Matteo Ricci=利瑪竇; Yunqi Zhuhong=雲棲株宏; Miyun Yuanwu=密雲圓悟; Feiyin Tongrong=費隱通容; late Ming China=明末中國; Buddhist critique of Christianity=佛教對基督教的批判
摘要
The Christian mission to China was initiated at the end of the sixteenth century by the Jesuits, most famously Matteo Ricci (1552–1610, Chinese name Li adou 利瑪竇). n his doctrinal tract Tianzhu shiyi 天主實義 [The True Meaning of (the Doctrine of) the Master of Heaven] (1603), he claimed that God is beginningless and endless, and that He is the source of all things. Chinese Buddhist monks criticized Ricci’s views. Yunqi Zhuhong 雲棲株宏 (1535–1615), an eminent monk of the late-Ming dynasty, argued that the Catholic God is only one of many gods, and is merely an abstract principle. Similarly dismissing Ricci’s notion of God, the Linji Chan monk, Miyun Yuanwu 密雲圓悟 (1566–1642), emphasized the notion of the Great Way that pervades both one’s self and the universe. His disciple Feiyin Tongrong 費隱通容 (1593–1661) further developed this notion. He likened the Great Way to the void because it is inherent in all things while simultaneously encompassing them. Thus, regardless of whether one is enlightened or not, the self is ultimately one with the heaven and earth. Zhuhong’s and Yuanwu’s criticism of the Catholic God indicates how Chinese Buddhists encountered Christianity and became aware of the fundamental differences between the two religions in terms of worldview and the theory of universality. The contrast between the void and God navigated this debate. It was through their attempts to refute the singular God of Christianity that Chinese Buddhists arrived at their own theory of universality based on the idea of the Great Way of the imminent void.
Abstract 33 1. Introduction 36 2. God in Tianzhu shiyi 39 3. The Relativization of God 41 4. What is beginningless and endless? 46 5. The Void—the Universal Great Way 49 6. Conclusion 54 References 56 Abbreviations Primary Sources Secondary Sources
