Seeking Truth From Falsehood:A Restudy Of Chi-tsang’s Two Truths

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties,Chinese Buddhism entered a mature period after a long period of development.One of its manifestations was the establishment of sects.Chi-tsang(吉藏)is considered to be the actual founder and master of Sanlun School,and enjoys a lofty status in the history of Chinese Buddhism.From the standpoint of Mahāyāna(大乘)empty school,Sanlun School inherited and developed the Indian Madhyamaka(中观)school theory,carried forward the spirit of Praj(?)ā(般若),and injected it into the interpretation of the two truths theory of Buddhist philosophy.The two truths theory of Sanlun School is called the two truths of speech and teaching,and its core idea is"the two truths are teaching,regardless of truth",which dispels the misunderstand of the outer path of Buddhism,Pitan School,Chengshi School and even Mahāyāna.Sanlun School takes"breaking evil and revealing righteousness"as its methodology,and puts forward such terms as two truths,"two truths of teaching","three two truths",and"four double truths"in the theory of two truths.It is to let all living beings realize the reality of all dharma with a heart of nothing,and transcend the sacredness.Looking at the life experience of Chi-tsang from the perspective of the relationship between politics and religion,it can be clearly understood that Chi-tsang has a close relationship with the rulers of previous dynasties.This is a microcosm of the development of Buddhism at that time,and it is also a characteristic of the development of Buddhism in China.Politics has a great influence on religion.There are divergent opinions on the teacher-inherit relationship of Sanlun School.This article believes that Chi-tsang understood this issue from the perspective of a philosopher and was directly influenced by his teacher Xinghuang FaLang(兴皇法朗).Emphasizing on teachers and inheritance is a distinctive feature of Chi-tsang thought.On the road of seeking truth,Chi-tsang paid special attention to the use of "false".When explaining the "three is verses",Chi-tsang emphasized the unity of the pseudonym and the middle way with the middle hypothesis,pointed out the close relationship between the two,and opposed the separation of the "truth" and the "false".In dealing with the relationship between the Two Truths and the Middle Way,Chi-tsang pointed out the view that the "Second Truths are based on the Middle Way",but did not make it absolute.These explanations are in line with Chi-tsang’s fundamental understanding of the two truths theory-"the two truths are teaching,regardless of truth." The so-called true and false should be treated in a unified and dialectical way.The study of Chi-tsang’s Two Truths not only has academic value,but also has practical significance.On the one hand,Chi-tsang’s theory of “The Two Truths Are means”demonstrates the methodology of Sanlun School in the understanding of Buddhist truth and reflects its thorough truth-seeking consciousness.On the other hand,the "two truths are means " theory emphasizes the true liberation of the mind.If modern people can understand this,when facing the complicated world,they will use the heart of no gain to reduce worries and improve the quality of life.