Mario Poceski Associate Professor, Religion Department, University of Florida
關鍵詞
Chan; Tang Dynasty; Bodhidharma; Tiantai; Pure Land; Contemplation
摘要
The article explores the main attitudes and approaches to meditative theory and praxis that developed within the early Chan movement, with a focus on the Tang Ⓒ era (618–907). The discussion covers the formative development of key models of Chan meditation, and their relationship to relevant canonical sources and the mainstream Buddhist thought of medieval China. It also deals with notable shifts in attitudes towards the nature and function of contemplative practice, as revealed in a variety of early Chan texts. That includes the treatment of meditation in the records of Bodhidharma and his disciples, the East Mountain tradition (Dongshan famen), the Niutou school, the Northern school (Bei zong), the Baotang school, the Heze school, and the Hongzhou school. While in some instances we can discern an emphasis on articulating specific techniques or approaches to meditation, in other Chan records we can find calls, primarily articulated by advocates of radical forms of the “sudden approach,” to reject the formal practice of meditation. Between these opposing poles, we can also identify prominent efforts within influential Chan circles to balance a trenchant critique of unreflective reliance on skillful means on one hand, with the need to formulate effective strategies and ingenious programs of contemplative praxis that respond to the needs and abilities of actual practitioners. The article also considers these developments in relation to other conceptions of meditative theory and praxis formulated in medieval China outside of the Chan milieu, especially the Tiantai school’s comprehensive systematization of Buddhist meditation.
