NB: When writing a history, the hours spent in research tend to outweigh those spent shaping the narrative itself. Along the way, you collect all kinds of material — primary sources, theoretical reflections, marginalia — that never make it into the final cut. These “Chapter Notes” are for readers who want to know more about the people and events behind the story, and who don’t mind wandering down a few adjacent corridors.
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Notes for Chapter 6 of Part II include a bit about the founding of Chung Tai Shan, as well as excerpts from three primary sources regarding the PRC takeover of Taiwan and the Dahe system:
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Chung Tai Shan, the Buddhist order to which Mei-Lin belongs, follows the Lin-chi lineage of Chinese Chan — known in Japan as Rinzai Zen. If you’re familiar with the Rinzai school (famous for koans and abrupt awakening), think of Chung Tai as its contemporary Taiwanese cousin.
In the chapter itself I quoted from multiple Chan/Zen sources, like the koan epigraph and the poem by a 17th century Chan nun which introduced the final section. To round things out, here are some excerpts from the “Lin-chi Record,” a collection of episodes from the life of the 9th century Master who founded Mei-Lin’s lineage, as well as of talks he gave to other monks:
From the Lin-chi Record:
“Followers of the Way, if you want to understand the Dharma, do not be fooled by others. Whether you turn inward or outward, whatever you encounter, kill it! If you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha; if you meet a Patriarch, kill the Patriarch; if you meet an enlightened being, kill the enlightened being; if you meet your parents, kill your parents; if you meet your relatives, kill your relatives. Only then will you find emancipation, and by not clinging to anything, you will be free wherever you go.”
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“Followers of the Way, if you want to be the same as Buddha and the Patriarchs, then don’t seek outside yourself. The nondiscriminating light of your mind at this instant becomes the essence-body of the Buddha inside you. The nondiscriminating light at this instant becomes the bliss-body of the Buddha inside you. The nondiscriminating light at this instant becomes the corporeal-body of the Buddha inside you. These three bodies are nothing other than you, the person who is listening to me explain the Dharma. But you can only come to this vision when you cease searching for anything outside yourself.”
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