A study of Yongming Yanshou's 'The Profound Pivot of Contemplation of Mind'

This dissertation contains an analysis of a text called The Profound Pivot of the Contemplation of Mind (Guanxin xuanshu) and a translation based on a complete manuscript of the text. The Profound Pivot of the Contemplation of Mind is important as an access to understand Yongming Yanshou's (904--975) Records of Tenet-Mirror (Zongjing lu), the most valuable source for investigating the development of Chinese Buddhism between the Tang (618--907) and the Song (960--1279) dynasties. The Profound Pivot of the Contemplation of Mind contains a concise discussion of seventy-two important issues.;A study on Wuyue Buddhism (907--978) and Yanshou's views on the meanings of the mind and the contemplation of mind are first provided as a background of Yanshou's life and thought. The analysis of the Profound Pivot of the Contemplation of Mind is divided according to three categories: doctrines (jiao), practices (xing), and realization or enlightenment (zheng).;This dissertation shows that the contemplation of mind underlies virtually every Buddhist concept and practice for Yanshou. Yanshou re-interpreted Buddhist teachings and practices that have long existed in Indian Buddhism as well as Tiantai and Huayan teachings of Chinese Buddhism, based on the theory of Mind-only. His interpretations of the Tiantai and Huayan Schools differ from traditional accounts, but correspond with the perspective of Tiantai's Off-Mountain faction and Huayan thinkers in the Song. In particular, chapter eight clarifies Yanshou's long-believed image as an advocate of the dual practice of Chan and Pure Land. The contemplation of mind, the central theme in the Profound Pivot of the Contemplation of Mind, summarizes Yanshou's thought and highlights Wuyue Buddhism.