Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Volume 50 (2023): Issue 2 (Jul 2023)

Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Volume 50 (2023): Issue 2 (Jul 2023): Special Issue: Chan Buddhism and the 21st Century 禅宗专刊

Wen Zhao, The Concept of Guarding the One from the Zhuangzi 《莊子》 to Early Chan Buddhism

This paper traces the conception of “guarding the One” (shou yi 守一), an equivalent to “one-practice samādhi” from the East Mountain Teaching (dong shan fa men 東山法門) in early Chan Buddhism, back to the Zhuangzi《莊子》. “Guarding the One” and “nurturing the shen” (yang shen 養神) appear frequently in the context of Daoist spiritual training for longevity. In early medieval Chinese Buddhism, with the influence of the discourse of Daoist spiritual training and the karma theory from India, the concept of shen 神 generally developed into a pure substance of the mind. This substance of the mind also echoes the theory of Buddha-nature, and played a significant role in “Fourth Patriarch” Daoxin's interpretation of “guarding the One”. 【神的概念，在禅宗体现为守一】

Markus Wirtz, Emptying the Mind: Nothingness in Mahāyāna Buddhism and in the Chan Tradition

In Comparison to Western Philosophical Conceptualizations of Nothingness

After an introductory overview of the treatment of nothingness in Western philosophy, nothingness is addressed from the perspectives of important doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism, espcially the ontological concept of dependent origination (pratītya-samutpāda; yuanqi 緣起) in its interpretation by Nāgārjuna as emptiness (śūnyatā; kong 空) and the five manifestations of nothingness in the saṃbhogakāya (baoshen 報身) aspect of the trikāya (sanshen 三身). In the Chan Buddhist tradition, these crucial elements of Mahāyāna teaching have been reinterpreted as meditative tools for emptying the mind. Finally, Daoist elements of the Chan Buddhist interpretation of nothingness/ emptiness are pointed out. 【一些重要的佛教概念被运用于禅宗冥想中】

Teng He, Blue Cliff Record, Art of Living and Its Reception in Germany

In the encounter between the Western and Eastern Cultures in the 20th century, the Chinese Buddhist classic Blue Cliff Record (Biyanlu 《碧巖錄》) was widely translated in Europe, especially in Germany. In the first part, this paper introduces the various German translations as well as their translators’ evaluations and discussions of the book and Chan Buddhism. In the second part, this paper argues that Blue Cliff Record represents a dynamic ontology by interpreting the Highest Meaning. In the third part, this paper will present the self-understanding and freedom addressed in Blue Cliff Record. The paper shows that Chan Buddhism is characterized by its non-duality between convention and holiness and by the self-realization in this world. 【禅宗的非二元（圣俗）特点】

Steven Heine, Poetry as Philosophy in Song-Dynasty Chan Buddhist Discourse

This paper examines ways leading Song-dynasty Chan teachers, especially Cishou Huaishen 慈受懷深 (1077–1132), a prominent poet-monk (shiseng 詩僧) and temple abbot from the Yunmen lineage, transform the intricate rhetorical techniques of Chinese poetry in order to explicate the relationship between an experience of spiritual realization beyond language and logic and the ethical decision-making of everyday life that is inspired by transcendent principles. Huaishen’s poetry expresses didactic Buddhist doctrines showing how an awareness of nonduality and the surpassing of all conceptual boundaries and categories can and must be applied to negotiating moral choices in concrete everyday situations that are either conducive or detrimental to the attainment of enlightenment. My main argument is that Song Chan discourse does not lead to antinomianism or an indifference to the conflicts of the mundane world but, instead, features an ethical approach for determining an aspirant's degree of illumination. This function is central to the school’s overall teaching mission of assisting those seeking to overcome their egocentric delusions by realizing the benefits of Chan insight. 【以中国诗来表达灵性实现和日常伦理的关系。诗歌是一种伦理的方法，以达到“明”】

Xinzhong Yao, Embodied Mind and Embodied Knowing – Xin 心 and Zhi 知 in the Book of Mencius

The heart-mind (xin 心) in Mencius is not merely a rational faculty but a complex that contains such physical, psychological, physiological and spiritual concretes as reason, sentiment, feeling, experience and belief knowing, the study of which in the contemporary world would involve a number of modern disciplines including epistemology, metaphysics, psychology, ethics and education. In the context of Mencius, the mind is already embodied at birth and continues to function as the integration of intellectual and practical, physical and spiritual, and cognitive and behavioural qualities and activities. “Knowing” (zhi 知) in Mencius is an activity of the mind but it is not merely a cognitive process, and must not be confined to the epistemological field. It is enabled through preserving and nourishing the original mind by which a person comes to comprehend human nature and Heaven, and by which he or she becomes fully human. Therefore, the mind in Mencius is not a purely rational entity and the knowing is not merely an epistemic process. They can be understood only in terms of the embodied mind and the embodied knowing. 【孟子中的心不能仅仅理解为知识心（认知心）】