The Sixth Zen Patriarch in Contemplation

The monk sleeping with a tiger is usually identified as Monk Fenggan of the Quoqing Temple in Tiantai Mountain, active in the Zhengguan period of the Tang dynasty. In the Song dynasty, the motif was developed into “The Four Asleep”, featuring the three hermits of the Quoqing Temple (Hanshan, Shide and Fenggan) and a tiger sleeping together, which brings out the unification of man and beast; reality and fantasy in the heart of Zen Buddhism.