天台學的核心觀念與實踐：對海外的天台學研究的反思=The Central Idea and Practice of Tiantai Philosophy: A Critical Examination of the Overseas Studies on Tiantai Buddhist Thought
此次主題演講的主題是漢傳佛教在海外的傳播與發展，我在這裏把漢傳佛教聚焦在天台學方面，看它在日本、美洲與歐洲方面的研究，以對終極真理的理解為主軸，實踐真理的方法為輔軸。概括而言，日本學界研究天台學，以方法、實踐方面的三觀、三諦為著眼點，美洲方面的研究基本上也順著這一導向發展。我個人的研究則與他們異趣，以對實相真理的理解為著眼點，把焦點放在佛性特別是中道佛性的開拓上。這中道佛性具有三個特點：常住性、功用性和具足諸法。以下謹列舉有關方面的研究人員如下：日本：安藤俊雄、佐藤哲英、關口真大、玉城康四郎、新田雅章。美洲：N. Donner and D.B. Stevenson, Paul Swanson, B.Ziporyn.歐洲：L. Hurvitz, H.R. Kantor. Japanese, American, and European studies on Tiantai Buddhist philosophy mostly pay attention to the conceptual pattern of the ”threefold contemplation” and the ”threefold truth.” Most of them assume that the crucial Tiantai concept of truth is rooted in this threefold pattern. However, in this article, I will stress and show that this rather represents the specific Tiantai method and way of understanding, thinking, and practice, and that it is the philosophical concept of ultimate truth which shapes and determines such a specific method and way. The supreme truth and most pivotal idea, according to the Tiantai texts ascribed to Zhiyi, is the ”middle way-Buddha nature,” and all the practices based on the ”threefold contemplation” and the ”threefold truth” must be understood in this context. Embodying the ultimate sense of truth, the ”middle way-Buddha nature” implies permanence and is all-embracing, yet, at the same time, it is dynamic and functional.
