Wutai Mountain (五台山) in central China is famous as a sacred place dedicated to Manjusri Bodhisattva, a Buddhist bodhisattva well known for his wisdom. Many temples have been built in his honor. Many people claimed that they had talked to a child who was leading a cow. As he was leaving, the child would turn into the holy Manjusri Bodhisattva and the cow into the famous lion that the bodhisattva would ride.

Tan Luan was about 15 years old when he went to the mountain with his father, hoping to see the bodhisattva appear. In a temple, Tan Luan joined a crowd busily praying before a statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva. Suddenly someone shouted, "Hey, look at the clouds!"

Some clouds had come together and formed the face of the bodhisattva, and many colors appeared and disappeared. Gradually the clouds vanished, leaving everyone in a state of ecstasy.

The epiphany moved Tan Luan so deeply that he decided to live on the mountain. One day a few years later, while he was taking a nap in a cave called Chin-kang-ku (金剛窟), he dreamed that an old man leading a cow walked up to him. The old man saw him and exclaimed, "Tan Luan, how are you? Want to come to my place for some tea?"

Tan Luan thought this rather strange since he had never seen the old man before, but still he followed him to his home. They chatted until sunset, when Tan Luan said that he should leave. The old man said to him, "You don't seem to be in very good health. Let me give you some advice. The old man told him, "A short meditation is better than building thousands of pagodas decorated with jewelry. The reason is that pagodas can be destroyed, but your concentrated mind in meditation can bring you enlightenment."

The old man was suddenly transformed into Manjusri Bodhisattva and the cow into the lion the bodhisattva often rode. It seemed that the bodhisattva had appeared to bring encouragement to the young boy. Because of this dream, Tan Luan decided to formally join the Buddhist congregation and become a monk.

He went to the Ta Fu Tu Temple (大孚圖寺) on Wutai Mountain and quickly learned four major commentaries from Abbot Chih Chueh (智覺). The four commentaries, which had been translated by Kumarajiva [please read his story in our Fall 1999 issue], promoted the concept of "void" and the Middle Observation, which contains the entire core of Mahayana Buddhism. People tend to get attached to either "have" or "have not." In contrast, the Middle Observation explains that everything we "have" is but an impermanent illusion and that anything can be created through the interdependent arising of conditions out of the state of "void." People should follow the Golden Mean between these two extremes without even getting attached to the Golden Mean itself.

Years later, Tan Luan started giving talks on the four commentaries at various temples on the mountain and established himself as an eminent Buddhist master in the field. He selected top monks at Ta Fu Tu Temple and taught them the four commentaries so that more monks could also spread the teachings to other places.

Tan Luan also spent time writing comments on the Tachi Sutra (大集經). Since he didn't possess very good health to begin with, his condition deteriorated quickly from poring over the commentaries and the sutra every day. One day, he suddenly found himself feeling dizzy, as though the world around him was spinning rapidly out of control. His face turned very pale and he had to sit down and support his head with his hands.

He was so sick that he had to lie in bed for many weeks and his work had to be stopped. Although he didn't feel dizzy anymore, he still had trouble breathing properly. His disciples were all quite concerned about his condition. Finally, Tan Luan decided to see a doctor. A disciple, Chih An (智安), accompanied him to seek medical treatment while another disciple, Chih Kuang (釋廣), stayed in the temple to continue writing comments on the sutra.

Seeking medical help

Tan Luan and Chih An left the mountain and went south. On the road they came across many doctors, but all of them shook their heads after examining Tan Luan. However, they all claimed that Tan Luan should try to control his chi [life force] in order to cure his illness.

They reached a city called Fenyang (汾陽) in central China and visited a ruined castle. Except for the standing castle walls, everything else had disappeared.

Looking around and up at the sky, Tan Luan suddenly felt the discomfort in his chest disappear. He felt as if he had completely recovered, so he shouted loudly to the sky, "I'm fine now! I've completely recovered!"

Chih An was quite surprised by his master's sudden outburst. Tan Luan explained to him with a smile, "While I was at the temple, I spent most of my time giving lectures and writing comments, so I didn't get enough exercise. But since I we left the temple, I have been walking for close to a year now, and that improved my health. Also, looking at the vast sky somehow opened up my mind so that the discomfort just vanished from my chest!"

Chih An was happy to hear that his master had recovered. Now they could return to the temple.

On the way home, a thought suddenly came to Tan Luan's mind. He was now recovered, but he had no idea when he would fall ill again and whether the next sickness would take his life. Life was so unpredictable that he didn’t know if he would be able to complete his work before death suddenly took him.

He told Chih An his thoughts and continued by saying, "If I could live longer, I would be able to do many things for Buddhism!"

Chih An said to him, "But Master, seeking longevity is the work of Taoism; we Buddhists seek nirvana. If you want to seek longevity, you need to learn Taoist ways by following a Taoist master."

Tan Luan said to him, "What's wrong with that? Being able to live a longer life or even becoming a god by learning from a Taoist master would be a nice thing, wouldn't it? I would be able to write comments for many sutras, not just one! I would also help propagate Buddhism!" He continued, "I've heard that a man named Tao Hung-ching (陶弘景) in the state of Liang (梁) is a master of Taoism. I plan to study from him."

Chih An was surprised that his master really wanted to learn from the Taoist master. "Then we have to go south!"

Tan Luan replied, "Yes, I'll have to go south. Although there is no war between Liang and our kingdom at the moment, the two sides are still suspicious of each other. It will be dangerous when I cross the border into Liang, so I don't want you to come with me. There's simply no use for you to come when we two monks can't even defend ourselves from the Liang soldiers. Instead I want you to go back to the temple and tell the others of my plan. You'll stay there to hear from me. Do you understand?"

Chih An wanted to protest, but he didn't know what to say. So he simply replied submissively, "Yes, Master."

Tan Luan and Chih An thus bid farewell to each other and went their separate ways.

Visiting Emperor Wu

Tan Luan went to Liang in 527 when he was 51 years old. His fame as an expert in the four commentaries had spread to Liang as well, and Emperor Wu (梁武帝, reigned 502-549) wanted to see if the monk was truly outstanding enough to comprehend the concept of void. The emperor cleared everything except the throne out of the main hall of the palace, and he himself dressed up as a monk. Then he sent for Tan Luan.

When the master first entered the hall, he was surprised to see it so bare, but he quickly realized what the emperor was doing. He also noticed a man in a monk's outfit standing and looking at him from one corner. From the expression on that man's face, Tan Luan judged it to be the emperor. He walked up to the throne and sat down. He then said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, the essence of Buddhism is void and I believe this is what you're trying to ask me?"

Amazed at how quickly Tan Luan had deciphered his message, the emperor said to him, "I'm really happy that you understood my message. I would like you to follow me because I have something to show you."

Tan Luan then followed the emperor through a maze. They reached a pretty garden with ponds and flowers, which Tan Luan liked very much. However, the emperor said to him, "Master, I have to run some errands, so I'll have to ask you to go back by yourself."

Without any hesitation, Tan Luan walked back through the maze. Emperor Wu didn't follow him back to the main hall; instead he walked straight back through another path. To his surprise, when he reached the hall, Tan Luan was already sitting on the throne in the main hall. The emperor immediately prostrated himself before him and said to him humbly, "Master, I apologize for any disrespect I may have shown you. I never realized that you had such high cultivation. Master, may I ask you to relax for the rest of the day? I will welcome you again tomorrow with all due honor."

On the following morning, Tan Luan was again led to the main hall of the palace, but this time all the ministers were there to welcome him and the emperor, dressed in royal garments, introduced the monk to the entire court.

After the morning audience, the emperor and the monk went to the garden. Tan Luan told the emperor the reason for his visit to his realm, and Emperor Wu's eyes lit up. "You want to learn from Master Tao? I have asked him many times to help me govern the country, but he always refuses since he is devoted to practicing Taoism. Still, I respect him very much and consult him on major events." Emperor Wu then invited Tan Luan to stay for a few days and give sermons, and Tan Luan agreed. A month later, he was still in the palace. His sermons on the four commentaries had attracted large audiences, and many people kept coming to ask questions about Buddhism. That in turn delayed his departure to see Master Tao.

Tao Hung-ching [born ca. 452], was a famous Taoist master at that time. He even used divination to help Emperor Wu determine the name of the new kingdom, "Liang."

Even though Emperor Wu had invited Tao many times to help him govern the country, Tao refused the emperor's request every time. Tao finally sent the emperor a painting of two cows. One was chewing on grass freely while the other, wearing a metal frame around its head, was being pulled away and beaten by a farmer. The emperor laughed when he saw the painting and said, "See, this man will never become my minister. He prefers to be like the cow grazing freely instead of being bound like the other one!" After that, the emperor stopped asking Tao to join the government.

In the meanwhile, Tao had heard everything about Tan Luan, including how he had deciphered the emperor's message on void and found his way through the maze by himself. He was very interested in meeting the famous monk, so as soon as he received his letter, he replied with a whole-hearted welcome.

When Tan Luan received the reply, he immediately packed up his belongings, went to the emperor, and indicated his desire to meet Tao at once. The emperor was surprised by his quick decision, but wished him good luck on his journey.

Tan Luan was highly welcomed by Master Tao and hundreds of his disciples. Tan Luan told Tao his reason for coming to see him, and Tao nodded and replied, "To me, Taoism and Buddhism are no different from each other. I'm glad that you want to learn Taoism to help you promote Buddhism."

After that, Tan Luan spent hours every day learning breathing methods from Tao. One important method was to breathe through one's navel instead of one's nose. The practitioner could use this method to cleanse his internal organs. However, this method was dangerous if practiced without guidance: one could vomit blood and even die from it.

Three years later, Tan Luan had learned much from Tao and decided to return to Wutai Mountain. Before leaving, Tao presented him with a ten-volume set of Immortals, (仙經) Taoist books on how to prepare chemical pills for longevity and how to practice breathing methods. With tears in his eyes, Tan Luan thanked Tao for his generosity and left.

Meeting Bodhiruci in Luoyang

On the way, Tan Luan stopped by Luoyang (洛陽) in central China and went to a temple to see if he could stay for a night. He was led to a room and there he found an Indian monk named Bodhiruci (菩提流支) in meditation. Bodhiruci came to China in 508 and was respectfully received by Emperor Hsuen Wu (宣武帝) of the Northern Wei state (北魏). The emperor had gathered more than 700 monks in a temple to translate Buddhist sutras into Chinese.

As Tan Luan watched Bodhiruci in meditation, he felt that the monk was quite an expert and had attained a very high level in spiritual cultivation. When Bodhiruci came out of meditation, they introduced themselves to each other and Tan Luan informed him that he had been studying Taoism in southern China. Bodhiruci was surprised to learn that a Buddhist monk would study Taoism for his health. "Don't you know that Buddhism also has ways to improve health? Why bother wasting your time and energy on studying Taoist ways?"

Bodhiruci pointed out to Tan Luan that meditation allowed the practitioner to regulate his breathing and to improve his health to an extent. Also, meditation allowed one to be free from all worldly attachments and reach the Middle Observation, free from "have," "have-not," life, and death. Bodhiruci further noted that the chemical pills produced by Taoism for longevity usually involved precious metals like gold and silver. They were too expensive for ordinary people, so Taoism was only for the rich and for royalty.

Taoist exercises might have their merits, but they only prolonged people's lives to a certain extent. Afterwards, people still died with ignorance and perplexity in their minds; they were not truly free spiritually. Bodhiruci took out a copy of the Sutra on Observing the Buddha of Boundless Age (觀無量壽經) and said, "This sutra details the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. The buddha grants immortality to those who go there. Study it and you'll know Buddhism also has ways to help people reach immortality."

These points shook Tan Luan to the core since no one had ever criticized him before. After all, he was one of the most eminent Buddhist masters in China. They also made him wonder if he had indeed been doing the wrong things. Of course, he had also developed a strong friendship with Tao Hung-ching, and trying to go against this was a very difficult task. A few days later, Tan Luan and Bodhiruci were in the yard of the temple, and Bodhiruci asked Tan Luan if he had seen any of the Taoist or Buddhist monks casting spells. Tan Luan said that he had heard of a Taoist master named Ke Hung (葛洪) who used spells to save people living at most ten kilometers away from him. So Bodhiruci went to a pond, held his hands together, and recited something quietly. Suddenly, the water in the pond started spinning and a lotus flower emerged on the surface. Slowly the flower sank and disappeared. Bodhiruci turned back to Tan Luan and said to him, "After you learn Buddhism for a certain period of time, you'll also attain certain supernatural powers and be able to cast spells like this one. Taoism emphasizes spell casting, but we Buddhists don't because the Buddha hoped that his disciples would use the Buddhist doctrines instead of spells to attract followers." Bodhiruci said to Tan Luan that although Ke Hung could only save people who lived at most ten kilometers away from him, if they could spread the Buddha's teachings to more people, then society as a whole would benefit from it. Ke Hung's spells would be meaningless compared to Buddhism. This last point brought light to Tan Luan's mind because the image of Buddhism being spread throughout society seemed so wonderful. Then he understood Bodhiruci's words and felt he had been wrong in pursuing Taoism for his health.

After that, Tan Luan spent all his time studying the sutra and learning meditation from Bodhiruci. He also wrote a letter to his disciples on Wutai Mountain informing them of his new plan to study the sutra and asking them to join him in Luoyang.

One day, Tan Luan took out the Immortals and set the books on fire. He knelt down on the ground before the fire and prayed in his heart, "Master Tao, I'm sorry that I have to burn these books you presented to me. I've given up Taoism and am now going after the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, but still my heart is full of gratitude for those two years that I spent with you."

After Tan Luan finished studying the Amitabha Buddha Sutra, he gave many public lectures on it. He once said to his audience, "Amitabha Buddha radiates light so strong that nothing can block it! The light shines in all directions and eliminates darkness. Amitabha Buddha and his retinue also live forever! The Pure Land is made of all kinds of treasures: gold, silver, jade, diamonds, and many other precious stones. All of this is possible because of the merits of Amitabha Buddha."

The audience was happy to hear that the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha was so wonderful that no one suffered there. But how could people go there? Tan Luan told them that while people are still alive, they should do three types of good deeds. The first is to treat their parents with filial piety, to honor their teachers, to be compassionate and not engage in killing, and to perform the Ten Good Deeds. The Ten Good Deeds refer to three kinds of good action (protecting life, giving, and chastity), four kinds of good speech (truth, pleasant language, agreeable words, and straightforward speech), and three kinds of good thought (considering impurity, considering compassion, and considering cause and effect). The second is to take refuge in the Three Treasures of Buddhism (the Buddha, his teachings, and the congregation of monks and nuns), to observe the precepts, and to not offend others' dignity. The third is to vow to achieve enlightenment, to believe in the law of cause and effect, to recite the Mahayana sutras, and to encourage others to go on the Path of the Bodhisattvas.

One night, Bodhiruci brought Tan Luan a book called the Commentary on Rebirth to Pure Land (往生論) by Vasubandhu (世親), a commentary on the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. Tan Luan was delighted to receive the book, but after reading a few pages, he felt it was far more difficult to comprehend than it had at first seemed. Therefore, Tan Luan wrote a commentary on this book, Annotations on the Discussion on Passing Away (往生論註).

What is special in Tan Luan's book is that he promotes the powers and vows of Amitabha Buddha to help people reach his Pure Land. In Buddhism, there are difficult and easy ways for spiritual cultivation. The difficult way is through one's own efforts, without help from buddhas or bodhisattvas. But this path can be treacherous since the difficulties lying ahead may be beyond one's own abilities and can easily lead to complete failure. The easy way that Tan Luan promotes is through help from Amitabha Buddha. The buddha already declared in the sutra that by simply reciting his name without distracting thoughts, followers can enter his Pure Land to carry out their spiritual cultivation. Once there, they can carry out their cultivation without any hindrance and once they become enlightened, they can come back to this world to help others. The easy way is far more convenient than the difficult way since Amitabha Buddha himself also guides followers in carrying out their spiritual cultivation.

Inspiring the young emperor

In 534, Northern Wei (北魏) was split into Eastern Wei (東魏) and Western Wei (西魏) as a result of a civil war between Kao Huan (高歡), the prime minister of Northern Wei, and the emperor. The emperor fled to Changan (長安) and set up Western Wei. Kao Huan moved the old kingdom to Anyang (安陽) in central China and renamed it Eastern Wei. Kao also forced a child of the royal family to become the new emperor.

The new emperor, Emperor Hsiao Ching (孝靜帝), was 11 years old when he took the throne. However, the real power rested with Kao. As the young emperor grew older, he became dissatisfied with his situation, but he didn't know what to do since Kao was quite powerful and could have had him killed any minute. Many times the emperor wept alone.

Tan Luan led his disciples to Anyang. One day, the emperor heard someone say that Tan Luan was also in Anyang. The emperor had heard of the monk many times and had wanted to see him, but he didn't know if Kao would permit it. A close minister pointed out that Kao only feared that the young emperor would pose a threat to him; the emperor's interest in Buddhism would soften Kao's suspicions.

When the emperor met Tan Luan, he asked the monk to tell him about the Amitabha's Pure Land. Tan Luan was aware of the terrible situation the young emperor was in, so he told him of the beauty of the Pure Land, hoping this would somehow lift the emperor from his psychological torment.

After his first visit to the temple, the emperor would go there whenever he was free. With Kao in charge of the state, the young emperor went to see Tan Luan as relief from his discontent. Tan Luan never discussed politics with the emperor, so Kao's people in the emperor's retinue could not detect any signs of dissatisfaction or insubordination.

The emperor once asked Tan Luan about retribution, to which Tan Luan replied, "Your Majesty, I believe you've seen many kinds of people. Some are mute, blind, stupid, crazy, or deaf because they don't believe in retribution, cause and effect, or karma, as we Buddhists call it. They did bad things in their past lives, so in this life they are experiencing the effects or karma of their past deeds. On the other hand, there are also people who are rich, honorable, wise, respected, or knowledgeable. They did good things in their past lives, so they are enjoying the good effects of their past deeds."

He continued, "Many have to endure suffering for eons before they can be free from their bad karma. Your Majesty might also notice some bad people who are not receiving their retribution now. Their time hasn't come yet. When it does come, they'll surely get their retribution. In short, good seeds bear good results and bad seeds bear bad results."

The young emperor felt his discomfort completely vanish as he listened to Tan Luan's words, which seemed to explain and to point to a matter in his heart without identifying it. Later however, something happened that caused Tan Luan to leave Anyang.

As the young emperor grew into adolescence, his dissatisfaction with Kao also grew. The emperor even publicly denounced his prime minister several times, which made Kao extremely unhappy. He knew that the emperor was under his control and he even knew whom the emperor saw every day; Tan Luan was the person with whom the emperor spent the most time. Kao suspected the monk was behind the emperor's discontent, so he decided to visit him.

Kao knew nothing about Buddhism, so he simply chatted with Tan Luan about many things. When he asked him what he and the emperor often talked about, Tan Luan replied that they simply talked about Buddhist concepts such as retribution and Amitabha's Pure Land.

When Kao heard the word "retribution," his face suddenly stiffened. Even though he held supreme power over the state, he still often felt uneasy from time to time.

Kao went home believing Tan Luan was behind the emperor's public denunciation of him. But what could he do with the famous monk? He was a public figure in the city, and expelling him would cause a public outcry. But leaving him in the city would do nothing good either.

At the same time, Tan Luan felt Kao's visit was not a good sign because he was a dangerous man. His visit probably had a hidden agenda that could cost Tan Luan his life. Therefore, Tan Luan decided to leave the city as soon as possible.

The emperor was sad to see Tan Luan leave, but Kao was stunned by Tan Luan's wisdom and insight. The monk and more than 100 disciples left the city and went to Chieh Mountain (介山) in Shanxi Province (山西省), central China. There, Tan Luan and his disciples stayed at Tieh Wa Temple (鐵瓦寺).

As more people came to listen to his sermons, the temple became too small to accommodate all of them. Tan Luan and the abbot of the temple found a huge rock on a nearby mountain. The rock had a flat surface and was big enough for more than 700 people, so Tan Luan decided to set up a lecture platform there. This rock was named "Master Luan's Rock."

After about six months, Tan Luan again was on the move. This time he finally settled down in Pingyao (平遙, also in Shanxi Province). He still tried to give lectures to the public, but his old age forced him to give up lecturing from time to time.

One night he dreamed of Nagajurna [龍樹, the patriarch who founded Mahayana Buddhism and developed the doctrine of "void"], who said to him, "Tan Luan, I'm glad you have spent most of your time on my books and on the practice of Amitabha's Pure Land. And I'm delighted that you've done so well. But now I have to tell you that when a leaf has fallen to the ground, it can't return to the tree; when this moment has gone, it can't return. Time flies and nothing can return!"

Tan Luan woke up from the dream and immediately called out to his disciples. He ordered them to tell all the monks in the temple to gather in the main hall. He took a bath and put on new clothes. After that, he sat cross-legged and told everyone to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha with him. Everyone knew what was happening and many shed tears, but they still followed his orders. Tan Luan then died peacefully amidst the sound of Amitabha's name at the age of 67 in 542.