10 Facts About Daman Hongren

Daman Hongren is said to have received Dharma transmission from Dayi Daoxin and passed on the symbolic bowl and robe of transmission to Huineng, the Sixth and last Chan Patriarch.

Daman Hongren was born in Huangmei with the family name Chou.

Daman Hongren's father abandoned the family but Hongren displayed exemplary filial duty in supporting his mother.

Furthermore, mention of Daman Hongren doing menial labour would only be of significance if this were unusual, indicating that Daman Hongren was of upper-class birth.

At the age of either seven or twelve, Daman Hongren left home to become a monk and began his studies under Daoxin, who, according to tradition, immediately recognized his insight:.

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Ch'uan fa pao chi, written approximately 712, says that Daman Hongren was quiet and withdrawn, diligent in his menial labors, and sat in meditation throughout the night.

Daman Hongren “never looked at the Buddhist scriptures” but understood everything he heard.

Daman Hongren was significant in the development of early Chinese Chan.

Teachings of both Daoxin and Daman Hongren became known as the “East Mountain Teachings”, but Daman Hongren was the more prominent of the two.

Daman Hongren was held in high esteem by later Chan-adepts 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.