Authors and affiliations:College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Religious Studies, Fairfield, University, Fairfield, USA
摘要
The Mahāyāna Buddhist term dhāra?ī has been understood to be problematic since the mid-nineteenth century, when it was often translated as “magical phrase” or “magical formula” and was considered to be emblematic of tantric Buddhism. The situation improved in contributions by Bernhard, Lamotte and Braarvig, and the latter two suggested the translation be “memory,” but this remained difficult in many environments. This paper argues that dhāra?ī is a function term denoting “codes/coding,” so that the category dhāra?ī is polysemic and context-sensitive. After reviewing Western scholarship, the article discusses dhāra?ī semantic values and issues of synonymy, the early applications of mantras, the sonic/graphic background of coding in India extended into Buddhist applications, and the soteriological ideology of dhāra?īs along with some of its many varieties.
目次
A Short Stroll down Memory Lane: Dha¯ran: ı¯ in Western Scholarship 98 Some Antics Over Semantics 106 The Parameters of the Problem and a Potential Proposal: Coding as the Meaning of Dha¯ran:¯ı 117 Dha¯ran:¯ıs as the Sonic/Graphic Coding of Buddhist Sounds 120 Dha¯ran: ¯ıs as the Coding of the Buddhist Values 126 From Tangible Benefits to Ultimate Liberation—Dha¯ran: ¯ıs as Soteriological Forces 132 So Many Dha¯ran: ¯ı Functions, So Little Time 138 Conclusion: A Dha¯ran: ¯ı for all Seasons 141 References 143
