The Life and Times of Mazu Daoyi

Abstract This chapter covers Mazu Daoyi's monastic career, starting with his initial engagement with Buddhism as a young man and his monastic ordination in his native Sichuan. His early travels and studies, his establishment of monastic communities in Fujian and Jiangxi, his gradual rise to fame, and eventually his death in Hongzhou as a revered religious leader with large monastic and lay followings are described. The exploration of Mazu's monastic life situates his activities within the context of the local communities where he lived and his interactions with other monastic and lay individuals.