Yongjia Xuanjue
Yongjia Xuanjue
Unknown – 713
Yongjia Xuanjue (永嘉玄覺, 665–713) was a Tiantai-trained monk who is said in the *Jǐngdé Chuándēng Lù* to have visited the Sixth Patriarch Huineng on his way back from a pilgrimage and to have received Huineng's seal of approval in the course of a single night, earning him the nickname "Yi-su Jue," "Overnight Awakening" (一宿覺)[1]. The episode is one of the foundational anecdotes of the Southern School's claim that realisation does not depend on long temple residence under a teacher[2].
His enduring contribution is the *Zhèngdàogē* (證道歌, "Song of Enlightenment"), a long verse composition that became one of the most-chanted and translated works in the Chan and Zen traditions; its rhythmic, image-dense affirmation of awakened mind has shaped the literary register of Chan poetry from the Tang onward, and remains in active liturgical use in modern Korean Sŏn[3]. Modern scholarship is divided on the historicity of his single-night meeting with Huineng, but the attribution of the *Zhèngdàogē* to Yongjia is securely attested in the early lamp records[4].
Names
Teachers and lineage of Yongjia Xuanjue
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
- proverbIn Walking, Just Walk
In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.
Have you not seen? The person of the Way who has gone beyond learning, who does not strive, who does not contrive? Neither rejecting thought nor seeking truth, the real nature of ignorance is Buddha-nature itself; this empty, illusory, changeable body is nothing other than the Dharma body. In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.
- proverbOvernight Guest
I came to Huineng for confirmation; we spoke a single night and I was confirmed. They have called me the Overnight Guest ever since. The night was long because nothing was held back.
Walking is Zen, sitting is Zen. Speaking and silent, moving and still — the body's nature stands serene, even in rough country.
- proverbDragon Girl Becomes Buddha
The dragon girl became Buddha in a single moment. The patriarchs took many lifetimes. Both stories are true; both are reminders not to keep score.
Mind is the faculty, things are the object — like two knife blades striking sparks. To stop the sparks, do not put away the knives; learn the angle.
Other masters in Early Chan
Master Record Sources
d. 713
Yongjia Xuanjue
Qingyuan line
- koan_refsChart of the Chan Ancestors
7
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Yongjia Xuanjue
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Dajian Huineng