Huineng
semi-legendary Chinese Chan (Zen) patriarch
Dajian Huineng or Hui-neng (traditional Chinese: 大鑒惠能; pinyin: Dàjiàn Huìnéng; Cantonese Jyutping: daai6 gaam3 wai6 nang4; Wade–Giles: Ta⁴-chien⁴ Hui⁴-nêng²; Japanese: Daikan Enō; Korean: Daegam Hyeneung; trad. 638-713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism.
According to tradition Huineng was an uneducated layman who suddenly attained awakening (見性; jianxing) upon hearing the Diamond Sutra. Despite his lack of formal training, he demonstrated his understanding to the fifth patriarch, Daman Hongren, who then supposedly chose Huineng as his true successor instead of his publicly known selection of Yuquan Shenxiu. Huineng is regarded as the founder of the "Sudden Enlightenment" Southern Chan school of Buddhism, which focuses on an immediate and direct attainment of Buddhist enlightenment. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (六祖壇經), which is said to be a record of his teachings, is a highly influential text in the East Asian Buddhist tradition.
20th century scholarship revealed that the story of Huineng's Buddhist career was likely invented by the monk Shenhui, who claimed to be one of Huineng's disciples and was highly critical of Shenxiu's teaching.
Biography
Sources
The two primary sources for Huineng's life are the preface to the Platform Sutra and the Transmission of the Lamp. Most modern scholars doubt the historicity of traditional biographies and works written about Huineng, considering his extended biography to be a legendary narrative based on a historical person of "merely regional significance", of whom very little is known. This legendary narrative reflects historical and religious developments which took place in the century after his life and death.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q345012. VIAF identifies the subject as 32007548. The Library of Congress control number is n50078883. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Huineng” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.