Yunqi Zhuhong=雲棲株宏; abstention from killing=不殺生; the Brahma’s Net Sūtra=梵網經; life release=放生; Matteo Ricci=利瑪竇; late Ming China=明末中國
摘要
Yunqi Zhuhong 雲棲株宏 (1535–1615) was a pioneer of a new Buddhism of the late-Ming Dynasty. Throughout his life, he abstained from killing living things (bushasheng 不殺生) and practiced life release (a practice of abstention from killing by releasing living creatures of various types; fangsheng 放生), and his teachings have been widely revered to the present day. Based on the Brahma’s Net Sūtra (Fanwang jing 梵網經 ), the Buddhist principle of abstaining from killing living things combined the Indian theory of rebirth and the Confucian virtue of filial piety. This principle was criticized by Matteo Ricci (1552–1610, Chinese name Li Madou 利瑪竇), a central figure in the Christian mission to China that began at the end of the sixteenth century. In his doctrinal tract Tianzhu shiyi 天主實義 [The True Meaning of (the Doctrine of) the Master of Heaven] (1603), he claimed the idea of human stewardship: killing animals for human use and consumption is to honor this divine blessing. Therefore, he concluded that the ideas of rebirth and filial piety, as well as the Buddhist principle of abstaining from killing living things are erroneous. Ricci’s view was unacceptable to Zhuhong who believed in the equality of human and animal life. He was repulsed by meat-eating. In his view, humans and animals are of the same meat, and therefore, the act of eating animal meat is equivalent to that of eating human meat. Being reborn as various existences through the six paths, one’s soul breaks free from the shackle of this present life, opening itself to the infinite past and future. Killing living things means to terminate this cycle, while abstaining from it is a way to participate in the infinite circuit of life. Zhuhong promoted life release as good conduct that anybody could adopt as an expression of their commitment to abstention from killing. Thus, he succeeded in making his teaching accessible and widely popularizing it in Chinese society.
Abstract 5 1. The Principle of Abstaining from Killing 8 2. Matteo Ricci’s Criticism of the Principle of Abstention from Killing 15 3. Zhuhong’s Idea of Equality Between Humans and Livestock 17 4. Zhuhong’s Thought on Abstention from Killing 22 5. Conclusion 26 References 29 Abbreviations Primary Sources Secondary Sources
