본문 바로가기
  • Home

Norms for Monastic Life in Ancient China: Discourses on the Precept against Meat-Eating during the Liang Dynasty

  • 불교학리뷰
  • Abbr : Critical Review for Buddhist Studies
  • 2023, (33), pp.121-148
  • Publisher : Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Buddhist Studies
  • Published : April 30, 2023

ZHANG WENLIANG 1

1中国人民大学

Irregular Papers

ABSTRACT

The origin of the Chinese monastic’s precept of abstaining from meat is usually thought to be the Duan jiurou wen, proclaimed by Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty(梁武帝). The establishment of this precept was, however, not a one-time deal but the result of fierce debate between monastic and secular groups. The point of controversy was how to reconcile conflicts between the precepts of Sectarian Buddhism--which allowed monks to eat meat--and precepts in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra--which prohibited it. Emperor Wu’s decree to abstain from meat was ultimately adopted, but that was not solely from precepts in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra banning consumption of meat; it was also based on the Confucian concept of abstaining from killing (愼殺) and protecting life (護生), as well as a long-standing reverence and preference for vegetarianism by Chineseintellectuals.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.