Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Genealogy, and Transformation in Chinese Chan Buddhism (review)

Recent progress in the historical study of the Chan tradition of Chinese Buddhism has undermined the deceptive simplicity of normative genealogical narratives that in the past shaped perceptions of Chan's growth and transmission during the Tang (619-907) through Song (960-1279) periods. This is especially the case with the Chan school's formative period, which contemporary scholarship has shown to be characterized by greater complexity and diversity than previously assumed. Much of the new knowledge about Chan's initial development was facilitated by the rediscovery of early texts, primarily among the Dunhuang documents, but also in monastic libraries in Korea and Japan. However, the ongoing assessment of various aspects of the Chan school's development is not restricted to its early history. New research has led to the rethinking of various periods and aspects of Chan's evolution into a major school of Chinese Buddhism, covering related developments in areas such as doctrine, spiritual cultivation, literary production, and institutional organization. By utilizing early documents and critically reexamining other pertinent sources, we are now in a better position to draw a balanced outline of the Chan school's history and reassess its position within Chinese religious life.

John McRae is an active participant in the ongoing academic efforts to recon-ceptualize early Chan history. His new book Seeing Through Zen exemplifies thoughtful and informative scholarship and is a valuable addition to the growing body of work on Chan. The book covers the history of the tradition from its inception in the sixth century, traditionally ascribed to Bodhidharma and the early Chan patriarchs, through the main phases of its historical development during the Tang and Song periods. In the course of its historical evolution, the Chan school underwent manifold transformations, echoed in the creation of innovative doctrines and models of spiritual cultivation, literary genres and genealogical narratives, and institutional structures. The author does an admirable job of surveying the historical trajectory of the Chan school's early growth and subsequent establishment as the main Buddhist orthodoxy. Moreover, on a more fundamental level, he challenges some basic assumptions and suggests new ways of looking at the Chan tradition and its connections with other aspects of Chinese religious and social history.

The book starts with a reflection on the manner in which we construe or look at the Chan tradition. The author deconstructs the traditional model of interpreting Chan history in terms of an unbroken lineage of patriarchs that is dominated by historically obscure figures such as Bodhidharma, the putative founder of Chan in China, and Huineng (638-713), the legendary "sixth patriarch." He rightly points out that such an obsolete approach leads to what he styles the "string of pearls fallacy." Instead, he proposes to identify trends and phases in the evolution of Chan (such as proto-Chan, early Chan, etc.) that represent distinct configurations of religious activity involving multiple dimensions.

The chronological survey of Chan history starts in chapter 2. Its early part focuses on the legend of Bodhidharma and its functions within the later Chan traditions(s), and on the conception of religious practice in the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices, traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma. This is followed by a discussion of the emergence of the East Mountain tradition, whose main representatives, Daoxin (580-651) and Hongren (601-674), were retrospectively recognized as the fourth and fifth Chan patriarchs, and a brief analysis of the Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, an important text on spiritual cultivation composed by Hongren's students.

The historical narrative continues in the next chapter, which describes the success of the Northern school, whose leader, Shenxiu (606?-706), brought the Chan teachings to the Chinese capitals and secured broad-based approbation and imperial support. This is followed by a discussion of Shenhui's (684 - 758) campaigns against the Northern school and his championing of the Southern school, and the...