The Hongzhou school and the development of Tang dynasty Chan Buddhism

"Under the leadership of Mazu Daoyi (709-788) and his numerous disciples, the Hongzhou school emerged as the dominant tradition of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China during the middle part of the Tang dynasty (618-907). Mario Poceski offers a systematic examination of the Hongzhou school's momentous growth and rise to preeminence as the bearer of Chan orthodoxy, analyzing its doctrines against the backdrop of the intellectual and religious milieus of Tang China. Poceski demonstrates that the Hongzhou school represents the first emergence of an empire-wide Chan tradition that had strongholds throughout China and replaced the various fragmented schools of early Chan with an inclusive orthodoxy."--Jacket.