In 659, when Fa Zang was 16 years old, he followed the crowd one day to the famous Fa Men Temple in today's Shaanxi Province in central China. He was pushed into the temple as the crowd swarmed in to worship. Not knowing why, he approached a candle and placed his finger in the flame! Witnesses were stunned. "He's burning his finger as his tribute to the Buddha!" someone shouted. The ruckus drew everyone's attention to Fa Zang. People covered their mouths in amazement, and some prostrated themselves before the giant statues in the main hall.

The young man's act might seem unbelievable and crazy nowadays, but fervent Buddhists at that time considered him brave and heroic. Making an offering to the Buddha is a natural thing to do for Buddhists: some copy sutras by hand, and some pay others to copy sutras; some donate money to temples or monks, and some donate their own bodies! People would burn their fingers or even bodies in tribute to the Buddha because Offering is one of the Six Paramitas, or Six Perfections, which refer to six ways for a Buddhist to carry out his spiritual cultivation. Burning one's body or fingers is the highest type of Offering. Offering means to give something to someone in need, and helping another person grants blessings to the giver in return. Buddhists should share their merits with other people. Then, how does one go about transferring the merits of Offering (in this case, the burning of one's body) to others? The burning must be carried out in public to serve as a model or example. Then it will encourage others to vow to seek enlightenment.

Fa Zang finally lost consciousness and fell to the ground. People around him immediately applied some medicine to his burnt finger and wrapped it with a bandage. Then they carried him home on a stretcher.

Fa Zang's mother wept over her son's injured finger, and his father was furious. When Fa Zang woke up, he stumbled around until he saw his parents in the living room. His father yelled, "Are you crazy or what? This isn't the way to offer tribute to the Buddha! You know nothing about the Buddha's teachings and yet you disgraced the whole family with your stupidity!" The angry father then explained that burning one's finger is for true bodhisattvas who have attained enlightenment. The Lotus Sutra described how Bhaisajya-raja Bodhisattva burnt his own arms as his tribute to the Buddha, and when it was over his arms grew back again! This was because he had carried out his spiritual cultivation for millions of years over many lifetimes, and he had become a true bodhisattva who could truly give up his body for a greater good with no regret. He did it to show his gratitude to the Buddha, and when he burnt his arms he sensed no pain. "But you! You haven't reached that level, yet you foolishly tried to do something that was beyond your ability," shouted the father.

His father stopped to drink some water, and it seemed that the yelling had released some of his anger. But then he continued, "You have now made yourself famous! The whole capital now knows that my son, Fa Zang, burnt his own finger as a tribute to the Buddha. Some people even came to our home and asked for a chance to worship you!"

Fa Zang knelt before his parents and apologized to them, but his father would not let him off the hook so easily. "Our ancestors used their minds to pay tribute to the Buddha. The mind, my son! Not burning your finger! You have corrupted yourself and made yourself fit only for a lower realm."

Fa Zang lowered his head and said, "Yes, Father, I now know I was wrong."

His father sighed. "Buddhism is so vast and profound that you simply can't grasp the whole picture."

"Yes, Father. I've been thinking about what I should do, and I've decided to study in a quiet place."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Mount Tai Bai (太白山, also in modern Shaanxi Province)."

His father nodded his head. "Fair enough! It sounds like an ideal place for you to repent your folly."

Mount Tai Bai is famous as a sacred Taoist ground dotted with many Buddhist monasteries. Fa Zang spent three years there studying various sutras. Then he left the mountain and joined Hsuan Tsang's translation team (see Hsuan Tsang's story in the Summer 2000 issue of the Tzu Chi Quarterly). However, he didn't stay long; he left because he differed with Hsuan Tsang over some philosophical aspects of Hsuan Tsang's Fa Xiang School of Buddhism.

Nevertheless, he still kept in touch with some of the monks there, including Yuan Ce (圓測), a Korean monk. One day, Yuan Ce told him that some monks from his own hometown had gone to study under the famous Master Zhi Yan (智儼), the second patriarch of the Hua Yan sect.

This sect of Buddhism focused on the Hua Yan Sutra (華嚴經, or Avatamsaka Sutra). The core of the sect's philosophy was the conditional happening of everything in the universe. In the Hua Yan point of view, everything and everyone in the universe appears or disappears when conditions are ripe. When conditions warrant the appearance of certain events or living creatures, those events or creatures will appear; conversely, when the time has come for the events or creatures to disappear because the supporting conditions are fading or falling apart, those events or creatures will disappear. Because the appearance and disappearance of everyone and everything is conditional, no person or thing exists forever, and thus there is no such a thing as the existence of fixed nature. Things and people come and go like the blowing wind.

When Fa Zang heard Zhi Yan's name, a light flashed inside his head. The famous monk had also been staying in one of the temples on Mount Tai Bai, although Fa Zang never met him at that time. He decided to follow this master, and so he went to visit Zhi Yan. After a long talk, the great man praised Fa Zang as being very knowledgeable, and he even declared that Fa Zang could be the next patriarch of the Hua Yan sect!

Fa Zang was still a lay follower, not a monk, so his priority was to be ordained as a monk. At that time, people who wanted to become monks had to abide by strict government laws. They had to live in temples and take up the basic Five Precepts: no killing, no stealing, no fornicating, no lying, and no consumption of alcohol. They had to learn all the available sutras and do all the work expected of monks while waiting for their chance to be ordained.

The government held admission examinations for candidates. If they passed or if they received special favor from the government for special deeds, they could have their heads shaved and they would receive certification from the government. Afterwards, they would wait for the proper time, such as when they reached legal age or when a precept-granting ceremony presented itself. Then they could receive the precepts and became true monks.

Unfortunately, when Zhi Yan died at the age of 67 in 668, Fa Zang was still ineligible to become a monk. Nevertheless, before Zhi Yan passed away, he announced to other monks that Fa Zang would be the next patriarch, and he instructed them to help him receive his ordination.

In 670, the mother of Empress Wu Ze-tian (武則天) passed away. To commemorate her mother, the empress ordered that her mother's house be converted to a Buddhist temple, Tai Yuan Temple, and she ordered the most venerable monks to recommend someone to take charge of the new temple.

This created a huge response from the Buddhist congregations. Many monks knew that this was a very prestigious position. Hui Su (see the Fall 2005 issue of our Tzu Chi Quarterly), Dao Cheng (who was once Hui Su's master), Kui Ji (Hsuan Tsang's disciple), and several other venerable monks all nominated Fa Zang for the prestigious position. The empress was deeply surprised to see Fa Zang's name appearing repeatedly in all the letters of recommendation. She was even more amazed to find that Fa Zang had not yet been ordained and was only 28 years old. All the evidence showed that the young man was very highly regarded by this group of venerable monks. The powerful empress realized that Fa Zang must be a most exceptional person. Accordingly, she decreed that Fa Zang would take charge of Tai Yuan Temple. This was the first time in the history of Chinese Buddhism that a layperson would become the abbot of a temple that belonged to a royal family.

People familiar with Chinese history can say that Empress Wu was actually the only powerful "female emperor" throughout the 4000 years of Chinese history. All the previous emperors of the Tang Dynasty preferred Taoism to Buddhism because many Taoist masters had made tremendous contributions in helping Gao Zu, the founding emperor of the Tang Empire, to ascend to the throne. In public, the emperors often kept Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism in balance so that they could tightly rule the nation without offending any religions or schools of thought. Unlike her predecessors, Empress Wu was very much pro-Buddhist since both her parents were Buddhists, and since she was so positively influenced by eminent Buddhist monks such as Fa Zang and Shen Xiu (神秀) of the Ch'an sect. Besides, unlike her predecessors, Empress Wu did not feel that the Taoist masters had particularly helped her to reach the top of the hierarchy. With her support, Buddhism flourished during the Tang Dynasty and all the dynasties to come.

When Fa Zang was 32 years old, he finally received special permission from the empress to have his head shaven and receive his full precepts to become a monk. His position thus had become truly solidified because he was not only a monk, but also the abbot of a temple as decreed by the empress. Furthermore, he was granted permission to enter the palace to meet the empress anytime he wanted. No one else had the same privilege. People saw Fa Zang as someone closely linked to the empress, the center of political power, and those hungry for power or position would often visit Fa Zang, hoping that he would put in a word for them with the empress. Fa Zang knew exactly what was on their minds, but he maintained his disinterest in politics and focused on Buddhism.

Empress Wu had a very profound relationship with Buddhism. The beautiful and inspirational Buddhist philosophy suited the personality of the highly intelligent empress, and she had been fascinated by it since her youth.

The empress was spellbound by the Hua Yan Sutra, but even she failed sometimes to grasp its critical philosophy and rigid logical organization. To make her understand, Fa Zang used the example of a golden lion to explain the conditional existence of the universe. He explained that an artisan could create a golden lion because he had some gold. Therefore, the gold lion was created by certain conditions: the artisan, the gold, and the equipment used to make it. Because the lion was formed by these conditions, it was in itself empty by nature. It was not real. It was merely a phenomenon of a certain shape, size, luster, color, and hardness. The gold could as well be molded into a gold horse, a gold dog, or many other things based on different conditions.

When she heard his exposition, the wise Empress Wu immediately grasped the essence of the Hua Yan Sutra. The relationship between the eminent monk and the powerful empress became even stronger.

In 683, Emperor Gao Zong (高宗), Empress Wu's husband, died and one of their sons, Zhong Zong (中宗), became the new emperor. However, after less than three months--not even enough time to warm up the throne--he was demoted to a commoner by his very own mother, who then promoted her fourth son, Rui Zong (睿宗), to the throne. However, she excluded the new emperor from audiences with the ministers and policy-making sessions. Instead, the empress took charge of everything. In 690, she impeached the emperor and proclaimed herself the empress of a new dynasty, the Zhou. She had successfully held a bloodless coup.

In 697, Fa Zang followed the Zhou army to the north in an expedition against a nomadic tribe there. The mission that the empress had given him was to hold Buddhist rituals to help the army conquer the enemy. Fa Zang agreed as he felt it was his duty. Near the front line, he set up a tent and placed a statue of a bodhisattva there, but instead of Buddhist rituals he carried out folk rituals in which he waved a sword in his hand and sprinkled chicken blood around. The horrifying scene did not look very Buddhist, but it certainly worked as all the soldiers started to feel blessed. They won the war against their enemy and proudly returned home. The empress was very pleased with what Fa Zang had accomplished.

In 697, Empress Wu's daughter introduced a lover, Zhang Chang-zong (張昌宗), to her mother, and the man also introduced his brother Yi-zhi (易之) to the empress. These two men became the playmates of the aging empress, and they accompanied and entertained her day and night. She even included them in her cabinet. The Zhang brothers were terribly corrupt, but with the empress supporting them, no one was able to touch them; the empress even killed a few of her own grandchildren and banished several senior ministers because of her lovers.

One day in 704, Fa Zang mentioned to the empress that the Buddha's finger bone was being carefully stored in Fa Men Temple. The 82-year-old empress often felt she was not as energetic and healthy as she used to be. Believing the Buddha's sacred relic could bring her longevity and blessings, she ordered Fa Zang and several other senior ministers to bring the bone from the temple and to hold a ritual for the welfare of the country in Luoyang, the capital.

A few days later, Fa Zang and the others left the capital in a huge, magnificent parade. When they arrived at Fa Men Temple, there were huge crowds of worshippers as usual. The enormous red candles inside the temple were all lit, and the large incense burner in the courtyard was filled with flame and smoke from the large quantity of incense burned by worshippers. It reminded Fa Zang of when he was 16 years old and put his finger over a burning candle, and it was as if it were just yesterday. Some noise brought him back to reality. He saw that soldiers had separated the people to the sides, creating a wide, empty walkway for him and the ministers to enter the temple.

The bone lay in a reliquary made of gold with ornamental carving on the outside. While Fa Zang led the parade back to the capital, people lined up on both sides of the streets and fervently worshipped the Buddha's relic as it passed before them. When they reached the capital, all the officials lined up on both sides of the streets to welcome the relic. Music and flowers were everywhere, as if for a grand festival. When the bone had been placed in the temple, Fa Zang held a grand ritual for the public welfare. However, the magnificent ceremony failed to bring the old empress any luck. She fell seriously ill.

Empress Wu's physical condition deteriorated rapidly, and she went for days without any audience with her ministers. The ministers started to wonder what the two Zhang brothers would do after the old empress passed away. There were even rumors that they would usurp power from the empress and make themselves the new emperors. To prevent that from happening, some senior ministers started planning a coup; they determined that killing these two men was the best, and only, way to stop them and to restore the Tang Dynasty.

They recruited as many people as possible to their side, even Fa Zang. Since he had the privilege to enter the royal palace and talk with the empress at any time, he was very influential and very clear about the innermost affairs in the palace.

Fa Zang was a clever man, and he helped the revolt by reporting to the ministers what was going on in the inner palace. In 705, the time had come. The crown prince led the royal guards into the inner palace and beheaded the two Zhang brothers. The prime minister, who also joined the coup, reported to the empress that the crown prince had ordered them to kill the two Zhang brothers.

The empress could do nothing but abdicate the throne. The crown prince then became the new emperor and reinstated the Tang Dynasty. Shortly after the Zhang brothers died, the new emperor went to see his mother. To his surprise, the empress seemed to have suddenly aged very much; there were more wrinkles, and her eyes had lost all the radiance of vitality. Furthermore, she did not seem to care about her appearance and she wore no make-up or jewelry. The emperor felt sorry that his mother had become so slovenly, but he felt the coup was necessary. In 705, the empress died; the new emperor held a grand funeral for her and buried her next to her husband, Emperor Gao Zong. Nothing was written on her huge tombstone; it was left to history to decide.

After the coup, Fa Zang was seen as one of the top assistants in making the coup possible, so he was granted the title of Minister of Aboriginal and Foreign Affairs. However, he kindly rejected the position and remained as the abbot of Tai Yuan Temple. Fa Zang had helped Empress Wu solidify her power in the central government many times, but it was also this great monk who helped throw her down from the pinnacle of authority. Life is truly full of contradiction and paradox. Later, the capital was moved from Luoyang to Changan, and Fa Zang became the abbot of Da Jian Fu Temple.

Although the Hua Yan sect had already had two patriarchs, it was Fa Zang who actually made it popular in China. Based on the Hua Yan Sutra, Fa Zang created a new school of Buddhist philosophy and thought, and thus also a new sect, the Hua Yan sect. Having a concrete system of thought was one way to create a new school. The second thing he felt necessary to establish his sect was to increase his popularity. There were rumors about extraordinary things such as earthquakes that happened when he gave talks and the efficacy of his prayers for rain and for defeating the enemy. The third way was to make the sect visible throughout the country. Fa Zang's most visible areas of activity were in the two capitals of Changan and Luoyang. To make his sect more noticeable throughout the country, he appealed to the emperor to build five Hua Yan temples in major cities around the country. The emperor agreed to the request and ordered local governments to complete the projects.

Fa Zang led his disciples to these five places to oversee the construction of the temples. Afterwards he returned to Da Jian Fu Temple, where he translated more sutras. He passed away peacefully at the age of 70 in 712.