Studies on the history of Chan thought in Tang and Song dynasty in terms of social ethics and mind-nature theory

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25770016
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Chinese philosophy/Indian philosophy/Buddhist studies
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: TSUCHIYA Taisuke 新潟大学, 人文社会・教育科学系, 准教授 (20503866)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 仏教 / 禅宗 / 唐宋 / 雪峰義存 / 玄沙師備 / 契嵩 / 心性論 / 無事禅

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Xuefeng（雪峰） school in Tang Dynasty Fujian split into two, the lineage of Xuefeng and the lineage of Xuansha（玄沙）. This was caused by some differences in thought. Monks of Xuansha-Fayan（法眼）’s lineage aimed to realize the Buddha Nature which transcends the individual level and prevails in the world. It can be said that this is one conclusion of Chan Buddism thought in Tang Dynasty. In order to protect Buddhism from the anti-Buddhist rhetoric, in Fujiaobian（《輔教編》）, Qisong（契嵩）, who was a Chan monk in Northern Song Dynasty, claimed that Buddhism could contribute to the maintenance of social order. In his theory, the concept of “retribution”（因果報應）was emphasized as a means of maintaining social order. He also put an emphasis on practicality as Buddhist superiority over other doctrines. This can be considered a forerunner of criticism of Chan which stressed the idea of doing nothing（無事禪）.

Free Research Field

中国禅宗史