The Role of the Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith in the Development of Xiong Shili's Ti-yong Metaphysics

Abstract

Xiong Shili's 熊十力 (1885-1968) metaphysics, or onto-cosmology, is centred on the concepts of Reality (ti 體) and Function (yong 用) - a key conceptual polarity in traditional Chinese philosophy. This chapter examines how the sixth-century Sinitic Buddhist text, Dasheng qixin lun 大乘起信論 (Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith), shaped Xiong's thinking in the formative process of his ti-yong philosophical system. It argues that Xiong built his philosophical system largely on the treatise’s model of "one mind, two gateways" (yixin ermen 一心二門). This clarification enables us to gain a clearer understanding of Xiong's ti-yong metaphysics. Show more