Chan/Zen Buddhism was the mainstream of the Chinese Buddhism in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. In fact from the Five Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty, only Yunmen Buddhism and Linji Buddhism were popular among the people. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Yunmen Buddhism declined gradually, and Huanglong branch of the Linji Lineage also declined continuously. Meanwhile, the Yangqi Lineage was spread more and more extensively and prosperously. Finally, it became the mainstream,and was considered resuming the origin of Linji Buddhism. Songyuan Chongyue, succeeding Mi’an Xianjie, was an offspring of the 14th generation of Linji Buddhism, and an outstanding representative of Huqiu branch of the Yangqi Lineage. He spread the stick hitting style of Linji Buddhism. At the age of 23, he became a monk, and visited Lingshi Miaogong at fi rst. Then he called on Dahui Zonggao at Mount Jing, but was not accepted. After that, he called on Ying’an Tanhua, who regarded him as a dharma vessel. He then visited Mu’an An’yong of the Dahui branch, and then paid homage to Mi’an Xianjie. There were eight Buddhist sites established. All of them were great temples situated on famous mountains. His Zen thinking covered three main areas: (1) It emphasized the heart work when there was no way to get released; (2) It hinted “speaking without using the tongue”; and (3) It practiced Zen rules in daily life. As to his Zen styles, including intensity, silence, wise use of double luck, simplicity and no cheating, they were praised not only by the people of China, but also by the people of Japan. He earned a place in the history of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
