Huànzhùān qīng guī 幻住庵清規
Pure Regulations of the Huànzhù Hermitage
A short monastic-code manual by the Yuán Línjì master Zhōngfēng Míngběn 中峰明本 (1263–1323), shì Pǔyìng guóshī 普應國師, for his own hermitage-community at the Huànzhùān 幻住庵 (“Illusory-Dwelling Hermitage”) on Tiānmù shān 天目山; dated Yánhòu 4 (1317) winter
About the work
A one-juan short monastic code for a small hermitage-community, distinct in scale and style from the large-cónglín monastic codes (Zōngzé’s KR6q0136 Chányuàn qīng guī, Déhuī’s KR6q0102 Chì xiū Bǎizhàng qīngguī). Taishō X63 n1248. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted.
Míngběn’s own preface articulates the rationale for a smaller, hermitage-level regulatory text: “We in this hermitage do not presume to imitate the full cónglín ritual-code; but day-by-day we also cannot do without some regulation. Accordingly I have prepared this xū zhī 須知 (“required-knowledge”) compilation, arranged in ten articles, as a standard for host-and-guest interaction; it will form its own family-style of regulation, not aspiring to supplement the greater institutional codes.”
Tiyao
Not a WYG text; no 四庫 tíyào exists. The preface is signed Yánhòu dīngsì dōng Huànzhù shāmén shū 延祐丁巳冬 幻住沙門書 (dated winter 1317).
Abstract
Zhōngfēng Míngběn 中峰明本 (1263–1323, DILA A000655), one of the most influential Yuán-dynasty Chán masters and the key figure for the early-14th-century LínjìYángqí revival. Hào Zhōngfēng 中峰, later shì Pǔyìng guóshī 普應國師, Fócí Yuánzhào Guǎnghuì chánshī 佛慈圓照廣慧禪師, and Zhìjué chánshī 智覺禪師; alternative hào Huànzhù dàorén 幻住道人 or Huànzhù lǎorén 幻住老人. Also styled Jiāngnán gǔ fó 江南古佛 (“Old Buddha of Jiāngnán”). Native of Qiántáng 錢塘 (Hángzhōu), lay surname Sūn 孫.
Dharma-heir of Gāofēng Yuánmiào 高峰原妙 (1238–1295) at Tiānmù shān; subsequently became the principal heir of the LínjìYángqí lineage into the early Yuán. Held multiple hermitage-residencies in and around Tiānmù shān, refusing major institutional abbacies on principle. Extensive written corpus, including the Huànzhùān qīng guī for his immediate hermitage communities. Died in 1323.
The Huànzhùān qīng guī represents a distinctive sub-genre within the monastic regulatory literature: a regulatory text designed explicitly for the smaller hermitage-community rather than the large cónglín monastery, setting out proportionately scaled-down and simplified protocols. Its ten-articles structure organises practical monastic life at the hermitage level.
Dating: precise. Self-preface dated Yánhòu 4 winter (1317). notBefore 1317, notAfter 1317.
Translations and research
- Natasha Heller. 2014. Illusory Abiding: The Cultural Construction of the Chan Monk Zhongfeng Mingben. Harvard. The standard English monograph on Míngběn; includes treatment of the Huànzhù-ān qīng guī.
- Yifa. 2002. The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China. Hawai’i.
- 椎名宏雄 1993. 《宋元版禅籍の研究》.
- 石井修道 1987. 《宋代禪宗史の研究》.
Other points of interest
Míngběn’s deliberate preference for smaller hermitage-community regulation over the large monastic-institutional codes is characteristic of his broader monastic project: he refused the major LínjìYángqí abbacies when they were offered, preferring to remain at his own small hermitages on Tiānmù shān. The Huànzhùān qīng guī codifies this “xiǎo qīng guī” (smaller regulation) approach and provides a model for analogous hermitage-level monastic organisation. The text was influential in the subsequent Japanese Rinzai-Hermitage tradition through the pupils of Míngběn’s disciples who brought his materials to Japan in the early 14th century.