Historical Dictionary of Chan Buddhism

by Youru Wang

  TI

  Paired with another Chinese word, yong, it is one of the most frequently used categories of Chinese philosophy. While yong is correctly translated as “function” or “use,” ti is often misleadingly translated as “essence” or “substance.” This translation is misleading simply because the Chinese word ti has never had the meaning of essence as opposed to accidents, or substance as opposed to attributes, which dominates in Western metaphysics. The typical Western meaning is absent from both the neo-Daoist and Chinese Buddhist uses of this term. First employed in the neo-Daoist Wang Bi’s philosophy, the Chinese character ti originally meant body, whole body, or whole existence. Gradually, the use of ti grew closer to the use of the word ben (root, source) in interpreting the way of the universe (dao) or non-being (wu) itself, which is in contrast to the various functions (yong) of the universe. Both aspects are united in dao or non-being. Chinese Buddhism, including Chan, favors the use of the category of ti and yong to interpret Buddhist teachings while developing its own non-dualistic perspective on ti and yong.

  In Chinese Buddhist usage, ti is often related to the dharma-body (fashen or fati) or the true suchness (zhenru), which is identical with enlightenment or the realization of Buddha-nature. The Chan Buddhist usage of ti is more often demonstrated in such compounds as xinti (the mind-whole) or xingti (the nature-whole). Xin usually refers to Buddha-mind (foxin), the original mind (benxin) or “one mind” (yixin), while xing refers to Buddha-nature (foxing), emptiness, or self-nature (zixing). The xinti or xingti designates the non-objective dimension of the whole or the network of a concrete life-world, a holistic dimension that the human mind may attain or experience through enlightenment. This non-substantialistic concept of xinti or xingti can even be distinguished from the English word “subjectivity,” which involves the meaning of substance in modern Western philosophy.

  The yong designates the functions and traces of the whole, including individual events and activities, and therefore is conceptually different from the ti. However, the yong cannot be separated from the ti, since the yong is the function of the whole—the ti itself, not the function of something else. Many early and classical Chan teachings illustrated this non-dualistic understanding of ti and yong. For example, the Hongzhou school used the non-duality of ti and yong to emphasize that, outside the yong or everyday activities, there would be no ti or Buddha-nature.

  TIANHUANG DAOWU (748–807)

  A Chan master of the Tang dynasty, Daowu is a controversial figure because there has been disagreement about who his mentor was and whether there was another master called Daowu. The Song Gaoseng Zhuan’s biography of Daowu, which was based on his epitaph written by Fu Zai (760–?), stated that Daowu had three great teachers: Jingshan Faqin of the Ox-Head school, Mazu Daoyi, and Shitou Xiqian. However, the transmission of the lamp literature since the Zutang Ji and Jingde Chuandeng Lu, and a version of Fu Zai’s written epitaph collected in the Complete Writings of Tang (Quan Tang Wen), identified Daowu as the disciple of Shitou Xiqian exclusively, while another epitaph of Daowu, attributed to Qiu Xuansu (d.u.) and discovered in Song, claimed that Daowu was Mazu’s disciple only.

  Recent Chan historians’ revisiting of this controversy shows that the Zutang Ji and Jingde Chuandeng Lu’s biographies of Daowu include forged stories about Daowu’s radical behavior, and that the version of the epitaph included in the Quan Tang Wen copied an abridged version with materials rewritten by Nianchang (d.u.) from his Fozu Lidai Tongzai (General Records of Buddhist Patriarchs through the Ages) of the Yuan dynasty. They are not reliable. The epitaph attributed to Qiu Xuansu also shows signs of a later forgery. Therefore, the only reliable source is the Song Gaoseng Zhuan. According to this book, Daowu’s family name was Zhang, and he was a native of Wuzhou (in present-day Jinhua, Zhejiang). He started his monastic life at the age of 14 and was ordained at Zhulin Temple in Hangzhou at the age of 25. After studying, respectively, with Faqin, Mazu, and Shitou, he went to Liyang, Jingkou, and Mount Chaizi of Dangyang to preach. Later, he was invited to the capital of Jingzhou to teach and took up residence in Tianghuang Temple. His instruction won the support of a local official, Peigong (d.u.), and it was unusually successful. The biography described Daowu as a master whose action complied with the precepts and whose intention was to teach scriptures, such as the Huayan Jing, a very different picture from the images presented by the later Chan texts. Daowu died at the age of 60.

  TIANRU WEIZE (1286–1354)

  A Chan master of the Linji school in the Yuan dynasty and a disciple of Zhongfeng Mingben, Weize was born in Yongxin in Ji’an Prefecture (in present-day Jiangxi). His family name was Tan. He became a monk at Mount He when he was young. Later, he went to Mount Tianmu to study with Zhongfeng Mingben and received the dharma transmission from Mingben. He taught students in the area of Jiangsu and gradually gained fame, acquiring support from local officials. In 1342, his disciples built a temple at Shizilin in Suzhou for him, and he taught there for about 13 years. He died in 1354 and was granted the posthumous title Foxin Puji Wenhui Dabian Chanshi (“Chan Master of Buddha-mind, Universal Compassion, Illuminating Wisdom and Great Eloquence”). His teachings and writings were preserved in the Shizilin Tianru Heshang Yulu, edited by his disciple, Shanyu. Weize is noticeable for developing his teacher Mingben’s approach of practicing both Chan and Pure Land (Chanjing shuangxiu) and for advocating jingtu Chan (Chan of Pure Land) or nianfo Chan (Chan of reciting Buddha’s name), which integrated various methods of the Pure Land school into Chan practice.

  TIANSHENG GUANGDENG LU

  Expanded Record of the Lamp from the Tiansheng Era, a book in the Chan lamp history (dengshi) genre, compiled by Li Zunxu (988–1038), a literatus and a member of the imperial court who was related to several emperors in the Northern Song dynasty. The book was completed in 1036 and issued with imperial approval. Li was also a lay Chan Buddhist and a disciple of the Linji Chan master Guyin Yuncong (965–1032), the dharma heir of Shoushan Shengnian. Another close friend of Li was the Linji Chan master Shishuang Chuyuan. As Li admitted, he intended this expansion of the lamp record to document the accomplishments of the contemporary Linji Chan sect. One of the differences between this book and the previous Jingde Chuandeng Lu is that the recorded sayings (yulu) and biographies of the Chan masters in the Linji school were greatly expanded and increased, compared to the materials on other Chan schools. Linji was established as a major Chan patriarch; his yulu and Baizhang Huaihai’s, for the first time, were included along with Mazu Daoyi’s and Huangbo Xiyun’s, which became the foundation for the later Sijia Yulu (Recorded Sayings of Four Houses), an anthology promoting the legitimacy of the Hongzhou-Linji lineage.

  Moreover, the Tiansheng Guangdeng Lu tended to highlight the new Chan identity and orthodoxy as “separate transmission outside scriptural teaching,” a radical interpretation of jiaowai biechuan, and drew the line at some notions of harmonizing Chan principle and the tradition of scriptural exegesis, as was promoted by some members of the competing Fayan and Yunmen schools. The Tiansheng Guangdeng Lu added some completely new details to the story of Sākyamuni’s secret and silent transmission of the dharma to Mahākāśyapa and placed this story in such a context that the superiority of this secret transmission over the Buddha’s exoteric preaching, as characterized in the three vehicles by the Lotus Sūtra, became quite obvious. The Tiansheng Guangdeng Lu thus sent out the message of Chan exclusivism with this new identity and orthodoxy, which was inherited by the later generations and carried down to modern times. The Tiansheng Guangdeng Lu continued the lamp history genre of the Jingde Chuandeng Lu, kept the lineage theory of 28 Indian patriarchs and 6 Chinese patriarchs, and followed the two main lines of Nanyue Huairang and Qingyuan Xingsi and the “five houses” to collect the biographies and recorded sayings of Chan masters. It further formed the lamp history genre and influenced all later works in this genre.

  TIANTAI DESHAO (891–972)

  A Chan master of the Fayan school in the Five Dynast
ies and in the early Northern Song dynasty, Deshao was a native of Longquan in Chuzhou (in present-day Zhejiang province). His family name was Chen. He entered his monastic life at the age of 17 and received official ordination at the age of 18. He then spent a considerable amount of time seeking spiritual guidance. He visited and studied with 54 Chan masters, including Touzi Datong (819–914) and Longya Judun (835–923) in the lineage of Shitou Xiqian. Finally, he went to Congshou Monastery in Linchuan (in present-day Jiangxi province) to study with Fayan Wenyi. When he heard Wenyi’s tautological answer to the question “What is the one drop of water from the origin of Caoxi [Huineng]?” he was suddenly enlightened and became Wenyi’s dharma heir. Later, to inherit Tiantai Zhiyi’s legacy, he visited Mount Tiantai and took up residence at Baisha Temple. The prince and later king, Qian Hongshu (r. 947–978) of Wuyue, invited Deshao to preach at Hangzhou and honored him as National Teacher. Using his good relationship with the king of Wuyue, Deshao also helped ensure the return of missing scriptures and commentaries from Korea for the Tiantai school. Deshao successfully led a huge community of the Fayan school after his teacher’s death. He had 49 disciples, including the famous Yongming Yanshou and Yong’an Daoyuan (d.u.).

  TIANTONG TEMPLE (Ch. Tiantong Si)

  Located on Mount Taibai in Ningbo in Zhejiang Province in China, this temple humbly originated as a hut built in 300 by the monk Yixing (d.u.). In 732, the monk Faxuan (d.u.) built a temple on the east side of the mountain. In 757, the monk Zongbi (d.u.) moved the temple to its current location in the foothills of Mount Taibai. It was named Tiantong Linglong Temple in 759, then renamed to Tianshou Temple in 869 and Jingde Chan Temple in 1007. The temple became famous during the Song dynasty. The Caodong master Hongzhi Zhengjue practiced and taught the mozhao Chan here. During the abbacy of Changweng Rujing, the Japanese monk Dōgen Kigen (1200–1253) became his student and transmitted the Caodong school to Japan. The Japanese Sōtō school thus regarded the temple as its “temple of patriarch (zuting).” During the Hongwu Era (1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty, it was renamed Tiantong Temple. In 1587, the temple was destroyed by a flood; it was rebuilt in 1631.

  TOUZI YIQING (1032–1083)

  A Chan master of the Caodong school in the Song dynasty, Yiqing was born in Qingzhou (in present-day Shandong). His family name was Li. He entered his monastic life in Miaoxiang Temple at the age of 7 and was ordained at the age of 15 after passing the examination of the Lotus Sūtra. He then studied the Yogācāra doctrine and the Huayan Jing (Avataṃsaka Sūtra). Having realized that self-nature is beyond speech and doctrine, he turned to the study of Chan. He became the disciple of the Linji Chan master Fushan Fayuan (991–1067). With Fayuan, Yiqing attained awakening. Having remembered that the deceased Caodong Chan master Dayang Jingxuan entrusted Fayuan to look for the dharma heir for the Caodong ligeage, Fayuan started to teach Yiqing the essentials of Caodong Chan and became convinced that Yiqing was the right person to inherit the portrait, shoes, and robes that Jingxuan had left and to become Jingxuan’s dharma heir. After receiving this unusual transmission, Yiqing first stayed with the Yuman master Yuantong Faxiu (1027–1090), focusing on the study of the Buddhist Canon, and then took up residence in Haihui Chan Monastery in Shuzhou (in present-day Anhui). Eight years later, Yiqing went to Mount Touzi and became abbot at Shengyin Chan Monastery, staying there until his death. Of Yiqing’s disciples, two—Furong Daokai and Dahong Bao’en—became very successful, leading the Caodong school to its revival. Yiqing’s teachings were recorded in the two editions of his yulu, one of which was compiled by his disciple, Furong Daokai. Yiqing’s yulu included his Songgu Baize (Poetic Commentaries on One Hundred Old Cases), which was further commented on by the Caodong Chan master Linquan Conglun (d.u.), of the Yuan dynasty, and became a gong’an collection of six fascicles called Konggu Ji (Anthology of Empty Valley).

  V

  VIMALAKĪRTI SŪTRA AND CHAN

  The complete title of this scripture is Vimalakīrti-Nirdeśa Sūtra, rendered Scripture of the Teachings of Vimalakīrti in English. One of the most popular Indian Mahayana scriptures, it was composed around the second century CE as one of the early Mahayana scriptures and was translated into Chinese, Tibetan, and other central Asian languages. The original Sanskrit text was lost until its very recent discovery. Of the several Chinese translations, Kumārajīva’s (344–413) in 406 and Xuanzang’s (ca. 600–664) in 650 are the most outstanding, and of those two, Kumārajīva’s is the most popular. The scripture portrays the layperson Vimalakīrti as the greatest bodhisattva, whose understanding of the Buddha’s teaching is superior to all other bodhisattvas. In addition to sharing the Mahayana teaching of emptiness with the Perfection of Wisdom literature, the scripture makes impressive criticism of the Hinayana escapist style of sitting meditation and concentration and claims that going about one’s business as usual in the world while following the way of teaching, or entering into nirvana without cutting off from all daily disturbances, is the true meditation. This became one of the most often-quoted justifications in the numerous Chan Buddhist discourses on realizing enlightenment within ordinary activities. The other important influence of the scripture on Chan discourse is its elaboration on the dharma gate of non-duality (bu’er famen). After exhausting the discussion of overcoming all kinds of dualism, the text lets Vimalakīrti demonstrate a complete silence against all linguistic affirmation and negation. It implies that the negation of words is still a form of speech, and only silence can perform such double negation against all linguistic dualism. This strategy inspired the Chan Buddhist use of signifying silence as a way of overcoming the limitation of linguistic expressions.

  W

  WANFA

  This Chinese word means “ten thousand” (wan) “things” (fa) or “myriad things” (dharmas).

  See also .

  WANGXIN

  See .

  WANLING LU

  This text recorded Huangbo Xiyun’s oral instructions during his residence at Kaiyuan Temple in the Wanling district of present-day Anhui Province, which can be dated back to the 9th century. Its complete title is “The Wanling Record of Huangbo Xiyun (or Duanji) Chan Master.” The text is attached to Huangbo Xiyun’s other record, Chuanxin Fayao, in the standard edition, and Huangbo’s lay disciple, Pei Xiu, is credited for editing this text. Based on the critical studies of this text, modern scholars have pointed out that, in contrast to the Chuanxin Fayao, which comes more directly from the lay disciple Peixiu’s personal notes, the Wanling Lu is more likely to be from the collected notes of Huangbo’s monk-students. Furthermore, the early edition of Wanling Lu was much shorter, and therefore more authentic, than the later ones, especially those of the Song additions. Except for these later additions, many parts of Wanling Lu, along with the Chuanxin Fayao, are reliable and precious sources for the study of classical Chan, including its teachings, its styles and rhetoric, and its practices.

  WANSHAN TONGGUI JI

  Anthology on the Common Goal of Myriad Good Deeds, a book in three fascicles, written by Yongming Yanshou, a Chan master in the Song dynasty, during his abbacy at Yongming Temple. Yanshou used the form of questions and answers to elaborate on the complementary relationship between the Chan notion of realizing the mind (as Buddha) and the cultivation of various good deeds in terms of Bodhisattva’s six virtues or perfecrtions (pāramitās). Yanshou’s list of good deeds included chanting sūtras, reciting Buddha’s name, practicing repentance, doing charities, and almost all kinds of traditional Buddhist practices. Practicing these good deeds does not contradict the Chan teaching of realizing self-nature, based on his understanding of the non-obstruction of principle and events (lishi), nature and phenomena (xingxiang), or essence and function (tiyong). Yanshou’s position thus developed the non-dualistic understanding of realization (wu) and cultivation (xiu) and rejected iconoclastic and antinomian tendencies in Chan.

  WANSONG XINGXIU (1166–1246)

  A Chan master of the Caodong school in the Jin dynasty and the earl
y Yuan dynasty, Xingxiu was a native of Jieliang in Henei (in present-day Henan). His family name was Cai. During his youth, he left his parents and became a monk at Jingtu Temple in Xingzhou (in present-day Hebei). He first studied with the Chan master Shengmo Guang (d.u.) at Qingshou Temple (in present-day suburb of Beijing), then went to Daming Temple in Cizhou (in present-day Hebei) to study with the Caodong Chan master Xueyan Man (d. 1206), who was the fifth generation in the Caodong lineage of Furong Daokai. With Xueyan’s instruction, Xingxiu achieved enlightenment and became Xueyan’s dharma heir. He returned to Jingtu Temple, lived in Wansong Hermitage, and started to preach. Later he took up residence, respectively, at Wanshou Temple, Xiyin Temple, and Bao’en Temple. In 1193, the Jin emperor Zhangzong (r. 1189–1208) invited him to the royal palace to preach and granted him the silk robe. In 1232, he retired to Congrong An (Hermitage) in Bao’en Temple; he died in 1246, at the age of 81.

  His preaching was quite successful; he had 120 disciples, including several famous literati. He was the compiler of two gong’an collections: the Congrong Lu (Record of Equanimity) and the Qingyi Lu (Record of Requesting Additional Instruction). The Congrong Lu is his commentary on the Song Caodong master Hongzhi Zhengjue’s Songgu Baize (Verses on One Hundred Old Cases). The Qingyi Lu is his commentary on Hongzhi Zhengjue’s Niangu Baize (Commentaries on One Hundred Old Cases). He also left behind some recorded sayings (yulu) and other works, but they are not extant. We can only find a small part of these recorded sayings throughout his various extant biographical accounts. Inheriting the Caodong tradition, he preferred using the Huayan Buddhist thought of non-obstruction and mutual penetration to interpret Chan teaching. His notion of indirect teaching (qushuo) and using allegory and metaphor echoed Song masters’ strategy of “raolu shuochan (taking a detour in teaching Chan).” Xingxiu also integrated different styles and strengths from other Chan schools into his own teaching and practice.