Zhaozhou Congshen
778 CE–897 CE · Caozhou (Heze)
778–897 CE (traditionally said to have lived to about 120)
Zhaozhou Congshen (778–897 CE) was a Tang-dynasty Chan master—a disciple of Nanquan Puyuan in the Mazu line—remembered for terse, penetrating exchanges that became among the most quoted in the Chan and Zen koan literature. His reply 'Wú' ('No' / 'has not') to the question whether a dog has buddha-nature became the single most famous koan of the tradition (the 'Mu' koan), and his 'drink tea' and 'the cypress tree in the garden' exchanges are nearly as renowned. He is historical, with secure dates; sources commonly give Caozhou (modern Heze, Shandong) as his birthplace, though the tradition of his great longevity is uncertain.
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Caozhou (Heze)
What they did here
DOCUMENTED ORIGIN: by tradition born in Caozhou (modern Heze, Shandong); he left home young and became a disciple of Nanquan Puyuan in the Mazu line.
About Caozhou (Heze)
Caozhou, the area of modern Heze in Shandong province, China, was the birthplace of two major Tang-dynasty Chan masters: Línjì Yìxuán, founder of the Linji (Japanese Rinzai) school, and Zhàozhōu Cóngshěn, the master famed for the 'Mu' (wú) kōan. Both later established their teaching seats elsewhere in northern China.
In Caozhou (Heze) at the same time
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Zhaozhou Congshen’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Zhaozhou Congshen’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
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