The Coexistence of Purity and Impurity in Buddha-Lands in Huaigan’s Shi Jingtu Qunyi lun 釋淨土群疑論: The Influence of Jizang’s Writings

Abstract

In the literature in Chinese Buddhism from the Eastern Jin dynasty until the Early Tang dynasty, it was an important issue why purity and impurity could co-exist in Buddha-Lands. In this paper, I consider this issue in Huaigan’s 懐感 Shi Jingtu Qunyi lun 釋淨土群疑論 （T. 1960）. As a result, it became clear that the theory of Huaigan was greatly influenced by Jizang’s 吉蔵 Huayan youyi 華厳遊意 （T. 1731） and Jingming xuanlun 浄名玄論 （T. 1780）. Furthermore, it is possible that even the point of view of the superiority of the theory of Consciousness-only, which is emphasized by Huaigan, originates from Jizang’s doctrine. It is thought that the purpose of Huaigan was not to provide a theoretical elucidation of the debate over why purity and impurity could co-exist in Buddha-lands, but rather to rank various doctrines, with the theory of Consciousness-only at the top.