Page 283 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

244 THE EN CYC LO PE DIA O F TAOI SM A- L

Cantongqi

Token for the Agreement of the Three

The Cantong qi is a short doctrinal poem attributed to the Tang dynasty Chan
master Shitou Xiqian ;fiIm~~ (700- 790). This work is not included in the
Daozang. Although this poem is first found in bibliographic sources beginning
with the Chongwen zongmu *')( ~ § (Complete Catalogue [of the Institute]
for the Veneration of Literature) of 1042, the Five Dynasties Chan monk Fayan
Wenyi ~ ~&)(:fra (885--958) composed a short commentary on it (Shiina K6yii
1981, 191), and it is included in the Jingde chuandeng lu ~ ti~ m ~ (Records of
the Jingde Reign Period on the Transmission of the Lamp; ca. 1005; T. 2076,
30 -459b7- 21).
This poem has attracted attention due to its title and possible relationship
to the *Zhouyi cantong qi attributed to Wei Boyang ft 113 ~Jb. In the conclusion
to his study of the Zhouyi cantong qi, Fukui K6jun (1974) suggests that the Chan
idea of introspection (*neiguan) might be related to the teachings of inner
alchemy (*neidan) found in the Zhouyi cantong qi. It is still unclear, however,
what the precise relationship between these two works is. While there are no
direct quotations from the Zhouyi cantong qi in the Can tong qi, the two works
appear to share some common themes. The idea of "return" lfu :fj[ or gui
&if,) that is characteristic of the Zhouyi cantong qi is also found in the Can tong
qi (Yanagida Seizan 1974 and Robson 1995). One line in Shitou's poem reads,
for example, "The four elements return to their natures, just as a child turns
to its mother" (Suzuki Shunryii 1999, 20). While both texts contain images
of returning to the mother, Shitou's use of the idea of "return" is not for the
Taoist purpose of returning to the womb to create an immortal embryo, but
seems to be an image used to illustrate the Chan adept's goal of returning to
one's own nature and recognizing that it is inherently awakened. Shitou also
borrows an image from the "Tangwen" m F,,~ (Questions of Tang) chapter of
the *Liezi to express the idea of the joining of the practitioner to the Absolute
(i.e., the inherently awakened mind), which is also the intended goal of the
"return." The line in Shitou's poem reads, "Complying with the principle,
arrow points meet." The image of two arrow points meeting is a metaphor
for when two things unite in perfect agreement, just like the arrows shot by
the master archers Ji Chang f.\[I, ~ and Fei Wei ~WJ in the anecdote of the
Liezi (Graham 1960, II2- 13).