Zibo Zhenke

• Zibo Zhenke was a prominent Buddhist monk of the Ming dynasty in China. His secular surname was Shen, and his Dharma name was Daguang. In his middle years, he changed his monastic name to Zhenke and was also known by the sobriquet “Purple Cypress Elder.” In later generations, he was respectfully referred to as “Venerable Zibo.” A native of Wuxian in Suzhou Prefecture, Southern Zhili, he is regarded as one of the Four Eminent Monks of the Ming dynasty (Yunqi Zhuhong, Zibo Zhenke, Hanshan Deqing, and Ouyi Zhixu).