Study On The Sangha Systems’ Thought Of Chinese Buddhism

The Sangha Systems’ Thought is refined and theoretical generalized of the Buddhist Sangha Systems’ idea. It is based on the Buddhist Precepts thought, and embodies the spirit of the Buddhist Precepts.The Sangha Systems’ Thought of the Chinese Buddhism is developed on the basis of the Indian Buddhism, however, it has a significant and even nature of mental differences with the Indian Buddhism.This difference not only reflected in the Sino-Indian social and historical environment and even customs, but also reflected in the ideology and culture, even the spiritual outlook of the both. While the most significant difference of Chinese Buddhism to the Indian’s is that it is affected and restricted by the confucian ethics and moral and ritual law and the inherent legal thought.Under the influence of the norm ideas and the traditional values, the Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought has been sinicize-changed whether in the form of expression, or the ideological content, even the spiritual essence, and has got a distinctive sinicize ideological characteristics.Because of the Buddhist Precepts incoming lagged and incompleted, the earliest Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought of the Han to the Southern and Northern Dynasties mainly reflected in the attitude and manners of the monks helding and complying with the Buddhist Precepts. In particular, due to the legal moralized of the inherent legal thoughts in this period was just getting started, it did not have the decisive influences and significances to the Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought. At least before the DongJin Dynasty, the Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought still maintain the ideological ideals and objectives of the Indian Sangha systems’ thought such as the sense of "Sangha autonomy" and "Sangha governed according to the Buddhist Precepts". Just as the in-depth development of the legal moralized, the government had begun to strengthen the regime to govern the affairs of the Buddhist Sangha, this period Buddhist Sangha systems’thought had a considerable development. For instance, at the end of the DongJin Dynasty, this period Buddhist Sangha systems’thought mainly carried out a controversy between "the total Indian" and "the total Sinicize"; while in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought further developped a "dual framework" as "The Sangha and the secular society separately founded the Sangha systems".As the maturity and completeness of the Buddhist Precepts, the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought of the Sui and Tang dynasties had surpassed the tradition of the Han、Wei and Northern and Southern Dynasties plagiarizing to imitate ancient system of Indian Buddhism. And it also had developped the new features fitting the ideological and cultural in China ancient society. Due to the influence of the "legal moralized" formed to the inherent legal thought, the system of national jurisdiction of the Sui and Tang dynasties had been changed from the previous generation pure "Sangha autonomy" and "Sangha governed according to the Buddhist Precepts".to the new normative sense,which is directly introduced the confucian ethics and moral and ritual law and the inherent legal thought into the Sangha systems’thought. And thus it strengthened the features of "Sangha governed by the secular" from the ideological and theoretical level to the Sangha systems’ thought. While the normative sense within the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought also has developped a new model as "Baizhang Monastic", which had being hold the consistent principle of "Sangha autonomy" in a tortuous way to the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought. And the Baizhang Monastic established had also marked the "dual framework" of the Tang Dynasty Buddhist Sangha systems’thought clarity and finally shaped.Inherited the development way of the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought to the previous period, and influenced by mellow and deepen "moralized" to the inherent legal thought, the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought from Song to Qing Dynasty ideologically has being moved closer to the confucian ethics and moral and ritual law. And the purport has gradually transferred from the previous position of "study vinaya" to the secular norms ideological position of the "study ritual law".Due to the impact of the completion and decline of Buddhism sinicize and the collapse of the faith, the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought based on "faith and love" had lost its attractive to the Buddhist monks. Therefore, it opened a comfortable door to accelerate the penetration to the Buddhist Sangha systems’thought based on the secular concept of ritual law. And because of the ideas and concepts of Confucian penetration, the meanings of Buddhist internal norm of the Sangha systems’thought had been transformed into the meaning of Buddhist external norm, and finally made the guiding ideology and spirit of the Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought after the Song Dynasty completely transferred from "Sangha autonomy" to "Sangha governed by Secular official".In modern times, as the inherent legal tradition was abolished and the Confucianism doctrine was overthrown and marginalized, coupled with the secularization wave of the modern religions, the modern Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought had faced a new ideas and social environment. In order to adapt to the modern rapidly changed ideological environment, particularly to saving the decline of the Buddhist Sangha systems, the Chinese Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought had been carried out two basic routes:one route is "Retro camp", another is "Reformist camp". While the latter route had the most far-reaching influence to the modern Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought. The ideological characteristics of the latter route was open without conservative, deeply fitted to the actually developed envirnment of modern Buddhism. Therefore, under the influence of this ideological stance, the mode of thinking and organizational structure of "Sangha governed by Secular official" and "monks and laymen mixed" not only bocome the pursuit of the goal to the modern Buddhist reform-minded Sangha systems’ thought, actually, also become the basic direction of development to the modern Buddhist Sangha systems’ thought.