1. Zongmi's (Tsung-mi's) Seven Chan Divisions

The learned monk Tsung-mi (died 841) devoted a lifetime to collecting the writings and recorded sayings of nearly a hundred teachers of Ch'an from Bodhidharma down to his own age. Unfortunately, his great collection, which he called "The Fountainheads of Ch'an," has been lost.

Only his "General Preface" containing his analysis and criticism of the schools has survived.

In this preface (which is a little book by itself), he analyzed the "modern" Ch'an movement into ten principal schools, which he classified under three main movements:

(1) Those that taught "the extinction of false thoughts by cultivating or controlling the mind" -- that is, the schools of the old or Indian dhyaana.

(2) Those that taught that "nothing is real, and there is nowhere to abide," and that "there is neither Truth {Law} to bind us, nor Buddhahood to attain." These include the school of the Ox-head Hill and the school of Hsi-ch'ien (Shih-t'ou).

(3) Those that discarded all older forms of Ch'an and taught "a direct appeal to the mind or the nature of man." This group includes the schools of Shen-hui and Ma-tsu.

In a very voluminous commentary on a tiny "suutra" -- the Yuan-Chiao-Ching 圓覺經 (the Suutra of Perfect Enlightenment), which was most probably fabricated by Tsung-mi himself -- there occurs a lengthy passage in which Tsung-mi lists the Seven Great Schools of Ch'an and gives a concise summary of the teachings of each. It is very remarkable that, of the seven only three may be called the old Ch'an, while the other four are distinctly revolutionary. Without following his arrangement of the order of the schools, I shall present the older schools first:

The three older schools were:

(1) The Northern School of Shen-hsiu and his disciples, which Shen-hui had attacked as the Ch'an of gradual enlightenment.

(2) A school in western China which practiced a peculiar way of pronouncing the one word "Fu" (Buddha) as the method of simplified contemplation.

(3) The school of Chih-hsin, a fellow student with Shen-hsiu and Hui-neng, and the later school founded by Chih-hsin's disciples at the Ching-chung Monastery 淨眾寺 in Chengtu. It was the tradition of these schools to simplify Ch'an to three sentences:

"Don't recall the past; don't contemplate the future; don't forget the path of wisdom." It was from the last-named Ching-chung School that the famous Ma-tsu came.

Even in this group of older schools, there was a clear tendency to break away from Indian dhyaana practice and work out their own simplified form of contemplation.

(4) The fourth school was that of the Pao-t'ang Monastery 保唐寺 at Chengtu, founded by the monk Wu-chu 無住 (died 774), who came out of the Ching-chung School and started a quite radical school of his own, in which "all forms of Buddhist religious practice -- such as worship, prayer, repentance, recitation of the sutras, painting the image of the Buddha, and copying Buddhist scriptures -- were forbidden and condemned as foolish."

This school inherited the "three sentences" from the mother school, but changed the third to read: "Don't be foolish." And to them "all thought, good or evil, is foolish and idle." "No thought, no consciousness -- that is the ideal."

(5) The fifth school, to which Tsung-mi himself claimed allegiance, was that of Shen-hui, which, as already noted, renounced all Ch'an practices and believed in the possibility of sudden enlightenment. Tsung-mi was very fond of quoting Shen-hui's dictum: "The one word 'Knowledge' is the gateway to all mysteries." That sentence best characterizes Shen-hui's intellectualistic approach. In his Discourses, he frankly said: "Here in my place, there is no such thing as ting 定 (samaadhi, quietude), and nobody talks of concentration of the mind." "Even the desire to seek bodhi (enlightenment) and achieve nirvaana is foolish."

(6) The sixth school was the Ox-head Hill School, an old school based on the philosophy of the Prajnaapaaramitaa Suutras and the Maadhyamika School of Naagaarjuna. Under its new leaders in the eighth century, notably Hsuan-su 玄素 ( died 752 ) and Tao-ch'in 道欽 ( died 792 ), the school seemed to have become openly nihilistic and even iconoclastic. Tsung-mi says this school taught that "there is neither Truth {Law} to bind us, nor Buddhahood to attain." "Even if there be a life better than nirvaana, I say that that too is as unreal as a dream." Hsuan-su's biographer told this story: A butcher notorious for his great cruelty heard him speak and was moved to repentance. Hsuan-su accepted him and even went to his house and took meals with his family. Tsung-mi says this school holds that "there is neither cultivation, nor no-cultivation; there is neither Buddha, nor no-Buddha."

(7) The seventh school was the great School of Tao-i 道一 (called Ma-tsu because of his family name Ma, died 788). Ma-tsu taught that "the Tao is everywhere and in everything. Every idea, every movement of the body -- a cough, a sigh, a snapping of the fingers, or raising of the eyebrows -- is the functioning of the Buddha-nature in man. Even love, anger, covetousness and hate are all functionings of the Buddha-nature." Therefore, there is no need of a particular method of cultivation. "Let the mind be free. Never seek to do good, nor seek to do evil, nor seek to cultivate the Tao. Follow the course of Nature, and move freely. Forbid nothing, and do nothing. That is the way of the 'free man,' who is also called the 'super-man.'" According to Tsung-mi, this school also holds that "there is neither Law {Truth} to bind us, nor Buddhahood to attain."

These are the schools of Chinese Ch'an as Tsung-mi knew them in the early years of the ninth century. The Pao-t'ang School was openly iconoclastic and even anti-Buddhistic. The three others were equally radical and probably even more iconoclastic in their philosophical implications.

One of Ma-tsu's famous disciples, T'ien-jan 天然 (died 824) of Tanhsia 丹霞 (Tanka in Japanese), was spending a night at a ruined temple with a few traveling companions. The night was bitterly cold and there was no firewood. He went to the Hall of Worship, took down the wooden image of the Buddha, and made a comfortable fire. When he was reproached by his comrades for this act of sacrilege, he said: "I was only looking for the sariira (sacred relic) of the Buddha." "How can you expect to find sariira in a piece of wood?" said his fellow travelers. "Well," said T'ien-jan, "then, I am only burning a piece of wood after all."

Such a story can be properly understood only in the light of the general intellectual tendencies of a revolutionary age. Professor Nukariya, in The Religion of the Samurai, twice quoted this story to show that Chinese Zen was iconoclastic. But Suzuki says: "Whatever the merit of Tanka from the purely Zen point of view, there is no doubt that such deeds as his are to be regarded as highly sacrilegious and to be avoided by all pious Buddhists. [11]

Those pious Buddhists will never understand Chinese Ch'an. And they will never understand another disciple of Ma-tsu's, the lay scholar P'ang Yun 龐蘊, who left this famous dictum: "Do empty yourselves of everything that exists, and never reify anything that exists not." This is truly a wonderful saying which is as sharp and as destructive as the famous "Occam's razor":

11. Suzuki, Essays, First Series, p. 317.

"Entities should not be unnecessarily multiplied." Old P'ang's dictum, "Never reify (shih) anything that exists not," may be called "P'ang's razor" or the razor of Chinese Ch'an, with which the medieval ghosts, the gods, the bodhisattvas and the Buddhas, the four stages of dhyaana, the four formless states of samaadhi, the six divine powers of the attained yoga practitioner, etc., were to be cut off and destroyed.

That is the Chinese Ch'an of the eighth century, which, as I have said before, is no Ch'an at all, but a Chinese reformation or revolution within Buddhism.

Tsung-mi (781-841) was a truly a singular spirit most erudite in both historical and Mahayana-spiritual development. In terms of the latter he once formulated a marvelous systematized analysis revolving around the intertwining ten-fold paths of delusion and awakening. The following is reproduced in full from a work entitled UNDERSTANDING TSUNG-MI’S VIEW ON BUDDHA NATURE, by Seong-Uk Kim:

1. The Process of Delusion

(1) Original Awakening. All sentient beings possess original awakened mind as an ontological ground for the next nine stages to evolve. The Awakening of Faith defines “original awakening” as the essence of mind that is free from thought and nothing other than the essence of Buddha mind. Tsung-mi’s analogy is a noble, rich man who lives freely at his home.

(2) Non-Awakening. This refers to the non-awakened aspect of ālayavijñāna. The Awakening of Faith says about non-awakening that all sentient beings are deluded by beginningless ignorance.Tsung-mi compares this stage to the rich and noble man falling asleep, forgetting who he is.

(3) Arising of Thoughts. This stage corresponds to the first aspect of the three subtle phenomena (san-hsi-hsiang) from the Awakening of Faith: ignorance agitates mind, commencing the process of phenomenal evolution. Tsung-mi compares this stage to the dreams that naturally arise while sleeping.

(4) Arising of the Perceiving Subject. Because agitation gives rise to discrimination within the mind, there appears the perceiving subject. This stage corresponds to the second aspect of the three subtle phenomena from the Awakening of Faith. Tsung-mi’s analogy for this stage is the consciousness of the dreaming man.

(5) Arising of the Perceived Objects. The body and the world manifest as the objects of the perceiving subject within the mind. This stage accords with the final aspect of the three subtle phenomena from the Awakening of Faith. Tsung-mi compares this stage to the noble and rich man who finds himself suffering from poverty and perceives things that he likes and dislikes within his dream.

(6) Attachment to Things. At this stage, one takes phenomenal appearances as real and is attached to them. This stage is equivalent to the first movement of the six coarse phenomena (liu-ts’u-hsiang) from the Awakening of Faith: “discrimination of intellect and second discrimination of feelings with regard to things.” Tsung-mi compares this stage to the man’s attachment to the realistic view of what he perceives within his dream.

(7) Attachment to Self. At this stage, one develops self-consciousness distinct from the perceived objects, corresponding to the third and the fourth movements of the six coarse phenomena from the Awakening of Faith: “attachment and speculation.” Tsung-mi’s analogy for this stage is the man’s identification with the person within his dream.

(8) Three Poisons. The three poisons of greed, anger, and folly occur according to feelings of like and dislike. Tsung-mi compares this stage to the man who produces three poisons in ac-cord with his feelings.

(9) Giving Rise to Karma. At this stage, one generates karma, based on three poisonous minds. This stage corresponds to the fifth of the six coarse phenomena from the Awakening of Faith. Tsung-mi compares this stage to the man doing diverse good or evil acts.

(10) Receiving Consequences of Karma. Sentient beings suffer the consequences of karma within the six destinies. This stage corresponds to the sixth movement of the six coarse phenomena from the Awakening of Faith. Tsung-mi allegorizes the inevitability of the consequences of karmas as follows: “One cannot avoid [the consequences of] generated karmas just as shadows and echoes follow forms and sounds.” Tsung-mi compares this stage to the man being punished for his evil deeds and rewarded for his good deeds.

This ten-stage process of delusion provides the model for cosmogony as well as soteriology: it elucidates the process through which all diverse phenomena originate from the mind and at the same time presents the soteriological path by showing the cause of delusion and karmic causality. Tsung-mi expounds this soteriological path in the process of awakening, which reverses the direction of the process of delusion.

2. The Process of Awakening

(1) Sudden Awakeningthe . At this stage, one encounters a master who leads him to gain “under-standing awakening.”

Tsung-mi describes “understanding awakening” as follows:

“One believes that four great elements are not self, that five aggregates are empty, and that his true mind is not empty of Buddha’s virtues and unchanging.” 200

He asserts that “understanding awakening” is the result of good deeds in the past lives and relates it to the four faiths from the Awakening of Faith:

(a) faith in the ultimate source,

(b) faith in the numberless excellent qualities of the Buddhas,

(d) faith in the Sangha whose members are able to devote themselves to the practice of benefiting both themselves and others.

This stage counteracts the second stage of the process of delusion: “non-awakening.”

(2) Resolving to Attain Awakening.

The process of “gradual cultivation” starts with this stage. One raises the three minds of wisdom, compassion, and vow.

Tsung-mi relates them to the three minds from the Awakening of Faith: (a) the mind filled with great compassion, (b) the mind of profoundness, and (c) the mind characterized by straightforwardness. This stage counteracts the tenth stage of the process of delusion: “receiving consequences of karma.”

(3) Cultivating Five Practices. At this stage, one cultivates five practices to strengthen the roots of belief raised at the first stage. Tsung-mi enumerates these five practices, based on the Awakening of Faith: giving (dāna), morality (śīla), patience (kshānti), vigor (vīrya), and cessation [of illusion] and clear contemplation (śamatha-vipaśyanā).

This stage counteracts the ninth stage of the process of delusion: “giving rise to karma.”

(4) Developing Three Minds. At this stage, the three minds from the second stage develop through the cultivation of five practices. This stage counteracts the eighth stage of the process of delusion: “three poisons.”

(5) Emptiness of Self. At this stage, one realizes that his or her self is empty of any substantial qualities. This stage counteracts the seventh stage of the process of delusion: “attachment to self.”

(6) Emptiness of Things. One keeps cultivating the five practices until he or she realizes that phenomenal appearances have no substantial self. This stage counteracts the sixth stage of the process of delusion: “attachment to things.”

(7) Mastery of Things. Having realized the emptiness of things and self in the previous two stages, one realizes that all things are interdependent and interpenetrate each other without obstruction and, as a result, masters all things at this stage.

This stage counteracts the fifth stage of the process of delusion: “arising of the perceived objects.”

(8) Mastery of Mind. At this stage, one realizes that all myriad phenomena derive from the mind and that the mind and things interpenetrate each other. He or she masters the mind. This stage counteracts the fourth stage of the process of delusion: “arising of the perceiving subject.”

(9) Freedom from Myriad Thoughts. At this stage, one’s true nature of mind is present in every thought. He or she cultivates the practice of no-thought, soon achieves a state of no-thought, and enters Buddha’s rank. This stage counteracts the third stage of the process of delusion: “arising of thoughts.”

(10) Accomplishment of Buddhahood. At this stage, one accomplishes the whole process of “gradual cultivation” and reaches “realization awakening.”

As Tsung-mi explains, “When one is in no-thought, it is equivalent to ‘experiential awakening’ (shih-chüeh) . . . [One’s] mind is always in dharma-realm when he or she sees phenomenal appearances. . . . He or she also sees that all sentient beings share true awakening.”

As Gregory points out, these two processes of delusion and awakening constitute a continuum, not two distinct directions. The final stage of delusion introduces the first stage of awakening: Thanks to the consequences of good deeds, one meets a good friend who reveals the true nature of mind and gains “sudden awakening” of the Truth. Based on this sudden awakening, one follows along the path of “gradual cultivation” and eventually accomplishes the whole process of awakening: “understanding awakening – gradual cultivation – realization awakening.”

In the same manner, the final stage of the process of awakening indicates the first stage of the process of delusion: one realizes that the final fruit of “experiential awakening” is none other than original awakening and that all the last nine stages of the process of delusion evolve from the first stage: empty tranquil awareness. For Tsung-mi, empty tranquil awareness is the inherent ontological ground for human beings’ experience of awakening and non-awakening.”