Immanence and Transcendence in Chinese Chan Buddhism

Abstract

When Buddhism transmitted into China, it had developed into several schools until Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties: Tiantai, consciousness-only, Vinaya, Pure Land, Huayan, Chan, etc. Since Tang Dynasty, Chan Buddhism has become increasingly influential and even has been particularly thriving to surpass all the other schools that were declined early or late. No doubt that there are many reasons for its thriving, perhaps one of the reasons is that Chan Buddhism can particularly reflect the characteristic of Chinese philosophy—“immanent transcendence,” to which scholars probably should pay more attention.

[Chan is more famous for its Japanese name—Zen, and itself derived from the Sanskrit dhyana. In English, Chan is usually rendered as “meditation”—editor.]

Journal of Sino-Western Communications, 2010, 2(2): 51–68

Translated by Yang Hao from 《佛教与中国文化》, 宗教文化出版社 1999 年版, “论禅宗思想中的内在性与超越性”。引文有所修订。