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Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the
Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...
and Song dynasties. Chan is the originating tradition of
Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...
(the Japanese pronunciation of the same
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
, which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as
Thiền Thiền Buddhism ( vi, Thiền tông, , ) is the Vietnamese version of Zen Buddhism. Thiền is the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (''chán''), an abbreviation of 禪那 (''chánnà''), which is a transliteration ...
and north to Korea as
Seon Seon may refer to: * Seon, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Aargau * ''Seon'', a type of arranged marriage in South Korea * Korean Seon, a Zen school of Korean Buddhism * Seon (food), steamed vegetable dishes with fillings in Korean cui ...
, and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as
Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mah� ...
.


History

The historical records required for a complete, accurate account of early Chan history no longer exist.


Periodisation

The history of Chan in China can be divided into several periods. Zen, as we know it today, is the result of a long history, with many changes and contingent factors. Each period had different types of Zen, some of which remained influential while others vanished. Ferguson distinguishes three periods from the 5th century into the 13th century: # The Legendary period, from Bodhidharma in the late 5th century to the
An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...
around 765 CE, in the middle of the Tang dynasty. Little written information is left from this period. It is the time of the Six Patriarchs, including
Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century ap ...
and
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
, and the legendary "split" between the Northern and the Southern School of Chan. # The Classical period, from the end of the
An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...
around 765 CE to the beginning of the Song dynasty around 950 CE. This is the time of the great masters of Chan, such as
Mazu Daoyi Mazu Daoyi (709–788) (, Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his ''Extensive Records''. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange wo ...
and
Linji Yixuan Linji Yixuan (; ja, 臨済義玄 ''Rinzai Gigen''; died 866 CE) was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Línjì yǔlù Information on Linji is based on the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (臨濟語錄; Japanese ...
, and the creation of the ''yü-lü'' genre, the recordings of the sayings and teachings of these great masters. # The Literary period, from around 950 to 1250, which spans the era of the Song dynasty (960–1279). In this time the gong'an-collections were compiled, collections of sayings and deeds by the famous masters, appended with poetry and commentary. This genre reflects the influence of ''literati'' on the development of Chan. This period idealized the previous period as the "golden age" of Chan, producing the literature in which the spontaneity of the celebrated masters was portrayed. Although McRae has reservations about the division of Chan history in phases or periods, he nevertheless distinguishes four phases in the history of Chan: # Proto-Chan (c. 500–600) (
Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
(420 to 589) and Sui dynasty (589–618 CE)). In this phase, Chan developed in multiple locations in northern China. It was based on the practice of ''dhyana'' and is connected to the figures of Bodhidharma and Huike. Its principal text is the Two Entrances and Four Practices, attributed to Bodhidharma. #Early Chan (c. 600–900) ( Tang dynasty (618–907 CE)). In this phase, Chan took its first clear contours. Prime figures are the fifth patriarch
Daman Hongren Hongren (, 601–674), posthumous name ''Daman'', was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism (Chinese: 禅宗五祖). Hongren is said to have received Dharma transmission from Dayi Daoxin and passed on the symbolic bowl and robe of transmission to ...
(601–674), his dharma-heir Yuquan Shenxiu (606?–706), the sixth patriarch
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
(638–713), protagonist of the quintessential
Platform Sutra The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher spe ...
, and
Shenhui Heze Shenhui (Chinese:菏泽神會/神会; Wade–Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne, 684–758) was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the so-called "Southern School" of Zen, who "claimed to have studied under Huineng." Shenhui is notable for his s ...
(670–762), whose propaganda elevated Huineng to the status of sixth patriarch. Prime factions are the Northern School, Southern School and Oxhead School. # Middle Chan (c. 750–1000) (from
An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...
(755–763) until Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960/979)). In this phase developed the well-known Chan of the iconoclastic zen-masters. Prime figures are
Mazu Daoyi Mazu Daoyi (709–788) (, Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his ''Extensive Records''. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange wo ...
(709–788),
Shitou Xiqian Shítóu Xīqiān (700-790) () was an 8th-century Chinese Zen, Chán (Zen) Buddhist teacher and author. All existing branches of Zen throughout the world are said to descend either from Shitou Xiqian or from his contemporary Mazu Daoyi. Biography ...
(710–790),
Linji Yixuan Linji Yixuan (; ja, 臨済義玄 ''Rinzai Gigen''; died 866 CE) was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Línjì yǔlù Information on Linji is based on the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (臨濟語錄; Japanese ...
(died 867), and
Xuefeng Yicun Xuefeng Yicun (822-908) (; ; ) was a Chinese Chan-master who was influential during the Tang Dynasty. The Yunmen school and Fayan school originated with descendants of his lineage. Biography According to the ''Wudeng Huiyuan'' ("Compendium of ...
(822–908). Prime factions are the
Hongzhou school The Hongzhou school () was a Chinese school of Chán of the Tang period, which started with Mazu Daoyi (709–788). It became the archetypal expression of Zen during the Song dynasty. History The An Lu-shan Rebellion (755-763) led to a loss of ...
and the Hubei faction. An important text is the
Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall The ''Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall'' () is a Chinese text compiled by two Chinese Buddhist monks in 952 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is the oldest existing collection of Chan encounter dialogues, dating from about ...
(952), which contains many "encounter-stories" and the canon genealogy of the Chan-school. # Song dynasty Chan (c. 950–1300). In this phase, Chan took its definitive shape including the picture of the "golden age" of the Chan of the Tang-dynasty, and the use of
koans A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-Ja ...
for individual study and meditation. Prime figures are Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) who introduced the
Hua Tou ''Hua Tou'' (話頭, Korean: ''hwadu'', Japanese: ''wato'') is part of a form of Buddhist meditation known as ''Gongfu'' 工夫 (not to be confused with the Martial Arts 功夫 ) common in the teachings of Chan Buddhism, Korean Seon and Rinzai Ze ...
practice and
Hongzhi Zhengjue Hongzhi Zhengjue (, ), also sometimes called Tiantong Zhengjue (; ) (1091–1157), was an influential Chinese Chan Buddhist monk who authored or compiled several influential texts. Hongzhi's conception of ''silent illumination'' is of particular ...
(1091–1157) who emphasized
Shikantaza is Dogen's Japanese translation of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐguǎn dǎzuò'' (只管打坐 / 祇管 打坐), "just sitting." The phrase was used by his teacher Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism, to refer to the meditation-pr ...
. Prime factions are the
Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song dyn ...
and the
Caodong school Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán. Etymology The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòn ...
. The classic koan-collections, such as the
Blue Cliff Record The ''Blue Cliff Record'' () is a collection of Chan Buddhist kōans originally compiled in Song China in 1125, during the reign of Emperor Huizong, and then expanded into its present form by Chan master Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135; ).K. Sekida, ...
were assembled in this period, which reflect the influence of the "literati" on the development of Chan. In this phase Chan is transported to Japan, and exerts a great influence on Korean Seon via Jinul. Neither Ferguson nor McRae gives a periodisation for Chinese Chan following the Song-dynasty, though McRae mentions : ."at least a postclassical phase or perhaps multiple phases".


Introduction of Buddhism in China (c. 200–500)


Sinification of Buddhism and Taoist influences

When Buddhism came to China, it was adapted to the Chinese culture and understanding. Theories about the influence of other schools in the evolution of Chan vary widely and are heavily reliant upon speculative correlation rather than on written records or histories. Some scholars have argued that Chan developed from the interaction between Mahāyāna Buddhism and Taoism, while one believes that Chan has roots in yogic practices, specifically ', the consideration of objects, and ', total fixation of the mind.
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '' bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...
was practiced in China centuries before the rise of Chan, by people such as
An Shigao An Shigao (, Korean: An Sego, Japanese: An Seikō, Vietnamese: An Thế Cao) (fl. c. 148-180 CE) was an early Buddhist missionary to China, and the earliest known translator of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese. According to legend, he was a pri ...
(c. 148–180 CE) and his school, who translated various
Dhyāna sutras The Dhyāna sutras ( ''chan jing'') (Japanese 禅経 ''zen-gyo'') or "meditation summaries" () or also known as The Zen Sutras are a group of early Buddhist meditation texts which are mostly based on the Yogacara meditation teachings of the Sarvās ...
(Chán-jing, 禪経, "meditation treatises"), which were influential early meditation texts mostly based on the Yogacara meditation teachings of the
Sarvāstivāda The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...
school of Kashmir circa 1st-4th centuries CE.Deleanu, Florin (1992)
Mindfulness of Breathing in the Dhyāna Sūtras
Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, 42-57.
The five main types of meditation in the Dhyana sutras are
anapanasati Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ''ānāpānasmṛti''), meaning "mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist me ...
(mindfulness of breathing); paṭikūlamanasikāra meditation, mindfulness of the impurities of the body; loving-kindness maitrī meditation; the contemplation on the twelve links of
pratītyasamutpāda ''Pratītyasamutpāda'' (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, Pāli: ''paṭiccasamuppāda''), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of B ...
; and the contemplation on the Buddha's thirty-two Characteristics.Ven. Dr. Yuanci
A Study of the Meditation Methods in the DESM and Other Early Chinese Texts
, The Buddhist Academy of China.
Other important translators of meditation texts were
Kumārajīva Kumārajīva ( Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; , 344–413 CE) was a Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from the Kingdom of Kucha (present-day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the greates ...
(334–413 CE), who translated ''The Sutra on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation'', amongst many other texts; and Buddhabhadra. These Chinese translations of mostly Indian Sarvāstivāda Yogacara meditation manuals were the basis for the meditation techniques of Chinese Chan.Thich Hang Dat, A REAPPRAISAL OF KUMĀRAJĪVA’S ROLE IN MEDIEVAL CHINESE BUDDHISM: AN EXAMINATION OF KUMĀRAJĪVA’S TRANSLATION TEXT ON “THE ESSENTIAL EXPLANATION OF THE METHOD OF DHYANA”
Buddhism was exposed to Confucian and Taoist influences when it came to China. Goddard quotes
D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
, calling Chan a "natural evolution of Buddhism under Taoist conditions". Buddhism was first identified to be "a barbarian variant of Taoism", and Taoist terminology was used to express Buddhist doctrines in the oldest translations of Buddhist texts, a practice termed ''ko-i'', "matching the concepts". The first Buddhist recruits in China were Taoists. They developed high esteem for the newly introduced Buddhist meditational techniques, and blended them with Taoist meditation. Representatives of early Chinese Buddhism like
Sengzhao Sengzhao (or Seng-Chao) (; ja, 僧肇, ''Sōjō''; 384–414) was a Chinese Buddhist philosopher from Later Qin. Born to a poor family in Jingzhao, he acquired literary skills, apparently including the capacity to read Pali, and became a scribe. ...
and Tao Sheng were deeply influenced by the Taoist keystone works of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Against this background, especially the Taoist concept of '' naturalness'' was inherited by the early Chan disciples: they equated – to some extent – the ineffable
Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...
and
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
, and thus, rather than feeling bound to the abstract "wisdom of the sūtras", emphasized Buddha-nature to be found in "everyday" human life, just as the Tao. Chinese Buddhism absorbed Neo-Daoist concepts as well. Concepts such as ''T'i-yung'' (體用 Essence and Function) and ''Li-shih'' (理事 Noumenon and Phenomenon, or Principle and Practice) first appeared in Hua-yen Buddhism, which consequently influenced Chan deeply. On the other hand, Taoists at first misunderstood sunyata to be akin to the Taoist non-being. The emerging Chinese Buddhism nevertheless had to compete with Taoism and Confucianism: One point of confusion for this new emerging Chinese Buddhism was the two truths doctrine. Chinese thinking took this to refer to two ''ontological truths'': reality exists on two levels, a relative level and an absolute level. Taoists at first misunderstood sunyata to be akin to the Taoist non-being. In Indian
Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...
philosophy the two truths are two ''epistemological truths'': two different ways to look at reality. Based on their understanding of the ''Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra'' the Chinese supposed that the teaching of Buddha-nature was, as stated by that sutra, the final Buddhist teaching, and that there is an essential truth above sunyata and the two truths.


Divisions of training

When Buddhism came to China, there were three divisions of training: # The training in virtue and discipline in the precepts (Skt. ''
śīla Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
''), # The training in mind through meditation (Skt. '' dhyāna'') to attain a luminous and non-reactive state of mind, and # The training in the recorded teachings (Skt. ''Dharma''). It was in this context that Buddhism entered into Chinese culture. Three types of teachers with expertise in each training practice developed: #
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...
masters specialized in all the rules of discipline for monks and nuns, # Dhyāna masters specialized in the practice of meditation, and # Dharma masters specialized in the mastery of the Buddhist texts. Monasteries and practice centers were created that tended to focus on either the Vinaya and training of monks or the teachings focused on one scripture or a small group of texts. Dhyāna (''Chan'') masters tended to practice in solitary hermitages, or to be associated with Vinaya training monasteries or the dharma teaching centers. The later naming of the Zen school has its origins in this view of the threefold division of training. McRae goes so far as to say:


Legendary or Proto-Chan (c. 500–600)


Mahākāśyapa and the Flower Sermon

The Chan tradition ascribes the origins of Chan in India to the
Flower Sermon The Flower Sermon is a story of the origin of Zen Buddhism in which Gautama Buddha transmits direct '' prajñā'' (wisdom) to the disciple Mahākāśyapa. In the original Chinese, the story is ''Niān huā wēi xiào'' (拈花微笑, literally " ...
, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century. It is said that
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
gathered his disciples one day for a
Dharma talk A Dharma talk (Sanskrit) or Dhamma talk (Pali) or Dharma sermon (''Japanese'': , ''Chinese'': ) is a public discourse on Buddhism by a Buddhist teacher. In Theravāda Buddhism, the study of Buddhist texts and listening to Dhamma talks by monks o ...
. When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up and twirled a flower and his eyes twinkled; several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha's disciples,
Mahākāśyapa Mahākāśyapa ( pi, Mahākassapa) was one of the principal disciples of Gautama Buddha. He is regarded in Buddhism as an enlightened disciple, being foremost in ascetic practice. Mahākāśyapa assumed leadership of the monastic community fol ...
, gazed at the flower and smiled. The Buddha then acknowledged Mahākāśyapa's insight by saying the following:


First six patriarchs (c. 500 – early 8th century)

Traditionally the origin of Chan in China is credited to
Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century ap ...
, an Iranian-language speaking Central Asian monk or an Indian monk. The story of his life, and of the Six Patriarchs, was constructed during the Tang dynasty to lend credibility to the growing Chan-school. Only scarce historical information is available about him, but his hagiography developed when the Chan tradition grew stronger and gained prominence in the early 8th century. By this time a lineage of the six ancestral founders of Chan in China was developed. The actual origins of Chan may lie in ascetic practitioners of Buddhism, who found refuge in forests and mountains. Huike, "a dhuta (extreme ascetic) who schooled others" and used the
Srimala Sutra Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the capital of the Bhil king, then the capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and nor ...
, one of the
Tathāgatagarbha sūtras The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras are a group of Mahayana sutras that present the concept of the "womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the tathāgata, the buddha. Every sentient being has the possibility to attain Buddhahood because of the ''tathāgat ...
, figures in the stories about Bodhidharma. Huike is regarded as the second Chan patriarch, appointed by Bodhidharma to succeed him. One of Huike's students, Sengcan, to whom is ascribed the
Xinxin Ming ''Xinxin Ming'' (alternate spellings ''Xin Xin Ming'' or ''Xinxinming'') (Chinese: 信心銘; Pīnyīn: ''Xìnxīn Míng''; Wade–Giles: ''Hsin Hsin Ming''; Romanji: ''Shinjinmei''), meaning "Faith in Mind", is a poem attributed to the Third C ...
, is regarded as the third patriarch. By the late 8th century, under the influence of Huineng's student
Shenhui Heze Shenhui (Chinese:菏泽神會/神会; Wade–Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne, 684–758) was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the so-called "Southern School" of Zen, who "claimed to have studied under Huineng." Shenhui is notable for his s ...
, the traditional list of patriarchs of the Chan lineage had been established: #
Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century ap ...
() c. 440 – c. 528 #
Dazu Huike Dazu Huike (487–593; ) is considered the Second Patriarch of Chan Buddhism and the twenty-ninth since Gautama Buddha. The successor to Bodhidharma. Biography Sources As with most of the early Chán patriarchs, very little firm data is availabl ...
() 487–593 # Sengcan () ?–606 # Dayi Daoxin () 580–651 #
Daman Hongren Hongren (, 601–674), posthumous name ''Daman'', was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism (Chinese: 禅宗五祖). Hongren is said to have received Dharma transmission from Dayi Daoxin and passed on the symbolic bowl and robe of transmission to ...
() 601–674 #
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
() 638–713 In later writings, this lineage was extended to include 28 Indian patriarchs. In the ''
Song of Enlightenment The ''Song of Enlightenment'' (), also translated as ''Song of Awakening'' and ''Song of Freedom'', is a Chan discourse written some time in the first half of the 8th century C.E. and usually attributed to Yongjia Xuanjue. The true authorship of ...
'' (證道歌 ''Zhèngdào gē'') of
Yongjia Xuanjue Yongjia Xuanjue (; ), also known as Yongjia Zhenjue (), was a Zen and Tiantai Buddhist monk who lived during the Tang dynasty. The name Yongjia is derived from the city of his birth, which is now called Wenzhou. He is also known by his nickname "The ...
(永嘉玄覺, 665–713), one of the chief disciples of Huìnéng, it is written that Bodhidharma was the 28th patriarch in a line of descent from Mahākāśyapa, a disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha, and the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism.


Lankavatara Sutra

In its beginnings in China, Chan primarily referred to the
Mahāyāna sūtras The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (''sūtra'') that are accepted as canonical and as ''buddhavacana'' ("Buddha word") in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan ...
and especially to the ''
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' ( Sanskrit, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅka" bo, ལང་ཀར་བཤེགས་པའི་མདོ་, Chinese:入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. This sūtra recounts a teachi ...
''. As a result, early masters of the Chan tradition were referred to as "Laṅkāvatāra masters". As the ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' teaches the doctrine of the
Ekayāna Ekayāna ( sa, एकयान, ) is a Sanskrit word that can mean "one path" or "one vehicle". It is used both in the Upanishads and the Mahāyāna sūtras. Upanishads In the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'', "ekayāna" took on special significance ...
"One Vehicle", the early Chan school was sometimes referred to as the "One Vehicle School". In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Chan is sometimes even referred to as simply the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (Ch. 楞伽宗, ''Léngqié Zōng''). Accounts recording the history of this early period are to be found in the '' Records of the Laṅkāvatāra Masters'' ('').


Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma is recorded as having come into China during the time of
Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words". Throughout
Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and ...
, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian. He is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" (碧眼胡:Bìyǎn hú) in Chinese Chan texts.Soothill, William Edward; Hodous, Lewis (1995), A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms
London: RoutledgeCurzon
Only scarce historical information is available about him but his hagiography developed when the Chan tradition grew stronger and gained prominence in the early 8th century. By this time a lineage of the six ancestral founders of Chan in China was developed. Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend. There are three principal sources for Bodhidharma's biography: ''The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang'' by Yáng Xuànzhī's (楊衒之, 547), Tan Lin's preface to the ''
Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices The Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices (Chinese: 二入四行; Pinyin: ''èrrú sìxíng''; Wade–Giles: ''Erh-ju ssu-hsing''; Japanese: ''Ninyū shigyō ron'') is a Buddhist text attributed to Bodhidharma, the traditional founder ...
'' (6th century CE), and Dayi Daoxin's ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks'' (7th century CE). These sources vary in their account of Bodhidharma being either "from Persia" (547 CE), "a Brahman monk from South India" (645 CE), "the third son of a Brahman king of South India" (c. 715 CE). Some traditions specifically describe Bodhidharma to be the third son of a Pallava king from
Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its templ ...
. The ''Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices'' written by Tan Lin (曇林; 506–574), contains teachings that are attributed to Bodhidharma. The text is known from the
Dunhuang manuscripts Dunhuang manuscripts refer to a wide variety of religious and secular documents (mostly manuscripts, but also including some woodblock-printed texts) in Chinese and other languages that were discovered at the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, duri ...
. The two entrances to enlightenment are the entrance of principle and the entrance of practice: This text was used and studied by Huike and his students. The True Nature refers to the
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
.


Huike

Bodhidharma settled in Northern Wei China. Shortly before his death, Bodhidharma appointed his disciple Dazu Huike to succeed him, making Huike the first Chinese-born ancestral founder and the second ancestral founder of Chan in China. Bodhidharma is said to have passed three items to Huike as a sign of transmission of the Dharma: a robe, a bowl, and a copy of the ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra''. The transmission then passed to the second ancestral founder Dazu Huike, the third Sengcan, the fourth ancestral founder Dayi Daoxin, and the fifth ancestral founder
Daman Hongren Hongren (, 601–674), posthumous name ''Daman'', was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism (Chinese: 禅宗五祖). Hongren is said to have received Dharma transmission from Dayi Daoxin and passed on the symbolic bowl and robe of transmission to ...
.


Early Chan in Tang China (c. 600–900)


East Mountain Teachings

With the fourth patriarch, Daoxin ( 580–651), Chan began to take shape as a distinct school. The link between Huike and Sengcan, and the fourth patriarch Daoxin "is far from clear and remains tenuous". With Daoxin and his successor, the fifth patriarch Hongren ( 601–674), there emerged a new style of teaching, which was inspired by the Chinese text
Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna'' (reconstructed Sanskrit title: ''Mahāyāna śraddhotpādaśāstra''; ) is a text of Mahayana Buddhism. Though attributed to the Indian master Aśvaghoṣa, no Sanskrit version of it exists and it is now w ...
. According to John R. McRae the "first explicit statement of the sudden and direct approach that was to become the hallmark of Ch'an religious practice" is associated with the East Mountain School. It is a method named "Maintaining the one without wavering" (''shou-i pu i,'' 守一不移), ''the one'' being the
nature of mind Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
, which is equated with Buddha-nature. In this practice, one turns the attention from the objects of experience, to the perceiving subject itself. According to McRae, this type of meditation resembles the methods of "virtually all schools of Mahayana Buddhism," but differs in that "no preparatory requirements, no moral prerequisites or preliminary exercises are given," and is "without steps or gradations. One concentrates, understands, and is enlightened, all in one undifferentiated practice." Sharf notes that the notion of "Mind" came to be criticised by radical subitists, and was replaced by "No Mind," to avoid any reifications. A large group of students gathered at a permanent residence, and extreme asceticism became outdated. The period of Daoxin and Hongren came to be called the East Mountain Teaching, due to the location of the residence of Hongren at Huangmei. The term was used by Yuquan Shenxiu (神秀 606?–706), the most important successor to Hongren. By this time the group had grown into a matured congregation that became significant enough to be reckoned with by the ruling forces. The East Mountain community was a specialized meditation training centre. Hongren was a plain meditation teacher, who taught students of "various religious interests", including "practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, students of Madhyamaka philosophy, or specialists in the monastic regulations of Buddhist
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...
". The school was typified by a "loose practice," aiming to make meditation accessible to a larger audience. Shenxiu used short formulas extracted from various sutras to package the teachings, a style which is also used in the Platform Sutra. The establishment of a community in one location was a change from the wandering lives of Bodhidharma and Huike and their followers. It fitted better into the Chinese society, which highly valued community-oriented behaviour, instead of solitary practice. In 701
Shenxiu Yuquan Shenxiu (, 606?–706) was one of the most influential Chan masters of his day, a Patriarch of the East Mountain Teaching of Chan Buddhism. Shenxiu was Dharma heir of Daman Hongren (601–674), honoured by Wu Zetian (r. 690–705) of t ...
was invited to the Imperial Court by Zhou Empress Wu Zetian, who paid him due to imperial reverence. The first lineage documents were produced in this period: The transition from the East Mountain to the two capitals changed the character of Chan: Members of the "East Mountain Teaching" shifted the alleged scriptural basis, realizing that the ''Awakening of Faith'' is not a sutra but a ''
sastra ''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...
'', commentary, and fabricated a lineage of Lankavatara Sutra masters, as being the sutra that preluded the ''Awakening of Faith''.


Southern School – Huineng and Shenhui

According to tradition, the sixth and last ancestral founder,
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
(惠能; 638–713), was one of the giants of Chan history, and all surviving schools regard him as their ancestor. The dramatic story of Huineng's life tells that there was a controversy over his claim to the title of patriarch. After being chosen by Hongren, the fifth ancestral founder, Huineng had to flee by night to
Nanhua Temple Nanhua Temple () is a Buddhist monastery of the Chan Buddhism, one of Five Great Schools of Buddhism where Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, once lived and taught. It is located in the town of Maba (), Qujiang District, southeast o ...
in the south to avoid the wrath of Hongren's jealous senior disciples. Modern scholarship, however, has questioned this narrative. Historic research reveals that this story was created around the middle of the 8th century, as part of a campaign to win influence at the Imperial Court in 731 by a successor to Huineng called Shenhui. He claimed Huineng to be the successor of Hongren instead of Shenxiu, the recognized successor. A dramatic story of Huineng's life was created, as narrated in the
Platform Sutra The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher spe ...
, which tells that there was a contest for the transmission of the title of patriarch. After being chosen by Hongren, the fifth patriarch, Huineng had to flee by night to
Nanhua Temple Nanhua Temple () is a Buddhist monastery of the Chan Buddhism, one of Five Great Schools of Buddhism where Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, once lived and taught. It is located in the town of Maba (), Qujiang District, southeast o ...
in the south to avoid the wrath of Hongren's jealous senior disciples. Shenhui succeeded in his campaign, and Huineng eventually came to be regarded as the Sixth Patriarch. In 745 Shenhui was invited to take up residence in the Heze Temple in the capital, Dongdu (modern Luoyang) In 753, he fell out of grace and had to leave Dongdu to go into exile. The most prominent of the successors of Shenhui's lineage was
Guifeng Zongmi Guifeng Zongmi () (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on th ...
. According to Zongmi, Shenhui's approach was officially sanctioned in 796, when "an imperial commission determined that the Southern line of Ch'an represented the orthodox transmission and established Shen-hui as the seventh patriarch, placing an inscription to that effect in the Shen-lung temple". Doctrinally, Shenhui's "Southern School" is associated with the teaching that enlightenment is sudden while the "Northern" or East Mountain school is associated with the teaching that enlightenment is gradual. This was a polemical exaggeration since both schools were derived from the same tradition, and the so-called Southern School incorporated many teachings of the more influential Northern School. Eventually both schools died out, but the influence of Shenhui was so immense that all later Chan schools traced their origin to Huineng, and "sudden enlightenment" became a standard doctrine of Chan. Shenhui's influence is traceable in the ''
Platform Sutra The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher spe ...
'', which gives a popular account of the story of Huineng but also reconciles the antagonism created by Shenhui. Salient is that Shenhui himself does not figure in the ''Platform Sutra''; he was effectively written out of Chan history. The ''Platform Sutra'' also reflects the growing popularity of the '' Diamond Sūtra'' (''Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'') in 8th-century Chinese Buddhism. Thereafter, the essential texts of the Chan school were often considered to be both the ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' and the ''Diamond Sūtra''. The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'', which endorses the Buddha-nature, emphasized purity of mind, which can be attained in gradations. The Diamond-sutra emphasizes sunyata, which "must be realized totally or not at all".
David Kalupahana David J. Kalupahana (1936–2014) was a Buddhist scholar from Sri Lanka. He was a student of the late K.N. Jayatilleke, who was a student of Wittgenstein. He wrote mainly about epistemology, theory of language, and compared later Buddhist philo ...
associates the later
Caodong school Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán. Etymology The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòn ...
(Japanese Sōtō, gradual) and
Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song dyn ...
(Japanese Rinzai school, sudden) schools with the Yogacara and
Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...
philosophies respectively. The same comparison has been made by McRae. The Madhyamaka school elaborated on the theme of śūnyatā, which was set forth in the
prajnaparamita A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda ...
sutras, to which the ''Diamond Sutra'' also belongs. The shift from the ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' to the ''Diamond Sutra'' also signifies a tension between Buddha-nature teachings, which imply a transcendental reality, versus śūnyatā, which denies such a transcendental reality.


Tibetan Chan

Chinese Chan Buddhist teachers such as Moheyan first went to Tibet in the eighth century during the height of the Tibetan Empire. There seems to have been disputes between them and Indian Buddhists, as exemplified by the Samye debate. Many Tibetan Chan texts have been recovered from the caves at Dunhuang, where Chan and Tantric Buddhists lived side by side and this led to religious syncretism in some cases.Sam van Schaik, Where Chan and Tantra Meet: Buddhist Syncretism in Dunhuang Chan Buddhism survived in Tibet for several centuries, but had mostly been replaced by the 10th century developments in Tibetan Buddhism. According to Sam Van Schaik:
After the 'dark period', all visible influences of Chan were eliminated from Tibetan Buddhism, and Mahayoga and Chan were carefully distinguished from each other. This trend can already be observed in the tenth-century Lamp for the Eyes in Contemplation by the great central Tibetan scholar Gnubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes. This influential work represented a crucial step in the codification of Chan, Mahayoga and the Great Perfection as distinct vehicles to enlightenment. In comparison, our group of unhuangmanuscripts exhibits remarkable freedom, blurring the lines between meditation systems that were elsewhere kept quite distinct. The system of practice set out in these manuscripts did not survive into the later Tibetan tradition. Indeed, this creative integration of meditation practices derived from both Indic and Chinese traditions could only have been possible during the earliest years of Tibetan Buddhism, when doctrinal categories were still forming, and in this sense, it represents an important stage in the Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism.


Classical or Middle Chan – Tang dynasty (c. 750–1000)

Daoxin, Hongren, Shenxiu, Huineng and Shenhui all lived during the early Tang. The later period of the Tang dynasty is traditionally regarded as the "golden age" of Chan. This proliferation is described in a famous saying:


An Lu-shan rebellion

The
An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...
(755–763) led to a loss of control by the Tang dynasty, and changed the Chan scene again. Metropolitan Chan began to lose its status, while "other schools were arising in outlying areas controlled by warlords. These are the forerunners of the Chan we know today. Their origins are obscure; the power of Shen-hui's preaching is shown by the fact that they all trace themselves to Hui-neng."


Hung-chou School

The most important of these schools is the
Hongzhou school The Hongzhou school () was a Chinese school of Chán of the Tang period, which started with Mazu Daoyi (709–788). It became the archetypal expression of Zen during the Song dynasty. History The An Lu-shan Rebellion (755-763) led to a loss of ...
(洪州宗) of
Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. ...
, to which also belong Shitou,
Baizhang Huaihai Baizhang Huaihai (; pinyin: ''Bǎizhàng Huáihái''; Wade-Giles: ''Pai-chang Huai-hai''; ja, Hyakujō Ekai) (720–814) was a Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) ...
, Huangbo and Linji (Rinzai). Linji is also regarded as the founder of one of the Five Houses. This school developed "shock techniques such as shouting, beating, and using irrational retorts to startle their students into realization". Some of these are common today, while others are found mostly in anecdotes. It is common in many Chan traditions today for Chan teachers to have a stick with them during formal ceremonies which is a symbol of authority and which can be also used to strike on the table during a talk. These shock techniques became part of the traditional and still popular image of Chan masters displaying irrational and strange behaviour to aid their students. Part of this image was due to later misinterpretations and translation errors, such as the loud belly shout known as ''katsu''. "Katsu" means "to shout", which has traditionally been translated as "yelled 'katsu'" – which should mean "yelled a yell".Se
James D. Sellmann & Hans Julius Schneider (2003), ''Liberating Language in Linji and Wittgenstein''. Asian Philosophy, Vol. 13, Nos. 2/3, 2003. Notes 26 and 41
/ref> A well-known story depicts Mazu practicing dhyana, but being rebuked by his teacher
Nanyue Huairang Nanyue Huairang (Chinese: 南嶽懐譲; Pinyin: ''Nányuè Huáiràng''; Romanji: ''Nangaku Ejõ'') (677–744) was the foremost student of Dajian Huineng, the 6th Patriarch of Ch'an ( Zen) and teacher of one of his Dharma heirs, Mazu Daoyi. L ...
, comparing seated meditation with polishing a tile. According to Faure, the criticism is not about dhyana as such, but "the idea of "becoming a Buddha" by means of any practice, lowered to the standing of a "means" to achieve an "end"". The criticism of seated dhyana reflects a change in the role and position of monks in Tang society, who "undertook only pious works, reciting sacred texts and remaining seated in ''dhyana''". Nevertheless, seated dhyana remained an important part of the Chan tradition, also due to the influence of
Guifeng Zongmi Guifeng Zongmi () (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on th ...
, who tried to balance dhyana and insight. The Hung-chou school has been criticised for its radical
subitism The term subitism points to sudden awakening, the idea that insight into Buddha-nature, or the nature of mind, is "sudden," c.q. "in one glance," "uncovered all together," or "together, completely, simultaneously," in contrast to "successively o ...
. Guifeng Zongmi (圭峰 宗密) (780–841), an influential teacher-scholar and patriarch of both the Chan and the
Huayan school The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based pri ...
, claimed that the Hongzhou school teaching led to a radical nondualism that denies the need for spiritual cultivation and moral discipline. While Zongmi acknowledged that the essence of Buddha-nature and its functioning in the day-to-day reality are but different aspects of the same reality, he insisted that there is a difference.


Shitou Xiqian

Traditionally Shítóu Xīqiān (Ch. 石頭希遷, c. 700 – c.790) is seen as the other great figure of this period. In the Chan lineages he is regarded as the predecessor of the
Caodong Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán. Etymology The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòng ...
( Sōtō) school. He is also regarded as the author of the
Sandokai The Sandōkai () is a poem by the eighth Chinese Zen ancestor Shitou Xiqian (Sekito Kisen, 700–790) and a fundamental text of the Sōtō school of Zen, chanted daily in temples throughout the world. Title The poem's title, "參同契", is pro ...
, a poem which formed the basis for the
Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi The ''Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi'' (; ; also translated as ''Song of the Jeweled Mirror Samadhi'' and ''Sacred Mirror Samadhi'') is a Zen poem in Classical Chinese that appeared during the Song Dynasty. The work is often attributed to D ...
of
Dongshan Liangjie Dongshan Liangjie (807–869) (; ) was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty. He founded the Caodong school (), which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century (Song-Yuan era) by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. D ...
(Jp. Tōzan Ryōkan) and the teaching of the
Five Ranks The ''Five Ranks'' (; ) is a poem consisting of five stanzas describing the stages of realization in the practice of Zen Buddhism. It expresses the interplay of absolute and relative truth and the fundamental non-dualism of Buddhist teaching. ...
.


The Great Persecution

During 845–846 Emperor Wuzong persecuted the Buddhist schools in China: This persecution was devastating for metropolitan Chan, but the Chan school of Ma-tsu and his likes had survived, and took a leading role in the Chan of the later Tang.


Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907–960/979)

After the fall of the Tang dynasty, China was without effective central control during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. China was divided into several autonomous regions. Support for Buddhism was limited to a few areas. The Hua-yen and T'ient-tai schools suffered from the changing circumstances, since they had depended on imperial support. The collapse of T'ang society also deprived the aristocratic classes of wealth and influence, which meant a further drawback for Buddhism. Shenxiu's Northern School and Henshui's Southern School didn't survive the changing circumstances. Nevertheless, Chan emerged as the dominant stream within Chinese Buddhism, but with various schools developing various emphasises in their teachings, due to the regional orientation of the period. The Fayan school, named after Fa-yen Wen-i (885–958) became the dominant school in the southern kingdoms of Nan-T'ang (
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into ...
, Chiang-hsi) and
Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in th ...
(Che-chiang).


Literary Chan – Song dynasty (c. 960–1300)

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period was followed by the Song dynasty, which established a strong central government. During the Song dynasty, Chan (禪) was used by the government to strengthen its control over the country, and Chan grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal picture of the Chan of the Tang period was produced, which served the legacy of this newly acquired status:


Five Houses of Chan

During the Song the ''Five Houses (Ch. 五家) of Chan'', or five "schools", were recognized. These were not originally regarded as "schools" or "sects", but based on the various Chan-genealogies. Historically they have come to be understood as "schools". The Five Houses of Chan are: *
Guiyang school The Guiyang school (, also read Weiyang School) is one of the sects of Chan Buddhism. History The Guiyang school was the first established house of the Five Houses of Chán. Guiyang is named after master Guishan Lingyou (771–854) and his disci ...
(潙仰宗), named after masters
Guishan Lingyou Guishan Lingyou (; Japanese: Isan Reiyu) (771–853) was a Chinese Chan master during the Tang Dynasty and the founder of the Guiyang school. Life *771: born under the secular surname Zhao, born in Changxi, Fujian province *785: became a Buddh ...
(771–854) and Yangshan Huiji (813–890), dharma-descendants of
Mazu Daoyi Mazu Daoyi (709–788) (, Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his ''Extensive Records''. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange wo ...
; *
Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song dyn ...
(臨濟宗), named after master
Linji Yixuan Linji Yixuan (; ja, 臨済義玄 ''Rinzai Gigen''; died 866 CE) was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Línjì yǔlù Information on Linji is based on the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (臨濟語錄; Japanese ...
(died 866), whose lineage came to be traced to Mazu, establishing him as the archetypal iconoclastic Chan-master; *
Caodong Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán. Etymology The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòng ...
school (曹洞宗), named after masters
Dongshan Liangjie Dongshan Liangjie (807–869) (; ) was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty. He founded the Caodong school (), which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century (Song-Yuan era) by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. D ...
(807–869) and Caoshan Benji (840–901); *
Yunmen school Yunmen Wenyan (c. 860–949) was a Zen Buddhist master. Yunmen may also refer to: * Yunmen school of Chan Buddhism, named after Yunmen Wenyan *Yunmen, an acupuncture point on the lung meridian * Yunmen Subdistrict () of Hechuan District, Chongqin ...
(雲門宗), named after master
Yunmen Wenyan Yunmen Wenyan (; romaji: ''Ummon Bun'en''; 862 or 864 – 949 CE), was a major Chinese Chan master of the Tang dynasty. He was a dharma-heir of Xuefeng Yicunbr>} Yunmen founded the Yunmen school, one of the five major schools of Chán (Chin ...
(died 949), a student of
Xuefeng Yicun Xuefeng Yicun (822-908) (; ; ) was a Chinese Chan-master who was influential during the Tang Dynasty. The Yunmen school and Fayan school originated with descendants of his lineage. Biography According to the ''Wudeng Huiyuan'' ("Compendium of ...
(822–908), whose lineage was traced to
Shitou Xiqian Shítóu Xīqiān (700-790) () was an 8th-century Chinese Zen, Chán (Zen) Buddhist teacher and author. All existing branches of Zen throughout the world are said to descend either from Shitou Xiqian or from his contemporary Mazu Daoyi. Biography ...
: * Fayan school (法眼宗), named after master
Fayan Wenyi Qingliang Wenyi (), Biography of the eminent monks of Song dynasty. Vol.13 also known as Fayan Wenyi ()Blue Cliff Records is a Chinese Buddhist monk in the early 10th century. Wenyi was born in Yuhang. His secular surname is Lu. Fayan school, on ...
(885–958), a "grand-student" of
Xuefeng Yicun Xuefeng Yicun (822-908) (; ; ) was a Chinese Chan-master who was influential during the Tang Dynasty. The Yunmen school and Fayan school originated with descendants of his lineage. Biography According to the ''Wudeng Huiyuan'' ("Compendium of ...
.


Rise of the Linji-school

The Linji-school became the dominant school within Chan, due to support from the literati and the court. Before the Song dynasty, the Linji-school is rather obscure, and very little is known about its early history. The first mention of Linji is in the ''Zutang ji'', compiled in 952, 86 years after Linji's death. But the ''Zutang ji'' pictures the
Xuefeng Yicun Xuefeng Yicun (822-908) (; ; ) was a Chinese Chan-master who was influential during the Tang Dynasty. The Yunmen school and Fayan school originated with descendants of his lineage. Biography According to the ''Wudeng Huiyuan'' ("Compendium of ...
lineage as heir to the legacy of Mazu and the Hongzhou-school. According to Welter, the real founder of the Linji-school was Shoushan (or Baoying) Shengnian (首山省念) (926–993), a fourth generation dharma-heir of Linji. The ''Tiansheng Guangdeng lu'' (天聖廣燈錄), "Tiansheng Era Expanded Lamp Record", compiled by the official Li Zunxu (李遵勗) (988–1038) confirms the status of Shoushan Shengnian, but also pictures Linji as a major Chan patriarch and heir to the Mazu, displacing the prominence of the Fayan-lineage. It also established the slogan of "a special transmission outside the teaching", supporting the Linji-school claim of "Chan as separate from and superior to all other Buddhist teachings".


Dahui Zonggao

Over the course of Song dynasty (960–1279), the Guiyang, Fayan, and Yunmen schools were gradually absorbed into the Linji. Song Chan was dominated by the Linji school of Dahui Zonggao, which in turn became strongly affiliated to the Imperial Court: The Wu-shan system was a system of state-controlled temples, which were established by the Song government in all provinces.


Koan-system

The teaching styles and words of the classical masters were recorded in the so-called "encounter dialogues". Snippets of these encounter dialogues were collected in texts as the ''
Blue Cliff Record The ''Blue Cliff Record'' () is a collection of Chan Buddhist kōans originally compiled in Song China in 1125, during the reign of Emperor Huizong, and then expanded into its present form by Chan master Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135; ).K. Sekida, ...
'' (1125) of Yuanwu, ''
The Gateless Gate ''The Gateless Barrier'' (Mandarin: 無門關 ''Wúménguān''; Japanese: 無門関 ''Mumonkan''), sometimes translated as ''The Gateless Gate'', is a collection of 48 Chan ( Zen) koans compiled in the early 13th century by the Chinese Zen mast ...
'' (1228) of Wumen, both of the Linji lineage, and the ''
Book of Equanimity ''Book of Equanimity'' or ''Book of Serenity'' or ''Book of Composure'' (Chinese: 從容錄, Cóngróng lù; Japanese: 従容錄, ''Shōyōroku'') is a book compiled by Wansong Xingxiu (1166–1246), and first published in 1224. The book compris ...
'' (1223) by
Wansong Xingxiu Wansong Xingxiu () or Wansong Yelao () (1166–1246) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who lived under the Jin dynasty and Mongol Empire. He was an influential member of the Caodong school of Chan Buddhism. Biography Wansong was born into the Cai fa ...
of the Caodong lineage. These texts became classic gōng'àn cases, together with verse and prose commentaries, which crystallized into the systematized gōng'àn (koan) practice. According to Miura and Sasaki, " was during the lifetime of Yüan-wu's successor, Dahui Zonggao (大慧宗杲; 1089–1163) that Koan Chan entered its determinative stage." Gōng'àn practice was prevalent in the Linji school, to which Yuanwu and Dahui belonged, but it was also employed on a more limited basis by the Caodong school. The recorded encounter dialogues, and the koan collections which derived from this genre, mark a shift from solitary practice to the interaction between master and student: This mutual enquiry of the meaning of the encounters of masters and students of the past gave students a role model: There were dangers involved in such a literary approach, such as fixing specific meanings to the cases. Dahui Zonggao is even said to have burned the woodblocks of the ''Blue Cliff Record'', for the hindrance it had become to study of Chan by his students


Silent illumination

The Caodong was the other school to survive into the Song period. Its main protagonist was Hung-chih Cheng-chueh, a contemporary of Dahui Zonggao. It put emphasis on "silent illumination", or "just sitting". This approach was attacked by Dahui as being mere passivity, and lacking emphasis on gaining insight into one's true nature. Cheng-chueh in his turn criticized the emphasis on koan study.


Post-classical Chan (c. 1300–present)


Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)

The Yuan dynasty was the empire established by Kublai Khan, the leader of the Borjigin clan, after the Mongol Empire conquered the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and the Southern Song dynasty. Chan began to be mixed with
Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism (; ja, 浄土仏教, translit=Jōdo bukkyō; , also referred to as Amidism in English,) is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Buddha's Buddha-field or Pure Land. It is one of the most wide ...
as in the teachings of Zhongfeng Mingben (1263–1323). During this period, other Chan lineages, not necessarily connected with the original lineage, began to emerge with the 108th Chan Patriarch,
Dhyānabhadra Dhyānabhadra (also known as Sunyadisya, Chi-Gong and Zhikong Chanxian) (1289–1363 C.E.) was an Indian Buddhist monk and translator. He taught first in China but later came to teach in Korea towards the end of the Goryeo dynasty. He was affilia ...
active in both China and Korea.


Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Chan Buddhism enjoyed something of a revival in the Ming dynasty, with teachers such as
Hanshan Deqing Hānshān Déqīng () (1546–1623), formerly transliterated Han-Shan Te-Ch’ing, was a leading Buddhist monk and poet of Ming dynasty China who widely propagated the teachings of Chán and Pure Land Buddhism. Life According to his autobio ...
(憨山德清), who wrote and taught extensively on both Chan and Pure Land Buddhism; Miyun Yuanwu (密雲圓悟), who came to be seen posthumously as the first patriarch of the Ōbaku school of
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and l ...
; and as Yunqi Zhuhong (雲棲祩宏) and Ouyi Zhixu (蕅益智旭). Chan was taught alongside other Buddhist traditions such as Pure Land, Huayan, Tiantai and
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' (, "true ...
in many monasteries. In continuity with Buddhism in the previous dynasties, Buddhist masters taught integrated teachings from the various traditions as opposed to advocating for any sectarian delineation between the various schools of thought. With the downfall of the Ming, several Chan masters fled to Japan, founding the Ōbaku school.


Qing dynasty (1644–1912)

At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, Chan was "reinvented", by the "revival of beating and shouting practices" by Miyun Yuanwu (1566–1642), and the publication of the ''Wudeng yantong'' ("The strict transmission of the five Chan schools") by Feiyin Tongrong's (1593–1662), a dharma heir of Miyun Yuanwu. The book placed self-proclaimed Chan monks without proper Dharma transmission in the category of "lineage unknown" (''sifa weixiang''), thereby excluding several prominent Caodong monks.


Modernisation


19th century (late Qing dynasty)

Around 1900, Buddhists from other Asian countries showed a growing interest in Chinese Buddhism.
Anagarika Dharmapala Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer. Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...
visited Shanghai in 1893,Lewis Hodus (1923), ''Buddhism and Buddhists in China. Chapter IX: Present-Day Buddhism''
/ref> intending "to make a tour of China, to arouse the Chinese Buddhists to send missionaries to India to restore Buddhism there, and then to start a propaganda throughout the whole world", but eventually limiting his stay to Shanghai. Japanese Buddhist missionaries were active in China in the beginning of the 20th century.


Republic of China (1912–1949) – First Buddhist Revival

The modernisation of China led to the end of the Chinese Empire, and the installation of the Republic of China, which lasted on the mainland until the
Communist Revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution often, but not necessarily, inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, socialism can be used as an intermediate stag ...
and the installation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. After further centuries of decline during the Qing, Chan was revived again in the early 20th century by
Hsu Yun Xuyun or Hsu Yun (; 5 September 1840? – 13 October 1959) was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and an influential Buddhist teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries. Early life Xuyun was purportedly born on 5 September 1840 in Fujian, Q ...
(虛雲), a well-known figure of 20th-century Chinese Buddhism. Many Chan teachers today trace their lineage to Hsu Yun, including
Sheng Yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...
(聖嚴) and
Hsuan Hua Hsuan Hua (; April 16, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the la ...
(宣化), who have propagated Chan in the West where it has grown steadily through the 20th and 21st century. The Buddhist reformist Taixu propagated a Chan-influenced humanistic Buddhism, which is endorsed by Jing Hui, former abbot of Bailin Monastery. Until 1949, monasteries were built in the Southeast Asian countries, for example by monks of Guanghua Monastery, to spread Chinese Buddhism. Presently, Guanghua Monastery has seven branches in the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia.Voice of Longquan, ''Guanghua Monastery''


People's Republic of China (1949–present) – Second Buddhist Revival

Chan was repressed in China during the recent modern era in the early periods of the People's Republic, but subsequently has been re-asserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as among Overseas Chinese. Since the
Chinese economic reform The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of Ch ...
of the 1970s, a new revival of Chinese Buddhism has been ongoing.Mitch Moxley (2010), ''Buddhism Enjoys A Revival''
/ref>Erica B. Mitchell (201), ''A Revival of Buddhism?''
Ancient Buddhist temples, such as Bailin Monastery and Guanghua Monastery have been refurbished. Bailin Monastery was ruined long before 1949. In 1988, Jing Hui was persuaded to take over the Hebei Buddhist Association, and start rebuilding the Monastery. Jing Hui is a student and dharma successorThe Dharma Lineage of my Master: Grand Master Jing Hui, Abbot of Bai-lin (Cypress Forest)
/ref> of
Hsu Yun Xuyun or Hsu Yun (; 5 September 1840? – 13 October 1959) was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and an influential Buddhist teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries. Early life Xuyun was purportedly born on 5 September 1840 in Fujian, Q ...
, but has also adopted the Humanistic Buddhism of Taixu. Guanghua Monastery was restored beginning in 1979, when a six-year restoration program began under the supervision of then 70-year-old Venerable Master Yuanzhou (圆拙老法师). In 1983 the temple became one of the Chinese Buddhism Regional Temples (汉族地区全国重点寺院) whilst 36-year-old Master Yiran (毅然法師) became abbot. The same year, Venerable Master Yuanzhou funded the establishment of the new Fujian Buddhism Academy (福建佛学院) on the site.


Taiwan

Several Chinese Buddhist teachers left China during the Communist Revolution, and settled in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Sheng Yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...
(1930–2009) was the founder of the
Dharma Drum Mountain Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving th ...
, a Buddhist organization based in Taiwan. During his time in Taiwan, Sheng Yen was well known as one of the progressive Buddhist teachers who sought to teach Buddhism in a modern and Western-influenced world. As such, Sheng yen published over 30 Chan texts in English.
Wei Chueh Wei Chueh (, 1928 – 8 April 2016) was a Chinese ''Bhikshu'' (Buddhist monk) from Taiwan. He is the founder of the Chung Tai Shan monastery and Buddhist order. Wei Chueh is often credited for reviving the traditional teachings of Chan Buddhism ...
(1928–2016) was born in Sichuan, China, and ordained in Taiwan. In 1982, he founded Lin Quan Temple in Taipei County and became known for his teaching on
Ch'an Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...
practices by offering many lectures and seven-day Ch'an retreats. His order is called
Chung Tai Shan Chung Tai Shan () is a Taiwan-based international Chan Buddhist monastic order founded by the Ven. Wei Chueh in 1987. The monastery headquarters, Chung Tai Chan Monastery (or Chung Tai Chan Buddhist Temple, 中台禪寺), completed in September ...
. Two additional traditions emerged in the 1960s, based their teaching on
Ch'an Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...
practices.
Cheng Yen Cheng Yen (; born Chin-Yun Wong; 14 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun ( bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropist. She is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, a Buddhist humanitar ...
(born 1937), a Buddhist nun, founded the
Tzu Chi Foundation Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, known for short as the Tzu Chi Foundation ( zh, t=佛教慈濟慈善事業基金會, p=Fójiào Cí Jì Císhàn Shìyè Jījīn Huì, l=Buddhist Compassionate Relief Charity Foundation), is a Taiwanese in ...
as a charity organization with
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
origins on 14 May 1966 in Hualien, Taiwan. She was inspired by her master and mentor, the late Venerable Master Yin Shun (印順導師, Yìn Shùn dǎoshī) a proponent of Humanistic Buddhism, who exhorted her to "work for Buddhism and for all sentient beings". The organisation began with a motto of "instructing the rich and saving the poor" as a group of thirty
housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying a ...
who donated a small amount of money each day to care for needy families. Hsing Yun (born 1927), founded the Fo Guang Shan an international
Chinese Buddhist Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, m ...
new religious movement based in Taiwan in 1967. The order promotes Humanistic Buddhism. Fo Guang Shan also calls itself the International Buddhist Progress Society. The headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, located in
Dashu District Dashu District () is a suburban district located in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan near the Kaoping River. Fo Guang Shan is one of largest tourist attractions in Dashu District. It is also the base of E-Da World, a new lifestyle destination that encompa ...
, Kaohsiung, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. Hsing Yun's stated position within Fo Guang Shan is that it is an "amalgam of all Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism" (), including Chan. Fo Guang Shan is the most comprehensive of the major Buddhist organizations of Taiwan, focusing extensively on both social works and religious engagement. In Taiwan, these four masters are popularly referred to as the "
Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...
" of Taiwanese Buddhism, with their respective organizations
Dharma Drum Mountain Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving th ...
,
Chung Tai Shan Chung Tai Shan () is a Taiwan-based international Chan Buddhist monastic order founded by the Ven. Wei Chueh in 1987. The monastery headquarters, Chung Tai Chan Monastery (or Chung Tai Chan Buddhist Temple, 中台禪寺), completed in September ...
, Tzu Chi, and Fo Guang Shan being referred to as the " Four Great Mountains".


Spread of Chan Buddhism in Asia


Thiền in Vietnam

According to traditional accounts of Vietnam, in 580 an Indian monk named Vinītaruci ( vi, Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi) traveled to Vietnam after completing his studies with Sengcan, the third patriarch of Chinese Chan. This, then, would be the first appearance of Thiền Buddhism. Other early Thiền schools included that of Wu Yantong (), which was associated with the teachings of Mazu Daoyi, and the Thảo Đường (Caodong), which incorporated nianfo chanting techniques; both were founded by Chinese monks.


Seon in Korea

Seon was gradually transmitted into Korea during the late Silla period (7th through 9th centuries) as Korean monks of predominantly
Hwaeom The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based prim ...
() and East Asian Yogācāra () background began to travel to China to learn the newly developing tradition. Seon received its most significant impetus and consolidation from the
Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...
monk Jinul (知訥) (1158–1210), who established a reform movement and introduced kōan practice to Korea. Jinul established the Songgwangsa (松廣寺) as a new center of pure practice.


Zen in Japan

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and l ...
was not introduced as a separate school in Japan until the 12th century when
Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he w ...
traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which is known in Japan as the Rinzai. In 1215, Dōgen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to China himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master
Rujing Tiāntóng Rújìng (天童如淨; Japanese: Tendō Nyojō) (1163-1228) was a Caodong Buddhist monk living in Qìngdé Temple (慶徳寺; Japanese: Keitoku-ji) on Tiāntóng Mountain (天童山; Japanese: Tendouzan) in Yinzhou District, Ningbo. H ...
. After his return, Dōgen established the Sōtō school, the Japanese branch of Caodong. The schools of Zen that currently exist in Japan are the Sōtō, Rinzai and Ōbaku. Of these, Sōtō is the largest and Ōbaku the smallest. Rinzai is itself divided into several subschools based on temple affiliation, including Myōshin-ji,
Nanzen-ji , or Zuiryusan Nanzen-ji, formerly , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291 on the site of his previous detached palace. It is also the headquarters of the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. The precincts ...
, Tenryū-ji,
Daitoku-ji is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" ('' sangō'') by which it is known is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex today covers more ...
, and
Tōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.Japan ReferenceTōfuku-ji/ref> It is one of the Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". Its ...
.


Chan in Indonesia

In the 20th century, during the First Buddhist revival, missionaries were sent to Indonesia and Malaysia.
Ashin Jinarakkhita Ashin Jinarakkhita (23 January 1923 – 18 April 2002), born Tee Boan-an 戴滿安 was an Indonesian-born Chinese who revived Buddhism in Indonesia. He was also known as Bhante Ashin, Tizheng Lao Heshang 體正老和尚, Teh-ching, Sukong 師� ...
, who played a central role in the revival of Indonesian Buddhism, received ordination as a Chan
śrāmaṇera A sāmaṇera (Pali); sa, श्रामणेर (), is a novice male monastic in a Buddhist context. A female novice is a ''śrāmaṇerī'' or ''śrāmaṇerikā'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''sāmaṇerī''). Etymology The ''sāmaṇera'' is a ...
on July 29, 1953Ven. Ditthisampanno, ''Buddhism in Indonesia, Past and Present''
and received the name Ti Zheng (Te Cheng) from bhikṣu Ben Qing.


Chan in the Western world

Chan has become especially popular in its Japanese form. Although it is difficult to trace when the West first became aware of Chan as a distinct form of Buddhism, the visit of
Soyen Shaku Soyen Shaku (, January 10, 1860 – October 29, 1919; written in modern Japanese ''Shaku Sōen'' or ''Kōgaku Shaku Sōen'') was the first Zen Buddhist master to teach in the United States. He was a rōshi of the Rinzai school and was abbot of both ...
, a Japanese Zen monk, to Chicago during the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions is often pointed to as an event that enhanced its profile in the Western world. It was during the late 1950s and the early 1960s that the number of Westerners pursuing a serious interest in Zen, other than the descendants of Asian immigrants, reached a significant level.


Western Chan lineages

The first Chinese master to teach Westerners in North America was
Hsuan Hua Hsuan Hua (; April 16, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the la ...
, who taught Chan and other traditions of Chinese Buddhism in San Francisco during the early 1960s. He went on to found the
City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas () is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by Hsuan Hua, an important figure in Western Buddhism. It is one of the first Chan Buddhist temples in the United States, and one of the largest B ...
, a monastery and retreat center located on a 237-acre (959,000 m2) property near Ukiah, California, and thus founding the
Dharma Realm Buddhist Association The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (shortened to DRBA, Chinese: 法界佛教總會, PY: ''Fajie Fojiao Zonghui'', formerly known as the Sino-American Buddhist Association) is an international, non-profit Buddhist organization founded by the ...
. Another Chinese Chan teacher with a Western following was
Sheng Yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...
, a master trained in both the Caodong and Linji schools. He first visited the United States in 1978 under the sponsorship of the Buddhist Association of the United States, and subsequently founded the CMC Chan Meditation Center in
Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
and the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in
Pine Bush, New York Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of Crawford and adjacent to Shawangunk, New York, within Orange and adjacent to Ulster counties in the U.S. It is roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telep ...
.Dharma Drum Mountain
Who Is Master Sheng-yen


Doctrinal background

Though Zen-narrative states that it is a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words", Zen does have a rich doctrinal background.


Polarities

Classical Chinese Chan is characterised by a set of polarities: absolute-relative, Buddha-nature – sunyata, sudden and gradual enlightenment, esoteric and exoteric transmission.


Absolute-relative

The
Prajnaparamita A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda ...
sutras and
Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...
emphasize the non-duality of form and emptiness: "form is emptiness, emptiness is form", as the '' Heart sutra'' says. This was understood to mean that ultimate reality is not a transcendental realm, but equal to the daily world of relative reality. This idea fitted into the Chinese culture, which emphasized the mundane world and society. But this does not fully explain how the absolute is present in the relative world. This question is answered in such schemata as the
Five Ranks The ''Five Ranks'' (; ) is a poem consisting of five stanzas describing the stages of realization in the practice of Zen Buddhism. It expresses the interplay of absolute and relative truth and the fundamental non-dualism of Buddhist teaching. ...
of Tozan, the
Ten Bulls Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures (Chinese: ''shíniú'' 十牛 , Japanese: ''jūgyūzu'' 十牛図 , korean: ''sipwoo'' 십우) is a series of short poems and accompanying drawings used in the Zen tradition to describe the stages of a pra ...
("the Oxherding Pictures"), and Hakuin's Four ways of knowing. The Madhyamaka two truths doctrine and the Yogacara three natures and
Trikaya The Trikāya doctrine ( sa, त्रिकाय, lit. "three bodies"; , ) is a Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of Buddhahood. The doctrine says that Buddha has three ''kāyas'' or ''bodies'', the ''Dharm ...
doctrines also give depictions of the interplay between the absolute and the relative.


Buddha-nature and śūnyatā

When Buddhism was introduced in China it was understood in native terms. Various sects struggled to attain an understanding of the Indian texts. The ''
Tathāgatagarbha sūtras The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras are a group of Mahayana sutras that present the concept of the "womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the tathāgata, the buddha. Every sentient being has the possibility to attain Buddhahood because of the ''tathāgat ...
'' and the idea of the
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
were endorsed because of the perceived similarities with the
Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...
, which was understood as a transcendental reality underlying the world of appearances.
Śūnyatā ''Śūnyatā'' ( sa, शून्यता, śūnyatā; pi, suññatā) pronounced in English as (shoon-ya-ta), translated most often as ''emptiness'', ''vacuity'', and sometimes ''voidness'', is a Buddhist concept which has multiple meani ...
at first was understood as pointing to the Taoist '' wu''. The doctrine of the Buddha-nature asserts that all
sentient beings Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...
have
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
(Skt. ''Buddhadhātu'', "Buddha Element", "Buddha-Principle"), the element from which awakening springs. The ''Tathāgatagarbha sutras'' state that every living being has the potential to realize awakening. Hence Buddhism offers salvation to everyone, not only to monks or those who have freed themselves almost completely from karma in previous lives. The Yogacara theory of the Eight Consciousnesses explains how sensory input and the mind create the world we experience, and obscure the alaya-jnana, which is equated to the Buddha-nature. When this potential is realized, and the defilements have been eliminated, the Buddha-nature manifests as the Dharmakaya, the absolute reality which pervades everything in the world. In this way, it is also the primordial reality from which phenomenal reality springs. When this understanding is idealized, it becomes a transcendental reality beneath the world of appearances. Sunyata points to the "emptiness" or no-"thing"-ness of all "things". Though we perceive a world of concrete and discrete objects, designated by names, on close analysis the "thingness" dissolves, leaving them "empty" of inherent existence. The ''Heart sutra'', a text from the prajñaparamita sutras, articulates this in the following saying in which the five skandhas are said to be "empty": Yogacara explains this "emptiness" in an analysis of the way we perceive "things". Everything we conceive of is the result of the working of the five skandhas—results of perception, feeling, volition, and discrimination. The five skandhas together compose consciousness. The "things" we are conscious of are "mere concepts", not noumenon. It took Chinese Buddhism several centuries to recognize that śūnyatā is not identical to "wu", nor does Buddhism postulate a permanent soul. The influence of those various doctrinal and textual backgrounds is still discernible in Zen. Zen teachers still refer to Buddha-nature, but the Zen tradition also emphasizes that Buddha-nature ''is'' śūnyatā, the absence of an independent and substantial self.


Sudden and gradual enlightenment

In Zen Buddhism two main views on the way to enlightenment are discernible, namely
sudden James Green aka "Sudden" is a fictional character created by an English author Oliver Strange in the early 1930s as the hero of a series, originally published by George Newnes Books Ltd, set in the American Wild West era. Oliver Strange died i ...
and gradual enlightenment. Early Chan recognized the "transcendence of the body and mind", followed by "non-defilement fknowledge and perception", or sudden insight into the true nature ( ''jiànxìng'') followed by gradual purification of intentions. In the 8th century Chan history was effectively refashioned by
Shenhui Heze Shenhui (Chinese:菏泽神會/神会; Wade–Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne, 684–758) was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the so-called "Southern School" of Zen, who "claimed to have studied under Huineng." Shenhui is notable for his s ...
, who created a dichotomy between the so-called East Mountain Teaching or "Northern School", led by Yuquan Shenxiu, and his own line of teaching, which he called the "Southern school". Shenhui placed
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
into prominence as the sixth Chan-patriarch, and emphasized ''sudden enlightenment'', as opposed to the concurrent Northern School's alleged ''gradual enlightenment''. According to the ''sudden enlightenment'' propagated by Shenhui, insight into true nature is sudden; thereafter there can be no misunderstanding anymore about this true nature. In the ''
Platform Sutra The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher spe ...
'', the dichotomy between sudden and gradual is reconciled.
Guifeng Zongmi Guifeng Zongmi () (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on th ...
, fifth-generation successor to Shenhui, also softened the edge between sudden and gradual. In his analysis, sudden awakening points to seeing into one's true nature, but is to be followed by a gradual cultivation to attain
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point o ...
. This gradual cultivation is also recognized by
Dongshan Liangjie Dongshan Liangjie (807–869) (; ) was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty. He founded the Caodong school (), which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century (Song-Yuan era) by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. D ...
(Japanese ''Tōzan''), who described the five ranks of enlightenment.The Five Ranks of Tozan
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Esoteric and exoteric transmission

According to Borup the emphasis on 'mind to mind transmission' is a form of esoteric transmission, in which "the tradition and the enlightened mind is transmitted face to face". Metaphorically this can be described as the transmission from a flame from one candle to another candle, or the transmission from one vein to another. In exoteric transmission requires "direct access to the teaching through a personal discovery of one's self. This type of transmission and identification is symbolized by the discovery of a shining lantern, or a mirror."


Chan scripture

Chan is deeply rooted in the teachings and doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism. What the Chan tradition emphasizes is that the enlightenment of the Buddha came not through intellectual reasoning, but rather through self-realization in Dharma practice and meditation. Therefore, it is held that it is primarily through Dharma practice and meditation that others may attain enlightenment and become Buddhas as well. A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Chan masters clearly reveals that they were all well-versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras. For example, in the '' Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch'',
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
cites and explains the '' Diamond Sūtra'', the ''
Lotus Sūtra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...
'' (''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra''), the '' Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra'', the ''
Śūraṅgama Sūtra The ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: शूरङ्गम सूत्र; ) (Taisho 945) is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra that has been especially influential in Chan Buddhism. The general doctrinal outlook of the ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' is ...
'', and the ''
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' ( Sanskrit, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅka" bo, ལང་ཀར་བཤེགས་པའི་མདོ་, Chinese:入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. This sūtra recounts a teachi ...
''. The Chan school had to develop a doctrinal tradition of its own to establish its position. Subsequently, the Chan tradition produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Among the earliest and most widely studied of the specifically Chan texts, dating to at least the 9th century CE, is the ''Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch'', attributed to Huineng. The most important Chan texts belong to the "encounter dialogue" genre, which developed into various collections of '' kōans''.


Teaching and practice

:''See also Zen practice''


Bodhisattva ideal

As a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Chan draws many of its basic driving concepts from that tradition, such as the
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
ideal.
Karuṇā ' () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Buddhism is important in ...
is the counterpart of prajna.
Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...
embodies the striving for Karuna, compassion. Central to Chan practice is dhyana or meditation. In the Lin-ji (Rinzai) school this is supplemented with koan study.


Chan meditation

In meditation practice, the Chan tradition holds that the very notions of doctrine and teachings create various other notions and appearances (Skt. ''
saṃjñā ''Saṃjñā'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''sañña'') is a Buddhist term that is typically translated as "perception" or "cognition." It can be defined as grasping at the distinguishing features or characteristics. ''Samjñā'' has multiple meanings dep ...
''; Ch. 相, ''xiāng'') that obscure the transcendent wisdom of each being's Buddha-nature. Thus, Chan encourages its practitioners to distrust the very scripture or text being taught to them. The process of rediscovery goes under various terms such as "introspection", "a backward step", "turning-about" or "turning the eye inward".


Sitting meditation

Sitting meditation is called ''zuòchán'' (坐禅), ''
zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technical ...
'' in Japanese, both simply meaning "sitting dhyāna". During this sitting meditation, practitioners usually assume a position such as the lotus position, half-lotus, Burmese, or seiza postures. To regulate the mind, awareness is directed towards counting or watching the breath, or put in the energy center below the navel (see also
anapanasati Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ''ānāpānasmṛti''), meaning "mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist me ...
). Often, a square or round cushion placed on a padded mat is used to sit on; in some other cases, a chair may be used. At the beginning of the Song dynasty, practice with the koan method became popular, whereas others practiced "silent illumination." This became the source of some differences in practice between the Linji and Caodong traditions.


Koan practice

A koan (literally "public case") is a story or dialogue, generally related to Chan or other Buddhist histories; the most typical form is an anecdote involving early Chinese Chan masters. These anecdotes involving famous Chan teachers are a practical demonstration of their wisdom, and can be used to test a student's progress in Chan practice. Koans often appear to be
paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...
ical or linguistically meaningless dialogues or questions. But to Chan Buddhists, the koan is "the place and the time and the event where truth reveals itself" unobstructed by the oppositions and differentiation of language. Answering a koan requires a student to let go of conceptual thinking and of the logical way we order the world, so that, like creativity in art, the appropriate insight and response arises naturally and spontaneously in the mind.


Chan monasticism

Chan developed a distinct monastic system.


Emphasizing daily life

As the Chan school grew in China, the monastic discipline also became distinct, focusing on practice through all aspects of life. Temples began emphasizing labor and humility, expanding the training of Chan to include the mundane tasks of daily life. The Chinese Chan master Baizhang (720–814 CE) left behind a famous saying which had been the guiding principle of his life, "A day without work is a day without food"., entry "Baizhang Huaihai"


Sinification of Buddhism in China

It was scholar
D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
's contention that a spiritual awakening was always the goal of Chan's training, but that part of what distinguished the tradition as it developed through the centuries in China was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists. In Indian Buddhism, the tradition of the mendicant prevailed, but Suzuki explained that in China social circumstances led to the development of a temple and training-center system in which the abbot and the monks all performed mundane tasks. These included food gardening or farming, carpentry, architecture, housekeeping, administration (or community direction), and the practice of Traditional Chinese medicine. Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Chan had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.


See also

*
Blue Cliff Record The ''Blue Cliff Record'' () is a collection of Chan Buddhist kōans originally compiled in Song China in 1125, during the reign of Emperor Huizong, and then expanded into its present form by Chan master Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135; ).K. Sekida, ...
*''
Hua Tou ''Hua Tou'' (話頭, Korean: ''hwadu'', Japanese: ''wato'') is part of a form of Buddhist meditation known as ''Gongfu'' 工夫 (not to be confused with the Martial Arts 功夫 ) common in the teachings of Chan Buddhism, Korean Seon and Rinzai Ze ...
'' *
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
*
Outline of Buddhism Buddhism (Pali and sa, बौद्ध धर्म ''Buddha Dharma'') is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the B ...
*
Timeline of Buddhism The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Buddhism from the birth of Gautama Buddha to the present. Timeline Dates 6th–5th century BCE 4th century BCE 3rd century BCE 2nd century BCE 1st century BCE 1st century ...
*
List of Buddhists This is a list of notable Buddhists, encompassing all the major branches of the religion (i.e. in Buddhism), and including interdenominational and eclectic Buddhist practitioners. This list includes both formal teachers of Buddhism, and people not ...
* Chinese Buddhism *
Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mah� ...
* Yiduan


Notes


References


Sources


Printed sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Web-sources


Further reading

Modern classics * D.T. Suzuki, ''Essays in Zen Buddhism, 3 vols'' * Thomas Cleary, ''Zen Mind, Buddha Mind'' * J. C. Cleary, ''Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui'' Classic history * Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), ''Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China''. World Wisdom Books. * Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), ''Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan''. World Wisdom Books. Critical Zen-studies * Jeffrey Broughton, ''Zongmi on Chan''. * Sung Bae Park, ''Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment''.


External links

Oversight
Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library

The Zen Site
Overview of Chan centers *



Specific Chan centers
Western Ch'an Fellowship Official Website

Dharma Drum Retreat Center (New York) Official Website. Established by Chan Master Sheng Yen.
Texts




Shambhala Sun Zen Articles


from Fo Guang Shan History
Buddhism and Confucianism in Chan Sudden Approach: A Cunning Cultural Paradigm






Critical Chan Research

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120210070503/http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/sharf/2.html Homepage of Robert H. Sharf* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Chan Yogacara Buddhism in China