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The Teachings of the Patriarchs: A Study of Chan Lineage Fragments in the Zongjing Lu

Albert Welter

in Yongming Yanshou’s Conception of Chan in the Zongjing lu: A Special Transmission Within the Scriptures

This chapter provides an extensive analysis of fragments attributed to Chan masters in the Zongjing lu. Through comparisons with other, roughly contemporary sources, Yanshou’s aims for Chan become ... More

This chapter provides an extensive analysis of fragments attributed to Chan masters in the Zongjing lu. Through comparisons with other, roughly contemporary sources, Yanshou’s aims for Chan become clear. The examination focuses on the Chan lineage fragments contained in fascicle one, as well fascicles ninety-seven and ninety-eight, two fascicles exclusively devoted to the teachings of Chan lineage masters. The importance of the Zongjing lu is revealed in a number of ways: through the alternate fragments of Chan master’s teachings it contains (cases where the Zongjing lu fragments expose significant differences with other known sources); through the fragments contained in the Zongjing lu which are not found in other sources (cases where Zongjing lu fragments are our only source); and through its depiction of Mazu Daoy and the Hongzhou faction, which tends to contrast sharply with conventional interpretation.Less

Mazu yulu and the Creation of the Chan Records of Sayings

Mario Poceski

Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds)

in The Zen Canon: Understanding the Classic Texts

This chapter analyzes the Mazu yulu, compiled around 1085, which purports to record the life and teachings of the famous Zen monk, Mazu Daoyi (709-788). It examines the structure of the text, its ... More

This chapter analyzes the Mazu yulu, compiled around 1085, which purports to record the life and teachings of the famous Zen monk, Mazu Daoyi (709-788). It examines the structure of the text, its complex internal structure and style, and reflects on the image provided in this text of the “golden age of Zen” in the Tang dynasty. The author places this text in relation to the larger genre of “Records of Sayings” (yulu), using that analysis to begin to rethink the history of Chinese Chan Buddhism.Less

 Regional Spread of the Hongzhou School

Mario Poceski

in Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism

This chapter focuses on Mazu's immediate disciples and surveys the regional growth of the Hongzhou school during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. The discussion is organized according to ... More

This chapter focuses on Mazu's immediate disciples and surveys the regional growth of the Hongzhou school during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. The discussion is organized according to regional boundaries, encompassing four main geographical areas: Jiangxi and the rest of southern China, central China or the middle Yangtze area, the lower Yangtze area, and the North. Xitang (735-817) and Baizhang receive individual treatment as Mazu's leading disciples. The spread of the Hongzhou school into the two Tang capitals is also considered. The activities of Mazu's disciples in Chang'an and Luoyang form an important chapter in the Hongzhou school's history. By overlooking these monks and their activities, traditional and modern historians misconstrued the pattern of the Hongzhou school's growth and its place in Tang Buddhism.Less

Introduction

Mario Poceski

in Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism

This introductory chapter discusses the main focus of the book — the Hongzhou school, which, under the leadership of Mazu Daoyi (709-788) and his disciples, replaced the various traditions of early ... More

This introductory chapter discusses the main focus of the book — the Hongzhou school, which, under the leadership of Mazu Daoyi (709-788) and his disciples, replaced the various traditions of early Chan and dominated the Chan movement for nearly a century, from around the aftermath of the An Lushan rebellion (755-763) until after the Huichang-era (841-845) persecution of Buddhism. As Mazu and his leading disciples came to occupy central positions within the Chan movement, stories about their spiritual exploits became prominent in traditional Chan lore. An overview of the chapters included in this volume is presented.Less

Monastic Innovator, Iconoclast, and Teacher of Doctrine: The Varied Images of Chan Master Baizhang

Mario Poceski

in Zen Masters

Over the centuries, diverse Chan/Zen traditions throughout East Asia have venerated Baizhang Huaihai (J. Hyakujō Ekai, 749–814) as one of the greatest Chan teachers of the Tang era (618–907). ... More

Over the centuries, diverse Chan/Zen traditions throughout East Asia have venerated Baizhang Huaihai (J. Hyakujō Ekai, 749–814) as one of the greatest Chan teachers of the Tang era (618–907). Celebrated as the leading disciple of the renowned Mazu Daoyi (709–788), the “founder” of the Hongzhou school that came to dominate Chan during the mid-Tang period, Baizhang is still evoked as a source of religious inspiration and authority, and he remains one of the most recognized Chan teachers of all time. This chapter is a brief study of those changing perceptions and images, spanning most of the history of Chan in East Asia, down to the present. The shifting images of Baizhang mirror the multifaceted and far-reaching changes that marked Chan’s historical trajectory as a major tradition of East Asian Buddhism, with significant ramifications for its complex evolution that still shape its intricate present-day predicaments.Less

 Mind, Buddha, and the Way

Mario Poceski

in Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism

This chapter explores key themes in the Hongzhou school's doctrines. It draws attention to attacks on all forms of dogmatism, including reifying concepts of the mind derived from Chinese ... More

This chapter explores key themes in the Hongzhou school's doctrines. It draws attention to attacks on all forms of dogmatism, including reifying concepts of the mind derived from Chinese interpretations of the Buddha-nature theory, which forms a central theme that links together the main sources. A large part of the chapter is concerned with the flexible and context-sensitive interpretive strategies employed in discussions of famous Chan adages associated with Mazu, especially “mind is Buddha” and “ordinary mind is the Way”.Less

Conclusion

Mario Poceski

in Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism

This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of the topics discussed in the preceding chapters. This book represents an attempt to take another look at the mid-Tang period and recover significant ... More

This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of the topics discussed in the preceding chapters. This book represents an attempt to take another look at the mid-Tang period and recover significant aspects of Tang religious history. Its portrayal of the Hongzhou school challenges popular views and prevalent notions about the history and character of Tang Chan, thereby further undermining the myth of Chan's uniqueness that still permeates many discussions of Chan/Zen history, literature, and teachings. Concerning the centrality of the Hongzhou school in subsequent historical narratives and demarcations of Chan orthodoxy, a rethinking of its growth and character along the lines suggested in this volume has wide-ranging ramifications for reinterpreting the beliefs and ideologies of the later Chan/Zen traditions throughout East Asia.Less

The Riddle of Encounter Dialogue: Who, What, When, and Where?

John R. McRae

in Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism

Classical Chan refers to a particular style of behavior displayed by Chan masters in the course of their interactions with students and other masters. Rather than explaining the Dharma in ... More

Classical Chan refers to a particular style of behavior displayed by Chan masters in the course of their interactions with students and other masters. Rather than explaining the Dharma in straightforward expository language, such masters are depicted as being more inclined to demonstrate it by means of paradoxical replies and inexplicable counterquestions, gestures and physical demonstrations, and even the shocking and painful tactics of shouts and blows. Precisely when this classical style of religious practice emerged is not clear. Curiously, no clearly stated definition of encounter dialogue appears in the scholarship on Chinese Chan. The encounter-dialogue style of religious behavior is well known in the literature on Chan Buddhism and Zen in every language. This chapter shows how Chan encounter dialogue implies a paradigm of spiritual cultivation that is profoundly different from earlier Chinese Buddhist practice. It also discusses the story of Mazu Daoyi's enlightenment, the eightfold path to the emergence of transcribed encounter dialogue, “questions about things” in the Northern School, and the use of ritualized dialogue between Chan teachers and students.Less

Biographical Entry in Zu tang ji

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s biographical entry in Zu tang ji (Hall of Patriarchs Collection), composed in 952. This text was lost, and it contains ... More

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s biographical entry in Zu tang ji (Hall of Patriarchs Collection), composed in 952. This text was lost, and it contains materials not found anywhere else.Less

Biographical Entry in Jingde chuan deng lu

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s biographical entry in Jingde chuan deng lu (incorporated into fascicle 6), first “published” in 1004. It include biographical ... More

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s biographical entry in Jingde chuan deng lu (incorporated into fascicle 6), first “published” in 1004. It include biographical materials, encounter dialogues, and transcribed sermons.Less

Protracted Makings of Texts and Patriarchs

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

By examining the composite structure and convoluted provenance of the main parts that comprise Mazu’s record of sayings, Mazu yulu, the last chapter links together the gradual evolution of distinctly ... More

By examining the composite structure and convoluted provenance of the main parts that comprise Mazu’s record of sayings, Mazu yulu, the last chapter links together the gradual evolution of distinctly Chan forms of literary representation, changing conceptions of orthodoxy, and retroactive makeovers of the religious personas of leading Chan monks such as Mazu. It also shows how these interwoven developments shaped the Chan School’s collective identity and influenced its broad historical trajectory during the Tang-Song transition. By extension, the chapter shows how these interwoven developments shaped the Chan School’s communal memory and collective identity and influenced its broad historical trajectory during the Tang-Song transition. In the end, the chapter highlights notable discrepancies and points of rupture, especially when we compare Tang and Song Chan.Less

Mazu’s Stele Inscription

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s stele inscription, composed in 791 by the famous official and literatus Quan Deyu (759–818).

Further Communal Remembrances

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

This chapter continues the discussion of Mazu’s main types of hagiographic representation. It explores in detail two earlier and largely ignored portrayals of Mazu, both of which are closer to the ... More

This chapter continues the discussion of Mazu’s main types of hagiographic representation. It explores in detail two earlier and largely ignored portrayals of Mazu, both of which are closer to the somewhat conventional models of exemplary religiosity that were prevalent in Tang China. First, there are the stories and related materials that depict Mazu as a thaumaturge, or miracle worker, and by extension a popular religious figure. Second, there is the representation of Mazu as a sophisticated teacher of Buddhist doctrine and contemplative practice, primarily embedded in the transcribed sermons.Less

Zen and the Art of Fund-raising: Religious Vitality and Institutional Dominance in the Song Dynasty

John R. McRae

in Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism

This chapter explores the art of fundraising as practiced within the Chan tradition. It explains how the encounter model of Chan religious praxis worked as a public ideology, how Chan responded to ... More

This chapter explores the art of fundraising as practiced within the Chan tradition. It explains how the encounter model of Chan religious praxis worked as a public ideology, how Chan responded to the persecution of Buddhism and the economic tribulations of ninth-century China, and how the mythology of Chan monastic labor served an important function, even though most of the productive labor in Buddhist monasteries—including supposedly Chan temples—was performed by lay workers and tenant farmers. In contrast to the conventional viewpoint that the fundraising efforts of Chan abbots during the Song dynasty indicate the degeneration of both Chan and the Buddhist tradition as a whole, the chapter suggests precisely the opposite: that the institutional success of Chan Buddhism was made possible by—and in fact represents proof of—its vitality as a spiritual discipline. It also discusses Shenhui's rhetoric for Chan fundraising, expansion of Mazu Daoyi's Hongzhou school, the impact of the Huichang persecution and Huang Chao rebellion on Chan, the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, and the institutional function of the Chan lineage system.Less

Biographical Entry in Song gao seng zhuan

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s biographical entry in Song gao seng zhuan (Song Biographies of Eminent Monks), compiled in 988 by the noted Buddhist prelate ... More

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of Mazu’s biographical entry in Song gao seng zhuan (Song Biographies of Eminent Monks), compiled in 988 by the noted Buddhist prelate and historian Zanning (919–1001).Less

Hagiographic Representations of Patriarch Ma

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

The chapter explores the larger issues of historical remembrance and religious (re)imagination within the Chan tradition, primarily by looking at key hagiographic portrayals and transformations of ... More

The chapter explores the larger issues of historical remembrance and religious (re)imagination within the Chan tradition, primarily by looking at key hagiographic portrayals and transformations of Mazu, as they are preserved in a variety of Chan texts. Mazu’s well-known depiction as a prototypical Chan iconoclast—which first emerged during the tenth century and has tended to dominate both traditional and modern accounts of his life and teachings—is examined in greater detail.Less

Mazu’s Records and the Study of Chan Literature

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

The chapter briefly introduces Mazu and his records and highlights some of the general themes, central issues, and academic contexts that so far have shaped the scholarly study of Chan literature, ... More

The chapter briefly introduces Mazu and his records and highlights some of the general themes, central issues, and academic contexts that so far have shaped the scholarly study of Chan literature, history, and institutions. That incorporates a brief survey of the relevant secondary literature, along with tentative reflections on some of the tacit assumptions and interpretative choices that often shape the reading, interpretation, and use of Chan sources. In addition, it explores the idea of looking at the Chan tradition as a community of memory.Less

Stone Case Inscription

Mario Poceski

in The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature

This part of the book provides a translation, with commentary, of a short text inscribed on the relic case that was placed in Mazu’s memorial pagoda, which was erected in 791.