Fa-Ju

Hypothesis:

This religious study will examine the motives for various Eastern Mountain School disciples to do missionary work in northern Chinese cities during the Tang Dynasty. The historical example of Fa-Ju’s migration to Luoyang is one example of Hong Ren’s (the 5th patriarch) to send missionaries to the north to teach the “sudden” way of Buddhism in urban cities. Fa-Ju was a famous historical example of eastern Mountain missionary work, which spread the teachings of Hong Ren during the late 7th century. In the early 8th century, Shen-Hui (a disciple of Huineng) followed Fa-Ju’s missionary example by countermanding the rise of Yuquan Shenxiu’s “gradual” teachings in the Northern School. The motivation for Shen-Hui’s teaching in the capital

II.Fa-Ju’s missionary work in Luoyang. A.Fa-Ju travels to Luoyang after the death of Hong Ren. 1.Fa-Ju teaches Eastern Mountain School Chan Buddhism in Luoyang. B.Hong Ren and Fa-Ju sought to utilize missionary work through urban outlets. 1.Fa-Ju sets a historical trend for teaching southern Chan Buddhism in urban environments. 2.Fa-Ju and other members of the Southern School teach mediation techniques and write Buddhist doctrines for northern Buddhist scholars.

III.Shen-Hui and the Missionary Tradition of Huineng. A.Shen-Hui rebels against Yuquan Shenxiu and the Northern School by teaching Eastern Mountain School methods of teaching in Luoyang. 1.Shen-Hui lives as an outsider in Luoyang, but successfully teaches the “sudden” school in Luoyang. B.Shen-Hui is tolerated by Northern School officials, but he is eventually exiled. 1.Shen-Hui’s “mission” is to convert Chan Buddhist in the north to follow the tenets of the Eastern Mountain Teachings.

Hong Ren's teachings were called the “Eastern Mountain Teaching”, since he taught his disciples in Huangmei County. One of the earliest examples of a southern Chan Buddhism begins with Fa-Ju, a student of Hong Ren that traveled to the city of Luoyang to teach this form of Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple. This is an example of the shift of the Southern Chan School to a more urban environment, which set the stage for the expansion of this method of Chan teaching outside of the Huangmei