By the time of the Ming Dynasty, Buddhism in China had been in a state of decadence, and there was no successor to the various sects of Buddhism at this time, and all sectors of society did not support Buddhism as strongly as the previous generations. In the late Ming Dynasty, the so-called four great monks appeared, cleaning up the decadent situation, and Buddhism showed a short-term upward trend. These four eminent monks refer to Yunqi Qihong, Zibai Zhenke, Hanshan Deqing, and Lotus Yizhixu. Among them, Yunqi Qihong (1535-1615) is considered to be the grandmaster of the Pure Land in the Ming Dynasty, while Lotus Yizhixu has made a very influential development in Buddhist theory.

1. Yunqi Qihong (1535-1615)

Alias Lianchi, commonly known as Shen, Ren He (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) people, for a period of time suffered from the death of both parents, the loss of his wife, the loss of his son stimulated, saw through the red dust, at the age of thirty-two years old, after receiving the full precepts, traveled to study, and then lived in Hangzhou Yunqi Temple. Yunqi Qihong has a deep attainment in the Huayan Harmony Doctrine and Zen Enlightenment, and strongly advocates the integration of Buddhism and returns to the Pure Land. He believes that the reason for the decline of Buddhism in the Song and Ming dynasties lies in the degeneration of Zen Buddhism and the relaxation of precepts. The Zen family used the sharp stick to drink, the public case was rampant, and the chicken feathers were used as arrows, and the tiger skin was used as a banner. The ancients drank sticks in order to trigger the Zen machine, requiring the giver to have a clear eye, and the Zen masters at that time did not understand themselves, and could not answer the question and stretched out the stick to beat people, often the masters and apprentices disrespected each other, fell to the ground and made a mess, which really made people lose confidence in Zen. Yunqi Yihong tried to save the crisis of Zen with the authority of the scriptures, saying:

"Those who participate in Zen meditation use the excuse of teaching outside the religion to spread the teaching, and do not know that apostasy and participation are evil causes, and apostasy and enlightenment are evil solutions. Rao Ru participates in enlightenment, and must be confirmed by teaching, and not to cooperate with the religion to form evil. ("Essay on the Bamboo Window, Jingjiao)"

While advocating the unity of Zen and Buddhism, Suhong focused his efforts on the exposition of the unity of Zen and purity. In his opinion, even if there is a person with great wisdom roots, it is worth cultivating the Pure Land, "there is no difference in the return to the Yuan, and there are many convenient doors", "Zen Pure Land, different paths to the same end", therefore:

"The Zen of the Pure Land of Zen, the Pure Land of the Pure Land of Zen, and the cultivator of the Pure Land will be in-depth and in-depth. "

Zen and the Pure Land have completely lost their boundaries, Zen is the Zen of the Pure Land, and the Pure Land is the Pure Land of Zen, and so Hong has brought the unity of Zen and Pure Land to the extreme. Moreover, the ease of doing the Pure Land is unquestionable.

There is a famous saying in Zen Buddhism: "There is no Buddha, there is no Buddha, there is no Buddha, I don't like to hear the word Buddha." The Pure Land sect has a teaching: "There is a Buddha in the West, called Amitabha, remembering the Buddha and reciting the Buddha, you will definitely see the Buddha." "The difference between the two is clear. However, he did not find it difficult to reconcile at all, saying that both meditation and chanting are paths to liberation, and that it is not surprising that one method should be in conflict with other sects in writing. For example, he said that the great masters of Zen at that time, such as Yongming Yanshou and Zhen Xie Qing, were not only Zen masters, but they were all successful in practicing the Pure Land, and they were brilliant in Zen teachings, and they also found a good way. He then proved the benefits of the Pure Land from the perspective of rebirth, saying that Zen enlightenment is not the same as becoming a Buddha, and Zen enlightenment is not the same as attaining a complete rebirth, and it is difficult to achieve the true state of Nirvana. Reciting the Buddha is different, reciting Amitabha Buddha wholeheartedly, after arriving in the Land of Bliss, with the direct blessing of the Buddha's power, you will eventually be able to cultivate to the perfection of retribution, and you will never have any worries.

In order to promote the method of rebirth, Qi Hong especially emphasized the harshness of the times, that is, the cultivation of the Dharma in the era of the end of the Dharma is difficult in ten directions, the Zen family is full of nonsense, and the empty theories of the sect are not thorough, and only the Pure Land method is the easiest to cultivate. The Pure Land Teaching, "single-minded and yearning, transcending the three realms through the three realms", is "the key to the end of the law". "If a person holds the law, the law is the Buddha system, and it is just the Buddha who recites it; If a person reads the scriptures, the scriptures are said by the Buddha, and they just recite the Buddha; If you are a ginseng Zen, Zen is the heart of the Buddha, just chanting the Buddha." In short, instead of making all kinds of side efforts, it is better to just hug the big tree, and there will be no forks.

He knew very well that in the declining era of the late Ming Dynasty, it was no longer appropriate to talk about advanced Buddhist principles, so he attached great importance to some simple teachings and declarations, such as "The Essay on the Prohibition of Killing and Releasing Life", which preached the most basic Buddhist spirit of caring for life. He was even more dissatisfied with the mixed men and women in the Buddhist monasteries at that time, and did not follow the rules, so he wrote "Water and Land Rituals" to sort out Buddhist rituals. These have left a deep impression on the population.

2. Zibai Zhenke (1543-1603)

The word Daguan, the common surname Shen, Wujiang, Jiangsu, is a monk of the same era as Qihong, many famous scholars such as Tang Xianzu and so on have asked him to teach, it can be seen that his knowledge is profound, he can really visit the Zunsu all his life, there is no dedicated teacher, determined to revive Zen Buddhism, and at the same time he has a harmonious attitude towards the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and the sects in the sect, and the general trend of the development of Buddhist culture at that time. In his life, Zhenke was never invited to be the presiding officer of a monastery and never opened an altar to preach the teachings, but he attached great importance to the role of language and writing in receiving post-learning. He likened words to the appearance of water waves, and Zen to water itself, and on this basis he asked, if we must leave words to seek meditation, wouldn't it be as ridiculous as thirsty drinking water but preferring to remove the water waves? He also compared Zen to spring and words to flowers, and the two are mutually expressive, and from this he came to the view that Tokuyama drink and Rinzai stick are both words, and that Chengguan Shu and the Theory of the Wise Man are also Zen.

He believes that it is not easy to attain enlightenment in meditation, but it is not easy to cultivate the Pure Land, and it is difficult to cultivate the Pure Land without understanding the Dharma Samadhi. For this reason, Zhen Ke attaches great importance to the Pure Land, saying that if "when you go home, you can control personnel and concentrate on pure karma, which is the first righteousness", then this is to hold the Pure Land to the highest Dharma.

3. Hanshan Deqing (1546-1623)

The word Chengyin, commonly known as Cai, is a native of Quanjiao County, Anhui Province. At the age of nineteen, he became a monk in Qixia Monastery in Jinling, first practiced Zen Buddhism from Yungu Zen Master, and later studied Huayan Buddhism with Wuji Mingxin. At the age of twenty-six, Deqing traveled north to participate in Zen and visited famous artists. In the fourth year of Wanli (1576), the unity of Zen and purity of Deqing and Qihong influenced Deqing. Deqing and Zibai really have a deep friendship.

Deqing is a descendant of the Rinzai sect from the teacher, but the focus of his thinking is on the unity of Zen and the unity of Zen purity.

Deqing first criticized the degeneration of Zen Buddhism. He believed that the period from the establishment of Zen Buddhism to the beginning of the Song Dynasty could be regarded as the period of prosperity of Zen Buddhism, but then it began to decline, and by the Ming Dynasty, the dojo was so corrupt that it was difficult to clean up. There are many people who participate in Zen meditation, and all of them are arrogant and stupid, who regard Buddhist ceremonies as lowly things, who complain about the Dharma, who speak clichés in their mouths, and who use gibberish as a sharp edge, and the situation has reached a very bad point.

The best way to solve the crisis of Zen is the unity of Zen and purity. Deqing strongly advocated Zonggao's view of Zen, believing that only by holding a conversation and initiating great doubts can people who participate in Zen have great doubts and great understandings. Zen is consistent with the scriptures, Zen does not deviate from the teaching, and the teaching is Zen.

"The Buddha is single-minded and teaches Zen consistently. The sect is not to be passed on outside the sect, and there is no other way to pass it on outside the centrifugation, but it is just to ask people to leave the language and writing, and only understand the purpose of the words. Today, Zen people are moving to teach, and they don't know how to teach and interpret one mind, which is the foundation of Zen. (The complete works of the old man Hanshan sleepwalking).

Both are united in one mind, and they are not separated from one mind to attain enlightenment in another. Teaching and interpreting one-mindedness is also the foundation of Zen meditation. Deqing inherited the idea of prolonging life, and took the physiognomy and Zen teachings into one mind.

Regarding the unity of Zen and purity, Deqing's view is slightly different from that of Zhenke, who can regard Zen meditation as an introductory means of chanting Buddha, while Deqing regards chanting Buddha as the only way to participate in Zen. Deqing emphatically pointed out that for Zen practitioners, the impure mind is the biggest obstacle, "without reciting the Buddha, there is no way to purify the mind", and when the mind is pure, it will naturally comprehend the mind. "If you recite the Buddha until your mind is not confused, your troubles are eliminated, and your mind is clear, then it is called enlightenment, and if you recite the Buddha in this way, you are participating in Zen."

The development has reached the extreme, and Deqing requires the people who participate in Zen to simply take the four words "Amitabha Buddha" as the beginning of the conversation: "Those who recite the Buddha to try the public case, and mention the Amitabha Buddha as the beginning of the conversation, they will be suspicious at the mention of it, and the interrogator will be the one who recites the Buddha." Mention the retrial again, trial after trial, after all, who is the person who sees the Buddha chanting. "

In the eyes of Deqing, the end of the Ming Dynasty has been the end of Buddhism in the world, people's hearts are turbid, few good roots, so only from the Buddha to start meditation and cultivation, he has repeatedly claimed that "chanting Buddha, Zen meditation and practice, extremely stable method", and the Buddha rebirth of the Pure Land can be used as the ideal destination of any scholar, the so-called "Pure Land True Cultivation", not only can cure the evils of Zen, but also can ensure the ultimate liberation, therefore, the Pure Land practice has incomparable advantages. Deqing has repeatedly emphasized that the method of reciting the Buddha can be inclusive and unified with all other methods:

"The Pure Land is a door, cultivating the Buddha's Samadhi, which is the three roots, the circle is gradually closed, and the whole life is taken, and there is no one who exceeds this. The above Buddhas, trying their best to teach, are no longer one, helpless to learn, the ambition is still empty, to Zen as the high, thin pure land and not for. "

The Pure Land is suitable for anyone with a root nature, from the great bodhisattva to the shravaka, from the "foolish woman" to the "extremely evil person", anyone can take this shortcut to achieve positive results and completely solve the "major problems of life and death". At this point, Hanshan Deqing completely incorporated Zen into the recitation of the Buddha, and the two even lost the difference in characteristics. In his later years, Deqing retreated and recited the Buddha, chanting 60,000 Buddhas day and night, and repairing the Pure Land as a Zen master, which is rare in the Zen gate.

4. Lotus Root Zhixu (1599-1655)

The latest and most influential of the four great monks of the late Ming Dynasty was Lotus Yizhixu (1599-1655). Zhixu alias Babu Daoren, common surname Zhong, from Wujiang, Jiangsu. Less study of Confucianism, once wrote "On the Doctrine of Buddhism", criticizing Buddhism, and later because of reading the works of Qi Hong, he turned to believe in Buddhism, at the age of twenty-four, Zhixu from the Deqing disciple Xueling monk, on the teacher should also be regarded as a member of the Linji sect. After Zhixu became a monk, he felt the decline of the Zen sect in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, "crying bitterly every night", and even scolded the mage as a turtle. At first, he was intent on propagating the precepts, but no one paid attention to his actions, and from then on he devoted himself to the study of Buddhist scriptures and began to work on the Zen Harmony and Pure Land Theory.

Zhixu's Buddhism was deeply influenced by the doctrine of the Tiantai sect, which used one thought to dominate the various schools of Zen, and ultimately returned to the current thought of chanting the Buddha. Zhixu told believers not to look for the Dharma outside the heart, and there is nowhere to find the mind outside the law, and all day long to participate in Zen, watch teachings, and learn the law, it is a thought. If all sentient beings believe in the Dharma with this truth, then teaching, Zen, and Vinaya can all be classified into this supreme Dharma, and there will be no more differences.

Zhixu not only wants to classify all the sects into the Pure Land, but also tries to argue that all the sects originally came from the Pure Land, "If the law, if the teachings, if the Zen, all flow out of the Pure Land Method, and all return to the Pure Land Method." Reciting the Dharma is the foundation of all the Dharma, and it is the righteousness in the middle, the roundness of the roundness, and the convenience of the convenience. The ancients have long been in meditation and purity. Today's people misunderstand the meaning of the ancients, and so on, Zhixu explains the consummation of the Pure Land again and again. At that time, Zen Buddhism, in Zhixu's view, was nothing more than "verbal samadhi", just a tongue on the street. In short, by the time of Zhixu, the unity of Zen and purity had become Zen with purity.

Another characteristic of Zhixu's thought is that he vigorously preached the bodhisattva virtue of Jizo, and in Zhixu's view, in order to cultivate the Pure Land and pursue the happiness of this world, it is necessary to make offerings to the name of Jizo with all your heart, so that you can effectively eliminate sins and retribution.

Jizo Bodhisattva is one of the four great Bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism, and the Buddhist scriptures say that he has made countless and deepest vows in his life, such as "hell is not empty, and he will not become a Buddha" and so on, so he is characterized by his virtue by his great wish. In the "Dizo Bodhisattva Sutra", it is also said that chanting the name of Jizo Bodhisattva can eliminate the five serious sins and even transform the present retribution, so in the eyes of Buddhists, this Bodhisattva is a great god who is in charge of karma and the cycle of life and death, and the people respect him as the head of the underworld, and his status is far above the Yama of each temple. Of course, this is the image positioning made by the Chinese people according to their own imagination. In fact, the position of Jizo Bodhisattva in Chinese Buddhism can be said to be extremely revered, and the Buddhist scriptures have repeatedly stated that countless Buddhas in the past, present, and future have been enlightened by the will of Jizo, and in the more than 5 billion years when Shakya was destroyed and Maitreya was not born, the problems of all beings in the world of Suva were taken care of by Jizo Bodhisattva, so Jizo Bodhisattva is an acting head of state figure.

According to the scriptures, Zhixu believes that since the power of Jizo Bodhisattva can eliminate all kinds of innate and acquired sins, then reciting the name of Jizo is undoubtedly necessary for ordinary ignorant people. In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Zhixu went to Jiuhua Mountain in Jizang, lived in Huayan Pavilion, and persuaded monks and laymen to recite the name of Jizo Bodhisattva. He once held the altar for 100 days, chanted the mantra of the Bodhisattva of the Earth to extinguish the karma 5 million times, and asked the monks and laymen to hold the "100,000,000" times together, "seeking to turn the earth and all living beings to share the karma", quite caring for all mankind. Under the advocacy of Zhixu, the belief in Jizo was widely spread in the southeast region, and the Jiuhua Mountain Dojo was very prosperous.

Zhixu's activities have a strong religious practice color, he not only vigorously preached salvation, but also carried out activities such as ritual confession, mantra holding, blood writing, and incense burning in specific religious actions, which effectively aroused the enthusiasm of the lower class people and gave great spiritual comfort to the people in the chaos.

Whether it is the Pure Land rebirth or the belief in Tibet, Zhixu's emphasis is on a single word of faith, which has left a huge impact on the history of Chinese religion.

Summary: It can be said that the Buddhist monks who developed to the decline of the Ming and Qing dynasties no longer focus on exploring the mysterious and mysterious liberation realm of life in the universe, but more on the happiness of the next life. In terms of attaching importance to practical practice, it is a return to the spirit of primitive Buddhism, but from the perspective of its practical actions of pursuing ease and convenience, the purification of various sects has caused Chinese Buddhism to lose the distinctive characteristics of its original sects, and it is difficult to seek greater development in theory. With the development of Chinese Buddhism, the vitality of creativity is almost exhausted.

Objectively summarizing the history of the development of Buddhism in China, in the hands of the four great monks in the late Ming Dynasty, the curtain was lifted on the complete shift of Chinese Buddhism to faith and practice.