Tichang

tichang (J. teishō; K. chech’ang 提唱). Literally, “lecture,” "teaching," ""instruction," etc. An exposition by a Chan/Seon/Zen teacher on a classical precedent. Usually focused on teaching the gist of a gong'an or other Chan theme.

This type of discourse is widely known in the West by its Japanese pronunciation teishō; also called tigang (J. teikō, K. chegang) or tiyao (J. teiyō, K. cheyo).

According to Taizan Maezumi and Bernard Glassman, a teisho is "a formal commentary by a Zen master on a koan or Zen text. In its strictest sense, teisho is non-dualistic and is thus distinguished from a Dharma talk, which is a lecture on a Buddhist topic."

The Princeton Dictionary states:

Such lectures, which were often delivered in highly colloquial language, sought to point to the main purport of a Chan tradition, text, or “case” (gong'an) by drawing on the peculiar Chan argot and extensively citing Chan literature and Buddhist scriptures. Chan masters might also deliver a sequential series of lectures on each of the Chan cases in a larger gong’an collection, such as the Biyan lu or the Wumen guan.

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Maezumi, Taizan; Glassman, Bernard (2007), The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment, On Zen Practice, Wisdom Publications