The fourth generation Chan patriarch Daoxin (道信 580–651) is considered to be the de facto founder of Chan. Characteristics of his cult can be found in the Bodhisattva precepts (梵網経 Brahmajāla-sūtra) and the Sui-ziyi-sanmei (随自意三昧). The chapter Daoxin of the Lengga-Shiziji (楞伽師資記) is a fundamental source for information on this figure. Traditionally, the original form of Daozin’s Yixing-sanmei (一行三昧) was seen in the system of Tiantaizhiyi (天台智顗)’s meditation, especially the Changzuo-sanmei (常坐三昧). However, it is reasonable to understand that it is the Feixing-feizuo-sanmei (非行非坐三昧) among the four kinds of samādhi (四種三昧) of Zhiyi. Furthermore, Daoxin inherits the Chan of Nanyue Huisi (南岳慧思 514?–577), the teacher of Zhiyi. Based on the two principles of doctrine of Huisi, the bodhisattva precepts, and the Feixing-feizuo-sanmei, Zhiyi’s Chan was handed down.
The main point of the current study is to understand the tradition of Chan of Daoxin regarding the Feixing-feizuo-sanmei (equivalent to Sui-ziyi-sanmei 随自意三昧). Daoxin actualizes the doctrine of the Guan-wuliang-jing’s expression “This mind is Buddha” (是心是佛). The meaning of this expression is based in the definition of the single practice samādhi of the Seven Hundred Line Perfection of Wisdom. Daoxin adopted the Suiziyi-sanmei as a method to actualize that. The two principles of the boshidattva precepts and the Suiziyi-sanmei were handed down to later generations as one of the principles of the Chan tradition.
