The Controversy between Yunqi Zhuhong (1535-1615) and the Christians Missionaries concerning "Abstinence from Taking Life" (Fusessho)

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  • 慧命(えみょう)の回路 : 明末・雲棲〓宏の不殺生思想
  • 慧命(えみょう)の回路 : 明末・雲棲袾宏の不殺生思想
  • ケイメイ(エミョウ)ノ カイロ : アキラマツ ・ ウンセイチュウコウ ノ フセッショウ シソウ

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This paper examines Yunqi Zhuhong's thoughts on "abstinence from taking life" Vusessho) . Yunqi Zhuhong was a Chinese Buddhist monk who played a crucial role in the Buddhist revival movement at the end of Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The paper first introduces the controversy between Yunqi Zhuhong and Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) concerning the issue of abstinence from taking life. In East Asian Buddhism, the idea of no killing was based on the Brahma's Net Sutra (Bonmokyo), and it combined the Indian conception of transmigration in the six realms as well as the Confucian ideal of filial piety. However, Matteo Ricci, who was the central figure in the Christian missionary movement in Ming China, criticized the Buddhist idea of no killing; he argued, in his doctrinal treatise, Tianzhu shiyi (The meaning of "god"), that killing animals was a human God-given right, and the Buddhist idea of abstinence from taking life was absurd. Zhuhong strongly disagreed with Ricci. Due to his aversion to killing any sentient beings, Zhuhong advocated equality between humans and animals, and claimed that eating animal meat was no different from eating human flesh. For Zhuhong, the abstinence from killing animals was a way to open up a human soul to the possibility of infinite rebirths in the past and future lives in the six realms. Zhuhong explained the idea of no killing in a way understandable to ordinary people, thereby contributing to the increasing popularity of the practice of releasing living beings (hojo) in the late Ming dynasty.

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