An Evaluation of Juefan Huihong

quotations from his books found in the Rentian yanmu

Abstract

Juefan Huihong (_??__??__??__??_ 1071-1128) who was a Chan priest in the lineage of Linji-zong Huang long-pai (_??__??__??__??__??__??_) during the Beisong dynasty (_??__??_) wrote many books in his life. His works, the Linjian lu _??__??__??_, the Chanlin Sengbao zhuan _??__??__??__??__??_, etc., convey valuable records. Although his works were criticized as exaggerated and highly speculative by Dahui Zonggao (_??__??__??__??_, 1089-1163), it is found that some of his descriptions were frequently quoted by other Chan priests in their works. These quotations were adopted as very important records, especially in the late twelfth century Rentian yanmu (_??__??__??__??_) of Huiyan Zhizhao (_??__??__??__??_). This report attempts to consider the estimation of Huihong, focusing on quotations from his books found in the Rentian yanmu. Most of the quotations from his work were descriptions about the Caodong-zong (_??__??__??_), and descriptions that cannot be found in others' works were included. From this, it seems that the book the Rentian yanmu is an important record quoting Huihong's works. In conclusion, we can give an estimation of Huihong because his works provide a valuable record of the Caodong-zong.