Scholars create the term “Chan and Pureland Dual Practice”, however it didn’t develop as a new category in academic studies. Essentially, the term is against the concept of “Single Focus Practice”, although from Song to Ming dynasties there are trends of Chan Masters who advocated the Nien-fo in their Chan practices. As the intention and goal are different, there are potential risks of contradictions or confusions; however, Chan masters still claim they are doing “Single Focus Practice”. On the other hand, without this awareness, scholars have the tendency to misuse or misappropriate the term “Chan and Pureland Dual Practice” in different application. This shown that there is a big gap in the study of the intellectual history of the interactions between Chan and Pureland.
This dissertation starts with the examining the questions around the meaning of “Chan and Pureland Dual Practice”, and will move on to comparing it with “Single Focus Practice”. The author will take the vantage point of Yunqi Zhuhong to investigate the identity and mutual relationships between Chan and Pureland. By using this approach, the author intends to breakthrough the limits set by previous studies. That is, other than examining the Yunqi Zuhong's inheritance of Buddhist legacy and his contributions in historical arena, this dissertation analyzes the discourses of " Chan and Pureland Dual Practice " from the perspective of the historical view of Song to Ming dynasties. Furthermore, this dissertation systematically analyzes the two aspects of Chan and Pureland of Yunqi Zuhong in the religious practice from the historical view of Ming and Qing dynasties. The author maintains that the predicament that both Chan and Pureland face, are actually the opportunity for both of them to exchange and collaborate. On the other hand, the nature tendency may be for them to further diverse and become secular. This also implies that the combined or mixed practice could arouse confusions if not synergy.
Unlike the previous Chan masters who merely promoted “chanting the name of Buddha, Nien-fo”, after through training and/or Enlightenment, Yunqi Zuhong established new ways of practicing of Pureland together with Chan, and promoted the interchange between Chan and Pureland in teaching. For example, Yunqi Zuhong using Śūraṅgama Sūtra to illustrate the validity of Chan, and the adoption of multiple practices as valid means. The synergistic combination of Chan and Pureland, Nien-fo practices can indeed provide an additional choice beyond Chan-investigation or Pureland practice. In the practice that Yunqi Zuhong demonstrated, he did not limited himself to only aiming for achieving Chan enlightenments, he further promoted “Aiming to be Born in Pureland” as a final religious pursuit. His method and practices can be said to be a good example of a synergistic combination of Chan and Pureland practice, or in effect, a new “Pureland Religion”.
The practice of Yunqi Zuhong established a new methodology of joint practice of Chan and Pureland, and Yunqi Zuhong himself h
