Ordinary Mind as the Way This page intentionally left blank Ordinary Mind as the Way The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism Mario Poceski 2007 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2007 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data Poceski, Mario. Ordinary mind as the way: the Hongzhou school and the growth of Chan Buddhism / Mario Poceski. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978‐0‐19‐531996‐5 1. Hongzhou (Sect)—History. 2. Zen Buddhism—China—History. I. Title. BQ9550.H652P63 2007 294.3′927—dc22 2006021028 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid‐free paper Acknowledgments The origins of this book go back about two decades, to my early monastic years in East Asia. The recorded sayings of Mazu, Huangbo, and other medieval Chan monks were among the first Chinese texts I ever read. My ongoing engagement with the Hongzhou school's literature led to the publication of my first book, which contained translations from the records of Mazu and his disciples. Following my entry into the academic world, initially as a graduate student in Buddhist studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, I received invaluable help and support from a number of excellent teachers and colleagues. I am especially indebted to Robert Buswell, who guided my doctoral research at UCLA. I also want to acknowledge the supervision I received from the other members of my dissertation committee: Benjamin Elman, William Bodiford, and David Schaberg. Much of the initial research for the book was conducted at Komazawa University, Japan, between 1997 and 1999, with generous financial support in the form of Charlotte W. Newcombe and Fulbright-Hays fellowships. During my stay at Komazawa, I especially benefited from the immense knowledge and outstanding scholarship of Ishii Shūdō,who generously answered a host of questions, assisted me with the procurement of research materials, and helped me socialize into Japanese academic life. I also wish to thank Ogawa Takashi, who extended his friendship to make my stay in Tokyo more pleasurable, and who kindly proofread an early draft of the bibliography of East Asian works. I offer special thanks to Tennei-ji temple in Kyoto for the photographic image and permission vi to use the painting of Mazu that appears on the cover, and to Kanazawa Bunko in Yokohama for their kind permission to take and use the pictures of ancient Chan manuscripts from their collection that appear as figures 2.1 and 5.1. Albert Welter and John McRae read early drafts of the manuscript and offered valuable feedback that I incorporated into the book. The same applies to the two readers who reviewed the manuscript for Oxford University Press. I also thank Steven Heine for his friendship and helpful professional advice, as well as for commenting on a draft version of the introduction. Among my colleagues at the University of Florida, I am indebted to Richard Wang for checking the Chinese characters in the glossary and the bibliography. I would also like to acknowledge the support I received from my colleagues in the Religion Department, especially David Hackett, Manuel Vásquez, Vasudha Narayanan, and Jason Neelis. I am appreciative of the financial support I received from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida, which provided a generous summer grant that enabled me to go back to Komazawa in 2002 for follow‐up research. I am especially grateful to Ruth Sheng for the Chinese calligraphy that graces the title pages, and for proofreading the Chinese text in the glossary and the bibliography. I extend special thanks to Cynthia Read and Oxford University Press for their interest in my project and the skilled work on the manuscript. I would especially like to acknowledge the work of Linda Donnelly and Julia TerMaat. Finally, I wish to express gratitude to my wife, Hiroko Poceski, for her love, patience, and support. Contents Abbreviations and Conventions, xi Introduction, 3 Mazu and the Hongzhou School, 4 The Study of Chan History, 7 Images of the Hongzhou School, 8 About this Volume, 11 Summary of the Chapters, 14 Part I: History 1. The Life and Times of Mazu Daoyi, 21 Early Years in Sichuan, 22 Formative Monastic Training, 23 Travel East, 25 Study with Huairang, 26 Initial Teaching in Fujian and Jiangxi, 29 Training of Disciples in Hongzhou, 30 Final Days and Passing Away, 32 2. Regional Spread of the Hongzhou School, 45 Backgrounds of Mazu's Disciples, 45 Xitang Zhizang, 47 Baizhang Huaihai, 49 viii Other Monks Active in Jiangxi and the South, 52 Spread to Central China, 55 Growth in the Lower Yangtze Region, 56 Expansion to the North, 60 Mazu's Disciples in Chang'an, 61 Ruman and Chan in Luoyang, 68 3. The Hongzhou School and Mid‐Tang Chan, 85 Pattern of Growth, 86 Literati Associations and Networks of Patronage, 89 Interactions with other Chan Lineages, 95 Contours of the Chan Movement, 99 Lineage and Religious Identities, 103 Reconfiguration of Chan Orthodoxy, 106 Influence on the Spread of Chan in Korea, 108 Transitions in Tang Chan, 110 Later Developments, 111 Part II. Doctrine and Practice 4. Doctrinal Contexts and Religious Attitudes, 125 The Traditions and Doctrines of Tang Buddhism, 126 Doctrinal Taxonomies, 129 Monastic Mores and Ideals, 131 Attitudes toward Meditation, 135 Canonicity and Attitudes toward Scriptural Authority, 139 Use of Scriptures, 144 5. Mind, Buddha, and the Way, 157 Detachment, 159 Expedient Means, 163 Mind and Buddha, 168 Some Critiques, 172 “It Is Not a Thing,”, 177 Ordinary Mind, 182 6. Path of Practice and Realization, 193 The “Sudden” and “Gradual” Paradigms, 194 A Vanishing Paradigm, 199 ix A Gradual Path of Practice, 203 Stages of the Path, 207 Comparable Conceptual Models, 212 Awakening and Realization, 215 Conclusion, 225 Appendix, 233 Glossary, 249 Bibliography, 257 Index, 275 This page intentionally left blank Abbreviations and Conventions BGL Baizhang guanglu 百丈廣錄 BLZ Baolin zhuan 寶林傳 CDL Jingde chuandeng lu 景德傳燈錄 IBK Indogaku bukkyōgaku kenkyū 印度學佛教學研究 JTS Jiu tangshu 舊唐書 K Koryŏ taejanggyŏng 高麗大藏經 KDBR Komazawa daigaku bukkyō gakubu ronshū 駒澤大學佛教學部論集 MY Mazu yulu 馬祖語錄 QTW Quan tang wen 全唐文 SGSZ Song gaoseng zhuan 宋高僧傳 SK [Komazawa daigaku] Shūgaku kenkyū [駒澤大學]宗學研究 T Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新修大藏經 TG Tōhō gakuhō 東方學報 TGDL Tiansheng guangdeng lu 天聖廣燈錄 WYYH Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 XTS Xin tangshu 新唐書 XZJ Xu zangjing 續藏經 (reprint of Dai Nihon zokuzōkyō 大日本續藏經) ZBKK Zen bunka kenkyūjo kiyō 禪文化研究所紀要 ZG Zen no goroku 禪の語錄 ZJL Zongjing lu 宗鏡錄 ZK Zengaku kenkyū 禪學研究 ZTJ Zutang ji 祖堂集 xii Chinese words are transliterated according to the Pinyin system, with the exception of names that are better known in another transcription, and in cases of citations of other works that use the Wade-Giles system; for Japanese, I use the Revised Hepburn Romanization system. References to classical Chinese texts include the title, followed by fascicle and page number; when they are included in larger collections, such as the Taishō and Zokuzōkyō editions of the Buddhist canon, I also include the abbreviated title of the collection, followed by the volume, page, and column number (a, b, or c). For example, CDL 14, T 51.310c, stands for Jingde chuandeng lu, fascicle 14, in the Taishō canon, volume 51, page 310, bottom column. The translations from Chinese texts are my own, unless otherwise noted. When using the translations of others, I have often revised them, sometimes considerably. When referring to the geographical locations of various monasteries, mountains, and other sites, I use present-day provincial boundaries. Ordinary Mind as the Way This page intentionally left blank Introduction The emergence of Chan and its establishment as a major school of Chinese Buddhism were significant events in the religious history of the Tang dynasty (618–907), part of an ongoing transformation of Buddhism in late medieval China that reflected the Sinification of its beliefs, doctrines, practices, and institutions. At the center of these changes were the new Buddhist schools of the Sui (581–618) and Tang periods: Chan, Huayan, and Tiantai, as well as the Pure Land (Jingtu) tradition, which, although it was not a “school” in the same sense as the other three, introduced popular beliefs and practices that were widely diffused throughout Chinese Buddhism. The emergence of these new schools involved a rethinking of received teachings and traditions and the production of new religious paradigms whose doctrinal systems and soteriological models remain crowning achievements of Chinese Buddhism. The growth of Chan during this period paved the way for its dominant position within elite Chinese Buddhism and had significant ramifications for the later history of Buddhism throughout East Asia. This book is concerned with a key phase in the history of Tang Chan. It focuses on the Hongzhou school, which, under the leadership of Mazu Daoyi (709–788) and his disciples, replaced the various traditions of early Chan and dominated the Chan movement for nearly a century, from around the aftermath of the An Lushan rebellion (755–763) until after the Huichang-era (841–845) persecution of Buddhism.1 As Mazu and his leading disciples came to occupy central positions in the pantheon of Chan worthies, stories about their spiritual exploits became prominent fixtures in traditional Chan lore.