論禪佛水月與“理一分殊”=On the Chan Buddhist Metaphor of Shuiyue 水月[“Water-Moon”] and Zhu Xi’s Theory of Liyi Fenshu 理一分殊 [One Principle in Multiple Manifestations]
Recently, some scholars put into question the scholarly consensus regarding Buddhist influences on Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) theory of liyi fenshu 理一分殊 (‘One Principle in Multiple Manifestations’), which makes it necessary to re-examine this issue. By re-reading the three metaphors of shuiyue 水月 (Water-Moon) in the Zhuzi yulu 朱子語類 (A Collection of Conversations with Master Zhu), we could re-affirm the traditional opinion that a relationship indeed exists between Buddhism and Zhu Xi’s theory. However, the traditional opinion only proves that a relationship ‘existed’ and yet does not specify ‘how’ and ‘why’ this relationship came about. Hence, as modern scholars, we should position the traditional theories in the matrix of modern thoughts, so as to re-evaluate their validity and thereby reach places where traditional theories could not. A couple of issues in particular should warrant our attention, such as the Chan and poetic transformation of shuiyue which originated in the Huayan jing 華嚴經 [Buddhâvataṃsaka-sūtra]; the elements of the Chan philosophy in the theory of liyi fenshu; as well as the influence of the Huayan and Chan tradition thereon. In summary, shuiyue carries a poetic connotation of Chan Buddhism as well as the meditative insight of the Huayan Buddhist doctrine of the ‘perfect interfusion’ (Ch. yuanrong 圓融), which is then incorporated into Zhu Xi’s philosophical construct of liyi fenshu. The transformation that shuiyue underwent—from a religious symbol to a poetic imagery and to a philosophical concept—makes up the lack of philosophical and visual thinking in the traditional Confucian thoughts. Likewise, Chan Buddhism, which had passed its heyday, also became invigorated in this process: it was absorbed into the Neo-Confucianist thoughts and thereby continued exerting real—though imperceptible—influences on the Chinese culture. The case of shuiyue could perhaps reveal a new angle to studying the sinification of Buddhism. Viewing the Chinese intellectual history in terms of its successive stages, we could see how such absorption of Buddhist elements into Confucianism has propelled the Chinese philosophy to a new stage, bringing about positive progress for the Chinese thoughts. However, as for the specific consequences and influences of this transformation on the history at large, they would be too complex to unravel in a short article.
