Guīfēng Zōngmì 圭峯宗密 (780–841), shì Dìnghuì chánshī 定慧禪師 (conferred posthumously), titular Dàzhì yuánmíng zìzhèng lìtā dàpúsà 大智圓明自證利他大菩薩, named after his residence at the Guīfēng shān 圭峯山 near the Táng capital. Uniquely dual-lineage: simultaneously the Fifth Patriarch of the Huáyán school 華嚴宗 and a Hézé-lineage 荷澤宗 descendant of Huìnéng through Suízhōu Dàoyuán 道圓 (DILA A004166).
Native of Xīchōng 西充 (Sìchuān), lay surname Hé 何. Initial Confucian education; took refuge in Buddhism in his mid-twenties. Ordained in 805 at 26. Awakening in Yuánhé 2 (807) under Dàoyuán at Suízhōu — in the “wǎn zhǎn wǎn dǎ 晚斬晚打 / late-cutting-and-beating” encounter, on the Yuánjué jīng 圓覺經 (“Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment”) as the turning text. Received full precepts from lǜshī Zhèng 拯律師 shortly after. Travelled to study Huáyán doctrinal tradition under 澄觀 Chéngguān 澄觀 (738–839, the Fourth Huáyán Patriarch), succeeding him eventually as Fifth Patriarch. Summoned to the imperial palace to lecture in Tàihé 2 (828). Resided at the Guīfēng shān from the late 820s onward. Died Huìchāng 1.1.6 (5 February 841), aged 62, sēnglà 34; cremation at the Xìngfú tǎyuàn 興福塔院; relic-remains recovered several dozen.
Zōngmì’s doctrinal project was the integrative synthesis of Chán and Huáyán: Chán as the xīn fǎ 心法 (mind-dharma) and Huáyán as the jiào fǎ 教法 (teaching-dharma), organised through a threefold classification of Chán schools and a threefold classification of doctrinal teachings. This program is articulated most fully in the Chányuán zhūquánjí dūxù 禪源諸詮集都序 (KR6q0091, T48 n2015) — the surviving general preface to his now-lost 100-juan compilation of Chán primary sources, the Chányuán zhūquánjí 禪源諸詮集. He also authored over thirty independent works, including the Yuánrén lùn 原人論 (“Inquiry into the Origin of Humanity”), the Yúlánpén jīng shū 盂蘭盆經疏, the Huáyán jīng lúnguàn 華嚴經綸貫, the Yuánjué jīng dàshū 圓覺經大疏 and its shìyì chāo 釋義抄, the Jīn’gāng bōrě jīng shūlùn zuǎnyào 金剛般若經疏論纂要, the Qǐxìn lùn shūzhù 起信論疏注, the Zhù Huáyán fǎjiè guānmén 注華嚴法界觀門, and the Zhōnghuá chuán xīndì chánmén shīzī chéngxí tú 中華傳心地禪門師資承襲圖. Only a fraction survives in direct transmission; many are known only through citation in Yǒngmíng Yánshòu’s Zōngjìng lù (KR6q0092).
Zōngmì’s lay disciple 裴休 Péi Xiū 裴休 was his principal lay supporter and the preface-writer for multiple Zōngmì works, including the present. Péi composed the tomb-inscription Guīfēng chánshī bēimíng 圭峯禪師碑銘 that is the principal primary biographical source for Zōngmì. Several of Péi’s prefaces to Zōngmì’s Yuánjuè jīng commentaries are preserved as major doctrinal essays in their own right.
Works in the Kanripo corpus: KR6q0091 Chányuán zhūquánjí dūxù 禪源諸詮集都序 (2 juan, T48 n2015).
Per DILA A000587: birth 780 (sui reckoning from 62-year lifespan ending in 841); death Huìchāng 1.1.6 = 5 February 841; native of Xīchōng in Sìchuān. Fifth Patriarch of Huáyán 華嚴 and Hézé-lineage Chán 荷澤宗.
name: 宗密 pinyinName: Zōngmì alternateNames: [] dynasty: 宋 birthDate: deathDate: cbdbId: dilaAuthorityId: created: 2026-04-24 updated: 2026-04-24
Zōngmì 宗密 (Sòng)
Northern-Sòng Chán xiǎoshī 小師 of 倚遇 Fǎchāng Yǐyù (1005–1081); recorder (lù 錄) of his master’s single-juan yǔlù (KR6q0378; X73 n1448). Lifedates unrecorded. Distinct from the famous Táng-era Guīfēng Zōngmì 圭峰宗密 (780–841) above.