by Youru Wang
ZHONGFENG MINGBEN (1263–1323)
A very influential Chan master of the Linji school in the Yuan dynasty, Mingben was a native of Qiantang (in present-day Zhejiang). His family name was Sun. He lost his mother at the age of 9 and made up his mind to become a monk at the age of 15. While studying Buddhist scriptures and learning meditation, he had to wait for his father’s approval to be ordained by Gaofeng Yuanmiao. He became the latter’s disciple on Mount Tianmu at the age of 25. With Yuanmiao’s instruction, Mingben attained enlightenment. After Yuanmiao’s death, Mingben traveled to several places. In 1298, he built a hermitage to live and practice in on Mount Bian in Luzhou (in present-day Anhui); two years later, he moved to Pingjiang (in present-day Jiangsu). In 1305, he returned to Mount Tianmu and was invited to be abbot at Shizi Temple. Not wanting to stay in one place for long, he soon turned to traveling again while still preaching. His residential hermitage was often called Huanzhu An (“Hermitage of Illusory Residence”), and he acquired fame as the jiangnan gufo (“ancient Buddha from the south”). In 1318, Emperor Yuan Renzong (r. 1311–1320) granted him a golden robe and the title Foci Yuanzhao Guanghui Chanshi (“Chan Master of Buddha’s Compassion, Perfect Illumination and Broad Wisdom”). Mingben died at the age of 61.
In contrast to his teacher, Gaofeng Yuanmiao, Mingben left many written works and poems, including a set of monastic rules. Several editions of his recorded sayings were put together as the Tianmu Zhongfeng Mingben Heshang Guanglu, which was approved by Emperor Yuan Huizong (r. 1333–1370) to be included in the Buddhist canon in 1334. His many disciples included members of the royal family, ministers, and literati. His teachings inherited Yuanmiao’s approach of kanhua Chan, but he elaborated more on its origin, significance, and process, which contributed to the development of the kanhua Chan literature. Mingben was also an important advocate of practicing both Chan and Pure Land (Chanjing shuangxiu) by combining the meditation on key phrases (kan huatou) and reciting Buddha’s name (nianfo), based on the traditional Chan understanding of “only the mind is pure land (weixin jingtu)” and “the self-nature is Amita-Buddha (zixing mituo).”
ZHUXIN KANJING
One of the four well-known characterizations that Heze Shenhui used to describe the teachings of Shenxiu and his Northern school. Zhuxin kanjing means “to stop the mind and contemplate quietness.” The other three characterizations that follow it are “to summon the mind and mirror externals (juxin waizhao),” “to control the mind and purify the internal (shexin neicheng),” and “to concentrate the mind and enter into meditation (ningxin ruding).” These descriptions have been seen traditionally as the best characterization of quietism and escapism in Chan, although contemporary historians have debated the fairness of Shenhui’s characterization of Shenxiu’s teachings, arguing that these are nothing but normal methods or procedures of meditation practice. Despite this, the Platform Sūtra seems to echo this criticism of Shenxiu by pointing out that Huineng’s notion of no-thought does not ask people to stop the mind and thought, which claims to be different from Shenxiu. The criticism of quietism and escapism was influential on classical Chan and was shared by later generations. The Linji Lu directly quoted these characterizations and regarded these teachings as “creating bad karmas.”
ZIXING
See .
ZONGJING LU
Records of the Source-Mirror, a book of 100 fascicles created by the Chan master Yongming Yanshou of the Song dynasty in 961. Another, less-used title for this book is Xinjing Lu (Records of the Mind-Mirror). This encyclopedic book serves to elaborate on the intentions and meanings of Buddhas and patriarchs by establishing the one mind (equivalent to true suchness or Buddha-nature) as the source and underlying principle (zong), which unifies, and manifests in, all teachings of scriptures/treatises and practices of Chan lineages, as it reflects all things in the universe like a mirror.
The Zongjing Lu consists of three parts. The first part reveals the source, or central message, of Chan (biaozong zhang), focusing on the notion of the one mind. The second part is “questions and answers (wenda zhang)” and runs from the later part of the first fascicle through the ninety-third fascicle. In his response to all of the questions, Yanshou further explains his soteriology of realizing the one mind by extensively citing Buddhist scriptures, commentaries and treatises, and clearly shows his position that the doctrinal teachings and Chan are from the same source. The third part is “citations and verifications (yinzheng zhang)” and runs from the ninety-fourth fascicle to the last fascicle, collecting quotations from about 120 scriptures; 120 texts of various patriarchs’s sayings and poems; and 60 treatises, including those of Huayan, Tiantai, Sanlun (Chinese Madhyamaka), and Faxiang (Chinese Yogācāra). Many materials collected in this part are not extant elsewhere, including those about Tang Chan masters, which are either different or excluded from those in the transmission of the lamp literature. These collections and the entire book serve Yanshou’s purpose of establishing a vision of Chan inclusivism, embracing all Chan lineages and reconciling Chan with the doctrinal teachings of Buddhism (chanjiao yizhi). Although the Zongjing Lu was kept privately for many years after its completion, it became popular in the Northern Song after a couple of issuings. It was also influential in Korea and Japan.
ZONGMEN SHIGUI LUN
Treatise on the Ten Regulations of the [Chan] School, a text attributed to Fayan Wenyi. The earliest extant edition of this text includes a postscript dated to 1346, but no other Chinese sources mention this text. However, the important passages in this text do not show clear signs of later editing. Wenyi’s treatise aimed to regulate Chan Buddhists and overcome 10 perverse kinds of behavior in the competition among different Chan lineages, although the formation of different lineages was not seen as negative. The 10 kinds of unacceptable behavior were (1) improperly wanting to be a teacher of others without enlightening one’s own mind first; (2) sectarian preference and bias dominating disputes; (3) asserting the main points of Chan without knowing their origin and connection; (4) giving answers without considering the time and situation and losing the insights of Chan; (5) failure to reconcile principle (li) and facts (shi) or distinguish defiled from pure; (6) casual interpretations on the sayings of past and present masters without a critical attitude; (7) memorizing formulas without understanding their functions during the time when they were used; (8) being unable to master scriptures and using wrong citations; (9) composing verses without using rhyme and mastering principle; and (10) defending one’s own shortcomings and indulging in winning disputes.
The text has usually been regarded as the earliest source for differentiating the teaching styles and methods of the other four schools and for acknowledging the “five houses” of Chan. Contemporary scholars have argued that the differentiation of the five houses was not finalized by Wenyi until some texts produced in the mid-Northern Song. Moreover, the competition between these schools was not based on substantial differences of teachings and practices, but rather on lineage relationships or loyalties. The Zongmen Shigui Lun also criticizes the exaggeration of the differences among Chan lineages and emphasizes the common ground and approach of Chan shared by all lineages, in spite of varied uses of expedient means.
ZONGMEN TONGYAO JI
The United Essential Collection from the [Chan] School of 10 fascicles, compiled by Zongyong (d.u.) around 1093 in the Song dynasty and included in Gulin Qingmao’s (1262–1329) Zongmen Tongyao Xuji (The Continuous United Collection of the Essentials from the [Chan] School) in the Yuan dynasty. The Zongmen Tongyao Xuji was included in various editions of the Ming Buddhist canon, but the original Zongmen Tongyao Ji was no longer circulated separately. This collection of Chan recorded sayings seems not to have been highly esteemed, in terms of the observation that the compilation of the popular Wudeng Huiyuan was based on the five Song texts of the transmission of the lamp literature—the Jingde Chuandeng Lu, the Tiansheng Guangdeng Lu, the Jianzhong Jingguo Xudeng Lu, the Zongmen Liandeng Huiyao, and the Jiatai Pud
eng Lu—but not on the Zongmen Tongyao Ji. Japanese scholars recently examined historical evidence for the Zongmen Tongyao Ji outside of the materials of the Ming Buddhist canon and discovered that the Zongmen Tongyao Ji was compiled earlier than the Jianzhong Jingguo Xudeng Lu (compiled in 1101). It has been argued that, unlike the transmission of the lamp literature that documented the order of transmission of the dharma through generations, the Zongmen Tongyao Ji was a gong’an collection used for the gong’an practice. Compiled prior to, and its materials being used by, Yuanwu Keqin’s Blue Cliff Record and Wumen Huikai’s Wumen Guan, the Zongmen Tongyao Ji exerted important influence on the development of the Song gong’an literature. The role it played in Chan history should not be overlooked.
ZONGMI (780–841)
Also called Guifeng Zongmi. A Chinese Buddhist monk in the Tang dynasty, who was both a Chan master of the Heze Shenhui lineage and the fifth and last patriarch of Huayan Buddhism in China. Born into an elite family, he received a thorough education in Chinese classics in his youth, including a two-year period of study in a Confucian academy and preparation for the civil service examinations. After a meeting with the Chan monk Daoyuan (d.u.), he decided to leave the household, and he became a Chan monk at the age of 25. In his Chan training, which he believed was an authentic transmission from the Southern school of Huineng through Shenhui, he particularly concentrated on the study of the Perfect Awakening Sūtra (Yuanjue Jing). It was reported that his initial enlightenment occurred as a result of reading several lines of this scripture.
At the age of 30, an encounter with a disciple of the Huayan master, Chengguan (738–839), and the reading of the latter’s commentary on the Huayan Jing attracted him to the intensive study of Huayan teaching. He studied closely with the master Chengguan at Chang’an for two years and won the latter’s praise for being his best student. Some contemporary scholars hold that although Chengguan and the Huayan teaching had a huge impact on Zongmi and his understanding of Chan, Zongmi basically appropriated Huayan from the perspective of Chan.
As a Chan master and scholar, Zongmi and his publications on Chan occupy a considerable place in Chan history. His Chan Chart (Zhonghua Chuanxindi Chanmen Shizi Chengxi Tu) included detailed critiques of the Northern school, the Ox-Head school, and within the Southern school, the Hongzhou and Heze schools, following the similar discussions he had recorded earlier in his Yuanjue Jing Dashu Chao. In his Chan Prolegomenon (Chanyuan Zhuquanji Duxu), he elaborated on the necessity of unifying scriptural teachings and Chan meditational practice (jiaochan yizhi), refuting what he thought of as extreme views. In his Yuanren Lun (Inquiry into the Origin of Man), he went further to critique the teachings of Confucianism and Daoism, while reincorporating them into his overarching Buddhist theory of how the human condition comes into being—making him a pioneer of Chinese Buddhist syncretism. He had many connections with literati of his day, was invited to the imperial court to give lectures, and was honored with the title “Great Worthy.” These same connections also brought him trouble, however, due to the changing political climate and events. Zongmi died at Chang’an in 841.
ZUOCHAN
This popular term means “sitting” (zuo) “meditation” (chan) or “seated meditation.” Sitting meditation is a prototypical posture of meditation that can be traced back to the earliest practice of yoga in India. Buddhism is well known for its practice of meditation as either one of the three learnings (sanxue) or one of the six perfections (liu boluomi). Although there are other forms of meditation, such as standing or walking, sitting meditation has been most often practiced by Buddhists for almost 2,500 years. One of the most popular images of the Śākyamuni Buddha is him sitting cross-legged in the lotus position in meditation, palms held upward on the lap, back straight, and abdomen relaxed. Claiming inheritance of the true dharma from the Buddha, Chan Buddhists continued this practice throughout the ages. From a very small body of Chan texts on meditation, an extant earliest manual of Chan meditation, the Zuochan Yi (Principles of Seated Meditation), dated in 1103, attributed to the Song Yunmen Chan master Changlu Zongze and included in his Chanyuan Qinggui, provides a useful glimpse into Chan sitting meditation. The text taught beginners the same methods of sitting meditation that would likely have been used by the Buddha and early Buddhists, especially the tradition of tranquility (samatha) meditation, including the adjustment of posture, the regulation of breathing, being mindful of thought, and the transcendence of subject/object.
However, the text distinguished itself from the early tradition of tranquility meditation by integrating the method of tranquility meditation into the Sinicized Mahayana framework of bodhisattva practice and the manifestation of inherent wisdom and Buddha-nature. Calmness or meditative absorption became the condition for the natural manifestation of the pearl of Buddha-mind. Although this kind of framework and integration had been used earlier by the Tiantai master Zhiyi (538–97) and other texts, and the influence of Zhiyi’s works on meditation upon this text is discernible, the Zuochan Yi was nonetheless distinctive. It refrained from the doctrinal entanglement, scholastic or discursive analysis, and technical materials that were often characteristic of Zhiyi’s works, instead presenting the instruction in a much more simplified and colloquial language. When discussing the “controlling of the mind,” the Zuochan Yi seems more in line with the early Chan teachings on meditation, such as those found in Hongren and the so-called Northern school, or the approach of “gradual cultivation.” This tendency to lean toward more conservative teachings on meditation presented the problem of running against the radical Chan rhetoric of sudden teaching, after Shenhui and the widespread Chan slogan “no-cultivation and no-sitting (buxiu buzuo)” in classical Chan. It appears that this text emerged after a long silence on the actual content of Chan meditation practice by classical Chan texts. One explanation for this puzzling phenomenon is that a text of this nature met the need for formalization and regulation of Chan institutions and practices, after Chan Buddhism had become a dominant religion in the Song and the previous sectarian struggles accompanying the radical rhetoric were over.
Another interpretation points out that there is no complete lack of affirmation of the necessity of meditation in the teaching and practice records of great masters of classical Chan such as Mazu Daoyi and Baizhang Huaihai. Most Chan sayings of no-cultivation and no-sitting were parasitic on the ongoing practice of meditation in Chan monasteries and functioned as shock therapy to the misunderstanding of sitting meditation as the only form of practice or separating it from everyday activities and experiences. Even a radical figure like Shenhui, who advocated sudden enlightenment and criticized the gradual approach of Shenxiu so energetically, had to concede that sudden enlightenment should be followed by a gradual cultivation. Therefore, a text like the Zuochan Yi could play a necessary role in the Chan reconciliation of the sudden/gradual dichotomy. In the final analysis, sitting meditation was a primary Chan practice, often coexisting with the reiterated radical anti-meditation-like rhetoric of many Chan texts, a unique phenomenon of Chan Buddhism. After the Zuochan Yi, Chan meditation practice was further developed into its two best-known new approaches: the kanhua Chan (Chan of observing the key phrase) and the mozhao Chan (silent illumination Chan), which were respectively affiliated with the Song Linji Chan master Dahui Zonggao and the Caodong Chan master Hongzhi Zhengjue, and spread to all of East Asia.
See also ; ; ; ; .
ZUOCHAN SANMEI JING
Sūtra on the Samādhi of Sitting Meditation, a very influential Indian Buddhist text on meditation in China, compiled and translated by Kumārajīva (344–413) (Ch. Jiumoluoshi), one of the most popular Buddhist translators in 5th-century China. It is not a true scripture, but rather a compilation primarily from the dhyāna teachings and treatises of Indian Sarvāstivādin patriarchs, such as Vasumitra, Upagupta, and Kumāralāta. It represents a system of five categories, or gates (wumen), of meditation: the contemplation of the impure (bujing guan), the contemplation of goodwill o
r compassion (cibei guan), the contemplation of the 12-linked chain of interdependent origination (yinyuan guan), the contemplation of inhalation and exhalation (shuxi guan), and the contemplation or visualization of the Buddha (nianfo guan). These methods are the Hinayana-style approach to meditation. In his appendix to this scripture, Kumārajīva introduced some Mahayana ideas, such as prajñāpāramitā (perfect wisdom), bodhisattva (Buddha in the making), and śūnyatā (emptiness). However, modern scholars generally agree that the Zuochan Sanmei Jing basically transmitted Hinayana meditation methods from the Sarvāstivāda school to China. The Mahayana ideas were not integrated into the meditation delineated by this text.
ZUSHI CHAN
See .
ZUTANG
See .
ZUTANG JI
Patriarch’s Hall Collection. As the earliest book in the transmission of the lamp (or the lamp history) genre, it was compiled in 952 during the time of the Five Dynasties and in the 10th year of the Baoda era of the Southern Tang, by two Chan monks, Jing (d.u.) and Yun (d.u.), from Zhaoqing Temple in Quanzhou (in present-day Fujian). The preface of the book, written by the abbot of Zhaoqing Temple, Wendeng (884–972), a descendant from the lineage of Xuefeng Yicun, indicates that it was compiled for the use of him and his students. While the book was mentioned by other sources roughly 100 years after its compilation, it disappeared from the subsequent history of Chan Buddhism until it was rediscovered in the 1920s in the Korean monastery, Haein-sa, by a Japanese scholar. The current studies of the Zutang Ji are all based on this rediscovered text in its Korean edition, which has been deemed by most scholars to be authentic and without substantial alteration, except for the number of fascicles, which changed from the original 1 to 20.
