< Issue No. 6 (2010)Article
No-Mind and Nothingness: From Zen Buddhism to Heidegger
Chan, Wing-Cheuk, Brock University
Abstract
In China there was a distinction between Zen Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty and that of the Sung Dynasty. In the Zen Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty the doctrine of wu-hsin (No-mind) played a key role; while in that of the Sung Dynasty the notion of wu (Nothingness) itself became the focus. In the former, wu primarily represented a functional principle, whereas in the latter, it became an ontological principle. Historically, the doctrine of No-mind was introduced by Hui-neng, the founder of the Southern School of Zen Buddhism. Later in the Lin-chi School, this doctrine was concretized into the concept of wu-wei jan-jen. In modern scholarship, both the concepts of No-mind and of wu-wei jan-jen, however, remain unclear. As a result, the Japanese Critical Buddhism even claims that Zen is not Buddhist. This paper will show in what way Heideggerian phenomenology can contribute to the articulation of a particular type of religious experience, namely, the Zen experience. As wil be seen, with the help of Heidegger’s doctrine of Dasein as the “place-holder of Nothingness,” it is possible to achieve a proper understanding of thesemajor concepts in Zen Buddhism. Moreover, in terms of the turn (Kehre) in Heidegger’s way of thinking, one can understand why there was a transition from “No-mind” to “Nothingness” in the development of Zen Buddhism. Finally, one can trace the origin of the Kyoto School’s notion of “locus” (basho) in the concept of wu-wei jan-jen.