.


P.471


    During the weekend of May 22-24, 1981, the Institute  for
Transcultural   Studies  sponsored   a  conference   on  "The
Sudden/Gradual   Polarity:  A  Recurrent   Theme  in  Chinese
Thought." Funding for the conference  was provided by a grant
from the American  Council of Learned Societies.  The purpose
of the conference  was to explore the various historical  and
philosophical  issues constellated  around the sudden/gradual
polarity in an effort to recast its significance  in as broad
an intellectual context as possible.  It focused, however, on
the manifestations of this polarity within Chinese Buddhism.
    While  the  controversy  surrounding  the  sudden/gradual
polarity   was  not  without  precedent   in  other  Buddhist
traditions, it  assumed  its  greatest  significance  in  the
Chinese Buddhist tradition, where its articulation  displayed
a number of characteristically Chinese features linking it to
non-Buddhist  modes  of thought.  The fact that this polarity
assumed  particular   importance   in  the  Chinese  Buddhist
tradition suggests that it resonated with, or gave form to, a
similar pre-existent polarity within Chinese thought.  One of
the  main  objectives  of the  conference, therefore, was  to
explore  how this polarity  formed part of a larger discourse
in Chinese intellectual history.
    The conference  thus sought to take an approach different
from those of previous discussions of the significance of the
sudden/gradual  controversy  in Chinese Buddhism.  Instead of
trying  to locate the source of the debate within  the Indian
Buddhist heritage, the conference  attempted to provide a new
perspective  on the process of Buddhism's accommodation  with
some of the dominant themes in Chinese intellectual  history,
as well  as Buddhism's  effect  upon  that  tradition.  While
exploring  the fundamental  religious and moral issues behind
the sudden/gradual controversy as it was conducted within the
Chinese Buddhist tradition, the conference  also investigated
how  it  could  be reformulated  as  a paradigm  by which  to
elucidate some of the


P.472


tensions inherent in other traditions  of moral and spiritual
cultivation.
     In  order  to  achieve  as  broad  an  interdisciplinary
approach  as  possible,  the  conference  assembled  thirteen
scholars from a variety of fields, including Indian Buddhism,
Chinese  Buddhism,  Religious  Studies, Chinese  Intellectual
History,  Neo-Confucian   Studies,  Chinese  Literature,  and
Chinese  Art History.  Following  is a brief  summary  of the
twelve papers presented at the conference.

1.  Luis Gomez, University  of Michigan, "Purifying Gold: The
    Metaphor of Effort and Intuition in Buddhist Thought."

This   paper   provided   a  comprehensive   historical   and
philosophical  overview of the sudden/gradual  controversy in
Buddhism.  As  a  working  hypothesis,  the  paper  began  by
characterizing the fundamental philosophical rift at stake in
the controversy  as lying  between  (1) the understanding  of
enlightenment  as a sudden  leap  into  a state  or realm  of
experience  that  is integral, ineffable, and innate  and (2)
the understanding  of enlightenment  as a gradual  process of
accumulation  (or reduction), as being describable, as having
degrees, and as being susceptible to progressive cultivation.
As a corollary  to this, the  first  position  considers  the
state of bondage as the result of an error of perception  (or
conception), thus comparing  enlightenment  to the experience
of opening the eyes, while the second position considers  the
state  of bondage  as the  result  of attachment  (or  karmic
conditioning), thus comparing enlightenment to the process of
overcoming a bad habit. Whereas the first position represents
the situation seen from the perspective of enlightenment, the
second position represents the point of view of those seeking
enlightenment.  Thus, in the context  of Indian Buddhism, the
philosophical  framework  for the sudden/gradual  controversy
lay in the doctrine of the two truths.
    The first main section of the paper analyzed the two most
famous   historical    instances    of   the   sudden/gradual
controversy. The first began in China in the fourth decade of
the  eighteenth   century  with  Shen-hui's   attack  on  the
"gradualistic"  teachings  of  the  Northern  Line  of Ch'an,
against  which  he  promoted  the  "sudden  teaching"  of the
Southern Line. The second took place in Tibet during the last
decade  of the  eighth  century  in the  debate  between  the
Chinese   subitist   Mo-ho-yen   and  the  Indian  gradualist
Kamalasila.  An examination  of the content  of these debates
reveals that the putative


P.473


issue-the sudden/gradual controversy-included a whole complex
of  issues  which  can  be  grouped  into  various   sets  of
polarities  (e.g., insight  vs.  concentration, activity  vs.
rest, developed vs.  innate Buddhahood, the obligatory nature
of moral practices vs.  their natural unfolding, etc.).  When
the positions  of the  various  figures  in the  debates  are
compared, they line up differently  in regard  to the various
doctrinal  issues  involved,  the  subitist  in  one  context
holding some of the doctrinal positions of the gradualist  in
another context. The sudden/gradual controversy thus does not
divide along any single  polarity.  Nor does there seem to be
any way to predict  the  specific  doctrinal  positions  of a
proponent   of  one  side  or  the  other   in  the  debates.
Nevertheless,  there  is  considerable  overlap  in  the  way
clusters  of positions  group together in the actual debates.
Sudden and gradual therefore  do not form a simple and static
polarity,but  represent  more,two opposing  modes  of thought
which  can  best  be  translated  into  the  basic, and  very
general, dichotomy of intuition and effort.
    The  second  section  of the  paper  explored  two of the
polarities at issue in the controversy  -those of insight vs.
concentration and activity vs.  restexamining the former from
a  strictly  Buddhist  perspective  and  the  latter  from  a
comparative   perspective.   The   issue   of   insight   vs.
concentration   illustrates   how  the  sudden   and  gradual
positions intertwine.  Kamalasila's position on the necessary
cooperation  of insight  and  concentration, for  example, is
essentially   the  same  as  that   advocated   by  Shen-hui.
Kamalasila's   misinterpretation   of  Mo-ho-yen's   position
suggests  that  he was  probably  responding  more  to issues
relevant  to his own polemical  context  than  to the  actual
position  of his opponent.  The second polarity discussed  in
this section -that of activity vs.  rest- raises the question
of quietism, in terms of which the controversy has often been
discussed.  Despite the frequent  use of this term, it is not
clear to which side in the debate it should be applied. While
the issues  raised by the Buddhist  debates  may call to mind
the controversy  over quietism in the Christian tradition, an
examination  of the  particular  historical  and  theological
contexts  in  which  the  debates  were  conducted   in  each
religious  tradition  shows that they were so different as to
render  the  use  of the  term  "quietism"  meaningless  when
referring to Buddhism.
    The third and final section  of the paper pointed out the
danger  inherent  in  assuming  that  a  metaphor  common  to
different religious traditions


P.474


indicates  some kind  of relation  in the deep  structure  of
those  religions.  The mirror, for example, serves  as one of
the  most  frequent  metaphors  for sudden  enlightenment  in
Buddhism (although it is also used to illustrate the opposite
position  as  well).  The  same  metaphor  is  found  in  the
Christian tradition in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa, where
it has several  points  in common  with some of the doctrinal
positions  usually associated  with the subitist position  of
Southern  Ch'an.  Nevertheless, when taken  within  the total
context of his thought, the metaphor  of the mirror turns out
to be based on an entirely  different  complex of theological
assumptions and expresses a gradualistic vision of the soul's
progress.  We must  thus be cautious  in comparing  religious
metaphors cross-culturally and can only do so meaningfully by
remaining   sensitive   to  the  particular   doctrinal   and
historical context in which they are articulated.

2.   John  McRae,  Yale  University,  "On  Shen-hui's   Early
     Teaching Career."

This paper discussed the historical  background and doctrinal
milieu of Shen-hui's  early teaching career.  Shen-hui was to
gain fame for his attack  on the Northern  Line of Ch'an  for
its allegedly  "gradualistic"  teachings  and his concomitant
championing of the teaching of "sudden enlightenment," which,
in a series of public sermons  given in 830, 831, and 832, he
claimed represented  the authentic Ch'an transmission  handed
down to his teacher, Hui-neng.  The paper argued that despite
the image of Shen-hui as a vehement anti-Northern polemicist,
his  early  teachings   were  developed  within  the  general
doctrinal framework  of Northern Ch'an.  The paper went on to
examine  three Tun-huang  texts associated  with the Northern
School which demonstrate  the close affinity  between, if not
the mutual influence of, Shen-hui's early teachings and those
of Northern Ch'an.  The paper concluded with a discussion  of
two metaphors  -those of the sun underlain  by clouds and the
mirror-  which  can  be  taken  as  defining  the  conceptual
matrices of early Ch'an.

3.  Robert     Zeuschner,     University      of     Southern
    California,"Sudden  and Gradual  in the Division  Between
    the Northern and Southern Lines of Ch'an."


P. 475


This paper  began  by analyzing  the Southern  Ch'an  charge,
first  made  by Shen-hui, that  the Northern  teachings  were
"gradualistic"  and  did not even  admit  the possibility  of
sudden  enlightenment.  It  then  went  on  to  examine  some
relevant  passages  in the Northern  Ch'an texts to ascertain
the validity of Shen-hui's allegations.  While Northern Ch'an
literature never explicitly advocates a step-by-step  form of
practice   gradually   leading  to  enlightenment,  it  does,
nevertheless,  lend  itself  to  such  an  interpretation.  A
further  examination  of  Northern  Ch'an  writings, however,
reveals that the Northern  Line did not -as the author claims
Shen-hui  to have charged-  reject the possibility  of sudden
enlightenment.  The Kuan-hsin lun for example, clearly states
that  'enlightenment  takes  place  in a moment."  The  paper
suggested   that,  whereas  the  Southern   position  can  be
characterized  as "sudden enlightenment  followed  by gradual
cultivation," the Nothern  position  can be characterized  as
"gradual cultivation  followed by sudden enlightenment."  The
paper then argued that part of the confusion that has usually
attended discussions of the sudden/gradual  controversy as it
pertains to the split between these two lines of Ch'an has to
do with the fact that key terms such as "enlightenment"  were
actually being used in different  ways in each tradition.  In
order to clarify  the debate, the paper  proposed  a fourfold
scheme of the various  stages of practice  and enlightenment:
(1) a prepatory  stage involving progressive  proficiency  in
moral   and   meditative   practices,  (2)  an  initial   and
transforming  experience of insight, (3) a process of further
cultivation  wherein  one's  life is gradually  brought  into
accord with one's insight, and (4) the ultimate perfection of
Buddhahood  which leaves no room for further  improvement  or
attainment.  When  the Northern  and Southern  positions  are
analyzed  in terms of this scheme, the Northern position will
be seen to place great emphasis on the first stage, virtually
none  on the  second, and  some  on the third;  the  Southern
position, by constrast, minimizes the importance of the first
stage, places greatest emphasis on the second, and gives only
some consideration to the third.  Both lines tacitly take the
fourth and final stage for granted.

4.  Jeffrey  Broughton,  California  State  University,  Long
    Beach, "The  Tibetan  Ston-mun: Contant  Examination  and
    Sudden Seeings."


P.476


This paper discussed, and included  a translation  of a major
portion  of, the late Northern  Ch'an text Tun-wu  chen-tsung
yao-chueh ("Determining  the Essentials  of the True Teaching
of  Sudden  Enlightenment"), which  exists  in  a  number  of
partial Chinese Tun-huang manuscripts as well as one complete
Tibetan translation.  This text is of particular  interest in
that it reveals  the fusion of Northern  and Southern  motifs
that seems to have been characteristic of late Northern Ch'an
writings. The text also seems to have circulated widely among
the proponents of sudden enlightenment  (stonmun) in Tibet in
the later part of the eighth  century, and is thus of further
interest in revealing the general doctrinal background out of
which  Mo-ho-yen, the principal  spokesman  for the  subitist
position  in the Tibetan  debates-emerged.  The text  focuses
upon "examining  the mind" (k'an-hsin), a major theme running
through Northern Ch'an meditation  texts.  The text lacks the
polemical tone of the statements  attributed  to Mo-ho-yen in
the records  of the Tibetan  debates  and seems  to have been
written for followers within the tradition.  A comparison  of
this text to the position  of Mo-hoyen  as it was defined  in
the course of the debates suggests that the polemical context
of the debates might have forced Mo-ho-yen into taking a more
radical  position  than that generally  found in the teaching
tradition in which he stood.

5.   Peter Gregory, Stanford University "Sudden Enlightenment
     Followed by Gradual Cultivation: Tsung-mi's  Analysis of
     Mind."

This paper examined the meaning of sudden enlightenment as it
was understood by Kuei-feng Tsung-mi (780-841), traditionally
reckoned  as the fifth  patriarch  in the Ho-tse  lineage  of
Southern   Ch'an  founded  by  Shen-hui.   It  began  with  a
discussion  of Tsung-mi's analysis of the various meanings of
"sudden"  and  "gradual"  as they  were  used  in his  day by
Buddhists    in   different   traditions.    Tsung-mi   first
differentiates  between  the use of these terms as they apply
to classifications of the Buddha's teachings and descriptions
of the course of Buddhist practice.  In regard to the latter,
he goes  on to enumerate  five  different  ways in which  the
terms  are used in reference  to practice  and enlightenment:
(1) gradual cultivation  followed by sudden enlightenment  (a
position which he identifies  as that of Northern Ch'an), (2)
sudden


P. 477


cultivation  followed  by gradual  enlightenment, (3) gradual
cultivation    and    gradual    enlightenment,  (4)   sudden
enlightenment followed by gradual cultivation, and (5) sudden
enlightenment  and sudden cultivation.  The remainder  of the
paper was devoted  to the discussion  of the fourth position,
that of sudden enlightenment followed by gradual cultivation,
which Tsung-mi  attributed  to Shen-hui.  Tsung-mi  held that
although  the experience  of enlightenment  entailed a sudden
insight  into one's true nature, it was still  only the first
stage  in a ten-staged  process  culminating  in the complete
realization  of  Buddhahood.  Tsung-mi  thus  contended  that
sudden  enlightenment  did  not  obviate  the necessity  of a
gradual process of further spiritual cultivation;  rather, it
formed the indispensible ground upon which authentic Buddhist
practice had to be carried out.  The paper went on to examine
Tsung-mi's analysis of Mind, which derives from the Awakening
of Faith, as providing the rationale for his theory of sudden
enlightenment  followed  by gradual  cultivation, underlining
the importance of the tathagatagarbha  doctrine in furnishing
an explanation of the ontological basis for enlightenment.

6.   Neal  Donner, Institute  for Transcultural  Studies,"The
     Perfect and the Sudden: Tien-t'ai  Light on the Platform
     Sutra. "

This  paper  consisted  of  three  major  parts.   The  first
discussed  Chih-i's  understanding  of the terms "sudden" and
"gradual"  in the  context  of his  thought  on teaching  and
practice.  Chih-i's thought is highly complex and dynamic--he
uses various classificatory  rubrics in different discussions
of the Buddha's teaching, for example- and defies the kind of
procrustean   formulation   into  which  later   interpreters
attempted  to make it fit (such  as Chan-jan's  "Five Periods
and Eight  Teachings").  In terms  of the rubric  that Chih-i
uses in his Fu-hua  hsuan-i  ("The  Profound  Meaning  of the
Lotus Sutra "), his primary work on doctrine, "sudden" refers
to the Avatamsaka, because  in that sutra the Buddha directly
expounded the context of his enlightenment without making any
concessions  to  the  limited  capacity  of his  audience  to
understand. "Gradual" refers to all other sutras expounded by
the  Buddha, who, conscious  of his  disciples'  limitations,
used a variety of expedients to communicate  his message.  In
terms of meditation, "sudden"  (or "sudden-perfect"  as it is
more often referred to in this context) designates  that type
of


P.478


practice outlined in the Mo-ho chih-kuan  ("Great Calming and
Contemplation"), Chih-i's magnumopus on Buddhist practice, in
which ultimate  reality  is taken as the object of meditation
from the very beginning.  "Gradual"  designates  that type of
practice  in which ultimate  reality is approached  through a
series of proximate meditational objects.
    The second  part  of this  paper  discussed  the attitude
toward  meditation  found in the Platform  Sutra, making  the
controversial   argument   that   its   teaching   of  sudden
enlightenment,  and  its  concomitant   repudiation   of  the
necessity   of  meditation   practice,  should   be  seen  as
reflecting  its proselytizing  effort  to make  enlightenment
accessible  to the mass of lay Buddhists.  The third  part of
the paper discussed a number of striking similarities between
the practices, ideas, and terms  found in the Platform  Sutra
and those found in Chih-i's opera, suggesting  the likelihood
of  T'ien-t'ai  influence, if not  directly  upon  the  sutra
itself, then at least  upon  the formative  tradition  out of
which it developed.

7.   Robert  Gimello: University  of Arizona,'The Sudden  and
     the Gradual  in Early  Hua-yen: A Study in the Emergence
     of a T'ang Religious Discourse."

The  paper   presented   at  the  conference   was  only  the
prolegomena  to a more extensive study that would discuss the
establishment  in early  Hua-yen  thought  of the  p'an-chiao
distinction  between  "the sudden teaching"  and "the gradual
teaching," and treat the relation  between it and other early
Hua-yen  notions  regarding  the  duration  of the course  to
enlightenment, against  the background, and as an example, of
the dominant styles of religious and secular discourse taking
shape in the early T'ang.  This effort would not only involve
tracing  the  sudden/gradual  distinction  and  its attendent
doctrines  back into the early history  of Chinese  Buddhism,
but would also involve  tracing  the "lateral"  or synchronic
connections  between these explicitly  religious concepts and
certain  ideas  or modes  of discourse  seen  in contemporary
literature, non-Buddhist thought, and political culture.  The
actual  conference  paper set forth a series of philosophical
reflections  which sought to develop a theoretical  framework
for applying  structuralist  methods  of analysis  to such  a
discussion.  The  paper  went  on  to  discuss  the  earliest
manifestation  of the  sudden/gradual  controversy  in China,
docu-


P.479


mented in Hsieh Ling-yun's  Pien-tsung  lun, as revealing the
particularly  Chinese Problematik out of which the terms were
to come into general currency  in the Chinese Buddhist world.
It  then  discussed  the  emergence   of  the  sudden/gradual
distinction  in the various doctrinal classification  schemes
employed   by  Chih-yen,  the  figure  responsible   for  the
systematic formulation of early Hua-yen doctrine.

8.  Miriam  Levering,  Oberlin  College, "The  Sudden/Gradual
    Polarity as Reflected in Sung Intellectual Discourse: The
    Case of Ta-hui Tsung- kao (1089-1163)."

This paper discussed  the critical  role that doubt played in
the writings of the Sung dynasty Ch'an Master Ta-hui, and the
innovative  revaluation  that he gave  to it in his practical
methods  of Ch'an  instruction.  In the recorded  sayings  of
earlier  Ch'an  figures  such  as  Lin-chi,  doubt  was  seen
primarily  as an obstacle  to the  realization  of one's  own
inherently enlightened nature.  Ta-hui also regarded doubt as
a  hindrance   to  enlightenment,  casting  it  as  the  very
expression   of   the   unenlightened   mind.   Enlightenment
accordingly  consists  in the  elimination  of the  basis  of
doubt.  Ta-hui's  originality  lay in his  use of doubt  as a
means to the realization of enlightenment  by emphasizing the
importance  of hua-t'ou as a device for focusing all of one's
doubts  into one Great Doubt.  The more intense  one's doubt,
the deeper one's eventual enlightenment. The paper went on to
venture  that Ta-hui's  emphasis  on the role  of doubt  as a
vehicle  for  precipitating  an  experience  of enlightenment
might be depicted  as a subitist  move to counter some of the
more "gradualistic" forms of Ch'an practice--such  as "silent
illumination  Ch'an"-  prevalent  in his  day.  As the  title
suggests, the paper  presented  at the conference  was  but a
preliminary  draft of a larger  project  discussing  Ta-hui's
thought in the context of Sung intellectual discourse.

9.   Rodney   Taylor,   University   of   Colorado,  Boulder,
     "Sudden/Gradual:   A    Persistent    Paradigm    Within
     Neo-Confucian Self-Cultivation."

This  paper  examined  the role of quiet-sitting  (ching-tso)
within   the  regimen   of  Neo-Confucian   self-cultivation.
Buddhist terminology has often been used to characterize  the
different attitudes toward self-cultivation in the Ch'eng-Chu


P.480


and Lu-Wang traditions: while the former's emphasis on effort
can be likened to gradual cultivation, the latter's  emphasis
on  intuition   can  be  likened   to  sudden  enlightenment.
Moreover, since the practice  of quiet-sitting  is frequently
cited   as  a  prime  example   of  Buddhist   influence   on
Neo-Confucianism, a discussion  of  the  different  attitudes
toward  this  practice  within  the  Neo-Confucian  tradition
naturally gives rise to questions of the nature and degree of
Buddhist  influence  on Neo-Confucianism.  The paper explored
such questions by examining  the development  of the practice
of quiet-sitting.  It began with a discussion of the two Sung
dynasty figures primarily  responsible  for its incorporation
into Neo-Confucianism, Lo Tsung-yen and Li T'ung.  It went on
to discuss Wang Yang-ming's  reaction against the practice in
his effort to redefine  the investigation  of things (ko-wu).
The  paper  then  discussed  the  two  Tung-lin  scholars  Ku
Hsien-ch'eng  and  Kao  P'an-lung  who, in  response  to  the
excesses of some of Wang Yang-ming's  more radical followers,
reinstituted   the   practice   as  a  major   component   of
Neo-Confucian  self-cultivation.  As Kao P'an-lung's writings
on  quiet-sitting  furnish  one  of the  most  extensive  and
articulate  discussions  of the practice  available, they are
discussed  in more detail.  In conclusion, the paper  took up
some of the questions raised at the beginning, discussing the
relative applicability  of a number of theoretical models for
characterizing  the influence of Buddhism on Neo-Confucianism
(historical interrelationship, eclecticism, syncretism, and
synthesis).

10.  James  Cahill, University  of California, Berkeley,"Tung
     Ch'i-ch'ang's  'Southern  and Northern  Schools'  in the
     History and Theory of Painting: A Reconsideraion."

Tung  Ch'i-ch'ang's  theory  of  the  Southern  and  Northern
Schools   of  painters   was  one  of  the  most  influential
formulations in traditional Chinese art criticism.  The paper
discussed    it   in   relation    to   the    sudden/gradual
polarity,arguing that the sectarian  division of Ch'an into a
southern   and  northern  lineage  furnished   Tung  with  an
analogical, rather  than a substantive,model  for classifying
painters into broad, stylistic groupings. Tung identified the
painters  of colored landscapes  with the Northern School and
painters  of ink monochrome using  graded  washes  with the
Southern  School.  Tung's scheme generally  followed  earlier
formulations in contrasting Sung dynasty profes-


P.481


sionals working in detailed, decorative, academic styles with
Yuan dynasty  amateurs  working in free, spontaneous  styles.
However, since its adoption of "Southern"  and "Northern"  as
categories  for  classifying  painters  was not bound  by any
rigid, objectifiable  criteria  (such  as Sung  vs.  Yuan  or
professional  vs.  amateur) ,  but  was  based  on  a  wholly
subjective  evaluation  of  style, it  avoided  the  kind  of
objections  that could inevitably  be raised against  earlier
schemes whose classification  of painters was always somewhat
arbitrary  and forced.  Since rational  reasons  could not be
used to justify stylistic  preferences, an appeal to lineage,
or to orthodoxy, provided  Tung with the only available  form
of justification  for his theory.  Tung's  formulation, then,
did not imply  a Ch'an  aesthetic, or that there  was a Ch'an
content to landscape painting.  Rather,it functioned  in much
the same  way as Yen Yu's  use  of the Ch'an  analogy  in his
theory of poetry.  Ultimately, the intellectual  context  for
understanding  Tung's theory has more to do with NeoConfucian
ideas than with Ch'an.

11.  Richard Lynn, University of British Columbia,"The Sudden
     and the Gradual as Concepts in Chinese Poetry Criticism:
     An Examination of the Ch'an-Poetry Analogy."

This paper examined the use of the Ch'an-poetry analogy first
given definitive  expression  in the Sung dynasty  by Yen Y ü
in his Tsang-lang shih-hua.  The paper argued that the use of
terms such as "sudden"  and "gradual"  as critical categories
in Chinese poetics is best understood analogically-  that is,
the student  of poetry somehow  acquires  poetic genius "just
like" the student of Ch'an achieves enlightenment.  The paper
explored  the nature of this analogy, traced its origins, and
followed  its  various  ramifications  in Sung  and post-Sung
critical  texts.  It showed  that  some critics  were as much
influenced by Neo-Confucian interests in self-cultivation  as
by elements borrowed from Ch'an. In some cases it is possible
to   discern    a   three-way    analogy    between    Ch'an,
Neo-Confucianism,  and  poetry.  The  situation  became  more
complicated  in mid-Ming  times  with  the emergence  of Wang
Yang-ming's   School   of  Mind   and   its  committment   to
individualistic forms of the search for selfrealization, for,
from then on, theorists  of poetry  often  allied  themselves
with either a "gradualist"  approach  to genius analogous  to
Ch'eng-Chu orthodox methods of self-realization or a "sudden"
approach analogous to the


P.482


heterodox  (and even iconoclastic) methods advocated  by Wang
Yang-ming and his later school.

12.   Francis     Cook,    University     of     California,
      Riverside,"Sudden Enlightenment in Dogen's Zen."

This paper  confuted  the common  misconception  that Dogen's
form of Zen teaching is gradualistic. It argued,instead, that
Dogen, faithful  to the Chinese  Ch'an tradition  to which he
was heir, maintained that the experience of enlightenment was
sudden.  His teaching concerning the nature and attainment of
enlightenment  is based on his understanding of Buddha-nature
and is given its most explicit  formulation  in the principle
of the oneness of practice  and enlightenment  (shusho itto).
While Dogen's  position  had its antecedents  in the Platform
Sutra and other Chinese  sources, it also exhibited  features
that are novel and unique. His understanding of enlightenment
thus derived from his own religious experience as well as the
Zen tradition in which he stood. Moreover, one of the primary
issues  in  the  various  historical  manifestations  of  the
sudden/gradual  controversy  had to do with the necessity  of
moral  and  intellectual  preparation  for the attainment  of
enlightenment.    Dogen's   teachings   that   practice   and
enlightenment are identical and that moral cultivation is the
organic unfolding of practice-enlightenment  can therefore be
seen as representing  both a continuation  and radicalization
of continental ideas of sudden enlightenment.
    In his closing remarks Professor Wei-ming Tu currently at
Harvard University discussed a number of the issues raised at
the  conference.   Among  these,  he  pointed  out  that  the
discussion of the sudden/gradual  polarity raises the problem
of how enlightenment  should be understood by scholars of the
various Chinese religious traditions. As useful and necessary
as  historical   and  cultural   analyses   are  to  such  an
understanding,  the  problem  cannot  be  explained  away  by
reducing it to a parochial concern of a particular culture at
a particular  point  in history.  He argued  that, unless  an
attempt  is  made  to understand  the  larger, and  far  more
difficult, problem  of  the  meaning  of enlightenment  as  a
religious experience, it will be impossible to understand the
religious issues at stake in the sudden/gradual  controversy.
Professor  Tu suggested  that scholars need to take the truth
claims of the religious traditions seriously and should adopt
what anthropologists call an "emic"


P.483


approach.  Nevertheless, while scholars  should be empathetic
towards these traditions, they should, at the same time, also
approach them with critical self-awareness.

    *         *           *          *          *

The  papers  presented  at the conference, and the discussion
that  they  precipitated,  revealed  the  complexity  of  the
sudden/gradual Problematik. As it was manifested in Buddhism,
the  sudden/gradual  rubric  was seen  to contain  a host  of
epistemological, ontological, and ethical issues, such as the
nature  of  delusion   (is  it  fundamentally   an  error  in
perception   or  is  it  rooted   in  the  whole  personality
structure?), the nature  of enlightenment  (Does it admit  of
degrees or is it indivisible? Can it be approached  through a
series   of  progressive   approximations   or  is  it  given
all-at-once  in its  entirety?), the  nature  of ethical  and
religious  action  (Is it something  that must be consciously
cultivated as a necessary precondition  for enlightenment  or
is it rather the spontaneous  and natural  outflowing  of the
experience of enlightenment itself and therefore something to
which  no special  attention  need be directed  at all?), the
nature of religious  language (Is ultimate  reality ineffable
or can
something meaningful in fact be said about it?).
    A particularly  interesting  and  significant  conclusion
reached by the conference  -and demonstrated  most notably by
Luis  Gomez'  paper-  was  that, in the  specific  historical
instances  of the  sudden/gradual  controversy, there  was no
necessary  or even  predictable  way  in which  the positions
taken by the actual participants could be correlated with the
complex of issues contained within the sudden/gradual rubric.
In fact, it was seen that the subitist  on one occasion might
very well hold a number of doctrinal positions maintained  by
the gradualist  on another.  The complexity  of the doctrinal
issues involved suggested that "sudden" and "gradual" did not
represent clearly defined doctrinal positions so much as they
did a general stance towards religious cultivation that could
best be characterized in terms of the relative emphasis given
to effort and intuition.
    Despite the vague sense of the polarity, several attempts
were  made  to define  it more  precisely.  It was  generally
agreed   that,  within   the  Buddhist   context,  the  basic
philosophical  framework for the sudden/gradual  polarity was
provided by the doctrine of the two truths.  Accordingly, the
subitist


P.484


position  could  be generally  characterized  as one in which
enlightenment  was regarded from the absolute perspective  of
the goal, i.e., as talking  about the issue from the point of
view of ultimate truth, whereas the gradualist position could
be generally characterized as one in which enlightenment  was
regarded from the relative perspective  of the means by which
the goal was attained, i.e., as talking  about the issue from
the point of view of conventional  truth.  As a corollary  to
this characterization, the subitist  position  would  tend to
emphasize apophasis; the gradualist, kataphasis.
    Another  very  suggestive  attempt  was  made  by  Robert
Gimello, who defined  the issue  in the following  terms: "Is
ultimate  reality so distant from and yet so continuous  with
the mundane  that one can have  only  a mediated  and step by
step  access  to  it? Or  is  it  so  proximate, and  yet  so
autonomous   and   so  utterly   unlike   our  illusions   or
expectations  of it, that one can reach  it only  all-at-once
and only without  any mediation  whatsoever?" While  this was
one of the more  interesting  and viable  definitions  of the
polarity  put  forth  at the  conference, it also  served  to
underline the complexity of the issue.  That is, the subitist
position  is often  identified  with a radical  assertion  of
nondualism.  Yet, if we define the two positions  in terms of
continuity  and discontinuity, then, on an empirical level at
least,  the  subitist  position  is  seen  to  presuppose   a
fundamental  dualism, as any sudden  leap into  enlightenment
can only be possible  if there is a radical cleavage  between
the unenlightened and enlightened states.
    The conference also did much to clarify the discussion of
sudden and gradual enlightenment  by analyzing  how the terms
were used  in different  contexts.  A point  that was made in
several  of the  papers  was  that  the  terms  "sudden"  and
"gradual"  contained a wide spectrum of meanings and were, in
fact, used  in quite  different  ways.  This meant  that  the
various participants  in the debates were often employing the
same  terms  to argue  about  different  things.  Within  the
context  of Chinese Buddhism, the terms had a specific  range
of meanings as they were used by the scholastic  tradition to
classify  types  of doctrines  taught  in different  Buddhist
texts. They also had another, although partially overlapping,
range of meanings  as they were used by the Ch'an schools  to
characterize  different approaches  to Buddhist practice.  To
make  matters  even  more confusing, the term "enlightenment"
was also used to cover a variety  of different  meanings.  It
could refer to the fundamental  ontological  ground that made
religious practice possible, an initial


P.485


experience  of  insight,  or  the  culmination  of  religious
practice.  Thus, in the  debates  whether  enlightenment  was
sudden  or gradual, the participants  were often  talking  at
cross purposes.
    Although  it was  not addressed  explicitly, the  general
working assumption around which the conference  was organized
proved to have provided a fruitful approach to what has often
been treated  as a purely Buddhological  problem.  The papers
and discussion  gave support  to the idea that the importance
of the sudden/gradual  controversy  in Chinese Buddhism could
be understood, in part, by seeing it as elaborating a tension
already present in Chinese thought (such as that between what
Richard  Mather, in an article  on the  Chinese  intellectual
world in the third century, has characterized  as naturalness
and conformity).  Because  this tension  was given one of its
most articulate  expressions  in the Buddhist  debates of the
eighth century, we are justified  in using the Buddhist terms
"sudden" and "gradual" to characterize  this polarity without
thereby  implying   that  it  was  a  specifically   Buddhist
paradigm, or that  its  use  in later  non-Buddhist  contexts
necessarily reflected a Buddhist influence. In fact, it seems
to have been due to their very vagueness and generality  that
the terms could be adopted by Yen Yu and Tung Ch'i-ch'ang  as
categories  in their theories of Chinese poetry and painting,
as Richard  Lynn and James Cahill  ably demonstrated, without
necessarily suggesting any explicitly Buddhist content.
    When considered  in terms of the very broad  polarity  of
intuition  vs.  effort, the sudden/gradual  rubric has a wide
applicability  which  can be seen  as operating  at different
levels  of  generality   throughout  the  course  of  Chinese
intellectual history. On the most general level, the polarity
can be seen  as reflected  in the tension  between  the early
Confucian   and  Taoist  traditions.   Moreover,  within  the
Confucian  tradition  itself, it can be seen as reflected  in
the  different   points  of  emphasis   between  Mencius  and
Hsun-tzu, or between the Ch'eng-Chu  and Lu-wang  schools  of
Neo-Confucianism.  Even within the latter, it can further  be
seen  as operative  in the different  interpretation  of Wang
Yang-ming's  Four Sentence  Teaching  given  by his disciples
Ch'ien Te-hung and Wang Chi.


P.486


        *     *      *      *      *       *

    As  was  originally  intended, papers  presented  at  the
conference  are being revised for publication  in a volume to
be edited by Robert Gimello and Peter Gregory, the conference
directors. This volume will constitute the second in a series
on  East  Asian  Buddhism  to  be  published  jointly  by the
Institute for Transcultural  Studies and the University Press
of Hawaii.  The first volume in the series, Studies  in Ch'an
and Hua-yen  Buddhism, also  edited  by Gimello  and Gregory,
grew  out  of  a  conference   held  at  the  Institute   for
Transcultural Studies in May, 1980 and is scheduled for
publication in the autumn, 1982. Another volume, dealing with
the significance  of the Japanese  Zen Master Dogen and to be
edited by William LaFleur of the University  of California at
Los Angeles, is being planned as the third in the series.