(born March 1, 1968, as Jens Olaf Christian Nölke) is a German-born Zen monk who was the abbot of

Antai-ji is a Buddhist temple that belongs to the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. It is located in the town of Shin'onsen, Mikata District, in northern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, where it sits on about 50 hectares of land in the mountains, close to a na ...

, a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

Sōtō Zen 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 ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

in Shin'onsen in the Mikata District of

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

from 2002 until 2020. He has translated works of

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 Dent� ...

and

Kōdō Sawaki was a prominent Japanese Sōtō Zen teacher of the 20th century. He is considered to be one of the most significant Zen priests of his time for bringing Zen practice, in particular meditation, into the lives of laypeople and popularizing the anc ...

, and has authored six books in German and sixteen books in Japanese.

Biography

At age 16, Muhō was introduced to ''

zazen ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...

'' by one of his

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s and soon had the wish to become a Zen

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

. To prepare for his stay in

, he studied

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 ...

at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

, along with

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. During his studies, he spent one year at

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

and learned for the first time about

. At age 22, he spent six months there as a lay practitioner. Three years later, after graduating from university, Muhō was ordained as a

Sōtō 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 ...

Zen 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 phil ...

under the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Miyaura Shinyu Rōshi. Apart from

, he has trained for one year at the

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Tōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.Japan ReferenceTōfuku-ji/ref> It is one of the Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". It ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, and one year at

Hosshin-ji is a Soto Zen temple in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends ...

Obama, Fukui is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 29,435 in 12,057 households and a population density of 240 persons per km2 (327/sq mi). The total area of the city was . Obama gained publi ...

. After obtaining the transmission of

dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

(''

shihō refers to a series of ceremonies in Sōtō Zen Buddhism wherein a '' unsui'' receives Dharma transmission, becoming part of the dharma lineage of his or her teacher. Ceremony ''Shiho'' is done "one-to-one in the abbot's quarters (''hojo'')". ...

'') from his

Miyaura Rōshi, Muhō decided to live as a

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

in a park in central

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, where he led a ''zazen'' group in 2001. Six months later, in February 2002, he learned of the sudden death of his teacher and was called back to

. He succeeded his teacher as the ninth

in the spring of that year. In 2020 he retired after 18 years as the abbot and appointed Ekō, a Japanese nun, as his successor. Since he retired as abbot, Muho spends most of his time in Osaka, where he leads a Zen group that meets every Sunday in Osaka castle park (except when it is raining). Muhō has published numerous books and translations in both Japanese and German. He has also featured in several films, including documentaries by director

Takeshi Kitano , also known as in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. During hi ...

and broadcaster

Peter Barakan Peter Barakan (born 20 August 1951) is an English DJ, freelance broadcaster, and an author of books on music and English language education. He is best known as the presenter of ''Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus'' on NHK World. In Japan, he ...

's " Begin Japanology", as well as Werner Penzel's

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

"Zen for Nothing".

Bibliography

German

* ''Zazen oder der Weg zum Glück''. Rowohlt, 2007, . * ''Ein Regentropfen kehrt ins Meer zurück''. Berlin-Verlag, 2016, . * ''Futter für Pferd und Esel: Das Dôgen-Lesebuch''. Angkor-Verlag, 2018, . * ''Das Meer weist keinen Fluss zurück''. Berlin-Verlag, 2018, . * ''Der Mond leuchtet in jeder Pfütze''. Berlin-Verlag, 2020, . * ''Alles, was du denkst, sind nur Gedanken''. O. W. Barth Verlag, 2025, .

Japanese

* ''Mayoeru mono no Zen shugyou''. Shincho-shinsho, 2011, . * ''Hadaka no Bousama''. Sanga, 2012, . * ''Tada suwaru''. Kobunsha-shinsho, 2012, . * ''Ikiru hint 33''. Asahi-shinsho, 2012, . * ''Otona ni naru tame no yatsu no shugyou''. Shodensha, 2013, * ''Mayoinagara ikiru''. Daiwa-shobo, 2013, * ''Dogen wo gyakuyunyu''. Sanga, 2013, * ''Nihonjin ni shukyo ha iranai''. Best-shinsho, 2014, * ''Yomu dake Zen shugyou''. Asahi-shinbun-shuppan, 2014, * ''Mayoi ha satori no dai-ippo''.　Shincho-shinsho, 2015, * ''Ari no mama demo ii, ari no mama de nakute mo ii''.　Best-shinsho, 2015, * ''Kokoro ni hibiku Bukkyou no kingen 100''.　Takarajima-sha, 2015, * ''Naze nihonjin ha gosenzo-sama ni inoru no ka''.　Gentousha-shinsho, 2015, * ''Bukkyou no tsumetasa, Kirisutokyou no ayausa''.　Best-shinsho, 2016, * ''Magenai Doitsujin, kimenai Nihonjin''.　Sanga, 2016, * Kyou wo shinu koto de, ashita wo ikiru''.　Best-shinsho, 2017, * ''Jinsei to iu kusogame wo kaeru tame no bukkyou''. Shinju-sha, 2025,

Translations in English

* Kōdō Sawaki: ''To You: Collected Sayings of Kodo Sawaki'' (co-translated by Jesse Reiho Haasch). Hohm Press 2021.

Translations in German

* Kōdō Sawaki: ''Tag für Tag ein guter Tag''. Angkor 2008. * Kōdō Sawaki: ''An dich. Zen-Sprüche''. Angkor 2005. * Kōdō Sawaki: ''Zen ist die größte Lüge aller Zeiten''. Angkor 2005. * Kōshō Uchiyama: ''Die Zen-Lehre des Landstreichers Kodo''. Angkor 2007, übersetzt gemeinsam mit Guido Keller * Hitoshi Nagai: ''Penetre & ich: Philosophie für ein glückliches Leben''. Berlin-Verlag 2021

References

External links

*
no direction
Muho's blog *
Information about Muhō Nölke at Antaiji homepage

* ttp://maymagazine.eu/en/happiness-2/life/zazen-muhos-way-to-happiness/ "Happy and hard" Interview by Maymagazine.eu* Soto Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhist abbots 21st-century abbots German Zen Buddhists 1968 births Living people German Buddhist monks {{Germany-reli-bio-stub