ON PURE LAND BUDDHISM AND CH'AN/PURE LAND SYNCRETISM IN MEDIEVAL CHINA

Abstract

Modern studies of Buddhism and Chinese religion often refer to an indigenous Chinese Pure Land that arose in the medieval period. This school is typically characterized as a distinct tradition with its own teachings and its own line of patriarchs, including T'an-luan (476-542), Tao-ch'o (562-645), and Shantao (613-681). In the Sung, exegetes such as Yung-ming Yen-shou (904-975) are credited with creating a of Pure Land teachings and Ch'an, and the result-Ch'an/Pure Land syncretism-emerged as the dominant form of Buddhist monastic practice from the end of the Sung down through the present day. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.231 on Wed, 05 Oct 2016 04:23:24 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ON PURE LAND BUDDHISM 331 In this article I argue that there is little evidence of anything resembling an independent or self-conscious Pure Land tradition in medieval China. Pure Land cosmology, soteriology, and ritual were always part-and-parcel of Chinese Buddhism in general and Ch'an monasticism in particular. Accordingly, there was no need for a synthesis of Pure Land and Ch'an. The modern conception of a Chinese Pure Land school with its own patriarchate and teachings, and the associated notion of Ch'an/Pure Land syncretism, are inordinately influenced by historical developments in Japan and the enduring legacy of sectarian polemics in contemporary Japanese scholarship. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.231 on Wed, 05 Oct 2016 04:23:24 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms