Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Four Dharmadhātu

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

The Four Dharmadhatu (Chinese: 四法界), is a philosophical concept propagated by Master Tu-shun (Chinese: 杜順; 557-640 CE), the founder of Hua-yan (Chinese: 華嚴) school. It builds upon and is a variant of the Dharmadhatu doctrine.

The Four Dharmadhatu

The Four Dharmadhatu were outlined in Tu-shun's treatise which has been rendered into English as 'On the Meditation of Dharmadhātu'. The Four Dharmadhatu are:

  • The Dharmadhātu of 'Shih' (Chinese: 事法界; "shi fajie"). 'Shih' is a rendering of the character 事 which holds the semantic field: "matter", "phenomenon", "event". It may be understood as the 'realm' (Sanskrit: dhātu) of all matters and phenomena.
  • The Dharmadhātu of 'Li'(Chinese: 理法界; "li fajie"). 'Li' is a rendering of the character 理 which holds the semantic field: "principle", "law", "noumenon". This 'realm' (Sanskrit: dhātu) may be understood as that of principles. It has been referred to as "the realm of the one principle". The "one principle" being qualified as śūnyatā (Sanskrit).
  • The Dharmadhātu of Non-obstruction of 'Li' against 'Shih' (Chinese: 理事無礙法界; "lishi wuai fajie"). This 'realm' (Sanskrit: dhātu) has been rendered into English as "the realm of non-obstruction between principle and phenomena".
  • The Dharmadhātu of the Non-obstruction of 'Shih' and 'Shih' (Chinese: 事事無礙法界; "shishi wuai fajie"). This 'realm' (Sanskrit: dhātu) has been rendered into English as "the realm of non-obstruction between phenomena".

    • References

    Four Dharmadhātu Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA