16035

WiSe 20/21: Online: Introduction into Chinese Buddhist Philosophy

Ge Wang

Hinweise für Studierende

Diese Lehrveranstaltung findet vollständig online statt. Bitte melden Sie sich per E-Mail an, falls eine Anmeldung in Campus Management aus technischen Gründen nicht möglich sein sollte: ... Lesen Sie weiter

Kommentar

Buddhism has forged the oriental thinking profoundly as well as subtly. In the thousand years of spreading over different continents, Buddhism is adapted to and has shaped various cultures. Due to the specific Chinese language and history, Buddhism has undergone metamorphoses. In a broader sense of Chinese Buddhism, alongside the Tibetan Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism primarily in the Southern provinces, the so-called Han Buddhism – Chinese Buddhist Philosophy in its narrow sense – refers to Buddhism in areas dominated by the Han Nationality. Compared to Hinayana, Tibetan Buddhism and Zen in Japan, Han Buddhism was vague contours, especially concerning the receptions in the rest of the globe. Han Buddhism came into being in the Han Dynasty and was mingled with local Taoism and Confucianism in complicated processes. This Han Tradition of Buddhism is roughly subdivided into mainly eight sects, including Tiantai Sect, Sanlun Sect, Lü (Self-Discipline) Sect, Jingtu (Pure land) Sect, Chan (Zen) Sect, Huayan Sect, Weishi (Consciousness Only) and Mi (Esoteric) Sect. Despite of internal Differences in contemplations and practices, there are prevailing con-cepts, which to be philosophically examined and differentiated. In Udana, the Buddha told the story of an elephant and several blind men. Confined to their angles, the blind men defined the nature of the elephant differently, like a water-pot, a post, a peg, a fan, since they had touched different parts. Inspired by this Buddhist story, I try to intro-duce Buddhist texts and western philosophy on relevant issues simultaneously. Both internal and external comparisons could shed light to the old words and themes. Due to different etymological meanings and semantics, comparisons themselves are usually dubious, occasionally almost im-possible. The demonstration of the impossible or precarious comparison is often the result of the comparative method. Like the Bible translation e.g. by Martin Luther, the translation of Buddhist Scriptures has pro-found impacts on the formation of Chinese Language, on its philosophical thinking and ethics. The combination of Buddhism and Confucianism led to the formation of Li Xue, the Confucian school of so-called idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming dynasties. This intellectual tradition was inherited later also in the Neo-Confucianism, which remains nowadays a candidate resource for the contemporary politics and social forging in China. Of cause there are tensions between it and the liberalistic values, however the temptation is still strong. Owing to the influence of Chinese thought and culture, Chinese Buddhist way of thinking is fundamentally non-dualistic in character, emphasizing, more than Indian Mahayana does, the mutual sameness and interpenetration of the ultimate and the conventional. The thinking tends to be somewhat non-discursive, measured within the western coordination- and evaluation sys-tem, involving holistic views expressed in poetical, even paradoxical language, with particular concern on the practical. Meanwhile, Tathagatagarbha (a group of Mahayana sutras) thought receives much attention among Chinese Buddhist thinkers, and the widespread conviction is that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature and can attain Buddhahood. Buddhism also penetrated daily life and had a substantial impact in architecture, sculpture, painting, music and literature, not only in Mainland China, but also in modern artistic creations. Schließen

14 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Fr, 18:15 - 19:45 14 Termine

Fr, 06.11.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 13.11.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 20.11.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 27.11.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 04.12.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 11.12.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 18.12.2020 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 08.01.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 15.01.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 22.01.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 29.01.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 05.02.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 12.02.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Fr, 19.02.2021 18:15 - 19:45

Zur Modulübersicht

Ort: Online

Zeit: Fr 18:15-19:45

Erster Termin: 06.11.2020

Unterrichtssprache: Englisch

SWS: 2

Teilnehmerzahl: 35

Platzbeschränkung: Ja

Teilnahmepflicht: Ja

Module zu dieser LV:

Freie Universität Berlin

Service Nav