Wisdom without a teacher

Wisdom without a teacher (Chinese: 無師智, pinyin: wúshīzhì; Japanese: 無師独悟, mushi-dokugo, Skt. svayaṃbhūjñāna anācāryaka), sometimes also called "self-enlightened and self-certified," or jigo-jishō (自悟自証) in Japanese, is a term used in Zen Buddhism to refer to the experience of a Zen practitioner reaching enlightenment (bodhi) or kensho without the aid of a master or teacher.

The idea of wisdom without a teacher is often considered suspect among various Zen schools, like in the modern Japanese Sōtō school. William Bodiford writes that since the risk of self-delusion is high, it is common for Zen disciples to rely on their teacher to "authenticate and formally acknowledge" their enlightenment experience. In spite of this, there have been Zen masters throughout history who have claimed to have awakened without the aid of a teacher and to not have required a teacher to confirm their awakening. This phenomenon is often related to criticisms of Zen institutions, especially the institutions of dharma transmission and transmission certificates.

Etymology

Mushi-dokugo (無師独悟) is a Japanese term composed of four Chinese characters, or kanji, meaning "independent realization without a master." The character mu (無) means "without" or "no", shi (師) means "master" or "teacher", doku (独) means "independent" or "alone", and go (悟) means "realization" or "understanding" (satoru), also translated as "enlightenment" (satori). When strung together, the characters literally read, "no (無) master (師) independent (独) understanding (悟)." The equivalent Chinese pronunciation is wúshī dúwù.

Overview

Indian sources

The idea that the Buddha awakened by himself without a teacher is found in the Early Buddhist Texts. In the Ariyapariyesanā Sutta for example the Buddha proclaims: "I have no teacher (Na me ācariyo atthi), There is no-one like me."

A Sanskrit term which indicates a kind of jñāna (knowledge) attained "through one's own power" (svayaṃbhū) "without an āchārya" (anācāryaka) appears in the Lotus sutra, chapter 3, in a description of the bodhisattva vehicle in the section on the parable of the burning house. The relevant passage states:

There are other people, who, desiring the wisdom of the Omniscient One (sarvajña-jñāna), the wisdom of the buddhas (buddha-jñāna), the wisdom of the Self-generated One (svayaṃbhu-jñāna), wisdom without a teacher (anācāryaka jñāna), apply themselves to the teaching of the Tathāgata in order to understand the wisdom, powers and confidence of the Tathāgata (tathāgata-jñāna-bala-vaiśāradya), for the sake of the welfare and happiness of many people, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare and happiness of many people, both gods and men, for the sake of the parinirvāṇa of all beings. They are said to be those who, desiring the great vehicle (mahāyāna; tathāgatayāna), escape from the threefold world. Therefore, they are called bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.

The term can also be found in the Gaganagañjaparipṛccha which states, "The Lord, having awakened through his own power (svayaṃbhū), entered into the state of perfect awakening (abhisaṃbuddha) by himself (svayam) to all moments of existence without a teacher (anācāryakam)." Likewise, the term "anācāryaka" also appears in the Ratnagotravibhāga, in which it is listed as a quality of the wisdom (jñāna) of the Buddha's attainment of Buddhahood. The Buddha is described as having "perfectly cognized its [Buddhahood's] unutterable nature by one-self (svayam), i.e. by means of self-born knowledge which needs no teacher." The same text also explains how the Buddha's awakening is "not dependent on others" (aparapratyayabhisambodhi), "because it is realized through one's innate knowledge." Similarly, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra states, "This wisdom transcends illusion, giving rise to the wisdom that is all-knowing, the wisdom that has no teacher, and the wisdom without obstructions."

A parallel term is the self- or masterless ordination (svāmaṃ/svayambhūtva or anācāryaka upasampadā) in which a Buddhist monk ordains himself without a quorum of monks. The idea is found in Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakoṣabhāṣya with reference to the Vinaya (monastic rule). The term can also refer to taking the bodhisattva vow by oneself, an act which is discussed in the Śrīmālādevisiṃhanāda sūtra and in the Bodhisattvabhūmi.

In Chinese Chan

In the Long Scroll (dubbed the "Bodhidharma Anthology" by Jeffrey Broughton), which contains the earliest known records of Chan, the iconoclastic Master Yüan says, "If you do not seek the marvellous understanding, and do not take someone as a teacher, and do not take the Dharma as a teacher, one will naturally advance alone." Perhaps the most famous example of this phenomenon in Chan is that of the sixth patriarch Huineng who, without any prior training or instruction, is said to have experienced awakening at a chance hearing of someone chanting the Diamond Sutra. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch itself states that it is possible to awaken without a teacher:

If you can become enlightened yourself, don’t rely on external seeking—don’t think I’m saying you can only attain emancipation through [the help of] a spiritual compatriot other than yourself. This is not the case! Why? Within your own minds there is a spiritual compatriot [who will help you] become enlightened by yourself! If you activate the false and deluded, you will become all mixed up with false thoughts. Although some external spiritual compatriots may be teachers, they cannot save you. If you activate the correct and true and contemplate with prajñā, in a single instant [all your] false thoughts will be completely eradicated. If you recognize the self-nature, with a single [experience of] enlightenment you will attain the stage of buddhahood.

The Xuemai lun 血脈論 (Bloodstream Sermon), attributed to Bodhidharma though probably a product of the Oxhead School, while arguing that teacherless enlightenment is rare, nonetheless concedes, "If, though, by the conjunction of conditions, someone understands what the Buddha meant, that person doesn't need a teacher. Such a person has a natural awareness superior to anything taught." Similarly, in the Lengqie shizi ji 楞伽師資記 (Records of the Masters and Disciples of the Laṅkāvatāra), after explaining how one can understand the nature of things so that the mind becomes luminous and clear, Daoxin goes on to state, "This can be brought about by somebody teaching you, or you may attain liberation without ever having to be taught."

During the Ming dynasty, important masters like Hanshan Deqing, Zibo Zhenke, and Yunqi Zhuhong did not belong to any formal lineage. According to Jiang Wu, these eminent Ming Chan monks emphasized self-cultivation while criticizing nominal forms of recognition (such as through dharma transmission documents). The Ming Caodong master Wuyi Yuanlai (1575–1630) was also critical of giving dharma transmission merely to keep Chan institutions alive, describing it as "adding water to dilute the milk." Wuyi felt having insight without formal transmission was preferable to having transmission without insight, as the former does no harm to the Dharma, while the latter deceives the Buddha, the world, and oneself. Stuart Lachs observes that of the famous "four eminent masters" of the Ming dynasty, three never obtained formal certificates of dharma transmission. Wu writes that for such monks at this time:

...training through self-cultivation was encouraged, and nominal and formulaic instructions from pretentious masters were despised. Eminent monks, who practiced meditation and asceticism but without proper dharma transmission, were acclaimed as acquiring 'wisdom without teachers' (wushizhi), a laudable title for them but a misfortune in the eyes of the more orthodox Chan masters in later generations, for whom dharma transmission defined their identity as Chan monks in a certain lineage. The negative attitude toward the role of teacher can be seen from Hanshan Deqing’s perspective. Though never receiving dharma transmission, he was often asked to write prefaces to the records of transmission in some obscure lineages. His writings testify that although the practice of dharma transmission was revived, Hanshan Deqing questioned its value seriously. For him, the enlightenment of the mind was more important than the nominal claim of dharma transmission. Because true enlightenment experience was valued, a few self-proclaimed Chan masters in the late Ming gained reputations as eminent monks without acquiring dharma transmission.

Examples can be found of monks during the Ming dynasty who relied on guidance from the scriptures in lieu of teachers. For instance, Hanshan Deqing is said to have confirmed his own awakening through his reading of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra rather than the traditional method of relying on a master. Hanshan wrote that "After my great awakening, having no one to confirm and testify to it, I opened the Śūraṅgama Sūtra to verify my experience. I had not listened previously to lectures on this Sūtra and so did not know its meaning. Now by using the power of the direct reasoning of the nondiscriminating mind and without even the slightest use of its consciousness since there was no room for thinking, I gained after eight months a complete comprehension of its profound meaning without having a single doubt left."

Similarly, the Ming Chan monk Hanyue Fazang (1573–1635) had an awakening as a young man but could not find any masters to confirm his experience. He turned to the writings of the Song dynasty master Juefan Huihong (1071–1128), the Linji zongzhi and the Zhizheng zhuan, and relying on these texts, was able to verify his awakening and even declared himself to be Huihong's heir, although the two men were separated by many centuries. This phenomenon, known as "transmission by remote succession," was common in the late Ming when masters were unable to find proper teachers. Hanyue later wrote in his Guiding Words on the Zhizheng zhuan, "from now on, people who attain enlightenment without a master (wushi ziwu 無師自悟) can use this text to verify their enlightenment (yuci zhengzhi 於此證之)."

In Japanese Zen

The Japanese Zen teacher Nōnin (died c. 1194–1195), founder of the Daruma school, is the earliest example of mushi-dokugo in Japanese Zen. He is said to have declared himself to be a self-enlightened Zen master after abandoning the traditional Tendai establishment.

Dōgen, the founder of the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen, acknowledged in his lifetime that such a phenomenon exists. According to Hee-Jin Kim, "enlightenment-by-oneself, without a teacher (mushi-dokugo), [is] the ultimate Zen principle that every practitioner had to actualize, even while studying under competent teachers and reading the sutras for a number of years." Independent, critical, reflective thinking as an integral part of meditation is mentioned in the fascicles of the Shōbōgenzō. That being said, Dōgen also wrote that dharma transmission through teacher-student relationships was necessary. The idea of mushi-dokugo is also discussed by Keizan. Regarding Keizan's position, Bernard Faure writes, "Keizan's attitude is ambiguous. Sometimes, like Dōgen in his hardly veiled criticism of the Darumashū, he insists on the importance of a face-to-face transmission between master and disciple, authenticated by a certificate of succession. At other times he seems to admit the possibility of 'awakening alone, without a master' (mushi dokugo), as Nōnin was said to have done." In modern Sōtō Zen, dharma transmission (shiho) is considered necessary to be an authorized representative of the Sōtō school but it does not indicate one is enlightened.

During the Tokugawa period in Japan, there were a great many priests who proclaimed to be self-enlightened. According to Haskel, "one of the most striking features of early Tokugawa Zen is the number of celebrated priests who achieved realization on their own." These figures included "such notables as the Myōshin-ji masters Daigu, Ungo, Isshi and the Sōtō priest Suzuki Shōsan." Daigu and Ungo had already both received dharma transmission in the Myōshin-ji line of Itchu Tōmoku (1522-1621) when they came to question their attainments, becoming disillusioned with the Zen establishment. They renounced their former achievements and in middle age set out on their own to seek true enlightenment, eventually attaining deep awakening experiences through their own efforts. Feeling that no qualified teachers existed in Japan to certify them, they were forced to verify their own enlightenment for themselves. Isshi initially trained at Daitokuji, though his mature Zen studies were undertaken largely independently. Upon his awakening in 1634 he also felt that there were no masters in Japan capable of verifying his enlightenment. At the request of the Emperor Gomizuno'o (1596-1680), Gudō Tōshoku granted his sanction upon Isshi. This formally installed Isshi in the Myōshin-ji line. Gudō described Isshi as "one who immediately awakened himself without having to depend on others in his search."

Unlike the examples of Daigu and Ungo, who had originally been career priests, Suzuki Shōsan had been a samurai who later became a Zen teacher. His independent enlightenment was defended in the Sōan zakki, a work by an anonymous author published fourteen years after Shōsan's death. There the question is raised whether Shōsan was a heretic since he did not receive transmission in any particular school of Zen but was rather "without a teacher and self-certified" (mushi-jishō). The text responds that the true meaning of mind-to-mind transmission is "knowing for oneself and attaining for oneself" (jichi jitoku), going on to state, "To transmit some written statement or a robe is not the true Way."

The famous master of the period Takuan Sōhō believed the Dharma need not depend on an unbroken transmission from master to disciple. Like Ikkyū before him, Takuan refused to recognize an heir and chose instead to cut off his line, insisting the Dharma was always available to be discovered within by the right person. He stated, "That which is the Dharma cannot be passed on" and "That which can be passed on is not the Dharma." In a similar vein, the Tokugawa master Bankei destroyed his own dharma transmission certificate, later expressing dissatisfaction with his teacher's level of attainment, feeling he had not grasped the full meaning of the unborn buddha mind. Bankei wrote to a disciple that enlightenment did not require a teacher:

This Dharma isn't anything you can learn from someone else. Even if she did see me, it would not help. Please convey this message to her from me. [...] Everybody's mind is the Buddha Mind, which is originally enlightened, so it's not something that is "born" or that "dies"; it neither comes nor goes, but is eternal, unalterable buddhahood. Thus, it's not a matter of your becoming a buddha now for the first time since you've been a buddha right from the start. That's why, instead of following other people's spiritual guidance, it's best to look to your own ordinary straightforward mind.

The Tokugawa era Sōtō master Dokuan Genkō (1630–1698) was scathingly critical of the dharma transmission method which he called "paper Zen." According to Dokuan, "what is called Zen enlightenment is not dependent on another’s enlightenment. It is only what you realize for yourself, attain for yourself, just as you know when you’ve eaten enough rice to satisfy your hunger, or drunk enough water to slake your thirst." Dokuan's critique of the transmission system went as far as to claim that only those who were self-awakened actually had the wisdom of the Buddha:

In today’s Zen temples they transmit the robe and bowl [i.e., the symbols of the teacher’s transmission]; but while the name continues, the reality [of enlightenment] has long ceased to exist. Those who carry on the wisdom of the buddhas and patriarchs rely on themselves, being enlightened independently, without a teacher; so that even though the name has ceased, the reality itself continues.

Korean Sŏn

Important Korean masters like Wŏnhyo and Jinul could also be seen as examples. Wŏhnyo is famously known for his awakening experience after accidentally drinking water from a skull one night while staying in a dark cave during his travels on his way to China in order to seek the Dharma. Upon having this experience, Wŏnhyo understood that all phenomena were created by mind, and he subsequently concluded that there was no need for him to go on seeking the Dharma in China. In the case of Jinul, he neither received transmission from a recognized Sŏn master nor did he ever enter into an extended formal relationship with a teacher. According to Buswell, Jinul's relationship with his preceptor "does not seem to have been especially close," and his intellect and preference for solitude led him to focus on self-study of the scriptures. Buswell observes that Jinul, having never had a permanent teacher, "made up for the lack of personal instruction by drawing inspiration from the Buddhist scriptures. In the spirit of self-reliance that is central to Buddhism, he took responsibility for his own spiritual development and followed the path of practice outlined in the scriptures and confirmed through his own Sŏn meditation. Chinul's progress in Buddhist practice was, therefore, based on using scriptural instructions to perfect formal Sŏn practice."

More recently, the Korean Sŏn master Daehaeng (1927–2012), founder of the One Mind Sŏn Center, is said to have awakened by herself without relying on a teacher. According to Pori Park, Daehaeng, who has been compared to a pratyekabuddha, or solitary buddha, "awakened herself through many years of ascetic practices rather than through teachers or going through formal Buddhist training." While still a young girl, Daehaeng awoke to a warm and comforting presence which she called appa, "daddy," eventually identifying it with buddha-nature. She later had her head shaved as a haengja (temple novice) with Hanam Sunim, staying briefly in a women's hermitage. However, she did not fit in well there. Having already seen her inherent nature, she found the monastic system artificial and too after the fact. She thus abandoned the temple, wandering freely from place to place. During this time, "She was so intense in her practice that to her there were no such things as keeping precepts or not keeping precepts, shaving off her hair or having long hair—there was only going inward." Although from time to time she would visit Hanam Sunim, whom she respected, she was determined to be independent. She did not attempt to copy Hanam Sunim, but rather maintained a critical attitude. Hanam Sunim applauded her individualistic approach to Sŏn.

Vietnamese Thiền

The modern Vietnamese master Thích Thanh Từ is known as one of the most respected Vietnamese Zen teachers in all of Vietnam. He is famously known to have achieved an enlightenment experience through his own efforts without a Zen teacher. Trang T.D. Nguyen writes: "Thích Thanh Từ is considered the founder and the highest master of contemporary Vietnamese Thiền Tông. This is despite the fact that he has not been trained in meditation by any teacher or received the “mind transmission” in any Chan zong/Thiền Tông school. Paradoxically, this does not affect his status of a “Zen master”, and his followers respect him in particular because he is believed to have discovered the path on his own, just as the Buddha did."

In Tangut Chan sources

Tangut Chan, a now-extinct tradition which was practiced in Xixia, produced a text called Notes on the Essence of Hongzhou Doctrine with Commentary and Clarification, which sought to harmonize the Chan teachings of Mazu Daoyi of the Hongzhou School with the Heze School teachings of Shenhui and Guifeng Zongmi, as well as Huayan philosophy. The phenomenon of teacherless enlightenment is also discussed in this work in the following question-and-answer exchange:

The question: “When [it] is realized through the teacher, there is a guide [to the disciple], and the awakening is due to come about. When [it] is realized through the absence of the teacher, there is no guide. How can awakening come about? The answer: “There is [a saying]: The mind becomes bright, when it sees rupa; [one] awakens to the Way when [he] hears a sound. All the existing dharmas can make clear the true substance. That is why when [one] awakens through the absence of the teacher, [in fact] there is a teacher.”

See also

• Pratyekabuddha
• Mushin
• Daigo
• Dharma transmission
• Jiriki
• Kenshō
• Satori
• Enlightenment in Buddhism
• Svādhyāya, concept of self-study without the requirement of any guru or institution.

Sources

• Bodiford, William M. (1991). "Dharma Transmission in Soto Zen: Manzan Dohaku's Reform Movement". Monumenta Nipponica. 46 (4). Sophia University: 423–451. doi:10.2307/2385187. ISSN 0027-0741. JSTOR 2385187.
• Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005). Zen Buddhism: Japan. World Wisdom, Inc. ISBN 978-0-941532-90-7.
• Faure, Bernard (1996). Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese Buddhism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02941-5.
• Grigg, Ray (2012). Tao of Zen. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-0745-8.
• Harris, Ishwar C. (2004). The Laughing Buddha of Tofukuji: the Life of Zen Master Keido Fukushima. World Wisdom. ISBN 978-0-941532-62-4.
• Haskel, Peter. Letting Go: The Story of Zen Master Tōsui. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2440-7.
• Kim, Hee-Jin (2010). Dogen on Meditation and Thinking: A Reflection on His View of Zen. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-8090-8.