Papers by Sangyop Lee
The Routledge Companion to Chinese Philosophy, 2026
This chapter surveys the philosophical dimensions of the Chinese Buddhist discourse on the doctri... more This chapter surveys the philosophical dimensions of the Chinese Buddhist discourse on the doctrine of universal buddha-nature (foxing 佛性; Skt. *buddhadhatu). It first offers an overview of the historical development of the discourse by examining the arguments of such exegetes as Daosheng 道生 (355–434), 僧宗 (438–496), Baoliang 寶亮 (444–509), and Emperor Wu of Liang 梁武帝 (464–549), as well as schools like Dilun 地論, Shelun 攝論, Sanlun 三論, and Tiantai 天台. The second section of the chapter focuses on one of the culminations of the discourse realized in the Huayan 華嚴-Chan 禪 thinker Zongmi’s 宗密 (780–841) systematic and exhaustive critique of earlier theories and practices concerning buddha-nature. Through these discussions, the chapter will show how the discourse on buddha-nature gave rise to original theses concerning the relationship between awakening and delusion, and between the transcendent and the phenomenal.
『印度学仏教学研究』72.2, 2024
『優婆塞五戒威儀経』（T1503；以下『威儀経』）という文献の中にはBodhisattvabhūmi（以下BoBh）のŚīlapaṭalaで説かれる45ヶ条余りの菩薩戒の異本が認められる。大野法... more 『優婆塞五戒威儀経』（T1503；以下『威儀経』）という文献の中にはBodhisattvabhūmi（以下BoBh）のŚīlapaṭalaで説かれる45ヶ条余りの菩薩戒の異本が認められる。大野法道のような学者はこれをBoBhの曇無讖訳である『菩薩地持経』の菩薩戒部分を主な資料として中国で編成された文献と見做している。しかしこの論文は『威儀経』の菩薩戒と今まで知られているBoBhの漢訳やBoBhの梵語テキストを比較して、『威儀経』の菩薩戒が今まで知られていなかったBoBh菩薩戒の漢訳異本に基づいている可能性を提案する。また『威儀経』の菩薩戒をコータン語『ザンバスタの書』の菩薩戒とも比較して『威儀経』菩薩戒の底本が『ザンバスタの書』菩薩戒の底本と近似な系統であった可能性も検討する。
Buddhakṣetrapariśodhana: A Festschrift for Paul Harrison, 2024
This paper studies the set of bodhisattva precepts that appears in the Bodhisattvabhūmi and is co... more This paper studies the set of bodhisattva precepts that appears in the Bodhisattvabhūmi and is commonly known in East Asia as the “bodhisattva prātimokṣa.” After investigating the history of the independent circulation of these precepts in India, China, Tibet, and Central Asia, I highlight their pedestrian and practical focus that would have contributed to their wide popularity in the Buddhist world. Building on this, I use these precepts to study the social and institutional actualities of bodhisattvas the authors of these precepts in Middle Period India presupposed. This examination will corroborate many elements of the forest hypothesis regarding the origin of Mahāyāna Buddhism and also raise new questions, helping us flesh out the profile of the bodhisattva practitioner on the ground in greater detail.
T'oung Pao, 2023
This paper is the first in-depth study of Shi Sengwei’s 釋僧衛 (fl. late fourth and early fifth cent... more This paper is the first in-depth study of Shi Sengwei’s 釋僧衛 (fl. late fourth and early fifth centuries) “‘Shizhu jing’ hanzhu xu” 十住經含注序. By situating Sengwei’s text in the proper intellectual-historical context and proposing crucial emendations in its surviving recensions, I analyze its ontological and psychological claims that advance a unique metaphysical theory that explains the emergence of sense objects and individual minds as the result of the interaction between “one reality” (yifa 一法) and “one mind” (yixin 一心). I then identify philosophical and phraseological influences of Huiyuan’s 慧遠 (334–416) theory of the imperishability of the soul (shen bumie 神不滅) on Sengwei’s thought, and furthermore argue that Sengwei’s “one mind” was the source of the theory of the “one mind” in the Dasheng qi xin lun 大乘起信論.
『印度学仏教学研究』71.2, 2023
Dao’an’s (314–385 CE) relocation to Chang’an is an important historical event that marked the rev... more Dao’an’s (314–385 CE) relocation to Chang’an is an important historical event that marked the revival of translation activities among Buddhists in early medieval China. Earlier scholars such as Tang Yongtong, Erik Zürcher, and Ui Hakuju assumed that Dao’an’s relocation to Chang’an took place in the year 379. However, this hypothesis does not take into account the Jovian years recorded in the documents produced by Dao’an’s translation team in Chang’an. In this paper, by making use of such resources as the astronomy simulation software Stellarium, I show that the Jovian years recorded in the Dao’an team’s documents match the actual locations of Jupiter of the time, and argue that Dao’an’s relocation to Chang’an must have taken place in 378 rather than in 379.
![Research paper thumbnail of [Author Manuscript] Jizang's Anti-realist Theory of Truth: A Modal Logical Understanding of Universal Affirmation through Universal Negation](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/92739824/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Philosophy East and West 73.2, 2023
In the writings of the Chinese Madhyamaka master Jizang (549–623CE), we often read arguments that... more In the writings of the Chinese Madhyamaka master Jizang (549–623CE), we often read arguments that deduce universal affirmation from universal negation. In previous scholarship, this seemingly paradoxical reasoning was often explained by ascribing to Jizang a type of transcendental realism—the view that reality transcends our ordinary language, logic, and reason—and reading it as his unique way of capturing such transcendental nature of reality. More recently, an attempt at formalizing this transcendental realist interpretation of Jizang was made by Yasuo Deguchi, who suggests that Jizang could have been tinkering with a type of dialethism. This paper challenges the transcendental realist interpretation of Jizang by studying strong anti-realist tendencies found across his writings, and proposes a way to understand his deduction of universal affirmation from universal negation within the boundaries of ordinary reasoning and coherently with his anti-realist philosophy by introducing the modalities of “categorical truth” and “conditional truth.”
『印度学仏教学研究』70.2, 2022
This paper studies Sengwei's (fl. the late fourth to early fifth centuries) theory of the One Min... more This paper studies Sengwei's (fl. the late fourth to early fifth centuries) theory of the One Mind (yi xin 一心) as an important precursor to the theory of the One Mind in the Awakening of Faith (Dahseng qi xin lun 大乘起信論).
『印度学仏教学研究』69.2, 2021
本稿は宝唱の『名僧伝』に扱われていた僧侶の伝記を慧皎の『高僧伝』で特定した既存の研究成果を活用して、『名僧伝』で「師」に分類されていた僧侶たちと「苦節」に分類されていた僧侶たちの間に色々な身分の... more 本稿は宝唱の『名僧伝』に扱われていた僧侶の伝記を慧皎の『高僧伝』で特定した既存の研究成果を活用して、『名僧伝』で「師」に分類されていた僧侶たちと「苦節」に分類されていた僧侶たちの間に色々な身分の指標が不均一に現れることを彼らの『高僧伝』伝記に踏まえて確認、宝唱が使った僧侶の「師」と「苦節」への二分法が当時の仏教僧団内の二層的身分意識の反映であった可能性を提起する。
![Research paper thumbnail of [Author Manuscript] The Bodhisattva Prātimokṣa of the Youposai wu jie weiyi jing: Its Textual Provenance and Historical Significance](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/83836329/thumbnails/1.jpg)
The Eastern Buddhist 49.1&2, 2021
In this study, I compare the four Chinese versions, the Khotanese translation, and the Sanskrit t... more In this study, I compare the four Chinese versions, the Khotanese translation, and the Sanskrit tradition of the bodhisattva precepts of the Bodhisattvabhūmi, and show that the version that survives in the text titled Youposai wu jie weiyi jing 優婆塞五戒威儀經 must have derived from a hitherto unknown independent translation of the Bodhisattvabhūmi precepts. I furthermore suggest that this translation must have been produced before the composition of the Fanwang jing 梵網經 in the mid- to late 5th century, becoming one of the most important sources of the apocryphon, and that its underlying Indic text could have belonged to the same textual tradition as the underlying Indic text of the Khotanese translation of the Bodhisattvabhūmi precepts. The existence of this independent translation of the Bodhisattvabhūmi precepts and its relation to the Khotanese translation implies that, contrary to previous beliefs, the independent circulation and use of the Bodhisattvabhūmi precepts could have been a practice among Indian Buddhists as well.
The Transnational Cult of Mount Wutai, 2020
I analyze in this paper two different traditions of the corpus of miracle stories related to the ... more I analyze in this paper two different traditions of the corpus of miracle stories related to the Wutai shan cult in Korea, and show that the original narrators of these stories in the Korean Wutai shan region (in modern Kangwŏn Province) must have been socially, culturally, and linguistically removed from the Sinicized elite of Silla society. The paper thus challenges the prevalent understanding that the Korean Wutai shan cult exemplifies the international collaboration between the elite Buddhists of Tang and Silla, and highlights the creative agency of local Buddhist communities in the propagation of this Pan-Asian Buddhist cult.
![Research paper thumbnail of [Author Manuscript] The Invention of the "Eminent Monk": Understanding the Biographical Craft of the Gaoseng zhuan through the Mingseng zhuan](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/66025277/thumbnails/1.jpg)
T'oung Pao 106, 2020
This study investigates the compilation process of Huijiao’s (497-554) Gaoseng zhuan by utilizing... more This study investigates the compilation process of Huijiao’s (497-554) Gaoseng zhuan by utilizing the manuscript fragments of Baochang’s (ca. 466–?) Mingseng zhuan. I first question the long-standing assumption that the Mingseng zhuan was the “base text” of the Gaoseng zhuan, and propose to redefine the relationship between the two monastic biography collections more loosely by using the notion of “narrative community.” I then suggest that, despite the possible absence of a direct textual relation between the two collections, due to the Mingseng zhuan being more representative of the Buddhist narrative community of early medieval China, the comparison of the two collections is nonetheless germane to understanding the compilation process of the Gaoseng zhuan. Lastly, by comparing the lists of contents of the two collections I identify and analyze distinctive patterns in Huijiao’s selection and organization of monastic biographies that helped him perfect the idealized abstraction of the “eminent monk.”
Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2019
This essay (9300 words) offers an overview of Lushan Huiyuan’s (廬山慧遠, 334–416) life and work in r... more This essay (9300 words) offers an overview of Lushan Huiyuan’s (廬山慧遠, 334–416) life and work in relation to the political and cultural history of early medieval China. Building on earlier studies of the chronology of Huiyuan’s career, the entry follows Huiyuan’s scholarly and religious activities by dividing them into six periods: his youth as a student of Chinese classics; his early monastic career under Dao’an (道安, 314–385) when he engages with various indigenous interpretations of the prajñāpāramitā sūtras; the 390s when he occupies himself with the study of the Abhidharma literature introduced by Saṅghadeva (Sengqietipo [僧伽提婆]); the early to mid-410s when he founds the White Lotus Society with his disciples and exchanges letters with the dictator Huan Xuan (桓玄, 369–404) that spur him to compose theoretical writings on Buddhist soteriology and monasticism; the mid- to late 410s when he maintains correspondence with Kumārajīva (Jiumoluoshe [鳩摩羅什], 344–413) and studies the newly translated Madhyamaka literature; and from 410 to his death when his contact with Buddhabhadra (Fotuobatuoluo [佛馱跋陀羅], 358–429) inspires him to construct the Buddha-image grotto on Mount Lu. The entry also briefly examines the development of the perception of Huiyuan in Pure Land histories and classical and vernacular literary traditions. Lastly, the entry surveys the current state of scholarship on Huiyuan with a discussion of foundational studies and recent monographs.
一山而五頂, 2017
A Chinese translation of my forthcoming paper "The Emergence of the 'Five-Terrace Mountain' Cult ... more A Chinese translation of my forthcoming paper "The Emergence of the 'Five-Terrace Mountain' Cult in Korea."
“Wutai shan Fojiao xinyang zai Chaoxian bandao de chuxian” 五臺山佛教信仰在朝鮮半島的出現 [The Emergence of the ‘Five-Terrace Mountain’ Cult in Korea]. Translated by Zhao Lingyun. In _Yi shan er wu ding: Duo xueke, kua fangyi, chao wenhua shiye xia de Wutai xinyang yanjiu_ 一山而五頂—多學科、跨方域、超文化視野下的五臺信仰研究 [One mountain, five peaks: Studies of the Wutai cult in multidisciplinary and transborder/cultural approaches], eds. Chen Jinhua 陳金華, Shi Kuanguang 釋寬廣, Ji Yun 紀贇, 285–311. Taipei: Xin wen feng, 2017.
佛教學研究 27, 2010
“Pŏmmang-kyŏng posalgye wa Yusikhakp’a posalgye ŭi pigyo yŏn’gu” 범망경 보살계와 유식학파 보살계의 비교 연구. Pulgyo... more “Pŏmmang-kyŏng posalgye wa Yusikhakp’a posalgye ŭi pigyo yŏn’gu” 범망경 보살계와 유식학파 보살계의 비교 연구. Pulgyohak yŏn’gu 불교학연구 27 (2010): 83–121.
哲學論究 35, 2007
"Hyewŏn sinbulmyŏllon ŭi Pulgyo sasangjŏk ŭiŭi" 혜원 신불멸론의 불교 사상적 의의. Ch’ŏrhak non’gu 철학논구 35 (2007... more "Hyewŏn sinbulmyŏllon ŭi Pulgyo sasangjŏk ŭiŭi" 혜원 신불멸론의 불교 사상적 의의. Ch’ŏrhak non’gu 철학논구 35 (2007): 37-69.
Drafts by Sangyop Lee
『印度学仏教学研究』70.2, 2022
『印度學佛敎學硏究』70.2 (2022): 157-160에 출판된 「僧衛 「十住經含注序」の「一心」槪念について—『大乘起信論』の「一心」槪念との關聯を中心に」 의 필자 자신의 의한 한... more 『印度學佛敎學硏究』70.2 (2022): 157-160에 출판된 「僧衛 「十住經含注序」の「一心」槪念について—『大乘起信論』の「一心」槪念との關聯を中心に」 의 필자 자신의 의한 한국어 번역.
My own Japanese translation of my 2010 publication, "Pŏmmang-kyŏng posalgye wa Yusik’akp’a posalg... more My own Japanese translation of my 2010 publication, "Pŏmmang-kyŏng posalgye wa Yusik’akp’a posalgye ŭi pigyo yŏn’gu" [A comparative analysis of the Fanwang jing bodhisattva precepts and the Yogācāra bodhisattva precepts].
Conference Presentations by Sangyop Lee
Abstract of the paper presented at the "Wisdom and Practice in East Asian Buddhism" conference he... more Abstract of the paper presented at the "Wisdom and Practice in East Asian Buddhism" conference held at SNU on April 28th 2023
2022年日本印度学仏教学会学術大会での発表文の要旨
2021年日本印度学仏教学会学術大会での発表文の要旨
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Papers by Sangyop Lee
“Wutai shan Fojiao xinyang zai Chaoxian bandao de chuxian” 五臺山佛教信仰在朝鮮半島的出現 [The Emergence of the ‘Five-Terrace Mountain’ Cult in Korea]. Translated by Zhao Lingyun. In _Yi shan er wu ding: Duo xueke, kua fangyi, chao wenhua shiye xia de Wutai xinyang yanjiu_ 一山而五頂—多學科、跨方域、超文化視野下的五臺信仰研究 [One mountain, five peaks: Studies of the Wutai cult in multidisciplinary and transborder/cultural approaches], eds. Chen Jinhua 陳金華, Shi Kuanguang 釋寬廣, Ji Yun 紀贇, 285–311. Taipei: Xin wen feng, 2017.
Drafts by Sangyop Lee
Conference Presentations by Sangyop Lee