A critical study of Xuefeng chan and an annotated translation of the extant edition of The record of sayings of chan master Xuefeng Yicun

Abstract

Chan master Xuefeng Yicun (雪峰義存822-908) is a leading figure of the Chan School in late Tang (618-908). He is active after the Persecution against Buddhism (around 845) in the Min region of China. Based on Mt. Xuefeng located in Minhou of Fuzhou, Fujian, he attracts and educates large numbers of followers in the monastery of Xuefeng Chongsheng Chansi (雪峰崇聖禪寺). Among his followers, Yunmen Wenyan (雲門文偃 864-949) is the founder of the Yunmen Household; Fayan Wenyi (法眼文益885-958), a third-generation disciple, is the founder of the Fayan Household.

The review of current literature on the study of Chan master Xuefeng reveals two big research gaps. One is the lack of investigation into Xuefeng Chan. The other is the lack of a complete English translation of the Extant Edition of The Record of Sayings of Chan Master Xuefeng Yicun (雪峰義存禪師語錄, hereafter referred to as EER). To construct Xuefeng Chan, all the gong’an cases in EER are analyzed based on the common sense on gong’an which encompasses the single purpose of Chan masters, three basic functions of gong’an, a shared family tree of the Chan tradition, a shared Chan terminology, and a shared approach to gong’an. During this process, the AB formula of non-duality, with A standing for the original nature and B standing for all phenomena, is proposed based on which three features of Xuefeng Chan are discovered.

The three features are to ‘see the way in seeing and walk the way in walking’, to ‘penetrate the non-duality of phenomena and nature through double negation and double affirmation’, and to ‘rock Heaven and Earth with prajna wisdom flowing naturally from one’s bosom’. Case studies of the gong’an cases in EER are conducted to demonstrate the application of the three features with the establishment of which Xuefeng Chan is solidly constructed.

The text of EER is properly punctuated and coherently segmented into meaningful parts before an annotated translation is conducted. Instead of a word-by-word mechanical translation, the priority is given to jifeng in each gong’an case.

With the construction of Xuefeng Chan and an annotated translation of EER, Chan master Xuefeng and Xuefeng Chan are brought to a larger audience and to an enriched scholarship of Chan study.

Key words: Xuefeng Yicun, Xuefeng Chan, AB formula, gong’an translation