Heze Shenhui 荷泽神会 |
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School | Chán |
Personal | |
Born | 670 Xiangyang, China |
Died | 762 (aged 92) |
Senior posting | |
Title | Chán master |
Predecessor | Dajian Huineng |
Religious career | |
Teacher | Dajian Huineng |
Heze Shenhui (Chinese:荷泽 神會/神会; Wade-Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne, 670-762) was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the so-called "Southern School" of Zen and the dharma heir of Huineng. He is notable for his strident attacks on Yuquan Shenxiu and the associated "Northern School", which was the most prominent branch of Zen Buddhism in China at the time. He criticized the school for teaching "gradual" as opposed to "sudden" enlightenment, and also Shenxiu specifically for falsely claiming to be the heir of Hongren, who was also the teacher of Huineng. He largely initiated the debate over "gradual" and "sudden" concepts of enlightenment, and he is largely responsible for "sudden" enlightenment being a halmark of Zen after his time.[1] Scholars such as Philip Yampolsky have suggested that one of his disciples may have written the Platform Sutra, which glorifies Huineng and "sudden" enlightenment while deriding Shenxiu. Shenhui's own lineage, called the Heze lineage (荷泽宗), probably died out around the time of the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in 845, with Guifeng Zongmi being the only notable monk in the lineage.[2]
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Shenhui was born in Xiangyang with the surname Gao (高).[1] He learned The Five Classics of Confucius and the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi at a young age.[3][4] At the age of 14 he became a monk under Huineng, a disciple of Hongren and the founder of the Southern School of Zen. For a time Shenhui served as his attendant. Several extant stories relate encounters between Huineng and Shenhui. In one, Huineng says to his students, "I have something which has no head or tail. It is nameless and can't be described. It has no back and no front. Do any of you know what this is?" Shenhui then says, "It is the source of all things. It is the buddha nature of Shenhui". Huineng responds, "I said it has no name and no name and no description. How can you say it is the source of buddha nature?" Shenhui then bows and returns to his seat, but Huineng then proclaims, "In the future if this youngster heads a monastery, it will certainly bring forth fully realized disciples of our school". Shenhui later went to Changan to receive ordination.[1]
Perhaps the most historically important event in Shenhui's life occurred at a conference he staged at the Great Cloud Temple in Huatai in 734. He title his talk the "Exposition on Right and Wrong in regards to Bodhidharma's Southern School", which was presented in the form of a discussion between him and a monk named Chongyuan, who took the side of Shenxiu's Northern School. Shenhui used the opportunity to question Shenxiu's legitimacy as Hongren's successor as well as the teachings of the Northern School. The Record of the Zen Discourses of the Monk Shenhui quotes Shenhui:
After this debate took place, Shenyui traveled north to live amongst his ideological enemies in the capital city of Luoyang. While in the city he spoke publicly against the teachings of the Northern School.[1] He also assisted the government in raising money during the the An Lushan Rebellion rebellion. Monks were asked to lecture and sell certificates to the public in order to raise money for the counteroffensive, at which Shenhui was reportedly very effective.[2][5]Despite this, he was eventually banished from the city for stirring up trouble. Shenhui was said to have died while meditating in 760. His burial stupa is located at Longmen Grottoes.[1] One of his extant writings is Xianzongji (显宗记).
Shenhui is primarily remembered for his writings and lectures in which he attacked what he called the "Northern School" of Zen. He apparently coined this term[5] in order to deride Shenxiu's school at the Great Dharma Assembly in Henan Province in 732. Here he claimed that Shenxiu tried to usurp the title of Sixth Patriarch from Huineng. He supported his claims by stating that Huineng possessed the robe of Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch of Zen. Scholars note that both the concept of a "patriarch" and the possession of the robe of Bodhidharma being the indicator of this person probably arose as a result of Shenhui's diatribes. In fact, according to the Platform Sutra, Huineng himself did not pass on the robe, nor did he name a "patriarch" to replace him, but rather like his teacher Hongren, he had many disciples who went on to teach Zen. In addition to these claims, Shenhui further alleged that Shenxiu's teachings deviated from Zen in their emphasis on ceremony and sutra study rather than seated meditation and no-mind. Most memorably, however, he accused them of advocating "gradual" and not "sudden" enlightenment, although scholars indicate that Shenxiu's extant writings do not support this.[6]
Several scholars consider some of Shenhui's arguments against the "Northern School" to be fabrications or exaggerations. Philip Yampolsky wrote that Shenhui's claim that the Diamond Sutra and not the Lankavatara Sutra was the paramount sutra of Bodhidharma and his disciples was "pure fabrication".[2] He made various other accusations, among them that "Northern School" students tried to steal Bodhidharma’s robe, to sever the head of Huineng’s mummy, and to rewrite the inscription on Shenxiu’s tomb with the words "Sixth Patriarch".[2][7] Heinrich Dumoulin, commenting on these accusations, wrote that Shenhui was "unscrupulous", while Ui Hakuju wrote that he had "“traits deserving of moral censure and criticism for intolerance”.[7] On top of this, Shenhui was a highly successful fundraiser for the government despite his criticism of Shenxiu for having governmental ties. During the the An Lushan Rebellion rebellion, monks were asked to lecture and sell certificates to the public in order to raise money for the counteroffensive. Shenhui was active in this endeavor in Luoyang.[2][5]
Nonetheless, it was through attacks such as these that the distinction between "gradual" versus "sudden" methods of enlightenment became a prominent debate in Zen philosophy. While Shenhui's own lineage, called the Heze school, probably died out around the time of the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in 845, the concept of "sudden" enlightenment that he had championed quickly became a hallmark of Chinese Zen. Mazu Daoyi, an important teacher of the next generation, was an early and important adopter of the "sudden" approach. Furthermore, due largely to political issues and the An Lushan Rebellion, which was centered in northern portions of China, the Northern School fell from prominence shortly after Shenhui's death. In the early 10th century, the founder of the Fayan School commented on Shenhui's lineage: "The record of that time was indeed excellent. Today, if we point to a greatly awakened school, it is the Heze school."[1]