X

xiala. (C) (夏臘). See JIELA.

xiangdai miao. (C) (相待妙). See DAIJUE ERMIAO.

xiangfa. (J. zōhō; K. sangpŏp 像法). In Chinese, “semblance dharma” or “counterfeit dharma”; a term related to the Sanskrit SADDHARMAPRATIRŪPAKA. The Sanskrit term has a range of uses, including as a designation for the BUDDHADHARMA after the buddha has passed into PARINIRVĀṆA. In the East Asian context, xiangfa came to designate the second and middle period of a buddha’s teaching. The first period, that of the SADDHARMA (C. zhengfa), is the period of the true dharma after a buddha’s passage into parinirvāṇa, during which time it is still possible to achieve enlightenment by following his teachings. The second period, of xiangfa, is a time during which the achievement of enlightenment is still possible, but the practice of the dharma has generally been reduced to rote repetition of the teachings and practices; there are also signs of laxity in both monastic and lay practice developing during this period. The third period, that of MOFA (cf. SADDHARMAVIPRALOPA), or the final dharma, is a time of degeneration and decline, during which the practice of the dharma is no longer efficacious, due largely to the diminished capacities of humans. This division into three periods of the dharma seems to have originated in China and was widely influential in East Asian Buddhism.

Xiangfa jueyi jing. (J. Zōbō ketsugikyō; K. Sangpŏp kyŏrŭi kyŏng 像法決疑經). In Chinese, the “Scripture on Resolving Doubts Concerning the Semblance Dharma”; an indigenous Chinese Buddhist scripture (see APOCRYPHA), dating from the mid-sixth century. The Xiangfa jueyi jing is set against the background of the Buddha’s PARINIRVĀṆA. At the request of a BODHISATTVA named Changshi (Constant Giving), the Buddha offers instructions on the practice of giving (DĀNA), in which he declares charity to be the most appropriate practice during the age of the semblance dharma (XIANGFA; SADDHARMAPRATIRŪPAKA). The semblance-dharma period is characterized as an age of degeneration, during which both clergy and laity begin to transgress the precepts and slander the Buddha’s teaching. The Xiangfa jueyi jing emphasizes the importance of collective rather than individual giving during this age, and especially giving to the impoverished and underprivileged, rather than just to the three jewels (RATNATRAYA) of Buddhism. These and other ideas from the Xiangfa jueyi jing were especially influential in the teachings of the Third-Stage school (SANJIE JIAO) and that school’s emblematic institution, the WUJINZANG YUAN (inexhaustible storehouse cloister). Such eminent monks as TIANTAI ZHIYI, JIZANG, and HŌNEN also held the Xiangfa jueyi jing in high regard.

Xiangguosi. (相國寺). In Chinese, “Minister of the State Monastery”; located in eastern Henan in the city of Kaifeng. Originally built in 555 CE and named Jianguosi, it was subsequently destroyed during a battle. It then became a private residence and garden; but later, when a monk named Huiyun saw a reflection of a monastery in its garden pool, he collected enough subscriptions to buy the residence and turn it back into a monastery in 711. It was renamed Xiangguosi by the Ruizong emperor of the Tang (r. 684–690, 710–712). The monastery was well supported by Tang and Song emperors, as evidenced by the campus’s extensive grounds and the lavish materials used in its accoutrements, such as using gold dust to decorate images, icons, and paintings. It is well known for its layout, including its use of twin pagodas (STŪPA). Xiangguosi also became famous for its frescoes, painted by famous contemporary artists from the neighboring region. Artists at the Song Painting Academy painted much of the Buddhist imagery at this monastery. Xiangguosi reached the zenith of its influence during the Song dynasty, when it became an outpost for foreign monks visiting China.

xiangjiao. (J. zōkyō; K. sanggyo 像教). In Chinese, “teaching [viz., religion] of images”; a pejorative term coined by Confucians to refer to Buddhism, derived from the emphasis in Buddhism on bowing before images during rituals and ceremonies. Confucianism, in turn, was called the “teaching [viz., religion] of names” (mingjiao), to demonstrate by contrast that it was based on intellectual inquiry and the “rectification of names” (zhengming) rather than on worship of images of Confucius and the teachers within the tradition.

Xiangmo Zang. (T. Bdud ’dul snying po; J. Gōma Zō; K. Hangma Chang 降魔藏) (d.u.). In Chinese, “Demon-Subduer Zang.” Chinese monk and leading disciple of the CHAN master SHENXIU, in the Northern school (BEI ZONG). At an early age, Xiangmo Zang acquired the nickname “demon-subduer” (xiangmo) by dwelling in deserted houses and open fields. Later, he learned to recite the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA and studied the VINAYA after he became a monk. He is said to have had an awakening experience after listening to a lecture on the “theories of the Southern school” (NAN ZONG lun) and, abandoning his scriptural studies, became a student of Shenxiu. As Shenxiu’s disciple, Xiangmo Zang became the target of HEZE SHENHUI’s polemical attack on the Northern school of Chan. Xiangmo Zang also appears in the BSAM GTAN MIG SGRON by GNUBS CHEN SANGS RGYAS YE SHES along with a certain Wolun (d.u.) and MOHEYAN and others of the Northern school, whose teachings may have exerted some influence on MAHĀYOGA in Tibet.

Xiangshansi. (香山寺). In Chinese, “Fragrant Mountain Monastery”; located on SONGSHAN in Ruzhou, Henan province. It is not known when the monastery was first established, but it is thought to have been built c. 516 CE during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–584). One source credits the founding of a Xiangshan monastery in Xiangzhou to a certain general named Liu Qingzhi, but no further mention is made of either the general or the monastery. The current Xiangshansi underwent a major renovation around 1068 during the Northern Song dynasty, and special attention was paid to restoring its Dabei ta (Great Compassion pagoda), which still stands today; housed in the pagoda is a thousand-armed and thousand-eyed form of GUANYIN (SĀHASRABHUJASĀHASRANETRĀVALOKITEŚVARA). Xiangshansi, like SHANG TIANZHUSI, is known for being a major pilgrimage site for Guanyin (AVALOKITEŚVARA) worship. It became associated with the Princess MIAOSHAN incarnation of Guanyin, whose legend is inscribed on a stele at the monastery. The stele was commissioned in 1100 by a minor civil servant, Jiang Zhiqi (1031–1104), who was the prefect of Ruzhou. Jiang had the legend reinscribed on another stele at the Shang Tianzhusi when he moved to Hangzhou four years later.

xiangxu wuchang. (C) (相續無常). See ER WUCHANG.

Xiangyan Zhixian. (J. Kyōgen Chikan; K. Hyangŏm Chihan 香嚴智閑) (d. 898). Chinese CHAN master in the GUIYANG ZONG of the Chan tradition. Zhixian entered the monastery under BAIZHANG HUAIHAI and later became a student of YANGSHAN HUIJI. Zhixian dwelled for a long time at Mt. Xiangyan, whence his toponym. One day while he was sweeping the garden, Zhixian is said to have attained awakening when he heard the bamboo brush against the roof tiles. He is best known for the GONG’AN case “Xiangyan Hanging from a Tree”: A man is dangling by his mouth from the branch of a tall tree, his hands tied behind his back and nothing beneath his feet. Someone comes under the tree branch and asks, “Why did BODHIDHARMA come from the West?” If he keeps his mouth clenched and refuses to answer, he is rude to the questioner; but if he opens his mouth to answer, he will fall to his death. How does he answer? Upon Zhixian’s death, he was given the posthumous title Chan master Xideng (Inheritor of the Lamplight).

xiang zong. (J. sōshū; K. sang chong 相宗). In Chinese, “characteristics school”; also known as the FAXIANG ZONG or “Dharma Characteristics” school. Both these names were used polemically by rival scholiasts to polarize certain trends in Buddhist thought. In distinction to the XING ZONG, or “nature” school, FAZANG in the HUAYAN ZONG uses the term xiang zong to refer to those monk-scholars whose scholarship focused on the changing form of phenomena and reality. Monks of the Faxiang or YOGĀCĀRA tradition tended to be categorized as this characteristics school. Maintaining a strict distinction between the xing and the xiang trends was called xingxiang juepan (differentiation of nature and characteristics), while a scholastic approach that attempted to harmonize the two trends was characterized as xingxiang ronghui (harmonizing nature and characteristics).

Xianzong ji. (J. Kenshūki; K. Hyŏnjong ki 顯宗). In Chinese, “Notes on Revealing the Cardinal Principle,” attributed to HEZE SHENHUI; also known as the Heze dashi xianzong ji (“Notes on Revealing the Cardinal Principle of Great Master Heze”) and Xianzong lun (“Treatise on Revealing the Cardinal Principle”). A simpler version of the Xianzong ji, entitled Dunwu wusheng bore song (“Verses on Sudden Enlightenment, the Unborn, and Prajñā”), was also discovered at DUNHUANG. As the title of the Dunhuang version makes clear, in this treatise Shenhui expounds on the notions of no-thought (WUNIAN), the unborn, or nonarising (ANUTPĀDA), and wisdom (prajñā), which all seem to function as synonyms for emptiness (ŚŪNYATĀ). Shenhui also mentions the Indian patriarch BODHIDHARMA’s transmission of this “secret teaching” to China and his conferral of the patriarchal robe as a mark of transmission. The Xianzong ji was later included in the genealogical history of the Chan tradition, the JINGDE CHUANDENG LU.

Xiaodao lun. (J. Shōdōron; K. Sodo non 笑道論). In Chinese, “Laughing at the Dao Treatise”; an anti-Daoist polemical treatise composed by Zhen Luan (d.u.) and presented to Emperor Wu (r. 560–578) of the Northern Zhou dynasty in 570. In response to the Daoist contentions in the LAOZI HUAHU JING that the Chinese sage Laozi went to India and became ŚĀKYAMUNI Buddha in order to convert the Western barbarians, the Xiaodao lun attempts to expose the inconsistencies in Daoist thought, cosmological perspectives, practice, and ritual, and to demonstrate that the Daoists actually borrowed heavily from Buddhism. The treatise so displeased the emperor that he is said to have immediately ordered the text burned.

xiaoguo. (C) (小過). In Chinese, “minor misdeed.” See DUṢKṚTA.

xiaomiao. (小廟). In Chinese, lit. “small temple”; a Songdynasty term for private monasteries whose control was passed within a single monastic lineage. The term is used in distinction to the large public monasteries, or “monasteries of the ten directions” (SHIFANG CHA).

xiaosheng jiao. (C) (小乘教). See HUAYAN WUJIAO.

xiayu. (C) 下語. See AGYO.

Xiao zhiguan. (C) (小止觀). See XIUXI ZHIGUAN ZUOCHAN FAYAO.

xilai yi. (J. seiraii; K. sŏrae ŭi 西來意). In Chinese, lit. “the meaning of coming from the west”; in CHAN literature, a common allusion to the question “What was the meaning of [Bodhidharma’s] coming from the west?” (xilai yi ruohe), i.e., “Why did BODHIDHARMA, the founding patriarch of Chan, come from India to propagate Chan?” This question was commonly asked in Chan GONG’AN exchanges to test the spiritual depth of a teacher or disciple and as a meditative topic in “questioning meditation” (KANHUA CHAN). The phrase is found in HUANGBO XIYUN’s (d. c. 850) CHUANXIN FAYAO, and the use of the question is well displayed in a famous exchange involving MAZU DAOYI (709–788) and his disciple Hongzhou Shuiliao (d.u.): when Shuiliao asks Mazu this question, Mazu encourages him to come closer, whereupon he kicks him to the ground, and Shuiliao immediately jumps up, enlightened. ZHAOZHOU CONGSHEN’s (778–897) answer to this question is the famous gong’an: “Cypress tree in front of the courtyard” (TINGQIAN BOSHUZI). Some of the other answers that appear in Chan literature include “sitting for a long time is a bother” (BIYAN LU, case no. 17), “there is no meaning in Bodhidharma’s coming from the west” (Biyan lu, case no. 20), and “Zang’s head is white, Hai’s head is black” (Biyan lu, case no. 73).

xilai yi ruohe. (C) (西來意若). See XILAI YI.

Ximingsi. (西明寺). In Chinese, “Luminosity of the West Monastery,” located in the Tang capital of Chang’an (presentday Xi’an). There are two founding narratives. The first credits the Gaozong emperor (r. 649–683) with establishing the monastery at his old residence in 658 and installing DAOXUAN (596–667), founder of the Nanshan VINAYA school (NANSHAN LÜ ZONG), as its abbot. It is there that Daoxuan is said to have compiled the DA TANG NEIDIAN (“Great Tang Catalogue of Inner [viz., Buddhist] Classics”) as an inventory of scriptures for the newly established library at the monastery. Daoxuan also assisted XUANZANG (600/602–664) in translating preceptive texts, collaborated with his brother Daoshi (d. c. 683) in publishing VINAYA texts, and wrote his collection of essays in defense of Buddhism entitled the GUANG HONGMING JI. A second narrative instead credits Xuanzang with founding the monastery. According to this story, the grounds were originally the residence of an imperial prince, and at first it was proposed to build both a Buddhist and a Daoist monastery there. After Xuanzang surveyed the site, he pronounced the site too small for two establishments, and thus only a Buddhist monastery was built. When Xuanzang settled there, the Gaozong emperor (r. 649–683) is said to have donated land, silk, and cotton to sustain it. ¶ Regardless of which account is correct, Ximingsi quickly became a major center of Buddhist scholarship and housed the most comprehensive library of Buddhist texts in the country. The monastery is said to have been built to match the dimensions of JETAVANA in India and, at one point, housed sixty-four cloisters. Because of its location in the Tang capital, several eminent monks resided and worked there. For example, the Tang emperor Xuanzong (r. 713–756) is said to have invited ŚUBHAKARASIṂHA to stay at Ximingsi, where YIXING (683–727) assisted him in his translation work. YIJING (635–713) also translated there the Sanskrit manuscripts he brought back with him from his pilgrimage to India. The Korean monk WŎNCH’ŬK (613–695) worked with Xuanzang at Ximingsi (to the point that his lineage of scholastic interpretation is sometimes called the Ximing lineage, see XIMING XUEPAI), and the Japanese monk KŪKAI (774–835) is also known to have studied at the monastery.

Ximing xuepai. (C) (西明學派). In Chinese, “the Ximing scholastic lineage” of the FAXIANG ZONG, associated with WŎNCH’ŬK. See FAXIANG ZONG.

xindi. (S. cintābhūmikā; J. shinji; K. simji 心地). In Chinese, lit. “mind-ground” or “mind as ground”; a common metaphor used in MAHĀYĀNA literature to suggest that mind or thought is the source, or “ground,” of all phenomena. The Dasheng bensheng xindi guan jing (“Sūtra on the Great-Vehicle Contemplation of the Innate Mind Ground”), for example, metaphorically refers to the minds of the sentient beings of the three realms of existence as a “mind-ground,” since all phenomena—whether mundane (LAUKIKA) or supramundane (LOKOTTARA), and including all virtuous and nonvirtuous dharmas, as well as the five rebirth destinies (GATI) and the states of a PRATYEKABUDDHA, BODHISATTVA, or even a buddha—are generated from the mind of sentient beings, just as all grains and fruits are generated from soil. A commentary to the MAHĀVAIROCANĀBHISAṂBODHISŪTRA (Dari jing shu) says that the mind is also metaphorically referred to as a “ground,” since the practice of bodhisattvas relies on the mind, just as activities of ordinary people rely on the ground. In the FANWANG JING (“Brahmā’s Net Sūtra”), the mind-ground refers to the bodhisattva precepts (PUSA JIE), which help to restrain the activities of body, speech, and mind; the precepts are the mind-ground because the activities of mind, or thought, are the basis for actions performed via body and speech. The buddha Vairocana says in the sūtra that he achieved complete, perfect enlightenment (SAMYAKSAṂBODHI) only after cultivating the mind-ground over a hundred incalculable eons (ASAṂKHYEYAKALPA). The Korean monk WŎNHYO (617–686), in his Pŏmmanggyŏng Posal kyebon sagi (“Personal Exposition on the Bodhisattva Precepts Text of the ‘Brahmā’s Net Sūtra’”), described three different denotations of mind-ground in terms of the abider and the ground on which that abider resides. These are (1) the fifty stages of the bodhisattva path (the ten BODHISATTVABHŪMI, plus the forty stages preliminary to the bhūmis), which is the ground on which the thought of enlightenment (BODHICITTA) of the bodhisattva abides; (2) the three categories of precepts (ŚĪLATRAYA), which is the ground on which the enlightened mind abides; and (3) the realm of reality (DHARMADHĀTU), which is the ground on which the practitioner abides. In the CHAN ZONG, the mind that was transmitted by BODHIDHARMA, the putative founder of Chan, is termed the mind-ground, and his teaching of the one (enlightened) mind is called the dharma teaching of the mind-ground (xindi famen). HUANGBO XIYUN (d. 850) says in his CHUANXIN FAYAO that the “dharma teaching of the mind-ground means that all dharmas are constructed depending upon this mind.” Finally, GUIFENG ZONGMI in his CHANYUAN CHUCHUANJI TUXU (“Prolegomenon to the Comprehensive References to the Fountainhead of Chan Collection”) equates mind-ground with the buddha-nature (FOXING): “the originally enlightened true nature of sentient beings is called both buddha-nature and mind-ground.”

xingjiao. (J. angya; K. haenggak 行脚). In Chinese, lit., “wandering on foot,” i.e., “pilgrimage”; a term used especially in the CHAN tradition to refer to a pilgrimage, often performed by a young monk who is in search of a teacher. Traditionally, this pilgrimage is made to numerous monasteries, most often located deep in the mountains, in hopes of having an interview with the resident master. In Japan, angya nowadays refers to the trip that young monks (known as unsui; see YUNSHUI) who have just completed their initial training at a provincial temple make to a major Zen training monastery, where they can continue their studies with a senior teacher (RŌSHI).

xingju shuo. (J. shōgusetsu; K. sŏnggu sŏl 性具説). In Chinese, the “nature-replete theory”; also known as liju sanqian, or “principle is replete with the trichiliocosm (TRISĀHASRAMAHĀSĀHASRALOKADHĀTU).” According to TIANTAI doctrine, everything within the three realms of existence (TRAIDHĀTUKA) is all contained within the original nature of all sentient beings. This theory is said to be based on TIANTAI ZHIYI’s notion of YINIAN SANQIAN, or “the trichiliocosm in a single thought.” During the SHANJIA SHANWAI debate of the eleventh-century Tiantai community, the xingju theory came to connote the trichiliocosm that was replete within myriad phenomena and was distinguished from the HUAYAN doctrine of XINGQI.

xingli. (J. anri; K. haengni 行履). In Chinese, lit., “practice hidden”; a contraction of qiongxing lijian, which literally means “assiduous practice and hidden conduct.” In the CHAN traditions, xingli generally refers to the daily conduct of a monk, which includes a whole gamut of activities from walking, sitting, and keeping silence to drinking tea and eating food. As such, the term can also refer to the progress of a monk’s training or to the history of his activities.

xingqi. (J. shōki; K. sŏnggi 性起). In Chinese, “nature origination”; an important HUAYAN soteriological and ontological theory, which emphasizes the common ground of all phenomenal appearances in the true nature of the mind. The term xingqi probably derives from the “Baowang rulai xingqi pin” (“Chapter on the ‘Nature Origination’ of the Tathāgata Jeweled King”), the thirty-second chapter of BUDDHABHADRA’s (359–429) sixty-roll translation of the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA, which seems to translate the Sanskrit term tathāgatagotrasaṃbhava (the arising of the lineage of the tathāgata). Its philosophical origins lie in the TATHĀGATAGARBHA corpus of literature, which maintains that all sentient beings are fundamentally identical to the buddhas, since they share the same buddha-nature (FOXING), and the term finds its antecedents in such earlier theories as the “conditioned origination of the true nature” (zhenxing yuanqi) proposed by the Southern DI LUN ZONG master JINGYING HUIYUAN (523–592). ¶ The term “nature origination” was coined by the second Huayan patriarch ZHIYAN (602–668), and its implications were elaborated by the “third patriarch” FAZANG (643–712) in his HUAYANJING TANXUAN JI and especially the “fifth patriarch” GUIFENG ZONGMI (780–841). In Zhiyan’s soteriological interpretation of the xingqi, as elucidated in his influential treatise, HUAYAN JING NAIZHANGMEN DENG ZA KONGMU ZHANG, “nature” (xing) refers to the “essence” (TI) and “origination” (qi) to the appearance of that essence in the “mind-ground” (XINDI). Zhiyan explicitly contrasts nature origination with the soteriological formulations of dependent origination (C. yuanqi; S. PRATĪTYASAMUTPĀDA): unlike dependent origination, which explains the specific conditions through which the experience of enlightenment occurs—and thus inevitably distinguishes the ordinary realm of SAṂSĀRA from the enlightened realm of NIRVĀṆA—nature origination operates entirely on the level of fruition to explain how enlightenment can “originate” only from within the very “nature” of this world itself. Enlightenment is therefore not something that needs to be produced, for it is the inherent nature of the mind itself. Zongmi subsequently provides a more ontological explanation of the xingqi, by explaining that “nature” refers to the one mind (YIXIN) as discussed in the DASHENG QIXIN LUN (“Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna”) and “origination” refers to the process by which that nature is made manifest in the world at large. Thus, in distinction to the “conditioned origination of the DHARMADHĀTU” (FAJIE YUANQI), which explains how all phenomena in the universe are mutual conditioning, and conditioned by, all other phenomena, “nature origination” instead clarifies that all those phenomena simultaneously derive from the common ground that is the nature. Nature origination thus provides a description of causality from the standpoint of the “dharmadhātu of the unimpeded interpenetration of principle and phenomena” (LISHI WU’AI FAJIE).

Xingsi. (C) (行思). See QINGYUAN XINGSI.

Xingtao. (C) (性瑫). See MU’AN XINGTAO.

xingzhe. (J. anja; K. haengja 行者). In Chinese, “postulant.” According to the Shishi yaolan, a postulant refers to an unordained lay practitioner, a minimum of sixteen years of age, who works in a monastery until he or she is formally ordained. Within the CHAN traditions of East Asia, the sixth patriarch (LIUZU) HUINENG (638–713) is usually presumed to have been a postulant at the time he achieved enlightenment and received transmission from the fifth patriarch HONGREN. In premodern China, a postulant referred to a layperson who lived and worked in the monastic compounds before ordination; the postulant was still permitted to grow his or her hair and might in some cases even have a spouse. Postulants were expected to observe the five lay precepts (C. wujie; S. PAÑCAŚĪLA), but with the third precept against improper sexual conduct strengthened to require celibacy. In Korea, postulants (haengja) work in the monastery for at least six months before being allowed to ordain as novices. In Japan, a postulant (anja) may or may not be expected to ordain and works under the guidance of the administrative monks (yakusō) at the monastery or temple. ¶ The term xingzhe may also be used generically to refer to anyone who studies or practices Buddhism.

xing zong. (J. shōshū; K. sŏng chong 性宗). In Chinese, the “school of the nature”; also known as the FAXING ZONG, or “Dharma Nature” school. In distinction to the XIANG ZONG, or “characteristics school,” which mainly involved the analysis of phenomena, the xing school refers to those Buddhist intellectual traditions that studied the underlying essence or “nature” of reality. While the xiang school, i.e., the FAXIANG or “Dharma Characteristics” school, was a pejorative term referring to the Chinese YOGĀCĀRA school established on the basis of the new Yogācāra texts introduced from India by XUANZANG (600/602–664) and elaborated by his lineage, the name “xing zong” was used polemically to refer to the MADHYAMAKA teachings of the SAN LUN ZONG, the TATHĀGATAGARBHA teachings, or the last three of the five teachings in the HUAYAN school’s hermeneutical taxonomy (see JIAOXIANG PANSHI): the advanced teachings of Mahāyāna (Dasheng zhongjiao), i.e., the sudden teachings (DUNJIAO) and the perfect teachings (YUANJIAO). Maintaining a strict differentiation between the xing and xiang tendencies was called xingxiang juepan (differentiation between nature and characteristics); a scholastic approach that sought to harmonize the two trends was characterized as xingxiang ronghui (harmonizing nature and characteristics).

Xin Huayan jing lun. (C) (新華嚴經論). See HUAYAN JING HELUN.

xinman chengfo. (C) (信滿成佛). See YUANRONG.

xinxin. (J. shinjin; K. sinsim 信心). In Chinese, “mind of faith” or “faith in mind”; the compound is typically interpreted to mean either faith in the purity of one’s own mind or else a mind that has faith in the three jewels (RATNATRAYA) and the principle of causality. The “mind of faith” is generally considered to constitute the inception of the Buddhist path (MĀRGA). In the elaborate fifty-two stage path schema outlined in such scriptures as the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA, the RENWANG JING, and the PUSA YINGLUO BENYE JING, “mind of faith” (xinxin) constitutes the first of the ten stages of faith (shixin), a preliminary level of the BODHISATTVA path generally placed prior to the generation of the thought of enlightenment (BODHICITTOTPĀDA) that occurs on the first of the ten abiding stages (shizhu). The MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA also says that the buddha-nature (FOXING) can be called the “great mind of faith” (da xinxin) because a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, through this mind of faith, comes to be endowed with the six perfections (PĀRAMITĀ). ¶ In the PURE LAND traditions, the mind of faith typically refers to faith in the vows of the buddha AMITĀBHA, which ensures that those who have sincere devotion and faith in that buddha will be reborn in his pure land of SUKHĀVATĪ. SHANDAO (613–681) divided the mind of faith into two types: (1) faith in one’s lesser spiritual capacity (xinji), which involves acceptance of the fact that one has fallen in a state of delusion during myriads of rebirths, and (2) faith in dharma (xinfa), which is faith in the fact that one can be saved from this delusion through the vows of Amitābha. SHINRAN (1173–1262) glosses the mind of faith as the buddha-mind realized by entrusting oneself to Amitābha’s name and vow. ¶ The term xinxin is also used as a translation of the Sanskrit ŚRADDHĀ (faith), which is one of the five spiritual faculties (INDRIYA), and of ADHYĀŚAYA (lit. “determination,” “resolution”), which is used to describe the intention of the bodhisattva to liberate all beings from suffering. See also XINXIN MING.

Xinxing. (J Shingyō; K. Sinhaeng 信行) (540–594). In Chinese, “Practice of Faith”; founder of the “Third-Stage Sect” (SANJIE JIAO), a school of popular Buddhism that flourished during the Tang dynasty. Born in Ye in presentday Henan province, Xinxing ordained as a novice monk by the age of seventeen, after which he wandered the country, studying Buddhism and reading such Buddhist scriptures as the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA (“Lotus Sūtra”), VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA, and MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA. Feeling guilty for accepting from the laity offerings that he did not believe he deserved, Xinxing eventually abandoned monastic life, participating in various state labor projects and cultivating ascetic practices. He is also known to have bowed to all he met on the street, following the teachings of the SADĀPARIBHŪTA chapter of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. It is uncertain exactly when Xinxing established the Third-Stage Sect, but it was probably sometime around 587. In 589, at the behest of Emperor Wendi, he entered Chang’an, the capital city of the Sui dynasty, and stayed at Zhenjisi (Authentic Quiescence Monastery, later renamed Huadu monastery), where he promoted actively the teachings of the school until his death in 594. Xinxing had about three hundred followers, including Sengyong (543–631) and Huiru (d. c. 618). Due to the proscription of the sect during the Tang dynasty, only a few fragments of Xinxing’s writings are extant. These include the Sanjie fofa (“Buddhadharma during the Third Stage”), in four rolls, and sections of the Duigen qixing fa (“Principles on Practicing in Response to the Sense-Bases”) and the Ming Dasheng wujinzang fa (“Clarifying the Teaching of the Mahāyāna’s Inexhaustible Storehouse”). ¶ Xinxing’s teachings derive from the doctrines of the degenerate dharma (MOFA) and the buddha-nature (FOXING); they emphasize almsgiving (S. DĀNA) as an efficient salvific method, which contributed to the development of the school’s distinctive institution, the WUJINZANG YUAN (inexhaustible storehouse cloister). Because people during the degenerate age (mofa) were inevitably mistaken in their perceptions of reality, it was impossible for them to make any meaningful distinctions, whether between right and wrong, good and evil, or ordained and lay. Instead, adherents were taught to treat all things as manifestations of the buddha-nature, leading to a “universalist” perspective on Buddhism that was presumed to have supplanted all the previous teachings of the religion. Xinxing asserted that almsgiving was the epitome of Buddhist practice during the degenerate age of the dharma and that the true perfection of giving (DĀNAPĀRAMITĀ) meant that all people, monks and laypeople alike, should be making offerings to relieve the suffering of those most in need, including the poor, the orphaned, and the sick. In its radical reinterpretation of the practice of giving in Buddhism, even animals were considered to be a more appropriate object of charity than were buddhas, bodhisattvas, monks, or the three jewels (RATNATRAYA). Particularly significant were offerings made to the inexhaustible storehouse cloister (Wujinzang yuan), which served the needs of the impoverished and suffering in society—especially offerings made on the anniversary of Xinxing’s death. See also XIANGFA JUEYI JING.

Xinxin ming. (J. Shinjinmei; K. Sinsim myŏng 信心銘). In Chinese, “Inscription on the Mind of Faith” (or “Faith in Mind”); attributed to the dubious third patriarch of the CHAN tradition, the otherwise-unknown SENGCAN. The Xinxin ming is a relatively short poem that praises nonduality and the method for attaining that experience. The last stanza, for instance, states that “faith and mind” (xinxin) are not two, and nonduality (lit. “not two”) is the “perfected mind” (xinxin). According to the Xinxin ming, the method of attaining nonduality largely involves the cultivation of detachment, especially from words and thoughts. Along with the ZHENGDAO GE, CANTONG QI, and BAOJING SANMEI, the Xinxin ming has been regarded as one of the seminal statements of the Chan understanding of the dharma. Numerous commentaries on the poem were composed in East Asia. The Xinxin ming is still recited aloud in some Chan and ZEN monasteries.

xinxun zhongzi. (C) (新薰種子). In Chinese, “newly acquired seeds.” See BĪJA.

Xiqian. (C) (希遷). See SHITOU XIQIAN.

Xitan ziji. (J. Shittan jiki; K. Siltam chagi 悉曇字). In Chinese, “Notes on the SIDDHAM Syllabary,” by the Chinese monk Zhikuang (d.u.); an influential primer of the Indian Siddham writing system. The Xitan ziji is said to be based on the teachings of a certain South Indian monk named Prajñābodhi. The main purpose of the Xitan ziji is to explain briefly the morphological operation of combining vowels and consonants. Zhikuang begins by discussing short and long syllables (e.g., a and ā). He then provides a detailed explanation of each vowel, their pronunciations, their various inflections, and their names. His coverage then extends to the syllables formed from the combination of consonants and vowels.

Xiuxin yao lun. (J. Shushin yōron; K. Susim yo non 修心要論). In Chinese, “Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind,” attributed to the fifth patriarch of the CHAN school, HONGREN; an important text on meditative practice in the early Chan tradition. The edition of the Xiuxin yao lun used within the Chan school was published at the Korean monastery of Ansimsa in 1570 during the Chosŏn dynasty under the title CH’OESANGSŬNG NON (“Treatise on the Supreme Vehicle”) and again in 1907 as part of an edited volume of SŎN materials known as the SŎNMUN CH’WARYO. With the recent discovery of some earlier versions of the text at DUNHUANG, a more nuanced history of the Xiuxin yao lun has emerged. Overall, the different recensions all seem to share the common goal of establishing “guarding the mind” (shouxin) as an authentic and effective practice in Chan. Largely written in dialogic format, the Xiuxin yao lun emphasizes the inherent purity of the mind, which the author likens to suchness (TATHATĀ). The practice of “guarding the mind” seems to be related to or even derived from the fourth patriarch DAOXIN’s “guarding the one” (shouyi), a practice that Daoxin probably borrowed from indigenous Chinese materials. The Xiuxin yao lun also emphatically notes the superiority of shouxin over the popular practice of reciting the buddha’s name (NIANFO) and a (misguided) experience of SAMĀDHI, suggesting a polemical context for its composition.

Xiuxi zhiguan zuochan fayao. (J. Shujū shikan zazenhōyō; K. Susŭp chigwan chwasŏn pŏbyo 修習止觀坐禪法要). In Chinese, “Essentials for Sitting in Meditation and Cultivating Calmness and Contemplation”; also known as the Tongmeng zhiguan (“Calming and Contemplation for Neophytes”) and the (Tiantai) Xiao zhiguan (“Shorter Calming and Contemplation of [Tiantai]”). The monk TIANTAI ZHIYI, the systematizer of the TIANTAI ZONG, is known to have composed this treatise as a guide for training his brother Zhen Zhen. The treatise was composed sometime after his Shi chan boluomi cidi chanmen (571) and MOHE ZHIGUAN (594). Despite its popular designation as the Xiao zhiguan, the relatively short Xiuxi zhiguan zuochan fayao borrows heavily from the Shi chan boluomi cidi chanmen and seems to have no direct relation to Zhiyi’s massive Mohe zhiguan. A preface to the Xiuxi zhiguan zuochan fayao was prepared by the monk Yuanzhao (1048–1116) and was published together with the treatise in 1095. The treatise is divided into ten chapters: (1) necessary conditions, (2) rebuking desires, (3) discarding obstructions, (4) regulation, (5) expedient methods (UPĀYA), (6) proper cultivation, (7) manifestation of the (roots of) virtue (KUŚALAMŪLA), (8) recognizing MĀRA, (9) healing ailments, and (10) attainment of fruits. The practice of meditation outlined in the treatise is based on the twenty-five preparatory expedient methods of the DAZHIDU LUN and the Shi chan boluomi cidi chanmen. As the title makes clear, the general purpose of the treatise is to provide the essentials for the concurrent practice of calming (ŚAMATHA) and insight (VIPAŚYANĀ). The treatise is still widely used in various Buddhist traditions as a practical manual for beginning meditators.

Xiyu ji. (C) (西域). See DA TANG XIYU JI.

Xiyun. (C) (希運). See HUANGBO XIYUN.

Xuanhe huapu. (宣和譜). In Chinese, “The Xuanhe Chronology of Painting.” See ṢOḌAŚASTHAVIRA.

Xuanjian. (C) (宣鑑). See DESHAN XUANJIAN.

Xuanjue. (C) (玄覺). See YONGJIA XUANJUE.

xuanmen. (C) (玄門). See SHI XUANMEN.

Xuansha sanbing. (J. Gensha sanbyō; K. Hyŏnsa sambyŏng 玄沙三病). In Chinese, “Xuansha’s Three Infirmities”; a famous sermon attributed to the CHAN master XUANSHA SHIBEI. Different versions of the sermon are found in the BIYAN LU (case 88), JINGDE CHUANDENG LU (roll 18), KAIAN KOKUGO (roll 6), etc. One day, Xuansha asked the assembly what they would do should a blind, mute, and deaf person come to them for teaching, since the blind cannot see them raise their whisk, the mute cannot reply, and the deaf cannot hear. On a different occasion, the Chan master YUNMEN WENYAN demonstrated how this could be done. When a monk stepped back as Yunmen was about to hit him, the master whimsically noted that the monk was not blind. When the monk approached at his bidding, Yunmen then noted that the monk was not deaf. Finally, Yunmen asked the monk if he understood, and when the monk gave him a negative reply, Yunmen declared that he was not mute.

Xuansha Shibei. (J. Gensha Shibi; K. Hyŏnsa Sabi 玄沙師備) (835–908). Chinese CHAN master in the lineage of QINGYUAN XINGSI (d. 740) and a predecessor in the FAYAN ZONG of the classical Chan school; he was a native of Min (presentday Fujian province). Xuansha left home to study with the Chan master Lingxun (d.u.) on Mt. Furong and later received the monastic precepts in 864 from the VINAYA master Daoxuan (d.u.) at the monastery KAIYUANSI in Jiangxi province. Two years later, he visited the Chan master XUEFENG YICUN and became his disciple. Xuansha’s adherence to the precepts is said to have been so strict that he was given the nickname Bei Doutuo, or “DHUTAṄGA Bei.” He subsequently left Xuefeng’s side and established a cloister on Mt. Sheng (also known as Mt. Xuansha) in Fujian province, named Xuansha (Sublime Sand). In 898, he was summoned to live in the cloister of Anguoyin in Fujian by the king of Min. Emperor Zhaozong (r. 888–904) gave Xuansha the title of Great Master Zongyi (Tradition’s Best). Luohan Kuichen (867–928) was one of his disciples. His sayings were published in the Xuansha guanglu and Xuansha Shibei chanshi yulu, and sporadic references to some of his more popular sayings (e.g., XUANSHA SANBING) can also be found in the BIYAN LU.

Xuansu. (C) (玄素). See HELIN XUANSU.

Xuanxue. (J. Gengaku; K. Hyŏnhak 玄學). In Chinese, “Dark Learning,” or “Profound Learning”; a Chinese philosophical movement of the third through sixth centuries CE, which provided a fertile intellectual ground for the emergence of early Chinese forms of Buddhism. It is sometimes known as “Neo-Daoism,” although the target audience of Xuanxue literati was fellow elite rather than adherents of the new schools of religious Daoism that were then developing in China. The social and political upheaval that accompanied the fall of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) prompted many Chinese intellectuals to question the traditional foundations of Chinese thought and society and opened them to alternative worldviews. Buddhism, which was just then beginning to filter into Chinese territories, found a receptive audience among these groups of thinkers. Xuanxue scholars critiqued and reinterpreted the normative Chinese teachings of Confucianism by drawing on the so-called “three dark [treatises]” (sanxuan), i.e., the Yijing (“Book of Changes”), Daode jing (“The Way and Its Power”), and the Zhuangzi. Xuanxue designates a broad intellectual trend that sought a new way of understanding the “way” (DAO). Xuanxue philosophers explored the ontological grounding of the changing and diverse world of “being” (C. you) on a permanent and indivisible substratum called “nothingness” or “non-being” (C. WU). Xuanxue thinkers such as Wang Bi (226–249), who is regarded as the founder of the movement, and Guo Xiang (d. 312), who is often considered to represent its apex, explored how this ontological stratum of nothingness still was able to produce the world of being in all its diversity. This process was clarified by adopting the mainstream Chinese philosophical bifurcations between (1) the ineffable “substance” or “essence” (TI) of things and the ways in which that substance “functions” (YONG) in the phenomenal world; and (2) the “patterns” or “principles” (LI) that underlie all things and their phenomenal manifestations (SHI). These distinctions between ti/yong and li/shi proved to be extremely influential in subsequent Chinese Buddhist exegesis. Also according to Xuanxue interpretation, the sage (shengren) is one who understands this association between being and nothingness but realizes that their relationship is fundamentally inexpressible; nevertheless, in order to make it intelligible to others, he feels “compelled” to describe it verbally. This emphasis on the inadequacy of language resonated with Buddhist treatments of the ineffability of spiritual experience and the necessity to deploy verbal stratagems (UPĀYA) in order to make that experience intelligible to others. The sage was able to manifest his understanding in the phenomenal world not by conscious intent but as an automatic “response” (ying) to “stimuli” (gan); early Chinese Buddhist thinkers deploy the compound “stimulus and response” (GANYING) to explain the Buddhist concepts of action (KARMAN) and of grace (i.e., the “response” of a buddha or BODHISATTVA to a supplicant’s invocation, or “stimulus”). Xuanxue thinkers also began to explore parallels between their ideas of “nonbeing” (wu) and the notion of emptiness (ŚŪNYATĀ) in the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ corpus, which was just then being translated into Chinese. Xuanxue exegesis has often been described in the scholarly literature as a “matching concepts” (GEYI) style of interpretation, where Buddhist concepts were elucidated by drawing on indigenous Chinese philosophical terminology, though this interpretation of geyi has recently been called into question. Although Xuanxue vanished as a philosophical movement by the early sixth century, its influence was profound on several pioneering Chinese Buddhist thinkers, including ZHI DUN (314–366) and SENGZHAO (374–414), and on such early philosophical schools of Chinese Buddhism as the SAN LUN ZONG and DI LUN ZONG, and eventually on the TIANTAI ZONG and HUAYAN ZONG of the mature Chinese tradition.

Xuanzang. (J. Genjō; K. Hyŏnjang 玄奘) (600/602–664). Chinese monk, pilgrim, and patriarch of the Chinese YOGĀCĀRA tradition (FAXIANG ZONG) and one of the two most influential and prolific translators of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese, along with KUMĀRAJĪVA (344–413); in English sources, his name is seen transcribed in a variety of ways (now all outmoded), including Hsüan-tsang, Hiuen Tsiang, Yuan Chwang, etc. Xuanzang was born into a literati family in Henan province in either 600 or 602 (although a consensus is building around the latter date). In 612, during a state-supported ordination ceremony, Xuanzang entered the monastery of Jingtusi in Luoyang where his older brother was residing as a monk. There, Xuanzang and his brother studied the MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA and various MAHĀYĀNA texts. When the Sui dynasty collapsed in 618, they both fled the capital for the safety of the countryside. In 622, Xuanzang was given the complete monastic precepts and was fully ordained as a monk (BHIKṢU). By this time Xuanzang had also studied earlier translations of the MAHĀYĀNASAṂGRAHA, JÑĀNAPRASTHĀNA, and *TATTVASIDDHI under various teachers but came to doubt the accuracy of those translations and the veracity of their teachings. In order to resolve his doubts, Xuanzang embarked on an epic journey to India in 627, in flagrant disregard of the Taizong emperor’s (r. 626–629) edict against traveling abroad. His trek across the SILK ROAD and India is well known, thanks to his travel record, the DA TANG XIYU JI, his official biography, and the famous Ming-dynasty comic novel based on Xuangzang’s travels, XIYU JI (“Journey to the West”). (See “Routes of Chinese Pilgrims” map.) According to these sources, Xuanzang visited the various Buddhist pilgrimage sites of the subcontinent (see MAHĀSTHĀNA) and spent years at NĀLANDĀ monastery mastering Sanskrit, including fifteen months studying the texts of the Indian Yogācāra tradition under the tutelage of the 106-year-old ŚĪLABHADRA. In 645, Xuanzang returned to the Tang capital of Chang’an with over six hundred Sanskrit manuscripts that he had acquired in India, along with images, relics, and other artifacts. (These materials were stored in a five-story stone pagoda, named the DAYAN TA, or Great Wild Goose Pagoda, that Xuanzang later built on the grounds of the monastery of DA CI’ENSI; the pagoda is still a major tourist attraction in Xi’an.) The Taizong and Gaozong emperors (r. 649–683) honored Xuanzang with the title TREPIṬAKA (C. sanzang fashi; “master of the Buddhist canon”) and established a translation bureau (yijing yuan) in the capital for the master, where Xuanzang supervised a legion of monks in charge of transcribing the texts, “rectifying” (viz., clarifying) their meaning, compiling the translations, polishing the renderings, and certifying both their meaning and syntax. Xuanzang and his team developed an etymologically precise set of Chinese equivalencies for Buddhist technical terminology, and his translations are known for their rigorous philological accuracy (although sometimes at the expense of their readability). While residing at such sites as HONGFUSI, Da ci’ensi, and the palace over an eighteen-year period, Xuanzang oversaw the translation of seventy-six sūtras and śāstras in a total of 1,347 rolls, nearly four times the number of texts translated by Kumārajīva, probably the most influential of translators into Chinese. (Scholars have estimated that Xuanzang and his team completed one roll of translation every five days over those eighteen years of work.) Xuanzang’s influence was so immense that he is often recognized as initiating the “new translation” period in the history of the Chinese translation of Buddhist texts, in distinction to the “old translation” period where Kumārajīva’s renderings hold pride of place. Among the more important translations made by Xuanzang and his translation team are the foundational texts of the Yogācāra school, such as the CHENG WEISHI LUN (*Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi), ASAṄGA’s MAHĀYĀNASAṂGRAHA, and the YOGĀCĀRABHŪMIŚĀSTRA, and many of the major works associated with the SARVĀSTIVĀDA school of ABHIDHARMA, including definitive translations of the Jñānaprasthāna and the encyclopedic ABHIDHARMAMAHĀVIBHĀṢĀ, as well as complete translations of VASUBANDHU’s ABHIDHARMAKOŚABHĀṢYA and SAṂGHABHADRA’s *NYĀYĀNUSĀRA. He translated (and retranslated) many major Mahāyāna sūtras and śāstras, including the massive MAHĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀSŪTRA, in six hundred rolls; this translation is given a place of honor as the first scripture in the East Asian Buddhist canons (see DAZANGJING; KORYŎ TAEJANGGYŎNG). Also attributed to Xuanzang is the Chinese translation of the famed PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀHṚDAYASŪTRA, or “Heart Sūtra,” probably the most widely read and recited text in East Asian Buddhism. Because Xuanzang himself experienced a palpable sense of the Buddha’s absence while he was sojourning in India, he also translated the Nandimitrāvadāna (Da aluohan Nantimiduo luo suoshuo fazhu ji, abbr. Fazhu ji, “Record of the Duration of the Dharma Spoken by the Great Arhat NANDIMITRA”), the definitive text on the sixteen ARHAT protectors (see ṢOḌAŚASTHAVIRA) of Buddhism, which became the basis for the LOUHAN cult in East Asia.

Xuanzhong ming. (J. Genchūmei; K. Hyŏnjung myŏng 玄中銘). In Chinese, “Inscription on the Center of Mystery,” by the Chinese CHAN master DONGSHAN LIANGJIE. In this poem, Dongshan sings of the “mystery” of subtle reciprocation (huihu wanzhuan), simultaneous illumination of phenomena and principle (SHI LI shuangming), and the unimpededness of essence and function (TI YONG wuzhi), which he likens to the activities of a sage. The Xuanzhong ming is found in Dongshan’s recorded sayings, the Dongshan yulu.

Xuedou Chongxian. (J. Setchō Jūken; K. Sŏltu Chunghyŏn 雪竇重顯) (980–1052). Chinese CHAN master in the YUNMEN ZONG of the mature Chan tradition; also known as Yinzhi. Xuedou was a native of Sichuan province. After his ordination under Renxian (d.u.) of the cloister of Pu’anyuan, Xuedou received doctrinal training from Yuanying (d.u.) of Dacisi and Guyin Yuncong (965–1032) of Shimen. During his travels in the south, Xuedou visited the Yunmen master Zhimen Guangzuo (d.u.) in Hubei province and became his leading disciple. Xuedou later resided on Cuiwei peak near Tongting Lake and the monastery of Zishengsi on Mt. Xuedou in Zhejiang province, whence he acquired his toponym. During his residence in Zishengsi, Xuedou acquired more than seventy students and composed his famed collection of one hundred old cases (guce, viz., GONG’AN) known as the Xuedou songgu, which in turn formed the basis of Chan master YUANWU KEQIN’s influential BIYAN LU. Xuedou also composed the Tongting yulu, Xuedou kaitang lu, Puquan ji, Zuying ji, and various other texts. Xuedou’s successful career as a teacher is often considered a period of revitalization of the Yunmen tradition.

Xuefeng Yicun. (J. Seppō Gison; K. Sŏlbong Ŭijon 雪峰義存) (822–908). Chinese CHAN master in the lineage of QINGYUAN XINGSI (d. 740); a native of Min (presentday Fujian province). He was ordained at the age of seventeen and given the dharma name Yicun, but temporarily returned to lay clothing during the severe persecution of the HUICHANG FANAN and studied under Furong Lingxun (d.u.). After a brief stay with DONGSHAN LIANGJIE, Xuefeng left at Dongshan’s direction to study with DESHAN XUANJIAN (780/2–865). Xuefeng then embarked on a journey with his colleagues Yantou Quanhuo (828–887) and Qinshan Wensui (d.u.). With the help of Yantou, Xuefeng is said to have had his first awakening experience during a snowfall on Mt. Ao in Hunan. Xuefeng and Yantou became Deshan’s leading disciples. Xuefeng later established a monastery with the support of the king of Min on what came to be known as Mt. Xuefeng in Fujian province. The mountain was originally known as Mt. Xianggu (Elephant Bone) but acquired its new name after a famous exchange at the mountain between the king of Min and the monk Xuefeng. Xuefeng’s monastery was given the name Chongshengsi and Yingtian Xuefeng Chanyuan. In 882, Emperor Xizong (r. 873–888) bestowed upon him the title Great Master Zhenjue (Authentic Enlightenment) and the purple robe. His disciples include YUNMEN WENYAN (the founder of the YUNMEN ZONG of the classical Chan school), XUANSHA SHIBEI (whose students eventually would go on to establish the FAYAN ZONG), Changjing Huileng (854–932), Baofu Congzhan (d. 928), and Gushan Shenyan (d. 943). His teachings are recorded in his Xuefeng Zhenjue chanshi yulu.

Xuemo lun. [alt. Xuemai lun] (J. Kechimyakuron; K. Hyŏlmaek non 血脈論). In Chinese, “Treatise on the Blood-Vessel.” This short treatise has been traditionally attributed to the legendary Indian monk BODHIDHARMA and is also referred to as the Damo dashi xuemo lun (“Great Master [Bodhi]dharma’s Treatise on the Blood-Vessel”). Judging from its style of argumentation and doctrinal content, the treatise was most probably composed by a CHAN adept of the HONGZHOU ZONG or NIUTOU ZONG sometime during the ninth century, long after Bodhidharma’s death. The treatise begins with the claim that the three realms of existence (TRAIDHĀTUKA) return to the “one mind” (YIXIN), which was transmitted from one buddha to another without recourse to words or letters (BULI WENZI). From beginning to end, the treatise consistently underscores the importance of the inherent purity of the mind (xin) and claims that the mind is none other than the buddha, DHARMAKĀYA, BODHI, and NIRVĀṆA. The treatise also polemically contends that the practice of chanting and being mindful of the buddha AMITĀBHA’s name (NIANFO), reading scriptures, and upholding the precepts may guarantee a better rebirth and intelligence but do not ensure the achievement of buddhahood. According to the treatise, only the practice of seeing one’s own nature (JIANXING) can lead to buddhahood (see JIANXING CHENGFO). The first known edition of the Xuemo lun was first published in Korea in 1473 and was republished on several subsequent occasions. It is often anthologized in larger compilations such as the SŎNMUN CH’WARYO and SHŌSHITSU ROKUMON.

Xu gaoseng zhuan. (J. Zoku kōsōden; K. Sok kosŭng chŏn 續高僧傳). In Chinese, “Supplement to the Biographies of Eminent Monks,” compiled by the VINAYA master DAOXUAN; also known as the Tang gaoseng zhuan. As the title suggests, the Xu gaoseng zhuan “supplements” or “continues” the work of HUIJIAO’s earlier GAOSENG ZHUAN and records the lives of monks who were active in the period between Huijiao’s composition during the Liang dynasty and Daoxuan’s own time. The Xu gaoseng zhuan contains 485 major and 219 appended biographies, neatly categorized under translators (yijing), exegetes (yijie), practitioners of meditation (xichan), specialists of VINAYA(minglü), protectors of the DHARMA (hufa), sympathetic resonance (GANTONG), sacrifice of the body (YISHEN), chanters (dusong), benefactors (xingfu), and miscellaneous (zake). Although Daoxuan generally followed Huijiao’s earlier categorizations, he made several changes. In lieu of Huijiao’s divine wonders (shenyi), viz., thaumaturgists, Daoxuan opted to use the term sympathetic resonance, instead; he also subsumed Huijiao’s hymnodists (jingshi) and propagators (changdao) under the “miscellaneous” category. Daoxuan also introduced the new category of protectors of the dharma order to leave a record of disputes that occurred at court with Daoists. These adjustments seem to reflect ongoing developments within Chinese Buddhism in how to conceive of, and write, history. Other related biographical collections include ZANNING’s SONG GAOSENG ZHUAN, Shi Baochang’s BIQIUNI ZHUAN, the Korean HAEDONG KOSŬNG CHŎN, and the Japanese HONCHŌ KŌSŌDEN.

Xutang Zhiyu. (J. Kidō Chigu; K. Hŏdang Chiu 堂智愚) (1185–1269). Chinese CHAN master in the LINJI ZONG; also known as Xijingsou. Xutang was ordained at age sixteen by Shiyun (d.u.) of Pumingsi and later became the disciple of YUN’AN PUYAN (1156–1226). He continued to visit various teachers throughout the country until he became the abbot of the monastery of Xingshengsi in 1229. Xutang also served as abbot of many other important Chan monasteries throughout his illustrious career, including BAOLINSI and WANSHOUSI. The emperors Lizong (r. 1224–1264) and Duzong (r. 1264–1274) honored Xutang as their teacher. Among his disciples is the Japanese monk NANPO JŌMYŌ (1235–1308), to whom the abbots of DAITOKUJI and MYŌSHINJI trace their lineage. The eminent Japanese monk and abbot of Daitokuji, IKKYŪ SŌJUN, even went so far as to consider himself to be a reincarnation of Xutang and had numerous portraits of himself drawn in the likeness of Xutang.

Xuyun. (雲) (1840–1959). In Chinese, “Empty Cloud”; CHAN monk of the modern period, renowned as one of the major reformers of modern Chinese Buddhism, especially of the Chan school; also known as Deqing. Xuyun was a native of Xiangxiang in Hunan province. He entered the monastery at the age of nineteen and received the precepts a year later from the monk Miaolian (d.u.). He then embarked on a long pilgrimage to famous mountains in China and to such distant sites as Tibet, India, and Sri Lanka, where he studied with teachers in a variety of Buddhist traditions. At the age of forty-three, Xuyun climbed WUTAISHAN, where he is said to have had a vision of the resident bodhisattva MAÑJUŚRĪ. His awakening experience came at the drop of a teacup at the age of fifty-six. Xuyun was particularly renowned for his austerities and longevity. He became an important exponent of the convergence of “questioning meditation” (KANHUA CHAN) and recitation of the Buddha’s name (NIANFO), who was noted for using the meditative topic (HUATOU) “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” Xuyun spent the rest of his career propagating Buddhism throughout China until his death on Mt. Yunju in Jiangxi province at the advanced age of 120. See also TAIXU; YINGUANG.