Oxhead school

The Oxhead school (牛頭宗 Niu-t'ou zong) was an important tradition of Chinese Chan Buddhism in the Tang dynasty, which claimed to have been founded by Niutou Farong 牛頭法融 (594–657), whom the tradition regards as a Dharma heir of the Fourth Patriarch Daoxin (580-651).^[1] However, the connection between the two monks is tenuous, and the actual formation of the Oxhead School as a lineage independent of both Northern and Southern Chan has been credited to the monk Zhiwei (646–722).^[2]

Their main temple was located at Oxhead Mountain (Niu-t'ou shan) in Chiang-su, near modern Nanjing, hence the name. The school throve throughout the Tang and into the early years of the Song dynasty (10th century).^[3] Sharf observes that the Oxhead School played a central role in the development of early Chan.^[4] According to John R. McRae, the original text of the Platform Sutra may have originated within the Oxhead school.^[5]

Teachings

In his accounts and critiques of the various houses of Tang-era Chan, Zongmi describes the axiom of the Niutou (Oxhead) as "cutting off and not leaning on anything,"^[6] and its practice as "forgetting feelings" (wangqing), which Zongmi associates with the Madhyamaka praxis of being unfixed and without support.^[7] Indeed, as Sharf observes, Oxhead monks were influenced by the Sanlun School of Chinese Madhyamaka.^[8] Both Oxhead and Sanlun accepted the Buddha-nature of insentient things, such as grasses and tiles, as well.^[9]

An important text associated with the Oxhead School is the Treatise on the Transcendence of Cognition (Jueguan lun 絶觀論), which consists of a dialogue between two hypothetical characters, Professor Enlightenment and the student Conditionality.^[10] The Jueguan lun concludes its first chapter with the following exchange:

Emmon: “How can delusions of sentient beings be eradicated?”
Nyuri: “As long as one sees delusions and their eradication, one cannot shed them.”

Emmon: “Is it possible to be at one with the Way without having eradicated the delusions?”
Nyuri: “As long as one thinks of being at one with and not being at one with, one is not free of delusions.”

Emmon: “What should one do then?”
Nyuri: “Not doing anything—that’s it!”^[11]

According to Kuno, the Oxhead School was opposed to Northern School contemplative practices, such as "maintaining [awareness of] the mind" (shouxin 守心).^[12] On the other hand, McRae's view is that the Oxhead School did not fundamentally disagree with the Northern School in terms of mental contemplation and the need for constant practice, but differed in its extensive use of negation.^[13] McRae also understands the Oxhead School as having had a transitional nature which sought to transcend the divide between Northern and Southern Chan.^[14]

Writings

Important texts associated with the Oxhead School include:

Jueguan lun 絶觀論 (Treatise on the Transcendence of Cognition), translated into English in The Ceasing of Notions, an Early Zen Text from the Dunhuang Caves with Selected Comments, Wisdom Publications, 2012; as well as A Dialogue on the Contemplation-Extinguished, translated by Gishin Tokiwa, Institute for Zen Studies, 1973

Wuxin lun 無心論 (Treatise on No-mind), translated into English by Urs App in the Eastern Buddhist, New Series, Volume 28, No. 1, Spring 1995 (see here)

Xin Ming 心銘 (Mind Inscription), which has been translated into English by Henrik H. Sorensen in the Journal of Chinese Philosophy Vol.13, 1986, pp.101-120 (see here and here); and also by Chan Master Sheng Yen in Song of Mind: Wisdom from the Zen Classic Xin Ming, Shambhala Publications 2004; and by Randolph S. Whitfield in Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume 8, Chan Poetry and Inscriptions, pages 89-95, Books on Demand, 2020

Xinxin Ming 信心銘 (Inscription on the Faith-Mind),^[15] of which many English translations exist.

Xuemai lun 血脈論 (Bloodstream Sermon), which has been translated into English by Red Pine in Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma, North Point Press 1987

Baozang lun寶藏論 (Treasure Store Treatise), translated into English by Robert Sharf in Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, University of Hawai'i Press 2002

Posthumous influence

The Oxhead lineage was incorporated into the Japanese Tendai sect by Saichō, who had studied under Shunian, who resided at Chanlinsi Temple; however, the main Oxhead lineage died out after eight generations.^[16]^[17]

References

^ Baroni, Helen J. (2002) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism, The Rosen Publishing Group, p. 251.
^ Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, page 595, Princeton University Press, 2014
^ Ferguson, Andy (2011), Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings, Simon and Schuster, p. 38.
^ Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 40, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002
^ McRae, John R.(1983). The Northern School of Chinese Chan Buddhism. Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University.
^ Jeffrey Broughton, Zongmi on Chan, page 33, Columbia University Press, 2009
^ Jeffrey Broughton, Zongmi on Chan, pages 34-35, Columbia University Press, 2009
^ Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 41, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002
^ Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 47, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002
^ McRae, John R. The Antecedents of Encounter Dialogue in Chinese Ch'an Buddhism in: The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism, ed. Steven Heine and ed. Dale S. Wright (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 46-74.
^ The Ceasing of Notions, an Early Zen Text from the Dunhuang Caves with Selected Comments, pages 23-24, Wisdom Publications, 2012
^ John McRae, The Ox-head School of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism: From Early Ch'an to the Golden Age, in Studies in Ch'an and Hua-yen, edited by Robert M. Gimello and Peter Gregory, page 208, University of Hawai'i Press, 1983
^ McRae, John R. (1987) The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism (Kuroda Studies in East Asian Buddhism), pp. 241-242.
^ John McRae, The Ox-head School of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism: From Early Ch'an to the Golden Age, in Studies in Ch'an and Hua-yen, edited by Robert M. Gimello and Peter Gregory, page 207, University of Hawai'i Press, 1983
^ Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 48, University of Hawai'i Press 2002
^ Groner, Paul (2000). Saicho: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, pp. 255-256. University of Hawaii Press.
^ Vladimir K. (2005) Legends in Ch’an: the Northern/Southern Schools Split, Hui-neng and the Platform Sutra

Sources

Koole, Boudewijn (1997), Dōgen Kigen: De Schatkamer van het Oog van de Ware Leer. Eerste selectie uit de Shōbōgenzō, met toelichtende informatie, Utrecht/Antwerpen: Kosmos-Z&K Uitgevers

[1] Baroni, Helen J. (2002) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism, The Rosen Publishing Group, p. 251.

[2] Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, page 595, Princeton University Press, 2014

[3] Ferguson, Andy (2011), Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings, Simon and Schuster, p. 38.

[4] Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 40, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002

[5] McRae, John R.(1983). The Northern School of Chinese Chan Buddhism. Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University.

[6] Jeffrey Broughton, Zongmi on Chan, page 33, Columbia University Press, 2009

[7] Jeffrey Broughton, Zongmi on Chan, pages 34-35, Columbia University Press, 2009

[8] Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 41, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002

[9] Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 47, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002

[10] McRae, John R. The Antecedents of Encounter Dialogue in Chinese Ch'an Buddhism in: The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism, ed. Steven Heine and ed. Dale S. Wright (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 46-74.

[11] The Ceasing of Notions, an Early Zen Text from the Dunhuang Caves with Selected Comments, pages 23-24, Wisdom Publications, 2012

[12] John McRae, The Ox-head School of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism: From Early Ch'an to the Golden Age, in Studies in Ch'an and Hua-yen, edited by Robert M. Gimello and Peter Gregory, page 208, University of Hawai'i Press, 1983

[13] McRae, John R. (1987) The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism (Kuroda Studies in East Asian Buddhism), pp. 241-242.

[14] John McRae, The Ox-head School of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism: From Early Ch'an to the Golden Age, in Studies in Ch'an and Hua-yen, edited by Robert M. Gimello and Peter Gregory, page 207, University of Hawai'i Press, 1983

[15] Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 48, University of Hawai'i Press 2002

[16] Groner, Paul (2000). Saicho: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, pp. 255-256. University of Hawaii Press.

[17] Vladimir K. (2005) Legends in Ch’an: the Northern/Southern Schools Split, Hui-neng and the Platform Sutra

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