Elements of omnicontextual thought in Chinese Buddhism: Annotated translations of Gui Feng Zong Mi's 'preface to 'Collection of Various Writings on the Chan Source' thinspace' and his 'commentary on 'Meditative Approaches to the Hua Yen Dharmadhatu' thinspace'.

摘要

This dissertation discusses the notion of what is being called "contextual soteriology," and demonstrates its presence in the writings of the 9th century Chinese Buddhist philosopher Gui Feng Zong Mi (780-841). Contextual soteriology is an approach which recognizes that experience takes place within various contextual closures, and that liberation can be said to consist of the dissolution of contextual fixation and rigidity. It is possible to view Buddhism as a family of related contextual soteriologies, each adopting different contextual methods to achieve trans-contextual "dis-closure." The presence of contextual soteriology in the Zhuang Zi is also demonstrated. I will argue that these two strands of thought, the Indian Buddhist tradition and the Chinese Daoist tradition, converge in the Hua Yen and Chan schools. Zong Mi stands at the crossroads of both of these schools, being considered a lineage figure by both schools. The present study focuses on translations of two of Zong Mi's writings: the Preface to "Collection of Various Writings on the 'Chan' Source" and the Commentary on "Meditative Approaches to the 'Hua Yen Dharmadhatu' thinspace". The texts are translated and annotated in such a way as to illuminate the omnicontextual elements within them, and the introductory chapters are intended to establish that such an approach did not occur in an ideological vaccuum. Specific areas of interest are: (1) Early Buddhism with its emphasis on upaya; (2) the Prajnaparamita and Madhyamika traditions, with their emphasis on deconstruction and "disclosure"; (3) the writings of Zhuang Zi and his notion of "carefree meandering"; (4) the Hua Yen tradition with its emphasis on "entry into Dharmadhatu"; (5) the use of "radical de-contextualization" in the Chan tradition; and (6) the thought of Zong Mi himself and his dependence on the 'Mahayana' Awakening of Faith.