A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy
Page 106
13--Founder of the Hsia dynasty (r. 2183–2175 b.c.?).
14--Founder of Shang dynasty (r. 1751–1739 b.c.?).
15--Part of Shang dynasty (1384–1112 b.c.).
16--A great official under T’ang. For the pronunciation of his name, see Yang Po-chün, Lieh Tzu chi-shih (Collected Explanations of the Lieh Tzu), 1958, p. 92.
17--According to the commentary of Chang Chan.
18--According to Chang Chan, this means that “the one” refers to destructibility and “the other” to indestructibility, and that regardless of which is true, we should not be affected.
19--A legendary figure supposed to have been an official under Yao and Shun.
20--Other texts have “four times eight,” which is nearer to the truth.
21--He was surrounded between Ch’en and Ts’ai by officials of those states to prevent him from going to Ch’u, their enemy state. He and his pupils were out of food and many became sick. See Ssu-ma Ch’ien (145–86 b.c.?), Shih chi (Records of the Historian), pnp, 47:19a. See also translation by Chavannes, Les memoires historiques, vol. 5, pp. 364-371.
22--The viscounts Wei and Chi and Pi Kan who offered good advice to Chou but were exiled, imprisoned, and executed by him, respectively. See Analects, 13:1.
23--He declined the throne in 561 b.c. and became a farmer.
24--He usurped the throne in 386 b.c.
25--He is better known as Liu-hsia Hui, whom Confucius highly praised. See Analects, 15:13.
26--According to T’ao Hung-ch’ing, quoted in Yang Po-chün, Lieh Tzu chi-shih, 1958, p. 121, the first yeh (interrogative article) is to be read as yeh (final positive article).
NEO-TAOISM
1--In present Hupeh.
2--The word hsüan means profound, deep, dark, abstruse, mysterious. See Appendix for further comments.
3--For this book, see above, ch. 13, n.1.
4--See below, ch. 20, Introduction.
5--This is pt. 1 and the most important part of his Chou-i lüeh-li (Simple Exemplifications of the Principles of the Book of Changes), a brief essay in six parts. The essay is included in the Han-Wei ts’ung-shu (Collection of Works of the Han and Wei Dynasties, 206 b.c.–a.d. 265). There are annotations by Hsing Shou (of T’ang, 618-907), but they are inferior. Pt. 4 of this work has been translated by Hellmut Wilhelm in his Change, pp. 87-88.
6--Paraphrasing the Book of Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 2, ch. 1. Cf. Legge, Yi King, p. 380. See also Lao Tzu, ch. 39.
7--Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 2, ch. 9. Cf. Legge, p. 400.
8--Referring to Analects, 12:1.
9--I ch’uan (Commentary on the Book of Changes), eccs, 2:33a.
10--Lao Tzu, ch. 3.
11--See above, sec. 2, Wang’s comment on hexagram no. 24.
12--“Appended Remarks,” pt. 1, ch. 10. Cf. Legge, p. 370.
13--Paraphrasing Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 2, ch. 5. Cf. Legge, p. 389.
14--Paraphrasing Lao Tzu, ch. 14.
15--This metaphor comes from the Chuang Tzu, ch. 26, nhcc, 9:11a. It is a favorite metaphor for Chinese philosophers. See Giles, trans., Chuang Tzu, 1961 ed., p. 265.
16--He was born in 209. For his biography, see Wei chih (History of the Wei Dynasty, 220-265), ch. 9, pnp, 9:7b.
17--Lao Tzu, ch. 25.
18--Yao was a legendary emperor (3rd millennium b.c.). See Analects, 8:19.
19--According to legend, Yao yielded the throne to him but he refused it.
20--See below, comment on sec. 29.
21--Yao’s successor.
THE SEVEN EARLY BUDDHIST SCHOOLS
1--In 2 b.c. a Chinese official received instructions on a Buddhist scripture from a foreign envoy. This is the earliest record of Buddhism in China.
2--Tradition ascribes the translation of the Forty-Two-Chapter Scripture to an earlier period but most scholars believe that it is a work of the Wei-Chin times (220-420).
3--See above, ch. 19, Introduction.
4--For this system, called ko-i, or matching concepts, see T’ang Yung-t’ung, “On ‘Ko-yi,’ ” in Inge, Radhakrishnan, pp. 276-286.
5--Liebenthal, trans., Book of Chao, p. 147.
6--See above, ch. 19, Introduction.
7--For his biography, see below, ch. 21, Introduction.
8--Present Sian.
9--He arrived in the last month of the lunar year corresponding to 401 but that month actually fell in early 402.
10--Tao-an was an orphan, joined the Buddhist order at twelve, and became a pupil of Fo T’u-ch’eng (233-248). He became a leading Buddhist in Ch’ang-an. with several thousand followers. Extremely earnest in propagating the Buddhist faith, he sent followers to various parts of China. For his biography, see the Kao-seng chuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks), ch. 5, tsd, 50:351-354.
11--The Chinese translated śūnya as k’ung, empty or void. It means the unreality of all phenomena or anything that is caused or created. It is the Absolute.
12--Mo-yu, opposed to original non-being (pen-wu).
13--Read ch’a (boast) as chai (abode). This is supported by the quotation of the sentence in the biography of T’an-chi (fl. 458), in the Ming-seng chuan ch’ao (Biographies and Excerpts from Famous Monks). See Zokuzōkyō (Supplement to the Buddhist Canon), collection, pt. 2, B, case 7, vol. 1, p. 9b.
14--Tao-an’s pupil.
15--See Seng-yu (445-518), Ch’u san-tsang chih-chi (Collection of Records of Translation of the Buddhist Canon), tsd, 55:59.
16--About translation of the word dharma, see Appendix, comment of Fa.
17--It is a great mistake to interpret non-being as nihilism. It is really pure being, a positive concept.
18--See below, ch. 21, sec. 2, and n.2.
19--Wei-Chin hsüan-hsüeh lun-kao (Preliminary Treatise on the Metaphysical Schools of the Wei-Chin Period, 220-420), 1957, p. 50.
20--He was Chu Ch’ien. This doctrine was pronounced in 365. For his biography, see Kao-seng chuan, ch. 4, tsd, 50:347-348.
21--This is se in Chinese, which is the translation for the Sanskrit rūpa. It means appearance, matter, color, form, thing.
22--See below, ch. 21, sec. 2.
23--A bodhisattva is one who has dedicated himself to achieve enlightenment and salvation for all.
24--I have not been able to trace the source of this quotation. It may refer to scriptures in general.
25--The term chi-se literally means “matter right here.” As explained by T’ang Yung-t’ung, it is not substantive but matter as apprehended immediately as it exists, or appearance. The school maintains that matter has no self-nature but depends on external causes and conditions for its existence, and is therefore empty. But it does have a conditional or temporary existence, which the school holds to be real and not empty. The name probably came from the title of the treatise mentioned in the next paragraph. See T’ang’s Han Wei Liang-Chin Nan-pei-ch’ao Fo-chiao shih (History of Chinese Buddhism from 206 b.c. to a.d. 589), 1938,
26--Modern Shensi. Concerning this school, see T’ang, ibid., p. 260.
27--See below, ch. 21, sec. 2.
28--He was a nobleman turned monk. He wrote extensively, including commentaries on the Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, and helped to make Buddhism popular through the synthesis of Taoist and Buddhist ideas. All his works are lost except an introduction. For his biography, see Kao-seng chuan, ch. 4, tsd, 50:348-349.
29--This work is no longer extant. According to Yüan-k’ang (fl. 627–649), the reference is to Chih Tao-lin’s Miao-kuan chang (Essay on Subtle Insight). For Yüan-k’ang, see below, ch. 21, n.14.
30--Wei-Chin hsüan-hsüeh lun-kao, p. 53.
31--Pupil of Fa-shen. For his biography, see Kao-seng chuan, ch. 4, tsd, 50:348.
32--Actually the theory was first propagated by Chih Min-tu (fl. 326–342).
33--See ch. 23, n.8.
34--See below, ch. 21, sec. 2.
35--See above, ch. 19, sec. 6, selections 8, 14, 29.
36--According to T’ang Yun
g-tung, Yü Fa-k’ai distinguished between the spirit and consciousness, and held that consciousness is the function of the spirit. The awakening refers to that of the spirit. See Han Wei Liang-Chin Nan-pei-ch’ao Fo-chiao shih, p. 265.
37--He was of the Liu Sung period and famous as a medical practitioner. See his biography in Kao-seng chuan, ch. 4, tsd, 50:350.
38--The world of sensuous desires (which includes the six heavens of desires), the world of matter (various heavens which are free of desires), and the world of pure spirit (the highest level, where the mind dwells in deep and mystical meditation).
39--The theory taught in most Buddhist schools is that there are two levels of truth: worldly truth, i.e., relative truth or truth pertaining to the phenomenal world, and the highest truth, i.e., absolute truth. These are the Two Levels of Truth, paramārthasatya and laukikasatya.
40--The human vision, that of heavenly things, Hīnayāna wisdom, bodhisattva truth, and Buddha-vision or omniscience.
41--Literally “thus come” or “thus go,” one of the ten titles of the Buddha. It means that the Buddha comes as all things come, that is, through causation, but he achieves perfect wisdom and attains Buddhahood. It also means that he has come by the way of “thus come” to the Three Worlds to preach and save sentient beings.
42--He held that while the dharmas of worldly truth are illusory, the spirit is not. See his biography in Kao-seng chuan, ch. 5, tsd, 50:357.
43--Quoting the Ta-chi ching (Scripture of the Great Assembly of Bodhisattvas), ch. 9, tsd, 13:58.
44--He studied under the same teacher with Yü Fa-k’ai. He was also a medical practitioner. He accompanied his teacher on his journey to India, reached Annam, fell sick and died at 31. For his biography, see Kao-seng chuan, ch. 4, tsd, 50:350.
SENG-CHAO’S DOCTRINE OF REALITY
1--Actually he arrived in the last month of the lunar year, which happened to fall in the beginning of 402. Ch’ang-an is present Sian.
2--For his life, see Kao-seng chuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks), ch. 6, tsd, 50:365-366.
3--See Appendix, comment on Fa, for note on the term dharma.
4--For this school, see ch. 22, Introduction.
5--This book consists of four chapters. For an English translation, see Bibliography. There is a very important study of it in Japanese, the Jōron kenkyū (Studies on Seng-chao’s Treatises), compiled by Tsukamoto Zenryu, 1955.
6--Fang-kuang ching (Scripture of the Shedding of the Light of the Buddha, Pañcaviṁśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā sūtra, or Scripture of Perfection of Wisdom in 25,000 Stanzas), ch. 5, tsd, 8:32. The quotation is not literal.
7--It is significant that the two peculiar terms for tranquillity and activity or rest and motion are those used in Lao Tzu, ch. 26.
8--Quoting Lao Tzu, ch. 35.
9--Paraphrasing Lao Tzu, ch. 41.
10--Tao-hsing ching (Scripture on Learning and Practicing the Way, Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā sūtra or Scripture of Perfection of Wisdom in 10,000 Stanzas), ch. 10, tsd, 8:475.
11--Paraphrasing Chung lun (Treatise on the Middle Doctrine, Mādhyamaka śāstra) by Nāgārjuna, ch. 1, sec. 2, tsd, 30:3.
12--Yen Hui, Confucius’ favorite pupil.
13--Alluding to the story told in Chuang Tzu, ch. 21, nhcc, 7:32a. See Giles, trans., Chuang Tzu, 1961 ed., pp. 200-201. The philosophical idea of impermanence is ascribed to this story by Kuo Hsiang (d. 312) in his commentary on the Chuang Tzu. Seng-chao is here following Kuo Hsiang.
14--Yüan K’ang (fl. 627–649), in his Chao lun shu (Commentary on Seng-chao’s Treatises), tsd, 45:168, thought this is a quotation from the Nirvāṇa sūtra. The Chao lun Chung-wu chih-chieh (Commentaries on Seng-chao’s Treatises Collected by Pi-ssu of Chung-wu [in present Kiangsu]), edited by his pupil Ching-yüan (1011-1088), refers to the same scripture. But as Liebenthal has pointed out, this scripture was probably not known to Seng-chao. (Book of Chao, p. 49.) He thinks that the reference is to Analects, 9:16. Japanese scholars think the same. See Tsukamoto Zenryu, Jōron kenkyū, p. 10.
15--See below, ch. 25, n.14.
16--This word, sthiti in Sanskrit and chu in Chinese, has been variously rendered as abiding, dwelling, stagnation, permanence. It is one of the four characteristics of all things: coming into existence, remaining in the same state, change, and going out of existence.
17--A bodhisattva is a saint who is strongly determined to seek salvation for himself and others.
18--Ch’eng-chü kuang-ming ching (Scripture on Producing and Completing the Light), tsd, 15:451.
19--Mahāprajñāpāramitā śāstra, ch. 51, tsd, 25:427.
20--Chuang Tzu, ch. 6, nhcc, 3:8b. See Giles, p. 75.
21--Analects, 9:16.
22--The source of this story is unknown, even to Yüan-k’ang. See his commentary in tsd, 45:169.
23--Chuang Tzu, ch. 6, nhcc, 3:8b, Giles, p. 75.
24--See ch. 20, n.41.
25--This interruption follows that in the Chao lun Chung-wu chi-chieh.
26--P’u-yao ching (Lalitavistara sūtra or Scripture of a Detailed Narration of the Sport [of the Buddha]), ch. 7, tsd, 3:527. The first sentence also appears in Lao Tzu, ch. 78.
27--A good deed brings merit which influences the future favorably. This is the doctrine of karma.
28--Alluding to Analects, 9:18.
29--Alluding to Lao Tzu, ch. 64.
30--Source unidentified.
31--In Buddhist philosophy, a result is due to more than one cause.
32--The term “one material force” comes from Chuang Tzu, ch. 6, nhcc, 3:20a, Giles, p. 81. See also Yüan-k’ang’s commentary, tsd, 45:171.
33--See above, ch. 19, sec. 6, selections 8, 14, 29.
34--For this and the following two schools, see above, ch. 20, secs. 1-4.
35--Rūpa in Sanskrit and se in Chinese, variously translated as form, color, phenomenon, etc.
36--According to Yüan-k’ang, statements of the theory end here. See tsd, 45:171.
37--This is Yüan-k’ang’s punctuation (tsd, 45:171). In the text the word to (very much, frequently) belongs to the next sentence, making it read, “Frequently, regardless. . . .” Actually, the difference is not important.
38--Chuang Tzu, chs. 11 and 12, nhcc, 4:40a, 7:55a, Giles, pp. 114, 218.
39--Ch. 6, tsd, 25:105 .
40--Ch. 2, sec. 5, tsd, 30:7.
41--Vīmalakirtinirdeśa sūtra (Scripture Spoken by Vimalakīrti), sec. 9, tsd, 14:551.
42--ibid., sec. 3, tsd, 14:545.
43--Ch’ao-jih-ming san-mei ching, sec. 1, tsd, 15:532.
44--Ch. 5, tsd, 8:36.
45--Mahāprajñāpāramitā sūtra, ch. 22, tsd, 8:378.
46--Sec. 1, tsd, 14:537.
47--The Bodhisattva-keyūra sūtra, ch. 13, tsd, 16:108.
48--Ch. 1, tsd, 8:425.
49--Ch. 4, sec. 16, tsd, 30:33.
50--Ch. 80, tsd, 8:425.
51--The Yüan-k’ang text has “principle” instead of “fact.”
52--Ch. 18, tsd, 8:128.
53--According to Yüan-k’ang, tsd, 45:174, this refers to the general idea of the treatise but may also be considered to refer specifically to ch. 3, sec. 12, tsd, 30:17.
54-- tsd, 15:454. See also Lao Tzu, ch. 25.
55--Chuang Tzu, ch. 2, nhcc, 1:29a, Giles, p. 38.
56--Fang-kuang ching, ch. 20, tsd, 8:140.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF EMPTINESS: CHI-TSANG OF THE THREE-TREATISE SCHOOL
1--For note on this translation of “dharma,” see Appendix, comment on Fa.
2--See Bibliography for a German translation by Walleser and a partial English translation by Stcherbatsky.
3--For an English translation by Tucci, see Bibliography.
4--San-lun in Chinese and sanron in Japanese.
5--For this concept, see below, ch. 26, n.44.
6--For his biography, see Hsü kao-seng chuan (Supplement to the Biographies of Eminent Monks), ch. 11, tsd, 50:513-515. He was born in Nanking. Throughout his career he was
highly honored by both Sui and T’ang emperors.
7--See above, ch. 21, Introduction.
8--Or universal relativity, as Stcherbatsky interprets it.
9--See ch. 8, comment on p. 183.
10--Maheśvara, the Great Lord of the Universe, who can make all things free and at ease.
11--Those produced from the womb, from eggs, from moisture, and through metamorphosis.
12--Those of hells, hungry ghosts, beasts, demons, human beings, and deities.
13--Chuang Tzu, ch. 2, nhcc, 1:46b. See Giles, trans., Chuang Tzu, 1961 ed., p. 47.
14--Quoting Lao Tzu, ch. 2.
15--This view, and the view that things are eternal, are considered two heterodoxical extremes.
16--Confucius was believed to have edited the Classics and thus expounded moral principles. The point here is that Confucius and Duke Chou understood moral and mundane principles but not spiritual principles.
17--D. 1094 b.c. He was highly praised by Confucius and was a sage to Confucianists. He was credited with having written the text and explanations of the lines in the Book of Changes in which natural principles are subtly explained.
18--Ch’i-nü ching (Scripture on the Seven Princesses), tsd, 85:1459.
19--Another name for Mount Lu, the famous center for Buddhism at Hui-yüan’s time.
20--Referring to Chuang Tzu, ch. 3, nhcc, 2:6b. See Giles, p. 50.
21--Ch’ing-shu, the allotted number or fate of sentient beings.
22--Hung-ming chi (Essays Elucidating the Doctrine), sppy, 5:10a.
23--The phrase “the questioner asked” at the head of this sentence is superfluous, according to the San-lun hsüan-i yu-meng (Instructions for Beginners on the Profound Meaning of the Three Treatises), pt. 2, tsd, 70:534. In Hui-yüan’s treatise, the scholar’s name Wen Tzu is mentioned (Hung-ming chi, 5:10a). He was a mythical figure supposed to have been Lao Tzu’s pupil.
24--Legendary emperor of great antiquity.
25--Hung-ming chi, 5:10a. In the present Wen Tzu, sec. 13 (sppy, pt. 1, p. 21a), the words are attributed not to the Yellow Emperor but to Lao Tzu.
26--Pūraṇa Kāśyapa, Maskarī-Gośāliputra, Sañjaya, Vairātīputra, Ajita Keśakambala, Kakuda Kātyāyana, and Nirgrantha Jñatiputra, all contemporaries of the Buddha. See Vimalakīrtinirdeśa sūtra (Scripture Spoken by Vimalakīrti), sec. 3, tsd, 14:540.