Misty Spiritual Mountain – The Famous Monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty

Author: Jin Hui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The eastward transmission of Indian Buddhism and the establishment of Chinese Buddhist studies represent the most grandiose and longest-lasting cultural reclamation project and intellectual movement in Chinese history. In the two thousand years of Chinese Buddhist history, two great figures stand side by side: Xuanzang and Huineng. Xuanzang is the perfect culmination of the absorption phase; as a model of seeking and learning, and as a paragon of translation and scholarship, he is almost unparalleled. Huineng is the genius of the creative phase, as he embodies the state of illuminating the mind and realizing innate wisdom. This starting point is a pinnacle that towers above the ages. The peak of Xuanzang and Huineng, in both their learning and spiritual practice, worldly engagement and transcendence, active endeavors and effortless action, is awe-inspiring and reaches the pinnacle of perfection, captivating all who behold it and drawing the spirit to follow. The way of the sage also serves to add the finishing touch to Chinese culture and to shape the very essence of the Chinese spirit.