Sublime

Teishin,

Han-shan.

Hung-jan was apparently the first of the Patriarchs to have any large following, for it is said that he presided over a group of some five hundred monks in a monastery on the Yellow Plum Mountain (Wang-mei Shan) at the eastern end of modern Hupeh, He is, however, much overshadowed by his immediate successor, Hui-neng (637–713), whose life and

Ch’u was not like the other states in the Central Plains. Although the rulers of Ch’u traced their ancestry to a grandson of the Yellow Emperor, the patriarch of Chinese culture, they represented its shamanistic periphery. From their ancestral home in the Sungshan area, just south of the Yellow River, they moved, or were pushed, steadily southwest,

and finally Tung-shan, whose Dharma heir be became. His comments are quoted by Hung-lien. Ma-tsu(709-788), aka Tao-yi. Disciple of Huai-jang and proponent of the teachings that “the everyday mind is the Way” and “this mind is the Buddha.” Among his students were Nan-ch’uan, Pai-chang, and Ta-mei. His comments are quoted by Hung-lien. Madhyamaka.

Hsuan-tsung(r. 712-756). T’ang-dynasty emperor and supporter of both Buddhism and Taoism during one of the golden ages of Chinese culture. Huai-shen(1077-1132), aka Tz’u-shou. Zen monk of the Yunmen sect. His commentary is quoted by Hung-lien. Huang-po(d. 850), aka Hsi-yun. Dharma heir of Pai-chang. His Zen talks were recorded by prime minister Pei

enters the liver and kidney channels.

The spiritual descendants of Huai-jang and Hsing-ssu live on today as the two principal schools of Zen in Japan, the Rinzai and the Soto. In the two centuries following the death of Hui-neng the proliferation of lines of descent and schools of Zen is quite complex, and we need do no more than consider some of the more influential individuals.24 The