38 Facts About Chan Buddhism

1.

Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thien and north to Korea as Seon, and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen.

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2.

When Chan Buddhism came to China, it was adapted to the Chinese culture and understanding.

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3.

Theories about the influence of other schools in the evolution of Chan Buddhism vary widely and are heavily reliant upon speculative correlation rather than on written records or histories.

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4.

Some scholars have argued that Chan developed from the interaction between Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism, while one believes that Chan has roots in yogic practices, specifically, the consideration of objects, and, total fixation of the mind.

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5.

Chan Buddhism was exposed to Confucian and Taoist influences when it came to China.

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6.

Chan Buddhism was first identified to be "a barbarian variant of Taoism", and Taoist terminology was used to express Buddhist doctrines in the oldest translations of Buddhist texts, a practice termed ko-i, "matching the concepts".

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7.

Judging from the reception by the Han of the Hinayana works and from the early commentaries, it appears that Chan Buddhism was being perceived and digested through the medium of religious Daoism .

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8.

When Chan Buddhism came to China, there were three divisions of training:.

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9.

Chan Buddhism tradition ascribes the origins of Chan Buddhism in India to the Flower Sermon, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century.

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10.

Only scarce historical information is available about him, but his hagiography developed when the Chan Buddhism tradition grew stronger and gained prominence in the early 8th century.

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11.

Chan Buddhism is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" in Chinese Chan texts.

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12.

Only scarce historical information is available about him but his hagiography developed when the Chan Buddhism tradition grew stronger and gained prominence in the early 8th century.

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13.

Chan Buddhism'snxiu used short formulas extracted from various sutras to package the teachings, a style which is used in the Platform Sutra.

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14.

Chan Buddhism claimed Huineng to be the successor of Hongren instead of Shenxiu, the recognized successor.

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15.

Chan Buddhism'snhui succeeded in his campaign, and Huineng eventually came to be regarded as the Sixth Patriarch.

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16.

Thereafter, the essential texts of the Chan Buddhism school were often considered to be both the Lankavatara Sutra and the Diamond Sutra.

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17.

Many Tibetan Chan Buddhism texts have been recovered from the caves at Dunhuang, where Chan Buddhism and Tantric Buddhists lived side by side and this led to religious syncretism in some cases.

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18.

Chan Buddhism survived in Tibet for several centuries, but had mostly been replaced by the 10th century developments in Tibetan Buddhism.

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19.

Nevertheless, Chan emerged as the dominant stream within Chinese Buddhism, but with various schools developing various emphasises in their teachings, due to the regional orientation of the period.

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20.

Previous events in Chan Buddhism were interpreted through the lens of the Song dynasty configuration, and subsequent developments in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were evaluated, even as they occurred, against what was known of the standards established during the Song.

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21.

Song Chan Buddhism was dominated by the Linji school of Dahui Zonggao, which in turn became strongly affiliated to the Imperial Court:.

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22.

Chan Buddhism enjoyed something of a revival in the Ming dynasty, with teachers such as Hanshan Deqing, who wrote and taught extensively on both Chan and Pure Land Buddhism; Miyun Yuanwu, who came to be seen posthumously as the first patriarch of the Obaku school of Zen; and as Yunqi Zhuhong and Ouyi Zhixu .

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23.

At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, Chan Buddhism was "reinvented", by the "revival of beating and shouting practices" by Miyun Yuanwu, and the publication of the Wudeng yantong by Feiyin Tongrong's, a dharma heir of Miyun Yuanwu.

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24.

Chan Buddhism was repressed in China during the recent modern era in the early periods of the People's Republic, but subsequently has been re-asserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as among Overseas Chinese.

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25.

Chan Buddhism's was inspired by her master and mentor, the late Venerable Master Yin Shun a proponent of Humanistic Buddhism, who exhorted her to "work for Buddhism and for all sentient beings".

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26.

Chan Buddhism went on to found the City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas, a monastery and retreat center located on a 237-acre property near Ukiah, California, and thus founding the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association.

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27.

Chan Buddhism first visited the United States in 1978 under the sponsorship of the Buddhist Association of the United States, and subsequently founded the CMC Chan Meditation Center in Queens, New York and the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in Pine Bush, New York.

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28.

Classical Chinese Chan Buddhism is characterised by a set of polarities: absolute-relative, Buddha-nature – sunyata, sudden and gradual enlightenment, esoteric and exoteric transmission.

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29.

When Chan Buddhism was introduced in China it was understood in native terms.

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30.

Early Chan Buddhism recognized the "transcendence of the body and mind", followed by "non-defilement [of] knowledge and perception", or sudden insight into the true nature followed by gradual purification of intentions.

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31.

Chan Buddhism'snhui placed Huineng into prominence as the sixth Chan-patriarch, and emphasized sudden enlightenment, as opposed to the concurrent Northern School's alleged gradual enlightenment.

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32.

Chan Buddhism school had to develop a doctrinal tradition of its own to establish its position.

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33.

Subsequently, the Chan Buddhism tradition produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching.

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34.

The most important Chan Buddhism texts belong to the "encounter dialogue" genre, which developed into various collections of koans.

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35.

Koan is a story or dialogue, generally related to Chan Buddhism or other Buddhist histories; the most typical form is an anecdote involving early Chinese Chan Buddhism masters.

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36.

The Chinese Chan Buddhism master Baizhang left behind a famous saying which had been the guiding principle of his life, "A day without work is a day without food".

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37.

Suzuki's contention that a spiritual awakening was always the goal of Chan Buddhism's training, but that part of what distinguished the tradition as it developed through the centuries in China was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists.

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38.

Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Chan Buddhism had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.

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