Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Ming Dynasty

Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Ming Dynasty is a Buddhist biographical work compiled by Ruxing, a monk of the Tiantai School in the Ming Dynasty, in the 45th year of the Wanli reign (1617), and it is included in Volume 50 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. It records the deeds of many eminent monks over a period of nearly five hundred years from the first year of the Jianyan reign in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127) to the 39th year of the Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty (1611). The title "e;Ming"e; refers to the era of compilation, not the scope of the content. He originally intended to continue from Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Song Dynasty, but Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Song Dynasty ends at the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, while this biography begins at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, leaving a gap of more than a hundred years in between. This biography mostly draws materials from documents such as Transmission of the Lamp Through the Ages and Comprehensive Records of the Buddhas and Patriarchs Through the Generations, preserving the original records of the spread of Buddhism in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and the integration of the Tiantai and Chan schools. Due to the fact that it does not comprehensively cover the Chan monks of the Ming Dynasty, has chronological gaps, and shows a geographical bias towards southern monks, it is actually an unfinished work. The birth and death years of Ruxing are unknown. With the Buddhist title of Huanwei, he was a disciple of Zhenqing of the Tiantai School. He also learned Chan Buddhism from the Chan master Qiansongde. He once lived in Ciyun Temple on Tiantai Mountain and Lengyan Temple in Jiaxing. He was knowledgeable and well - informed, especially good at writing, and was fond of historical and biographical studies. In the 28th year of the Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty (1600), he re - published Compilation of the Golden Dharma Defenders, and later continued to compile the contemporary defenders of the Dharma. Besides Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Ming Dynasty, he also had a four - volume work named Rites of Repentance for Encountering the Maitreya Buddha and Achieving Enlightenment.