Nanyang Huizhong

Nanyang Huizhong on the DRL

Ordained (Monks and Nuns)

English Phonetics	Nanyang Huizhong
Chinese Script	南陽慧忠
Chinese Transliteration	Nányáng Huìzhōng
Japanese Transliteration	Nanyō Echū
Korean Transliteration	Namyang Hyech'ung

Alternate names

• National Teacher Zhong (Chinese: 忠国师, pinyin: Zhong Guoshi, Japanese: Chū Kokushi)

Dates

Birth:	675
Death:	775
Place of birth:	Zhuji

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Religious Affiliation

Chan

Teachers

Dajian Huineng

Other Biographical info:

Links

Wiki Pages

• Nanyang Huizhong on the DRL
• Nanyang Huizhong on the LIB
• Nanyang Huizhong on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Nanyang Huizhong. (J. Nan'yō Echū; K. Namyang Hyech'ung 南陽慧忠) (675?—775). Chinese Chan master of the Tang dynasty; a native of Yuezhou in present-day Zhejiang province. He is said to have studied under the sixth patriarch (Liuzu) Huineng (638–713) as a youth and to have eventually become one of his dharma successors. After Huineng’s death, Nanyang led an itinerant life, traveling from one monastery to the next until he settled down on Mt. Baiya in Nanyang (present-day Henan province), whence he acquired his toponym. He is said to have remained in seclusion on the mountain for some forty years. In 761, he was invited to the palace by Emperor Suzong (r. 756–762), who honored Nanyang as his teacher. He took up residence at the monastery of Qianfusi, but later moved to Guangzhaisi at the request of Emperor Daizong (r. 762–779). Nanyang later established the monasteries of Yanchangsi and Changshousi and installed a copy of the Buddhist canon (Dazangjing) at each site. Juizong [sic] lived during a period of great efflorescence in the Chan school, but he was not closely identified with any one school. He is, however, said to have been critical of the teachings of the Chan master Mazu Daoyi (709–788) and other Hongzhou zong teachers in Sichuan in the south of China, who rejected the authority of the traditional Buddhist scriptures; he is also said to have criticized the Hongzhou interpretation of "mind is buddha" as being akin to the Śreṇika heresy, in which the body is simply an impermanent vessel for an eternal mind or soul. The notion that "inanimate objects can preach the dharma" (wujing shuofa) is also attributed to Nanyang. ("Nanyang Huizhong." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 572–73. Princeton University Press, 2014)

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
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All beings have Buddha-nature
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If "Qualified", explain:
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Which Wheel Turning
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Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
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Zhentong vs Rangtong
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Promotes how many vehicles?
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
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What is Buddha-nature?
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
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Causal nature of the vajrapāda
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Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.