7. DAMAN HONGREN 大滿弘忍 THE CHAN FOUNT

Daman Hóngrěn (Ta-man Hung-jen) 大滿弘忍 601–674

THE DHARMA HERITAGE

o YUGUAN 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 660-7

§ 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

§ MAZU DAOYI 馬祖道一

§ 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

Since we must conclude that Daoxin's contemplations were Single Samadhi directed at the Nature of Buddha using the Naming of Buddha as his focus, the question is whether Hongren simply continued with that contemplation or if he added another ingredient worth noting.

Many of the details of Hongren’s life are uncertain and much of his biography, recorded by historians long after his death, is in great measure legend. While many of these tails are useful, rather like most quotations are useful, out of context they have little value except to reinforce the cognitive idea that one understands practice and therfore the meditations or contemplations.

Here the task is to reveal what we can save from the debris of legend in order to trace the development of Direct comtemplations so that they can be used in and of themselves for those of different temperaments (the true expedient means), for it is the contemplations of Chan which sets in place the actual path of daily Chan.

Hongren's life

Hongren was born in Huangmei within the upper-class and left home at about eleven or twelve to become a monk and study under Daoxin.

The following legendary meeting between Daoxin and Hongren is recorded in the Transmission of Light, by Keizan Jokin Zenji (1268-1325), which is a a koan collection of 53 stories of awakening written without doubt to reinforce the legendary lineage which had been invented and maintain therefore the structure of local and political influence which we still see today.

Daoxin met Hongren on a road in Huangmei.

Daoxin asked his name. Hongren replied, “I have essence but it is not a common name.”

Daoxin asked, “What name is it?” Hongren said.

“It is the essence of Buddhahood.” Daoxin replied.

“Have you no name?” Hongren said.

“None, because essence is empty.” With this, Daoxin passed on the teaching and the robe.

This is the sort of fragile account, without real substance, that we find throughout Chan history. The cognitive mind with dissonance can create "koan magic" from this, but it does not lead to Direct Contemplation and valid awakening.

What are called koans are a valid means to cut the strong impediments of the mind and indeed leads one to the door, but the door remains shut unless one has the key.

Hongren stayed with Daoxin until the latter’s death in 651. Later tradition has it that Hongren, after Daoxin’s death, moved the community of monks to Dong-Shan, “East Mountain,” the easterly of the “twin peaks.” The teachings of Daoxin and Hongren became known as the 東山法门, “East Mountain Teaching Gate.”

Hongren's Teachings and Contemplation Methods

Hongren continued Daoxin’s tradition of establishing monastic Chan communities in which the monks worked in the fields and developed practical and administrative skills as well as engaging in meditation practice. Chan practice now extended beyond meditation to all aspects of daily life.

His disciples were not all painted with the same brush. Among them were students of Vinaya, translators and even devotees of Pure Land, which is not at all surprising, and also of the Lotus Sutra.

In the ancient capital cities of Chang'an and Luoyang in the early eighth century, when Chan moved from a rural base to the center of Chinese power in the major urban areas and the imperial court, the East Mountain Teachings were seen as the “authentic” Chan Buddhist teachings, promoted by Hongren’s principal student, Shenxiu (神秀, 606?-706), who became the most prominent Buddhist monk of his time.

Hongren’s significance can be noted by the fact that a compilation of his teachings, presumably shortly after his death, called the Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, is the earliest collection of the teachings of a Chan master.

He emphasized meditation practice, teaching that the Pure Mind was obscured by “discriminating thinking, false thoughts, and proscriptive views” and that Awakening naturally arises when false thoughts are eliminated and a constant awareness of one’s natural awakened state is maintained.

We call this constant awareness of the Awakening which has no fruit in and of itself as "Presence." The Buddha Nature was his target.

This gives us an indication that Hongren eventually actually moved away from the Daoxin position in developing a focus of contemplation that was not the "tranquil contemplation model."

A compilation of his teachings, the 脩心要论, Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, is the earliest collection of the teachings of a Chan master.

According to the 脩心要论, Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, Hongren's basic teaching was that the Pure Mind was obscured by “discriminating thinking, false thoughts, and stained views."

Awakening, he believed, naturally arises when false thoughts are eliminated and a constant awareness of one’s natural enlightenment is maintained.

Hongren quotes the Vimalakirti Sutra, which explains perhaps this practice:

“Dharmas have no Self Nature and no Other Nature. Dharmas were fundamentally not generated in the first place and are not now extinguished.

Awakening is to transcend the two extremes and enter into non-discriminating wisdom. If you can understand this doctrine, then during all your activities you should simply maintain awareness of your fundamental Pure Mind. Do this constantly and fixedly, without generating false thought or the illusion of personal possession. Enlightenment will thus occur of itself."

From the Records of the Laṅkā Masters and Disciples《楞伽師資記》we find a description of Hongren’s meditation method: it says that the state of the 佛性, Buddha-dhātu, the nature of Buddha is analogous to empty space; the “realization of the great Dharmakāya” is a “vision of realization”; and the “thorough comprehension and vision of Buddha nature” is “like empty space, without boundary.”

This is not declaring that Emptiness is the target, but tries to give an idea of the limitnessness of the nature of Buddha that cannot be defined by words that is extended to become the Buddha Nature.

This is a fusion of both Tathāgata-garbha and Prajñāpāramitā teachings, with its use of both Buddha-dhātu and Buddha-nature, and also the analogies to empty space (虛空), which is not emptiness, but a metaphor for śūnyatā (空性).

We also have the Treatise on the Supreme Vehicle (最上乘論), or Treatise on the Essentials of Mind Cultivation (修心要論), which is attributed to Hongren.

Now we must wonder why the false lineage of Lanka master folowers deny the fact that Hongren ever wrote anything.

In general, the content of the Supreme Vehicle is paralleled with and clearly based on Huike’s methodology as described in the Laṅkā Masters, where it is known as the Essential Dharma.

The essentials of this teaching is basically:

First one should “maintain the essential true mind” (守本真心), in which when “unreal conceptualization do not arise” (妄念不生);

Then there is “cessation of the mind of ‘mine’,” (我所心滅) which implicitly includes the “mind of ‘I’” (我心滅);

One reaches as a consequence what is described as “buddhahood” (得成佛) or as the “vajra-samādhi” (趣金剛三昧) leading to the “inconceivable state” (得無生不可思議); which is the “end of saṃsāra and ultimate pacification” (不生死故即畢竟寂滅), the “transcendent man” (出世丈夫.)

Now, although this seems quite in accord with the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and other general Tathāgata-garbha teachings from the earlier patriarchs, it is worth noting that none of these specific phrases occur within the sūtras that are often cited.

The process of constant “observation” of mind, is the necessity of both dhyāna and prajñā in reaching a “vision” of Buddha nature.

This is supported by the Mahāparinirvāṇa and Vimālakīrti sūtras.

That cultivation is through observation of the “fundamental true mind” (本真心), but this is never described as being the result itself.

As a final note here we recall Hongren's declaration in his Treatise on the Essentials of Mind Cultivation:

My disciples have compiled this treatise [from my oral teachings], so that [the reader] may just use his True Mind to grasp the meaning of its words... If [the teachings contained herein] contradict the Sacred Truth, I repent and hope for the eradication [of that transgression].

If they correspond to the Sacred Truth, I transfer [any merit that would result from this effort to all] sentient beings. I want everyone to discern their fundamental minds and achieve buddhahood at once.

Those who are listening [now] should make effort, so that you can achieve buddhahood in the near future. I now vow to help my followers to cross over [to the other shore of liberation]....

The Base for Novice Meditations

Once again we find two meditation bases: one for novices and another for those who either did not need that preliminary training and another for those that passed beyond it.

In the Essentials of Cultivation, there is an emphasis upon 遺教經, leaving behind the teachings from the 佛遗教经, the Sutra of Buddha'sBequeathed Teaching:

"When the mind is placed at one point, there is nothing that cannot be attained."

He claimed that correct posture in meditation was essential and followers in groups that declare expediently their roots in lineage from Hongren claim that one-pointedness of mind to which he referred was not samadhi, but one's original or true mind.

For beginning meditation, Hongren suggested, "Look to where the horizon disappears beyond the sky and behold the character one (a horizontal line).

Further advice is "View your own consciousness tranquilly and attentively, so that you can see how it is always moving, like flowing water or a glittering mirage.… until its fluctuations dissolve into peaceful stability. This flowing consciousness will disappear like a gust of wind. When this consciousness disappears, all one’s illusions will disappear along with it…"

The Biographies of Eminent Monks 高僧傳 describe Shenxui 神秀（671~706, a disciple of Hung-jen 弘忍 and founder of the Northern Branch of the Ch'an School, as taking tso-ch'an as his main job.