Tu Shun's Dharma name was Fa-shun, As Tu his last name. He was also known as Dushun. He is most notable in Zen and Buddhist circles for his essay On the Meditation of Dharmadhatu and his discourse on the Indra's Jeweled Net. Tu Shun was ordained by the Ch'an master Tao-chen, and devoted himself to the Dhyana meditation practice. With his great ability of healing through the power of Siddhis and profound knowledge of Buddhism, he was bestowed the honorary title 'the Holy one of the Imperial Heart' by the Emperor. Because of his miraculous power, people called him 'the Bodhisattva of Tun-huang'.
Tu-shun was considered to be the First Patriarch in Hua-yen school of Chinese Buddhism centering on the Avatamsaka Sutra [Flower Garland Sutra]. This school has no Indian counterpart. Hua-yen classifies Buddhist scriptures and doctrines on five levels, with its own teaching as the highest and most complete. According to the school, all phenomena arise simultaneously from the universal principle of the Dharma-realm. The ultimate principle and manifested things mutually interpenetrate without obstruction. At the same moment all phenomena both embody the Absolute, and reflect and are identified with each other. Tu-shun did not follow a particular teacher in the hierarchy of this school. He concentrated his study on Hua-yen and lived on Mount Zhong-nan for many years. Through his essay On the Meditation of Dharmadhatu he established the concept of Contemplating the Dharmadhatu, which set the pattern for the subsequent commentaries. He also established the concept of 'Round Doctrine', which reflects the totalistic view in the Hua-yen sect.
RETURN TO:
AT AWAKENING 101
Fundamentally, our experience as experienced is not different from the Zen master's. Where
we differ is that we place a fog, a particular kind of conceptual overlay onto that experience
and then make an emotional investment in that overlay, taking it to be "real" in and of itself.
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RESEARCH SOURCE: Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2003.
OPENING GRAPHIC: Maurits Cornelius Escher, The Three Worlds
