The article deals with the analysis of anthropological concepts of one of the main schools of religious Taoism – Quanzhen / Longmen – in the aspect of identifying and considering the Buddhist elements of late Taoist anthropology. The main source for the analysis was the text of the 17th century Lun men xin fa (“The Law of the Heart-Consciousness [according to the Tradition] Longmen”), which outlined the views of Wang Changyue, master of the Taoist school Quanzhen / Longmen. The article examines the Buddhist elements of the late Taoist somatology and psychology: the concept of the heart-consciousness (xin), the concept of “vitality of wisdom” (hui ming), the doctrine of the “true spirit” (zhen ling, yuan shen). The central concept of the text – heart-consciousness – is interpreted by Wang Changyue to a large extent in a Buddhist way. Such concepts as the material body (se shen) and the Body of the Law (fa shen) are discussed in the text in the spirit of late Buddhist Mahayana psychology. The article also examines the doctrine of the “true spirit” (zhen ling), which is interpreted largely in a Sino-Buddhist vein. In conclusion, a criticism of the literalist interpretation of the concept of the “embryo of immortality” (xian tai, sheng tai), or “child” (ying'er), which was popular among followers of Taoism, especially adherents of internal alchemy, is considered. The article includes fragments of Long men xin fa, first translated in Russian, illustrating Buddhist influences on late Taoist psychology and somatology.
Keywords: Taoism, Buddhism, Quanzhen, Longmen, Long men xin fa, anthropology, psychology, somatology, the Body of the Law / Dharma (fa shen), vitality-longevity (shou ming), vitality of wisdom (hui ming), true spirit (zhen ling)
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2021.2.44-55
About the author
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Pavel D. Lenkov – PhD (History), assistant professor at the Department of the History of Religions and Theology at Faculty of History and Social Sciences, |