenhui.
This thesis is mostly inspired by Ouyi Zhixu's study of tiantai doctrine, Jiaoguan gangzong 教觀綱宗, as well as Sheng Yen's monograph, Shenhui chanshi de wujing 神會禪師的悟境. This thesis based on the research of these two experts in Buddhist doctrine and authorities on Chan meditation, also when through the interpretations of the contents of the Upāya Kauśalya Thoughts in Lotus Sutra and the no-thought in Platform Sutra respectively by Zhiyi and Shenhui, the purport and the spirit of these two classics are analyzed and explored, then both to comprehend and ractice the two of them. Finally, this thesis hope to present and interoperation the Doctrinal of the Tiantai and the Chan School, develop the practice of the Han Buddhism's Chan Contemplation and it's promotion in Buddhist education. The paper consists of the two topics: the Upāya Kauśalya Thoughts in Lotus Sutra and the no-thought in Platform Sutra in connection with Zhiyi's and Shenhui's different explanations and practical applications of them. The analys focus on the main points of Zhiyi's discussion on the Lotus Sutra's Upāya Kauśalya Thoughts preserved in Fahua wenju 法華文句, Fahua xuanyi 法華文句, Mohe zhiguan 摩訶止觀 on one hand, and Shenhui's interpretation of the Platform Sutra's no-thought present in Shifei lun 是非論, Tan yu 壇語, Zazheng yi 雜徵義, Xianzong ji 顯宗記on the other. Based on the reading of these works, a mutual relation between Upāya Kauśalya Thoughts and no-thought is deeply examined. According to Zhiyi, the Lotus Sutra's ultimate truth is the inconceivability mystery of the skillful means. He reveals the ultimate truth of the Lotus Sutra's skillful means through the Quan (權) and Shi (實) and metaphorical expressions as well as various doctrinal classifications. When it comes to the practical aspect, he connects skillful means with the scheme of twenty five skillful means, the ten vehicles meditation, Lotus Samādhi, the "Samadhi of Neither Walking nor Sitting"(非行非坐三昧), and other meditations of calming and contemplation through which perfect and sudden cultivation-and-realization is achieved. According to Shenhui's reading of the Platform Sutra, no-thought means not to think about good and bad, about boundaries, limits, and the duality of bodhi and nirvāṇa. When it comes to the practical aspect, it indicates sudden method devoid of any stages: a unity attained in a single thought. The meaning of this unity is seeing no-thought and being able to understand one's own nature. Shenhui connects no-thought with the dharma of the perfection of wisdom (prajñā) which he regards as the foundation of practice, especially bodhi-citta, purification of karma, and the three teachings. Furthermore, he connects it with the simultaneousness of prajñā, dharmakāya, liberation, and non-duality of essence and functioning regarded as eternally illuminating and serene constant existence and emptiness – existing yet being empty, being empty yet existing – of the perfectly interpenetrating unhindered practice of the middle way reality. It is hoped that this study of the Buddhist scriptures, the comparative analysis of the Lotus Sutra's Upāya Kauśalya Thoughts and the Platform Sutra's no-thought in their theoretical and practical aspects, will broaden our knowledge on Tiantai and Chan doctrine and enable us to explore Chinese Buddhi
