Genjōkōan
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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 phys ...
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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 Sūtra, 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 Jewels, Three Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha ...
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Kōan
A ( ; ; zh, c=公案, p=gōng'àn ; ; ) is a narrative, story, dialogue, question, or statement from Chan Buddhism, Chinese Chan Buddhist lore, supplemented with commentaries, that is used in Zen Buddhism, Buddhist practice in different ways. The main goal of practice in Zen is to achieve (Chinese: jianxing 見性), to see or observe one's buddha-nature. Extended study of literature as well as meditation () on a is a major feature of modern Rinzai school, Rinzai Zen. They are also studied in the Sōtō school of Zen to a lesser extent. In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon Buddhism, meditating on a , a key phrase of a , is also a major Zen meditation method. Etymology The Japanese term is the on'yomi, Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese word ( zh, c=wikt:公案, 公案, p=gōng'àn, w=kung-an, l=public case). The term is a compound (linguistics), compound word, consisting of the Chinese character, characters ('public; official; governmental; common; collective; fair; equi ...
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Dōgen
was a Japanese people, Japanese Zen Buddhism, Buddhist Bhikkhu, monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dentō Kokushi (). Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai, Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China#Imperial China, China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. He remained there for four years, finally training under Tiantong Rujing, Tiāntóng Rújìng, an eminent teacher of the Caodong, Cáodòng lineage of Chan Buddhism, Chinese Chan. Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works such as ''Fukan zazengi, 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 ...
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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 Caodong ( Sōtō) monk Dongshan Liangjie (Japanese: Tōzan Ryōkan), who lived during the end of the 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 ...
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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 "c ...
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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 ...
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Zen Buddhism
Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka philosophies, with Chinese Taoist thought, especially Neo-Daoist. Zen originated as the Chan School (禪宗, ''chánzōng'', 'meditation school') or the Buddha-mind school (佛心宗'', fóxīnzōng''), and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. Chan is traditionally believed to have been brought to China by the semi-legendary figure Bodhidharma, an Indian (or Central Asian) monk who is said to have introduced dhyana teachings to China. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen. Zen emphasizes meditation practice, direct insight into one's own Buddha nature (見性, Ch. ''jiànxìng,'' Jp. '' kenshō ...
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Sōtō School
Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dongshan Liangjie, Dòngshān Liángjiè. It emphasizes Shikantaza, meditation with no objects, anchors, or content. The meditator strives to be aware of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. The Japanese brand of the sect was imported in the 13th century by Dōgen Zenji, who studied Caodong, Cáodòng Buddhism () abroad in China. Dōgen is remembered today as the ancestor of Sōtō Zen in Japan along with Keizan, Keizan Jōkin. With about 14,000 temples, Sōtō is one of the largest Japanese Buddhist organizations. Sōtō Zen is now also popular in the West, and in 1996 priests of the Sōtō Zen tradition formed the Soto Zen Buddhist Association based in North America. Histor ...
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Taigen Dan Leighton
Taigen Dan Leighton (born 1950, grew up in Pittsburgh, PA) is a Sōtō priest and teacher, academic, and author. He is an authorized lineage holder and Zen teacher in the tradition of Shunryū Suzuki and is the founder and Guiding Teacher of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, Illinois. Leighton is also an authorized teacher in the Japanese Sōtō School (''kyōshi''). Biography Leighton's father was a medical school professor and cancer researcher, his mother a high school French teacher and librarian. Leighton began his Zen practice in 1975 at the New York Zen Center, training under Kando Nakajima rōshi. He studied at Columbia University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies. Leighton worked as a television and film editor in New York City, and then San Francisco. In 1978, he moved to California and eventually became a resident at San Francisco Zen Center, where he worked at Tassajara Bakery and other of Zen Center's businesses. In subsequent years, Le ...
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Hakuun Yasutani
was a Sōtō Zen priest and the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan, a lay Japanese Zen group. Through his students Philip Kapleau and Taizan Maezumi, Yasutani has been one of the principal forces in founding western (lay) Zen-practice. 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. When he was five he was sent to Fukuji-in, a small Rinzai-temple under the guidance of Tsuyama Genpo. Yasutani saw himself becoming a Zen-priest as destined: Yet his chances to become a Zen-priest were small, since he was not born into a temple-family. When he was eleven he moved to Daichuji, also a Rinzai-temple. After a fight with another student he had to leave, and at the age of thirteen he was ordained at Teishinji, a Sōtō temple and given the name Hakuun meaning "white cloud". When he was sixteen he moved again, to Denshinji, under the guidance of Bokusan Nishiari, a former lead ...
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