轉輪王觀念與中國中古的佛教政治

The Concept of Cakravartirājan and its Influence on Medieval Chinese Kingship

本文主要探討在「法輪東轉」之後，中國的君主是如何來利用、擷取佛教的資源。文中特別以轉輪王觀念的演變為例，說明原先轉輪王觀念中、「一佛一轉輪王」的模式在傳入中國之後，由於傳統政治思想與大乘佛教的影響，逐漸轉變成「轉輪王即佛」的模式。武則天即為最善於利用佛教資源，並將「轉輪王即佛」的觀念具體落實的第一個君主。

Cakravartirājan is the title given to the ancient India's legendary sage kings, a concept later adapted by Buddhists. After Buddhism's successful conquest of China during the medieval period, Chinese rulers unhesitatedly utilized Buddhism as a resource for claiming legitimacy. The concept of Cakravartirājan was one of their major appeals to this end. By analyzing the transformation of the original Indian model of ''one Budda-one Cakravartirājan'' into the Chinese model of ''Cakravartirājan is Budda himself', this essay provides a case study for the understanding of the ''sinicization'' of Buddhism in medieval China.