UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Myōan Eisai and Conceptions of Zen Morality: The Role of Eisai's Chinese Sources in the Formation of Japanese Zen Precept Discourse A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Dermott Joseph Walsh 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Myōan Eisai and Conceptions of Zen Morality: The Role of Eisai's Chinese Sources in the Formation of Japanese Zen Precept Discourse by Dermott Joseph Walsh Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor William M. Bodiford, Chair The focus of this dissertation is Myōan Eisai, considered by scholarship as the founder of the Rinzai Zen lineage in Japan. This work aims to answer two interrelated questions: what is Eisai's Zen? and how does Eisai's Zen relate to other schools of Buddhism? Through an analysis of Eisai's texts composed following his return from his second trip to China in 1187, I illustrate the link between Eisai's understanding of Zen and the practice of morality im Buddhism; moreover this dissertation shows clearly that, for Eisai, Zen is compatible with both Tendai and the study of the precepts. This work analyzes the Eisai's use of doctrinal debates found in Chinese sources to argue for the introduction of Zen to Japan. Through this analysis, we see how Eisai views ii Zen, based on his experience in Chinese monasteries, not as a distinct group of practitioners rebelling against traditional forms of practice, but rather as a return to fundamental Buddhist positions concerning the importance of morality and its relationship to meditative practices. The conclusions reached in this dissertation have doctrinal, historical and philosophical implications. Doctrinally and historically, this work brings into focus the origins of Zen in Japan and its relationship with other schools; we see how a comprehensive textual analysis of Eisai's Chinese sources highlights the key relationship between Zen and morality, and how this relationship relates to Buddhist practice. Philosophically, this work provides an example of a new methodological approach to comparative philosophical problems in Buddhism, and reveals potential areas of interest for a revival in comparative studies of Buddhist ethics. iii iii The dissertation of Dermott Joseph Walsh is approved. Richard Von Glahn Natasha Heller Robert E. Buswell William M. Bodiford, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2018 iv iv Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................1 Models for the Study of Kamakura Buddhism.............................................4 Eisai: Life and Context...............................................................................15 Images of Eisai in Scholarship...................................................................19 Eisai's Texts................................................................................................25 On Translation and Analytic Philosophy of Language...............................29 Philosophical Structure and Significance...................................................35 Overview of the Chapters...........................................................................40 1 Soteriological Context to Eisai's Discourse on Morality.......................45 The Concept of the Latter Age.................................................................. 46 Eisai and Tiāntái Conceptions of the Latter Age........................................54 The Influence of Zhìyǐ................................................................................61 Zen and the Mahāparinirvāṇa sūtra.........................................................,68 Conclusion.................................................................................................72 2 The Relationship between Ritual and Morality.....................................73 Abstract Precepts in Tiāntái: Zhìyǐ on the Bodhisattva Precepts...............74 Abstract Precepts in Tiāntái: Zhànrán and Míngkuàng..............................79 Eisai on Abstract Morality..........................................................................86 Eisai on Bodhisattva Precepts and Self Ordination....................................96 Conclusion................................................................................................102 v v 3 The Practical Content of Zen Morality................................................104 Zen and Vinaya in Shukke taikō...............................................................105 Shukke taikō and the Crisis of Monastic Discipline.................................114 Pure Morality: Food and Fasting in Eisai's Works...................................121 The Practical Importance of Pure Rules...................................................128 Conclusion................................................................................................133 4 Doctrine and Moral Practice.................................................................134 Eisai and the Nature of the Vinaya...........................................................135 A Comparison of Dàoxuān and Eisai's Zen..............................................142 Eisai on Vinaya and Bodhisattva Morality...............................................148 Eisai and Dōgen on Morality....................................................................161 Conclusion................................................................................................168 Conclusion.....................................................................................................169 Notes..............................................................................................................178 Bibliography..................................................................................................195 vi vi Acknowledgements I am often asked how I ended up leaving a village in rural Ireland to study Buddhism in Los Angeles. If I may echo the sentiments of one of my esteemed mentors at UCLA, it is because of the generosity of the taxpayers of California; it has been my privilege to live here and my thanks go to the hard- working residents of this wonderful city and state. I knew nothing about Buddhism before arriving here, and still due to my own ignorance, suffer from various errors of understanding. Everything I do know that is correct I learned primarily from my committee members, and most notably my committee chair, Professor William M. Bodiford, whose knowledge of premodern Japanese Buddhism continues to amaze his students. Special thanks also to the other members of my committee: Professor Robert E. Buswell, Professor Natasha Heller and Professor Richard Von Glahn. I have been fortunate enough during my six years at UCLA to encounter several people who, in one way or another, provided support, assistance and friendship: Professor Gregory Schopen, Professor Torquil Duthie and the Terasaki Center for Japanese studies who provided generous summer funding year after year, Professor Jack Chen, graduate students Matthew Hayes, Eric Yue Tojimbara, Phillip Hsu, Casey Martin, Britt Marlowe and Thomas Newhall. Thanks also to the staff members at the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. The path to the end of a doctorate is rarely simple, with twists and turns along the way, both personal and academic. Those who helped me find the vii vii smoothest path include: Professor Lilian Alweiss, Dr. Myles Balfe, Dr. Donal Cahill, Professor Chris Chapple, Leonard Clampitt, Linda Claros, Professor Fujita Masakatsu, Michelle Garvey, Professor Chris Goto-Jones, Professor Paul Groner, Professor Hareyama Shun'ei, Francis Hogg, Dr. Javier Iribarren, Dr. Benoit Jacquet, Professor Paul O'Grady, Jordi Ortega, Professor Kiri Paramore, Professor Sugimoto Koichi, Professor Paul Swanson and Sadhbh Walsh. My thanks to all. Finally, thanks to my family. My siblings Stephen, Afric, Ross and Cian who never fail to remind me that the ivory tower of academics is not so far from Kilnaleck. And my parents, my late father Dermott and mother Margaret, who never wavered in their support of my curious path, even in the midst of their own struggles. To them I owe a debt I cannot repay. viii viii Vita Dermott Joseph Walsh received a BA in Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin in 2003, and an MA in Japanese Studies from Leiden University, the Netherlands in 2009. His main research interests focus on the beginnings of Zen in Japan, with particular emphasis on morality and its relationship to meditative practices. Other interests include the evolution of precept discourse in Chinese Buddhism, the practical impact of meditative practices, and comparative philosophy of ethics. ix ix Introduction The focus of this study, Myōan Eisai 明菴榮西 (a.k.a Yōsai; 1141–1215), defies the neat sectarian categorizations that are often retroactively applied to Kamakura period 鎌倉時代 (1185–1333) religious figures. Without question, the image of Eisai as "founding ancestor" of the Rinzai 臨済 (C. Línjì) lineage of Zen 禪 (C. Chán) remains the dominant popular conception. The scholarly search for the most appropriate understanding of Eisai's life and thought reveals several other images: that of an esoteric ritual master with close links with the ecclesiastical and political hierarchy, a conservative who supports traditional Buddhist practices, a vinaya advocate, a radical who risks persecution