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Zen Ranks And Hierarchy
Zen institutions have an elaborate system of ranks and hierarchy, which determine one's position in the institution. Within this system, novices train to become a Zen priest, or a trainer of new novices. Sōtō From its beginnings, Sōtō Zen has placed a strong emphasis on lineage and dharma transmission. In time, dharma transmission became synonymous with the transmission of temple ownership. This was changed by Manzan Dokahu (1636–1714), a Sōtō reformer, who... Sōtō-Zen has two ranking systems, ''hōkai'' (four dharma ranks) and ''sōkai'' (eight priest ranks). Hōkai The dharma ranks (法階) point to the stages in the training to become an Oshō, priest or "technologist of the spirit". To become a dai-Oshō, priest of a Zen-temple, one has to follow the training in an officially recognized training centre, ''sōdō-ango'' (僧堂安居). Jōza (上座) Becoming a Sōtō-Zen priest starts with ''shukke tokudo'' (出家得度). In this ceremony, the novice receives h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zen Master
Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authorization to teach and transmit the tradition themselves. China Until the Tang Dynasty, the term "Chánshī" (禅师; Dhyana Master) was regularly used for a monk who was a master of chan, or meditation, versus those who specialized in Dharma (scriptural teachings) and Vinaya (discipline and moral precepts). This included several important figures who were later not considered to be part of the "Chán Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ... school" per se, such as Tiantai Master Zhiyi. In contemporary China, the term "Chán" (禪), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanazono University
is a private university in Kyoto, Japan that belongs to the Rinzai sect (specifically the Myōshin-ji temple complex, which it is next to). The university and the neighborhood are named for Emperor Hanazono, whose donated his palace to make Myōshin-ji. It is a major competitor of the Sōtō college in Tokyo known as Komazawa University. Despite the university's sectarian affiliation, the school accepts Soto students.Smyers, 223 The school operates two research centers important in Zen academia, i.e. the Institute for Zen Studies and the International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism.Hori, xii Founded in 1872 as a seminary for those interested in the priesthood, the university carries on that tradition while offering an education to those uninterested in becoming a priest. The university's president is Dr. Kosan AbFormer presidents include Eshin Nishimura Eshin Nishimura (西村 惠信; born 1933) is a Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist priest, the former president of Hanazono Univ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sensei
Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who comes before". In general usage, it is used, with proper form, after a person's name and means "teacher"; the word is also used as a title to refer to or address other professionals or people of authority, such as clergy, accountants, lawyers, physicians and politicians or to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, e.g., accomplished novelists, musicians, artists and martial artists. Etymology The two characters that make up the term can be directly translated as "born before" and imply one who teaches based on wisdom from age and experience. The word prefaced by the adjective 大, pronounced "dai" (or "ō"), which means "great" or "large", is often translated " grand master". Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi lineage, created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students. A diverse organization spread across the United States and with a small presence in Europe, the White Plum Asanga Conceived of informally in 1979 by Maezumi and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, the White Plum Asanga was named after Maezumi's father Baian Hakujun Dai-osho and then later incorporated in 1995 following Maezumi's death. Tetsugen Bernard Glassman was the White Plum Asanga's first President and his successor was Dennis Genpo Merzel. Following Merzel's term, in May 2007, Gerry Shishin Wick served as elected President of White Plum, until 2013 when Anne Seisen Saunders became the current president."Roshi Anne Seisen Saunders voted in as the new President of the White Plum Asanga". Zen Peacemaker Order. Retrieved 9 January 2016. Notable members *Jan Chozen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denkoroku
is a kōan collection written in 1300 by Keizan Jokin Zenji, the Great Patriarch of Sōtō Zen Buddhism, based on approximately a year of his Dharma talks. The book includes 53 enlightenment stories covering 1600 or more years based on the traditional legendary accounts of Dharma transmission in the Sōtō lineage. Successive masters and disciples in the book are Shakyamuni Buddha circa 360 to 440 BCE in India, to Zen master Ejō in about 1230 or 1240 in Japan. While other translations are available as of 2012, this article was developed for the most part from the introduction and translator's note by Francis Dojun Cook. Synopsis Contents Dharma transmissions covered 28 ancestors from India and 23 from China, followed by Dōgen and Ejō in Japan. Out of modesty and his sense of propriety, Keizan, the 54th ancestor, omitted himself and Tettsu Gikai, one of his teachers who was a student of Ejō and was still alive in 1300. Each chapter is a few pages, except in a couple case ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tettsū Gikai
is the third spiritual leader of the Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism in Japan. He began his Buddhist life as a student of the Darumashū's Ekan, but later both became students of Eihei Dōgen's newly established Sōtō school. Gikai received dharma transmission from Koun Ejō, Dōgen's successor, and later became the third abbot of the school's head temple, Eihei-ji. Shortly thereafter, he became embroiled in a leadership crisis known as the ''sandai sōron''. Other monks contended that other students, namely Jakuen, Gien or Giin, had stronger claims to the abbacy. The controversy remained unresolved at the time of his death. His abbacy was unpopular with some monks because he introduced innovative practices aimed at making Sōtō more palatable with the Japanese laity, which some claimed Dōgen would have frowned upon. However, he also had many followers, and eventually his innovations became the standard form of Sōtō Zen. His leadership marked the first geographical expansio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandai Sōron
The ''sandai sōron'' (三代相論), or third-generation differentiation, was a putative dispute over the orthodoxy and succession of Sōtō Zen Buddhism. The major figures involved were Jakuen, Gikai, Gien, and Giin, all of whom claimed the right to serve as abbot of Eihei-ji. The story of the ''sandai sōron'' does not appear until 150 years after it supposedly occurred, suggesting its authenticity is dubious. It seems to have been used as a just-so story to explain how Jakuen's line eventually wound up in control of Eihei-ji. The obscure term ''sōron'' (相論, a translation of the Sanskrit ''laksana'') may have been a euphemism for a third-generation schism. Historical context Sōtō's founder Dōgen named Koun Ejō as his successor, but Ejō did not name a definite successor. The four monks who received dharma transmission from Ejō all made claims of friendship with Dōgen and Ejō, with various levels of honesty, and adherence to the principles of Sōtō, which were inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keizan
Keizan Jōkin (, 1268–1325), also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, is considered to be the second great founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. While Dōgen, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as . Keizan and his disciples are credited with beginning the spread of Sōtō Zen throughout Japan, away from the cloistered monastic practice characteristic of Dōgen's Eihei-ji and towards a more popular religion that appealed to all levels of Japanese society. Keizan founded several temples during his lifetime, most notably Yōkō-ji and Daihonzan Sōji-ji (founded on the Noto Peninsula and moved to Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama in 1911). Today Sōji-ji and Eihei-ji stand together as the two principal Sōtō Zen training centers in Japan. Biography Youth and Zen-training Keizan spent the first eight years growing up under the care of his grandmother, Myōchi, who was one of Great Master Dōgen's first supporters on his return from China. Keizan always a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Initiation Ritual
The Lay Buddhist Ordination (, Japanese language, Japanese: , Korean language, Korean: ''sugye'' (수계) refers to the public ordination ceremony wherein a Upāsaka and Upāsikā, lay follower of Zen Buddhism receives certain Buddhist precepts. The particulars of the ceremony differ widely by country and by school of Buddhism. China In China, the ritual, is called ''shòu-jiè'' (受戒). The character 受 means "receive," while 戒 means "precepts." Taken together, the characters translate as "initiated" or "ordained." Many people believe in Buddhism but do not go through any initiation ceremonies. Such Buddhists make up the overwhelming majority. Only a small part of Buddhists have gone through the ceremony which makes the recipient an Upāsaka and Upāsikā, upasaka or upasika and accepted the five commandments. They are formal Buddhists. Lewis Hodous, in his 1920 book ''Buddhism and Buddhists in China'' remarks on the Chinese ceremony as well, after recording an initiation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhisattva Precepts
The Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla'', , ja, bosatsukai) are a set of ethical trainings ('' śīla'') used in Mahāyāna Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path to becoming a bodhisattva. Traditionally, monastics observed the basic moral code in Buddhism, the prātimokṣa (such as that of the Dharmaguptaka), but in the Mahāyāna tradition, monks may observe the Bodhisattva Precepts as well. The Bodhisattva Precepts are associated with the bodhisattva vow to save all beings and with bodhicitta. Sets of Precepts ''Brahmajāla Sūtra'' The ''Brahmajāla Sūtra'', translated by Kumārajīva (c. 400 CE), has a list of ten major and forty-eight minor Bodhisattva vows. The Bodhisattva Precepts may be often called the "Brahma Net Precepts" (), particularly in Buddhist scholarship, although other sets of bodhisattva precepts may be found in other texts as well. Typically, in East Asian Mahāyāna traditions, only the ten major precepts are considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taizan Maezumi
Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi ( Maezumi Hakuyū, February 24, 1931 – May 15, 1995) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and rōshi, and lineage holder in the Sōtō, Rinzai, and Sanbo Kyodan traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of ''kōan''s and the Sōtō emphasis on ''shikantaza'' in his teachings, influenced by his years studying under Hakuun Yasutani in Sanbo Kyodan. He founded or co-founded several institutions and practice centers, including the Zen Center of Los Angeles, White Plum Asanga, Yokoji Zen Mountain Center and the Zen Mountain Monastery. Taizan Maezumi left behind twelve dharma successors, appointed sixty-eight priests and gave Buddhist precepts to more than five hundred practitioners. Along with Zen teachers like Shunryū Suzuki, Seungsahn, Joshu Sasaki and Hsuan Hua, Maezumi greatly influenced the American Zen landscape. Several Dharma Successors of his—including Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, Dennis Merzel, John Daido Loori, Jan Chozen Bays, Gerry Shishin Wick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
