Distinguished is level 3 of 4 in the China Hall of Fame: sustained excellence over a career, widely honoured at home. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
The Tang dynasty monk revered as the Sixth Patriarch of Chan, or Zen, Buddhism, whose teaching of sudden enlightenment shaped the tradition across East Asia.
According to tradition Huineng was an illiterate woodcutter from the south whose insight so impressed the Fifth Patriarch that he was secretly given the robe of succession. The Platform Sutra, attributed to him, is the only Chinese Buddhist text honoured with the title of sutra.
The Southern school of Chan that traces itself to him became the dominant form of Zen in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
The Southern school of Chan that traces itself to him became the dominant form of Zen in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
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