THE 'HUAN-YUAN-KUAN': A STUDY OF THE HUA-YEN INTERPRETATION OF 'PRATITYASAMUTPADA'

In an attempt to understand how Hua-yen Buddhism interprets the principle of prat(')ityasamutpada, this study examines the doctrines and discipline outlined in the Hsiu hua-yen ao chih wang chin huan-yuan-kuan written by Fa-tsang (643-712). To this end, this study is concerned with clarifying the principle of prat(')ityasamutpada and examining the basis and systemization of its Hua-yen interpretation. A discussion of the historicity of Fa-tsang's authorship and an annotated translation are also part of this study.;Fa-tsang's Hua-yen interpretation of prat(')ityasamutpada is grounded in the manifestation of the Tathagata or the Buddha in the world. The Tathagata, the embodiment of the universal or undefiled Buddha mind, manifests himself through wisdom, the functional correlative of the undefiled mind. The Tathagata demonstrates through his rarefied noesis and compassion, the identity and interpenetration between himself and sentient beings. The mind, free from delusions and self-interest, awakens in the Tathagata a genuine concern for sentient beings which quickens into compassionate action that leads sentient beings to nirvana. This ability to identify with sentient beings is the basis for the doctrine of hsing-ch'i. In addition, rarefied noesis provides the Tathagata with a comprehensive vision of the universe. He sees that every thing functions to establish the universe and that all things function to establish a single thing. This functional interrelationship among things is the luminous universe of identity and interpenetration. This vision of the universe is the basis for the doctrine of fa-chieh yuan-ch'i.;Hua-yen practice and meditation are both the discipline for attaining wisdom and the exercise of wisdom. Hua-yen discipline is characterized by the expression, "the study of doctrine itself constitutes meditation." This imperative means that the process of understanding the doctrines of hsing-ch'i and fa-chieh yuan-ch'i is in itself meditation. Secondly, the exercise of wisdom is compassionate activity towards sentient beings. The validity of the Buddha, his enlightenment and the doctrinal expressions of hsing-ch'i and fa-chieh yuan-ch'i, is demonstrated only when the Tathagata extends his wisdom and compassion to others. The experience of wisdom and its subsequent application in the religious life are the ultimate sources of the Hua-yen interpretation of prat(')ityasamutpada.;Hua-yen thought is an explication of the nature and content of the enlightened or Buddha mind which was attained when the Buddha realized the principle of prat(')ityasamutpada. This principle which formed the Buddha's ideological standpoint and was the basis for the subsequent development of Buddhist thought, is simply the realization that all existents are concomitantly established, i.e., all existents are mutually dependent.