8th Patriarch Great Master Lianchi 八祖莲池大师
Great Master Lianchi was born in 1535 C.E. in Hangzhou City, to a Shen family and was named Zhuhong. His family was distinguished in that era. At the age of 17, he was already a Ming imperial scholar, and was widely known in his village for his knowledge and filial practices.
He lost his father at the age of 27, and also his mother at 32, he then became determined to renounce the household life to cultivate practice. He bade his wife, Madam Tang farewell. Afterwards, Great Master wrote the Verses On Writing Off With Seven Strokes, and renounced under Mount Xi’s Venerable Xingtian. His wife later also shaved her hair to become a nun.
After receiving the full monastic precepts, he travelled by foot everywhere to study from the wise. For six years, his journey was rugged and rough, as he practiced asceticism. As he visited to study under Chan Master Bianrong, the old Chan Master taught, ‘You can just abide by your role, not having greed for fame and to pursue profits, not clamber after conditions; only with cause and effect clearly known, be wholeheartedly mindful Buddha’s name.’ The Great Master sincerely bore that in mind. After studying under Chan Master Xiaoyan Debao, he bade farewell to travel towards Dongchang. On his way there, he heard the drum tower’s drumming sound, and suddenly had a great awakening.
In Longqing’s fifth year, as Great Master was fond of Yunqi’s supreme scenery and tranquility, he built a hut and resided there, to cultivate Samadhi From Mindfulness Of Buddha. However, as tigers in the mountain often harmed the villagers, out of compassion, the Great Master did Yogacara prayers for Extinguishing Hungry Ghosts’ Flaming Mouths, after which the tigers no longer harmed the people. During a year with severe drought, the villagers sincerely invited the Great Master to pray for rain. As the Great Master struck a wooden fish in his hand, he followed the fields’ channels while reciting the Buddha’s name. In a short while, rain started to pour. After this, the villagers and devotees spontaneously constructed a monastery for the Great Master.
The Great Master clearly comprehended and was cautious about karmic cause and effect. He emphasised on true cultivation and diligent practice, with the precepts as fundamentals, with pure karma [for birth in Pure Land] as the direction for ‘return’. He did his best to abstain from killing, and advocated liberation of lives. A life liberation pond was also built in front of the monastery, and an animal sanctuary was established in the mountain, to save and redeem all kinds of sentient beings, be they submerged, swimming, crawling or flying. Great Master’s Essay To Prohibit Killing And To Liberate Lives spread widely throughout the world.
The Great Master’s way of life was down-to-earth and simple. Since having the monastery as a Dharma center, he never recklessly used a single cent. Whenever there were surplus offerings, he would disperse to give them to Sangha communities of other monasteries. Regardless of giving clothing and medicine, or saving the poor and the sick, his constant practice was untiring. Throughout his lifetime, the Great Master cherished his blessings. Even at old age, he still washed his own clothes and cleaned his urinal, to not inconvenience his attendant. Lifelong, he had only one set of cloth robes, and one linen mosquito net, which he used for several decades.
The Great Master was born in the era when the path of Dharma was in decline, during the final years of the Ming Dynasty. With his true cultivation and extensive learning, he reinvigorated the Pure Land tradition. His Pure Land thought was unique. For over 300 years, his influence still exists. Now, for an overview, there are these three aspects:
(1) Only mentioning the Pure Land teachings, yet merging each tradition Since Great Master Yongming, Great Master was the most accomplished in merging Chan, Pure Land, Teachings and Discipline as one. He mainly advocated that Chan and Pure Land are not two, with mindfulness of Buddha being what contains and gathers the 10,000 Dharma teachings’ purpose. After contemplating according to the Dharma, only the Dharma door of mindfulness of Buddha can horizontally transcend the cycle of birth and death, to universally gather beings of the three roots [high, medium and low]. Therefore, Great Master only propagated the Pure Land teachings, authoring the Commentary On The Amitabha Sutra, with more than 10,000 words, weaving in the Tripitaka’s 12 divisions’ profound teachings to adorn the six words (Namo Amituofo) representing the mind and the Buddha. The Tathagata’s lifetime of teachings are completely within the name of Amituofo. With nature and its forms both in harmony, the practice and principles are without obstruction, as direction for ‘return’ to wholehearted and singular upholding of the name.
Great Master’s annotations on ‘wholeheartedly without being scattered’ is that ‘“Wholehearted” means to have focused attention on the right object; and “without being scattered” means to not give rise to false (or stray) thoughts. “Wholehearted without being scattered” is with practice and with principles. Like prior recollection and mindfulness, with thought after thought in continual succession, without a second thought, the power of faith will be accomplished. This is named as “wholeheartedness in practice”, which belongs to the door of concentration, as gathered. Like prior investigating of the essence, understanding clearly that the ability to be mindful and that mindful of, are also not two things, not there and not there, departing from these four lines, the power of contemplation will be accomplished, to obtain one’s original mind. This is named as “wholeheartedness in principle”, which belongs to the door of wisdom, as gathered. With all false thoughts withered away, thus simultaneously attained is concentration. ’
Such wholeheartedness is true form, which is the same as the Dharma realm, which is the concentration of concentrations, which is Bodhisattvas’ Samadhi From Mindfulness Of Buddha, which is Great Master Bodhidharma’s Chan of direct pointing, which is the One Mind with Three Contemplations, which is to transform consciousness to wisdom. Thus is it known that mindfulness of Buddha completely gathers all of the Buddha’s teachings. With the lofty spirit to decisively affirm ancient and present teachings, as a model for future generations, Great Master determined and explained th Sūtra, refuting and correcting the people of that time with the undiscerning theory of belittling mindfulness of Buddha as the path of practice for foolish men and women.
(2) Mindfulness of Buddha Amitābha Sūtra to be similar to the complete and sudden teachings of the Avataṃsaka contains and gathers all meritorious virtuesGreat Master used the Avataṃsaka Sūtra’s ‘one is everything’ principle of interdependence to expound the Dharma door of mindfulness of Buddha. He taught that Mindfulness of Buddha is a great Dharani Dharma door (with total retention), that contains and gathers Bodhisattvas’ Six Perfections and 10,000 practices, embracing together the essential meaning of the Buddhist scriptures’ teachings. Thus, the Great Master did not advocate reading the Buddhist scriptures, but should instead wholeheartedly practice mindfulness of Buddha. He said, ‘All that the Great Treasury Of Sūtras explain, is no more than the Precepts, Concentration and Wisdom only… These Precepts, Concentration and Wisdom are then the Dharma Door Of Mindfulness Of Buddha. How so?
Precepts are thus for preventing wrongs as its meaning. If able to wholeheartedly be mindful of the Buddha, with all evils not daring to enter, then are Precepts upheld. Concentration is thus for eliminating scatteredness as its meaning. If wholeheartedly mindful of the Buddha, with the mind without different conditions, then is Concentration cultivated. Wisdom is thus for clear reflection as its meaning. If contemplating the Buddha’s name’s sound (Āmítuófó: 阿弥陀佛), with word by word distinct and clear, also contemplating the ability to be mindful and that mindful of, are all unattainable, then is Wisdom realized. Like this mindful of the Buddha, then is with the Precepts, Concentration and Wisdom too. Why must there be following of texts to chase words one by one, to read this treasury of sūtras?’ The Great Master’s intention is for practitioners to truly walk the path, to be liberated from birth and death, with no need to exhaust study of the scriptures, as it is better to only aim to be a great expert of the former.
(3) Emphasis on precepts and rules, encouraging all to be mindful of BuddhaGreat Master felt deep sorrow for sentient beings of the Dharma-Ending Age, who are with deep negative karma and heavy defilements, yet with guiding teachings weak and damaged, precepts and rules lax. To cultivate practice during such a time, precepts and rules should be used as foundation. Therefore, the Great Master orderly reorganised the monastic rules. Due to the ordination shrine (for monastic precepts) in the Southern and Northern territories being long banned, he ordered those who sought the precepts to be fully dressed in the three monastic robes, to receive the precepts before a Buddha statue, with Great Master as witness. Those who had received the precepts, would chant the Brahma Net Sutra’s Precepts and all monastic precepts every fortnight. The monastery that he oversaw was extremely strict in its regulations. The duties of the attendants of each hall were clear and detailed, at night with patrols, striking of boards to chant the Buddha’s name, the sound of which would spread through the mountains and valleys. The Great Master encouraged strict abiding by the monastic rules for pure conduct, for saving the Dharma-Ending Age from its weary and evil habits. With such, this was successfully accomplished as a great distinguishing feature of Great Master’s Pure Land thought.
The Great Master deeply felt that Pure Land tradition’s Dharma door of mindfulness of Buddha is extremely simple and extremely easy to practice, universally gathering beings of all spiritual roots, to rely on Buddha’s power to completely realize enlightenment’s supreme Dharma. Thus, he earnestly and widely encouraged mindfulness of Buddha for rebirth in Pure Land
Great Master’s written works are extremely abundant, with the main representative works that are still popular in the world being Commentary On Amitābha Sūtra, Essays By The Bamboo Window, Collection On Rebirth, Doubts And Debates On Pure Land and others.
In Great Master’s entire life, he diligently cultivated pure karma, to widely propagate the Dharma door of mindfulness of Buddha. Half a month approaching his passing, he knew in advance his time of rebirth. The day before he departed, the Great Master went to the city to bid farewell to all his disciples and old spiritual friends, only saying, ‘I will be going to another place.’ After returning to the monastery, he used tea as an offering to the Sangha assembly, telling everyone that he will be leaving tomorrow. When the time came, the Great Master manifested slight illness, closed his eyes and remained silent. Disciples from the city hurried in, sorrowfully requesting leaving of instructions. The Great Master opened his eyes and instructed, ‘Be earnestly mindful of Buddha, and do not change the subject.’ Once finished, he faced West, recited the Buddha’s name and departed. His face was golden in colour, the crown of his head with warm air, as if alive, for a long time not dispersing. He was then 81 years of age, with 50 years as a monk. His remains were enshrined in a pagoda at the foot of Mount Wuyun.
The Qing Emperor Yongzheng bestowed upon the Great Master the posthumous name and title ‘Chan Master Jingmiao (Pure Wonder) Zhenxiu (True Cultivation)’. What the Great Master taught with words he also led by example, with his personal practice transforming others, proving to be worthy as a model, as a Patriarch for his generation. Later generations also addressed the Great Master as the Eighth Patriarch of the Pure Land Tradition.
