(20 maart 2016)

Buddhist scholars on both sides of the Pacific are paying attention to the relationship between Buddhism and Daoism, the question of indigenous scriptures, the social and ritualistic dimension of Buddhism revealed in artistic creations and the interaction and mutual influences between Chinese and the larger Buddhist world.

Tathāgata Chan and Patriarchal Chan

Fang Litian

In the history of Chinese Chan, the process from the proposition that Tathāgata Chan is Highest Vehicle Chan (zuishangsheng chan), up to the rise of Patriarchal Chan, intensely reflects a division and remodeling within Huineng's branch of Chan, which is tremendously meaningful from a cultural viewpoint. Chinese Chan masters in the earlier periods did not possess a unified definition of Tathāgata Chan and Patriarchal Chan — instead, they wrote with rather ambiguous meanings and loose definitions.

[Extract] What is So-Called Tathāgata Chan?

Among the currently available Buddhist scriptures, the earliest one which mentions the term Tathāgata Chan is the Lankāvatāra Sūtra (Lengqie jing, or, in its full title, Lengqie abaduoluobao jing) translated by Guna-bhadra (394-468), during the Liu Song dynasty. In the second fascicle of this sutra, it is written that there are four types of Chan practice, namely "Chan as practiced by foolish men" (yüfu suoxing chan), "Chan practice for observing the characteristics [of phenomena]" (guancha yi chan), "Chan practice for attaching to suchness" (panyuan ru chan), and "Tathāgata Chan" (rulai chan).¹

Additionally, these four types are also collectively known as "Chan as practiced by ordinary men" ( fanfu suoxing chan), "Chan practice for observing the truth of appearances" (guancha xiangyi chan), "Chan practice for attaching to the suchness of truth" (panyuan rushi chan), and "Chan practice of tathāgata purity" (rulai qingjing chan).² According to the Lankāvatāra Sūtra, the first type of Chan practice serves srāvakas, pratyeka-buddhas and non-Buddhists, who realize that there is no self in the human being and perceive the phenomena of suffering, impermanence and the contamination of human beings, and thus attain the realm of "samadhi of non-contemplation" and "samadhi of non-termination." The "Chan practice for observing the truth" refers to those who have already understood the truth of "non-self in humans" and observed that of "non-self in dharma." However, if a person is attached to all the above mentioned Chan practices, and understands these two doctrines regarding "non-self," these are still empty and scattered thoughts. Only when a person realizes that the two types of "nonself" are merely empty and nebulous concepts, not letting them arise, does he arrive at the "Tathāgatagarbha mind," [schoot waaruit de Boeddhas voortkomen] which corresponds to the idea of "Chan practice for being attached to suchness." "Tathāgata Chan" means attaining the Tathāgata stage and achieving "self-awakened holy omniscience" (zijue shengzhi), and three joyful abodes, things which are unimaginable to sentient beings.³ Here "holy omniscience" refers to the wisdom of the sages and of the buddhas; the "self-awakened holy omniscience" is self-enlightened Tathāgata wisdom. This means that Tathāgata Chan is for those who have achieved Buddhahood, attained the stage of Tathāgata, benefited from the joy of dharma, and demonstrated inconceivable abilities, so as to save sentient beings from suffering. . .

. . In all the available texts from Bodhidharma (ca. 443), through Huike (487-593), Sengcan (?-606), Daoxin (580-651) and Hongren (601-674), and up to Huineng (638-713), there is no mention of Tathāgata Chan. The earliest person to mention Tathāgata Chan is Hui neng's disciple, Shenhui (Shen Hui 684-760). He said:

To depart from both existence and non-existence, and to extinguish the Middle Way, such is "non-thought." Non-thought is one-thought, which is "omniscience" (yiqie zhi). "All-inclusive omniscience" is the profound prajñāpāramitā [Perfectie van wijsheid], which is Tathāgata Chan. Hence the sacred text writes, "The Buddha says: good man, through what means do you view the Tathāgata? Vimalakīrti answers: Insofar as I view the true character of myself, as such I view the Buddha. When I observe the Tathāgata, the following moment does not come, and the previous moment does not go. The present is non-abiding (wuzhu). Because of non-abiding, it is Tathāgata Chan. Tathāgata Chan is the first principle of emptiness (diyiyi kong)."⁵

Shenhui regards the wisdom of prajñā [wijsheid] as Tathāgata Chan. This is similar to the Lankāvatāra Sūtra, which defines Tathāgata Chan as comprising the "selfawakened holy omniscience." However, the wisdom proposed by Shenhui refers to the prajñā of the Middle Way, which incorporates the concepts of existence and non-existence, and is not identical to the wisdom of Tathāgata based on "self-awakened holy omniscience," unless one views the definitions of them loosely. Shenhui further mentions non-thought and non-abiding in Tathāgata Chan, in a context which is in accordance with Huineng's doctrines of "non-thought is the principle" and "non-abiding is the core," which affirms Huineng's Chan approach as Tathāgata Chan.

1.T 16: 492a.

2. T 16: 492a. Compare the translation by Bodhiruci (6th c. CE), these four are rendered as "Chan as practiced by stupid, ignorant and ordinary masses" ( yüchi fanda suoxing chan), "Chan practice for observing the truth" (guancha yi chan), "Chan practice for recollecting suchness" (nian zhenru chan), and "Chan practice of buddhas and tathāgatas" (zhufo rulai chan), T 16: 533. [De auteur maakt hier een onderscheid tussen Boeddha en Tathāgata hetgeen betekent dat hij uitgaat van 2 vormen van boeddhaschap.]

3. T 16: 492a.

4.-

5. Heze Shenhui chanshi yülu, in Zhongguo fojiao sixiang ziliao xuanbian 2, Vol. 4, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983, p. 96.

Editors: Pei-Ying Lin, Lou Yulie, 2015, e-ISBN : 9789047427971, Brill

This volume contains the English translation of fourteen articles selected from Religious Studies in Contemporary China Collection: Buddhism (Dangdai Zhongguo zongjiao yanjiu jingxuan: Fojiao juan), edited by Lou Yulie. It is one of six volumes (the others being Popular Religion and Shamanism, Daoism, Christianity, Islam, Marxism and Religious Studies) which Chinese version was published by Minzu Press.