Daosui

Dàosuì (道邃, Jp: Dōzui, floruit 796–805) was Tang dynasty Buddhist monk from Chang'an and a student of the Tiantai patriarch Zhanran 湛然 (711–782). Daosui is known for transmitting the Tiantai teachings to Saichō, the founder of the Japanese Tendai school and is thus considered to be the seventh patriarch of the Tendai tradition. Daosui was posthumously honored with the title Xingdao Zunzhe (Venerable One Who Promotes the Way). He was also commonly referred to as Shikan Washō (Master of Śamatha-Vipaśyanā).

Life Daosui was a native of Chang'an. His birth and death dates are not clearly recorded in historical sources. His secular surname was Wang. Before ordination, he served in the Tang court as a Jiancha Yushi (Censor). Later, he renounced his prestigious position, became a monk, and received the full bhikṣu precepts at the age of 24.

Teachings Daosui's view of Tiantai teaching was a syncretic one, matching the spirit of the times. He advocated the integration of the various Buddhist schools of Chinese Buddhism (Vinaya school, Heze Chan, Mantrayana) under the umbrella of Zhiyi's universalist Tiantai school.

As a student of Zhanran, Daosui upheld and expanded on his master's views. He developed the integration of the Huayan teaching of "nature-origination" (xingqi) as found in Fazang into the Tiantai teaching of "nature-inclusion" (xingju), as well as defending the doctrine of the "Buddha-nature of the insentient" as taught in works like Zhanran's Adamantine Scalpel (金剛錍 Jin'gang Pi).

Furthermore, as noted by Paul Groner, Daosui teachings on meditation "may have varied from standard T'ien-t'ai practices":Chih-li 知禮 (960-1028), a Sung dynasty monk who tried to reform the T'ien-t'ai School, noted that Tao-sui's teaching on T'ien-t'ai meditation practices deviated from the orthodox position. Chih-li's charge is especially interesting when it is juxtaposed with Saichō's statement that Tao-sui taught him how to realize the three views in an instant (isshin sankan) through a single word. This passage suggests that Tao-sui may have utilized Ch'an practices. Daosui's syncretism influenced the Japanese monk Saichō, who developed his new Japanese Tendai tradition in a similar syncretic direction, merging esoteric Buddhism with the Tiantai teachings.

Works Daosui authored several surviving works, including:

Da panniepan jing shu siji 大般涅槃經疏私記 (Private Notes on the Commentary on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, 10 fascicles) Weimojing shu siji 維摩經疏私記 (Private Notes on the Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, 3 fasc.) Mohe zhiguan ji zhong yiyi 摩訶止觀記中異義 (Different Interpretations of the Mohe Zhiguan, 1 fasc.)

There are also three surviving sub-commentaries to Zhanran's commentaries on Zhiyi's three major works which are attributed to Daosui. However, modern scholars are in disagreement regarding their attribution to the Chinese Daosui or to a Japanese monk named Dozui (d. 1157). According to Groner, "Tokiwa Daijo and Okubo Ryojun have offered convincing arguments for the thesis that the works are of Chinese origin, but the issue has still not been satisfactorily resolved."