净影慧远佛性观对其净土思想的影响

Influence of Jingying Huiyuan's Buddha-nature view on his pure-land thought

南北朝晚期地论学派的代表人物净影慧远,他对佛性的阐释是以如来藏思想诠释佛性思想的。对慧远《观经疏》《大乘义章》等论著的研究发现,他在论述净土思想时的语言表达、思维模式、论证形式都与他对佛性思想的讨论接近,甚至一致。慧远以"佛性之因"论证"三土差异",以"性之四门"描述"四门往生因",以"二门体状"讨论"染、净关系",以"不善阴等四门"疏解"五逆十恶"等,不仅推动了佛教解经学的发展,而且赋予净土思想更多的义理色彩。

Jingying Huiyuan is a representative of the Ground School in late Northern and Southern dynasties, and his interpretations of Buddha nature can be regarded as the typical interpretation of tathagata-garbha thoughts. According to our research on Amitayurdhyana Sutra and Essay on the Meaning of Mahayana, we find out that when he was explaining pure-land thought, the language, modes of thinking and ways of argument he used are similar to, even the same as those he used in the process of explaining Buddha nature. For example, Huiyuan used ＂the reason of buddha nature＂ to explain ＂the difference of lands,＂ ＂four aspects of nature＂ to describe ＂four aspects of future life,＂ ＂two symptoms＂ to discuss ＂relationship between the clean and the dirty,＂ ＂no good aspects＂ to demonstrate ＂Anantarika-karma.＂ This not only promotes the development of the Buddhist exegetics, but also endows pure-land thought with more theoretical colour.