Yongming Yanshou
永明延壽

Title| Chán master
Personal
Born| 904

Hangzhou or Yuhang

Died| January 29, 976(976-01-29) (aged 71–72)

Hangzhou

Religion| Buddhism
Nationality| Wuyue
School| Chán
Senior posting
Teacher| Tiantai Deshao
Predecessor| Tiantai Deshao

Part of a series on
Zen Buddhism

Main articles

* Zen
* Chinese Chan
* Japanese Zen
* Korean Seon
* Vietnamese Thiền
* Zen in the United States

Teachings

* Emptiness
* Bodhisattva ideal
* Consciousness-only
* Buddha-nature
* Buddhahood
* One Vehicle
* Zen and Sutras
* Doctrinal background of Zen
* Kenshō
* Satori
* Sudden Enlightenment
* Ten Ox-Herding Pictures
* Five ranks of Tozan

Practices

* Zazen
* Six Perfections
* Bodhisattva vow
* Bodhisattva Precepts
* Shikantaza
* Sesshin
* Dhāraṇī
* Walking meditation
* Nianfo Chan
* Koan
* Hua Tou
* Samu (Zen)
* Ōryōki
* Prostration (Buddhism)
* Buddhist chant
* Dharma combat
* Kyōgai
* Zen poetry
* Zen calligraphy

Zen scripture

Indian Mahayana texts

* Prajñaparamita sutras
* Lankavatara Sutra
* Śrīmālādevī Sūtra
* Lotus Sutra
* Vimalakirti Sutra
* Avatamsaka Sutra
* Mahaparinirvana Sutra

Chinese texts

* Two Entrances and Four Practices
* Śūraṅgama Sūtra
* The Awakening of Faith
* Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
* Platform Sutra
* Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall
* Transmission of the Lamp

Traditions

* East Mountain Teaching
* Sanjiejiao
* Oxhead school
* Heze school
* Hongzhou school
* Five Houses of Chán
* Tibetan Chan
* Trúc Lâm
* Plum Village Tradition
* Order of Interbeing
* Jogye Order
* Kwan Um School of Zen
* Taego Order
* Rinzai school
* Sōtō school
* Ōbaku school
* Sanbo Kyodan
* White Plum Asanga
* Ordinary Mind Zen School
* Zen Peacemakers

Persons

Chán in China

Classical

* Bodhidharma
* Hongren
* Shenxiu
* Huineng (Enō)
* Shenhui
* Mazu Daoyi (Baso)
* Shitou Xiqian (Kisen)
* Huangbo
* Dongshan Liangjie (Tozan)
* Xuefeng Yicun (Seppo)
* Linji Yixuan (Rinzai)
* Zongmi
* Yunmen Wenyan (Ummon Bun'en)
* Yongming Yanshou
* Dahui Zonggao (Tahui)

Post-classical

* Zhongfeng Mingben
* Hanshan Deqing

Contemporary

* Taixu
* Xu Yun
* Sheng-yen

Zen in Japan

* Eisai
* Bassui
* Ikkyū
* Bankei
* Hakuin Ekaku
* Dōgen

Seon in Korea

* Taego Bou
* Jinul
* Daewon
* Seongcheol

Thiền in Vietnam

* Trần Thái Tông
* Trần Nhân Tông
* Thích Thanh Từ
* Thích Nhất Hạnh
* Thích Thiên-Ân

Western Zen

* D. T. Suzuki
* Hakuun Yasutani
* Taizan Maezumi
* Shunryū Suzuki
* Hsuan Hua
* Seungsahn
* Sokei-an

Category: Zen Buddhists

Institution

* Dharma transmission
* Zen lineage charts
* Zen ranks and hierarchy
* Zen organisation and institutions
* Zen Narratives

Related schools

* Sānlùn
* Wéishí
* Huayan
* Tiantai
* Shingon
* Tendai
* Pure Land Buddhism

* v
* t
* e

Yongming Yanshou (Chinese: 永明延壽; pinyin: Yǒngmíng Yánshòu; Wade–Giles: Yung-ming Yen-shou; Japanese: 永明延寿 or Yōmyō Enju; Korean: Yǒngmyǒng Yǒnsu; Vietnamese: Vĩnh Minh Diên Thọ) (904–976) was a prominent Buddhist monk during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and early Song Dynasty in China.

## Biography[edit]

Yongming Yanshou is first mentioned in biographical form by Zanning (贊寧) in a work called the Song Biographies of Eminent Monks (Chinese: 宋高僧傳; pinyin: song gaoseng zhuan), which was produced in 988, 12 years after Yanshou's death.[1][2]

Yanshou lived largely during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, in the independent Wuyue kingdom. This age was characterized by nearly continuous warfare and political disorder. The future of Buddhism was especially uncertain during this time due to widespread suppression and sponsored destruction of temples. However, most of this activity took place in the north of China, while Yanshou resided in the independent Wuyue kingdom of the south, which was relatively stable during this time. Furthermore, unlike the trouble Buddhism faced in the north, the ruling Qian family heavily patronized Buddhist and other religious institutions.

He was born in either the capital city of Wuyue, modern-day Hangzhou, or a suburb of it, Yuhang, in the year 904. He would have served as an official before becoming a monk, although the exact nature of the position is disagreed upon in biographical sources. He probably became a monk around 932 under the Zen teacher Ts'ui Yen. At some point he left his initial teacher and went to Mount Tiantai, where his attainment was confirmed by the teacher Tiantai Dehshao. Around 952 he again moved, this time to Mount Xuědòu (雪窦山), where he served as a teacher and apparently attracted many students. He is said to have practiced seated chanting and silent meditation.

In 960, the King of Wuyue, Qian Chu, assigned Yanshou to be the abbot of Lingyin Temple, which the king had recently re-established. Only a year later in 961, the king relocated Yanshou to the newly constructed Yongming Temple, from which he would take his name. Here Yanshou is said to have become very prominent. He received gifts from the King of Korea, Gwangjong of Goryeo, and in return he ordained 36 Korean monks, who then returned home to teach. In 974 he returned to Mount Tiantai, and the following year he died.[2]

## Teachings and influence[edit]

Yongming Yanshou is best known for attempting to synthesize the diverse and seemingly contradictory teachings of the various schools of Buddhism that existed in China. He is often associated with Pure Land Buddhism and Zen, but Pure Land largely formed after his lifetime, and he is largely concerned with Huayan in his writings, equating Huayan as when the teachings on the One Mind relies on doctrine (Yi Jiao) and these teachings are in the form of Chan when this Mind is directly revealed.[3] Because he held views that conflicted with the Rinzai tradition, which came to be the dominant school of Japanese Zen, he has been criticized or marginalized in many later accounts of Zen history. As a result of this, he was largely ignored by Western scholars of Chan in the 20th century, most of whom worked from a Japanese perspective. Nonetheless, recent Western scholarship recognizes his importance, and he has been an enduring influential figure in the eyes of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese branches of Zen, and he is deeply revered in the Pure Land school.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Welter, Albert (2011), Yongming Yanshou's Conception of Chan in the Zongjing Lu: A Special Transmission Within the Scriptures, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-976031-2
2. ^ a b Welter, Albert (1992), The Meaning of Myriad Good Deeds: A Study of Yung-ming Yen-shou and the Wan-shan t'ung-kuei chi, P. Lang, ISBN 978-0-8204-1796-7
3. ^ Zongmi on Chan
4. ^ Welter, Albert (2010), "Yongming Yanshou: Scholastic as Chan Master", in Steven Heine; Dale Wright (eds.), Zen Masters, Oxford University Press, pp. 59–89, ISBN 978-0-19-536764-5

## Further reading[edit]

* Benn, James A (2007), Burning for the Buddha, University of Hawaii Press, pp. 104-131. ISBN 0824823710
* Wu, Zhongwei (2007), The mind as the essence of words: A linguistic philosophical analysis of the classification teaching of Yongming Yanshou. Frontiers of Philosophy in China 2 (3), 336-344 – via JSTOR (subscription required)

* v
* t
* e

Zen

Main articles|

* Zen
* Chan Buddhism
* Korean Seon
* Japanese Zen
* Vietnamese Thiền
* Zen in the United States

Doctrinal background|

* Buddha-nature
* East Asian Yogācāra
* Śūnyatā

Influential Sutras|

* Zen scriptures
* Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
* Diamond Sutra
* Heart Sūtra
* Vimalakirti Sutra
* Avatamsaka Sutra
* Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Teachings|

* Ten Bulls
* Shikantaza
* Five Ranks
* Sudden Enlightenment
* Kenshō
* Satori
* Three Mysterious Gates
* Four Ways of Knowing

Practice|

* Zazen
* Shikantaza
* Koan practice
* Sesshin
* Zazenkai
* Ango

Persons|

| Classical Chan|

* Bodhidharma
* Dazu Huike
* Jianzhi Sengcan
* Dayi Daoxin
* Hongren
* Nanyue Huairang
* Mazu Daoyi
* Baizhang Huaihai
* Huangbo Xiyun
* Linji Yixuan
* Dongshan Liangjie
* Huineng
* Baizhang Huaihai
* Nanyang Huizhong
* Dahui Zonggao
* Xuefeng Yicun
* Yunmen Wenyan
* Dongshan Shouchu
* Yuanwu Keqin
* Qingyuan Xingsi
* Shitou Xiqian
* Yaoshan Weiyan
* Yunyan Tansheng
* Yunju Daoying
* Tongan Daopi
* Tongan Guanzhi
* Liangshan Yuanguan
* Dayang Jingxuan
* Touzi Yiqing
* Furong Daokai
* Danxia Zichun
* Hongzhi Zhengjue
* Wansong Xingxiu
* Zhenxie Qingliao
* Tiantong Zongjue
* Xuedou Zhijian
* Tiantong Rujing
* Xueting Fuyu

|

Modern Lingji|

* Xuyun
* Taixu
* Nan Huai-Chin
* Yuanying
* Benhuan
* Sheng-yen
* Hsing Yun
* Cheng Yen
* Wei Chueh
* Yicheng
* Shi Yinshun

Modern Caodong|

* Xuyun
* Dongchu
* Sheng-yen

Modern Guiyang|

* Xuyun
* Hsuan Hua
* Yicheng
* Chuanyin

Traditional Zen|

* Dōgen
* Hakuin Ekaku

Modern Rinzai|

* Imakita Kosen
* Soyen Shaku
* Sokei-an
* D. T. Suzuki
* Soen Nakagawa
* Keido Fukushima

Modern Sōtō|

* Kōdō Sawaki
* Shunryū Suzuki

Sanbo Kyodan|

* Hakuun Yasutani
* Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle
* Robert Aitken
* Philip Kapleau

White Plum Asanga|

* Taizan Maezumi
* Dennis Merzel

German Zen|

* Karlfried Graf Dürckheim
* Muhō Noelke

Korean Seon|

* Jinul
* Seungsahn
* Seongcheol
* Daewon

Vietnamese Thiền|

* Pháp Hiền
* Vạn Hạnh
* Trần Nhân Tông
* Pháp Loa
* Thích Nhất Hạnh
* Thích Thanh Từ

Chinese Chán|

| Historical sects|

* Five Houses of Chán
* East Mountain Teaching
* Hongzhou school
* Five Houses of Chán
* Fayan school
* Yunmen school

|

Extant sects|

* Linji school
* Caodong school
* Guiyang school

Contemperory Organizations|

* Buddha's Light International Association
* Four Heavenly Kings (Taiwan)
* Dharma Drum Mountain
* Fo Guang Shan
* Tzu Chi Foundation
* Chung Tai Shan
* Dharma Realm Buddhist Association
* City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

Academic organizations|

* Dharma Realm Buddhist University

Japanese Zen|

| Historical sects|

* Nōnin
* Fuke-shū
* Niō Zen

|

Extant sects|

* Sōtō
* Rinzai
* Ōbaku

Lay organizations|

* Sanbo Kyodan
* Ningen Zen Kyodan

Academic organizations|

* Kyoto School

Korean Seon|

| Historical sects|

* Nine mountain schools

|

Contemporary sects|

* Taego Order
* Jogye Order

Vietnamese Thiền|

| Extant sects|

* Trúc Lâm
* Wu Yantong

|

Temple|

* Vạn Hạnh Monastery
* Trúc Lâm Monastery of Da Lat

USA Zen|

| Shunryū Suzuki lineage|

* Shunryū Suzuki
* Zentatsu Richard Baker
* Mel Weitsman
* San Francisco Zen Center
* Tassajara Zen Mountain Center

|

Kōdō Sawaki lineage|

* Kōdō Sawaki
* Antai-ji
* Kōshō Uchiyama
* Shōhaku Okumura

Yasutani lineage|

* Hakuun Yasutani
* Sanbo Kyodan
* Robert Baker Aitken
* John Tarrant
* Taizan Maezumi
* Zen Center of Los Angeles
* White Plum Asanga
* Bernie Glassman
* John Daido Loori
* Geoffrey Shugen Arnold
* Zen Peacemakers
* Joko Beck
* Dennis Merzel
* Kanzeon Zen Center

Philip Kapleau lineage|

* Philip Kapleau
* Rochester Zen Center
* Toni Packer

Other Sōtō lineages|

* Sōyū Matsuoka
* Dainin Katagiri
* Kōbun Chino Otogawa
* Gyokuko Carlson
* Gudō Wafu Nishijima
* Brad Warner

Soen Nakagawa lineage|

* Soen Nakagawa
* Eido Tai Shimano
* Zen Studies Society
* Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji

Other Rinzai or Linji lineages|

* Kyozan Joshu Sasaki
* Omori Sogen
* Shodo Harada
* Keido Fukushima

Pan-lineage|

* Soto Zen Buddhist Association

European Zen|

| Sanbo Kyodan|

* Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle

|

Kōdō Sawaki lineage|

* Taisen Deshimaru

Other Sōtō lineages|

* Houn Jiyu-Kennett
* Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey
* Norwich Zen Buddhist Priory

Zendo Kyodan|

* Shinzan Miyamae Roshi

Other Rinzai or Linji lineages|

* Kaishin Inshu

Hierarchy and titles|

| Novice|

* Unsui
* Buddhist initiation ritual

|

Attendants|

* Jikijitsu
* Jisha

Priest|

* Oshō

Teacher|

* Sensei
* Rōshi
* Zen master

Institutional organisation|

* Zen ranks and hierarchy
* Dharma transmission
* Zen lineage charts

Temples|

| Main Sōtō Temples|

* Eihei-ji
* Sōji-ji
* Antai-ji

|

Main Rinzai Temples|

* Myōshin-ji
* Daitoku-ji
* Tōfuku-ji

Zen literature|

| Classic|

* Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices
* Platform Sutra
* Xinxin Ming
* Sandokai
* Denkoroku
* The Gateless Barrier
* Shōbōgenzō

|

Modern|

* Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
* The Way of Zen
* Three Pillars of Zen

Critical|

* Zen at War

Cultural influence|

* Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Related schools|

* Huayan
* Tiantai
* Pure Land Buddhism

Academic research|

* Heinrich Dumoulin
* Masao Abe
* Steven Heine
* William Bodiford

* Zen Buddhism
* Zen Buddhists
* Zen texts

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF
* 2

National|

* Norway
* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Australia
* Korea
* Netherlands

People|

* Trove

Other|

* IdRef

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template