Qingyuan Xingsi

Qingyuan Xingsi
青原行思
TitleChán master
Personal
Born660
Jiangxi, China
Died740
ReligionBuddhism
SchoolChán
Senior posting
TeacherDajian Huineng
PredecessorDajian Huineng
SuccessorShitou Xiqian
Students

Qingyuan Xingsi (Chinese: 青原行思; pinyin: Qīngyuán Xíngsī; Japanese: Seigen Gyōshi; Korean: Chǒngwǒn Haengsa; Vietnamese: Thanh Nguyên Hành Tư) was a Zen Buddhist monk during the Tang dynasty. Three of the five traditionally recognized houses of Zen are commonly believed to have developed out of his lineage: the Caodong/Sōtō, Yunmen/Unmon, and Fayan/Hōgen. There is scant information about his life. He is said to have lived in the Quiet Abode Temple on Mount Qingyuan.[1] The Transmission of the Lamp claims he was Huineng's foremost student, although this was written during the Song dynasty over 200 years after Qingyuan's death.[2]: 48  In fact, in the oldest version of the Platform Sutra found among the Dunhuang manuscripts, which dates to about 850 CE, Qingyuan is not listed as a student of Huineng at all.[3] The earliest source of information about Qingyuan comes from the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, which was completed in 952 by the monk Wendeng.[4]: 63  The scholar Albert Welter suggests that Wendeng may have invented Qingyuan in order to legitimize Shitou Xiqian, Qingyuan's supposed student, and in turn himself since he was descended from Shitou.[4]: 73–75  Shitou's original teacher, Huineng, died when Shitou was only 13, so Qingyuan was necessary for him to receive legitimate dharma transmission.[2]: 48 

  1. ^ Ferguson, Andrew E. (2000), Zen's Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachings, Wisdom Publications, pp. 48–49, ISBN 978-0-86171-163-5
  2. ^ a b Mitchell, James (2005), Soto Zen ancestors in China, San Francisco: Ithuriel's Spear, pp. 48–51, ISBN 978-0-9749502-3-5
  3. ^ McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, p. 82, ISBN 978-0-520-23798-8
  4. ^ a b Welter, Albert (2006), Monks, rulers, and literati: the political ascendancy of Chan Buddhism, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-517521-9