Nanyue Huisi (, 515-577), was an eminent Chinese Buddhist monk, traditionally regarded as the third patriarch of the

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the ''Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosoph ...

school. According to Sasaki, Huisi "was the leading authority on the ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

'' of his time."

Biography

The earliest sources on Huisi's life are the "Vow Established by the Great Dhyana Master Huisi from Southern Peak", a work attributed to Huisi, Daoxuan´s hagiography in the "Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks" (續高僧傳 Xù gāosēng zhuàn) and in his "Catalogue of uddhistWorks in the Imperial Collection of the Great Tang". Born with the surname Li () in Wujin 武津 (Shangcai 上蔡, Henan 河南) in 515 CE, Huisi left home to join the monastic order at fourteen. By the age of nineteen, he undertook the full monastic precepts, thus becoming a fully ordained monk. Then he began visiting

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

masters in northern Henan. He joined the community of Huiwen, who, according to Tiantai tradition, taught meditation techniques of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Treatise, a work purportedly written by

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

. Daoxuan (597-667) reports that after a ninety-day retreat under Huiwen's guidance, Huisi attained sudden enlightenment while leaning against a wall: "Within an instant of thought he attained the dharma-gate of the lotus samadhi". Guanding (561-632) writes: "The dharma-gates of both the Lesser Vehicle and Great Vehicle radiantly burst forth

or him Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Miss ...

" Subsequently, Huisi began to give public lectures and to teach samadhi to an increasing number of disciples. However persecution by opposing monks, who ultimately tried to kill him, forced him to flee to south China in 552. From 553-568 he lived and taught in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...

. Among his disciples were several gifted monks like

Zhiyi Zhiyi (; 538–597 CE) also Chen De'an (陳德安), is the fourth patriarch of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi (沙門智顗), linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism. Zhiyi is ...

, who studied on Mt. Dasu under Huisi from 560 to 567. Zhiyi would become the fourth patriarch in the Tiantai lineage. Daoxuan states that Huisi went to Mount Nan Yue in 568, where he founded the Yuquan Temple and trained his disciples.

The lotus samadhi

Huisi taught two different forms of the lotus

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yog ...

. The "practice devoid of characteristics", or the practice of ease and bliss, is based on the fourteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Huisi explains, "While in the very midst of phenomena he practitioner discerns thatmental characteristics are quiescent and extinguished and ultimately do not arise. (...) He is constantly immersed in all the profound and wonderful dhyana absorptions because in all activities - walking, standing, sitting, lying down, eating or speaking - his mind is always settled n samadhi" The "practice possessing distinguishing characteristics" is based on the 28th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "The Encouragement of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra". It is focused on the practice of reciting the Lotus Sutra and repentance.

Works

*Mahayana Method of Cessation and Contemplation (dasheng zhiguan famen, 大乘止觀法門, T 46, 1924) *Essential Methods for the Sequential Practice of Chan (ci di chan yao, 次第禪要, T 2060:50.564a16–17) *Dharma-Gate of the Samādhi Wherein All Dharmas are Without Dispute (zhufa wuzheng sanmai famen, 諸法無諍三昧. 法門, T 46, 1923) *The samadhi of freely following one's thought (sui ziyi sanmei) *The meaning of the course of ease and bliss in the Lotus Sutra (fahua jing anlexing yi, T 46,1926) *The Vow Established by the Great Dhyana Master Huisi from Southern Peak (Nanyue si da chan shi li shiyuan wen, 南嶽思大禪師立誓願文, T 46, 1933)

Notes

References

Sources

* * *Greene, Eric M. (2012)
Meditation, Repentance, and Visionary Experience in Early Medieval Chinese Buddhism
PhD Thesis, Berkeley: University of California * *Keown, Damien (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press. * *Lagerwey, John (2004)
Religion and Chinese Society, Vol.1
Hong Kong: Chinese University Press; Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient *Lamotte, Etienne (trans.); Nāgārjuna; Kumārajīva (1944). Le traité de la grande vertu de sagesse de Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra). Louvain: Bureaux du Muséon * *Luk, Charles (1964). ''The Secrets of Chinese Meditation'', London: Rider *Magnin, Paul (1979). La vie et l'œuvre de Huisi (Les origines de la secte bouddhique chinoise du Tiantai), École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, *Magnin, Paul (1995)
Les notions de "ding" (meditation) et hui (sagesse) dans le oevre de Huisi (515-577 )
Archéologie de la Chine, École pratique des hautes études. 4e section, sciences historiques et philologiques. Livret 9. Rapports sur les conférences de l'année 1993-1994, pp. 152–153 *Muller, Charles (2009)
To practice the method of cessation and clear observation
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism *Muller, Charles (2014)
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
(entry: Huisi 慧思) *Ng, Yu-kwan (1990)
Chih-i and Madhyamika
PhD dissertation, Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University * *Sasaki, Ruth Fuller; Kirchner, Thomas Yūhō (2009)
The record of Linji
Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. . * *Stevenson, Daniel B. (1986). The Four Kinds of Samādhi in Early T'ien-t'ai Buddhism. In: Peter N. Gregory: Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism Vol. 1, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 45–98. . *Stevenson, Daniel B; Kanno, Hiroshi (2006)
The meaning of the Lotus sūtra's course of ease and bliss: an annotated translation and study of Nanyue Huisi's (515-577) Fahua jing anlexing yi
Tokyo: International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University. * *

External links

* Su-ju Cheng (2007)
A Study of Huisi's Meditation System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huisi, Nanyue Tiantai Buddhists 515 births 577 deaths Liang dynasty Buddhist monks 6th-century Chinese people Writers from Zhumadian Chen dynasty Buddhist monks Chinese spiritual writers Northern and Southern dynasties writers