Dongshan Liangjie

Tung-shan Liang-chieh
Title	Ch'an master
Personal
Born	806 China
Died	869
Nationality	Chinese
Denomination	Ch'an
School	Tsao-tung

Liang-chieh of Tung-shan (807-869), often referred too simply as Tung-Shan, was a Ch'an (Zen) master of 9th century China. Along with his pupil Ts'ao-shan Pen-chi, he is best known for founding the Ts'ao-tung, or later Soto, school of Ch'an which is prominent worldwide today. However, his contributions also include extensive expansion and analysis of Buddhist doctrine, such as the poetic Verses of the Five Ranks, as well as stimulation of Buddhist popularity during an era of vulnerability for the religion.

Early Life

Liang-chieh was born during the Tang dynasty in the town of Kuei-chi, in the southeast of the present day Chekiang Province. He started his private studies in Ch'an Buddhism at a young age, as was popular among educated elite families of the time. Reputedly, it was during a tutor's recitation of the Heart Sutra of Buddhism that Liang-chieh voiced his disagreement with the fundamental doctrine and was recognized for his brilliance. As a result, at the age of ten he left his home and traveled to the nearby Wu-hsieh Mountain, one of many mountaintop monasteries, where he joined the students of Ch'an Master Ling-mo . He also had his head shaved and took on the yellow robes which represented the first steps in his path to becoming a monk. At the age of twenty one he went to Mt. Sung, the location of the Shao-lin-ssu Temple ordination platform, and took the Complete Precepts. In a manner similar to that of his contemporary Lin-chi, the founder of another Ch'an sect, he spent a large portion of his early life wandering between Ch'an masters and hermits in the Hung-chou region. Notable among these was Master Yun-yen T'an-sheng (Ungan Donjo) (780-841), of whom Liang-Chieh became the dharma heir. Most of what is recorded regarding his journey and studies exists in the form of philosophical dialogues, or koan, between him and his various teachers. These provide very little insight into his personality or experiences beyond his daily rituals, style of spiritual education, and a few specific events. Nevertheless, it is clear, even in these limited interactions, that his years with Yun-yen and inherent intelligence gained him a position of respect among all monks long before he began teaching himself. During the later years of his pilgrimage Emperor Wuzong's Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution (843-845) reached its height, but despite its widespread devastation in the Buddhist community, it had little effect on Liang-chieh or his newfound followers. A little over a decade later in 859, Liang-chieh felt he had completed his role as an assistant instructor at Hsin-feng Mountain, so with the blessing of his last masters he took some students and left to establish his own school.

Mature Life

At the age of 52, in the tradition of his previous Ch'an masters, Liang-chieh established a mountain school at Tung-shan in Kao-an of the Yu-chang hsien province. This became regarded as one of the “Five Houses of Zen” established around this period. Yet it should be recognized that they have only historically become understood as being unique “sects,” and at the time were just considered schools led by individualistic masters with distinct styles and personality. In reality, the fact that they were all located in close geographic proximity to each other, with the exception of Lin-chi, and that they all were at the height of their teaching around the same time sparked a custom among students to routinely visit the other masters. This providing for the period a “coherence and momentum”1 which greatly contributed to the overall influence of this group of masters. Although they shared pupils, just like the other contemporary teachers Liang-chieh had a particular style which allowed him to be elevated to this top echelon of Buddhist instruction. Since his early life he had utilized gatcha, or small poems, in order to try to better understand and expound the meaning of Ch'an principles for himself and others. Further features of the school also included a particular interpretation of koan, an emphasis on “silent illumination Ch'an,” and organization of students into the “three root types.” The newly renamed Master Tung-shan argued that the koan should not have a specific goal, because that would naturally “[imply] an artificial distinction between ignorance and enlightenment.” 1 Instead, he encouraged the use of silent illumination Ch'an (mo-chao Ch'an) as a way to “sit just to sit,” and take a self-fulfilling, rather than a competitive, path to enlightenment. These two differences contrasted especially with Lin-chi's new Ch’an sect, which was his main competition for students’ attention at the time. “Silent illumination Ch’an” was originally one of many pejorative terms created by Lin-chi regarding Tung-shan’s style, which demonstrated the threat he felt as several of his students left to join Liang-chieh’s school. Finally, Tung-shan was distinguished by his ability to instruct all three categories of students, which he defined as “those who see but do not yet comprehend the Dharma,” “those in the process of understanding,” and “those who have already understood.” Among these groups of followers existed several famous individuals, whom he had entrusted to carry on his extensive legacy after his death. Tung-shan had many pupils who provided lineage pathways to carry on his teachings, but his most renowned students by far were T’sao-shan (840-901) and Yun-chu (835-902). T’sao-shan’s refined and finalized on Tung-shan’s works on Buddhist doctrine, which is why his name was – possibly – included in the name of the sect. The lineage that T’sao-shan began, ironically, did not last beyond his immediate disciples, but because he was personally entrusted with Tung-shan’s teaching, including the Five Ranks Doctrine and the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, he is held in high esteem by a huge variety of Buddhists. Yun-chu on the other hand, started a branch of Tung-shan’s lineage which lasted in China until the 1600’s.1 Most importantly, it was by means of this lineage that thirteen generations later Dogen Kigen (1200-1253) was educated in the traditions of Tung-shan’s Ch’an Buddhism. Following his education, he returned to his homeland of Japan and started the Soto School (another fusion of the founders’ names) which became wildly popular and remains the second most practiced form of Buddhism in that nation. A large portion of Master Tung-shan's fame came from his complete re-evaluation of the longstanding Five Ranks. The Five Ranks were a doctrine which mapped out five stages of comprehension of the relationship between the absolute and relative realities. The Absolute within the Relative (Cheng chung p’ien), the Relative within the Absolute (P’ien chung cheng), the Coming from Within the Absolute (Cheng chung lai), the Contrasted Relative Alone (Pien chung chih), and Unity Attained (Chien chung tao), when the two previously opposite states become one1. For each of these ranks, Tung-shan wrote a verse trying to bring such abstract ideals in the realm of real experiences. That is, he used metaphors of day to day occurrences that his students could understand. His student Ts'ao-shan Pen-chi later went on to relate the Five Ranks to the classic Chinese text, the I Ching, which further facilitated comprehension by new monks and laypeople.

Death

Master Tung-shan passed away at the age of 63, in the tenth year of the Hsien-t’ung era (869), having spent 42 years as a monk. His shrine, built in keeping with Buddhist tradition, was named the Stupa of Wisdom-awareness, and his posthumous name was Ch’an Master Wu-Pen. According to one of the koan of his sect, Master Tung-shan announced the end of his life several days ahead of time, and used the opportunity to teach his students one final time. In response to their grief over the news of his coming death, he told them to create a “delusion banquet.” After a week of preparations he took one bite, and told them not to “make a great commotion over nothing,” then went to his room and died.

References

Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism: A History. Trans. James W. Heisig and Paul F. Knitter. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan, 1988.

Keown, Damien. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003.

Ku, Y. H. History of Zen. Privately published by Y.H. Ku, Emeritus Professor, Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1979.

Lai, Whalen, and Lewis R. Lancaster, eds. Early Ch'an in China and Tibet. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities P, 1983.

Liangje. The Record of Tung-Shan. Trans. William F. Powell. Honolulu: University of Hawaii P, 1986.