HuiNeng [IEP]

ui en (638-713 CE) 大鑒惠能 ; Pinyin: Dàjiàn Huìnéng; Jap.: Daikan Enō; Kor.: Hyeneung Huineng (Hui-neng) a seminal figure in Buddhist history. He is the famous “Sixth Patriarch” of the Chan or meditation tradition, which is better known in Japanese as “Zen”). The focus of an immense body of lore that grew over the centuries, Huineng’s life mirrors the fortunes of Chan itself – a provincial Chinese version of Buddhism that rose to become a majo r relig ious and cult ural force throughout East Asia. Tradition holds that Huineng was an uncouth “barbarian” youth who, because of his innate intuitive insight, surpassed his more cultured fellow monks to earn the official “dharma seal” certifying the authoritative transmission of Buddhist enlightenment, and thereby earning a lasting place in history. He is intimately associated with the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, one of the most influential texts in all of Chinese Buddhism. Alleged to be a sermon from the lips of Huineng himself, this text provides a gripping first person account of the Master’s life. Its cryptic, yet insightful, discussion of Chan practice lays out the central concern s of Chan cultiva tion . Huine ng’s dis cus sio n of the themes of inherent enl igh ten men t, sud den awakening, and the non-dual nature of wisdom (Sanskrit: prajna) and med ita tio n (Sa nsk rit : dh yan a) res oun ds thr oug h la ter gener atio ns of Chan teacher s, and continue s to pose difficul t philosophical challenges to this day. Table of Contents 1 C han B uddh i s m i n C ontex t 2 Bi ogra ph y 3 Hi st ori cal Issues an d Myt h i c El em en t s 4 C en tr al T eachi n gs 4.1 Ma j or T he m e s 4.1.1 O ri gi n al / I n h erent E n l i gh t en ment ( ben j u e) 4.1.2 N on- du al i t y 4.1.3 N o- t ho ugh t (w u n i an) 4.1.4 Sudden A w ak eni ng ( dun w u) 4.1.5 T h e C ent ral i t y o f P ract i ce 4.2 T each i n g Styl e 5 In f l u en ces 6 C ri ti cal Iss u es 6.1 T h e R ole of R eason an d R at i on alit y 6.2 Su dd en vs . G r adu al ? 6.3 T h e R o l e of T ext ( w en ) i n Life 6.4 T h e Relat i onof Acti on ( praxis) an d K n ow l ed ge (t h eo ri a) 6.5 T h e C en t ral it y o f R i t u al ( Li ) 7 I m pact on L at er Bu dd h is t a n d C h i n es e P h i l osop h i cal T r adi ti on s 1

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HuiNeng [IEP]