6. DAOYI DAOXIN 道一道信 Revolutionary vision

Daoyi Daoxin 道一道信 (580-651)

As a revolutionary shift away from the later Chan invention of lineage, it is more appropriate perhaps that we consider Master Fan Zhiyi 范志毅 538-597 the most important inspiration for Daoxin and his teachings and contemplations.

Not having a true "Chan-Master figure" lineage building expedient means could easily use Daoxin as the focus for a backward-seeking lineage tree, ignoring the figure of Fan Zhiyi, who was both a Chan and Tiantai Master.

FAN ZHIYI 范志毅 of the TIANTAI 天台 538-597

       Daoyi Daoxin 道一道信     580 - 651

                  Daman Hongren 大滿弘忍   601 674

o      YIGUAN SHENXIU 玉泉神秀  605–706

§ Yifu 義福   –732

§ Pǔjì 普寂  651–739

              §   Dàoxuán 道璿  702–760

§  Nányuè Míngzàn 南嶽明瓚

o  DAJIAN HUINENG  大鑒惠能  638-713 

§   Hézé Shénhuǐ  荷澤神會 670–762

§    Nanyang Huizhong 南陽慧忠 675 775

§   Nanyue Huairang  南嶽懐譲 677-744.

§   Yǒngjiā Xuánjué 永嘉玄覺 665–713

§   Qingyuan Xingsi  青原行 思 660-740

§  SHITOU XIGIAN 石頭希遷       

o   Zizhou Zhixian     淄州 智 賢 609–702 

§  Zizhou Chuji  淄州 出 繼 648–734

§ Jingzhong Wuxiang  浄衆無相 684–762

§ Baotang Wúzhù 無住  714–774                                 (Baotang Sichuan model)

                 § MAZU DAOYI 馬祖道一 

                                                                (Hongzhou Sichuan model)

§ Jingzhong Shenhui 浄衆神会  720–794

      § Zhang Weizhong     張 衛中 d. 821

               §     Suizhou Daoyuan, 750-820

                      §      GUIFENG ZONGMI 圭峰宗密

o   Faxian Ching Chou 法顯  (577-653)

o   Shan-fu Chang Chou    --- 660

o    Hsuan-Shuang             ---652

o   Yuan-i

There is no certainty with regard to the claim that Daoxin was a direct Dharma heir of Sengcan (僧燦), who died in 606 when Daoxin was 26.

Dharma heirs at that time were invented for expediency and true teachings were made obscure by the politics of the time, which also appeared to have wiped out the important understanding of Buddha Dharma passed on to Dharma Heirs and developed since the arrival of Buddha Dharma to China.

Whereas the former three mentioned here all tended to live the mendicant lifestyle, Daoxin and subsequent masters were largely monastery- based, opening up Chan to a large base, including those from a range of doctrinal traditions.

He may have received the influence of Sengcan's teachings during the first period, for teachings were not sold in packages, but he cannot be considered as a direct Dharma heir of that method, as in a second period there was a strong association with the Tiantai School (天台宗) in the south, including the study of Kumārajīva’s translations of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Finally he generated his own form of teachings and contemplations in the third period in his more than 30 years of teaching on Twin Peaks in Huangmei (黃梅雙峯).

The teachings of Daoxin (and Hongren) are known as the "East Mountain Teachings" and linked together, so we shall later try to see the eventual evolution of Hongren from Daoxin's teachings.

Of significance is that Daoxin was the first master to settle at one spot for an extended period of time, developing a stable community life which would lead to monastic teaching and meditation communities throughout China.

In studying Daoxin it is important to discover how important the Lankavatara sutra was to his thinking and contemplation method and the place that the Prajnaparamita literature held in moulding his teachings.

Since he is considered as the base from which masters of the fabled "Age of Gold" rose and also Huineng, it will be also useful to see to what extent this teachings aided in the development of a truly "Direct" contemplation.

THE CONTEMPLATION METHOD OF DAOXIN

Daoxin taught: "I set forth my teaching for those whose karma and capacities are mature for them."

He does not neglect the Lankavatara Sutra, but emphasises a different approach which he had internalized. He declares as can be seen from the following quote:

"You should adhere to the Lankavatara Sutra: make the mind of the Buddhas the primary. And go by the Singular Samadhi Practise in the Prajna Sutra Spoken by Manjusri.

If you are aware of the Buddha mind, you are a Buddha; if you have false awareness, then you are a common being. In the Prajna Sutra Spoken by Manjusri it says:

"Manjusri said, 'World Honored One, what is Singular Samadhi Practice?'

 Buddha said, 'Being connected with the Dharmakaya through its oneness is called Singular Samadhi Practice.

“The fundamental teachings of mine are the mind of all the Buddhas is the First Principle, based on the Lankavatara Sutra; and i-hsing san-mei means that the mind which is aware of the Buddha is the Buddha, whereas [the mind which] does false thinking is the ordinary person.”

 We can call then his position a Buddha Awareness of Single Samadhi practice

“Every aspect of the mind and body, [even] lifting your foot and putting it down, always is the place of enlightenment. All of your behavior and actions are enlightenment.”

“When you are sitting in meditation, watch carefully to know when your consciousness starts to move. Consciousness is always moving and flowing. According to its coming and going, we must all be aware of it. Use the wisdom of a diamond to control and rule it, since just like a plant there is nothing to know. To know there is nothing to know is the wisdom to know everything. This is the Dharma-gate of One Form of a Bodhisattva”.

          Daoxin gives a clear reply to the followimg question he presents:

     “How can we be enlightened to the nature of things (fa-hsiang) and our minds attain lucid purity?”

      “Neither by [trying to] meditate on the Buddha nor by [trying to] grab hold of the mind, nor by seeing the mind, nor by analyzing the mind, nor by reflection, nor by discernment, nor by dispersing confusion, but through identification with the natural rhythms of things (chih-ren-yün). Don’t force anything to go. Don’t force anything to stay. Finally abiding in the one sole purity, the mind spontaneously becomes lucid and pure."

We can see then the idea of his Contemplations. Buddha awareness, using his system,  is designed to permit a constant daily abiding with lucidity and pureness within an otherwise stained Samsara.

THE PREREQUISITE

If men and women want to enter Singular Samadhi Practise, first they must learn about the Perfection of Wisdom and cultivate their learning accordingly.

Later they will be capable of Singular Samadhi Practise and if they do not retreat from or ruin their connection to the Dharmakaya, of inconceivable unobstructed formlessness.

"Good men and good women, if you desire to enter Singular Samadhi Practise, you must be empty and at ease, and abandon all deluded notions.

"Not grasping at forms and images, you bind your heart to one Buddha, and concentrate on invoking his name. Wherever the Buddha may be, straighten your body and face toward him. If you can keep continuous awareness of this one Buddha, in this awareness you can see all the Buddhas of past, present, and future.

"Why? The merit of awareness of one Buddha is infinite and immeasurable, and one with the merits accomplished by all the infinite numbers of buddhas.

"The Inconceivable Buddha Dharma is everywhere equal and without distinctions: all Buddhas ride upon One Suchness, achieving supreme true enlightenment, endowed with all the immeasurable accomplished virtues and infinite eloquence.

"All those who enter Singular Samadhi Practise like this realise that there is no sign of differentiation in the Dharmakaya of all the countless Buddhas. Whatever they do, their bodies, minds, and inner hearts are forever at the site of enlightenment. All their actions and conduct are bodhi."

The Contemplation of Samantabhadra Sutra says: "The sea of all karmic barriers arises from false forms. If you desire to repent, sit upright and be aware of Reality." This is called the supreme repentance. Eliminate the mentality of the three poisons, the mind that clings to objects. If the mind that is aware and contemplating is continuously aware of Buddha, suddenly there will be clarity and stillness, and there are no more thoughts linked with objects.

The Great Prajnaparamita Sutra says: "To have thought with no support is called awareness of Buddha."

"What is meant by "having thought with no support"? Being aware of the Buddhamind is called "having thought with no support." There is no Buddha apart from mind, and no other mind apart from Buddha. To be aware of Buddha is to be aware of mind. To seek mind is to seek Buddha.

Why? Consciousness has no shape, Buddha has no form. Realising this truth is calming the mind. With unceasing awareness of Buddha, grasping at objects does not arise.

Then it is totally formless, everywhere equal and nondual. When you enter this stage, the mind that [actively] recollects Buddha fades away and no longer has to be stirred. When you witness this kind of mind, this is the true Dharmakaya of the Tathagata. It is also called the Correct Dharma, Buddha-nature, the true nature of all things, reality itself. It is also called the Pure Land.

It is also called Bodhi, Vajra Samadhi, original enlightenment, and so on. It is also called the Realm of Nirvana, and Prajna, and such. Though the names are countless, they all share the same essence. There is no sense of the subject observing and the object observed." 

The Single Practice Samadhi

            念佛, Niànfó, for Daoxin

Now we must remember that the realm of Amitabha is in great part written about in the archaic manner in which "heaven" may be described in elaborate and lavish manner which makes little sense today, but the essential idea is that this Amitabha realm is a place of happiness, described as a place where it is declared that,

"The three evil paths do not exist. Shariputra, even the names of the three evil paths are unknown in this Buddha's land; how much the less could they actually exist!"

Daoxin proclaimed the great importance of Nianfo in the discourse of Manjushri in the Prajnaparamita Sutra, but in the case of this model it was transformed in a different manner than the "Pure Land" sect model.

The concrete option used by Daoxin was not to rely simply on the expression of "Amitaba Buddha" but in taking as one-pointed contemplation the name of Buddha, the mind is held away from discursive impedients, with the realization that the Buddha consciousness is the Buddha mind.

The Mind of Buddha is the natural mind of all sentient creatures.

Maintained correctly, it must maintain balanced contemplation in a manner in which it is not detached from the simultaneous awareness of the Buddha mind, being certain not to reflect any specific characteristics by naming a specific Buddha (Amitabha, for example)

In this way, the contemplation is not separated from wisdom and the meditation must be so balanced. This can only occur, of course, with a correct understanding of the nature of the Buddha mind.

Manjushri stated, "The mind that thinks in Buddha is a Buddha."

One of the sayings attributed to Daoxin is, "The countless doors of Dao all surge from the mind. Excellent merit, as much as the innumrable grains of sand of of the Ganges, is derived from the mind. The doors of the precepts, meditation and wisdom, varied as they are, all can be encountered naturally in our mind."

Daoxin was clear that the mind must be concentrated. Now does that take us away from the "direct" methods? It does, if and only if the "name" does NOT become the ultimate conceptualization of the Buddha mind and if the Buddha mind contemplation does not generate a direct access to the natural base of the Female principle.

In other words, if that is accurately done then the act is contemplation not mere meditation and the contemplator without acting will be carried directly to the operational true and natural mind.

The question then which is uppermost is, will the last consciousness of the term "Buddha," meaning Buddha mind, be sufficient?

The reply is that if the Buddha mind is, for the meditator, a mind which is free from "suffering" and "unstained by the three impediments," then it is a contemplation which is not effective in attaining the tranquil Buddha mind state of Bodhidharma, but neither is it a contemplation of the "Direct" variety which is so important in Chan and developed by many masters, including Zongmi and Huineng.

It is the Development of the Pure and continual mindfullness of Buddha mind, allowing the stains to fall away.

In the Shurangama Sutra (楞嚴經), Mahāsthāmaprāpta (大勢至), meaning, " Arrival of the great strength," is a Maha Bodhisattva that represents the power of wisdom. He tells of how he gained enlightenment through the practice of Niànfó (念佛), and that this continuous pure mindfulness of the Buddha obtains samadhi.

He is one of eight, the others being  Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, Âkāśagarbha, Kṣitigarbha, Maitreya and Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin, each one with their distinctive characteristics.

It is effectively a driving past the state of "not being empty" to a Buddha mind. The contemplation then can be said to be upon the last conceptualization of emptiness of the stained mind, with the expectation that when the stained mind is revealed to be empty then the Buddha mind will be attained.

In The Attainment of Buddhahood through Chanting the Name of a Buddha, Mahāsthāmaprāpta declares:

"Discard the six organs of the senses and become tranquil and focus only upon Buddha," naturally as the Universal Buddha mind.

First

Remember that I said that if "all  is accurately done then the act is contemplation not mere meditation and the contemplator without acting will be carried directly to the operational true and natural mind." This accuracy of method is the passing from the ultimate consciousness to beyond that consciousness.

The question is, is this the VISION that is referred to within Daoxin's methodology when it is said "see within our own mind that which is the material of vision," or is it not..

If it is simply visualizing, it is not a valid Direct contemplation.

Remember also that one cannot look for Buddha outside the mind. Contemplation lies inside the mind, but beyond cognition. 

Second

We need to know how the mind best functions using the body.

That is evident. It must remain tranquil.

How does it become tranquil?

Does Daoxin advocate using the "mindfulness of breathing "and that alone? If he does, then that is part of the methodology of Direct contemplation. If he is not advocating that, and he is referring to the previous mind discipline of conscious cognitive knowing, then it is not.

Third

The attention must be unwavering, without breaking that attention with the mind in that absolute state.

Once more we mast ask if Daoxin means that the attention must be placed within the "becoming of consciousness without wavering," then that is acceptable within the framework of Direct Contemplation. If Daoxin is speaking of some other form of attention it is not..       

Fourth

One must disassociate oneself from the practice. There is after all no Identity, no person present and this is clearly affirmed in the Diamond Sutra. One must be meditating in any case without the presence of meditation or a meditator.

Fifth

Very important for the Daoxin method was the complete "one-pointedness of the meditation or contemplation upon the target." If it moves just for a moment the whole is undone.

There might be confusion after looking at these ideas as to whether Daoxin had Indian leanings. The constant use of the word Samadhi indeed suggests that and leads us away from the idea that he is practicing at least Ts'o-Chan, that is, Chan "sitting meditation."

The situation is clearer when we know that he wrote 入道安心要方便 門, the Methods for Entering the Path and Calming the Mind. In it, he quoted from the Lankavatara Sutra and the 文殊說般若經, the Prajna Sutra Spoken by Manjusri.

It quotes him as saying “Buddha is the mind. Outside of the mind there is no Buddha.”

His emphasis is on the right posture, in which the neophyte must contemplate the five skandhas: the material skandha of form (the elements), and the four mental skandhas: feeling, perception, phenomena, and consciousness.

The Manjusri Sutra says, "He should contemplate the five skandhas as originally empty and quiescent, non-arising, non-perishing, equal, without differentiation."

This is not simply the Concentration upon breathing, and is definitely not a direct method in and of itself.

However, Manjushri goes on to declare,

"Constantly thus practicing, day or night, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down, finally one reaches an inconceivable state without any obstruction or form. This is the Samadhi of One Act 一行三昧."

Here is where we see the essential extension that takes Daoxin's contemplations away from the last conceptualization of the Buddha mind.

This concept of continual practice is extended and amplified in his two-pronged practice of seated meditation on the Buddha mind and mindfulness in every instant. 

As the record of Daoxin’s teachings in the Five Gates of Daoxin did not appear until the second decade of the eighth century, its historical accuracy on many of the points of shallow interest is in question.

UNIFICATION OF THE BUDDHA MIND

This samādhi takes the form of oneness and the samadhi of the single practice is the unification with usually done things. Although the practitioner is intent on each single object or task, they become one with it. It is to always act with a direct mind. The samādhi of the form of oneness means that no matter where one is located, not to dwell in form, and even if one has grasped form, that one must not produce a mind of dislike or like.

Tht mind then is tranquil and alert and is not caught up anywhere.

Effectively it is identical with Linji’s quote, “Be the master wherever one goes, wherever one stands is totally the state of truth,” which points to the condition of ultimate samādhi.

The mind then tranquil, rests fully with the Buddha.

"Not grasping at forms and images, you bind your heart to one Buddha, and concentrate on invoking his name. Wherever the Buddha may be, straighten your body and face toward him. If you can keep continuous awareness of this one Buddha, in this awareness you can see all the Buddhas of past, present, and future."

In the Lankavatara Sutra (楞伽經) it is said: “A perfect unity of body and mind in samadhi, namely the mind of Buddha-remembrance, is the very Buddha, while deluded mind is the unenlightened one,” (一行三昧 卽念佛心是佛 妄念是凡夫) in the Saptasatikaprajnaparamita (文殊說般若經).

It means a constant attention upon the Buddha mind but neither think about the Buddha, nor cherish any attachment in mind, nor try to see mind, nor try to investigate mind, nor contemplate, nor be distracted, but stay as it really is without moving or residing.

Be pure alone and mind will be spontaneously bright and pure in ultimate enlightenment.

[信曰, 亦不念佛 亦不捉心 亦不看心 亦不計心 亦不思惟 亦不觀行 亦不散亂. 直任運 亦不令去 亦不令住. 獨一淸淨 究竟處心自明淨 云云.]

When one forsakes the calculation and artificiality of mind, and becomes natural, the ultimate one-mind of original purity will be exposed with

spontaneously illuminating purity.

Continuing his answer to the fourth question on seeking for the Western Pure Land,

If one knows that mind is originally pure and neither arising nor ceasing, then that state is the Buddha land and requires no West Pure Land.

[信曰, 若知本來不生不滅 究竟淸淨 卽是佛國土 更不須向西方. 華嚴經云, 無量劫一念 一念無量劫 須知一方無量方 無量方一方 佛爲鈍根衆生 令向西方 不爲利根人說也.]

Consequently, once knowing (知) that mind is originally pure, then it will be revealed that the mind is the Buddha, obviating the 'seek' for the West. Here if one considers the ‘know’ as merely an understanding, it is impossible to say, ‘mind is the Buddha land’; instead, the ‘know’ obviously involves a profound confidence in awakening.

Daoxin continues:

According to Chan Master Zhimin, 智敏, those learning the Way should have their knowledge and practice complemented together. Once one

knows both the origin of mind and all the essence-function relations, then one can see the truth clear and pure, can be free of all doubt, and then can achieve virtuous karmas.

[又古時智愍禪師訓曰學道之法 必須解行相扶. 先知心之根源 及諸体用 見理明淨了了分明無惑 然後功業可成.]

We have then the very subtle but important advance that makes Daoxin the father of all of the Masters of the Golden Age. The Contemplations carry the mind through the illusion of everyday happening into the Buddha mind beyond, thus he Buddha chanting is a practice that facilittes the actual contemplative advance.

We move then in realization 證 from mundane knowledge 知 and seeing 見 to an enlightened knowledge and seeing of "the Buddha consciousness which is the Buddha mind."

In the 97 fascicle of The Record of the Mirror of Orthodoxy (宗鏡錄, T48.940a), Daoxin shows Bodhidharma’s mind and Buddha nature by means

of knowledge (知).

This way, Daoxin’s knowledge and observation are used as a replacement of Bodhidharma's confidence as well as the realization of Awakening (證).

Yet it is an advance upon both the Awareness through Naming the Buddha and the Contemplation of the Buddha mind. The Buddha mind has been replaced by the union of the Buddha mind with all human creatures.

It is then an Awareness of the Buddha nature.

NOVICE PRACTICE

He stresses the importance of tso-ch'an for the beginner. So he actully mentions the beginner suggesting therefore that there was at least another way of practice for the advanced disciple, which we will discover later.

In a later chronicle he is quoted exhorting his students to “Sit earnestly in contemplation! Sitting in contemplation is basic to all else….Do not read the sutras, discuss with no one!”

He then is suggesting the importance of the formal base for the constant integration of the Buddha Nature.

On his deathbed, the Compendium of Five Lamps compiled in the early thirteenth century by the monk Dachuan Lingyin Puji (1179-1253), records that Daoxin said,

“All of the myriad dharmas of the world are to be dropped away. Each of you, protect this understanding and carry it into the future.”

In a sense, he is describing the two meanings of Zuochan (tso-ch'an) in Ch'an. In the beginning, the practitioner starts by taking the sitting posture. He will use simple and basic methods of regulation the body and mind.

He is saying that the sitting of the body is not in the advanced student a necessary condition and he need not be limited to sitting, but in any posture, his mind will be in accord with the Samadhi of One Act.

CONCLUSION:

There is no doubt that Daoxin was the Dharma Master of Hongren. The question is, was his practice really a contemplation of the direct kind, or was his method of Zuochan (Tso-ch'an) used simply as the substrate from which later masters would build more adequate Direct models.

The truth may only be obtained by attempting the contemplation itself. In any event, if it is simply an effective and useful meditation, no different really than Bodhidharma's "obtaining of the Buddha tranquil mind" and nothing more, then it  has moved in the correct direction and we can turn to the Master Hongren in his turn to see where he takes it.

This introduction of the Prajñāpāramitā teachings, and also the Madhyamaka Sanlun school (三論宗) influence via Tiantai into the early Chan school, is more clearly seen from the relationship between the early patriarchs and the meditative.

Yinshun 1971 elaborates three core elements of Daoxin’s teachings:

 1. The union of moral discipline and dhyāna (戒&禪);

 2. The union of the Laṅkāvatāra and Prajñāpāramitā, though the latter is already a partially Tathāgata-garbha work;

 3. The practice of mindfulness of the Buddha (念佛), as Tiantai Prajñāpāramitā style “expedient means to calm the mind” in the attainment of Buddhahood.

There is also  is a long quotation from the Mañjuśrī Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, which elucidates the important meditation practice of the “single act samādhi”, in which one takes the Dharmadhātu as object, which is, in Tathāgata-garbha terms, true “mindfulness of the Buddha.”

We can see that any “vision” of the Buddhas thus ensuing from such a samādhi is seen in terms of the ultimate nature of “this purified mind is Buddha!”

Expedient Method on Essentials on Calming the Mind to Enter the Path《入道安心要方便法門》

Daoxin’s doctrinal position can be seen in his Expedient Methods on Essentials on Calming the Mind to Enter the Path, which appears in the Laṅkā Masters. Its basis is obvious when the opening passage states:

"… circulating within the monastery was a text on the Dharma of the Bodhisattva Precepts, and a compilation [entitled] Expedient Methods on Essentials on Calming the Mind to Enter the Path, the Dharma of which was taught to those with conditions and of mature faculties.

Essentially it was based on the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra’s “Supremacy of the Buddha Mind,” and also based on the Mañjuśrī Prajñā-[pāramitā] Sūtra’s “Single act samādhi,” which is:

The mind that is mindful of the Buddha is the Buddha itself, unreal conceptualization is a common person."

We can certainly say that his contemplation method had not reached the "last conceptualization" technique as it uses not only the traditional “見”, but also “看”, the latter often in the sense of “observing the mind” (看心), rather than the last conceptualization method.

There are other indications in the Laṅkā Masters too, such as the uncited reference to “firing arrows” and the methods of “regulating the breath” which also reflect Tiantai and Prajñāpāramitā thought, together with “desires” as forming the entirety of afflictions, a notion common to early Buddhism and most Mahāyāna. The Sanlun/Tiantai influence is also seen in a dialectical play off between the “view of emptiness” and “vision of emptiness” which is “neither viewing empty nor non-empty, the absence of views.”

There is also one statement regarding the “eternal view” and the “annihilation view”, similar to those seen in the Laṅkāvatāra above.

The notion of “vision” also appears in the fifth of the methods for “observing / seeing / contemplating the mind” (念心 / 看心 / 觀心), that of maintaining the one without moving, constantly abiding in passivity or activity.

One who is able to train in this will have knowledge and vision of Buddha nature, and swiftly enter into concentration.

That there is a “vision” to be had over and beyond that of merely attenuating unreal mental conceptualization was apparently an issue for Chan at that time, with some asserting that the absence of fluctuations was itself the ultimate goal.

Buddha-nature and Tathāgatagarbha thought gaining prominence at his time, the Sanlun school began to decline.