Nanhua Zen Temple

Shaoguan, Guangdong, China

This is the famous and very large Zen
temple in south China, where Huineng
resided most of his life as a master.  
Also known as Caoxi, which is the
name of the river stream that flows by
next to the temple grounds.
Huineng
This is the reputed mummified body of
Huineng.  The Chinese technique used
to preserve the bodies of some Zen
masters was to sit the body upright,
attach a stiff iron bar to the back, and
then paint the dead body with multiple
coats of black lacquer. Then a hole
was made at the bottom and it was set
on a lime mixture tray. As the organic
body decayed, the fluid drained out
the hole below, and the remaining
skeleton remained inside, and the
resulting lacquer "sculpture" remained
too.  
In Chinese this is called a roushen,
or "flesh body" mummy.  This one of
Huineng sits in the main master's hall
of Nanhua Zen Temple, where it can
be viewed by all visitors.

    When the fifth patriarch
    of Zen, Hongren, was
    asked why he had
    chosen Huineng as his
    successor out of the five
    hundred monks in his
    monastery, he replied:
    "Four hundred and
    ninety-nine of my
    disciples understood
    Buddhism very well, and
    only Huineng had no
    understanding of it
    whatsoever. He is not a
    man to be measured by
    any ordinary standard.
    Hence, the robe of
    authentic transmission
    was given to him."
Nanhua Chan Si
Maps of
Nanhua Zen
Temple
location.
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                                             Zen Temples in China