Our Zen Ancestors
A Concise Guide
How this page came to be:
Three years ago, when I first began practicing with the Saturday
morning Zen group at the Dharma
Center, I was over-joyed
to see that the morning finished with a Sutra Service. However, I really wanted
to know MORE about the ancestors listed in the two Dedications. I couldn’t find
information in my 2 Buddhist dictionaries for 5 or 6 of the names mentioned.
Happily, dear Donna had some materials, supplemented by a booklet sent on by
Daniel Terragno.
I have tried to keep each listing short and readable, with the hope
that these brief biographies will just whet your interest in further research.
Information below comes from:
Dharma Ancestors: A Collection of Readings.
Given in Gratitude, Fall 1992. ROBZ Library – for use within the sangha.
"Roshi Reads" in Pathless Path September-October, 2001
The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Shambhala Publicactions, Boston, 1991
Needless-to-say, all errors are my own, and I welcome comments.
Mary Frost-Pierson
Spring, 2002
The dedication list was updated by Katie Egart and Sam Branson,
Spring 2007. There are many sources now available to
research women ancestors in zen traditions.
The four main sources that we used were the listing at Mountain Source
Sangha (www.mtsource.org/chants/Stories_of_Women_Ancestors.html),
this website: http://bouddhismeaufeminin.free.fr/ancestors2.htm, The Roaring Stream (Foster and Shoemaker,
eds.) and Women of the Way by Sallie Tisdale, 2006
FIRST SUTRA DEDICATION
The Ancient Seven Buddhas, Dai Osho
Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, is not the
first and only Buddha. The very earliest Hinayana texts list six others who
came before him, and these seven are often referred to as the "seven
mortal Buddhas" in the Mahayana texts. The accounts of first six -
Vipashyin, Sikhin, Vishvabhu, Krakuchchanda, Kanakamuni, Kashyapa – do perhaps
not represent actual historical figures, but even the most critical of scholars
think that there is evidence for Kanakamuni and Krakuchchanda. If you see a
painting of seven Buddhas, all in identical poses, and all golden, chances are
you are seeing a depiction of The Ancient Seven Buddhas.
Shakyamuni Buddha, Dai Osho
Born Siddhartha Gautama c. 563 bce, the "Buddha of our age"
gained (among others) the titles "Sage of the Shakya clan,"
Shakyamuni, and "Tathagata, the thus-gone, thus perfected one".
Mahaprajapati,
Dai Osho
Shakyamuni’s aunt and foster
mother. Indian Ancestor. We felt she is of utmost importance in that
she led the demonstration that, with Ananda’s help, finally convinced Buddha Shakyamuni to
consider women equal to men in terms of capacity for enlightenment and
suitability for monastic life.
Boddhidharma, Dai Osho
Revered as the teacher who brought the "face-to-face
transmission" to China,
Boddhidharma was the 28th patriarch after Shakyamuni Buddha in the
Indian lineage, and the first Chinese patriarch of Ch’an (zen). There are
several tales of his encounters with the famous Emperor Wu of Nanking;
somewhat concerned at the thick-headedness of the Emperor, Boddhidharma
traveled to the north of China,
perhaps ending his days in the monastery of Shao-lin (c. 550 ce). He is often
called "the barbarian from the West" and portrayed as a thick-set,
heavy-browed man dressed for hard traveling, crossing a broad river on a reed.
Tozan Ryokai, Dai Osho
Information about Tozan Ryokai, a Chinese Ch’an master (807-69 ce) can
often be located by looking up his original Chinese name, Tung-shan
Liang-chieh. He began training in the Vinaya school, but troubled by a line
from the Heart Sutra, he left his first master, and became a pilgrim, traveling
to visit a number of Ch’an masters. He reached enlightenment after years of
struggling with his master’s injunction to "just say: ‘Just that,
that!’" Revered as one of the co-founders of the Soto school, he
formulated the five degrees of enlightenment.
Matsuzan Ryonen, Dai Osho
(Summit Mountain)
(9th century - Chan). Chinese
Ancestor. She is the first women dharma
heir in the Chan tradition, a student of Ka-on Ta-yu. She is the first recorded
woman with a chapter in Transmission of the Lamp, the official Chan
transmission line, and cited as a role model for her wisdom by Dogen in his essay Raihai Tokuzui "Paying Homage and
Acquiring the Essence.” Also known as: Mo-shan Liao-Jan, Laoran, Massan Ryonen,
Myoshin, Miao-Hsin. Moshan Liaoran
Dogen Kigen, Dai Osho
(just to keep us on our toes) Remember that Dogen Kigen is often
referred to as Dogen Zenji or Eihei Dogen. (1200-1253 ce) Dogen Kigen brought
Soto Zen to Japan, and although soon famous, he feared falling under the undue
influence of imperial power and worldly matters in the royal city, and retired
to a small hut in Echizen Province, which has now grown to the world-famous
Eihei-ji Monastery. His most famous work is the Shobo-genzo, Treasure Chamber
of the Eye of True Dharma. Dogen Kigen did not reject koan training, usually
considered to be part of the Rinzai school, but put together a collection of
300 koans, with his own commentary.
Keizan Jokin, Dai Osho
Keizan Jokin (1268-1325 ce) was the 4th patriarch of the Japanese Soto school of Zen. He founded Soji-ji Monastery and
wrote the Denko-roku, which is a collection of transmission stories in the Soto
school that preserves for us many fascinating stories about the 52 Patriarchs.
He also wrote the Zazan-yojinki, "Precautions to be Taken in Zazen".
Mokufu Sonin, Dai Osho
(Ordered Silence, Enduring Ancestor) (14th century -
Soto) Japanese Ancestor. One of several female students of Keizan
Jokin. She was one of the first Japanese
women to receive Soto Dharma transmission. Keizan and the nuns founded Enzuin
convent, dedicated to the well-being of women forever, and meant to honor
Keizan’s grandmother (who he believed was reincarnated as Sonin with whom he
had a very deep spiritual connection). She was the first abbot there.
Daiun Sogaku, Dai Osho
Harada Roshi’s full name was Daiun (Great Cloud) Sogaku Harada Roshi
(1870-1961). Trained originally in the Soto tradition, he also became a monk at
Shogen-ji, at the time a great Rinzai monstery. He thus was fitted to teach an
integral zen, and more than anyone else in his time, revived the teachings of
Dogen. Because he was so famous as a fiercely exacting teacher at his monastery
Hosshin-ji, located on the Japan Sea, where the climate was equally fierce,
with incessant rains, snowstorms, and typhoons, not everyone remembers that for
12 years he was a very rare phenomenon in the Japanese academic world – a
brilliant professor during the academic year, and a Zen master during the
summer vacation. Ultimately he found the academic life too narrow, and spent 40
years as abbot of Hossen-ji. Most of us have encountered his writings through
his commentary on Shushogi, a codification of Dogen’s Shobogenzo.
Hakuun Ryoko, Dai Osho
Yasutani Roshi’s full name was Hakuun (White Cloud)
Ryoko Yasutani Roshi (1885-1973). As Aitken Roshi has so lovingly recounted,
"our Rodaishi Sama, by his own great power, planted a little tree of
international Zen, and then cultivated its field". For nine years he
traveled to the United
States. He would first conduct sesshin in Hawaii, then travel onto
California,
and finish in New York.
He kept this workload, answering every letter he recieived, even as he
continued to publish many books. And as Yamada Koun notes, Yatsutani Roshi
brought to fulfillment something that Daiun Sogaku had long advocated: when
permission finally came for the separate independence of temples, he separated
from the Soto sect, adopting a position of direct connection with Dogen Zenji.
Koun Zenshin, Dai Osho
You may more often see Koun (Cultivating Cloud) Zenshin (1907-1989)
referred to as Yamada Roshi. His high school room mate was the Soen Nakagawa
who would one day be so instrumental in bringing Zen to the West, but he
himself took a degree in German law and worked in insurance. While on assignment
in Manchuria, he once again met Soen Nakagawa,
who pursuaded him to take up the practice of zazen. Throughout his life he
labored to find teachers who could assist groups of lay practitioners, and
although he continued to work "in the world" he became Yasutani’s
successor, having the great kensho described in The Three Pillars of Zen. When
Yasutani Roshi retired, the Diamond Sangha was left without a visiting teacher,
and Yamada Roshi took his place. As Aitken Roshi’s teacher (and head teacher of
the Daimond Sangha for 13 years) Yamada Roshi is largely responsible for the
vitality of the Diamond Sangha today.
SECOND SUTRA DEDICATION
Rinzai Gigen, Dai Osho
His proper Chinese name is
Lin-chi I-hsuan. (d. 866 ce) During a time of great persecution of Buddhists,
he founded the Rinzai school
of Zen. There are many
colorful stories about his skillful use of shouts and blows; however the single
greatest innovation in Zen after Lin-chi was the koan or "public
notice" of that which cannot be solved by reason.
Hakuin Ekaku, Dai Osho
Hakuin Ekaku, 1689-1769 ce, is often referred to as the father of
modern Rinzai Zen, because he reformed a school which had been gradually
deteriorating since the 14th century. In his time the Rinzai school
was famous for its intellectual pursuits; he re-emphasized the importance of
zazen. He systematized koan training, and what may be the most famous koan in
Zen – "what is the sound of one hand clapping" is from him. He was
also a prodigious artist, excelling in calligraphy and sculpture, as well as
painting (several of his self-portraits still exist). He also stressed the
importance of work as part of "practice in action".
Satsu, Dai Osho
(18th century - Rinzai) Japanese Ancestor “Brilliant and iconoclastic” student of
Hakuin, from age 16-23. She continually engaged him in dharma combat. After her enlightenment, Hakuin recommended
she get married and have children, bringing zen into everyday life practice,
which she did. We felt she was important
to us as we are a lay lineage, influenced by Hakuin’s encouragement of lay
practice.
Torei Enji, Dai Osho
We meet Torei Enji Zenji (1721-1792 ce ) every Saturday during our
sutra service as we recite his "Bodhisattva’s Vow" . He is among the
most famous of Hakuin’s heirs, and there are numerous translations available of
his famous "Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp". He was by all
accounts a very precise teacher and self-contained man, and his traditions at
Ryutaku Monastery are still lovingly preserved by Eido Shimano Roshi, for every
sesshin there still begins with The Seven Regulations of the Monastery.
(available in translation online at http://www.zenstudies.org/ssoolead.html)
Choro Nyogen, Dai Osho
Choro Nyogen (1876-1958) is most usually referenced under the name
Nyogen Senzaki Sensei. Choro means "morning dew" and Nyogen means
"like a phantasm". He himself commented many times on his pilgrimage
as a nameless and homeless monk, remembering that he began life as an abandoned
baby in Siberia, the son of a Japanese mother
and a Russian father. A brilliant young student, he finished the Chinese
Tripitaka by age 18, and became a monk. He loved his teacher, but came to
reject what he called "Cathedral Zen" with its rather worldly hierarchy
of titles and authority. He loved his years in Japan as priest of a little temple
where he was a "hands-on" director of its kindergarten. When he set
up a Zen center in San Francisco,
he called it a "mentorgarden". Strout McCandless reports that he once
said "I want to be an American Hotei, a happy Jap in the streets".
(Ironically, he was interred in a camp during WWII). Senzaki actively searched
for and encouraged Japanese Zen masters willing to come to the United States,
and as Aitken Roshi comments "the Diamond Sangha in Hawaii, the Zen Center
of Los Angeles, the Zen Studies Society in New York, and the Rochester Zen
Center – all can trace their lineage through the gentle train of karma that
Senzaki began.
Hannya Gempo, Dai Osho
Yamamoto Gempo Roshi (1866-1961) is often called the
"twentieth-century Hakuin, yet his life story reads like something out of
a myth. Left exposed as an infant by poverty-stricken parents, he grew to be
the teacher of hundreds of monks, artisans, and prime ministers. Yet he never
attended a day of school in his life (as a young man he worked as a woodsman)
and was virtually an illiterate until middle age. At 19, blinded by eye
disease, without money (or even shoes), he vowed to cure his blindness and to
dedicate his life to mankind. He made the round of all 88 temples on Shikoku 6 times (an ordeal of years), and on the seventh
round, collapsed at the gate of the only Zen temple on the circuit. The kindly
abbot nursed him to health, and encouraged Gempo to adopt his own name
(Yamamoto) and to undertake the study of Zen. Gempo Roshi regained part of his
eyesight and became a modern master of shodo. He was one of the first Zen
masters to travel throughout the world: to India, Africa,
Europe, and the United States.
Mitta Soen, Dai Osho
Nakagawa Soen Roshi (1908-1983) was a brilliant scholar of the poet
Basho, and his love for the ancient bard/wandering monk not only led Nakagawa
to the monastery, but was ultimately the source of his first personal
connection with Robert Aitken. In 1952 Aiken had a fellowship to study haiku
and Zen in Japan,
but could not manage the difficult practice at Engakuji while studying at Tokyo University.
Aitken enclosed a haiku with his letter of inquiry to Soen Roshi, and received
an answering invitation via another haiku. Somewhat eccentric, perhaps quietly
"humored" by other Zen masters of more conventional habits, Mitta
Soen lived a life of ritualistic imperatives, a "body artist". Robert
Aitken has compared him to Black Elk, and called him the Balanchine of Zen,
because of the way he would choreograph his students into ecstatic bowing
exercises or elaborite kinhin through the qarden. Eccentric or not, his teacher
Gempo Roshi did see him installed as his successor at Ryutakuji, even though
Mitta Soen was uncomfortable with the role of teacher. Aitken and other
American Zen teachers hoped that Mitta Soen would settle in the United States,
but in 1962 he referred his American students to Yasutani Hakuun.
Maurine Myoon Stuart, Dai Osho
Most of us know something about Stuart Roshi thanks to the collection
of her talks gathered by her student, Roko Sherry Chayat, published under the
title Subtle Sound (Shambhala, 1996). Stuart Roshi, a student of Soen Nakagawa
Roshi, lived most of her life in Massachusetts, where she served the Cambridge Buddhist
Association as a Rinzai Zen Priest. She was a concert pianist, and also raised
a family. She passed away in 1990 at the age of 68, after a long struggle with
cancer. As Pat Hawk says, "[her] talks are simple, direct, and exactly to
the point".