After the rise of Chan School, which became the mainstream of Chinese Buddhism, the understanding of chan practice primarily focused on the teachings of the Chan school, often neglecting the existence of pre-Chan and non-Chan chan scriptures, meditation practices, and communities of meditating monks. Exploring these chan scriptures, meditation practices, and communities of meditating monks can provide us with a more comprehensive understanding of the development and characteristics of meditation practices before and outside the Chan school. In the Xu Gao Seng Chuan, there are records of six different communities of meditating monks (Sengchou, Sengshi, Bodhidharma, Zhicui, Zhiyi, and Huizan). This article focuses on the lesser-known Sengshi and Huizan communities in the northern region and examines the biographies of relevant monks, their meditation practices, and their relationship with political powers. It reveals that the Sengshi community primarily operated in the area centered around Shaanxi, expanding to Sichuan, while the Huizan community mainly operated in Shanxi. By understanding the northern chan Buddhism of this period, we can gain a more comprehensive grasp of the development of meditation practices (including both within and outside the Chan school), the relationships between different communities of meditating monks, and the landscape of chan Buddhism that the Chan school, Tendai school inherited and encountered during its rising.
