CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

— 445 —
In A.D. 705, the emperor sent an envoy to invite him to Court,
but he excused himself on the plea of old age (1). This was,
however, done in such exquisite good form, that the official described
him as a man deserving all praise. On hearing these words, the
emperor ordered to send him an embroidered mantle, a monk's
begging-bowl, and several other costly presents.
At this period, Shen-siu %$ ^ (2), his contemporary, whom
he defeated in a literary contest, was also considered as the 6 th
Buddhist patriarch of China. It is for this reason, that some people
call Hwei-neng 4§ "fj|? the patriarch of the South, and Shen-siu jjjljl
^ the patriarch of the North. The latter in early youth was a
Confucian scholar, and obtained the B.A. degree, but subsequently
became a Buddhist monk. He was a native of Wei-shi-hsien jf.f
R M (3)-
Hwei-neng j§| |j{? is considered the real founder of Vegetarian
Sects, Ch'ih-su-kiao RfS ^ ^, already described in Volume IV.
p. 456-463, of this series. Every member of this Society vows
never to eat animal food, and subsist only on a vegetable diet while
he lives. Adherents of the sect are also Amidists, and constantly
invoke Amitabha, hoping thereby
after their death (4).
to reach the Western Paradise
The patriarch had a large following of disciples, several of
whom are honoured in Buddhist temples down to the present day.
The most famous are Hwai-jang j'jg |j|, who resided at Nan-yoh f^f
$jjjk, or the Southern Sacred Mountain, in Hunan $Jj ~$ . He
sometimes described as the 7 th
(1) Giles. Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 545.
is
patriarch (5). He died A.D. 744,
(2) Shen-siu f$ ^. See on this" disciple. Chinese Superstitions. Vol.
IV. p. 457; Vol. VII. p. 314-316; p. 438-439.
(3) General Mirror of Gods and Immortals, Shen-sien t'ung-kien jji$ fill M
g£. Book 14. Art. 3. p. 9 ; Art. 4. p. 1-2. — Chinese Superstitions. Vol. VII.
p. 314-316.
(4) See Chinese Superstitions. Vol. IV. p. 458 (Vegetarian Sects).
(5) He was regarded by his disciples as an incarnation of Kwctn-y in fH
^. Johnston. Buddhist China, p. 88 (Buddhist Schools and Sects in China).