Shítóu Xīqiān (700-790) () was an 8th-century Chinese

Chán Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...

(Zen) Buddhist teacher and author. All existing branches of Zen throughout the world are said to descend either from Shitou Xiqian or from his contemporary

Mazu Daoyi Mazu Daoyi (709–788) (, Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his ''Extensive Records''. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange wo ...

Biography

Life

The details of Shítóu's life are found in traditional biographies. His years of life are conventionally given as 700 to 790. He was born in

Gaoyao County Gaoyao, alternately romanized as Koyiu, is an urban district of Zhaoqing in western Guangdong, China. Population: 706,000. Name Gaoyao—literally "high-&-wanting"—is a former name of the Lingyang Gorge on the Xi River. It was original ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

with the surname Chen. At a young age, he became a student of the great Zen patriarch

Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...

for a short time prior to the latter's death. Shítóu later became a disciple of Huineng's successor, Qingyuan Xingsi. After becoming, in turn, Xingsi's successor, Shítóu resided and taught at

Nantai Temple Nantai Temple () is a Buddhist temple located on Mount Heng, in Nanyue District of Hengyang, Hunan, China. It is considered the ancestral temple of Caodong school, Fayan school and Yunmen school, and has also been classified as a National Key ...

on Mt. Nanyue Heng in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

. There he lived on top of a large rock, hence his first name Shítóu, which translates to "Stone-head." After his death, he was given the honorary posthumous name ''Wuji Dashi'' (無際大師).

Physical remains

There have been a series of disputed claims regarding the current location of Shitou's physical remains. There is a mummy at Mt. Sekito Temple in Japan which is said to be Shítóu's. Various Japanese sources state that this mummy was rescued by a Japanese traveller from a fire at a temple in Hunan during the chaos of the

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

that overthrew the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1911–1912). Chinese sources often state instead that it was stolen by Japanese forces during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

(1937–1945). Researcher James Robson argues that there is little evidence Shitou's body was mummified and that the remains enshrined at Mt. Sekito Temple are likely those of a different monk also named Wuji.

Writings

Shítóu is credited with the authorship of two well-known Zen Buddhist poems. The '' Sandokai'' lays out a comprehensive view of the nature of truth. The '' Song of the Grass Hut'' is a paean to a life of secluded meditation.

Influence

Scholar Mario Poceski writes that Shítóu does not appear to have been influential or famous during his lifetime: Sayings to the effect that Shitou and Mazu were the two great masters of their day date from decades after their respective deaths. Shítóu's retrospective prominence owes much to the importance of

Dongshan Liangjie Dongshan Liangjie (807–869) (; ) was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty. He founded the Caodong school (), which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century (Song-Yuan era) by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. ...

, a 9th-century teacher who traced his lineage back to Shítóu.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shitou, Xiqian Chan Buddhist monks Chinese Zen Buddhists 700 births 790 deaths