Mou Zongsan on Zen Buddhism

摘要

Since the well-known debate between HU Shi ~ and SUZUKI Daisetz ~*;~rnin the middle of the twentieth century, Zen Buddhism has become a majorrntopic in Buddhist studies (Hu: 3-24; Suzuki: 25-46). Based on some materialsrnrediscovered in Dunhuang ~ caves (which were brought to the British Museumrnby Aurel Stein), HU Shi created a revolutionary picture of the historicalrndevelopment of Zen Buddhism. From the perspective of international andrnmore particularly Japanese Buddhist studies, besides the debate between HurnSki and Suzuki, Zen Buddhism has also constituted a major theme for thernKyoto School and Critical Buddhism. As is well known, the Kyoto School aimsrnat a synthesis between Zen Buddhism, German mysticism, and Heidegger'srnphilosophy. Following Nietzsche, nihilism or the loss of meaning has beenrnidentified as the negative consequence of modernity. In terms of revitalizingrnthe Zen Buddhist ideas on play, the Kyoto School further seeks for a new wayrnout in overcoming modernity (see Nishitani). However, with the recent rise ofrnJapanese Critical Buddhism, Zen Buddhism as a whole has been challenged.rnOne of the major slogans of Critical Buddhism is that Zen is not Buddhist inrnnature. Whereas the Kyoto School has a positive image of Zen Buddhism,rnCritical Buddhism condemns it.