唐宋佛教居士形象的兩個人物——王維與蘇軾

Wang Wei and Su Shi: Two Images of Lay Buddhism in the Tang and Song Dynasties

In the history of the development of Chinese Buddhism, the concept of the Mahayana lay Buddhist first emerged in the Chinese translation of the Vimalakīrti nirdeśa. Based on materials pertaining to lay Buddhism, this article highlights the influence of the Vimalakīrti nirdeśa on Chinese literati. In this paper, Buddhist texts are roughly categorized into two types of lay Buddhism, “seven treasures” and “ten virtues,” taking Wang Wei and Su Shi as models respectively.
Literati were the most prominent lay Buddhists in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Wang Wei and Su Shi were familiar with Buddhist literature and proficient in meditation, expressing their realizations in the format of literature as lay scholars. Wang Wei, who gave himself the courtesy name Weimojie (Vimalakīrti), unifies the “seven wealth” and “ten virtues” models of cultivation. His style clearly falls between the Northern and Southern Chan schools at the junction with his pure Chan.
By contrast, Su Shi with his inherent wisdom, mixes the styles of Yunmen and Linji, manifesting a pure ordinary mind in his daily life. These are two models of the image of laymen among Chinese literati.