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Chan (Zen) Buddhism

Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D.

REL 260

Buddhism

Berea College

Spring 2004

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BUDDHISM COMES TO EAST ASIA

• “Silk Road” merchants and missionaries transmit Buddhism to China by 65 CE

• As Han 漢 dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) declines, Chinese elites turn away from Confucianism to Daoism and Buddhism, often combining elements of each in syncretistic mix

• By Tang 唐 dynasty (618-907 CE), Buddhism reaches zenith of its popularity in China

• From China, Buddhism spreads to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan

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CHALLENGES TO BUDDHISM IN CHINA

• Geographic: difficulty of India-China travel

• Linguistic: translation of foreign texts and concepts

• Political: conflicts between rulers and sangha; separation between north and south during “Period of Disunity”

• Religious: competition with and/or dilution by Confucianism and Daoism

• Social: traditional Chinese distaste for foreign ways (e.g., celibacy, monasticism, Sanskrit terminology, karma theory)

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ROOTS OF EAST ASIAN BUDDHISM

• Buddhists in Tang China develop theory of “Last Days of the Dharma” (Chinese mofa, Japanese mappo 末法 ) – view of present as degenerate era in which former methods of teaching do not suffice for enlightenment

• “Desperate times call for desperate measures” – tendency to focus solely on one text or practice

• Chan 禪 = Sanskrit dhyana (“meditation” – Japanese: Zen)

• Chan goal: Chinese jianxing, Japanese kensho 見性 (seeing one’s true nature) – sudden enlightenment

• Based on Theravāda concept of individual effort (Chinese zili, Japanese jiriki 自力 ) and Tantric meditation techniques

• Enlightenment verified by “mind-to-mind” transmission from master to disciple, beginning with Bodhidharma (Indian, 400s CE?)

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SOURCES OF JAPANESE BUDDHISM

• Buddhism (Tantric, Chan, Pure Land) introduced during 500s CE by Korean immigrants, missionaries, and diplomats

• Functions of Buddhism in early Japan:

1. Instrument of diplomacy2. Vehicle of civilization3. Symbol of political power

• Shintô-Buddhist syncretism:1. theory of honji suijaku 本地重

跡 (original reality, manifest traces)

2. Buddhas and bodhisattvas are honji, kami are suijaku

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHAN/ZEN TRADITION

• Degeneration of dharma justifies rejection of devotion and scriptures in favor of meditation as sole or primary method of attaining enlightenment

• Reality must be seen as it is (nondualistic, spontaneous, “empty”)

• Two major sects:1. Chinese Linji, Japanese Rinzai 臨

濟 – uses riddles (Chinese gong’an, Japanese koan 公案 ), verbal abuse and meditation

2. Chinese Caotong, Japanese Soto 曹狪 -- uses meditation only

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LEGACIES OF THE CHAN/ZEN TRADITION

• Cements syncretism of indigenous and imported elements (Buddhism/Daoism, Buddhism/Shintô) in East Asian Buddhism

• Hugely influential on East Asian cultures:

1. Calligraphy2. Cuisine (e.g., tea)3. Drama (especially in Japan)4. Martial arts (e.g., fencing)5. Painting 6. Philosophy7. Poetry8. Ritual (e.g., tea ceremony)

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