A Study Of Thoughts Of Origin In Tsung-mi's Origin Of Man

The structure and the content of Tsung-mi's the Origin of Man is carried out in the form of comparison,judgment and fusion,which is mainly from the perspective of the truth and convenience to analyze Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism.In general,Buddhists believe that Confucianism and Taoism are convenient factions,and that Buddhism is a true faction.They don't know that Confucianism and Taoism can have the power to open up the truth,while Buddhism includes not only truth,but also the convenience.Therefore,Confucianism and Taoism,the two convenient factions don't have to be exclusive with Buddhism,but can open up the truth to fuse into Buddhism with convenient and true factions,and finally into the perfect single vehicle teaching which contains the convenience and the truth.Based on this,by explaining and comparing all kinds of theories about the origin of man inside Confucianism,Taoism and Buddhism,Tsung-mi judge of their convenience or truth in the text of the Origin of Man.Using the true faction to fuse the convenient ones,the truth and convenience can be finally fused by one which is the perfect Buddhist realm he understanding.The perfect realm is supported by the theory of Tathagatagarbha about one heart with two doors from the book the Awakening of Mahayana Faith.That is,the door of birth-death leads the convenient teachings;the door of true thusness leads the true teachings;and the system of Tathagatagarbha nature of mind including the Awakening of Mahayana Faith,Hua-yen and Zen leads both two teachings.It is a combination of both judgment and understanding.The direct exploration of the original heart is near the style of Zen,while the fusion of all factions is close to the way of Hua-yen.The text reflects that the Buddhist thought gradually transforms the characteristic of fusion into brevity during Middle Tang Dynasty.At the same time,by fusing the three religions-Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism,its analyses and inquiries about heaven,human,heart,nature and principals cause the responses from Neo-Confucians and harbinger the coming of Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty.Thus,I will hold the theory of Tathagatagarbha about one heart with two doors inthe Awakening of Mahayana Faith as the centre and clue throughout the whole paper to present how Tsung-mi combines the convenient teachings with the true teachings to fuse the three religions into one true heart and establish a perfect theory of the origin of man at last,which is also the problem consciousness and the original point of this article.