This research project investigates the development of early “Records of the Transmission of the Lamp” (ch. chuándēnglù傳燈錄) and how Chán Buddhist circles of the 10^th and 11^th centuries “thought and wrote" (cf. McRae 2000: 53) about the concept of buddha-nature. The texts under examination are:

• The Zǔtáng jí 祖堂集 (The Collection from the Hall of Patriarchs, c. 952, B25n0144),
• The Jǐngdé chuándēng lù 景德傳燈錄 (The Jǐngdé Era Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, 1004, T51n2076),
• The Tiānshèng guǎng dēnglù 天聖廣燈錄 (The Tiānshèng Era Expanded Record of the Lamp, 1036, X78n1553).

Through a cross-analysis of selected passages from the above listed chuándēnglù, my main objectives are (1) to investigate and evaluate the shift in rhetoric of the Chán tradition across the 10^th and 11^th centuries, presumably marked by a gradual detachment from the scholastic tradition of earlier Chinese Buddhist traditions, (2) to assess how this evolution in rhetoric, self-representation and identity-making of Chán Buddhist circles of the time impacted the transmission of doctrinal tenets such as buddha-nature, and, more generally, (3) to enhance our understanding of chuándēnglù as a literary genre. through a diachronic analysis of selected entries. 

I am particularly interested in how the evolution in Chán rhetoric and discourse relates to the complex interplay between historical developments, regional/local aspects, as well as socio-religious factors and sectarian considerations regarding the Chán circles of Mǐn 閩, Nán Táng 南唐, and Wúyuè 吳越 kingdoms during the late Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 五代十國 period (907-960) and early Sòng 宋 (960-1279).

The arguments developed in the thesis are based on a comparative analysis of:

• The prefaces of the Zǔtáng jí, the Jǐngdé Chuándēng lù, and the Tiānshèng guǎng dēnglù.
• Selected passages related to buddha-nature (search terms: 佛性, 如來藏, 如來藏性).
• Passages containing the following four-characters phrases: 即心是佛, 即心即佛, 見性成佛, 汝心是佛, 自心是佛, 是心是佛.
• Entries: Niútóu Fǎróng 牛頭法融, Hézé Shénhuì 荷澤神會, Nányuè Huáiràng 南嶽懷讓, Shítóu Xīqiān 石頭希遷, Línjì Yìxuán 臨濟義玄, etc.