Philosophical contexts for Wo˘nhyo's interpretation of Buddhism

The canonical Buddhist manuscripts often convey not only diverse but also contradictory message when considered individually. Wo˘nhyo, in his extensive commentaries on these works, made use of an approach which served to unify them, thus rendering the reader a more consistent understanding of their meaning. This approach, which may be called an “all-comprehensive interpretation,” employs certain aspects of the traditional Buddhist perspective with regard to language and also embraces the Taoist notion of ontology.; This dissertation has developed a new philosophical understanding of the manuscripts from which Wo˘nhyo's thought is derived. The Buddhist view on language as described in Early Buddhist scriptures is discussed first. Its liberal and rational approach toward language is explored, and is compared to its transcendental aspect, which considers language as incapable of delineating the truth. A study of the concept of upāya in the Lotus Sūtra, and Wo˘nhyo's debt to this sūtra is then discussed. The Lotus Sūtra represents the first major Mahāyāna Buddhist effort to harmonize the various interpretations of Buddhism. Wo˘nhyo himself wrote an essay which investigates this sūtra. On the other hand, Mādhyamika's contribution to Wo˘nhyo's philosophy is also addressed. Mādhyamika Buddhism, utilizing its unique four-cornered logic, rigorously criticized adherence to any one particular doctrine, and with its unique two-truths system provided a systematic philosophy centering on the understanding of the relationship between language and the truth. Lastly, it is shown that the Taoist tradition during the Wei-Ch'in era also contributed to Wo˘nhyo's understanding of Buddhism; this aspect has virtually never been previously investigated. Wo˘nhyo developed the non-duality of the two-truths in Mādhyamika into the non-duality of chên-su, which represents the denial of all discrimination among things in the phenomenal world as well as the denial of any distinction between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds. This radical non-duality is presented as deriving from his adaptation of Taoist concepts as the basis for his all-comprehensive interpretation of Buddhism.