The Distinctiveness of Yiqing (疑情) in Ganhwa Seon Practice Theory: A Comparison with Contemporary Meditation Classification Frameworks

This study contrasts the Ganhwa Seon (看話禪) practice theories of Dahui Zonggao, Gaofeng Yuanmiao, and Mengshan Deyi with the focused attention/open monitoring (FA/OM) model proposed by Lutz et al. and the three-family model developed by Dahl et al., both of which are meditation classification frameworks based on cognitive mechanisms. Although these two frameworks have served as standard models in comparative meditation research, their criteria are based primarily on the sati tradition of Theravāda Buddhism and on Tibetan meditation and therefore have difficulty fully accounting for the principles of East Asian Seon practice. Using the Dahui Pujue Chanshi Shu, Gaofeng Yuanmiao Chanshi Chanyao, and Mengshan Heshang Fayu Lüelu as primary sources, this study compares Ganhwa Seon with the two meditation frameworks along five axes: attentional structure, core mechanism, the status of faith (信心), patterns of progression, and epistemological premises. The analysis shows that the huatou, as a conceptually irresolvable question, is neither a determinate object of FA nor the absence of an object characteristic of OM. Yiqing (疑情) operates not by stabilizing attention but by continuously deepening the question. The process by which yiqing condenses into a mass of doubt (疑團) eliminates the very separation between observer and object and thus differs from the investigation-based self-inquiry of the deconstructive family. Faith constitutes the basis on which yiqing arises, and therefore classifications organized solely around attentional functions have difficulty capturing this constitutive relationship. Progress in practice likewise has a nonlinear structure, involving not the gradual automatization of a technique but a leap into sudden enlightenment (頓悟) through the crisis of the silver mountain and iron wall. The cognitive crisis here is not an incidental by-product but an intentionally designed mechanism. Furthermore, the Eight Don’ts (八不得), by excluding introspective observation and rational analysis, indicate the need for a new approach to existing research methodologies that have presupposed introspective self-report. In conclusion, this study proposes that Ganhwa Seon be treated as a distinct unit of analysis in comparative meditation research. Rather than replacing existing classification frameworks, this proposal aims to broaden and supplement their attentional-function-based classification axes toward a more pluralistic classification model.