| This study is organized around the question of attempts at lineage construction and its corollary, the evolution of the conception of sectarian consciousness, in Chinese Buddhism during the T'ang dynasty (618-907). It concentrates on T'ien-t'ai and, more specifically, on the contributions to the development of that tradition by Chan-jan (711-782), who became known as its sixth patriarch.;The aim of this study is three-fold: to examine the nature and extent of Chan-jan's contributions; building upon those findings, to challenge the traditional T'ang T'ien-t'ai "Dark Ages" assessment by reconsidering the diverse elements and phases that contributed to the sinification of Buddhism; and, employing the structure and content of that process, to explore the theoretical justifications for conceptual innovation within East Asian Buddhism.;Part One deals with the biography of Chan-jan, assessing the influences that helped determine his religious development, setting his literary legacy into chronological order, and outlining the issues, the audience, and the polemical debates and strategies of primary concern to him. This section concludes by identifying his disciples.;Part Two places Chan-jan within the general context of T'ang T'ien-t'ai. It focuses on the evolution of T'ien-t'ai conceptions of "lineage" and of "school" during the T'ang, framed within the principle context of the sources. Attention is paid to the identification of the distinctive phases T'ien-t'ai went through in homogenizing such terms as disciple, patriarch, and lineage/school, and the doctrinal, institutional, and political forces at play in assimilating their various meanings into the conception of a T'ien-t'ai notion of self--a development, we conclude, that postdates the period under discussion. Eight such phases are identified.;Part Three selects Chan-jan's theoretical justification of Buddha-nature of the insentient as his most original and far-reaching doctrinal innovation. A heavily annotated translation of the Chin-kang pei (The Diamond Scalpel), which systemically incorporates all elements outlined in Parts One and Two, is presented. |
