From Mount Meru to Mind-Only: Chinese Buddhist Cosmology in the Fajie anli tu 法界安立圖 or An Illustrated (Guide to) the Established Order of the Dharma-realm
Jinhui WU is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Chinese and Humanities at Reed College. She received her doctorate in East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona. She studies early modern Chinese religious literature and its intersection with other socio-cultural spheres, from the perspectives of historiography, vernacular literature, ritual practices, and print culture. Email: jwu@reed.edu
關鍵詞
Fajie anli tu; Buddhist cosmology; Chinese late imperial Buddhism; Mind-only cosmology; Chinese Buddhist schools
摘要
Fajie anli tu (An Illustrated [Guide] to the Established Order of the Dharmadhatu 法界安立圖, X 972) is an orderly account of Buddhist cosmology composed by the monk Renchao 仁潮 in Hangzhou. This book reflects the most detailed account late imperial Chinese Buddhists had of Buddhist cosmology and the physical world around them. It was well received in China since its first publication in 1607 and had a far-reaching influence during its transmission to other parts of the world, especially Japan and Britain. However, this book has not been given the attention it merits in contemporary studies of Buddhist history. In this essay, I introduce its authorship, analyze its content and writing skills, as well as examine its reception among disparate groups of readers in China and abroad using a methodology developed in the field of book history. Through a close reading of texts from the work and its history of circulation, this essay demonstrates how Buddhist cosmological discourses evolved within the Chinese context from detailed descriptions of the physical cosmos to philosophical explanations of the universe emphasizing the supremacy of the “mind” (xin 心).
目次
Abstract 134 Introduction 135 Authorship and Content 137 The Physical Cosmos in FJALT 142 The “Mind–only” Cosmos in FJALT 146 The Legacy of FJALT in China and Beyond 152 Concluding Remarks 154 Notes 156 Abbreviations 159 References 159 Primary Sources Secondary Sources
