Oxhead school

The Oxhead school (牛頭宗 Niu-t'ou zong) was an important tradition of Chinese Chan Buddhism in the Tang dynasty, which claimed to have been founded by Niutou Farong 牛頭法融 (594–657), whom the tradition regards as a Dharma heir of the Fourth Patriarch Daoxin (580-651). However, the connection between the two monks is tenuous, and the actual formation of the Oxhead School as a lineage independent of both Northern and Southern Chan has been credited to the monk Zhiwei (646–722).

Their main temple was located at Oxhead Mountain (Niu-t'ou shan) in Chiang-su, near modern Nanjing, hence the name. The school throve throughout the Tang and into the early years of the Song dynasty (10th century). Sharf observes that the Oxhead School played a central role in the development of early Chan. According to John R. McRae, the original text of the Platform Sutra may have originated within the Oxhead school.

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