Linaje Bodhidharma

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Bodhidharma Puti Damo P'u-ti Ta-mo

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Map
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Introduction
All Zen (Chinese, "Chan") schools in the world today are derived from the Buddhist masters of ancient China displayed on this "map." At the top is Bodhidharma, the twentyeighth master of the traditional lineage descending from Shakyamuni, the historicalBuddha. Remembered as the "First Ancestor" of China, Bodhidharma transmitted Zen from India around the late fifth century C.E. Below Bodhidharma are his spiritual descendants, who were in turn the disciples and masters of later Zen generations. The "Sixth Ancestor," Dajian Huineng (I6), is the most famous of the ancient Chinese Zen masters. Five traditionally prominent Zen schools, or "houses," tracetheir historical line through Huineng and his two students, Nanyue Huairang and Qingyuan Xingsi. These five houses are named, in chronological order, the Guiyang, Linji, Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan schools. During the eleventh century the Linji school divided into the prominent Huanglong and Yangqi branches. Dajian Huineng and his lineage are know as the "Southern" school of Zen. But besides thishistorically dominant school and its five houses, other Zen schools also existed. Four of them–the Oxhead, Northern, Sichuan, and Heze schools–are represented on this map with their founders. Individual boxes on the map list, from top to bottom, each ancestor's name as it is written in Chinese pinyin transliteration, Chinese Wade-Giles transliteration, Chinese characters, and Japanese romajitransliteration, respectively. Birth and death dates are then indicated when known. Quotation marks indicate alternative names. Chinese names are omitted for individuals from Korea and Japan. Disciples of one teacher are arranged with the more senior student on the left. The index lists the names of individuals alphabetically according to their pinyin spellings. The "Location" column displays eachancestor's position on the map. The chapter (or "case") numbers of certain classic Zen texts where an ancestor prominently appears are indicated. Virtually all of the Zen masters on this map had other disciples who are not shown. 1

Bodai Daruma d. 536? C.E.

Zen Ancestors

Dazu Huike Ta-tsu Hui-k’o

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Taiso Eka 487-593

Other Countries - Vietnam, Korea, and Japan
By tradition, the IndianZen master Vinitaruci, a disciple of the third Chinese ancestor Jianzhi Sengsan (I3), established the first Zen school in Vietnam in 580 C.E. In 820 the Chinese master Wu Yantong, a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai (A9), went to Vietnam and started the prominent Vo-Ngon-Thong Zen school. The Chinese monk Cao Tang, a disciple of the Yunmen lineage master Xuedou Chongxian (H16), established theVietnamese Thao-Duong Zen school in the late eleventh century. Although these schools passed out of existence, Zen gained new life in Vietnam when the Nguyen Thieu and Lieu-Quan schools, branches of the Linji/Yangqi lineage, were established there in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These two schools have continued to modern times. Beginning with the fourth Chinese ancestor, Dayi Daoxin, manyChinese Zen masters had Korean disciples. In particular, some Chinese masters who studied under the great Mazu Daoyi (A8) had Korean students. Several of these individuals returned home as confirmed Zen masters to help create the "Nine Sôn (Zen) Mountains," nine famous schools of Korean Zen. The king of Korea once dispatched thirty-six monks from his kingdom to study under the Chinese Fayan masterYongming Yanshou (O17), each of them receiving dharma transmission. The recorded teachings of the Chinese Linji/Yangqi teacher Dahui Zonggao (A22) exerted great influence on Pojo Chinul (1158-1210), the famous Korean master who revitalized Zen in that country. Perhaps most significantly, the Chinese Zen master Shiwu confirmed the enlightenment of the Korean master Taegu Pou (C23), passing to him...