Chánlín lèijù 禪林類聚
Classified Gathering of the Chán Forest — a twenty-juan Yuán-dynasty Chán classified-reference anthology, compiled by Yuán Dàotài 元道泰 (a Yuán-era monk; not the same as the earlier Liú-Sòng or Běi-Wèi monks of the same name; lifedates and full biographical details unrecorded).
About the work
A twenty-juan Yuán-dynasty Chán anthology, X67 n1299. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted.
The lèijù 類聚 (“classified gathering”) genre: the text takes Chán-source-materials (gōng’àn, master-dialogues, yǔlù passages) and organises them by topical or thematic category rather than by lineage-chronology. This allows the reader to locate Chán materials on specific themes (doctrinal topics, encounter-moments, specific images or phrases) across the entire Sòng-Yuán yǔlù tradition.
Abstract
Dàotài 道泰 (Yuán-dynasty Chán monk): the named compiler. Lifedates and biographical details unrecorded. Given the text’s Yuán compilation, Dàotài was active in the late-13th or early-14th century. Not to be confused with two earlier monks of the same name.
Dating: notBefore c. 1280 (reasonable start for Yuán Chán anthology-compilation); notAfter c. 1340 (approximate Yuán-era horizon).