Chan Buddhism; Tang dynasty; China; Hongzhou school
摘要
This study focuses on the formation of the Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism, which dominated the Chan movement during the middle part of the Tang dynasty (618–907). I examine the historical context of the initial establishment of the Hongzhou School in the South in the aftermath of the An Lushan rebellion (755–763), its quick spread throughout most of the Tang empire during the following few decades, and its eventual emergence as the main tradition of Chan. In addition, I also explore the development of the Hongzhou School's doctrines, literary styles, modes of instruction, religious doctrines and practices, and attitudes towards monastic institutions. The dissertation refutes the widely-accepted view of the Hongzhou School as an iconoclastic tradition that represented a radically new departure from the beliefs and practices of earlier Chinese Buddhism. Instead, it argues that, in order to obtain a balanced understanding of the Hongzhou School's development and its significance in the history of Chinese Buddhism, we must carefully discern the subtle interplay between patterns of continuity and rupture with the previous Buddhist traditions that characterized its emergence as a distinct religious tradition.
In Part One (Chapters One and Two), I start with a critical analysis of the relevant Chan literature, which examines the literary structure, contents, and origins of those Chan texts that are pertinent to the study of the Hongzhou School. In Part Two, which constitutes a study of the Hongzhou School's early history, I start with a comprehensive biography of its illustrious founder Mazu Daoyi (709–788) (Chapters Three and Four). That is followed by a broad survey of the Hongzhou School's spread from its base in Jiangxi throughout the southern provinces (Chapter Five), and eventually throughout most other parts of the Tang empire, including the two capitals (Chapter Six). In Part Three, I examine the Hongzhou School's religious doctrines and practices in relation to the broader contexts in which they were developed and enacted. The first part of this section deals with the main doctrinal tenets and methods of spiritual practice taught by Mazu, Baizhang, and other noted Chan teachers (Chapters Seven and Eight); the second part is primarily concerned with delineating the monastic context in which Hongzhou School's soteriological paradigms were actually instituted and disseminated (Chapters Nine and Ten).
