A Cognitive Perspective On The Concept Of XIN(MIND) In The Vimalakirti Sutra

The Vimalakirti Sutra is a highly influential work in both Chinese Buddhism and literature.Centering on the theme of training the mind,this sutra is especially known for its creative use of metaphors in explicating Buddhist teachings.Therefore,in this study it is chosen for examining the metaphoric conceptualization of MIND in Buddhism.In Conceptual Metaphor Theory,metaphor is viewed not only as a linguistic phenomenon but also a cognitive instrument through which human beings make sense of everyday life.Religion as a fundamental dimension of mankind’s cultural life relies heavily on metaphors to discourse about spiritual experiences.Therefore,examination of the metaphorical make-up of a religion’s core concepts can help reveal important dimensions of the worldview of that religion.Adopting the CMT framework,this research examines the key Buddhist concept MIND in the Vimalakirti Sutra by employing Charteris-Black’s Critical Metaphor Analysis in identifying,interpreting and explaining the metaphoric expressions and the underlying conceptual metaphors on MIND.The results show that MIND is conceptualized as having a static dimension and a dynamic one.The static dimension of MIND is constructed with 3 Great Chain of Being Metaphors:MIND IS AN OBJECT,MIND IS A HUMAN BODY and MIND IS AN ANIMAL.Among them,MIND IS AN OBJECT consists of 4 metaphors:MIND IS OF SPECIFIC SHAPE/SIZE,MIND IS OF VARYING DEGREE OF CLEANNESS,MIND ASSUMES A SPECIFIC POSTURE and MIND IS A CONTAINER.These metaphors respectively highlight a Buddhist practioner’s quality of mind,the correctness of a mental state and different levels of spiritual development.The HUMAN BODY metaphor and ANIMAL metaphor highlight a Buddhist practitioner’s ability to comprehend spiritual knowledge and a mind in need of training respectively.The dynamic aspect of MIND is modeled with Event Structure Metaphors.Similar with Lakoff and Johnson(1999)’s system,the Event Structure Metaphors in the Vimalakirti Sutra also have a Location/Object dual structure.The Location-dual of the Event Structure Metaphor in this sutra includes MENTAL CONDITIONS ARE LOCATIONS,MENTAL CHANGES ARE MOTIONS,INFLUENCE IS PROXIMITY,MEANS ARE PATHS/VEHICLES,DIFFICULTIES ARE OBSTACLES and BUDDHIST PRACTICE IS A JOURNEY/RELEASING BOUNDAGES.The Object-dual includes MENTAL CONDITIONS ARE POSSESSIONS,MENTAL CHANGES ARE CHANGE OF POSSESSION,CAUSATION IS PROGENERATION,and CESSATION IS DESTRUCTION.Among them,the 4 metaphors distinct to this sutra are INFLUENCE IS PROXIMITY,MEANS ARE VEHICLES,CESSATION IS DESTRUCTION and BUDDHIST PRACTICE RELEASING BOUNDAGES.By outlining the conceptual metaphor system of MIND in the Vimalakirti Sutra,this research fills in a gap in studies on Buddhist conceptual metaphors.Also,the significant overlap between Lakoff and Johnson’s Event Structure Metaphor system and that in the Vimalakirti Sutra confirms some linguists’ view about the universality of Event Structure Metaphor.Meanwhile,metaphors that are unique to Buddhist mental events show that the Event Structure Metaphor proposed by Lakoff and Johnson(1999)mainly based on their observation of English culture needs to be expanded to be applicable to different cultures.