Muchen Daomin

Muchen Daomin (1596–1674) was a prominent Chinese Chan master of the Yangqi branch of the Linji school and a direct dharma heir of Miyun Yuanwu. He was the first to serve as abbot of Tiantong monastery after Miyun's death, holding the position from 1642 to 1645 during the turbulent Ming-Qing transition.

Muchen is notable for two aspects of his career. First, he compiled the first edition of Miyun's Collected Sayings, a task that placed him in direct conflict with Feiyin Tongrong, another of Miyun's heirs, who organized a rival compilation — reflecting deeper tensions about doctrinal authority. Second, Muchen became the spiritual teacher of the Shunzhi Emperor, the first Qing emperor to rule over all of China. Under Muchen's influence, the grief-stricken emperor reportedly attempted to abdicate and become a monk. Crucially for Vietnamese Buddhism, Muchen's dharma lineage extended to Vietnam through his student Bổn Quả Khoáng Viên, who was the direct teacher of Nguyên Thiều, the monk who brought the Linji school to Vietnam and established the Lâm Tế tradition. Muchen died in 1674 at age seventy-eight.