is a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
priest (in charge of a temple);
[''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Tokyo 1991, ] honorific title of preceptor or high priest (especially in
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 ...
or Pure Land Buddhism). The same
kanji
are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
are also pronounced ''kashō'' as an honorific title of preceptor or high priest in
Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...
or
Kegon Buddhism and ''wajō'' as an honorific title of preceptor or high priest in
Shingon
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...
,
Hossō,
Ritsu, or
Shin Buddhism.
Etymology
''Oshō'' is the
Japanese reading of Tibetan monk (kushok) meaning a high-ranking
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
monk or highly virtuous
Buddhist monk. It is also a respectful designation for Buddhist monks in general and may be used with the suffix ''-san''.
According to the Kōjien Japanese dictionary and the Kanjigen dictionary of Chinese character source meanings, it is originally derived from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
''
upadhyaya'', meaning "master" in the sense of "teacher".
The literal meaning is "self-taught Buddhist monk/teacher"
[Oshobob, ''What is an Osho?'']
/ref> The Chinese term "he-shang" is derived from the Sanskrit word upadhyaya or acharya:
The standard English translation of ''oshō'' has become ''priest'', it has a somewhat different connotation in Zen:
According to the Kōjien, the two characters making up the word are actually pronounced ''oshō'' only in 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 ...
and Pure Land
Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
sects. For example, they are read ''kashō'' in the Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...
sect and ''wajō'' in the Shingon
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...
sect.
History
Oshō became an honorific title for Zen-masters", meaning "harmonious respect":
An example of its use is in Rinzai's teachings:
Sōtō Zen
In Sōtō Zen, to become an ''oshō'', teacher, two more steps are to be taken after dharma transmission
In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha him ...
, namely ''ten-e'' and ''zuise''.[Muho Noelke, ''Ten-e and some words about Zui-se'']
/ref>
''Ten-e'' means "to turn the robe":
After ''zuise'' one becomes an ''oshō'', whereafter one may become the resident priest in one's own temple. Hereby one can gain the highest rank:
To supervise the training of monks, further qualifications are necessary:
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
The term became well known in the West when Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh started to call himself ''Osho''.
See also
* Osho (disambiguation)
* Dharma transmission
In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha him ...
* Zen ranks and hierarchy
Zen institutions have an elaborate system of ranks and hierarchy, which determine one's position in the institution. Within this system, novices train to become a Zen priest, or a Zen master, trainer of new novices.
Sōtō
From its beginnings, S� ...
* Dharmabhāṇaka
References
Web references
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
* Muho Noelke: What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal? Par
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The Formation of Soto Zen Priests in the West, A Dialogue
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Zen
Japanese Buddhist titles