Search Results (27)

This paper examines how the current state of affective computing is limited by its reliance on theories that treat emotions as static, isolated states, and argues that the holistic and process-oriented theory of mind from Yogācāra Buddhism offers a more sophisticated alternative, viewing emotion as an experience deeply integrated with cognition, volition, and somatic awareness. As a case study, this paper proposes a framework for sentiment analysis inspired by Yogācāra principles, based upon the Chinese Buddhist text Mahāyāna Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas Illuminating the Gate. This multi-aspect annotation system analyzes emotional expressions across five key dimensions corresponding to Yogācāra’s “ever-present” Mental Factors. By mapping emotions in this compositional manner, the framework provides a more granular and context-rich understanding of human sentiment than current methods allow. This paper thus serves as a call to diversify AI’s theoretical foundations, demonstrating through this Yogācāra case study how engagement with insights from different traditions can resist the top-down “theoretical monopoly” of Western psychological models, which flattens the rich diversity of human affective experience into a single, dominant paradigm. Full article

This article re-examines the formation of early Dilun Buddhism in Luoyang era Northern Wei China by foregrounding the role of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Ch. Da banniepan jing). While previous scholarship has emphasized Yogācāra-related texts such as the Daśabhūmika-śāstra (Ch. Shidi jing lun), this study argues that the Da banniepan jing constituted an important component of the intellectual and exegetical environment within which early Dilun thought emerged. Drawing on prosopographical evidence, this article examines the recurrent presence of the Da banniepan jing among early Dilun-associated figures and situates it within the broader intellectual environment of early Dilun Buddhism. It further proposes that Nirvāṇa-related doctrinal concepts may have provided one important conceptual framework through which the graded bodhisattva path was interpreted: the concept of universal Buddha-nature renders progressive cultivation intelligible as the gradual actualization of an inherent potential. The study also situates this doctrinal convergence within the broader hermeneutical culture of Northern Buddhism, characterized by text-centered exegesis, and traces several layers of interaction among court patronage, monastic scholarship, and lay devotion in which Nirvāṇa-related learning remained visible. On this basis, the formation of early Dilun Buddhism is associated with a Northern scholastic culture in which Nirvāṇa-related learning constituted an important intellectual layer. Full article

As a pivotal patriarch of the Pure Land school, Shandao 善導 (613–681) played a decisive role in shaping Pure Land Buddhism and the broader history of Chinese Buddhism. A direct disciple of Daochuo 道綽 (563–645), he championed the dual framework of Dingshan 定善 and Sanshan 散善 practices together with Nianfo 念佛 (Skt. buddhānusmṛti), especially Chiming nianfo 持名念佛 (vocal recitation of Amitābha’s name). Existing scholarship has already demonstrated that Shandao was not a master concerned exclusively with vocal recitation but also a systematic exegete of Guanfo 觀佛, visualisation, and samādhi. This article therefore does not present that recognition as its own innovation. Instead, it reconstructs the internal architecture by which Shandao’s Guanjing si tie shu 觀經四帖疏 (Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles) integrates contemplative practice with three doctrinal commitments: the efficacy of ‘birth through ten recitations’ against the Yogācāra charge of Bieshi yi 別時意 (Skt. kālāntarābhiprāya, the identification of Amitābha’s land as a reward land, and the thesis that ordinary beings (Skt. pṛthagjana) may enter that land. Drawing also on the Guannian Amituo fo xianghai sanmei gongde famen 觀念阿彌陀佛相海三昧功德法門 (Method of Contemplating Amitābha Buddha’s Ocean-like Marks in Samādhi and Its Meritorious Virtues) and the Wangsheng lizan 往生禮讚 (Liturgy of Praise for Birth in the Pure Land), the article argues that Shandao’s originality lies less in any single doctrine than in the way these doctrines mutually support one another as a coherent programme of exegesis, practice, and Pure Land soteriology. Full article

The Shuo Wugoucheng jing shu 說無垢稱經疏 [Commentary on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra] by Ji 基 (632–682) is a systematic exposition of the concept of the Buddha-land. It not only comprehensively constructs the theoretical framework of the “Eight Gates and Fourfold Realm” but also addresses two key questions within the framework of “as the mind is pure, so is the Buddha-land 隨其心淨則佛土淨”—namely, what constitutes a Bodhisattva’s Pure Land and why Śāriputra perceived impurities in the Buddha-land. In this process, Ji extensively incorporates ideas from Yogācāra texts such as the Cheng weishi lun 成唯識論 [Vijñapti-mātratā-siddhi] and the Fodijing lun 佛地經論 [Buddhabhūmisūtra-śāstra]. He further advances the discourse by constructing the Pure Land from the perspectives of both the Buddha and sentient beings. In doing so, he presents a distinctly Yogācāra interpretation. Additionally, through his explanation of the causality of the Pure Land, he outlines a progression: cultivation of wisdom → purification of consciousness → purification of the land. Ji thereby embarks on a different interpretive path from Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什 (344–413), Sengzhao 僧肇 (384–414), and others, highlighting his distinctive contribution and the unique significance of his Pure Land thought within the Yogācāra tradition and the Shuo Wugoucheng jing 說無垢稱經 [Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra] exegetical lineage. Full article

Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the question of whether ordinary beings (fanfu 凡夫) could attain rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure Land became a central concern in Chinese Buddhism. In the Chen and Sui periods, exegetes of the She lun 攝論 and some Di lun 地論 masters generally denied this possibility. By the seventh century, however, Master Huai’gan 懷感, building on the teachings of Shandao 善導, systematically addressed these doubts in his Treatise on Resolving Doubts about the Pure Land (Shi jingtu qunyi lun 釋淨土群疑論). He refuted the Yogācāra (Weishi zong 唯識宗) claim that only bodhisattvas can be reborn there, insisting that all beings, though differing in spiritual capacities, are able to attain rebirth in Pure Land. Against the Three Stages teaching (Sanjie jiao 三階教), which regarded beings of the degenerate age as wholly evil and unfit for Pure Land practice. Huai’gan stressed the role of bodhicitta and argued that Buddha recitation eradicates karmic obstacles, enabling even perpetrators of the Ten Evils or slanderers of the Dharma to be reborn. Reconciling discrepancies between the Sūtra of Infinite Life and the Contemplation Sūtra on the issue of the five grave offenses, he highlighted the criterion of ten invocations as sufficient for rebirth. Huai’gan effectively universalized the Pure Land path by reconciling the Yogācāra-based theory of the Transformtion Land with the orthodox Pure Land view of the Reward Land (baotu 報土) as a literal reality generated by Amitābha Buddha’s Vow-power. In doing so, Huai’gan shifted pre-Tang restrictive views toward a more inclusive Pure Land vision, paving the way for the open orientation of early Tang Pure Land thought. Full article

This study examines the systematic development and philosophical “finalization” of śamatha (止 tranquility) and vipaśyanā (觀 insight) within the foundational texts of the Yogācāra tradition. Central to the transmission of Buddhism to East Asia was the categorization of practice (修行 caryā) through the lenses of concentration (三摩地 samādhi) and wisdom (般若 prajñā). This paper focuses on two pivotal canons: the Śrāvakabhūmi 聲聞地 section of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra 瑜伽師地論 and the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra 解深密經. In the Śrāvakabhūmi, Śamatha is presented as a rigorous, self-contained psychological system. The text outlines a cognitive progression from “worldly common paths”—including impurities meditation (不淨觀 aśubhabhāvanā) and the eight liberations (八解脫 aṣṭau vimokṣāḥ)—to the sophisticated “nine stages of mental abiding” (九住心 navākārā citta-sthitiḥ). This research analyzes the psychological mechanisms of these stages, illustrating how they facilitate a metacognitive transition from distraction (散亂 vikṣepa) to absorption (禪那 dhyāna), culminating in the eradication of afflictions (煩惱 kleśa). Furthermore, the paper explores how the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra provides the ultimate philosophical synthesis of these practices. By framing śamatha and vipaśyanā within the Consciousness-Only (唯識 vijñaptimātratā) framework, the sūtra finalizes the meaning of Adhicitta-śikṣā (增上心學 training in higher mind). By bridging the technical rigor of the Śrāvakabhūmi with the Mahāyāna ontological depth of the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, this study clarifies the evolution of buddhist bhāvanā. Full article

In terms of his reception in East Asia and the legacy of his commentaries and compendia in translation, Vasubandhu 世親 (ca. 320–400 centuries CE) is among the most important figures in the textual history of Indian Buddhism. Although perhaps best known by modern scholars through his works concerning abstruse intellectual ideas presented from the Yogācāra or mind-only and Abhidharma perspectives, his legacy is arguably best represented as an authoritative voice concerning the Pure Land of Amitāyus buddha. Both Nāgārjuna 龍樹 (ca. 150–250 CE) and Vasubandhu are considered to be patriarchs (soshi 祖師) for Jōdo Shin 浄土真宗 Buddhists, following Shinran’s 親鸞 (1173–1263) teachings. In this paper I investigate the textual history of these two Indian masters who are considered to be patriarchs by Pure Land and Shin Buddhists in Japan. No one believes these individuals transmitted some sort of true mind or essential teaching from one to another as in the Chan or Zen 禪宗 tradition; they are recognized because of fundamental texts with key ideas that are ascribed to them. These key texts were never singled out in any Chinese or Indian set of special texts, nor were they highlighted in various catalogs to the Buddhist “canon.” This research demonstrates how the sacred teachings ascribed to Vasubandhu, and to a certain extent Nāgārjuna as well, by Pure Land and Shin Buddhists reveal how and why Pure Land practices were expected to be seen as mainstream Mahāyāna Buddhism and nothing at all like a reformation for a later age. Full article

The unconscious is a core concept in both the Yogācāra Buddhism and psychoanalytic traditions. It is easy to assume that the understanding of the unconscious in Yogācāra cannot coexist with the understanding of the unconscious in psychoanalysis, because the unconscious in Yogācāra (i.e., ālayavijñāna) primarily explains how the world is constructed by it, while the unconscious in psychoanalysis primarily explains how neurosis develops. Due to this difference in the understanding of the unconscious, Yogācāra Buddhism and psychoanalysis have developed different psychotherapeutic methods. Yogācāra’s therapeutic method is to observe emptiness, while psychoanalysis aims to transform the pathogenic unconscious into the conscious. But there is a potential for mutual enrichment between the two in psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis’s emphasis on functions of the self can help people avoid misunderstanding Yogācāra’s doctrine of “non-self”. Yogācāra can help psychoanalysis explore deeper levels of the unconscious. Full article

The name “Kuiji 窺基”, usually attributed to the famous monk Master Ci’en慈恩法師 in the Tang Dynasty, has long been a subject of scholarly debate. Textual and manuscript evidence, however, reveals that “Kuiji” is not a single figure but a conflation of two distinct disciples of Xuanzang 玄奘: Master Cheng 竀 and Master Ji 基. During 661–664 CE, the monk Cheng, affiliated with Great Ci’en Monastery 大慈恩寺, served as a core member of Xuanzang’s translation workshop, as well as a trusted assistant who submitted memorials on Xuanzang’s behalf. Early records state that Xuanzang instructed his disciple(s) “Cheng” or “Cheng and Ji” to present memorials to the throne. However, because the character “Cheng 竀” was uncommon and visually similar to “Kui 窺”, “Cheng and Ji” was misidentified as a composite name “Kuiji” roughly since the late Tang period. This study not only traces the origin of the name “Kuiji” but also recovers the important yet overlooked figure of Master Cheng 竀法師, thereby making a crucial correction to our understanding of Xuanzang’s disciples. Full article

The Pañcavijñānakāyasamprayuktā Bhūmi (PBh), the opening chapter of the Basic Section (*Maulī Bhūmi) of the Yogācārabhūmi, presents a distinctive fivefold schema for analyzing the structure of “the group of five [sensory] consciousnesses” (pañcavijñānakāya). This schema comprises the following five categories: (1) nature (svabhāva), (2) basis (āśraya), (3) cognitive object (ālambana), (4) co-operating factors (sahāyas), and (5) activity (karma). Each category articulates a specific aspect of the five types of sensory consciousness: their intrinsic characteristics, conditions of arising, intentional objects, associated mental factors, and cognitive functions. Within the PBh, visual consciousness (cakṣurvijñāna), corresponding to the act of seeing, is presented as a representative instance of this group. Accordingly, this paper offers a detailed examination of visual consciousness as structured by the fivefold schema, with the aim of clarifying its cognitive content within the context of early Yogācāra thought. Full article

This article examines the nuanced interpretations of chengxin 成心 in the Zhuangzi 莊子, a foundational Daoist text, across different philosophical traditions. Historically, Daoist thinkers like Guo Xiang 郭象 and Cheng Xuanying 成玄英, along with Neo-Confucian scholars such as Lü Huiqing 吕惠卿 and Lin Xiyi 林希逸, have provided differing perspectives on the notion of chengxin. They regard it as either a source of subjective bias or an expression of heavenly principle. The core focus of this study is Zhang Taiyan’s 章太炎 innovative interpretation of chengxin as seeds (bijas) within ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness), integrating Yogācāra Buddhist concepts with traditional Daoist philosophy. The study conducts a textual analysis of Zhang’s Qiwulun Shi 齊物論釋, comparing his interpretation with earlier commentaries on the Zhuangzi. It is argued that Zhang’s approach is profoundly influenced by the Buddhist doctrine of non-duality, which underscores the interconnectedness of all phenomena. While Zhang’s interpretation has faced criticism from contemporaries and later philosophers for misunderstandings of Yogācāra theory and Kantian philosophy, it employs the method of geyi 格義 (matching concepts), not to impose one tradition over another, but to foster a dialogical process where the insights from each tradition mutually inform and transform one another. This article highlights the interpretative openness of the Zhuangzi, which invites diverse interpretations, and demonstrates how Zhang’s approach enriches this tradition by synthesizing various philosophical and religious frameworks. Zhang’s methodology remains relevant, fostering cross-cultural and inclusive philosophical dialog. Full article

A Buddhist system of two truths provides a descriptive framework with criteria for what counts as real in contrast to what does not. This paper looks at the relationship between these two truths in the works of two seventh-century Indian philosophers, Dharmakīrti and Candrakīrti, and draws implications for comparison and contrast with modern scientific understandings of the world. It highlights important features of Dharmakīrti’s epistemology that aim to circumvent cultural conventions in a way that resonates with scientific representations of knowledge. It also contrasts this approach with one inspired by Candrakīrti in order to argue for the place of ethics and persons in a hybrid Buddhist–scientific picture of the world. Full article

The concepts of emptiness and nothingness are extremely important in Eastern as well as Western spiritual traditions. In East Asia, they are relevant in Daoism, Confucianism (in the context of integrating Daoist ideas) and Buddhism (in Śūnyatā), while in the European Christian discourse they are significant in the context of creatio ex nihilo, kenotic theories, individual self-emptying out of humility and Nihilianism. These concepts have formed and continue to form the basis of important intercultural interactions, influencing philosophical and scholarly discourse in both the “East” and “West” to the present day. This article compares the perception of emptiness/nothingness from two representatives of Protestantism: the Korean Christian philosopher Ryu Yongmo (1890–1981, pen name Tasŏk) and the Moravian missionary Isaac Jacob Schmidt (1779–1847), who was a pioneer of Buddhist studies in Europe. A comparison between Schmidt and Tasŏk is important, because tracing the evolution of the worldview of both thinkers reveals a great similarity in how they reconciled the spiritual heritage of Asia with the principles of Western Protestant Christianity despite their different backgrounds. It also could shed new light on the possibility of dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism, especially in the context of two major philosophical systems of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Yogācāra and Mādhyamika, which were once so important in East Asia. In addition, it is exactly the interpretation of emptiness/nothingness that forms the cornerstone of the analogy of the religious–philosophical ideas of the two thinkers compared in the article. Full article

Zhiyan 智儼 (602–668) is considered the second patriarch of the Chinese Huayan 華嚴 (Jp. Kegon) school. Zhiyan gave his scholarly attention to the Dilun School 地論宗 and Shelun School 攝論宗. By his period, the reunification of the North and South had permitted the Dilun and Shelun lineages to begin to merge, and the texts on which they were based had a common origin in the Indian Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha. In this article, I focus on Zhiyan’s conceptual innovations and their background. My chief concerns are twofold: the first is to review several terms and teachings as representative examples of the creative practice of Zhiyan and the second is to identify his roots in the earlier traditions of Indian and Chinese Buddhism. I focus on the translation and understanding of the term zhenru 真如 (Skt. tathatā; suchness/thusness), which is a crucial expression used in descriptions of ultimate truth in Buddhism. By investigating the terms through the lens of the Ratnagotravibhāga (=RGV), I consider what tathatā, dhātu and gotra signified in their Indian usage and how these meanings evolved in the process of the appropriation of these concepts in China, especially in Zhiyan’s writings. Furthermore, through this analysis, I aim to explore Zhiyan’s attitude towards the Jiujing yisheng baoxing lun 究竟一乘寶性論 (=BXL), the Chinese translation of the RGV, and examine how he absorbed and utilized this significant treatise, which was compiled in India and translated in Northern China. We cannot find even one clear interpretation defining suchness as unconditioned dharma in the Dasheng qixin lun 大乘起信論 (=AF; Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith). In the AF, it is stated that suchness is initially pure. However, due to the fumigation of ignorance, the marks and features of defilement will appear on pure suchness. Suchness, being connected with foundation consciousness, has been regarded as the foundation or origin of conditioned arising in the She dasheng lun chao 攝大乘論抄 (T2806), a significant commentary on the She dasheng lun 攝大乘論 translated by Paramārtha 真諦 (499–569), who has been associated with the AF. Building on this trend in the interpretation of suchness, Zhiyan employs both the AF and the BXL to expound his theory of suchness. He initially utilizes the theory of suchness from the AF and the BXL to argue that all phenomena, including delusion, could arise from suchness. Zhiyan asserts the fumigation/perfume of suchness. The background of Zhiyan’s theory of suchness is based on the AF. However, while the AF only mentions the fumigation/perfume of suchness, Zhiyan adds that suchness does not inherently maintain its self-nature but arises conditionally. This marks a significant difference, or development, between the theory of suchness in the AF and that in Zhiyan’s Huayan doctrinal system. In my view, the answer lies in the BXL, which Zhiyan himself regards as a key text alongside the AF as the basis for his theory of suchness. Zhiyan finds an intimation of the precious truth in the commentaries of Huiguang 慧光, who was a disciple of Ratnamati, the translator of the BXL, and the founder of the southern branch of the Dilun School. Zhiyan finds the doctrine of infinite dependent arising according to the one vehicle of the distinct teaching (Ch. biejiao yisheng 別教一乘) in Huiguang’s commentaries. It indicates that the renderings and interpretations of Ratnamati and Huiguang seem to have deeply influenced Zhiyan. For a long time, many scholars have believed that the RGV had only a minimal impact on East Asian Buddhism, and few have pointed out its influence on Zhiyan. However, through the analysis in this article, I find that Zhiyan places significant importance on the RGV and its Chinese translation BXL. Full article

In Yogācāra epistemology, the term prapañca refers to various dimensions of the cognitive process in aspects ranging from consciousness, language formation, the conceptualization of subject–object duality, mental defilements, and ignorance. Given that the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra conveys the richness of early tenets for both the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka traditions, an investigation of the meaning and discourse context of prapañca is a necessity. This paper conducts a contextual examination of the word prapañca, primarily addressing (1) a range of meanings, (2) possible characteristics, (3) conditions and consequences, especially the associations with the conceptualization (vikalpa) process, and (4) the significance of the elimination of prapañca that the corresponding dialogue implies. This paper finds that prapañca is associated with dualistic conceptualization and the evolution of consciousness within saṃsāra. It shows some qualities of the beginningless conceptual structure of saṃsāric conditioned negativity and is related to language formation. As the discourse in Laṅka adduces it as the root of suffering, liberation from it is a prerequisite for reaching enlightenment and achieving the state of Buddhahood. Full article