About 增集續傳燈錄
Ming · by 文琇集
126,962 · about 423 min
The "Expanded Collection of the Continued Transmission of the Lamp" was compiled by the eminent monk Wenxiu of the Ming Dynasty and stands as a significant historical and biographical work of the Chan school. Composed in the early Ming period, it inherits the tradition of the Song Dynasty "Transmission of the Lamp" records, supplementing them with the recorded sayings and biographical accounts of Chan masters from the Yuan to early Ming eras. It documents the lineages of schools such as the Linji and Caodong, encompassing the sharp dialogues between eminent monks, the circumstances of their awakening, and the genealogies of Dharma transmission, thereby manifesting the Chan principle of "mind-to-mind transmission." As an expanded version of the "Continued Transmission of the Lamp," it fills a gap in the historical materials of Chan Buddhism from the Song and Yuan to the early Ming, holding considerable value for the study of the developmental thread of Chinese Chan. Wenxiu conducted rigorous textual research, preserving a wealth of precious recorded sayings. This work is regarded by later generations as an important document for the study of Ming and Qing Chan Buddhism, occupying a unique position in the fields of Buddhist historiography and Chan thought.