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{{Short description|Chinese Chan Buddhist branch}}
{{Redirect|Caodong|other uses|Cao Dong (disambiguation)}}
{{Zen Buddhism}}
{{Chinese Buddhism}}
'''Caodong school''' ({{zh|c=曹洞宗 |p=Cáodòng zōng |w=Ts'ao-tung-tsung}}) is a [[Chinese Chan]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] branch and one of the [[Five Houses of Chán]].{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=166}} 

The school emphasised [[sitting meditation (Zen)|sitting meditation]] (Ch: zuochan, Jp: zazen), and the "[[Five Ranks|five ranks]]" teaching. During the Song dynasty, Caodong masters like [[Hongzhi Zhengjue]] developed "[[Shikantaza|silent illumination]]" (mozhao) meditation.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=166}}

==Etymology==
The key figure in the Caodong school was founder [[Dongshan Liangjie]] (807–869, 洞山良价, Jpn. Tozan Ryokai) and his heir [[Caoshan Benji]] (840–901, 曹山本寂, Ts'ao-shan Pen-chi, Jpn. Sōzan Honjaku).{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=166}}<ref group="web">{{cite web |date=June 3, 2009 |title=Origin of Caodong School |url=http://fo.ifeng.com/changshi/200906/0603_22_56306.shtml |access-date=August 9, 2012 |publisher=[[ifeng.com]] |language=zh}}</ref> Some attribute the name "Cáodòng" as a union of "Dongshan" and "Caoshan". The "Cao" may also be from ''Cáoxī'' (曹溪), the "mountain-name" of [[Huineng]], the Sixth Ancestor of Chan, as Caoshan was of little importance unlike his contemporary and fellow Dharma-heir, [[Yunju Daoying]].{{cn|date=May 2021}} 

==History==
The Caodong school was founded by Dongshan Liangjie and his Dharma-heir Caoshan Benji. Dongshan traced back his lineage to [[Shitou Xiqian]] (700–790), a contemporary of [[Mazu Daoyi]] (709–788). Sayings to the effect that Shitou and Mazu were the two great masters of their day date from decades after their respective deaths. Shítóu's retrospective prominence owes much to the importance of [[Dongshan Liangjie]].{{sfn|Poceski| 2007|p=97–98}} Shítóu does not appear to have been influential or famous during his lifetime: 
{{quote|He was a little-known teacher who led a reclusive life and had relatively few disciples. For decades after Shitou's death, his lineage remained an obscure provincial tradition.{{sfn|Poceski|2007}}}}

In the 11th century the Caodong-school nearly extinguished.{{sfn|Schlütter|2008|p=79}} [[Dayang Jingxuan]] (942-1027), the last descendant of the Caodong-lineage passed on his dharma-transmission via Fushan Fayuan, a teacher from the [[Linji school]], to Fayuan's student [[Touzi Yiqing]] (1032-1083),{{sfn|Schlütter|2008|p=80}} who was born five years after Jingxuan's death.

During the [[Northern Song]] (960–1127) the Caodong was not successful in the social elite. The [[Linji school]] and [[Yunmen school]] dominated Chán.{{sfn|Schlütter|2008|p=79}} It was Touzi Yiqing's student [[Furong Daokai]] (1043–1118) who was a successful monastic, and revived the Caodong school.{{sfn|Schlütter|2008|p=79-81}}

His dharma "grandson" [[Hongzhi Zhengjue]] (1091–1157) became very successful among elite literati in the [[Southern Song]] (1127–1279), when the Imperial Court decreased their influence on society, and Chán schools became dependent on elite literati for support. Under Hongzhi and Zhengzie Qingliao, the Caodong school was revived and became one of the major traditions of Song dynasty Chan.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=166}} 

These Song era teachers taught a practiced termed "[[Shikantaza|silent illumination]]" or "serene reflection" ([[Simplified Chinese characters|Ch]]: 默照禅) which relied on the doctrine of inherent enlightenment and [[buddha-nature]]. Since Buddha was seen as something already present in the mind, all that one needed to do was to let go of all striving and this was achieved by silently sitting in meditation.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=166}} 

The success of the revived Caodong school drew opposition from [[Linji school]] figures like [[Dahui Zonggao]], who promoted the [[Hua Tou]] method of [[koan]] practice, and attacked [[Shikantaza|silent illumination]] as [[Quietism (philosophy)|quietistic]].{{sfn|Schlütter|2008}}

In 1227 [[Dōgen Zenji]], a former [[Tendai]] student, studied Caodong Buddhism under [[Tiantong Rujing]], and returned to [[Japan]] to establish the [[Sōtō]] sect.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://read.goodweb.cn/news/news_view.asp?newsid=44543|script-title=zh:道元和日本曹洞宗|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214030330/http://read.goodweb.cn/news/news_view.asp?newsid=44543|archive-date=2014-02-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> His lineage incorporates not only the dharma-transmission via Fushan Fayuan, but also Linji dharma-transmissions via [[Eisai]] and his student Myozen, a teacher of Dogen, and the Linji dharma-transmission of Dahui Zonggao via the [[Nōnin|Nōnin school]].{{sfn|Bodiford|1991|p=428}}

==Influence==
===Korea===
Caodong school was introduced to Korea at the end of [[Silla]], through Seon master Ieom (利嚴, 869–936). He arrived China in 894 and studied under teaching of [[Yunju Daoying]]. He returned to Silla in 911 and then established Sumi-san (須彌山) school to expand Caodong's teaching. He had several hundred students, his sect is one of [[Nine mountain schools]]. Later, the [[Nine mountain schools]] had been unified to [[Jogye Order]] by [[Jinul]] and [[Taego Bou]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nine Mountain Schools |url=https://phatgiao.org.vn/tu-dien-phat-hoc-online/thien-mon-cuu-son-k43779.html |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=phatgiao.org.vn |language=vi}}</ref>

===Japan===
{{Main article|Sōtō Zen}}

In the 13th century, [[Dōgen Zenji]] studied the Caodong tradition and brought the teachings and techniques over to Japan, where it became known as [[Sōtō Zen]]. Today, there are over 14,000 Sōtō temples in Japan and Dōgen is regarded alongside [[Keizan]] as the Japanese tradition’s ancestors.

===Vietnam===
Caodong school is called "Tào Động tông" in [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]. It was brought to the north Vietnam in the late of 17th century by Thiền master Thông Giác Thủy Nguyệt (通覺水月, 1637-1704), a disciple of Yiju Zhijiao (一句智教). Chan master Zhijiao is the 4th generation after [[Zhanran Yuancheng]] (湛然圓澄, 1561-1626) - one of Caodong school's famous revivers in late [[Ming]] period.

==Lineage chart==
via Shitou the Caodong traces back its origins to Huineng.

{{Zen Lineage Caodong School}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Religion}}
* [[Dongshan Liangjie]]
* [[Index of Buddhism-related articles]]
* [[Schools of Buddhism]]
* [[Five Houses of Chán]]
* [[Linji school]]
* [[Sōtō]]
* [[Zazen]]
* [[Shikantaza]]

==References==
===Written references===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Web references===
{{reflist|group=web}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation | last1 =Buswell | first1 =Robert E. | last2 =Lopez | first2 =Donald S. | year =2014 | title =The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism | place =Honolulu | publisher =Princeton University Press|isbn =9781299951082}}
* {{Citation |last=Cleary |first=Thomas |year=1990 |title=Transmission of Light, Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan. Translated and introduction by Thomas Cleary |place=San Francisco |publisher=North Point Press |isbn =0-86547-433-8}}
* {{cite journal| last =Bodiford| first =William M.| author-link =William Bodiford| title =Dharma Transmission in Soto Zen: Manzan Dohaku's Reform Movement| journal =[[Monumenta Nipponica]]| volume =46| issue =4| pages =423–451| publisher =Sophia University| date =Winter 1991| doi =10.2307/2385187| issn = 0027-0741| jstor=2385187}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ferguson |first1=Andrew E. |title=Zen's Chinese heritage : the masters and their teachings |date=2009 |publisher=Wisdom Publications |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-86171-163-5 |edition=Illustrated}}
* {{Citation | last =Ferguson | first =Andy | year =2011 | title =Zen's Chinese Heritage. The Masters and their Teachings |  publisher =Wisdom publications}}
* {{Citation | last = Poceski | first = Mario | year = 2007 | title = Ordinary Mind as the Way: the Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn =978-0-19-531996-5}}
* {{Citation | last =Schlütter | first =Morten | year =2008 | title =How Zen became Zen. The Dispute over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China | place =Honolulu | publisher =University of Hawai'i Press | isbn =978-0-8248-3508-8}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150909042233/http://ibc.ac.th/faqing/files/Soto_Zen%20Ancestors.pdf SOTO ZEN ANCESTORS IN CHINA]
* [http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/Bright_Field_of_Spirit_Hongzhi.html Matthew Gindin (2008), ''The Bright Field of Spirit: The Life and Teachings of Chan Master Hongzhi Zhengjue'']
<!-- 404 (20160523): * [http://www.caodongzazen.com/english-CaodongFamilyTree.htm Caodong Family Tree]-->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170308140835/http://sweepingzen.com/soto-zen/ Taigen Dan Leighton, ''Sōtō Zen (Caodong)'']

{{Zen}}
{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Chan schools]]