Hongren (, 601âÂÂ674), posthumous name Daman, was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism (Chinese: 禪å®ÂäºÂç¥Â).
Hongren is said to have received Dharma transmission from Dayi Daoxin and passed on the symbolic bowl and robe of transmission to Huineng, the Sixth and last Chan Patriarch.
As with all the early Chan patriarchs, many of the details of HongrenâÂÂs life are uncertain and much of his biography is layered with legend added well after his death. The following biography is based on Chan traditional sources.
Hongren was born in Huangmei with the family name Chou. His father abandoned the family but Hongren displayed exemplary filial duty in supporting his mother.
Although the Records of the Teachers and Disciples of the Lankavatara claim that HongrenâÂÂs father abandoned the family, Chan scholar John McRae points out that HongrenâÂÂs residence was converted to a monastery, implying that HongrenâÂÂs family was probably wealthy and prominent locally. Furthermore, mention of Hongren doing menial labour would only be of significance if this were unusual, indicating that Hongren was of upper-class birth.
At the age of either seven or twelve, Hongren left home to become a monk and began his studies under Daoxin, who, according to tradition, immediately recognized his insight:
The ChâÂÂüan fa pao chi (Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure), written approximately 712, says that Hongren was quiet and withdrawn, diligent in his menial labors, and sat in meditation throughout the night. He âÂÂnever looked at the Buddhist scripturesâ but understood everything he heard. After some ten years of teaching, the record claims that âÂÂeight or nine of every ten ordained and lay aspirants in the country had studied under him.âÂÂ
Hongren stayed with Daoxin until the latterâÂÂs death in 651. Presumably, he was with Daoxin when the master was at Ta-lin ssu on Mount Lou and followed him to Mount Shuangfeng, one of the âÂÂtwin peaksâ of Huangmei.
Hongren was significant in the development of early Chinese Chan.
The teachings of both Daoxin and Hongren became known as the âÂÂEast Mountain TeachingsâÂÂ, but Hongren was the more prominent of the two.
Later tradition has it that Hongren, after DaoxinâÂÂs death, moved the community of monks to the East Peak, the easterly of the âÂÂTwin PeaksâÂÂ. The teachings of Daoxin and Hongren became known as the East Mountain Teaching.
The East Mountain Teachings were seen as the âÂÂauthenticâ Chan Buddhist teachings as promoted by HongrenâÂÂs student, Yuquan Shenxiu (606?-706), the most prominent Buddhist monk of his time. HongrenâÂÂs significance can be noted by the fact that a compilation of his teachings, presumably shortly after his death, the Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, () is the earliest collection of the teachings of a Chan master.
Although HongrenâÂÂs students included Vinaya specialists, sutra translators, and Huayan and Pure Land devotees, HongrenâÂÂs teaching focused on meditation practice. According to the Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, Hongren's basic teaching was that the Pure Mind was obscured by âÂÂdiscriminating thinking, false thoughts, and ascriptive views.â Eliminating false thoughts and maintaining a constant awareness of oneâÂÂs natural enlightenment ensures Nirvana naturally arises.
Two meditation techniques are specifically mentioned in the Treatise. Hongren is said to have instructed, "Look to where the horizon disappears beyond the sky and behold the figure one. ⦠It is good for those beginning to sit in meditation, when they find their mind distracted, to focus their mind on the figure one." The Chinese character for "one" is a single horizontal line, resembling a horizon, and metaphorically represents the unity of the mind and Buddha nature.
He also taught that the meditator should observe the mental processes within: "View your own consciousness tranquilly and attentively, so that you can see how it is always moving, like flowing water or a glittering mirage. â¦until its fluctuations dissolve into peaceful stability. This flowing consciousness will disappear like a gust of wind. When this consciousness disappears, all oneâÂÂs illusions will disappear along with it."
Hongren was held in high esteem by later Chan-adepts in the ancient capital cities of Chang'an and Luoyang in the early eighth century, when Chan moved from a rural base to the centre of Chinese power, in the major urban areas and the imperial court.