Strolling in "Coral Grove": Yuan Hongdao's Shan Hu Lin and the Revival of Chan Buddhism in the Wanli Period (1573-1620)

Abstract

Yuan Hongdao was an eminent leader of the Gong'an school in the literary circles during the Wanli Reign of the Ming Dynasty. Inevitably influenced by the trend of thought supported by the Confucian scholars who followed Wang Yangming's (1472-1529) intellectual movement of "learning of the mind" and "innate knowing", which was closely correlated with the reinvention of Chan Buddhism, Yuan Hongdao became an advocate of free expression of innate sensibility and an expert in Chan meditation. The Shan hu lin was an expression of Yuan Hongdao's thoughts on Chan practice and self-cultivation and bore a deep meaning of the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. This thesis reveals Yuan Hongdao's association with Chan Buddhism, examines the writing of the Shan hu lin, and analyzes its textual content, in order to demonstrate the revival of Chan Buddhism in the literati circle during the late Ming period.