Yongming Yanshou’s Conception of Chan: A Special Transmission within the Scriptures in the Zongjing Lu

"Yongming Yanshou ranks among the great thinkers of the Chinese and East Asian Buddhist traditions, one whose legacy has endured for more than a thousand years. Albert Welter offers new insight into the significance of Yanshou and his major work, the Zongjing lu, by showing their critical role in the contested Buddhist and intellectual territories of the Five Dynasties and early Song dynasty China. Welter gives a comprehensive study of Yanshou's life, showing how Yanshou's Buddhist identity has been and continues to be disputed. He also provides an in-depth examination of the Zongjing lu, connecting it to Chan debates ongoing at the time of its writing. This analysis includes a discussion of the seminal meaning of the term zong as the implicit truth of Chan and Buddhist teaching, and a defining notion of Chan identity. Particularly significant is an analysis of the long underappreciated significance of the Chan fragments in the Zongjing lu, which constitute some of the earliest information about the teachings of Chan's early masters. In light of Yanshou's advocacy of a morally based Chan Buddhist practice, Welter also challenges the way Buddhism, particularly Chan, has frequently been criticized in Neo-Confucianism as amoral and unprincipled. Yongming Yanshou's Conception of Chan in the Zongjing lu concludes with an annotated translation of fascicle one of the Zongjing lu, the first translation of the work into a Western language."--Publisher description Cover......Page 1 Halftitle......Page 2 Title......Page 4 ISBN......Page 5 Foreword......Page 6 Contents......Page 10 Introduction: Coming to Terms with Yongming Yanshou: The Significance of Yanshou and the Zongjing Lu (Records of the Source-Mirror)......Page 14 1. Yongming Yanshou and the Complexities of Chan Identity......Page 22 2. Revealing the Implicit Truth: Yongming Yanshou’s Notion of Zong in the Zongjing Lu......Page 56 3. Establishing the Chan Zong: Yanshou’s Notion of Chan in the Zongjing Lu......Page 80 4. Yanshou and Chan Lineages: An Overview of Chan Sources and Chan Patriarchs in the Zongjing Lu......Page 108 5. The Teachings of the Patriarchs: A Study of Chan Lineage Fragments in the Zongjing Lu......Page 148 6. The Buddhist School of Principle and the Early Song Intellectual Terrain......Page 214 Translation of the Zongjing Lu, Fascicle 1......Page 234 Abbreviations......Page 288 Notes......Page 290 Bibliography......Page 350 B......Page 376 C......Page 378 D......Page 380 F......Page 381 H......Page 382 K......Page 383 M......Page 384 N......Page 385 P......Page 386 S......Page 387 T......Page 389 W......Page 390 Y......Page 391 Z......Page 392 Yongming Yanshou Ranks Among The Great Thinkers Of The Chinese And East Asian Buddhist Traditions, One Whose Legacy Has Endured For More Than A Thousand Years. Albert Welter Offers New Insight Into The Significance Of Yanshou And His Major Work, The Zongjing Lu, By Showing Their Critical Role In The Contested Buddhist And Intellectual Territories Of The Five Dynasties And Early Song Dynasty China. Yongming Yanshou And The Complexities Of Chan Identity -- Revealing The Implicit Truth: Yongming Yanshou's Notion Of Zong In The Zongjing Lu -- Establishing The Chan Zong: Yanshou's Notion Of Chan In The Zongjing Lu -- Yanshou And Chan Lineages: An Overview Of Chan Sources And Chan Patriarchs In The Zongjing Lu -- The Teachings Of The Patriarchs: A Study Of Chan Lineage Fragments In The Zongjing Lu -- The Buddhist School Of Principle And The Early Song Intellectual Terrain -- Translation Of The Zongjing Lu, Fascicle One. Albert Welter. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.