136 C Chan Buddhism
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Chan Buddhism
Wing-Shing Chan
Chan Buddhism is a major Chinese Buddhist sect
attributed to Bodhidharma that emphasizes attaining
Buddhahood, the supreme Buddhist religious goal, through
enlightenment of one’s own mind, which subsequently
spreaded to Japan and named as Zen. In Chan Buddhism,
the word ‘‘Chan’’ comes from ‘‘Dhyana’’ in Sanskrit
(Soothill and Hodous, 1937), which refers to meditation,
samadhi (one-pointed concentration or perfect absorp-
tion), but nevertheless goes beyond the meaning of dhyana
to become the manifestation of wisdom with simultaneous
perfect composure of the mind (Huineng, 1969).
With its focus on personal enlightenment of the mind
in the present life, Chan Buddhism is characterized from
the other Buddhist sects by its disrespect for religious
rituals, sacred texts, godly figures or intellectual under-
standing, but instead emphasizes on meditation, intui-
tion, master-student relationship and practising and
realizing within the mundane here-and-now life.
Development of the Enlightenment Sect
Our Buddha nature, the mind of enlightenment, is con-
sidered to be ever present, just await for discovery through
meditation, practice or direct intuitive insight. Lineage
transmission between enlightened minds is stressed with
Bodhidharma, transmitting the right enlightened mind
from Buddha to the Chinese patriarch Huike, Sengcan,
Daoxin and Hongren and to the sixth patriarch Huineng,
considered the source for the subsequent flourishment of
viving Linji (Jap: Rinzai) and Caodong (Jap: Soto) sects.
The Six Patriarch’s Platform Sutra, likely to be written
by the disciple Shenhui (Hu, 1953), established Huineng
(638–713) as beginning a Chan era of sudden enlighten-
ment, for which the Chan sect is externally received and
recognized.
Sudden enlightenment refers to the sudden, or quick
glimpse of self-nature, Buddha nature or emptiness, with-
out necessarily going through extended years of medita-
tion or practice. Chan masters were recorded to be able
to set off an enlightenment experience in their students
through twisting a student’s (Baizhang) nose to pain,
skillful verbal remarks (Master Mazu) enlightening in-
stantly a novince hunter, or banging a door on the stu-
dent’s (Yunmen) leg. Analytically there are probably two
relevant causes that make these sudden enlightenment
experience possible:
1. A significant piece of psychological (or spiritual) at-
tachment is suddenly forced to detach and an enlight-
ening experience is resulted (Chan, 2008).
2. The discursive mind is suddenly forced to halt or
bypassed whereby the non-discursive enlightening
mind is revealed.
The gradual enlightenment path refers to a more gradual,
or relatively continual revelation of enlightenment in
parts attained normally through extended years of medi-
tation or practice.
Essentially the practice of Chan Buddhism had main-
streamed into two sects, namely, the Linji sect that
emphasizes the sudden enlightenment path with instruc-
tional methods including shouting and hitting; the
Caodong sect, predominantly a gradual enlightenment
path that relies heavily on meditation practice.
The sudden enlightenment era of Chan in the Tang
Dynasty gradually went to its historical downturn, and by
the Song Dynasty, the myriad masterful ways of initiating
sudden enlightenment had lost its transmission and the
Chan sect began a more safeguard way of practice with
more fixed form for enlightenment.
The Linji sect, attributed to Dahui (1089–1163),
adopted the ‘‘Huatou’’ or ‘‘Gongan’’ method of practice.
By huatou or gongan method, a practitioner is instructed
to generate real ‘‘doubts’’ by paying attention to a phrasal
excerpt of a gongan, the recorded open case of enlighten-
ment experience; or the whole gongan itself, such as the
phrase ‘‘What is Wu (nothing or emptiness)?’’ or the gon-
gan whereby Master Zhaozhou said ‘‘Dog has no Buddha
nature!’’ Vigorous immersion into the query might even-
tually lead to the disbursal of the ‘‘doubt mass’’ with a

shattering of the illusive mind so that one can suddenly
‘‘see’’ the Buddha nature.
The Caodong sect, through Master Hongzhi Zhengjue
(1091–1157), had come up with a method of practice
called ‘‘silent illumination,’’ by which a practitioner prac-
tices a kind of formless (no fixed concentration focus)
meditation (Chan, 2004) whereby non-discursive silence
is coupled simultaneously with illuminative contempla-
tion so that a non-moving mind with clarity and wisdom
is gradually attained, which is itself enlightenment. This
method was subsequently transmitted to Dogen who
established the Soto Zen in Japan with a similar practice
called Shikantaza (just-sitting).
In final analysis, there is no definite advantages
of sudden enlightenment over gradual enlightenment,
for sudden enlightenment can be quick but not thorough
while gradual enlightenment can be slow but firm.
Ultimately it is the degree of vexation dissolution and
attachments disintegration (Chan, 2006b) that count
toward attainment of no-self and genuine complete
enlightenment.
Since the Ming Dynasty, Chan sect further declined in
China as the Amitabha sect of recitation of Buddha’s
name became more popular and prevalent. Many Chinese
Buddhists combined the methods of Chan with recitation
of Buddhas’ names. A common huatou within the Chan
sect had become to investigate ‘‘Who recites the Buddha
name?’’ transforming the Buddha name recitation into a
huatou method that can lead to enlightenment.
The Chan sect today has witnessed some revival led by
efforts of Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009), who had led
numerous international Chan retreats on both huatou
and silent illumination methods, and espousing a three
stage Chan theory (Sheng-Yen, 1979) of (1) Small self, the
discursive self of the ordinary people and beginning prac-
titioners, (2) Big self, the unified self of the concentrated
mind and harmonized body and (3) No self, the mind
who has seen Buddha nature or attained enlightenment.
Distinctive Expressions of Chan
Buddhism
Chan Buddhism is also renowed and distinguished from
other Buddhist sect by its disrespect for literal medium
and rational thinking, a strange exhibition of uncommon
behaviors in the gongans and sometimes, a display of
highly abstract symbolism in language and art. The un-
derlying thread linking all the above Chan characteristics
is actually a need to bypass the ordinary defiled and
discursive cognitive thinking mind such that the pure
Chan Buddhism C 137
and non-discursive mind of enlightenment may have a
chance to reveal.
Unlike other Buddhist sect, there is also a de-emphasis
on precepts or practice. Absolute freedom and spontane-
ous rightful action appropriate to the circumstances are C
believed to be attained through enlightenment such that
prima facie adherence to strict moral rules becomes both
unnecessary and a hindrance. Famous gongans are
Guizong’s ploughing dead a snake in a field work and
Nanquan’s chopping a cat among disputes among monks.
The ultimate Chan practice is believed to be both
effortless (no concentration effort) and methodless (every-
day life as practice) (Chan, 2004) and that explains why
Chan masters instruct students practice only by eating
or excreting, wearing ropes or daily works with no medi-
tation needed, e.g., Linji sleeping at the Chan meditation
hall after enlightenment. The Chan sect is also well-
known by its disrespect for religious symbols, such as
Buddha, patriarch or sutras. This is in accordance
with the need to attain absolute non-dwelling emptiness
(Madhyamika, the middle way) for which any attachment
to ‘‘sacred’’ symbols, even Buddha or Buddhism itself, could
stand as the last hindrances to complete enlightenment.
Lineage transmission between master and students is
considered essential in Chan Buddhism for it is the self-
experience of realizing Buddha nature and liberating
enlightenment that is important, not the understanding
of religious facts, principles or the acting out of religious
behavioral guidelines. Typical attainment verification
guidelines include, e.g., the ‘‘Ten Ox Herding Pictures’’
(Sheng-Yen, 1988), which depicts the progressive stages
a practitioner would go through, by the analogy of taming
the mind like taming the ox; and Master Dongshan’s
(Five positions of king and minister), a list of five succes-
sive Chan attainment stages through the transposition
of the manifestation between wisdom and vexations
(Chan, 2006a).
See also: > Buddhism > Enlightenment > Enlightenment
Initiation
Bibliography
Chan, W.-S. (2004). Concentration, illumination, illumination forgotten:
Three levels of Chan meditation. In Does no-thought mean no
thought? Buddhadharma, Summer, 50–53.
Chan, W.-S. (2006a). Huihu, (Dharma Dictionary). Buddhadharma,
Spring, 96.
Chan, W.-S. (2006b). Illusive thoughts, attachment and enlightenment
(In Chinese). Buddhist Compassion, 176, 46–47.
Chan, W.-S. (2008). Psychological attachment, no-self and Chan
Buddhist mind therapy. Contemporary Buddhism, 9(2), 253–264.
138 C Chaos
Hu, S. (1953). Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism in China: Its history and method.
Philosophy East and West, 3(1), 3–24.
Huineng. (1969). The Sutra of Hui Neng. In The Diamond sutra and the
sutra of Hui Neng (A. F. Price & W. Mou-Lam, Trans.) (4th Chap.,
p. 42). Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications.
Sheng-Yen, Master. (1979). ‘‘From the small ‘I’ to no ‘I.’’’ ch’an. (In Chinese
with English translation) (pp. 86–106). Taipei, China: Dongchu
puplications.
Sheng-Yen, Master. (1988). Ox Herding at Morgan Bay. New York:
Dharma Drum Publications.
Soothhill, W. E., & Hodous, L. (1937). A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist
terms (with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-
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Chaos
Fredrica R. Halligan
In archetypal creation myths, the origins of the cosmos
are believed to be a state or condition called Chaos. Even
Western science with its ‘‘Big Bang’’ theory, can be con-
strued as being an origin in chaos. In ancient wisdom we
find many creation stories that began with chaos. In the
Judaic tradition, for example, God’s voice called out over
the deep and thus did creation emerge from chaos and
darkness. In similar fashion, in the Vedic tradition, when
the Absolute spoke the primal word ‘‘Om,’’ the wonders of
the created universe emerged from chaos, each element
pervaded by the Divine. Thus ancient visionaries seemed
to recognize the intimate connection between chaos and
creativity; and this is an interrelationship that many scien-
tists have been actively exploring today. As Briggs and
Peat state:
"
Although we humans tend to abhor chaos and avoid it
whenever possible, nature uses chaos in remarkable ways
to create new entities, shape events, and hold the Uni-
verse together. . . .Just what is chaos? The answer has
many facets. . . .To begin with, chaos turns out to be far
subtler than the common sense idea that it is the messi-
ness of mere chance. . . .The scientific term ‘chaos’ refers
to an underlying interconnectedness that exists in appar-
ently random events. Chaos science focuses on hidden
patterns, nuance, the ‘sensitivity’ of things, and the ‘rules’
for how the unpredictable leads to the new (1999: 1–2).
Chaos is ubiquitous. From weather patterns to the be-
havior of homing pigeons, from raging rivers to the nerves
and blood vessels in the human body, from craggy coast-
lines to the intricacies of fern leaves, nature is filled with
complexity, and scientists are discovering common, arche-
typal patterns that underlie seemingly chaotic systems
(Conforti, 2003). Moreover, science is discovering there is
an enduring interrelationship between chaos and order. Like
waves in the ocean, all the energetic patterns of life arise and
fall; wax and wane. Chaos organizes itself into order; and
order inevitably dissolves into chaos. The sequence – chaos
to order to chaos to order – repeats itself in the ever-
changing patterns of life.
Chaos Theory as a New Paradigm
Today’s chaos scientists have rejected the compartmentali-
zation of the sciences, where part-systems have long been
studied in isolation from the whole – a compartmentaliza-
tion that often leads to reductionism and oversimplifica-
tion. Rather, the new inter-scientific paradigm crosses the
fields of physics, mathematics, biology, astronomy,
meteorology, psychology, physiology and more. James
Gleick was among the first to recognize and articulate
the interrelationships of chaos patterns across the varied
scientific fields. He wrote: ‘‘Patterns born amid formless-
ness: This is biology’s basic beauty and its basic mystery. Life
sucks order from a sea of disorder’’ (Gleick, 1987: 299).
Among the many component parts of chaos theory,
perhaps the most widely known is termed: ‘‘the butterfly
effect,’’ after Edward Lorenz’s discovery in 1960 that tiny
changes in initial conditions can have major impact on
resulting weather patterns far away. This occurrence has
been likened to the mathematical properties of feedback
loops and iterative processes, both of which are common
in many areas of nature. In his 1972 paper, ‘‘Predictability:
Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wing in Brazil Set Off a
Tornado in Texas?’’ Lorenz (1993: 181–184) sets about
correcting misconceptions due to his use of the ancient
Chinese proverb about the far-reaching effects of small
variability such as a butterfly’s wings flapping. But the
fact remains that feedback loops and non-linear mathemat-
ical systems often appear to create chaos when, in reality,
they are behaving precise laws that are often so subtle as to
be undetectable. The very unpredictability of weather sys-
tems, for example, makes the current debate about global
warming most intense. One must remember, however, that
feedback loops often reach a point-of-no-return where one
pattern is irrevocably shifted into another entirely different
pattern. The butterfly effect lies behind many currently
unknown subtle effects and unanswered questions. In cli-
matology, for example, how much change in average tem-
perature will cause sufficient ice-melt to irrevocably raise
sea level so as to wipe away shorelines and inundate coastal