The teachings of Daoxin (and his successor, Hongren) are known as the East Mountain Teachings, a precursor to the flowering of Chan on a national scale some seventy-five years later at the beginning of the eighth century.
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Dayi Daoxin (Chinese: 道信， Wade–Giles: Tao-hsin) (Japanese: Dōshin) (580–651) was the fourth Chán Buddhist Patriarch, following Jianzhi Sengcan 僧璨 (died 606) (Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese: Kanchi Sosan) and preceding Hongren Chinese: 弘忍) (601–674).
He immediately inquired about the sutra, and decided to seek out the Fifth Patriarch Hongren at his monastery on Huang Mei Mountain.
Rather, like his teacher Hongren, he had many disciples who went on to teach Zen.
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Shenhui used the opportunity to question Shenxiu's legitimacy as Hongren's successor.
The story of Sun Wukong first meeting Subhūti was a play on the Zen story of Huineng meeting Hongren, as told in the Platform Sūtra of Zen Buddhism.
Prime figures are the fifth patriarch Daman Hongren (601–674), his dharma-heir Yuquan Shenxiu (606?-706), the sixth patriarch Huineng (638–713), antagonist of the quintessential Platform Sutra, and Shenhui (670-762), whose propaganda elevated Huineng to the status of sixth patriarch.
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At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, by the time of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren (601–674), the Zen school became established as a separate school of Buddhism.
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After being chosen by Hongren, the fifth patriarch, Huineng had to flee by night to Nanhua Temple in the south to avoid the wrath of Hongren's jealous senior disciples.
Hongren |