The concept of lineage is very important in the study of Chan School (Chanzong) 禪宗. It is because belonging to a lineage indicates that a Chan practitioner has received transmission, which connects all the way back to Śākyamuni Buddha. Chan scholar Faure said: “It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that everything in Chan revolves around the patriarchal lineage”.Faure （1991: 11) Chan Masters and their disciples have faithfully associated themselves with their lineage, tradition, and meditation methods. Contemporary scholars of Chan studies tend to doubt the authenticity of the lineage of the early Chan patriarchs, particularly the lineage between the Third patriarch Sengcan 僧璨 and Fourth patriarch Daoxin 道信. This thesis takes issue with such doubt by re-examining the lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin. Based on a close survey on both Buddhist and non-Buddhist materials as well as newly found archeological excavation, this thesis concludes that the lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin is genuine. This study also addresses a methodological issue. In my view, the distinction between historiography and hagiography cannot be equated to distinction between history and legend. More precisely, I would argue that hagiographical materials should not be rejected of their historical value simply because they are regarded as “hagiography.” In my research, I found that the materials considered as “non-historical” texts or hagiography of later years, like Records of Lamp (Denglu) 燈錄, by the modern scholars, agree with the facts in the recent archeological findings. I may not be able to resolve all the related issues regarding the lineage of early Chan, because it is impossible to exhaust all the related historical records and texts completely. I hope that my study will be able to throw in some new light regarding the following: 1) The modern scholars’ skepticism on some of the existing texts/documents of the early Chan schools shows that cautious attitude on the study of these texts is necessary, especially towards the nature and genre of texts/documents, as well as the obscurity of the records; 2) To show that there is a possible legitimacy of the lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin through analyzing various Chan and non-Buddhist history texts, archaeological findings and their meditation methods.
目次
Contents Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Contents iv
1) Introduction 1 A) Motive of research 6 B) The importance of Lineage in Chanzong 8 C) Summary 20 D) The Methodology 22
2) Chapter 1: Various Stories on The Lineage in Early Chan School 24 A)”Hagiographical” Stories 26 B)”Historiographical” Story as Suggested by Contemporary Scholars 30 C) The Competition for “Seventh Patriarch” and Its Relationship with the Lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin. 38 D) Summary 52
3) Chapter 2: Reexamining the Lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin on The Construction Theory and Problems in The Lineage in Chanzong 54 A) Problematic Conclusions of The Contemporary Scholars on The Lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin 54 a) The Problems of The “Construction Theory” 54 b) Lacking Evidences in the Primary Sources 58 B) Re-establishing the Lineage between Sengcan and Daoxin 65 a) The Dunhuang Records 65 b) Archaeological discovery of Sengcan’s epigraphy on his pagoda brick. 69 c) Research and Studies generated on the Sengcan’s pagoda bricks 75 d) Summary 88
4) Chapter 3: The Meditation Methods (Chanfa) of Sengcan and Daoxin 89 A) Sengcan and his meditation theory in the Xinxinming 信心銘 90 a) Attaining Buddhahood: 91 b) Discard the speech and thoughts: 91 c) Enter the ultimate: 92 B) The brief background and meditation teachings of Daoxin 97 a) Brief introduction of Daoxin’s background (580-651) 97 b) Setting up a Monastery in Huangmei 黃梅 99 C) Is Rudao Anxinyao Fangbian Famen (RDFM) the teachings of Daoxin? 100 D) The teaching in RDFM 102 a) The meaning of the title RDFM 104 b) The important points in RDFM 104
5) Conclusion 113 A) The lineage of Early Chanzong between Daoxin and Sengcan 113 B) The meditation methods of Sengcan and Daoxin 113 C) Summary 115
6) Bibliography 120 A) Primary sources 120 B) Secondary sources: 125 a) Books and articles 125
