Reimagining Chan Buddhism

"This book is the first socio-intellectual history of the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan (Zen), a new form of Buddhism founded by the late Chinese Buddhist cleric, Sheng Yen (1931-2009)-arguably one of the most influential Chan masters in contemporary times. The received academic and popular image of Chan Buddhism is that it is a meditation school that bypasses scriptural learning to direct awakening. Sheng Yen's Chan teachings complicates this image. The heart of the book centers on his doctrinal classification (Chn. panjiao) chart written in 1998 in preparation for a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. This chart synthesizes both major strands of Madhyamaka and Yoga ca ra Indian Buddhism as well as premodern Chinese Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism. It also and presents Chan as the summum bonum of Han Chinese Buddhism. The author presents a historical and culturally embodied approach to the formation of Buddhist doctrine and practice, showing how Sheng Yen's understanding of Chan was intimately related to the volatile social and political realities of his life-the Communist takeover of China and the subsequent industrial boom that impacted Taiwanese society. Drawing on the works of postcolonia