從涅盤經、眾生正因說到沈約的神不滅思想 -- 南朝佛性學說與形神理論關係之考察=From the Mahāparinirvāna-Sūtra and Zhongsheng zhengyin to Shen Yue's Theory of Immortal Soul: A study on The Relationship between the Buddha-Nature Theory and the Xingshen Theory
This paper will look at a concrete example of the interplay during the Southern Dynasties between the Buddha-nature (Buddhadhātu) theories and the notion of an "immortal soul." According to the Mahāparinivāna-Sūtra, sentient beings are the "direct cause of buddha-nature" because they continue without an end in samsāra and are able to become Buddha in the future. Likewise, the continuity of mind (citta) was considered central to the continuation of sentiment beings. The theory of zhongsheng zhengyin advocated by Seng Min of the Zhuangyan Temple and the theory liufa zhengyin advocated by Seng Rou of the Dinglin Temple and Zhi Cang of the Kaishan Temple, basically followed this doctrine, although the essentiality of the continuous mind or shenming was given a stronger emphasis. This was also the foundation of their famous theory of "benyou yudang," which suggests the union of the priori and the a posteriori in buddha-nature. Shen Yue built on this line of thought in his theory of immortal soul. He contended that the intellectuality, or the receptacle for wisdom, possessed by sentient beings is continuous and maintains its self-identity throughout the process of samsāra and the path towards enlightenment. This mental continuum is the source of samsāra, but exists independently from the chain of death and rebirth caused by good or evil thoughts. In the transition from the Mahāparinivāna-Sūtra to the theory of zhongsheng zhengyin, and then to the thought of Shen Yue, we can see how the theory of buddha-nature affected and changed the way people thought about the immortal soul, and eventually replaced it.
