This Chinese word means “ten thousand” (wan) “things” (fa) or “myriad things” (dharmas).
This text recorded Huangbo Xiyun’s oral instructions during his residence at Kaiyuan Temple in the Wanling district of present-day Anhui Province, which can be dated back to the 9th century. Its complete title is “The Wanling Record of Huangbo Xiyun (or Duanji) Chan Master.” The text is attached to Huangbo Xiyun’s other record, Chuanxin Fayao, in the standard edition, and Huangbo’s lay disciple, Pei Xiu, is credited for editing this text. Based on the critical studies of this text, modern scholars have pointed out that, in contrast to the Chuanxin Fayao, which comes more directly from the lay disciple Peixiu’s personal notes, the Wanling Lu is more likely to be from the collected notes of Huangbo’s monk-students. Furthermore, the early edition of Wanling Lu was much shorter, and therefore more authentic, than the later ones, especially those of the Song additions. Except for these later additions, many parts of Wanling Lu, along with the Chuanxin Fayao, are reliable and precious sources for the study of classical Chan, including its teachings, its styles and rhetoric, and its practices.
Anthology on the Common Goal of Myriad Good Deeds, a book in three fascicles, written by Yongming Yanshou, a Chan master in the Song dynasty, during his abbacy at Yongming Temple. Yanshou used the form of questions and answers to elaborate on the complementary relationship between the Chan notion of realizing the mind (as Buddha) and the cultivation of various good deeds in terms of Bodhisattva’s six virtues or perfecrtions (pāramitās). Yanshou’s list of good deeds included chanting sūtras, reciting Buddha’s name, practicing repentance, doing charities, and almost all kinds of traditional Buddhist practices. Practicing these good deeds does not contradict the Chan teaching of realizing self-nature, based on his understanding of the non-obstruction of principle and events (lishi), nature and phenomena (xingxiang), or essence and function (tiyong). Yanshou’s position thus developed the non-dualistic understanding of realization (wu) and cultivation (xiu) and rejected iconoclastic and antinomian tendencies in Chan.
A Chan master of the Caodong school in the Jin dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty, Xingxiu was a native of Jieliang in Henei (in present-day Henan). His family name was Cai. During his youth, he left his parents and became a monk at Jingtu Temple in Xingzhou (in present-day Hebei). He first studied with the Chan master Shengmo Guang (d.u.) at Qingshou Temple (in present-day suburb of Beijing), then went to Daming Temple in Cizhou (in present-day Hebei) to study with the Caodong Chan master Xueyan Man (d. 1206), who was the fifth generation in the Caodong lineage of Furong Daokai. With Xueyan’s instruction, Xingxiu achieved enlightenment and became Xueyan’s dharma heir. He returned to Jingtu Temple, lived in Wansong Hermitage, and started to preach. Later he took up residence, respectively, at Wanshou Temple, Xiyin Temple, and Bao’en Temple. In 1193, the Jin emperor Zhangzong (r. 1189–1208) invited him to the royal palace to preach and granted him the silk robe. In 1232, he retired to Congrong An (Hermitage) in Bao’en Temple; he died in 1246, at the age of 81.
His preaching was quite successful; he had 120 disciples, including several famous literati. He was the compiler of two gong’an collections: the Congrong Lu (Record of Equanimity) and the Qingyi Lu (Record of Requesting Additional Instruction). The Congrong Lu is his commentary on the Song Caodong master Hongzhi Zhengjue’s Songgu Baize (Verses on One Hundred Old Cases). The Qingyi Lu is his commentary on Hongzhi Zhengjue’s Niangu Baize (Commentaries on One Hundred Old Cases). He also left behind some recorded sayings (yulu) and other works, but they are not extant. We can only find a small part of these recorded sayings throughout his various extant biographical accounts. Inheriting the Caodong tradition, he preferred using the Huayan Buddhist thought of non-obstruction and mutual penetration to interpret Chan teaching. His notion of indirect teaching (qushuo) and using allegory and metaphor echoed Song masters’ strategy of “raolu shuochan (taking a detour in teaching Chan).” Xingxiu also integrated different styles and strengths from other Chan schools into his own teaching and practice.
A Chan master of the Caodong school in the Qing dynasty, Daopei was born into a family of Ding in Jianning (in present-day Fujian). He entered his monastic life at the age of 15 at Baiyun Temple. Three years later, he studied with Wengu Guangyin (1567–1637) at Baoshan Temple. In 1634, he went to Yongquan Temple on Mount Gu in Fuzhou to study with the Caodong Chan master Yongjue Yuanxian, who was the dharma heir of Wuming Huijing. After struggling for more than 20 years, at the age of 42, Daopei achieved enlightenment and was verified by his teacher, Yuanxian. He succeeded Yuanxian to be abbot on Mount Gu and made it a great Chan center in southeast China. He acknowledged Weijing Daoan (d.u.) as his dharma heir, although he had several hundred disciples. His lineage has continued to modern times. He sharply criticized corruption and the sectarian bias of Chan Buddhism in the early Qing and promoted the reconciliation of Chan and doctrinal teachings, Chan and Pure Land, and Buddhism and Confucianism. Daopei was a productive writer and left behind more than 20 works, including the Huayan Shulun Zuanyao of 120 fascicles.
“Chan of letters and words,” a term used by the Northern Song literatus-monk Juefan Huihong in his book Shimen Wenzi Chan (Chan of Letters and Words from Shiment [Temple]). Before Juefan Huihong, the famous Northern Song poet Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) also used this term in his poem. Huihong did not offer any clear definition of the wenzi Chan. His book is a collection of various forms of poetry and prose that he wrote to express his understanding of Chan. Thus, he implied a broad meaning of the wenzi Chan that embraces all forms of literary writing that convey the understanding of Chan or the spirit of Chan.
A narrower definition of the wenzi Chan would refer to the increasingly popular tendency, starting with Fenyang Shanzhao and Xudou Chongxian, in the Northern Song dynasty, to use various forms of the gong’an, including poetic and prosaic commentaries and exegeses of old Chan conversations and stories, for teaching and practicing Chan. This tendency contradicts the previously popular Chan slogan of “not establishing letters and words (buli wenzi).” Externally, the emergence of the wenzi Chan and its popularity in the Song is a result of the interaction between Chan Buddhism and the Song literati culture, following the thriving of literati culture in the Song society and Chan Buddhism’s entrance into the mainstream of Chinese intellectual life. Internally, many Chan Buddhists’ understanding of the relationship between use of language and practice of Chan had evolved from “not establishing letters and words” or “not relying on words” to “neither identical to nor apart from language,” and finally to using the gong’an as “taking a detour in teaching Chan (raolu shuochan).” In other words, finding special ways to use language could be justified by the non-dualistic perspective of Buddhism itself. In this sense, the wenzi Chan was not negative in the development of Chan. However, once using the gong’an became popularized, systematized, or stereotypical, the wenzi Chan went to its negative extreme.
Literally, “no,” or “not,” as an expression of negation. When it is used against you (“being or existence”), wu means non-being, non-existence, or nothingness, the opposite to, and the negation of, being or existence. However, in Chan Buddhist texts, wu is often involved in double negation—the negation of negation itself, such as wuwu—with the extended meaning of negating all dualistic discriminations, including existence and non-existence, affirmation and negation. This negation of all dualistic concepts is the main usage of wu in Chan. With the development of Chan encounter dialogues, and the popularization of the collections of these dialogues in the Song dynasty, the use of the word wu and its main meaning became the object of Chan meditation.
Combined Essentials of the Five Records of [the Transmission of] the Lamp, an edited collection of the five Song lamp histories (the Jingde Chuandeng Lu, Tiansheng Guangdeng Lu, Jianzhong Jingguo Xudeng Lu, Liandeng Huiyao, and Jiatai Pudeng Lu), was compiled by Dachuan Puji (1179–1253) of the Southern Song dynasty in 1252 and published the following year. The original five lamp histories had, in total, 150 fascicles. The Wedeng Huiyuan reduced them to 20 fascicles, while the content was reduced only by about 50 percent through eliminating the redundant materials or making the original materials more concise. To facilitate the readers’ use, it also improved on the clarity in the organization of the records of the masters by marking their corresponding schools (zong) and groups (pai), in addition to just marking the two main lines of Nanyue Huairang and Qingyuan Xingsi after Huineng, as was done in the original five lamp histories. The collection soon became quite popular and was welcomed by many literati who were interested in learning about Chan.
Complete Works of the Five Lamps, a Qing addition to the transmission of the lamp literature, was considered the most comprehensive compilation of Chan genealogical history. Compiled by Jilun Chaoyong (d.u.) and edited by Lun’an Chaokui (d.u.), both third-generation dharma heirs of Miyun Yuanwu, in 1693, it was presented to, and prefaced by, Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661–1722) and published by the imperial court. Based on the previous compilations of Chan genealogical history, this book covered more than 7,000 Chan masters in 37 generations after Nanyeu Huairang and Qingyuan Xingsi. It updated the development of Chan Buddhism in the Ming and early Qing dynasties, providing a complete picture of dharma transmissions in the 17th century. About half of the book was devoted to more recent Chan monks. Learning a lesson from Feiyin Tongrong’s Wudeng Yantong, this book treated the Caodong masters better, but it still followed Tongrong’s approach, endorsing the theory of two Daowu and changing the lineal affiliation of the Yunmen and Fayan schools back to Mazu. This again created controversy, although the book survived, escaping the fate of the Wudeng Yantong.
The Strict Unification of the Five Lamps was compiled by Feiyin Tongrong, a Chan master of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and the dharma heir of Miyun Yuanwu of the Linji school, in 1653. It was a book of 25 fascicles that aimed to rectify the errors of Chan genealogical history presented by the Wudeng Huiyuan, and more recently, by the Caodong Chan master Yuanmen Jingzhu’s (1604–1654) Wudeng Huiyuan Xulue. Following a strict criterion of dharma transmission, the Wudeng Yantong marginalized those masters of self-proclaimed realization without a person-to-person transmission and verification. As a result, not only were the most eminent monks, such as Yunqi Zhuhong, Hanshan Deqing, and Daguan Zhenke, placed under the category of “lineage unknown,” but those Caodong masters derived from Wuming Huijing and Zhanran Yuancheng were also ignored or underrepresented. Moreover, based on a newly discovered inscription, it used the theory of two Daowu to modify the official version of Chan genealogy since the Jingde Chuandeng Lu, by subsuming Tianwang Daowu and his lineal descendants, including the Yunmen and Fayan schools, all under the lineage of Mazu Daoyi. This alteration and the use of shaky evidence concerning Tianwang Daowu’s identity caused Caodong masters and their sympathizers to file a lawsuit in 1654; consequently, the local government ordered the Wudeng Yantong to be condemned and burned.
Recorded Sayings of Five Houses, compiled by Guo Ningzhi (d.u.) in the Ming dynasty, was a collection of the recorded sayings of the founders of the “five houses,” including the Zhenzhou Linji Huizhao Chanshi Yulu for the Linji school, the Tanzhou Guishan Lingyou Chanshi Yulu and the Yuanzhou Yangshan Huiji Chanshi Yulu for the Guiyang school, the Ruizhou Dongshan Liangjie Chanshi Yulu and the Fuzhou Caoshan Benji Chanshi Yulu for the Caodong school, the Yunmen Kuangzhen Chanshi Yulu for the Yunmen school, and the Jinling Qingliangyuan Wenyi Chanshi Yulu for the Fayan school. With the exception of the recorded sayings of Linji Yixuan and Yunmen Wenyan, all of the other recorded sayings were collected and published for the first time.
A Chan master of the Linji school in the Song dynasty and author of the famous Chan gong’an collection Wumen Guan, Huikai was a native of Hangzhou (in modern-day Zhejiang province). His family name was Liang. He entered into monastic life in his youth and later went to Wanshou Temple to study with the Chan master Yuelin Shiguan (1143–1217), the fourth-generation disciple of the Linji master Wuzu Fayan. Shiguan had Huikai focus on the understanding of Zhaozhou Congshen’s use of the word wu for a long time. Huikai finally reached enlightenment with his teacher’s confirmation. In 1218, Huikai succeeded Shiguan to be the abbot of Baoyin Temple in Huzhou, Zhejiang. He then took abbacy consecutively at about 10 different Chan temples. In 1229, he published the Wumen Guan. Emperor Lizong (r. 1224–1264) invited Huikai to give a lecture at the Xuande Pavilion in the imperial palace and awarded him a gold-threaded dharma robe and the honorific title Foye Chanshi (“Chan Master of Buddha Eye”). Huikai died at the age of 78. He had several well-known disciples, including Shinichi Kakushin (1207–1298), his famous Japanese disciple. His teachings were also preserved in the Wumen Kai Heshang Yulu (The Recorded Sayings of Monk Wumen Kai) by his disciples.
A Chan master of the Caodong school in the Ming dynasty, Huijing was born into the Pei family in Chongren (in present-day Jiangxi). At the age of 21, he decided to become a monk after reading the Diamond Sūtra. He studied with the Caodong Chan master Yunkong Changzhong (1514–1588) for three years, then lived in solitude on Peak E for three years. During that time, he attained sudden enlightenment. Returning to his teacher Changzhong, his realization was verified and he was recognized as dharma heir. In 1594, he went on pilgrimage, traveled to Shaolin and Mount Wutai, and visited Zhuhong and Zhenke in the capital. Back in the south, he became abbot at Baofang Temple, then later at Shouchang Temple in Jiangxi, where he stayed until his death. His method was influenced by Dahui Zonggao’s contemplation of key phrases (kan huatou) and against the study of gong’an. He was most famous for combining the practice of Chan with farming, and he himself was exemplary in this. He had four dharma heirs who were successful in carrying out his legacy. His lineage was called Shouchang lineage and was considered the revival of the Caodong school in the Ming dynasty. His teachings were preserved in the Wuming Huijing Chanshi Yulu of four fascicles.
This term means “having nothing (special) to do.” Chan masters such as Huangbo Xiyun and Linji Yixuan used this term to teach their students that they should do nothing special in seeking enlightenment because enlightenment can be attained through all ordinary activities. Ordinary activities in this mundane world are one of the necessary conditions for enlightenment. Considering Chan practice as something special and separating it from everyday ordinary activities could only impede enlightenment. The perspective was developed from Mazu’s teachings “ordinary mind is the way (pingchangxin shidao)” and “the mind is Buddha (jixin jifo).” However, as the term became a popular rhetorical device of classical Chan, new attachments to the teaching and ensuing misunderstandings occurred from time to time in Chan practice. Some students lost sight of the transcendent or enlightened dimension with regard to Buddha-nature and of the importance of Chan practice to the attainment of enlightenment. Various Chan masters’ responses to the problem can be found in many Chan texts of yulu, which culminated in the Northern Song Linji Chan master Zhengjing Kewen’s criticism of the so-called wushi Chan.
A Chan master in the Tang dynasty and the founder of the Jingzhong school of Chinese Chan Buddhism, he was of Korean origin and was often referred to as “Monk Kim.” The brief biographical information about Wuxiang is found mainly in the Lidai Fabao Ji and the Song Gaoseng Zhuan. In 728, he arrived in Chang’an and registered at Chanding Temple. He then wandered around to seek out teachers. Master Chuji (669–736 or 648–734), the disciple of Zhishen (609–702) from the lineage of Hongren, accepted him as a student. Two years later, Wuxiang went to Mount Tiangu to practice. The Lidai Fabao Ji fabricated a story that before Chuji died, he transmitted Bodhidharma’s robe to Wuxiang. Wuxiang returned to Mount Tiangu and continued his practice of asceticism. The fame of his magical power spread and won the respect of the governor, Zhangqiu Jianqiong (?–750). Wuxiang was even invited to the court when Emperor Suzong (r. 756–762) stayed in Chengdu to escape from the An Lushan rebellion. Mayor Yangyi of Changdu built several temples for Wuxiang. Of them, Jingzhong Temple was the one in which Wuxiang taught most often over more than 20 years.
Wuxiang’s dharma heir was Jingzhong Shenhui (720–794), who was abbot at Jingzhong Temple after Wuxiang’s death and received long-term support from his lay follower, the local official Wei Gao (745–805), allowing his lineage to continue. Wuxiang’s other notable disciples were Wuzhu, who became the founder of the Baotang school, and Shenqing (?–814?), who was the author of the Beishan Lu (Record of North Mountain). According to Zongmi, Mazu Daoyi also studied with Wuxiang before he became Nanyue Huairang’s student. The central tenet of Wuxiang’s teachings was known as “three phrases”: no-recollection (wuyi), no-thought (wunian), and no-forgetting (mowang). These three aspects were his interpretation of the traditional three learnings: precepts (jie), concentration (ding), and wisdom (hui). The last phrase was changed to no-delusion in the Lidai Fabao Ji by the Baotang school, which did not convince others such as Zongmi and Shenqing. Wuxiang also taught recitation of the Buddha’s name (nianfo) with his special style. The Jingzhong Temple became associated with Pure Land practices of devotion in the 9th century. Wuxiang’s legacy thus contributed to a syncretistic approach to Chan and Pure Land practices.
Also called Boshan Yuanlai. A Chan master of the Caodong school in the Ming dynasty, Yuanlai was a native of Shucheng in Anhui. His family name was Sha. He entered his monastic life at the age of 16 and began with the Tiantai practice of contemplation. Later, he turned to the study of Chan and became a disciple of Wuming Huijing. At the age of 27, Huijing confirmed Yuanlai’s enlightenmental experience and treated Yuanlai as the most senior monk in the monastery. Yuanlai also visited Yunqi Zhuhong three times. At the age of 28, Yuanlai became the abbot of Nengren Temple at Mount Bo (hence his other name Boshan) in Jiangxi. In the ensuing 30 years, he took up residence at several temples in southeast China, in addition to Nengren Temple. His fame grew, and it was reported that his students numbered close to 1,000, including many literati. His teaching insisted on cultivation: the practice of meditation; the contemplation of the huatou (key phrases); and unifying Chan and scriptural studies, Chan and Pure Land, and Chan and precepts. He believed that scriptural studies could never be abandoned in terms of the unity of Chan and teachings. His instructions were collected in the 35-fascicle Extensive Records of Chan Master Wuyi Yuanlai (Wuyi Yuanlai Chanshi Guanglu), of which his Responding to [the Relationship of] the Source and Teachings (Zongjiao Daxiang) and his Admonitions for the Study of Chan by Monk Boshan (Boshan Heshang Canchan Jingyu) have been most influential, even during modern times.
Literally meaning “non-abiding,” this is the name of a Chan master in the Tang dynasty, the founder of the Baotang school of Chan Buddhism. The only existing biography of Wuzhu is found in the Lidai Fabao Ji (Record of the Dharma-Jewel through the Generations), a book that was composed by an anonymous disciple, or disciples, of Wuzhu after his death, although Zongmi’s work also provides some information about him. Wuzhu was born into a military family in Shanxi in northern China. His family name was Li. At the age of 20, he started his military career, but he soon decided to end it. After meeting with a Chan layman named Chen Chuzang (d.u.), he wanted to know the transmission of dharma from the mind and practiced the sudden teaching as a layperson. In his early 30s, he studied with Huineng’s disciple, Monk Zizai (d.u.) of Taiyuan, and became an officially ordained monk in 749. In 751, he arrived at Mount Helan and heard the teaching of the master Wuxiang. Supposedly a mysterious feeling of affinity with Wuxiang led him, finally, to Jingzhong Temple in Chengdu, Sichuan, in 759, after several delays. At a precepts retreat, Wuxiang gave him a hint to go to the mountains. Wuzhu then went northwest to Mount Baiya in Maozhou to practice and preach a radical form of sitting meditation, discarding all other monastic conventions and observances. It is this radical form of practice that scared some followers away and invited criticism from Zongmi and others, but it was approved by his teacher Wuxiang, according to the Lidai Fabao Ji.
It was further claimed by the book that when Wuxiang was dying, he sent Wuzhu Bodhidharma’s robe, which was given to Empress Wu (r. 690–705) as a gift by Huineng, and then passed to Zhishen (609–702), Chuji (669–736 or 648–734), and Wuxiang, indicating Wuzhu as his legitimate dharma heir. This lineage story is a total fabrication without any historical basis. After Wuxiang’s death, Wuzhu’s fame continued to grow during his lifetime, partially because he had the support of regional high-ranking officials who invited him to teach at Konghui Temple and Baotang Temple in Chengdu. Interestingly, when Wuzhu died, no dharma heir was named, and the robe was absent. The Baotang school was very short-lived. Wuzhu’s central teaching was no-thought (wunian) and non-attachment to the forms of practice. Unfortunately, his radical interpretation of no-thought and non-attachment developed into typical iconoclasm and antinomianism, certain aspects of which might have been shared by some members of the Southern school, such as the Hongzhou school. However, the Hongzhou school maintained a kind of mediation between poles of traditional and radical styles, which the Baotang school lacked.
A Chan master of the Yangqi Fanghui lineage of the Linji school in the Song dynasty, Shifan was a native of Zitong in Sichun. His family name was Yong. He entered his monastic life at the age of 9 and received official ordination at the age of 18. After that, he went on his journey to seek great teachers. He respectively studied with several masters, including Fozhao Deguang (1121–1203) and Songyuan Congyue (1132–1202), and ended up as the disciple of Po’an Zuxian (1136–1211). In 1220, Shifan was invited to be abbot at Qingliang Temple in Mingzhou. In the ensuing years, he was abbot at Zisheng Temple on Mount Xuedou and at Guangli Temple on Mount Ayuwang. Around 1228, he was invited to be abbot at Xingsheng Wanshou Temple on Mount Jing, where he taught 20 years. Emperor Lizong (r. 1224–1264) invited Shifan to give a public lecture at the Pavilion of Benevolent Illumination in the imperial court and granted him the title “Chan Master of Buddha Mirror” (Fojian Chanshi). Shifan’s teachings were preserved in the five-fascicle Fojian Chanshi Yulu. He had many successful disciples. Among them, Xueyan Zuqin’s (1218–1287) lineage extended through Gaofeng Yuanmiao and Zhongfeng Mingben and survived to modern times. Shifan’s disciples, Wu’an Puning (1197–1276) and Wuxue Zuyuan (1226–1286), went to Japan to preach dharma and were respected as patriarchs of the Japanese Rinzai school. Shifan also had Japanese disciples, including the famous Enni Ben’en (1202–1280).
A Chan master of the Yangqi lineage (Yangqi pai) of the Linji school in the Song dynasty, Fayan was a native of Mianzhou (in present Sichuan). His family name was Deng. He became an ordained monk at the age of 35 and studied the Yogācāra doctrine in Chengdu. Unsatisfied, he left to search for good teachers. He studied respectively with three masters, including Yuanzhao Zongben (1020–1099) of the Yunmen school and Fushan Fayuan (991–1067) of the Linji school, and finally was introduced by Fayuan to Baiyun Shouduan, the disciple of Yangqi Fanghui. Under Shouduan’s instruction, Fayan achieved enlightenment. After leaving Shouduan, Fayan served as abbot at several Chan temples for about 27 years, eventually taking up residence at Wuzu Temple in Hubei (originally called East Mountain Temple) where the fifth patriarch, Hongren, had resided. He remained there until his death. Among his many disciples, the most famous were Yuanwu Keqin (also called Fuguo Keqin), Fuyan Qingyuan (1067–1120), and Fujian Huiqin (1067–1120), commonly known as the “three Buddhas of East Mountain.” The prosperity of the Yangqi lineage was initiated by Fayan. His teachings were preserved in the Wuzu Fayan Chanshi Yulu, which were recorded from different temples during his residences.