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Zen Lineage Charts
Zen lineage charts depict the transmission of the dharma from one generation to another. They developed during the Tang dynasty, incorporating elements from Indian Buddhism and East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, but were first published at the end of the Tang. History The idea of a patriarchal lineage in Chan dates back to the epitaph for Fărú (法如 638–689), a disciple of the 5th patriarch, Daman Hongren (弘忍 601–674). In the ''Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices'' and the ''Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks'', Daoyu and Dazu Huike are the only explicitly identified disciples of Bodhidharma. The epitaph gives a line of descent identifying Bodhidharma as the first patriarch. In the 6th century biographies of famous monks were collected. From this genre the typical Chan lineage was developed: According to McRae, the schema developed over the course of several centuries. It is a combined product of Indian and Chinese culture, which in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharma Transmission
In Chan Buddhism, Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken Lineage (Buddhism), lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' (''kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Gautama Buddha, Buddha himself."Haskel, 2 The dharma lineage reflects the importance of family-structures in ancient China, and forms a symbolic and ritual recreation of this system for the monastical "family". In Rinzai school, Rinzai-Zen, ''inka shōmei'' is ideally "the formal recognition of Zen's deepest realisation", but practically it is being used for the transmission of the "true lineage" of the masters (''shike'') of the training halls. There are only about fifty to eighty of such ''inka shōmei''-bearers in Japan. In Sōtō, Sōtō-Zen, dharma transmission is referred to as ''shiho'', and further training is required to become an oshō. History The notion and practice of Dharma Transmission developed ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuquan Shenxiu
Yuquan Shenxiu (, 606?–706) was one of the most influential Chan masters of his day, a Patriarch of the East Mountain Teaching of Chan Buddhism. Shenxiu was Dharma heir of Daman Hongren (601–674), honoured by Wu Zetian (r. 690–705) of the Tang dynasty, and the putative author of the ''Guan Xin Lun'' (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind, written between 675 and 700), a text once attributed to Bodhidharma. Biography Shenxiu was born in Weishi County, suburb of Luoyang, Henan, then secondary capital of China. His family name was Li. His family was aristocratic and may have been related to the Tang dynasty imperial family He was educated in the Chinese classics and Taoism and became a Buddhist at the age of thirteen when he went to the government granaries at Kaifeng during a famine to plead the release of grain to the starving population. There he met an unnamed Buddhist and was inspired to take up Buddhism. After some seven years of a homeless life visiting the famou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guishan Lingyou
Guishan Lingyou (; Japanese: Isan Reiyu) (771–853) was a Chinese Chan master during the Tang Dynasty and the founder of the Guiyang school. Life *771: born under the secular surname Zhao, born in Changxi, Fujian province *785: became a Buddhist monk at age 15, received tonsure ceremony at Shanjian Temple in Fujian, received the monastic precepts at Longxing Temple in Hangzhou where he studied sutra and Vinaya Pitaka. *793: at age 23, followed Zen Master Baizhang Huaihai Baizhang Huaihai (; pinyin: ''Bǎizhàng Huáihái''; Wade-Giles: ''Pai-chang Huai-hai''; ja, Hyakujō Ekai) (720–814) was a Zen master during the Tang Dynasty. A native of Fuzhou, he was a dharma transmission, dharma heir of Mazu Daoyi (Wade ..., as his dharma heir disciple *820: became the abbot of Tongqing Temple in Guishan, Hunan Province. Master Lingyou trained many disciples, included Yangshan Huiji (813 - 890), his dharma heir. The Guiyang school was named after master Guishan Lingyou and his discip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guiyang School
The Guiyang school (, also read Weiyang School) is one of the sects of Chan Buddhism. History The Guiyang school was the first established house of the Five Houses of Chán. Guiyang is named after master Guishan Lingyou (771–854) and his disciple, Yangshan Huiji (813–890). Guishan was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai, the Chan master whose disciples included Huangbo Xiyun, who in turn taught Linji Yixuan, founder of the Linji school.Ven. Jian Hu. "Buddhism in the Modern World" Stanford University, May 25, 2006, p. 1 After founding the Guiyang School, Yangshan moved his school to what is now modern Jiangxi. The Guiyang school is distinct from the other schools in many ways, notably in its use of esoteric metaphors and imagery in the school's kōans and other teachings. Lineage Absorption into the Linji school Over the course of Song Dynasty (960–1279), the Guiyang school, along with the Fayan and Yunmen schools were absorbed into the Linji school. Xuyun Xuyun or Hsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An Lushan Rebellion
The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general officer of the Tang military system. The event involved military activity and direct deaths from battle, but also significant associated population loss from famine, and population dislocations. The event is also known, especially in Chinese historiography, either as the An–Shi Rebellion or as the An–Shi Disturbances (). The use of the term ''luàn'' ("chaos") indicates the extreme social instability and population loss which eventually resulted, far beyond the initial consequences of the rebellion. Traditionally, Chinese family names have begun with the family name first. In this case the family name of the initial rebel leader is An. The term ''Ān-Shǐ'' is used to recognize that the rebellion continued after An Lushan's death, with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hongzhou School
The Hongzhou school () was a Chinese school of Chán of the Tang period, which started with Mazu Daoyi (709–788). It became the archetypal expression of Zen during the Song dynasty. History The An Lu-shan Rebellion (755-763) led to a loss of control by the Tang dynasty, which changed the position of Chan. Metropolitan Chan began to lose its status, while... Mazu Daoyi Traditionally, Mazu Daoyi (709–788) is depicted as a successor in the lineage of Hui-neng, since his teacher Nanyue Huairang is regarded as a student and successor of Huineng. This connection between Hui-neng and Nanyue Huairang is doubtful, being the product of later rewritings of Chán-history to place Mazu in the traditional lineages. Mazu settled at Kung-kung Mountain by Nankang, southern Kiangsi province, where he founded a monastery and gathered scores of disciples. Baizhang Huaihai Baizhang Huaihai (Pai-chang)(720–814) was the dharma heir of Mazu. He is usually said to have established an early se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The dynasty is divided into two periods: Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Northern Song (; 960–1127), the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now Eastern China. The Southern Song (; 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of its northern half to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. At that time, the Song court retreated south of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanyue Huairang
Nanyue Huairang (Chinese: 南嶽懐譲; Pinyin: ''Nányuè Huáiràng''; Romanji: ''Nangaku Ejõ'') (677–744) was the foremost student of Dajian Huineng, the 6th Patriarch of Ch'an (Zen) and teacher of one of his Dharma heirs, Mazu Daoyi. Life The ancestor of two of the Five Houses of Ch'an, Huairang is traditionally said to have studied with a Vinaya master and became ordained. Dissatisfied with his own progress, Huairang found Dajian Huineng in Shaozhou and became his disciple, which is recorded in various traditional biographies. Huairang is traditionally said to have given Dharma transmission to six individuals, the most prominent being Mazu Daoyi. Based on a critical reading of the textual evidence, the scholar John McRae notes that it is unlikely that Huairang actually practiced with Huineng. In the oldest version of the ''Platform Sutra'' found among the Dunhuang manuscripts, which dates to about 850 CE, Nanyue is not listed as a student of Huineng at all. Although Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dongshan Liangjie
Dongshan Liangjie (807–869) (; ) was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty. He founded the Caodong school (), which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century (Song-Yuan era) by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. Dongshan is also known for the poetic ''Five Ranks''. Biography Start of Chan studies Dongshan was born during the Tang dynasty in Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang) to the south of Hangzhou Bay. His secular birth surname was Yu (兪氏). He started his private studies in Chan Buddhism at a young age, as was popular among educated elite families of the time. At the village cloister, Dongshan showed promise by questioning the fundamental Doctrine of the Six Roots during his tutor's recitation of the '' Heart Sutra''. Though aged only ten, he was sent away from his home village to train under Lingmo (霊黙) at the monastery on nearby Wutai Mountain (五台山). He also had his head shaved and took on yellow robes, which represented the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mazu Daoyi
Mazu Daoyi (709–788) (, Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his ''Extensive Records''. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange words and extraordinary actions" became Zen#Zen narratives, paradigmatic Zen lore. Biography His family name was Ma – Mazu meaning ''Ancestor Ma'' or ''Master Ma''. He was born in 709 northwest of Chengdu in Sichuan. During his years as master, Mazu lived in Jiangxi, from which he took the name "Jiangxi Daoyi". In the ''Transmission of the Lamp'', compiled in 1004, Mazu is described as follows: According to the ''Transmission of the Lamp'', Mazu was a student of Nanyue Huairang (677-744) at Mount Heng (Hunan), Mount Heng in Hunan A story in the entry on Nanyue Huairang in the ''Transmission of the Lamp'' is regarded as Mazu's enlightenment-account, though the text does not claim it as such. An earlier and more primitive version of this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platform Sutra
The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher speaks. Its key themes are the direct perception of one's true nature, and the unity in essence of ''śīla'' (conduct), ''dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna'' (meditation) and ''Wisdom in Buddhism, prajñā'' (wisdom). The text centers on teachings and stories ascribed to the sixth Lineage (Buddhism), Chan patriarch Huineng. It contains the well-known story of the contest for the succession of Daman Hongren, Hongren (enlightenment by the non-abiding), and discourses and dialogues attributed to Huineng. The text attributes its recollection to Fa-hai, but was probably written within the so-called Oxhead school, which existed along with the East Mountain Teaching, East Mountain School and Shenhui, Shenhui's Southern School. The text attempts to reconc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guifeng Zongmi
Guifeng Zongmi () (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on the contemporary situation of Tang Buddhism, which also discussed Taoism and Confucianism. He also wrote critical analyses of Chan and Huayan, as well as numerous scriptural exegeses. Zongmi was deeply interested in both the practical and doctrinal aspects of Buddhism. He was especially concerned about harmonizing the views of those that tended toward exclusivity in either direction. He provided doctrinal classifications of Buddhist and non-Buddhist teachings, accounting for the apparent disparities in doctrines by categorizing them according to their specific aims. Biography Early years (780-810) Zongmi was born in 780 into the powerful and influential He () family in what is now central Sichuan. In his early years, he studied the Chinese c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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