Fazang was the third of the five patriarchs of the Huayan school. He is said to have authored over a hundred volumes of essays and commentaries. He is famed for his empirical demonstrations in the court of Empress Wu Zetian. His essays "On a Golden Lion" and "On a Mote of Dust" are among the most celebrated ruminations from the Hua-yen school. Huayan school.
Scholars have observed the influence of Taoism on , and Fazang is believed to have drawn on a mode of thought derived from the I Ching.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Empress Zhang (Suzong)
Empress Zhang was an empress of the Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of and gained great power during his reign, in alliance with the eunuch Li Fuguo, but eventually she and Li Fuguo turned against each other late in Emperor Suzong's reign, as the emperor grew gravely ill. Zhang tried to have Li Fuguo put to death, but instead was captured and killed by Li Fuguo.
The future Empress Zhang's family was originally from Deng Prefecture . Her grandmother Lady Dou was a younger sister of Consort Dou, a concubine of , whose son later became emperor . Consort Dou was put to death by Emperor Ruizong's mother Wu Zetian in 693, while Li Longji was just eight. Lady Dou spent much time raising Li Longji, and later, after Emperor Ruizong returned to the throne in 710, he created Lady Dou the Lady of Deng and honored her greatly. Her sons Zhang Quhuo , Zhang Quyí , Zhang Qushe , Zhang Quyì , and Zhang Quying all became key officials, and Zhang Quyì would become the father of the future Empress Zhang.
During Emperor Xuanzong's ''Tianbao'' era , the future Empress Zhang was selected to be a concubine for Emperor Xuanzong's son and crown prince , and she carried the title of ''Liangdi'', the highest rank for the Crown Prince's concubines. It was said that after he was forced to divorce his wife Crown Princess Wei in 746, she became his favorite consort. She was said to be intelligent and well-spoken, and she knew how to please him.
In 755, the general An Lushan launched a major rebellion against Emperor Xuanzong's rule, and in 756 was approaching the capital Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong and Li Heng to flee. On the way to Jiannan Circuit , however, Li Heng left Emperor Xuanzong's train and instead, following the suggestion of his son Li Tan the Prince of Jianning, decided to head for important border military outpost Lingwu to gather troops there to prepare for counterattack. On the way there, he had very few guards, and at night, Consort Zhang would always sleep to the outside of the Crown Prince. When Li Heng told her, "It is not a woman's responsibility to fight the bandits," she responded, "I am afraid that sudden disaster would occur. If it does, I can use my body to shield you, and Your Royal Highness can get away." Once they got to Lingwu, she gave birth to a child, but immediately got up just three days after birth to sew clothes for soldiers. When Li Heng asked her to rest, she responded, "This is no time for me to be idle." He thereafter favored her even more. She would eventually bear two sons for him, Li Shao and Li Tong .
Soon after Li Heng arrived in Lingwu, the officials and generals there urged him to take the throne, and he did . He considered creating Consort Zhang empress, but at the advice of his key advisor , decided that it was inappropriate to do so before he had a chance to seek the approval of Emperor Xuanzong . Meanwhile, however, around this time Emperor Xuanzong sent her a saddle with seven kinds of jewels studded on it as a gift. Li Mi opined that in the difficult times, it would be inappropriate for her to use such a luxurious item, and therefore suggested instead that the jewels be removed and rewarded to those soldiers with accomplishments. Emperor Suzong agreed -- and Li Tan publicly praised the decision, causing Consort Zhang to thereafter bear much resentment toward Li Mi and Li Tan. Meanwhile, she entered into an alliance with Emperor Suzong's trusted eunuch Li Fuguo, and together the two became powerful inside the palace, purportedly carrying out much misdeeds. Li Tan considered trying to kill them, and despite Li Mi's advice to the contrary, Li Tan did not stop his planning. In 757, Consort Zhang and Li Fuguo struck first, accusing Li Tan of plotting to kill his older brother the Prince of Guangping, and Emperor Suzong, believing their accusation, forced Li Tan to commit suicide. This caused Li Chu and Li Mi to be fearful of her as well, although at Li Mi's urging, Li Chu did not himself try to kill them. Later that year, after a joint Tang-Huige force recaptured Chang'an under Li Chu's command, she was resentful of Li Chu's accomplishment and therefore spread rumors about Li Chu. Li Mi took this opportunity to resign to become a hermit, but before doing so, urged Emperor Suzong strongly not to listen to false accusations against Li Chu.
In winter 757, after Emperor Suzong returned to Chang'an, he created Consort Zhang the imperial consort rank of ''Shufei'' , the second highest rank for imperial concubines, but did not immediately create her empress. He also created her sons Li Shao the Prince of Xing and Li Tong the Prince of Ding. Her sisters were created ladies, and her brothers Zhang Qing and Zhang Qian married the Ladies Da'ning and Yanhe, respectively. Emperor Suzong created her empress in spring 758.
After Empress Zhang became empress, she tried to have her son Li Shao, who was said to be only a few years old, made crown prince. Emperor Suzong, who favored Li Chu as crown prince, could not decide immediately, but after consulting with the official , he created Li Chu crown prince later in 758 and changed Li Chu's name to Li Yu. She nevertheless thereafter tried to have Li Yu replaced with Li Shao, but after Li Shao died in 760, because Li Tong was even younger, Li Yu's position was secure.
Throughout the years, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo's alliance held, and in 760, they together persuaded Emperor Suzong to acquiesce to forcibly moving Emperor Xuanzong, who was then at his preferred subsidiary palace Xingqing Palace , back to the main palace, and exiling Emperor Xuanzong's staff members. However, as of spring 762, when both Emperors Xuanzong and Suzong were seriously ill, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo had begun to be rivals. She summoned Li Yu and tried to persuade him to join her in killing Li Fuguo and his ally Cheng Yuanzhen. Li Yu declined, and she instead tried to persuade his younger brother Li Xi the Prince of Yue, to join her. Li Xi agreed. (Her biographies in ''Book of Tang'' and the ''New Book of Tang'' also indicated that she offered to make Li Xi emperor. Empress Zhang issued an order in Emperor Suzong's name, summoning Li Yu. Cheng found out and informed Li Fuguo, who intercepted Li Yu at the palace gate and then escorted him to the camp of the imperial guards under Li Fuguo's command. The guards under LI Fuguo's command then entered the palace and arrested Empress Zhang and Li Xi; the other eunuchs and fled, leaving Emperor Suzong without care. On May 16, Emperor Suzong died, and Li Fuguo thereafter executed Empress Zhang and Li Xi, as well as Li Xian the Prince of Yan, and then declared Li Yu emperor . Many of her associates were executed, while Zhang Qing, Zhang Qian, and her uncle Dou Lüxin were exiled. She was posthumously demoted to commoner rank.
Background
The future Empress Zhang's family was originally from Deng Prefecture . Her grandmother Lady Dou was a younger sister of Consort Dou, a concubine of , whose son later became emperor . Consort Dou was put to death by Emperor Ruizong's mother Wu Zetian in 693, while Li Longji was just eight. Lady Dou spent much time raising Li Longji, and later, after Emperor Ruizong returned to the throne in 710, he created Lady Dou the Lady of Deng and honored her greatly. Her sons Zhang Quhuo , Zhang Quyí , Zhang Qushe , Zhang Quyì , and Zhang Quying all became key officials, and Zhang Quyì would become the father of the future Empress Zhang.
As princely consort
During Emperor Xuanzong's ''Tianbao'' era , the future Empress Zhang was selected to be a concubine for Emperor Xuanzong's son and crown prince , and she carried the title of ''Liangdi'', the highest rank for the Crown Prince's concubines. It was said that after he was forced to divorce his wife Crown Princess Wei in 746, she became his favorite consort. She was said to be intelligent and well-spoken, and she knew how to please him.
In 755, the general An Lushan launched a major rebellion against Emperor Xuanzong's rule, and in 756 was approaching the capital Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong and Li Heng to flee. On the way to Jiannan Circuit , however, Li Heng left Emperor Xuanzong's train and instead, following the suggestion of his son Li Tan the Prince of Jianning, decided to head for important border military outpost Lingwu to gather troops there to prepare for counterattack. On the way there, he had very few guards, and at night, Consort Zhang would always sleep to the outside of the Crown Prince. When Li Heng told her, "It is not a woman's responsibility to fight the bandits," she responded, "I am afraid that sudden disaster would occur. If it does, I can use my body to shield you, and Your Royal Highness can get away." Once they got to Lingwu, she gave birth to a child, but immediately got up just three days after birth to sew clothes for soldiers. When Li Heng asked her to rest, she responded, "This is no time for me to be idle." He thereafter favored her even more. She would eventually bear two sons for him, Li Shao and Li Tong .
As imperial consort
Soon after Li Heng arrived in Lingwu, the officials and generals there urged him to take the throne, and he did . He considered creating Consort Zhang empress, but at the advice of his key advisor , decided that it was inappropriate to do so before he had a chance to seek the approval of Emperor Xuanzong . Meanwhile, however, around this time Emperor Xuanzong sent her a saddle with seven kinds of jewels studded on it as a gift. Li Mi opined that in the difficult times, it would be inappropriate for her to use such a luxurious item, and therefore suggested instead that the jewels be removed and rewarded to those soldiers with accomplishments. Emperor Suzong agreed -- and Li Tan publicly praised the decision, causing Consort Zhang to thereafter bear much resentment toward Li Mi and Li Tan. Meanwhile, she entered into an alliance with Emperor Suzong's trusted eunuch Li Fuguo, and together the two became powerful inside the palace, purportedly carrying out much misdeeds. Li Tan considered trying to kill them, and despite Li Mi's advice to the contrary, Li Tan did not stop his planning. In 757, Consort Zhang and Li Fuguo struck first, accusing Li Tan of plotting to kill his older brother the Prince of Guangping, and Emperor Suzong, believing their accusation, forced Li Tan to commit suicide. This caused Li Chu and Li Mi to be fearful of her as well, although at Li Mi's urging, Li Chu did not himself try to kill them. Later that year, after a joint Tang-Huige force recaptured Chang'an under Li Chu's command, she was resentful of Li Chu's accomplishment and therefore spread rumors about Li Chu. Li Mi took this opportunity to resign to become a hermit, but before doing so, urged Emperor Suzong strongly not to listen to false accusations against Li Chu.
In winter 757, after Emperor Suzong returned to Chang'an, he created Consort Zhang the imperial consort rank of ''Shufei'' , the second highest rank for imperial concubines, but did not immediately create her empress. He also created her sons Li Shao the Prince of Xing and Li Tong the Prince of Ding. Her sisters were created ladies, and her brothers Zhang Qing and Zhang Qian married the Ladies Da'ning and Yanhe, respectively. Emperor Suzong created her empress in spring 758.
As empress
After Empress Zhang became empress, she tried to have her son Li Shao, who was said to be only a few years old, made crown prince. Emperor Suzong, who favored Li Chu as crown prince, could not decide immediately, but after consulting with the official , he created Li Chu crown prince later in 758 and changed Li Chu's name to Li Yu. She nevertheless thereafter tried to have Li Yu replaced with Li Shao, but after Li Shao died in 760, because Li Tong was even younger, Li Yu's position was secure.
Throughout the years, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo's alliance held, and in 760, they together persuaded Emperor Suzong to acquiesce to forcibly moving Emperor Xuanzong, who was then at his preferred subsidiary palace Xingqing Palace , back to the main palace, and exiling Emperor Xuanzong's staff members. However, as of spring 762, when both Emperors Xuanzong and Suzong were seriously ill, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo had begun to be rivals. She summoned Li Yu and tried to persuade him to join her in killing Li Fuguo and his ally Cheng Yuanzhen. Li Yu declined, and she instead tried to persuade his younger brother Li Xi the Prince of Yue, to join her. Li Xi agreed. (Her biographies in ''Book of Tang'' and the ''New Book of Tang'' also indicated that she offered to make Li Xi emperor. Empress Zhang issued an order in Emperor Suzong's name, summoning Li Yu. Cheng found out and informed Li Fuguo, who intercepted Li Yu at the palace gate and then escorted him to the camp of the imperial guards under Li Fuguo's command. The guards under LI Fuguo's command then entered the palace and arrested Empress Zhang and Li Xi; the other eunuchs and fled, leaving Emperor Suzong without care. On May 16, Emperor Suzong died, and Li Fuguo thereafter executed Empress Zhang and Li Xi, as well as Li Xian the Prince of Yan, and then declared Li Yu emperor . Many of her associates were executed, while Zhang Qing, Zhang Qian, and her uncle Dou Lüxin were exiled. She was posthumously demoted to commoner rank.
Empress Wei (Zhongzong)
Empress Wei was an empress of the dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of , who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power. After Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710 -- a death traditionally believed to be a poisoning carried out by her and her daughter the Princess Anle -- she initially took power as empress dowager, but in short order was overthrown and killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's nephew and Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping.
It is not known when Empress Wei was born. During the reign of her husband's grandfather , her grandfather Wei Hongbiao served as the military advisor to Emperor Taizong's son Li Ming the Prince of Cao. Sometime during the time when Emperor Zhongzong, then using the name Li Zhe, was crown prince, he married her as his second wife (as his first wife, Princess Zhao, was starved to death when her mother Princess Changle offended Li Zhe's mother and crown princess. At the time that they were married, Li Zhe's father promoted her father Wei Xuanzhen from being the military advisor to the prefect of Pu Prefecture to be the much more important post of being prefect of Yu Prefecture . In 682, she gave birth to their only son, . Sometime during her stint as crown princess, she also gave birth to at least one daughter and possibly another .
Emperor Gaozong died in late 683, and Li Zhe took the throne . However, actual power was in the hands of his mother Empress Wu, now empress dowager. In spring 684, Emperor Zhongzong created Crown Princess Wei empress. He soon wanted to promote Wei Xuanzhen to be ''Shizhong'' , the head of the examination bureau of government and a post considered one for a . This move, as well as another wish of his -- to make the son of his wet nurse an official of the fifth rank -- were opposed by the chancellor Pei Yan. As they argued, Emperor Zhongzong, in anger, remarked:
Pei, in fear, informed this to Empress Dowager Wu. Just less than two months after Emperor Zhongzong had taken the throne, Empress Dowager Wu summoned the officials and generals and issued an edict deposing Emperor Zhongzong and reducing to the title of Prince of Luling. She instead created his younger brother the Prince of Yu emperor . Li Chongzhao, who had been given the title of Deputy Crown Prince by Emperor Gaozong, was reduced to commoner rank, and Wei Xuanzhen, along with his family, were exiled to Qin Prefecture . Empress Dowager Wu soon ordered that Li Zhe and his family first be delivered to Fang Prefecture , and then Jun Prefecture , to be held under house arrest at the house that his uncle Li Tai had been placed after Li Tai was deposed in 643.
Li Zhe was constantly in fear in exile, as Empress Dowager Wu had previously shown willingness to kill her own children -- having forced his older brother to commit suicide in 684 and having been rumored to have poisoned another older brother, Li Hong, in 675 -- and whenever there would be imperial messengers arriving from then-capital Luoyang, he would consider committing suicide, fearing that they brought orders for even worse fates. Princess Wei would repeatedly tell him:
At this point, they were deeply in love with each other, and at another point, he told her:
While they in exile, she gave birth to their youngest daughter, -- whose name Guo'er meant, "child who was wrapped" and referred to how, when she was born, Li Zhe was required to take off his shirt and wrap her in the shirt. Li Zhe and Princess Wei both greatly favored this child born in distress.
Meanwhile, while Li Zhe and Princess Wei were in exile, so were Wei Xuanzhen and his family. After Wei Xuanzhen died soon thereafter, a local tribal chief, Ning Chengji , demanded to marry Princess Wei's younger sister. When Princess Wei's mother Lady Cui refused, Ning killed her and her four sons Wei Xun , Wei Hao , Wei Dong , and Wei Ci .
While Li Zhe and Princess Wei were in exile, Empress Dowager Wu had, in 690, forced Li Zhe's brother Li Dan to yield the throne to her, interrupting Tang Dynasty and establishing her own Zhou Dynasty with her as "emperor" . She created the now-removed Li Dan as her crown prince, but constantly suspected him of secretly plotting against her, and in 693, she killed his wife and concubine Consort Dou, and further investigated him for treason, stopping the investigation only when his servant, An Jinzang , cut open his own belly to swear that Li Dan would never commit treason. She nevertheless repeatedly consider replacing him with her nephews Wu Chengsi the Prince of Wei and Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang.
By 698, however, the chancellor Di Renjie had convinced Wu Zetian that it was to her sons, not her nephews, that she should turn for support. Di's fellow chancellors Wang Fangqing and Wang Jishan, as well as Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and her confidant Ji Xu also supported the idea of summoning Li Zhe from exile. In spring 698, Wu Zetian summoned Li Zhe and his family back to Luoyang.
Once Li Zhe was back in Luoyang, Li Dan offered to yield the crown prince position to his older brother, and Wu Zetian agreed. In fall 698, she created Li Zhe crown prince and had him change his name back to the original name Li Xiǎn . Princess Wei again became crown princess. Her son Li Chongzhao -- who had by now changed his name to Li Chongrun to observe naming taboo for Wu Zetian's personal name Zhao -- was created the Prince of Shao.
Meanwhile, Wu Zetian, in her old age, had entrusted much of the affairs of state to Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong -- something that Li Chongrun discussed with his sister Li Xianhui and her husband, Wu Zetian's grandnephew Wu Yanji the Prince of Wei at times. Zhang Yizhi found out and informed Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian, believing that she was being criticized, in fall 701, ordered Li Chongrun, Li Xianhui, and Wu Yanji to commit suicide. Li Chongrun's death would leave Crown Princess Wei without a son, as his other sons Li Chongfu, Li Chongjun, and were all born of concubines.
In spring 705, with Wu Zetian being ill, the officials Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji initiated a coup and killed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. They forced Wu Zetian to yield the throne back to Wu Xiǎn, and he returned to the throne, restoring Tang Dynasty. He created Crown Princess Wei empress again. He also posthumously honored her father Wei Xuanzhen as the Prince of Shangluo and her mother Lady Cui as the Princess of Shangluo, reburying them in grand ceremonies. In addition, he posthumously honored Li Chongrun as Crown Princess Yide and Li Xianhui as Princess Yongtai, reburying them with ceremonies due emperors.
Zhang Jianzhi and his colleagues next wanted to suppress the power of that the Wu clan princes had, but at this time, Emperor Zhongzong's concubine , who had been Wu Zetian's secretary and who had carried on an affair with Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi, helped kindle an affair between Wu Sansi and Empress Wei as well. Wu Sansi became a trusted advisor of Emperor Zhongzong. Meanwhile, Empress Wei disliked her husband's son Li Chongfu the Prince of Qiao , and falsely accused him of being implicit in Li Chongrun's death; Emperor Zhongzong responded by exiling Li Chongfu to Jun Prefecture to serve as prefect. It was said that both Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er were powerful and corrupt, offering offices for sale and influencing legal decisions. it was even said that Li Guo'er often wrote edicts in Emperor Zhongzong's name, and then covered up the contents and had him sign them -- and that he would do so despite not reading the edicts. She also requested to be made his heir, as crown princess -- which would be an unprecedented act in Chinese history, although he declined and created her brother Li Chongjun crown prince instead.
Wu Sansi and Empress Wei, who despised Zhang and his colleagues, accused them of being overly arrogant in light of their achievements, and at Wu Sansi's suggestion, Emperor Zhongzong created Zhang, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, Yuan Shuji, and Cui Xuanwei princes, ostensibly to honor them, but instead was intending to remove them from positions of power. Soon, the five princes were made prefectural prefects and sent out of Luoyang.
In spring 706, after Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao , who despised Empress Wei and Wu Sansi, was accused of plotting to kill them, Empress Wei and Wu Sansi took this opportunity to implicate Jing, Cui, Huan , Yuan, and Zhang, of being involved in the plot, and had them further reduced to be prefectural military advisors in distant prefects. Wu Sansi then intentionally inflamed Emperor Zhongzong by having people publicly accuse Empress Wei of adultery and then accusing the five princes of this. Emperor Zhongzong responded by ordering the five of them permanently exiled; Wu then sent the official Zhou Lizhen to have the five of them killed cruelly .
Meanwhile, to avenge her mother's and brothers' deaths, Empress Wei had Emperor Zhongzong order Zhou Rengui , the commandant at Guang Prefecture , to attack Ning Chengji and his brothers; Zhou defeated Ning and slaughtered his people. In gratitude, Empress Wei bowed to Zhou, honoring him like a father, and Emperor Zhongzong created Zhou the Duke of Ru'nan.
Despite Li Chongjun's status as crown prince, Li Guo'er and her husband Wu Chongxun often humiliated and harassed him, sometimes referring to him as a slave. Further, Li Guo'er was continuing to try to persuade Emperor Zhongzong to depose Li Chongjun and create her crown princess instead. Li Chongjun finally erupted in anger in fall 707, rising with the ethnically Mohe general Li Duozuo and Emperor Zhongzong's cousin Li Qianli the Prince of Cheng. Li Chongjun's forces killed Wu Sansi and Wu Chengxu, and next headed to the palace, hoping to capture Consort Shangguan and Empress Wei. However, after Li Duozuo's son-in-law Ye Huli was killed by the eunuch guard commander Yang Sixu , Li Chongjun's army collapsed, and he was soon killed by his own subordinates.
It was said by 708, Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, Empress Wei's other daughter Princess Changning, Consort Shangguan, Empress Wei's sister Lady of Cheng, Consort Shangguan's mother Lady Zheng, along with senior Ladies Chai and Helou, the sorceress Diwu Ying'er , and Lady Zhao of Longxi, were all powerful and corrupt, selling offices at will. They, along with Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping, were often involved in partisan struggles, a phenomenon that Emperor Zhongzong was concerned about, but could do little to curb. Empress Wei's power was such that around the new year 709, when Emperor Zhongzong offered to have her old wet nurse Lady Wang marry the widower chancellor , Dou, seeing the opportunity for even more power, gleefully agreed notwithstanding Lady Wang's otherwise low status. Meanwhile, Empress Wei and the Princesses Changning and Anle were also building many Buddhist temples.
By fall 710, it was said that Empress Wei had been having affairs with the officials Ma Qinke and Yang Jun , and Ma and Yang were concerned that if the affairs became known they would be killed. Meanwhile, Li Guo'er hoped that if Empress Wei became the sovereign she would be crown princess. They conspired to poison a cake, and after Emperor Zhongzong ate the cake, he died, on July 3, 710. Empress Wei did not initially announce his death, but instead a number of her cousins in charge of the imperial guards, to secure power, before she announced Emperor Zhongzong's death two days after his death. By an edict that Princess Taiping and Consort Shangguan drafted , Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen was created crown prince, and Li Chongmao then took the throne on July 8. Empress Wei retained power as empress dowager.
Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Wei's clan members, along with the chancellor Zong Chuke, Wu Yanxiu, and other officials Zhao Lüwen and Ye Jingneng were advising her to take the throne, like Wu Zetian did, and they also advised her to eliminate Li Dan and Princess Taiping. The official Cui Riyong leaked their plan to Li Dan's son the Prince of Linzi. Li Longji responded by conspiring with Princess Taiping, Princess Taiping's son Xue Chongjian , as well as several low level officials close to him -- Zhong Shaojing, Wang Chongye , Liu Youqiu, and Ma Sizong -- to act first. Meanwhile, Empress Wei's nephews Wei Bo and Gao Song , who had recently been put in command of imperial guards and who had tried to establish their authority by dealing with the guards harshly, had alienated the guards, and the guard officers Ge Fushun , Chen Xuanli , and Li Xianfu thereafter also joined the plot.
Without first informing Li Dan, the conspirators rose on July 21, first killing Wei Bo, Gao, and Empress Wei's cousin Wei Gui . They then attacked the palace. When Empress Dowager Wei panicked and fled to an imperial guard camp, a guard beheaded her. Li Guo'er, Wu Yanxiu, and Lady Helou were killed as well. Li Longji soon slaughtered a number of officials in Empress Dowager's faction as well as her clan, while displaying Empress Dowager Wei's body on the street. At the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi, Li Dan soon took the throne from Li Chongmao and again became emperor . Empress Dowager Wei was posthumously reduced to commoner rank. Emperor Ruizong still buried her with honors, but not with honors due an empress, but rather with honors due an official of the first rank.
First stint as crown princess
It is not known when Empress Wei was born. During the reign of her husband's grandfather , her grandfather Wei Hongbiao served as the military advisor to Emperor Taizong's son Li Ming the Prince of Cao. Sometime during the time when Emperor Zhongzong, then using the name Li Zhe, was crown prince, he married her as his second wife (as his first wife, Princess Zhao, was starved to death when her mother Princess Changle offended Li Zhe's mother and crown princess. At the time that they were married, Li Zhe's father promoted her father Wei Xuanzhen from being the military advisor to the prefect of Pu Prefecture to be the much more important post of being prefect of Yu Prefecture . In 682, she gave birth to their only son, . Sometime during her stint as crown princess, she also gave birth to at least one daughter and possibly another .
First stint as empress
Emperor Gaozong died in late 683, and Li Zhe took the throne . However, actual power was in the hands of his mother Empress Wu, now empress dowager. In spring 684, Emperor Zhongzong created Crown Princess Wei empress. He soon wanted to promote Wei Xuanzhen to be ''Shizhong'' , the head of the examination bureau of government and a post considered one for a . This move, as well as another wish of his -- to make the son of his wet nurse an official of the fifth rank -- were opposed by the chancellor Pei Yan. As they argued, Emperor Zhongzong, in anger, remarked:
Pei, in fear, informed this to Empress Dowager Wu. Just less than two months after Emperor Zhongzong had taken the throne, Empress Dowager Wu summoned the officials and generals and issued an edict deposing Emperor Zhongzong and reducing to the title of Prince of Luling. She instead created his younger brother the Prince of Yu emperor . Li Chongzhao, who had been given the title of Deputy Crown Prince by Emperor Gaozong, was reduced to commoner rank, and Wei Xuanzhen, along with his family, were exiled to Qin Prefecture . Empress Dowager Wu soon ordered that Li Zhe and his family first be delivered to Fang Prefecture , and then Jun Prefecture , to be held under house arrest at the house that his uncle Li Tai had been placed after Li Tai was deposed in 643.
In exile
Li Zhe was constantly in fear in exile, as Empress Dowager Wu had previously shown willingness to kill her own children -- having forced his older brother to commit suicide in 684 and having been rumored to have poisoned another older brother, Li Hong, in 675 -- and whenever there would be imperial messengers arriving from then-capital Luoyang, he would consider committing suicide, fearing that they brought orders for even worse fates. Princess Wei would repeatedly tell him:
At this point, they were deeply in love with each other, and at another point, he told her:
While they in exile, she gave birth to their youngest daughter, -- whose name Guo'er meant, "child who was wrapped" and referred to how, when she was born, Li Zhe was required to take off his shirt and wrap her in the shirt. Li Zhe and Princess Wei both greatly favored this child born in distress.
Meanwhile, while Li Zhe and Princess Wei were in exile, so were Wei Xuanzhen and his family. After Wei Xuanzhen died soon thereafter, a local tribal chief, Ning Chengji , demanded to marry Princess Wei's younger sister. When Princess Wei's mother Lady Cui refused, Ning killed her and her four sons Wei Xun , Wei Hao , Wei Dong , and Wei Ci .
While Li Zhe and Princess Wei were in exile, Empress Dowager Wu had, in 690, forced Li Zhe's brother Li Dan to yield the throne to her, interrupting Tang Dynasty and establishing her own Zhou Dynasty with her as "emperor" . She created the now-removed Li Dan as her crown prince, but constantly suspected him of secretly plotting against her, and in 693, she killed his wife and concubine Consort Dou, and further investigated him for treason, stopping the investigation only when his servant, An Jinzang , cut open his own belly to swear that Li Dan would never commit treason. She nevertheless repeatedly consider replacing him with her nephews Wu Chengsi the Prince of Wei and Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang.
By 698, however, the chancellor Di Renjie had convinced Wu Zetian that it was to her sons, not her nephews, that she should turn for support. Di's fellow chancellors Wang Fangqing and Wang Jishan, as well as Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and her confidant Ji Xu also supported the idea of summoning Li Zhe from exile. In spring 698, Wu Zetian summoned Li Zhe and his family back to Luoyang.
Second stint as crown princess
Once Li Zhe was back in Luoyang, Li Dan offered to yield the crown prince position to his older brother, and Wu Zetian agreed. In fall 698, she created Li Zhe crown prince and had him change his name back to the original name Li Xiǎn . Princess Wei again became crown princess. Her son Li Chongzhao -- who had by now changed his name to Li Chongrun to observe naming taboo for Wu Zetian's personal name Zhao -- was created the Prince of Shao.
Meanwhile, Wu Zetian, in her old age, had entrusted much of the affairs of state to Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong -- something that Li Chongrun discussed with his sister Li Xianhui and her husband, Wu Zetian's grandnephew Wu Yanji the Prince of Wei at times. Zhang Yizhi found out and informed Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian, believing that she was being criticized, in fall 701, ordered Li Chongrun, Li Xianhui, and Wu Yanji to commit suicide. Li Chongrun's death would leave Crown Princess Wei without a son, as his other sons Li Chongfu, Li Chongjun, and were all born of concubines.
In spring 705, with Wu Zetian being ill, the officials Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji initiated a coup and killed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. They forced Wu Zetian to yield the throne back to Wu Xiǎn, and he returned to the throne, restoring Tang Dynasty. He created Crown Princess Wei empress again. He also posthumously honored her father Wei Xuanzhen as the Prince of Shangluo and her mother Lady Cui as the Princess of Shangluo, reburying them in grand ceremonies. In addition, he posthumously honored Li Chongrun as Crown Princess Yide and Li Xianhui as Princess Yongtai, reburying them with ceremonies due emperors.
Second stint as empress
Zhang Jianzhi and his colleagues next wanted to suppress the power of that the Wu clan princes had, but at this time, Emperor Zhongzong's concubine , who had been Wu Zetian's secretary and who had carried on an affair with Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi, helped kindle an affair between Wu Sansi and Empress Wei as well. Wu Sansi became a trusted advisor of Emperor Zhongzong. Meanwhile, Empress Wei disliked her husband's son Li Chongfu the Prince of Qiao , and falsely accused him of being implicit in Li Chongrun's death; Emperor Zhongzong responded by exiling Li Chongfu to Jun Prefecture to serve as prefect. It was said that both Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er were powerful and corrupt, offering offices for sale and influencing legal decisions. it was even said that Li Guo'er often wrote edicts in Emperor Zhongzong's name, and then covered up the contents and had him sign them -- and that he would do so despite not reading the edicts. She also requested to be made his heir, as crown princess -- which would be an unprecedented act in Chinese history, although he declined and created her brother Li Chongjun crown prince instead.
Wu Sansi and Empress Wei, who despised Zhang and his colleagues, accused them of being overly arrogant in light of their achievements, and at Wu Sansi's suggestion, Emperor Zhongzong created Zhang, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, Yuan Shuji, and Cui Xuanwei princes, ostensibly to honor them, but instead was intending to remove them from positions of power. Soon, the five princes were made prefectural prefects and sent out of Luoyang.
In spring 706, after Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao , who despised Empress Wei and Wu Sansi, was accused of plotting to kill them, Empress Wei and Wu Sansi took this opportunity to implicate Jing, Cui, Huan , Yuan, and Zhang, of being involved in the plot, and had them further reduced to be prefectural military advisors in distant prefects. Wu Sansi then intentionally inflamed Emperor Zhongzong by having people publicly accuse Empress Wei of adultery and then accusing the five princes of this. Emperor Zhongzong responded by ordering the five of them permanently exiled; Wu then sent the official Zhou Lizhen to have the five of them killed cruelly .
Meanwhile, to avenge her mother's and brothers' deaths, Empress Wei had Emperor Zhongzong order Zhou Rengui , the commandant at Guang Prefecture , to attack Ning Chengji and his brothers; Zhou defeated Ning and slaughtered his people. In gratitude, Empress Wei bowed to Zhou, honoring him like a father, and Emperor Zhongzong created Zhou the Duke of Ru'nan.
Despite Li Chongjun's status as crown prince, Li Guo'er and her husband Wu Chongxun often humiliated and harassed him, sometimes referring to him as a slave. Further, Li Guo'er was continuing to try to persuade Emperor Zhongzong to depose Li Chongjun and create her crown princess instead. Li Chongjun finally erupted in anger in fall 707, rising with the ethnically Mohe general Li Duozuo and Emperor Zhongzong's cousin Li Qianli the Prince of Cheng. Li Chongjun's forces killed Wu Sansi and Wu Chengxu, and next headed to the palace, hoping to capture Consort Shangguan and Empress Wei. However, after Li Duozuo's son-in-law Ye Huli was killed by the eunuch guard commander Yang Sixu , Li Chongjun's army collapsed, and he was soon killed by his own subordinates.
It was said by 708, Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, Empress Wei's other daughter Princess Changning, Consort Shangguan, Empress Wei's sister Lady of Cheng, Consort Shangguan's mother Lady Zheng, along with senior Ladies Chai and Helou, the sorceress Diwu Ying'er , and Lady Zhao of Longxi, were all powerful and corrupt, selling offices at will. They, along with Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping, were often involved in partisan struggles, a phenomenon that Emperor Zhongzong was concerned about, but could do little to curb. Empress Wei's power was such that around the new year 709, when Emperor Zhongzong offered to have her old wet nurse Lady Wang marry the widower chancellor , Dou, seeing the opportunity for even more power, gleefully agreed notwithstanding Lady Wang's otherwise low status. Meanwhile, Empress Wei and the Princesses Changning and Anle were also building many Buddhist temples.
By fall 710, it was said that Empress Wei had been having affairs with the officials Ma Qinke and Yang Jun , and Ma and Yang were concerned that if the affairs became known they would be killed. Meanwhile, Li Guo'er hoped that if Empress Wei became the sovereign she would be crown princess. They conspired to poison a cake, and after Emperor Zhongzong ate the cake, he died, on July 3, 710. Empress Wei did not initially announce his death, but instead a number of her cousins in charge of the imperial guards, to secure power, before she announced Emperor Zhongzong's death two days after his death. By an edict that Princess Taiping and Consort Shangguan drafted , Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen was created crown prince, and Li Chongmao then took the throne on July 8. Empress Wei retained power as empress dowager.
As empress dowager
Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Wei's clan members, along with the chancellor Zong Chuke, Wu Yanxiu, and other officials Zhao Lüwen and Ye Jingneng were advising her to take the throne, like Wu Zetian did, and they also advised her to eliminate Li Dan and Princess Taiping. The official Cui Riyong leaked their plan to Li Dan's son the Prince of Linzi. Li Longji responded by conspiring with Princess Taiping, Princess Taiping's son Xue Chongjian , as well as several low level officials close to him -- Zhong Shaojing, Wang Chongye , Liu Youqiu, and Ma Sizong -- to act first. Meanwhile, Empress Wei's nephews Wei Bo and Gao Song , who had recently been put in command of imperial guards and who had tried to establish their authority by dealing with the guards harshly, had alienated the guards, and the guard officers Ge Fushun , Chen Xuanli , and Li Xianfu thereafter also joined the plot.
Without first informing Li Dan, the conspirators rose on July 21, first killing Wei Bo, Gao, and Empress Wei's cousin Wei Gui . They then attacked the palace. When Empress Dowager Wei panicked and fled to an imperial guard camp, a guard beheaded her. Li Guo'er, Wu Yanxiu, and Lady Helou were killed as well. Li Longji soon slaughtered a number of officials in Empress Dowager's faction as well as her clan, while displaying Empress Dowager Wei's body on the street. At the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi, Li Dan soon took the throne from Li Chongmao and again became emperor . Empress Dowager Wei was posthumously reduced to commoner rank. Emperor Ruizong still buried her with honors, but not with honors due an empress, but rather with honors due an official of the first rank.
Dongshan Shouchu
Dongshan Shouchu was a Zen teacher and an heir to Yunmen Wenyan. Dongshan is the subject of Case 18 "Three Pounds of Flax" in the Mumonkan, a collection of authored by in 1228.
Daman Hongren
Daman Hongren was the 5th Chan Chán Patriarch in the traditional lineage of Chinese Chan. He is said to have received Dharma transmission from Daoxin and passed on the symbolic bowl and robe of transmission to Huineng, the Sixth and last Chan Patriarch. As with all the early Chan patriarchs, many of the details of Hongren’s life are uncertain and much of his biography is layered with legend added well after his death. The following biography is based on Chan traditional sources.
Hongren was born in Huangmei with the family name Chou and one source says that his father abandoned the family but Hongren displayed exemplary filial duty in supporting his mother. However, at the age of either seven or twelve, Hongren left home to become a monk and began his studies under Daoxin.
The following legendary meeting between Daoxin and Hongren is recorded in the ''Transmission of Light'' .
:Daoxin met Hongren on a road in Huangmei. Daoxin asked his name. Hongren replied, “I have essence but it is not a common name.” The Chan master asked, “What name is it?” Hongren said, “It is the essence of Buddhahood.” Daoxin replied, “Have you no name?” Hongren said, “None, because essence is empty.” With this, Daoxin passed on the teaching and the robe .
Hongren stayed with Daoxin until the latter’s death in 651. Presumably, he was with Daoxin when the master was at Ta-lin ssu on Mount Lou and followed him to Mount Shuangfeng, one of the “twin peaks” of Huangmei. Later tradition has it that Hongren, after Daoxin’s death, moved the community of monks to Dong- Shan, “”, the easterly of the “twin peaks”. The teachings of Daoxin and Hongren became known as the “East Mountain Teachings” .
The Ch’üan fa pao chi , written approximately 712, says that Hongren was quiet and withdrawn, diligent in his menial labors, and sat in meditation throughout the night. He “never looked at the Buddhist scriptures” but understood everything he heard. After some ten years of teaching, the record claims that “eight or nine of every ten ordained and lay aspirants in the country had studied under him.”
Although the ''Records of the Teachers and Disciples of the Lankavatara'' claim that Hongren’s father abandoned the family, Chan scholar John McRae points out that Hongren’s residence was converted to a monastery, implying that Hongren’s family was probably wealthy and prominent locally. Furthermore, mention of Hongren doing menial labour would only be of significance if this were unusual, indicating that Hongren was of upper-class birth.
Hongren was a brilliant Chan master and was significant in the development of early Chinese Chan. The teachings of both Daoxin and Hongren became known as the “East Mountain Teachings”, but Hongren was the more prominent of the two. He was held in high esteem by later Chan figures in the ancient capital cities of Chang'an and Luoyang in the early eighth century, when Chan moved from a rural base to the centre of Chinese power in the major urban areas and the imperial court. The East Mountain Teachings were seen as the “authentic” Chan Buddhist teachings, promoted by Hongren’s student, Shenxiu , the most prominent Buddhist monk of his time. Hongren’s significance can be noted by the fact that a compilation of his teachings, presumably shortly after his death, the ''Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind'', is the earliest collection of the teachings of a Chan master.
Although Hongren’s students included Vinaya specialists, sutra translators, and Lotus Sutra and Pure Land devotees, Hongren’s teaching focused on meditation practice. According to the ''Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind'', Hongren's basic teaching was that the Pure Mind was obscured by “discriminating thinking, false thoughts, and ascriptive views.” Eliminating false thoughts and maintaining a constant awareness of one’s natural enlightenment ensures Nirvana naturally arises.
Two meditation techniques are specifically mention in the Treatise. Hongren is said to have instructed, "Look to where the horizon disappears beyond the sky and behold the figure ''one''. … It is good for those beginning to sit in meditation, when they find their mind distracted, to focus their mind on the figure ''one''."
He also taught that the meditator should observe the mental processes within: "View your own consciousness tranquilly and attentively, so that you can see how it is always moving, like flowing water or a glittering mirage. …until its fluctuations dissolve into peaceful stability. This flowing consciousness will disappear like a gust of wind. When this consciousness disappears, all one’s illusions will disappear along with it…"
*Ferguson, Andy Zen’s Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachings, ISBN 0 86171 163 7
Biography
Hongren was born in Huangmei with the family name Chou and one source says that his father abandoned the family but Hongren displayed exemplary filial duty in supporting his mother. However, at the age of either seven or twelve, Hongren left home to become a monk and began his studies under Daoxin.
The following legendary meeting between Daoxin and Hongren is recorded in the ''Transmission of Light'' .
:Daoxin met Hongren on a road in Huangmei. Daoxin asked his name. Hongren replied, “I have essence but it is not a common name.” The Chan master asked, “What name is it?” Hongren said, “It is the essence of Buddhahood.” Daoxin replied, “Have you no name?” Hongren said, “None, because essence is empty.” With this, Daoxin passed on the teaching and the robe .
Hongren stayed with Daoxin until the latter’s death in 651. Presumably, he was with Daoxin when the master was at Ta-lin ssu on Mount Lou and followed him to Mount Shuangfeng, one of the “twin peaks” of Huangmei. Later tradition has it that Hongren, after Daoxin’s death, moved the community of monks to Dong- Shan, “”, the easterly of the “twin peaks”. The teachings of Daoxin and Hongren became known as the “East Mountain Teachings” .
The Ch’üan fa pao chi , written approximately 712, says that Hongren was quiet and withdrawn, diligent in his menial labors, and sat in meditation throughout the night. He “never looked at the Buddhist scriptures” but understood everything he heard. After some ten years of teaching, the record claims that “eight or nine of every ten ordained and lay aspirants in the country had studied under him.”
Although the ''Records of the Teachers and Disciples of the Lankavatara'' claim that Hongren’s father abandoned the family, Chan scholar John McRae points out that Hongren’s residence was converted to a monastery, implying that Hongren’s family was probably wealthy and prominent locally. Furthermore, mention of Hongren doing menial labour would only be of significance if this were unusual, indicating that Hongren was of upper-class birth.
Hongren’s Teaching
Hongren was a brilliant Chan master and was significant in the development of early Chinese Chan. The teachings of both Daoxin and Hongren became known as the “East Mountain Teachings”, but Hongren was the more prominent of the two. He was held in high esteem by later Chan figures in the ancient capital cities of Chang'an and Luoyang in the early eighth century, when Chan moved from a rural base to the centre of Chinese power in the major urban areas and the imperial court. The East Mountain Teachings were seen as the “authentic” Chan Buddhist teachings, promoted by Hongren’s student, Shenxiu , the most prominent Buddhist monk of his time. Hongren’s significance can be noted by the fact that a compilation of his teachings, presumably shortly after his death, the ''Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind'', is the earliest collection of the teachings of a Chan master.
Although Hongren’s students included Vinaya specialists, sutra translators, and Lotus Sutra and Pure Land devotees, Hongren’s teaching focused on meditation practice. According to the ''Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind'', Hongren's basic teaching was that the Pure Mind was obscured by “discriminating thinking, false thoughts, and ascriptive views.” Eliminating false thoughts and maintaining a constant awareness of one’s natural enlightenment ensures Nirvana naturally arises.
Two meditation techniques are specifically mention in the Treatise. Hongren is said to have instructed, "Look to where the horizon disappears beyond the sky and behold the figure ''one''. … It is good for those beginning to sit in meditation, when they find their mind distracted, to focus their mind on the figure ''one''."
He also taught that the meditator should observe the mental processes within: "View your own consciousness tranquilly and attentively, so that you can see how it is always moving, like flowing water or a glittering mirage. …until its fluctuations dissolve into peaceful stability. This flowing consciousness will disappear like a gust of wind. When this consciousness disappears, all one’s illusions will disappear along with it…"
=Further reading
*Ferguson, Andy Zen’s Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachings, ISBN 0 86171 163 7
Dajian Huineng
Dajian Huineng was a monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition. Huineng is the Sixth Patriarch of Chán Buddhism, as well as the last official patriarch. Since then, there are unofficial "patriarchs" of different lineages derived from Chán. He is known as Daikan Enō in Japan and as Hyeneung in Korea
He is said to have advocated an immediate and direct approach to Buddhist practice and enlightenment, and in this regard, is considered the founder of the "" Southern Chan school of Buddhism. While these are the legendary accounts handed down by the tradition, it is believed by some that the actual history of the situation may have been quite different, to the extent that some believe that the primary work attributed to Huineng, the '''' , which ended up becoming one of the most influential texts in the East Asian meditative tradition, has no true association with him. His foremost students were Nanyue Huairang, Qingyuan Xingsi, Nanyang Huizhong, Yongia Xuanjue and Heze Shenhui.
Huineng was born into the Lu family in 638 A.D. in the town of Xing in province. His father died when he was young and his family was poor, so he did not have the chance to learn to read or write. He may have been a Hmong or a Miao. One day, while he was delivering firewood to an inn, he heard a guest reciting the ''Diamond Sutra'' and he had an awakening. He immediately decided to seek the Way of Buddhahood. The guest gave him ten taels of silver to provide for his mother, and Huineng embarked on his journey. Thus began a remarkable page in Chán history in China.
After travelling for thirty days on foot, Huineng arrived at Huang Mei Mountain, where the Fifth Patriarch Hongren presided.
From Chapter I of the ''Platform Sutra'':
:I then went to pay homage to the Patriarch, and was asked where I came from and what I expected to get from him. I replied, "I am a commoner from Hsin Chou of Kwangtung. I have travelled far to pay you respect and I ask for nothing but Buddhahood." "You are a native of Kwangtung, a barbarian? How can you expect to be a Buddha?" asked the Patriarch. I replied, "Although there are northern men and southern men, north and south make no difference to their Buddha-nature. A barbarian is different from Your Holiness physically, but there is no difference in our Buddha-nature."
:Hongren immediately asked him to do chores in the rice mill. Huineng stayed to chop wood and pound rice for eight months.
One day, Hongren announced,
However, the disciples said to each other that they didn't need to write any gathas, and that surely their teacher and head monk, Venerable Shenxiu, would become the Sixth Patriarch. So only Shenxiu wrote a gatha for Hongren. As the head monk, Shenxiu was well-respected and under great pressure to produce a gatha that would qualify him as the next patriarch. However, he was uncertain as to his own understanding, and eventually decided to write a poem anonymously on the wall in the middle of the night, announcing his authorship only if Hongren approved. It stated:
:''The body is a Bodhi tree,''
:''the mind a standing mirror bright.''
:''At all times polish it diligently,''
:''and let no dust alight.''
When the disciples saw this gatha on the wall, there was a great stir. When Hongren
saw it, he told them, "Practice according to this gatha, you will not fall into the evil realms, and you will receive great benefits. Light incense and pay respect to this gatha, recite it and you will see your essential nature." All the disciples praised and memorized the gatha.
However, privately, Hongren told Shenxiu, "You have arrived at the gate, but haven’t entered it. With this level of understanding, you still have no idea what the supreme Bodhi mind is. Upon hearing my words, you should immediately recognize the original mind, the essential nature, which is unborn and unceasing. At all times, see it clearly in every thought, with the mind free from all hindrances. In the One Reality, everything is real, and all phenomena are just as they are."
Hongren asked Shenxiu to compose another gatha that demonstrated true understanding. Shenxiu tried hard but couldn’t come up with another verse.
When a young novice passed the rice mill chanting Shenxiu's gatha, Huineng immediately
knew this verse lacked true insight. He went to the wall, and asked a district officer there to write a poem of his own for him. The officer was surprised, "How extraordinary! You are illiterate, and you want to compose a poem?" Whereupon Huineng said, "If you seek supreme enlightenment, do not slight anyone. The lowest class may have great insights, and the highest class may commit foolish acts." In veneration, the officer wrote Huineng’s gatha on the wall for him, next to Shenxiu's, which stated:
:''Bodhi is no tree,''
:''nor is the mind a standing mirror bright.''
:''Since all is originally empty,''
:''where does the dust alight?''
:菩提本無樹，
:明鏡亦非台；
:本來無一物，
:何處惹塵埃?
Huineng then went back to rice pounding. However, this gatha created a bigger stir;
everyone was saying, "Amazing! You can’t judge a person by his looks! Maybe he will become a living bodhisattva soon!" However, when the alarmed Hongren came out, he just casually said, "This hasn’t seen the essential nature either," and proceeded to wipe the gatha off with his shoe.
One night, Hongren received Huineng in his abode, and expounded the ''Diamond Sutra'' to him. When he came to the passage, "to use the mind yet be free from any attachment," Huineng came to great enlightenment—that all dharmas are inseparable from the self nature. He exclaimed, "How amazing that the self nature is originally pure! How amazing that the self nature is unborn and undying! How amazing that the self nature is inherently complete! How amazing that the self nature neither moves nor stays! How amazing that all dharmas come from this self nature!"
Hongren told Huineng, "If one recognizes the original mind and the original nature, he
is called a great man, teacher of gods and humans, and a Buddha." He passed the robe and begging bowl as a symbol of the Dharma Seal of Sudden Enlightenment to Huineng.
Although this story is as clearly stated as it can be, it should also be noted that Huineng was not permitted to make himself known as the Sixth Patriarch until later on. This was due to the fear that his fellow monks might be angered that he had been made the Sixth Patriarch and not Shenxiu or one of the other monks that had seniority.
When alive, one keeps sitting without lying down.
When dead, one lies without sitting up.
In both cases, a set of stinking bones!
What has it do with the great lesson of life?
With those who are sympathetic
Let us have discussion on Buddhism.
As for those whose point of view differs from ours
Let us treat them politely and thus make them happy.
disputes are alien to our School,
For they are incompatible with its doctrine.
He is said to have advocated an immediate and direct approach to Buddhist practice and enlightenment, and in this regard, is considered the founder of the "" Southern Chan school of Buddhism. While these are the legendary accounts handed down by the tradition, it is believed by some that the actual history of the situation may have been quite different, to the extent that some believe that the primary work attributed to Huineng, the '''' , which ended up becoming one of the most influential texts in the East Asian meditative tradition, has no true association with him. His foremost students were Nanyue Huairang, Qingyuan Xingsi, Nanyang Huizhong, Yongia Xuanjue and Heze Shenhui.
Biography
Huineng was born into the Lu family in 638 A.D. in the town of Xing in province. His father died when he was young and his family was poor, so he did not have the chance to learn to read or write. He may have been a Hmong or a Miao. One day, while he was delivering firewood to an inn, he heard a guest reciting the ''Diamond Sutra'' and he had an awakening. He immediately decided to seek the Way of Buddhahood. The guest gave him ten taels of silver to provide for his mother, and Huineng embarked on his journey. Thus began a remarkable page in Chán history in China.
After travelling for thirty days on foot, Huineng arrived at Huang Mei Mountain, where the Fifth Patriarch Hongren presided.
From Chapter I of the ''Platform Sutra'':
:I then went to pay homage to the Patriarch, and was asked where I came from and what I expected to get from him. I replied, "I am a commoner from Hsin Chou of Kwangtung. I have travelled far to pay you respect and I ask for nothing but Buddhahood." "You are a native of Kwangtung, a barbarian? How can you expect to be a Buddha?" asked the Patriarch. I replied, "Although there are northern men and southern men, north and south make no difference to their Buddha-nature. A barbarian is different from Your Holiness physically, but there is no difference in our Buddha-nature."
:Hongren immediately asked him to do chores in the rice mill. Huineng stayed to chop wood and pound rice for eight months.
Becoming the Sixth Patriarch
One day, Hongren announced,
The question of incessant rebirth is a momentous one. Day after day, instead of trying to free yourselves from this bitter sea of , you seem to go after tainted merits only . Yet merits will be of no help if your Essence of Mind is obscured. Go and seek for Prajna in your own mind and then write me a stanza about it. He who understands what the Essence of Mind is will be given the robe and the Dharma , and I shall make him the Sixth Patriarch. Go away quickly.
Delay not in writing the stanza, as deliberation is quite unnecessary and of no use. The man who has realized the Essence of Mind can speak of it at once, as soon as he is spoken to about it; and he cannot lose sight of it, even when engaged in battle.
However, the disciples said to each other that they didn't need to write any gathas, and that surely their teacher and head monk, Venerable Shenxiu, would become the Sixth Patriarch. So only Shenxiu wrote a gatha for Hongren. As the head monk, Shenxiu was well-respected and under great pressure to produce a gatha that would qualify him as the next patriarch. However, he was uncertain as to his own understanding, and eventually decided to write a poem anonymously on the wall in the middle of the night, announcing his authorship only if Hongren approved. It stated:
:''The body is a Bodhi tree,''
:''the mind a standing mirror bright.''
:''At all times polish it diligently,''
:''and let no dust alight.''
When the disciples saw this gatha on the wall, there was a great stir. When Hongren
saw it, he told them, "Practice according to this gatha, you will not fall into the evil realms, and you will receive great benefits. Light incense and pay respect to this gatha, recite it and you will see your essential nature." All the disciples praised and memorized the gatha.
However, privately, Hongren told Shenxiu, "You have arrived at the gate, but haven’t entered it. With this level of understanding, you still have no idea what the supreme Bodhi mind is. Upon hearing my words, you should immediately recognize the original mind, the essential nature, which is unborn and unceasing. At all times, see it clearly in every thought, with the mind free from all hindrances. In the One Reality, everything is real, and all phenomena are just as they are."
Hongren asked Shenxiu to compose another gatha that demonstrated true understanding. Shenxiu tried hard but couldn’t come up with another verse.
When a young novice passed the rice mill chanting Shenxiu's gatha, Huineng immediately
knew this verse lacked true insight. He went to the wall, and asked a district officer there to write a poem of his own for him. The officer was surprised, "How extraordinary! You are illiterate, and you want to compose a poem?" Whereupon Huineng said, "If you seek supreme enlightenment, do not slight anyone. The lowest class may have great insights, and the highest class may commit foolish acts." In veneration, the officer wrote Huineng’s gatha on the wall for him, next to Shenxiu's, which stated:
:''Bodhi is no tree,''
:''nor is the mind a standing mirror bright.''
:''Since all is originally empty,''
:''where does the dust alight?''
:菩提本無樹，
:明鏡亦非台；
:本來無一物，
:何處惹塵埃?
Huineng then went back to rice pounding. However, this gatha created a bigger stir;
everyone was saying, "Amazing! You can’t judge a person by his looks! Maybe he will become a living bodhisattva soon!" However, when the alarmed Hongren came out, he just casually said, "This hasn’t seen the essential nature either," and proceeded to wipe the gatha off with his shoe.
One night, Hongren received Huineng in his abode, and expounded the ''Diamond Sutra'' to him. When he came to the passage, "to use the mind yet be free from any attachment," Huineng came to great enlightenment—that all dharmas are inseparable from the self nature. He exclaimed, "How amazing that the self nature is originally pure! How amazing that the self nature is unborn and undying! How amazing that the self nature is inherently complete! How amazing that the self nature neither moves nor stays! How amazing that all dharmas come from this self nature!"
Hongren told Huineng, "If one recognizes the original mind and the original nature, he
is called a great man, teacher of gods and humans, and a Buddha." He passed the robe and begging bowl as a symbol of the Dharma Seal of Sudden Enlightenment to Huineng.
Although this story is as clearly stated as it can be, it should also be noted that Huineng was not permitted to make himself known as the Sixth Patriarch until later on. This was due to the fear that his fellow monks might be angered that he had been made the Sixth Patriarch and not Shenxiu or one of the other monks that had seniority.
Quotes
When alive, one keeps sitting without lying down.
When dead, one lies without sitting up.
In both cases, a set of stinking bones!
What has it do with the great lesson of life?
With those who are sympathetic
Let us have discussion on Buddhism.
As for those whose point of view differs from ours
Let us treat them politely and thus make them happy.
disputes are alien to our School,
For they are incompatible with its doctrine.
Bianji
Bianji was a Chinese Buddhist monk, translator and the author of ''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions'' lived during the Tang Dynasty. Little is known about his life, he was a translator of several Buddhist scriptures and sutras before he was executed by , who was angry about his affair with Emperor Taizong's daughter Princess Gaoyang.
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