Zen Classics: Formative Texts in the History of Zen Buddhism STEVEN HEINE DALE S. WRIGHT, Editors OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Zen Classics This page intentionally left blank Zen Classics Formative Texts in the History of Zen Buddhism edited by steven heine and dale s. wright 1 2006 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright ᭧ 2006 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zen classics: formative texts in the history of Zen Buddhism / edited by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright. p. cm Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: The concept of classic literature in Zen Buddhism / Dale S. Wright—Guishan jingce and the ethical foundations of Chan practice / Mario Poceski—A Korean contribution to the Zen canon the Oga hae scorui / Charles Muller—Zen Buddhism as the ideology of the Japanese state / Albert Welter—An analysis of Dogen’s Eihei goroku / Steven Heine—“Rules of purity” in Japanese Zen / T. Griffith Foulk—Zen koan capping phrase books / Victor Sogen Hori—Imagining Indian Zen / Michel Mohr—Meditation for laymen and laywomen / David Riggs. ISBN-13 978-0-19-517525-7; 978-0-19-517526-4 (pbk.) ISBN 0-19-517525-5; 0-19-517526-3 (pbk.) 1. Zen literature—History and criticism. 2. Zen Buddhism. I. Heine, Steven, 1950– II. Wright, Dale S. BQ9264.2.Z455 2005 294.3'85—dc22 2004066287 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Acknowledgments We thank Cynthia Read and Oxford University Press for their inter- est in the project. We are also grateful for the support provided by our respective institutions in the preparation of the manuscript. Spe- cial thanks go to several assistants who worked on the manuscript, including Sandy Avila, Kelly Kuylen, Adiene Rodas, and Cristina Sasso. This page intentionally left blank Contents Abbreviations, ix Contributors, xi Introduction: The Concept of Classic Literature in Zen Buddhism, 3 Dale S. Wright 1. Guishan jingce (Guishan’s Admonitions) and the Ethical Foundations of Chan Practice, 15 Mario Poceski 2. A Korean Contribution to the Zen Canon: The Oga Hae Seorui (Commentaries on Five Masters on the Diamond Su¯tra), 43 Charles Muller 3. Zen Buddhism as the Ideology of the Japanese State: Eisai and the Ko¯zen gokokuron,65 Albert Welter 4. An Analysis of Do¯gen’s Eihei Goroku: Distillation or Distortion? 113 Steven Heine 5. “Rules of Purity” in Japanese Zen, 137 T. Griffith Foulk viii contents 6. Zen Ko¯an Capping Phrase Books: Literary Study and the Insight “Not Founded on Words or Letters,” 171 G. Victor So¯gen Hori 7. Imagining Indian Zen: To¯rei’s Commentary on the Ta-mo-to-lo ch’an ching and the Rediscovery of Early Meditation Techniques during the Tokugawa Era, 215 Michel Mohr 8. Meditation for Laymen and Laywomen: The Buddha Sama¯dhi (Jijuyu¯ Zanmai) of Menzan Zuiho¯, 247 David E. Riggs Appendix: Pinyin–Wade-Giles Conversion Table, 275 Index, 281 Abbreviations T Taisho¯ shinshu¯ daizo¯kyo¯ [Japanese Edition of the Buddhist Canon] (Tokyo: Daizo¯kyo¯kai, 1924–1935). Z Zoku zo¯kyo¯ [Dai Nihon zokuzo¯kyo¯] (Kyoto: Zo¯kyo¯ shoin, 1905–1912). XZJ Xu zangjing (Taipei: Xinwenfeng, 1968–1970; reprint of Dai Nihon zokuzo¯kyo¯). [...]... University Press, in which we began to explore the variety of in uential texts in the history of Zen Buddhism In Zen Classics we continue that exploration by shifting our primary focus from the Chinese origins of Zen to the other East Asian cultures where the Zen tradition came to fruition in subsequent eras Here we invite scholars doing original research on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Zen literature... serious Zen practitioners since the beginning of the tradition In the context of such practice, the primary goal of reading would not have been an accurate interpretation in the sense of accord with the intentions of the original author The goal would have been awakening, and this would be made possible only when the reader comes to see where he or she stands in the world by means of the vision offered in. .. separates the two texts The poem’s title is altered to Xinxin xinming (by adding the character xin, “faith”), so that its beginning appears as another four-character line in the final verse section of Guishan jingce As was pointed out in Tanaka Ryosho’s study of the text, the quality of ¯ ¯ the handwritten manuscript is not very good and it contains numerous copying errors.3 The dating of the Dunhuang... historical record to maintain an ideology that fears the facts These are the risks of avoiding the historical study of Zen in the context of its practice, and the reasons why the study of Zen history cannot over time be excluded from the authentic study of Zen The essays chosen for this volume offer careful historical studies of texts that have earned the right to be called classics The texts are taken from... ¯¯ the tradition of Dogen Zen in order both to analyze what it is and to ask ¯ whether it accurately summarizes Dogen’s Eihei Koroku (examined in The Zen ¯ ¯ Canon) or whether, in the process of distilling it, it actually distorts it The importance of the question is brought forth by Heine’s reminder that the texts abbreviating the writings of Dogen were more in uential than the texts from ¯ which they... of the Chan School of Chinese Buddhism The other is that in spite of the dominance of Mahayana traditions of Buddhism in East Asia, pioneers in ¯ the Chan tradition were part of a larger movement to revive strict monastic regulations based on the Hınayana vinaya codes Both of these developments ¯ ¯ are seen as having shaped Japanese monastic codes, including those produced in Japan beginning in the. .. in profound ways in virtually all of the Zen masters whose innovations in Zen conception and practice produced one of the most interesting traditions of spirituality that the world has ever seen Does the study of Zen history contribute to the study of Zen as a spiritual inquiry? Yes, clearly But it would be unproductive and unfair not to pose the opposite question offered above: Does the study of Zen. .. training, qualifies the Oga Hae Seorui for the status of a classic text itself Chapter 3 Zen Buddhism as the Ideology of the Japanese State: Eisai and the Kozen Gokokuron” ¯ Albert Welter’s careful study of Eisai, the founding figure of Japanese Rinzai Zen, and his principal text, the Kozen gokokuron, shows us how the twists and ¯ turns of history establish the grounds upon which a text will either gain... readers inevitably understand the text in light of their own context The reading of classic texts in the Zen tradition inevitably included the traditional practices of imitation and emulation The texts themselves, and the ideal figures represented in them, served for subsequent eras as exemplary models for how practitioners should shape themselves When the classics functioned in this authoritative way, the. .. incorporated into Fozu sanjing chu (Commentaries on Three Scriptures of the Buddhas and Patriarchs), a collection comprised of three texts used as manuals in the training of novices.9 Another commentary of Guishan jingce is Daopei’s (1615–1702) Guishan jingce zhinan, which forms a part of his Fozu sanjing zhinan (Primer of Three Scriptures of the Buddha and the Patriarchs) written during the early Qing dynasty . matters in light of the text, while simultaneously the readers inevitably understand the text in light of their own context. The reading of classic texts in the Zen tradition inevitably included the traditional. Press, in which we began to explore the variety of in uential texts in the history of Zen Buddhism. In Zen Classics we continue that exploration by shifting our primary focus from the Chinese. she stands in the world by means of the vision offered in the text. It is not necessary to decide whether the meaning of the text resides in the author, or the original context, or the reader, or