CHAPTER 10

On the Use of Colloquialisms

After the sixth patriarch, Zen spread widely in southern China from the time of the flourishing . of the T'ang dynasty, gradually transforming the method of teaching that had carried on for hundreds of years since Buddhism came to the country. It took the subtle doctrines of the five or six thousand volumes of Buddhist classics—the scriptures, rules of behavior, treatises, and the twelve sections of these three treasuries of the canon—and reduced them to a specially transmitted teaching outside of doctrine, represented by the Buddha twirling a flower and Kasyapa smiling. Thus it is that Zen makes a special presentation of the central issue of "directly pointing to the human mind for perception of its essence and attainment of Buddhahood."

An additional factor in this transformation was the fact that the sixth patriarch was unschooled and illiterate, so whenever he was communicating the Zen mind essence he did not use the format of interpreting doctrines according to writings, glossing characters, and annotating scriptures. He just used ordinary expressions to point at the reality of mind with direct precision, which happened to accord with the principle of seeking realization through direct transmission and reception of clarifying mind, and seeing its essence, as illustrated by the saying that Zen was "specially transmitted outside of doctrine, not setting up words."

Then when it came into the hands of the disciples in the second generation after the sixth patriarch, they spontaneously formulated a kind of mode or style characteristic of the school of Sudden Enlightenment in the Southern tradition of Hui-neng. Although the source materials of Zen left to us today do contain infinite value, nevertheless when you read Zen books you have the feeling that they are so vague you don't know what they are saying. Because I want young people today engaged in the same study to know the treasures of Chinese culture, I must explain certain points that have to be recognized at the outset.

Zen books are usually collections on individual Zen masters, so they are called "records of sayings." These records of sayings are everyday talks on Zen study, with questions and answers on doubts and problems. They are comparatively straightforward and free from rhetorical embellishment, recording the Zen masters' day-to-day talks and lectures. Like the Altar Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, for example, they do their best to avoid profound Buddhist doctrines and literary conceits. Because of this, the records of sayings are largely in the vernacular languages of the T'ang and Sung dynasties. To study them, it is therefore essential to be especially aware of the use of T'ang dynasty colloquialisms and terms from the dialects of such regions as Hunan, Hupei, Kiangsi, Fukien, and Canton, as well as the old pronunciation resembling that of the Chinese heartland during the T'ang dynasty.

At the same time it is essential to understand that the appearance of the Zen school records of sayings was also a revolution in the attitude of Chinese culture toward scholastic method. The records of sayings, the literary style of the Sung dynasty neo-Confucians, were derived from this very source. In reality, the formation of the conversational style of the records of sayings also had two remote causes. For one thing, it was itself a derivation from Buddhist scriptures, which are originally question-and-answer dialogues. Second, it was also derived from an evolution of Chinese culture. In traditional Chinese culture, the Analects of Confucius and the New Words on Worldly Talks by Liu I-ch'ing (fl. ca. 420) of the Liu Sung dynasty were both very important. The conversational style of the records of sayings was born of a combination of the spirit of these two works.

From the Sung dynasty on, the Zen schools had edited records of sayings and compiled them in massive collections such as the Records of Transmission of the Lamp, Eye of Humanity and Heaven, Five Lamps Merged in the Source, Records of Pointing at the Moon, and other works including the imperial selection compiled in the Ying-cheng era (1723-1735) by the emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty. All of these Zen classics are anthologies containing principles, literary illustrations, studies of sources, and many other valuable materials for Zen study. If you want to study Zen, Records of Transmission of the Lamp, Records of Pointing at the Moon, and Imperial Selection of Sayings are all essential reading. To make a thorough and detailed study, it is necessary to read through the individual sayings of all the Zen masters.