Encyclopedia of Buddhism

by the great Chan master of the Caodong tradition,
Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157). However, the term
was made infamous by Hongzhi’s contemporary
Dahui ZONGGAO(1089–1163) of the Linji Chan tradi-
tion, who vehemently attacked what he called the
“heretical silent illumination Chan” of his day as a qui-
etistic form of meditation, lacking in wisdom and en-
lightenment. Dahui Zonggao countered with his own
kanhuaChan meditation (literally “Chan of observing
the key phrase” or “KO
ANintrospection Chan”), and
he succeeded in imbuing the term silent illumination
with strongly negative connotations that came to char-
acterize it in all of East Asian Buddhism.

Hongzhi is the only Chan master on record who
used silent illuminationin a positive sense, although it
is possible that the term was expunged from the
records of other Caodong masters after Dahui’s at-
tacks. In his writings and recorded sayings, Hongzhi
often lyrically extols the realm of enlightenment that
manifests in quiet meditation, as in the opening lines
of his famous poem “Mozhao Ming” (“Inscription on
Silent Illumination”), where he writes: “In complete si-
lence, words are forgotten; total clarity appears before
you.” However, in this poem and elsewhere, Hongzhi
stresses that although there is no need to strive for an
enlightenment experience, the meditator must not fall
into a murky and unthinking state of mind; transcen-
dent wisdom will naturally manifest itself only in an
alert mind. To Hongzhi, silent illumination was by no
means a passive or thought-suppressing exercise.

Other Caodong masters around the time of
Hongzhi can be shown to have embraced similar
teachings, beginning with the reviver of the Song-
dynasty (960–1279) Caodong tradition, Furong
Daokai (1043–1118). There is, however, no evidence
that a special silent illumination approach character-
ized the Caodong Chan tradition from the time of its
reputed founder, Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), al-
though this has often been assumed.

In the thirteenth century the Japanese monk DO
GEN
(1200–1253) received a transmission in the Chinese
Caodong tradition and founded the Japanese So
to
sect
of Zen. Do
gen did not use the term silent illumination,
but his shikantaza(just sitting) meditation practice can
clearly be seen as influenced by the silent illumination
of the twelfth-century Caodong tradition, although
there is no agreement among scholars as to the extent
of this influence. The Japanese Rinzai (Chinese, Linji)
sect of Zen, which became heir to Dahui Zonggao’s
kanhuaChan, has occasionally accused the So
to
sect

of practicing silent illumination, but the So
to
sect has

never used the term for its own teachings. In Korean

So ̆n, kanhua(Korean, kanwha) Chan dominated early

on, and silent illumination Chan never had an impact.

Although kanhuaChan became the standard for med-

itation in China shortly after Dahui Zonggao and was

even adopted in the late Song Caodong tradition, silent

illumination style meditation is still recognized as le-

gitimate in Chinese Chan.

See also:Chan School

Bibliography

Leighton, Taigen Daniel, ed. and trans. (with Yi Wu). Cultivat-

ing the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master

Hongzhi.San Francisco: North Point Press, 1991.

Schlütter, Morten. “Silent Illumination, Kung-an Introspection,

and the Competition for Lay Patronage in Sung-Dynasty

Ch’an.” In Buddhism in the Sung,ed. Peter N. Gregory and

Daniel Getz. Honolulu: Hawaii University Press, 1999.

MORTENSCHLÜTTER

MUDRA
 AND VISUAL IMAGERY

With the exception of the earliest phases of Indian Bud-

dhist art, when the presence and achievements of the

Buddha were represented by symbols, such as a STU
PA

(burial mound), footprints, or an empty throne, the

study of Buddhist art is generally that of figural repre-

sentations. BUDDHAS, BODHISATTVAS, and other deities

are invariably depicted as idealized anthropomorphic

images, and their physical perfection—defined differ-

ently in various places and times—reflects their spiri-

tual advancement. Indian images of the Buddha

emphasize intellectual concepts, represented by, for ex-

ample, the wide breast and narrow waist of a lion, or

the long legs of a gazelle. In addition, physical marks,

such as the usnl
sa(a cranial protuberance), the u
rna
(a

tuft of hair or “third eye” between the eyebrows),

webbed fingers, and wheels on the soles of the feet, fur-

ther distinguish a buddha from other beings. Symbols

such as the lotus, emblematic of purity, or the wheel,

indicative of preaching, are ubiquitous in Buddhist art.

The first anthropomorphic images of the Buddha

stressed his role as a teacher, showing him wearing the

monk’s long skirt covered by a full shawl. By the eighth

century, crowned and bejeweled buddhas were also

represented. Such icons, which parallel monastic prac-

tices in which a crown was placed on the head of a

MU
DRA
 ANDVISUALIMAGERY