The Chinese Ch'an 禪 Sect was founded firmly during the period of the two Sects: The Southern Sect and the Northern Sect. The Southern Sect is Called the Abrupt Sect and the Northern Sect is called the Graduate Sect.
The founder of the Southern Sect...
The Chinese Ch'an 禪 Sect was founded firmly during the period of the two Sects: The Southern Sect and the Northern Sect. The Southern Sect is Called the Abrupt Sect and the Northern Sect is called the Graduate Sect.
The founder of the Southern Sect was He-Nung 慧能 and the founder of the Northern Sect was Sin-su 神秀.
Since the Period of the two Sects, the Chinese Ch'an had been developted into the highest state of the Ch'an itself as well the direct fundamental expierence of the teachings.
In the course of the development of the two Sects, the Chinese Ch'an was, however, divided dogmatically in the two oposite sects: the Southern Abrupt Sect and the Northern Graduate Sect.
Sin-Hoe 神會 was the first man who insisted on the methodological differences between the two sects. But according to the original Character of the Ch'an practice, none of the two methods i.d., the Abrupt method and the Gradual method, is better than the other, and so both of them should be practiced at the same time to accomplish Ch'an.
The main point of this thesis is to point out the fact that the Northern Sect also practiced the Abrupt meothod together with the Gradual method, and in this connection to suggest the fact that, although the lineage of the patriarchs of the Korean Bo-20Seon 普照禪 Could be traced to that of the Chinese Southern Sect only, the real character of the Korean Bo-20 Seon was also consisted of the two methods i.d., the Abrupe and the Gradual.
In this thesis, to point out the fact that the Northern Sect also practiced the Abrupt method, firstly the books other thesises written by those who belong to the Norther Sect were refered to, and seondly Ha-taek Sin-hoe's 荷澤神會 critical vieu against the Northern Sect was scrutinized, and thirdly zong-mils 宗密 thought of Ch'an, who was the teacher of Sin-hoe and had the thought of the oneness of the Abrupt and the Gradual Method was pointed out.
The Northern Sect insists on the fact that, because the five sense organs and the mind are originally pare, it should be enough for as to keep and develop ourselves as they are, and so we should to practice both the Abrupt and the Gradual method to get either the state of the pure mind without thought or the pure state of the mind beyond thought to accomplish the enlightenment.
The Northern Sect insists, on the oneness of the two methods of Ch'an i.d., the Abrupt and the Gradual, and taught various kinds of practices: the three learnings: precepts, meditation and wisdom: the sama ̄dhi of Recitation of Amita's name: the 1-hsing Sama ̄dhi-行三昧 of the prajn~a ̄pa ̄ramita ̄ Su~tra preached by Man~jusˇri ̄ and Avatamsaka Sama ̄dhi of the oneness of the nomena and phenomena which is the fundamental theory of Avatamsaka Philosoxphy.
This is the reason why the Northern Sect has been said to be the gradual Sect that the Northern Sect thus put the stress more on the practical training of Ch'an than what is called the spiritual mindfulness.
The Southern Sect, however, put stress on the abrupt enlightenment only, and Consequently criticized the Sin-su's Northern Sect as the Gradual Sect andosthe heratic Sect.
From the view point of the Avatamsaka Doctrine, Zong-mil insisted on both the meditation and the teachings, and on the practice of both of the two methods of Ch'an i.d. the Abrupt and the Gradual.
Consequently the Korean Zi-nul's 知訥 Seon 禪, which insisted on the practice of both the meditation and the wisdom, and criticized the one sided practice of only meditation without practice of wisdom, may be said to be influenced by the thought of the Northern Sect too, and the thought of the Northern Sect can be included in the Korean Zi-nul's Seon thought.