SUBSTITUTE BODIES IN CHAN/ZEN BUDDHISM Bernard Faure Stents of the branch of Mabayane Buddhism calle Chan beter known lnder it Japanese reading, Zen) ate ten tld that thi teaching. which ‘ose in China sometime during the sth century, ins at dec percep tio of the ukmate nature of ehings, namely empinen, The funders “sumption of Chan practice is tt the psc universe is an lesions ental construction, According tothe ies schon! of ust pose, phy "The tree words ae mind-only.” Tae Chan school which suber lingty to his entlogal primacy of mind, was alo known a he “schol the mind” (nam. One wil therefre not be surprised to fit 5 teaching a negative image ofthe body. However Chan maser de not simply deny corporeal maid eaty Buddha; they caimed tobe able ‘o tanscend the body with this very body In ener wordnet ue thee Daoit colleagues, they attempted ta ranemite the py samen body Inco an incorrupible oe. I would ike therefore to question the Chan ‘ology of mind, wanscendence, and emptiness ad show tht behind it Turis another seology—of the bod. of immanence or presence the ‘end, homever, oth leslie turned out to be varia the same dren ‘Fimmortality, «dream constanly bebed bythe gruriome resi of death tnd dec Tse the term dali here oth inthe sense fan empl or explicit system of ideas ann the ual Mars em of dicot ta presents inert image of ts practice, Chan, 28 many know through te work ‘the Japanese Zen scholar D. T, Stak, wualy Characterized by + ‘aia ansinomianinm and denial fl he clic mediation often Badal There however nei tration a rend hat hasbeen aely neglected by orthodox scholarship nent ox arguing the originality sed [ry af "onodasie™ Chan Thi rend, which we may call scramental, ‘as repressed inthe efi dicoure of “ami” Chan that developed at ‘he end ofthe Tang. I liter reemerged in Japanese Zen—aal more para Bernard Faure ity the Su et ode by Doge emg apes fo Se i read a ets pean he Sea ec zen nso Bum, Reb py aor ee hime rer hacsem tf sane to Seen ranma sue wom ch Shean othe amma ete ee the ec es Pe re sg mony Dene teres aa ta cy Pe eS mend ee Tee pede mene wuncenene Guessing yo 2 ta mse alee eng ren est mei amare eee) ee one cS tn enol the elo ip See pe Bao by ving ee Sion th so “The Chan Body ‘Before turning © the Cha cuk of rales o tara the Wdeclgy of pretence, some horde about the Chan concepsons) of te by are in eres rsatn age of the bin Chan indeed newer Ee Indian Bude ton vy described by Elbe Wikon in reese tae volume, chan mastes sucha Lin Youn (3 87) tee te he ody the prions asa “bag of excrement.” The arte cay chan ind bythe Mahayna neon of empiney Fra ioe ealzaon ofthe cmp of the body * At he same time, he Hat perceived ar amindpensile ramet wo achieve that elation, Teme ae Spinal pracse weld be possible without "Sep asce tent Cn, eskeing avays locale: neds on Ske pace,” and thi aes is he body. The eponym practice of CRASS alter i's bly technique, snd one could argue that the Chan SES peeaiy 2 genuralcommuniy However, the bud acknow Tageait a tonger spy profane: Ks lvcady a mean toward aciesing ‘Re Gimined tant of Buddha, The hire posure ofthe pacitoner re Beet she the "majeteatitude” ofthe Budd. Tn the perfect Freasbily r sttng meson reams cia lose; purtes the Teg" detent represses or uppreses all that could threaten ‘conporeal border. " "the Chan monk tans bis aspirations coward the "Body of Lan” o spe Buna, tor Irom counsel dec, his own bey appored i sgeme Strout ouiows" The term, refersing metaphorical 9 the ‘aan as smetimes interpreted era sine case of Master Walt Fee Ouraown who wat beled peer to urate. Piya outfions, bly {Murer cactchons were a reminder ofthe openness of the body of #8 ‘Bepelence om the outside wold, ad eerefoe otis mortality. By coir Subtite Bas ChanZon Budi ns ‘sith che open, porous, mese-up body af commoners, which is peeved continuous wih is environment. part an pare ofthe great chain of Teing (the gods above, the animals Unlow), the ascetic body tends toward ‘erieton sd autoraey "This utopian goal ofthe dosed self-contained body ofthe acetic also cexprened in the fetonal hay created by the rial." loge at werk here i owcnesighly diferent fa synthesis ofthe tw imagen the body (as sed and open) that ples the mation of deal of even Plural body cransgressng sown borders and diseminating isl nto ‘ther bodies or objec suchas re) Faneray seal n parca define {double boysinulaneously mortal and innova adil and sca. ‘The purpose ofthese rituals is presely to ransmute che fst (ind, oral boy ito the second (collective, mmoreal body ofthe Chin pti ‘ch They im ac ivally creating an mortal body, one that, nie she pparenty seléendored Say of the pracitoner, i dsemiate, fag. ‘ented, opened In but cae, however the goal ithe sme, o produce {te eee or reveal) pure adamantine bay. Due to thee pracice of median end the reuling awakening, Chan masters ac tn a scoot "ice bors mlved persons, whose dual ature expend ymbiaiy Iya double body of tater whose body marifes the toll erat of inpermanencepermancnce. However, we wl ce that the Wesogial one ‘epion that commands Chan funerary rils™ were everything done tostuf from the single co te double, fom he physical body the psc tiioner to use "double body” ofthe Chan masters indermined by the consciousness that death inclutbly reduces the doublet he single, Le to the “single body” of « moral human, For nov, sufice #1 ay that dhe body appears tobe essential the ewo forms of rival immortaley ound in Chan and other Bade school ‘meditation and funerary es In both cases the goal to operate amet ‘orphans of the body o obi 3 ind of piysealtantmuration, Ths explains the symbolic alu of the body fragment el) or othe eine ey i the cre of murnie) tht ates thi metamorphosis Despite ‘theoreti denial of the ty, Chan, ike Dain, has dreamed of po {eal immortalior at leat of a immovtaly based the preservation (he boc. ‘The Galt of Retie ‘ne of che traces eft by this dream isthe ental oof rei worship in ‘Ghani the sre sense the term reefers wo those crystal fragments ‘Sans sera, Japanese slat) preduced by the ematon of the body (rv)? They ey ar the ploral of the Sant term imple, the frag ‘ete “bales” coma the “le sy Lethe onpne ot some cass, the mum oF “esha.” In Hs sense. che term esrrr ns Bernard Faure perhaps misleading since i wally means something let bend” (rem Fe Lain niger) wheres the power tat wan embodied in the Buddha frinche Buds sont been wo bei present in hissorna* However, ‘case the term has en ted inthe Western conten 0 designate 5 Simils typeof phenomenon, Til continue to use there, We need ao to differentiate Benen the velis of the Buddha and those of Bust Sings although forthe sake of the argument we wil cosider them to- iether Ths, the bros seme, lie indicates aying that was ase Nedwith sine ashes bones, esh-bodybutalio bowl, robe, ext—even Dees As Gregory Schpen and others ave shown srr wer bleed eine: being impregnated with moral, concentration and wor hey ‘ere fly endowed witha Oe powers of the Buddha or the sit” Tn China, the culo she tees of dhe Buda became prominent during the’ Se Dynasties, with the dicotery of tebquanies allegedly erected by ‘King Aka, One such ellgury was that of the Ayenwang Monastery (Mom: tte of King Atha), in Zhejiang, he eat reached i imax dung the Tiny and was acvely promoted by eminent monks suchas the Vinaya Taser Daoma (4 87), Atother farms ecw the Enger oe of he Burldha, ensrined inthe Famen Monastery near Changan Te was 262 esto hie protest aguns the imperial worship ofthis ec that the Can Fecianist Han Yu fae exe in 819, Despite various eins, the cult felesplaed st Inporant role nthe tepiinzaton of Chinese dnastis ‘Srenlwcre produced not only by ctexition bt alo by "msteraeon” through rites prayer or mediation and thei quantty and quality ‘revue conta. By the Song dys an eminent monk usual Teter Fis death (or sometimes produced whe aie several thousand grains of Sarto, soe often mliclored tnd the se of bears Tn Japan, the fc rele are meioned by the Nihal (720). They ply significant rele i Nara and Heian Buddhist ae became even Frove important inthe Raakra period wih he development ofthe eal ‘gy of de “Final Dharma” (nap es ecorded in a fourteenth center ‘oeament how a tooth of the Buddha, which had been rough bac co ‘Shine during the Tang y the fame pis Xuanzang (loe664), was [rough to Japan and tranemied on Hiczan. The Senna monary found in Kyoto by the Vinay santer Shun (237) ab claimed (o the te loath of the Badd transnted by the Chinese Vinaya master Baan, els were alo conpicios inthe Zen tation although clas have tended to inerook them. We Ri; for instance, that Ysa (at Eis ‘iyiciaig), the monk eredited wilh the tansmision of Rizal Zen © Jn, gave the prin of arta ofthe Bass tothe shogun and that these fare bec the bats of eeremonier eld at yasous Kamara mon tstenc Tes ao sigaeant tha dhe fst text writen by Doger upon his ‘eur to Japan det wth the rls of his te maser and fend Myonen (G. tne) which he Brough back from Chita, Dogen claims that afer Subtite Boi Chien Buin as Mydnens cremation, chee grains of whiteclored dare were fund and ‘ht during then centre since te ntodcton of Buddhist sb, {his was the Ast ie di had happened inthe ease f «Japanese monk However iis appeensy among Wns snd Dogen rial i the 30> ‘alle Bodhidhara School (Darutaab) founded by Daiichi Nonin (2 2 tg thatthe cul of tare played the most prominent role. Thi re ‘Som documented bythe recent deavery of «rol elaing the ans Sion ofthe rele of the 8 Can Patiahs (Kom Bodhstharma to Hui feng) and of the Heiatea Samantabhades (gen) at Sano the eaoguarters ofthis schol (near presert-day Osaka). The Wansnision was ‘re on continously at Fase the tenth cency “The eansmiion ofthe Chan patria’ ree had oe ten place i Santi alone We Know that Gia (1409) former Davamasho adept trio becaine Digs disciple and secon toeceson, rane some of ‘hese larva ahi dept Reza Jun (4325) Relzan venaly paced them. tether with eel of five Sor mates Gnciding his own ane ‘ort, feb) in a reliquay tha in his ind, ws oe mex onythe fea pon of his nowly founded monastery, ous Gx Now peril, a0 tthe ster SB schol. After Kelas death, both his apd Dogens ashes rere evenly dsperset among seven Soto monasteries! The records “onceming these rei cleat reflect sempte made by various onaseies, tovgoinleutmacy apd precedence Eventually relics became s cheap commer. A eau in point ha of Stgen (@. 933). 4 sacple of the Kamahura Zen master Ena Bere, Afr Shogens cematon his disciples were surprised find sereral grains ‘shar One ofthe dicples argued that rec rere longer respected ft convinced is fellows ae to mension them to anyone. The res were therefore disded between the dil and hidden. However, chen on ‘drs gan to happen, the sbeptial iiple had to ant that be ad “underestimated the efficacy of hs master’s rebcs. Aan ate, hisskepucsm imay be symptomatic fa growing tendency to rest relics objec nok “Sfajeco” implhing «rel presence” "The Rise ofthe “Flesh Bodies” Despite attempts to establish x hierarchy of various Kinds of rl, he rele par excellence remained the mura. of "estvbods." Budahist ‘hsmmis have attracted the atention of fapanese schol since the discov ‘cy ofa group of mummifed monks dorthern pun anna Pref ture), Most of there monks were Shugendo practioners whose practice tens ottesned ler the lege of Kk (KOb8 Dash the founder of the Shingon sec According to thie Legend, Kil entre oma om KBr San in 9g thereby becag a “Buca in his very boy kn dt) Sclémuniniccon was say achieved by entering he Bal nd, sda Bernard Faure Jui perhaps sigficane hatin the Indian context, samadhi designates met. yma both the prtual tate ofthe acetic a she graves which fe rometos bard tive" ‘The oldest ofthese Japanese Buddhist mummies in existence today is ‘hat of chi Hin 96), preserved in Nigata Preece the mon recent hat of Bulla shonin tg) alsin Nig In is ethoograp ‘Glessayson northern Japan, atts Sopp, Sur BOR describes he tummy of Kiet Hin one ofthe twenty. our wonders of Eehigo—a he Savin 1838 (47 Yes ater Koch's death) In his commentary, Sarat ots: "There ar, in China, mammie smart that of Recs. When the “Tang-dynasty mok Vien died, fs corpe was placed ko casket rom ‘nich wa fied each month to have the nas ad ar trimmed, The ody had not decomposed even afer ane hundred yare Later during the ‘ebeliont and uprisings athe end ft dys wen cremated" Scat “onciades that the whole idea ian inst Syarmunseaching® of he Impermanence of ll rompound tags, and cannot be pred "The Chinese monk to whom Sua referred, Xuefeng Vicon (go), isa wellknown fare inthe Chan tran. His eater not exceptional begining with dhe Fourds Patch Dao (4 651) ad the Sah Pati arch Huineng (713), many Chan masters ured or were wened ito ‘mummies, or flesh bodies, afer ther death. Aktough this Phenomenon [Sur no way rested w Chan, i seems, rather paradoicaly to bei school thatthe majority of known examples ate found. ‘should free point ut an importante eifleence in the Jopanese tes In Japan, the eal the woe sb tad dt exchatlaga onnosatio, fe was exp tnked othe ogend of Matksyapa entering {nto tomato wat forthe coming of te fata Bada, Marey* The end of Koka "becoming a Buddha in dis very bol" on Kéyasan i ted on that of Mahakyapa* Wa a ew exception, however this Ma ‘eejan hckground is absent in the Chinese examples mented Fether- ‘more the conpicio rk of mummies in Japanese Zen forms sige ‘onerat with Chinese Ch "Tose some Highton dis contrast and ts sgniicance, is neentary to retrace briefly the Chine colton ofthe mummy cut. Konus Kazuo, Int emia are, har dened what ould be called the enon of the Buddhist mammes trough the apcaon of dy laequee™ Perkaps {he Ast mention ofa Tacquered murtny is that of 8 contemporary of Heineng. Cental Asan monk rime Senge (110), mo neon Wat sloped posthumnoualy bythe Chan dion but came wo be wort {Chinese region ava go of navigation. The preservason of his mm ‘ontibted geal to his dvizaton I the eleven centr, 8 panere monk named jin came to pay homage wo Senagis un, and when he himelf ied i China, his mumened Body was in turn Iced ad ‘nerd wih gold dt, "The munication of Sengyie marks a runing pint: from that ine Subtitte Bae in Chane Budi ay ‘onward, mommies were unvlly lacquered In most known cases, the la | Suering tok place tlately lat, alter the procs of mummiicton had | elowed ite natural course. With the lcqotring o he body, the aide toward the dead changed draseall. The corp bone more o 8 repre ‘entation, apd semevtat ost is gruesome chaacer asa corp. Thus i | radualy“turtned being Brougt fom the grave o saps toa speci | Baling called "mage al.” In these hall the portrait ofthe deat was | upplemented bythe dead himself, who thus became hs own ey. am ttreferental ign. Howere the mummy didnot supersede the porta onthe contrary the presence of the dead was actully enforced by fi | iwemination no various “sbattute ben “This sanction” read tr cmax i he moquent development of ‘at hasbeen caled ath noose representton ofthe deal made by Ising hs tes with cay to model eatin sates of hi. This method ‘as probably adopt o meet te religious needs ofthe people and the Zecaran interests ofthe monks and to pals the searcy cna” || _ammie Thee ah coe sppered toward the mid-ighh cet whe [Rcquered semis sendy hed become popular. Thcy ma he sage of de ionization of mummies in Cina process that was fae By fei worship and bytechnaldevopment such the techni dry Eéguer By te ninth century, mommies had Becomes spec Lindo on ‘the mortuaty sitions Feed wo the acround, they tthe steps | or the memoria hall—or rather the mira, sine the faneton of ‘hese halle was not mere eommenorane?” | “Once chad become anon the mummy cou be challenged, anderen | sual reples by other ons. Wheres ver ypes representation: |) te'dtiwah ech oiner nine Chine Tye Ea presi soem ‘ive won autin Japanese monaseien Even he ono ring ‘shes or rei Gong eter things In evsy made in wooden mack ‘revaled” However, ju asthe mummy, once asquered, shed some Ue chara ofthe on, the Son oF satu aquired some of the Chace of the miminy. "The ionisation of the omy was alo 8 ‘mime of the kon Ths onion grove ny api ‘here are pracy no mummies in Japanese 22. Bones of Contention We now urn tothe “pragmatic” apache use of mummies ad aia as commodities in the sectarian conte, what we might ll the "pis of ‘ummifctin.” What factors conabuted wo auch an ela Was Fee ‘ership a concesion to popula superstion, a schol, allowing in the rake of Confacianst, have tended to beve? Although there might he ome cement of rt in thi iw, cis ar fom ule to explain the ‘ange described above. The Chinese interest in els and eshte Wasa Bernard Faure primarily concer of monk an expres highly round avareness bey Behind thse monastic concerns we ca ern intense scan stakes wel weve fom the ou: *boes of contention” not hy mee Cuinedenee thar mon of the mummies recorded inthe Chan eaison frappen tobe te under” of ew schol In al Hetibood, the memes {rhs “pararchy” were used by th successor and oer) o ara the dent of fers One may even woes whether hese atempts at ‘eitmummifeaton were fee decstone of fils, o rer reflected the peso and expats of ie comment. Can mates aay have beer stony independent and wndnpued in their iftine, bat they be: ine ater thar dent's ceive prope and. » muck daputed ‘Smet "The case of Hung (71), the Siath Paar of ChanZen, i pancw tay scant inchs consent ‘The Cao community in northern Guang Along hers he Rad tang and dd ould bons of possesing a number Fn sl ox only "cat ely” sc sober bow and stall, but Sho the supreme res Heng Rimast—in the Nes” "The ile of the ork ante to Huineng the Plaorm Stra one ofthe few seas not ‘Monbuted fo the Budd Rimself. seem to ref the confidence of his “Incl that Huncog, Bone he had pred ee icorupuble Neste ‘Say was 2 Buddha fis on righ. hereafter, Can ptrarc were Tele to at old un’ a aint of ChanZen monsters wee ‘Sten cosdered to be ving Boia. Muincngs mummy was alegedytheatened several ine: fo 722, 2 Korean reportedly tempted to tea it bead. According tothe Chinese train, has atempt fled. According to the Korean tain, however, iC succes ant Huineng’s head was taken to Korea where hab Teen unt oy entra in mani Seger fon Chis haere we mile of is Korean clam, the deseo steal Huinengs heat sro coy oc intended destroy the som but merely aimed teal Ings powee On hin coune, hd seed: aro wonders are at hve taken place atthe sight of Hoinengs Koren maoleum, ad 30 Imprenive tere they tst'no one eer fared to open The ree of Sclngpess wor cv soured tothe fon bones te Buddha ene Shrine on Wat tan, ant in gto delegation of Tavanese Buddhists Imac a plage o Korea to worship “Among ober aneted rei Huineng were bis bow! a his pirchal robe fate) The importance aan or date egal ca be sen {hom the varios tempt, by emperors and By flower of sival Chan Schools to cue tem, As inthe ea Wes, "wansaions” rans) Eres pel the way for acred hel far) The imporcnes of those lc dy egraon i ete in ais report hat “Tang emperors requested that thee rebis be brought (othe imperial ace The ptt beso py congpcss fle the raaniion ‘Subs Boie in Chan!Zem Buin 9 of Chan.” According 10 Huineng’sselé-procimed sucesor, Shenbui {Gaqeyob, “The ob and he Dhara are ansaid by one aot sod thete no other tranamdsion™ Th tis dear that he robe wot jt ‘symba: tke Hutneng’s other relics including the Plo Sto, Ks the bation ofthe Chan Dharma Howevet Shen crophans onthe tranomiion ofthe robe as the an vad one revels the concorence of these various reba and embotinen Often these varias emboximens” {rele robe, tex, porte ese) eiforeed eachother iat “ngy of presence and legacy Perhaprthe most recent cas of acred het that ofthe alleged mum of Stow Xighn (et Koen, 70) a whom the tadion ss aecon- feneraton scccsor to Huineng snd the ancestor ofthe Sot lineage. Sr brought o Med Japan at he tne of he Chinecreveson (1908) by 1 Zen aed Shgend adept aed Yaak Takes anak ad oad Semin annem Haan td raed om # he tat ated the monary. He was ental ble to smog #0 Jp vo tip Aber Ne deaths he mummy os fog in ee ntl escnered in go. After ceamination by a group of expe ah banded over in 1975 to Soh Gn Yokota), one othe tw Renders the Son sect, where i sil today. Although the Si uthonies are Somevhat reactant acknowledge ha presence, Ivar abe to vee fin 88 The boy wan tered, an the cath on which the laeer wat Ppbied remain vsble. The preservation was ot very good. The fae hat [Eon blackened by fe and sows rrcus wounds THe Hb, a one te mine inden Bochdhane (ch. Damo 318), propagateor ‘du bouhisme em Chine, at nstemps pis pa es missnnlrs ‘tens pou apie Tons, Pévanglise ds des, tp les ‘shins poor un avatar du odhisatvn Avalokiteshvar. (Fate 1993 45-50) En tant gue patanche fondteur de Teele a (Chanen i cn in te rer comme pa (non I ble) du Bou lm, Selon la Iégende, i etait le fs <0 ‘Ce meriionate.Ayantobtenu evel i pat pour la Chine, et dcharg 3 Canton au ddbut da sil Son entewse aoe Teperear Wo des Ling ($0249), guise fate ve ua Ferveneboudhiss, fa de cote dog. Brabidhaem fit en eet, reve d'un cera manque de tact en décarant ay souveria abe Tes uses putes do ce derir enon Sans Ia moinde valeur Ce bel esprit independance le consagnt 2 patient ie pour 1a Chine da Now. La lgende veut qu'il ait travers Te lee de ‘Yangee «sur sen» — um lent quale (ow en aso8 de) som caractire nvanomblabe, devine un heme onngrhighe ‘épando, Is eablit en Hn de compe sur le Soaps pas ‘net années dans une pode, ashen ane forme de méttion sss te «comemplion mire». Lemegoementautve de ‘Bochidarma oi val quelques disciples, mas tt par porter ‘ombrage ceasas de ses collegues ~ el pint que devx ete ‘xen fers ers empoionner Pes de ep ps cet ve ‘nemeu un emisaie choi e Inde, Song Yu, Fart pout ‘ois su le chemin du eon, are pateas da Pam. Lorsqu a