Dayi Daoxin

Dayi Daoxin (Chinese: 大毉道信; Pinyin: Dàyī Dàoxìn; Wade–Giles: Ta-i Tao-hsin; Rōmaji: Daii Dōshin), who lived from 580 to 651, was the fourth Chán Buddhist Patriarch, following Jianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Rōmaji: Kanchi Sōsan) and preceding Daman Hongren (Chinese: 弘忍; Pinyin: Hóngrěn; Wade–Giles: Hung2-jen3; Rōmaji: Kōnin/Gunin; Korean romanization: Hong'in). The earliest mention of Daoxin is in the "Further Biographies of Eminent Monks" (Chinese: 續高僧傳; Pīnyīn: Xù Gāosēng Zhuàn; Wade–Giles: Hsü Kao-seng Chuan; Rōmaji: Zoku Kosoden) by Tao-hsuan (d. 667). A later source, the "Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure" (Chinese: 傳法寶記; Pīnyīn: Chuánfǎ Bǎojì; Wade–Giles: Ch'üanfa Paochi) written around 712, gives further details of Daoxin's life. As with many of the very earliest Chan masters, the accuracy of the historical record is questionable and in some cases, contradictory in details. The following biography is the traditional story of Daoxin, culled from various sources, including the "Compendium of Five Lamps" (Chinese: 五燈會元; Pīnyīn: Wǔdēng Huìyuán), compiled in the early thirteenth century by the monk Dachuan Lingyin Puji (1179–1253).