Dayi Daoxin

Dayi Daoxin (Chinese: 道信; Pinyin: Dàoxìn; Wade–Giles: Tao-hsin; Rōmaji: Dōshin), who lived from 580 to 651, was the fourth Chán Buddhist Patriarch, following Jianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Rōmaji: Kanchi Sōsan) and preceding Daman Hongren (Chinese: 弘忍; Pinyin: Hóngrěn; Wade–Giles: Hung2-jen3; Rōmaji: Kōnin/Gunin; Korean romanization: Hong'in). The earliest mention of Daoxin is in the "Further Biographies of Eminent Monks" (Chinese: 續高僧傳; Pīnyīn: Xù Gāosēng Zhuàn; Wade–Giles: Hsü Kao-seng Chuan; Rōmaji: Zoku Kosoden) by Tao-hsuan (d. 667). A later source, the "Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure" (Chinese: 傳法寶記; Pīnyīn: Chuánfǎ Bǎojì; Wade–Giles: Ch'üanfa Paochi) written around 712, gives further details of Daoxin's life. As with many of the very earliest Chan masters, the accuracy of the historical record is questionable and in some cases, contradictory in details. The following biography is the traditional story of Daoxin, culled from various sources, including the "Compendium of Five Lamps" (Chinese: 五燈會元; Pīnyīn: Wǔdēng Huìyuán), compiled in the early thirteenth century by the monk Dachuan Lingyin Puji (1179–1253). Daoxin, whose surname was Si-ma, was born in Yongning County, Qizhou (Chinese: 蕲州府永宁县), which is the former Guangji County (Chinese: 湖北省广济县; 742–1987), renamed in 1987 as Wuxue City, Hubei Province (Chinese: 湖北省武穴市). He began studying Buddhism at the age of seven and although his teacher was a man of impure moral conduct, Daoxin maintained the Buddhist morality on his own without his teacher's knowledge for five or six years. According to Jianzhi Sengcan's chronicle in the Compendium of Five Lamps, Daoxin met Sengcan when he was only fourteen years old. The following exchange took place: Daoxin: I ask for the Master’s compassion. Please instruct me on how to achieve release. Sengcan: Is there someone who constrains [binds] you? Daoxin: There is no such person. Sengcan: Why then seek release when you are constrained by no one? Upon hearing these words, Daoxin was enlightened.