The Guiyang school (, also read Weiyang School) is one of the sects of Chan Buddhism.

History

The Guiyang school was the first established house of the

Five Houses of Chán The Five Houses of Chán (also called the Five Houses of Zen) were the five major schools of Chan Buddhism that originated during Tang China. Although at the time they were not considered formal schools or sects of Buddhism, they are now regarde ...

. Guiyang is named after master Guishan Lingyou (771–854) and his disciple, Yangshan Huiji (813–890). Guishan was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai, the Chan master whose disciples included

Huangbo Xiyun Huángbò Xīyùn (, ja, Ōbaku Kiun) (died 850) was an influential master of Zen Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. Huángbò was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai (720–840), and the teacher of Linji Yixuan (died 866) (Wade–Giles: Lin-chi I- ...

, who in turn taught

Linji Yixuan Linji Yixuan (; ja, 臨済義玄 ''Rinzai Gigen''; died 866 CE) was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Línjì yǔlù Information on Linji is based on the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (臨濟語錄; Japanese ...

, founder of the

Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song d ...

.Ven. Jian Hu. "Buddhism in the Modern World" Stanford University, May 25, 2006, p. 1 After founding the Guiyang School, Yangshan moved his school to what is now modern

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

. The Guiyang school is distinct from the other schools in many ways, notably in its use of esoteric metaphors and imagery in the school's

kōan A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-J ...

s and other teachings.

Lineage

Absorption into the Linji school

Over the course of Song Dynasty (960–1279), the Guiyang school, along with the Fayan and

Yunmen school Yunmen Wenyan (c. 860–949) was a Zen Buddhist master. Yunmen may also refer to: * Yunmen school of Chan Buddhism, named after Yunmen Wenyan *Yunmen, an acupuncture point on the lung meridian * Yunmen Subdistrict () of Hechuan District, Chongq ...

s were absorbed into the

Xuyun Xuyun or Hsu Yun (; 5 September 1840? – 13 October 1959) was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and an influential Buddhist teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries. Early life Xuyun was purportedly born on 5 September 1840 in Fujian, Q ...

attempted to revive these absorbed lineages and succeeded in the case of the Guiyang school.

History

Lineage

Absorption into the Linji school

References

Further reading