Early Chʼan in China and Tibet

Early Chʼan in China and Tibet PDF

Author: Whalen Lai

Publisher:

Published: 1983

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13:

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Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism was popularized in the West by writers such as D.T. Suzuki and Alan Watts as a kind of romantic abstraction outside of history. The papers in this volume, originally presented as a unique conference sponsored by UC-Berkeley and the San Francisco Zen Center, go a long way towards revealing the complex historical development of Ch'an theory and practice both in China and Tibet. The papers on China reveal Ch'an not as a single line of transmission from Bodhidharma, but as a complex of contending and even hostile factions. Furthermore, the view that sees Ch'an as the sinicization of Buddhism through Taoism is questioned through an examination of the Taoism that was actually prevalent during the establishment of Ch'an in China. The papers on Tibet take us to the heart of the controversies surrounding the origins of Buddhism in that country, based on exciting research into the Tunhuang materials, the indigenous rDzogs-chen system, and the Sudden vs. Gradual Enlightenment controversy. Of particular note in this volume is the inclusion of several translations of papers by noted Japanese scholars who have led the way in this type of research, made available to the Western reader for the first time.

Buddhism Between Tibet and China

Buddhism Between Tibet and China PDF

Author: Matthew Kapstein

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 0861718062

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Exploring the long history of cultural exchange between 'the Roof of the World' and 'the Middle Kingdom,' Buddhism Between Tibet and China features a collection of noteworthy essays that probe the nature of their relationship, spanning from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 CE) to the present day. Annotated and contextualized by noted scholar Matthew Kapstein and others, the historical accounts that comprise this volume display the rich dialogue between Tibet and China in the areas of scholarship, the fine arts, politics, philosophy, and religion. This thoughtful book provides insight into the surprisingly complex history behind the relationship from a variety of geographical regions. Includes contributions from Rob Linrothe, Karl Debreczeny, Elliot Sperling, Paul Nietupski, Carmen Meinert, Gray Tuttle, Zhihua Yao, Ester Bianchi, Fabienne Jagou, Abraham Zablocki, and Matthew Kapstein.

Tibetan Zen

Tibetan Zen PDF

Author: Sam van Schaik

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2015-08-25

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1559394463

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A groundbreaking study of the lost tradition of Tibetan Zen containing the first translations of key texts from one thousand years ago. Banned in Tibet, forgotten in China, the Tibetan tradition of Zen was almost completely lost to us. According to Tibetan histories, Zen teachers were invited to Tibet from China in the 8th century, at the height of the Tibetan Empire. When doctrinal disagreements developed between Indian and Chinese Buddhists at the Tibetan court, the Tibetan emperor called for a formal debate. When the debate resulted in a decisive win by the Indian side, the Zen teachers were sent back to China, and Zen was gradually forgotten in Tibet. This picture changed at the beginning of the 20th century with the discovery in Dunhuang (in Chinese Central Asia) of a sealed cave full of manuscripts in various languages dating from the first millennium CE. The Tibetan manuscripts, dating from the 9th and 10th centuries, are the earliest surviving examples of Tibetan Buddhism. Among them are around 40 manuscripts containing original Tibetan Zen teachings. This book translates the key texts of Tibetan Zen preserved in Dunhuang. The book is divided into ten sections, each containing a translation of a Zen text illuminating a different aspect of the tradition, with brief introductions discussing the roles of ritual, debate, lineage, and meditation in the early Zen tradition. Van Schaik not only presents the texts but also explains how they were embedded in actual practices by those who used them.

The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China

The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China PDF

Author: Jinhua Jia

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0791481425

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This book provides a wide-ranging examination of the Hongzhou school of Chan Buddhism—the precursor to Zen Buddhism—under Mazu Daoyi (709–788) and his successors in eighth- through tenth-century China, which was credited with creating a Golden Age or classical tradition. Jinhua Jia uses stele inscriptions and other previously ignored texts to explore the school's teachings and history. Defending the school as a full-fledged, significant lineage, Jia reconstructs Mazu's biography and resolves controversies about his disciples. In contrast to the many scholars who either accept or reject the traditional Chan histories and discourse records, she thoroughly examines the Hongzhou literature to differentiate the original, authentic portions from later layers of modification and recreation. The book describes the emergence and maturity of encounter dialogue and analyzes the new doctrines and practices of the school to revise the traditional notion of Mazu and his followers as iconoclasts. It also depicts the strivings of Mazu's disciples for orthodoxy and how the criticisms of and reflections on Hongzhou doctrine led to the schism of this line and the rise of the Shitou line and various houses during the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods. Jia refutes the traditional Chan genealogy of two lines and five houses and calls for new frameworks in the study of Chan history. An annotated translation of datable discourses of Mazu is also included.

Sino-Tibetan Buddhism across the Ages

Sino-Tibetan Buddhism across the Ages PDF

Author: Ester Bianchi

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-08-24

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 9004468374

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Sino-Tibetan Buddhism implies cross-cultural contacts and exchanges between China and Tibet. The ten case-studies collected in this book focus on the spread of Chinese Buddhism within a mainly Tibetan environment and the adaptation of Tibetan Buddhism among a Chinese-speaking audience throughout the ages.

Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism

Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism PDF

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2017-03-27

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 9004340505

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Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism presents cutting-edge research and unfolds the sweeping impact of esoteric Buddhism on Tibetan and Chinese cultures, and the movement's role in forging distinct political, ethnical, and religious identities across Asia at large.

Tibetan Buddhists in the Making of Modern China

Tibetan Buddhists in the Making of Modern China PDF

Author: Gray Tuttle

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 0231134479

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Gray Tuttle reveals the surprising role Buddhism and Buddhist leaders played in the development of the modern Chinese state and in fostering relations between Tibet and China from the Republican period (1912-1949) to the early years of Communist rule. Tuttle offers new insights on the impact of modern ideas of nationalism, race, and religion in East Asia. He draws on previously unexamined archival and governmental materials, as well as personal memoirs of Chinese politicians and Buddhist monks, and ephemera from religious ceremonies.

The Mystique of Transmission

The Mystique of Transmission PDF

Author: Wendi Leigh Adamek

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 596

ISBN-13: 0231136641

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Adamek provides a reading of the late 8th century Chan/Zen Buddhist Lidai fabao ji (Record of the Dharma-Jewel Through the Generations) and provides its first English translation. The work combines a history of the transmission of Buddhism and Chan in China with an account of the 8th century Chan master Wuzhu in Sichuan.

The Spread of Buddhism

The Spread of Buddhism PDF

Author: Ann Heirman

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007-05-11

Total Pages: 485

ISBN-13: 9004158308

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This book unravels some of the complex factors that allowed or hampered the presence of (certain aspects of) Buddhism in the regions to the north and the east of India, such as Central Asia, China, Tibet, Mongolia, or Korea.

Chan Buddhism in Ritual Context

Chan Buddhism in Ritual Context PDF

Author: Bernard Faure

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2005-09-27

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1134431171

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The essays in this volume attempt to place the Chan and Zen tradition in their ritual and cultural contexts, looking at various aspects heretofore largely (and unduly) ignored. In particular, they show the extent to which these traditions, despite their claim to uniqueness, were indebted to larger trends in East Asian Buddhism, such as the cults of icons, relics and the monastic robe. The book emphasises the importance of ritual for a proper understanding of this allegedly anti-ritualistic form of Buddhism. In doing so, it deconstructs the Chan/Zen 'rhetoric of immediacy' and its ideological underpinnings.