Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies

        This paper examines whether early Chan Buddhism in China can be categorized as a kind of “original enlightenment”(本覺) thinking. In defining “original enlightenment”, the author adopts the definition given by Lu Cheng (1896-1989). Lu Cheng differentiates between the Indian Buddhist concept of mind and the Chinese Buddhist concept by using the terms “self-nature is original quiescence” (自性本寂) and “self-nature is original enlightenment”. According to the concept of “self-nature is original enlightenment”, there exists a true mind whose inherent wisdom is luminous. Although this true mind is obscured by deluded thoughts in ordinary beings, its inherent awareness remains. With the cessation of deluded thoughts, it will restore its original nature. Therefore, in terms of cultivating and realizing enlightenment, becoming a Buddha is a process of returning to one’s original nature and manifesting inherent awareness. Lu Cheng believes that the concept of “original enlightenment” originated from pseudo-scriptures and is fundamentally different from Indian Buddhist philosophy. Furthermore, Lu Cheng divides early Chan Buddhism into three lineages: the Laṅkā Chan lineage (楞伽禪), the Qixin Chan lineage (起信禪), and the Prajñā Chan lineage (般若禪), considering all three lineages as embodiments of the “original enlightenment”. He also states that “there is a danger of harming people’s eyesight” (有損人天眼目之危險) and “establishing original enlightenment is absolutely not acceptable” (本覺絕不能立).
        Regarding the figures of early Chan Buddhism, this paper examines the traditional narrative of the first ancestor Bodhidharma, the second ancestor Huike, the third ancestor Sengcan, the fourth ancestor Daoxin, the fifth ancestor Hongren, and the sixth ancestor Huineng. The primary sources used in this study are newly discovered materials from Dunhuang, including the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices (二入四行論), the Rudao anxin yao fangbian famen (入道安心要方便法門), the Xiuxin yaolun (修心要論), the Dunhuang version of the Platform Sutra (壇經), and relevant records from the Transmission of the Lamp. Based on the existing literature, the Chan teachings of these Chan masters do not have a close relationship with the Awakening of Faith (起信論), nor do they exhibit the simplified and essentialized concept of “original enlightenment” as defined by Lu Cheng. It should be noted that this paper does not examine the Chan teachings of Niu-tou Fa-jung (牛頭法融) and Shen-hsiu (神秀). The ideas of these two Chan masters have a more complex relationship with the concept of “original enlightenment”, but due to the limitations of space, they cannot be addressed in this article.

Keywords: