Studies On The Thoughts Of Platform Sutra And Its Variation And Influence

Indian Chan is based on samatha meditation (Samatha) and Vipasyana, which means that in each moment the righteous awakeness in minds. In contrast the Chinese Chan is based on the the theory of Buddha nature which announces that self-nature is the True Buddha".As it announced that only you reach your self-nature which is true Buddha,you will really get the ultimate truth and the thorough freedom.Just on the basis of such philosophy and ideas,Chan of instant awakeness started its routine whose milestone is the formation of "Platform Sutra.""Platform Sutra." Is regarded as an Buddhist classic which best represent Chinese characteristic.It is the first and unique work named as sutra written by Chinese Buddhist monks."Platform Sutra." has its history of Inheritance for over one thousand years and embrace the tradtion of the deep cultural heritage,whose values in Chinese tradition culture has been fully proved, and its significance far beyond the original scope of religion.With its special system of thoughts,"Platform Sutra" directly enlighted the revolutionary reformation of Chinese Buddhism and has greatly impacted on other culture,which can be found in its effect in China as well as in Korea and Japan.If we wish to choose one classic which most influenced the Chinese Buddhism,it’s no doubt that "Platform Sutra." Even in the whole history of human culture,"Platform Sutra "Is one of the most influential works. In this dissertation we try to focuse on the systemtic analysis on the evolution and impact of "Platform Sutra"(especially the influence in Korean Chan)on the basis of its thoughts.Seven parts comprises this dissertation: In the first chapter,the origin of Platform Sutra is discussed, from the perspective of thoughts, the thoughts of Platform Sutra is the inherence and development of Buddhist thoughts.Mmeanwhile,it was impacted by Chinese traditional culture and traditional viewpoints.Three aspects can verify its formation:(1) South-India Sect of one vehicle from Bodhidharma-Huike based on the theory of "Four ways and practice and two entrances to enlightenment proposed by Bodhidharma;(2) Sect of Eastern Mountain from Daoxing-Hongren;(3)The experience of awakeness by Master Hui-nenguda.Due to the impacts from Chinese traditional culture,we choose the theory of human nature from Confucianism and the thoughts from Laozi and Zhuangzi as examples.The second chapter describes the process of the formation of Platform Sutra and its different editions in history.the relation between the formation and the displines of Huineng is discussed.By the comparation with the thoughts of Sheng-Hui,it indicated that Platform Sutra had some connection with the Dialect Records of Shenghui.And the variation of different editions of Platform Sutra also have been discussed.In Third chapter,we choose the two editions(Dunhuang edition and Zongbao edition) as the most representative to analyze the characteristic of thoughts in Platform Sutra.This work deal with the pratical theory on the basis of combination of different theories in Chinese Buddhism,including the theory of Buddha nature,Paramita thoughts and the theory of instant awakeness and so on.This chapter mainly focus on the discussion about the relation between the theory of Buddha nature and the instant awakeness,between the balance of Samatha/Paramita and Samatha,and the discussion on the thoughts of Three Nonexsistence.On these basis,further exploration about the general characteristic of thoughts in Platform Sutra has been discussed.In the fourth Chapter, Shenghui’s esplanation and development to Plantform Sutra is discussed.it focus on the thoughts of Chan from Shenghui and his criticization to the Northern school of Chan and the aspiaration to the Southern school.Chapter Fifth focused on the five generation of Chan and its lineage with the thoughts of Platform Sutra. On the further analysis of the characteristic of Five Sects,and their variation in characteristics compared with the Dunhuang edition has been discussed and indicated how the thoughts of Platform varied in the time of Five Sects,and from new prospective the variation of Platform Sutra thoughts in history had been clearified.In the sixth Chapter,Discussion on the variation and influence in the generation sects from Platform Sutra.From the perspective of Chan predominant in Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty and social background,and the policy on Buddhism from the government,the impacts on the Mo-zhao-Chan and Kan-hua-Chan is discussed. Especially focus on the detailed discussion and analysis on the Kan-hua-Chan initialized by Da Hui Zong Gao by the criticization to the Mo-zhao-Chan on the basis of Platform Sutra.In this meaning,it means the returning trend to the thoughts of Platform Sutra.And the impacts on the Li-school and Xin-school have also been analyzedIn the last chapter, The influence on Korean Chan by Platform Sutra is discussed.In the prospective of documentary and Buddhist history,the belief of Orient-Origin From Huineng appeard in Korean and its relationship with the worship of Platform Sutra and the publication was clearified.Three famous and representative monks,Bojojinjl in Koryo era,Seo-san-hyu jeong in North Korea times and Teo-ong-Seong-cheol in contemporary time and their thoughts have been analyzed and discussed in order to indicate the relationship with Chan of Hui-neng in Korea.In this dissertation,The spretion of Platform Sutra and its influence in Korean Chan has been detailly discussed and analyzed,which initialized the relative studies in Korean Chan.