The Influence of An Shigao on Mindfulness Breathing Meditation in Eastern Han China : หน้า 121/141

In this paper I explore the connections between An Shigao and the introduction of the Indian Buddhist meditation technique of mindfulness breathing meditation, or ānāpānasmṛti, into Eastern Han China. I will argue that the phrase「息中具有四大。 而心在中」can be interpreted as: “the mind should be located at the centre of the body while breathing (in and out).” Although the precise position of the centre of the body is not clear in this text, teachings from Chinese Daoism and from Thai Theravada Buddhism can provide insight into the ānāpānasmṛti meditation techniques that An Shigao introduced into China during the Eastern Han. Traditional sources state that An Shigao安世高 (147~ 168 CE) was born as a prince of Parthia, and travelled to Luoyang the capital city of Eastern Han Dynasty 東漢 (25–220 CE) during 148 CE. He lived in China for many years, preaching, teaching and translating Buddhist texts dealing with meditation, Abhidharma and basic Buddhist doctrine into Chinese. According to the Chu sanzang ji ji 出三藏記集 (hereafter CSZJ) compiled by Sengyou 僧祐 (445–518 AD) An Shigao was not only particularly proficient in the Abhidharma but he was also able to recite the meditation sutras by heart and thoroughly mastered the true essence of these works. ------------------------ 7 Erik Zürcher, The Buddhist conquest of China: the spread and adaptation of Buddhism in early medieval China. (Leiden: BRILL, 2007) 32. 8 Lua Yin (2003) points out the Abhidharma texts which were translated by An Shigao belonging to Sarvāstivādin School and the meditation text closely related to breathing meditation; see 羅圓, “安世高禪思想的研究——兼論漢未道教在生物禪法之影響”, 台大中文學報 n.19 (December 1, 2003): 19. 9 The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database Committee, “出三藏記集 (No. 2145 僧祐)” in Vol. 55,” Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō (大正新脩大藏經), March 17, 1998, line T2145_55.0095a07, http://21dzkl.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT/ddb-sat2.php?mode=detail&useid=2145_55,0094c23&key=%E5%AE%89%E4%B8%96%E9%AB%98%E5%82%B3&ktn=&mode2=2. 10 J. Miyajima, “The Formation and Development of Chinese Buddhist Literature,” Institute for Cultural Interaction Studies, Kansai University 1, The International Academic Forum for the Next Generation Series (March 31, 2010): 127. ------------------------ 12 中雲華，“中國早期禪法的流傳和特點--慧皎、道宜所著『習禪篇』研究,” 中華學術研究所 7 (September 1984): 67.