Historical Dictionary of Chan Buddhism
Page 23
SHANGTANG
Literally “ascending the [dharma] hall [to deliver a public sermon],” this term frequently appeared in Chan literature; it refers to a formal occasion when the abbot of a Chan monastery enters the dharma hall (fatang) and ascends the high seat to deliver a sermon on Chan doctrine and provide instructions to the monastic assembly. The closest synonym to shangtang in Chan literature is shizhong, which literally means “instructing the assembly.” The two terms were often used interchangeably to mark the beginning of an abbot’s sermon in Chan texts without offering any details about the ritual procedures of the abbot’s ascending the hall, which were actually involved in this kind of formal occasion and observed by the Chan tradition. The ritual procedures include the sequence of how the members of the assembly enter, stand, or sit in terms of seniority and other customary ceremonial acts such as prostrations, bows, invocations, chants, and prayers, which are not very different from the rituals of the other Chinese Buddhist schools.
The scrutiny of early and later Chan texts reveals that although the importance of ritual was somewhat downplayed, as in the case of the Platform Sūtra and Shenhui, public preaching remained formalized within early Chan movements and connected with popular Buddhist ritual forms. During the Song era, the ritualization of public preaching was more rigidly enforced by the Chan monastic rules of purity (qinggui). Acknowledging these facts does not involve denying some radical antiritual gesture or narrative recorded in Chan texts, mainly of the post-Tang literature. The irony is that the antiritualistic narrative endorsed by the Chan tradition is parasitic on the many forms of Chan ritualism or even on the routine performance of Chan rituals.
SHAOLIN TEMPLE (Ch. Shaolin Si)
One of the earliest and greatest Chan Buddhist monasteries in the history of China, located on the western side of Mount Song, in the current province of Henan. It was originally built for a missionary Indian Buddhist monk, Fotuo, in 496 under the dynasty of Northern Wei. Later on, it became famous for being related to the legend of early Chan. According to legend, Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Chan, faced the wall there in sitting meditation for nine years. It was also the place where Bodhidharma transmitted his teaching of Chan to the second patriarch, Huike. In the early 7th century, Shaolin monks fought for Li Shimin (r. 626–649), who founded the Tang dynasty and became the emperor Taizong. The monks’ assistance to Taizong helped the Temple gain the favor and support of the imperial court and local governments. From the Song dynasty to the Ming dynasty, the Shaolin monks’ practice of martial arts was gradually systematized, and their fighting techniques became so famous as to attract talented practitioners from all over China. Although it was rebuilt many times, the Temple maintained many historical forms of its architecture and preserved numerous steles, pagodas, and murals, which became precious sources for the study of Chan Buddhism, martial arts, politics, literature, fine arts, and history.
SHENGYU
Literally, “living words (or speech).” In Chan usage, it is often coupled with, and in contrast to, siyu, “dead words (or speech).”
SHENHUI
See .
SHENXIU (ca. 606–706)
A Chinese Chan master who was active and influential in the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century in the Tang dynasty and has long been regarded by the Chan tradition as the founder of the Northern school. However, Shenxiu and his disciples never related themselves to such a school, nor did any historical sources around that period make that connection, until Shenhui’s campaign against Shenxiu several decades after Shenxiu’s death. According to the accounts from those early historical sources, Shenxiu extensively studied Buddhist texts, as well as the classics of Daoism and Confucianism, in his youth. At the age of 20, he was officially ordained. At the age of 46, he went to Huangmei and then studied there with the fifth patriarch, Hongren, for six years. After Hongren’s death in 674, Shenxiu became the most important teacher in the Dongshan Famen (East Mountain teaching) and led a huge community of monks at Yuquan Temple in Hubei. He ordained about 70 disciples and had many followers from elite society. Because of his great fame, in 700 Empress Wu (r. 690–705) invited Shenxiu to the capital, Luoyang. Shenxiu was honored as the National Teacher by Empress Wu and her successors. Shenxiu died at Luoyang in 706. After his death, Shenxiu’s distinguished disciples continued to be honored by the imperial court. His disciples also revered him as the sixth patriarch of Chan.
Recent scholarship in Chan history has attempted to restore a more positive role in the growth of early Chan to Shenxiu’s teaching and practice, in contrast to his more negative role depicted by the traditional accounts. The discovery of many lost early Chan texts at Dunhuang in the early 20th century has made this recovery of Shenxiu’s historical image and the critical reexamination of his teaching possible. Scholars believe that among a number of texts discovered at Dunhuang, the Guanxin Lun (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind) is a reliable record of Shenxiu’s teaching, and the Yuanming Lun (Treatise on Perfect Illumination) and the Wu Fangbian (Five Expedient Means) are authentic texts of the Northern school quite obviously involving Shenxiu’s teaching. In terms of these texts, Shenxiu attempted to bridge the gap between the traditional Chinese understanding of Buddhism and the new approach of Chan, using the Mahayana scriptural tradition to explain his form of Chan practice. Many of his teachings were designed to help students begin and continue the meditation process, a traditional path of gradual cultivation. For this purpose, some dualistic distinctions, such as that of defiled and pure aspects of mind, were necessarily maintained. Evolved from his teacher Hongren’s notion of “maintaining the [awareness of] mind (shouxin),” Shenxiu’s contemplating the mind (guanxin) advised students to realize the pure mind by penetrating the non-substantiality of the defiled mind through meditation. The instantaneous nature of enlightenment was clearly acknowledged by Shenxiu, although it was not his focus.
One of the consequences of Shenxiu’s teaching and practice was scholasticism, when he and his followers focused on explaining their form of Buddhism in traditional terms to the highly literate members of imperial court society. Some scholars hold that Shenxiu’s teaching, especially his use of abundant dualistic formulations, leaves room for privileging the pure over the impure, motionlessness over motion, the true mind over the ordinary mind, and the ti (essence or the whole) over the yong (function). This factor contributed to the rupture of early Chan ideology and the subsequent deconstructive movements in Chan thought, accompanied by sectarian struggles.
SHINIU TU
See .
SHISHE
A Chinese expression for the Mahayana Buddhist concept of expedient means. Sometimes, it is also used in the compound linshi shishe (“temporary expedient means”).
SHISHUANG CHUYUAN (986–1039)
Also called Ciming. A Chan master of the Linji school in the Song dynasty, Chuyuan was a native of Quanzhou (in present-day Guangxi). His family name was Li. At the age of 22, he became a monk and started his pilgrimage, which eventually led him to stay with the Linji Chan master Fenyang Shanzhao. It was said that Shanzhao treated him harshly and almost ignored him. After two years of this treatment, Chuyuan complained to Shanzhao. Shanzhao glared at him, retorted “Idiot!,” and used his stick to drive Chuyuan away. Chuyuan started to explain his feelings about being ignored for two years, but the master suddenly covered Chuyuan’s mouth. At that moment, Chuyuan attained realization and said, “Now I know the way of Linji is revealed within the ordinary situation.” Chuyuan studied with Shanzhao for seven years, then lived with another Linji Chan master, Zhisong (d.u.), at Tangming Temple in Bingzhou (present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi) for a while. Zhisong helped Chuyuan become acquainted with some famous literati, such as Yangyi (?–1038) and Li Zunxu (974–1020). They became Chuyuan’s “friends of dharma (fayou).” His friendship with literati and officials contributed to his success. After being an assistant (shouzuo) to the Caodong Chan master Xiaocong (?–1030) for three years, Chuyuan s
erved as abbot at a number of Chan monasteries, including one on Mount Shishuang in Tanzhou. He died at the age of 54. During his relatively short career, he laid the foundation for spreading the Linji Chan to the south, helping to establish the dominance of the Linji school in China. He had many disciples; among them, Huanglong Huinan and Yangqi Fanghui were most famous. It was through them that the two divisions of the Linji school—Huanglong lineage (Huanglong Pei) and Yangqi lineage (Yangqi Pei)—were founded. His sermons, conversations, and poems were preserved in several editions of his yulu, including one that was compiled by his disciple Huanglong Huinan.
SHITOU XIQIAN (700–790)
A famous Chan master of the Tang dynasty, whose family name was Chen. He was born in Gaoyao, Duanzhou (in present Zhaoqing, Guangdong), close to Huineng’s residence of Caoxi, and he paid a visit to Huineng during his teens. Although in his youth he was attracted to Buddhism, he was officially ordained at Mount Luofu in 728. Soon, he went to Mount Qingyuan in Jiangxi and studied with Huineng’s disciple Qingyuan Xingsi. In 742, Xiqian went to Mount Heng in Hunan and took up residence at Nantai Temple. He built a small hut on a large, flat rock at the east side of the temple, whence he got the name Shitou (rock). In 764, he was invited to teach at Liangduan in Tanzhou (in present-day Changsha, Hunan). In his later career, he traveled between Liangduan and Mount Heng, and he probably died on the mountain. The Zutang Ji included his doctrinal poem, Cantong Qi (Harmony of Difference and Sameness), which demonstrated his brilliant integration of the Huayan and Chinese Madhyamika philosophy and his insight into the harmonious interaction and interpenetration between principle (li) and events (shi). This work and its terminology became an inspirational source for the teaching of the five ranks of the Caodong school. Otherwise, Xiqian’s teaching shared the doctrines of “mind-as-Buddha,” “no-seeking,” and others with Mazu Daoyi and the Hongzhou school, even though his style was of a quiet and penetrating teacher. The Cantong Qi also noticeably asserted the view that the Chan Buddhist path (dao) cannot be divided into either the Northern or Southern school.
Traditionally, Shitou Xiqian is granted equal status to Mazu. His lineage is seen as one of the two major competing lines of the Southern school. The later generations of his lineage produced three schools out of the “five houses.” Recent study on the division of these two lines has argued that this is not the case, however. Shitou’s status was not equal to Mazu’s during his lifetime, as well as for many years after his death. He led a reclusive life and a small community in Hunan. His teacher, Qingyuan Xingsi, was an obscure disciple of Huineng, about whom no detailed and reliable biographical information is available. Shitou’s lineage had only regional influence and was not seen as a main line of the Southern school on the national stage, even during the 830s when Zongmi described the Chan schools in his work. The earliest attempt to rank Shitou and Mazu equally was in Shitou’s epitaph, created during 821–824, according to the Song Gaoseng Zhuan, but it is not extant. Some disciples, such as Tianhuang Daowu, Danxia Tianran, and Yaoshan Weiyan, studied with both Shitou and Mazu. It was later, beginning with Dongshan Liangjie, followed by Shishuang Qingzhu (807–888), Deshan Xuanjian, and others, that the original dominant line of Hongzhou was broken, the status of Shitou’s teaching was elevated, and he was claimed to be the ancestor of a new lineage separate from that of Mazu. The schism was probably caused by some dissatisfaction with Mazu’s teaching and the intention to seek a new sectarian identity.
SHOULENGYAN SANMEI JING
See .
SHOUSHAN SHENGNIAN (926–993)
A Chan master of the Linji school in the Song dynasty, Shengnian was a native of Laizhou (in present-day Shandong). His family name was Di. He entered his monastic life at the local Nanchan Temple in his youth, practiced some form of Buddhist asceticism, and often recited the Lotus Sūtra. Later, he went to Fengxue Temple in Ruzhou to study with the Linji Chan master Fengxue Yanzhao. It was said that Yanzhao worried about the future of the Linji school because he had heard that Yangshan Huiji once predicted that the Linji school would end with him. But Yanzhao happily found that Shengnian was a hopeful candidate for being his heir, and he soon verified Shengnian’s realization. Shengnian later went to Mount Shou in Ruzhou to live and preach and had many followers. His famous disciples include Fenyang Shanzhao and Guying Yuncong (965–1032), among others. He also served as abbot in Guangjiao Chan Monastery and Baoying Chan Monastery. He died at the age of 68. The most comprehensive record of his sayings is Ruzhou Shoushan Nianheshang Yulu, which can be found in Guzunsu Yulu, fascicle 8. Shengnia is considered to be the initiator of the Linji school’s revival in the Song dynasty.
SIBINZHU
See .
SIHE
See .
SIJIA YULU
Recorded Sayings of Four Masters, a collection of the recorded sayings of the four famous Tang Chan masters Mazu Daoyi, Baizhang Huaihai, Huangbo Xiyun, and Linji Yixuan, including the Jiangxi Mazu Daoyi Chanshi Yulu, the Hongzhou Baizhangshan Dazhi Chanshi Yulu and the Baizhang Guanglu, the Junzhou Huangboshan Dunji Chanshi Chuanxin Fayao and the Huangbo Dunji Chanshi Wanling Lu, and the Zhenzhou Linji Huizhao Chanshi Yulu. Although some documents from the Song dynasty mentioned its existence and used its original Song title, Mazu Sijia Lu, extant versions of the Sija Yulu are all from the editions of the Ming dynasty. One of the Ming editions of the Sija Yulu attributed its compilation to the Song Linji Chan master Huanglong Huinan, but the other editions did not follow that. Nevertheless, the Sijia Yulu is one of the most influential Chan yulu collections produced in the Song dynasty and is seen as a Linji Chan anthology that promotes the orthodoxy of the Linji school, which carries forward the legacy of the Hongzhou school.
SIJU
“Dead words” or “dead sentences.” Siju is opposed to huoju (“living words” or “living sentences”) in Chan.
SILENT ILLUMINATION CHAN
See .
SILIAOJIAN
See .
SITTING MEDITATION
See .
SIYU
“Dead words” or “dead speech.” Siyu is opposed to shengyu (“living words” or “living speech”) in Chan.
SONG GAOSENG ZHUAN
The Song Edition of Biographies of Eminent Monks, completed under imperial order by the famous Song Buddhist scholar/historian and Vinaya master Zanning (919–1001) in 988. It continued the work of Huijiao’s (496–554) Biographies of Eminent Monks (Gaoseng Zhuan) and Daoxuan’s (595–667) Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (Xu Gaoseng Zhuan), and covered the period from the early Tang dynasty to the early Song, including biographies of 531 figures and appended biographical information on 125 figures. It followed Daoxuan’s 10 categories, classifying biographies in terms of different monk occupation types, such as translators, exegetes, and specialists in precepts. Under the category “practitioners of meditation (xichan),” Zanning included biographies of 103 Chan masters and appended biographical information on 29 Chan masters. He also placed biographies of some Chan masters in the sections under the other categories. This book supplies valuable historical information for the study of Chan Buddhism of the Tang dynasty and Five Dynasties.
Two main features characterize Zanning’s biographical writing on Chan history. First, following the approach of traditional Chinese historiography since Sima Qian (145–90 BCE), much of Zanning’s biographical writing tended to be not based on legends or fictional anecdotes, but on historical facts/events (jishi) obtained from various available epitaphs, gazetteers, or direct records from outside Chan lineages, with a careful examination of their reliability and the comparison of different versions, if possible. When the original materials involved conflicting information and the facts could not be determined with accuracy, Zanning often preserved these uncertain details in the biographies rather than simply jumping to a conclusion based on his personal preference.
Second, since Zanning himself was not a Chan master but a master of precepts, he placed the accomplishments of Chan ma
sters within the broader tradition of Buddhism and viewed them from a wider perspective. Therefore, he was able to stay away from Chan sectarian bias and treat many details of Chan history and different lineages more objectively and inclusively. For example, he was more neutral to the opposition of southern/northern or sudden/gradual and discerned the role Shenhui played in creating this opposition, although he was not immune to the influence of narratives created by Chan hagiographical writings. Obviously many of the materials he used in this book have more historical value to modern historians than Chan sectarian histories, such as the transmission of the lamp literature.
SOUTHERN SCHOOL (Ch. Nan zong)
In Chan history, this name referred to the lineage of Huineng, the sixth patriarch of Chan, and his disciples in the tradition, as opposed to the Northern school of Shenxiu and his disciples. The name’s geographical root comes from the fact that while the members of the Northern school were active in two capital cities in the North, members of this school were more active in the southern provinces of China. Beyond the geographical factor lay the traditional claim of doctrinal difference: that the Southern school followed Huineng’s teaching of sudden enlightenment, while the Northern school followed Shenxiu’s teaching of gradual enlightenment. The Southern school was regarded as an orthodox form of Chan, and all later lineages claimed their descent from Huineng. Recent scholarship in Chan history has challenged this traditional claim of doctrinal difference between the Northern and Southern schools as an exaggeration, calling attention to the lack of evidence that Huineng maintained a strict sudden/gradual dichotomy, as Shenhui attributed to him, and pointing out that the element of sudden enlightenment can also be found in the Northern school teachings.