Chan Contemplation in the Tangut Buddhism

The paper is an attempt to generalize the results of the previous scholarship concerning the nature and specific features of Sinitic Buddhism in the Tangut Empire. The major claim of the paper is that certain dimensions of Tangut Buddhism are traceable to their Sinitic parental tradition, the Buddhism in the Tangut Empire evolved in a specific manner, which was influenced by the Buddhism of the Liao Empire. This implies that Sinitic Buddhism in Xixia was modeled according to the model "perfect teaching," promoted by the Liao Buddhists. Thus, the approach based on the traditional "school" (including "Chan School") paradigm is inappropriate for the study of Tangut Buddhism. In this stead I am suggesting a "perfect" approach, which allows grouping the available texts on the basis of their position in the scheme of the "perfect teaching" and explores the contents of these texts from this angle. Thus, the specific nature of the texts traditionally deemed as Chan in the Tangut Buddhist system is seen in their relationship to the ultimate practice of the "contemplation of the Dharma realm." Finally, the paper introduces some new translations from Tangut.