慧 境 神 遊

Journey to Different Levels Of Wisdom -

From Chinese Religions/Philosophies to Christian Faith 基督信仰與儒釋道境界 Prof. Thomas Leung 梁燕城教授

生活境界 Horizon of everyday life

Ordinary people is just living , working ,but also suffering ageing and dieing.What then is the meaning of life.

生存、工作、追求成功、 痛苦、衰老、死亡、 問為何有這一切？ 為何有人生？

The horizon of emptiness In reflecting the meaning ,the first enlightenment is that everthing is changing ,all things are in the state of impermanence .

This is the heart of Buddhism :The recognition of the horizon of emptiness

無常，空的境界 Horizon of Emptiness

覺悟生滅變化，緣起性空，破除執著

生活境界 Horizon of everyday life

The Dao(Tao)

The second enlightenment: From emptiness to the awareness of the dao.

All things are not only changing ,but there are unchangeable ways to direct the developing.

There should have an ontological Way to arrange the development of everything.This is call the Dao.

規律，道的境界

Horizon of The Dao 萬有循道各路而發展，宇宙有奇異設計 有一偉大的道，架構變化中的不變規律

空的境界 Emptiness 生活境界 Everyday life

human goodness The third enlightenment: From awareness of the Dao to pursuit of human goodness . The nature and its ontological foundation : Heaven .Heaven is the source of goodnes and creativity This is the central idea of Confucianism.

生生不息，天的境界 Horizon of Creativity

創造性力量，貫串在人性與宇宙當中

道的境界 Dao 空的境界 Emptiness 生活境界 Everyday life

Great God of the highest Heaven The fourth enlightenment: If Heaven is the origin of human compassion and goodness , then Heaven must has personal feeling and compassion . In ancient time , it is call the great God of the highest Heaven( 皇天上帝 ).

有情天，皇天上帝境界

Horizon of a Personal God 宇宙中的人具情格，其來源亦應具親情， 為有位格的真理。 天的境界 Creativity 道的境界 Dao 空的境界 Emptiness 生活境界 Everyday life

人 的 上 溯

上帝 Real God

There is a gap between the God of philosophy and the God in reality . Is it possible that this personal God can reveal Himself and bridges the gap?

皇天上帝境界 Personal God 天的境界 Creativity 道的境界 Dao 空的境界 Emptiness 生活境界 Everyday life 人 思 考 與 修 為 盡 頭

A revealed God

The fifth enlightenment: human being encounters a God who directly revealed and communicated to human being. A compassionate God who acts in human history.

Through the incarnation and salvation of Jesus Christ , an I-Thou relationship between God and human being can be estublished.

人

上帝 Real God

真神的啟示 REVELATION 皇矣上帝境界 Personal God 天 的境界 Creativity 道的境界 Dao 空的境界 Emptiness 生活境界 Everyday life

God of Trinity

救贖 Salvation 皇矣上帝境界 Personal God 天的境界 Creativity 道的境界 Dao 空的境界 Emptiness 生活境界 Everyday life

上 帝 從 道 創 造 世 界

神靈超級市場

中國民間信仰的來龍去脈

S

upermarket of the gods

Understanding of the Chinese Folk religions

根源篇

The Roots

天壇 Altar of Heaven

皇 天 上 帝 天 壇 內 景

求 民 之 莫 監 觀 四 方 臨 下 有 赫 皇 矣 上 帝 詩 經 皇 矣 篇

How great is our God (Lord in the highest) He looks down from Heaven with glory He watches over the four corners of the world And pursues good fortune for the people

昭 事 上 帝 小 心 翼 翼 維 此 文 王 詩 經 周 頌 文 王 篇

Only the great Emperor Wen As careful as possible To serve the Highest Lord

不 敢 不 正 予 畏 上 帝 夏 氏 有 罪 書 經 湯 誓

King Tang spoke to his army : The family of Emperor Xia committed to sin .I am the one who fear God ,so that I must raise an army to revolt against them.

祖先崇拜 The Rites of Paying Respect to 祖先是配上帝而祭 the Ancestors 禮記 萬物本乎天 heaven All things originate from the 人本乎祖 Humanity originated from the ancestor 所以配上帝也 It has to be respected together with God 郊之祭，報本反始也 The rites of Jiao （ worshiping God ）， is for returning to the origin 。

論語 孔子：「 未能事人，焉能事鬼 」 曾子：「 慎終追遠，民德歸厚矣 」 Confucius says ， “If I can not serve man better ， how can I serve the ghosts 。 Zeng Zi says “ （ Respecting the ancestor ） is for caring on the matter of the death and the past 。 It is to help cultivate the human moral consciousness 。

西溪叢話： 行香於經書無載， 起於胡人習俗 Burning incense is not from Chinese tradition ， it is imported by the north western Buddhist tribes during the time they invaded and hence stated in China after 316 AD.

。

印度有「中陰身」 吃香之鬼物 (Antara-bhava) 之 說， 為 後佛教以人死後變成中有狀態，即中陰身， 留在地上四十九天，第七天回魂，故以香 祀之。 The Indian Buddhist believes that the ghost (Antara-bhava) need to eat incense and stay 49 days on earth.

秦始王自稱皇帝，統治者成爲 皇天上帝。 人民卻失去上帝和永生的盼望。 The Emperor Zhing proclaimed himself as God (Lord in the highest) ,then the concept of God was identified with the ruler.Chinese people hense lose the understanding of God.

道教起源 Origin of Daoism, the Immortals and the quest for eternal life

Heavenly teacher Zhang Dao Ling

道教起源 The Three Highly Pure Immortals

supernatural administration 北  天界 

Heaven

西 南  被封神仙的人 

Immortals

 自然現象諸神靈

gods of nature

東

西 west Heaven 南 south 北 north west 東 east

The Greatest Jade Emperor

Southern Old Immortal

西 Western Mother Eastern Father 北 東 南

北

General Rain Uncle Wind

 天界

 天界 Lady Lightening Uncle Thundering

被封神仙的人 Human Immortals

道教神靈行政圖 1.2

 被封神仙的人 Appointed humans as immortals

Supernatural administration 2  地界

earth

 河海界 Sea and river  冥界

Under World

地界 gods of earth Goddess of the toilet (not washroom) god of the stove, god of the moat, god of the earth, god of the mountain

three gods of the heaven , earth and water god of heaven

god of money

The black and white demons of death

god of local land god of local mountain

God of the local land

lady of the toilet (not washroom) gentleman of the stove

 河海界 gods of sea and river

 冥界 gods of under world

The demons of death (the bull head and the horse face demons)

民間佛教

Local Buddhism

The life of Buddha :Myth or Fact?

One of the first biographies was the Buddhacarita which is written in second century A.D. ,seven hundred years after the historical Buddha .

The first buddhist text was written in 8 B.C. , five hundred years after the Buddha.

There are four councils for gathering the word of the Buddha , but is only setting up an oral tradition .From the perspective of scholarly research , all the Buddhist texts presents myth rather than fact.

佛陀生平

Life of Buddha

Written in second century A. D.

When born ,he stood up and walked seven steps said “I am the only one who is the best in all heavens as well as on the earth .”

By profound understanding of suffering ,Gotama left home and searched for way of liberation .At the age of 35 , he attained enlightenment.

He promoted his teaching everywhere .At the age of 80 , he died of stomach disease

佛像的起源 The origin of Buddha statues In 120A.D. Kushan king Kaniska control northern India , started to build the Buddha statues.

They invented the Buddha’s image from the descriptions of the buddhist texts .

菩薩的起源 The origin of Bodhisattva   菩提薩多 Bodhisattva means the one who searches for enlightenment   原意 : 覺有情 原是指佛的前生 種不同的菩薩 , 大乘佛教創造各  The Jataka created more than 500 stories of Buddha’s precious life for the integration of other Hindu gods ,hence describes this pre-exist states as the half Buddha ,that is Bodhisattva

觀音菩薩 (Guanyin)  梵名 Avalokiteśvara 原 意是觀自在 , 來自印度 教的慈悲神 Aysin, 加 上自在神 Iśvara, 兩神 結論合而被佛教創造 出來  It is a combination of two Hindu gods : Aysin and Iśvara.

印 度 的 男 性 千 手 觀 音 中 國 變 成 性 女 性 觀 音

佛教宇宙觀

Buddhist cosmology

Three realms and 28 mortal heavens 無色界 色界 欲界 共 二 十 八 天

The four heavenly kings 四大天王長常各執一物， 譬 喻「風、調、雨、 順」 。 蓋，比 刀劍比 喻為 「風」；手彈琵琶，有 「調」順之義；手握傘 喻為「雨」；手 擒龍者， 喻為「順」。 東方持國天王。 西方廣目天王。 南方增長天王。 北方多聞天王 。

佛教宇宙觀 1 The ruling god of the land

Maitreya 佛教宇宙觀 1 共 二 十 八 天

Reincarnation

The under world Kshitigarbha

The under world 2

Buddha and his disciples

三世佛Three Buddhas in time and space

燃燈佛 豎 三 世 阿彌陀佛 釋迦佛 藥師佛 ( 橫三世 ) 彌勒佛

四方佛 Buddhas of the four corners 彌勒佛 阿彌陀佛 釋迦佛 藥師佛

彌勒佛 Maitreya 阿彌陀佛 Amitabha 藥師佛 釋迦佛 Manla

滿 天 神 佛

Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism Mantra : A secret magical spell that can gain power and merit through communication to certain Buddhas , Boddhisattvas or spiritual beings .

Tantra: A secret and mystical branch of Buddhism which practiced mantra and inflenced Tibetan Buddhism.

The cosmic supreme Buddha (Mahavairocana ) taught Nagarjuna the secret knowledge of mantra.

The tantra Buddhism spread to Tibet in eighth century by Padma-sambhave.

Tsong Khapa (1357 —1419) reformed Buddhism and created the Gelugpa school ( the yellow sect ).

滿 Dalai Lama : The first one in history was the disciple of Tsong khapa and being proclaimed as the one who shall reincarnate after dead . The third reincarnated body was called by the Mongol khan as Dalai , which means ocean of wisdom , and Lama means superior monk . The khan gave Dalai political power to rule eastern Tibet . 天 佛 神

a i r o c a n a

Dalai and Pan-chen The fifth Dalai was called living Buddha ,then came the tradition of reincarnation of the living Buddha.

Pan-chen Lama was the other disciple of Tsong Khana . Pan-chen means great wisdom , he gained political power to rule western Tibet latter .

Chan (Zen) Buddhism Chan is a translation of the Sanskrit dhyana which means meditation. It changed its character in China ,chan is neither sitting meditation nor concentration ,but direct enlightenment of the mind-heart .

Bodhidharma (460 —534 ) brought Chan Buddhism to China .

Shen hsiu’s verse The body is the tree of perfect wisdom.

The mind is the stand of a bright mirror.

At all times diligently wipe it .

Do not allow it to become dusty.

Hui neng’s verse : Perfect wisdom is not a tree.

Nor has the bright mirror any stand.

Fundamentally it is nothing there .

Where the dust can lay on .

超越性格 創造的內在天理 神 天 數 道 空 三位一體真神 救恩 神的永能和神性 諸天