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CHARLESLACHMAN
CHAN SCHOOL
The doctrinal assumptions of the Chan school are that
all beings possess a potential to become a buddha, and
that potential can be realized through MEDITATIONor
through the removal of obstructing preconceptions and
attachments. Dissatisfied with existing meditation prac-
tices and complex philosophies, Chan proposed a
direct “seeing” of one’s inherent buddhahood, accom-
plished through such means as challenging repartee, in-
tensive meditation, and puzzling gong’an (Japanese
KOAN; Korean, kongan). Such techniques made the role
of the teacher paramount. To symbolize that the Chan
teacher was the true, legitimate heir to the Buddha, Chan
claimed for its teachers an unbroken lineal succession
to the enlightened mind of the Buddha via the Indian
monk BODHIDHARMA(ca. early fifth century C.E.).
Meditators and ascetics from the late sixth century,
hoping to replicate the enlightenment of S ́akyamuni
Buddha, sought a distinctive MAHAYANAmeditation
practice and list of precepts appropriate for BOD-
HISATTVAS. They coalesced into several lineages of
monks united in attempts to create genealogies from
Bodhidharma. The pupils of Hongren (601–674) ob-
tained a following among the metropolitan elite of
Tang China, which resulted in contests for lineage le-
gitimacy. These were ignited around 730 by Shenhui
(684–758), who accused his rivals of teaching gradual
enlightenment, not suitable for Mahayana adherents.
His propaganda prompted a redefinition of Chan.
Shenhui’s own lineage, which he claimed derived from
Hongren via HUINENG(638–713), whom he titled the
Sixth Patriarch, became known as the Southern Lineage
(nanzong). Shenhui combined Buddhist genealogies
with a Chinese imperial mourning lineage (zong) to
forge a link between himself, Huineng, and the Buddha
via Bodhidharma. This linkage was refined later into a
unilinear genealogy of twenty-eight Indian and six Chi-
nese patriarchs (zu). The term Chanzong,in the sense
of a Chan lineage, was first used in the 780s and soon
became the main identifier for the traditions called
Chan(Korean, So ̆n; Japanese, Zen; Vietnamese, Thieˆ`n).
The word chanwas originally part of the term channa,
a Chinese transcription of the Sanskrit term DHYANA
(TRANCE STATE), but even the earliest Chan texts deval-
ued the four dhyanas, samadhi, and other meditative
states as mere elimination of sensation, a tranquility eas-
ily disturbed after withdrawing from those states. Shen-
hui redefined chanas prajñaparamita(the perfection of
wisdom). The PLATFORMSUTRA OF THESIXTHPATRI-
ARCH(LIUZU TAN JING), a text from the 780s attributed
to Huineng, defined chanas the buddha-nature or the
ability to “internally see the fundamental nature and not
be confused.” Eventually chanwas equated with the
essence of Buddhism. Huineng, who had his own sutra,
was seen as a buddha-incarnate, implying thereby that
only the Chan lineage transmitted the true, verifiable
understanding of the Buddha himself.Doctrinal and behavioral bases
The doctrinal foundation of Chan was a mixture of
TATHAGATAGARBHA(buddha-nature) ideas and pra-
jñaparamitaanalysis. The earliest texts mention a pure,
original buddha-nature (foxing) inherent in everyone,
which becomes obscured by mental pollutants or ig-
norance. As a result of ambiguities in Chinese transla-
tions concerning the tathagatagarbha, disputes arose
over whether meditation was needed to “see the
(buddha-)nature” (jianxing) by removing the pollu-
tion, or whether detachment from habitual conceptu-
alization allowed this buddha-identity to emerge
naturally. This issue was related to whether the real-
ization was a gradual buildup to a breakthrough of
“becoming buddha” (chengfo) or an instantaneousCHANSCHOOL