Without Reaching Caoxi, One Cannot Discuss Chan

Hearing Lin Pingzhi ask about the meaning of "One Flower with Five Petals," Tai Yuan explained.

He gently waved his sleeve, his tone indifferent: "With the expansion of Caoxi Chan's influence, the Chan Sect began to split. The lineage of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng divided into various schools, such as Heze Shenhui, Nanyue Huairang, and Qingyuan Xingsi. Nanyue Huairang's disciple, Mazu Daoyi, spread the teachings in Jiangxi, and Mazu's disciple, Baizhang Huaihai, established the Pure Rules of the Chan Monasteries, setting up the organizational system of Chan temples. Under Huaihai's lineage, it further split into the Guiyang and Linji sects."

At this point, he paused, turning his gaze to Lin Pingzhi, as if confirming whether he was keeping up with his train of thought.

Seeing Lin Pingzhi nod attentively, Tai Yuan continued: "The Guiyang Sect pursued the ultimate state of handling matters with equanimity, where movement and stillness are unified. Their method of guiding students seemed simple, yet it contained profound and mysterious principles, emphasizing both theory and practice. The founding patriarch Lingyou possessed extraordinary enlightenment, while Huiji was deeply devoted to practice."

"However, without exceptional talent and deep spiritual roots, it is extremely difficult to inherit the essence of this sect. Therefore, among the Five Houses of Chan, this sect rose the earliest but also declined the fastest."

Tai Yuan shook his head slightly, his voice filled with regret.

"As for the Linji Sect, they advocate using Prajna as the foundation, promoting the special transmission outside the scriptures. They use Emptiness to encompass Existence, blending the two. This sect is very unique; they do not advocate blindly chanting Buddhist scriptures, but instead favor contemplating the deeds and sayings of the Chan patriarchs. Nor do they promote ascetic cultivation, placing greater emphasis on the power of sudden enlightenment."

He paused here and said, "The guiding method of the Linji Sect can be said to point directly to the human heart, allowing one to see their true nature and achieve Buddhahood. It is extremely sharp."

Lin Pingzhi nodded repeatedly as he listened, unable to help but interject: "Master, then what about the lineage of Qingyuan Xingsi?"

Tai Yuan continued: "Qingyuan Xingsi's disciple, Shitou Xitian, propagated the Dharma in Hunan, greatly expanding the sect's influence. Shitou Xitian developed his teachings from the concept of 'the formless essence is both rest and function,' advocating a natural method of cultivation, taking 'the spiritual mind is clear and tranquil, perfectly round; the single origin contains ten thousand streams, and ten thousand phenomena appear in the heart' as the core of his teachings."

"Under Shitou Xitian were Yaoshan Weiyan and Tianhuang Daowu. Weiyan passed his teachings to his disciple Dongshan Liangjie and his third-generation disciple Caoshan Benji, founding the Caodong Sect."

"Daowu's lineage reached Xuefeng Yicun after three generations. Under Yicun, Yunmen Wenyan founded the Yunmen Sect."

"Another disciple of Yicun, Xuansha Shibei, passed the teachings to Luohan Guishen, who passed them to Qingliang Wenyi. Wenyi's disciple, Guangbo, founded the Fayan Sect."

Lin Pingzhi was dumbfounded and could not help but sigh: "So the Chan Sect's divisions are actually so complex!"

Tai Yuan nodded and said: "The emergence of the five sects—Guiyang, Linji, Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan—is referred to in the Chan Sect as 'One Flower with Five Petals, the Fruit Ripens Naturally.' All five sects originated from the Caoxi Chan teachings, and their core philosophies do not differ, though each has its own unique style in guiding students."

Tai Yuan spoke with a sense of distant longing: "In that era, whenever people discussed Chan under heaven, they took Caoxi as the standard. A hundred years after the Sixth Patriarch passed away, if a Chan practitioner lacked a foundation in Caoxi Chan, they would not even dare to open their mouths to discuss Chan."

Listening to Tai Yuan's explanation of the Chan Sect's history, Lin Pingzhi felt his blood surging.

He blurted out: "Master, in that case, didn't Caoxi Chan dominate Buddhism back then, just like Dong Zhongshu advocating for 'banishing the hundred schools of thought and solely honoring Confucianism' in the past? Its fame must have been boundless!"

Hearing this, Tai Yuan smiled faintly and said: "Indeed. However, for Caoxi Chan to be so widely propagated, apart from the Sixth Patriarch's wondrous teachings, there is another person whose contribution must be mentioned."

Lin Pingzhi asked curiously: "Who possessed such ability?"

"This person was the disciple of the Sixth Patriarch—Heze Shenhui."

Tai Yuan's expression turned solemn as he spoke slowly: "During the Kaiyuan era, Grandmaster Shenxiu vigorously promoted Chan teachings in the North. His teachings were like timely rain, spreading across Western Capital Chang'an and Eastern Capital Luoyang. He even received the highest devotion from three emperors—Empress Wu, Emperor Zhongzong, and Emperor Ruizong—earning the supreme title of 'Dharma Master of the Two Capitals, Teacher of Three Emperors.'"

As Tai Yuan spoke, he used a branch to sketch the geographical boundaries of that time on the ground, trying to give Lin Pingzhi a more intuitive sense of Shenxiu's influence.

"But Grandmaster Shenhui organized a highly significant debate at the Huatai Dayun Temple, known as the 'Great Gathering of the Dharma Body.' In this gathering, he engaged in a fierce debate with Chan Master Chongyuan over the rights and wrongs of Northern and Southern Chan. Grandmaster Shenhui spoke sharply, criticizing the Northern Sect's lineage as a branch and its teachings as gradual cultivation, which was not the ultimate truth. After this battle, the fame of Caoxi Chan soared, and it gradually became the mainstream of the Chan Sect."

Lin Pingzhi was mesmerized. "So that was how it was. But Master, if Caoxi Chan has so many branches, why must we go to the Nanhua Chan Temple? Is it just because it was once the Sixth Patriarch's place of practice?"

Tai Yuan said: "Not only that. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng completed the Sinicization of Chan teachings, allowing the Chan Sect to truly integrate into Chinese Buddhism. This contribution is indeed admirable. But the Nanhua Chan Temple attracts me for more than just this reason."

"Then what is the reason, after all?" Lin Pingzhi grew even more curious.

"Because the true body of the Sixth Patriarch is preserved at the Nanhua Chan Temple," Tai Yuan said.

Lin Pingzhi was puzzled: "Just a corpse? Even if it is the body of an enlightened monk, after so much time, shouldn't it have decayed?"

Tai Yuan had an inscrutable expression: "Whether it has decayed or not, I have not seen it with my own eyes, so I cannot jump to conclusions. Thus, this trip is also to resolve a doubt of mine."

"The Sixth Patriarch passed away approximately eight hundred years ago. Eight hundred years is enough for dynasties to change and seas to turn into mulberry fields. In theory, no physical matter in this world can remain undecayed for eight hundred years!"

Lin Pingzhi carefully pondered the deeper meaning behind Tai Yuan's words, and his heart felt as if struck by lightning: "Could it be... Could it be that Master believes the Sixth Patriarch's true body has remained undecayed for eight hundred years? Isn't that a myth?"

Tai Yuan smiled, his voice carrying a hint of deep meaning: "What is a myth? When a person's spirit is divine, they are divine. Once they are divine, is it still a myth?"

He continued: "It is rumored that one year before his passing, the Sixth Patriarch instructed his disciples to build a pagoda to house his true body. The Fourth Patriarch Daoxin and the Fifth Patriarch Hongren did the same. Not long after the pagoda was completed, within a month, the Sixth Patriarch passed away. At the moment of his passing, his body did not decay, looking as if he had entered meditative absorption. The entire Caoxi was filled with a mysterious fragrance, mountains crumbled, the earth shook, forest trees turned white, and the sun and moon grew dim."

Lin Pingzhi was dumbfounded. After a moment, he recovered his senses and said, half-laughing, half-crying: "Master, this is probably just a local legend. You don't actually believe these words, do you?"

Tai Yuan only smiled.

Previously, he also thought this was just later generations deifying the Sixth Patriarch. But what if the Sixth Patriarch was a figure comparable to a Taoist Outer Realm Grandmaster?

The power of the Outer Realm was something Tai Yuan could not yet fathom.

Currently, he had only traveled nearly half the path of the Inner Realm stage, yet he already possessed all kinds of miraculous skills and techniques.

Treading on water as if on flat ground; capturing minds and controlling spirits; sensing souls and chasing shadows from thousands of miles away; stepping on the dipper and making a hundred beasts roar together...

Therefore, regarding these rumors, he dared not disbelieve them completely, nor did he believe them blindly. He could only experience them himself and see with his own eyes.

Suddenly, Lin Pingzhi pointed ahead: "Master, look."
...