The strong apologetic  motif of the "flight  to
　　   the south," to avoid the wrath of those disappointed
　　   by the secret succession  of Hui-neng (Shen-hsiu and
　　   his followers), is also understandable in this frame
　　   of reference.  Shen-hsiu represents the "mainstream"
　　   of Chinese  Buddhism, precisely  those elemets which
　　   would be wiped out by the persecution (as indeed the
　　   northern tradition was).  In the relatively isolated
　　   monasteries  of the south, those who fled would have
　　   naturally   looked  back  on  their  experience   as
　　   containing  a message  for future generations.  This
　　   message  was eventually  understood: they  preserved
　　   the pure, original insights upon which the tradition
　　   rested for its liberating spiritual power.  They had
　　   survived--fleeing  to the south as had the legendary
　　   Hui-neng--in   order  to  bear  witness   to  future
　　   generations   concering   the   "essence"   of   the
　　   tradition,  embodied   in   the   direct,  immediate
　　   experience of enlightenment  out of which the dharma
　　   originated.  Scriptures,  temples,  icons  might  be
　　   destroyed  (as  they  were);  masters  of  doctrinal
　　   subtlety  might  by martyred  or disappear  into the
　　   safety of anonymity; but the liberating power of the
　　   tradition could be preserved within the framework of
　　   meditation  practice, in  a  word, ch'an.  Thus  the
　　   purity  of the tradition  was restored, to be handed
　　   down to future generations.
 
 
　　　　　　　　　　　　  P.397
 
　　　　   One final comment: It may be that there  was an
　　   esoteric  practice  within  early  Chinese  Buddhism
　　   which  centered  on  meditation.   The  evidence  is
　　   suggestive.   The  rapid  success  of  the  Buddhist
　　   mission in China points to a superiority over Taoist
　　   folk  religion, and  this  could  well  lie  in  the
　　   superiority  of meditation practice over the ancient
　　   folk-Taoist "internal hygiene" (nei-tan).  Among the
　　   earliest  Buddhist  writings  to be translated  were
　　   sutras which dealt with meditation and described the
　　   stages of c onsciousness along the way to liberating
　　   wisdom.   We  know  that  the  earliest   forms   of
　　   meditation  practiced in China were the Amida vision
　　   and the Prajna-paramita-samadhi, which  sees through
　　   the  emptiness  of  all  things.  None  of  this  is
　　   reflected   in   the   Mahayana   philosophy   which