Huángbò Xīyùn (, ) (died 850) was an influential master of Zen Buddhism during the Tang dynasty.
Huángbò was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai (720–840), and the teacher of Linji Yixuan (died 866) (Wade–Giles: Lin-chi I-hsüan; Japanese: Rinzai Gigen).
Biography
Sources
Very little about Huángbò's life is known for certain as, unlike other Transmission of the Lamp literature, there is no biographical information included with Huángbò's collection of sayings and sermons, the Ch’uan-hsin Fa-yao (Essentials of Mind Transmission) and the Wan-ling Lu (Record of Wan-ling: Japanese: Enryōroku).
He was born in Fuzhou, China. The records indicated that Huángbò was extraordinarily tall.
Monastic life
Huángbò began his monastic life on Mt. Huangbo in Fujian province, receiving the Buddhist name Xiyun (Hsi-yun). As was the custom of the times, he traveled around seeking instructions from various Chan masters. He visited Mt. Tiantai and sought teachings from the National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong (Wade–Giles: Nan-yang Hui-chung; Japanese: Nan’yō Echū). At some point he may also have studied under Nanquan Puyuan (748–835) (Wade–Giles: Nan-ch’üan P’u-yüan; Japanese: Nansen Fugan), a student of Mazu Daoyi (Wade–Giles: Ma-tsu Tao-i; Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) (709–788)
However, Huángbò's main teacher was Baizhang Huaihai (Wade–Giles: Pai-chang Huai-hai; Japanese: Hyakujo Ekai), another Mazu student, and it was from Baizhang that Huángbò received Dharma transmission. According to Yuanwu Keqin's commentary in The Blue Cliff Record, when Huángbò first met Baizhang, Baizhang exclaimed, “Magnificent! Imposing! Where have you come from?” Huángbò replied, “Magnificent and imposing, I’ve come from the mountains.”
Lung-hsing Monastery
In 842, a prominent government official in Kiangsi province, Pei Xiu (Wade–Giles: P’ei Hsiu) (787 or 797–860), invited Huángbò to take up residence at Lung-hsing Monastery. Pei was an ardent student of Chan and received teachings from Huángbò, eventually building a monastery for Huángbò around 846, which the master named Huang-po after the mountain where he had been a novice monk.
Death
Before Huángbò died, he named thirteen successors, the most prominent of which was Linji Yixuan. He was given the posthumous title (probably under the urging of Pei Xiu who became chief minister of the central government in 853) of “Chan Master Without Limits” (Tuan Chi Ch’an Shih).
John Blofeld says he died on Mount Huangbo during the T'ai Chung reign of the Tang dynasty, or between 847 and 859. Blofeld says his memorial pagoda is "The Tower of Spacious Karma" and that it was Emperor Hsüan Tsung who gave him the title "The Zen Master Who Destroys All Limitations".
Teachings
Sources
What is known of Huángbò's teachings comes from two texts, the Ch’uan-hsin Fa-yao (Essential of Mind Transmission) and the Wan-ling Lu (Record of Wan-ling: Japanese: Enryōroku) written by Huángbò's student, Pei Xiu. Pei compiled the teachings from his own notes and sent the manuscript to the senior monks on Mount Huangbo for further editing and emendation.
The “official” version of the Huángbò literature was published as part of the Transmission of the Lamp, Compiled during the Ching-te Period, in 1004. The record of Huángbò is more or less equally split between sermons by the master and question and answer dialogues between the master and his disciples and lay people.
One Mind
Huángbò's teaching centered on the concept of “mind” (Chinese: hsin), a central issue for Buddhism in China for the previous two centuries or more. He taught that mind cannot be sought by the mind. One of his most important sayings was “mind is the Buddha”. He said:
He also said:
He also firmly rejected all dualism, especially between the “ordinary” and “enlightened” states:
Tathāgatagarbha
Since all is Buddha-mind, all actions reflect the Buddha, are actions of a Buddha. Huángbò's teaching on this reflected the Indian concept of the tathāgatagarbha, the idea that within all beings is the nature of the Buddha. Therefore, Huángbò taught that seeking the Buddha was futile as the Buddha resided within:
Huángbò was adamant that any form of “seeking” was not only useless, but obstructed clarity: