The Methodological Function of the Hagiography of Huineng

A Philosophy of Religion Investigation of the Platform Sutra in the Form of the Dunhuang-Text

To what extent can those beliefs that guide one in performing religious practices be shown to be rational? This question can become relevant both for people who participate in a religious praxis as well as for those who do not. To understand exactly what this question means, one must among other things clarify what can be meant by showing that a belief is rational. Within the framework of the project being presented here, only the following aspect will be explored in more detail: namely the aspect of how those beliefs, which guide one in performing a religious praxis, can methodically supported by reasons (and thereby made into rational beliefs).

Many religions have a long tradition of dealing with the issue just mentioned above, and especially this holds regarding praxis-guiding beliefs that are specific to the respective religion. The goal of the project being presented here is to reconstruct an approach found in a Chinese Zen-Buddhist (Chán 禪) text from the Tang Period (Tángdài 唐代; 618–907 CE). This text ist the so called Dunhuang-Text, and it belongs to the set of hagiographical texts concerning the life of Huineng (Huìnéng 惠能; trad. 638–713 CE). The Dunhuang-Text is the oldest known and still extant variant of the so called (Liuzu-)Platform-Sutra (Liùzǔtánjīng 六祖壇經). The Dunhuang-Text probably originates in the late eighth century. According to this text Huineng offers, among other things, an approach to understand the teachings of Zen-Buddhism as a doctrine based on methodically systematized reasoning.

The philosophy of religion project being presented here aims at reconstructing the methodology attributed to Huineng within this context. By doing so, this project seeks to further make visible the diversity of Zen-Buddhism. Hereby, in particular, challenging the relatively widespread judgment that Zen-Buddhism itself could at long last have nothing to do with rationality. This judgement will be revealed as a prejudice incompatible with the elementary* hagiography of Huineng in Zen-Buddhism. Furthermore, this project intends to contribute to discourses in philosophy of religion and intercultural theology that are concerned with the exploration of overlaps and differences regarding Zen-Buddhism and other religions.

* Regrading Zen-Buddhism, the hagiography of Huineng is elementary in the sense that all today’s so called schools of Zen-Buddhism recognize Huineng as the the sixth person in the chronological sequence of highest Zen-Buddhist authorities that lived in the Chinese-speaking sphere. This position of Huineng is also indicated by one of Huineng's Zen-Buddhist titles: Liuzu (Liùzǔ 六祖; literally translated: Sixth Ancestor).