I'm really unstimulated by 95% of the discussion on /r/zen, so I figured I'd start a more interesting series that looks at the themes and patterns of the Koan Commentaries.
Note: I am well aware that intellectually weighing the teachings and different sayings is considered to be useless/bad practice in Zen; I am interested in shedding more light on the texts from a literary critical perspective.
I want to start broadly by looking at the teaching of silent illumination (mozhao, a term originally from Sengzhao) and sitting practice more generally, in a Caodong context specifically. As Schlutter has shown in How Zen Became Zen, Dahui criticized the teaching of silent illumination, a particular kind of sitting meditation associated with the Caodong. There are various phrases associated with this teaching, such as "ghost cave", "before the empty eon/eon of emptiness" (also found in Nanquan), and so on.
[Personal notes ahead, skip this paragraph.] (Other terms to look into as possibly Caodong-specific: horizontal/vertical (also found in Tiantai), grow fuzz (also found in Zhaozhou), grow moss, tree withers, leaves fall, body exposed, autumn, frost, bright moon.) "Leaning on a fence" and "hanging on a wall" seem to connote uselessness; they are referenced in BOS case 8 commentary, and case 50 verse and commentary, as well as BCR case 7 verse commentary and case 20 commentary and case 21 commentary (just fence + wall this time) and case 86 verse (just fence + wall this time too) and case 94 verse (just fence + wall this time too). Other general motifs include silver mountains and iron walls (these symbolize obstruction), and plastering walls and massive mile-high walls (the exact size of the wall varies) and swallowing things.
To start off the topic, this post will look at how Caodong sources discusses Bodhidharma's nine years sitting facing a wall at Shaolin. This will be contrasted with non-Caodong sources. Given Caodong's supposed emphasis on sitting meditation, I will hypothesize that Caodong koan commentaries will discuss Bodhidharma's 9 years at Shaolin more often than non-Caodong sources.
Keep in mind that translations may have faults.
Sources:
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Book of Serenity (BOS), verses by Hongzhi, commentary by Wansong, tr. Cleary
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Empty Valley Collection vol. 1 (EVC1), verses by Touzi Yiqing, commentary by Linquan, tr. Cleary
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Blue Cliff Record (BCR), verses by Xuedou, commentary by Yuanwu, tr. Cleary
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The Measuring Tap (TMT), verses by Xuedou, commentary by Yuanwu, tr. Cleary
Hypothesis: Caodong sources are more likely to bring up Bodhidharma's nine years sitting
Method: search for "nine years" and "wall", manually scan results for discussion of Bodhidharma's nine years sitting facing a wall at Shaolin. Instances of the lemma "facing a wall" are only included if Bodhidharma's life is being referenced, so e.g. references only to Luzu / Lu Tsu facing a wall are not included.
Data Collection:
Note: the source criticism still remains to be done.
Mentions in BCR: 4 total
In case 1, Yuanwu's commentary says:
When Bodhidharma arrived there [in Wei], he did not appear for any more audiences, but went directly to Shao Lin Monastery, where he sat facing a wall for nine years, and met the Second Patriarch. People thereabouts called him "The Wall-Gazing Brahmin."
In case 17, Yuanwu's commentary says:
People often misunderstand and say, "The Patriarch came from the West and sat facing a wall for nine years; isn't this sitting for a long time and becoming weary?"
In case 27, Yuanwu's commentary says:
"Before he returned to the West Bodhidharma sat facing a wall for nine years, utterly silent. But say, is this "the tree withers, the leaves fall"? Is this "body exposed in the golden wind"?
In case 62, Yuanwu's commentary says:
Hsueh Tou brought it up again and said, "Within heaven and earth, through space and time, therein is a jewel; it lies hidden in the mountain of form. It is hung on a wall, for nine years Bodhidharma did not dare to look at it straight on. If any patch-robed monk wants to see it now, I will hit him right on the spine with my staff." [Cleary notes that this comes from Hsueh Tou Hou Lu, "Later Record of Hsueh Tou".]
Mentions in TMT: 0 total
Mentions in BOS: 7 total
In case 2, the case says:
Bodhidharma subsequently crossed the Yangze River, came to Shaolin, and faced a wall for nine years.
In case 2, Wansong's commentary says:
And after all it turned out that he did travel to Liang (in the South), cross over into Wei (in the North), and remained unmoving for nine years.
In case 2, Wansong's commentary also says:
This, Prajnatara's three instructions, and Bodhidharma's nine years of sitting, are all the same situation.
In case 2, Wansong's commentary also says:
Bodhidharma could brush out his sleeves and immediately leave without regret. In the golden palace he showed his facelessness, managing to say a half; hanging his mouth up on the wall at Shaolin was only eighty percent. This is like "The clear moon of autumn turns its frosty disk." [Note: the idea of mouths being "hung on a wall" is discussed in the 46th case and commentary. Wansong glosses it as referring to the idea that "the form of the universal eternal tongue cannot be comprehended by verbal understanding", so it looks like this is playing off of Bodhidharma speaking to Wu but being silent at Shaolin.]
In case 23, Wansong's introduction says:
Bodhidharma's nine years is called wall-gazing -- Shenguang's three bows divulge the natural potential. How can you sweep away the tracks and obliterate the traces?
In case 23, Wansong's commentary says:
Chan master Baoyun of Mt. Luzu in Zhi province used to face the wall whenever he saw a monk coming. After Bodhidharma sat for nine years, there was no one to re-enact this law; for the time being they have had everyone ask about buddhas and patriarchs, about transcendence and accomodation - everybody recognizes a little pain and itch.
In case 92, Wansong's commentary says:
Xuedou brought this up and said, "Within heaven and earth, in space and time, there is a jewel, hung on a wall, for nine years Bodhidharma did not dare to look right at it. Now if a patchrobe monk wants to see it, I'll hit him."
Mentions in EVC1: 6 total
In case 9, Linquan's commentary says,
As predicted, he dwelt at Shaolin, where he faced a wall for nine years. There he found his successor, who stood in the snow and cut off his arm in his quest for the teaching.
In case 40, Linquan's commentary says,
He sat for nine years facing a wall on Shaolin, 'Sparse Forest,' and that is why the prophecy says "two tender cinnamon trees."
In case 44, Touzi's verse says,
Nine years on Few Houses, staying by himself for naught --
How can that compare to communication of an appropriate statement?
Gapped teeth growing fuzz can still be dealt with;
A stone man stomps through Mr. Xie's boat.
In case 44, Linquan's commentary says:
Facing a wall for nine years, he gave out one statement that even up till now has been falsely cited everywhere. It doesn't mean he was staying for years for nothing, whiling away the passing seasons; the intent seems like criticizing his unspoken teaching, as not comparable to teaching without trying to persuade.
In case 45, Touzi's verse says:
The pine grows on the edge of the grag; the crane roosts there peacefully.
A phoenix emerges from a cinnabar mountain; other phoenixes flock together.
Facing the wall still lacks the matter outside the hermitage; [Note: this entry is included because the commentary connects this line to Bodhidharma]
Why did Vimalakirti take pains to say so much?
In case 45, Linquan's commentary says:
Our founder Bodhidharma's nine years facing a wall brought up the whole 'matter before the eon of emptiness' for you, yet was still criticized by people, called 'The Wall-Gazing Brahmin.' Clearly this was a case of 'It is easy for birds to roost in forested foothills; it is hard for people to get out of right and wrong.
Analysis:
Bodhidharma's 9 years is referenced 13 times total across 1.5 Caodong koan commentaries (note: 1.5 because only half of EVC has been published), and 4 times total across 2 Linji koan commentaries. This averages out to 8.6 mentions per Caodong collection, and 2 mentions per Linji collection. In other words, for this dataset, Caodong sources mention Bodhidharma's nine years of sitting over 4 times more often on average than Linji sources.
Of course, the numbers here are extremely small, so I doubt this is statistically significant, and I don't have the training to do stats anyway. The data analysis is also sketchy. However, this is simply meant to be a rudimentary/exploratory study. It also serves as a good general starting point for discussion of this topic. More research and discussion are needed to arrive at solid conclusions.
Submitted January 03, 2020 at 12:49PM by Temicco https://ift.tt/2FgYxAu
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