Daoxin

Daoxin (J. Dōshin; K. Tosin 道信) (580–651) is regarded as the fourth patriarch of the Chan tradition.

The Princeton Dictionary states:

Little is known of his early training, but early Chan sources such as the Lengqie shizi ji and Chuan Fabao Ji claim that Daoxin studied under Sengcan, the putative third patriarch of Chan and supposed successor to Bodhidharma and Huike, his connection to this dubious figure is tenuous at best, however, and is probably a retrospective creation. The earliest biography of Daoxin, recorded in the Xu gaoseng zhuan (“Supplementary Biographies of Eminent Monks”), not only does not posit any connection of Daoxin to the preceding three patriarchs but does not even mention their names.

The teachings of Daoxin and his student Hongren (the fifth patriarch) became known as the “East Mountain Teachings”.

Further reading

• Dayi Daoxin, Wikipedia

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University