Huayan Buddhism; Fazang; Heart Sutra; prajna study
摘要
Heart Sutra by Xuanzhuang is accredited for its clarification of the concepts of existence, emptiness, wisdom and reality. In the history of Chinese Buddhism, many learned masters have incorporated traditional Chinese thinking and Buddhist thoughts in their study of Heart Sutra. In this respect, this research is concerned with the influence of Heart Sutra possibly had on the formation and development of the Huayan Buddhist thought, especially during the later period of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Huayan thinkers since the Tang Dynasty were accustomed in using the paradigm of integrating meditation practices and doctrinal teachings (禪教合一) to construct an integrated whole. On this basis, the Huayan patriarchs had attempted to integrate the study of prajna with the teachings of Huayan as an application of the unobstructed integration. This Huayan explanatory technique for the teachings of other Buddhist traditions may be originally inspired by Fazang’s Abridged Commentary on Heart Sutra. The historical and textual analyses in this study are applied for clarifying the intellectual history and development of Huayan Buddhism through the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
