A Study On The Ch'an Thought Of Yuanwu-keqin

Yuanwu-keqin is a Ch'an master in the mid-Song Dynasty who has contributed much in the history of Chinese Ch'an. Especially he leaves many valuable works to the future generations, such as Biyan-lu, Yuanwu-xinyao, Yuanwu-keqin-ch'anshi-yulu. Those three of his works make the culture of Chinese Ch'an into a brilliant and glorious peak, so we can say that he is not only a Ch'an master who has reached his own Buddha-nature, but also a distinguished scholar capable of interpreting scriptures and treatises written by many Buddhist philosophers. This is why my paper chooses him as the subject of study. Basically, this work for the first time tries to make a comprehensive and systematic study of his Ch'an thought according to the references and results of previous studies. This paper hopes to re-discover the main spirit and essence of his thought and to reexamine his evaluation in history, so that we can get a deeper understanding of the Ch'an history in Song Dynasty.There are three parts of this paper which are introduction, text and conclusion, and six chapters are included in text. They can roughly be expressed as below:Introduction:Briefly introduce the motivation of this study, and its methodology, thinking pattern, difficulties and logical structure.Chapter One:Focuses on the characteristics of political environment and Ch'an development in Song Dynasty. It's important to understand clearly about the social and cultural background behind Yuanwu-keqin's thought, we believe this is the first step to set foot in the study.Chapter Two:Focuses on his life history, academic career, sectarian heritage and personal practice.Chapter Three:Focuses on his Xinxing-lun(Mind-nature thought). Yuanwu-keqin advocates the idea of "great brightness of sentient beings" which includes two phases of "sentient beings" and "great brightness". The significance of "sentient beings" points out the here-and-now of Ch'an which means the philosophy of Xinxing of Ch'an happens in this real world, not elsewhere; and the significance of "great brightness" represents the direction and tasks made by Ch'an.Chapter Four:Focuses on his Gongfu-lun(way of practice). According to his Xinxing-lun, Yuanwu-keqin thinks that each sentient being already has great brightness within which is easily covered by the clouds of erroneous thinking, so we must practice our mind continually through the Gongfu of transferring illusion into enlightenment in order to get real freedom and liberation. Although these thought derive from the Ch'an tradition of Huineng, but Yuanwu-keqin makes a detailed and profound explanation through his own creativity and experiences. One can see that his thought offers a theoretical foundation for his disciple Dahui-zonggao.Chapter Five:Focuses on his Wenzi-ch'an(to understand Ch'an by text). Yuanwu-keqin is the representative of Wenzi-ch'an. He not only has profound opinion on the relation between Ch'an and text, but also practices personally by using text to interpret Ch'an and Koan. This is a precious spiritual wealth he leaves to the future generations. We think that he is very innovative and creative on combining Koran's interpretation, verses with scriptures; he also explains the significance directly so that people can understand easily. The way he does is not only to propagate Ch'an and teachings at the same time, but also to develop a new methodology of approaching to Ch'an.Chapter Six:Focuses on the historical influences brought by his Ch'an thought. On the one hand he reduces the specific meaning of Koan as a theory; on the other hand he increases the practical effect of Koan as a way of practice.This deeply influences the development of Kanhwa-ch'an(resolving doubts by observing Koan) and Mozho-ch'an(silent meditation). Moreover, his style and interpretation method become a model for similar works in the future. Those make up his great contributions in history.Conclusion:Focuses on the comment of his Ch'an thought and achievements. We think Yuanwu-keqin is not only a concluder of predecessors'Ch'an thought, but also a pioneer of the new approach to Ch'an. The feature of his thought embodies a transitional characteristic of changing on paradigm of Ch'an, which becomes a foundation of Kanhua-ch'an and Mozhao-ch'an. Through the in-depth research in this paper, we have fully adequate grounds to say that the historical place of Yuanwu-keqin is not only a crucial point in the development of Chinese Ch'an, but also an important part in understanding the prosperity and decline of Chinese Ch'an.