蕅益智旭的生平及思想：地藏信仰、持戒的實踐和性相融會思想=A Study of the Life and Thought of Ouyi Zhixu: His Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Belief, Practice in Precepts and Syncretic Thought
In the past, academic research on Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655) of the late Ming Dynasty has tended towards the extremes of either focusing on one singular aspect of his thought, or providing general overviews of his life and thought. The present thesis is a departure from past research trends in that it presents the life and thought of Zhixu through the joint examination of his Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva belief, practice in precepts, and syncretic thought. Starting with a discussion of how Zhixu's Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva faith led him to orthodox Budhdist belief, this thesis proceeds to examine his practice in precepts, which was not only advocated by his contemporaries in their efforts to revive Buddhism, but is also related to Zhixu's personal cultivation and validation as a qualified monastic. Finally, the thesis explores the syncretic thought which Zhixu had devoted his entire life into developing. In sum, this thesis attempts to fill the gaps left by past research by presenting a coherent exploration of Zhixu's life and thought rather than limiting discussion to one singular aspect of his thought or a mere overview of his life. The value of the present research on Zhixu's Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva faith lies not only in the illustration of Zhixu's understanding and practice of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva faith as applied to principle and things, but also in the presentation of the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva faith as a practice that is different than the popular view that it is folk belief. Regarding Zhixu's practice in precepts, later generations only know that Zhixu was a strict adherent of precepts, but know of neither the content nor ideology behind this practice of precepts. To this end, this thesis contributes unprecedented research on Zhixu's practice in precepts. With regard to Zhixi's syncretic thought, this research presents a clear depiction of not only the process of development, but also the theoretical foundation upon which he built his thoughts. Research results include: a map of the origin and development of Zhixu's syncretic thought; discussion of concrete examples that show how Zhixu's work in annotating and commentating sutras assisted him in achieving syncretic thought; analysis of the reasoning behind Zhixu's invention of "the present mind"; and the presentation of how and why Zhixu wrote The Sastra of Cracking the Net of Great Awaking Faith with the intention of propagating the syncretic thought found in The Great Awaking Faith.
