THESIS
2016
xxi, 290 pages : illustrations ; 30 cm
Abstract
This thesis aims at developing a theory which is able to clarify the meanings of Broad Sense
Catuskoti and Nagarjuna's Catuskoti in Chinese Buddhism. This theory is called the Theory of
Broad Sense Catuskoti.
Broad Sense Catuskoti refers to the sentences in Buddhist texts which express the following
four kinds of positions: (i) in a sense affirms P; (ii) in a sense affirms Q; (iii) in a sense affirms P,
and in the same/different sense affirms Q; (iv) in a sense negates P, and in the same/different sense
negates Q (while P and Q are seemingly conflicting with each other.)
The groundwork of the Theory of Broad Sense Catuskoti are the Two Truths and the Four
Siddhanta (四悉檀). Chapter One and Chapter Five are the introduction and the conclusion of this research respectively. In Chapt...[
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This thesis aims at developing a theory which is able to clarify the meanings of Broad Sense
Catuskoti and Nagarjuna's Catuskoti in Chinese Buddhism. This theory is called the Theory of
Broad Sense Catuskoti.
Broad Sense Catuskoti refers to the sentences in Buddhist texts which express the following
four kinds of positions: (i) in a sense affirms P; (ii) in a sense affirms Q; (iii) in a sense affirms P,
and in the same/different sense affirms Q; (iv) in a sense negates P, and in the same/different sense
negates Q (while P and Q are seemingly conflicting with each other.)
The groundwork of the Theory of Broad Sense Catuskoti are the Two Truths and the Four
Siddhanta (四悉檀). Chapter One and Chapter Five are the introduction and the conclusion of this research respectively. In Chapter Two, the meanings of the Two Truths and the Middle Way will be
clarified. The focal points of this chapter are the explanation of the Middle Way by The school of
Early Madhyamika and the Method of the One Form (一相法門) in Sarvadharmāpravṛttinirdeśa
(《諸法無行經》). In Chapter Three, the concept of the Four Siddhanta and six interpretations of
the Broad Sense Catuskoti will be introduced. The Method of the One Form is the foundation of the
two interpretations of the third sentence in Broad Sense Catuskoti, while Early Madhyamika’s
explanation of the Middle Way is the foundation of the four interpretations of the fourth sentence in
Broad Sense Catuskoti. In Chapter four, different theories of the interpretations of Nagarjuna's
Catuskoti developed by different scholars will be discussed and evaluated.
The Theory of Broad Sense Catuskoti emphasizes the importance of context. Based on the
Four Siddhanta, we must always take relevant context into consideration so that a suitable way of
interpretation will be chosen in order to explain a specific instance of the Broad Sense Catuskoti.
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