Zongxiao

Life

Zongxiao (1151–1214) was a monk of the Southern Song Dynasty with the secular surname Wang born near Mingzhou (modern Ningbo, Zhejiang Province). His courtesy name was Daxian, and he was also known by the sobriquet Shizhi. At the age of eighteen, he received full ordination. Zongxiao studied under two lesser known figures, Master Juan Qiang (d.u.) and Master Yun'an Hong (d.u.). Zongxiao was part of Siming Zhili's lineage. Not long after, he became the abbot of Cuiluo Temple in Changguo, north of Mingzhou, where scholars gathered around him.

Later, he retreated to the Western Mountains, a part of the Siming mountain range located west of Mingzhou. He dedicated himself daily to the recitation of the Lotus Sutra, a practice he continued throughout his life. After living in the mountains for some time, he went on a three year tour to various temples in the Western Circuit of the Liangzhe region (present Zhejiang and Jiangsu).

After three years he returned to Mingzhou (Ningbo), where he received an official position (possibly an abbacy of a monastery). He became the main lecturer at Yanqing Monastery, where he spent the rest of his life. In addition to teaching, he compiled works such as The Record of The Lotus Sutra's Manifest Responses and Anthology of the Bliss Land. He also wrote various other works, including records of Tiantai patriarchs like Siming Zhili. He was also active in the Jiangnan region and had connections with high rank officials there.

Additionally, he is famous for having copied the Lotus Sutra in his own blood. He copied other sutras, including the Avatamsaka, Maharatnakuta, Prajñaparamita, and Nirvana Sutras, in ink. Zongxiao once dug a charitable well in the southern city of Li She, naming it "Lotus Flower Spring," and built a pavilion over it to offer tea to passersby. He propagated Buddhist teachings for over forty years and devoted himself even more deeply to study and practice in his later years. He died in 1214 at the age of sixty-four.