1、Chapter 1: Chang an and Chinese Buddhist MonkSection 5: The Orthodox from Nan Shan Master DaoxuanDaoxuan was the founder of the Ritsu school, one of the eight sects in ChineseBuddhism.There were many eminent monks in the ancient times.On probing into all dynasties andgenerations,the one who held the
2、 simplest and strictest precept with the utmostdiligence,who made the most contributions to the Rissh and became mostinfluential,would be Master Daoxuan from Tang Dynasty.Master Daoxuan was harsh to himself with the most serious precepts his whole life.Byfollowing the laws of Buddhism, he built ordi
3、nation platforms for people to be initiated intomonkhood.Hespent mostofhis lifetimein Zhongnan Mountain.That s why he was called the Nan Shan ancestor of Ritsu. The school he founded isalso calledthe Nan Shan Rissh orRitsu School.Reincarnation of Three LivesMaster Daoxuan was originally from Changch
4、eng, Wuxing (now in Changxing, Zhejiangprovince). His family had been working for the imperial government for generations.In orderto run away from turmoil, his father moved to Chang an.Daoxuanwas born inChang an.The birth ofDaoxuan wasquite legendary.Asis record:Daoxuans mother had a dream about bei
5、ng pregnant after holding the fallen moonfrom the starry night. She also dreamed about a monk suggesting her baby become a monk.(TheBiographyofEminentMonksinSongDynastyVol.14)Daoxuan s mother had a dream about being pregnant after holding a fallen moonfrom the starry night.Then she had another dream
6、 about a monk from the west.He said thatthe baby she carried was Master Sengyou from Liang Dynasty.And Master Sengyou wasalso the other life of Monk Nanqi.After giving birth to this baby,you should let him become amonk.Heneeds to promote the Buddhism and makeit thrive.This was the story of Daoxuan s
7、 three lives.The story of three lives, made Daoxuan sbirth more mysterious.Behind the story, what it was trying to imply is that Master Daoxuancame with his own mission.His whole life was ready to dedicate to carry forward theBuddhism precepts.Master Daoxuanwas incredibly smartwhen he wasa kid.He st
8、arted reading all kinds of books when he was 15 years old.He gradually grew aninterest in Buddhist Scriptures.When he was 16 years old, he convinced his parents,and came to the Riyan Temple inChang an.He then learnt from the most famous Ritsu Master Zhijun.Not for long, he wasinspired to become a mo
9、nk.Master Zhijun was so knowledgeable and strict to himself,andhe spokehighly ofDaoxuan.He pouredhis heartand soulon Daoxuan.When Daoxuan was 20 years old, he went to the Dachanding Temple,and began tolearn precepts from Master Zhishou. This had laid a very good foundation to his dedicationinRitsu l
10、ater.strict rules of preceptsMaster Daoxuan focused more on the actual practices of precepts. Therefore, he haddeeper understanding than the other monks,in terms of following the precepts. He held theviewpoints in Satyasiddhi-sastra inesteem:Precepts are like catching a thief, samadhi is like tying
11、up a thief and wisdom is likekillingathief.(ACopyofSimplifiedShibunritsuVol.5)Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom are all about Buddhism.Daoxuan regarded greed,hatred and ignorance, the Three Poisons,as thieves. Then how to deal with thesethieves?Buddhism hada set ofuniqueways.The first step is to follow t
12、he precepts.Following the precepts could stop a person frombeing corrupted.As long as all precepts are followed,the agitated heart would slow downgradually.This is likecatching a thief successfully.The second step was to study samadhi.Through samadhi, you needed to let your heartgo somewhere peacefu
13、l and fixed.This was like tying up a thief. He couldn t run away.Andthat slike doing samadhi ina fixed place.Of course, the third step is to open the door of wisdom.The wisdom in precepts,samadhi and wisdom means to open wisdom. When the wisdom got triggered,all of yourdoubts and sadness would compl
14、etely be wiped out.This is likekilling a thief.That s why wisdom is like killing a thief. In these three steps,Following precepts is themost basic and fundamental part of all. Without the strict rules of precepts, it would besuper hardfor you to cultivate samadhiand wisdom.The core of following prec
15、epts is the heart control.We can only precede to samadhi andwisdom by packing our hearts in a right place,and protecting our bodies well. So inSurangama Sutra, it says,Followingprecepts needsheartcontrol, doingsamadhineedstheresultoffollowingprecepts;andtriggeringwisdomneedsthefruitfromsamadhi.(Sura
16、ngamaSutraVol.6)The Essence of PreceptsThere circulated widely a beautifulstory between Master Daoxuan and Master Kuiji,Master Daoxuan was very strict with the precepts. Every noon, he would be providedwith delicious meals. Master Kuiji never got the chance to taste it. The Deva didnt show upbecause
17、 of the arrival of Mahayana Buddhist. (The Biography of the Monk and Deva Vol.6theBiographyofKuiji)As thisstory beingcirculated,a lot ofinteresting detailswere added.Master Daoxuan was always very strict with the precepts. Every noon,The Deva wouldprovide him with delicious meals.After hearing this,
18、 Master Kuiji thought that he had alreadytasted all the delicious food everywhere.The meals provided by the Deva were the only foodhe hadn t tried.It would be so awesome to have a taste of it.Then he set off to ZhongnanMountainand paid a visit to Daoxuan.When the lunch time came,the Deva didn t brin
19、g the meal over. They waited till theevening and theDeva still didn t show up.When the time came for them to sleep,Daoxuan was still sitting up and meditating.ButKuiji fell asleep on the bed within a second.His posture in his sleep was super impolite andhe even snored.The next morning, Daoxuan criti
20、cized Kuiji and said,As a monk, you shouldbe strict with yourself in any minute.You didn t want to sit and meditate, then you had tosleep in a good posture.The posture of your sleeping was not only impolite,but you alsosnored thewhole night.Master Kuiji smiled and said,Hey, what about you?You were s
21、o loud last night.I barelyslept.Last night, a flee bit you,and you caught the flea.Even though you didn t kill it,youstill put it on the ground, and one of its legs was broken. The flea was in pain and criedthrough the night.It was so loud that I could not sleep tight.It was your fault.After hearing
22、this,MasterDaoxuan thought itwas a very magical state of mind.Herealized itwas his fault.At the next day,Master Kuiji didn t wait for the Deva and left.He left Zhongnan Mountainand wentback to Chang an.This time, the Deva brought the lunch on time.Daoxuan asked the Deva about why hedidn t come at al
23、l yesterday. The Deva said he planned to come on time.But due to thearrival of the Mahayana Buddhist,this whole mountain was full of the other devas.It wasprotectedso wellthatmy powerwasn tstrong enoughto get through.Daoxuan finally understood the whole thing.The actual state of mind of Kuiji is sou
24、nreachable.Through this,He felt different and reached to a whole new level of theprecepts.It turned out that following the preceptsby reaching thesurface isnever enough.It needed us to protect our minds and bodies from the inside.And that s the essence ofprecepts.Outstanding ContributionsMaster Daox
25、uan elaborated specifically about the traditional literatures on precepts.He made specific rules in promoting and following the precepts.He also built ordinationplatforms andlaid down rules based on the spiritof precepts.The main achievements of Master Daoxuan in precepts lies in his outsetting andd
26、eveloping of Shibunritsu.Apart from these,the historical literatures from Daoxuan also made huge contributionsto the Chinese Buddhism. Daoxuan wrote a lot in the Jingye Temple. They are all of greatvalue.The importantones includes:1. The Continuation of Eminent Monks 30 VolThe story began from Liang
27、 Dynasty and ended at the 19th year of Emperor Zhenguan(645). This book had specific themes and beautiful phrases. It became the model for thenextgenerations if they everwanted to write something aboutthat.2. The Collection of the Triratna 3 VolIt recorded the triad of the Buddha, the dharma, and th
28、e sangha,as well as all thestrangestories around the country.3. Kwong Hung Ming Set 30 VolIt collected valuable Buddhism theses, argumentations, and imperial edict from Weiand Jin Dynastyto Sui and TangDynasty.They are important books and records for researches on the core value of Buddhism of thisd
29、uration.4. The Collection of on the Balance between Buddhism and Taoism in Ancientand Modern 4 VolIt recorded the arguments between Buddhism and Taoism, and the emperorsattitude towards Buddhism and Taoism from Emperor Ming of Eastern Han Dynasty toEmperor Taizong in Tang Dynasty. It is an important
30、 work for researches on the history ofBuddhism and Taoism.All the books of Master Daoxuan, kept so many valuable historical materials,and has avery high value for researches on the history of Chinese Buddhism.Zan Ning, the author ofthe Biography of Eminent Monks in Song Dynasty, praised Master Daoxu
31、an and said,All ofhisgreatworkswouldpassontothefuturegenerationsforever.Award from the EmperorAt the time when Master Daoxuan passed away,Emperor Gaozong issued an edict thatevery temple in this country, need to draw Master Daoxuan s image on the wall to mournand learn from his noble actions due to
32、his extraordinary contributions in promotingprecepts. Meanwhile, Emperor Gaozong also demand the famous sculptor, Han Botong, tosculptDaoxuan a statue.When it was the time of Emperor Muzong,he wrote a speech for Master Nan Shanparticularlyto summarize and praisethis founder ofRissh . It writes,Maste
33、r Daoxuan was the greatest master ever. His writings were incredible. Werespected him and adored him. May he rest in peace.(Chronicle of the Buddha and thePatriarchsVol.29)Emperor Muzong admired Master Daoxuan very much,and regarded him as theTathagata messenger.He awoke people. Even the ghosts resp
34、ected him.His goodreputation was heard all over the country.His excellent choices of words surprised thewhole world.He was like the sun setting down the west.His theory would pass down to generations,here to there.As for such a respectful man in this era,I will show much respect andadmiration.This s
35、peech not only showed the Emperor s affirmation to Daoxuan saccomplishment,butalso showed his unwillingness and sadness ofhis passing away.The Ritsu schoolofChinese Buddhism wasfoundedby Daoxuan.The precepts and regulations of the Buddhism system at home and abroadall use thepreceptsof theJingye Templein Nan Shan as the standard.Master Daoxuan devoted his lifelong energy in promoting the precepts,and writingbooks about disciplines and lives of monks. Until today, following these precepts strictly isstill themain guarantee forthe developmentofthe monks in promoting theBuddhism.
