*Thich Nhat Hanh* # Progressive Summary # Definitions # Chapter Notes ## 1 - Radical Insight: A New Way of Seeing ### Tang Hoi - the first Zen master of Vietnam and China > Buddhism in Vietnam began with the meditation tradition. In the beginning of the third century there was a merchant from Sogdia in central Asia who traveled to what is today northern Vietnam, perhaps along what’s called the Maritime Silk Road. He stayed there to do business and waited until the winds were favorable to sail back to India. This young merchant found Vietnam very pleasant, so he settled there and married a Vietnamese young lady. They had a little boy, half Indian and half Vietnamese, who would go on to become the first teacher of Buddhist meditation in Vietnam and China: Master Tang Hoi. > > When Tang Hoi was ten years old, his father and mother passed away, and he was taken in by an Indian Buddhist temple, in what is now northern Vietnam, to train to be a monk. The temples had been established by Indian monks in the ports and centers of trade for the Indian merchants staying for extended periods. By the third century, Buddhism was flourishing, and as a young monk Tang Hoi studied both Sanskrit and Chinese. He established a community and taught in Vietnam before heading north across the border into the Wu Kingdom (now China) to share the practice of Buddhist meditation. > > It is recorded that, when Tang Hoi came to the Wu Kingdom, there were not yet any Buddhist monks; he was the first. He set up a little hut and practiced walking meditation, and word of his presence began to spread. He was summoned by the king, who was very impressed and, around the middle of the third century, allowed Tang Hoi to build the first Buddhist temple in the Wu Kingdom. It became known as “The First-Built Temple,” and, if you go to Nanking today, you can still see its ruins. There, Tang Hoi began to teach meditation and organized ceremonies to ordain the first Buddhist monks in China, about three hundred years before Bodhidharma. > > Many people think of Bodhidharma as the first teacher of Zen Buddhism in China, but it’s not true. Three centuries earlier, Tang Hoi was already teaching there. He is truly the first Zen master of Vietnam and China. And, while Bodhidharma did not leave behind any writings, Tang Hoi left behind many works that are still preserved, including precious translations and commentaries. He translated and taught the Diamond Sutra, one of the most beloved scriptures in the Zen tradition and the earliest text to explore deep ecology. ### Diamond Sutra - the first text on deep ecology > In the Diamond Sutra the meditator is urged to throw away, to release, four notions in order to understand our own true nature and the true nature of reality: the notion of “self,” the notion of “human being,” the notion of “living beings,” and the notion of “life span.” > My tradition belongs to the lineage of the ninth-century Zen master Linji. He said, “My aim is not to give you knowledge. My aim is to help you break free from your views.” Understanding should not be only empty knowledge, but deep insight. Insight is not the outcome of thinking. Insight is a kind of direct intuitive vision that you get from strong concentration. # Quotes # References