古代印度與儒家的神聖秩序觀 -- 以彌勒思想的救世觀之轉變為例=Maitreya: From World-Renouncer to World-Conqueror. An Investigation on the Conception of Sacred Order in Ancient India and Confucian China
This essay explores the conception of sacred order in ancient India andConfucian China. Using early Indian religious history and Confucianismas points of reference, it scrutinizes the difference between ancient Indiaand China in terms of the primacy of human order. Maitreya in China isprovided as a case study to illustrate how Chinese culture transformed original Indian religious message into a political persuasion.
On the Indian side, the expression Mitrāvaru au in g Veda and Brāhma as is employed to explicate the evolution on the conception of sacred order in the Vedic period. The relationship between religious order and political order as described in the Nikāya texts is then discussed. It is concluded that religious order is regarded as sacred within early Indian intellectual context.
On the Chinese side, Confucian ideal of sage-king and revolution depicted in the Mencius is taken up to elucidate the Confucian idea of sacred order. In contrast with India, the primacy of the political order is clearly a Confucian concern.
In the last part of this essay, the cult of the “descent of Maitreya Buddha” in later Yüan period is used to expound how the idea of future Buddha was connected with revolutionary aspirations in China. In the end, Maitreya was dramatically altered from a world-renouncer in India to a world-conqueror in China.
目次
I. Introduction II. Conception of sacred order as depicted from the relationship between Mitra and Varu a in RV III. The alteration of meaning of Mitrāvaru au in the Brāhma as and its implications. IV. Early Buddhist ideal of sacred order: dhamma and cakkavattin V. Confucian idea of sacred order as seen from the Mencius VI. Maitreya in China VII. Conclusion
