Fenggan
Encyclopedia
Fenggan was a Chinese
Zen
monk-poet lived in the Tang Dynasty
, associated with Hanshan and Shide in the famed "Tiantai
Trio" (天台三聖).
(located by the East China Sea
, in the Tiantai mountain range), a 6 feet (1.8 m) monk with an unshaven head, riding a tiger. From then on, he took up residence in the temple behind the library, where he would hull rice and chant sutra
s.
The few accounts of him record that he became close friends to Hanshan, and was the one who found the orphaned Shide, named him, and brought him to the temple. From these, and other anecdotes, it appears that Feng was the oldest of the three.
The circumstances of his death are as murky as his life: the stories in which Feng is anymore than a name or foil
for Hanshan cease after he healed a local prefect. It has been conjectured that Hanshan's Poem 50 refers to his death:
The first of the poems appears to confirm the stories of how he was an itinerant monk prior to stopping at Kuoching Temple (and even then he would depart at least once for a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai
):
The fourth poem is especially important, since it unmistakably references the challenge the Fifth Patriarch of Zen set his would-be successors ~713 C. E. making it impossible for Feng (and by extension Hanshan and Shide) to predate the 720's, thereby eliminating many other dating possibilities:
(The exchange referenced was between two potential successors Shenxiu and Huineng
. Shenxiu to demonstrate his mastery of Zen wrote the following poem: The body is the Bodhi Tree
\ the mind like a clear mirror. \ Always wipe it clean, \ don't let it gather dust. Huineng retorted with Bodhi isn't a tree, \ what's clear isn't a mirror. \ Actually, there isn't a thing- \ where do you get this dust?)
It is difficult to judge Feng's poetic oeuvre with only four works to judge by, and only one really poetic. But it appears that his poetry's formal structures were fairly conventional, and in ideas, from a strictly Buddhist perspective; Hanshan, in contrast, often played with rhymes and tones and structure, and very often dropped in Taoist
references, to the point where his actual religious orientation is in some doubt. See for example Feng's second poem, which expresses strictly Buddhist ideas:
(The 'Three Worlds' refer to either those of the past, present, and future; or alternatively, those of form, formlessness, and becoming.)
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
monk-poet lived in the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, associated with Hanshan and Shide in the famed "Tiantai
Tiantai
Tiantai is an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra as its doctrinal basis...
Trio" (天台三聖).
Biography
Legendarily, Feng appeared one day at Guoqing TempleGuoqing Temple
The Guoqing Temple is a Buddhist temple on Mount Tiantai, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China. Originally built in 598 AD during the Sui Dynasty, and renovated during the reign of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor , the temple is located roughly from the city of Hangzhou...
(located by the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
, in the Tiantai mountain range), a 6 feet (1.8 m) monk with an unshaven head, riding a tiger. From then on, he took up residence in the temple behind the library, where he would hull rice and chant sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
s.
The few accounts of him record that he became close friends to Hanshan, and was the one who found the orphaned Shide, named him, and brought him to the temple. From these, and other anecdotes, it appears that Feng was the oldest of the three.
The circumstances of his death are as murky as his life: the stories in which Feng is anymore than a name or foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
for Hanshan cease after he healed a local prefect. It has been conjectured that Hanshan's Poem 50 refers to his death:
-
- Show me the person who doesn't die;
- death remains impartial.
- I recall a towering man
- who is now a pile of dust-
- the World Below knows no dawn
- plants enjoy another spring
- but those who visit this sorrowful place
- the pine wind slays with grief.
Poetry
Very few of Feng's poems survive, but the ones which do are very revealing; the third of the four confirms Feng's relationships with the other members of the Tientai Trio:-
- Whenever Cold Mountain stops to visit,
- or Pick-Up pays his usual call,
- we talk about the mind the moon
- or wide open space-
- reality has no limits
- so anything real includes it all.
The first of the poems appears to confirm the stories of how he was an itinerant monk prior to stopping at Kuoching Temple (and even then he would depart at least once for a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai
Wutai Shan
Mount Wutai , also known as Wutai Mountain or Qingliang Shan, is located in Shanxi, China. The mountain is home to many of China's most important monasteries and temples...
):
-
- I have been to Tientai
- maybe a million times
- like a cloud or river
- drifting back and forth.
- Roaming free of trouble
- trusting the BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
's spacious pathMiddle wayThe Middle Way or Middle Path is the descriptive term that Siddhartha Gautama used to describe the character of the path he discovered that led to liberation. It was coined in the very first teaching that he delivered after his enlightenment... - while the world's forked mind
- only brings men pain.
The fourth poem is especially important, since it unmistakably references the challenge the Fifth Patriarch of Zen set his would-be successors ~713 C. E. making it impossible for Feng (and by extension Hanshan and Shide) to predate the 720's, thereby eliminating many other dating possibilities:
-
- Actually there isn't a thing
- much less any dust to wipe away.
- Who can master this
- doesn't need to sit there stiff.
(The exchange referenced was between two potential successors Shenxiu and Huineng
Huineng
Dajian Huineng was a Chinese Chán monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition, according to standard Zen hagiographies...
. Shenxiu to demonstrate his mastery of Zen wrote the following poem: The body is the Bodhi Tree
Bodhi tree
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo , was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya , under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi...
\ the mind like a clear mirror. \ Always wipe it clean, \ don't let it gather dust. Huineng retorted with Bodhi isn't a tree, \ what's clear isn't a mirror. \ Actually, there isn't a thing- \ where do you get this dust?)
It is difficult to judge Feng's poetic oeuvre with only four works to judge by, and only one really poetic. But it appears that his poetry's formal structures were fairly conventional, and in ideas, from a strictly Buddhist perspective; Hanshan, in contrast, often played with rhymes and tones and structure, and very often dropped in Taoist
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
references, to the point where his actual religious orientation is in some doubt. See for example Feng's second poem, which expresses strictly Buddhist ideas:
-
- Sinking like a rock in the Sea,
- drifting through the Three Worlds-
- poor ethereal creature
- forever immersed in scenes
- until a flash of lightning shows
- that life and death are dust in space.
(The 'Three Worlds' refer to either those of the past, present, and future; or alternatively, those of form, formlessness, and becoming.)
See also
- Chinese PoetryChinese poetryChinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language...
- Classical Chinese poetryClassical Chinese poetrythumb|right|300px|Attributed to [[Han Gan]], Huiyebai , about 750CE .Classical Chinese poetry is that type of poetry that is the traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese. It is typified by certain traditional forms, or modes, and certain traditional genres...
- Hanshan
- Hanshan Temple
- ShideShideShide may refer to:* Shide , a Chinese Buddhist monk and poet* Shide meaning the ziz-zag shaped paper streamer associated with Shintoism* Shide, Isle of Wight, settlement on the Isle of Wight, England* Dalian Shide F.C., Chinese football club...
- ZenZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...