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Home , Dahui Zonggao, Shenhui

Chan/ , Draft Course Outline, Spring 2020 The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2020 Spring Term Class Location: Lee Shau Kee Building (LSK), Room 514

Course Code CURE 4121

Course Title Chan/Zen Buddhism

Course Description A special transmission outside the scriptures 教外別傳 Not established upon words and letters 不立文字 Directly pointing to the human mind 直指人心 Seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha 見性成佛 (a self-characterization of Chan from the )

Chan, popularly known in the West as “Zen” from its Japanese pronunciation, began to take shape as a distinctive form of Buddhism in seventh-century . It claims to be a unique and separate tradition initiated by the Buddha for the spiritual elite, whose adherents transcend the teachings of Buddhism contained in conventional scriptures and commentaries. And yet Chan was eventually to produce more literature than any other school of East Asian Buddhism, some of which we will read this semester. Within several centuries, Chan became the institutionally dominant tradition of Buddhism in China, and it spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Over the past century, Chan, mainly in its Japanese form Zen, has also spread in the West, capturing the attention of artists, musicians, scholars, psychologists, Catholic priests, and millions of others. This course surveys the history of Chan teachings and practices. This focus is on Chan during its foundational period in China, i.e., from roughly the seventh through the thirteenth centuries. Later forms of Chan, both in China and elsewhere, are arguably variations of the kind of Chan that had taken shape in China by the thirteenth century. The course includes three parts: (1) a general introduction to Buddhism and Chan, (2) a survey of Chan’s historical evolution in China through the thirteenth century, and (3) an examination of more recent developments in Chan/Zen.

Course Syllabus I. Introduction 1. Course Introduction 2. Basic Buddhism 3. Introduction to Buddhism and Chan II. Chan’s Historical Evolution 1. The Model 2. Early Chan and 3. Metropolitan Chan and

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4. Experiential Learning (Fieldtrip) 5. Classical Chan and Linji 6. Chan Institutional Takeover during the Song 7. Writing Pointers, and 8. Chan Teachings and Practices in the Song and Beyond III. Additional Themes 1. The Zen of Silicon Valley 2. TBD (possible fieldtrip, film, or discussion of term papers)

Learning Outcomes 1) Knowledge To enable students to obtain a broad knowledge of as a discipline and a more specialized knowledge in a particular sub-field of concentration, in this case . 2) Skills To help the students develop academic writing skills, including in Buddhist Studies. 3) Attitude To develop a reflective, and empathetic yet critical, attitude in understanding Buddhism.

Assessment Scheme 1. Active participation: 15% 2. One oral presentation on a reading: 15% 3. One quiz: 20% 4. Two reflection papers: 50% (1st is 20%, 2nd is 30%)

Course Requirements Students will be required to complete the following: 1) Active participation (i.e., regular reading and discussion). Complete the required readings, and participate in class discussion each week. A note on attendance: you will not gain any points simply for attending class. You are expected to attend each class. But you will lose five points from your final grade for each unexcused absence beyond three. Excused absences include documented medical emergencies, attending a funeral, etc. Therefore, you also do not need to give me the reasons for your absences if you have three or fewer absences. 2) In-class oral presentation. Each student gives an oral presentation at the beginning of aclass on one of the regular course readings. The length of the presentation will be approximately ten minutes. In your presentation, you will explain the purpose, methods, and conclusions of the reading. You will also connect it to broader course themes/other readings, and you will critique it. 3) Quiz: Two brief quizzes will be given during regular class time, and the quiz for which you get the highest score will count for your grade. The quizzes are straightforward, aimed at assessing whether you have read and understood the material. They will be given in the first part of the semester, to make sure everyone is able to read and understand the foundational materials. Makeups for missed quizzes will not be given, so

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if you only take one quiz due to an absence, that will be the one which counts for your grade. 4) Two response papers. Each student will submit two response papers (1000-1500 words each). You will respond to a question, and in your answer you will draw on course readings and discussions. One response paper assignment will be assigned during the middle of the semester and will be due three weeks later (after reading week). The second response paper topic will be given on the last day of class and will be due one week later.

More instruction and guidelines on the response papers, quizzes, and oral presentation will be given during class.

A Note on Language The primary medium of instruction for this course will be English. Most required readings, particularly those which require a written response from students, are also in English. Your assignments should also be written in English. However, if there is student interest, we may occasionally and briefly discuss (in English) important Chinese primary texts.

Feedback for Evaluation An end-of-term university course evaluation will be conducted in class. Student comments and feedback on the course through e-mails or personal meeting with the instructor are always welcome.

Required Readings and Purchases Most of the required readings will be provided as pdf documents or are accessible online. Some of the recommended readings will also be provided, too. In addition, students should acquire the following book. • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism. Berkeley: University of California Press. **

Class Schedule

Week 1 (Jan. 8): Introduction: Buddha, Buddhism, and Chan/Zen No required reading.

Week 2 (Jan. 15): Basic Buddhist Teachings • Strong, John S. 2015. Buddhisms, pp. 135-159 (chapter 5, “The Four Truths”). • Selections from the Shorter Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama. Read the introduction to this collection here: http://buddhistinformatics.chibs.edu.tw/BZA/. Then read the English translations of the following : bza001, bza002, bza003, bza004, and bza005 (i.e., the first five sutras), available here: http://buddhistinformatics.chibs.edu.tw/BZA/bzaComCatWeb.html If you can, feel free to try reading the ancient Chinese versions of these scriptures, which are provided along with the English (and ) versions.

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• Question: Based on your readings of these early Buddhist scriptures, what seems to be the goal of Buddhism, and how is that goal supposed to be reached?

Week 3 (Jan. 22): Mahayana Buddhist Teachings and Chan • Strong, John S. 2015. Buddhisms, pp. 291-303 and 310-317 (chapter 10, “ Path, , Zen”). • Grosnick, William H. (trans). 1995. “The Tathagatagarbha .” In Buddhism in Practice, edited by Donald S. Lopez, 92-106. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (Optional: read the appended Chinese text of this sutra). • Question: Based on the sutra you read for this week, what seems to be the goal of Buddhism, and how is it reached? How do the answers this week compare with those from last week?

January 29: No class. Happy Chinese New Year!

Week 4 (Feb. 5): Chan and the Lineage Model • Ferguson, Andy. 2011. Zen’s Chinese Heritage, pp. 11-33, 43-48, and 73-79. • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing Through Zen, front matter and chapter 1, “Looking at Lineage,” pp. xi-21. • Quiz #1

Week 5 (Feb. 12): Early Chan and Bodhidharma • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing Through Zen, chapter 2, “Beginnings: Differentiating /Connecting Bodhidharma and the East Mountain Teaching,” pp. 22-44. • Jeffrey Broughton, trans. 1999. “Two Entrances,” in The Bodhidharma Anthology - The Earliest Records of Zen, pp. 8–12. A translation of the Er ru si xing lun 二入四行論. Optional: Consult the appended Chinese source text.

Week 6 (Feb. 19): Metropolitan Chan and Huineng • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing Through Zen, chapter 3, “Metropolitan Chan: Imperial Patronage and the Chan Style,” pp. 45-73. • Philip B. Yampolsky, Trans. 2012 [1967]. The of the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-Huang Manuscript, pp. 125-140 (i.e., sections 1 to 18), and also read through the corresponding sections in the edited Chinese text, included at the back of this reading. • Quiz #2

Week 7 (Feb. 26): Experiential Learning (Fieldtrip)

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A fieldtrip to a local Buddhist organization associated with Chan/Zen Buddhism will be arranged, in consideration of student interests and according to what is feasible. • If for whatever reason (such as renovation of MTR stations, etc.) the desired fieldtrip is not possible, an in-class film related to Chan/Zen Buddhism will be shown.

Week 8 (March 4): Classical (Crazy?) Chan and Linji • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing Through Zen, chapter 4, “The Riddle of Encounter Dialogue: Who, What, When, and Where?” pp. 74-86 and 94-100 (pp. 87-93 optional). • Record of Linji (Linji lu 臨濟錄), selection (provided). Read through the two English translations of the beginning section of the Linji lu, namely pp. 3-7 in the Sasaki/Kirchner translation, and pp. 30-36 in the Broughton translation. Try to make sense of the text and determine which translation you think is better (if you wish, you can also refer to the Chinese text of the Linji lu, included).

Week 9 (March 11): Chan Institutional Takeover during the Song Dynasty • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing Through Zen, chapter 5, “Zen and the Art of Fund Raising: Religious Vitality and Institutional Dominance in the Song Dynasty,” pp. 101-118. • Yuanwu, compiler. Thomas F. Cleary, and J. C. Cleary, trans. 2005. The . [translation of Bi yanlu]. Boston: Shambhala, pp. 358-370.

Week 10 (March 18): Discussion of Response Papers, and Dahui Zonggao • “A Guide to Writing in Religious Studies.” • Broughton, Jeffrey L. 2017. The Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue, pp. 186-202. This is a selection of the letters of the Chinese monk Dahui Zonggao (1089-1163), written in response to letters sent to him. Dahui’s approach to Chan practice is among the most influential in China, Korea, and Japan to this day. • First response paper is assigned.

Week 11 (March 25): Chan Teachings and Practices in the Song Dynasty and Beyond • McRae, John R. 2003. Seeing Through Zen, chapter 6, “Climax Paradigm: Cultural Polarities and Patterns of Self-Cultivation in Song-Dynasty China,” pp. 119-154. • Bielefeldt, Carl. 1999. “’s Lancet of Seated Meditation.” (Read pp. 220-222 and 228-233; other pages optional). In addition to Dogen’s 道元 (1200-1253) writings, one of the most influential Zen thinkers, this reading includes a poem by the Chinese monk Hongzhi 宏智 (1091-1157), who today remains influential in Japan, Taiwan, and the West, in part through the influence of Dōgen.

April 1: No Class (Reading Week)

Week 12 (April 8): The Zen of Silicon Valley

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• Suzuki, Shunryū (鈴木 俊隆). 1970. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. New York: Weatherhill, pp. 1-20. • Isaacson, Walter. 2011. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster, brief selection. • First response paper due.

Week 13 (April 15): Topic to be determined Discussion of final response paper (due April 22). Additional activities to be determined in consideration of student interests. **

Contact Details of Teacher Professor/Lecturer/Instructor: Professor Name: Prof. Douglas Gildow Office Location: Room 312, 3/F, Leung Kau Kui Building Telephone: 3943-4390 Email: [email protected]

Academic honesty and plagiarism The Chinese University of Hong Kong places very high importance on honesty in academic work submitted by students, and adopts a policy of zero tolerance on cheating and plagiarism. Any related offence will lead to disciplinary action including termination of studies at the University. Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/. With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures. For group projects, all students of the same group should be asked to sign the declaration. For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text- based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. Assignments without the receipt will not be graded by teachers. Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide: https://veriguide2.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/cuhk/

Grade Descriptor A Outstanding performance on all learning outcomes. A- Generally outstanding performance on all (or almost all) learning outcomes. B Substantial performance on all learning outcomes, OR high performance on some learning outcomes which compensates for less satisfactory performance on others, resulting in overall substantial performance. C Satisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes, possibly with a few weaknesses. D Barely satisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes

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F Unsatisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes, OR failure to meet specified assessment requirements.

Recommended Readings

Week 2 • Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion (the first sutta ever delivered, according to Buddhism): http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html • Gethin, Rupert. 1998. Foundations of Buddhism (esp. chapter 7, “The Buddhist Path”). Week 3 • Williams, Paul. 2009. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge (esp. chapter 5, “The Tathagatagarbha”). Week 4 • McRae and Guan Zefu, “審視傳承──陳述禪宗的另一種方式.” (Translation of the McRae reading, above). • Jorgensen, John. 1987. “The ‘Imperial’ Lineage of Ch’an Buddhism: The Role of Confucian Ritual and Ancestor Worship in Ch’an’s Search for Legitimation in the Mid- T’ang Dynasty.” Papers on Far Eastern History 35: 89-133. • Welch, Holmes. 1963. “ Scrolls and the Succession of Abbots in Chinese Monasteries.” T’oung Pao 50: 93-149. Week 5 • Check out (one of the) original Chinese texts for the primary reading for this week. It is a digital image of a scroll, discovered in a cave in Western China at the beginning of the twentieth century: See Pelliot chinois 2923 and the International Project, http://idp.bl.uk/idp.a4d. You can find the text by typing the number “2923” into the search bar on this website. • Faure, Bernard. 1986. “Bodhidharma as Textual and Religious Paradigm.” History of Religions 25 (3): 187-198. • Gildow, Douglas M. 2013. “西方学术界对禅宗’东山法脉’的研究.” Foxue Yanjiu 佛学 研究 22: 350-358. Week 6 • Schlütter, Morten, and Stephen F. Teiser. 2012. Readings of the Platform Sūtra. New York: Columbia University Press. • Schlütter, Morten. 2007. “Transmission and Enlightenment in Chan Buddhism seen through the Platform Sutra.” Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 20: 379-410. • Jorgensen, John. 2002. “The Platform Sutra and the Corpus of : Recent Critical Text Editions and Studies.” Revue bibliographique de sinology: 399-438. Week 8 • Welter, Albert. 2008. The Linji Lu and the Creation of Chan Orthodoxy: The Development of Chan’s Records of Sayings Literature. New York: Oxford University Press. • Sperber, Dan. 2010. “The Guru Effect.” Review of Philosophy and Psychology (1): 583- 592.

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Week 9 • Schlütter, Morten. 2008. How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute Over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. • Foulk, Griffith T. 1993. “Myth, Ritual, and Monastic Practice in Sung Ch’an Buddhism.” In Religion and Society in T’ang and Sung China, edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey and Peter N. Gregory, 147-208. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Week 10 • Jeffrey L. Broughton, and Elise Yoko Watanabe, trans. 2017. The Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue. New York: Oxford University Press. Week 11 • Wu, Jiang. 2008. Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China. New York: Oxford University Press. • Yen, Sheng [Shengyan]. 2006. Trans. Douglas M. Gildow. The Mind-Dharma of the Sixth Patriarch. (Explains the practice of silent illumination and huatou investigation, in the context of a Chan meditation retreat held in Moscow in 2003). Week 12 • Lachs, Stuart. 2014. “The and : A Seductive Mythology.” In Minority Religions and Fraud: In Good Faith, edited by Van Twist, Amanda Van Eck Duymaer, 203-228. Burlington: Ashgate.

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