Description
Awakening is contingent on developing a correct view of buddhadharma. In the historical development of Buddhism, this correct view has been variously articulated in different Buddhist traditions, from India to China.
This course surveys all major doctrinal developments of the Buddhist tradition, featuring the richness of the theories and practices that culminated into Chan Buddhism.
As for the doctrines, we will explore a sampling of early, foundational scriptures such as the Āgamas (Pali: Nikayas), early and later Mahāyāna scriptures, Chinese Tiantai (Jp: Tendai) and Huayan commentaries, and Chan literature. These texts provide a clear trajectory of the innovative teachings that Buddhists adapted to redress doctrinal loopholes.
As for the practice, this course includes guided meditations by Guo Gu to illustrate how these different Buddhist doctrines actualize in practice, thereby providing us different pathways to deepen our own practice.
Course Information
16+ classes
13 guided meditations
Access to assigned readings
Curriculum Schedule
The course will follow the evolution of Indian doctrine and practices in China, adapted from this chart drawn by Master Sheng Yen for the occasion of his dialogue with the Dalai Lama in 1998.
Each module consists of one week of lectures on doctrine and one week of experiential practice of the core methods associated with each group of teachings.
Guo Gu means the result of being a valley. It comes from the Chinese proverb, “To be humble as a valley.” A valley is humble because it is empty, resting at the lowest part of earth. Yet it is able to support and nourish all life forms. Guo Gu is the founder of the Tallahassee Chan Center, the founder of the socially engaged intra-denominational Buddhist organization, Dharma Relief. He has been a close disciple of the late Master Sheng Yen (1931-2009) for more than 30 years; nine of which as a monastic.
Guo Gu is the author of The Essence of Chan (2012), Passing Through the Gateless Barrier (2016), and Silent Illumination (2021). He is also an Associate Professor of Chinese Buddhism and Religions in the Department of Religion, Florida State University, USA. As scholar Jimmy Yu, he is the author of Sanctity and Self-Inflicted Violence in Chinese Religions, 1500-1700 (2012), Reimagining Chan Buddhism: Sheng Yen and the Creat of the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan (2022), and editor of Readings of the Gateless Barrier (2025).