Niklaus Brantschen (born 25 October 1937 in Randa,
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
) is a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
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 authorizat ...
of the
White Plum Sangha
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 s ...
line and founder of the Lassalle-Institute within the Lassalle-House in Bad Schönbrunn/
Canton of Zug
The canton of Zug, also Zoug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: , rm, Chantun Zug, french: Canton de Zoug, it, Canton Zugo) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. At the canto ...
. He is co-initiator of the Jerusalem-Project.
Early life
Niklaus Brantschen grew up with six brothers and sisters in a traditionally Catholic family; he is a skilled mountaineer.Autobiography in German of Niklaus Brantschen: ''Auf dem Weg des Zen: Als Christ Buddhist'' (''On the way of Zen: As a Christian Buddhist''), Kösel 2002, , p. 29-30, 126-129, 14, 174, 55, 205, 206, 195, 88, 89, 205
When he was 22 years old he joined the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
. After the
novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
in
Villars-sur-Glâne
Villars-sur-Glâne (; frp, Velârs-sur-Gllânna ) is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.
Geography
Villars-sur-Glâne has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.3% is used for agricultural purpose ...
Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to:
Places
* Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria
** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria
* Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...
, Austria followed by three years of theology studies at the university of Fourvière, Lyon, France and a fourth year at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...
Jürgen Moltmann
Jürgen Moltmann (born 8 April 1926) is a German Reformed theologian who is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the University of Tübingen and is known for his books such as the ''Theology of Hope'', ''The Crucified God'', ''God in Creat ...
,
Walter Kasper
Walter Kasper (born 5 March 1933) is a German Catholic cardinal and theologian. He is President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, having served as its president from 2001 to 2010.
Early life
Born in Heidenheim ...
,
Hans Küng
Hans Küng (; 19 March 1928 – 6 April 2021) was a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author. From 1995 he was president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos).
Küng was ordained a priest in 1954, joined the faculty o ...
; Licentiate work about
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...
. In 1970, he celebrated his first
Mass (liturgy)
Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, in the Western Rite Orthodox, in Old Catholic, and in Independent Catholic churches. The term is ...
in Randa. From 1973 he made a certificate study in adult's education in Munich as assistant of meditation teacher Klemens Tilmann, followed by meditation courses with
Karlfried Graf Dürckheim
Karl Friedrich Alfred Heinrich Ferdinand Maria Graf Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin (24 October 1896 – 28 December 1988) was a German diplomat, psychotherapist and Zen master. A veteran of World War I, he was introduced to Zen Buddhism e ...
.
Zen education
From 1976 he made regular education stays for
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
studies in
Kamakura
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kamak ...
Heinrich Dumoulin
Heinrich Dumoulin, S.J. (31 May 1905 – 21 July 1995) was a Jesuit theologian, a widely published author on Zen, and a professor of philosophy and history at Sophia University in Tokyo, where he was Professor Emeritus. He was the foun ...
,
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
, Willigis Jäger, Johannes Kopp. In 1988 he was given the teaching competence for Zen by Yamada Roshi, in 1999 he received the confirmation of a
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 authorizat ...
("inka shōmei") from
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peace ...
.
1986 Brantschen met
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
in Japan and held inspiring conversations, 1987 he practised Zen together also with him.
Other activities
Between 1973 and 1977, Brantschen was assistant manager of the educational institution Bad Schönbrunn near
Menzingen
Menzingen is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland.
History
Menzingen is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Meincingin''.
The traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X, which is said to have broken with the Vatican over "doctrinal ...
, until 1987 he was its manager. For the next five years he worked as a student minister at different colleges in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
. In 1993 he positioned the educational institution Bad Schönbrunn new as a centre for
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
and
social consciousness
Social consciousness or social awareness, is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.Lassalle-Haus. In 1995, together with Pia Gyger, he founded the Lassalle-Institut, an institution in the fields of
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
,
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
and
leadership
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
, which they both led until 2002. Within the institute both are involved especially in the project ''Jerusalem – Open town for learning of the peace in the world'' which takes them regularly to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
According to Brantschen there is no alternative to the
interfaith dialogue
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
. Interfaith dialogue is not only conversation, but also the positive, constructive relations between persons and communities of other religions for their mutual enrichment. "To be religious today calls to be interreligious, not only bilaterally but multilaterally.“
Position on Buddhism
Brantschen considers the dialog with
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
as an enriching, but not straight or concluded way between the East and West, which springs up in the suspense between real Zen-experience and imitation of Christ. He sees strong parallels between Christian
spiritual exercises
The ''Spiritual Exercises'' ( la, Exercitia spiritualia), composed 1522–1524, are a set of Christian meditations, contemplations, and prayers written by Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish priest, theologian, and founder of the Society ...
and Zen-practice, which for him have formed a synthesis during the years.
The practice of Zen is a way to remove the barriers between religions, nations and races – to create a united humanity.
Partnership of man and woman
For Brantschen collaboration in partnership is an important contribution for a necessary global change of consciousness. Something truly new originates only if man and woman live a culture of partnership with equal rights. For him „humanity is like a bird with both wings like man and woman. If a wing is not equally developed, we do have a banking bird which cannot make his way.“
Judgments
In his characteristic style Brantschen summarizes his judgments in concise sentences:
* ''Only one who is unselfish, is really happy.''
* ''Who hangs on his spiritual experiences and wants to preserve them, destroys them and obstructs his way to the new.''
* ''A man is not what he "does"; he is not what he "has"; he is not what he "is"; he is what he loves.''
* ''Ethics, which we mean, founds in the careful percipience of life in all of its forms, in clever judgment, and in suitable lasting action for the well-being of all. This is not possible without comprehensive self- and world-experience, without a more profound view of the reality.''