This paper examines how Zhiyan’s 智儼 interpretation of time shaped the formation of the concept of Mutual Identity (xiangji 相即). In the Huayan tradition, the term “Mutual Identity” is often used together with “Mutual Entry” (xiangru 相入), and it is in Zhiyan’s later writings that a combined term “Mutual Identity / Mutual Entry” (xiangji/xiangru) is used for the first time in the context of a discussion of the concept of time.
In his early writings, on the other hand, Zhiyan uses terms such as “Mutual Production” (xiangzuo 相作) or “Transformation” (bianhua 変化) together with “Mutual Entry” in the context of discussing change in the phenomenal world. This paper demonstrates that the reason for this terminological shift lies with Zhiyan’s use of Xuanzang’s 玄奘 new translations of materials associated with the Consciousness Only tradition (Weishi), in which time is seen as a discreet dharma not concomitant with mind (xin buxiangying xing 心不相応行).
