Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學. / Manuscript. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 239-255). / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue. / 前言 --- p.1 / Chapter 第一章 --- 總論 --- p.6 / Chapter 一 --- 本文之範圍 --- p.6 / Chapter 二 --- 本文撮要 --- p.8 / Chapter 第二章 --- 因果關係之定位 --- p.23 / Chapter 一 --- 認知之主觀性 --- p.23 / Chapter 二 --- 因果關係之實然性 --- p.26 / Chapter 第三章 --- 因果關係 --- p.32 / Chapter 一 --- 具體事之因果關係 --- p.32 / Chapter 二 --- 因果事伴之分析 --- p.48 / Chapter 三 --- 對承續之規則性觀點之批評 --- p.60 / Chapter 四 --- 因果關係之本質 --- p.84 / Chapter 第四章 --- 因果律 --- p.121 / 引言 --- p.121 / Chapter 一 --- 因果律之定義 --- p.123 / Chapter 二 --- 因果律之本性´أ概然性 --- p.131 / Chapter 第五章 --- 因果原則 --- p.141 / Chapter 一 --- 因果關係之普遍性 --- p.143 / Chapter 二 --- 因果關係之齊一性 --- p.167 / Chapter 第六章 --- 佛家因果觀念 --- p.198 / 引言 --- p.198 / Chapter 一 --- 佛家緣生性空之本義 --- p.199 / Chapter 二 --- 三論宗之因果觀念 --- p.210 / Chapter 三 --- 僧肇之物不遷論與因果關係 --- p.231 / 「注釋」 --- p.239

Thesis (M. Tech Degree. Fine Arts) Tshwane University of Technology 2012. / The topic for this study was sparked when a colleague observed that many of my artworks expressed certain Zen philosophies. As I examined the works of artists who influenced me, the Zen principles were highlighted and thus began a process of examining these principles. The study follows the spread of Buddhism from India, where it originated, to China, where it later spread, and finally to Japan, where Zen philosophies are still practised today. Confronted by words in foreign languages and new philosophical terms, this study seeks to clarify and demystify complex Eastern traditions, rituals and practices in order to explore Zen principles, such as dualism, spontaneity, non-action, the interconnectedness of all phenomenon and beauty in its natural form. The study begins with an introduction to Buddhism and proceeds to explain the link to Daoism, highlighting the aforementioned Zen philosophies and practices like the tea ceremony and demonstrating their influence on Andy Goldsworthy, Anish Kapoor and Peter Voulkos, through an analysis of a selection of their artworks.

Using a hybrid of poetry, creative prose, and critical prose, this thesis demonstrates a way in which we can rethink the natural world. Through a series of analyses and original verse and prose, using a reading premise derived from Zen Buddhist philosophy, it presents a vision of animal life and the natural world as philosophically nuanced and psychologically complex. It attempts to reposition the philosophical dominance over the natural world that humans have often considered their monopoly. All the poetry of the thesis engages and illustrates the main critical points outlined here. After an introduction setting out the basic aims and concepts of the thesis, the opening essay quotes David Attenborough. The philosophy espoused in his text, evolutionary theory, cannot be sustained if an animal s psychology is given greater importance. Secondly, from The Life of Birds, I present a critique that suggests that a bird s psychology is complicated to the point of mysticism. The third essay looks at Nietzsche. This piece suggests that what blinds us to the complexity of an animal s world is human ego. Next I look at Marc Bekoff, suggesting that the ego s dominant response is to anthropomorphise animals. The next essay gives a brief reading of Hamlet as a character liberated by a philosophy derived from the sparrow s world. Then follows a series of analyses of poems about non-human animals. A reading of an Emily Dickinson poem shows a narrator trapped in the world of a threatened and unstable ego. Next the poet Ted Hughes and his encounter with a hawk are shown as distanced by the human ego s inability to step outside binary oppositions. Then follows a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, where I argue that he draws on the notion of externality, an ego construct. The next poet, Takahashi, writes ego into his poem. His poem fails to speak without it. Finally, I look at D.H. Lawrence. Here the inability of ego to relinquish itself from dominating its encounter with the natural world is critiqued. The discursive parts of the thesis are interwoven with examples of my own creative practice that attempt to put into effect the ideas I am elaborating. In the conclusion, I offer proposals for further thought. Keywords creative writing, poetry, creative-critical, hybrid, psychology, animals, nature, natural world, Zen Buddhism, philosophy.

This study traces the development of Tibetan 'treasure' texts and practices in contemporary times via the life-story and scriptural revelations of the Tibetan 'treasure revealer' (gter ston) Kun bzang bde chen gling pa (1928-2006). It examines how his revelations (gter ma) rooted in the historic spirituality of Tibet, continue and adapt into the twenty first century. The study is important in order to understand the ways this Asian religious concept develops and coalesces in North America. With the dramatic advances in communication through digital technology, it examines how gter ma texts and practices reach a modern audience. Also discussed are the implications of centuries old debates surrounding Buddhist lineage, transmission and ‘authenticity’ as well as concepts such as liberty, equality and authority. All of which are culture-specific constructions that differ radically when seen from a variety of perspectives. The main conclusion drawn from this research is that as a Western Vajrayāna ‘tradition’ emerges and intersects with older Tibetan forms, both must attempt to find a middle path between their differing applications and interpretations if they are to avoid drifting into an arena of extensive commercialisation, dilution and distortion.