Nanyue Huairang

Nányuè Huáiràng (南嶽懐譲, Japanese: Nangaku Ejõ) (677–744) was the foremost student of Dajian Huineng, the 6th Patriarch of Ch'an (Zen) and teacher of one of his Dharma heirs, Mazu Daoyi. The ancestor of two of the Five Houses of Ch'an, Huairang studied with a Vinaya master and became ordained. Dissatisfied with his own progress, Huairang found Dajian Huineng in Shaozhou and became his disciple. One can read of their first meeting in the Wudeng Huiyuan. Huairang gave Dharma transmission to six individuals, the most prominent being Mazu Daoyi.