The racist and religiously bigoted claim by Japanese Chan Buddhists is that the lineage of Bodhidharma (named "Zen" in English) was passed to Japan from China.
But as historians and academics and Zen scholars have systematically debunked and dismantled Japanese Chan Buddhism's claims of historical authenticity, Japanese Chan Buddhists made an old claim... Zen is Buddhism, and added a new racist element: Japan has it's own "evolved" Zen.
Zen is Buddhism is bigotry dating back to Zongmi
Japanese Chan Buddhists have been trying to defend their racism and bigotry in this forum for a decade now. The so-called "Dark Buddhism" cult's leader was a longtime member of this forum (until he finally crossed the line and got banned) and he famously repeated an old Buddhist belief that Zen had "kinds", as part of the argument that Buddhism had "kinds" and Zen was one of the kinds of Buddhism.
Five Houses of Zen
Zongmi was a Buddhist apologist back in the Tang era. Zongmi claimed to have distilled Zen teachings into five branches, a claim that no Zen Master ever endorsed.
Here's a quote from me, from two years ago, when the Zongmi claims had been reduced to a cut&paste rebuttal:
First, Zongmi has the dubious distinction of being quoted by Zen Masters AND having three different Zen Masters of different generations reject another quote of his.
Second, Zongmi's bio is nonexistent. Nobody knows who he studied with, if/when he was enlightened, and what is "end game" positions are.
Third, there are no existent dialogues with Zongmi in them.
Fourth, Zongmi has been championed by Buddhist apologists who want to use him to characterize Zen. This is a strategy that Buddhist apologists have also used with Dogen, Dunhuang, Northern School, and Japanese Buddhism generally.
All those turned out to be bunk.
My conclusion is that Zongmi is a nebulous historical figure who, at some point in his career, was a Buddhist apologis
There were never five kinds of Zen, just like there aren't five kinds of Buddhism. Buddhism is the 8FP religion, that's unarguable at this point. Zen is a tradition described loosely by the Four Statements of Zen, and never the twain shall agree.
What did Japanese "Chan" Buddhists inherit that linked them to Zen?
Nothing. That's their argument. From Zazen to koan "answers", there is no evidence that these religious beliefs "evolved" from anything Chinese. They are entirely Japanese creations. No scholar has ever proven Zazen was connected to Silent Illumination or any Soto Zen teacher (including Rujing). No scholar has ever proven that Hakuin's koan "answers" from the 1700's were ever a tradition, or ever anything but a scam.
The suggestion that "evolution" has taken place is pure racism by Japanese Buddhists against a Chinese minority, just as it is pure religious bigotry to pretend that the 8FP "contains" the Four Statements of Zen.
Zen Masters get the last word
Huangbo: "Guizhong said, "Other places may have five kinds; here we have only the one kind."
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Wansong: If we distinguish the source and speech, these already are two pathways; how can Chan be divided into five branches and the teachings arranged in three vehicles? Here in not even one can stand up--all are artificial.
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Foyan: Professional Zennists say I do not teach people to think, I do not teach people to understand, I do not teach people to discuss stories, I do not cite past and present examples; they suppose we are idling away the time here, and think that if they had spent the time elsewhere they would have understood a few model case stories and heard some writings. If you want to discuss stories, cite past and present, then please go somewhere else; here I have only one-flavor Zen, which I therefore call the marrow of all sages.
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Yo͞ok Welcome! Meet me My comment: For Zen's 1,000 year long historical record in China there wasn't any need to "evolve" Zen into something else... mind to mind transmission was simple and solved everything.
When Japanese Buddhists couldn't produce a single recipient of mind-to-mind transmission, then they had to claim they "evolved" something better, which turned out to be just adding racism to the religiously bigoted claims of Buddhists "owning" Zen.
sry Buddhists... Zen is for kids.
Submitted May 19, 2023 at 10:00PM by ewk https://ift.tt/bFteNzj
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