Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
Someone asked a Zen master: “What is your approach to Zen practice?”
Master Linji Yixuan was a great Chan (Zen) master of the Tang Dynasty and founder of the Linji school,. He is celebrated for his dynamic and direct teaching style, often using shouts, strikes, and paradoxical statements to awaken students from deluded thinking. His core teaching emphasized that everyone possesses Buddha-nature and can realize enlightenment…
A famous Zen teaching states:“Before practicing Zen, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers.While practicing Zen, mountains are no longer mountains, rivers no longer rivers. After mastering Zen, mountains are again mountains, rivers again rivers.”
Chan Master Nanquan Puyuan (748–834 CE) was a respected disciple of Mazu Daoyi, one of the great figures in Tang Dynasty Chan Buddhism.
Chan Master Sengmi of Shenshan received Dharma transmission from Chan Master Yunyan Tancheng. He was a renowned Chan master during the Tang Dynasty in Tanzhou (present-day Changsha region, Hunan Province).
Master Wude (947–1024 CE), also known as Master Shan Zhao, was a prominent Chan (Zen) master of the Song Dynasty and a key figure in the Lingji (Rinzai) lineage. Born in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, he became a disciple of Master Shoushan Xingnian and played a crucial role in shaping Chinese Chan Buddhism during the…
A seeker sheltering from rain under an eave saw a Zen master passing with an umbrella and called out:“Master! Ferry all beings to deliverance — take me with you!”
Chan Master Wuxiang was originally a prince of the Silla Kingdom (modern-day Korean Peninsula). He later took monastic vows at Gyeongnam Temple in Silla. In 728 CE, he journeyed across the sea to Tang China to seek Buddhist teachings. At Dechun Temple in Zizhou (present-day Ningguo Temple in Zizhong County, Sichuan Province), he became…
Chan Master Yuanguan was a prominent monk in the early Song Dynasty. Posthumously known as Liangshan Yuanguan for his residence at Mount Liang in Dingzhou (modern-day Changde, Hunan), he served as the ninth-generation dharma successor of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng and studied under Chan Master Tong’an Guanzhi. His lineage played a pivotal role in…