XINXING (540–594), Chinese Buddhist monk and founder of the Sanjie Jiao, or Three Stages sect. A native of Henan Province, Xinxing entered the religious life at an early age and eventually took full monastic orders (upasampadā) at the Fazang Si near the city of Ye, the capital of the Northern Qi dynasty and a thriving center of Buddhist learning. With the eclipse of the Northern Qi by the Northern Zhou dynasty and the initiation, in the year 574, of a vigorous proscription of Buddhism by the new government, Xinxing renounced his vows and lived as a common laborer. It was during this period that he formulated the religious doctrines that would form the basis for the Sanjie Jiao.

The foundation of Xinxing's thought was the conviction, common to many segments of the Buddhist community during the latter half of the sixth century, that the Buddha's teachings had recently entered a...