The Foundations of Chinese Buddhism

While knowledge concerning the origins of Mahayana Buddhism remains limited, the prevailing consensus among scholars is that this particular school developed in India. The earliest Mahayana texts have been traced to the first century B.C.E., and the earliest known translations of these texts into Chinese have been traced to the second century C.E. However, it was the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma who was the true founding father of the Chinese school of Mahayana. Bodhidharma lived in the fifth and sixth centuries C.E. and is regarded as the first patriarch of Chinese (Ch’an) Buddhism. Bodhidharma played a primary role in the cultivation of Buddhism as a comprehensive body of thought and as a cultural foundation in East Asia. He is likewise regarded by the Japanese as the founder of Zen Buddhism. The teachings of Chinese Buddhism have their roots in the thought of Bodhidharma, and are integrated into the wider body of Chinese spiritual tradition in a way that represents the vast yet distinct nature of Chinese culture.

Bodhidharma’s own origins are also unknown. The Buddhist tradition within India regards him as having originated from among the Tamils, while the Japanese tradition considers Bodhidharma to have been a Persian. Most contemporary scholars believe Bodhidharma likely came to China at some point during the early part of the fifth century. Tradition indicates that he may have been of barbarian origins, or perhaps he previously served as a monk in India. Whatever his beginnings, it is clear that Chinese Buddhism owes many of its teaching and has many of its roots in the sayings of Bodhidharma. After having been brought to China by Bodhidharma, Mahayana Buddhism continued to adapt itself to Chinese culture and eventually assumed its own unique identity in the form of Chinese Ch’an.

Historians normally divide the process of the development of Chinese Buddhism into three major periods. The first of these is called the “Legendary Period” and begins with the emergence in China of Bodhidharma and his teachings. This period continues over the next three centuries, and a split occurs between schools of Buddhism in the northern and southern parts of China during this time. A series of patriarchs also emerged during the Legendary Period who helped to shape the early development of Chinese Buddhism. Unfortunately, there is very little in the way of written records for this period in the history of Ch’an, and the legends have been passed down largely through oral tradition.

The time between the eighth and tenth centuries is known as the “Classical Period.” It is during this era that the great masters of Chinese Buddhism emerge and help to formulate what will become the core tenants of the Ch’an Buddhist traditions. Among these great masters are Linji Yixuan and Mazu Daoyi. The written records of these early masters are among some of the oldest Ch’an texts. Chinese Buddhist writings continue to expand as the so-called “Literary Period” develops in the tenth through the thirteenth centuries. During this time, extensive works of poetry and sayings by great teachers were compiled.

Though it has its roots in India, when Buddhism was brought to China it became heavily assimilated into Chinese culture. However, it is unclear as to which pre-existing aspects of Chinese religious thought and cultural tradition most heavily impacted the cultivation of Ch’an. It is argued by some scholars that Taoism exercised a profound influence on early Chinese Buddhism, and that the Ch’an tradition is largely a synthesis of Taoism and Mahayana. Yet other interpretations assign a much greater role to yoga and Chinese meditative practices. The Buddhist tradition in China also strongly overlaps with the Confucian tradition, and it is clear that these two traditions have helped to shape one another. The earliest converts to Buddhism in China came to Buddhism from the Taoist faith, so this would seem to be powerful evidence for the view of Ch’an in its early phase as a Mahayana-Taoist hybrid.

When Ch’an first began to emerge in China, multiple schools of Chinese Buddhism also began to develop. Each of these had their own unique focus and emphasis. One school focused on the study of the teachings of earlier masters, and the application of those teachings to Buddhist practice as it was at the time. Other schools oriented themselves towards meditation. It was believed that the strengthening of the power of the mind was the highest precept. Still another perspective emphasized the virtues of self-discipline and self-denial. During this time, multiple types of Ch’an teachers also came into being. There were three primary kinds of teachers: dharma, vinaya, and dhyana. The first of these were oriented towards the study of sacred Buddhist scriptures. The second group worked to establish monastic life, and the last focused instead on meditation. Monastic life began to flower during this period in Chinese Buddhist history.

It is the thought of Bodhidhama that forms much of the core of Chinese Buddhist teaching. He is regarded as the first of the six great patriarchs of the Legendary Period, followed by Huike, Sengcan, Daoxin, Hongren, and Huineng. As Chinese Buddhist traditions were later developed, this genealogy was expanded to include nearly thirty Indian patriarchs who were thought to have been predecessors of Bodhidharma. Little was ever written about these early patriarchs during their own time, including Bodhidharama himself. Two early writings from Bodhidharma’s time that do mention him are The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang by Yan Xuanchi and Preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts by Tanlin. Numerous other works have emerged from these primary texts. One is Chronicle of the Lankavatara Masters by Ching-chueh. Another is Daoxuan’s Further Biographies of Eminent Monks.

Much of the biographical details of Bodhidharama’s life are based on legends derived from these and other works. Bodhidharma is regarded as having originally been a follower of the India teacher Prajnatara. He is thought to have come to China in the year 527 C.E. where he first meets with the Emperor Wu. Tradition teaches that Bodhidharama lived for a total of one hundred fifty years, and some traditions depict him as having resurrected from his tomb and making earthly appearances after death. Multiple legends concerning the life of Bodhidharma help to illustrate his teachings.

In his encounter with the Emperor Wu, Bodhidharma rebukes the Emperor for doing good deeds with the hope of receiving earthly reward. He tells the Emperor that one’s karma is not enhanced by performing virtuous acts for selfish reasons. Bodhidharma also ventures to northern China where he enters a monastery and meditates while staring at a wall for nine years. Some versions of this story depict him as cutting off his eyelids as a self-inflicted punishment for having fallen asleep during this period of lengthy meditation. In another story, Bodhidharma’s discipline Huike is shown as having amputated his own arm as a display of this commitment to following Buddhist teaching. Stories of Bodhidharma’s life also depict him as a strong advocate of physical fitness, with an emphasis on meditative exercise, and as one who practiced the martial arts. He is also shown to have traveled extensively in stories about his life, and Bodhidharama is credited for spreading Mahayana Buddhism throughout Asia.

There exist ten primary schools of thought in Chinese Buddhism. The first of these is the Kosa School. The ambition of the student of this school is to liberate one’s self from desire. Once desire has been mastered, suffering ends as one is no longer a slave to one’s passions and appetites. The core principle behind this school involves the concept of the Four Noble Truths. The four truths are: all life is suffering, desire is the cause of suffering, the liberation from desire brings the end of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to achieve these ends. The Satysiddhi School emerged between the fourth and sixth centuries C.E. Within this school, the student is to shift one’s focus from the material realm to the metaphysical realm, thereby coming to an understanding that the material is an illusion.

The Three Sastra School bases its teachings on sacred writings that were originally produced in India. These are the Madhyamika Sastra and the Dvadasanikaya Sastra by Nagarjuna and the Sata Sastra by Aryadeva. These writings were translated into Chinese in the fifth century C.E. The purpose of this school is to overcome what are called the “eight misleading ideas.” These are birth, death, end, permanence, identity, difference, coming, and going. It is through overcoming these “misleading ideas” that true enlightenment is achieved. The Lotus School has its beginnings around the year 500 C.E. and claims the Lotus Sutra as its primary sacred document. The Lotus School provides something of a mathematical interpretation to the universe and to human existence. It lays out a complicated scheme that identifies ten primary realms of existence. Each of these realms then has ten divisions and each division possesses ten characteristics of its own. Each of these one thousand total characteristics is then multiplied by three for a total of three thousand. One must be able to automatically visualize each of these three thousand characteristics simultaneously.

The Vatamsaka School emerged during the seventh century C.E. This school is subsequently divided into five separate schools of Buddhist practice: Theravada, Proto-mahayana, Mahayana, the Intuitive, and the Perfect. Each of these primary schools of Vatamsaka contains multiple sub-schools within themselves. The principal emphasis of the Vatamsaka School is to obtain Buddhist enlightenment through meditation on the true nature of reality. The Intuitive School dates to the sixth century C.E. The distinguishing characteristic of the Intuitive School is its disregard of the need for scripture and its reliance on meditation. A legendary monk within this school was Shu-yun who was able to remain in meditation for as much as twenty days, and who lived to be one hundred and twenty years old.

The Discipline School focuses very heavily on living one’s life by the monastic rules that are regarded as having been established by Buddha himself. Conducting one’s self according to the highest ethical virtues is the central ambition of adherents of this school. The Esoteric School focuses on the elements, which are considered to be fire, water, earth, air, space, and cognition. The practice of meditation within this school assigns a holistic relationship between mind, mouth, and body, and the Esoteric School also maintains a very elaborate set of ceremonies and ritual practices which it engages in. Yet another school is the Dharmalaksana School. This school postulates that there are three primary planes of existence, and that all reality is simply a state of mind. These realities can be overcome through the meditative process. Lastly, there is the Pure Land School. This final school of Mahayana Buddhist thought emphasizes a simple faith in and meditation on the spirit of Amitabha, and is the form of Buddhism most commonly practiced among lay people lacking the sophistication of the monks and scholars.

The tradition and heritage of Chinese Buddhism is clearly one that is extraordinarily rich. The Chinese Buddhist tradition embraces thousands of years of thought, practice, and cultural expression. It is a tradition where many divergent cultures overlap, as it traces its roots to India and yet has found parallel expressions in such cultures as those of Japan or Vietnam. The tradition has produced a voluminous body of literature, and formulated elaborate codes of ethics and gems of wisdom. Chinese Buddhism has produced many extraordinary thinkers and figures offering key insights into the nature of the divine. The person of Bodhidharma emerges as one of the key figures in human history, and one that inspired a vast faith tradition. The tradition of Chinese Buddhism likewise illustrates the unique nature of Chinese culture as represented by the distinctive variations of Buddhist thought that have emerged from China. The wider traditions within Chinese spiritual experience that overlap or co-exist with Buddhism such as Taoism and Confucian serve to further illustrate the great riches of the Chinese civilization.

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