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Ouyi Zhixu

Chinese Buddhist scholar monk (1599–1655)

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Zhixu is well known for his non-sectarian and syncretic writings, which draw on various traditions like Tiantai, Pure Land, Yogacara, and Chan, and also engage with Confucian, Daoist and Jesuit sources.

Life

Ouyi was a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu province (South Zhili). He was initially a student of Confucianism and rejected Buddhism, writing various anti-Buddhist tracts. However, after reading the works of Yunqi Zhuhong, he changed his mind and burned his old writings. When he was 19, his father died and Zhixu devoted himself completely to Buddhism, studying the sutras and practicing meditation.

At the age of 24, he became a monk at Yunqi temple under Master Khan Xueling, a disciple of Hanshan Deqing. During this 20s he studied Yogachara, practiced Chan based on the Shurangama Sutra, and he also experienced a great awakening during Chan meditation.

After his mother died when he was 28, he experienced a spiritual crisis and turned to the Pure Land practice of nianfo (reciting the Buddha's name). When he was 31, he drew lots to determine whether he should write a commentary on the Sutra of Brahma's Net based on Tiantai, Yogacara, Huayan or “a school of his own” (zili). He drew the lot for Tiantai. According to Foulks, his use of lots (rather than lineage ties or doctrinal reasons) for writing from a specific Buddhist tradition suggests that he saw these schools of thought as "not only compatible but also interchangeable."

In his 30s he studied the Tiantai school extensively, writing many commentaries and essays on Buddhist sutras. He became deeply interested in mantrayana practice in his 30s, particularly the mantra of Kṣitigarbha. Ouyi also became a public teacher during this time, writing and lecturing extensively.

When he was 37 Ouyi experienced various bouts of illness which continued throughout the rest of his life. Over time, these experiences led him to shift his focus to Pure Land Buddhist practice. At the age of 56, he underwent serious illness, after which he devoted himself almost entirely to Pure Land practice. In his Preface to the Pure Land Repentance, Zhixu explains how in his later years he turned to Pure Land practice:

When I first aspired to the Mahayana, I diligently practiced for several years. Although I did not dare to be arrogant and claim to have arrived home, I felt that I had gained some strength in my practice. I then thought that I could not be reborn in the Pure Land. However, when I was seriously ill and close to death, I found that none of the methods I had practiced were of any use. I then single-mindedly aspired to return to the Pure Land. However, I did not abandon my original practice, hoping to combine Chan and Pure Land practice. After meeting Boshan, I fully understood the Chan sickness of the present age. I then resolutely abandoned Chan practice and cultivated Pure Land practice. Although I was criticized for being like a person who stops eating because of choking, I did not care.

Ouyi died in 1656, at fifty-seven.

Influence

One of Ouyi's main temples of residence was Lingfeng Temple (靈峯寺), located in Anji county, Zhejiang. While Ouyi had previously written in his will that he wanted his remains to be burned and scattered in rivers as food for animals, his followers kept some of his bones as relics and placed them in a stupa at Lingfeng temple. Today, this temple has been renovated, and it continues to celebrate its ties to master Ouyi. In 2007, a new reliquary courtyard and memorial hall for Ouyi were constructed.

Ouyi Zhixu was very influential on Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. Important Pure Land Buddhist figures like Yinguang and Jingkong relied on his Commentary to the Amitabha Sutra, seeing it as the definitive commentary to this sutra. In the writings of Gukun 古崑 (fl. 1855-d. 1892), Ouyi was raised to the status of a patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism, and this status was also promoted by Yinguang.

Monastics of the Tiantai lineage such as Huiyue also regard him as the Thirty-First Patriarch of the lineage, with his master Youxi Chuandeng, who was a great Tiantai revivalist, being the Thirtieth.

Ouyi Zhixu's work was influential on many later Chinese Buddhists including modern reformists like Taixu (1889–1947), Yinshun, and Hongyi (1880–1942). The modern Chinese Buddhist teacher Sheng Yen (1930–2009) wrote his doctoral dissertation on Ouyi, and considered Ouyi to be one of the greatest modern Buddhist figures (alongside Taixu, Ouyang Jingwu, and Yinshun).

His prolific writings and popularity with scholars made Ouyi one of the “four great eminent monks of the late Ming period" 明末四大高僧”.

Ouyi's works became widespread in Japanese Buddhism during the Edo Period, especially after the arrival of the Ming Jiaxing Canon. Ouyi had over a hundred commentaries written on his works by Japanese Buddhist monks during the Edo Period.

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