Misplaced Pages

Chan: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 16:32, 18 November 2006 editJFD (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users7,235 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit Revision as of 07:06, 19 November 2006 edit undoFreedom skies (talk | contribs)4,714 edits removing grossly POV lines, adding article to watchlistNext edit →
Line 85: Line 85:
==History== ==History==
The establishment of ''Chán'' is attributed to ], <ref> Concise Encyclopedia Brittanica Article on Bodhidharma</ref> whose arrival in China is dated to the ] (420–479) in the ''Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks'' (645) and to 527<ref>{{cite book | author=Broughton, Jeffrey L. | title=The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen | location=Berkeley | publisher=University of California Press | year=1999 | id=ISBN 0520219724}} p. 2.</ref> in the ''Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall'' (952). The establishment of ''Chán'' is attributed to ], <ref> Concise Encyclopedia Brittanica Article on Bodhidharma</ref> whose arrival in China is dated to the ] (420–479) in the ''Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks'' (645) and to 527<ref>{{cite book | author=Broughton, Jeffrey L. | title=The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen | location=Berkeley | publisher=University of California Press | year=1999 | id=ISBN 0520219724}} p. 2.</ref> in the ''Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall'' (952).
The different forms of the Bodhidharma legend generally concur that he ultimately settled in the ] where he took as disciples Daoyu and Huike, though they differ on much else. Bodhidharma ultimately settled in the ] where he took as disciples Daoyu and Huike.


Bodhidharma is recorded as having come to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not rely upon words". His insight was then transmitted through a series of Chinese patriarchs, the most famous of whom was the Sixth Patriarch, ]. Bodhidharma is recorded as having come to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not rely upon words". His insight was then transmitted through a series of Chinese patriarchs, the most famous of whom was the Sixth Patriarch, ].

Revision as of 07:06, 19 November 2006

For the Chinese surname Chan (in Cantonese), see Chan (surname). For the Global TV station in British Columbia, see CHAN-TV. For "-chan" as a suffix to a name, see Japanese titles.
Chán
Chinese Name
Hanyu Pinyin Chán
Wade-Giles Ch'an
Shanghainese Zeu
Cantonese IPA sɪm4
Cantonese Jyutping sim
Hanzi 禪
Jiantizi 禅
Sanskrit Name
Romanization Dhyāna
Devanāgarī ध्यान
Pali Name
Romanization Jhāna
Devanāgarī झान
Sinhala ඣාන
Korean Name
Revised Romanization Seon
McCune-Reischauer Sŏn
Hangul 선
Hanja 禪
Japanese Name
Romaji Zen
Hiragana ぜん
Kanji 禅
Vietnamese Name
Quốc ngữ Thiền (Thiền na)
Chữ Hán 禅那
Part of a series on
Buddhism
History
Buddhist texts
Practices
Nirvāṇa
Traditions
Buddhism by country

Chán is the Chinese name for the school of Mahāyāna Buddhism which is the origin of Japanese Zen. Chán is known for its emphasis on meditation and everyday life ahead of philosophical and scriptural pursuits, although not to the point of abandoning serious study completely.

History

The establishment of Chán is attributed to Bodhidharma, whose arrival in China is dated to the Liu Song Dynasty (420–479) in the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (645) and to 527 in the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952). Bodhidharma ultimately settled in the kingdom of Wei where he took as disciples Daoyu and Huike.

Bodhidharma is recorded as having come to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not rely upon words". His insight was then transmitted through a series of Chinese patriarchs, the most famous of whom was the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng.

After the time of Hui Neng (circa 700 CE), Chan began to branch off into numerous different schools, each with their own special emphasis, but all of which kept the same basic focus on meditational practice, personal instruction and grounded personal experience. During the late Tang and the Song periods, the tradition truly flowered, as a wide number of eminent teachers, such as Mazu, Baizhang, Yunmen and Linji developed specialized teaching methods, which would become characteristic of each of the "five houses" of mature Chinese Chan. In the 12th century, particularly due to masters such as Dahui Zonggao, this crystalised as a technique unique to Chan Buddhism known as gong'an (koan) practice, a method where the practitioner inquires into a seemingly paradoxical recorded dialogue between teacher and student, by raising "The Great Doubt" to engender awakening. Later on this was further developed into the simpler Hua-tou technique, which often integrated insight practices into Pure Land Buddhist training, by having the practitioner inquire "who is reciting the Buddha's name?"

The teaching styles and words of these classical masters were recorded in such important Chan texts as the Biyan Lu; (Blue Cliff Record) and the Wumenguan; (Gateless Passage), recording classic teaching gong'an cases which would be studied by later generations of students down to the present.

During the Tang dynasty, Chan Buddhism grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism and has over the years, and, despite its "transmission beyond the scriptures", produced the largest body of literature in Chinese history of any sect or tradition.

Chan continued to be influential as a religious force in China, although some energy was lost with the syncretist Neo-Confucian revival of Confucianism starting in the Song period. While traditionally distinct, Chan was taught alongside Pure Land Buddhism in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries. In time much of this distinction was lost, and many masters taught both Chan and Pure Land. Chan Buddhism enjoyed something of a revival in the Ming Dynasty under luminaries such as Hanshan Deqing (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 Obaku Zen school; as well as Yunqi Zhuhong (雲棲株宏) and Ouyi Zhixu (藕溢智旭).

After further centuries of decline, Chan was revived again in the early 20th century by Hsu Yun, who stands out as the defining figure of 20th century Chinese Buddhism. Many well known Chan teachers today trace their lineage back to Hsu Yun, including Sheng-yen and Hsuan Hua, who have propagated Chan in the west where it has grown steadily through the 20th and 21st century.

It was severely repressed in China during the recent modern era with the appearance of the People's Republic, but has more recently been re-asserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong and among Overseas Chinese.

Disputes

Recent opinions concerning the Song Dynasty have questioned the common "Period in Decline" belief. This is due to the Historiography of the Song Dynasty. Many important texts that convey Tang Dynasty stories were written during the Song Dynasty. Because of this, most scholars study Chan through the lens of Song Dynasty understandings. The Song Dynasty also produced the most stable forms of Chan practice, which are still being used today.

See also

  1. Concise Encyclopedia Brittanica Article on Bodhidharma
  2. Broughton, Jeffrey L. (1999). The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520219724. p. 2.
Categories: