Nan Huaijin Selected Works. Volume 4

Author: Nan Huaijin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Nan Huaijin, a renowned scholar with international acclaim, was born in 1918 into a scholarly family in Leqing County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. At 85, he was nurtured by his family's teachings in his youth and studied the classics. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the young Nan Huaijin took up arms and served on the southwestern frontier. After returning to Sichuan, he taught at the Central Military Academy and Jinling University. Gifted and unbound by material constraints, he often traveled with straw sandals and bamboo staffs, exploring famous mountains and rivers, seeking out eminent monks and scholars. He once secluded himself at Emei Mountain's Shaping Temple for three years, reading the vast Great Treasury of the Buddha's Teachings. Later, he traveled to Tibet, studying with masters of Vajrayana Buddhism and gaining deep insights into its various schools. After leaving Tibet, he moved to Kunming, initially teaching at Yunnan University and later at Sichuan University. After the war, he returned to his hometown. Soon after, he retired to Tianzhu Mountain in Hangzhou and Lushan in Jiangxi, dedicating himself to scholarship. After moving to Taiwan, he was appointed to teach at Cultural University, Fu Jen University, and other universities and research institutions in Japan, the United States, and Central America. In recent years, he has resided in Hong Kong, contributing significantly to cultural exchange between the Taiwan Strait regions. Nan Huaijin is well-versed in classics, history, and philosophy, bridging Eastern and Western cultures with profound knowledge and extensive writings. Especially notable is his use of the "integration of classics and history" method to explain the canons of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. His teachings are rich in references, insightful, vivid, and humorous, achieving remarkable success in popularizing traditional Chinese culture and readers across all levels in both Taiwan and mainland China. Fudan University Press is the earliest publisher of Nan Huaijin's works in China and the publisher with the most extensive and varied collection of his writings. The press has published a total of twenty-four works by Nan Huaijin, most of which are his representative works. With the authorization of the author and the original publishing house, these works have been compiled into ten volumes, bound in hardcover to meet the needs of readers for reading and collecting. The contents of each volume are as follows:
Volume 1: The Analects Decoded
Volume 2: The Way of Lao Tzu and Confucius, Mencius Unbound
Volume 3: The I Ching Unbound, The I Ching and Its Lineage
Volume 4: Zen and Taoism, Taoism, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Eastern Mysticism, Meditation for Self-Cultivation and Longevity
Volume 5: Exploring the Zen Sea, Zen Talks, An Outline of the Development of Buddhism in China, An Outline of the Development of Taoism in China
Volume 6: Experiences from History, A New Generation of Tradition, General Remarks on Chinese Culture
Volume 7: How to Practice Buddhism, The Perspective of the Sariputra Sutra on the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, The Basic Beliefs of a Buddhist
Volume 8: What the Diamond Sutra Means, A Contemporary Interpretation of the Lankavatara Sutra
Volume 9: A Brief Explanation of the Samadhi Sutra, Initial Practices of Meditation and Enlightenment, A Contemporary Interpretation of the Lengye Sutra
Volume 10: The Original Meaning of the Great Learning
Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have stood as the three pillars of learning, collectively known as the "three teachings." They have both competed and absorbed each other, evolving and shaping Chinese intellectual and cultural development from various perspectives. Zen and Taoism, written by the renowned scholar Nan Huaijin (originally titled An Introduction to Zen and Taoism, published by the Lao Gu Cultural Enterprise Company in Taiwan), is a systematic study that elaborates on the essence, origins, practices, and influence of Zen and Taoism. The book is divided into two parts. The first part, "Zen and Buddhism," provides an in-depth discussion on the historical context of Buddhism's emergence, the fundamental doctrines of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, the lineage of Zen, the life and teachings of Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch, who laid the foundation for later Zen thought, the records, cases, and methods of Zen, the relationship between Zen and Neo-Confucianism, the influence of Zen on Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan qu, and Ming-Qing novels, and the renowned monastic system. The second part, "Taoism and Taoism," offers insightful analysis of the origins of hermits and alchemists, the divisions of spiritual cultivation, breathing exercises, elixir-taking, and rituals, the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, the customs of Qi and Yan, the theory of yin and yang and the five elements, the cultivation of immortality, the formation and evolution of Taoism, and the contributions of Taoism and Taoism to ancient astronomy, mathematics, geomancy, physics, chemistry, and medicine. With the consent of the author and the original publishing house, the 1989 tenth edition of An Introduction to Zen and Taoism has been renamed and republished for study.
How was the universe generated with its myriad things? What is the extent of the human mind's capabilities? Can self-cultivation and health preservation extend life? Since ancient times, people have tirelessly explored these questions. The mysticism that emerged in ancient China, India, and Egypt also revolved around these themes. Taoism, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Eastern Mysticism, written by the renowned scholar Nan Huaijin, is a work that discusses Taoism, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Eastern mysticism from the perspectives of culture and medicine. The book is divided into three parts. The first part primarily discusses the history, theory, and practices of Vajrayana Buddhism, especially the cultivation of the "three secrets" of body, speech, and mind. The second part primarily explains the I Ching and traditional Chinese medicine, particularly the issue of qi and meridians. The third part includes relevant essays and prefaces. With the authorization of the author and the original publishing house, Lao Gu, the 1985 revised edition has been published for study.
"Immortality" has long been the aspiration of people across the millennia. Different experts have their own views on how to achieve it. To answer the inquiries of scholars, the renowned scholar Nan Huaijin, drawing on his years of self-cultivation practice and ancient and modern works, wrote Meditation for Self-Cultivation and Longevity. The book focuses on the meditation practices of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Its contents include: the postures and key points of meditation; the reactions of qi in the body during meditation and the psychological and physiological changes it induces; the seven-posture meditation of Buddhism; the internal alchemy meditation of Taoism; methods to open the Ren and Du meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians; the theory of qi-gong in traditional Chinese medicine; and the cultivation methods from works such as The Secret Method of Cultivating the Taiji Elixir and The Stages of Practice on the Path to Enlightenment. It provides valuable guidance to correct misconceptions and promote longevity. With the consent of the author and the original publishing house, Lao Gu, the 1989 seventeenth edition of Meditation for Self-Cultivation and Longevity has been republished for readers.