Tenet classification (jiaoxiang panshi, 教 相 判 釋 or panjiao, 判 教 ) was “a fundamental exegetical practice in East Asian Buddhism, in which scriptures or Buddhist teachings were ranked in order of their supposed relative profundity” and often used as “a polemical tool to demonstrate the superiority” of the exegetes’ own traditions (Buswell Jr. and Lopez Jr. 2014, 385r). In this respect, the tenet classification of the Five Teachings (wujiao, 五教) by the Huayan School patriarch Fazang (法藏, 643–712) can also be seen as an attempt to establish the supremacy of the Huayan sūtra, thereby advocating the superiority of the Huayan School (Huayan zong, 華嚴宗). Consequently, from ancient times to the present, discussions on panjiao have focused on the doctrinal and polemical nature of the classification in question. In contrast, Kaneko Daiei (金子大榮, 1881–1976), a modern Japanese Shin Buddhist priest and scholar of Huayan thought,2 tried to see panjiao, including Fazang’s, from a different perspective. Kaneko argued that tenet classifications must be based on the advocate’s profound insight into (1) the human character (jinkaku, Ch. renge, 人格) of the Buddha and (2) one’s own spiritual capacity and corresponding practices. This paper focuses on Kaneko’s critique of Fazang’s tenet classification and illustrates how Kaneko discerned the two mutually interfused aspects of the “Buddha of wisdom” (zhihui fo, 智慧佛) and the “Buddha of compassion” (cibei fo, 慈悲佛) from Fazang’s theory, while criticizing Fazang’s view as being insufficient from a spiritual perspective and slanted towards politico-religious interests of his time. Through this, we may say that Kaneko tried to put a human face on the often lofty, doctrine-oriented exegetical practice of tenet classification.
目次
1. Kaneko Daiei and Huayan Thought 208 2. Kaneko’s Theoretical Critique of Fazang’s Tenet Classification 210 2-1. Structure of Fascicle One of the WJZ and Tenet Classification 211 2-2. Kaneko’s theoretical critique on the methods of tenet classification 212 3. Kaneko’s Critique of Tenet Classification from a Human Viewpoint 217 3-1. The Classifier’s View of the Buddha 217 3-2. Kaneko’s assessment of Fazang’s tenet classification 219 3-3. The classifier’s view of the self 223 Conclusion 225 Bibliography 228
