Danxia Tianran

Danxia Tianran was one of the most colorful figures of Tang dynasty Chan, a student of Shitou Xiqian who is best remembered for the famous incident in which he burned a wooden Buddha statue to warm himself on a cold night. When the horrified temple abbot protested, Danxia said he was looking for sacred relics in the ashes. The abbot asked how a wooden statue could contain relics, and Danxia said, "Then why are you upset? Hand me the other two Buddhas to burn." This story became a Chan archetype for the teaching that no form, however sacred, should be confused with the living reality it represents.

Before coming to Shitou, Danxia had been a Confucian scholar on his way to the civil service examinations when he encountered a Chan practitioner who told him that becoming a Buddha was superior to becoming an official. He detoured to Mazu Daoyi, who sent him to Shitou. His teaching emphasized the radical freedom of one who has let go of all attachment, including attachment to religious forms and images.