was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

who served under the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

. Shōsan was born in modern-day

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

of Japan. He participated in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

and the

Battle of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...

before renouncing life as a warrior and becoming a Zen Buddhist monk in 1621.

Zen training

Shōsan traveled throughout Japan seeking out Zen masters and trained in several hermitages and

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, most notably at

Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Myōshin-ji school is by far the largest school in Rinzai Zen, approximately as big as the other thirteen branches combined: it contains with ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

training under

Gudō Toshoku Gudō Toshoku (1577–1661) was a Japanese Rinzai school zen monk from the early Tokugawa period. He was a leading figure in the Ōtōkan lineage of the Myōshin-ji, where he led a reform movement to revitalize the practice of Rinzai. He served thr ...

(1577–1661). In 1636 Shōsan created a Zen booklet entitled ''Fumoto no Kusawake'' (or, ''Parting the Grasses at the Foot of the Mountain''). Shōsan trained under a little-known Zen master, Daigu Sochiku, who allowed Shōsan to keep his original name. Shōsan never actually received '' inka'' but was one of many in the Tokugawa period to claim '' jigo-jishō'' or "self-enlightenment without a teacher". He was a Zen Master who amassed a large following. In 1642, Shōsan, along with his brother, built 32 Buddhist temples in Japan. One was a Pure Land Buddhist temple in which he honoured the ''shōguns'' Tokugawa Ieyasu and

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. Shōsan went on to write several treatises before his death in 1655 at 76 years old.

Niō Zen

Suzuki Shōsan developed his own style of Zen, ''Niō Zen'', or ''Guardian King Zen''. Shōsan instructed his students to meditate on the ''

Niō are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrap ...

'', the fierce-looking Guardians that represent

Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is also c ...

and can be seen at the gates of many Buddhist temples, to help them channel energy to use in meditation and in developing vitality, courage and "death energy" or the readiness to confront death at any moment which are the most important characteristics of a warrior. Shosan's dedication to bringing Buddhism to people from all segments of society intensified as he grew older. He believed that the virtue of Buddhism depended on its usefulness to one's country and people in the real world. Shosan taught that true enlightenment comes during one's daily tasks. Whether one is "tilling fields, or selling wares, or even confronting an enemy in the heat of battle, direct enlightenment will occur at key moment's of one's day to day life".The Samurai Zen of Suzuki Shosan, King Winston L, Asian Humanities Press, 1986 Shosan saw true enlightenment in an untraditional way by discarding the belief that enlightenment can only occur in matters of direct recluse or the renouncement, and therefore true Buddhism has nothing to do with "gentle piety or theory, even though most monks were taught to practice in this manner". Sometimes he asked learners to physically emulate the postures of the Niō, as well as other warrior deities like Fudo and Bishamonten, to aid them in concentration. The energy gained by thinking about the Niō was purported to help learners develop a warrior's fortitude, and to overcome the evil energies that inhibited them from progressing towards enlightenment.

Works

* , 1619 * ''Fumoto no Kusawake'' ("Parting the Grasses at the Foot of the Mountain"), 1636 * , 1642 * , 1648 * , 1664 * , 1661

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Shosan Samurai People from Aichi Prefecture Zen Buddhist monks 1579 births 1655 deaths Japanese Zen Buddhists Soto Zen Buddhists Edo period Buddhist clergy

Zen training

Niō Zen

Works

References

Further reading

External links