I will take refuge this July/August in a temple that teaches Ch’an Buddhism. Why? I was thinking about it today and I came up with several reasons:
1. It is a School of Mahayana Buddhism. In other words, it emphasizes everything I have praised with reverence on this blog: the virtuous life of a Bodhisattva; the opportunity to devote oneself to the Buddhas and Mahasattvas; the divine purpose of universal cosmic liberation; non-attachment; serenity; and paradoxically, the cleansing fires of a passion for true freedom for oneself and all other sentients.
2. It has been greatly influenced by Hua-Yen throughout its history. While all Mahayana schools owe each other credit to some extent, and many schools owe Hua-Yen intellectual cookies, Ch’an in particular has given Hua-Yen much, and vice versa. Given my intense favour of the Avatamsaka Sutra and my high regard for Hua-Yen itself, to protect Ch’an is to protect the legacy of this ‘dead’ School. And more importantly, I see the Avatamsaka as essential not only to Ch’an, but to the Mahayana movement and Buddhism itself.
3. It has undergone a process of syncretization with other Mahayana schools, hence its inherent liberality of practice, meditation and devotion. You might not know that I practice more devotional meditation and Buddha Invocations than the typical meditation that characterizes non-sectarian Buddhism. In Ch’an, this sort of non-devotional Buddhism tends to be practiced a lot too. However, this is not to say that Ch’an monks are irreligious; quite the contrary. These days Ch’an disciples will definitely recite homages to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as participating in certain rituals when necessary. Therefore not only does Ch’an provide an unspeakably vast and diverse range of religious practice, it is also tolerant of itself as it is: a syncretized movement of modern Mahayana. Indeed, this tolerance is the core of Mahayana, and hence, the core of Ch’an as well.
Learning Ch’an personally will not only allow me to continue with my devotionals, but learn the ‘analytical’ meditation formally and consistently as well.
All three reasons are ultimately aimed towards the divine purpose of the Mahayana; in other words, one could say that at its simplest level, I’m joining Ch’an simple because it is a Buddhist school!
All my young life I have struggled to bring together the devotional life of a pious human being with a philosophically sound and cosmic worldview. Since 2005, I believe that I have come one step closer to that through Buddhism.
