EACS 21 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Caodong School, Bodhidharma, Aphorism
Document Summary
Very little more is heard from the so called northern school after the triumph of the. The subsequent history of chan is primarily a history of the southern school. This school emphasized instant enlightenment, iconoclastic attitude towards buddhas, & disregard for literature & ritual. Following huineng & shenhui, famous masters founded branches of chan in the tang. Intuitive method aimed at discovering the reality of the self. This reality is the fundamental unity which pervades the world. This reality is called mind or buddha-nature present in all sentient beings. This reality is empty (sunya), inexpressible, & inconceivable. Chan masters often resorted to silence or negation to illustrate this. Reality or buddha-nature can only be apprehended by intuition directly, completely, & instantly. To apprehend it, one must calm the mind & have no conscious thought. In conscious thought ego is at work, making false distinction between subject & object; also leads to karma.
