Luohan Guichen
Luohan Guichen
867 – 928
Luohan Guichen (羅漢桂琛, 867–928), also known as Dizang Guichen after his temple at Mount Dizang in Zhangzhou (Fujian), was the principal Dharma heir of Xuansha Shibei and the teacher of Fayan Wenyi[1]. The lamp records describe a probing, unhurried teaching style, characterised less by the abrupt shouts and strikes of the Linji line than by carefully turned questions that thrust the student back on their own resources[2].
His most cited exchange — preserved in the *Jǐngdé Chuándēng Lù*, the *Bìyán Lù* (Case 20), and the *Wúménguān*-stream literature — is the meeting with the still-unawakened Fayan during a snowstorm: "Where are you going?" "On pilgrimage." "What is pilgrimage for?" "I don't know." "Not knowing is most intimate" (不知最親切)[3]. This formula became one of the most-quoted Chan utterances on the limits of conceptual knowing, and through Fayan and the Fayan house it shaped the late-Tang/early-Song integration of Chan with Huayan and Tiantai thought.
Names
Disciples of Luohan Guichen
Teachers and lineage of Luohan Guichen
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
- dialogueNot Knowing Is Most Intimate
Fayan was about to leave the monastery on pilgrimage. Luohan Guichen asked him, "Where are you going?" Fayan said, "I'm going on pilgrimage." Luohan asked, "What is the purpose of pilgrimage?" Fayan said, "I don't know." Luohan said, "Not knowing is most intimate." At these words, Fayan had a great awakening.
Other masters in Qingyuan line
Master Record Sources
867-928
Luohan Guichen
Qingyuan line
- koan_refsChart of the Chan Ancestors
12,20
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Luohan Guichen
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Xuansha Shibei