Kenshō
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''Kenshō'' (見性) is 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 ...
term from the Zen tradition. ''Ken'' means "seeing", ''shō'' means "nature, essence". It is usually translated as "seeing one's (true) nature", that is, the
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
or
nature of mind Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
. Kenshō is an ''initial'' insight or awakening, not full
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...
. It is to be followed by further training to deepen this insight, and learn to express it in daily life. The term kenshō is often used interchangeably with
satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of ''kenshō'', "seeing into one's true nature". ' ...
, which is derived from the verb
satoru is a Japanese verb meaning "to know" or "understand". It is a common masculine Japanese given name. Satoru is the root of the Zen Buddhist word . Possible writings ''Satoru'' can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *悟 ...
, and means "comprehension; understanding".Denshi Jisho – Online Japanese dictionary
/ref>


Terminology

The Chinese Buddhist term ''jianxing'' () compounds: * ''jian'' "see, observe, meet with, perceive"; * ''xing'' "(inborn) nature, character, personality, disposition, property, quality, gender".


History

Buddhist monks who produced Sanskrit-Chinese translations of sutras faced many linguistic difficulties: * They chose Chinese ''jian'' 見 to translate
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''dṛś'' दृश् "see, look", and the central Buddhist idea of '' dṛṣṭi'' दृष्टि "view, seeing (also with the mind's eye), wisdom, false view". * Translators used ''xing'' 性 or ''zixing'' 自性 "self-nature" for Sanskrit '' svabhāva'' स्वभाव "intrinsic nature, essential nature". Thus, ''jianxing'' was the translation for ''dṛṣṭi-svabhāva'', "view one's essential nature". The (c. 8th century) Chinese ''
Platform Sutra The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher speak ...
'' (2, Prajñā "wisdom, understanding") first records ''jianxing''.
Hanyu Da Cidian The ''Hanyu Da Cidian'' () is the most inclusive available Chinese dictionary. Lexicographically comparable to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', it has diachronic coverage of the Chinese language, and traces usage over three millennia from Chi ...
汉语大词典, vol. 10, p. 314.


Pronunciations

The
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
pronunciation ''jianxing'' historically derives from (c. 7th century CE)
Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
''kienCsjäŋC''.
Sino-Xenic pronunciations Sino-Xenic or Sinoxenic pronunciations are regular systems for reading Chinese characters in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, originating in medieval times and the source of large-scale borrowings of Chinese words into the Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese ...
of this term exist: * ''kenshō'' 見性 or ケンショウ (''
on'yomi are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequent ...
'') in
Sino-Japanese vocabulary Sino-Japanese vocabulary, also known as refers to Japanese vocabulary that had originated in Chinese or were created from elements borrowed from Chinese. Some grammatical structures and sentence patterns can also be identified as Sino-Japanese. Si ...
* in
Sino-Korean vocabulary Sino-Korean vocabulary or Hanja-eo () refers to Korean words of Chinese origin. Sino-Korean vocabulary includes words borrowed directly from Chinese, as well as new Korean words created from Chinese characters, and words borrowed from Sino-Japane ...
* ''kiến tính'' in
Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary ( vi, từ Hán Việt, Chữ Hán: 詞漢越, literally 'Chinese language, Chinese-Vietnamese words') is a layer of some 3,000 monosyllabic Morpheme, morphemes of the Vietnamese language borrowed from Literary Chinese wi ...
.


Meanings of kenshō

Translating ''kenshō'' into English is semantically complex.


Encyclopedic and dictionary definitions

Some encyclopedia and dictionary definitions are: * Soothill (1934): "To behold the Buddha-nature within oneself, a common saying of the Chan (Zen) or Intuitive School." * Fischer-Schreiber (1991): Lit. "seeing nature"; Zen expression for the experience of awakening (enlightenment). Since the meaning is "seeing one's own true nature," ''kenshō'' is usually translated "self-realization." Like all words that try to reduce the conceptually ungraspable experience of enlightenment to a concept, this one is also not entirely accurate and is even misleading, since the experience contains no duality of "seer" and "seen" because there is no "nature of self' as an object that is seen by a subject separate from it. * Baroni (2002): "Seeing one's nature," that is, realizing one's own original Buddha Nature. In the Rinzai school, it most often refers more specifically to one's initial enlightenment attained through
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-J ...
practice. * Muller (year unknown): To see one's own originally enlightened mind. To behold the Buddha-nature within oneself, a common saying of the Chan school, as seen for example, in the phrase 'seeing one's nature, becoming Buddha' 見性成佛.


Definitions by Buddhist scholars

Buddhist scholars have defined ''kenshō'' as: * D.T. Suzuki: "Looking into one's nature or the opening of satori"; "This acquiring of a new point of view in our dealings with life and the world is popularly called by Japanese Zen students 'satori' (''wu'' in Chinese). It is really another name for Enlightenment ('' Annuttara-samyak-sambodhi'')". * Dumoulin (1988/2005): "Enlightenment is described here as an insight into the identity of one's own nature with all of reality in an eternal now, as a vision that removes all distinctions. This enlightenment is the center and the goal of the Zen way. Hakuin prefers the term "seeing into one's nature", which for him means ultimate reality. The Buddha nature and the cosmic Buddha body, wisdom (''prajna''), and emptiness (''sunyata''), the original countenance one had before one was born, and other expressions from the rich palette of Mahayana terms were all familiar to him from his continued study of the sutras and Zen literature." * Peter Harvey (1990): "It is a blissful realization where a person's inner nature, the originally pure mind, is directly known as an illuminating
emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression, loneliness, anhedonia, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders, including schizoid ...
, a thusness which is dynamic and immanent in the world." * G. Victor Sogen Hori (2000): "The term consists of two characters: ''ken'', which means "see" or "seeing", and ''sho'', which means "nature", "character", "quality." To "see one's nature" is the usual translation for ''kensho''".


Definitions by Buddhist teachers and practitioners

Buddhist teachers and practitioners have defined ''kenshō'' as: *
Jiyu-Kennett Hōun Jiyu-Kennett (Japanese: 法雲慈友ケネット, 1 January 1924 – 6 November 1996), born Peggy Teresa Nancy Kennett, was a British roshi most famous for having been the first female to be sanctioned by the Sōtō School of Japan ...
: "To see into one's own nature. The experience of enlightenment, satori." * Myodo Ni Satomi, a student of
Hakuun Yasutani was a Sōtō rōshi, the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan organization of Japanese Zen. Biography Ryōkō Yasutani (安谷 量衡) was born in Japan in Shizuoka Prefecture. His family was very poor, and therefore he was adopted by another family. ...
(1993): "Seeing the-self, that is, the true self or Buddha nature."


Further notions

According to Hori, the term ''kenshō'' refers to the realization of non-duality of subject and object in general, but the term ''kenshō'' may also be applied in other contexts: "How do you ''kenshō'' this?" ''Kenshō'' is not a single experience, but refers to a whole series of realizations from a beginner's shallow glimpse of the nature of mind, up to a vision of emptiness equivalent to the 'Path of Seeing' or to Buddhahood itself. In all of these, the same 'thing' is known, but in different degrees of clarity and profundity. "Kenshō" is commonly translated as enlightenment, a word that is also used to translate
bodhi The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect ...
, prajna,
satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of ''kenshō'', "seeing into one's true nature". ' ...
and
buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...
. Western discourse tends to use these terms interchangeably, but there is a distinction between a first insight and the further development toward Buddhahood.


Insight versus experience

Kensho is insight, an understanding of our essential nature as
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
, or the
nature of mind Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
, the perceiving subject itself, which was equated with
Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
by the East Mountain school. Contemporary understanding also describes kensho as an ''experience'', as in "enlightenment experience"; the term "enlightenment experience" is itself a tautology: "Kensho (enlightenment) is an enlightenment (kensho)-experience". The notion of "experience" fits in a popular set of dichotomies: pure (unmediated) versus mediated, noncognitive versus cognitive, experiential versus intellectual, intuitive versus intellectual, nonrational versus rational, nondiscursive versus discursive, nonpropositional versus propositional. The notion of ''pure experience'' (''junsui kuiken'') to interpret and understand kensho was introduced by Nishida Kitaro in his
An Inquiry into the Good ''An Inquiry into the Good'', also known as ''A Study of Good'', ( ja, 善の研究) is the first book by the Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitarō, published in 1911. As he explains in the Preface to the work, Parts II and III were composed first ...
(1911), under influence of "his somewhat idiosyncratic reading of western philosophy", especially
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
, who wrote
The Varieties of Religious Experience ''The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature'' is a book by Harvard University psychologist and philosopher William James. It comprises his edited Gifford Lectures on natural theology, which were delivered at the University o ...
.
Wayne Proudfoot Wayne Lee Proudfoot (born November 17, 1939) is an American scholar of religion and has written several works in that field, specializing in the philosophy of religion. Proudfoot earned the degree of Master of Theology from the Harvard Divinity S ...
traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" to the German theologian
Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...
(1768-1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique. It was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential.
D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
, who introduced Nishida Kitaro to western philosophy, took over this notion of ''pure experience'', describing it as the essence of all religions, but best represented in the superior Japanese culture and religion. The influence of western psychology and philosophy on Japanese Buddhism was due to the persecution of Buddhism at the beginning of the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, and the subsequent efforts to construct a New Buddhism (''shin bukkyo''), adapted to the modern times. It was this New Buddhism which has shaped the understanding of Zen in the west, especially through the writings of D.T. Suzuki and the
Sanbo Kyodan is a lay Zen sect derived from both the Soto (Caodong) and the Rinzai ( Linji) traditions. It was renamed Sanbo-Zen International in 2014. The term ''Sanbo Kyodan'' has often been used to refer to the Harada-Yasutani zen lineage. However, a ...
, an exponent of the Meiji-era opening of Zen-training for lay-followers. The notion of "experience" has been criticised. Robert Sharf points out that "experience" is a typical western term, which has found its way into Asian religiosity via western influences. The notion of "experience" introduces a false notion of duality between "experiencer" and "experienced", where-as the essence of kensho is the realisation of the "non-duality" of observer and observed. "Pure experience" does not exist; all experience is mediated by intellectual and cognitive activity. The specific teachings and practices of a specific tradition may even determine what "experience" someone has, which means that this "experience" is not the ''proof'' of the teaching, but a ''result'' of the teaching. A pure consciousness without concepts, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception", would be an overwhelming chaos of sensory input without coherence. The notion of "experience" also over-emphasises kensho, as if it were the single goal of Zen-training, where-as the Zen-tradition clearly states that "the stink of Zen" has to be removed and the "experience" of kensho has to be integrated into daily life. In the Rinzai-school this post-satori training includes the study and mastering of great amounts of classical Chinese poetry, which is far from "universal" and culture-transcending. On the contrary, it demands an education in culture-specific language and behaviour, which is measured by specific and strict cultural norms. Emphasising "experience" "reduces the sophisticated dialectic of Ch'an/Zen doctrine and praxis to a mere "means" or set of techniques intended to inculcate such experiences".


Kenshō accounts


Classical accounts

Classical Zen texts, such as the ''Kao-seng-chuan'' (Biographies of Eminent Monks) and the transmission lists, called "Transmission of the Lamp" the ''yü-lü'' genre (the recorded sayings of the masters, such as the Linji yü lü); and the various koan-collections, contain accounts of "enlightenment experiences". These accounts are not verbatim recordings of such "experiences", but well-edited texts, written down decades or even decennia after the supposed sayings and meetings. ''The
Denkōroku 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 tra ...
'', "The Record of the Transmission of the Light", written by Keizan Jōkin 瑩山紹瑾 (1268–1325), is an example of the "Transmission of the Lamp" genre. It contains literary accounts of the patriarchs of the Soto-lineage, from
Shakyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
to
Koun Ejō (1198-1280) was the second patriarch of the Japanese Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism who lived during the Kamakura period. He was initially a disciple of the short-lived Darumashū sect of Japanese Zen founded by Nōnin, but later studied and recei ...
, in which kensho plays a central role. They are not to be taken as literal accounts of awakening, but as stories underpinning the legitimacy of the Dogen-shu, which in its early history had seen a fierce internal conflict over the correct lineage during the
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 righ ...
.
Dōgen Zenji 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 J ...
's awakening is recalled in the Denkoroku:
Hakuin was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, focusing on rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice. Biograp ...
gives this description of his first kensho, when he was 21: Hakuin's ''kensho'' was not approved by Shoju Rojin, who subjected Hakuin to more koan-training. This resulted in a second kensho, where-after Hakuin left Shoju Rojin. It was only when he was 41 that he attained "his final great enlightenment":


Contemporary accounts

Although the Zen tradition is reluctant to speak openly about the 'experience' of kensho, personal accounts can be found in Zen texts. Keido Fukushima, a 20th-century Rinzai abbott, gives the following description:


Spontaneous kenshō

Kenshō may be attained without the aid of a teacher. For example, Richard Clarke (1933), who studied with
Philip Kapleau Philip Kapleau (August 20, 1912 – May 6, 2004) was an American teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools. He also advocated strongly for Buddhist vegetarianism. Early life Kapleau ...
, states that he had a spontaneous kensho when he was 13.Japanischer Buddhismus in Amerika. Chronik Ab 1970
/ref>
Dennis Genpo Merzel Dennis Merzel (born June 3, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Zen and spirituality teacher, also known as Genpo Merzel. Biography Early life Dennis Paul Merzel was born on June 3, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York and was raised and schoo ...
states he had what he described as an "awakening experience" in 1971:Big Mind: An Interview with Genpo Roshi
More descriptions of "spontaneous kensho" can be found throughout the Zen-literature,


Alternate accounts

Houn Jiyu-Kennett Hōun Jiyu-Kennett ( Japanese: 法雲慈友ケネット, 1 January 1924 – 6 November 1996), born Peggy Teresa Nancy Kennett, was a British roshi most famous for having been the first female to be sanctioned by the Sōtō School of Japa ...
, a 20th-century Soto Zen
Oshō is a Buddhist priest (in charge of a temple);''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Tokyo 1991, honorific title of preceptor or high priest (especially in Zen or Pure Land Buddhism). The same kanji are also pronounced ''kashō'' as a ...
,Seikai Luebke
''Why Are Roshi Jiyu Kennett’s Disciples So Reclusive?''
i.e. "priest" or "teacher," and the first Western female Zen priest, had a prolonged religious experience in the 1970s, including a series of visions and recalling past lives, when she was severely ill. She regarded these experiences as "a profound kensho (enlightenment) experience," constituting a third kensho, and published an account of these visions, and an elaborate scheme of stages of awakening, in ''How to Grow a Lotus Blossom''. Her interpretations, which parallel Christian mysticism, were controversial, and rejected by some as '' makyo'' ("illusion"). According to Jiyu-Kennett, such experiences are not uncommon, but are rarely spoken of; she regarded publishing her own experiences as a way to acknowledge the existence and validity of such experiences, which, according to her, may contribute to further insight after initial awakening. She acknowledged the risks and potential for controversy in publishing her account, but felt that the benefits of releasing such information outweighed the risks.


Training towards kenshō

According to Harris, working towards kensho is usually a lengthy process stretched out over years or even decades. Contrary to this, Victor Hori notes that with koan-study kensho may appear within six months.
Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...
tends towards a gradual approach, preferring to let the experiences happen on their own.
Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...
tends toward the use of
Koan 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-Jap ...
s as a technique to unroot the habitual workings of the mind. During intensive zazen various
hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
s and psychological disturbances may arise. These are referred to as makyo. Distinguishing these delusions from actual kensho is the primary function of the teacher, as the student may be erroneously convinced they have realized kensho.


Rinzai

In the
Rinzai school The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...
, kensho is seen as indispensable: In the Rinzai-training, the student is expected to pour oneself totally into both koan-study and daily activities 'to become one' with it. Kenshō is used to describe the first breakthrough in
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-J ...
study.


Sōtō

Contemporary Japanese Sōtō downplays the importance of ''kenshō'', due to the sectarian rivalry with Rinzai, which emphasizes ''kenshō''. Nevertheless, ''kenshō'' also has its role in Sōtō. The " genjo-koan", or the "koan of everyday life" which "appears naturally in daily life", is emphasized. Students are not encouraged to actively seek out kenshō experiences. In Sōtō practice kenshōs "are allowed to occur naturally, as a by-product of practice. Meditative training is seen as the unfolding of one great ''kenshō'': According to
Brad Warner Brad Warner (born March 5, 1964) is an American Sōtō Zen monk, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist. Biography Brad Warner was born in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1964. His family traveled for his father's job and Warner spent ...
, in the
Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...
school there are two kinds of awakening. One is the practice of
shikantaza is Dogen's Japanese translation of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐguǎn dǎzuò'' (只管打坐 / 祇管 打坐), "just sitting." The phrase was used by his teacher Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism, to refer to the meditation-pr ...
, which is the "actual enlightened activity of the Buddha". The other is the accumulation of little bits of understanding, which come together, giving way to a deeper intuitive knowledge.


Sanbō Kyōdan

Kenshō also plays a central in the Sanbō Kyōdan, a Japanese Zen organisation which played a decisive role in the transmission of Zen to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Yasutani, the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan, was disappointed about the lack of interest in kensho in the Soto school. Yasutani's emphasis on koan training and the importance of kensho was transmitted to his American students: It is also reflected in the inclusion of a relative great amount of kensho stories in "The Three Pillars of Zen", written by
Philip Kapleau Philip Kapleau (August 20, 1912 – May 6, 2004) was an American teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools. He also advocated strongly for Buddhist vegetarianism. Early life Kapleau ...
, a student of Yasutani.


Training after kenshō

After kensho, further practice is needed to attain a natural, effortless, down-to-earth state of being, the "ultimate liberation", "knowing without any kind of defilement".


Further practice

Zen Buddhist training does not end with kenshō. Practice is to be continued to deepen the insight and to express it in daily life. According to the contemporary Chan Master
Sheng Yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...
: And the Soto Zen Master Jiyu-Kennett: To deepen the initial insight of kensho, shikantaza and kōan-study are necessary. This trajectory of initial insight followed by a gradual deepening and ripening is expressed by
Linji Yixuan Linji Yixuan (; ja, 臨済義玄 ''Rinzai Gigen''; died 866 CE) was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Línjì yǔlù Information on Linji is based on the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (臨濟語錄; Japanese: ' ...
in his Three mysterious Gates, the Four Ways of Knowing of
Hakuin was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, focusing on rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice. Biograp ...
, and the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures which detail the steps on the
Path A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...
.


Seitai choyo

Post-awakening practice is called ''seitai choyo'', the "long nurturing of the sacred fetus". According to Spiegelberg, During the T'ang-era, the term became associated with the ideal of the recluse who leaves the world. An ideal period of "twenty years" was taken for it, echoing a story from the ''Lotus Sutra'' about a prodigal son who wandered in poverty for twenty years before returning home. References to these twenty years are found throughout the Chán-tradition, for example Linji, who is reported to have studied under Huang-po for twenty years, and Daito, the founder of
Daitoku-ji is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" ('' sangō'') by which it is known is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex today covers more ...
, who famously spent twenty years living under a bridge with beggars.


Cultivating bodhicitta

According to Hakuin, the main aim of "post-satori practice" (''gogo no shugyo'' or ''kojo'', "going beyond") is to cultivate the "Mind of Enlightenment", "benefiting others by giving them the gift of the Dharma teaching". According to
Yamada Koun , Japanese name#In English and other Western languages, or Koun Yamada, was a Japanese Buddhist who was the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leade ...
, "if you cannot weep with a person who is crying, there is no kensho". According to Kay, According to Barry, regarding Hakuin's practice after awakening,


Self-purification and intellectual understanding

One also has to purify oneself by ongoing practice, since And "experience" has to be supplemented by intellectual understanding and study of the Buddhist teachings; otherwise one remains a ''zen temma'', a "Zen devil".


Sudden insight

Kenshō is described as appearing suddenly, upon an interaction with someone else, at hearing or reading some significant phrase, or at the perceiving of an unexpected sound or sight. The idea of "sudden insight" has been hotly debated in the history of Zen. It became part of the Traditional Zen Narrative in the 8th century.
Chinul Jinul Puril Bojo Daesa (, "Bojo Jinul"; 1158–1210), often called Jinul or Chinul for short, was a Korean monk of the Goryeo period, who is considered to be the most influential figure in the formation of Korean Seon (Zen) Buddhism. He is credi ...
, a 12th-century Korean Seon master, emphasized that insight into our true nature is sudden, but is to be followed by practice to ripen the insight and attain full Buddhahood. The contemporary Korean Seon master
Seongcheol Seongcheol (April 6, 1912 – November 4, 1993) was a Korean Seon master.원택. (2001). ''성철스님 시봉이야기''. Seoul: 김영사. (Wontek. (2001). ''Seongcheol Seunim Sibong Iyagi''. Seoul: Kimyoungsa.) He was a key figure in mo ...
opposed this, emphasizing "sudden enlightenment, sudden cultivation". But Jiyu-Kennett, a contemporary western teacher, warns that attaining kenshō does not mean that a person is free from morality, the laws of karma, or the consequences of ones actions. This warning is reflected in the
Wild fox koan The wild fox kōan, also known as "Pai-chang 's fox" and "Hyakujō and a Fox", is an influential kōan story in the Zen tradition dating back as early as 1036, when it appeared in the Chinese biographical history ''T'ien-sheng kuang-teng lu''. It ...
.


Mushi-dokugo and mushi-dokkaku

Kenshō may be attained without the aid of a teacher, as in the case of
mushi-dokugo , sometimes called , is a Japanese term used in Zen Buddhism which expresses the phenomenon known as "awakening alone, without a master".Faure, 48 Etymology ''Mushi-dokugo'' (無師独悟) is a Japanese term composed of four Chinese characters, ...
or (mushi-)dokkaku, a self-awakened pratyeka-buddha.Kyosho. The Awakening Gong. No.350, September/October 2011. Pages 14-15
Though the literal meaning is ''self-awakened'' or ''awakened on one's own'', the emphasis in Zen, when using these terms, lies in the ultimate reliance on one's own insight, instead of the authority of a teacher:


Similarities with other traditions

While the Japanese term "kenshō" is generally used by practitioners of Zen Buddhism, the insight it refers to is not limited to Japanese Zen Buddhism, or even to Buddhism in general.


Theravada

The
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
tradition, which is best known in the west through the modern
Vipassana movement The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain s ...
, discerns
four stages of enlightenment The four stages of awakening in Early Buddhism and Theravada are four progressive stages culminating in full awakening ('' Bodhi'') as an Arahant (SN 22.122). These four stages are Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmi, and Arahant. The oldest B ...
, in which
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
is being reached in four succeeding sudden steps of insight.


Dzogchen

An analogy given by Dzogchen masters is that one's nature is like a mirror which reflects with complete openness, but is not affected by the reflections.
Rigpa In Dzogchen, ''rigpa'' (; Skt. vidyā; "knowledge") is knowledge of the ground. The opposite of ''rigpa'' is ''ma rigpa'' ('' avidyā'', ignorance). A practitioner who has attained the state of ''rigpa'' and is able to rest there continuously ...
is the knowledge that ensues from recognizing this mirror-like clarity, which cannot be found by searching nor identified. One ''knows'' that there is a primordial freedom from grasping his or her mind.


Advaita Vedanta

In Advaita Vedanta
moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
is attained by jnana, insight-knowledge. In Shankara's philosophical synthesis insight
samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
is used as a subsidiary to this goal.
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
emphasized the ''experience'' of nirvikalpa samadhi as a means to validate religious, transcendental knowledge.


See also

* Enlightenment *
Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of ''kenshō'', "seeing into one's true nature". ' ...
*
Daigo Daigo may refer to: Buddhism *Daigo (Zen) (大悟), a Buddhist term meaning ''great enlightenment'' or ''great realization'' *Daigo (Shōbōgenzō) (大悟), or ''Great Realization'', a book in Eihei Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō *Daigo Temple (醍醐寺 ...
* Mushi dokugo *
Shoshin ''Shoshin'' ( ja, text=初心) is a concept from Zen Buddhism meaning beginner's mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying, even at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. The ...
*
Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...
*
Samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...


Notes


References


Sources


Printed sources

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Web-sources


Further reading

Soto * Sanbo Kyodan * Critical
Stuart Lachs, ''Coming Down from the Zen Clouds: A Critique of the Current State of American Zen''
An attempt at demythologizing Zen-practice, emphasizing the integration into daily life


External links


Ama Samy, ''Koan, Hua-t’ou, and Kensho''

Rev.Master Jiyu-Kennett (2000), ''The Roar of the Tigress Volume I, An Introduction to Zen: Religious Practice for Everyday Life
biography of Jiyu-Kennett, with a description of het kensho-experiences, and teishos by Jiyu-Kennett
After Non Duality, ablog centering on the question "What happens ''after'' awakening?"
{{Buddhism topics Zen Buddhist philosophical concepts Nondualism