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Commentarial Interpretations of the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa in the Controversy over Requiring Buddhist Monastics to Pay Homage to the Emperor During the Sui and Tang Dynasties
Author Sheng, Kai (著)
Source Religions
Volumev.13 n.10
Date2022.10
Pages15
PublisherMDIP
Publisher Url https://www.mdpi.com/
LocationBasel, Switzerland [巴塞爾, 瑞士]
Content type期刊論文=Journal Article
Language英文=English
Note1. Author Affiliation: Tsinghua University, China.

2. Religions 2022, 13(10), 987.
Keywordmonk-lay relations; Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa; Yancong; Jingying Huiyuan; Zhiyi; Kuiji
AbstractOnce Buddhism had become established in China, one of the central issues in the relations between the Saṃgha and the state was the ongoing controversy over requiring Buddhist monastics to pay homage to the emperor. When this controversy resurfaced at the end of the Sui dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty, the participants in the debate frequently referred to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa to support their arguments. In this paper, I discuss these references to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa and how they were interpreted by various participants. I argue that the ideas of “the distinction between expedient means and monastic conventions” and “the distinction between individual realization and general ethics” prevalent in the Buddhist circles of the Sui and Tang dynasties are in line with the concepts of “veneration out of gratitude” and “signless veneration” used for interpreting the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa, indicating that the Sui and Tang Buddhist communities had a common understanding on this issue. A more extreme position was that of Kuiji, who interprets the relevant passages in the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa in terms of “forgetting decorum out of ignorance” in his arguments against the institutional feasibility of requiring monastics to pay homage to the emperor. The arguments put forth in this debate clearly reflect the interaction between Buddhism, absolute monarchy, and historical events in China, in a fusion of intellectual and social history.
Table of contentsAbstract 1
Keywords 1
1. Introduction 1
2. Emperor Yang of Sui’s Interpretation of the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa 3
3. The Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa in the Debate on Monastics Paying Homage to the Emperor during the Early and Middle Tang Dynasty 5
4. The Commentarial Interpretation of the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa 9
(1) Veneration out of gratitude 10
(2) Signless veneration 10
(3) Forgetting decorum out of ignorance 11
5. Conclusions 12
Notes 13
References 14
Primary Source 14
Secondary Source 15

ISSN20771444 (E)
DOI10.3390/rel13100987
Hits94
Created date2023.10.02
Modified date2023.10.02



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