radical, iconoclastic Linji house, with formulations
such as the four selections of the person and environ-
ment or the three phrases.
Systematization
As Chan grew from a small, minority movement in the
seventh century into a popular and major part of the
Buddhist establishment by the twelfth century, it took
on more Chinese features, and had to accommodate
itself more to the state and the needs of a broad and
diverse audience. Chan consequently developed a
characteristically Chinese Buddhist literature and it
coalesced into several distinct branches with their own
techniques, styles, and literatures.
Chan teachers’ words were written down as early as
the seventh and eighth centuries. Shenhui’s dialogues
used colloquial language, which may have influenced
the forerunners of the “recorded sayings” texts attrib-
uted to Daoyi, Huangbo Xiyun (d. 850), and Zhaozhou
Congshen (778–987). Covertly recorded by pupils and
recompiled to include verses and brief biographies,
these sermons and dialogues in colloquial Chinese de-
pict mundane happenings. They differ from Buddhist
commentaries and treatises in literary Chinese, and
were less structured. These discourse records (Chinese,
yulu) constitute the bulk of Chan literature, especially
from the Song dynasty onward.
The intellectualization of Chan dates back to
Guifeng ZONGMI(780–841) of the Shenhui lineage,
which systematically characterized and ranked the
Chan lineages, and correlated them with doctrinal for-
mulations. Zongmi wrote many sutra commentaries
and incorporated Huayan philosophy into Chan.
In reaction to the increasing popularity and im-
mense wealth of the Buddhist order, which included
Chan, Emperor Wu (r. 841–846) launched the xeno-
phobic Huichang persecution of Buddhism on eco-
nomic and rationalist grounds. Clergy were laicized
and monasteries confiscated. The differing reactions to
the persecution, and the geographic dispersion of some
Chan groups, induced self-reflection; concerns about
succession within specific monasteries reinvigorated
interest in genealogy. As membership had grown, the
lineages (zong) subdivided into houses (jia) descended
from Huineng. From the late ninth century, masters
issued certificates of inheritance, occupation of a
monastery by a lineage gained significance, styles of
teaching diverged, and the split of China into ten states
in the early tenth century promoted regional differ-
ences. Monks began to ask teachers about their “house
style” (jiafeng) around this time. Fayan Wenyi (885–958)
identified five houses—Caodong, Linji, Yunmen,
Guiyang, and Fayan—and described them in terms of
the verbal jousts or wenda(questions and answers) be-
tween masters and pupils. He attacked their sectarian-
ism and lack of doctrine as all style and no substance.
The Fayan house, versed in Huayan philosophy, led
Chan in the tenth and eleventh centuries, producing
some of the most important Chan scholars. Yongming
YANSHOU(904–975) harmonized Chan and doctrine
(jiao), and melded Chan with nianfo(recollection of a
buddha’s name). Daoyuan (n.d.) compiled the Jingde
chuandeng lu(Records of the Transmission of the Lamp-
light [of enlightenment compiled during the] Jingde
Reign,1104), a genealogically arranged set of brief ha-
giographies primarily concerned with recording the
words of enlightenment occasions (jiyu).
The Fayan house was not alone in its influence,
however. The momentarily popular Yunmen house
also contributed to the gong’anevolution through the
sayings of its founder, Yunmen Wenyan (864–949),
as it picked out earlier enlightenment exchanges
(nian’gu), commented on them (zhuyu; Japanese,
jakugo), and provided substitute answers to questions
and dialogues (daiyu, bieyu). Eventually the Fayan,
Yunmen, and Linji houses combined to create the
gong’an,originally meaning legal precedents. From the
enlightenment dialogues in chuandeng lu,Yunmen and
Linji monks selected cases, to which they appended
verses. These juxtapositions of colloquial dialogues and
literary poems morphed into collections like the Biyan
lu(Blue Cliff Record) by Keqin (1063–1135). He and
Wuzu Fayan (1024–1104), who made famous the
Zhaozhou wu(Japanese, mu; English, no) gong’an,
promoted each gong’anas a singular aid to an instan-
taneous enlightenment. Fayan advised practitioners to
concentrate on the wuword only, and not think of the
entire dialogue on the buddha-nature. ZONGGAO
(1089–1163), who took up the wutopic, supposedly
burnt his master’s Biyan luanthology because students
were infatuated with its literary qualities. This was a
period when “lettered Chan” (wenzi Chan), and in-
dulgence in Chan literature, was popular. Led by Hui-
hong (1071–1128), a poet of the Huanglong faction of
the Linji house, this type of Chan was denigrated by
Zonggao as mere bookishness. He said Huihong’s
gong’anignored daily life and were only random po-
etical cases. Zonggao, in contrast, directed attention to
one word only, wu,or Wenyan’s “dried shit-stick,” in
order to assist the many lay followers by simplifying
contemplation practice.CHANSCHOOL