ERRORS IN ZONGMI'S "SUDDEN" CONCEPT

1. A discussion of the errors in Zongmi's approach from the contemplation vision of Awakening.

In the first stage of CONSTRCTION 

 1.  The error of not understanding that the theoretical base of Emptiness was remote from the Contemplations derived from that position.

2. The contemplations of Emptiness parallel those of Awareness

3. Huineng's contemplation, although considered superior, was also effecrtively a third, though different direct approach

4. Oxhead and ShenXui... were they direct

Gregory text

no mind

In order to appreciate  the scope of Tsung-mi's comment,  we must cast it within the doctrinal context within which it is set. Tsung-mi 

discusses three general types of Mahaayaana Buddhist teachings in the Ch'an Preface, each of which he also identifies with a particular brand of

Ch'an teaching.  The first and least profound  corresponds to the type of Yogaacaara represented by the Fa-hsiang tradition in China,that which, in

Tsung-mi's terminology, discusses phenomenal appearances (shuo-hsiang (af); Tsung-mi further identifies it as the teaching embodied in Oxhead

the Northern Ch'an Lineage. It is superseded  by the that of Maadhyamika, which uses emptiness to deny the reality of phenomenal appearances 

(p'o-hsiang); Tsung-mi sees this teaching as providing the doctrinal basis  of the Ox-Head  Lineage.

Both of these teachings are characterized as being of "hidden intent" (mi'i (ag)), because in neither is the Buddha's ultimate intent revealed. This is

one way for Tsung-mi to claim that the first two levels of teaching are neyaartha (pu-liao(ah)), that is, not those of ultimate meaning. The second,

however, is the  more profound of the two because  it does "intimate" (mi-hsien (ai)) it.

        According   to  the  true  ultimate  meaning,  since

        deluded thoughts  are intrinsically  empty, there is

        nothing  that  can  be  negated.

All  things, being

        without  defilement,  are  intrinsically   the  True

        Nature, and its Marvelous Functioning-in-accprdwith-

        conditions  is not only never  interrupted, but also

        cannot  be negated. 

        Although   he  regarded  the  True  Nature  and  its

        Marvelous Functioning not to be nonexistent, because

        he provisionally said they were nonexistent,  [these

        teachings]   are  designated  as  being  of  "hidden

        intent."  Furthermore, though  his intention  lay in

        revealing the Nature, because his words thus negated

        phenomenal  appearances   and  his  intent  was  not

        expressed   in  words,  they  are  referred   to  as

        "hidden." (407a7--9; K 121)

             The  third  teaching  is  ultimate  because, in

        contrast  to the  previous  two, it  does  "directly

        reveal"  (hsien-shih) the  essence.

  It is therefore

        also  "sudden"  (tun(aj) ) because  it  reveals  the

        essence in its immediate  reality, whereas the other

        two  are  "gradual"  (chien(ak)) because  they  only

        offer a mediated  access  to the essence  through  a

        variety  of expedients  (fang-pien, upaaya).

  It  is

        also "sudden"  in that it is the only teaching which

        makes it possible  for one to realize the essence of

        the Mind  directly, and such  an experience  by its

        very nature must be "sudden" because the Mind itself

        cannot be grasped through any symbolic mediation.(7)

             Unlike  those  forms  of Buddhism, particularly

        vocal  within  Ch'an, which  held that only negative

        statements  such as "there is nothing whatsoever  to

        be  attained"  or "neither  Mind  nor  Buddha"  were

        ultimately true,

             The   passage   discussed    earlier   on   the

        distinction  between name and essence concludes on a

        similar note.  Tsung-mi  remarks  that the first two

       types of teaching

                                P255

        use negative  modes of expression  because they fear

        that  words  will only  become  a source  of further

        attachment.

  As such, they are suited  for beginners

        and those of shallow  capacity.  The teaching  which

        reveals  the  Nature,  by  contrast,  is  geared  to

        advanced  students  and those  of superior  ability:

        "Becuase   it  causes   them  to  forget  words  and

        apprehend   the  essence,  a  single  word  directly

        reveals [the essence]." Tsung-mi then quotes, in his

        appended  note,  Bodhidharma   as  having  said:  "I

        directly  reveal  [the  essence  ] by pointing  to a

        single word" (406c29-407a3; K 170).

             The  third  teaching, in which  the essence  is

        directly revealed, thus supersedes the previous two.

        On the one hand, the first  two prepare  the way for

        its apprehension.  Since  each teaching  generically

        represents  a certain level of understanding  of the

        essence, Tsung-mi's hierarchical  arrangement of the

        teachings at the same time also describes the course

        of Buddhist piactice  by delineating  the process of

        advancement    through   a   graduated   series   of

        provisional   levels  of  understanding   until  the

        ultimate  one  is  finally  reached.  This  is  the

        gradual  perspective.  On the other  hand, the third

        teaching  is also sudden, and by this Tsung-mi means

        that  it makes  it possible  for  those  of superior

        spiritual  capacity  to realize the essence directly

        as  it  is without  having  to  progress  through  a

        succession  of  provisional  stages.   A  person  of

        superior spiritual capacity, moreover, is one who is

        able "to forget  words  and apprehend  the essence,"

        and thus for such  a person  only  a single  word is

        necessary  to  reveal  the  essence  in all  of  its

        immediacy.

             Tsung-mi thus envisions  a "two-track"  path of

        spiritual  progress:  the  first,  the  gradual,  is

        suited for those of average or lesser capacity while

        the  second, the sudden, is only  for  those  of the

        highest.

The third teaching, as the culmination  of

        the gradual path, thus also has a gradual component,

        although it is its "sudden" character  that Tsung-mi

        emphasizes. And  it  is its  sudden  character  that

        enables  the adept  to circumvent  the gradual  path

        entirely and directly apprehend the Mind itself.

             Tsung-mi's   arrangement   of  the   teachings,

        insofar as it recapitulates  the course of spiritual

        progress, is predicated  upon  his understanding  of

        the nature and function of religious language. While

        he  does  not  explicitly  articulate  a  theory  of

        religious  language  as such, one can, nevertheless,

        be extrapolated into the following general form. For

        the  teachings  which  still  only  approximate  the

        ultimate, the function  of language is primarily  to

        overcome the disasterous  effects arising out of the

        confusion  of names (ming) and essences  (t'i), that

        is,  language   is  turned  against  itself  as  the

        principal    vehicle   of   reification.    Such   a

        misconception  of language is inextricably a part of

        the  basic  dichotomizing  mode  of awareness  which

        divides  beings  from their True nature.  Apophatic

        language, by calling  attention  to the  unconscious

        hold  that  the fundamental  structures  of language

        have  in determining  the forms  of experience, thus

        plays a necessarily therapeutic  role in dismantling

        the false premises  upon which deluded thinking  is

        based.  Tsung-mi's ranking of the provisional levels

        of teaching is accordingly  done on a scale of their

        increasing  use  of  negative  modes  of  discourse,

        culminating with the

                                P256

        thoroughgoing apophasis of emptiness. Only after one

        has  recognized   the  emptiness   of  words,  their

        provisional  and  arbitrary  character  as dependent

        upon convention,  can religious  language  take on a

        new and potent  function.  When names  are no longer

        mistaken for essences, then they no longer provide a

        basis  upon  which  an  imaginary   reality  can  be

        constructed  and they are thus  free  to reveal  the

        essence  directly.  Such  positive  use  of language

        could   be  called.   playing   on  Tsung-mi's   own

        terminology,  "revelatory"  (hsien-shih) ---not,  of

        course, meaning  by such a term  a special  kind  of

        language  that is sacred because revealed  by a more

        exalted spiritual  authority, but language  which is

        able to reveal the essence directly (hisen-shih); in

        other words, language that is so efficacious that it

        is able, with only a single  word, to bring about  a

        direct  insight  into the very  essence  itself,  at

        least  in  the  case  of  persons   of  the  highest

        spiritual   caliber.   The  primary   distinguishing

        characteristic  of the Teaching  which  Reveals  the

        Nature  is that  it makes  use  of  such  revelatory

        language.  And  the paradigm  of such  language, for

        Tsung-mi, is the single word "chih."

             The problem with such a general formulation  is

        that, in  several  places, Tsung-mi  seems  to  be

        saying  that  "chih"  and only chih can function  as

        such  a  revelatory  word,  and.   if  that  it  his

        position,   it    raises    serious    philosophical

        difficulties for him. On the one hand, he would have

        to  admit  that  "chih"  could  be mistaken  for  an

        ordinary word (or else why did Bodhidharma not utter

        it?) and  so, like  all words, must  also  be empty.

        Yet.  on the other hand, he is stuck with Shen-hui's

        dictum about "the single word." Although he does not

        anticipate  this problem,I think  that, in order  to

        maintain the overall consistency  of his thought, he

        would, if confronted  with  it, have  to acknowledge

        that such "revelatory" language could not be tied to

        a specific  term.  if  Tsung-mi's  understanding  of

        religious  language  can be construed  in this  way,

        then he is saying something  that should be relevant

        for those interested  in the philosophical  analysis

        of mysticism.

        III THE MEANING OF CHIH

        So far our discussion  of the single word "chih" has

        shown   that  it  is  predicated   upon   Tsung-mi's

        understanding   of  the  nature   and  function   of

        religious   language  and  that  this  understanding

        provides  one of the primary  rubrics  in  terms  of

        which he evaluates  the various  Buddhist  teachings

        and Ch'an  traditions.  It is thus no accident  that

        Tsung-mi  doctrinally   identifies   chih  with  the

        tathaagatagarbha, and it is worth noting in passing.

        as   I   have   argued   elsewhere,  (9)  that   the

        tathaagatagarbha   doctrine   was  important   for

        Tsung-mi  precisely  because  it provided  an  onto-

        logical basis for the use of kataphatic language.

             In  the  Ch'an  Preface   Tsung-mi   gives  the

        following  characterization  of the  Teaching  which

        Directly Reveals that the True Mind is the Nature:

        This  teaching  propounds  that all sentient  beings

        without  exception  have  the  empty, tranquil  True

        Mind.   From  time  without  beginning   it  is  the

        intrinsically pure, effulgent, unobscured, clear and

        bright ever-present Awareness (ch'ang-

                                P257

        chih).  It will abide  forever  and never perish  on

        into the infinite future. It is named Buddha-nature;

        it is also named  tathaagatagarbha  and Mind-Ground.

        (404b27-c3; K 131)(10)

        Tsung-mi   goes  on  to  gloss  what  he  means   by

        "ever-present  awareness"  in a later  part  of this

        section (404c28-a12; K 131-132).  After stating that

        it   is   not    the   awareness    of   realization

        (cheng-chih(ar), he says  that  the True  Nature  is

        nevertheless  spoken of as aware to indicate that it

        is different  from  insentient  nature.(11) However,

        Awareness   is  neither   the  mental  activity   of

        discrimination  (fen-pieh  chih shih(as)) nor wisdom

        (chih(c),Mathews # 933).  For canonical authority he

        then refers to the Wen-ming ("The Bodhisattvas  Ask

        for Clarification") chapter of the Avata.mska (see T

        10.69a), (12) which he claims differentiates between

        Awareness  (chih,  Mathews  #932) and  wisdom (chih,

        Mathews  #933), pointing  out  that  "wisdom  is not

        shared  by  the  ordinary  person  (fan), "  whereas

        "Awareness is possessed by both the sage (sheng) and

        the   ordinary    person."(13)   He   first   quotes

        Ma~nju`srii's  answer to the bodhisattvas' question,

        "What is the Wisdom of the realm of Buddhas?"

        "The Wisdom of all Buddhas  freely [penetrates]  the

        three times without  obstruction."  (Since  there is

        nothing within the past, present, and future that is

        not utterly  penetrated, [it is said to be] free and

        unobstructed.)

        He then quotes Ma~nju`srii's answer to the question,

        "What is the Awareness of the realm of Buddhas?"

        "It  is  not  something   that   can  be  known   by

        consciousness  (fei  shih  so  neng  shih(at))"  (It

        cannot  be  known  by  consciousness.  Consciousness

        falls within the category  of discrimination.  "Were

        it discriminated, it would  not be True  Awareness."

        "True  Awareness  is only seen in no-thought.") "nor

        is  it an object  of the  mind  (i  fei  hsin  ching

        chieh(au))." (It cannot be known by wisdom.  That is

        to  say, if one  were  to realize  it  by  means  of

        wisdom, then it would fall within the category of an

        object  which  is realized, but since True Awareness

        is not  an object, it cannot  be realized  by wisdom

        .... )(14)

             What Tsung-mi thus means by "Awareness"  is not

        a specific  cognitive  faculty, but  the  underlying

        ground of sentience  which is always present  in all

        sentient life.  It is not some special kind of state

        of mind or spiritual insight, but the ground of both

        delusion  and  enlightenment, ignorance  and wisdom,

        or, as he aptly terms it, the Mind Ground.

             Tsung-mi's  use  of  "chih"  to  designate  the

        tathaagatagarbha, and the specific  meaning  that it

        has for him in terms of "revelatory" language, gives

        a decided Ch'an twist to tathaagatagarbha  doctrine.

        At  the  same  time, it  also  brings  a  scholastic

        dimension  back into Ch'an, which the iconoclasm  of

        Shen-hui's  attack on the Northern line of Ch'an had

        eclipsed.  The reconciliation  of Ch'an and the more

        scholastic  teachings (ch'an-chiao  i-chih(av)) was,

        of  course, one  of the  major  objectives  to which

        Tsung-mi devoted the ch'an Preface.

                                P258

        IV. METAPHOR OF THE MIRROR

        Tsung-mi's  analysis  of the True Mind  in the Ch'an

        Chart  sheds  further  light  on  what  he means  by

        ever-present Awareness.

        The intrinsic  essence  of the True Mind  (chen-hsin

        tzu-t'i(aw)) has two kinds of functioning: the first

        is  the  intrinsic  functioning  of the  self-Nature

        (tzu-hsing  pen-yung(ax) ) and  the  second  is  its

        responsive  functioning-in-accord-with-conditions

        (sui-yuan ying-yung(ay)). (437d4-5; K 336)(15)

        Tsung-mi then proceeds to illustrate  this statement

        with an analogy of a bronze mirror.(16)

        The material substance  of the bronze is the essence

        of the self-Nature (tzu-hsinh t'i(az)); the luminous

        reflectivity  (ming(ba)  )  of  the  bronze  is  the

        functioning of the self-Nature (tzu-hsing yung(bb));

        and the images reflected by its luminous reflectivity

        are its functioning-in-accord-with-conditions (sui-yuan

        yung(bc)). The images are reflected in direct response

        to conditions. While the reflections may have thousands

        of variations, the luminous reflectivity is the ever-

        present luminous reflectivity of the self-nature.

        (437d5-7; K 336)

            Tsung-mi goes on to explain this analogy: "The

        ever-present  tranquility of the Mind is the essence

        of the self-Nature, and the  ever-present  Awareness

        of the Mind is the functioning  of the self-Nature."

        The psychophysical functions of "speech, discrimination,

        bodily  movement, and so forth are [examples of] its

        functioning-in-accord-with-conditions".(437d7-8; K336) .

        The metaphor could be represented diagrammatically as

        follows:

           MIRROR        ONTOLOGY        MIND

           bronze        essence of      ever-present tranquility

                         self-Nature

           luminous      functioning of  ever-present Awarencess

           reflectivity  self-Nature

           reflected     functioning-in- psycho-physical functions

           images        accord-with-

                         conditions

             This metaphor is worth analyzing in detail. Not

        only is it based on a more complex understanding  of

        chih than that seen earlier in Tsung-mi's discussion

        of name  and  essence  (wherein  chih  revealed  the

        essence  of the Mind rather than merely  designating

        it), but it is also  connected  with the fundamental

        structuring ideas of his thought.

             The analysis of the structure of the Mind upon

        which  Tsung-mi's  use  of this  metaphor  is  based

        derives from the Awakening of Faith, which discusses

        the  Mind  in terms  of  two  aspects: the  Mind  as

        Suchness  (hsin  chen-ju(bd)) and the Mind which  is

        Subject  to Birth-and-Death  (hsin  sheng-mieh(be)).

        Following Fa-tsang, Tsung-mi characterizes these two

        aspects of the Mind as absolute (pu-pien(bf)),

                                P259

        literally,     "unchanging")     and     conditioned

        (sui-yuan(bg).These two aspects of the Mind, in turn,

        trace  back  to the  two different  perspectives  in

        terms    of   which    the   tathaagatagarbha    was

        traditionally  discussed: seen in its true form  the

        tathaagatagarbha  is none other than the Dharmakaaya,

        which  is  intrinsically  pure  and  devoid  of  all

        defilements;  seen,  however,  through  the  deluded

        perception  of  sentient  beings  it appears  to  be

        defiled.

             The  absolute  and conditioned  aspects  of the

        Mind, as Tsung-mi  understands  them, conform to the

        conceptual   paradigm   of  essence  (t'i(u)  )  and

        function (yung(bh)).  What is interesting and unique

        about Tsung-mi's  analysis, however, is that he also

        views  the absolute  aspect  of the Mind in terms of

        its essence  and function.  Accordingly, tranquility

        (chi) refers  to the essence  of the self-Nature  of

        the  Mind, and  Awareness, to  its  functioning.  As

        Tsung-mi   writes,   "'tranquil'   refers   to   the

        invariable  steadfastness  of the real  essence, the

        principle of immovability and immutability....  Were

        there  no essence  of the True Mind, what  could  be

        said  to be tranquil  and what  could  be said to be

        immovable and immutable?" (Yuan-chueh ching lueh-shu

        ch'ao, at ZZ 1/15/2.97b8-10). Awareness is a "direct

        manifestation of the very essence itself'" (tang-t'i

        piao-hsien(bi)  )  (97b11) .   "Tranquility  is  the

        Awareness  which  is tranquil, and Awareness  is the

        tranquility  whicch  is aware.  Tranquility  is  the

        essence  of  the  self-Nature  which  is  aware, and

        Awareness  is  the  functioning  of the  self-Nature

        which is tranquil  (97b12-14).  Tsung-mi  then calls

        upon the authority  of Shen-hui to clinch the point

        that the essence of the Mind and its functioning are

        only different modes of  one another: "Ho-tse said,

        'The functioning  of the essence  is aware in and of

        itself and the essence of this Awareness is tranquil

        in and of itself.  Although the terms are different,

        essence and function form a unity'" (97b18-cl).(17)

             The importance of Tsung-mi's application of the

        essence/function (t'i-yung) paradigm to the absolute

        aspect  of  the  Mind  is  that  it  allows  him  to

        distinguish   between   two  different   orders   of

        functioning:  the  intrinsic  functioning   of  the

        self-Nature and its responsive functioning-in-accord-

        with-conditions. The functioning of the self-Nature,

        like  the  luminous  reflectivity  of  a  mirror, is

        absolute   in  that  it  is  ever-present   and  not

        contingent  upon  conditions: it exists  in  and  of

        itself. It is in this sense that it is characterized

        as  pen(bj) ,  "intrinsic, "  in  contrast   to  the

        functioning-in-accord-with-conditions,   which    is

        causally  contingent  and  hence  characterized   as

        ying(bk) ,  "responsive."   Moreover,  just  as  the

        luminous  reflectivity  of  the  mirror  is able  to

        reflect  both pure: and impure images  without  its

        intrinsically   pure  and  luminous   nature   being

        affected, so too the Mind is able to respond to pure

        and impure  conditioning  without  its intrinsically

        pure  and enlightened  nature  being  affected.  The

        functioning-in-accord-with-conditions, on the  other

        hand,  is  what  could  be  called  a  second  order

        functioning.  It involves two levels of contingency.

        Not only do the pyschophysical  functions, like  the

        reflected  images in a mirror, only become activated

        in  response  to stimuli, they  are also  dependent

        upon  the Mind as their  ontological  ground,just as

        images  could not be reflected  in the absence  of a

        mirror. The psychophysical functions are thus, in an

        impor-

                                P260

        tant  sense, epiphenomena  (mo(bl)) of  ever-present

        Awareness. The difference between these two kinds of

        functioning could thus be represented as follows:

            FUNCTIONING OF       FUNCTIONING-IN-ACCORD-

            SELF-NATURE          WITH-CONDITIONS

            eternal              transient

            unchanging           variable

            unconditioned        conditioned

            absolute             relative

            primary(pen)         derivative(mo)

             These two different orders of functioning  also

        reflect  two different  levels  of "causality."  The

        first  has to do with  the  sequence  of causes  and

        conditions  whereby  each thing or event  arises  or

        occurs contingent  upon a series  of other things or

        events,  which, in  turn, are  contingent  upon  yet

        other  things  or events.  In  terms  of  Tsung-mi's

        metaphor, the various  images that are reflected  in

        the mirror are contingent upon the different objects

        that  appear  before  it, those  objects  themselves

        ultimately being contingent upon an infinite series

        of causes  and conditions.  It is just this order of

        contingency  that is accounted for in the well-known

        Buddhist   doctrine   of   conditioned   origination

        (yuan-ch'i(bm);  pratiityasamutpaada).  However,  as

        the metaphor has already suggested, there is another

        kind  of  causality,  one  which  makes   the  first

        possible.  This  is what, in the  Hua-yen  tradition

        that Tsung-mi  inherited, is referred  to as "Nature

        Origination" (hsingch'i(bn)).  Quoting Fa-tsang (see

        T45.639b20-21), Tsung-mi  defines Nature Origination

        as "the arising of functioning based on the essence"

        (Hua-yen  ching  hsing-yuan  p'in  shu  ch'ao, at ZZ

        1/7/4.399c16-17).  "Nature," he explains, refers  to

        the One Mind  of the Awakening  of Faith, "the  pure

        Mind  that  is the ultimate  source  of Buddhas  and

        sentient  beings"  (399b6  and  c5) .  "Origination"

        refers   to  the   manifestation   of  the  manifold

        phenomena  of  the  universe  from  the  Nature, the

        process of phenomenal appearance (399c5-6). "Nature"

        means "the Nature of the essence"  (t'i-hsiang(bo)),

        and "origination," "the phenomenal appearance of the

        essence"  (t'i-hsiang(bp)) (399b16-17).  In addition

        to the essence/function  paradigm, Tsung-mi  defines

        Nature origination in terms of yet another polarity,

        that  of  Nature  (hsing(bq)) and  its  phenomenal

        appearances  (hsiang(br)), which  is  basic  to  the

        structure  of his thought.  Nature origination  thus

        means that all phenomenal appearances are ultimately

        based   upon   the   Nature,   whereas   conditioned

        origination connotes the relative interdependency of

        all phenomenal appearances.  While  each and every

        phenomenal appearance is conditioned  by every other

        phenomenal  appearance, it  is  simultaneously  also

        grounded  upon  the  Nature, which  is its  ultimate

        source.

             The two different levels of causality  could be

        visualized  as a cone.  The circular  surface of the

        cone (the directrix) would  represent  the dimension

        of  conditioned  origination  (yuan-ch'i), in  which

        every point is connected with every other point in a

        causal series.  Since the position  of each point is

        conditioned by that of every

                                P261

        other  point,  each  point   could  be  said  to  be

        infinitely   contingent.   The  individual   points,

        moreover,  represent   the   infinite   variety   of

        phenomenal  appearances  (hsiang).  Each  phenomenal

        appearance,   however,   in   addition    to   being

        conditioned  by all others, is also  a manifestation

        of the Nature  (hsing), which, in the  image  of the

        cone, would be represented  by the vertex.  Not only

        is each point on the directrix  serially linked with

        every  other  point  on the  directrix, it is at the

        same time also linked  with the vertex, just as all

        phenomenal     appearances     are    simultaneously

        interdependent  and  a manifestation  of the Nature,

        which  is their  ultimate  ground.  The  direct  and

        simultaneous  linkage of each point of the directrix

        with the vertex represents  the dimension  of Nature

        origination  (hsing-ch'i)-what, in  the  geometrical

        terminology  of  this  image, is  aptly  termed  the

        generatrix. (See drawing on page 269.)

             The significance of Nature  origination  as a

        causal  model  is that phenomenal  appearances  only

        have reality insofar  as they are manifestations  of

        the  Nature.   When  they  are  taken   as  real  in

        themselves,  they  become   the  basis  for  deluded

        attachment.  Only  when they  are seen  as empty, as

        lacking  any intrinsic  reality, can they be seen as

        manifestations  of the  Nature  and  their  ultimate

        reality   be  understood.   The  import   of  Nature

        origination    is   thus   both   ontological    and

        soteriological: the ontological structure of reality

        that it describes  is at once a soteriological  map.

        And  Awareness, as the  functioning  of self-Nature,

        occupies the nodal point in this model. Awareness is

        the ontological  ground  of phenomenal  appearances,

        which  only have  reality  as manifestations  of the

        Nature.  It is the underlying  basis  of all  mental

        states.  In this way enlightenment  and delusion are

        only  changing   reflections   on  the  surface   of

        Awareness, praj~naa  and discrimination  being  only

        different    phenomenal    appearances.     Suzuki's

        praj~aa-intuition and Hu's intellectual  knowledge

        thus  belong  to  an  entirely  different  order  of

        reality  than  Awareness;  they  are  modes  of  its

        responsive functioning-in-accord-with-conditions

        rather than the functioning of the self-Nature  (see

        Yuan-chueh     ching    ta-shu    ch'ao,    at    ZZ

        1/14/3.213b6-7).  In the terms  of the Awakening  of

        Faith,  from  which  Tsung-mi's  interpretation   of

        Nature   origination    derives,   Awareness   would

        correspond to intrinsic enlightenment (pen-chueh(bs)

        ).  The "luminous reflectivity" in Tsung-mi's use of

        the metaphor of the mirror translates "ming," a word

        that  doctrinally  plays  on  wu-ming(bt), ignorance

        (Sanskrit,  avidyaa) ,  and  hence   serves   as  an

        appropriate   metaphorical    term   for   intrinsic

        enlightenment.

             Awareness,   as   the   functioning    of   the

        self-Nature, thus  represents  the dynamic, creative

        aspect of the Nature.  It is therefore  important to

        note  that  the  word  "chih"  is primarily  verbal,

        meaning  "to know."  Even when it is used nominally,

        as  it is by Tsung-mi,  its  verbal  force  is still

        retained.  That which "chih" refers  to, then, is an

        activity rather than a thing.  For this reason it is

        preferable  to the word  "Mind"  (hsin), which, as a

        noun, is more  apt to be reified.  The English  word

        "knowing," accordingly  , might  seem to be a better

        translation  of'  "chih, "  as  it  more  faithfully

        represents  both  the  literal  meaning  and  verbal

        character  of the Chinese  word.  The  problem  with

        "knowing," as a translation, however, is that,

                                P262

        in English, the verb  "to  know"  is transitive  and

        demands an object.  But Tsung-mi emphasizes the fact

        that ''chih" is intransitive  and does not demand an

        object.  And "Awareness."  insofar as it is possible

        to  be aware  without  necessarily  being  aware  of

        anything,   better   expresses    the   intransitive

        character of "chih."

        V. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

        Tsung-mi  introduced  the metaphor  of the mirror in

        the Ch'an  Chart  to make  explicit  the differences

        between  the Ho-tse and Hung-chou  lines of Southern

        Ch'an  and  to demonstrate  the  superiority  of the

        former.  This  work  was written  at the  behest  of

        Tsung-mi's   influential   lay  disciple  P'ei  Hsiu

        (?787-860) to clarify the historical filiations  and

        essential  teachings  of  four  of the  major  Ch'an

        traditions  of the day.  While Tsung-mi  accordingly

        deals with the Northern  and Ox-Head  lines of Ch'an

        in that  work, he is most concerned  with  that  of

        Hung-chou as representing the most serious challenge

        to the tradition  with which he identified  himself,

        that of Ho-tse Shen-hui. Since both the Northern and

        Ox-Head lineages  claimed descent from the fifth and

        fourth  patriarchs, respectively, and, by  the  830s

        when  he  composed  the  Ch'an  Chart, it  had  been

        generally accepted that Hui-neng had scceeded to the

        title   of   Sixth   Patriarch,   they   represented

        collateral   lines  and  thus,  in  terms  of  their

        historical  filiation, did not pose a threat to the

        orthodoxy  of the Southern Ch'an to which the Ho-tse

        lineage  belonged.  Hung-chou, however, also claimed

        descent  from  Hui-neng   and  thus  boasted  better

        credentials.  Moreover, by the fourth decade  of the

        ninth century the Northern and Ox-Head lines were no

        longer vital traditions within Ch'an.  The Hung-chou

        line, however, inspired  by the dynamic  personality

        and teaching  style of Ma-tsu  'Tao-i (709-788), had

        come to represent  a new and ascendent  force within

        Ch'an.  Nor, in terms  of their  teachings, did the

        Northern  and Ox-Head lines pose the same danger for

        Tsung-mi  as did  Hung-chou.  Within  the  doctrinal

        analysis  that he elaborated  in his Ch'an  Preface,

        the  teaching  of the  Northern  line  of Ch'an  was

        identified  with the Fa-hsiang  brand  of Yogaacaara

        and that of the Ox-Head  line with Maadhyamika.  The

        criticism  that  Tsung-mi  had leveled  against  the

        first and second categories of Mahaayaana  teachings

        in that work consequently  applied  to them as well.

        He had, however, placed the Hung-chou  line together

        with that of Ho-tse  under  the rubric  of the third

        and highest category of teaching.

             Tsung-mi's   emphasis   on  the   single   word

        "Awareness"   as  hallmark  of  Shenhui's   teaching

        singled  out  precisely  that  which  for  him  most

        clearly  distinguished  the  teaching  of the Ho-tse

        line  from  the teachings  of the  contending  Ch'an

        lines,  which  he  considers  in  the  Ch'an  Chart.

        Moreover, the fact that his most  detailed  analysis

        of this crucial term occurs within a metaphor  whose

        explicit  purpose is to contrast  the Ho-tse and the

        Hung-chou  understanding  of Ch'an suggests that one

        of the reasons that Tsung-mi fixed on this term was

        that it served  not only to differentiate  his brand

        of Ch'an from that of Hung-chou. but also to clarify

        exactly wherein it was superior.

             To understand  what was at stake  for Tsung-mi,

        we must first examine his

                             P.263

        perception  of the import of the Hung-chou teaching.

        He presents the following characterization  of it in

        the Ch'an Chart:

        The  arising  of mental  activity, the  movement  of

        thought, snapping  the fingers, or moving  the eyes,

        all actions  and activities  are the functioning  of

        the entire essence of the Buddha-nature. Since there

        is no other  kind  of functioning, greed, anger, and

        folly, the performance  of good and bad actions, and

        the experiencing  of their  pleasurable  and painful

        consequences    are   all,   in   their    entirety,

        Buddhanature....  If one examines  the nature of its

        essence  thoroughly, he will see that ultimately  it

        can neither  be perceived  nor realized  just as the

        eye  cannot  see itself, etc.  If one considers  its

        responsive  functioning, he will see that everything

        that   he  does   is   [the   functioning   of   the

        Buddha-nature]  and that there is nothing  else that

        can either realize it or be realized....  One should

        not rouse  the mind  either  to cut off  evil  or to

        cultivate the Way. Since the Way itself is the Mind.

        one cannot use the Mind to cultivate the Mind. Since

        evil  is also the Mind, one cannot  use the Mind  to

        cut off the Mind.  One who neither  cuts off [evil]

        nor does [good] but freely  accepts  things  as they

        come  is  called  a liberated  person.  There  is no

        dharma that can be clung to nor any Buddhahood  that

        can be attained....  Simply allowing the mind to act

        spontaneously   is   cultivation.   (435d4-6,  16-8,

        436a4-7, 8-9; K 307)

             In terms  of the  analysis  of  empty  tranquil

        Awareness  that Tsung-mi  develops in his use of the

        metaphor  of the mirror, the fault  of the Hung-chou

        line  is that it does not apprehend  the functioning

        of  the  self-Nature,  but   merely   that   of  its

        responsive     functioning-in-accord-with-conditions

        (437dl0-1; K 136). This is tantamount to saying that

        the Hung-chou  teaching mistakes the reflections  in

        the mirror for its luminous reflectivity.  To put it

        in other terms, it mistakes the variegated  and ever

        changing  phenomenal appearances  of the Nature for

        the Nature itself.  As far as Tsung-mi is concerned,

       this is a dangerously  antinomian  view, for it does

        away with any basis  for drawing  moral distinctions

        between  good and bad courses  of action.  Since  it

        validates  all the  different  activities  that  one

        engages in every day (436all; K 308), it can be seen

        as undermining the purpose of religious practice. If

        the  three  posions  of greed, anger, and folly  are

        nothing  but  the expression  of Buddha-nature, what

        need is there to uproot them?

             The force of this criticism  is brought  out in

        Tsung-mi's use of a variation of the metaphor of the

        mirror that he also employs in the Ch'an Chart. Here

        he  uses  a ma.ni  jewel(18) to  represent  the  One

        Numinous Mind (i-ling-hsin(bu)); its perfectly pure,

        luminous reflectivity, empty tranquil Awareness; and

        its complete  lack of coloration, the fact that this

        Awareness     is    intrinscially     without    any

        differentiated manifestations.  "Because the essence

        [of the jewel] is luminously reflective, whenever it

        comes  into contact  with  external  objects, it is

        able  to reflect  all  of their  different  colors."

        Likewise, "because  the  essence  [of the  Mind]  is

        aware,  whenever   it  comes   into   contact   with

        conditions, it is  able  to differentiate  them  all

        into good and bad, pleasurable and unpleasurable, as

        well as produce the manifold  variety of mundane and

        supermundane  phenomena.  This  is  its  conditioned

        aspect (sui-yuan-i(bv))." Tsung-mi  continues, "Even

        though   the  [reflected]   colors   are  themselves

        distinct, the  luminously  reflective jewel  never

        changes." And he

                                P264

        comments,  in his  interpolated  note, "Even  though

        ignorance  and wisdom, good  and bad, are themselves

        distinct, and anguish  and joy, love and hate  arise

        and perish  of themselves, the Mind which is capable

        of Awareness is never interrupted. This its absolute

        aspect (pu-pien-i(bw))" (436c17-d3; K 322).

             Tsung-mi  then considers  the case of when  the

        mani jewel comes into contact with something  black:

        its  entire  surface  appears  black,  just  as  the

        intrinsically enlightened nature of the Mind appears

        totally  obscured   by  the  presence  of  ignorance

        (436d3-7; K 322). Tsung-mi claims that proponents of

        the Hung-chou  line  would  maintain  that  the very

        blackness  itself  is the jewel and that its essence

        can  never  be seen.  Because  such  people  do  not

        apprehend the luminously reflective jewel, when they

        see something black of similar size and shape, they

        misidentify it as the mani jewel.  If, however, they

        were to see the mani jewel  as it is in itself  when

        it is not reflecting  any colors  at all, they would

        not be able to recognize  it.  Tsung-mi  goes  on to

        explain  that the state  in which  the jewel  is not

        reflecting any colors means "being without thoughts"

        (wu   so-nien(bx)  ) .   When   only   its  luminous

        reflectivity   is  in  evidence,  furthermore,  this

        refers   to  "the  absence   of  thought   which  is

        thoroughly  aware  in  and  of itself"  (liao-liao

        tzu-chih wu-nien(by)) (436d13-337a4; K 326).(19)

             Tsung-mi's  case rests  upon his claim that the

        luminously  reflective  jewel  can be seen in itself

        when it is not reflecting  any colors.  While  it is

        unclear in phenomenological  terms precisely in what

        such  a  direct  perception   of  the  Nature  might

        consist, it  is  important  to  note  that  Tsung-mi

        connects   such   a   perception   with   No-thought

        (wu-nien(bz)). We have already seen that earlier, in

        his  quotation  from  the  Wen-ming  chapter  of the

        Avata.mraka, he  had  quoted  Ch'eng-kuan's  comment

        that   "true   Awareness   can  only  be  seen  in

        no-thought"  (chen-chih wei wu-nien fang chien(ca)).

        In addition to representing  the method by which the

        Nature  is  directly  apprehended,  No-thought  also

        represents  the intrinsic  condition  of the Nature,

        which   is   devoid   (k'ung)  of   all   phenomenal

        appearances (hsiang), just as the Awakening of Faith

        characterizes  the intrinsically enlightened Mind as

        being  without  thoughts.  It  is  this  ontological

        dimension  of No-thought  that is behind  Tsung-mi's

        characterization  of Awareness  as being "empty"  in

        the  phrase  "empty  tranquil  Awareness."  Although

        Tsung-mi  does not clarify further  what he means by

        the  practice  of No-thought, what  is important  to

        note  here  is that  it is his claim, that  a direct

        perception  of the Nature  is not only possible  but

        necessary, that distinguishes  the Ho-tse  line from

        that of Hung-chou--and  such a direct perception  of

        the   Nature   is   what,   for   Tsung-mi,   Sudden

        Enlightenment (tunwn(cb)) is all about. Elsewhere he

        claims that the Hung-chou line, in contradistinction

        to that of Ho-tse, only  has inferential  knowledge

        (pi-liang(cc);  anumaana) but not direct  preception

        (hsien-liang(cd)  ;   pratyak.sa)  of   the   Nature

        (437d11-2;  K 336).  And it is because  it does  not

        have a direct  perception  of it that it can mistake

        something  else  for  the  Nature.  This  means, for

        Tsung-mi, that followers of the Hung-chou  line have

        no clear assurance  that their insight  is true and,

        accordingly, their practice of "simply allowing  the

        mind to act spontaneously" can

                                P265

        become  a  rationalization   for  deluded  activity.

        Tsung-mi  thus not only charges them with failing to

        understand the meaning of Sudden Enlightenment.  but

        also  with  not  recognizing  the  necessity  of the

        subsequent  gradual cultivation, in which the deeply

        rooted  habitual  conditioning  that keeps  one from

        integrating  his insight  into the Nature throughout

        all dimensions  of his personality  and behavior  is

        progressively extirpated (see 438a18-b3; K 341).

             If  Tsung-mi's  emphasis  on Awareness  can  be

        seen, at least in part, as a reaction  against  what

        he perceived  as the  overly  radical  character  of

        other forms of Ch'an, then, given the centrality  of

        Awareness  within his thought as a whole, it further

        suggests  that his revaluation  of some of the basic

        tenets of Hua-yen  thought  also had its impetus  in

        his response to developments within the Ch'an of his

        day.(20) While Tsung-mi is noted for his infusion of

        Ch'an  into  Hua-yen,  it  might  perhaps   be  more

        accurate to characterize him as a conservative Ch'an

        figure  who  adapted  Hua-yen  thought  as  a  hedge

        against  more extreme  Ch'an  movements  of the late

        eight  and early ninth centuries.(21) Certainly  one

        of the reasons that Hua-yen appealed to Tsung-mi was

        that it provided an ontological  rationale for Ch'an

        practice,  and  that  was  precisely   wherein   the

        Hung-chou teaching was lacking.

             Despite  Tsung-mi's   efforts   to  uphold  the

        orthodoxy  of Shen-hui's  line  of Ch'an, it was the

        teaching  and  style  of  the  Hung-chou  line  that

        triumphed  historically.  Tsung-mi was the fifth and

        last  "patriarch"   within   the  Ho-tse  tradition.

        Shortly  after  his  death  in  841, the  Hui-ch'ang

        Persecution  sealed the demise of the Ho-tse line of

        Ch'an  once and for all.  After the persecution, his

        devoted disciple P'ei-hsiu became Prime Minister and

        labored to resurrect  the fortunes  of Buddhism.  He

        also  became  a disciple  of  Huang-po  Hsi-yun  (d.

        850?), a forceful  master in the Hung-chou  line and

        teacher  of Lin-chi  I-hsuan  (d.  866).  Huang-po's

        collected  sermons  and dialogues  were recorded  by

        none  other  than Tsung-mi's  former  disciple, P'ei

        Hsiu, a fact that  can be taken  as symbolizing  the

        failure of the Ho-tse line to perpetuate itself as a

        living  Ch'an  tradition  and  the  attendant  shift

        towards a more radical form of Ch'an teaching.

             The  Rinzai  (Chinese,  Lin-chi)  tradition  of

        Japanese Zen developed out of the Hung-chou  line of

        Chinese Ch'an. Thus it should perhaps be no surprise

        that  the account  that  D.  T.  Suzuki, as a modern

        interpreter  of that tradition, gives of "chih" does

        not reflect  Tsung-mi's  understanding  of the term.

        Suzuki's  position, however, represents  only one of

        the possibilities  that could have developed  out of

        the various  alternatives  that  were  available  in

        eighth-   and  ninth-century   China.   Even  though

        Tsung-mi's  portrayal of the Ch'an of that time is

        colored  by  his  own  sectarian  filiation,  it  is

        valuable  insofar as it gives us a far more textured

        understanding  of the range  of possibilities  still

        open to the Ch'an of the latter  T'ang than does the

        more doctrinaire account of Suzuki. While Tsung-mi's

        more  ontological  point  of view  did  not  prevail

        within  Ch'an, it  did,  ironically, survive  within

        Neo-Confucianism.   Chu  Hsi's   criticism   of  the

        Buddhist  understanding  of  "Nature"  (hsing),  for

        instance, merely recapitulates Tsung-mi's criticsm

        of  the  Hung-chou  line--but  that  is a topic  for

        another paper.

                                P266

                                NOTES

        The two texts  of Tsung-mi  from which  I have drawn

        most heavily in writing this article are his Preface

        to the  Collected  Writings  on the Source  of Ch'an

        (Ch'an-yuan chu-ch'uan-chi  tu-hsu) and Chart of the

        Master-Disciple  Succession  of the Ch'an Gate Which

        Has Transmitted  the Mind Ground In China (Chung-hua

        ch'uan-hsin-ti  Ch'an-men shih-tzu ch'eng-hsi  t'u),

        which  I refer  to  respectively  throughout  as the

        Ch'an Preface and Ch'an Chart.  Both texts have been

        edited,  annotated,  and  translated   into   modern

        Japanese by Kamata  Shigeo  in vol.9 of the Zen no

        goroku series under the general editorship  of Iriye

        Yoshitaka (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1971).  In addition

        to the Taisho and Zokuzokyo editions of the texts, I

        will  refer  to  Kamata's   edition  as  "K"  in  my

        citations   from   them.   Tsung-mi's   interpolated

        comments  appear  in  parenthesis.  In preparing  my

        translation  of the various  passages  that  I quote

        from Tsung-mi I have consulted those previously done

        by  other  scholars.  Jeffrey  L.  Broughton's  1975

        Columbia University Ph.D. dissertation,  "Kuei-feng

        Tsung-mi:  The   Convergence   of  Ch'an   and   the

        Teachings," includes  a complete translation  of the

        Ch'an   Preface.   Jan  Yun-hua's   ''Tsung-mi:  His

        Analysis  of Ch'an Buddhism"  (T'oung Pao 58 (1972):

        1-53) also  contains  translations  of some  of  the

        passages   to  which  I  refer.   The  best  of  the

        translations  I have  consulted  are those  done  by

        Robert E.  Busewell, Jr., in his The Korean Approach

        to  Zen  (Honolulu,  Hawaii:  University  of  Hawaii

        Press, 1983).  I hereby  acknowledge  my debt to the

        efforts   of  these   scholars.   Nevertheless,  all

        translations  appearing  within  the article  are my

        own.  I would also like to thank Michael  Sells  and

        Alan Sponberg for their helpful comments on an early

        draft of this paper.

             5.   My  translation   of  the  two   sentences

        beginning  with "When it is deluded" and ending with

        "but Awareness is not [these] supernormal powers" is

        based on an emendation. The ZZ text reads: "Mei-shih

        fan-nao  i chih  fei fan-nao.  Wu-shih  shen-pien  i

        chih, chih fei shen-pien(ch)."

The otherwise perfect

        symmetry  of these  two sentences  demands  that the

        first be emended, as Kamata does, to read ",Mei-shih

        fan-nao  i chih, chih  fei  fan-nao(ci)" to parallel

        the second, or that  one of the  two ''chih"  in the

        second sentence be deleted  to parallel  its single

        occurrence in the first.

I have followed the latter

        reading, basing myself on Chinul's quotation of this

        passage in his Popchip pyorhaeng  nok choryo pyongip

        sagi  (Yanagida   Seizan,  ed.,  Korai  hon:  Zemmon

        satsuyo; Zengen shosenshu  tojo; Hoju  betsugyo roku

        setsuyo  (Kyoto: Chubun  Shuppansha,  1974), p.151):

        "Mei-shih   fan-nao   chih   fei  fan-nao.   Wu-shih

       shen-pien  chih fei shen-pien(cj)." This is also the

        same form in which the two sentences  are quoted  in

        Hsien-yen's  Hua-yen ching t'an-hsuan chueh-shih, at

        ZZ 1/11/5.437b8-9.  Cf.  the parallel passage in the

        Ch'an Preface, at T48.402c27-c2; K 95.

        Answer: These are all examples of negative discourse

        (che-ch'uan) and  do not  yet  directly  reveal  the

        essence  of the  Mind.  If I did  not  point  to the

        direct   revelation   that  this  clear  and  bright

        ever-present  Awareness which is unobscured  is your

        own Mind at this  very  moment, what could  I say is

        without construction and phenomenal appearance, etc?

        We thus know that  the various  teachings  just  say

        that it is this Awareness  that is without birth and

        destruction, etc.  Thus Ho-tse  [Shen-hui]  directly

        revealed  the awareness and vision within the empty

        state  of being without  phenomenal  appearances  to

        enable  people  to apprehend  it;  then  they  would

        become  aware  (chueh(ck)) that it is their own mind

        that  passes   through   lifetime   after   lifetime

        eternally    uninterrupted    until    they   attain

        Buddhahood.   Moreover,  Ho-tse   summed   up   such

        expressions     as     unconstructed,    nonabiding,

        inexpressible, etc., by simply speaking of the empty

        tranquil Awareness which includes them all.  "Empty"

        means  empty  of all phenomenal  appearances  and is

        still a negative term. "Tranquil" just indicates the

        principle of the immutability of the True Nature and

        is  not   the  same   as  nothingness.   "Awareness"

        indicates the revelation  of the very essence and is

        not  the  same   as  discrimination.   These   alone

        constitute  the intrinsic  essence of the True Mind.

        (437b7-18; K 332-333)

             12. The importance of this passage for Tsung-mi

        is indicated  by the frequency  with which he refers

        to  it  in  passages   which  seek  to  clarify  the

        significance  of Awareness.  See, for example, Ch'an

        Chart, 437c14(K336);  Yuan-chueh ching ta-shu ch'ao,

        at ZZ 1/14/3.213b2-3;  and Yuan-chueh ching lueh-shu

        ch'ao, at ZZ 1/15/2.97c3-4.

             14. The two sentences in quotation marks within

        Tsung-mi's  comment  are  taken  from  Ch'eng-kuan's

        commentary  and  subcommentary,  respectively   (see

        T35.612b27 and T36.261b22).

             15. Tsung-mi draws the same distinction between

        these two types of functioning  in his discussion of

        Awareness  in his Yuan-chueh  ching ta-shu ch'ao, at

        ZZ 1/14/3.213b5-8;  and  Yuan-shueh  ching  lueh-shu

        ch'ao, at ZZ 1/15/2.97c5-9.

             19.  Tsung-mi  also applies the metaphor to the

        Northern  and  Ox-Head  lines.   He  maintains  that

        proponents  of the Northern line of Ch'an would hold

        that the true, luminously  reflective  nature of the

        jewel can only be seen after the blackness  has been

        completely removed.

He criticizes this view as based

        on the erroneous  belief  that  the  Nature  and its

        phenomenal  appearance  are  totally  unrelated.  In

        other  words.   it  overlooks   Nature  origination,

        according  to  which  phenomenal   appearances   are

        manifestations of the Nature (see 436d11-13; K 322).

        Proponents  of  the  Ox-Head  line  of Ch'an, on the

        other hand, would hold that just as the blackness of

        the  jewel  is  empty, so too  must  be  the  entire

        essence  of the jewel.

"Such people  do not realize

        that precisely  where it is altogether  empty of the

        phenomenal appearance  of color lies the jewel which

        is not empty."  This  view  does  not recognize  the

        non-empty  aspect  of the tathaagatagarbha, which is

        tranquil  (chi) and aware  (chih) (see  437a4-11;  K

        327-328).

             20. For example, it is well known that Tsung-mi

        valued li-shih  wu-ai(al) over shih-shih  wu-ai(cm).

        If li can  be correalated  with  Nature  (hsing) and

        shih,  with  phenomenal  appearance  (hsiang),  then

        li-shih  wu-ai  could  be  correlated   with  Nature

        origination  (yuan-ch'i).

Just as Tsung-mi includes

        both within the highest category  of teaching, so he

        also  includes  the Ho-tse  and Hung-chou  lines  of

        Ch'an.

The Ho-tse  teaching, moreover, is based  on

        Nature  origination, and that of Hung-chou, with its

        emphasis  on  the  responsive  functioning   of  the

        Nature, would  seem  to correlate  with  conditioned

        origination.

             21.  Yanagida  Seizan  has shown how Tsung-mi's

        conservative  Ch'an  stance  was a reaction  against

        various  radical developments  in Szechwan