Genuine Ch’an Buddhism is NOT an invention of Chinese (Confucian) culture – as one or two contemporary Japanese and Western academics assert. Neither is Chinese Ch’an Buddhism only preserved within modern Japan – as same academics claim through the false claim that Buddhism died-out in China. Indeed, the presence (and existence) of Master Xu Yun [1840-1959] tends to expose these incorrect interpretations for the nonsense they are. Furthermore, Master Xu Yun was far from being the only eminent Ch’an practitioner living in modern China. Perhaps the Japanese Establishment fails to appreciate the fact that Master Xu Yun personally witnessed the endless atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Military (the infamous “Kwantung Army”) in Southern and Central China between 1931-1945 (Master Xu Yun did not personally witness the same atrocities carried-out in the North-East area of China – but he certainly heard what was going-on in Manchuria). Post-1945 saw Japan quickly rehabilitated as a supposed bulwark against “Socialist” China by the US. And so, It would seem that expedient political considerations have been used to “direct” how academics should “think” and structure their distorted narratives. Throw all this misdirection away – as China is responsible for its own culture. It is clear that Buddhism developed within ancient India and was transmitted into China in all its forms. As the historical Buddha dismissed the idea that an atman (soul) exists in the mind of a practitioner – and ths “atman” must be developed to unite the individual with Brahma (a theistic entity). The Buddha’s methodology rejected any direct link with Indian theistic religion. This allowed the Buddhist philosophy to be transmitted all over Asia into cultures that had no connection with Indian Hinduism – so that it could adapt to the local conditions without force or conflict. This is exactly what happened in China – where an incoming Indian philosophy (Buddhism) was peacefully integrated with Confucian (and later “Daoist”) ideology (the Ch’an dialogues are very similar to how Confucius discussed profound matters with his disciples). Confucianism gave Ch’an (Dhyana) its distinctly “Chinese” flavour. This method of Indian Buddhism grew out of the Rig Veda and the Upanishads – particularly the “Dhyana Yoga” or “Seated Meditation Self-Cultivation” of India’s ancient spiritual tradition. Indian spirituality was so remarkably adaptive that it allowed for theism, atheism, non-theism, consciousness-development, and materialist-realisatiion, etc, with no contradiction whatsoever. Within India, a “materialist” attitude can be as spiritual as a “theistic” attitude - and this is a point that those living in the dualistic West need to study with considerable attention. For the ancient Indians, no perspective was permitted to exist outside of the all-embracing spiritual entity. Therefore, the Sanskrit term “āsana” (आसन) is expressed in the written Chinese language as “体位法” (Ti Wei Fa). Quite logically, the ancient Chinese scholars interpreted the Indian Sanskrit term of “āsana” (आसन) as: 1) 体 (Ti) = Physical Body 2) 位 (Wei) = Posture 3) 法 (Fa) = Law A Chinese language encyclopaedia text regarding Yoga practice states (in-part) the following: “Thousands of years ago, Indian Yogis sat quietly meditating in the forests of the Himalayas, as this was the original Yogic practice. Occasionally, these Indian Yogis, when not engaged within deep meditative absorption, observed wild animals performing their own natural bodily positions linked to feeding, survival, exploration, and sleeping, etc. Some of these Indian Yogis, to relieve the stiffness in their joints from days of seated meditation, copied these beautiful animal postures to pass their time alone. After deep observation, these Indian Yogis realized that nature nurtured (and taught) animals the skills to stay healthy, to be sensitive, and to stay alert, and at the same time gave various animals the innate methods to heal themselves, relax themselves, sleep, or stay alert and awake. These ancient Indian Yogis adapted these animal body postures and conducted experiments upon themselves. They discovered that these postures unlocked great health benefits for the human mind and body. Then, after deep intuition and judgment, they finally created a series of physical exercise systems, which they termed “Asana” - or “Yogic Posture”. Many of these thousands of asana yoga postures are named after animals, such as the Cobra Pose, Peacock Pose, Fish Pose, and Locust Pose, etc. need to “sell” their art – they cannot emphasis the “true” or “original” Yogic practice as this would not be popular within a profit-orientated system. Why is this? The original Yogic practice, as described above, involved Yogic ascetics (Sannyasa - “those who dwell alone to get to the root”) who completely rejected society. These Yogic ascetics sat in seated meditation with the intention of focusing the power of the mind - so that a “new” human perception could be developed. This seated meditation (“Dhyana”) was designed to “see through” the material realm that humanity inhabits. Therefore, before the animals posture evolved – the original “asana” involved the Yogi only being seated with cross-legs and a straight-back. This “asana” was held (unmoving) for weeks on end, regardless of day or night, good or bad weather, or a safe or unsafe environment (even after physical death – this seated meditation posture was held). The physical body was “stiiled” through sitting in meditation – so that the activity of the mind could be “stilled” whilst focusing the attention on the process of the “in” breath, the “transition” breath, and “out” breath. This is the original “Dhyana” Yogic practice that the Buddha used to attain his Enlightenment - and it is the method he transmitted as a means for others to realise their Enlightenment. This is the “Dhyana” method that Bodhidharma brought to China – and which became “Ch’an”. This is also the primary preserved in the Patanjali Sutra – whereas later – the Hindu practitioners developed the animal postures described above. The mind is powerful enough to transform the body - providing the body is already disciplined (and no longer permitted to do as it pleases by fulfilling its own natural appetites). Perhaps “sitting still” and “moving” in a constructive manner (as in holding the “animal postures”) represent two-sides of the same developmental coin. Chinese Language Text: https://baike.baidu.com/item/瑜伽体位法/6833418 几千年前,瑜伽行者在喜马拉雅山的森林中冥想、静坐时,偶尔观察野生动物,并且分享它们美妙的姿势,以打发他们独居的时间。经过深刻的观察,他们察觉大自然孕育、教导动物保有健康、灵敏、警觉的技巧,同时让各种动物天生具有治疗它们自己、放松自己、睡眠或保持清醒的方法。这些古早时候的瑜伽修行者根据这些动物的姿势并且亲身做实验,发现对身体有很大的益处,然后经过深刻的直观和判断,终于创造了一系列身体锻炼的系统,我们称之为Asana,亦即瑜伽体位法。这些几千种的asana瑜伽姿势,有许多是依照动物的名称来令名,例如:眼镜蛇式、孔雀式、鱼式、蝗虫式等等瑜伽。 English Language Reference: Edward F Bryant: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, North East Press, (2009)
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I have spent several months translating into English this (Chinese language) academic paper forwarded to me by the Chinese Buddhist Association - with the instruction of providing to the West an authoritative text concerning the history of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism that ALL can benefit from. The Chinese Buddhist Association would like it known that ALL Westerners are welcome to come to China and study in educational or religious institutions and to submit their own thoughts and understandings regarding Chinese Buddhism, Chinese culture, Chinese culture and Chinese philosophy, etc. I am please to fulfil this Bodhisattva task!
The ICBI seeks to bring together the international community around the subject of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism - and its many strands of development that have spread across the world - often into very different cultural milieus, historical epochs and socio-economic categories! China is the historical and cultural epicentre of this type of Buddhism (which is a form of Indian Buddhism integrated with Confucian and Daoist influences), and due to politics, world history and different views of the destiny of humanity - the 'disconnect' between the academia of China and the West must be a) acknowledged and b) striven to be over-come. In the very interesting Conference on Ch'an Buddhism translated above - no Western scholars attended even though many were invited with all-expenses paid trips and free accommodation provided, etc. This did not stop the Conference from going ahead - as the work of Western scholars was discussed in their absence. A major achievement of this Conference can be seen in the fact that Mainland Chinese scholars sat in the same room as Japanese and Taiwanese scholars and a civilised and highly beneficial debate unfolded. Chinese Ch'an Buddhism never died-put in China (a common myth that still circulates like Halley's Comet), and is thriving today! Furthermore, Chinese Ch'an is a 'living-tradition' that has spread throughout the world and into many different places! I have made the point that suitably qualified Indian scholars need to do more in 'proving' the existence of 'Dhyana' Buddhism within South India - and isolate the strand of this Buddhism that Bodhidharma brought to China. This development would move the debate forward and counter the assumption that Ch'an is a purely Chinese invention that possesses no Indian roots. Peace in the Dharma This is quoted from the (1973) book entitled 'Zen Art For Meditation' by Stewart W Holmes and Chimyo Horjoka (Pages 109-111). This is a classic piece of US Cold War agitation and propaganda aimed at removing the history of 'China' from the record books. Interestingly, the US (Eurocentric) racism and Japanese (Ultra-Nationalist) racism overlap to an incredible degree - both flawlessly dovetailing to co-operate in removing the machinations of genuine Chinese Ch'an history from being observed by the average Western mind. The reference for the above piece is from the work of Alan Watts and DT Suzuki - both 'frauds' and the latter a untried Japanese War Criminal. The 'British' Alan Watts travelled around the US giving highly popular 'anti-intellectual' lectures that appealed to the American sense of inflated self-interest whilst terming this Eurocentric and racist interpretation of Asian spiritual culture as 'Zen'. DT Suzuki came from a long line of Japanese fascists who served the Japanese government and its requirement to indoctrinate and brain-wash the Japanese population into mindlessly following orders as part of the Imperial Japanese Military! DT Suzuki influenced Alan Watts (and his fellow Britton Christmas Humphreys) by falsely claiming that true 'Zen' has nothing to do with the Buddhist morality contained within the Vinaya Discipline (which forbids 'killing' in word, deed or thought)! Japanese militarism, on the contrary, demanded that this moral barrier was firmly removed from the highly moral Buddhism - and people like DT Suzuki was the man to do it! He taught entire generations of Japanese youth to inherently hate 'Westerners' and the 'Chinese' as both being examples of inferior races as part of their military training! Indeed, the Chinese Ch'an Buddhist - Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) - who witnessed the Japanese atrocities in China first-hand, was of the opinion that their barbarism and inhumanity stemmed from a corrupt generation of Japanese Buddhist clerics who refused to acknowledge or follow the Vinaya Discipline! Between 1931-1945, the Japanese Imperial Army, (Airforce and Navy) killed around 60 million men, women and children throughout Asia (with a large proportion of these deaths being within China). Despite China being a staunch ally of the West during WWII, China was 'excluded' from the all 'White' panel of Judges at Nuremberg - with the Japanese atrocities committed in China played-down by Western commentators. As the US-backed Nationalist government was forced to flee to Taiwan in the wake of the success of the Socialist Revolution of 1949, the US adopted a policy of immediately rehabilitating Japanese militarism and racist nationalism - dressing it up in the false garb of 'defending' democracy from the threat of Chinese Communism. The US followed exactly the same policy of rehabilitating entire regiments of Nazi Germans in Europe - switching Hitler for 'liberal democracy'! The US made use of the anti-Socialist aspect of fascist ideology and created a political climate where the Japanese nation did not have to acknowledge its extensive crimes in China, or make any amends for these crimes. The US restructured Japan so that Chinese Buddhism was falsely presented as a) corrupt, and b) having 'died-out' centuries ago! This racist lunacy was further strengthened with the equally laughable claim (still found in US and Japanese academia) that 'Zen' only exists in Japan! The Japanese nation has corrupted 'Zen' for so long that it is in no way the representative of Chinese Ch'an! Such an absurd idea has its roots deep within US and Japanese racism! DT Suzuki taught (in pre-WWII Japan) that the Zen of 'Killing' an enemy soldier was a simple as 'breathing-in and breathing-out'! Master Xu Yun - a representative of the Chinese Ch'an tradition that US and Japanese racism falsely state 'does not exist' - taught (by way of comparison) that a Ch'an practitioner should 'not kill - or cause to kill'! And yet US anti-intellectualism views militaristic Japan as the keeper of the peace and peaceful China as the perpetuators of war! Finally, the author Stephen W Holmes was a 'Officer' in the 'Cambridge Buddhist Association (which had DT Suzuki as its founding President)! Chimyo Horjoka took over as 'President' of the above entity with the death of DT Suzuki in 1966 and by 1973 had held that post 7 years, whose broader academic career was in fine arts in the US. Neither one possessed the insight (or 'courage') to expose the anti-China narrative generated by the US post-1945, and indeed, colluded in this book to perpetuate in by writing China 'out of history!' I suspect that Cambridge University will be as embarrassed by its siding with a Japanese War Criminal and US anti-China racism - just as Oxford University's Buddhist Society will live to regret its mindless support for the equally 'racist' 'Pro-Tibetan Movement' - yet another manifestation of US anti-China racism! In the meantime, Bodhidharma conveyed the Indian School of 'Dhyana' Buddhism to China - where it became known as 'Ch'an.' Bodhidharma never visited Japan and so was not the 'founder of the Zen sect.' The modern Japanese government, in its zeal to wipe-out its historical associations with ancient China, mentions (on one of its governmental websites) the lie that 'Zen' came from India to Japan! Although it is often assumed that Ch'an spread to Japan from China during the 12th and 13th centuries (at the time of the Song Dynasty), there is also some evidence that the renowned Japanese Shingon Master 'Kukai' (空海 - Kong Hai) or 'Empty Ocean' (774-835) - was also taught 'Ch'an' and the 'Tea Ceremony' (茶流 - Cha Dao) whilst studying in China (between 804-806 during the Tang Dynasty - staying in temples in and around Chang'an! An English version of this narrative can be found in the work of William Scott Wilson. Chinese language sources suggest that Kukai also studied Sanskrit and insisted on checking that the Buddhist practices in China and Japan were extant in Indian Buddhist Sutra sources. Kukai, writing in the 9th century, confirmed that the Indian transmission of the Dharma to China was 'pure' and 'intact'! Killing the Dharma is killing the truth and this is exactly what posy-WWII US and Japanese policy has attempted to do. This can be countered by upholding the very Vinaya Discipline the contemporary Japanese people have rejected and the ancient Japanese people upheld! The ignorant Americans, however, have yet to uphold the Vinaya Discipline in any of its guises...
Author’s Note: In 2017, I wrote a short article about the Pali term ‘Bhavana’ and since then, I have been asked to write a more in-depth article regarding the meaning and application of this term in its Pali and Sanskrit context (both different and yet overlapping in places). Whereas in my earlier article (referenced below) I focused a great deal on the Chinese language term for ‘bhavana’ - in this outing I have limited myself to just the briefest of references to the Chinese equivalent – an act of considerable will-power considering Chinese Buddhism is one of my academic specialities (both ethnically and academically). However, I have always held the Theravada tradition in high regard and have been helped tremendously by its many practitioners and institutions around the world! From my Chinese Ch’an practice (and penetration of the empty mind ground) - I have come to see and appreciate how the many different branches of Buddhism (and reality in general) all manifest from the same stout trunk... Although what I convey to you is academically correct – you do not have to accept my conclusions. Always think for yourselves and make-up your own minds! ACW (17.9.2021) When I was studying Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka (in 1996), a term I came across continuously was ‘bhavana’ (‘भावना’ Pali and ‘भवन’ Sanskrit) - this was invariably used to refer to the act of seated ‘meditation’ and all the psychological and physical discipline required to successfully carry-out this important Buddhist practice. Indeed, within the Chinese written language, ‘bhavana’ is referred to as ‘修習’ (Xiu Xi) - or a central method of mind-body transformation – literally ‘self-cultivation method(s) or ‘habits’’ or ‘disciplined paths which intersect at a certain point of development’. A more succinct translation could be ‘paths of self-discipline' with the caveat that what is being suggested is the strict disciplining of the mind and body through the correct application of the Vinaya Discipline and the Bodhisattva Vows. Therefore, the single act of seated meditation has a wealth of supporting disciplinary activities surrounding its application, and does not appear does not suddenly appear out of a vacuum of non-effort. In other words, ‘bhavana’ refers to an act of ‘meditation’ which is the summation of the entire Buddhist path! Although the emphasis was always upon seated meditation, of course, standing, sitting and lying-down is allowed in the Buddhist Suttas – which very much depends upon the meditation teacher and the practitioner involved. Compassion, loving-kindness and wisdom must always be the driving force behind the practice of ‘bhavana’. As a ‘noun’, the Sanskrit dictionary states that भवन (bhavana) refers to:
The Pali dictionary suggests that ‘bhavana’ (भावना) refers to 'mental development' (lit. 'calling into existence, producing') in what in English is generally referred to 'meditation'. The Theravada School of Buddhism distinguishes two types of bhavana:
Interestingly, the very similar Sanskrit term ‘भावना’ (bhāvnā) refers to feeling, sensation, emotion and sentiment and is certainty moving toward the Buddhist (Pali) implications. Perhaps the Buddha modified a Pali term which once referred to the external practice of building houses and cultivating fields for farming – but changed its onus from this ‘objective’ meaning to a purely ‘subjective’ meaning relating to states of mind and patterns of thought and emotion. Just as rocks, weeds and stones are removed from the soil to make it fertile – the Buddhist practitioner uproots greed, hatred and delusion from the psychic fabric of the mind so that the mind becomes ‘fertile’ to receive the fruits of Buddhist self-cultivation. The Pali term appears to be referring to ‘that which arises from within’ - whilst the Sanskrit term is referring to ‘that which arises from without’. I would suggest that the inner perception of boundless space integrates with the awareness of boundless outer space – and that this is how the Buddha ultimately reconciles the two distinct meanings of this term. If a practitioner applies the Dhamma correctly – then like a plant growing from a seed into a might tree – the fruits of the Dhamma will manifest in the mind, body (and through behaviour) the environment!
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