The Five Houses of Zen

by Cleary, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9781570622922
• ISBN10: 1570622922
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-04-15
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

For all its emphasis on the direct experience on insight without reliance on the products of the intellect, the Zen tradition has created a huge body of writings. Of this cast literature, the writings associated with the so-called Five Houses of Zen are widely considered to be preeminent. These Five Houses-which arose in China during the ninth and tenth centuries, often referred to as the Golden Age of Zen-were not schools or sects but styles of Zen teaching represented by some of the most outstanding masters in Zen history. The writing of these great Zen teachers are presented here, many translated for the first time. These include: The sayings of Pai-chang, famous for his Zen dictum "A day without work, a day without food." Selections from Kuei-shan's collection of Zen admonitions, considered essential reading by numerous Buddhist teachers. Sun-chi's unique discussion of the inner meaning of the circular symbol in Zen teaching. Sayings of Huang-po fromThe Essential Method of Transmission of Mind.Excerpts fromThe Record of Lin-chi, a great classical text of Zen literature. Ts'ao-shan's presentation of the famous teaching device known as the Five Ranks. Selections of poetry from theCascade Collectionby Hsueh-tou, renowned for his poetic commentaries on the classicBlue Cliff Record.Yung-ming's teachings on how to balance the two basic aspects of meditation: concentration and insight.

Author Biography

Thomas Cleary holds a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He is the translator of over fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
The House of Kuei-Yang
Pai-chang	3	(13)
Kuei-shan	16	(7)
Kuei-shan and Yang-shan	23	(6)
Sun-chi	29	(14)
The House of Lin-chi
Huang-po	43	(6)
Lin-chi	49	(8)
Yuan-wu	57	(10)
The House of Ts'ao-Tung
Yao-shan	67	(3)
Yun-Yen	70	(2)
Tung-shan	72	(13)
Hung-chih	85	(16)
The House of Yun-men
Hsueh-feng	101	(3)
Yun-men	104	(7)
Ming-chiao	111	(7)
Hsueh-tou	118	(7)
The House of Fa-yen
Hsuan-sha	125	(4)
Kuei-ch'en	129	(2)
Fa-yen	131	(14)
Yung-ming	145	(12)
Glossary	157	(10)
Further Readings	167