Zhongfeng Mingben

Zhongfeng Mingben (1263–1323) was the most prominent Chan master of the Yuan dynasty and a towering figure in the Linji school. Born in Qiantang, Zhejiang Province, he showed extraordinary spiritual inclination from childhood. His mother's death when he was nine deepened his renunciation. Around age twenty, he encountered the severe master Gaofeng Yuanmiao on Mount Tianmu's fearsome "Death Pass" and studied as a lay brother for three years before receiving tonsure in 1287. Two years after ordination, Mingben attained enlightenment. Gaofeng celebrated with a portrait and eulogy, declaring: "I allow this no-good son alone to have a peep at half of my nose."

After Gaofeng's death around 1295, Mingben declined leadership of the monastery and spent over two decades as an itinerant hermit-monk, establishing hermitages frequently named "Huanzhu'an" (Dwelling-in-the-Phantasmal), embodying his philosophy that all phenomena are illusory. Though repeatedly offered prestigious positions and imperial audiences, he consistently refused, living on houseboats and traveling incognito. He was called "The Old Buddha South of the Sea." In his teaching, Mingben emphasized huatou practice, calling koans "senseless and tasteless phrases" designed to create the "great doubt" essential for breakthrough. He also practiced nianfo alongside Chan, reflecting Yuan-dynasty syncretism. He drew students from across East Asia — seven Japanese monks became his dharma successors, profoundly influencing Japanese Zen. His major disciple Tianru Weize significantly shaped subsequent Ming-dynasty Chan. He died in 1323 at age sixty.