Spoken: Master Weihai

Compiled : Fali Fei  

Shan culture is the implementation and expression of the essential existence of civilization in human specific behavior field, which transfer the heart-mind connotation of the civilization.

There are several types of Shan(comment①), such as the Indian thinking practice (禅那dhayana), the gradual cultivation in northern China(Northern school) , the immediate enlightenment in the south China(Southern school) , the silent illimination, the inquiry meditation called as Huatou. Huatou is the typical Shan. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says, "Heart-mind as the tenet to self-realization and holy wisdom," and this is the essence of Shan and its most distinctive feature.(comment①:禅(Shan), translated as “Shan”. Currently is translated as "Zen" in English-speaking world according to Japanese. It is forbidden to pronounce as "Chan" or "Zen" based on the phonetics-semanteme relationship in our mountain .)

“Huatou and Maksha in heart-mind” was the representative of Shan in the past. How do modern people think what is Shan? We have independent judgment based on the material and can make Shan clear. That called as Shan is Heart-mind as a whole. For Buddhism, Shan is not a generalized Heart-mind, but also a specific expression of Prajna, Bodhi, and even Supreme Bodhi. So Buddhist Shan is the Heart-mind with enlightenment but not the ordinary, ignorant, pre-rational Heart-mind.

(From the partial works of Xu Zihe's Chinese painting)

When the element of Heart-mind is expressed as humanities, as art, and even as sports, life, and so on, it becomes Shan culture, such as，

1. Literature

When the element of Heart-mind enters literature, it forms the "nature of divine", "literary mind" and "poetic eye". For example,

Poetry, such as Chinese divine nature poetry, Wushan literature of Japan ( Chinese poetry movement in Japan);

Shan-ized savoir-vivre, without losing the essence of savoir-vivre as venerate, whereas the savoir-vivre is still simple, expressed as both valuing savoir-vivre and transcending it.

In novel, the use of heart-mind forms of expression, with a generous and transcendent artistic mood, or even  use the theme of heart-mind directly, such as The Tale of Genji in ancient times, the internal content of martial arts novels in modern times, and modern psychological novels.

Heart-mind is the soul of literature, and can express Heart-mind content transcending religion, such as the works of Han Shan and Shi De, which formed the Shan sense and Shan realm in literature. Chinese Shan returns to Heart-mind itself and has the nature of transcending the religion. It is not pursuit of external or worship of others. It shows human subjectivity, which can be a belief as well as religion, or even transceding the religion. This is the soul of literature.

2.Art

Heart-mind is also the soul of art and the foundation of artistic aesthetics. For example, painting, sculpture, Chinese calligraphy, music, etc., which are mainly expressing Heart-mind experience, Heart-mind practicing, Heart-mind realm, or art with Heart-mind connotation, they all belong to the Shan culture in art field.

For example，Chinese painting's abbreviated ink work, merges the heart-mind in through the minimal, simplified, abstract, symbolic system of ink and wash. This expression and its corresponding aesthetics has a landscape natural interest, which  both has Taoist nature, and Buddhist Shan Heart and Heart-mind.

(From the partial works of Xu Zihe's Chinese painting)

3. Sports

When sports activities move into the level of mental cultivation method, they are sublimated into "Sports Shan". In ancient times, the scet of Russian and Chinese martial arts emphasized the "mental cultivation method" was the one who took the mental cultivation method as their core subject in sports and physical education, who can easily transform from technical combat to fitness and health nurturing. For example, both Chinese internal martial arts and Russian Systema cultivation method pay attention to nature and the mental cultivation method.

4. Philosophical category

Philosophy is introspection, when introspection landing on the ground, it becomes relization of Heart-mind itself. That’s why neither philosophy nor philosophical cultivation can be away from Heart-mind.

At the same time, Heart-mind is the core of humanistic culture, and enlightenment of heart-mind is the source of thought (-ism). The Chinese humanities is particularly developed, and all sects of thought have contents related to Heart-mind. The relization and thought of Heart-mind was regarded as the symbol of the Eastern culture, and even formed the "study of Heart-mind of Song and Ming Dynasties", which is actually the essence of humanistic culture of all human beings all over the world.

5. Shan culture in life

Shan culture in life includes Tea ceremony, clothing, makeup in style of out of clear water lotus, vegetarian heart of life, etc. Shan culture is the expression of Heart-mind in different areas of human behavior, especially in the psychological world, the field of life and the humanistic field. It is the implementation of  Heart-mind Civilization.

(From the partial works of Xu Zihe's Chinese painting)

Regarding Shan culture, it not only belongs to the East, but also belongs to all human beings. Scientific culture, which essentially belongs to the objective cognition and instrumental rationality of the material world, or the philosophy of science, it not only belongs to the West, but also belongs to all human beings. Likewise, Eastern culture is represented by ethics and morality, Heart-mind realization, humanistic spirit, or even all humanistic spirit, which belongs to all human beings as well. The landing of humanistic knowledge is the Heart-mind culture, and the realm of Heart-mind is to be embodied and landed through Shan. In this way, through Shan, the ethical principle is transformed from rigid dogma into humanistic guideline, ideological proposition is transformed into methodology and technical thing, and even stepping out of rigid dogmas becoming real landing of ground.

Shan culture is manifested in different aspects and levels. One important part of Holistic Health is humanistic connotation, life health, and heart-mind health, which can’t be separated from Shan.

In the modern and even future civilization era, how to make the humanities to the Ground and make people's development more authentic，this is inseparable from the methods and techniques of Heart-mind, inseparable from Shan culture, inseparable from the realm of Shan. Shan provides us with the method, technique and realm, provides the source of cultural and intellectual thinking, provides the nourishment of spiritual life, and provides the means of artistic expression. So Shan culture reflects this characteristic in a comprehensive way: Shan represents the landing of the future human spiritual culture, the landing of civilization, it can acheive an operable landing from idea to body and mind, so that Heart-mind can play a greater role in the whole civilization activity, in the whole human mind-body field, personality and social culture, artistic connotation, and cultivation.

The soul of culture is Heart-mind, and Heart-mind is Shan; in essence, Shan culture is Heart-mind culture.

Translated from the Wuling Shan Temple website at http://dashengshan.cn/h-nd-348.html