The logic of nonduality and absolute affirmation: Deconstructing Tendai hongaku writings

Abstract

Tendai hongaku thought has come under scrutiny and severe criticism recently on two counts，one ontological and the other socio-ethical.The ontological critique maintains that hongaku thought espouses substantialistic notions inconsistent with the teaching of early Buddhism.This article examines passages from hongaku writings and offers a reading that takes into account enlightenment practice in the Tendai tradition as the context within which these texts were written and used.Noting the role of "deconstructive disclaimersn imbedded in the text, it suggests a way of reading that can allow the contents to avoid the pitfall of substantialism.H ongaku shiso 本覚思想； or the doctrine of originary enlightenm ent,1 is a thought-movement that took shape within Japanese Tendai Buddhism and exerted a profound influence in the wider circle of Japanese thought, culture, and society.Its essential proposition is that no distinction exists between the phenomenal and the absolute, that is, between samsara and nirvana [shoji soku nehan 生死即淫紫]， delusive passions and enlightenment [bound soku bodai 煩悩即菩提]， and ordi nary beings and Buddha [bon soku sho 凡艮P聖]).Hongaku th o u g h t has been the subject of a recent controversy, sparked by claims from reputable scholars that it is "not Buddhist" (Hakamaya 1989 and 1991; M a ts u m o to 1989，1993; see Swanson 1989b see Swanson , 1993)).These critics assert that hongaku shiso is a heterodox set