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The Vijñaptimātratā Buddhism of the Chinese monk Kʻuei-chi (A.D. 632-682)

University of British Columbia

The dissertation seeks to determine the main features of the Buddhist thought of K'uei-chi, First Patriarch of the Fa-hsiang School of East Asian Buddhism, and to further establish his position as a key figure in the transmission of Indian philosophical traditions into China. In addition it provides a translation of an original essay written by K'uei-chi on Vijnaptimatrata. (Mere Conceptualization) the fundamental philosophic principle of the School of Yogacara Buddhism to which he was heir. There are two parts to the dissertation: Part One comprising Chapts. I-III and Part Two comprising Chapts. IV and V. In Part One, the first chapter summarizes the biographical data available on K'uei-chi's life, discussing in particular his role as translator and exegete, and also the relationship between these activities and his personal religious life. Chapt. II discusses K'uei-chi's written works, pointing out a number of features that indicate his special interests. It includes a detailed and annotated analysis of all his surviving works. Chapt. Ill presents a survey of the main doctrines of the Vijnaptimatrata Yogacara school of Asafiga and Vasubandhu. As one branch of Mahayana Buddhism, the. school is shown to be best understood as a systematic soteriology characterized by an emphasis on the epistemic rather than the ontologic analysis of the constituents of experience (dhamas). This chapter concludes with a discussion of K'uei-chi's significance as a major figure in the development of Buddhist thought in East Asia. He is presented as a syncretist who sought to organize a manifold and complex tradition in a manner that would allow its transmission into a very different cultural context. Part Two consists of a translation of one essay from K'uei-chi's voluminous doctrinal compendium, the Forest of Doctrines in the Garden of the Dharma of Mahayana Buddhism (Ta-sheng fa-yuan i-lin ohang). Chapt. IV provides an introduction to the work, outlining the commentaries used, both contemporary and modern, and discussing the methodological problems confronted in translating the text. Chapter V is the translation itself: K'uei-chi's "Essay on Vijnaptimatrata" (Wei-shih chang) in ten sections. It includes extensive annotation indicating the sources of the ideas K'uei-chi discusses and providing supplementary information on the many Buddhist doctrines to which he refers.

Text

2010-03-15

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21894

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

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