Definition
Reading: Setcho Juken / Reading (ZH): Xuědòu Chóngxiǎn
Xuedou Chongxian (雪竇重顕) is a Zen monk of the Northern Song dynasty.
Birthplace and Original Family Name: A person from Suining Prefecture (Tongchuan Prefecture, Sichuan Province). His original family name was Li.
Training History: After becoming a monk and receiving the full precepts, he traveled to the south and first studied under Zhimen Guangzuo (智門光祚).
Process of Enlightenment: Under Zhimen, Xuedou asked: “When not a single thought arises, how can there be any fault?” Zhimen called him closer. When Xuedou stepped forward, Zhimen immediately struck his mouth with a fly whisk (hossu). As Xuedou opened his mouth to speak, Zhimen struck him again. Under these blows, Xuedou attained great enlightenment in a flash of clarity.
Base of Activity: Cuifeng (Mount Cuifeng) and Zhisheng Temple on Mount Xuedou in Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo, Zhejiang Province).
Main Teaching: Possessing outstanding poetic and literary talent, he compiled the main cases and verses, which later became the foundational text for the famous Zen classic Hekiganroku (『碧巌録』).
Death: Passed away on June 10 in 1052. Age at death: 73.
Posthumous Title: 明覚大師 (Great Master of Luminous Awakening)(續傳燈録 巻二)(禪林僧寶傳 卷第十一).
Q&A
- Q: Why did Xuedou Chongxian's work become the foundation for a definitive masterpiece in later Zen circles?
- A: Because his outstanding poetic and literary talent sharply captured the core of 100 koans (main cases), building the immortal foundation for the Hekiganroku (The Blue Cliff Record).
