The Fusion of Buddhism and Taoism in Master Mou's Treatise Settling Doubts

Abstract

Mouzi's Treatise on Dispelling Doubts is a document that reflects the interaction and fusion of Buddhist thoughts from India and Chinese native thought. Even if its author and chronology are all questioned by some scholars, it is the works of the Chinese people in the initial stage of Buddhism's entry into China are still very clear, so they have always been widely valued. It is worth noting that there are at least 18 occurrences of "Laozi said (老子曰 / 老子云)", or justified his viewpoints with Laozi's propositions in the text of Mouzi. Based on these clues, this article sorts out the acceptance and interpretation of Laozi and Buddhist thought in Mouzi's Treatise on Dispelling Doubts, so as to make prominent the efforts of the text of Mouzi to try to communicate the Chinese thought and the foreign Buddhist thought, and it also reflects that in the initial stage of Buddhism's entry into China, what were the base of Chinese intellectuals to accept the foreign beliefs and cultures.