was a

philosopher 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 ...

Zen Buddhist 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 ...

scholar, and

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 ...

tea ceremony Tea ceremony is a ritualized practice of making and serving tea (茶 ''cha'') in East Asia practiced in the Sinosphere. The original term from China (), literally translated as either "''way of tea''", "''etiquette for tea or tea rite''",Heiss, M ...

(''sadō'' or ''chadō'', 茶道, "the way of tea") master. He was a professor 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 received an honorary doctoral degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Biography

Hisamatsu was born in

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

, Japan. He entered Kyoto University in 1912 and studied philosophy with

Kitarō Nishida was a Japanese moral philosopher, philosopher of mathematics and science, and religious scholar. He was the founder of what has been called the Kyoto School of philosophy. He graduated from the University of Tokyo during the Meiji period in 18 ...

, one of the most prominent Japanese philosophers of his time and the author of ''An Inquiry into the Good''. With Nishida's recommendation, Hisamatsu joined the Rinzai Zen monastery of

Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, which serves as the 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: ...

in Kyoto in 1915 and studied Zen Buddhism with Zen Master Ikegami Shōsan. After his monastic life at Myōshin-ji, he established his original philosophical view, which consists of both Eastern (mainly Zen Buddhist) and Western philosophy. Shortly after that, Hisamatsu received a doctorate degree from Kyoto University. Between 1943 and 1949, he taught philosophy and religious studies at Kyoto University. While in Kyoto, Hisamatsu frequently discussed Zen Buddhism and philosophy with D. T. Suzuki at Shunkō-in, where he lived. He also became the teacher of

Masao Abe was a Japanese Buddhist philosopher and religious studies scholar who was emeritus professor at Nara University. He is best known for his work in comparative religion, developing a Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialogue which later also inclu ...

. Abe became a leader in

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...

. In 1958 Hisamatsu and

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...

held a brief conversation in Switzerland. "Specifically, their conversation centered on Jung's notion of

Self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

and the Zen notion of ' No Mind', as well as their respective views of human suffering and its alleviation." Each appeared to see, however, that then a genuine understanding in depth was premature. Even as they spoke through translators, the key words were susceptible to multiple interpretations. Hisamatsu was a founder of the FAS Society.FAS is not an acronym, but stands for "F" the Formless self, "A" for taking the standpoint of All humankind, and "S" for creating Suprahistorical history. The FAS Society’s origin, Gakudō Dōjō, was established by students of Kyoto University under Hisamatsu's guidance. In 1960, Gakudō Dōjō was renamed FAS Society for their international activities. The purpose of this society is to spread the standpoint of the fundamental self-awakening of all mankind. In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the message of Hisamatsu is kept alive by Zen teacher Ton Lathouwers.

References

External links

FAS-society

Mahakaruna Ch'an (Ton Lathouwers)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hisamatsu, Shinichi 1889 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Japanese philosophers Japanese scholars of Buddhism Japanese tea masters Japanese Zen Buddhists Kyoto School Academic staff of Kyoto University Kyoto University alumni People from Gifu Prefecture Writers from Gifu Prefecture Zen Buddhism writers

Biography

References

Further reading

External links