Patriarchs on Paper

A Critical History of Medieval Chan Literature

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, Zen Buddhism, History, Asian, China, Buddhism
Cover of the book Patriarchs on Paper by Alan Cole, University of California Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alan Cole ISBN: 9780520959750
Publisher: University of California Press Publication: November 1, 2016
Imprint: University of California Press Language: English
Author: Alan Cole
ISBN: 9780520959750
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication: November 1, 2016
Imprint: University of California Press
Language: English

The truth of Chan Buddhism—better known as “Zen”—is regularly said to be beyond language, and yet Chan authors—medieval and modern—produced an enormous quantity of literature over the centuries. To make sense of this well-known paradox, Patriarchs on Paper explores several genres of Chan literature that appeared during the Tang and Song dynasties (c. 600–1300), including genealogies, biographies, dialogues, poems, monastic handbooks, and koans. Working through this diverse body of literature, Alan Cole details how Chan authors developed several strategies to evoke images of a perfect Buddhism in which wonderfully simple masters transmitted Buddhism’s final truth to one another, suddenly and easily, and, of course, independent of literature and the complexities of the Buddhist monastic system. Chan literature, then, reveled in staging delightful images of a Buddhism free of Buddhism, tempting the reader, over and over, with the possibility of finding behind the thick façade of real Buddhism—with all its rules, texts, doctrines, and institutional solidity—an ethereal world of pure spirit.  Patriarchs on Paper charts the emergence of this kind of “fantasy Buddhism” and details how it interacted with more traditional forms of Chinese Buddhism in order to show how Chan’s illustrious ancestors were created in literature in order to further a wide range of real-world agendas.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The truth of Chan Buddhism—better known as “Zen”—is regularly said to be beyond language, and yet Chan authors—medieval and modern—produced an enormous quantity of literature over the centuries. To make sense of this well-known paradox, Patriarchs on Paper explores several genres of Chan literature that appeared during the Tang and Song dynasties (c. 600–1300), including genealogies, biographies, dialogues, poems, monastic handbooks, and koans. Working through this diverse body of literature, Alan Cole details how Chan authors developed several strategies to evoke images of a perfect Buddhism in which wonderfully simple masters transmitted Buddhism’s final truth to one another, suddenly and easily, and, of course, independent of literature and the complexities of the Buddhist monastic system. Chan literature, then, reveled in staging delightful images of a Buddhism free of Buddhism, tempting the reader, over and over, with the possibility of finding behind the thick façade of real Buddhism—with all its rules, texts, doctrines, and institutional solidity—an ethereal world of pure spirit.  Patriarchs on Paper charts the emergence of this kind of “fantasy Buddhism” and details how it interacted with more traditional forms of Chinese Buddhism in order to show how Chan’s illustrious ancestors were created in literature in order to further a wide range of real-world agendas.

More books from University of California Press

Cover of the book Polyandry and Wife-Selling in Qing Dynasty China by Alan Cole
Cover of the book How Not to Be Eaten by Alan Cole
Cover of the book How Big Should Our Government Be? by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Bitter and Sweet by Alan Cole
Cover of the book The Making of Modern Colombia by Alan Cole
Cover of the book The Other California by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Birds of the Sierra Nevada by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Slow Fade to Black by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Us, Relatives by Alan Cole
Cover of the book From Mission to Microchip by Alan Cole
Cover of the book The Red Sea by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Funky Nassau by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Wine Politics by Alan Cole
Cover of the book In Pursuit of the Good Life by Alan Cole
Cover of the book Food and Power by Alan Cole
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy