於經教中揀別啟蒙精神與蒙昧雜質 — 華嚴之本懷與種姓沙文主義之復辟=Discriminate the Spirit of Enlightenment from the Unenlightened Impurities in Religious Scriptures — The Spirit of the Flower Ornament Scripture and the Restoration of the Caste Chauvinism
Firstly, when three versions of the Chinese translation of the Flower Ornament Scripture (Avatamsaka) were collated, significant discrepancies were found. This article illuminates the wisdom of universal equality in the earlier version of the Flower Ornament Scripture, and discusses the alterations toward gender discrimination to the stories of Gopā and Bhiksunī Simhavijrmbhitā in the later versions of the Ru-fa-jie chapter (Gandavyūha).Secondly, based on the above discoveries, this article emphasizes the importance of discriminating the spirit of enlightenment from the unenlightened impurities in religious scriptures.Thirdly, this article concludes with the reflection that the false accusations against the females in Buddhist scriptures can't accord with the spirit of the Buddha and shouldn't be persisted today.The wisdom of universal equality in the Flower Ornament Scripture is represented in the Ru-lai-xing-qi chapter. There are two interpretations of the term ”ru-lai-xing-qi” (tathāgatôtpattisambhava). As a Karmadhāraya (descriptive determinative compound), it means ”thus-go thus-come awakening” (intersubjective awakening)-not conditioned by ”gotra” (means race or lineage). But, as a Tatpurusa (dependent determinative compound), it means the manifesting of ”Buddha's gotra”. The latter interpretation falls within the conceptional framework of Buddhist tathāgatagarbha thought, but it can be misused for the restoration of the caste chauvinism.
