Concept
Kuiji
Overview
Kuiji (窺基; Kuījī; 632–682), also known as Ji (Chinese: 基), an exponent of Yogācāra, was a Chinese monk and a prominent disciple of Xuanzang. His posthumous name was Ci'en Dashi (慈恩大師; 'Master Ci'en'), the Great Teacher of Cien Monastery, after the Daci'en Temple or Great Monastery of Compassionate Grace, which was located in Chang'an, the main capital of the Tang Dynasty. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was built in Daci'en Temple in 652. According to biographies, he was sent to the imperial translation bureau headed by Xuanzang, from whom he later would learn Sanskrit, Abhidharma, and Yogācāra.
Kuiji collaborated closely with Xuanzang on the Cheng weishi lun, a redacted translation of commentaries on Vasubandhu's Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā. Kuiji's commentaries on the former text, the Cheng weishi lun shuji, along with his original treatise on Yogācāra, the Dasheng Fayuan yilin chang (大乘法苑義林章; "Essays on the Forest of Meanings in the Mahāyāna Dharma Garden") became foundations of the Faxiang School, the dominant school of Yogācāra thought in East Asia. He is accordingly considered the founder of this school which differed notably from Paramārtha's earlier Chinese Yogācāra system. Kuiji is also known for his commentaries on Dharmapāla's Yogācāra philosophy.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
Seven or eight li to the west of the city there is what is called the King's new monastery, the building of which took eighty years, and extended over three reigns. It may be two hundred and fifty cubits in height, rich in elegant carving and inlaid work, covered above with gold and silver, and finished throughout with a combination of all the precious substances.
Confucius, Chinese literature
States what Kuiji is.
The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure. 2. Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that…
Laozi, The Tao Teh King
States what Kuiji is.
The destruction of feudalism, it must be confessed, had to be repeated by many subsequent rulers; for a long time, feudalism tended to grow up again whenever the Central Government was in weak hands. But Shih Huang Ti was the first ruler who made his authority really effective over all China in historical times. Although his dynasty came to an end with his son, the impression he made is shown by the fact that our…
Bertrand Russell, The Problem of China
Close in meaning to Kuiji; the term itself is not named.
Philosophers who discussed Kuiji
Related ideas
- Two truths doctrine
- Xuanzang
- Abhidharma
- Sanskrit
- Dharmapala of Nalanda
- Yogachara
- East Asian Yogācāra
- Lotus Sutra
- Vasubandhu
- Buddhism
- China
- Cheng Weishi Lun
- Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā
Place in the tradition
Part of Idealism.