Xíngshěng 行省 (Xūzhōu Xíngshěng 虛舟行省)
Born 萬曆己亥 12/22 亥時 = 1600-02-06 Gregorian; died 康熙戊申 5/6 未時 = 1668-06-14 Gregorian, shìshòu 70, sēnglà 24 (per the KR6q0465 juan 4 xīhú Xūzhōushěng héshàng tǎmíng 西湖虛舟省和尚塔銘). Zì Xūzhōu 虛舟 (“Empty Boat”). LínjìYángqí dharma-heir of Fèiyǐn Tōngróng 通容 費隱通容 (1593–1661). Native of Cíxī 慈谿 (Sìmíng / Níngbō, Zhèjiāng); lay surname Yáo 姚.
Formation. Erudite as a youth (yòu tōng rúyè 幼通儒業). At 18 (= 1617) a sickness triggered a sudden chūshì 出世 vow; began with the Dàhuì yǔlù and the Xūmí shān 須彌山 jùzǐ with initial xǐng. Pilgrimage as lay-disciple through Yúnmén, Píngtáo (= 缾匋), Yǔfēng, Lóngmén, Lǐān; final lay-stage at Jīnsù under Mìwēng lǎohéshàng 密翁老和尚 = 圓悟 Mìyún Yuánwù, who bestowed the lay-name Tōngshěng 通省. 順治甲申 = 1644 (age 46): family ruined and mother dead in the MíngQīng warfare; tonsured at Xuědòu 雪竇 with full precepts; transferred to Fèiyǐn Tōngróng, who renamed him Xíngshěng 行省 to mark formal Chán entry. Transmission 甲午 = 1654 at Yúyún Chāoguǒ 寓雲超果.
Abbacies. Xiǎnjìng Chánsì 顯淨禪寺 (1655 乙未); Hùshēng Chányuàn 護生禪院 (1657 丁酉); Liúxī Chányuàn 留錫禪院 (1659 己亥); Hǒushān èryuàn 吼山二院 (referenced in KR6q0465 Yán Dàcān preface as the seat at 1658 dating).
Heirs. Six fǎsì: Méiān Chāozhū 梅庵超諸, Wènshí Chāozhí 超直 問石超直 (compiler of KR6q0465), Kēxuě Chāocàn 珂雪超璨, Xuědìng Chāoshù 雪定超潪. Two ordained yìnzhèng nuns: Mìqǐ Chāochū 密啟超初, Juéwù Zǔní 覺悟祖尼. Two principal lay-heirs: Hézhuó Xuě Chāoxìn 何卓雪超信, Shěn Shàngxiān Chāoshàng 沈尚先超尚.
Works. KR6q0465 《虛舟省禪師語錄》 4 juan, Jiāxīng Canon J33 B282, compiled by fǎsì Wènshí Chāozhí with prefaces by 嚴大參 Yán Dàcān (1658) and Zhāng Wénjiā 張文嘉 (post-1668). Also KR6q0215 《虛舟禪師註八識規矩頌》 — his ChánYogācāra commentary on Xuánzàng’s Bā shí guī jǔ sòng, distinguished by sustained scholastic engagement with Yogācāra doctrine unusual for an early-Qīng Chán master. Sources: 《五燈全書》 j. 92.