A Brief Discussion on Chan–Pure Land Syncretism in Dunhuang: Centered on Dunhuang Literature

Chan meditation and Pure Land devotion were not separate, competing traditions in medieval Dunhuang but were practiced together fluidly by monks and laypeople. Drawing on manuscripts such as treatises, lecture notes, liturgical texts, and portrait praises, the article shows that practitioners combined Chan-style introspection with recitation of Amitābha's name. The authors argue that modern sectarian labels retroactively impose later institutional divisions on a medieval reality where such boundaries did not exist. Poetry, eulogies, and sermons reveal individuals who excelled in Chan while also cultivating Pure Land rituals. Dunhuang's frontier setting fostered this adaptable, integrative religious phenomenon, underscoring the site's importance as a convergence of diverse doctrinal streams.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article investigates the convergence of Chan and Pure Land practices in medieval Dunhuang, highlighting a fluid and integrative religious phenomenon that challenges conventional sectarian boundaries. Drawing on a rich corpus of manuscripts, including treatises, lecture notes, liturgical texts, and portrait praises, the study demonstrates how meditation-centered approaches, often associated with Chan, coexisted with Pure Land devotion. In Dunhuang’s frontier setting, these practices were neither mutually exclusive nor rigidly compartmentalized; monks and lay practitioners alike combined Chan-style introspection with faith-based recitation of Amitābha’s name. The paper first clarifies the conceptual categories of “Chan” and “Pure Land” by placing them in contemporary scholarly debates on sectarianism, thereby questioning modern assumptions that retroactively impose later institutional labels on the medieval past. An analysis of key texts illustrates the consistent emphasis on introspective meditation and the aspiration for rebirth in Amitābha’s Western Paradise. Poetry, portrait eulogies, and sermon materials likewise reveal practitioners who excelled in Chan while cultivating Pure Land rituals. These findings attest to a broader pattern of adaptability in Chinese Buddhism and underscore Dunhuang’s significance as a site where diverse doctrinal streams converged.