On the Concept of Effortlessness and Non-Activity in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Practice, with Focus on Chan During the Tang

This article aims at approaching the topic of non-doing (Chin. wuwei 無為), and the related idea of effortlessness (Chin. wu gongyong 無功用), from the perspective of the Chan Buddhist tradition (禪宗) in late medieval China. This highly practice-oriented form of Chinese Buddhism developed well-defined …