Tiyong
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Tiyong (体用; 體用; 'essence-function') is a key concept in Chinese philosophy. It encompasses ti 'essence', the absolute reality, cause, or origin, and yong 'function', which is the relative or concrete reality, and the concrete manifestation of ti. Ti and yong do not represent two separate things, but aspects of the same process.[1][full citation needed]
Etymology
- Essence, ti), Korean pronunciation 체, or CHE: body; shape, form; entity, unit; style, fashion, system; substance, essence; theory (as opposed to practice).[web 1]
- Function, or Application 用 (yong), Korean pronunciation 용, or YONG: use, employ, apply, operate; exert; effect; finance; need; eat, drink.[web 2]
Together, they form the phrase 體用 ti-yong, 체용 che-yong, Essence-Function.
Meaning
Absolute | Relative |
---|---|
Straight | Bend |
One | Manifold |
Identical | Different |
Universal | Particular |
Noumenal | Phenomenal |
Li | Shih |
Absolute | Appearance |
Dark | Light |
Ri | Ji |
Chang | P'ien |
Real | Apparent |
Ideal | Actual |
Essence is Absolute Reality, the fundamental "cause" or origin, while Function is manifest or relative reality, the discernible effects or manifestations of Essence.[2][dead link] Essence-Function describes the interplay between the two: although Absolute Reality is the ultimate reality, the relative reality nevertheless also exists, as is evident from concrete reality. The relationship between these two realms is expressed in such schemata as the Five Ranks[3] and the Oxherding Pictures. Various terms are used for "absolute" and "relative".[4]
The tree forms a metaphor for Essence-Function, with the roots being Essence and the branches being Function.[2][dead link] According to Muller, "the most important application of t'i-yung thought [...] is to the human being, where the human mind is seen as "essence," and one's words, thoughts, and actions are seen as "function."[5]
According to Sung-bae Park the concept of essence-function is used by East Asian Buddhists "to show a non-dualistic and non-discriminate nature in their
Origins and application of the concept
China
The t'i-yung developed in the
The concept developed with
When Buddhism was introduced to China, the two truths doctrine was a point of confusion. Chinese thinking took this to refer to two ontological truths: reality exists of two levels, a relative level and an absolute level.
Based on their understanding of the
To deny the duality of samsara and nirvana, as the Perfection of Wisdom does, or to demonstrate logically the error of dichotomizing conceptualization, as Nagarjuna does, is not to address the question of the relationship between samsara and nirvana -or, in more philosophical terms, between phenomenal and ultimate reality [...] What, then, is the relationship between these two realms?[13]
The notions appear already in the , and served as a basic tool of interpretation. With these schools, it has travelled to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and has been developed there.
The
The concept was employed by Confucian reformers of the Self-Strengthening Movement at the end of the Qing dynasty's (1644 to 1912) rule in China, in the phrase "Chinese learning for essence, Western learning for application".[note 2] The belief was that China should maintain its own Confucian style of learning to keep the "essence" of society, while at the same time using Western learning for "practical application" in developing its infrastructure and economy.[19]
Korean Buddhism
Essence-Function is an essential element in the philosophy of
Linguistics
The concept is also employed in Korean and Japanese linguistics. Words that do not change their form, mostly nouns, which are not inflected in Korean and Japanese, are referred to as 'essence' words (體言), while verbs and most adjectives, which are highly inflected in those languages, are referred to as 'function' words (用言).
See also
- Buddhism
- Gankyil
- Korean Buddhism
- Korean philosophy
- Sentient beings (Buddhism)
- Store consciousness
- Five Ranks
- Christianity
Notes
- ^ See also Susan Kahn, The Two Truths of Buddhism and The Emptiness of Emptiness
- ^ (simplified Chinese: 中学为体,西学为用; traditional Chinese: 中學為體,西學為用; pinyin: zhōng xué wéi tǐ, xī xué wéi yòng
References
- ^ http://www.acmuller.net/articles/2016-06-tiyong-critical-review.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b Muller 2005.
- ^ Kasulis 2003, p. 29.
- ^ Dumoulin 2005a.
- ^ Muller 1999, p. 4.
- ^ Park 1983, p. 147.
- ^ Park 2009, p. 11.
- ^ Kim 2004, p. 139.
- ^ Kim 2004, pp. 139–144.
- ^ Garfield 2002, p. 91.
- ^ Garfield 2002, p. 38–39.
- ^ Siderits 2003.
- ^ a b Liang-Chieh 1986, p. 9.
- ^ Lai 2003, p. 11.
- ^ Lai 2003, p. 8.
- ^ Lai 2003.
- ^ Tarocco 2008.
- ^ Grosnick 1989.
- ^ Spence 1999, pp. 225–226.
- ^ Muller 1995, pp. 33–48.
- ^ Kim 2004, p. 163.
- ^ Kim 2004, pp. 164–166.
- ^ Muller 1995.
Sources
Printed sources
- Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005a), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 978-0-941532-89-1
- Garfield, Jay (2002), Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-cultural Interpretation, Oxford University Press
- Grosnick, William, H. (1989), "The Categories of T'i, Hsiang, and Yung: Evidence that Paramārtha Composed the Awakening of Faith", Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 12 (1): 65–92, archived from the original on 2014-01-12
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Kasulis, Thomas P. (2003), Ch'an Spirituality. In: Buddhist Spirituality. Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern World; edited by Takeuchi Yoshinori, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
- Kim, Jong-in (2004), Philosophical contexts for Wŏnhyo's interpretation of Buddhism, Jimoondang International
- Lai, Whalen (2003), Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. In Antonio S. Cua (ed.): Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy (PDF), New York: Routledge, archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2014
- Liang-Chieh (1986), The Record of Tung-shan, Translated by William F. Powell, Kuroda Institute
- Muller, A. Charles (1995), "The Key Operative Concepts in Korean Buddhist Syncretic Philosophy: Interpenetration (通達) and Essence-Function (體用) in Wŏnhyo, Chinul and Kihwa", Bulletin of Toyo Gakuen University (3): 33–48, archived from the original on 2009-12-29
- Muller, A. Charles (1999), "Essence-Function and Interpenetration: Early Chinese Origins and Manifestations", Bulletin of Toyo Gakuen University, 7
- Muller, A. Charles (2005), Plumbing Essence and Function: The Culmination of the Great Buddhist-Confucian Debate, archived from the original on 2008-12-21, retrieved 2008-12-20
- Park, Sung-bae (1983), Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment, SUNY Press, ISBN 0-87395-673-7
- Park, Sung-bae (2009), One Korean's approach to Buddhism: the mom/momjit paradigm, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-7697-0
- Siderits, Mark (2003), "On the Soteriological Significance of Emptiness", Contemporary Buddhism, 4 (1): 9–23, S2CID 144783831
- ISBN 0-393-30780-8
- Tarocco, Franceska (2008), "Lost in Translation? The Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun) and its modern readings", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 71 (2): 324–325, hdl:10278/3684313