A semantic analysis of huatou 話頭 in Chan Buddhist texts from the 10th to the 12th century

Abstract

The Chan Buddhist term huatou 話頭 (critical phrase) denotes a Chan meditation technique. The article examines changes in the usage and semantics of huatou in different Chan texts ranging from the 10th to the 12th century.
The term huatou already appeared in the first gong’an 公案 (encounter dialogue; Jap. kōan) collection titled Zutang ji 祖堂集 (Collection from the Patriarchs’ Hall), which was compiled in 952. In addition, the article investigates another significant term, wentou 問頭, which was used similarly to huatou, denoting an essential sentence or a key question.
From the 11^th century, gong’an collections started to include commentaries and later poem commentaries as well. The article examines a well-known example of the practice of writing commentaries, Foguo Yuanwu chanshi biyan lu 佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 (The Blue Cliff Record), compiled by Yuanwu Keqin 圓悟克勤 (1063–1135). The term huatou occurs more often in this work than in the Zutang ji, but the term still retains the same meaning and function throughout the whole collection.
The function of a gong'an collection is to evoke stories and parables mostly recording the interactions between Chan masters and their students. The article also studies the development of the usage of gong’an due to the influential teachings of Dahui Zonggao 大慧宗杲 (1089–1163), who perceived huatou as an essential unit, the key point of gong'an stories. According to his instructions, huatou performs a catalyst function for engaging with gong’an and starts to be employed as a meditation technique.
In closing, this article provides a historical overview of the development of huatou. It examines the semantic evolution of the term by showing occurrences of the term in various textual sources and discusses excerpted textual examples. Thus, it shows the historical phases of huatou in Chan Buddhism that preceded Dahui Zonggao's use of it as a meditation technique.