Ouyi Zhixu ( 1599–1655) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar in 17th century China. He is considered the Ninth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition, the Thirty-First Patriarch of the Tiantai tradition as well as a Chan master, . He was also one of the Four Eminent Monks of the Wanli Era, after Yunqi Zhuhong (1535–1615), Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623), and Zibo Zhenke (1543–1604).William Chu. Syncretism reconsidered: The Four Eminent Monks and their syncretistic styles. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29 Number 1 2006 (2008).
Zhixu is well known for his non-sectarian and syncretic writings, which draw on various traditions like Tiantai, Pure Land, Yogacara, and Chan, and also engage with Confucian, Daoist and Jesuit sources.
Life Ouyi was a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu province (South Zhili)."Ouyi Zhixu" in Buswell & Lopez (eds.) The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 2014. He was initially a student of Confucianism and rejected Buddhism, writing various anti-Buddhist tracts. However, after reading the works of Yunqi Zhuhong, he changed his mind and burned his old writings. When he was 19, his father died and Zhixu devoted himself completely to Buddhism, studying the sutras and practicing meditation.
At the age of 24, he became a monk at Yunqi temple under Master Khan Xueling, a disciple of Hanshan Deqing. During this 20s he studied Yogachara, practiced Chan based on the Shurangama Sutra, and he also experienced a great awakening during Chan meditation.
After his mother died when he was 28, he experienced a spiritual crisis and turned to the Pure Land practice of nianfo (reciting the Buddha's name). When he was 31, he drew lots to determine whether he should write a commentary on the Sutra of Brahma's Net based on Tiantai, Yogacara, Huayan or “a school of his own” (zili). He drew the lot for Tiantai. According to Foulks, his use of lots (rather than lineage ties or doctrinal reasons) for writing from a specific Buddhist tradition suggests that he saw these schools of thought as "not only compatible but also interchangeable."
In his 30s he studied the Tiantai school extensively, writing many commentaries and essays on Buddhist sutras. He became deeply interested in mantrayana practice in his 30s, particularly the mantra of Kṣitigarbha. Ouyi also became a public teacher during this time, writing and lecturing extensively.
When he was 37 Ouyi experienced various bouts of illness which continued throughout the rest of his life. Over time, these experiences led him to shift his focus to Pure Land Buddhist practice. At the age of 56, he underwent serious illness, after which he devoted himself almost entirely to Pure Land practice. In his Preface to the Pure Land Repentance, Zhixu explains how in his later years he turned to Pure Land practice:When I first aspired to the Mahayana, I diligently practiced for several years. Although I did not dare to be arrogant and claim to have arrived home, I felt that I had gained some strength in my practice. I then thought that I could not be reborn in the Pure Land. However, when I was seriously ill and close to death, I found that none of the methods I had practiced were of any use. I then single-mindedly aspired to return to the Pure Land. However, I did not abandon my original practice, hoping to combine Chan and Pure Land practice. After meeting Boshan, I fully understood the Chan sickness of the present age. I then resolutely abandoned Chan practice and cultivated Pure Land practice. Although I was criticized for being like a person who stops eating because of choking, I did not care.. Translated from the Chinese: Ouyi died in 1656, at fifty-seven.
Influence One of Ouyi's main temples of residence was Lingfeng Temple (), located in Anji county, Zhejiang. While Ouyi had previously written in his will that he wanted his remains to be burned and scattered in rivers as food for animals, his followers kept some of his bones as relics and placed them in a stupa at Lingfeng temple. Today, this temple has been renovated, and it continues to celebrate its ties to master Ouyi. In 2007, a new reliquary courtyard and memorial hall for Ouyi were constructed.
Ouyi Zhixu was very influential on Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. Important Pure Land Buddhist figures like Yinguang and Jingkong relied on his Commentary to the Amitabha Sutra, seeing it as the definitive commentary to this sutra. In the writings of Gukun (fl. 1855-d. 1892), Ouyi was raised to the status of a patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism, and this status was also promoted by Yinguang.
Monastics of the Tiantai lineage such as Huiyue also regard him as the Thirty-First Patriarch of the lineage, with his master Youxi Chuandeng, who was a great Tiantai revivalist, being the Thirtieth.
Ouyi Zhixu's work was influential on many later Chinese Buddhists including modern reformists like Taixu (1889–1947), Yinshun, and Hongyi (1880–1942).Master Sheng-yen (2002). Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master, p. 11. Oxford University Press. The modern Chinese Buddhist teacher Sheng Yen (1930–2009) wrote his doctoral dissertation on Ouyi, and considered Ouyi to be one of the greatest modern Buddhist figures (alongside Taixu, Ouyang Jingwu, and Yinshun).
His prolific writings and popularity with scholars made Ouyi one of the “four great eminent monks of the late Ming period" ”.
Ouyi's works became widespread in Japanese Buddhism during the Edo Period, especially after the arrival of the Ming Jiaxing Canon.Lin, Zhen-guo (林鎮國), and Jian Jin-ting (簡勁廷), eds. Japanese Buddhist Thought during the Edo Period: A Glimpse from the Other Side《側寫江戶佛教思想》. Chinese-Transmission Buddhism Series, no. 8. Institute of Chinese Buddhist Studies. (中華佛學研究所「漢傳佛教論叢」第 8 冊。) 2024.03. Taipei. Ouyi had over a hundred commentaries written on his works by Japanese Buddhist monks during the Edo Period.
Teaching
Ouyi was an eclectic author who wrote on many Chinese Buddhist doctrines and methods. His numerous works cover Pure Land practice, bodhisattva precepts, Tiantai doctrine and practice, Chan meditation (relying on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra), repentance rituals, Dizang devotion, Consciousness-only philosophy and meditation as well as Chinese Esoteric Buddhism.Wanyu, Zhang. "The Direct Explanation of Triṃśikā : an Annotated Translation of Ouyi Zhixu’s Weishi sanshi lun zhijie ", PHD Diss. Leiden University. 2019. Ouyi was well versed in the different Buddhist traditions of China, and according to his autobiography, he saw himself as being part of an inclusive tradition that included diverse Buddhisms such as Tiantai, Chan, Vinaya, and Pure Land. He had a non-sectarian view of the various forms of Buddhism, seeing them all as skillful means (upaya) for sentient beings with different potentials and circumstances.
Furthermore, he saw the various elements of Chinese Mahayana as being harmonious and inseparable:Meditation, the Teachings, and the Vinaya—these three are strung together continuously. They are not just spring orchids and fall chrysanthemums. Meditation is the Buddha’s mind, the Teachings are the Buddha’s words, and the Vinaya is the Buddha’s practice. How can this world have the mind but not the words or the practices? Numerous scholars see Ouyi as being affiliated with the Tiantai school. This is because his works show a deep influence from Tiantai ideas and doctrinal schemas, including the three truths, three contemplations, four teachings and so on. However, other scholars refuse to pin him down to a single tradition, pointing to other influences in Ouyi's writings, including Vinaya, Chan and Pure Land ideas.
Scholars like Beverley Foulks have argued that Ouyi ultimately did not consider himself to be a promoter of a single tradition in a sectarian sense, but instead should be seen as someone who saw his project as one “harmonizing the traditions” (zhuzong ronghe) and transcending specific sectarian distinctions. Throughout his life, he studied and practiced multiple Chinese lineages, including Chan, Vinaya, Tiantai and Pure Land.
The metaphysical foundation of Zhixu's Buddhist philosophy is the theory of "principle and nature" (), which is often expressed through varying terms such as "mind and nature" (), or "mind and body" (). These terms are used interchangeably to describe the fundamental principle that underlies all phenomena. This is the buddha-nature, the "body" of all dharmas, which is neither "empty" nor "not empty". It is beyond all descriptions and negations, and yet it is the source of all phenomena.Chen Yingshan . "The Characteristics and Central Position of Ouyi Zhixu's Thought." . Journal of Chinese Literary and Philosophical Studies, Issue 8 (March 1996), pp. 227-256. The basic source of this metaphysical theory is found in key Mahayana sources such as the Awakening of Faith, Śūraṅgama Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra, both of which were commented upon by Ouyi.
Pure Land teaching
As with other Ming authors on Pure Land at the time, Ouyi Zhixu defended the view that Pure Land practice worked through a symbiotic combination of the "other power" of the Buddha Amitabha with the "self power" of a person's Buddhist practice. This symbiosis was called “sympathetic resonance” (ganying ). For Ouyi, this resonance is grounded in the classic Chinese Buddhist metaphysical view of Buddhahood as a holistic and harmonious ultimate reality. In his Commentary on the Amitābha-sūtra, Ouyi explains the Pure Land teaching by relying on the philosophy of the Awakening of Faith and on the Yogacara mind-only (cittamatra) school. According to Ouyi's commentary, there is only one ultimate reality: the Dharmakaya, or Buddha-Mind, also known as the One Mind. Everything is but a manifestation within the vast ocean of this One Mind, like waves, or ripples. This includes all worlds, Buddhas, sentient beings, times, places, and experiences across the entirety of existence. The One Mind perspective highlights our connection to the absolute while preserving the conventional realities.
Although the Buddha-Mind encompasses all that exists, each of us possesses Buddha-nature, and our personal minds are infused with the Buddha-Mind, even if we fail to recognize it. Ignorance, delusion, and karmic obscurations only veil our awareness of this true nature. When we attempt to grasp or approach the One Mind using our limited, individual minds, it is akin to trying to scoop up the ocean with a teacup. This is why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas guide us toward awakening using special skillful means meant for our dualistic minds. Every authentic Buddhist teaching is a skillful means tailored to specific circumstances, aiming to lead beings to the realization of the One Mind. Though these teachings differ in form and application, they share a singular intent.
According to Ouyi, the best skillful means in our times for attaining the true Buddha Mind is to practice nianfo (buddha recollection):Among all expedients , if we seek the most direct and the most complete, none is as good as seeking birth in the Pure Land through Buddha-remembrance .
This is because "the method of reciting the Buddha-name, applies to people of high, medium, and limited capacities. It encompasses both the level of phenomena, and the level of inner truth (noumenon), omitting nothing. It embraces both Zen Buddhism and Scriptural Buddhism, and leaves nothing out." Ouyi also thinks this is the superior method because it is the most inclusive and accessible, "embracing people of all mentalities and the one that is easiest to practice."
Ouyi taught a threefold schema of nianfo (buddha recollection):Sheng Yen. "Master Ou Yi's Pure Land Thought" . Modern Buddhist Academic Series , no. 65 (October 1980): 331–342. Taipei: Mahayana Culture, 1980.