Zhiyan came from a gentry family and was born in the
vicinity of the capital. A quiet monk of scholastic bent
and keen intelligence, he was steeped in the scholastic
traditions of his time. Following his entry into monas-
tic life in his youth, he mastered the doctrines of the
Dilun and Shelun schools, which emerged during the
sixth century in response to the transmission of
TATHAGATAGARBHAdoctrine and the YOGACARA SCHOOL
into China. Dilun was an exegetical tradition based on
VASUBANDHU’s commentary to the Das ́abhumika-
sutra(Ten Stages Scripture), while Shelun was a Chi-
nese version of the Yogacara tradition that was based
on PARAMARTHA’s (499–569) translation of ASAN ̇GA’s
Mahayanasamgraha.Zhiyan was also well versed in the
VINAYAand had studied key Mahayana scriptures, such
as the NIRVANASUTRA, as well as earlier commentaries
on the Huayan jing,especially the one written by
Huiguang (468–537). Zhiyan used his extensive learn-
ing and doctrinal mastery in his study and thorough
analysis of the Huayan jing.He wrote a ten-fascicle
commentary on the scripture and a few shorter works.
In them, he formulated some of the key doctrines that
became hallmarks of Huayan thought, such as nature
origination (xingqi) and conditioned origination of the
realm of reality (fajie yuanqi).
Fazang.During his most productive years Zhiyan
lived a quiet life at Mount Zhongnan, south of
Chang’an, and he shunned the public limelight. In
contrast, his brilliant disciple FAZANG(643–712) was
at the center of the empire’s cultural, religious, and po-
litical life, and was a recipient of great public recogni-
tion and imperial support. An exceptional scholar, cre-
ative thinker, and prolific writer, Fazang is regarded as
the great systematizer of Huayan philosophy and ef-
fectively the founder of the tradition. Born in Chang’an
of Sogdian ancestry, Fazang entered the monastic or-
der only after Zhiyan’s death. As a young man he par-
ticipated in XUANZANG’s (ca. 600–664) translation
project, but left because of doctrinal disagreements.
Later he was involved in S ́IKSANANDA’s (652–710) new
translation of the Huayan jing,undertaken under im-
perial auspices. Fazang had an illustrious career, which
was greatly helped by the unflagging patronage of Em-
press Wu Zetian, or Wu Zhao (r. 684–705). A record
of Fazang’s teaching presented to the empress is pre-
served as Jin shizi zhang(Treatise on the Golden Lion),
a popular summary of Huayan doctrine whose title is
derived from a statue in the imperial palace that was
used by Fazang to illustrate his ideas.
Fazang was greatly successful in popularizing
Huayan. His influence was such that the Huayan
school is also often called the Xianshou school, after
the honorific name Empress Wu bestowed on Fazang.
His major works include a large (twenty-fascicle) com-
mentary on Buddhabhadra’s translation of the Huayan
jing,entitled Huayan jing tanxuan ji(Record of Explo-
ration of the Huayan jing’s Mysteries); Huayan wujiao
chang(Treatise on the Five Teachings of Huayan), which
elaborates on his fivefold doctrinal taxonomy; and
Wangjin huanyuan guan (Contemplation of Ending
Falsehood and Returning to the Source), which deals
with the philosophical and applied aspects of Huayan
meditation. Fazang also wrote a history of the trans-
mission of Huayan in China, Huayan jing zhuan ji,and
an authoritative commentary titled Qixin lun yi jion
the AWAKENING OFFAITH(DASHENG QIXIN LUN), an
important text that had profound influence on the de-
velopment of Fazang’s thought.Huiyuan.After Fazang’s death, his student Huiyuan
(ca. 673–743) completed Kanding ji,an abbreviated
commentary on S ́iksananda’s new translation of the
Huayan jing,which was started by Fazang but left un-
finished. Huiyuan also wrote a few additional works,
but despite the prominent status he enjoyed during his
lifetime he was subsequently ostracized and his teach-
ings were labeled as heterodox. This censure was
largely due to Huiyuan’s divergence from aspects of
Fazang’s thought, especially his critique of Fazang’s in-
clusion of the sudden teachings (dunjiao) in his five-
fold taxonomy of teachings.Chengguan.Huiyuan’s strongest critic was CHENG-
GUAN(738–839), who came to be recognized as the
fourth patriarch. Since he studied under a disciple of
Huiyuan decades after Fazang’s death, Chengguan’s
recognition as a Huayan patriarch was based on his
high stature and his contributions to the evolution of
Huayan doctrine, rather than on his direct connection
with Fazang.An exceptional scholar of prodigious learning and
deep religious commitment, Chengguan mastered a
broad range of canonical literature. In addition, he
studied the teachings of other Buddhist traditions, es-
pecially Chan, Tiantai, and Sanlun, and he was learned
in non-Buddhist literature, including the Confucian
and Daoist classics. Chengguan had a highly success-
ful monastic career during which he served under
seven Tang emperors and he was a recipient of
numerous imperial honors, including the titles of
national teacher, grand recorder of monks, and con-
troller of the clergy. Chengguan’s magnum opus is hisHUAYANSCHOOL