Howard Mu

This project reconstructs the influential but still poorly understood exegetical tradition of the Cheng shi lun in Chinese Buddhism, which played a key role in the development of Chinese Mahayana thought from the fifth to the seventh century. Through a systematic study of all known commentary fragments as well as the polemical writings of Jizang, this study shows how the Cheng shi lun’s ambiguous relationship to the Mahayana motivated the Chinese Madhyamaka—sanlun—exegetes to formulate their distinctive approach to the doctrine of emptiness and panjiao hermeneutics. This study sheds light not only on doctrinal developments in China, but also on the influence of Harivarman in the evolution of Indian Madhyamaka thought.