從「回歸佛陀本懷」看《佛典漢譯、理解與詮釋研究 — 以善巧方便一系概念思想為中心》=A Study on Research of the Translation, Comprehension, and Interpretation of Buddhist Scriptures: On the Concepts of Skillful and Expedient Means From the Perspective of “Returning to the Buddha’s Ori
From ancient times to the present, teachings of Chinese Buddhism are inclined to emphasize prajñā and focus less on expedient means. This has raised circuitous discussions in the areas of Buddhist research and religious practice. Contemporary Chinese Buddhism is in the midst of transformation, typified by Humanistic Buddhism, and the concept of “returning to the Buddha’s original intents” has become popular in this era. The book, provisionally translated as Research of the Translation, Comprehension, and Interpretation of Buddhist Scriptures: On the Concepts of Skillful and Expedient Means, addresses these issues from a theoretical aspect by analyzing the historical development of Buddhist philosophy. Based on thorough investigation of the Buddhist texts regarding the ideology of “expedient means” and Chinese interpretations thereof, it proposes that early Mahayana Buddhist scriptures constructed a theoretical model for the prajñā training of a bodhisattva, correlating both prajñā and expedient means with the notion that they are “neither inseparable nor separable, neither non-dual nor dual, well balanced in development, and serve as dialectical embodiments of each other.” From this framework of prajñā training, the coherence and significance of “expedient means” are identified within the theoretical system of Mahayana Buddhism. The first step in returning to the Buddha’s original intents is through understanding the teaching principles of the Buddha. This publication provides a constructive direction for the development of Chinese Buddhism.
