Since the late Ming Dynasty, Christian thought not only has become
one of the most important trends among Chinese intellectuals, it has also
constituted a significant part of East-West cultural exchange in the early
modern era. During the history of Christian missions to China in the late
Ming and early Qing, Catholic missionaries ─ most notably several
Jesuits ─ made significant contributions. In order to show that the Word
of God and Chinese culture correspond to each other, Western missionaries
and Chinese converts undertook meaningful and creative and investigations,
leaving valuable experiences and lessons in the history of Christian
missions.
One idea in particular emerged from the dialogue, following a series of
debates surrounding the Christian view of "Perfect Love and
Righteousness". This view is one of the most core theological attributes of
God, and can be contrasted with the Buddhist understanding of the
"Immense Mercy of Buddha" an ideal central to the Buddhist
interpretation. The dialogue during this period revealed fundamental
distinctions on the nature of "love", shedding light on the characteristic
nature of Christian and Buddhist thought. Of particular note, during
apologetic dialogues on love, both belief systems recognized the existence
of hell, though they each offered a very different explanation of hell, and
this discussion became persistently central to the debate.
During the dialogues on the issue of love, what kinds of questions
were debated, and what were the viewpoints of each side of the dialogue?
The agenda of this paper is to discuss the dialogic encounter in the late
Ming and early Qing Dynasties, between Christian and Buddhist
interpretations of the absolute ideal of love, with a primary aim of
answering the questions as follows: A philosophical question sprang from
the debate on love: in particular, the Christian doctrine of the absolute,
generic distinction between a Creator God, created human beings, and
other cosmic phenomena in contrast, the Buddhist idealistic doctrine holds
that one and the same substance underlies all cosmic phenomena, that is
to say, all things are of one and the same substance.
Though the two theories maintain such a sharp and fundamental
contrast, both were able to recognize and cultivate a Confucian key
concept, "Benevolent Love". This common sphere became a forum in
which the two sides could communicate, and they continued with a series
of meaningful discussions during the decades mainly between two
individuals: Matteo Ricci(1552-1610), the prominent missionary, and
Purenjie(1628-1682), the literati Buddhist monk.
This paper shall examine their method of dialogue, arguing that these
encounters were notable for their comparative equanimity, and asserting
that they were unique in their time and ours, especially in the
cultural-religious arena. This exchange between a so called "God-founded
religion" and a "humanistic religion" remains unique in the history of
East-West cultural exchange.
This Christian-Buddhist dialogue left a wealth of original Chinese-written
prints and manuscripts that were missional, anti-Christian, and apologetic
in nature. Based on an exposition of these prints and manuscripts, this
paper presentsa concise analysis of the theoretical instance of
Christian-Buddhist dialogue on the traditional understanding of love during
China’s late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. In the first chapter entitled
"The Perfect Love and Righteousness of God", this paper focuses on the
central theological arguments regarding the nature of theistic love offered
in Chinese mode by Christian dialogists. In the second chapter, "All
Results from Self Deeds or All Blessings and Misfortunes from God", the
discussion focuses on the second half of Chapter One, which explains the
Christian defense against Buddhism’s criticism on the issue of "The
Righteousness of God". In the third and final chapter, "Immense Mercy or
Love without hurting Righteousness", this paper centers on the problems in
the Buddhist doctrine of "Breaking Hell". In this final chapter, the
discussion focuses on the first half of Chapter One, examining the essence
of love as it is understood in the two religions.
This paper will explore how the dialogic encounter of the two different
belief systems has established a common sphere in which each side may
engage the other in their most fundamental aspects, despite the
fundamental and acute conflicts in world view. It is hoped that this paper
will illuminate the historical, theological and philosophical backgrounds of
both sides, and contribute to the ongoing Christian-Buddhist dialogue in
China and other parts of the world, which may yield useful insights as to
how inter-religious dialogue of our time can be furthered.