Wenshu Yingzhen

Wenshu Yingzhen was a Caodong school master whose name invokes Manjushri (Wenshu), the bodhisattva of wisdom. He is recorded in the transmission literature as a teacher who maintained the Caodong tradition's contemplative depth while engaging skillfully with the broader Buddhist world of the Song dynasty.

Yingzhen's teaching continued the Caodong emphasis on the integration of wisdom and compassion through the practice of meditation. The school's approach—sitting as the direct expression of awakened mind rather than as a technique for achieving it—represented a distinctive contribution to Chinese Buddhist practice that would eventually transform the landscape of Japanese Zen.