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Zen Buddhism, established relatively late and flourishing during the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods, is one of China's native Buddhist schools. Compared to other schools, it possesses more distinct national characteristics.
The founders and renowned masters of Zen Buddhism established and spread the school with the intention of surpassing and critiquing other schools. Compared to other schools, Zen Buddhism, especially the Southern School that became mainstream in the late Tang dynasty, has the following characteristics:
Claiming to be a special transmission outside the scriptures, with mind-to-mind transmission
Although Zen Buddhism lacks a systematic doctrinal classification theory, after the rise of the Southern School, it claimed to be a "school" or "vehicle" distinct from other Buddhist schools. It not only referred to various Mahayana and Hinayana sutras and treatises as "teachings," but also called the schools that established doctrines based on these texts as "teachings." Moreover, it claimed to inherit directly from the Buddha and patriarchs, transmitting only the "Buddha mind." Shenhu said, "The six patriarchs transmitted mind-to-mind, apart from written words" (Nanyang Heshang Dunjiao Jietuo Chanmen Zhiliao Xingtan Yu). Huangbo Xiyun said, "When the patriarchs came from the West, they directly pointed to the human mind, seeing one's nature and becoming Buddha, not relying on words" (Chuanxin Fayao). It is recorded that Yixuan once studied the precepts thoroughly and was widely learned in sutras and treatises, but later realized: "These are merely prescriptions for saving the world, not the essence of the special transmission outside the teachings," and thus turned to Zen Buddhism (Linji Lu, appended stupa inscription). In the Yunmen Yulu, which records Yunmen Wenyan's dharma talks, besides "mind-to-mind transmission," there are also phrases like "special transmission outside the teachings." Fayan Wenyi said in Zongmen Shigui Lun: "When the patriarchs came from the West, there was no dharma to transmit... they only directly pointed to the human mind, seeing one's nature and becoming Buddha"; "This gate is extraordinary, it is indeed a special transmission outside the teachings." By emphasizing "mind transmission," "not establishing written words," and "special transmission outside the teachings," and not advocating reading scriptures or writing books and establishing doctrines, Zen Buddhism thus drew a clear line between itself and other schools.
However, Zen Buddhism did not advocate completely abandoning the scriptures. Early Zen Buddhism promoted reading the Lankavatara Sutra and the Diamond Sutra, and many Zen masters were very familiar with the Vimalakirti Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Avatamsaka Sutra, and Madhyamaka Shastra, often quoting them in their teachings. They explained that this was to "use the teachings to enlighten to the essence," rather than blindly reading scriptures or being superstitious and attached to words.
Emphasizing self-cultivation and self-enlightenment to achieve Buddhahood
Zen Buddhism asserts that everyone has Buddha nature and can become a Buddha, guiding followers to cultivate and enlighten themselves, "recognize the mind and see the nature," and "suddenly see the true thusness of original nature," rather than seeking the dharma and Buddha everywhere. Huineng said, "Buddha is created by one's own nature, don't seek outside yourself. When self-nature is deluded, Buddha is sentient beings; when self-nature is enlightened, sentient beings are Buddha." He claimed that if sentient beings could realize their own nature, "one enlightenment leads to the Buddha stage." Emphasizing that the Buddha dharma is in the human world and Buddha is not separate from sentient beings, Huineng said, "The dharma is originally in the human world, in both worldly and transcendent realms. Don't leave the worldly to seek the transcendent." (Dunhuang version of the Platform Sutra) Some famous Zen masters criticized the pursuit of liberation beyond the world. For example, Yixuan, the founder of the Linji school, criticized people who "seek Buddha, seek dharma, seek liberation, seek to leave the three realms" as "foolish people," asking, "If you want to leave the three realms, where will you go?" (Linji Lu) In fact, Zen Buddhism emphasizes establishing confidence in becoming a Buddha, but does not particularly explain how to become a Buddha or what it means to become a Buddha. Therefore, Zen Buddhism does not make specific provisions for stages of practice.
Advocating the non-duality of meditation and wisdom, and that the Buddha Way is not separate from daily life
During the early period of Zen Buddhism and the Northern School represented by Shenxiu and Puji, in response to the trend of reading, lecturing, and writing about scriptures in the Buddhist community at that time, they advocated sitting meditation and observing the mind, "ceasing deluded thoughts." By the time of Huineng's Southern School, they further proposed "non-duality of meditation and wisdom," believing that meditation has no specific procedures or rules, and that as long as one realizes one's own nature, "wisdom" itself is "meditation." They also advocated "no-thought as the doctrine," "thinking without thinking," asking people to eliminate concepts of likes and dislikes, acceptance and rejection of any things, to achieve naturalness and non-action, placing practice within daily life. According to this Zen method, Mazu said, "The Way does not need cultivation," "Ordinary mind is the Way" (Jingde Chuandeng Lu, Daoi Chanshi Yu); Layman Pang's verse states: "Supernatural power and marvelous function, carrying water and chopping firewood" (Jingde Chuandeng Lu, Pang Jushi Zhuan); Yixuan said, "In Buddha dharma, there is no place for effortful practice, it's just ordinary and uneventful, defecating and urinating, wearing clothes and eating food, when tired then sleep" (Linji Lu); Yunmen Wenyan criticized his disciples who were practicing Zen, saying, "When people talk about the patriarchs' intention, you ask about talks that surpass Buddha and patriarchs, you ask about leaving the three realms. You bring the three realms here, what seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing is obstructing you? What sounds and forms can you finish?... Besides wearing clothes, eating food, defecating and urinating, what else is there? Why do you uselessly give rise to so many delusions?" (Yunmen Lu, Volume 1)
Teaching according to individual capacities, so-called "setting up methods at the gate"
Zen Buddhism emphasizes teaching according to individual capacities. Besides direct transmission of the dharma, it also uses gestures, actions, and even hitting with sticks or shouting to inspire disciples. By the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, five schools of Zen had formed. Although there were no major differences in their Zen methods, they differed in their methods of teaching and guiding disciples, each having their so-called "methods set up at the gate." Although Zen Buddhism does not emphasize teaching through language and writing, famous Zen masters in the early period still frequently gave dharma talks to disciples and followers from the Dharma hall or on other occasions. For example, Huineng, Shenhu, Benting, Nanyang Huizhong, and others left behind records of their teachings that directly expounded their views on Zen methods. Even Mazu and his disciples, although sometimes using gestures and actions or even sticks and shouts to inspire their Zen practitioners, also often directly used language to enlighten disciples. However, as time went on, because some Zen monks deviated from the original purpose of Zen Buddhism and one-sidedly emphasized not using language and writing, formalism prevailed with imitation and affectation, frequently resorting to sticks and shouts, fists and feet, causing the Zen style in the monasteries to show signs of vulgarity and decline.
A mode of thinking influenced by Xuanxue (Neo-Taoism)
The rise of Zen Buddhism is a manifestation of the deepening sinicization of Buddhism. It gradually rose after the formation and spread of Chinese Buddhist schools with strong national characteristics such as Tiantai, Sanlun, and Huayan. On one hand, it absorbed and greatly developed the Mahayana Buddha-nature theory and Prajna-Madhyamaka thought, which formed an important theoretical basis for various schools. On the other hand, it applied the mode of thought that valued simplicity and metaphysical speculation, which was familiar and welcomed by Chinese scholars, to its own dharma transmission. Shenxiu of the Northern School summarized his Zen method with the two characters "ti" (essence) and "yong" (function), calling it the "double mystery gate" (Lengqie Shizi Ji, Shenxiu Zhuan). Southern School Zen monks often called the essence of Zen method "mysterious intention" or "mysterious mechanism," and called the realization of mind-nature "mysterious enlightenment" or "attaining the mysterious pass." The Zutang Ji, Volume 15, Pang Jushi Zhuan, described Layman Pang as follows:
Without changing his Confucian appearance, his mind roamed beyond phenomena. With detached emotions, his form corresponded to true interest; with mixed traces, he stood out in the human world. He was truly a Confucian scholar of mysterious learning, a bodhisattva living at home.
Indeed, in the Zen monks' discussions of principle and phenomena, essence and function, emptiness and existence, and in the "methods set up at the gate" used to guide disciples and Zen practitioners, many borrowed the speculative and expressive methods of Xuanxue. It is not an exaggeration to say that Zen Buddhism is the Xuanxue of Buddhism.
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