Seeing through Zen : encounter, transformation, and genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Seeing through Zen : encounter, transformation, and genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism
(A Philip E. Lilienthal book)
University of California Press, c2003
Available at 1 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-193) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The tradition of Chan Buddhism - more popularly known as Zen - has been romanticized throughout its history. In this book, John R. McRae shows how modern critical techniques, supported by recent manuscript discoveries, make possible a more skeptical, accurate, and - ultimately - productive assessment of Chan lineages, teaching, fundraising practices, and social organization. Synthesizing twenty years of scholarship, "Seeing Through Zen" offers new, accessible analytic models for the interpretation of Chan spiritual practices and religious history. Writing in a lucid and engaging style, McRae traces the emergence of this Chinese spiritual tradition and its early figureheads, Bodhidharma and the 'sixth patriarch' Huineng, through the development of Zen dialogue and koans. In addition to constructing a central narrative for the doctrinal and social evolution of the school, "Seeing Through Zen" examines the religious dynamics behind Chan's use of iconoclastic stories and myths of patriarchal succession. McRae argues that Chinese Chan is fundamentally genealogical, both in its self-understanding as a school of Buddhism and in the very design of its practices of spiritual cultivation.
Furthermore, by forgoing the standard idealization of Zen spontaneity, we can gain new insight into the religious vitality of the school as it came to dominate the Chinese religious scene, providing a model for all of East Asia - and the modern world. Ultimately, this book aims to change how we think about Chinese Chan by providing new ways of looking at the tradition.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Preface Conventions McRae's Rules of Zen Studies 1. Looking at Lineage: A Fresh Perspective on Chan Buddhism 2. Beginnings: Differentiating/Connecting Bodhidharma and the East Mountain Teaching 3. Metropolitan Chan: Imperial Patronage and the Chan Style 4. The Riddle of Encounter Dialogue: Who, What, When, and Where? 5. Zen and the Art of Fund-Raising: Religious Vitality and Institutional Dominance in the Song Dynasty 6. Climax Paradigm: Cultural Polarities and Patterns of Self-Cultivation in Song-Dynasty Chan Notes Character Glossary Bibliography Index
by "Nielsen BookData"