Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 09:39:55 -0500 (EST) From: amy vondrak <amvondra-AT-mailbox.syr.edu> Subject: Re: East and West although i am interested in these periodic posts on various Asian religions, i'm always a little confused by the non-sequtorial nature of their appearance. care to give some relevance or context? amy vondrak On Sun, 9 Dec 2001, Mike Reynolds wrote: > In questioning the authenticity of interpretations of > the Lao-tzu, the Buddho-Taoist debates, which went on > for at least three centuries before Ch'eng Hsuan-ying > wrote about it, Chu Hsi reveals the situational > context of the times: > > 'Even though the taoists have the Lao-tzu and the > Chuang-tzu, they don't understand that they should > read them thoroughly, and as a result, they found that > these two books had been stolen and used by Buddhists, > whereas the Taoists themselves were copying from > Buddhist scriptures and teachings. This is like a boy > from a rich family who went to pick up broken jugs and > pots left by those who had made away with the > invaluable treasures in the house.' > > There are ties between the central meaning of > emptiness and what Ch'eng Hsuan-ying saw in the > Chuang-tzu that made Chaung-tzu a master of emptying. > In spite of the differences Ch'eng Hsuan-ying marked > out between him and Kuo Hsiang, interdependency, that > is, the second causal relation established on the > basis of spatial difference, is the common ground of > thought, shared both by Chuang-tzu and Buddhism, and > has generated these two different concepts. > > In other words, sameness and emptiness are basically > two different effects of interdependent thinking, come > from two different cultural sources. Since the Hua-hu > ching version was one of the major disputes between > medievalTaoism and Buddhism, Ch'eng Hsuan-ying's > adaption is an unequivocal indication that to him, > despite all the Buddhist terms he used in the > commentary, Taoism should predate Buddhism. > > ....The Tetralemma as a necessary step, or better, a > metaphor for the step leading toward the 'double > mystery' is here basically replaced by a different > expression of the process toward the 'double mystery' > -- a geometrical reasoning with two sides and the > middle, which, like the Tetralemma, has been > recognized too as a borrowing from Buddhism, > particularly from Madhyamika Buddhism. > > No doubt the 'double mystery' had helped him refocus > these ideas in the Chuang-tzu and it is this > refocusing that we call a rediscovery of the > Chuang-tzu.' > > ....'This is to give up the middle. Not only giving up > the middle two sides, but also forgetting the middle > and the one is to give up again and again, and to > hsuan(used as a verb)...To remove this idea he has to > understand that the middle is not outside of the two > sides, and thus is 'not to go out.' If there are no > sides to go out, where can the middle come?' > [Shiyi Yu, Asian Thought and Culture: Reading the > Chuang-tzu in the T'ang Dynasty, Peter Lang(2000), > p.123] > > The recluse Shen Yueh: > > 'Those who castigate Emptiness while searching for > Being > All point out what is difficult, supposing it easy; > Not proceeding from themselves to seek contentment, > But blaming externals, thereby arousing the greater > attachment. > This is where even men of old went wrong, > But where today I mean to circumvent. > > It is only the Perfected that deny themsleves, > For whom 'tis sure both self and other are forgot. > From middling wise on down to fools > The rest all take attaining their true selves to be > their world.' > > As Mather points out, the political aspects of > self-cultivation dictated that a line of demarcation > could be drawn between what Shen Yueh calls 'reclusion > of the worthy' (hsien-jen chih yin ___ ___ ___ ___) > and merely being free of responsiblilty: > > ''What I mean by the word 'reclusion'(yin) is that not > only are one's traces (chi ___, i.e., overt acts) > outwardly invisible, but one's (inner) principle(tao > ___) also is inscrutable. > > When one's body is hidden (shen-yin ___ ___) one is > called a recluse (yin-che ___ ___), but when one's > principle is hidden (tao-yin ___ ___) one is said to > be a worthy (hsien-jen ___ ___)....For the present in > writing this section on 'Recluses and the Carefree' I > have tentatively given space (only) to (worthy) > recluses (hsien-yin). As for the rest who find repose > for their minds beyond the world, they may be carefree > (i), but they are not recluses.' > > When he speaks of 'principle being hidden (tao-yin), I > take this to mean that the recluse is refusing to put > that principle at the disposal of any ruler who would > not put it in practice.' > [Mather, Shen Yueh's Poems of Reclusion: From > Withdrawal to Living in the Suburbs, Chinese > Literature, Essays, Articles, Reviews, V.5:53] > > As Robinet shows, however, some taoists choise rather > to live in the city, and thus be involved with all of > its political implications. > > This silent kingdom, now my home, a seamless crystal > sphere, > Preserves tha ancient harmony -- an unsplit > chromosphere. > The nucleus of the cosmic egg -- the vital vermeil > core, > Distills the purple exudate that feeds me evermore. > This quintessential theriac which also heats the sun, > Will cure me of mortality: my final goal is won. > (Wu Yun, Pu tsu tzu[Pacing the Void]Canto X] > > Wu Yun, famous among his contemporaries for his poetry > and theoretical writings such as the Discourse on the > Feasiblity of Studying Spirit Immortality(Shenxian > kexue lun ___ ___ ___ ___ ___), died in 778. That very > same year, someone apparently found it necessary to > start breaking down Wu Yun's fame. On a wall of a > Buddhist temple on Hupui Hill in Souzhou, two poems > believed to have been written by a ghost, mysteriously > appeared in 778. The second poem starts with the line: > 'Spirit immortality cannot be studied.' > [De Meyer, Linked Verse and Linked Faiths, p.182-3] > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Send your FREE holiday greetings online! > http://greetings.yahoo.com > > > --- from list french-feminism-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- > --- from list french-feminism-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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