慧業通來不礙塵 : 從蒼雪讀徹《南來堂詩集》看晚明清初賢首宗南方系的發展歷程=Investigating the Development of the Southern Huayan School in the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, from Cangxue Duche’s Nanlaitang shiji
Cangxue Duche was a famous poet-monk of the late Ming period. His poetry style was so eminent that Wu Meicun and Wang Shizhen, the two leading poets of that time, expressed their own great admiration for his poetry. Wu Meicun said Cangxue Duche was “the greatest poet among monks” and even “the greatest among poets”. However, in addition to his great reputation as a poet, Cangxue Duche was also a “fully realized monk”. He had left his home-life as a pure youth, held precepts firmly, and devoted himself to expounding Buddhist sutras. Even his death was because of his overexertion when preaching Śūraṅgama sūtra in Longchang Temple on Mount Baohua. That preaching trip was the result of Jianyue Duti’s invitation. Previous studies on Cangxue Duche have mainly focused on his achievements in poetry. Taking his writings as the main object, from another point of view, I reflect on the development of the Southern Huayan school in late Ming China and on the characteristics of their cultural properties. I hope readers can benefit from this approach to better understand the cultural history of late Ming and early Qing Buddhism. From Yunnan to the regions south of the Yangzi River, Cangxue Duche had adhered to the teachings of the Southern Huayan school since he visited Xuelang Hong’en. In Nanlaitang shiji, he expressed his obsession with China’s situation due to the replacement of the Ming dynasty by the Qing dynasty. In addition, the content of this book can almost be regarded as an epitome of the development of late-Ming and early-Qing southern Buddhism, especially in the Nanjing and Suzhou areas. Cangxue Duche’s thought is based on Huayan teachings, and covered many subjects, touching on both lay and esoteric writings, and both Buddhist sutras and apocryphal writings. He also was in close contact with the literati of that time, such as Qian Qianyi and Wu Meicun. Arts training became Cangxue Duche’s leading method of seeking and expounding Buddha’s truth. This was an important trend in the teaching of the lateMing and early-Qing Buddhist community, especially for the Southern Huayan school.
