2. Author Affiliation: University of Calgary, Canada.
摘要
The ‘stream of Dharma’ metaphor often occurs in the early layers of the Buddha’s teaching to illustrate how his followers may be carried to the ocean of nirvāṇa by implementing certain practices. A section found in the Saṃyutta-nikāya, the ‘Ganges repetition’ (gaṅgāpeyyāla), is devoted to these metaphors and receives interpretative attention in Pāli commentaries. Is this metaphor found in Mahāyāna Buddhist scholarly works? If so, how is the metaphor used and what principles does its use illustrate? This article compares the use of this metaphor among diverse Mahāyāna Buddhist exegetes found in India, Tibet, China, and Japan. It examines the use of this metaphor by select thinkers such as Zhiyi (智顗, 538–97), Atiśa (982–1054), Prajñāmukti (ca. 11th century), and Nichiren (日蓮, 1222–82) to demonstrate how this trope is appropriated in Indian and East Asian forms of Buddhism. Further, the article examines points of difference between these select scholars to illustrate important distinctions between Indian Buddhist and East Asian Buddhist soteriology.
目次
Abbreviations and References 220 Notes 223 About the Author 227
