Sun-Face Buddha: The Teachings of Ma-tsu and the Hung-chou School of Ch’an

The book is organized around the historical and doctrinal emergence of Ma-tsu and the Hung-chou school within Tang China, beginning with the formation of Ch’an and the broader Buddhist environment in which Ma-tsu’s lineage developed. It then examines Ma-tsu’s life, his relationship to earlier Ch’an masters, his monastic context, and the distinctive teaching style that made the Hung-chou school influential in the later evolution of Chinese Zen. The core of the work is the translated record of Ma-tsu, including biographical materials, sermons, and dialogues that express key themes such as “ordinary mind is the Way,” non-duality, non-seeking, freedom from conceptual fixation, and the direct functioning of Buddha-nature. The final main section presents records of Ma-tsu’s disciples, showing how his style was transmitted, adapted, and expanded through different personalities and teaching situations, thereby consolidating the Hung-chou school as a formative matrix for later Ch’an traditions.