四宗

Readings

Pinyin: sìzōng

Wade-Giles: ssu-tsung

Hangul: 사종

Korean MC: sajong

Korean MR: sajong

Katakana: シシュウ

Hepburn: shishū

tứ tông

four cardinal principles

• Four propositions. According to Jingying 淨影 they are:
  1. 立性宗 that everything exists, or has its own nature; e.g., Sarvâstivāda, in the "lower" schools of Hīnayāna;
  2. 破性宗 that everything has not a nature of its own; e.g., the 成實宗 a "higher" Hīnayāna school, the Satyasiddhi;
  3. 破相宗 that form has no reality, because of the doctrine of emptiness, "lower" Mahāyāna;
  4. 願實宗 revelation of reality, that all comes from thusness, "higher " Mahāyāna.
  [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): Soothill]
• According to Tanyin 曇隱 of the Dayan 大衍 monastery they are:
  1. 因緣宗, i. e. 立性宗 all things are causally produced;
  2. 假名宗, i. e. 破性宗 things are but names;
  3. 不眞宗, i. e. 破相宗, denying the reality of form, this school fails to define reality;
  4. 眞宗, i. e. 顯實宗 the school of the real, in contrast with the seeming.
  [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): Soothill]
• In his commentary on the Awakening of Faith and on the Dasheng fajie wuchabie lun 大乘法界無差別論, in which he discussed the Indian Buddhist teachings, Fazang distinguishes four cardinal principles (zong 宗): (1) clinging to the [existence] of dharmas through their characteristics (suixiang fazhi zong 隨相法執宗); (2) real emptiness without characteristics (zhenkong wuxiang zong 眞空無相宗); (3) consciousness-only [established by] the characteristics of dharmas (weishi faxiang zong 唯識法相宗); and (4) the dependent arising of the tathāgatagarbha (rulaizang yuanqi zong 如來藏緣起宗). [ T 1846.44.242b23-c7; T 1838.44.61c9–13.] These four cardinal principles refer to the teachings of Hīnayāna, Madhyamaka, Yogâcāra and Tathāgatagarbha, respectively. He defines these principles with the help of the basic Huayan paradigm: phenomena (shi 事) and principle (li 理). Hīnayāna clings to the characteristics of phenomena. Madhyamaka reveals the principle by the coalescence with phenomena. Yogâcāra provides a description of various aspects of phenomena that arise on the basis of principle. The Tathāgatagarbha discusses the interpenetration and nonobstruction of principle and phenomena. In addition, in his commentary on the Laṅkâvatāra-sūtra, he again furnishes these four kinds of cardinal principles, though with their names slightly changed: (1) existence of characteristics (youxiang zong 有相宗); (2) nonexistence of characteristics (wuxiang zong 無相宗); (3) characteristics of dharmas (faxiang zong 法相宗); and (4) ultimate truth (shixiang zong 實相宗). [Ru Lengqie xinxuanyi 入楞伽心玄義, T 1790.39.426b29–427a2.] Fazang discusses these four categories in terms of dharmas, consciousness, dependent arising, turning to Mahāyāna from Hīnayāna and vehicles. In Fazang’s classification of teachings these four principles can be related to the first three of the five teachings. Hīnayāna represents the lesser vehicle, Madhyamaka and Yogâcāra the elementary teachings of Mahāyāna, and Tathāgatagarbha the advanced teaching of Mahāyāna. [resp. Imre Hamar]
• Four kinds of propositions in Buddhist logic. See 因明四宗. [resp. Charles Muller]

Dictionary References:

Bukkyō jiten (Ui), 406

Fo Guang Dictionary, 1706

Ding Fubao

Bukkyō daijiten (Oda), 710-1*817-3

(Soothill's) Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms, 174

Copyright © 2010 -- Charles Muller

generated: 2014-06-20