Guifeng Zongmi

Guīfēng Zōngmì
圭峰宗密
Title	Samādhi-Prajnā Chan Master
Personal life
Born	780 Xichong County, Sichuan
Died	1 February 841(841-02-01) (aged 60–61) Chang'an
Religious life
Religion	Mahayana Buddhism
Order	Chan Buddhism, Huayan
School	Heze school (Southern Chan) and Huayan school
Lineage	Heze Chan lineage of Heze Shenhui through Suizhou Daoyuan; Huayan lineage via Qingliang Chengguan

Part of a series on
Chinese Buddhism
History Buddhism in Central Asia Dharmaguptaka Silk Road transmission Dunhuang manuscripts Four Buddhist Persecutions in China
Major figures Lokakṣema Kumārajīva Sengzhao Jizang Dharmakṣema Paramartha Xuanzang Kuiji Woncheuk Daoxuan Huiyuan Tanluan Daochuo Shandao Zhiyi Zhanran Fazang Chengguan Śubhakarasiṃha Vajrabodhi Amoghavajra Bodhidharma Huineng Daman Hongren Mazu Daoyi Hongzhi Zhengjue Dahui Zonggao Linji Zongmi Hanshan Deqing Zhu Hong Ouyi Zhixu Miyun Yuanwu Taixu Tanxu Hsu Yun Hsuan Hua Yang Wenhui Yin Shun Nan Huai-Chin Nenghai
Traditions Chan Tiantai Huayan Pure Land Weishi Sanlun Esoteric Buddhism Humanistic Buddhism
Texts Chinese Buddhist canon Taishō Tripiṭaka
Architecture Buddhist architecture in China
Sacred Sites Mount Wutai Mount Emei Mount Jiuhua Mount Putuo Mount Lu Tiantai Mountain White Horse Temple
Culture Buddhist Association of China Cuisine Martial arts Diyu
v t e

Part of a series on
Buddhism
Glossary Index Outline
History Timeline The Buddha Pre-sectarian Buddhism Councils Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Decline in the Indian subcontinent Later Buddhists Buddhist modernism
Dharma Concepts Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Dharma wheel Five Aggregates Impermanence Suffering Not-self Dependent Origination Middle Way Emptiness Morality Karma Rebirth Saṃsāra Cosmology
Buddhist texts Buddhavacana Early Texts Tripiṭaka Mahayana Sutras Pāli Canon Sanskrit literature Tibetan canon Chinese canon Post-canon
Practices Three Jewels Buddhist Paths to liberation Five precepts Perfections Meditation Philosophical reasoning Devotional practices Merit making Recollections Mindfulness Wisdom Sublime abidings Aids to Enlightenment Monasticism Lay life Buddhist chant Pilgrimage Vegetarianism
Nirvāṇa Awakening Four Stages Arhat Pratyekabuddha Bodhisattva Buddha
Traditions Theravāda Pāli Mahāyāna Hinayana Chinese Vajrayāna Tibetan Navayana Newar
Buddhism by country Bhutan Brazil Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Korea Laos Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar New Zealand Russia Singapore US Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Tibet Vietnam
Buddhism portal
v t e

Guifeng Zongmi (Chinese: 圭峰宗密; pinyin: Guīfēng Zōngmì; Japanese pronunciation: Keihō Shūmitsu) (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar who is considered a patriarch of both the Huayan school and Chan Buddhism.^[1] Zongmi wrote a number of works on several Mahayana Sutras, Chan and Huayan, and he also discussed Taoism and Confucianism. His works are a major source for studying the various Chan schools of the Tang.^[2]

Zongmi was deeply interested in both the practical and doctrinal aspects of Mahayana Buddhism, especially the teachings of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment and the Mahayana Awakening of Faith. Zongmi's work is concerned with harmonizing the various Chan teachings (especially the doctrines of sudden awakening and original enlightenment) with other Chinese Buddhist traditions, especially Huayan, though he also drew on the work of Tiantai Zhiyi in his ritual works. His philosophy attempts to create a comprehensive worldview that includes and sublimates all Buddhist and non-buddhist teachings of his time into a single harmonious spiritual vision.