Ch'en Chen
Ch'en Chen
陳鍼 (n.d.) (PY Chenzhen; Jpn Chinshin)
A military officer of the Liang dynasty (502-557) in China and the elder brother of the Buddhist teacher T'ient'ai. In 555 the two brothers lost both parents. According to The Biography of the Great Teacher T'ient'ai Chihche of the Sui Dynasty by Chang-an, T'ient'ai's successor, T'ient'ai begged his brother Ch'en Chen to permit him to renounce secular life and become a priest. Unwilling to part from his only brother, Ch'en Chen tried to dissuade him from entering the priesthood., T'ient'ai's determination was firm, however. and Ch'en Chen eventually accepted his younger brother's wish. According to The Record of the Lineage of the Buddha and the Patriarchs, Ch'en Chen was told by a seer named Chang-kuo that he would die in one month, but he prolonged his life fifteen years by practicing T'ient'ai's teaching of concentration and insight.
