We warmly welcome Lin Wushi, an exchange PhD student from the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts! His research interests include the history of Buddhist thought, with particular emphasis on Chinese Buddhism and Chan Buddhism. His doctoral thesis, titled “Comprehending Everything as Oneself: The No-Self Doctrine of Zibo Zhenke in Ming Dynasty Buddhism,” investigates the significance, characteristics, evolution, and hermeneutics of the “no-self” doctrine in late Ming Dynasty Buddhism, focusing on the influential monk Zibo Zhenke (紫柏真可, 1543-1604).
Given most of researches on the “no-self” (Skt. anātman; Ch. wuwo 無我) doctrine in Buddhism have predominantly focused on the Indian context, often overlooking its significant and intriguing variations within Chinese Buddhist history, I will demonstrate that the Chinese interpretation of “no-self” departs significantly from the primarily ontological emphasis of Indian Buddhism, exhibiting instead an epistemological orientation. For instance, Zibo presents “no-self” as a cognitive model of non-duality between subject and object, contrasting with the standard Indian Buddhist definition as the denial of an unchanging, eternal self. I will also further discuss how Zibo’s interpretation of “no-self” serves as a deliberate response to intellectual issues of the late Ming Dynasty, such as Yangmingism (陽明學) and the relationships among the three teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism).
Academic Education
- 2025-Present, PhD candidate, Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University (Gent, Belgium)
- 2018-present, PhD candidate, Department of Buddhist Studies, Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts (New Taipei City, Taiwan)
- 2012-2018, M.A., Department of Buddhist Studies, Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts (New Taipei City, Taiwan.)
M.A. Thesis: “The Development and Performativity of Doctrine of the Insentient Beings according to the Chan School: From the Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Laṅkāvatāra to the Blue-Cliff Records” - 2008-2012, B.A., Department of Buddhist Studies, Dharma Drum Buddhist College (New Taipei City, Taiwan.)
Recent Publications
- 2022 “Drinking Water from Waves: Essentialism in Zibo Zhenke’s Perspective on the Relationship between Chan and Doctrine,” Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies, no. 31, THCI Core.
- 2021 “Flowers as Spring or Gold Dust as Film in the Eyes? – Zibo Zhenke’s View on the Relationship between Chan and Doctrine and Its Problems on Anti-intellectualism,” Taiwan Journal of Buddhist Studies, no. 42, THCI Core.
- 2020 “Who does Preach the Dharma Preached by Insentient Beings? The Roles of Author, Narrator, Reader and Understanding Mechanism in the Texts about the Doctrine of Insentient Beings according to Chan School,” Chinese studies, no.38(3), THCI Core.