Of the Gaoyang 高陽 family of Suzhou, thirty-second generation of the Linji house; also styled Ou'an. Born on the thirteenth of the first month of 1621, after his mother dreamed a strange dream. Quick as a child and fond of sitting alone, he recited the Cundi dharani daily and would set out food and bow to any travelling monk who came. At fifteen he wanted to leave home and nearly starved himself when his parents refused. He met Jie'an (Wuji n) — 'question and answer between them mixed like water and milk' — and received the charge and attended him. He returned to Ou'an, made an image of Guanyin, built a meditation hall, and copied out the Huayan, Surangama and Amitabha sutras entire. Worn out, he withdrew to a thatched hut outside the East Gate and there, taking up the brush, wrote 'All my life solitary, I kept the gate and held to plainness; though my way was cool, I trust the blaze of those who come after', gave a shout, threw down the brush and died — the hour of yin on the seventeenth of the seventh month of 1677, aged 57, with 34 years in robes.
References: DILA Authority A016475
View interactive profile →