Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
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Chan Master Sikong Benjing, a renowned Tang Dynasty monk and direct heir of Huineng, presided over Erzu Temple on Sikong Mountain since 713 CE. In 744, Emperor Xuanzong dispatched envoy Yang Guangting to gather herbs in the mountains, where he encountered the master.
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While traveling in Huangmei, Chan Master Daoxin encountered a seven-year-old boy (later known as Hongren) whose speech revealed extraordinary wisdom.
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Chan Master Xingsi ordained in childhood and later sought the Sixth Patriarch Huineng at Caoxi, becoming his foremost disciple. Shitou Xiqian arrived at Caoxi in Huineng’s final years. As the Patriarch prepared to enter nirvana, Xiqian pleaded: “To whom shall I turn after your passing?” Huineng’s dying guidance cut like lightning: “Seek Si” —…
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Master Sengcan was the third patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism and a direct disciple of Master Huike, who received the Dharma from Bodhidharma. He is best known for composing the seminal work “Xinxin Ming” (“Verses on the Faith-Mind”), which emphasizes the realization of non-duality and the oneness of mind and Buddha-nature.
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Someone asked a Zen master: “What is your approach to Zen practice?”
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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…
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National Teacher Huizhong (675-775CE), widely known as Nanyang Huizhong Guoshi or National Teacher Huizhong of Nanyang, was a revered Tang Dynasty Chan master. He served as imperial preceptor to three emperors (Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong), earning the title “National Teacher” (imperial preceptor). Born in Zhuji, Yuezhou (modern-day Zhuji, Zhejiang Province), he mastered the sutras and…
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Chan Master Dazhu Huihai, a prominent Tang Dynasty monk, was ordained under Master Daozhi at Dayun Temple in Yuezhou. After reading Huihai’s writing (The Essential Gateway to Truth by Sudden Awakening), Master Mazu Daoyi praised him as “Great Pearl” — a Buddhist symbol of awakening and wisdom — hence later generations also referred to…
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Su Dongpo, the famed poet, shared a close yet playful rivalry with the Buddhist monk Foyin, often trading barbs—though Su usually lost.