Tao-hsüan

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Tao-hsüan (596–667 CE). Chinese Buddhist who founded the Lü-tsung, School of Discipline. This was based on strict observance of Vinaya rules. It was transmitted to Japan in 754 by Chien-chen (Ganjin) and became the foundation of the Ritsu school. Tao-hsüan was also one of the earliest historian/biographers, producing the vast Hsü kao-seng chuan (Jap., Zoku Kōsōden), 30 vols. of biographies, including (book xvi) the first biography of Bodhidharma.

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