Fahai (Tang dynasty)
Chinese Buddhist monk during the Tang dynasty
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Fahai was a monk who lived in Tang dynasty, and was identified as a compiler of Chan/Zen Buddhism according to the Dunhuang edition of the Platform Sutra.[1] Fahai was a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism, Hui-neng.[1] According to Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fahai was a native of Qujiang in Shao Prefecture (modern Shaoguan, Guangdong).[2]
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| Chinese | 法海 | ||||||||||||||
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As a patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism, Fahai was one of the editors of the Platform Sutra. Fahai contributed to the translation of the sutra and left editing notes in his version of the translation and warned about haphazard transmission. A famous dialogue between Fahai and the sixth patriarch Hui-Neng was recorded in the Platform Sutra:
"The mind has always been the buddha, before I understood I deceived myself, knowing now how mediation and wisdom work, I cultivate both and transcend all things."[3]
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