Some Historical Backgrounds
Zen (ध्यान in Pali; chán-zōng 禪宗 in Chinese, zen-shū 禅宗 in Japanese)is a school of Buddhism that originated in India. It gradually spread to the North, evolved to adapt to the new cultural environment, and developed into what is now called the Mahāyāna Zen (in China, Japan, Korea, and later southward to Vietnam). The authentic, original tradition from India spread to the South, and became what is known as the Theravada Buddhist meditation (in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
According to traditional accounts, one day on Linh Thứu Mountain (in Sankrit, gṛdhrakūṭa) during His Flower Sermon, the Buddha silently raised a white lotus flower, and only Ma-ha-ca-diếp (Mahākāśyapa), a great disciple of His, understood what He meant,and smiled. Seeing him smiling, the Buddha recognized who would be His successor. It was a heart-to-heart understanding, without using any verbal language. It is often referred to as "the flower-and -smile legend" in Zen Buddhism. The Buddha then said:
I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.
Thus, after the Buddha, the 28 Indian partriarchs (西天二十八祖) were:
1.Ma-ha-ca-diếp (摩訶迦葉, mahākāśyapa)
2.A-nan-đà (阿難陀, ānanda)
3.Thương-na-hòa-tu (商那和修, śānavāsin)
4.Ưu-bà-cúc-đa (優婆掬多, upagupta)
5.Đề-đa-ca (提多迦,dhītika)
6.Di-già-ca (彌遮迦, miśaka)
7.Bà-tu-mật (婆須密, vasumitra, Thế Hữu)
8.Phù-đà-nan-đề (浮陀難提, buddhanandi, Phật-đà-nan-đề 佛陀難提)
9.Phù-đà-mật-đa (浮陀密多,buddhamitra,Phật-đà-mật-đa 佛陀密多)
10.Bà-lật-thấp-bà (婆栗濕婆, pārśva, Hiếp tôn giả 脅尊者)
11.Phú-na-dạ-xa (富那夜奢, puṇayaśa)
12.A-na-bồ-đề (阿那菩提, ānabodhi, Mã Minh 馬鳴, aśvaghoṣa)
13.Ca-tì-ma-la (迦毘摩羅, kapimala)
14.Long Thụ (龍樹, nāgārjuna, Na-già-hạt-thụ-na 那伽閼樹那)
15.Ka-na-đề-bà (迦那提婆, kāṇadeva, Đề-bà 提婆, Thánh Thiên, āryadeva)
16.La-hầu-la-đa (羅睺羅多, rāhulabhadra)
17.Tăng-già-nan-đề (僧伽難提,saṃghanandi)
18.Tăng-già-xá-đa (伽舍多,saṃghayathata)
19.Cưu-ma-la-đa (鳩摩羅多, kumāralāta)
20.Xà-dạ-đa (闍夜多, śayata)
21.Thế Thân (世親, vasubandhu, Thiên Thân 天親, Bà-tu-bàn-đầu 婆修盤頭)
22.Ma-noa-la (摩拏羅, manorata)
23.Cưu-lặc-na (鳩勒那, haklenayaśa, Hạc-lặc-na 鶴勒那)
24.Sư Tử Bồ-đề (師子菩提, siṃhabodhi)
25.Bà-xá-tư-đa (婆舍斯多, baśaṣita)
26.Bất-như-mật-đa (不如密多, puṇyamitra)
27.Bát-nhã-đa-la (般若多羅, prajñādhāra)
28.Bồ-đề-đạt-ma (菩提達磨,bodhidharma)
In China, the six Zen patriarchs were:
1.Bodhidharma Bồ-đề-đạt-ma (菩提達磨, ?-532)
2.Huike Huệ Khả (慧可, 487-593)
3.Sengcan Tăng Xán (僧璨, ?-606)
4.Daoxin Đạo Tín (道信, 580-651)
5.Hongren Hoằng Nhẫn (弘忍, 601-674)
6.Huineng Huệ Năng (慧能, 638-713)
Shenxiu (神秀 606?-706) was supposed to be the successor to Hongren, the Fifth patriarch, but later had to expound the Dhamma in the North. After being chosen by Hongren to be his successor, Huineng had to flee by night to Nanhua Temple in the south to avoid the wrath of Hongren's jealous senior disciples. According to tradition, the sixth and last ancestral founder, Huineng (惠能; 638–713), was one of the giants of Chán history, whom all surviving schools regard as their ancestor. There were many famous Chinese Zen masters in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and the Song dynasty (960–1297). Of the Sixth Patriarch's Lineage there were Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất (zh. 馬祖道一), Bách Trượng Hoài Hải (zh. 百丈懷海), Triệu Châu Tòng Thẩm (zh. 趙州從諗), Lâm Tế Nghĩa Huyền (zh. 臨濟義玄).
Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng (b. 677 at Kim Châu, nowadays An Khang, Thiểm Tây Province, China; d. 744) was a great disciple of Huineng. Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng spent 15 years studying with Huineng. When Huineng demised, he left for Nam Nhạc Mountain and built Bát Nhã Temple (later the name was changed into Quan Âm), established his own sect to teach Huineng's Zen practice. He distinguished himself from Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư, another Huineng's disciple and also his colleague. Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư's sect gradually developed into three more subsects: Tào Động, Vân Môn và Pháp Nhãn. Thus, contemporary sects and subsects in Chinese Chán history originated in this division from the times of Hoài Nhượng và Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư.
One of Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng's disciples, Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất (zh. 馬祖道一), later became an excellent Zen master, and the founder of two sects --Lâm Tế and Vi Ngưỡng (also called Ngưỡng Tông). Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất became a very famous Zen master in Giang Tây. Although he was at first trained in the Northern tradition of Gradual Enlightenment,under the guidance of Nam Nhạc Hoài Nhượng, he followed Huineng's Southern tradition of Sudden Enlightenment. It was Mã Tổ Đạo Nhất who brought unique techniques to Chinese Chán, such as yelling, complete silence, or striking with the Zen rod. It was said that he would push his disciples, asked them unexpected questions, then gave contradictory answers. His purpose was to provide them a shocking experience which could knock down all concepts and the disciples' habitual ways of dualistic and discriminating thinking and perceptions. His influence was wide spreading, and he was very highly respected in Chinese Chán history.
Thus, spreading further to the South of China, the Mahāyāna Zen developed into five houses/sects or seven branches/subsects (五家七宗): Tào Động tông (曹洞宗), Vân Môn tông (雲門宗), Pháp Nhãn tông (法眼宗), Quy/Vi Ngưỡng tông (潙仰宗), Lâm Tế tông (臨濟宗), and its two subsects, Dương Kì phái (楊岐派) và Hoàng Long phái (黃龍派).
Zen Spirit
Zen Buddhism focuses on the practitioner's self reflection and contemplation experience (through daily meditation practice)to attain the ultimate goal (Nirvana/Enlightenment) right in his/her own lifetime. It does not emphasize religious forms, rituals, or etiquette, nor does it encourage argument, reasoning, or discourse analysis about the Dhamma/Dharma and other metaphysical and philosophical issues.
The following 12th-century stanza, attributed to Bodhidharma, reveals the Zen spirit:
教外別傳 Giáo ngoại biệt truyền (Truyền giáo pháp ngoài kinh điển)
不立文字 Bất lập văn tự (không lập văn tự)
直指人心 Trực chỉ nhân tâm (chỉ thẳng tâm người)
見性成佛 Kiến tính thành Phật (thấy chân tính thành Phật).
A special transmission outside the scriptures,
Not founded upon words and letters;
By pointing directly to the mind
It lets one see into one's own true nature, and attain Buddhahood.
The importance given to Zen's non-reliance on written words is often misunderstood as an opposition to the study of Buddhist texts. However, Zen is deeply rooted in the teachings and doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism and gradually developed its own literature. What the Zen tradition emphasizes is that enlightenment of the Buddha came not through intellectual reasoning, but rather through direct insight attained by Dharma practice and meditation. Therefore, it is held that it is primarily through Dharma practice and meditation that others may attain enlightenment and become Buddhas as well.
Zen Sutras and Literature
A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were all well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras. For example, in the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng cites and explains the Diamond Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra), the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. The teachings of Zen could also be found in the Prajñāpāramitā literature, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, by the time of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren (601–674), the Zen school became established as a separate school of Buddhism. It had to develop a doctrinal tradition of its own to ascertain its position. Subsequently, the Zen tradition produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Among the earliest and most widely studied of the specifically Zen texts, dating back to at least the 9th century CE, is the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch, attributed to Huineng. Others include the "encounter dialogue"-genre, which developed into various collections of kōans, and the Shōbōgenzō of Dōgen Zenji.
In its beginnings in China, Zen primarily referred to the Mahāyāna sūtras and especially to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. As a result, early masters of the Zen tradition were referred to as "Laṅkāvatāra masters". As the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra teaches the doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (Skt. Ekayāna), the early Zen school was sometimes referred to as the "One Vehicle School". In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Zen is sometimes even referred to as simply the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (Ch. 楞伽宗, Léngqié Zōng). Accounts recording the history of this early period are to be found in Records of the Laṅkāvatāra Masters (Ch. 楞伽師資記, Léngqié Shīzī Jì).
During the Tang Dynasty, the Zen school's central text shifted to the Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra). Thereafter, the essential texts of the Zen school were often considered to be the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahākāśyapa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-qt/con-nguoi-qt/9794-Chuyen-doi-vi-de-tu-chan-truyen-cua-Luc-to-Hue-Nang.html
