[ above left: the body of Master Hui-neng at Nan-hua
Monastery,
prior to desecration by Red Gaurds. ]
[above left, right; mummified remains 1
]
Hui Neng
( Hui-Neng, Hui-neng, Dajian Huineng, Hui-Neng Liu-Tsu-ta,
Wei Lang )
( Yeno, Eno [in Japanese] )
( The Sixth Patriarch, The Sixth Ancestor )( Chinese
Line )
( 638 – 713 )
According to D.T. Suzuki 2
“The Sixth Patriarch, Hui-neng, was a great religious genius, and his life
marks an epoch in the history of the Zen Sect in the Far East. It was due
to him that his Sect, hitherto comparatively inactive and rather tending
to ascetic quietism, now assumed a more energetic role in the demonstration
of its peculiar features, and began to make its influence more and more
felt, especially among the thoughtful class of people.,” (not to mention
Enlightenment to the prepared few).
According to Fa-hai 3
, (early biographer and contributor to the Hui Neng legend) in his introduction
to the Platform Sutra: ” When he was born beams of light rose into the
air and the room was filled with a strange fragrance. At dawn two mysterious
monks visited the Master’s father and said: “The child born last night
requires an auspicious name; the first character should be ‘Hui,’ and the
second, ‘Neng'”.
“What do ‘Hui’ and ‘Neng’ mean?” inquired the father.
The priest answered: “‘Hui’ means to bestow beneficence
on sentient beings; ‘Neng’ means the capacity to carry out the affairs
of the Buddha.” When they had finished speaking they left, and there is
no one who knows where they went.” (3)
(for a continuation of Hui Neng’s biography see links below)
Notes
1. Photo coutesy hsuyun.org; taken
prior to Red Guards smashing it with their rifles.
Priests of Nan Hua Monastery reassembled the bones and what was left
of the skin, etc. and lacquered the surface, particularly the skull. It
now rests in the temple is dedicated to him in the Monastery complex of
Nan
Hua Si near Shao Guan, Guangdong Province, China.
2. The Zen Sect of Buddhism. D. T. Suzuki. 1906.
3. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. Phillip B. Yampolsky.
1967
links:
The
Sutra of Hui Neng
(A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam translation)
The
Sutra of Hui Neng
Chapter 1
(plug in chap 2 etc in url; index url not found)
(Price/Mou-Lam alternate)
( entire
document zipped )
True Buddha School
Net
The
Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra
With the commentary of Tripitaka Master Hua
(zipped 162k ftp)
buddhanet.net
bibliography (and excerpts)
Platform Sutra of the 6th Patriarch:
The Text of the Tun-Huang Manuscript
Philip B. Yampolsky (Translator), Hui-Neng Liu-Tsu-ta
Published 1978
information and order from:
amazon.com
| * | barnes
and noble | * | powells
| * | ABE
The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-Neng
(Shambhala Dragon Editions)
Wong Mou-Lam (Translator), A. F. Price / Paperback /
Published 1990
information and order from:
amazon.com
| * | barnes
and noble | * | powells
| * | ABE
The Sixth Patriarch’s Sutra:
Great Master Hui Neng
Tripitaka Master Hua (Editor) / Hardcover / Published
1977
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
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The Zen Doctrine of No Mind :
The Significance of the Sutra of Hui-Neng (Wei-Lang)
Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, et al.
Paperback / Published 1991
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
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The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-Neng
A. F. Price (Translator)
Published 1990
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
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The Sutra of Hui-Neng:
Grand Master of Zen Hui-Neng
Thomas Cleary (Translator)
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
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Enlightenment : mother of spiritual independence:
the teachings of Hui Neng
Hua Ching Ni
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
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The Sutra of Wei Lang (Or Hui Neng)
Hui-Neng / Published 1973
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
| * | ABE
Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series
information and order from:
amazon.com
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and noble | * | powells
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Essays in Zen Buddhism, Third Series.
D. T. Suzuki
York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1985.
The Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch on the Pristine Orthodox
Dharma.
Fung, Paul and George, trans.
San Francisco: Buddha’s Universal Church, 1980.
Hui Neng cutting bamboo
The Unique Sixth Stage Foreshadowings
of the Only-By-Me Revealed Seventh
Stage of Life
Sri Adi Da Samraj