Approaches to Chan, Sŏn, and Zen Studies

Approaches to Chan, Sŏn, and Zen Studies PDF Author: Albert Welter
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438490909
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
This volume focuses on Chinese Chan Buddhism and its spread across East Asia, with special attention to its impacts on Korean Sŏn and Japanese Zen. Zen enthralled the scholarly world throughout much of the twentieth century, and Zen Studies became a major academic discipline in its wake. Interpreted through the lens of Japanese Zen and its reaction to events in the modern world, Zen Studies incorporated a broad range of Zen-related movements in the East Asian Buddhist world. As broad as the scope of Zen Studies was, however, it was clearly rooted in a Japanese context, and aspects of the "Zen experience" that did not fit modern Japanese Zen aspirations tended to be marginalized and ignored. Approaches to Chan, Sŏn, and Zen Studies acknowledges the move beyond Zen Studies to recognize the changing and growing parameters of the field. The volume also examines the modern dynamics in each of these traditions.

Approaches to Chan, Sŏn, and Zen Studies

Approaches to Chan, Sŏn, and Zen Studies PDF Author: Albert Welter
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438490909
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 390

Get Book

Book Description
This volume focuses on Chinese Chan Buddhism and its spread across East Asia, with special attention to its impacts on Korean Sŏn and Japanese Zen. Zen enthralled the scholarly world throughout much of the twentieth century, and Zen Studies became a major academic discipline in its wake. Interpreted through the lens of Japanese Zen and its reaction to events in the modern world, Zen Studies incorporated a broad range of Zen-related movements in the East Asian Buddhist world. As broad as the scope of Zen Studies was, however, it was clearly rooted in a Japanese context, and aspects of the "Zen experience" that did not fit modern Japanese Zen aspirations tended to be marginalized and ignored. Approaches to Chan, Sŏn, and Zen Studies acknowledges the move beyond Zen Studies to recognize the changing and growing parameters of the field. The volume also examines the modern dynamics in each of these traditions.

The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China

The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China PDF Author: Jinhua Jia
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791481425
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
A comprehensive study of the Hongzhou school of Chan Buddhism, long regarded as the Golden Age of this tradition, using many previously ignored texts, including stele inscriptions.

Chan Buddhism

Chan Buddhism PDF Author: Peter D. Hershock
Publisher: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd
ISBN: 9780824827809
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Chan Buddhism has become paradigmatic of Buddhist spirituality. Known in Japan as Zen and in Korea as Son, it is one of the most strikingly iconoclastic spiritual traditions in the world. This succinct and lively work clearly expresses the meaning of Chan as it developed in China more than a thousand years ago and provides useful insights into the distinctive aims and forms of practice associated with the tradition, including its emphasis on the unity of wisdom and practice; the reality of "sudden awakening"; the importance of meditation; the use of "shock tactics"; the centrality of the teacher-student relationship; and the celebration of enlightenment narratives, or koans. Unlike many scholarly studies, which offer detailed perspectives on historical development, or guides for personal practice written by contemporary Buddhist teachers, this volume takes a middle path between these two approaches, weaving together both history and insight to convey to the general reader the conditions, energy, and creativity that characterize Chan. Following a survey of the birth and development of Chan, its practices and spirituality are fleshed out through stories and teachings drawn from the lives of four masters: Bodhidharma, Huineng, Mazu, and Linji. Finally, the meaning of Chan as a living spiritual tradition is addressed through a philosophical reading of its practice as the realization of wisdom, attentive mastery, and moral clarity.

How Zen Became Zen

How Zen Became Zen PDF Author: Morten Schlütter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780824870720
Category : Zen Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Morten Schlütter takes a novel approach to understanding one of the most crucial developments in Zen Buddhism: the dispute over the nature of enlightenment that erupted within the Chinese Chan (Zen) school in the 12th century.

The Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment

The Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment PDF Author:
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438413815
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
The Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, used in monastic education for more than a millennium, is a concise guide to the key paradigms of the practice systems of the East Asian meditational schools (Ch'an, Sǒn, and Zen). Contained in its twelve chapters are definitive explanations of the meaning of innate and actualized enlightenment, sudden and gradual enlightenment, the true nature of ignorance and suffering, along with numerous examples of methods of contemplation that accord with and reflect the basic Ch'an views on enlightenment and practice. Although the Sutra was popular throughout the East Asian region, it attained its highest canonical status within the Korean Chogye school, where it is still a key text in the core curriculum of modern-day monks and nuns. The Sutra is translated here in full, along with the eloquent and revelatory commentary of the Chǒson monk Kihwa (1376–1433).

Seeing through Zen

Seeing through Zen PDF Author: John R. Mcrae
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520937074
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The tradition of Chan Buddhism—more popularly known as Zen—has been romanticized throughout its history. In this book, John R. McRae shows how modern critical techniques, supported by recent manuscript discoveries, make possible a more skeptical, accurate, and—ultimately—productive assessment of Chan lineages, teaching, fundraising practices, and social organization. Synthesizing twenty years of scholarship, Seeing through Zen offers new, accessible analytic models for the interpretation of Chan spiritual practices and religious history. Writing in a lucid and engaging style, McRae traces the emergence of this Chinese spiritual tradition and its early figureheads, Bodhidharma and the "sixth patriarch" Huineng, through the development of Zen dialogue and koans. In addition to constructing a central narrative for the doctrinal and social evolution of the school, Seeing through Zen examines the religious dynamics behind Chan’s use of iconoclastic stories and myths of patriarchal succession. McRae argues that Chinese Chan is fundamentally genealogical, both in its self-understanding as a school of Buddhism and in the very design of its practices of spiritual cultivation. Furthermore, by forgoing the standard idealization of Zen spontaneity, we can gain new insight into the religious vitality of the school as it came to dominate the Chinese religious scene, providing a model for all of East Asia—and the modern world. Ultimately, this book aims to change how we think about Chinese Chan by providing new ways of looking at the tradition.

The Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Zhongfeng Mingben

The Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Zhongfeng Mingben PDF Author: Jeffrey L. Broughton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197672973
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
After the death of his master Gaofeng Yuanmiao, Zhongfeng Mingben (1263-1323) left Gaofeng's mountain and lived in solitude. For many years, he resided in various small mountain hermitages (often called "Dwelling-in-the-Phantasmal Hermitages") or houseboats. He drew students from all over East Asia: Yunnan, Turfan, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. The Recorded sayings of Chan Master Zhongfeng Mingben provides an introduction, from the perspective of Chan/Zen Studies, to the teachings of this key figure of Yuan-dynasty Chan. Jeffrey Broughton focuses on selected works in Zhongfeng's two Chan records, the enormous Extensive Record of Preceptor Tianmu Zhongfeng, and the much smaller ancillary Zhongfeng Record B. Included translations are Instructions to the Assembly; selected Dharma Talks; the miscellany Night Conversations in a Mountain Hermitage; the dharma talk entitled House Instructions for Dwelling-in-the-Phantasmal Hermitage; In Imitation of Hanshan's Poems (one-hundred poems); Song of Dwelling-in-the-Phantasmal Hermitage; Cross-Legged Sitting Chan Admonitions (with Preface); Ten Poems on Living on a Boat; and Ten Poems on Living in Town.

From Chinese Chan to Japanese Zen

From Chinese Chan to Japanese Zen PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190637498
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
From Chinese Chan to Japanese Zen investigates the remarkable century that lasted from 1225 to 1325, during which the transformation of the Chinese Chan school of Buddhism into the Japanese Zen sect was successfully completed. Steven Heine reveals how this school of Buddhism, which started half a millennium earlier as a mystical utopian cult for reclusive monks, gained a broad following among influential lay followers in both China and Japan.

Core Texts of the S&on Approach

Core Texts of the S&on Approach PDF Author: Jeffrey L. Broughton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197530559
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Jeffrey L. Broughton here offers a study and partial translation of Core Texts of the S&on Approach (S&onmun ch'waryo), an anthology of texts foundational to Korean S&on (Chan/Zen) Buddhism. Core Texts of the S&on Approach provides a convenient entrée to two fundamental themes of Korean S&on: S&on vis-à-vis the doctrinal teachings of Buddhism (in which S&on is shown to be superior) and the huatou (i.e., phrase; Korean hwadu) method of practice-work originally popularized by the Song dynasty Chinese Chan master Dahui Zonggao. This method consists of "raising to awareness" or "keeping an eye on" the phrase, usually No (Korean mu). No mental operation whatsoever is to be performed upon the phrase. One lifts the phrase to awareness constantly, when doing "quiet" cross-legged sitting as well as when immersed in the "noisiness" of everyday life. Core Texts of the S&on Approach, which was published in Korea during the first decade of the twentieth century (the identity of the compiler is not known for certain), contains eight Chan texts by Chinese authors (two translated here) and seven S&on texts by Korean authors (three translated here), showing the organic relationship between the parent Chinese tradition and its Korean inheritor. The set of translations in this volume will give readers access to some of the key texts of the Korean branch of this influential East Asian school of Buddhism.

Zen Ritual

Zen Ritual PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198041467
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
When books about Zen Buddhism began appearing in Western languages just over a half-century ago, there was no interest whatsoever in the role of ritual in Zen. Indeed, what attracted Western readers' interest was the Zen rejection of ritual. The famous 'Beat Zen' writers were delighted by the Zen emphasis on spontaneity as opposed to planned, repetitious action, and wrote inspirationally about the demythologized, anti-ritualized spirit of Zen. Quotes from the great Zen masters supported this understanding of Zen, and led to the fervor that fueled the opening of Zen centers throughout the West. Once Western practitioners in these centers began to practice Zen seriously, however, they discovered that zazen - Zen meditation - is a ritualized practice supported by centuries-old ritual practices of East Asia. Although initially in tension with the popular anti-ritual image of ancient Zen masters, interest in Zen ritual has increased along with awareness of its fundamental role in the spirit of Zen. Eventually, Zen practitioners would form the idea of no-mind, or the open and awakened state of mind in which ingrained habits of thinking give way to more receptive, direct forms of experience. This notion provides a perspective from which ritual could gain enormous respect as a vehicle to spiritual awakening, and thus this volume seeks to emphasize the significance of ritual in Zen practice. Containing 9 articles by prominent scholars about a variety of topics, including Zen rituals kinhin and zazen, this volume covers rituals from the early Chan period to modern Japan. Each chapter covers key developments that occurred in the Linji/Rinzai and Caodon/ Soto schools of China and Japan, describing how Zen rituals mold the lives and characters of its practitioners, shaping them in accordance with the ideal of Zen awakening. This volume is a significant step towards placing these practices in a larger historical and analytical perspective.