Chao-chou Tsʾung-shen

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Chao-chou Tsʾung-shen or Jōshū Jūshin (778–897). Leading Chʾan/Zen master in China. He had a profound experience of enlightenment when he was 18, which simply indicated to him that there was a way worth pursuing further (i.e. enlightenment is not an end, but a step on a path).

Chao-chou was especially important in showing how Chʾan and Tao relate together, opening the way to creative coexistence. His enlightenment is known as funi daidō, ‘the nonduality of the great Tao’—which is a near synonym for the buddha-nature empty of self and differentiation.