Essentials of Chinese Buddhist Philosophy (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Fang Litian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: Relatively speaking, Chinese Buddhist scholars have created fewer theories in cosmogony. They tend to focus more on explaining the structure and phenomena of the universe, and on seeking the metaphysical essence of the universe, converting some epistemological issues of Buddhism into metaphysical ones. Buddhism starts from defining the world, emphasizing its characteristics—being infinitely vast in space and endless in time. Ancient India depicted its world structure with the central (Sumeru Mountain) theory, believing that Sumeru was surrounded by nine mountains, eight seas, four continents, the sun, and the moon, collectively forming a "world." Chinese Buddhist philosophy reflects the views and propositions of Chinese Buddhist scholars on the universe, life, and practical cultivation. This book interprets and explains the thoughts of Chinese Buddhist philosophy by tracing the development of Chinese philosophical history, and adopts a problem-analysis approach to present its content. Through thematic discussions in five parts—General Theory, Theory of Life, Theory of Mind and Nature, Cosmology, and Theory of Practice—the book clarifies the historical trajectory of the emergence, debates, evolution, and development of Chinese Buddhist philosophical issues, showing the interactive processes between different viewpoints, and ultimately summarizes the fundamental characteristics and developmental patterns of its philosophical thinking.