Shi Shenxiu, whose common surname is Li, was from the Yushi, Tokyo (now Yushi County, Henan). In his early years, he read the classics and history and was knowledgeable. When he got older, he decided to leave the world and became a monk. At the age of fifty, he went to Dongshan T

Shi Shenxiu, whose common surname is Li, was from Yushi, Tokyo (now Yushi County, Henan). In his early years, he read the classics and history and was knowledgeable. When he got older, he decided to leave the world and became a monk. At the age of fifty, he went to Dongshan Temple in Shuangfeng, Qizhou to visit the fifth ancestor, Hongren, and seek the Dharma. He was committed to meditation. He praised, "This is my true teacher." So he decided to learn from Hongren, and to engage in miscellaneous labor such as harvesting firewood and digging water to seek the Dharma. The Fifth Ancestor Hongren is highly valued, calling him "the first in the Suspense of the Yuan Zhao", "The Supreme Master of Shenxiu", and ordered him to be a "professor".

In the late , the Indian monk Bodhidharma was founded in the late 1990s of the Northern Wei Dynasty. This method began with the instructions of Sakya and was passed down from generation to generation, using the robe and bowl as the basis. Damo came to Dongtu from the sea route and once went to Liang Chao to meet with Emperor Wu of Liang. Because he was dissatisfied with his views, he crossed the river with a reed and went north to Songshan , and stopped at Shaolin Temple in Songshan. Shortly after entering the silence, the Wei envoy Song Yun met him in the Pamir Mountains. Later, when his disciples dug up his tomb, there were only clothes and hats in the tomb. Damo uses the Dharma to pay Huike , Huike passes Sengcan , Sengcan preaches the Taoist faith, and Taoist faith passes the Hongren. Hongren and Daoxin both resided in Dongshan, so their method is also called Dongshan Dharma.

Shenxiu After teaching Hongren, he was quite appreciated by Hongren. He once said to people: "I saved many people in my life, and I have no more profound understanding of Buddhism than Shenxiu." Hongren was destroyed in the first year of the Shangyuan period (674 AD), and Shenxiu went to Dangyang Mountain, Jiangling to practice and spread the Dharma. Apprentices from all over the world came to hear the news, and their reputations were profound and famous all over the world.

Mr. Empress learned that Shen Xiu was the one who was studying, so he issued an edict to summon him to the capital. He asked someone to carry him to the hall in a sedan chair and kneel down in person. He offered him to the inner temple, asked him questions and greeted him from time to time, and issued an order to build Dumen Temple on the mountain where he lived in the past to commend his virtue. At that time, ministers and officials from the princes and the scholars and commoners in the capital competed to visit the ceremony, and the number of people reached tens of thousands every day. After Zhongzong ascended the throne, he was particularly favored. The Zhongshu Ling Zhang said that once asked him about the Dharma and held the etiquette of his disciples. Later he said, "The Zen master was eight feet tall, with thick eyebrows and beautiful eyes, and a solemn appearance. He really had the aura of kings and domineering."

At first, Shenxiu's classmate Huineng was comparable to his Taoist practices. He often invented each other and spread Zen Taoist . Shenxiu once submitted a report to the Queen of Martial Arts and ordered Huineng to enter the capital, and Huineng said he was sick and refused. Shenxiu wrote another letter, hoping that the emperor would summon Huineng again, but Huineng never accepted it. He once said to the envoy: "I am not good at appearance, and I am worried that people in the north value people but not Dharma; and Master once told me that I have a connection with Lingnan, and I must not violate Master's will." Therefore, he did not spend all his life, but the Zen method he expounded was passed down from all over the country. Later, Zen Buddhism was divided into two schools, north and south, called "Southern Neng North Xiu". That is, the Zen method represented by Shenxiu was called the Northern School, and the Zen method promoted by Huineng was called the Southern School.

Shenxiu entered silence in the second year of Shenlong (706 AD). Many people from both monks attended his funeral. The emperor issued an edict to posthumously titled " Datong Zen Master ". He also built Baoen Temple in the old house of King Xiang. King Fan of Qi, Duke of Yan, and Lu Hong, the Conqueror, all wrote steles for him. His disciples, Puji, Yifu, etc., were highly valued by the government and the people, and in fact they were also respectful of Shenxiu Zen.