| Zibo Zhenke (1543-1604) was an influential figure in the reinvig- oration of Buddhism in late sixteenth century China. Coming forth from within the Chan tradition, Zibo travelled and taught widely, and had contacts with members of the social elite as well as with the commoners. He organized patronage for the restoration of many Buddhist temples, and for the printing of the Buddhist Canon in book form that could circulate more widely. Zibo emphasized the practical and theoretical unity of Chan and the Scriptural Teachings. Besides the Chan classics, his teaching drew on such scriptures as the (')Surangama and Avatamsaka, and made use of the study systems and analyses of the Tiantai and Consciousness Only traditions. Zibo also accepted the reciting of dharan(')i and Pure Land buddha-name invocation as legitimate approaches when carried on in the proper frame of mind. Teaching in a time when notions derived from Buddhist ideas were very widely diffused throughout Chinese society, Zibo worked to clarify the true Buddhist essence to be found within a variety of current religious forms. He criticized certain misguided derivatives from Buddhism then prevalent, such as repudiating the Buddhist scriptures in the name of Chan, or accepting conditioned subjective awareness as the mind of enlightenment. Zibo knew Confucianism and Taoism, and was not averse to making use of their terminology to advance Buddhist ideas or to point out common- alities among the three teachings. The guiding framework of Zibo's teaching was thoroughly Buddhist, and he thought that Buddhism went beyond the other two by far as a practical method for tran- scendence and compassionate return. Nevertheless, Buddhism in its many forms, Confucianism, or Taoism could all be effective, in Zibo's view, depending on the true sincerity of the learner and contact with true teachers. From Zibo's teaching words, showing the state of the art of Chinese Buddhism circa 1600, no "qualitative decline" or "loss of intellectual vigor" is obvious in comparison with earlier greats in the tradition. |
