1) Zen master, Yukei Isobe \u4e94\u5341\u90e8\u53cb\u5553, Taik\u00f4-in, T\u00f4fukuji
\n(Lecturer by Prof. Catherine Ludvik)<\/p>\n
Zen Buddhism began some 1500 years ago in China with the first Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma, or Daruma. However, Eisai, the Tendai priest credited with introducing Zen to Japan wasn’t born until almost 500 years after Daruma first set foot in China. Previous attempts had been made to introduce Zen to Japan, but nothing seemed to stick until the Kamakura era began and the new government of warriors broke from old traditions. The discipline and rigor of Zen suited this new warrior class and in 1202 Eisai was placed in charge of Kennin-ji temple in Kyoto.<\/p>\n
The teaching that Eisai propagated at Kennin-ji derived from the teachings of a Chinese monk given the Japanese name Rinzai. This is one of the three major sects of Zen mentioned in John Dougill’s\u00a0Kyoto: A Cultural History<\/em> — the other two sects being Soto Zen and Obaku Zen. According to Dougill, Rinzai is known as a “rough” school that uses techniques such as riddles, or koan, to “jolt” students into enlightenment. Soto Zen was developed by a pupil at Kennin-ji named Dogen (1200-1253). It is the largest sect by numbers in Japan. It is said to take a more gradual approach to enlightenment. The final sect is Obaku Zen. This was founded much later than the other two sects which arose around the same time in the early 1200s. Obaku Zen was not founded until 1661. It is rather similar to Rinzai Zen, save for the fact that it retains more distinctive Buddhist elements such as the recital of the nembutsu.<\/p>\n Within the last fifty years, Zen Buddhism has become a global phenomenon, spreading from Japan and the Far East to the West. \u00a0Zen gained prominence in the United States in the 1960s and 70s as a result of the writings of D. T. Suzuki, which appealed to the disillusioned youth of America searching for deeper spiritual life. \u00a0Zen gained further accessibility from the\u00a0work of Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931-1995), the founder of the Zen Center of Los Angeles. \u00a0Maezumi\u2019s twelve dharma heirs worked to found Zen centers across North America, laying the foundation for a global movement.<\/p>\n Much of the contemporary appeal of Zen stems from a desire to relieve the\u00a0stress of our fast-paced, technologically-driven society. \u00a0Zen may also see a continued rise in appeal in contemporary society because, unlike other religions, it lacks a teleological basis, making it more compatible with science.<\/p>\n While Japanese Zen took hold in an era of discipline, American Zen arose in an era of rebellion. Ultimately, Zen adopts a unique character to suit the cultures where it appears, but retains its fundamental practice of zazen. \u00a0As a result, Zen is uniquely accessible to anyone in pursuit of the dharma.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way of Zen is not only for people who are Buddhists…the spirit of Zen goes far beyond religion.\u201d – Hozumi Roshi, founder of Kyoto International Zendo<\/em><\/p>\n Zen priests aim to guide others in their journeys with Zen.\u00a0 Traditionally, priests operated within monasteries and served as human vessels of the dharma, either by teaching others or by pursuing their crafts.\u00a0 In modern society, particularly in Japan, many monks train as priests in order to inherit leadership of a family temple.\u00a0 However, the role of a priest is not limited to monastic services.\u00a0\u00a0Some Zen priests may perform other roles in society, such as that of therapists, activists, or authors, among other professions.\u00a0 Just as Zen practice takes on a new character in its spread through the modern world, so does Zen priesthood.<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n \u7985\u3068\u7985\u50e7 1) Zen master, Yukei Isobe \u4e94\u5341\u90e8\u53cb\u5553, Taik\u00f4-in, T\u00f4fukuji (Lecturer by Prof. Catherine Ludvik) Zen Buddhism began some 1500 years ago in China with the first Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma, or Daruma. However, Eisai, the Tendai priest credited with introducing Zen … Continue reading Abe, Masao. \u201cReligion and Science in the Global Age: Their Essential Character and Mutual Relationship.\u201d Zen and the Modern World: A Third Sequel to Zen and Western Thought<\/em>, edited by Steven Heine, University of Hawai\u2019i Press, 2003, pp. 48-55.<\/h6>\n
Adyashanti. The End of Your World: Uncensored Straight Talk on the Nature of Enlightenment<\/i>. Sounds True, 2010.<\/h6>\n
Braeley, Jon. The Zen Mind. Empty Mind Films, 2006.<\/h6>\n
Collcutt, Martin. \u201cThe Monastery and Its Sub-Temples.\u201d Five Mountains: The Rinzai Zen Monastic Institution in <\/i>Medieval Japan<\/i>, Harvard Coun E Asian Stud, 1995, pp. 171\u2013220.<\/h6>\n
De Bary, Theodore, et al. \u201cZen Buddhism.\u201d Sources of Japanese Tradition<\/i>, 2nd ed., vol. vol.1, Columbia University Press, 2002, pp. 306\u2013335.<\/h6>\n
Dougill, John. Kyoto A Cultural History<\/i>. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.<\/h6>\n
Fischer, Norman Zoketsu.\u00a0 \u201cOn Being a Priest.\u201d Sweeping Zen: the Definitive who\u2019s who online in Zen, 27 October 2010, http:\/\/sweepingzen.com\/on-being-a-priest\/<\/a> (accessed Jan 6, 2018).<\/h6>\n
Heine, Steven and Dale S. Wright, editors. Zen Masters<\/em>. Oxford University Press, 2010.<\/h6>\n
Ives, Christopher. \u201cTrue Person, Formless Self: Lay Zen master Hisamatsu Shin\u2019ichi.\u201d Zen Masters<\/em>, edited by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 217-238.<\/h6>\n
Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art<\/em>. 2nd<\/sup> ed., edited by Donald Dinwiddie.\u00a0 Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.<\/h6>\n
Nonomura, Kaoru, and Juliet Winters Carpenter. Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan’s Most Rigorous Zen Temple<\/i>. Kodansha USA, Inc., 2015.<\/h6>\n
Okakura, Kakuzo. The Book of Tea<\/i>. Kodansha, 1994.<\/h6>\n
Segall, Seth Zuih\u014d.\u00a0 \u201cThoughts After Shukke Tokudo.\u201d The Existential Buddhist: Dharma without Dogma, 25 March 2016, https:\/\/www.existentialbuddhist.com\/tag\/zen-priesthood\/<\/a> (accessed Jan 6, 2018).<\/h6>\n
Wright, Dale S. \u201cHumanizing the Image of a Zen Master: Taizan Maezumi Roshi.\u201d Zen Masters<\/em>, edited by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 239-265.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"