Of the Li clan of Luzhou; his mother was a Zhao. He was born at noon on the 10th of the 6th month of 1598 — the night before, his father saw the room fill with sunlight. His father died when he was one. At seven, seeing a shadow move at the window, he was seized with the question of where a man's shadow goes when he dies, and brooded for a fortnight until his mother scolded him for going soft in the head. He left home at fifteen, went the round of the lecture-halls at twenty-five, and at thirty-five came to Poshan Haiming at Shuanggui — 'I am gnawed by birth and death; instruct me.' Poshan: 'You are a lecturer. The sutras are full of expedients — do you need mine?' He worked seven months, went blind from sleeplessness, was told by Xiangya to go to bed, and woke at the sound of the wooden board with a boulder rolled off him. He served Poshan ten years as prior before being sealed, and held Yunfeng at Fangshan, Panlong at Jiang'an and Kaiyuan at Nanxi. Died 1669, aged 72, with 37 years in robes; six dharma heirs.
References: DILA Authority A019617 | DILA Authority
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