試論中國佛學對龍樹思想的承襲與歧出 ─ 從「圓融」特質考察起=On the Continuation of and Divergence from Nāgārjuna’s Philosophy in Chinese Buddhism: From the Investigation of the Characteristics of “Round Harmony”
Nāgārjuna, with the honorary title ‘common patriarch of eight Buddhist Schools,’ was regarded as the thinker who most influenced the development of Chinese Buddhism. Since ‘Round Harmony’ (or ‘Perfectness’) is one of the important features of Chinese Buddhism, does the philosophy of Nāgārjuna influence, or even determine, the ‘Round Harmony’ of Chinese Buddhism? Introduction and conclusion aside, in this paper I try to reply to this question in four sections: Firstly, I do some meta-analysis of the characteristics of ‘Perfectness’ in Chinese Buddhism, suggesting it is related to the concepts of ‘Ji’ (identity), ‘Ru’ (suchness), ‘Xin’ (Mind), ‘Xuan’ (profoundness) and ‘He’ (harmony). Secondly, I explore the possible influence of Nāgārjuna’s thought on the characteristics of ‘Perfectness’ in Chinese Buddhism, especially in the case of the meaning of ‘Perfection’ in ‘Ji’, and the different implications of ‘Ji’ in Chinese Buddhism and the difference in its legacy of the Mādhyamika school. Thirdly, I try to argue Nāgārjuna should not be regarded as a philosopher who promotes the value of ‘Perfectness.’ His theory of the Two Truths, for instance, is not necessarily for the pursuit of harmony, but places more emphasis on negation and transcendence. In the end, I claim that the theoretical turn of Chinese Buddhism to the ethereality of ‘Perfectness’ may diverge from the philosophy of Nāgārjuna but create its own path. The pros and cons of such a divergence are also worthy of further exploration and reflection in the future.
