Jiàowài biéchuán 教外別傳
Transmission Outside the Teaching
compiled by 黎眉 (Lí Méi) and others, late Míng
About the work
A 16-juan late-Míng Chán anthology whose title — “Transmission Outside the Teaching” — invokes the standard Chán slogan (教外別傳，不立文字, “A transmission outside the scriptures; not dependent on words”). Compiled by Lí Méi together with other late-Míng monastic editors; emphasises the teaching-dialogues of the orthodox Línjì and Cáodòng lines.
Abstract
One of the late-Míng Chán anthology compilations that flourished alongside the Zhǐyuè lù of Qú Rǔjī (KR6q0023) — the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries saw substantial lay and monastic interest in curated Chán readers, and the Jiàowài biéchuán is a representative exemplar. The compilation draws from the Sòng lamp records and from early-Míng recorded-sayings, selecting for pedagogical value rather than genealogical completeness.
Translations and research
No English translation. No dedicated monograph. Discussed briefly in surveys of Míng Chán literature.
Other points of interest
The title’s programmatic Chán slogan captures the genre’s aspiration: a teaching reader that bypasses doctrinal exposition in favour of direct recorded-sayings transmission.