Huineng (638-713 CE)

大鑒惠能 ; Pinyin: Dàjiàn Huìnéng; Jap.: Daikan Enō; Kor.: Hyeneung

Table of Contents
1 Chan Buddhism in Context
Huineng (Hui-neng) a seminal figure in Buddhist history. He is the
famous “Sixth Patriarch” of the Chan or meditation tradition, 2 Biography
which is better known in Japanese as “Zen”). The focus of an 3 Historical Issues and Mythic Elements
immense body of lore that grew over the centuries, Huineng’s life
mirrors the fortunes of Chan itself – a provincial Chinese version 4 Central Teachings
of Buddhism that rose to become a major religious and cultural 4.1 Major Themes
force throughout East Asia. Tradition holds that Huineng was an 4.1.1 Original/Inherent Enlightenment (ben jue)
uncouth “barbarian” youth who, because of his innate intuitive 4.1.2 Non-duality
insight, surpassed his more cultured fellow monks to earn the 4.1.3 No-thought (wu nian)
official “dharma seal” certifying the authoritative transmission of
4.1.4 Sudden Awakening (dun wu)
Buddhist enlightenment, and thereby earning a lasting place in
4.1.5 The Centrality of Practice
history. He is intimately associated with the Platform Sutra of the
Sixth Patriarch, one of the most influential texts in all of Chinese 4.2 Teaching Style
Buddhism. Alleged to be a sermon from the lips of Huineng 5 Influences
himself, this text provides a gripping first person account of the 6 Critical Issues
Master’s life. Its cryptic, yet insightful, discussion of Chan practice
6.1 The Role of Reason and Rationality
lays out the central concerns of Chan cultivation. Huineng’s
discussion of the themes of inherent enlightenment, sudden 6.2 Sudden vs. Gradual?
awakening, and the non-dual nature of wisdom (Sanskrit: prajna) 6.3 The Role of Text (wen) in Life
and meditation (Sanskrit: dhyana) resounds through later 6.4 The Relation of Action (praxis) and Knowledge (theoria)
generations of Chan teachers, and continues to pose difficult 6.5 The Centrality of Ritual (Li)
philosophical challenges to this day. 7 Impact on Later Buddhist and Chinese Philosophical Traditions

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 works. Only later did Chan become a self-conscious movement with a
firm institutional base.
1. Chan Buddhism in Context By the sixth century, certain monasteries in the mountainous areas of
central and southwestern China became known as places reserved for
It is impossible to disentangle Huineng from the story of early Chan.
intense meditation training. The masters at these centers taught methods
Indeed, it is in sections 49-51 of the Platform Sutra that Huineng lays out
so powerful that it was rumored that those willing to persevere could
the classic story of Chan’s origins. According to this account, Chan began
awaken in this very life. As time went on several of these meditation
with the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, and his famous “Flower Sermon.”
masters gained loyal followings and tales of them spread as their disciples
One day the Buddha took his seat before his assembled monks and,
established their own monasteries. It was out of this context that Chan as
instead of speaking, remained silent while holding a single flower aloft in
a distinct school (zong, “lineage”) and the legend of its most famous
his hand. Of those assembled, only one disciple Mahakashyapa (Sanskrit:
master arose. Modern scholars now agree that many of the stories
“Great Kashyapa”), understood the meaning of the Buddha’s actions. The
surrounding Huineng are “mythical” reconstructions and elaborations by
Buddha publicly recognized Mahakashyapa’s realization and he, in turn,
later generations of Chan writers. Nonetheless, this mythology tells us a
passed the wordless teaching along to his disciples. Eventually the
lot about how Chan came to conceive itself as a distinct tradition, at once
transmission passed to a certain Bodhidharma (c. 470-553 CE), the
radically innovative and deeply conservative. This Chan self-conception
infamous “First Patriarch,” who, it is said, brought Chan to southern
finds its best articulation in a poem attributed to Bodhidharma,
China, crossing the Yangzi (Yangtze) River on a reed. Recent scholarship
according to which Chan is “a separate transmission outside the
has established that a mysterious figure named Bodhidharma was indeed
scriptures, not relying on words and phrases, directly transmitted from
in southern China in the fifth century proclaiming teachings based on
mind to mind.” Such transmission can only occur within the relationship
the Lankavatara Sutra as well as a simplified but powerful form
between Master and student; hence, the Master, and the connection to
of dhyana. After his death his disciples carried on his teachings, but most
him, is of paramount importance in all Chan schools.
of them never founded lasting lineages. Eventually these teachings were
transmitted to Hongren (600-674), the Fifth Patriarch, who taught at
Dongshan. Hongren had a number of disciples who spread out through 2. Biography
China, establishing their own schools where they taught their own
As with many legendary figures, it is difficult to sort fact from fiction
versions of Chan. Some died out but a few flourished, going on to record
when it comes to Huineng. We have many sources of information on him
their histories to establish their particular pedigrees.
but most were written long after his lifetime. Most scholars of Buddhism
Often dubbed “the meditation school,” Chan derives its name from the now consider the story of Huineng’s life and his role in establishing Chan
Chinese term channa, an attempted transliteration of the Sanskrit as a direct line going back to Sakyamuni (the historical Buddha, ca. 6th to
term dhyana (meditation, concentration). In Japan, it is known as Zen; in 5th centuries BCE) to be little more than pious fiction. While there may
Korea, asSon; and in Vietnam, as Thien. In India, dhyana encompassed a be a kernel of historical truth to them, all of the accounts of Huineng’s
wide variety of techniques for training the mind to attain the deep insight life (particularly as recorded in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth
into reality necessary for awakening. When Buddhism began making Patriarch) show evidence of later expansion and elaboration. In fact,
inroads into China in the first and second centuries CE, missionaries scholars cannot even agree on the location of Dafan, the temple in which
brought these techniques with them. Dhyana study proved popular in Huineng allegedly recited the Platform Sutra.
some circles – in part because of its resemblance to Daoist meditation
The earliest mention of Huineng comes from an inscription for a
practices – but it was just one practice alongside of others, such
memorial pagoda in Faxing monastery dated 676. The pagoda was said to
as sutra study, devotional rituals and the performance of charitable
commemorate Huineng’s meeting with master Yinzong (627-713), a
devotee of the Nirvana Sutra and a renowned master of monastic

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discipline (vinaya), and the ceremony in which Huineng underwent
monastic tonsure, that is, shaving of part of the head. Unfortunately, the
actual inscription has not been preserved and so many historians deem it
unreliable. The only other record dating back to Huineng’s lifetime just
lists him as a student of the Chan master Hongren (Hong-jen).
Later records, of which there are many, probably bear little resemblance
to real historical events, and actually contradict each other on certain
details. Later traditions concerning Huineng vary tremendously. He
seems to go into hiding for several years only to reappear in Nanhai at a
monastery presided over by Yinzong. One day after the Master had
finished a lecture, Huineng overheard two monks arguing over whether
the temple flag or the wind was moving. Huineng abruptly injected
himself into this discussion, declaring that in fact it was mind that was
moving. Hearing of this, Yinzong sent for Huineng and, bowing to him,
asked to be taught the dharma of Hongren. It was Yinzong who oversaw
the giving of the tonsure to Huineng, the incident memorialized in the
inscription mentioned above. Eventually most accounts of Huineng’s life
have him retiring to the Baolin temple. Some traditions speak of Huineng
being summoned to the imperial capital by the emperor Zhongzong or
possibly the empress Wu Zhao (ca. 625-706). In any case, Huineng
declined, preferring to spend his days in the mountains and forests
preaching the dharma. He did, however, give the imperial envoy
a dharma talk that jolted the messenger into an intense sudden
realization. Returning to the capital the envoy reported his experience to
the emperor who issued an edict praising Huineng and bestowing special
gifts upon him.
Our major source for information on Huineng is the autobiographical
portion (sections 2-11) of the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, an
immensely complicated text that has undergone numerous revisions over
the centuries. Purporting to be a series of sermons delivered by Huineng
from a high seat in the lecture hall (the “platform” alluded to in the title)
of Dafan Temple, this text remains the only Chinese Buddhist discourse
to be accorded sutra (Sanskrit: “scriptural”) status. The earliest extant
copy of this sutra, found in a cache of writings discovered in the
Dunhuang (Tun-huang) caves in northwestern China, dates to around
850 but it is corrupt and full of errors – probably the result of being
copied from an earlier version by a semiliterate scribe. The first section of
the text names Fahai, a student of Huineng’s, as transcribing the sermon
at the behest of the district governor. Elsewhere the text names Fahai as
one of the Master’s ten disciples and “chief monk” of the community.
However, Fahai does not appear anywhere else in Chan literature and his
exact identity remains unknown. Some scholars suggest the sutra was
actually written by a later Chan monk from a different school (possibly
the Niutou or “Ox-head” school) around the year 780.
While most scholars do not put much stock in either the Platform
Sutra or the other sources on Huineng’s life, we can still use them to piece
together something of a biography for him. It seems his family name was
Lu and his father had been a minor official who was banished to the
provinces where he died when his son was only three. His mother took
him to southern China and raised him in extreme poverty. Huineng
worked throughout his childhood to support his family by cutting wood.
One day when he was a young man, he overheard a man reciting a phrase
from the Diamond Sutra and at once he experienced an initial awakening.
With his mother’s permission he left home and devoted himself to
religious life.
Huineng spent his next years wandering, ending up with a Buddhist nun
who was devoted to the Nirvana Sutra. After reciting passages from it one
day she asked him to take a turn reading it aloud only to find that he was
illiterate. Incredulous, she asked how he intended to learn Buddha’s truth
if he could not read the sutras. The youth replied that the nature of
Buddha does not depend on words and letters so what need was there to
read texts? Amazed at his insight, she suggested he take up monastic life.
At this point he declined, but went on to train under a meditation master.
After three years of meditating in a mountain cave, Huineng went to
Dongshan (East Mountain) monastery in Hubei, where he met Master
Hongren, the “Fifth Patriarch.” Glaring at this supplicant, Hongren asked
where he was from and why he was there. Huineng answered simply that
he was from the south and had come to learn the dharma(Buddhist
doctrine) from him. Hongren retorted that as a southerner, Huineng was
a mere “barbarian,” adding, “How could you become Buddha?” Unfazed
by the insult, Huineng replied, “Although my ‘barbarian’ body and yours
differ, what difference is there in our buddha-nature?” Realizing at once
the potential of this coarse youth, Hongren resolved to test him further.
He took him in but assigned him to the threshing room, where he labored
for nine months, treading the mill to separate the rice grains from their
husks.
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The most famous incident in Huineng’s story concerns a dharma contest.
One day Hongren challenged his charges to each write a verse (gatha)
distilling their understanding of their “original natures.” He promised to
read them and award his robe (a symbol of dharma transmission; some
versions of the story include Hongren’s begging bowl) and the title “Sixth
Patriarch” to the student demonstrating true realization. The task quickly
devolved onto the shoulders of the head monk, Shenxiu, who, it was
assumed, would be the Master’s likely successor. Shenxiu, however, was
full of doubt and spent a tortured night considering his options. Finally
he stole out and wrote his verse anonymously on the wall of the
new dharma hall:
The body is the bodhi tree.
The heart-mind is like a mirror.
Moment by moment wipe and polish it,
Not allowing dust to collect. (section 6)
A straightforward articulation of the necessity of diligent practice,
Shenxiu hoped this verse would show the Master that his students had at
least some understanding.The next morning Hongren read the verse and
praised it before the community. He burned incense before it and ordered
them all to recite it before calling Shenxiu for an interview. In private he
commended Shenxiu for his insight, stating that the verse showed he had
reached the “gates of wisdom” but had yet to enter. He then suggested
Shenxiu take a few more days to compose another verse worthy of being
awarded the robe.
Meanwhile, Huineng was still working in the threshing room when a
novice wandered by reciting Shenxiu’s verse. Immediately Huineng
realized the author of the verse lacked full understanding. Venturing out
to the dharma hall, he got someone to write his reply:
Bodhi originally has no tree.
The clear and bright mirror also has no support.
Buddha-nature is constantly purifying and clearing.
Where could there be dust? (section 8)
Very soon word of this new verse spread and eventually the news reached
Hongren. The Master came to read it and immediately recognized it as
the work of Huineng and that this unknown prodigy was truly
enlightened. However, he knew that passing his robe to an uncouth
peasant would upset the monastic hierarchy. Therefore he publicly
dismissed it as “not complete understanding.” Later, under cover of
darkness, Hongren summoned Huineng for a secret audience in which he
gave him further teachings. Passing on his robe, the Master admonished
him to flee for his life, predicting, however, that eventually he would
transmit the teachings. With that, Huineng fled south. After some
months, Huineng was traced to a mountain by a band of pursuers intent
on killing him and stealing the robe. Most of the pursuers turned back
after climbing only halfway but one, Huiming (a former general) reached
him on the summit. There, rather than slay the young master, he received
the teaching and became enlightened. Thus being recognized as a true
Chan Master, Huineng dispatched his new disciple to the north to spread
the dharma and convert the populace.
One of the most colorful episodes in Huineng lore concerns his
confrontation with a dragon that lived in a pond in front of Baolin
temple. The dragon was particularly large and fierce, emerging regularly
from the watery depths to create havoc and instill fear in the populace.
Fearlessly, the Master taunted the beast for its weakness at only being
unable to appear in a large as opposed to smaller form. At once the
dragon disappeared only to re-emerge in small form and so show the
monk his powers. Unimpressed, the Master challenged the monster to
show its courage by entering his bowl. When it did so, the Master quickly
scooped the dragon up, took him into the Buddha Hall, and
preached dharma to it until it shed its body and departed.
Much as with other great religious figures, so the stories of Huineng’s
death are particularly dramatic. The Platform Sutra gives a confused
account that may combine several different versions. In essence, however,
it records that as he neared his death, the Master called his disciples for a
final teaching in the form of a “dharma verse.” All the disciples broke into
tears over the imminent departure of their beloved teacher except for
one, Shenhui, whom the Master praised for having attained the status of
awakening. Chiding the others for the foolishness of their tears, Huineng
told them, “All of you sit down. I shall give you a verse, the verse of the
true-false moving-quiet. All of you recite it, and if you understand the
meaning, you will be the same as I. If you practice with it, you will not
lose the essence of the teaching.” (section 48) After this final lesson
(during which he outlined the Chan lineage back to the Buddha) Huineng
died at the stroke of midnight on August 28, 713. Other traditions,
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however, have Huineng dying in deep meditation after finishing his last
meal. His passing was marked by all manner of cosmic signs: a strange
perfume pervading the temple for days, mysterious bright lights, a
miraculous rainbow in the sky etc. The Platform Sutra says, “Mountains
crumbled, the earth trembled, and the forest trees turned white. The sun
and moon ceased to shine and the wind and clouds lost their colors.”
(section 54) An inscription by the poet Wang Wei (d. 759) adds “the birds
and monkeys cried in anguish.”
Several posthumous stories of Huineng attest to the powerful spell he
cast on later generations. Some decades after his passing the emperor
sent an envoy to ask for his robe and bowl so that the court might pay
them homage. These were sent back with great ceremony a few years
later by the succeeding emperor, who purportedly dreamt Huineng asked
that they be returned. Later, in 816, Huineng was awarded the official
title “Dhyana Master Dajian” (Great Mirror). To this day there is a
mummy reputed to be Huineng in the Nanhua monastery located in
Caoxi. For centuries it was the focus of intense devotion, and at times was
brought to the nearby city of Shanzhou to promote prosperity or ward off
plagues and droughts. The mummy was also threatened several times and
at least one time was nearly decapitated by rival monks seeking to gain
power through possession of the Sixth Patriarch’s head.
3. Historical Issues and Mythic Elements
Historical complexities aside, however, it is the mythic dimensions of
Huineng’s story that most excite the imagination. Certainly the
traditional account is replete with symbolism and allusion. As a boy
Huineng is the quintessential simpleton (cf. the Daoist notion of pu,
“simplicity” or “the uncarved block” spoken of in Daode jing 15, 19, 28, 32,
37, 57), an illiterate peasant who, pure and unspoiled by the sophistication
of his more educated fellows, serves as the perfect vessel for receiving the
sacred wisdom that, in turn, flows through him to posterity. Aside from
the allusions toDaode jing just noted, Huineng epitomizes the ideal
found in Daode jing 70, “The sage goes about with a coarse cloth on top
yet carries jade in his bosom.” We find similar themes in stories of other
Buddhist figures (for example, Dao’an, 312-385) as well as the Prophet
Muhammad. The tradition of Huineng’s being orphaned and cared for by
his mother echoes the biography of Mencius (ca. 385-312 BCE), one of the
most revered and mystical of Confucian sages.
Huineng’s potential is recognized by the truly wise (for example,
Hongren) but he must first be tested to prove his worth. His assignment
to hard labor for nine months in seclusion suggests a type of spiritual
gestation. Moreover, Huineng’s attaining official recognition under cover
of darkness, symbolized in the passing on of Bodhidharma’s robe and
bowl (sacred relics imbued with the Patriarch’s charisma), underscores the
drama of this moment and the immense value of his precious wisdom.
The tradition that these were buried with him indicates something else of
importance: Huineng’s successors would no longer rely on India; Chan
would henceforth be a homegrown Chinesetradition. Huineng’s turning
down the imperial summons recalls the similar story
involving Zhuangzi wherein the Daoist sage prefers to live as a turtle,
“dragging his tail in the mud” (Zhuangzi, chapter 17). Finally, the accounts
of Huineng’s death clearly echo the earthly passing (parinirvana) of
Sakyamuni Buddha. Symbolically, Chan tradition, by drawing such a wide
assortment of sacred figures into Huineng’s own story, has effectively
absorbed these holy personages’ collective mana. As such, Chan is then
empowered to project this “new” sacred aura down through its own
lineage.
We can also understand the traditional story of Huineng’s life as an
example of the apparently universal “Hero Myth.” He starts off as an
unpromising youth living in obscurity who embarks on a great quest.
Along the way he is aided by various helpers (the anonymous man who
recited the Diamond Sutra, the nun devoted to the Nirvana Sutra, his
first meditation teacher). After various adventures he meets a true
mentor, the Wise Old Man (Hongren), who recognizes his worth and
proceeds to train and test him until he is ready. Then the Wise Old Man
passes on the secret knowledge he will need to face all obstacles. The
climactic story of Huineng’s flight, pursuit, confrontation on mountain
top, and his victory all fit in broad outline the structure of such tales the
world over. His encounter with the dragon, of course, is the stereotypical
battle with the monster (cf. St. George and the Dragon, Beowulf and
Grendel) through which the Hero saves society from the threat of evil and
chaos, while his refusal of imperial status demonstrates his humility and
desire to avoid self-glorification. In this light, the master’s death marks
his apotheosis and rise to divine status, for which he is revered by later
generations.
When assessing the life of Huineng and his place in Chan lore, it is vital
to bear in mind the centrality of lineage in Chinese culture. Lineage is a
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primary marker of group identity and solidarity, as well as social
recognition. Chan, like other Chinese religious/philosophical traditions,
is organized as a system of lineages in which teachings are passed down
from Master (Patriarch) to disciple, much as family heritage passes down
from father to son. The concern for lineage is most evident in sections
49-51 of the Platform Sutra, where Huineng traces the transmission of his
teachings back through various masters to Bodhidharma. In Huineng’s
Chan genealogy, Bodhidharma, in turn, received the teachings via a series
of Indian masters going back to Sakyamuni. Such an impressive pedigree
no doubt brought much prestige to those within the Chan line. The
importance of lineage continued through the succeeding generations and
was carried over when Chan went to Japan. To this day, Chan teachers
trace their lineage back to Huineng. Essentially, Huineng has become the
Primary Ancestor of the Chan line, receiving the reverence and devotion
typical of ancestral cults throughout East Asia. Metaphorically speaking,
Huineng is Chan, and remains so even today.
Such critical analysis of the Platform Sutra and the body of lore
surrounding Huineng is not intended to dismiss Chan tradition
(particularly in regards to the matter of lineage) as fraudulent. Rather, it
helps us understand the concerns of early Chan and the vital role that a
charismatic hero such as Huineng plays in rhetorically establishing a
distinctive Chan identity. For an analogy we can look to the way in which
the great Song scholar Zhu Xi (1130-1200) constructs a lineage for his
school of Neo-Confucianism, with Confucius taking the place of Huineng
and Master Zhu serving as the Confucian version of Shenhui.
4. Central Teachings
Although Huineng’s mythic biography is fascinating, the Platform
Sutra mainly consists of an extended series ofdharma talks offering what
is at times some rather cryptic advice on Chan cultivation. Like most
sermons, the Sutra is not a systematic presentation of defined doctrines
and arguments but is an address to the faithful, exhorting them to see
into their “original nature” and awaken here and now. Huineng explicitly
says that his teachings do not originate with him but are, “handed down
from the sages of the past” (section 12). Nonetheless, Huineng does
introduce several important ideas and initiates the peculiar style of
teaching that comes to be enshrined in later Chan tradition. These
teachings tend to overlap and interlock with each other, thereby
suggesting the unity-cum-diversity that is one of the hallmarks of Chan
thought.
a. Major Themes
i. Original/Inherent Enlightenment (ben jue)
The teaching of “inherent” or “original” enlightenment is a major theme
in Huineng’s sermon, and the theoretical basis for most of what he says
regarding practice. Its roots go back to Indian teachings concerning
the tathagata-garbha(“womb/embryo of Buddha”). Although a complex
notion, essentially this teaching comes down to a positive articulation of
basic Buddhist views on emptiness (shunyata) and the thoroughly
interrelated nature of existence. According to tathagata-garbha teachings,
although all beings are mired in ignorance and suffering, our true natures
are always pure and luminous – defilements are merely adventitious.
Awakening occurs when we pierce through the defilements and allow our
original purity to shine forth. While at first glance, the assertion of a
seemingly permanent “nature” would seem to contradict the fundamental
Buddhist doctrine of anatman (“no [permanent] self”), in fact it does not.
The tathagata-garbha is not a substantive essence but an indication of the
innate positive tendency towards awakening that is always directly at
hand.
Tathagata-garbha teachings had strong appeal for the Chinese, most
likely due to their resonance with Confucian ideas of “propriety” (yi, the
appropriate manner of acting in a given situation) and humanity’s innate
“goodness,” as well as Daoist views of the Way (dao), in which each thing
uniquely contributes to the all-encompassing system of the cosmos.
These notions also dovetail with the traditional Chinese concern with
one’s “nature” (xing, the inborn organic pattern guiding a thing’s
development). Together such ideas sketch out a distinctive worldview of
dynamic, interactive relationships that unfold in the natural course of
things. In this perspective, one can obstruct one’s inherent tendencies or
open conscientiously into a more free and responsive way of engagement.
In general, the latter is the truer, more proper (or “natural”) way of being.
Chinese Buddhists speak of this potential for realization as one’s
“Buddha-nature” (fo xing). For Chinese Buddhists, awakening is the
natural result of activating or “seeing into” this innate but hidden
potential and manifesting it here and now.
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Nearly everything Huineng says is predicated on the “Buddha-nature.”
We see this clearly in his youthful exchanges with both the nameless
Buddhist nun and Master Hongren. Huineng drives this point home in a
number of places, often quite explicitly. As he proclaims, “Since Buddha is
made by your own nature, do not look for him outside your body. If you
are deluded in your own nature, Buddha is then a sentient being; if you
are awakened in your own natures, sentient beings are then Buddhas.”
(section 35) In this understanding of Buddhahood, one may have an initial
awakening (Japanese satori) but this is only a hurried glimpse, yet it
provides a vague understanding that spurs one on further – something
we clearly see in Huineng’s own life with his first awakening at hearing a
passage from theDiamond Sutra.
By rhetorically taking his stand on this inherent enlightenment, Huineng
challenges his audience to understand this truth and realize their original
natures where they are at this very moment. This is something they can
and must do: “Despite heterodox views, passions, ignorance, and
delusions, in your own physical bodies you have in yourselves the
attributes of inherent enlightenment, so that with correct views you can
be saved.” (section 21) It is on this basis that he speaks of such things as
the unity of meditation (dhyana) and wisdom (prajna), and the
“samadhi of oneness. By realizing one’s “Buddha-nature” one naturally
moves beyond habitual “selfish” actions and joining with things in an
appropriate and compassionate way.
ii. Non-duality
Another important theme that Huineng preaches concerns the
fundamentally “non-dual” nature of existence. This, too, is prone to be
misunderstood. Huineng never espouses a mushy notion that “All is One”
so much as challenge the assumption that a person stands apart from
her/his immediate situation. His target is the self-conscious sense of
separation that tends to arise out of deliberative thinking and living.
Thus, his focus is not so much theoretical as practical; one must not get
caught up in speculative thought but realize (make real) Buddha, one’s
true nature, and act accordingly. This fundamental unity comes through
in his famous dharma verse through which he won Hongren’s robe. By
countering Shenxiu’s verse and its assumptions of duality, Huineng
graphically tells us that we must not think of our minds as something
distinct that “we” must polish to reflect truth. Rather, we are truth,
immediately and directly.
The vision Huineng seeks to impart is one of integrity within our larger
context. It is an evocation of wholeness, interrelatedness and
participation rather than separation and distinction. One of Huineng’s
most provocative presentations of this idea comes in his discussion of
meditation. For Huineng, meditation is not a separate “thing” from
wisdom, nor do you attain the latter by way of the former. As he says,
“Never under any circumstances say mistakenly that meditation and
wisdom are different; they are a unity, not two things. Meditation itself is
the substance of wisdom; wisdom itself is the function of meditation”
(section 13). Later, the Patriarch explains their relationship through the
analogy of a lamp and its light: just as the lamp and its illuminating are
essentially one, so meditation and wisdom are one.
Huineng also challenges assumptions of separation by advocating the
“samadhi of oneness,” or concentrated attention to the present situation:
“The samadhi of oneness is straightforward mind at all times, walking,
staying, sitting, and lying.” This constitutes an intriguing practice of
mindful, meditative action performed with attentive detachment. There
are obvious echoes between this practice and the Daoist notion of wei
wuwei (“acting without acting”) as well as path of karma yoga outlined by
Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita, and Chan communities to this day seek to
instill such an approach to life throughout their daily regimen.
This fundamental unity of existence that one manifests by realizing one’s
“Buddha-nature” also informs Huineng’s view of the Pure Land (the
“Western Paradise”) which, following the Vimalakirti Sutra (where the
Buddha shows his disciples that this world is the Pure Land for those with
Pure Mind), he refuses to allow us to conceive the Pure Land as
something separate from our current existence. It is, rather, the
straightforward mind of the “samadhi of oneness.” In attaining this state
of true purity, one finds no obstructions. Or, as Huineng puts it, “If inside
and outside are clear, this will be no different from the Western Land”
(section 35).
iii. No-thought (wu nian)
Huineng speaks from the standpoint of Ultimate Truth (the inherent
“Buddha-nature”) the non-dual reality lying beyond our everyday
7
unenlightened experience of separation and division. To awaken to this
Truth, Huineng emphasizes “non-clinging” to any verbal teachings, which
only present obstacles to True Awakening. Instead, Huineng stresses the
perspective of “no-thought” (wu nian), an open, non-conceptual state of
mind that allows one to experience reality directly, as it truly is. As he
states, “No thought is not to think even when involved in thought. . . To
be unstained in all environments is called no-thought. If on the basis of
your own thoughts you separate from environment, then, in regard to
things, thoughts are not produced. If you stop thinking of the myriad
things, and cast aside all thoughts, as soon as one instant of thought is cut
off, you will be reborn in another realm.” (section 13)
Note that Huineng explicitly says “no-thought” is not a state of
insentiency, nor is it a way of valorizing irrational, “thoughtless” behavior.
Rather, “no-thought” is a highly attentive yet unentangled way of being —
seemingly the only genuine freedom available. Those who act from the
perspective of “no-thought” respond compassionately in all situations,
untouched by suffering, much the same way the Mahayana scriptures
speak of bodhisattvas (enlightened beings who selflessly seek to aid
others) who “course in the Perfection of Wisdom.”
iv. Sudden Awakening (dun wu)
Few ideas are so closely associated with Huineng’s Chan than “sudden
awakening” (dun wu). Rooted in earlier Buddhist and Daoist teachings, it
primarily referred to statements of truth a sage made in relationship to
specific audiences. Those that were direct and profound were given to
those ready for such a “sudden” dose of reality whereas those that were
more indirect and metaphorical were provided for those who needed to
be led “gradually.” The difference, thus, lies in those who receive the
teachings rather than the actual content of the teachings. Some are, as it
were, closer to their “Buddha-nature.” According to later Chan tradition,
Huineng advocated the (superior) way of “sudden awakening” in contrast
to Shenxiu, whose dharma verse clearly points to the (inferior) way of
“gradual awakening.”
This polemical distinction, however, does not capture Huineng’s full
meaning. The term dun, typically translated as “sudden,” might better be
rendered as “poised” or “ready” for some great undertaking Those who
experience such “sudden awakening” are those who are “keen” and “fast,”
ready to awaken in action, poised to break through to fuller, wise and
compassionate living. By contrast, those who are “dull” are “slow,” not
quite as prepared or attentive to respond in so wise a fashion. Equally as
important, moreover, is Huineng’s insistence that from the standpoint of
the “Buddha-nature,” there is no “sudden” or “gradual.” Thus he notes,
“The dharma itself is the same, but in seeing it there is a slow way and a
fast way. Seen slowly, it is the gradual; seen fast it is the sudden
[teaching]. Dharma is without sudden or gradual, but some people are
keen and others dull; hence the names ‘sudden’ and ‘gradual.’” (section 39)
v. The Centrality of Practice
In many respects the necessity of practice may be the single most
important refrain in Huineng’s sermons. Huineng repeatedly emphasizes
that Chan life, awakening, is not attained through study or careful
deliberation but live action. One of the best instances comes immediately
after he explains what seated meditation (zuochan; Japanese zazen) is:
“Good friends, see for yourselves the purity of your own natures, practice
and accomplish for yourselves. Your own nature is
the Dharmakaya [“Body of the Teaching,” the Ultimate Truth] and self-
practice is the practice of Buddha; by self-accomplishment you may
achieve the Buddha Way for yourselves.” (section 19)
To achieve Buddhahood one must be Buddha, that which, paradoxically,
one always already is. Such awakened living cannot be adequately
explained through words so much as demonstrated and acted upon. In
this sense, one learns it directly by conforming to an already established
pattern, internalizing it, and then acting this out in any given situation.
An analogy might be learning to play a musical instrument or another
activity such as riding a bicycle. Chan practice is Chan doing, something
that can only be learned through careful imitation of a living example –
one’s Master. It is this type of first-hand learning to which Bodhidharma
refers in his famous verse: “A special transmission outside the scriptures;
not dependent on words and letters.”
Ironically, despite his constant injunctions to wise action, Huineng
provides little detail on the specifics of practice. As a result, scholars are
unsure what sorts of actual practices were taught in early Chan
communities. This silence on specifics, however, turned out to be a point
in Huineng’s favor, as his injunctions could readily be applied to a wide
variety of Chan styles through the ages.
8
b. Teaching Style
Huineng’s presentation in the Platform Sutra pioneered Chan’s distinct
teaching style that makes use of paradox and cryptic statements aimed at
jolting students out of their habitual discursive reasoning. By no means,
of course, is Huineng the inventor of such discourse (it is very common in
Buddhist and Daoist texts) but in the Platform SutraHuineng uses it with
uncanny skill. As such, it warrants close examination.
One of the most significant features of Huineng’s discourse is its
overwhelmingly dialogical character. Although it has its share of lectures,
this “sermon” is more often a series of exchanges between Huineng and
various interlocutors. Such a literary form calls for one to shift
perspective back and forth. Like normal conversation, so a dialogue also
tends to lead one beyond the immediate horizon, inviting listeners (and
readers) to come along. Dialogue is a common form in Western
philosophy (most notably in Plato’s dialogues) yet there is also ample
precedent in both Buddhist and Chinese literature. The Perfection of
Wisdom Sutras, the primary scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism, are all
extended dialogues between the Buddha and his disciples, while most of
the Analects and the Zhuangzi are dialogues as well. The dialogue is a
powerful rhetorical form, dramatic and challenging, one that demands a
response from its audience.
One of the more common rhetorical forms in Buddhism is paradox, and
Huineng certainly makes use of this in his teaching. Thus, for instance, he
admonishes his students, “Do not depart from deceptions and errors; for
they of themselves are the nature of True Reality” (section 27). Later when
on the point of death, he takes his closest disciples to task for their
ignorance by saying, “All of you sit down. I shall give you a verse, the verse
of the true-false moving-quiet.” (section 48) There is something very
tricky in such sayings, as they are seemingly contradictory if not absurd.
The point of a paradox, of course, is that such absurdity is only apparent
for the paradox masks a higher truth that we must divine ourselves. As
such, paradox is a highly suggestive form of rhetoric, one that presents us
with a basic tension, leaving it for us to resolve.
Huineng also engages in a great deal of polemics in the Platform Sutra.
For example, he continually contrasts the “wise” with the “deluded.” He
also draws a sharp contrast between his teachings and those of the
“Northern school” (secs. 37, 39, 48-49), criticizes a student whose
“practice” consists of only reciting the Lotus Sutra (sec. 42), and even
converts a “spy” who seems to have come to discredit him (secs. 40-41).
While a polemical style may have negative connotations it also serves
several rhetorical purposes. To begin, it sets the Master and his audience
apart from others, thereby emphasizing that this teaching is different or
special. It also underscores the challenging nature of the teaching, and no
doubt directly counters various preconceived ideas in the audience.
Indeed, it may even put his disciples and audience on the defensive, thus
setting them up psychologically for a deeper breakthrough.
All in all, Huineng’s teaching style is quite challenging. At times it is
highly provocative, even maddening. He does not lay his subjects out
neatly so that his audience can absorb what he says with ease but jars his
listeners to elicit a reaction from them. His words, thus, are inherently
unstable and elusive, pouring forth quixotically. They resist final
definition and closure, similar to Zhuangzi’s “goblet words” (zhi yan,
cf. Zhuangzi chapter 27) or what the fifth century Buddhist
thinker Sengzhao terms “wild words” (kuan yan, cf. his essay “Panruo
Wuzhi”). Such stylistic considerations, in the end, suggest that the
ultimate message of Huineng’s sermon may not be so much what he says
ashow he says it and how we take up his words in our response.
5. Influences
As noted above, Huineng himself claims that nothing in his teachings
originates with him, much as Confucius does inAnalects 15.28. Clearly,
what he iterates in the Platform Sutra derives from earlier works and
there are many times when he makes explicit references to other texts,
notably the Diamond, Vimalakirti, and Lotus Sutras. In addition, we
should also mention the Nirvana Sutra, a text promoting the universality
of the “Buddha-nature” that had a profound influence on Chinese
Buddhism as a whole. The influences, however, go far beyond this short
list. Huineng demonstrates knowledge of the great body of Prajna-
paramita (Perfection of Wisdom) literature (of which theDiamond
Sutra is one rather late example), as well as the techniques of
the Madhyamika school – notably in the negation of set positions,
dialectic play between “conventional” and “Ultimate” truth, and the
constant challenge to any attempts at a final articulation of Buddhist
truth. In addition, at certain points he reveals a basic familiarity with Pure
Land doctrine (sec. 35) and some rather technical aspects of Abhidharma
and Yogacara philosophy (sec. 45)
9
Moreover, Huineng’s teachings and style of presentation also owe a great
deal to indigenous Chinese sources. This is most obvious when it comes
to Daoism, as Huineng’s character and actions so often epitomize
teachings found in both the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi. As for
Confucian tradition, Huineng makes an obvious bow to Confucius in
presenting himself as a transmitter, while his adherence to the positive
power of “Buddha nature” owes at least something to the Mencian idea of
“inherent goodness” of human nature, a perennial theme in Chinese
philosophy that finds one of its most popular articulations in
the Zhongyong (“Doctrine of the Mean”). Other scholars have even
suggested that portions of the Platform Sutra may have been compiled
under the influence of the Yijing.
The fact that Huineng quotes passages from such a large body of works
and that scholars can so-easily discern other literary influences and
allusions constitutes further proof that the tradition of Huineng’s
illiteracy should not be taken literally. In the Platform Sutra Huineng
proves rather erudite, if not bookish. His familiarity with so much of his
Buddhist and Chinese heritage challenges stereotypes of Chan as
denigrating and even ignoring written texts. Indeed, scholars of
Buddhism often point out the ironic fact that Chan, so often known for
its dismissal of texts, has the largest body of written work of any East
Asian Buddhist tradition. Furthermore, many great Chan masters (for
example, Dogen, 1200-1253) were brilliant scholars and original thinkers.
This paradoxical aspect of Chan, rather than being the product of
centuries of institutionalization as some might claim, seems to have been
there from the very beginning.
6. Critical Issues
Although the Platform Sutra is most unusual for a “philosophical” text,
both in terms of style and content it raises a number of issues that are of
particular philosophic import.
a. The Role of Reason and Rationality
Chan has a reputation for irrationality, allegedly insisting that
practitioners cut off thinking entirely. There is some basis for such views,
and in Chan history we do find examples where this seems to have been
encouraged, as, for example, in the case of the Baotang school of Chan
that developed in Sichuan during eighth century. Huineng and most
Chan masters, however, do not advocate a disorderly or irrational
lifestyle. Their concern, instead, seems to be on the predominance
of ratio (deliberative, analytic thinking) and the discursive reasoning that
severs aspects of reality into discrete bits, usually from an egocentric
standpoint. From a Chan perspective, this mode of understanding is the
result of a highly artificial process that cuts one off from full participation
in one’s immediate context and inevitably leads to suffering. Such an
approach cannot be countered with rational, objective arguments because
such reasoning is itself a product of such a mode of understanding. By
breaking the grip of such processes on humanity, Huineng and his later
followers seek to free us for a fuller, more natural life, and hence a truer
life.
Much of the difficulty surrounding this subject stems from Chan’s
distinctive rhetorical style, of which Huineng is a true master. In
particular the notion of “no-thought” seems to suggest a sort of mindless,
purely instinctual response or perhaps even unconsciousness. Certainly,
“no-thought” is not rational in the sense of bare objectivity. In fact, as we
have seen, “no-thought” is not this at all but more like an attitude of
carefully attentiveness to the situation at hand. If “no-thought” is lacking
in anything it would be the self-consciousness that typically arises out of
the dualism inherent in subject-object thinking. Most assuredly “no-
thought” should not be equated with becoming insentient, that is, an
“object” among others.
Is there a place for reason in all this? Not in the ordinary sense. However,
Chan would seem to be less “irrational” than “a rational,” although such
labels themselves are designations arising within discursive reasoning. In
the end, it may be helpful to view Huineng as espousing a type of
“philosophy as propaganda,” much like Nagarjuna or the
laterWittgenstein. The aim is not to argue but to change one’s way of
thinking in favor of a more immediate and direct way of being.
b. Sudden vs. Gradual?
Much has been made of this notion in Chan scholarship and, indeed,
Chan tradition often presents the as a conflict of “Northern Chan
Gradualism” and “Southern Chan Subitism” – an alleged conflict from
which the latter emerged victorious. In reality it is not really so simple,
but the contrast points to an instable dynamic that lies at the heart of
10
Buddhism and perhaps all spiritual practice. If “sudden awakening” refers
to an instantaneous experience of enlightenment at which point nothing
more needs to be done, then why did someone like Huineng continue to
sit in meditation through his later years and exhort his students to do the
same even after his death (section 53)?
In fact, what Huineng says about the contrast between “sudden” and
“gradual” is anything but clear: “Good friends, in the dharma there is no
sudden or gradual, but among people some are keen and others dull. The
deluded recommend the gradual method, the enlightened practice the
sudden teaching. . . Once enlightened, there is from the outset no
distinction between these two methods; those who are not enlightened
with for long kalpas be caught in the cycle of transmigration” (section 16).
In part it appears that the distinction between “sudden” and “gradual” is a
provisional one made from the unawakened standpoint that applies to
Chan practitioners rather than the actual event of awakening itself. Yet
can one move from delusion to enlightenment, from gradual to sudden?
It also seems that the difference between “sudden” and “gradual” cannot
refer to a temporal distinction, for even a “sudden awakening” certainly
cannot be attained easily or without much practice; Huineng had several
“sudden awakenings” but devoted himself to a lifetime of Chan practice.
Later Chan thinkers such as Zongmi (a.k.a. Guifeng, 780-841) were deeply
concerned about these notions and sought to clarify them by speaking of
“sudden awakening followed by gradual cultivation.” While intriguing,
such a solution essentially erases any ultimate meaning to the
sudden/gradual distinction. It also implies that claims to “sudden
awakening” by Huineng and his followers line were rhetorical rather than
genuine.
c. The Role of Text (wen) in Life
The reputation of Chan as eschewing textual study has long been a
source of controversy and great appeal. We can see this even in the “Chan
motto” attributed to Bodhidharma in which the dharma is said to be a
“separate transmission outside the scriptures, not relying on words and
letters.” There can be no arguing that Chan presents a basic distrust of
scholasticism that seems to have characterized the Chinese doctrinal
schools such as Tiantai and Huayan. But does this mean that texts have
no place? This would hardly seem to be warranted given what we find in
the Platform Sutra. In the autobiographical portions of
the Sutra Huineng has his initial awakening from hearing a text
(the Diamond Sutra), demonstrates his worth through his own
“dharma verse,” and received official dharma transmission through verbal
teachings from Hongren. Moreover, Huineng’s sermon is full of instances
in which he unfolds the various meanings in a number of Buddhist texts.
In addition, there are several passages in which Huineng draws attention
to the text of his sermon itself, stating “If others are able to encounter
the Platform Sutra, it will be as if they received the teaching personally
from me” (section 47). The text goes on to note that Huineng’s closest
disciples received his teaching, made copies of the Platform Sutra and
entrusted them to later generations, all of whom were led through it to
see into their own true natures.
An important clue for our understanding can be found when Huineng is
preparing to give his “death verse.” Before launching into his final
teaching he tells his disciples, “if you understand its meaning, you will be
the same as I” (section 48). Like Sakyamuni before his passing, Huineng
promises that that the master will remain with his students in the form of
his teachings. These teachings, compiled in textual form, will have the
power to lead hearers and readers to realization of their True natures
once they grasp the teachings’ true import. In this reading, the Master’s
role is open up the teachings via his own words (or actions) and so
manifest their meaning; the crucial point is that these are transmitted by
the Master and taken up by the students – a process that can only happen
“outside the scriptures” themselves. There is an interesting parallel here
to the view of the Neo-Confucian master Zhu Xi, who, in outlining the
regimen of study for his disciples, emphasizes the importance of texts as a
coming into the very presence of the Sages themselves.
The conclusion seems to be that Huineng does not denigrate texts per se,
for they were instrumental in his own awakening and play a central role
in his sermons. Instead, he (and later Chan tradition) attacks the
tendency to treat them objectively, as material to be mastered rather
than dharma gates leading to awakening. Ego, cutting off from full
involvement in the world. Taking texts truly as “scripture,” however, is
another matter. The words of dharma areBuddha in that they allow us to
perceive truth. In this view, then, those passages in the Platform
Sutra calling attention to the text itself emphasize its way of connecting
one with Huineng’s wisdom offered for our awakening. What we see then
is that through Huineng, Chan celebrates the centrality of text, but as
“live word” internalized and acted upon rather than mere marks on the
11
page. Such an existential engagement, however, is not typically found in
the modern study of philosophy and so raises questions about what
“philosophy” may actually be.
d. The Relation of Action (praxis) and Knowledge (theoria)
The centrality of practice is a major refrain in Huineng’s discourse.
Despite his often-cryptic comments, the Master shares the decidedly
practical focus that runs through much of Chinese philosophic culture.
Time and time again, Huineng exhorts us to a life of Chan action and
practice, a life of Buddhahood, rather than quietistic withdrawal.
Although clearly there is some sort of “theory” informing Huineng (a
sinified version of tathagatha-garbha teachings), this never takes
precedence over practical application. In fact, Huineng (and Chan in
general) refuses to distinguish between these two concepts, arguing
essentially that true knowing is practical action. Thus, from this
perspective nothing can be “true in theory” if it is not borne out in
practice.
The priority of praxis is underscored by the fact that Chan is often
regarded first and foremost as a “practice school.” In contrast to the
doctrinal concerns of the Tiantai and Huayan, Chan emphasizes practices
such as “no-thought” while maintaining that getting tangled up in
mistaken ideas inevitably leads one astray. Since we are already Buddha,
we must realize this through Buddha living. Only then are we awakened
to the truth of our original (Buddha) nature.
There are some interesting analogies to Huineng’s perspective that
provide much food for thought. Socrates, for example, famously argues
that “to know the good is to do the good,” implying that true
understanding is always attested in actual life. In a different vein, there is
also Martin Heidegger’s existential analysis of dasein in which he focuses
on our unreflective “being-in-the-world” as demonstrating a prior
unthematized Understanding, that is, our actual (as opposed to
theoretical) knowledge of things. Perhaps the most obvious analogy,
however, can be found in the work of Wang Yangming (Wang Shouren,
1472-1529). Among his teachings, Wang maintained that knowing and
acting formed an essential original unity that people often separate
through their own selfish desires. In fact, Wang explained to one of his
greatest disciples, “There have never been people who know but do not
act. Those who are supposed to know but do not act simply do not
know.”
e. The Centrality of Ritual (Li)
This matter has received little attention until recently but is an
outgrowth of the general Chinese focus on practice. We have already seen
that in the Platform Sutra Huineng constantly preaches to his charges to
act upon his teachings, putting them into practice. This preaching, of
course, is itself a type of Chan practice and, in fact, occurs within a ritual
context and in a temple setting. Giving and listening to a “dharma talk”
are both highly ritualized activities that follow their own specified rules.
Furthermore, Huineng repeatedly enjoins his followers to chant certain
vows aloud and to take various types of precepts. Thus the entire
discourse is pervaded by a strong sense of ritual, or li. There is a strong,
albeit implicit message here that Huineng is calling for participation in
specific activities from all those in his audience, that is, all who hear or
read the Platform Sutra.
Adherence to li, of course, has been a primary focus of Chinese culture
from the very earliest times, and philosophical discussion of li plays a
central role in Chinese thought since at least the time of Confucius.
Moreover, li by their very nature are a form of highly regulated activity
that require repeated engagement to learn. One learns the li by doing
theli. Huineng and the text of the Platform Sutra thus underscore the
highly ritualized nature of Chan life, a fact that several scholars have
noted and which provides yet another strong contrast to popular
(mis)understandings of Chan. Rather than being an incitement to
egocentric spontaneity (which would result in utter chaos, and hence
more delusion and suffering), the “sudden awakening” espoused by
Huineng can only occur within a ritual context in which all parties are
actively engaged. Those involved are not “doing their own thing” but
participating in a shared activity in which all energies are marshaled in
concert. It is just for this reason that Huineng stresses the “samadhi of
oneness” and Chan monastic training involves meditation training not
just during periods of actual physical sitting but throughout all daily
activities.
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7. Impact on Later Buddhist and Chinese Philosophical Traditions
Huineng’s impact on Chan is without parallel. Not only did he articulate
the major themes that came to dominate Chan discourse and practice, he
provided the model of the ideal Master. By the late eighth century, two
main branches of Chan existed: the “Northern” and “Southern” schools.
Claiming to have studied under Huineng, Shenhui (684-758) launched an
attack on the legitimacy of “Northern” Chan, which enjoyed imperial
patronage during the Tang dynasty (618-907) under the leadership of
Master Shenxiu (ca. 606-706) and his heir, Puji (651-739). Alleging
that his teacher was the true recipient of dharma transmission and
ridiculing the latter’s “gradualist” approach to awakening, Shenhui
insisted that Huineng was the real Sixth Patriarch and claimed the title
of Seventh Patriarch for himself. Shenhui’s claims carried the day and by
the ninth century, the “Southern” school with its teaching of “sudden
awakening” was accepted as the official line. Ironically, both the
“Northern” and “Southern” schools eventually died out as direct lineages.
It was only later that, having survived the imperial persecutions of 841-
845, other Chan schools reasserted their connection(s) to Huineng and so
enshrined the tale of unilinear dharma transmission.
The Platform Sutra became wildly popular in China, perhaps because of
its paradoxical “Daoist” air, and numerous copies circulated. The
traditional version, printed some five hundred years after the oldest
version, is almost twice the size of the original due to later additions and
expansions. Huineng’s idiosyncratic way of discussing the sutras, less of a
strict exegesis and more a performance of their message, a practice
known as tichang (Japanese teisho) set the standard for a Chan
“dharma talk.” Stories of Huineng are scattered throughout the
various gong’an (Japanese koan)collections. Perhaps the most famous of
these allegedly comes from Huineng’s confrontation with Huiming, the
fierce former general who came to kill him on the mountaintop. As the
Huiming approached, the Master asked, “Not thinking of good, not
thinking of evil, just at this moment, what is our original face before your
mother and father were born?” Huiming at once became enlightened.
This koan is still one of the first given to beginning students in Japanese
Zen monasteries.
By inaugurating a powerful new approach to the dharma, however,
Huineng had impact far beyond Buddhism and Chan. Philosophically, the
strongest effect was on Neo-Confucianism, a major response of
Confucian tradition to the challenges offered by Buddhism, particularly
Chan. Each of the “Five Great Masters” (Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, Cheng
Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhu Xi) studied Chan at some point in their youth, and
the records of their discussions with students as well as the anecdotes
concerning their lives (collected in such works as Reflections on Things at
Hand) strongly resemble later Chan collections such as the Wumen
guan (The Gateless Gate). Chan influence on Wang Yangming is so great
as to scarcely need comment.
As for Daoism, the most obvious impact Chan had was on the formation
of the Quanzhen (“Complete Perfection”) school, a monastic sect that
originated in the twelfth century. The Quanzhen sect shows blatant Chan
influence, from its code of regulations, meditation techniques, and even
the layout of its monastic compounds. The school’s founder, Wang
Chongyang (1112-1170), with his cryptic teaching style and insistence on
diligent practice at all times, could even be one of Huineng’s disciples.
The portrait of Huineng emerging from Chan tradition and the Platform
Sutra in particular is quite compelling. The Master is portrayed as
brilliant despite (or because of) his humble beginnings and takes on a
truly heroic stature through his trials and eventual triumph. In his
statements, Huineng comes across as immensely charismatic. He is by
turns insightful, iconoclastic and humorous. Throughout his discourse he
challenges his audience to leave behind intellectual preconceptions while
undercutting all attempts to grasp his meaning by rational means.
Ironically, during this lengthy verbal discourse he proclaims, “the practice
of self-awakening does not lie in verbal arguments.” (section 38) This
despite offering long harangues against Chan practitioners who have
“false views.” Huineng, thus, is the archetypal Chan Master, a model for
all later Chan practitioners. We can even see traces of Huineng in the
character of Yoda, the great Jedi master from the Star Wars film series. At
one point in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda famously tells his
disciple Luke Skywalker, “Do, or do not — there is no ‘try’!” — a line that
could be straight from thePlatform Sutra. Truly, Huineng lives on.
John M. Thompson
Email: john.thompson@cnu.edu
Christopher Newport University
http://www.iep.utm.edu/huineng/
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