A Brief Introduction to Master Shenxiu

Master Shenxiu was born in 605 and died in 706, living to the remarkable age of 102 — thirty-five years older than Master Huineng. According to historical records, he studied the classics and histories in his youth before leaving home life behind. At fifty, he sought out Hongren, the Fifth Patriarch of the Chan school, to request the Dharma. An inscription by the Tang official Zhang Yue — the Stele Inscription for Chan Master Datong of Yuquan Temple — describes Shenxiu as "eight feet tall, with broad brows and refined ears, commanding in presence and virtue, a man of sovereign caliber." By all accounts he was an impressive figure — quite a contrast to the modest appearance of the Sixth Patriarch.

After entering Hongren's assembly, Shenxiu "served diligently for six years, without rest by day or night." Hongren held him in the highest regard, praising him as "foremost in penetrating insight and perfect illumination," and declaring that "the Dharma of the East Mountain resides entirely in Shenxiu." He was appointed the assembly's teaching master. Following the Fifth Patriarch's passing, Shenxiu traveled to Dangyang Mountain in Jiangling, where he began to propagate the wondrous Dharma of the East Mountain. Devotees and seekers flocked from every direction, and Dangyang quickly grew into a major center of Chan practice.

In 700, the first year of the Jiushi era — when Empress Wu Zetian held the throne — Shenxiu was already ninety-five years old. The Empress dispatched a special envoy to invite him to the capital. The following year, he arrived in Luoyang, where Empress Wu, setting aside all distinction between sovereign and subject, personally knelt before him in reverence. When the Master gave teachings, he was carried by palanquin into the imperial hall, and the Empress herself led her ministers in kneeling at his side to listen.

Later, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang showed him even greater honor and devotion. During this period, Shenxiu several times expressed his wish to retire and return home, but the Emperor, with the sincerity of a disciple, replied that his own heart was set on revering the Buddha and that he longed constantly to hear the Master's teachings. He entreated Shenxiu, again and again, to let go of any thought of leaving. And so Shenxiu remained, widely propagating the Dharma in Luoyang and Chang'an. He came to be known as "Dharma Master of the Two Capitals, National Preceptor of Three Reigns." He passed into nirvana in the second month of the second year of the Shenlong era at Tiangong Temple in Luoyang. The imperial princess and her husband composed memorial texts, and the court bestowed upon him the posthumous title "Chan Master Datong" — the first figure in the Chan tradition to receive such an imperial honor.

Though the Master commanded the deepest respect of the imperial court throughout his life, he never let it swell his pride. On the contrary, he recommended to Emperor Zhongzong that Master Huineng be invited to the capital. According to the Transmission of the Lamp, Shenxiu's disciples would often ridicule Huineng, sneering that he "couldn't read a single character — what possible gift could he have?" But Shenxiu told them plainly: "Master Huineng has attained wisdom that comes without a teacher. He has deeply realized the Supreme Vehicle. I am not his equal. Moreover, my own teacher, the Fifth Patriarch, personally transmitted to him the robe and the Dharma — and that was surely no empty gesture. I deeply regret that I cannot go and study under him in person, that I can only remain here, receiving the nation's grace in vain. But don't stay here with me. Go to Caoxi, to the Sixth Patriarch, and learn from him. When you return, tell me how the Master teaches the Dharma." From this we can see the depth of Shenxiu's humility — and his wholehearted affirmation and reverence for the Sixth Patriarch's Chan.