Taiso Eka
Presentation
Taiso Eka (Huike, 487–593) is the second Chinese patriarch of Chan and the first to have received the transmission on Chinese soil, succeeding the legendary Bodhidharma. His story is one of the most famous in Zen: remaining in the snow up to his waist, he begged Bodhidharma to "pacify his mind," and the master's reply — "Bring me that mind, and I will pacify it" — provoked his awakening. To seal his determination, he is said to have cut off his own arm, a gesture that has become emblematic of the tradition. Persecuted and ultimately executed, Huike embodies the transmission of the dharma which, having become Chinese, truly took root and gave birth to all of Chan.
Biography
Taiso Eka (Huike, Dazu Huike), born in 487 in Hu-lao (present-day Xingyang, Henan) under the name Shenguang ("Divine Light"), is the second Chinese patriarch of Chan and thus the first to have received the transmission on Chinese soil. His story is one of the most famous and moving in all of Zen.
A scholarly man of letters, versed in both Buddhist sūtras and Chinese classics (including Taoism), Huike was considered an awakened man but criticized for having no master. In 528, at around forty years of age, he went to the Shaolin monastery where Bodhidharma, the first patriarch from India, was staying.
The Decisive Encounter
Tradition recounts that Bodhidharma at first refused to instruct him. Huike remained outside in the snow all night; in the morning, the snow reached his waist. Bodhidharma asked him what he wanted. "I have no peace in my mind, master. I beg you, pacify my mind."
Bodhidharma replied: "Bring me this agitated mind, and I will pacify it."
Huike searched for his mind, but could not grasp it. "I cannot find it," he said.
"Then," said Bodhidharma, "I have already pacified it."
Upon hearing these words, Huike experienced awakening. To prove his determination, he is said to have cut off his left arm, a gesture that has become the emblem of his story.
Teaching and Later Life
Huike studied under Bodhidharma for six years and received the transmission of the *dharma* as well as the robe and bowl — symbols of patriarchal authority. He then went to Yedu (Hebei) where he taught for decades, attracting many disciples but also the hostility of other Buddhist schools. A rival master, Tao-heng, paid an assassin to kill him; Huike converted his attacker.
During the persecution of Buddhism ordered by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou in 574, Huike took refuge in the mountains near the Yangzi, where he met the young Sengcan, to whom he transmitted the *dharma*. He returned to Yedu in 579 to continue teaching. According to tradition, he was executed (beheaded) on the orders of the authorities, but his blood did not flow: a white liquid like milk flowed from his neck — a sign of his purity.
He died in 593, at the age of 107 according to some sources, and received the posthumous title of Dazu ("Great Ancestor") from Emperor Tang Dezong.
Legacy
Huike is fundamental in the history of Chan because it is through him that the transmission, having become Chinese, truly took root. The exchange with Bodhidharma — "pacify my mind" — is one of the most famous *kōans* of the tradition and alone summarizes the encounter between Chinese genius and Indian wisdom.
In the *Denkōroku*, the story of Huike occupies case 29 (or 30 depending on the numbering), just after Bodhidharma. He is followed by Kanchi Sōsan (Sengcan), the third Chinese patriarch.
Sources
- Keizan Jōkin, Denkōroku
- Xù Gāosēng Zhuàn (續高僧傳) — Additional Biographies of Eminent Monks, Daoxuan, 645
- Heinrich Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, vol. I, Macmillan, 1988
- Andy Ferguson, Zen's Chinese Heritage, Wisdom Publications, 2011 — pp. 23–28
- Wikipedia — Dazu Huike
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