Cháozōng chánshī yǔlù 朝宗禪師語錄
Recorded Sayings of Chán Master Cháo-zōng by 通忍 (說), 行導 (編)
About the work
Ten-juan yǔlù of Cháozōng Tōngrěn 通忍 朝宗通忍 (1604-02-21 – 1648-11-22), LínjìYángqí dharma-heir of 圓悟 Mìyún Yuánwù (1567–1642). Compiled by sole heir Nuònuò Xíngdǎo 行導 諾諾行導 of Gànzhōu Bǎohuásì. Printed as Jiāxīng Canon J34 B300. Six-abbacy structure across Jiāngnán / Fújiàn / Guǎngdōng / Jiāngxī, ending with the Gōnggōng Bǎohuásì 龔公寶華寺 death-seat. The juan-10 xíngzhuàng gives the principal biographical record.
Abstract
Authorship. Per DILA A016164: native of Chángzhōu 常州 (Jiāngsū), lay surname Chén 陳. Tonsured at 22 (1625) under Dúzhī 獨知 at Chángshēngān; seven years’ intensive practice with Mìyún Yuánwù at Jīnsù 金粟. 崇禎四 = 1631 decisive transmission at Āyùwángshān 阿育王山 on the měnghǔ shí ròu 猛虎以肉 question.
Dating. notBefore = 1631 (post-transmission preaching). notAfter = 1648 (death). Six abbacies: Jīnlíng Zhītuó → Hǎiyán Língyòu → Fúzhōu Língshí → Cáoshān Shàngshēng → Cáoxī Nánhuá (= 南華寺 of the Sixth Patriarch Huìnéng tradition!) → Gōnggōng Bǎohuá (Jiāngxī death-seat). The Cáoxī Nánhuásì abbacy is particularly significant — Cháozōng’s installation at the Sixth Patriarch’s home seat marks an important Mì-yún-line claim on the Línjì origin-shrine.
Lineage and heirs. Mìyún Yuánwù → Cháozōng Tōngrěn → Xíngdǎo 行導 (sole heir). The single-heir succession line is unusual among Mìyún heirs; the line did not propagate substantially beyond Xíngdǎo.
Tiyao
Not applicable — Jiā-xīng-canon Míng yǔlù (J34 B300). The juan-10 xíngzhuàng provides the principal documentation.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located. For the broader Mì-yún Yuán-wù field: Jiang Wu, Enlightenment in Dispute (Oxford 2008).
Other points of interest
- Cáoxī Nánhuásì abbacy. Cháozōng’s installation at the Sixth Patriarch’s home seat (= 南華寺 / 寶林寺 in Sháoguān, Guǎngdōng) is a documented mid-1640s Mì-yún-line claim on the foundational Línjì origin-monastery — paralleling the contemporary efforts of Mùchén Dàomín at Tiāntóng to assert Mì-yún-line institutional dominance.