Descriptions of practices here are historical and educational, not personal instruction or health advice.
Life
Huineng came from Lingnan in Tang China. According to the traditional biography he was a poor, illiterate woodcutter who was awakened on hearing the Diamond Sutra, went to study under the Fifth Patriarch Hongren and received his transmission. He taught in the south for decades, and his talks were compiled as the Platform Sutra, the only work by a Chinese monk to be called a sutra. He taught that everyone has Buddha-nature and that awakening can happen suddenly, without depending on gradual practice or scripture. Modern scholars note that much of his life story was shaped later, especially by the circle of his disciple Shenhui, but the Platform Sutra's influence on East Asian Chan and Zen is beyond dispute.
The system
- Sudden awakening.
- Self-nature is originally pure: Buddha-nature in everyone.
- Meditation and wisdom as one; 'no-thought' as the core.
Key works
- The Platform Sutra (compiled by disciples)
Where to start
- The Platform Sutra, e.g. Philip Yampolsky's translation of the Dunhuang text (Columbia University Press).
Ask Orin
A question to start with. It opens in Orin ready to edit; nothing is sent until you press Send.
Does Huineng's sudden awakening conflict with daily sitting practice?Ask Orin this question