Chan Rhetoric of Uncertainty in the Blue Cliff Record

This book provides an in-depth textual and literary analysis of the Blue Cliff Record (Chinese Biyanlu, Japanese Hekiganroku), a seminal Chan/Zen Buddhist collection of commentaries on one hundred gongan/koan cases, considered in light of historical, cultural, and intellectual trends from the Song dynasty (960-1279). Compiled by Yuanwu Keqin in 1128, the Blue Cliff Record is considered a classic of East Asian literaturefor its creative integration of prose and verse as well as hybrid or capping-phrase interpretations of perplexing cases. The collection employs a variety of rhetorical devices culled from both classic and vernacular literary sources and styles and is particularly notable for its use of indirection, allusiveness, irony, paradox, and wordplay, allcharacteristic of the approach of literary or lettered Chan. However, as instrumental and influential as it is considered to be, the Blue Cliff Record has long been shrouded in controversy. The collection is probably best known today for having been destroyed in the 1130s at the dawn of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) by Dahui Zonggao, Yuanwu's main disciple and harshest critic. It was out of circulation for nearly two centuries before being revived and partially reconstructed in the early 1300s. In this book, Steven Heine examines thediverse ideological connections and disconnections behind subsequent commentaries and translations of the Blue Cliff Record, thereby shedding light on the broad range of gongan literature produced in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries and beyond.

The topic of this thought-provoking publication is of major interest for everyone interested in the history of Chan/Zen Buddhism and East Asian religion in general. It is a fresh and innovative interpretation of a seminal collection of commentaries on one hundred gong'an /kōan pieces from the Song dynasty (960 1279), commonly referred to as "Blue Cliff Record"...[This] will remain a major academic contribution on the Bìyánlù., There is much to like about Heine's book. His account of the textual evolution of the Blue Cliff Record and its vicissitudes in the days after its completion is meticulous, detailed, and richly supported by his use of data painstakingly combed from various texts. The book has also much to recommend itself in its account of the relation between the literary style of the Blue Cliff Record and the prevailing intellectual and cultural milieu of Chinese society in the Northern and Southern Song era... [A] wonderful new addition to the growing literature on Chan., The work of author Steve Heine is a study focusing on, but not limited to, the Blue Cliff Record. By placing the Blue Cliff Record into an extended historical framework, Heine provides perspicacious analysis on the commentary tradition of Chan Buddhism... Heine offers a more holistic study on the Blue Cliff Record in comparison with other academic works focusing on the same topic. The great value of Heine's work is its unique vision, and the angle of seeing and addressing problems... All in all, Heine's innovative interpretations of the Blue Cliff Record will benefit scholars studying the fields of religion, literature, philosophy, and history., The commentary by Heine (Heine, 2016) has extensive discussion on difficult points, including irony and literary style in general, gives Chinese text with the translation fragments and uses the Chinese pinyin standard for transliteration. It is invaluable in decoding the meaning of some of the k=oans and commentary of the Blue Cliff Record although it does only cover a relatively small part the whole text., Drawing from his impressive expertise and mastery of Chan literature, Steven Heine has written a tour de force. In this first extensive scholarly treatment of the Blue Cliff Record koan collection, Heine explores how the text, with its open-ended rhetoric of uncertainty, functions to extricate its readers from all assumptions and promote the existential doubt that precedes religious awakening. Scholars and Chan/Zen practitioners alike will relish this innovative and groundbreaking achievement.

Steven Heine is Professor of History and Religion and Director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida International University.