Yongming Yanshou: Scholastic As Chan Master
3 Yongming Yanshou : Scholastic as Chan Master Albert Welter Western discourses on Zen, highly infl uenced by the Japanese Rinzai tradition, rarely mention Yongming Yanshou (904–975). Where Yanshou’s name is mentioned, it is often used pejoratively as the antithesis of a “real” Zen master. Given Rinzai’s propensity for idealized Zen masters as convention-defying iconoclasts, this comes as no surprise. Yanshou’s reputation as a scholastic and his renown for syncretism, whether between Zen and Pure Land or between Zen and doctrinal teaching, brand him in the eyes of many as unworthy of the Zen title, prompting some to question whether he even deserves to be included among the ranks of Zen masters. In the history of Zen, Yanshou is usually dismissed as the harbinger of decline, the architect of an impure Zen that modern Zen purists have relegated to a decidedly inferior status. The Zen traditions of China, Korea, and Vietnam, however, tend to look upon Yanshou quite diff erently. Rather than being marginalized, Yanshou emerges in these traditions as a central fi gure through which indig- enous Chan, S o˘ n, and Thi ê n teachings and practices are validated. How does one come to terms with these disparate images of Yanshou? Should he be included as a Zen master? If so, what meaning does this designation carry? Any inclusion of Yanshou among the ranks of Zen masters, as this chapter argues, forces a reevaluation of the very meaning of the term Zen and how it has been commonly (mis)represented in contemporary discourse. An examination of Yanshou’s Zen identity 60 Z EN M ASTERS compels us to rethink the notion of what Zen is, and to come to terms with living Zen traditions that value Yanshou as the founding patriarch of the traditions they represent.
[Show full text]