An Examination of Tsung-mi's Teaching with reference to the Historical Interaction of the Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism during the T'ang Dynasty

本文分析了宗弥的著作，主要是他的《正经书》、《正经书解》和《人的本源论》，以阐明他关于三教合一的理论。这一分析的结果总结如下：宗美提出了这三种教义的统一理论，基本围绕佛教构建，并通过将前者纳入后者，将道家/儒家的“一气”原则同化为佛教的“一心”核心教义。为此，他首先把道家/儒家的万物本源论（天地大道、自然、原气）拿来作为佛教因缘说的基础，从而暴露了他对佛教“万法空”、“业果”观念的不完全把握，陷入了各种自相矛盾的境地。此外，他将“气”的意义限定在一个简单的物理实体，并将（道家/儒家）“形/物、天地从一气中显现”的过程构建为（佛教）“三界六尘合一”的过程。当然，在上述理论中可能会发现许多内在的矛盾。然而，宗弥继承了中国哲学传统的不朽精神，这一传统的历史可以追溯到六朝时期。他试图在一心一意的基础上重新阐述这一传统，澄清意识（精神）和形式（身体）之间的关系，并解释意识从混乱到绝对精神本质（一心一意）的发展过程。宗弥继承了“灵不灭论”，将“灵”和“身”改为“一心”和“一气”，从而为后来“三教”理论的发展提供了一个新的框架。少

This paper analyses the writings of Tsung-mi (principally his Great Commentary on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, his Explanation of the Great Commentary on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and his Treatise on the Origin of Man), for the purpose of clarifying his theories on the unity of the Three Religions (Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism).A summary of the results of this analysis is as follows : Tsung-mi advances a theory of the unity of these three teachings structured fundamentally around Buddhism, and assimilates the Taoist/Confucianist principle of the "One Ch'I" to the Buddhist core teaching of the "One Mind," by including the former in the latter. For this purpose, he first takes up the Taoist/Confucianist theory of the Origination of All Things (The Great Way of Complete Emptiness, Heaven and Earth, Nature and the Original Ch'i) gives it a basis in the Buddhist theory of Arising By Causes and Conditions, thereby betraying an incomplete grasp of the Buddhist concepts o … More f the Emptiness of All Dharmas and of Karmic Results, as well as falling into various self-contradictions. Furthermore, he limits the meaning of "Ch'I" to a simply physical substance, and builds the (Taoist/Confucianist) process of the "apparition of Form/Objects and Heaven-and-Earth out of the One Ch'I" into the (Buddhist)process of the Devolution of the One Mind through the Three Divisions and Six Dusts. Of course, it is possible to find many contradictions inherent in the theories presented above. However, Tsung-mi inherited the Chinese philosophical tradition of the Imperishability of the spirit, which already had a history dating back to the Six Dynasties Period. He attempted to reformulate this tradition based on the One Mind position, and clarify the relationship between Consciousness (spirit) and Form (body), as well as explain the process of development undergone by Consciousness as it progresses from confusion to its Absolute Spiritual Nature (One Mind). Taking up the theory of the Imperishability of the spirit and changing its terms "spirit" and "body" into "One Mind" and "One Ch'I," Tsung-mi thereby offered a new framework for later developments which were to occur in the "Three Religions" theory. Less