Huineng

From Wiki China org cn

A new school of Buddhism — the Southern Sect of Chan (Zen) was set up in the early Tang Dynasty. Its founder was Monk Huineng (638-713), who was born in Guangdong. He believed that everyone was born with buddha nature and could attain Buddhahood in a way of sudden enlightenment. So he opposed practicing Buddhism through generations of tedious rites, and believed in seeking moksha (liberation) through peaceful secular living. Later, he made great efforts to advocate his theory of sudden enlightenment at Caoxi in Shaozhou, establishing consequently a direct branch of the Chan Sect. His Southern Sect brought Buddhism closer to the everyday life of common people, and also produced an evident impact on literature, arts, and the Confucian school of idealistic philosophy.