북송 시기 승려가 읽은 『중용』 - 지원의 「중용자전」과 계숭의 「중용해」를 중심으로 -

Abstract

Ziyuan and Qisong represent the two most influential Buddhist schools in North Song. This paper discusses their philosophical tendencies at the time of reviewing their understanding of Zhongyong. Ziyuan insists that the Zhongyong of Confucianism is the same as the Nagarjuna’s concept madhyama-pratipad and that it should not stick to either emptiness or existence. Therefore, he argues we must learn both Buddhism, the study of emptiness and Confucianism, the study of existence. Qisong presents his thought system as the term of Zhongyong, believing that Zhongyong encompasses both the inner and social aspects. This view was more advanced than Ziyuan's view of limiting Zhongyong to the inner side. The understanding of the two monks is that, as Confucianism embraces the ideological elements of Taoism and Buddhism, Buddhism in the early Song dynasty also showed that it also adopted Confucian elements. This view suggests that the interchanges between Buddhism and Confucianism during the Early Song period were multi-layer and bilateral.