Tiantong Rujing
Tiantong Rujing (J. Tendō Nyojō; K. Ch’ŏndong Yŏjŏng 天童如浄) (1163–1228) was a Chinese Chan master of the Caodong zong; he was also known as Jingchang (Pure Chang) and Changweng (Old Man Chang).[1] He received the forename "Tiantong" after the Tiantong Mountain (天童山), where he once dwelled.[1]
Rujing studied under the master Zu’an Zhijian (1105–1192) and eventually became his dharma heir.[1][2]
In 1224, Rujing was appointed as the abbot of the famous monastery of Jingdesi on Mount Tiantong, where the Chan master Hongzhi Zhengjue had once resided.[1]
According to Keizan, when Ruijing became a leader, he didn't put himself above the other monks. He wore the black surplice and robe of a monk. He was given a purple vestment of honor by the emperor of China, but he declined it. Even after reaching enlightenment, he was willing to clean the bathroom.[3]
Rujing taught the Japanese monk Dōgen, who went on to found the Japanese Sōtō Zen tradition based on the teachings he recieved from Rujing.[1][2]
Dōgen regarded himself as Rujing's dharma successor, and he attributed many of the distinctive features of his own approach to practice, such as “just sitting” (shikantaza) and “body and mind sloughed off” (shinjin datsuraku), to Rujing's teachings.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Tiantong Rujing
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ferguson, Andrew E. (2000). Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. Wisdom Publications. p. 454?. ISBN 978-0861711635.
- ↑ Keizan, Jōkin (6 June 1990). Transmission of Light. ISBN 0-86547-433-8.
External links
Rujing, Wikipedia
