Of the Lin 林 family of his own prefecture (Fuzhou). He took the jinshi examinations young and had a name as a scholar. At twenty-five, reading the Sutra of Bequeathed Teachings, he said 'I was nearly ruined by the Confucian cap' and wanted to leave home; his mother resisted, as his marriage was already fixed, and he broke it off with a verse — 'peach red and apricot pale, I hand them all to the spring wind; green bamboo and yellow flower shall be my companions in the Way from here on.' He was ordained under Baoshou Le, travelled Hunan with a single staff, called on every notable master, found the dharma had no different flavours, and came home to build a hut. He was awakened under Dahui Zonggao and became his heir. He was abbot of Xichan on Mount Yi in Fuzhou. He died on the fifteenth of the seventh month of 1153, aged 62, with 37 years in robes.
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