Caodong school () is a

Chinese Chan Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán.

Etymology

The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòng" as a union of "Dongshan" and "Caoshan", the latter from one of Dongshan's Dharma-heirs, Caoshan Benji (曹山本寂); (840-901, Ts'ao-shan Pen-chi, Jpn. Sōzan Honjaku). However, the "Cao" much more likely came from ''Cáoxī'' (曹溪), the "mountain-name" of

Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan ( traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Budd ...

, the Sixth Ancestor of Chan, as Caoshan was of little importance unlike his contemporary and fellow Dharma-heir,

Yunju Daoying Yunju Daoying (; ) was a Zen Buddhist monk and teacher during the late Tang Dynasty. According to traditional biographies, he became a monk when he was 25 at Yanshou Temple, although he later left to study at Mount Nan before finally taking on Dongs ...

. The school emphasised

sitting meditation ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...

, and later " silent illumination" techniques.

History

The Caodong school was founded by Dongshan Liangjie and his Dharma-heir Caoshan Benji. Dongshan traced back his lineage to Shitou Xiqian (700-790), a contemporary of

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 wo ...

(709–788). Sayings to the effect that Shitou and Mazu were the two great masters of their day date from decades after their respective deaths. Shítóu's retrospective prominence owes much to the importance of Dongshan Liangjie. Shítóu does not appear to have been influential or famous during his lifetime: In the 11th century the Caodong-school nearly extinguished. Dayang Jingxuan (942-1027), the last descendant of the Caodong-lineage passed on his dharma-transmission via Fushan Fayuan, a teacher from the Linji school, to Fayuan's student Touzi Yiqing (1032-1083), who was born five years after Jingxuan's death. During the Northern Song (960-1127) the Caodong was not successful in the social elite. The Linji school and Yunmen school dominated Chán. It was Touzi Yiqing's student

Furong Daokai Furong Daokai (1043-1118) (; ), was a Zen Buddhist monk during the Song Dynasty. He was born in a city known at the time as Yizhou, which is the present-day city of Linyi in the southern part of Shandong Province. Along with his fellow studen ...

(1043-1118) who was a successful monastic, and revived the Caodong school. His dharma "grandson" Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157) became very successful among elite literati in the

Southern Song 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 res ...

(1127-1279), when the Imperial Court decreased their influence on society, and Chán schools became dependent on elite literati for support. This success drew opposition of

Dahui Zonggao Dahui Zonggao (1089–10 August 1163) (; Wade–Giles: Ta-hui Tsung-kao; Japanese: Daie Sōkō; Vietnamese: Đại Huệ Tông Cảo) was a 12th-century Chinese Chan (Zen) master. Dahui was a student of Yuanwu Keqin (Wade–Giles: Yuan-wu K' ...

, who promoted the Hua Tou method of koan-study as an accessible means for Chán-practice, and attacked the silent illumination of Hongzhi. In 1227 Dōgen Zenji, a former Tendai student, studied Caodong Buddhism under Tiantong Rujing, and returned to Japan to establish the

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān ...

sect. His lineage incorporates not only the dharma-transmission via Fushan Fayuan, but also Linji dharma-transmissions via Eisai and his student Myozen, a teacher of Dogen, and the Linji dharma-transmission of Dahui Zonggao via the Nōnin school.

Etymology

History

Lineage chart

See also

References

Written references

Web references

Sources

External links