Seeking "just"

Chinese Buddhist logic, first developed by Xuanzang, flourished in early Dang Dynasty, but declined quickly afterwards. Although its influence could still be felt in Song Dynasty, it was nearly forgotten in Yuan Dynasty. In the end of Ming Dynasty, the leftovers of Song Dynasty were picked up. However, the study of it at this time completely deviated from the mainstream Buddhist logic developed in Dang Dynasty. From then on till the end of Qing Dynasty, no scholarly attention had ever been paid to it in China. Buddhist logic in Japan, which was formed on the basis of Chinese Buddhist logic, had gone through a course that is in sharp contrast with that in china. Since its introduction to Japan in Dang Dynasty, Buddhist logic had been passed on from generation to generation. And it should be noted that since the Meiji reform, the study of Buddhist logic in Japan was carried out in close connection with modern science. Not only was it compared with western traditional logic. Its scope was also broadened beyond Chinese Buddhist logic and extended to what later became Dharmakirti’s hetuvidya.In the end of19th century, the Japanese Buddhist logic began to nourish its source, the Chinese Buddhist logic, because of the rich materials it preserved and compiled, as well as the annotations and interpretations it had made. And it is the returning of the scriptures of Tangshu to China that makes possible the rejuvenation of Chinese Buddhist logic. Japanese Buddhist logic, for its entire shortcoming, has left its mark on the study of Chinese Buddhist logic during the past century. Therefore, the strong points and shortcomings of Japanese Buddhist logic should be comprehensively explored if Chinese Buddhist logic is to be truly rejuvenated.However, by now, no attempt of that kind has ever been made at home or abroad. This paper is the first endeavor. Since the early20th century, some works of Japanese scholars on Buddhist logic had been introduced to China through translation. Among them, The Origin and Development of Buddhist Logic is one. Those translations are reliable sources to which Buddhist logic scholars in China could refer to. It is a systematic introduction of the history of Buddhist logic in Japan before the Meiji reform. In addition to that, there were also papers whose reaserach topic was either on the study of Buddhist logic in a specific period, or on the thinking of ceratin scholars A General Introduction to Buddhist Logic offers a thorough analysis of Buddhist logic and a detailed introduction to the scholars and researchers in the field. Besides, there were also book reviews. However, a comprehensive study of Dignaga’s hetuvidya in Japan still remains to be done. It is particularly true for the study of Buddhist logic in Japan since the Meiji reform.After carrying the works and doctrines of Dignaga and his disciples from India to China, Xuanzang and his disciple Kuiji began to translate, annotate and teach them, so that Nyayapraveka took root and Buddhist logic gradually flourished in China. It was during this period that Dashu, along with other classics, came into being. And the introduction Dashu set the course for the study of Buddhist logic in Japan in the following long period. Sanskrit translations and Dunhuang version of Tangshu had been translated and annotated early on, and great accomplishments had been made in the process of translating and interpreting Pramanasamuccaya. Morever, since the Meiji reform, Buddhist logic in Japan was studies with reference to western philosophy. In order to understand fully the Indian Buddhist philosophy, Japanese scholars made full use of a wide range of materials and documents from different languages, like Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan and English. That’s why the Japanese have achieved so remarkably in the study of Dharmakirti and his disciple’s Dignaga and the Tibetan’s hetuvidya.It is impossible to include, in just one research, everying that the Japanese had covered in the study of Buddhist logic. This paper focuses on the Dignaga’s hetuvidya, and attempts to study the feature of Japanes Buddhist logic inherited from China. The emphasis is place on analyzing the thesis of argumentation and opposition.Three dimensions will be covered in the process:the academic history of Japanese Buddhist Logic, specific topics in the study of Buddhist Logic, and a comparative analysis of the different translations by different scholars in different periods.