Caoshan Benji
Caoshan Benji
840 – 901
Caoshan Benji was a student of Dongshan Liangjie and the co-founder of the Caodong school, which takes its name from the first characters of Dongshan (Cao) and Caoshan (Cao). He further developed Dongshan's Five Ranks teaching into an elaborate dialectical system that mapped the relationship between the absolute and the relative, providing the Caodong school with its distinctive philosophical framework.
Caoshan's approach to the Five Ranks was more systematic and intellectually rigorous than Dongshan's original poetic formulations. He developed detailed analyses of each rank and their interrelationships, creating a comprehensive map of the stages through which practitioner and reality come into alignment. His teaching attracted students who were drawn to the subtlety and depth of this approach, and his lineage became one of the two main branches of the Caodong school.
Names
Teachers
Students
No linked student records yet.
Teachings
- dialogueFive Ranks: Dialogue with a Student
A monk asked Caoshan, 'How is it when the absolute is within the relative?' Caoshan said, 'Like a lotus flower in the midst of fire.' The monk asked, 'How is it when the relative is within the absolute?' Caoshan said, 'Nothing in the entire universe is hidden.' The monk asked, 'How is it when absolute and relative arrive together?' Caoshan said, 'No one in the whole city of Changan.' The monk asked, 'What is their mutual integration?' Caoshan said, 'Sitting alone on the great peak.'
- sayingOn the Interpenetration of Absolute and Relative
The absolute and the relative are like two mirrors facing each other—within each, the other is perfectly reflected. The absolute is not something remote, hidden behind the world of appearances. It is the very substance of every appearance. And the world of form is not an illusion to be discarded—it is the absolute expressing itself in ten thousand ways. To cling to the absolute and reject the world is to fall into emptiness. To cling to the world and ignore the absolute is to drown in form. The Way of our school is to walk freely between them, neither grasping nor rejecting.
Master Record Sources
840-901
Caoshan Benji
Caodong
- koan_refsChart of the Chan Ancestors
52,73 10 30
840-901
Caoshan Benji
Caodong/Soto
Dongshan Liangjie
840-901
Caoshan Benji
Caodong
Dongshan Liangjie
840–901
Caoshan Benji
Caodong
- teachersWikipedia - Zen Lineage Charts
Dongshan Liangjie