Home›Sacred Objects, Dress & Symbols›Sacred Art & Iconography›The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment (Kano Tan'yu, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.174)Sacred Art & IconographyThe Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment (Kano Tan'yu, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.174)Hanging scroll, Kano Tan'yu, inscribed by Takuan Soho, Japan, 1635 to 1645, Metropolitan Museum of Art 2006.174Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment (Kano Tan'yu, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.174)." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sacred-art-iconography/sixth-patriarch-enlightenment-kanotanyu-met-2006-174.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment (Kano Tan'yu, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.174). Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sacred-art-iconography/sixth-patriarch-enlightenment-kanotanyu-met-2006-174Copy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-the-sixth-patriarch-of-zen-at-the-moment, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment (Kano Tan'yu, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.174)}, year = {2026}, url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sacred-art-iconography/sixth-patriarch-enlightenment-kanotanyu-met-2006-174}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXScriptural and Theological TraditionVerifiedA hanging scroll in ink on paper by the Japanese painter Kano Tan'yu, inscribed by the monk Takuan Soho, dated 1635 to 1645, showing the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, Huineng, at the moment of his enlightenment. Held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession 2006.174, the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation Fund, 2006.Cross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Cross-Tradition ConnectionsBelongs to TraditionBuddhism, Religions Well-attested Source The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment, accession 2006.174 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)tier 1DepictsHuineng, Figures Well-attested The scroll's directly named subject per the museum's own title, "The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment," matching the corroborating Wikipedia record's identification of Huineng as the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism.Source The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment, accession 2006.174 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)tier 1Additional Source Huineng (Wikipedia)tier 3SourcesThe Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment, accession 2006.174 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)tier 1Metropolitan Museum of ArtView the SourceHuineng (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaDepicts: HuinengQuote, Depicts: HuinengHuineng ... is also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor.View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year