Shi Huaihai (720-814 AD), a famous Zen master, was the founder of the Buddhist monastery Qingzhi. Fuzhou Changle people, commonly known as Wang, were born in the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (720 AD). He was first ordained from Chaoyang Xishan Huizhao and was later ordained from Hengshan Farang. Originally reading at the Fulu Monastery in Lujiang (present-day Lujiang, Anhui), he heard that Matsu Daoyi was in Nankang Hongchan, so he went to attach himself to it, and eventually became a party master.
After Daoyi's death, Huaihai first lived in Shimen (石門, in modern Jing'an, Jiangxi). Later, at the invitation of Buddhist believers, he moved to Daxiong Team Mountain in Xinwu (present-day Fengxing, Jiangxi). This mountain is known as Baizhang Mountain because of its steep rocks, reaching a thousand feet. Huaihai built a Zen forest on Baizhang Mountain, and many students from all over the sea came to visit. Because of the large number of people, there must be some kind of rules and regulations, otherwise, it will be difficult to live in harmony. For this purpose, Huaihai formulated the Zen Gate Rules (Qing Rules). Emperor Xianzong of Tang died in 814 at the age of ninety-five. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Yongmuzong (821 CE), he was a Zen master of the Great Wisdom.
In Huaihai's Zen study, he believes that the nature of all sentient beings is pure in nature: their own minds are clear, and as long as they leave delusional thoughts, they are no different from Buddhas. His method of meditation advocated going with the flow. He said, "Rest first, rest all things, good and bad, be born in the world, all the laws, do not remember, let go of the body and mind, let it be at ease, the heart is like a wood and stone, there is no discernment." The mind does nothing, the earth is empty, and the wisdom of the sun appears on its own. Like a cloud opening the sunrise". He advocated that Zen practitioners should not deliberately pursue it while going with the flow. In daily life, if there is any question raised in the door, he does not give a positive answer, but instead expresses Zen intention by beating, laughing, drinking, and lifting, so that the person who asks the question can experience it for himself. Every time he went to the church to finish speaking, when the audience left, he always called them back again and asked "what"?
Huaihai's work, the most influential in the history of Chinese Buddhism, was his formulation of the Zen Gate Rules, that is, the Qing Rules of monasteries. The Zen forest he built, imitating the practice of his master Dao Yi, only managed to do the temple, not the Buddhist temple. His "Zen Gate Rules" are very detailed, and those who live with him must abide by them together. The regulations say that the virtuous are the lords, called elders, and abbots. The masses who attend the school, no matter how high or low, enter the monastery. He also practiced "popularizing the law and the qi to equalize the strength of the upper and lower levels, and engaging in agricultural production and labor." This kind of "universal invitation method", in modern parlance, means that everyone works voluntarily together, and this kind of labor is now called "going out of the slope" in the monasteries. Huaihai formulated this labor system in order to integrate Zen into labor, which is now called "equal emphasis on agricultural Zen" or "life Zen". Every time he labored, Huaihai always walked in front. Once, when the deacon monk in charge of the labor service saw that he was too old, he hid the tools of his labor and advised him to rest. He said: "I have no virtue, and I strive to work for others." Huaihai looked around for his tools to get, so he stopped eating. This move of his is the origin of the saying "one day without doing, one day without eating".
Huaihai's formulation of the Zen Gate Rules was actually a reform of the precepts. Because China's climate and social habits are different from those of India, it is impossible to follow the precepts exactly. Huaihai's pragmatic and innovative spirit is admirable. Unfortunately, the "Zen Gate Rules" he formulated were lost in the Song Dynasty. Later, the "Qing Rules" implemented in Chinese Buddhist temples were re-compiled by the Yuan Dynasty Baizhang Shan Dehui and renamed "QingGui of The Hundred Zhangs", a total of eight volumes. The provisions are, of course, different, but the general spirit is not much different.
Huaihai had many disciples, the most famous of whom were Lingyou and Xiyun Er'er Lingyou, who used The Mountain of Hunan as a base and founded the Yangzong Xiyun to use Huangbei Mountain (between present-day Anhui and Jiangxi) as a dojo to accept Zen monks from all over the world. The establishment of these two sects made Zen buddhism more widespread in China.