CHAPTER 21

The Importance of the Relationship
of Zen and Literature

Among the examples I have introduced from T'ang dynasty poetry, Sung dynasty lyrics, and Yuan dynasty drama, some are not completely mixed with Buddhist and Zen expressions, but evolved and developed out of Zen mental states; if we just look at them from the surface, it might not be easy to perceive the intimate connection between Zen Buddhism and the evolution of Chinese literature.

Actually, I have just picked out a few works of clear beauty and austere elegance related to Zen mental states to make a cooling, thirst-quenching concoction for the agitated and disturbed human life in the toilsome realm of dust of this time in this world. Zen originally does not set up writings and does not have to make pompous use of literature to show how lofty it is; yet Zen and the Zen masters from the T'ang and Sung dynasties onward all formed a tight relationship with literature, becoming as it were virtually inseparable. Two additional explanations will help you understand the importance of the relationship between Zen and literature.

The Significance of Poetry

When Confucius in his later years edited the classics of poetry and documents, determined rites and music, and thus formulated the intellectual system of traditional Chinese culture, why did he use poems to make his point, discussing them again and again, quoting them from time to time? And why did the Confucians from the Ch'in and Han dynasties onward change things around to make the Book of Odes first among the five classics, before the Book of Documents, I Ching, Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals?

It is because the spirit of the traditional culture of the Chinese people has always been completely centered on human culture. Although it also has elements of religious thought, it is not like the pristine culture of the West, which derives completely from theological religious thought; the foundation of human culture naturally is not apart from human thought and emotion, the inner and outer functions of the body and mind.

Religion can be used to arrange people's thoughts and emotions, taking them on an eternal road into the distance and to an inconceivable realm so that they may attain the effect of individual peace of mind. But if you approach the faith of religious thought purely from the standpoint of human culture, sometimes it may function only emotionally.

Therefore, when you want to adjust human emotions, it is necessary to have a kind of literary art that can transcend the mental realm between apparent reality and the emotions. Only then is it possible for emotion and thought to sublimate themselves to a state of mind similar to a religious state, whereby it is possible to transcend the environment of apparent reality. Feelings and thoughts are set elsewhere, developed to become independent and autonomous, so that it is possible to arrange your own heaven and earth.

In the popular culture of China, strong emphasis has always been placed on the value of poetry, a literary genre that has been a shining light throughout history. The ancients who lauded the role of poetry in maintaining the fiber of society only knew that it was so without knowing why it was so; they had not deeply studied the value and subtle function of the states engendered by poetic lyrics.

Among the Chinese intelligentsia of the past, poetry, history, philosophy, music, and the arts were all inseparable parts of a total curriculum. That is why most literati fifty or sixty years ago naturally knew how to compose poetry and lyrics, the only differences between their works and those of antiquity being their quality and depth. These writers were so versatile that it is hard to make strict distinctions among poets, scholars, philosophers, politicians, and military scientists in old China. They were individuals who could easily master other fields of learning, and whose lives were not restricted to poetry.

Zen not only does not set up written words; it also has formlessness as its gateless gate of entry. To put it another way, the state of Zen is a stateless state, shedding formal doctrines of religion, and emphasizing the true spirit of practice and realization of Buddhism, sublimating the mental experience of human life and entering into a realm of pure clarity, the open consciousness that has no form yet is all forms.

For the purposes of expediency in expression and explanation, I have no choice but to use a method of making something out of nothing, bringing up examples of scholarship in order to compare them with the realm of Zen. Thus there are the subtle mental realms of poetry and lyrics, of the most developed of the fine arts, and of the highest martial arts; these subtle mental realms can be compared with Zen to some degree.

That is why even the extemporaneous verses, lyrics, and writings of the Zen masters of the T'ang and Sung dynasties were all literary works of the finest caliber and profoundest depth. Thus the spreading of this fashion gradually formed the intellectual realm of T'ang, Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Ch'ing dynasty literature, and the unique style of Chinese literature of the past.

The Significance of Religion

Religion and literature are originally an inseparable continuity. Whatever the religion, it can spread throughout society and form an enduring character of its own, influencing each era and each class of society through the course of history, because it depends entirely on the highest value of its doctrine formulated into literature. Only when religion rises from the level of popular folklore to be refined and sublimated into the highest realm of literature can its life and history continue on forever.

Aside from the fact that the doctrines of Buddhism themselves contain religious, philosophical, scientific, artistic, and academic thought, with abundant material of great value on all of these facets of knowledge, the main reason why its doctrines and the life of wisdom of Zen were able to strike roots, sprout, flower, and flourish in the milieu of Chinese culture was because after Buddhism was imported into China, it developed a special independent literature that went on to influence the nerve centers of all of Chinese culture. Take, for example, the New and Old Testaments of the Bible. Among the peoples of the Western countries of each and every different language into which it has been translated, the Bible has had exceedingly great authoritative literary value. Therefore, speaking in terms of its worth as literature, without making an issue of its doctrinal contents, it can also be said of the Bible that its "literary expression and realm of ideas are sufficient for a thousand years."

I always say to friends of different religious faiths that if they want to think of a thousand years, they must pay careful attention to their doctrines and their literature. This is because of my observation that even though religious faiths are not the same, and the question remains about the depth and truth of each religious doctrine, nevertheless the basic element that qualifies anything to be called religion is that it encourages people to be good and do good, and aims to save the world and the human mind from perennial troubles.

These are good things that several great religions share in common. We do not have to quarrel over differences regarding what might be the ultimate and highest philosophy of religion, clinging possessively to our own views until we reach the point where the power of religion dies out. That is a mistake made by human cultures and civilizations in the past; it is also a weak point in the psychology and mentation of the human race, and a shameful disgrace as well.

Summing up, as far as the relationship between Zen and Chinese literature is concerned, in reality the connection is much too deep and intimate to tell the whole story. In a brief space I have cited examples of a few T'ang dynasty poems, Sung dynasty lyrics, Yuan dynasty dramas, and Ming dynasty novels to show the Zen influence. I did not go deeply enough into them, but just brought up some of those that happened to occur to me from memory. I urge everyone to think their implications through, so that they may arrive at the states indicated therein.

So, in general, the influence of Zen on Chinese literature has been substantial, and through this literary influence Zen has also acted to shape the nation. Throughout the ages the great Zen masters have tried to help humanity by directly pointing to the root essence of matter and mind via a "transmission outside of scripture." Although their pointing was in a most direct fashion, the side effects of this directness have been various cultural waves penetrating every segment of Chinese society and culture. One need not say there was Zen "in all times and all places" to maintain that it has had a profound influence on the nation; one need only trace through some of the indications given to understand the story of Chinese Zen and its influence on China.