Yuanwu Keqin 圜悟克勤 (1063–1135) was born in Pengzhou 彭州 in present Sichuan; his family name was Luo 駱. It is said that as a child he could memorize a thousand-character passage in a single day. He became a monk in his early teens after reading Buddhist texts at a temple and feeling a sudden affinity with the teachings.
After studying the precepts and scriptures he suffered a grave illness, thus realizing the futility of attempting to resolve samsara through words. He visited several masters and was praised everywhere as a great vessel of the dharma. He finally came to Wuzu Fayan 五祖 法演 (1024?–1104) of the Yangqi line of Linji Chan. When Fayan refused to sanction his understanding Yuanwu left in anger, upon which Fayan called after him, “Remember me when you are ill with fever!” Soon afterwards, at the monastery on Mount Jin 金, he did, in fact, become gravely ill, and, upon recovery, returned to study under Fayan. After years of training he became Fayan's heir.
In 1102, owing to the illness of his mother, he returned to Sichuan. There he assumed the abbacy of the temple Zhaojue si 昭覺寺 at the invitation of the prefect of Chengdu 成都. After eight years he was asked to become priest of Lingquan yuan 靈泉院 on Mount Jia 夾, and it was there that he gave his famous lectures on the Xuedou baize songgu 雪竇百則頌古, a collection of verse commentaries on koans by Xuedou Chongxian 雪竇重顯 (980–1052) of the Yunmen school. Yuanwu's lectures were later published as the Biyan lu 碧巖錄 (Blue cliff record), which became one of the most important texts for Linji school koan study.
Yuanwu was very successful as a teacher, numbering among his students not only monks but also lay practicers, some of them high government officials. He was granted the title Chan Master Foguo 佛果禪師 by Emperor Huizong 徽宗 (r. 1100–1125), and by imperial command resided at several temples in the north and (following relocation of the capital to the city of Hangzhou in 1127) in the south.
The title Chan Master Yuanwu 圜悟禪師, by which he has been generally known ever since, was conferred upon him by Emperor Gaozong 高宗 (r. 1127–1162). In 1130 Yuanwu returned to the temple Zhaojue si, and there, in 1135, died in the sitting posture after writing his farewell poem. The two most important of his sixteen dharma heirs were Dahui Zonggao and Huqiu Shaolong 虎丘紹隆 (1077–1136), whose line includes all Japanese Rinzai Zen masters.
What a fancy guy Yuanwu was! Not one, but two Emperors gave him nicknames. Can you imagine the President of the United States granting names to religious figures? I wonder how many ahem Imperial favors he had to perform to land that coveted abbacy position...
Submitted November 18, 2017 at 04:09AM by KeyserSozen http://ift.tt/2j4Q2wZ
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