Exploring the Significance of “Discerning the Zong (Bian Zong 辨宗)” in the Sectarianization of Buddhism

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

78  The term "Triratna Sect" translates to mean a sect that venerates the 'Three Jewels' in Buddhism, which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Using "Sanlun zong" as a translation would not be suitable, as it refers to a different concept within Chinese Buddhism related to the Three Treatises, and does not align with the meaning of the Three Jewels. This inconsistency could lead to confusion about the specific beliefs and practices of the Triratna Buddhist Community.

216 “yishu”  book’s name should be italicized.

160-161 “Biography of Eminent Monks”， book’s name should be italicized.

207 “The Precepts of the Bodhisattva Yishu”  book’s name should be italicized.

340 “Zhuangzi“ book’s name should be italicized.

95“Dawson's (竺道生)” It is recommended that translations from Chinese into English follow a consistent style guide.

175-176 “looks like Western Sanskrit, but speaks 175 like Eastern China" This section appears to be missing citation information.

188 “being a second-generation Hua”， 189 “both Hua and Han languages,” These sections are unclear; based on the context, are you trying to convey that he is of mixed racial heritage? If so, it might be better expressed in English.

323-335 This section appears to be a prime candidate for including significant citations, such as the academic paper you referenced: Sheng,Kai 圣凯. 2022. Ancestral Concepts in Sui and Tang Buddhist Sects 隋唐佛教宗派的祖统观念.

373 “《中论》、《百论》和《十二门论》” It appears that a translation is missing.

374-375Translations should maintain consistency in style, such as with "Dharma Flower Sutra (《法华经》)" and "the Avatamsaka Sutra (《华严经》)". It is suggested to unify the translations using Latin transliterations from Sanskrit, preferably in the IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration) format, resulting in terms like Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra and Avataṃsakasūtra. Alternatively, one might opt for the commonly accepted interpretative translations, such as "Lotus Scripture" and "Flower Garland Scripture", respectively.

383 “Tantra”  The Sanskrit term has specific connotations within Buddhism, and translating it as "坛经" might not be entirely appropriate. It is recommended to maintain the previous style of transliteration used in Pinyin for consistency.

384 Translating "Absence of Thoughts (无念)" as "non-attachment to thoughts" might better convey the original meaning, since the Tanjing particularly emphasizes not completely extinguishing thoughts but rather not being attached to them.

384“Heze Shen Hui” When a person's name is mentioned for the first time, it is preferable to include the name in Chinese as well. This practice ensures clarity and provides a direct reference for readers who might be familiar with the name in its original script.

452 “Gueyi philosophy(格义),” there might be a typographical error here that you intended to correct.

472“, Gueyi(格义)”  typo？

487-489 It appears that someone else's viewpoint has been utilized, and therefore, appropriate attribution to the source should be included.

566-567“Longshu(龙树)'s Prajna Emptiness Sect” 建议修改为“Nāgārjuna’s mādhyamaka school”  or “Longshu’s Middle School”

651 “both Jizo and Zhiyi” not clear. “Jizang”？

①   terms written in Sanskrit, romanizations from Chinese Pinyin, and other transliterations should be presented in italics. This typographical convention aids in clearly identifying these elements as foreign or specialized terms distinct from the regular text.

②   When transcribing Chinese names using pinyin in English, attention should be paid to the order of the surname and given name, as it is traditionally "surname, given name" or sometimes presented as "given name surname" in certain contexts, reflecting the original Chinese naming conventions versus the Western naming conventions respectively.

③   The romanization of Sanskrit terms should maintain a consistent style throughout the text. For instance, at point 579, "Prajña" employs the IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration) style, whereas elsewhere it appears as "Prajna", which deviates from this standard.

④   There seems to be an inconsistent interchange between the terms "Sect" and "zong." It's advisable to clearly define these terms at the outset and then, barring any special circumstances, maintain consistency in their usage throughout.

Author Response

Firstly, many thanks to the academic editors for their corrections.
The specific changes are as follows:

78, 167 and XXXIX Three changes have been made throughout the text, ‘Triratna Sect’ has been changed to “Sanlun zong”.

76、82、160-161、207、216、286、293、334、338、340、375、384、397 etc., all titles have been changed to italics.

95 ‘Dawson's (竺道生)’ was changed to “Zhu Daosheng” in accordance with the harmonised Chinese and English forms.

175-176 This is a common source with the quotation in the next sentence.

188-189 The word ‘Hua’ in this context denotes the Huans, an ancient Chinese term for people from the Western Regions.Additional explanations have been provided in accordance with the requirements of the review.

323-335 The source of this quotation is The Complete Works of Tang Yutong.Annotated adjustments have been made.

373 Additional clarifications have been provided.（They are the three important classics of the Chinese Sanlun zong.）

374-375 The translation has been standardised according to the Latin transliteration of Sanskrit, i.e. using the IAST (International Sanskrit Alphabet) format.

383 ”Tantra“ has been changed to ”Tanjing“.

384-385 "Absence of Thoughts (无念)" has been changed to ”non-attachment to thoughts“.

384 The first occurrence of ‘Heze Shen Hui’ has been annotated with its Chinese name.

449、453、473 Gueyi(格义)” has been changed to ”Geyi“

 487-489 Sources have been attributed as required (Du 1987, pp. 29-36).

566-567 “Longshu(龙树)'s Prajna Emptiness Sect” has been changed to “Nāgārjuna’s mādhyamaka school” .

651 "Jizo"has been changed to”Jizang“.

 568、576、577、579、654 and endnotes’ ”Prajna“has been changed to ”Prajña“.

Reviewer 2 Report

This is a very good paper about formation of sects in Buddhism by discerning the term Zong.  The author of this work did a thorough study of many versions of Buddhism, including Indian and Japanese traditions.  The introduction to this article is very clear in stating the study in detail about how the sects in Buddhism were formed in China aligning to the cultures of China and deviating from other versions from India and Japan.  Particularly, studying the formation of sects in China within the patriarchal framework is commendable, as it is the key to the formation of individualized sects (Zong) in China. Further, investigating the word "Zong" within the Classical Chinese texts does indeed offer a good insight over this topic.  Also, throughout the article the author is contemplating his thoughts between Buddhism and the other related philosophical systems such as Confucianism and Taoism. 

Besides the discussion of other parallel philosophical systems, the evolution of Buddhism is studied within various dynasties and schools of thoughts dominated in each dynasty.  This also contributes to the merits of this article in many ways. 

In conclusion, this article can be published as it contains within it a rich resource particularly deviating from the word "zong", and focusing just on it from various perspectives - influences from different nations, different dynasties and different indigenous philosophical systems. 

One suggestion to improve the quality of paper is to avoid using the word "Professor" while quoting the works.  I see in many places the author refers to the works like Professor Tang Xiyu, Professor Chen Jidong etc. (cf. lines 31 to 47).  Usually, in academic articles, we begin like: First name Lastname investigates the development of Buddhist sects in contemporary China as part of his survey on the history of Buddhism in the country (Lastname 1907).  Refer to the line 41:  I don't see the reference of Sakino Kōyō in the References section.  Be sure to cross check all the references and also make sure to follow the above pattern while quoting references in the body of the article.  Avoid referring to the works of authors with their profession.

Author Response

Comments 1: [One suggestion to improve the quality of paper is to avoid using the word "Professor" while quoting the works. ]Response 1: [Originally, I put ‘professor’ in front of a person's name to show respect, a kind of ‘courtesy’ in traditional Chinese culture. The word ‘professor’ has now been deleted from the text in accordance with the comments made by the reviewers.]"

Comments 2:  [Be sure to cross check all the references and also make sure to follow the above pattern while quoting references in the body of the article.  Avoid referring to the works of authors with their profession.]Response 1: [I have also re-screened in terms of references. It should be noted that several references are covered in the literature review although they do not cite the content in the main text. Therefore, out of rigour, one of them has also been included in the continuation list of references.]"

In addition, I have made additions to the ‘Introduction’ section. The parts of the whole text that involve changes have been marked in red.