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87-616: Tao is a metaphysical concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy. Tao may also refer to: Tao In the Tao Te Ching , the semi-legendary ancient philosopher Laozi explains that the Tao is not a name for a thing, but the underlying natural order of the universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe because it is non-conceptual yet evident in one's being of aliveness. The Tao

174-587: A Brahman king of South India" (c. 715 CE). Some traditions specifically describe Bodhidharma to be the third son of a Pallava king from Kanchipuram . The Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices written by Tan Lin (曇林; 506–574), contains teachings that are attributed to Bodhidharma. The text is known from the Dunhuang manuscripts . The two entrances to enlightenment are

261-477: A broader, more naturalistic, more metaphysical view on the relationship between humankind and the Universe and considered social rules to be at best a derivative reflection of the natural and spontaneous interactions between people and at worst calcified structure that inhibited naturalness and created conflict. This led to some philosophical and political conflicts between Taoists and Confucians. Several sections of

348-469: A bull, a tiger, and a dragon , was allowed to go to an afterlife that was known as "the place beyond the Tao". This shows that some Chinese folk storytelling and mythological traditions had very differing interpretations of the Tao between each other and orthodox religious practices. Noted Christian author C.S. Lewis used the word Tao to describe "the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false,

435-1126: A course (of food); a streak (of light); etc.) ◆V. [ verb ] ① say; speak; talk (introducing direct quote, novel style) ... ② think; suppose ◆B.F. [bound form, bound morpheme ] ① channel ② way; reason; principle ③ doctrine ④ Daoism ⑤ line ⑥〈hist.〉 [history] ⑦ district; circuit canal; passage; tube ⑧ say (polite words) ... See also dǎo , dāo dǎo 导/道[導/- B.F. [bound form] ① guide; lead ... ② transmit; conduct ... ③ instruct; direct ... Chan Buddhism The way The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen Chan ( traditional Chinese : 禪 ; simplified Chinese : 禅 ; pinyin : Chán ; abbr. of Chinese : 禪那 ; pinyin : chánnà ), from Sanskrit dhyāna (meaning " meditation " or "meditative state" ),

522-404: A distinct entity. As part of this process, many Chinese words introduced their rich semantic and philosophical associations into Buddhism, including the use of "Tao" for central concepts and tenets of Buddhism. Pai-chang Huai-hai told a student who was grappling with difficult portions of suttas , "Take up words in order to manifest meaning and you'll obtain 'meaning'. Cut off words and meaning

609-429: A life energy instead of qi in some Taoist belief systems. De ( 德 ; 'power', 'virtue', 'integrity') is the term generally used to refer to proper adherence to the Tao. De is the active living or cultivation of the way. Particular things (things with names) that manifest from the Tao have their own inner nature that they follow in accordance with the Tao, and the following of this inner nature

696-399: A multitude of results. Buddhism and Confucianism particularly affected the way many sects of Taoism framed, approached, and perceived the Tao. The multitudinous branches of religious Taoism accordingly regard the Tao, and interpret writings about it, in innumerable ways. Thus, outside of a few broad similarities, it is difficult to provide an accurate yet clear summary of their interpretation of

783-617: A short period of time. Dhyana was translated as 禅 ; chán] , and later as "zen", giving Zen Buddhism its name. The use of Chinese concepts, such as the Tao, that were close to Buddhist ideas and terms helped spread the religion and make it more amenable to the Chinese people. However, the differences between the Sanskrit and Chinese terminology led to some initial misunderstandings and the eventual development of Buddhism in East Asia as

870-530: A sign of transmission of the Dharma: a robe, a bowl, and a copy of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra . The transmission then passed to the second ancestral founder Dazu Huike, the third Sengcan, the fourth ancestral founder Dayi Daoxin, and the fifth ancestral founder Daman Hongren . With the fourth patriarch, Daoxin ( 道信 580–651), Chan began to take shape as a distinct school. The link between Huike and Sengcan, and

957-551: Is De . Wu wei , or 'naturalness', is contingent on understanding and conforming to this inner nature, which is interpreted variously from a personal, individual nature to a more generalized notion of human nature within the greater Universe. Historically, the concept of De differed significantly between Taoists and Confucianists. Confucianism was largely a moral system emphasizing the values of humaneness, righteousness, and filial duty, and so conceived De in terms of obedience to rigorously defined and codified social rules. Taoists took

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1044-497: Is "eternally nameless" and should be distinguished from the countless named things that are considered to be its manifestations, the reality of life before its descriptions of it. The word "Tao" has a variety of meanings in both the ancient and modern Chinese language. Aside from its purely prosaic use meaning road, channel, path, principle, or similar, the word has acquired a variety of differing and often confusing metaphorical, philosophical, and religious uses. In most belief systems,

1131-421: Is "without steps or gradations. One concentrates, understands, and is enlightened, all in one undifferentiated practice." Sharf notes that the notion of "Mind" came to be criticised by radical subitists, and was replaced by "No Mind," to avoid any reifications. A large group of students gathered at a permanent residence, and extreme asceticism became outdated. The period of Daoxin and Hongren came to be called

1218-601: Is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism . It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties . Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of the same character , which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon , and, in

1305-445: Is a broad variety of distinct interpretations among sects and even individuals in the same sect. Despite this diversity, there are some clear, common patterns and trends in Taoism and its branches. The diversity of Taoist interpretations of the Tao can be seen across four texts representative of major streams of thought in Taoism. All four texts are used in modern Taoism with varying acceptance and emphasis among sects. The Tao Te Ching

1392-616: Is associated with the East Mountain School . It is a method named "Maintaining the one without wavering" ( shou-i pu i, 守一不移), the one being the nature of mind , which is equated with Buddha-nature. In this practice, one turns the attention from the objects of experience, to the perceiving subject itself. According to McRae, this type of meditation resembles the methods of "virtually all schools of Mahayana Buddhism," but differs in that "no preparatory requirements, no moral prerequisites or preliminary exercises are given," and

1479-472: Is commonly used in this fashion by Chinese Buddhists, heavy with associations and nuanced meanings. During the Song dynasty , neo-Confucians regarded the Tao as the purest thing-in-itself . Shao Yong regarded the Tao as the origin of heaven, earth, and everything within them. In contrast, Zhang Zai presented a vitalistic Tao that was the fundamental component or effect of qi, the motive energy behind life and

1566-558: Is emptiness. Emptiness is the Tao. The Tao is cutting off words and speech." Zen Buddhists regard the Tao as synonymous with both the Buddhist Path and the results of it, the Noble Eightfold Path and Buddhist enlightenment . Pai-chang's statement plays upon this usage in the context of the fluid and varied Chinese usage of "Tao". Words and meanings are used to refer to rituals and practices. The "emptiness" refers to

1653-683: Is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend. There are three principal sources for Bodhidharma's biography: The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang by Yáng Xuànzhī's (楊衒之, 547), Tan Lin's preface to the Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices (6th century CE), and Dayi Daoxin 's Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (7th century CE). These sources vary in their account of Bodhidharma being either "from Persia" (547 CE), "a Brahman monk from South India" (645 CE), "the third son of

1740-489: Is highly polysemous: its historical alternate pronunciation as dǎo possessed an additional connotation of 'guide'. The history of the character includes details of orthography and semantics, as well as a possible Proto-Indo-European etymology, in addition to more recent loaning into English and other world languages. "Tao" is written with the Chinese character 道 using both traditional and simplified characters. The traditional graphical interpretation of 道 dates back to

1827-577: Is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian " ( 碧眼胡 ; Bìyǎn hú ) in Chinese Chan texts. Only scarce historical information is available about him but his hagiography developed when the Chan tradition grew stronger and gained prominence in the early 8th century. By this time a lineage of the six ancestral founders of Chan in China was developed. Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma

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1914-524: Is supported by textual examples of the use of the primary tao in the verbal sense "to lead" (e. g., Analects 1.5; 2.8) and seriously undermines the unspoken assumption implied in the common translation of Tao as "way" that the concept is essentially a nominal one. Tao would seem, then, to be etymologically a more dynamic concept than we have made it translation-wise. It would be more appropriately rendered by "lead way" and "lode" ("way," "course," "journey," "leading," "guidance"; cf. "lodestone" and "lodestar"),

2001-517: Is the Taoist concept of de ('virtue'). In Confucianism and religious forms of Taoism, these are often explicitly moral/ethical arguments about proper behavior, while Buddhism and more philosophical forms of Taoism usually refer to the natural and mercurial outcomes of action (comparable to karma). The Tao is intrinsically related to the concepts of yin and yang , where every action creates counter-actions as unavoidable movements within manifestations of

2088-455: Is the fundamental and central concept of these schools of thought. Taoism perceives the Tao as a natural order underlying the substance and activity of the Universe. Language and the "naming" of the Tao is regarded negatively in Taoism; the Tao fundamentally exists and operates outside the realm of differentiation and linguistic constraints. There is no single orthodox Taoist view of the Tao. All forms of Taoism center around Tao and De, but there

2175-528: Is the oldest text and representative of a speculative and philosophical approach to the Tao. The Daotilun is an eighth century exegesis of the Tao Te Ching , written from a well-educated and religious viewpoint that represents the traditional, scholarly perspective. The devotional perspective of the Tao is expressed in the Qingjing Jing , a liturgical text that was originally composed during

2262-496: The Hanyu Da Zidian dictionary defines 39 meanings for 道 ; dào and 6 for 道 ; dǎo . John DeFrancis 's Chinese-English dictionary gives twelve meanings for 道 ; dào , three for 道 ; dǎo , and one for 道 ; dāo . Note that brackets clarify abbreviations and ellipsis marks omitted usage examples. dào 道 N. [ noun ] road; path ◆M. [nominal measure word ] ① (for rivers/topics/etc.) ② (for

2349-567: The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra . As a result, early masters of the Chan tradition were referred to as "Laṅkāvatāra masters". As the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra teaches the doctrine of the Ekayāna "One Vehicle", the early Chan school was sometimes referred to as the "One Vehicle School". In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Chan is sometimes even referred to as simply the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (Ch. 楞伽宗, Léngqié Zōng ). Accounts recording

2436-603: The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra the Chinese supposed that the teaching of Buddha-nature was, as stated by that sutra, the final Buddhist teaching, and that there is an essential truth above sunyata and the two truths. When Buddhism came to China, there were three divisions of training: It was in this context that Buddhism entered into Chinese culture. Three types of teachers with expertise in each training practice developed: Monasteries and practice centers were created that tended to focus on either

2523-536: The Shuowen Jiezi dictionary published in 121 CE, which describes it as a rare "compound ideogram" or " ideographic compound ". According to the Shuowen Jiezi , 道 combines the 'go' radical 辶 (a variant of 辵 ) with 首 ; 'head'. This construction signified a "head going" or "leading the way". "Tao" is graphically distinguished between its earliest nominal meaning of 'way', 'road', 'path', and

2610-514: The Buddha's thirty-two Characteristics . Other important translators of meditation texts were Kumārajīva (334–413 CE), who translated The Sutra on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation , amongst many other texts; and Buddhabhadra . These Chinese translations of mostly Indian Sarvāstivāda Yogacara meditation manuals were the basis for the meditation techniques of Chinese Chan. Buddhism

2697-478: The East Mountain Teaching , due to the location of the residence of Hongren at Huangmei. The term was used by Yuquan Shenxiu (神秀 606?–706), the most important successor to Hongren. By this time the group had grown into a matured congregation that became significant enough to be reckoned with by the ruling forces. The East Mountain community was a specialized meditation training centre. Hongren

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2784-515: The Han dynasty and is used as a hymnal in religious Taoism, especially among eremites . The Zhuangzi uses literary devices such as tales, allegories, and narratives to relate the Tao to the reader, illustrating a metaphorical method of viewing and expressing the Tao. The forms and variations of religious Taoism are incredibly diverse. They integrate a broad spectrum of academic, ritualistic, supernatural, devotional, literary, and folk practices with

2871-599: The Srimala Sutra , one of the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras , figures in the stories about Bodhidharma. Huike is regarded as the second Chan patriarch, appointed by Bodhidharma to succeed him. One of Huike's students, Sengcan , to whom is ascribed the Xinxin Ming , is regarded as the third patriarch. By the late 8th century, under the influence of Huineng's student Shenhui , the traditional list of patriarchs of

2958-514: The Tang dynasty to lend credibility to the growing Chan-school. Only scarce historical information is available about him, but his hagiography developed when the Chan tradition grew stronger and gained prominence in the early 8th century. By this time a lineage of the six ancestral founders of Chan in China was developed. The actual origins of Chan may lie in ascetic practitioners of Buddhism, who found refuge in forests and mountains. Huike , "a dhuta (extreme ascetic) who schooled others" and used

3045-407: The Tao Te Ching and I Ching make pains to distinguish between conceptions of the Tao (sometimes referred to as "named Tao") and the Tao itself (the "unnamed Tao"), which cannot be expressed or understood in language. Liu Da asserts that the Tao is properly understood as an experiential and evolving concept and that there are not only cultural and religious differences in the interpretation of

3132-632: The analogy with his painting Nine Dragons . Much of Taoist philosophy centers on the cyclical continuity of the natural world and its contrast to the linear, goal-oriented actions of human beings, as well as the perception that the Tao is "the source of all being, in which life and death are the same." In all its uses, the Tao is considered to have ineffable qualities that prevent it from being defined or expressed in words. It can, however, be known or experienced , and its principles (which can be discerned by observing nature) can be followed or practiced. Much of East Asian philosophical writing focuses on

3219-483: The 首 ; 'head' element as hair above a face. Some variants interchange the 'go' radical 辵 with 行 ; 'go', 'road', with the original bronze "crossroads" depiction written in the seal character with two 彳 and 亍 ; 'footprints'. Bronze scripts for 道 occasionally include an element of 手 ; 'hand' or 寸 ; 'thumb', 'hand', which occurs in 導 ; 'lead'. The linguist Peter A. Boodberg explained, This " tao with

3306-478: The 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen . The historical records required for a complete, accurate account of early Chan history no longer exist. The history of Chan in China can be divided into several periods. Zen, as we know it today, is the result of a long history, with many changes and contingent factors. Each period had different types of Zen, some of which remained influential, while others vanished. Andy Ferguson distinguishes three periods from

3393-488: The 5th century into the 13th century: Although John R. McRae has reservations about the division of Chan history in phases or periods, he nevertheless distinguishes four phases in the history of Chan: Neither Ferguson nor McRae gives a periodisation for Chinese Chan following the Song-dynasty, though McRae mentions When Buddhism came to China, it was adapted to the Chinese culture and understanding. Theories about

3480-467: The Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up and twirled a flower and his eyes twinkled; several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha's disciples, Mahākāśyapa , gazed at the flower and smiled. The Buddha then acknowledged Mahākāśyapa's insight by saying the following: I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvāṇa,

3567-548: The Buddhist concept of sunyata . Finding the Tao and Buddha-nature is not simply a matter of formulations, but an active response to the Four Noble Truths that cannot be fully expressed or conveyed in words and concrete associations. The use of "Tao" in this context refers to the literal "way" of Buddhism, the return to the universal source, dharma , proper meditation, and nirvana , among other associations. "Tao"

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3654-484: The Chan lineage had been established: In later writings, this lineage was extended to include 28 Indian patriarchs. In the Song of Enlightenment (證道歌 Zhèngdào gē ) of Yongjia Xuanjue (永嘉玄覺, 665–713), one of the chief disciples of Huìnéng , it is written that Bodhidharma was the 28th patriarch in a line of descent from Mahākāśyapa, a disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha , and the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism. Mahākāśyapa

3741-467: The Christian Era, this barbarian influence was infiltrating China just when it was least politically stable and more vulnerable to sedition. As the philosophy and practice infiltrated society, many traditionalists banded together to stop the foreign influence, not so much out of intolerance (an attitude flatly rejected by both Taoism and Confucianism), but because they felt that the Chinese worldview

3828-584: The Principle of Heaven in Neo-Confucianism. The Way is contained within all things. Thus, the religious life is not an elite or special journey for Neo-Confucians. The normal, mundane life is the path that leads to the Absolute, because the Absolute is contained within the mundane objects and events of daily life. Yayu, the son of Zhulong who was reincarnated on Earth as a violent hybrid between

3915-403: The Tao but personal differences that reflect the character of individual practitioners. The Tao can be roughly thought of as the "flow of the universe", or as some essence or pattern behind the natural world that keeps the Universe balanced and ordered. It is related to qi , the essential energy of action and existence. The Tao is a non-dualistic principle—it is the greater whole from which all

4002-421: The Tao is the self grounded in its place within the natural Universe. A person dwelling within the Tao excels in themselves and their activities. However, this distinction is complicated by hermeneutic difficulties in the categorization of Taoist schools, sects, and movements. Some Taoists believe the Tao is an entity that can "take on human form" to perform its goals. The Tao represents human harmony with

4089-410: The Tao, "Dao is not religiously available; nor is it even religiously relevant." The writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi are tinged with esoteric tones and approach humanism and naturalism as paradoxes. In contrast to the esotericism typically found in religious systems, the Tao is not transcendent to the self, nor is mystical attainment an escape from the world in philosophical Taoism. The self steeped in

4176-415: The Tao, and proper practice variously involves accepting, conforming to, or working with these natural developments. In Taoism and Confucianism, the Tao was sometimes traditionally seen as a "transcendent power that blesses" that can "express itself directly" through various ways, but most often shows itself through the speech, movement, or traditional ritual of a "prophet, priest, or king." Tao can serve as

4263-413: The Tao. A central tenet in most varieties of religious Taoism is that the Tao is ever-present, but must be manifested, cultivated, and/or perfected to be realized. It is the source of the Universe, and the seed of its primordial purity resides in all things. Breathing exercises, according to some Taoists, allowed one to absorb "parts of the universe." Incense and certain minerals were seen as representing

4350-680: The Tao. Damascene published a full commented translation of the Tao Te Ching under the title Christ the Eternal Tao . In some Chinese translations of the New Testament, the word λόγος ( logos ) is translated as 道 , in passages such as John 1:1, indicating that the translators considered the concept of Tao to be somewhat equivalent to the Hellenic concept of logos in Platonism and Christianity. The Chinese character 道

4437-551: The Vinaya and training of monks or the teachings focused on one scripture or a small group of texts. Dhyāna ( Chan ) masters tended to practice in solitary hermitages, or to be associated with Vinaya training monasteries or the dharma teaching centers. The later naming of the Zen school has its origins in this view of the threefold division of training. McRae goes so far as to say: ... one important feature must not be overlooked: Chan

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4524-459: The Way illuminates virtue, improves the people, and resides within the purest morality. During the Tang dynasty , Han Yu further formalized and defined Confucian beliefs as an apologetic response to Buddhism. He emphasized the ethics of the Way. He explicitly paired "Tao" and "De", focusing on humane nature and righteousness. He also framed and elaborated on a "tradition of the Tao" in order to reject

4611-559: The Way of Man'. Chu Tao is 'the way to be a monarch', i.e. the art of ruling. Each school of philosophy has its tao , its doctrine of the way in which life should be ordered. Finally in a particular school of philosophy whose followers came to be called Taoists, tao meant 'the way the universe works'; and ultimately something very like God, in the more abstract and philosophical sense of that term. "Tao" gives Taoism its name in English, in both its philosophical and religious forms. The Tao

4698-417: The Way. Cheng Yi followed this interpretation, elaborating on this perspective of the Tao through teachings about interactions between yin and yang, the cultivation and preservation of life, and the axiom of a morally just universe. On the whole, the Tao is equated with totality. Wang Fuzhi expressed the Tao as the taiji , or 'great ultimate', as well as the road leading to it. Nothing exists apart from

4785-570: The Yogacara meditation teachings of the Sarvāstivāda school of Kashmir circa 1st-4th centuries CE. The five main types of meditation in the Dhyana sutras are anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing); paṭikūlamanasikāra meditation, mindfulness of the impurities of the body; loving-kindness maitrī meditation; the contemplation on the twelve links of pratītyasamutpāda ; and the contemplation on

4872-1105: The common specifications 道 ; dào ; 'way' and 道 ; dǎo (with variant 導 ; 'guide'), 道 has a rare additional pronunciation with the level tone, dāo , seen in the regional chengyu 神神道道 ; shénshendāodāo ; 'odd', 'bizarre', a reduplication of 道 and 神 ; shén ; 'spirit', 'god' from northeast China. In Middle Chinese ( c.  6th–10th centuries CE ) tone name categories, 道 and 導 were 去聲 ; qùshēng ; 'departing tone' and 上聲 ; shǎngshēng ; 'rising tone'. Historical linguists have reconstructed MC 道 ; 'way' and 導 ; 'guide' as d'âu- and d'âu ( Bernhard Karlgren ), dau and dau daw and daw , daw and daws (William H. Baxter), and dâu and dâu . In Old Chinese ( c.  7th–3rd centuries BCE ) pronunciations, reconstructions for 道 and 導 are *d'ôg (Karlgren), *dəw (Zhou), *dəgwx and *dəgwh , *luʔ , and *lûʔ and *lûh . The word 道 has many meanings. For example,

4959-548: The concepts". Judging from the reception by the Han of the Hinayana works and from the early commentaries, it appears that Buddhism was being perceived and digested through the medium of religious Daoism (Taoism). Buddha was seen as a foreign immortal who had achieved some form of Daoist nondeath. The Buddhists' mindfulness of the breath was regarded as an extension of Daoist breathing exercises. The first Buddhist converts in China were Taoists. They developed high esteem for

5046-518: The entrance of principle and the entrance of practice: The entrance of principle is to become enlightened to the Truth on the basis of the teaching. One must have a profound faith in the fact that one and the same True Nature is possessed by all sentient beings, both ordinary and enlightened, and that this True Nature is only covered up and made imperceptible [in the case of ordinary people] by false sense impressions ". The entrance of practice includes

5133-515: The existence and celestial importance of the Way of Heaven, he insisted that the Tao principally concerns human affairs. As a formal religious concept in Confucianism, Tao is the Absolute toward which the faithful move. In Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean), harmony with the Absolute is the equivalent to integrity and sincerity. The Great Learning expands on this concept explaining that

5220-567: The following four increments: This text was used and studied by Huike and his students. The True Nature refers to the Buddha-nature . Bodhidharma settled in Northern Wei China. Shortly before his death, Bodhidharma appointed his disciple Dazu Huike to succeed him, making Huike the first Chinese-born ancestral founder and the second ancestral founder of Chan in China. Bodhidharma is said to have passed three items to Huike as

5307-465: The fourth patriarch Daoxin "is far from clear and remains tenuous". With Daoxin and his successor, the fifth patriarch Hongren ( 弘忍 601–674), there emerged a new style of teaching, which was inspired by the Chinese text Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana . According to McRae, the "first explicit statement of the sudden and direct approach that was to become the hallmark of Ch'an religious practice"

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5394-475: The greater universe as well, and breathing them in could create similar effects. The manifestation of the Tao is de , which rectifies and invigorates the world with the Tao's radiance. Alternatively, philosophical Taoism regards the Tao as a non-religious concept; it is not a deity to be worshiped, nor is it a mystical Absolute in the religious sense of the Hindu brahman . Joseph Wu remarked of this conception of

5481-410: The hand element" is usually identified with the modern character 導 tao < d'ôg , 'to lead,', 'guide', 'conduct', and considered to be a derivative or verbal cognate of the noun tao , "way," "path." The evidence just summarized would indicate rather that " tao with the hand" is but a variant of the basic tao and that the word itself combined both nominal and verbal aspects of the etymon. This

5568-553: The history of this early period are to be found in the Records of the Laṅkāvatāra Masters ( Chinese : 楞伽師資記 ). Bodhidharma is recorded as having come into China during the time of Southern and Northern Dynasties to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words". Throughout Buddhist art , Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian. He

5655-462: The individual elements of the Universe derive. Catherine Keller considers it similar to the negative theology of Western scholars, but the Tao is rarely an object of direct worship, being treated more like the Hindu concepts of karma , dharma , or Ṛta than as a divine object. The Tao is more commonly expressed in the relationship between wu (void or emptiness, in the sense of wuji ) and

5742-534: The ineffable Tao and Buddha-nature , and thus, rather than feeling bound to the abstract "wisdom of the sūtras", emphasized Buddha-nature to be found in "everyday" human life, just as the Tao. Chinese Buddhism absorbed Neo-Daoist concepts as well. Concepts such as T'i-yung (體用 Essence and Function) and Li-shih (理事 Noumenon and Phenomenon, or Principle and Practice) first appeared in Hua-yen Buddhism, which consequently influenced Chan deeply. On

5829-571: The influence of other schools in the evolution of Chan vary widely and are heavily reliant upon speculative correlation rather than on written records or histories. Numerous scholars have argued that Chan developed from the interaction between Mahāyāna Buddhism and Taoism . Buddhist meditation was practiced in China centuries before the rise of Chan, by people such as An Shigao (c. 148–180 CE) and his school, who translated various Dhyāna sutras (Chán-jing, 禪経, "meditation treatises"), which were influential early meditation texts mostly based on

5916-550: The kind of thing the Universe is and the kind of things we are." He asserted that every religion and philosophy contains foundations of universal ethics as an attempt to line up with the Tao—the way mankind was designed to be. In Lewis's thinking, God created the Tao and fully displayed it through the person of Jesus Christ . Similarly, Eastern Orthodox hegumen Damascene (Christensen), a pupil of noted monastic and scholar of East Asian religions Seraphim Rose , identified logos with

6003-497: The later verbal sense of 'say'. It should also be contrasted with 導 ; 'lead the way', 'guide', 'conduct', 'direct'. The simplified character 导 for 導 has 巳 ; '6th of the 12 Earthly Branches ' in place of 道 . The earliest written forms of "Tao" are bronzeware script and seal script characters from the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BCE) bronzes and writings. These ancient forms more clearly depict

6090-455: The more metaphysical usage of the term used in philosophical Taoism and most forms of Mahayana Buddhism ; others maintain that these are not separate usages or meanings, seeing them as mutually inclusive and compatible approaches to defining the principle. The original use of the term was as a form of praxis rather than theory—a term used as a convention to refer to something that otherwise cannot be discussed in words—and early writings such as

6177-406: The natural, dynamic balance between opposites, leading to its central principle of wu wei (inaction or inexertion). The Tao is usually described in terms of elements of nature, and in particular, as similar to water. Like water it is undifferentiated, endlessly self-replenishing, soft and quiet but immensely powerful, and impassively generous. The Song dynasty painter Chen Rong popularized

6264-403: The newly introduced Buddhist meditational techniques, and blended them with Taoist meditation . Representatives of early Chinese Buddhism like Sengzhao and Tao Sheng were deeply influenced by the Taoist keystone works of Laozi and Zhuangzi . Against this background, especially the Taoist concept of naturalness was inherited by the early Chan disciples: they equated – to some extent –

6351-399: The other hand, Taoists at first misunderstood sunyata to be akin to the Taoist non-being . The emerging Chinese Buddhism nevertheless had to compete with Taoism and Confucianism: Because Buddhism was a foreign influence, however, and everything "barbarian" was suspect, certain Chinese critics were jolted out of complacency by the spread of the dharma [...] In the first four centuries of

6438-693: The somewhat obsolescent deverbal noun from "to lead." These Confucian Analects citations of dao verbally meaning 'to guide', 'to lead' are: "The Master said, 'In guiding a state of a thousand chariots, approach your duties with reverence and be trustworthy in what you say" and "The Master said, 'Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame." In modern Standard Chinese , 道 's two primary pronunciations are tonally differentiated between falling tone dào ; 'way', 'path' and dipping tone dǎo ; 'guide', 'lead' (usually written as 導 ). Besides

6525-465: The traditions of Buddhism. Ancestors and the Mandate of Heaven were thought to emanate from the Tao, especially during the Song dynasty . Buddhism first started to spread in China during the first century AD and was experiencing a golden age of growth and maturation by the fourth century AD. Hundreds of collections of Pali and Sanskrit texts were translated into Chinese by Buddhist monks within

6612-464: The true form of the formless, the subtle Dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa. Traditionally the origin of Chan in China is credited to Bodhidharma , an Iranian-language speaking Central Asian monk or an Indian monk. The story of his life, and of the Six Patriarchs, was constructed during

6699-507: The universe and even more phenomena in the world and nature. The Tao of Confucius can be translated as 'truth'. Confucianism regards the Way, or Truth, as concordant with a particular approach to life, politics, and tradition. It is held as equally necessary and well regarded as de and ren ('compassion', 'humanity'). Confucius presents a humanistic Tao. He only rarely speaks of the 'Way of Heaven'. The early Confucian philosopher Xunzi explicitly noted this contrast. Though he acknowledged

6786-514: The value of adhering to the principles of the Tao and the various consequences of failing to do so. The Tao was shared with Confucianism, Chan Buddhism and Zen , and more broadly throughout East Asian philosophy and religion in general. In Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism, the object of spiritual practice is to "become one with the Tao" ( Tao Te Ching ) or to harmonize one's will with nature to achieve 'effortless action'. This involves meditative and moral practices. Important in this respect

6873-487: The word is used symbolically in its sense of "way" as the right or proper way of existence, or in the context of ongoing practices of attainment or of the full coming into being, or the state of enlightenment or spiritual perfection that is the outcome of such practices. Some scholars make sharp distinctions between the moral or ethical usage of the word "Tao" that is prominent in Confucianism and religious Taoism and

6960-487: The works attributed to Zhuang Zhou are dedicated to critiques of the failures of Confucianism. The translator Arthur Waley observed that [Tao] means a road, path, way; and hence, the way in which one does something; method, doctrine, principle. The Way of Heaven, for example, is ruthless; when autumn comes 'no leaf is spared because of its beauty, no flower because of its fragrance'. The Way of Man means, among other things, procreation; and eunuchs are said to be 'far from

7047-462: The world. A number of later scholars adopted this interpretation, such as Tai Chen during the Qing dynasty . Zhu Xi , Cheng Ho , and Cheng Yi perceived the Tao in the context of li ('principle') and t'ien li ('principle of Heaven'). Cheng Hao regarded the fundamental matter of li , and thus the Tao, to be humaneness. Developing compassion, altruism, and other humane virtues is following of

7134-469: Was a plain meditation teacher, who taught students of "various religious interests", including "practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, students of Madhyamaka philosophy, or specialists in the monastic regulations of Buddhist Vinaya ". The school was typified by a "loose practice," aiming to make meditation accessible to a larger audience. Shenxiu used short formulas extracted from various sutras to package

7221-492: Was being turned upside down. One point of confusion for this new emerging Chinese Buddhism was the two truths doctrine . Chinese thinking took this to refer to two ontological truths : reality exists on two levels, a relative level and an absolute level. Taoists at first misunderstood sunyata to be akin to the Taoist non-being. In Indian Madhyamaka philosophy the two truths are two epistemological truths : two different ways to look at reality. Based on their understanding of

7308-419: Was exposed to Confucian , Taoist and local Folk religious influences when it came to China. Goddard quotes D.T. Suzuki , calling Chan a "natural evolution of Buddhism under Taoist conditions". Buddhism was first identified to be "a barbarian variant of Taoism", and Taoist terminology was used to express Buddhist doctrines in the oldest translations of Buddhist texts, a practice termed ko-i , "matching

7395-632: Was never any such thing as an institutionally separate Chan "school" at any time in Chinese Buddhist history (emphasis McRae). The Chan tradition ascribes the origins of Chan in India to the Flower Sermon , the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century. It is said that Gautama Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a Dharma talk . When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps

7482-475: Was not nearly as separate from these other types of Buddhist activities as one might think [...] [T]he monasteries of which Chan monks became abbots were comprehensive institutions, "public monasteries" that supported various types of Buddhist activities other than Chan-style meditation. The reader should bear this point in mind: In contrast to the independent denominations of Soto and Rinzai that emerged (largely by government fiat) in seventeenth-century Japan, there

7569-618: Was the first, leading the line of transmission; Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West; The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country; And Bodhidharma became the First Father here: His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers, And by them many minds came to see the Light. In its beginnings in China, Chan primarily referred to the Mahāyāna sūtras and especially to

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