Professor Lin Chongan: An Interview on His Journey of Learning Buddhism

Collected Essays on Buddhist Studies: An Interview with Professor Lin Chongan on His Journey of Learning Buddhism

Interview conducted and compiled by the Faguang Magazine Editorial Room (December 2000)

Profile of Professor Lin Chongan

• Native of Taichung County, Taiwan; born in 1947.
• Ph.D. in Science from Rice University, USA (1974).
• Full Professor at National Central University (1974–2000).
• Has taught Buddhist studies courses at Faguang, Yuanguang, and the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies.
• Currently a board member of the Faguang, Yuanguang, and Vipassana Education Foundations.
• Specializes in Buddhist logic (Hetuvidya), sectarian Buddhist thought, and meditation practices.

Q: Professor Lin, could you tell us about your journey from cutting-edge space science research into the field of Buddhism?

A: My path has mostly followed conditions as they arose — I never deliberately planned it. From 1969 to 1974, I was at Rice University pursuing my Ph.D., with space physics as my research topic. After finishing, the Institute of Geophysics at National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan offered courses related to space physics, so I began teaching there as soon as I returned. Later, the university established the Institute of Atmospheric Physics and then the Institute of Space Science, and I naturally moved over to the latter. From 1974 to 2000, my research focused on magnetohydrodynamic waves, geomagnetic pulsations, and plasma instabilities, and I also taught philosophy of science.

Since my university days, I'd always had questions about "life" — what it was really about — so I was searching, consciously or not. In 1975, through NCU's Juesheng Society, I read quite a few Buddhist books. I also went to hear Master Jingtu Famen explain the Diamond Sutra and the Avatamsaka Sutra near Taipei Main Station, took refuge in the Three Jewels, and found some preliminary answers to the question of "life." Not long after, I encountered Tibetan Buddhism and began learning Nyingma (Red sect) Vajrayana practices under Master Liu Rui-zhi. From 1976 on, I studied the sutra treatises of the Gelug (Yellow sect) with Lama Ouyang Wuwei, continuing until his passing in October 1991.

In 1992, NCU faculty and staff established the Three Wisdoms Society, which interacted frequently with monastics from outside the university. I attended three seven-day Chan retreats led by Master Wei Jue, which gave me an initial taste of Northern tradition meditation, and I began reading works on Vipassana by Southern tradition masters. In early 1995, I traveled to Nepal for a ten-day Vipassana course with S.N. Goenka. From late 1998, I encountered the Dhammadhara Vipassana method taught by the Thai monk Venerable Sudhi Nan, as well as the Dynamic Meditation taught by Luangpor Thong. Along the way, studying both static and dynamic meditation methods, my experience of the Dharma came to feel like a progression "from the complex to the simple."

Q: We know you spent considerable time on Tibetan Buddhism and gained substantial experience. Could you walk us through your study and practice in this area?

A: In terms of Tibetan Vajrayana, my master Liu Rui-zhi was a direct disciple of the Nyingma lineage's Dudjom Rinpoche, so what I learned was the Vajrayana practice of that lineage. Beginning in 1975, I received teachings on the Guidance on the Great Web of Magical Illusion and received empowerments and practice sadhanas for Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, Guru Padmasambhava, Vajrasattva, Green Tara, Urgyen Medicine Buddha, Vajrakilaya, and Vajravarahi. My practice centered on the generation stage and the completion stage. I also helped my master establish the Vajrayana Society, publish a quarterly journal and the Complete Works of Vajrayana, and set up a Tantric retreat center, and I did some Tibetan proofreading and translation for the published Essentials of the Gradual Path to Enlightenment and Precious Rosary Commentary on the Gradual Path of Mantra. Although I took time each year for a seven-day or twenty-one-day retreat, given my own limited aptitude, I didn't have any special experiences worth sharing.

As for Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, starting in 1976, I went every Saturday morning to Lama Ouyang Wuwei's residence to study Gelug doctrine. Beginning with Tibetan spelling and pronunciation, I worked through the Tibetan originals of the Collected Topics for Awakening the Mind of Logic, Precious Rosary of Tenets, Golden Rosary of Excellent Explanations of the Abhisamayalamkara, and Illumination of the Hidden Meaning of the Madhyamakavatara, along with the History of Indian Buddhism. There were also the Pramanavarttika and Sanskrit Grammar, but the Lama passed away before he could finish teaching them. Because he taught word by word entirely from the Tibetan originals, over those fifteen years I benefited enormously. Still, I came to feel that to truly go deep, one would need to study wholeheartedly in a monastery setting — and lacking that opportunity, I could only catch a glimpse of a single drop in the vast ocean of Tibetan thought.

Q: Could you talk about your research and insights into Tibetan studies over the years?

A: For any topic in Tibetan studies, I usually start by gathering existing literature, then consult the Tibetan originals. Once I've clarified the concepts, I write an article. After a while, I'll compile related articles, supplement them, and publish them as a book — which also makes them handy as teaching materials.

First, in the area of Tibetan Buddhist terminology, I put together the Basic Chinese-Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Buddhist Terminology (1991), drawing on Chinese, English, and other relevant sources. To meet the need for Tibetan language instruction, I wrote the Tibetan Spelling Textbook (1994). And to facilitate teaching Buddhist logic at the research institute, I compiled A Study of Buddhist Logic (1991), integrating Chinese tradition materials on logic with Tibetan debate methods.

The Precious Rosary of Tenets inspired me to organize the evolution of early Indian thought and the views of various schools, which resulted in two books: A Study of Buddhist Doctrines (1990) and A Study of Indian Buddhism (1995). As for the history and doctrines of the four major Tibetan sects — since I was deeply immersed in Tantric, or Vajrayana, practice at the time, I naturally gathered a large body of relevant literature from both domestic and foreign sources, and the resulting research became A Study of Tibetan Buddhism (1993). I also wrote papers such as "The Han-Tibetan Theory of Buddha Nature" and "An Analysis of Tibetan Buddhist Logical Formulas." My Tibetan-to-Chinese translation work includes the Extensive Commentary on the Holy Manjushri's True Name Sutra.

Regarding the comparative study of Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist texts, from 1994 on I focused specifically on the Vastu-sangraha (Compendium of Matters) section of the Yogacarabhumi-sastra, because through this treatise one can gain a deep understanding of the doctrines in the Samyukta Agama. After comparing the views of different schools, I came to feel deeply that the true nature of life is profoundly subtle. Different traditions each have their own interpretations — each one makes its case, and each sounds convincing from its own angle. Perhaps only by directly realizing the truth for oneself can the inner争论 finally come to rest.

Q: Could you also tell us about your teaching at Buddhist research institutes?

A: I began teaching at the Faguang Buddhist Research Institute in 1990, starting with "Buddhist Logic," and later taught "Tibetan Madhyamaka," "Doctrinal Tenets," "Special Topics in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism," "Sectarian Thought in Indian Buddhism," "Study of the Tibetan Vastu-sangraha and the Agamas," and "Reading the Yogacarabhumi-sastra." I also taught "Tibetan Language," "Doctrinal Tenets," and "Samatha-Vipassana" at the Yuanguang Buddhist Research Institute. From 1994, I taught "Comparative Study of Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist Texts" at the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, where I also supervised theses.

I consider the comparative reading of the Chinese and Tibetan versions of the Yogacarabhumi-sastra and its doctrinal connections with the Agamas to be a key focus of Buddhist scholarship, and most of the theses I supervised were in this area. As for the relationship between Buddhism and science, there's much that can be brought together. I wrote The Buddhist View of Life and Cosmology (1994), which discusses the continuity of life, the universe, and karmic force — topics that could be further explored in dialogue with the life sciences.

Q: In recent years you've been actively promoting Southern tradition Vipassana methods. How did that come about?

A: Vipassana is simply the modern rendering of "vipassana" — it means observing inwardly, seeing the true nature of one's own body and mind. There are many types of Southern Vipassana methods. By 1990, works by Thai masters like Ajahn Chah and Buddhadasa Bhikkhu were already circulating in Taiwan, and their books introduced Vipassana techniques — but there were no extended Vipassana courses available in the country yet.

After encountering S.N. Goenka's ten-day course in early 1995, I felt this style of still meditation had something distinctive to offer: quietly observing one's breathing and bodily sensations can genuinely weaken the habits of craving and aversion. So that summer, I invited teachers, prepared materials, arranged food and lodging, and borrowed the main campus of Yuanguang Buddhist College to hold the first ten-day Vipassana retreat. Two hundred twenty people attended, with many more on the waiting list, so we went on to borrow temples in the south and east to keep going. I ran it for the first three years, averaging two sessions a month, with about sixty participants per session. Once a more stable venue opened up in Xinshe Township, Taichung County, I handed it over to other enthusiastic students to carry on.

Around that time I also encountered Dynamic Meditation. From Thailand's Luangpor Thong, I learned how to cultivate awareness while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Because this method is easy to integrate into daily life and suits the pace of modern people, starting in 1998 I organized twenty sessions at various practice centers. Other Southern Vipassana methods — I joined in when I had the chance. That covers the retreat training side of things.

On the doctrinal side, besides the introductions found in Vipassana books published by Torch of Wisdom, Yuanguang, and Xiangguang, in 1997 some friends in Zhongli and I established the Vipassana Education Foundation, registered in Taoyuan County. One of its priorities is the exploration and comparison of meditation theories. In 1999, we published the "Buddhism and Vipassana Series," introducing the different meditation methods of Venerable Vimalaramsi, Sunlun Sayadaw, Dhammadhara, Luangpor Teean, Mahasi Sayadaw, Ajahn Chah, Maha Boowa, and Pa-Auk Sayadaw. Each of these Southern methods has its own character, and all of them now have practitioners in Taiwan. Doctrinal research, of course, can't be limited to Southern treatises alone — it needs to be integrated with the Northern tradition's Agamas and related commentaries, since both Southern and Northern meditation lineages trace back to the Buddha himself.

In this area, I've taken time to compile relevant literature and wrote "A Study of Vipassana Meditation." I also gathered my research on the Agamas into The Middle Way and the Bodhi Path in the Agamas, to lay out the stages of meditation practice. These studies represent insights accumulated bit by bit over the years. On meditation principles, I recently compiled Life Is Meditation, introducing the cultivation of awareness and the practice of the Thirty-Seven Factors of Enlightenment.

Q: What are the notable similarities and differences between Southern Vipassana methods and Tibetan Vajrayana practice?

A: Since there are many types of Southern Vipassana, I can only draw on a few for comparison. Some begin by training concentration on a single point — Pa-Auk Sayadaw's and Goenka's breath-focus methods fall into this category. This has something in common with the Vajrayana practice of focusing on the visualized form of a yidam. The Southern practice of analyzing the four elements and observing sensations throughout the body also bears some resemblance to the Vajrayana practice of visualizing nectar descending from the crown and permeating the entire body — the former is simply observation from top to bottom, while the latter must be combined with visualization.

The Tantric emphasis on prana (winds), nadi (channels), and bindu (drops), as well as tummo (inner fire) practice, is intimately connected to the four elements — earth, water, fire, wind — and to physical sensations. Here the Southern approach is straightforward and direct, observing from coarse to subtle. The Tibetan approach is coupled with visualization and is more intricate; in regulating the breath, it likewise moves from coarse to subtle, based on the principle of "non-duality of mind and wind."

Another approach uses bodily movement to cultivate a strong, sustained awareness. Luangpor Teean's Dynamic Meditation belongs here. The training principle is to keep the mind relaxed while continuously staying aware of one's bodily movements. By sustaining an unbroken thread of awareness through walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one can see clearly where one's thoughts arise from — and thereby uproot the habit of ignorance. This method shares something with the Tibetan traditions of Mahamudra and Dzogchen: both involve relaxing body and mind, neither suppressing thoughts nor getting caught up in them, and maintaining awareness continuously in daily life.

The Southern Dynamic Meditation offers skillful, accessible methods for cultivating awareness. In Tibetan Buddhism, the master directly points out the nature of mind (the clear light) — but without a traceable, step-by-step path, it's not easy to enter. If you start from observing the breath or visualizing a bindu, it's easy to become overly concentrated and lose that quality of ease — so it has its difficulties. As for loving-kindness meditation, there are simple and elaborate versions. Pa-Auk Sayadaw's approach integrates loving-kindness with jhana (absorption), which is something Tibetan Vajrayana could learn from. Vajrayana emphasizes attaining Buddhahood; the Southern tradition focuses on the cessation of suffering.

What matters most is putting it into practice — so that the practitioner's habits of craving and aversion grow weaker and weaker, their heart grows more peaceful and at ease, and their mind grows more open. That's how you know you're on the right track. I feel that although the forms of meditation in the Southern, Tibetan, and Chinese traditions differ, a meditator should be clear about the goal: a mind that is relaxed and gentle, that can meet life's ups and downs with awareness, that lives in this world peacefully and without affliction, and that fulfills its duty to help others.

Q: There are so many methods of Buddhist practice, each with its own character. Based on your experience, could you offer some advice?

A: Everyone's conditions are different, so the methods you first encounter will differ. But in terms of "samatha" — calm abiding — the aim is to arrive at "physical and mental pliancy" and "one-pointedness." That is, the mind can rest on its object without scattering, while body and mind remain relaxed and at peace. Then, in terms of "prajna" — wisdom — you use a stable awareness to observe the true nature of your own body and mind, without getting caught up in the various nimittas, sensations, or thoughts that arise along the way. You stay with your awareness. So although different methods may start differently, eventually they all converge on the same path of awareness. You maintain awareness in daily life, see your thoughts clearly, and keep weakening the habits of craving and aversion. That's it.

Q: Do you have any new plans for teaching and research?

A: For now, I'm still just following conditions as they come. In teaching and research, my focus remains on topics related to the Yogacarabhumi-sastra and the Samyukta Agama. Comparing Tibetan treatises can help clarify some fundamental concepts. On the theory of meditation, questions about Buddha-nature and the Tathagatagarbha still occupy my thinking when I have time — these are connected to actual practice and can only be understood gradually. As I get older, I'd like to spend less time rushing around teaching and more time in actual practice. But driven by conditions inside and out, I keep arranging meditation courses and writing about what I've learned. It seems I'll just have to take things as they come.

Q: As a senior teacher at the Faguang Buddhist Research Institute, could you share your thoughts on the future development of Faguang's teaching, research, and service?

A: I think the institute's facilities and environment are already excellent. What's left is simply how well the students apply themselves to learning the Dharma. Mastering the doctrines of the Agamas through Pali, Tibetan, and Sanskrit provides a shared foundation. Students should also attend several meditation retreats of seven days or longer and carefully observe their own body and mind — this too is a shared foundation. With these foundations in place, students can dive into deeper doctrine and practice according to their own inclinations. When people are self-motivated, those who can propagate the Dharma will naturally emerge — it unfolds according to conditions. Built on this common ground, students can then broadly explore the teachings of both Southern and Northern traditions, both Exoteric and Esoteric. That way, they'll be better able to grasp the core without getting lost in surface appearances, and better able to look objectively at the different forms Buddhism takes in different places.