EACS 21 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Yunmen Wenyan, Bodhidharma, Huineng
Document Summary
Hongzhi & silent illumination directly associated with caodong school. Followers of the linji branch of chan were critical of hongzhi & his silent illumination (mozhao) teaching. They believed the dynamism of the linji teachings were more accessible to laypeople. Critics accused silent illumination practitioners of being passive, self-satisfied, static & unresponsive. Dahui was a successor to the linji tradition & a passionate critic of silent illumination practice. Nevertheless, hongzhi requested him to take over his temple rather than one of his own students. Dahui advocated the practice of contemplating sayings (kanhua) leads to direct, immediate experience of awakening. It refers to enigmatic or shocking verbal encounters between masters & students. The term koan literally means public case . Koans were used as pedagogic tools for religious training in the chan/zen tradition. Originated in tang/song china, & spread to vietnam, korea, & japan. They are seen both as tools to catalyze enlightenment & as actual expressions of enlightenment.
