Yequan Shenxiu
Encyclopedia
Yuquan Shenxiu (606?-706) (Wade-Giles: Shen-hsiu; Japanese: Jinshū) was one of the most influential Chan
Buddhist masters of his day, a patriarch of the "East Mountain Dharma Gate" (Chinese: tung-shan fa-men) — the East Mountain Teaching was given the more recent designation as the "Northern School" by Shenhui (670-762). Shenxiu was Dharma-heir of Hongren (弘忍) (601–674) (Wade Giles: Shih Hung-jen; Japanese: Gunin), honoured by Empress Wu Zetian
(r. 690-705) of the Tang Dynasty
, and alleged author of the Guan Xin Lun (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind, written between 675-700), a text once attributed to Bodhidharma
.
, Henan
, then secondary capital of China. His family name was Li. His family was aristocratic and may have been related to the Tang Dynasty imperial family He was educated in the Chinese classics and Taoism
and became a Buddhist at the age of thirteen when he went to the government granaries at Kaifeng
during a famine to plead the release of grain to the starving population. There he met an unnamed Buddhist and was inspired to take up Buddhism. After some seven years of a homeless life visiting the famous mountain centres of China, Shenxiu took the full precepts of Buddhist monk
in 625 at Tankong monastery in Luoyang
(洛阳), the Buddhist centre at the end of Silk Road
since the second century.
Traces of his activities for the next twenty-five years were lost, the Chuan Fabao Ji (傳法寶紀) (Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure) claim that Shenxiu studied the Buddhist regulations (vinaya
) and ceremonies and devoted himself to the practice of meditation
(dhyāna
) and the development of wisdom (prajñā
). In 651 he began to study under Hongren. The aforementioned Chuan Fabao Ji states that he studied with Hongren for six years, thereby leaving in 657, before the arrival of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng
, with whom Shenxiu supposedly had the famous verse-writing contest. (see below)
It is not clear why, but sometime around 665-668, Shenxiu was banished by the emperor and remained incognito for some ten years, returning to public notice between 676-679. He initially took up residence at the Jade Spring Monastery (Yuquan Si 玉泉寺) but soon was one built for him, the Monastery of the Six Perfections (Dumen Si 度門寺廟) where spent the next quarter century.
In late 700 the Empress Wu invited Shenxiu to the capital at Luoyang
to teach Chan Buddhism. His welcome in 701 was by all accounts quite spectacular. The Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure describe Shenxiu’s path being bedecked with flowers and the master riding on a litter of the type reserved for the imperial family. In an unprecedented gesture, the Empress knelt before the Chan master, touching her forehead to the ground in great reverence. The Annals go on to say that “From princes and nobles down, everyone [in the capital] took refuge in him.”
For the last five years of his life, Shenxiu traveled between the two capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an
, preaching the Buddhist Dharma before passing away at his monastery, Tumen Si, sitting in meditation on February 28, 706. The Lengqie Shi Zi Ji (楞伽師資記)(Records of the Lankavatara Masters) state that his last words were ch’u-ch’u chiao, which Professor Seizan Yanagida translates as “the teachings of the expedient means have been made direct” The reigning Emperor Zhongzong
(705-710) granted the posthumous title Datong Chanshi(大通禪師) (Greatly Penetrating Dhyāna Master), only the second time in Chinese Buddhism and the first for three hundred years that this imperial honour had been bestowed.
of Huineng but whether it actually occurred historically is doubtful. The account given in the Platform Sutra is as follows.
The Fifth Patriarch Hongren, realizing he was coming to the end of his years, instructed his monks to compose a "mind-verse" which would confirm their level of attainment. The winner of the contest would be named Sixth Patriarch and receive the robe of Bodhidharma
. None of the monks dared to write anything, deferring to Shenxiu who they believed would be the next Dharma heir.
Shenxiu, full of doubts about his own abilities and with the weight of expectation upon him, finally wrote a verse. Uncertain about his worth as a patriarch, he wrote his verse anonymously on a wall in a corridor of the monastery. Shenxiu's verse read:
Publicly, Hongren praised this verse and instructed all his monks to recite it. Privately, Hongren asked Shenxiu to compose another verse as Hongren believed that Shenxiu's verse did not display true understanding of the Dharma. Shenxiu was unable to compose another verse.
Meanwhile, the illiterate Huineng heard the monks chanting this verse and asked about it. When told the story of Hongren's contest, Huineng asked a monk to take him to the wall where Shenxiu's verse was written. There he asked someone to write his own verse. Huineng's verse read
The account says that publicly Hongren denigrated this verse but later, in private, he taught Huineng the true meaning of the Diamond Sutra, thereby awakening Huineng to the sutra's profound teaching. Hongren gave Huineng the robe of transmission and told him to flee the monastery in secret at night. Huineng thereby became the Sixth and last Patriarch of Chan.
This verse writing contest was used by Shenhui
(神會)(684-758) (Wade-Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne) to malign Shenxiu and his so-called "Northern School" as being gradualist and was instrumental in the split of Chan into "gradualist" (jian jiao漸教) and "sudden" (dun jiao 頓教) schools.
Shenxiu was highly educated and studied the Buddhist scriptures assiduously. He re-interpreted the scriptures as metaphors of “skilful means” (Sanskrit: upāya
; fangbian 方便) for “contemplation of the mind," (kan xin 看心) advocating the attainment of Buddhahood
in all daily activities, here and now. Every act was seen as religious practice. For example, he saw simple activities, like taking a bath, as a religious act. He taught that soap used to clean away dirt “is actually the ability of discrimination by which one can ferret out the sources of evil within oneself.” Cleaning the mouth with toothpicks is “nothing less than the Truth by which one puts an end to false speech.” Overt religious activities such as burning of incense were seen as “the unconditioned Dharma
, which ‘perfumes’ the tainted and evil karma of ignorance and cause it to disappear.”
In meditation practice, Shenxiu taught that the student should develop the innate ability of the mind “to illuminate and understand all things” and to see the emptiness of all things. He taught that there is a profound stillness and tranquility in all things. A “Northern School” text abbreviated as the Five Skillful Means (Wu Fangbian 五方便)states: “in purity there is not a single thing…Peaceful and vast without limit, its untaintedness is the path of bodhi
(बोधि). The mind serene and enlightenment distinct, the body’s serenity is the bodhi tree.”
Even though Shenxiu and the “Northern School” were subsequently attacked as teaching a gradualist approach to enlightenment, the Guanxin Lun (觀心論) (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind), a Northern text which Zen scholar John McRae claims is “unquestionably written by him [Shenxiu]” (though there is no direct historical evidence) emphatically states: “It does not take long to witness this (i.e., to realize sagehood); enlightenment
is in the instant. Why worry about your white hair (i.e., about your age)?” Shenxiu’s exhortations to constant, unremitting practice gave Shenhui the opening to attack the teaching as “gradualist” (a charge which would ironically apply to the entire Dongshan tradition of the Fourth and Fifth Patriarchs). In any case, the vilification of Shenxiu by Shenhui occurred some thirty years after Shenxiu’s death. During his lifetime, and especially his relatively brief teaching in the capital cities of the Tang Dynasty, Shenxiu’s teachings were received with widespread acceptance and reverence. The influence of Shenxiu’s teachings on subsequent Chan doctrine and practices is still a somewhat open question.
. Shenhui, a follower of Huineng, gained official support and posthumous recognition as the Seventh Patriarch (which by extension made Huineng the Sixth) through his successful efforts in selling ordination certificates to raise funds for the drained imperial treasury. (If there had been no rebellion, Shenhui would have all likelihood remained in exile for the rest of his life). This led to the waning of Shenxiu's views and the dominance of Shenhui's teachings.
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist masters of his day, a patriarch of the "East Mountain Dharma Gate" (Chinese: tung-shan fa-men) — the East Mountain Teaching was given the more recent designation as the "Northern School" by Shenhui (670-762). Shenxiu was Dharma-heir of Hongren (弘忍) (601–674) (Wade Giles: Shih Hung-jen; Japanese: Gunin), honoured by Empress Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
(r. 690-705) of the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, and alleged author of the Guan Xin Lun (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind, written between 675-700), a text once attributed to Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...
.
Biography
Shenxiu was born in Weishi County, suburb of LuoyangLuoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, then secondary capital of China. His family name was Li. His family was aristocratic and may have been related to the Tang Dynasty imperial family He was educated in the Chinese classics and Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
and became a Buddhist at the age of thirteen when he went to the government granaries at Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
during a famine to plead the release of grain to the starving population. There he met an unnamed Buddhist and was inspired to take up Buddhism. After some seven years of a homeless life visiting the famous mountain centres of China, Shenxiu took the full precepts of Buddhist monk
Patimokkha
In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns . It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.- Parajika :...
in 625 at Tankong monastery in Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
(洛阳), the Buddhist centre at the end of Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
since the second century.
Traces of his activities for the next twenty-five years were lost, the Chuan Fabao Ji (傳法寶紀) (Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure) claim that Shenxiu studied the Buddhist regulations (vinaya
Vinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
) and ceremonies and devoted himself to the practice of meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
(dhyāna
Dhyāna in Buddhism
Dhyāna in Sanskrit or jhāna in Pāli can refer to either meditation or meditative states. Equivalent terms are "Chán" in modern Chinese, "Zen" in Japanese, "Seon" in Korean, "Thien" in Vietnamese, and "Samten" in Tibetan....
) and the development of wisdom (prajñā
Prajña
Prajñā or paññā is wisdom, understanding, discernment or cognitive acuity. Such wisdom is understood to exist in the universal flux of being and can be intuitively experienced through meditation...
). In 651 he began to study under Hongren. The aforementioned Chuan Fabao Ji states that he studied with Hongren for six years, thereby leaving in 657, before the arrival of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng
Huineng
Dajian Huineng was a Chinese Chán monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition, according to standard Zen hagiographies...
, with whom Shenxiu supposedly had the famous verse-writing contest. (see below)
It is not clear why, but sometime around 665-668, Shenxiu was banished by the emperor and remained incognito for some ten years, returning to public notice between 676-679. He initially took up residence at the Jade Spring Monastery (Yuquan Si 玉泉寺) but soon was one built for him, the Monastery of the Six Perfections (Dumen Si 度門寺廟) where spent the next quarter century.
In late 700 the Empress Wu invited Shenxiu to the capital at Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
to teach Chan Buddhism. His welcome in 701 was by all accounts quite spectacular. The Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure describe Shenxiu’s path being bedecked with flowers and the master riding on a litter of the type reserved for the imperial family. In an unprecedented gesture, the Empress knelt before the Chan master, touching her forehead to the ground in great reverence. The Annals go on to say that “From princes and nobles down, everyone [in the capital] took refuge in him.”
For the last five years of his life, Shenxiu traveled between the two capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
, preaching the Buddhist Dharma before passing away at his monastery, Tumen Si, sitting in meditation on February 28, 706. The Lengqie Shi Zi Ji (楞伽師資記)(Records of the Lankavatara Masters) state that his last words were ch’u-ch’u chiao, which Professor Seizan Yanagida translates as “the teachings of the expedient means have been made direct” The reigning Emperor Zhongzong
Zhongzong
Zhongzong is the temple name of several Chinese emperors or rulers. It can refer to:* Emperor Xuan of Han * Emperor Yuan of Jin * Li Shou, ruler of Cheng Han, a state of Di ethnicity...
(705-710) granted the posthumous title Datong Chanshi(大通禪師) (Greatly Penetrating Dhyāna Master), only the second time in Chinese Buddhism and the first for three hundred years that this imperial honour had been bestowed.
Verse contest
One of the most well-known and cherished stories in Chan is the verse writing contest between Shenxiu and Huineng at Hongren's monastery. The story can be found in the Platform SutraPlatform Sutra
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch , is a Buddhist scripture that was composed in China. It is one of the seminal texts in the Chan/Zen schools. It is centered on discourses given at Shao Zhou temple attributed to the sixth Chan patriarch, Huineng...
of Huineng but whether it actually occurred historically is doubtful. The account given in the Platform Sutra is as follows.
The Fifth Patriarch Hongren, realizing he was coming to the end of his years, instructed his monks to compose a "mind-verse" which would confirm their level of attainment. The winner of the contest would be named Sixth Patriarch and receive the robe of Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...
. None of the monks dared to write anything, deferring to Shenxiu who they believed would be the next Dharma heir.
Shenxiu, full of doubts about his own abilities and with the weight of expectation upon him, finally wrote a verse. Uncertain about his worth as a patriarch, he wrote his verse anonymously on a wall in a corridor of the monastery. Shenxiu's verse read:
-
- The body is the bodhi treeBodhi treeThe Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo , was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya , under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi...
- The mind is like a bright mirror's stand.
- At all times we must strive to polish it
- and must not let dust collect.
- The body is the bodhi tree
Publicly, Hongren praised this verse and instructed all his monks to recite it. Privately, Hongren asked Shenxiu to compose another verse as Hongren believed that Shenxiu's verse did not display true understanding of the Dharma. Shenxiu was unable to compose another verse.
Meanwhile, the illiterate Huineng heard the monks chanting this verse and asked about it. When told the story of Hongren's contest, Huineng asked a monk to take him to the wall where Shenxiu's verse was written. There he asked someone to write his own verse. Huineng's verse read
-
- BodhiBodhiBodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
originally has no tree. - The bright mirror also has no stand.
- Fundamentally there is not a single thing.
- Where could dust arise?
- Bodhi
The account says that publicly Hongren denigrated this verse but later, in private, he taught Huineng the true meaning of the Diamond Sutra, thereby awakening Huineng to the sutra's profound teaching. Hongren gave Huineng the robe of transmission and told him to flee the monastery in secret at night. Huineng thereby became the Sixth and last Patriarch of Chan.
This verse writing contest was used by Shenhui
Shenhui
Heze Shenhui is the founder of the Hezezong branch of Zen, which was active until the end of the Tang dynasty. Hu Shi consider him as the real initiator of Zen to replace Huineng...
(神會)(684-758) (Wade-Giles: Shen-hui; Japanese: Kataku Jinne) to malign Shenxiu and his so-called "Northern School" as being gradualist and was instrumental in the split of Chan into "gradualist" (jian jiao漸教) and "sudden" (dun jiao 頓教) schools.
Teachings
Although Shenxiu was labeled a teacher of the “Northern School”(Beizong 北宗) of Chan in subsequent histories of Chan, he saw himself as teaching in the “East Mountain”(Dongshan 東山) tradition of Hongren. The “Northern School” appellation was applied in the early 730’s by the monk Shenhui who accused Shenxiu of teaching a “gradualist” approach to Chan Buddhism.Shenxiu was highly educated and studied the Buddhist scriptures assiduously. He re-interpreted the scriptures as metaphors of “skilful means” (Sanskrit: upāya
Upaya
Upaya is a term in Mahayana Buddhism which is derived from the root upa√i and refers to a means that goes or brings one up to some goal, often the goal of Enlightenment. The term is often used with kaushalya ; upaya-kaushalya means roughly "skill in means"...
; fangbian 方便) for “contemplation of the mind," (kan xin 看心) advocating the attainment of Buddhahood
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
in all daily activities, here and now. Every act was seen as religious practice. For example, he saw simple activities, like taking a bath, as a religious act. He taught that soap used to clean away dirt “is actually the ability of discrimination by which one can ferret out the sources of evil within oneself.” Cleaning the mouth with toothpicks is “nothing less than the Truth by which one puts an end to false speech.” Overt religious activities such as burning of incense were seen as “the unconditioned Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, which ‘perfumes’ the tainted and evil karma of ignorance and cause it to disappear.”
In meditation practice, Shenxiu taught that the student should develop the innate ability of the mind “to illuminate and understand all things” and to see the emptiness of all things. He taught that there is a profound stillness and tranquility in all things. A “Northern School” text abbreviated as the Five Skillful Means (Wu Fangbian 五方便)states: “in purity there is not a single thing…Peaceful and vast without limit, its untaintedness is the path of bodhi
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
(बोधि). The mind serene and enlightenment distinct, the body’s serenity is the bodhi tree.”
Even though Shenxiu and the “Northern School” were subsequently attacked as teaching a gradualist approach to enlightenment, the Guanxin Lun (觀心論) (Treatise on the Contemplation of the Mind), a Northern text which Zen scholar John McRae claims is “unquestionably written by him [Shenxiu]” (though there is no direct historical evidence) emphatically states: “It does not take long to witness this (i.e., to realize sagehood); enlightenment
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...
is in the instant. Why worry about your white hair (i.e., about your age)?” Shenxiu’s exhortations to constant, unremitting practice gave Shenhui the opening to attack the teaching as “gradualist” (a charge which would ironically apply to the entire Dongshan tradition of the Fourth and Fifth Patriarchs). In any case, the vilification of Shenxiu by Shenhui occurred some thirty years after Shenxiu’s death. During his lifetime, and especially his relatively brief teaching in the capital cities of the Tang Dynasty, Shenxiu’s teachings were received with widespread acceptance and reverence. The influence of Shenxiu’s teachings on subsequent Chan doctrine and practices is still a somewhat open question.
Decline of Northern Chan School
It was the Southern School teaching that has survived to date, creating the myth that Northern Chan was lost over a debate on succession. Though there may be some truth to this account, the historical context shows that the dominance of Southern Chan was largely aided by the regime for political support from lower classes, during the watershed events of the An Shi RebellionAn Shi Rebellion
The An Lushan Rebellion took place in China during the Tang Dynasty from CE December 16, 755 to CE February 17, 763, beginning when general An Lushan declared himself emperor, establishing the rival Yan Dynasty in Northern China...
. Shenhui, a follower of Huineng, gained official support and posthumous recognition as the Seventh Patriarch (which by extension made Huineng the Sixth) through his successful efforts in selling ordination certificates to raise funds for the drained imperial treasury. (If there had been no rebellion, Shenhui would have all likelihood remained in exile for the rest of his life). This led to the waning of Shenxiu's views and the dominance of Shenhui's teachings.
External links
- Legends in Chan: The Northern/Southern Split, Hui-neng and The Platform Sutra
- Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in China:Its History and Method by Hu Shih, Philosophy East and West, Vol.. 3, No. 1 (January, 1953), pp. 3–24