ABSTRACT
Huineng (Hui-neng, 638-713), the sixth patriarch, is the best-known master of Chinese Chan Buddhism, or simply Chan, popularly known in the west as Zen. He was born into a poor family at Canton. It is said that he received no formal education and hence could neither read nor write. Yet Huineng presented the most brilliant teaching of Chan and has been considered the real founder of its southern school.
