Buddhist Creation Of Landscape Poems

This paper is about Xie Lingyun, who was a poet lived in 385-433 of the Jin and Song dynasties, and his landscape poem. Xie Lingyun created a lot of landscape poems, since then, the landscape poem schools were established. The academic circles pay close attention to his landscape poems' origin. After summarizing and analyzing most of the study works ,I decide to resolve this question from the connection of Xie Lingyun and Buddhism. On the one hand, I want to probe into the basic factors which effect Xie Lingyun' s creation mostly, on the other hand, I want to analyze the new characteristics of Xie Lingyun' s landscape poems.First, I will systematize all about Xie Lingyun and Buddhism, including his association with Buddhists and his works related to Buddhism; and then I will summarize the Buddhism works and Buddhist philosophy types which have influenced Lingyun.Second, I will discuss that why Xie Lingyun thought highly of images, which was almost casted aside by abstruse poem. I think Hui Yun, who was almost the most important Buddhist at that time influenced Lingyun with his attitude towards images.There are three aspects. One is that Hui Yuan and his followers' payed great attention to the images, which could convey their respection to Buddha and Buddha dharma. Lingyun used lively description to express his feelings to Buddha and Buddha dharma. Hui Yuan regarded images as the carrier of Buddha dharma. When Lingyun described the landscape, he not only grasped the landscape' s unconventionally graceful aspect, but also manifested the "Kong" theory of Buddhism. Hui Yuan used the method of dhyana to observe and appreciate the images; Lingyun used it to create a regular form of his poems, which was regarded as Description—Theory.Third, I will discuss Lingyun's landscape poems' manifestation of Buddhism.After the paper of Bian Zong Lun, Lingyun converted to Buddhism. A monk named Dao Sheng began to influence Lingyun mostly. Lingyun began to regulate his actions and feeling with Buddha dharma. Before he resigned from Yong Jia, Lingyun didn' t know how to deal with the connection of taking up an official post and resign. After he created the Bian Zong Lun, Lingyun decided to resign and go back to his hometown Shi Ning. When he lived there, his actions and feelings were in perfect harmony with Buddhadharma. But he was so conceited and contemptuous, that he was slandered and lost his life soon. He didn't rescue himself with Buddha dharma, only hope to practice Buddhism during his next life.To sum up, Buddhism influenced Lingyun's landscape poem in two aspects, one is the description of natural scenery, and the other is Lingyun's landscape poem's reason and contents. I hope this will help to understand Xie Lingyun's landscape poems.