Dajian Huineng ;, commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan, is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism.
24 Facts About Huineng
2.
Huineng is regarded as the founder of the "Sudden Enlightenment" Southern Chan school of Buddhism, which focuses on an immediate and direct attainment of Buddhist enlightenment.
3.
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch is attributed to a disciple of Huineng named Fahai and purports to be a record of Huineng's life, lectures and interactions with disciples.
4.
One day, Huineng delivered firewood to a customer's shop, where he met a man reciting the Diamond Sutra.
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Huineng's customer paid his ten silver taels and suggested that he meet the Fifth Patriarch of Chan.
6.
Huineng reached Huangmei thirty days later, and expressed to the Fifth Patriarch his specific request of attaining Buddhahood.
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Since Huineng came from Guangdong and was physically distinctive from the local Northern Chinese, the Fifth Patriarch Hongren questioned his origin as a "barbarian from the south," and doubted his ability to attain enlightenment.
8.
Huineng impressed Hongren with a clear understanding of the ubiquitous Buddha nature in everyone, and convinced Hongren to let him stay.
9.
Huineng was told to split firewood and pound rice in the backyard of the monastery and avoid going to the main hall.
10.
Huineng decided to pass down his robe and teachings to the winner of the contest, who would become the Sixth Patriarch.
11.
Two days later, the illiterate Huineng heard Shenxiu's stanza being chanted by a young attendant at the monastery and inquired about the context of the poem.
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Huineng asked to be led to the corridor, where he could pay homage to the stanza.
13.
Huineng asked a low-ranking official named Zhang Riyong from Jiangzhou to read the verse to him, and then immediately asked him to write down a stanza that he composed.
14.
Huineng's verse apply the rhetoric of emptiness to undercut the substantiality of the terms of that formulation.
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Huineng explained to Huineng that the Dharma was transmitted from mind to mind, whereas the robe was passed down physically from one patriarch to the next.
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Huineng immediately responded with a clear understanding of Hongren's purpose in doing so, and demonstrated that he could ferry to "the other shore" with the Dharma that had been transmitted to him.
17.
Huineng helped him reach enlightenment and continued on his journey.
18.
Huineng claimed Huineng to be the successor to Hongren, instead of the then publicly recognized successor Shenxiu:.
19.
Shenhui was the first person to claim that Huineng was both a saint and a hero.
20.
An epitaph of Huineng, inscribed by the established poet Wang Wei reveals inconsistencies with Shenhui's account of Huineng.
21.
Ricci told the European readers the story of Huineng, describing him as akin to a Christian ascetic.
22.
Huineng holds an ax in his right hand, and extends his left arm to steady a stalk of bamboo while scrutinizing it.
23.
Huineng wears a shirt with sleeves rolled up, which is suggested by the crease at the edges of the shoulders.
24.
Similarly, The Sixth Patriarch Tearing a Sutra adopts a similar style in portraying the same figure, Huineng, performing a different mundane action.