Chinese Intellectual History

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1 Chinese Intellectual History
Seminar on Chinese Intellectual History 11. Buddhism (II): The Zen Chun-chieh Huang National Chair Professor National Taiwan University Research Fellow, Academia Sinica

2 I. Lecture Notes:

3 Introduction: —North: Shenxiu 神秀 (605?-706) gradual enlightenment —South: Huineng 慧能 ( ) (an illiterate peddler) sudden enlightenment

4 2. Cardinal Ideas of the Zen:
2:1. “Point directly to the human mind” and “See one’s nature and become a Buddha” (直指本心，見性成佛) Platform Scripture of the Sixth Patriarch （六祖壇經）

5 Shenxiu: “The body is the tree of perfect wisdom (bodhi),
The mind is the stand of a bright mirror. At all times diligently wipe it, Do not allow it to become dusty.” 身是菩提樹，心如明鏡台。 時時勤拂拭，莫使惹塵埃。

6 Huineng: “Fundamentally perfect wisdom has no tree,
Nor has the bright mirror any stand. There was nothing at the outset, Where is there any dust?” 菩提本無樹，明鏡亦非台。 本來無一物，何處惹塵埃？

7 Calmness (定) and Wisdom (慧):
2:2. The Identity of Calmness (定) and Wisdom (慧): "Good and learned friends, calmness (samadhi, 定) and wisdom (prajñã, 慧) are the foundations of my method. First of all, do not be deceived into thinking that the two are different. They are one substance and not two. Calmness is the substance of wisdom and wisdom is the function of calmness. Whenever wisdom is at work, calmness is within it. Whenever calmness is at work, wisdom is within it. Good and learned friends, the meaning here is that [calmness and] wisdom are identified." (Chan, p. 433, #13)

8 善知識，我此法門以定慧為本。第一勿迷信定慧別。定慧體一不二。即定是慧體，即慧是定用。即慧之時定在慧，即定之時慧在定。善知識，此義即是定慧等。

9 2:3. The Doctrine of “Three Absences” (三無) :
"Good and learned friends, in the method of mine, from the very beginning, whether in the sudden-enlightenment or gradual-enlightenment tradition, absence-of-thought has been instituted as the main doctrine, absence-of- characters as the substance, and nonattachment as the foundation…

10 善知識，我此法門，從上已來，頓漸皆立無念為宗，無相為體，無住為本。何名無相？無相者，於相而離相；無念者，於念而不念；無住者，為人本性。念念不住，前念今念後念，念念相續，無有斷絕。若一念斷絕，法身即是離色身。念念時中，於一切法上無住，一念若住，念念即住，名繫縛。於一切法上念念不住，即無縛也。此是以無住為本。

11 a) Absence-of-thought has been instituted as the main doctrine無念為宗
b) Absence-of-characters as the substance無相為體 c) Non-attachment as the foundation無住為本

12 2:4. The Doctrine of Discarding Scriptures:
“All scriptures and writings, both Mahayana and Hinayana, and the twelve sections of the scriptures are provided for [men]. It is because man possesses the nature of wisdom that these were instituted. If there were no man in the world, there would naturally not be any dharmas. We know, therefore, that dharmas exist because of man and that there are all these scriptures because there are people to preach them… Hence we know that all dharmas are immanent in one’s mind and person. Why not seek in one’s own mind the sudden realization of the original nature of True Thusness?...”

13 一切經書及諸文字，小大二乘，十二部經，皆因人置。因智慧性故，故然能建立。若無世人，一切萬法，本元不有。故知萬法本因人興，一切經書，因人說有。緣在人中有愚有智，愚為小人，智為大人。迷人問於智者，智人與愚人說法，令彼愚者悟解心開。迷人若悟解心開，與大人至人無別。故之不悟即是佛是眾生，一念若悟，則眾生是佛。故知一切萬法，盡在自身心中。何不從於自心頓現真如本性？《菩薩戒經》云：「我本元自性清淨。是心見性，自成佛道。」《維摩經》云：「即時豁然，還得本心。」

14 Philosophical Implications:
a) Truths are anthropogenetic and are intrinsic in human minds. b) Mind is the motivating force of the phenomena.

15 3. Conclusion: 3:1 The problem of mind-heart as the central
concern of Chinese philosophers. 3:2 The problem subjectivity and its objectification

16 II. Assignments:

17 ．Chan, Chapter 26, pp. 425-449 ．陳榮捷，下冊，廿六章，頁545-569 ．勞思光，第二冊，第三章（肆），
頁

18 Discussion Questions:
III. Discussion Questions:

19 1. What are the intellectual and historical factors
accountable for the spread of Buddhism in the period of disunion? 2. What are the disputes between the Chinese and Buddhists during the period of disunion? *3. In what sense can Sengzhao be regarded as a bridge between Daoism and Buddhism? 4. Analyze the notions of time and Being in Sengzhao's philosophy.

20 IV. 討論問題

21 慧能大師云：「我此法門，以定慧為本」（頁551，第13條），此為禪學要義。但：
(1) 「定」與「慧」關係如何？ (2) 為什麼說「學道之人作意，莫言先定後慧、先慧後定、定慧各別」？ 在《六祖壇經》中「心」扮演何種角色？禪宗之心學與儒家之心學有何異同？（頁552，第18條；頁550，第6、8條）。

22 (1) 作為一種修養身心方法的「坐禪」 （頁553，第19條），與先秦時代
孟子及告子所說的養心修身方法有何 不同？（參讀：《孟子‧公孫丑上‧ 「知言養氣」章；《孟學思想史論》 第二章） (2) 禪宗所說的「無相」、「無念」、 「無住」（頁552，第17條）如何可能？

23 V. 延伸閱讀

24 余英時：〈唐宋轉型中的思想突破〉，收入余英時著；程嫩生，羅群等譯；何俊編：《人文與理性的中國》（台北：聯經出版公司，2008），頁59-76。
Philip B. Yampolsky, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997). 葛兆光：〈周孔何以不言？中古佛教、道教對儒家知識世界的擴充與挑戰〉，收入陳弱水編：《中國史新論：思想史分冊》，頁 。

25 Keywords The identity of calmness and wisdom “Three absences”

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