“Two truths are the teachings” is a simple but certainly fundamental
proposition that implies the essential meanings of the two truths in the Sanlun
School. To date, it was common that the two truths of the Sanlun School was
defined as the Yuejiao-erdi(約敎二諦), especially in the Japanese academic
world. Also, various Sanlun School’s teachings has been interpreted on the
premise of the definition.
However, there are serious problems in the Yuejiao-erdi Theory(約敎二諦說)
in itself. First, it limits the meanings of the two truths of the Sanlun School to
the linguistic teachings. Moreover, it helps create the misconception that the
two truths of the Sanlun School contradict the Yueli-erdi Theory(約理二諦說)
and the Yuejing-erdi Theory(約境二諦說).
What is the basis of the Yuejiao-erdi Theory(約敎二諦說) that defined the
two truths of the Sanlun School as the linguistic teachings and limited those
teachings to the pure linguistic concepts as opposed to the objective realms or
the reality? The theory seems influenced by Dachengxuanlun which was
certainly not a Jizang’s work but has been regarded as the most representative
work of his late years. This paper, therefore, will examine how Erdiyi,
Dachengxuanlun Vol. 1 influenced on the Yuejiao-erdi Theory(約敎二諦說) and
what the problems are. In addition, I will search for the central meanings of
the two truths as the teachings(二諦敎門). Consequently, I would like to raise a question about the general interpretation that didn’t differentiate the “Two truths
are the teachings” from the Yuejiao-erdi Theory(約敎二諦說).