WBaizhang Huaihai (720–814) was a Zen master during the Tang Dynasty. A native of Fuzhou, he was a dharma heir of Mazu Daoyi. Baizhang's students included Huangbo, Linji and Puhua.
WZhàozhōu Cōngshěn (778–897) was a Chán (Zen) Buddhist master especially known for his "paradoxical statements and strange deeds".
WDayi Daoxin, who lived from 580–651, was the fourth Chán Buddhist Patriarch, following Jianzhi Sengcan and preceding Hongren, posthumous name Daman, was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism.
WMazu Daoyi (709–788) was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his Extensive Records. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange words and extraordinary actions" became paradigmatic Zen lore.
WDazu Huike is considered the Second Patriarch of Chinese Chán and the twenty-ninth since Gautama Buddha. The successor to Bodhidharma.
WDongshan Liangjie (807–869) was a Chan Buddhist monk of ninth-century China. He founded the Caodong school, which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. Dongshan is also known for the poetic Five Ranks.
WFenggan was a Chinese Zen monk-poet lived in the Tang Dynasty, associated with Hanshan and Shide in the famed "Tiantai Trio" (天台三聖).
WHanshan is a figure associated with a collection of poems from the Chinese Tang Dynasty in the Taoist and Chan tradition. No one knows who he was, when he lived and died, or whether he actually existed. In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, Hanshan and his sidekick Shide are honored as emanations of the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra, respectively. In Japanese and Chinese paintings, Hanshan is often depicted together with Shide or with Fenggan, another monk with legendary attributes.
WHānshān Déqīng (1546–1623), formerly transliterated Han-Shan Te-Ch’ing, was a leading Buddhist monk and poet of Ming Dynasty China who widely propagated the teachings of Chán and Pure Land Buddhism.
WHong Ren, who is also known as Hongren, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and painter of the early Qing dynasty and a member of the Anhui school of painting. His birth name was Jiang Fang. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, he became a monk, as did his artistic contemporaries, Zhu Da, Shitao, and Kun Can. They protested the fall of the Ming dynasty by becoming monks. Hong Ren's style has been said to "[represent] the world in a dematerialized, cleansed version ... revealing his personal peace through the liberating form of geometric abstraction."
WHongren, posthumous name Daman, was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism.
WHongzhi Zhengjue, also sometimes called Tiantong Zhengjue (1091–1157), was an important Chinese Chan Buddhist monk who authored or compiled several influential texts. Hongzhi's conception of silent illumination is of particular importance to the Chinese Caodong Chan and Japanese Sōtō Zen schools. Hongzhi was also the author of the Book of Equanimity, an important collection of kōans.
WHsuan Hua, also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the late 20th century.
WNanyue Huairang (677–744) was the foremost student of Dajian Huineng, the 6th Patriarch of Ch'an (Zen) and teacher of one of his Dharma heirs, Mazu Daoyi.
WDajian Huineng (traditional Chinese: 大鑒惠能; pinyin: Dàjiàn Huìnéng; Wade–Giles: Ta4-chien4; Japanese: Daikan Enō; Korean: Hyeneung); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism. According to tradition he was an uneducated layman who suddenly attained awakening upon hearing the Diamond Sutra. Despite his lack of formal training, he demonstrated his understanding to the fifth patriarch, Daman Hongren, who then supposedly chose Huineng as his true successor instead of his publicly known selection of Yuquan Shenxiu.
WNanyang Huizhong was a Zen monk during the Tang Dynasty. He is often known by his nickname, National Teacher Zhong because he was the personal teacher of the Tang Emperors Suzong and Daizong. Huizhong was born in Zhuji, but left home at a young age to become a monk under a Vinaya teacher. Huzhong lived through the so-called "Zen Golden Age", during which many important developments took place, especially the fracturing of the East Mountain School into the Northern, Southern, and Sichuan schools. However, the National Teacher avoided associating with any of the various factions. Indeed, he is purported to have spent forty uninterrupted years practicing Zen on Baiya Mountain's (白崕) Dangzi Valley (黨子) in Nanyang before being summoned by Emperor Suzong in 761. However, he did hold a critical opinion of the Southern School's wholesale denial of sutra-study. He specifically criticized the teaching of Mazu Daoyi, a patriarch of the modern-day Rinzai school, that "Buddha is mind". He is featured in numerous koan collections, including the Blue Cliff Records, The Book of Equanimity, and the Gateless Gate.
WIngen Ryūki was a Chinese poet, calligrapher, and monk of Linji Chan Buddhism from China. He is most known for founding the Ōbaku school of Zen in Japan.
WJìyuán, better known to Buddhist scholars by his Japanese name Jakuen, was a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk and a disciple of Rujing. Most of his life is known to us only through medieval hagiography, legends, and sectarian works. It is generally agreed, though, that during his time at Tiāntóng Mountain he befriended Dōgen who was also studying under Rujing. After Rujing's death in 1228, Jakuen immigrated to Japan in order to join his friend's emerging Sōtō school, but did not receive dharma transmission from Dōgen directly, rather his disciple Koun Ejō.
WKun Can (髡殘) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and painter during Ming and Qing dynasties. He hailed from Hunan, but spent most of his life in Nanjing. He became a Chan Buddhist monk at an early age and in Nanjing was abbot of a monastery on Niushou Shan. His style of landscape painting was influenced by Wang Meng and he is one of the Four Monk Masters in the early Qing Dynasty. The others being Zhu Da, Hong Ren, and Shitao. As he was also known as Shi Xi he was at times said to be one of the "Two Shi". Few of Kun Can's works survive.
WZhongfeng Mingben, 1263–1323 was a Chan Buddhist master who lived at the beginning of Yuan China. He adhered to the rigorous style of the Linji school and influenced Zen through several Japanese teachers who studied under him.
WNan Huai-Chin was a Chinese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. A well-regarded spiritual teacher in contemporary China, he was considered by many to be the major force in the revival of Chinese Buddhism. While Nan was regarded by many in China as one of the most influential Chan Buddhist teachers, he was little known outside the Chinese cultural sphere. Nan died at the age of 94 on Sept. 29th, 2012 in Suzhou, China.
WNanquan Puyuan was a Chán (Zen) Buddhist master in China during the Tang Dynasty. He was the student and Dharma successor of the Master Mazu Daoyi (709-788).
WGuang Qin was a renowned Buddhist monk, teacher and cultivator.
WYantou Quanhuo (828–887) was an ancient Ch'an master of Yantou Monastery in Ezhou, China. A dharma heir of Deshan Xuanjin, Quanho was born in Quanzhou and became a novice monk at Baoshu Temple in Changan, China. Known to be an avid traveler, Yantou eventually began studying Ch'an under Deshan and received Dharma transmission from him. he then became master of Yantou Monastery, where he led a congregation of students. In 887 on the "eighth day of the fourth month" his temple was raided by bandits. When the bandits realized the temple had nothing of value to take, one of them stabbed Yantou—murdering him. it is said that his scream at death could be heard for ten miles. He was given the title Ch'an Master Clear Severity following his death. Yantou is the subject of several koan cases that appear in the Mumonkan such as case number 13, titled "Tokusan carries his bowls".
WJianzhi Sengcan is known as the Third Chinese Patriarch of Chán after Bodhidharma and thirtieth Patriarch after Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha.
WYuquan Shenxiu was one of the most influential Chan masters of his day, a Patriarch of the East Mountain Teaching of Chan Buddhism. Shenxiu was Dharma heir of Daman Hongren (601–674), honoured by Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty, and the putative author of the Guan Xin Lun, a text once attributed to Bodhidharma.
WShítóu Xīqiān (700-790) was an 8th-century Chinese Chán (Zen) Buddhist teacher and author. All existing branches of Zen throughout the world are said to descend either from Shitou Xiqian or from his contemporary Mazu Daoyi.
WWansong Xingxiu or Wansong Yelao (1166–1246) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who lived under the Jin dynasty and Mongol Empire. He was an influential member of the Caodong school of Chan Buddhism.
WYúnmén Wényǎn, was a major Chinese Chan master in Tang-era China. He was a dharma-heir of Xuefeng Yicun.
WWuzhun Shifan was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and prominent Zen Buddhist monk who lived during the late Song Dynasty (960-1279).
WHuángbò Xīyùn was an influential master of Zen Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty.
WXuedou Zhijian, was a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk during the Song Dynasty. He was born in an ancient town called Chuzhou in what is now Anhui Province. The details of his life have not survived in great detail. In 1154, he is known to have become the abbot of Xizhen Temple near modern Hangzhou. He moved again in 1184 to Mount Xuedou, where he was said to have many students. In the years leading up to his death in 1192, he apparently lived in seclusion in a cottage to the east of his temple. According to the Conglin shengshi, written in 1199 by Guyue Daorong, Zhijian wrote a popular verse that poked fun at the renowned teacher Hongzhi Zhengjue. The verse is: “Obtaining one Zong, losing one Chong; Joining his palms in front, beating his chest in back.” "Zong" refers to a well-known student of Hongzhi named Sizong, while "Puchong" is a reference to Yetang Puchong, a student who studied under Hongzhi, but later left to study under Caotang Shanqing, a teacher of the rival Rinzai/Linji school.
WXuyun or Hsu Yun was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
WYongming Yanshou (904–975) was a prominent Buddhist monk during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and early Song Dynasty in China.
WLinji Yixuan was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China.
WYuanwu Keqin (1063–1135) was a Han Chinese Chan monk who compiled the Blue Cliff Record.
WYuanying was a Chinese Chan Buddhist master and the first Venerable Master of the Buddhist Association of China.
WDahui Zonggao was a 12th-century Chinese Chan (Zen) master. Dahui was a student of Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135) and was the 12th generation of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism. He was the dominant figure of the Linji school during the Song dynasty.
WTiantong Zongjue, was a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk during the Song Dynasty. He was born in Hezhou, but left home to practice Buddhism at the age of sixteen. His ordination took place two years later. Zuzhao Daohe of the Yunmen School was his first teacher. However, Daohe retired and was replaced by Zhenxie Qingliao of the Caodong/Sōtō School, who became the teacher that gave Zongjue dharma transmission. In 1132, Zongjue became the abbot of Yuelin Temple where he served for 23 years. After this period, his abbacy switched to Mt. Xuedou. He remained there for four years before becoming the abbot of Tiantong Monastery near the modern city of Ningbo in 1159. He was replacing the former abbot, the famous Hongzhi Zhengjue, who died there in 1157. It was from this final temple, where Zongjue died in 1162, that he took his name. Tiantong temple was the same monastery where Eihei Dogen studied under Tiantong Rujing before bringing the teaching back to Japan and founding the Sōtō School.
WGuifeng Zongmi (780–841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on the contemporary situation of Tang Buddhism, which also discussed Taoism and Confucianism. He also wrote critical analyses of Chan and Huayan, as well as numerous scriptural exegeses.