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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. The '' Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi'' has been attributed to him by the Chinese tradition. However, modern scholars now argue that there is no evidence for this and that this text first appears in the 12th century. 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 hom ...
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China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and Borders of China, borders fourteen countries by land across an area of nearly , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest country by land area. The country is divided into 33 Province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions: 22 provinces of China, provinces, 5 autonomous regions of China, autonomous regions, 4 direct-administered municipalities of China, municipalities, and 2 semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the country's capital, while Shanghai is List of cities in China by population, its most populous city by urban area and largest financial center. Considered one of six ...
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Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilisation, and a Golden age (metaphor), golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han dynasty. The House of Li, Li family founded the dynasty after taking advantage of a period of Sui decline and precipitating their final collapse, in turn inaugurating a period of progress and stability in the first half of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty was formally interrupted during 690–705 when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Wu Zhou dynasty and becoming the only legitimate Chinese empress regnant. The An Lushan rebellion (755 ...
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Dharma Transmission
In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha himself." 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-Zen, ''inka shōmei'' (印可証明) 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-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 early in the history of Chan, as a means to gain credibility and ...
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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''; ) (720–814) was a Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that dev ..., as his dharma heir disciple *820: in 805 Zhao left the temples of Fujian to go on a spiritual journey at the age of 34. Zhao spent years in the mountains to express his gratitude for a Buddhist deity through a daily set of 10,000 punches followed by prayers ev ...
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Nanquan Puyuan
Nanquan Puyuan ( Chinese: 南泉普願; Wade-Giles: ''Nan-ch’üan P’u-yüan''; Pinyin: ''Nánquán Pǔyuàn''; Japanese: ''Nansen Fugan''; Korean: 남천보원 ''Namcheon Bowon'') (c. 749 – c. 835) was a Chan (Zen) Buddhist master in China during the Tang dynasty. He was a student and Dharma successor of Master Mazu Daoyi (709–788). Biography In the year 795, after his enlightenment experience under Mazu, he settled in a self-made hut on Mount Nanquan, from which his dharma name is derived, and lived there in eremitic solitude for three decades. In time, monks persuaded him to come down the mountain and found a monastery; from that time forward, he always had hundreds of students. Appearance in koans Nanquan appears in several gong'ans: * 4 koans in The Gateless Gate (#14, #19, #27, #34), * 6 koans in the Blue Cliff Record (#28, #31, #40, #63, #64, #69), and * 3 koans in The Book of Equanimity (#9, #69, #91). Two gong'ans from the Blue Cliff Record (#28 & #69) dep ...
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Bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimokṣa, prātimokṣa or pāṭimokkha, pātimokkha. Their lifestyles are shaped to support their spiritual practice: to live a simple and meditative life and attain Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana. A person under the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni but can be ordained as a samanera, śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇērī. Definition ''Bhikkhu'' literally means "begging, beggar" or "one who lives by dāna, alms". The historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, Prince Siddhartha, having abandoned a life of pleasure and status, lived as an alms mendicant as part of his śramaṇa lifestyle. Those of his more serious students who renounced their lives as householders and came to study full-time under his supervision also adopted this lifest ...
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Mount Song
Mount Song (, "lofty mountain") is an isolated mountain range in north central China's Henan Province, along the southern bank of the Yellow River. It is known in literary and folk tradition as the central mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China. Since at least as early as the early 1st millennium BC, Chinese astronomical mythology had acquired the idea that Mount Song is "the centre of Heaven and Earth." It was respected as such by the successive dynasties of the Chinese Empire. The name Songshan also applies to a peak of the range located at , elevation . It is the 4th highest peak, but second in prominence at . Songshan National Scenic Spot is named after it. The highest peak in the range is Lian Tian Feng at , also most prominent at . It is located at the coordinates shown for the article. On its upper slopes is the Sanhuangzhai Scenic Spot, further west seen from Route G1516 (Yanluo Expressway), which skirts the range on the south. The location is across the Shaoyang v ...
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Shaolin Monastery
Shaolin Monastery ( zh, labels=no, c=少林寺, p=shàolínsì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the Songshan mountain range in Dengfeng county, Zhengzhou prefecture, in Henan province, China. The name reflects its location in the ancient grove () of Mount Shaoshi, in the hinterland of the Songshan mountains. Mount Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred mountains as early as the 1st century BC, when it was proclaimed one of the Five Holy Peaks (). It is located some southeast of Luoyang, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), and southwest of Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province. As the first Shaolin abbot, Butuo Buddhabhadra devoted himself to translating Buddhist scriptures and preaching doctrines to hundreds of his followers. According to legend, Bodhidharma, the 28th patria ...
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śrāmaṇera
A (Pali; ), is a novice male monk in a Buddhist context. A female novice nun is in , and in or . In Tibetan Buddhism, a female novice nun is known by the Tibetan language term , and a male novice monk is a ."Ordination in the Tibetan Tradition"
''Kopan Monastery''.


Etymology

The is a Pali language diminutive equivalent to the Sanskrit term , which indicates an ascetic practitioner. Therefore, might be said to mean "small or young renunciate (ascetic)". In some South and Southeast Asian Buddhist traditions, the term refers to someone who has taken the initial pravrajya vows but n ...
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Heart Sutra
The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), emptiness is form." It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan, as well as other source languages. Summary of the sutra In the sutra, Avalokiteśvara addresses Sariputta, Śariputra, explaining the fundamental emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena, known through and as the five aggregates of human existence (skandhas): form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), volitions (saṅkhāra), perceptions (saṃjñā), and mind (vijñāna). Avalokiteśvara famously states, "Form is Emptiness (śūnyatā). Emptiness is Form", and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty—that is, Pratītyasamutp� ...
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