Youxi Chuandeng

Youxi Chuandeng (Traditional Chinese: 幽溪傳燈, Simplified Chinese: 幽溪传灯, 1554–1628) was a prominent Buddhist monk of the late Ming dynasty who played a central role in the revival of the Tiantai school of Chinese Buddhism at a time when its institutional presence and doctrinal influence had significantly declined. His contributions included exegetical scholarship, history and the reconstruction of Tiantai temples. For his efforts, he is known as “the patriarch who revived the Tiantai school during the Ming dynasty” and is traditionally regarded as the Thirtieth Patriarch of the Tiantai tradition.

Chuandeng's writings, such as his On Nature Including Good and Evil, provided Ming Tiantai with sophisticated philosophical underpinning. He also wrote extensively on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, a work which was very popular in Ming Buddhism. Chuandeng was a student of Baisong Zhenjue, and a teacher of the eminent monk Ouyi Zhixu. He was commonly known as Youxi Heshang, Youxi Dashi, or Chuandeng Dashi.