The Theory And Method Of Repentance Practice Of Chinese Buddhism

Repentance is an important religious practice of Buddhism and an organic part of the Buddhist faith.This dissertation explores the theory and method of repentance practice of Chinese Buddhism,centered on Tiantai Sect together with other sects and views.This research is divided into seven parts:introduction,five chapters and conclusion.The introduction mainly introduces the major researches and newest studies about repentance of Chinese Buddhism.After analyzing these studies succinctly from six different aspects,We found out that there is a lack of and therefore an urgent need to explore the key Chinese Buddhist thinkers' ideas about repentance systematically.This will be the task of the dissertation and we will especially focus on the development of the key figures'theories of repentance in and after Tang and Song dynasties.This sect will also outline our research approach and method.The first chapter traces the sources of the theories and methods of the repentance practice in Chinese Buddhism.There are various semantic explanations for repentance and its literal meanings also evolved with the use.Repentance practice orients to eliminate sins and it has a variety of goals and forms.The basic form of repentance in the Primitive and Hinayana Sectarian Buddhism is to confess one's sin by speaking it out loud,which is closely related to the precepts.By discussing the connotation of the repentance in the major Mahayana sutras after Sui and Tang dynasties,we argue that in Mahayana the repentance has a stronger efficacy,multiple forms and seeks for a combination of self-reliance and other-power faith.The thought of Confucianism and Taoism also offers the ideological background for the theory and method of Chinese Buddhism repentance.Chapter 2 and 3 elaborate the repentance theories and methods in Tiantai Sect chronologically,which includes the theories of six famous Tiantai masters--Huisi,Zhiyi,Zhanran,Zhili,Zunshi and Ouyi.Their theories represent the six critical phases in the developing of Tiantai Repentance Theory,We found out that basing on repentance verses in early China,Tiantai Sect has finished the systematization of the theory and method of Chinese Buddhism repentance to make a large contribution,significantly affecting other sects both in the making of Chang Chok and repentance thought,so this dissertation is centered on the Tiantai Sect.The fourth chapter makes a deep exploration of Tiantai Sect's theory and method of repentance.There are three topics discussed:repentance and the evil,repentance and the stimulation-response,repentance and the divination.Tiantai Sect attaches great attention to the evil which has two types:evil in general and buddhanature including evil.Zhiyi provided a method of observing the evil from jueyi samadhi which applies to special crowd and needs keeping precepts.The theory of buddhanature including evil derives from buddhanature including defilement and also Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra.Zhili claimed that the annoyance is the function of buddhanature including evil,and is both the subject and the object in repentance practice.The principle of stimulation-response is fully examined in Tiantai sect.Verbal chanting can not only suppress the delusion but also destroy the delusion on the basis of stimulation-response.And the concept of Sunya as the cognition of the objective world contains the principle of stimulation-response,too.So the effect of repentance can be increased based on the knowledge of stimulation-response.The repentance has an interaction with buddhist divination.The lot and zhancha from the master Ouyi reveal the relationship.In The fifth chapter,we will expound the theory and method of Chinese Buddhism repentance in other perspectives.From the view of vinaya,fast and repentance can promote each other.Vinaya Pitaka tells us that punishment method is one important aspect of the Monk Group repentance.Flogging is commonly used for punishment in Chinese Buddhism,its evolution showed the fusion of Indian Buddhism and Chinese culture.The faith in mantra and the rituals of Esoteric Buddhism have a positive impact on other sects,some teachings of it are directly made into Chang Chok.In Zen,the formless repentance put forward by Huineng goes beyond the form,considered as a correction to complex rituals of Chang Chok.The major sutras and practices about repentance for the faith in Manjusri Bodhisattva reveal that prajna wisdom is the characteristic of Manjusri Bodhisattva's repentance,while the bodhisatva also emphasizes the importance of precepts.Finally,we summarize its characteristics of the theory and method of repentance practice of Chinese Buddhism from six aspects.and it is argued that this article is valuable for our understanding of the Buddhist rituals for repentance in today's society from the angle of religious sociology.