From Emptiness to Interconnectedness: Identity and Dependence in Chinese Buddhism

Abstract

ABSTRACT “Everything is interconnected” is a central theme of Chinese Buddhism. This article examines how four prominent Chinese Buddhist schools—Tiantai 天台, Sanlun 三論, Huayan 華嚴, and Chan 禪—engaged with interconnectedness during the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581–907 CE ), the golden age of Chinese Buddhism. While Tiantai, Sanlun, and Huayan developed distinctive theses of interconnectedness by advancing beyond the Indian Buddhist doctrine of emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā ), which denies that objects have intrinsic nature (Sanskrit: svabhāva ), their insights were echoed and integrated in practice‐oriented Chan Buddhism. This article analyzes this historical development through two lenses: first, by tracing the evolution of interconnectedness in Chinese Buddhism, it reveals how Chinese Buddhists developed distinctive views that further the Indian doctrine of emptiness; second, by showing how contemporary concepts of identity and dependence can elucidate historical Chinese Buddhist theses while revealing alternative perspectives to contemporary views, it demonstrates how Chinese Buddhism and contemporary metaphysics can be mutually enriching.

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