China News Agency, Jinan, January 11. Question: How does the cliff carving of the "Diamond Sutra" on Mount Tai reflect the Sinicization of Buddhism?

  ——Interview with Chen Jian, Dean of the Department of Religious Studies and Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies, School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University

  Author Lu Yan

  As the head of China's Five Sacred Mountains and the ancient emperor's Buddhist resort, Mount Tai is listed as a world cultural and natural heritage.

The cliff carvings of the "Diamond Sutra" on Mount Tai are the largest Buddhist scriptures on cliffs in China so far. They are carved on the stone flat of a gentle slope of about 1,200 square meters in the tributary of the middle stream of Mount Tai. The concept is ingenious and magnificent.

Where did the stone inscriptions of the Diamond Sutra come from?

How does Buddhism integrate with Chinese art forms in the process of Sinicization?

Chen Jian, director of the Department of Religious Studies at the School of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University and director of the Center for Buddhist Studies, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions".

The interview transcript is summarized as follows:

China News Agency reporter: Buddhism has been integrated with Chinese native culture since its introduction, creating a splendid Chinese Buddhist culture.

Chinese philosophy, literature, calligraphy, painting, etc. have been influenced by Buddhism to varying degrees. Among them, what specific influences have the cliff carvings received?

Chen Jian:

Buddhism originated in ancient India, but after being introduced to China, after a long period of evolution, it merged with the native Chinese Confucianism and Taoism culture to form a Sinicized Buddhism, and this Sinicized

Rock carvings on the cliff of Hongding Mountain in Tai'an.

Photo provided by the interviewee

  The so-called "cliff stone carvings", in a broad sense, refer to various symbols and images carved and chiseled by human beings on natural cliffs and rocks to reflect human thoughts and practices.

It originated from the "rock paintings" of primitive society. Later, with the development of human civilization, the content of cliff carvings has also changed and enriched day by day.

In China, this is especially manifested in the emergence of a large number of Buddhist themes after the introduction of Buddhism, such as the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu, the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, all of which are large groups of Buddhist cliff carvings.

As for the smaller or single Buddhist cliff carvings, there are countless in the north and south.

  According to themes, Buddhist cliff carvings are the most numerous among Chinese cliff carvings. They are not only "living stones" that record the long history of Buddhism in China, but also are universally recognized treasures of Chinese culture and art.

China News Agency reporter: Why is the Buddhist "Diamond Sutra" engraved on the stone wall of Mount Tai?

Is this related to the core idea contained in the Diamond Sutra?

Chen Jian:

From the content point of view, Chinese Buddhist cliff carvings include stone Buddha statues, stone Buddhist scriptures and stone Buddhist names.

Among the many Buddhist cliff carvings in Shandong, the most famous one is the "Diamond Sutra" stone carving in the Jingshiyu of Mount Tai. The first 16 chapters of the "Diamond Sutra"), that is, from "So I heard, for a while, the Buddha was in the Sravasti Kingdom only tree to the lonely garden" to "You should know that the meaning of the scriptures is inconceivable, and the retribution is also inconceivable". The original text has 2998 characters, and now

Diamond Sutra stone carvings on Mount Tai.

Photo provided by the interviewee

  During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a large number of cliff-carved Buddhist scriptures appeared in many places in Shandong with Mount Tai as the center. Most of them have the same meaning as the "Diamond Sutra", that is, prajna classics that talk about "contemplation of emptiness", such as "Maha Prajna" written by Culai Mountain. The stone carvings of "Sutra" and "Manjusri Prajna Sutra", the stone carvings of "Manjusri Prajna Sutra" in Yishan, the stone carvings of "Siyi Jing" and "Manjusri Prajna Sutra" in Jianshan, etc.

In addition to these scriptures engraved on the cliff, there are also cliff inscriptions intended to show the "contemplation of emptiness", such as "Manjusri Prajna", "All things are impermanent, it is the law of birth and death; birth and death are already gone, and extinction is joy", "Dakongwangfo" and so on.

In addition, there are many classic inscriptions of Prajna around Mount Tai, such as the "Diamond Sutra" stele at Shengguo Temple in Qufu, and the "Manjusri Prajna Sutra" stele at Sihe in Yanzhou and Shuiniu Mountain in Wenshang, etc.

What is particularly important is the stone carving of "Fa Hong Ming Praise" on Hongding Mountain. The content is that the Indian monk Shi Fahong came to Shandong to promote the concept of "emptiness".

  The above shows that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Buddhist Prajnaology, which discussed "contemplation of emptiness" as its content, was very popular in Shandong, and it was a microcosm of Chinese Buddhism.

Because Sinicized Buddhism was developed on the basis of Prajna "concept of emptiness", which is the direct result of the popularity of prajna in China, and "Diamond Sutra" is the most classic and concise expression of "concept of emptiness" for prajna. Co-respect is the most popular Buddhist scripture in the history of Chinese Buddhism. It has extremely high Buddhist and cultural value since ancient times.

  In ancient China, those things considered valuable were often praised and praised by "recording stones as records" so that they could be passed down to the world.

Although the academic circles still have various explanations for the "Diamond Sutra" engraved on Mount Tai, judging from the close relationship between Prajnaism represented by this scripture and Chinese Buddhism, "remembering stones as records" should be the most important reason.

China News Agency reporter: What role did the Diamond Sutra play in the process of Sinicization of Buddhism?

Chen Jian:

The "Diamond Sutra" is the representative of the Chinese translation of Prajna classics and the essence of Buddhist "Prajna Thought".

The so-called "Prajna" is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word "Prajna", which means "wisdom of emptiness", that is, the wisdom of comprehending "emptiness", which is the highest wisdom of Buddhism.

As the "first of the five mountains", Mount Tai is a world natural and cultural heritage and a sacred mountain of the Chinese nation.

The Taishan culture integrates the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and the "harmonious wisdom" contained in it is also one of the important wisdoms of the Chinese nation.

In this sense, the "Diamond Sutra" engraved on Mount Tai should be the "peak dialogue" that perfectly embodies the "wisdom of emptiness" of Buddhism and the "wisdom of harmony" of the Chinese nation. Sinicization, such as Tiantai sect and Zen sect.

In other words, the "wisdom of emptiness" of Buddhism and the "wisdom of harmony" of the Chinese nation have jointly participated in the construction of Sinicized Buddhism.

Diamond Sutra stone carvings on Mount Tai.

Photo provided by the interviewee

  The seventy-two transformations performed by Sun Wukong in the process of learning scriptures in "Journey to the West" are the embodiment of "concept of emptiness" in "Diamond Sutra": in complex situations, one should not stick to one standard and one method, only change according to circumstances, in order to solve the problem.

Indian Buddhism was produced in the soil of Indian culture, and has a specific relationship with India; similarly, Indian Buddhism was introduced to China, and because of the difference in Chinese culture, it must develop Chinese Buddhism along with the relationship with Chinese culture. This is " The logical conclusion of the "contemplation of emptiness" in the Diamond Sutra and the meaning in the title, or in other words, the inner requirements of Mahayana Buddhism with the core of "contemplation of emptiness" in the "Diamond Sutra".

The "Diamond Sutra" said that "what the Tathagata said is inadvisable and must not be said" and "if people say that the Tathagata has said something, it is slandering the Buddha." Buddhism, which reflects the significance of the "Diamond Sutra" to the Sinicization of Buddhism.

  Mahayana Buddhism based on "concept of emptiness" is an open system, and the Sinicization of Buddhism is consciously realized in the open system of Mahayana Buddhism.

Master Zhizhi (538-597), the founder of Tiantai Sect, attributed this kind of Sinicization of Buddhism to "establishing according to emotion and helping to promote Buddhism", in which "love" is the fate of Chinese culture.

China News Service reporter: Buddhist scriptures are one of the important carriers of Buddhist cultural inheritance. How does the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures reflect the Sinicization of Buddhism?

Chen Jian:

Buddhist ideas are expressed and disseminated through Buddhist scriptures.

The introduction of Buddhism to China began with the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures, and the Sinicization of Buddhism also began with the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures.

In the process of Chinese translation, the translator did not simply transplant Indian Buddhist scriptures, but fully considered how the translation could adapt to Chinese local culture.

For example, Master Dao'an (312-385) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty once proposed that the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures should follow the principle of "five losses and three difficulties" (see Dao'an's Preface to the Copy of the Mahabharata Paramita Sutra), to the effect that, It is not easy to translate Hindi into Chinese and let Chinese people understand it (“Three Difficulties”). Therefore, while keeping the original meaning of the Buddhist scriptures as much as possible, there are five situations where you can follow the Chinese language and culture without following the original scriptures. This is actually the Sinicization in the process of translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.

The engraving of the Diamond Sutra in the "Chinese Tripitaka Museum" in the Dabaoen Temple Ruins Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

Photo courtesy of Visual China

  For example, one of the "five lost roots" is "Hu Jing emphasizes quality, Qin people are good at writing, and can be spread to the hearts of the people. If the text is not in harmony, the second is lost." It means that Indian Buddhist scriptures ("Hu Jing") emphasize "quality" rather than Emphasis on "literature", and the Chinese ("Qin people") are "good at writing", so when translating, it is not only about translating the meaning, but also paying attention to the elegance and literariness of the translation, just like what Confucius said "quality wins Wen Zeye, Wen wins quality and history, and Wen Zhi is gentle, then a gentleman."

The "Diamond Sutra" is such a "gentleman's essay" with a "gentle style" and a very high literary standard.

The reason why the "Diamond Sutra" has become the most widely circulated Buddhist scripture in Chinese Buddhism and is respected by both the refined and the common, has a great relationship with the beauty and elegance of its translation.

China News Agency reporter: After Buddhism was introduced and integrated with Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhism with local characteristics has been formed. How will Chinese Buddhism affect the world?

In Xi'an, Shaanxi, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the statue of Xuanzang are in the same frame.

Xuanzang, an eminent monk in the Tang Dynasty, played an important role in promoting cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries represented by Buddhism.

Photo by Chen Shuyi

Chen Jian:

The so-called Sinicization of Buddhism actually means that after Indian Buddhism was introduced to China, it merged with Chinese local culture and developed into a Sinicized Buddhism.

The Chinese developed Buddhist thoughts based on Chinese culture, formed a unique Buddhist theory, and spread Buddhism from China to Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and other places.

  Buddhism came to China along the Land Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road in ancient times, and based on the "wisdom of emptiness" of Buddhism and the "wisdom of harmony" of the Chinese nation, a Chinese Buddhism with harmony and tolerance as its fundamental concepts was established.

At present, with China's opening up and the implementation of the "Belt and Road" initiative, Sinicized Buddhism will also follow this fate to the wider world, providing harmonious and inclusive ideological wisdom for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

(Finish)

Respondent profile:

  Chen Jian, Director of the Department of Religious Studies, School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University; Director of the Buddhist Research Center of Shandong University; Deputy Director of the Judaism and Inter-religious Research Center of Shandong University, a key research base for humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education; Tiantai School graduate student of Putuoshan College, Buddhist Academy of China Mentor etc.

Mainly research Buddhism, Chinese philosophy, the relationship between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and the comparison between Chinese and Western religions.

He is the author of "Differentiation Without Distinction——Buddhism from the Perspective of Comparative Religion", "Consciousness of the Heart and Transformation of the Fahua——A Study on the Hermeneutics of Zhiyi's "Fahua"," Ignorance is the Nature of Dharma——Research on the Thought of Zen and Contemplation of Tiantai School" "Affliction is Bodhi——A Study on the Thought of "Evil Nature" in Tiantai School" and so on.