The origin of Matsu? Who is Matsu referring to?

Matsu (Tang Dynasty Buddhist figures) generally refers to Matsu Daoyi. Matsu Daoyi is the patriarch of the Hongzhou sect, the most important sect of Zen Buddhism. The common surname is Ma, also known as Tao.

1. Hongzhou Road.

1. Jiangxi Road 1. A native of Shifang County, Hanzhou (now Matsu Town, Shifang, Sichuan), he was nicknamed the Great Silence Zen Master.

Matsu advocated that the Tao does not need to be cultivated, or that it should be cultivated at will. That is, the mind is a Buddha – non-mind is not a Buddha – the ordinary mind is the Tao, which is the general program of his Buddha-nature thought and practice. He put into practice the doctrine of "epiphany", replacing the tradition of reading sutras and sitting in meditation, and prompting Zen monks to generally renew the concept of Zen.

Matsu Daoyi's ideological proposition

In the practice of Zen, Daoyi advocates that "ordinary mind is the way", "let the luck be natural", "the way is not cultivation", and "the touch is the same", which completely pushes Zen to secularization, life, and simplicity, and gives Zen infinite vitality and vitality. His ideas and achievements have profoundly influenced the development of Buddhism and Chinese cultural traditions.

Matsu Daoyi's thought is deeply rooted in the desire to pursue the spirit of skepticism, denial, pantheism and individual freedom since the Middle and Tang Dynasties, thus completing a far-reaching liberation movement in the history of Chinese thought.

As a result, a new spiritual world has been opened up for countless Chinese scholars, scholars, and writers in future generations. Zen Yuefeng and, later enlightened the Song and Ming Dynasty Mind Learning, is based on the Japanese Yanagida Shengshan evaluation "after Matsu, the characteristics of Zen have the strongest sense of life", and it is a "humanist religion" in China. Modern scholar Hu Shi also called him "China's greatest Zen master".

The origin and ancestors of the surname Ma are introduced as follows:

1. From the surname Ying.

From the fiefdom horse suit of Zhao Hao after Sun Boyi, a descendant of the emperor, belongs to the clan named after Juyi. When Emperor Shun, Bo Yi was given the surname Ying by Shun because of his meritorious work in helping Yu control the water, and taming birds and beasts for Shun, and the surname Ying appeared, and Shun married his daughter surnamed Yao to him. Emperor Shun, surnamed Yao, Shun, took the surname of Yao from the land, and his descendants took Yao as the surname.

Mafu was originally a piece of land in the Zhao State during the Warring States Period, located in the Purple Mountain northwest of present-day Handan City, Hebei Province.

During the Warring States period, Zhao Hao, the general of Zhao, led his army to defeat the Qin army in the battle of Qin and Zhao Yan in 270 BC, so King Zhao Huiwen gave Ma Fu a place to Zhao Hao. And gave him the title of "Ma Fujun", which is equal to Lian Po and Lin Xiangru. Zhao Hao's descendants took "Ma Fu" as their surname, and later changed to a single surname "Ma".

2. Originated from official position.

Wu Ma, an official of the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period, belongs to the official title. Wu Ma was an official position set up by the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was specifically responsible for treating horses. In ancient times, witches and doctors were synonymous, so they were called witch horses.

In the classic book "Zhou Li, Diguan, Wu Ma", it is recorded: "Wu Ma, the palm of the horse raises the disease and treats it, and the medicine treats the horse disease." "It's the equivalent of a veterinarian today.

Among the descendants of Wu Ma, the official title of the ancestor is used as a surname, called Wu Ma, and the provincial text is simplified to a single surname Ma and Wu, all of which have been passed down from generation to generation and are one of the very ancient surnames.

3. Originated from the change of surname of ethnic minorities.

Originated from the Hui people, belonging to the cultural Sinicization of the surname to the surname, the Hui surname Ma is mainly related to the transliteration of Arabic and Persian names, especially with the transliteration of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, because the horse and Mu homonym, so many ancient books translate Muhammad as Mahama.

This translation had a great influence on the Qing Dynasty and later generations, such as Xu Ke's "Records of the Waterways of the Western Regions" in the Qing Dynasty and Wei Yuan's "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom", which all translated the first sound of the person's name "Mu" as "horse". Under the influence of this situation, the Hui do not attach as much importance to the family name pedigree as the Han people, but can freely choose the surname to use, so many Hui people choose the surname "Ma".

Matsu refers to Matsu Daoyi. Matsu Daoyi is the patriarch of the Hongzhou sect, the most important sect of Zen Buddhism. The common surname is Ma, also known as Tao.

1. Hongzhou Road.

1. Jiangxi Road 1. A native of Shifang County, Hanzhou, he is known as the Great Lonely Zen Master. Matsu advocated that the Tao does not need to be cultivated, or that it should be cultivated at will.

That is, the mind is a Buddha – non-mind is not a Buddha – the ordinary mind is the Tao, which is the general program of his Buddha-nature thought and practice. He put into practice the doctrine of "epiphany", replacing the tradition of reading sutras and sitting in meditation, and prompting Zen monks to generally renew the concept of Zen.

Matsu Daoyi Zen Master is extremely prosperous, there are eighty-eight good knowledge of the name, 139 Dharma heirs, with Baizhang Huaihai, Xitang Zhizang, Nanquan Puyuan is the most famous, known as the three major scholars of Hongzhou. Among them, Baizhang Huaihai Gate opened up two sects: Linji Sect and Weiyang Sect.

Matsu Daoyi's teachings in the Kaiyuan Temple in Hongzhou made the Kaiyuan Temple the center of Buddhism in the south of the Yangtze River. The Matsu Dojo was established and Hongzhou Chan was founded. Compared with Master Huairang, Dao Yi is a Zen master who teaches his disciples extensively.

If Huairang's generation was a monk, Matsu was the generation that opened the sect. Jiangxi's legal heirs, according to the history books, spread all over the world, far-reaching influence, called Hongzhou Sect, and Qingyuan under the stone sect echoed from afar, since then Zen Buddhism flourished in the world.