The Venerable Monk Respected Even by the King of Hell — Master Yongming Yanshou

Yongming Yanshou Chan Master is recognized as the 6th Patriarch of the Pure Land school. He lived in the late Tang and Five Dynasties era, a period of flourishing Buddhist practice in China. It is worth noting that six of the 13 Pure Land patriarchs lived during the Tang and Song dynasties—the highest number of patriarchs from any single era. This underscores the extraordinary prosperity of Buddhism during the Tang and Song, widely regarded as the golden age of Chinese Buddhism. Geographically, the vast majority of these patriarchs came from southern China, with many residing in Hangzhou. Hangzhou is a small city even by modern Chinese standards, yet it was home to multiple Pure Land patriarchs. Yongming Yanshou was a native of Lin'an Prefecture, the name for the region at the time, and formally took refuge in the Buddha’s teachings at a very young age.

When he was 30 years old, the well-known koan associated with him occurred: he practiced daily animal release, and eventually spent his entire personal salary on the practice, even dipping into public funds to support it. He was ultimately arrested, but showed no fear while in custody. He stated that if they beheaded him, it would be the perfect opportunity for him to be reborn in the Pure Land—it was like a person who wants to sleep but lacks a pillow, finally getting exactly what they need to rest. Moved by the depth of Yanshou’s vows, King Wuyue of the Wuyue Kingdom gave up his official position to secure Yanshou’s release. He was later tonsured and ordained as a monk under Master Cuiyan.

He traveled to numerous major sacred sites across the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, and later went to Tianzhu Peak on Mount Tiantai to train under Master Deshao, where he attained spiritual awakening. Following his awakening, he practiced the Lotus Repentance ritual at Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai, another major sacred site for Chan practice. While practicing the repentance, he received a revelation in a dream. Some may dismiss dream revelations as mere fancy, but Master Yanshou had a daily meritorious practice of performing 108 Buddhist rituals, so it is no surprise he received such auspicious signs. There are multiple accounts of this experience: some state that he dreamt Guanyin Bodhisattva poured sweet amṛta (nectar of immortality) into his mouth, and from that moment he was granted great eloquence, able to teach sutras and compose commentaries without obstruction. Another account holds that the lotus flower offered by Samantabhadra Bodhisattva suddenly appeared in his hands within the dream.

Later, at the Zhizhe Chan Courtyard on Mount Tiantai, he drew lots to determine his primary practice path. He prepared two lots: one calling for exclusive dedication to Chan meditation, the other for reciting sutras and accumulating all wholesome deeds, corresponding to Pure Land practice. As the story goes, he drew lots seven consecutive times, and each time he selected the lot for accumulating wholesome deeds. This is why he later wrote a work titled Collection of All Good Deeds Converging in One. As you can see, some matters are truly predetermined by one’s great vows; it is destiny. He also resided at Mount Xuedou, present-day Fenghua, the bodhimaṇḍa of Maitreya Bodhisattva. Later, at the invitation of King Wuyue Zhongyi, he traveled to Lingyin Temple to lead its restoration.

After overseeing the restoration of Lingyin Temple, he relocated to Jingci Temple. Most are familiar with Jingci Temple: it is the site of the famous miracle where the eminent monk Jiguang caused wood to spring from a well, and it is also home to the renowned Nanping Evening Bell. Leifeng Pagoda now stands across from the temple. Master Yanshou took up residence at Jingci Temple and practiced with extraordinary diligence. His most famous works are The Mirror of the Patriarchs’ Teachings (Zongjing Lu) and Collection of All Good Deeds Converging in One, while his standalone treatise is the Fourfold Distinction of Practice (Si Liao Jian).

Master Yongming Yanshou advocated dual practice of Chan and Pure Land. At the time, many held rigid sectarian views, treating the two schools as opposing factions that should be kept separate, but Master Yongming Yanshou set a revolutionary example by integrating Chan and Pure Land instead. This ran counter to the prevailing divisive trend in Chinese Buddhism at the time, steering the broader Buddhist landscape away from a period of vicious sectarian strife toward a positive, unifying era. This is one of Master Yongming Yanshou’s greatest contributions, and it is worth studying for all Buddhist practitioners.

After his parinirvana (passing), his meritorious influence continued to extend throughout the Dharma realm. Later, a monk from Lin'an came to circumambulate Master Yanshou’s stupa daily. When asked why he had suddenly come to accumulate merit there, he explained that he had once fallen gravely ill, and his spirit had traveled to the underworld, where he stood before the King of Hell. He saw the King of Hell bow to a portrait of a patriarch hanging on the wall at a set time every day. When he asked who the patriarch was, he was told it was Master Yongming Yanshou. This shows that even the King of Hell respects his virtue—do you think his virtue was genuine or false? People can lie to other people, but can they lie to the King of Hell? You cannot fool the King of Hell! Even during the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng greatly revered Master Yanshou. Emperor Yongzheng repeatedly praised Master Yongming Yanshou in his work Differentiating Heterodox Teachings to Clarify the True Dharma (Jian Mo Bian Yi Lu), particularly in reference to his Collection of All Good Deeds Converging in One.

Finally, one additional note: the auspicious day we celebrate as Amitabha Buddha’s birthday is in fact Master Yanshou’s birthday. This karmic connection perfectly demonstrates that the Master was another manifestation of Amitabha Buddha in the sahā world.