Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
While walking through the marketplace, Baoji overheard a customer tell a butcher:“Cut me a pound of lean meat!”
The nun Xuanji of Wenzhou, ordained during the Tang Jingyun era (710–711 CE), meditated in stone caves on Great Sun Mountain. One day she reflected: “Dharma-nature is inherently pure — why cling to stillness over noise?” She journeyed to meet Master Xuefeng.
Chan Master Chongxin of Longtan Temple in Lizhou was born to an unnamed pastry vendor in Zhugong. Exceptionally bright as a youth, he encountered Monk Daowu — secretly invited by Lingjian to lead Tianhuang Temple — who then dwelled unrecognized by the public.
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).
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!”
Master Jingcen, a Tang Dynasty monk revered as “Chan Master Zhaoxian”, “Chan Master Changsha” or “Changsha Monk,” was among the seventeen foremost disciples of Nanquan Puyuan.
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…