Besides the fundamental, well-known question of philosophy, "How can we reach the truth?", another question has long been repeated in Eastern Asia: "How can we transmit the gained truth to others?" We can witness products of such thinking in both the Lineage in the Chan sect of Buddhism and the Lineage of the Way in the Zhu Xi school of Confucianism. To be precise, both Buddhism and Confucianism originally emphasize the "transmission of wisdom/knowledge" from their originators to later generations. Doubtlessly, these notions shape one of the characteristics of East Asian thought.

Moreover, such transmission is being executed even today through ritual practices in many religious activities. Thus, starting with the keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Steffen Döll from Hamburg University and focusing on the interaction and dynamics of these intellectual teachings, we will go through the contents and philosophical possibilities of "transmission of wisdom/knowledge" in Eastern thought.

「いかにして真理に到達するか」という哲学の基底をなす問いに加えて、禅宗の「法嗣」概念や、朱子学の「道統」概念にみられるように、東アジアでは「いかにして真理を他者に伝達するか」という問いも長く問われてきた。元来の仏教・儒教自体が創唱者たちから後世への「叡智/知識の伝達」を重視する思想にほかならず、この観念は東アジアの思想の特質をなしているのである。

さらにこうした「伝達」は今日なお、多様な宗教儀礼を通じて行われ続けている。ハンブルク大学のSteffen Döll教授の基調講演のもと、本セッションでは、知的教説間のダイナミクスに注目しながら、東アジアの思想の中に「叡智/知識の伝達」の内実と可能性とをさぐってゆく。