The Research Of Gao-feng Yuan-miao And His Chan Practice

Although the Chan sect declined in the Nan-Song Dynasty,Lin-ji sect still had strong life,for example,its spreading lasted for a long time,its field was very extensive,and its influence was very great. Subsequently,Lin-ji sect was resurrected during the Yuan Ming and Qing Dynasties,which was mainly due to the standing-out of few prominent Chan masters during the Yuan Dynasty. Gao-feng was one of them.He was a famous Chan master of Lin-ji sect in the Early-Yuan Dynasty. He took "the existential emptiness and essential characteristics" as his ideological basis, enriched and developed the Kan-hua Chan of Da-hui Zong-gao in two aspects, and promoted the harmonious combination of various Chan sects He occupied a privotal position in the passing on of the Yuan Dynasty' s Chan sect. Study of his life and his Chan practice is significant to understanding the development of the Chan sect in the mid-ending term of Yuan Dynasty.This paper consists of five parts.In introduction,the author looks back on the academic studies of this subject and explains its value;The first part is a thorough study of Gao-feng's life experience,to show his remarkable achievements as a Chan master;The second part combs the policy of Nan-Song and Yuan Dynasties towards Buddhism,and gives a general picture of the Chan sect's history;The third part closely linking his books,focuses on his thought of Chan practice.This part,mainly discusses the theory basis of his thought and his detailing of the procedure of Chanpractice,analyses the features of his Chan practice;The fourth part is a perspective of his charisma;The last part appraises the influence and position of Gao-feng,and then the author draws some conclusions about him on the basis of the research mentioned above.In a word,based on the foundation of absorbing the fruits that had been achieved by Chinese and Japanese scholars,this paper made an attempt to study Gao-feng in four respects,such as his life experience,Chan practice,charisma and influence,to make people pay more attention to Gao-feng Yuan-miao and his Chan practice.