Huineng

Huineng was a Buddhist monk who is one of the most important figures in Chan Buddhism according to standard hagiographies. Huineng has been traditionally viewed as the Sixth and Last Patriarch of Chan Buddhism.

Huineng was born into the Lu family in 638 A.D. in Xinzhou in Guangdong province. His father died when he was young and his family was poor. As a consequence, Huineng had no opportunity to learn to read or write and is said to have remained illiterate his entire life.

Source: Wikipedia