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ArchitecturalImagesinBuddhistScriptures,
BuddhismTruthandOrientalSpiritWorld
YifengWen
SchoolofArchitectureandUrbanPlanning,GuangzhouUniversity
Guangzhou,510006,China
wenyifeng1968@sina.com
Abstract
andspectacular,anditisnotonlyasimplegardenlike
the Eden, but full of building images, which was
associatedwiththetruthofOrientalreligions.
TheTruthofBuddhismandSpiritualPhenomenology
Ontology is discussion about what is true existence.
Buddhasaidthatallsecularpeoplehaveupsidedown
delusion,andonlyenlightenedBuddhacanliveinreal
kingdom and see innermind being. Buddha believed
that secular people cling to the reality of external
world,butnotrealizethathumanashumankindisjust
a kind of experience way. The authenticity of the
externalmaterialworldisjusttheresultoftheminds
project caused by Karma which makes secular people
fallingintoSamsarainlifeanddeathandnothavinga
rest. Diamond Sutra said: all secular reality and aim
are illusory. In Buddhism, only metaphysical empty
of nirvana can detach from the outside world and
showincredibletranscendentalforce.TheAvatamsaka
Sutrasaid:allthebuddhasinonethoughtcanclearly
show boundless world. The transcendental force of
nirvanacanfreecastallkindsofspiritualworld.
KeyWords
Buddhist Truth; Spirit World; Architectural Image; Spiritual
Phenomenology
Introduction
Architectural humanist Rykwert regarded that Adam
construct building, as named all living beings,
primarily is action imitating Gods creation. Building
constructed by Adam was not for the sake of
withstanding weather, but wrote a book by the
metaphorofhisownbody,isrepresentationofheaven
planning, among which himself is the core. Rykwert
put forward a disputable topic about the Garden of
Edenwherewestillneededbuilding.But,infact,there
is no clear description of the paradise architectures
imagesintheBibleforAdamimitatingastheChristian
heaven,becausetheChristianheavenismainlyakind
of moral metaphor, which ultimately leads westerner
todoabstracttheoryresearchabouttheuniverse.The
Koranalso hadless description about the kingdomof
heaven, and it only mentioned that the heaven is the
paradise near rivers; it partly because that the Islam
originated and mainly prevalent in desert areas, and
also because the Islam is against idolatry, forming a
kind of calmness, melancholy and introspective spirit
which is difficult to form rich imagery kingdom of
heaven. Whereas in the Buddhism and Oriental
spiritual world, the heaven images were numerous
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sciencecanrefertowhatmeaning?
transformmaterialphenomena.Accordingtothistruth,
tendency.Hesaid:inavarietyofconceptstructureit
epistemologicalpriority.Asphenomenonistheobject
projectedbyheartinreligiouspaintingsorarts.
AmitayurdhyanaSutraisthat:towatchthisBuddha,
While
to
deadend.In1953inOnPsychologicalThingheflatly
anextremelyemptyabstractandconfirmedthatthe
EveryleafdecoratedbybillionsofManibeadcovering
statementsaboutworldtothatofdirectexperience,i.e.
withfourpillarasbillionsofSumeruMountain,allthis
likeSuyamaPalacewithpreciouscurtain.Theimages
Buddhismsacredlandofheavenlikethis,asshownin
phenomenologyisstillactuallyimpossible.
Between
paradigm
Quinn
of
went
phenomenology
further
according
Compared
to
the
Husserls
phenomenologywhichhadtoomanyproblemstodeal
with, the above Buddhist scriptures is a kind of
absolutespiritualphenomenology.
especiallyinBuddhism,theobjectivitybethoughtas
being constructed. For example, in Buddhisms view,
everybody see it is raining, but there is not a rain
ontological being, and rain is just produced by
similar karma of the most people. The word
similarisimportantandmustbepaidattention.Itis
just similar, and there is no objective thing with
absoluteidentityforeveryone.Buddhismbelievesthat
whenweseethematerialworldastheultimatereality,
FIG.1BUDHISMIMAGESSHOWEDINDUNHUANFRESCOES
TheIdealofTaoismandRelatedArtImages
ComparedwithBuddhism,Taoismheavenworldpay
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InternationalJournalofPhilosophyStudy(IJPS)Volume1Issue2,July2013 www.seipub.org/ijps
intheEastChinaSeathatlikeadreamlandofmirage
variousfairylands.
FIG.2CHINESESCHOLARSLANDSCAPEPAINTINGS
scholarslandscapepaintingsclearlyreflectthisfeeling
ofpassionforbeautifulscenery.InMingdynastymyth
ProvinceinChinaisaflowerofChineseancientmural
novelJourneytotheWestgaveverycleardepiction
masterpieceinChinesepaintings,alsoisrareprojectin
thewallofseveralbuildingsofthetemple,asshownin
OriginGod,asshowninFig.3.Thepicturebeing4.26
jadelikeelephantsbeingfreelyactionandrest,looking
squaremeters,depictsTaoistOrdinationRankswhich
wascompletedindueforminearlyTangdynasty.
character;thefairylandisjusttheproduceofTaoisms
FIG.3PILGRIMAGETOTHEORIGINGOD
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FIG.4IMMORTAL
humanexistinthetworealms:thisworldandbeyond
FIG.5ENLIGHTENINGLUDONGBIN
beyondthespeedoflight,whichmeansthatweentera
realm with infinite dimension for spirit. The truth of
Buddhism and ideal of Taoism is to enlighten human
to give up and from clinging to the external world of
ordinary experience, turning to pursuit the inner
transcendentalexistence.Thetranscendentalemptyof
nirvana is inconceivable infinite, even the Buddha
refusedtomakeanyconcreteanswerforwhataboutit.
Why the Buddha said human have an upsidedown
illusion, also because the transcendental nirvana as
well as its corresponding truth which is vastly
differentwithsocalledeverydaycommonknowledge.
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in
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highest
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WillardVanOrmanQuine.FromaLogicalPointofView.
HarvardUniversityPress,1980.
Yifeng Wen. The Fundamental Conception and Theory of
InternationalJournalofPhilosophyStudy(IJPS)Volume1Issue2,July2013 www.seipub.org/ijps
7178(2011):47014709.
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