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Genjōkōan
''Genjōkōan'' (現成公按), translated by Tanahashi as ''Actualizing the Fundamental Point'', is an influential essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan. It is considered one of the most popular essays in ''Shōbōgenzō''. History and background Genjōkōan was written for a lay practitioner named Koshu Yō in 1233. Title According to Taigen Dan Leighton "The word ''genjo'' means to fully or completely manifest, or to express or share. And in this context ''koan'' does not refer to these teaching stories, but to the heart of the matter." Shohaku Okumura says that ''Gen'' means "to appear", "to show up," or "to be in the present moment" while ''Jo'' means "to become," "to complete," or "to accomplish." The combined word ''genjō'' therefore means "to manifest," "to actualize," or "to appear and become." Hakuun Yasutani wrote: "... ncerning the word ''genjōkoan'', ''genjō'' is phenomena. It's the whole universe. It's all mental and physi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shōbōgenzō
is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is sometimes called the ''Kana Shōbōgenzō'' in order to differentiate it from those. The term shōbōgenzō can also be used more generally as a synonym for Buddhism as viewed from the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism. Source of the title Shōbōgenzō as a general term In Mahayana Buddhism the term ''True Dharma Eye Treasury'' () refers generally to the Buddha Dharma, and in Zen Buddhism, it specifically refers to the realization of Buddha's awakening that is not contained in the written words of the sutras. In general Buddhist usage, the term "treasury of the Dharma" refers to the written words of the Buddha's teaching collected in the Sutras as the middle of the Three Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. In Zen, however, the rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Ranks
The ''Five Ranks'' (; ) is a poem consisting of five stanzas describing the stages of realization in the practice of Zen Buddhism. It expresses the interplay of absolute and relative truth and the fundamental non-dualism of Buddhist teaching. Origins The ranks are referenced in the Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi. This work is attributed to the Chinese monk Dongshan Liangjie (Japanese: Tōzan Ryōkan), who lived during the end of Tang Dynasty, as well as two sets of verse commentaries by him. The teachings of the Five Ranks may be inspired by the Sandokai, a poem attributed to Shitou Xiqian (traditional Chinese: 石頭希遷). The work is highly significant in both the Caodong/Sōtō and Linji/Rinzai schools of Zen that exist today. Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Japanese Sōtō School, references the Five Ranks in the first paragraph of one of his most widely studied works, Genjōkōan. Hakuin integrated the Five Ranks in his system of koan-teaching. Ranks The Five Ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dōgen
Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. He remained there for four years, finally training under Tiantong Rujing, an eminent teacher of the Caodong lineage of Chinese Chan. Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works such as '' Fukanzazengi'' and ''Bendōwa''. He eventually broke relations completely with the powerful Tendai School, and, after several years of likely friction between himself and the establishment, left Ky ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenzo Kyōkun
, usually rendered in English as ''Instructions for the Cook'', is an important essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan. Title and content While the title suggests the scope is limited to simple cooking instructions, Ekiho Miyazaki, an abbot of the Sōtō school's head temple Eihei-ji, summarizes the work's importance when he writes, "''Instructions for the Cook'' are instructions for life". The work was written in 1237, ten years after Dōgen's return from his time in Song Dynasty China. At this time he was practicing at the monastery he had founded four years earlier, Kōshōhōrin-ji.Baroni, 344Warner et al., 14 During this period he wrote several of his best known works such as Bendōwa, Fukan Zazengi, and Genjōkōan. However, the language and style in the ''Instructions'' are regarded as more concrete and straightforward than these other popular works. ''Instructions for the Cook'' is included as the first part of the Eihei Shingi, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bendōwa
, meaning ''Discourse on the Practice of the Way'' or ''Dialogue on the Way of Commitment'', sometimes also translated as ''Negotiating the Way'', ''On the Endeavor of the Way'', or ''A Talk about Pursuing the Truth'', is an influential essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan. History and background ''Bendōwa'' is Dogen's earliest known writing in Japanese. Although the text was written in 1231, making it the second piece he wrote following his return from China to Japan, it was not widely known for hundreds of years until the Kanbun Era (1661–1673), when it was found in a temple in Kyoto. In 1684, it was added in manuscript form by the monk Hangyo Kozen as the first fascicle of the 95-fascicle edition of Dōgen's already well-known master compilation, the ''Shōbōgenzō''. This format was standardized in 1788 with its first major printed publication. Despite its four-century absence from the compilation, today it is often said that it "con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōan
A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese word (). The term is a compound word, consisting of the characters "public; official; governmental; common; collective; fair; equitable" and "table; desk; (law) case; record; file; plan; proposal." According to the Yuan dynasty Zen master Zhongfeng Mingben ( 1263–1323), originated as an abbreviation of (, Japanese —literally the "official correspondence; documents; files" of a "government post"), which referred to a "public record" or the "case records of a public law court" in Tang dynasty China. / thus serves as a metaphor for principles of reality beyond the private opinion of one person, and a teacher may test the student's ability to recognize and understand that principle. Commentaries in col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soto Zen
Soto may refer to: Geography *Soto (Aller), parish in Asturias, Spain * Soto (Las Regueras), parish in Asturias, Spain *Soto, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles * Soto, Russia, a rural locality (a ''selo'') in Megino-Kangalassky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia * Soto de Cerrato, municipality in Palencia Province, Spain *Soto de la Vega, municipality in León Province, Spain * Soto de los Infantes, parish in Asturias, Spain *Soto de Luiña, parish in Asturias, Spain *Soto del Barco (parish), parish in Asturias, Spain *Soto del Real, municipality in Madrid Province, Spain *Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, municipality in Mexico *Soto Street, in Los Angeles, California **Soto (Los Angeles Metro station), located on Soto Street at the intersection with First St. *Soto y Amío, municipality in León Province, Spain Groups of people * So'to, indigenous people of the Amazon *Sōtō, the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism People with the name Given name or n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and a group of his American students in 1962. Today SFZC is the largest Sōtō organization in the West. History On May 23, 1959, Shunryu Suzuki (then age 55) came from Japan to San Francisco to serve as head priest of Sokoji—a Soto Zen temple then located at 1881 Bush Street in Japantown. He was joined by his wife Mitsu (also from Japan) in 1961. Sokoji—founded by Hosen Isobe in 1934—had been housed in a former Jewish synagogue that is now Kokoro Assisted Living. Upon Suzuki's arrival at Sokoji, the congregation was composed entirely of members of the Japanese-American population. Unlike his predecessors, Suzuki was a fluent speaker of English who actually wanted to come to the Uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazuaki Tanahashi
is an accomplished Japanese calligrapher, Zen teacher, author and translator of Buddhist texts from Japanese and Chinese to English, most notably works by Dogen (he began his translation of '' Shobogenzo'' in his twenties). He first met Shunryu Suzuki in 1964, and upon reading Suzuki's book ''Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind'' he stated, "I could see it's Shobogenzo in a very plain, simple language." He has helped notable Zen teachers author books on Zen Buddhism, such as John Daido Loori. A fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science—Tanahashi is also an environmentalist and peaceworker A peaceworker is an individual or member of an organization that undertakes to resolve violent conflict, prevent the rise of new violent conflicts, and rebuild societies damaged by war. The term peaceworker is usually reserved for civilian, unarmed .... Gallery Image:Kaz Tanahashi.jpg Image:Kaz Tanahashi1.jpg Image:Kaz Tanahashi2.jpg Image:Kaz Tanahashi3.jpg Image:Kaz Tanahsahi5.jpg Image:Kaz T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Baker Aitken
Robert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Rōshi (June 19, 1917 – August 5, 2010) was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959 together with his wife, Anne Hopkins Aitken. Aitken received Dharma transmission from Koun Yamada in 1985 but decided to live as a layperson. He was a socialist advocating social justice for gays, women and Native Hawaiians throughout his life, and was one of the original founders of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Biography Robert Aitken or Bob, as he liked to be called, was born to Robert Thomas Aitken and Gladys Page Baker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1917. He was raised in Hawaii from the age of five. He was the son of a war enthusiast and was a rebel and loner in the 1930s and 40s before the war. Living in Guam as a civilian working in construction—at the onset of World War II—he was detained by the Japanese and held in internment camps for the duration of the war. A guard at one of the internme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Cleary
Thomas Cleary (24 April 1949 – 20 June 2021) was an American translator and writer of more than 80 books related to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, and of ''The Art of War'', a treatise on management, military strategy, and statecraft. He has translated books from Pali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese language, Chinese, Japanese language, Japanese, and Old Irish into English. Cleary lived in Oakland, California. Life and work Cleary became interested in Buddhism when he was a teenager; his researches into Buddhist thought began with a desire to learn during this time of his life. When he began translating, he chose either untranslated works or—as in the case of Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''—books whose extant translations were "too limited". Cleary earned a Ph.D. in EALC, East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, and a JD from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. After completing his doctoral studies, Clea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation For The Preservation Of The Mahayana Tradition
The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) was founded in 1975 by Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who began teaching Mahayana Buddhism to Western students in Nepal. The FPMT has grown to encompass over 160 dharma centers, projects, and services in 37 countries. Since the death of Lama Yeshe in 1984, the FPMT's spiritual director has been Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Location The FPMT's international headquarters are in Portland, Oregon, United States. The central office has previously been located at: * 2000-2005 Taos, New Mexico * 1989-2000 Soquel, California (Land of Medicine Buddha) * 1984-1989 Pomaia, Italy (Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa) * 1975-1984 Kathmandu, Nepal (Kopan Monastery) The FPMT has 165 centers in 40 countries worldwide. History The name and structure of the FPMT date to 1975, in the wake of an international teaching tour by Lamas Yeshe and Zopa. However, the two had been teaching Western travelers since at least 1965, when the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
