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9 The Transplanting o f Zen to Japan

Preliminary Developments

The influx of Buddhism into Japan from the Asiatic main­ land begins at the outset of Japanese history. According to the Japanese chronicles, the first Buddha image was brought from Kudara in Korea to the imperial court during the reign of the Emperor Kimmei in a .d . 552. After a brief struggle against opposition the new religion prevailed, and for many centuries thereafter Buddhism as a superior religious force superseded the primitive native Shinto cult in shaping the spiritual life of the Japanese people.

The Prince Regent Shotoku Taishi (d. 621), who was the first great personage in Japanese history and the real founder of the imperial state, was a devout disciple of Buddhist teach­ ing. With his heart he trusted in the protection of the Hotoke, which was the Japanese name for the Buddha, while his states­ manship recognized in the Buddhist Law an efficacious means to elevate the cultural and spiritual level of his people. Among the three sutras which he particularly cherished, and ex­ pounded before a pious circle of hearers, was the Vimalikirti Sutra, whose influence upon Zen we noted in an earlier chap­ ter. W e may rightly assume that the meditative exercises which characterized Buddhism in all stages of development held a

prominent place from the beginning in the practical piety of Japanese Buddhists.

The first certain information we possess regarding Zen in Japan goes back to the early period of her history. The out­ standing Japanese Buddhist monk during that age, Dosho, was attracted to Zen through the influence of his Chinese teacher, Hsiian-tsang, under whom he studied the Yogacara philosophy (653). This philosophy was the central teaching of the Hosso school, which Dosho transplanted to Japan. It was at this time that the followers of Hui-k’o had brought Zen to great fame in China.1 Dosho thus came into immediate contact with the tradition of Bodhidharma and brought the Zen of the patri­ archs to Japan. He built the first meditation hall, at a temple in Nara. Zen early found a hearth on Japanese soil within the Hosso school.

A century later, for the first time in history, a Chinese Zen master came to Japan. This was Tao-hsiian, who belonged to the northern sect of Chinese Zen in the third generation after Shen-hsiu.2 Responding to an invitation from Japanese Bud­ dhist monks, he took up residence in Nara and contributed to the growth of Japanese culture during the Tempyo period (729-749). He cultivated contacts especially with the Kegon (Chin.: Hua-yen) and Ritsu (Vinaya) schools, and trans­ mitted Zen meditation to Gyohyo, who in turn passed it on to Saicho (Dengyo Daishi, 767-822), the founder of the Japanese Tendai school. In China Saicho had already met a master from the Niu-t’ou sect of Zen. Thus the contemplative element in the Tendai tradition, which held an important place from the beginning, was strengthened in both China and Japan by re­ peated contacts with Zen.

A further step in the spread of Zen occurred in the following century when I-k’ung, a Chinese master of the Lin-chi sect, visited Japan. He came at the invitation of the Empress Tachi- bana Kachiko, wife of the Emperor Saga, during the early

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part of the Showa era (834-848), to teach Zen, first at the im­ perial court and later at the Danrinji temple in Kyoto, which the Empress had built for him. However, these first efforts in the systematic propagation of Zen according to the Chinese pattern did not meet with lasting success. I-k’ung was unable to launch a vigorous movement. Disappointed, he returned to China, and for three centuries Zen was inactive in Japan.

During the Heian period (794-1185) the two powerful schools of Tendai and Shingon were predominant, and medi­ tation faded into the background, pushed aside by philosoph­ ical speculation and a wild growth of magical rites. Every­ where during that period the marks of decay in Buddhism became evident. Toward the end of the period the seculariza­ tion at the court had spread to the populace and had per­ meated even the monasteries.

Eisai

The Buddhist renewal which began at the outset of the Kama­ kura period (1185-1333) gave rise to new schools and in turn was carried forward by them. The old schools of Hosso, Kegon, Tendai, and Shingon had built up positions of power, had spread esoteric doctrines which were incomprehensible to the common man, and above all had given themselves increasingly to the cultivation and practice of magic. In contrast to this, the new schools of the Kamakura period, bom as they were from the distress of the times, answered the urgent religious needs of the people. Aroused by the call for help which, to use the figure of the Lotus Sutra, came like “a cry from a burning house,” they undertook to save humanity in the apocalyptic atmosphere of the final Dharma (mappo).

Honen (1133-1212) and Shinran (1173-126S), the founders of the Japanese Amida school, proclaimed the Buddha of In­ finite Light and of Great Compassion, a message easily com­

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prehensible to the masses. Nichiren (1222-1282), a prophet both in wrath and in consolation, awakened the national hope of the downcast people. The rising knighthood (samurai) found an appropriate religion in the intellectually simple yet practical and aristocratic Zen. During this period all the leaders of the Buddhist movement came from the Tendai school, but they descended from Mount Hiei (near Kyoto, where the first Tendai monastery had been founded by Saicho), broke with the old tradition, and joined themselves to the people.

From the middle of the twelfth century on, a steady ex­ change of Japanese and Chinese monks developed, which brought to Japan the flourishing Zen of the Sung period in its various branches. To Eisai (Zenko Kokushi, 114 1-12 15) goes the honor of being the actual founder of Japanese Zen.3 As a boy he had entered the ranks of Buddhist monkhood and re­ ceived his training in the main temple of the powerful Tendai school on Mount Hiei. During his first journey to China (1168) he visited the Chinese centers of his school, but at that time his attention was already drawn to Zen. He was deeply impressed by the spirit of Zen, and gradually the conviction grew on him that Zen, which was now flourishing in China, could also contribute toward a Buddhist awakening in Japan.

At the outset of a second journey to the West (1187) he was determined to pursue the stream of Buddhism to its sources in India. Because of inclement weather, however, and the op­ position of Chinese authorities, this plan failed. But this made his efforts to comprehend Chinese Zen the more fruitful. He received the seal of enlightenment in the Huang-lung line of transmission of the Lin-chi sect, which, as the true heir, he transplanted permanently to Japan.

Upon returning to his native land, Eisai built the first temple of the Rinzai sect in Japan, Shofukuji, at Hakata, a town on the southern island of Kyushu ( 1 191) . But when he proclaimed, in word and writing, the superiority of Zen over

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Tendai and expounded Zen meditation, he met with opposi­ tion. The monks on Mount Hiei were aroused and periodically succeeded in banning the new school. Eisai, however, found protection and help in the Shogun Minamoto Yoriie. The government of the Shogun appointed him head of the new Kenninji temple in Kyoto, built in 1202.4 Energetically he now promoted Zen and composed a treatise on The Spread of Zen for the Protection of the Country. Combining religious fervor with national aspiration, he looked to Zen for salvation in the last day of the “ final Dharma.” He strove for the recognition of Zen as an independent school, but because of the proximity of the court and the powerful headquarters of the Tendai and Shingon schools, he was forced to make concessions.

Initially the Kenninji temple was not a pure Zen center but included, in addition to the Zen meditation hall, a place each for the rites of Tendai (Tendai-in) and Shingon (Shingon-in) . Until his death Eisai recited the sutras of Shingon, and to this day, while the temple has meanwhile become exclusively Zen, a Tendai ceremony is still performed. Eisai was able, also, to bring the Zen tradition to Kamakura, the second residence of the Shogun, upon whose authorization he became the abbot of the third temple of the Japanese Rinzai sect, Jufukuji.

The name of Eisai is associated in Japanese cultural history with the cultivation of tea. The actual introduction of tea into Japan is of earlier date, and is attributed to the founder of the Shingon sect, Kukai (Kobo Daishi, 774-835), a figure veiled in legend. Eisai brought tea seeds from China and planted them in temple grounds. He wrote a book on tea and is re­ garded as the father of Japanese tea culture.

The knowledge of the second main stream of Chinese Zen was mediated to Japan by Dogen (1200-1253), the founder of the Japanese Soto sect. The centers of this sect in Japan are the Eiheiji temple in the province of Echizen, which Dogen founded, and the temples of Daijiji in Kyushu (founded in

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1278) and Sojiji, which became a Zen institution in 1321. The first abbot of the Sojiji was Keizan (1268-1325), whose im­ portance in the Soto sect is second only to that of Dogen. Dogen is undoubtedly the greatest figure in Japanese Zen. Later we shall devote an entire chapter to him.

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The Flowering of Rinzai Zen in the Kamakura Period

It was under the patronage of the shogunate that Zen struck root in Japanese soil. The mighty house of Ho jo, which suc­ ceeded the warlike family of Minamoto, provided Zen with devoted adherents. The Shogun Hojo Tokiyori (1227-1263), who himself attained enlightenment under the rigorous school­ ing of a Chinese master, attracted additional Rinzai monks to Japan. A Chinese monk named Lan-chi Tao-lung (Jap.: Rankei Doryu, Daikaku Zenji) became the first head of the newly built temple of Kenchoji (1253), in which Zen was practiced in unadulterated Chinese fashion.

The architecture of the many magnificent temples through­ out the wide and wooded territory likewise imitated the Chi­ nese style. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the early build­ ings. The only ancient structure, the memorial hall of the founder, dating from the Muromachi period, contains an im­ pressive handcarving of the master Daikaku which has sur­ vived various fires. As the first of a series of “ Five Mountains/' which were established during the Kamakura period in Chinese style in the two centers of Kyoto and Kamakura, the temple of Kenchoji enjoyed the greatest prominence.5 Later it lost much of its glory, but it remains one of the most characteristic of Japanese temple sites.

The second shogun of the house of Hojo, Tokimune (1251- 1284), who was immortalized in Japanese history by his coura­ geous and successful defense against the Mongolians, had the Engakuji temple (1282) near Kamakura built for the famous

Chinese master Tsu-yiian Wu-hsiie (Jap.: Sogen Mugaku, known as Bukko Kokushi, “ National Master of the Buddha Light” ). This temple also was one of the “ Five Mountains,” and as a cultural center achieved great fame. W e are told that, at the approach of the Mongolian fleet, the Shogun Toki- mune went to the temple to seek strength in Zen from his master. He said, “The greatest event of my life is at last here.” Bukko asked, “ How would you face it?” Tokimune uttered uKatsu!” as if he were frightening away all his enemies actually before him. Bukko was pleased and said, “ Truly a lion's child roars like a lion.” 6 A “ divine wind” (kamikaze) scattered the enemy fleet.7

During his war-perturbed reign, Tokimune never once had to leave his headquarters in Kamakura. After his early death, his wife retired to the Tokeiji nunnery, which she had built on a hill opposite Engakuji.8 But there too, as elsewhere, the wooden structures being so vulnerable to fire, the present buildings are all of more recent date. No nuns remain to honor the memory of the noble foundress. Only a fine bronze bust of Amida, dating from the Muromachi period, testifies still to the worship of the compassionate Buddha of Infinite Light which the devout women combined with the strict prac­ tices of Zen.

While at the seat of the shogunate in Kamakura true Zen prospered in the tradition of the Chinese Lin-chi sect, in Kyoto the early stages of its development were marked by difficulties and setbacks. The Kenninji temple, which since the days of Eisai had harbored Tendai and Shingon alongside of Zen, was soon stifled by magic rites and religious formalism. Dogen stayed repeatedly at this famous temple, but found no scope there for his religious needs and aspirations. Finally he with­ drew permanently from Rinzai Zen. While Eisai had stressed the careful observance of temple regulations, discipline de­ teriorated after his death. Help finally came from outside the

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community through the efforts of the first abbot of the To- fukuji temple—which was begun in 1236, dedicated as a Zen temple in 1255, and then placed under the direction of Enju Benen (Shoichi Kokushi, 1202-1280).

The master Shoichi was one of the most remarkable figures in early Japanese Zen. Like others before him, he had received his Buddhist instruction in the Tendai school, and was dis­ tinguished in both religious fervor and knowledge of the sutras. He enriched his development further by studies in Confu­ cianism. During a six-year residence in China (1235-1241) he mastered Zen and received “ the seal of the Mind,” i.e., the succession in the Yang-ch’i line of transmission of the Lin-chi sect. Through him, and a little later through Jomyo (Daio Kokushi, 1236-1308), who attained enlightenment under mas­ ters of the same lineage, this line was transplanted to Japan, where it became the chief exponent of the Rinzai form of Zen. Among the leading Japanese masters, Eisai alone be­ longed to the other lineage of Huang-lung.

Under the leadership of Shoichi, the Tofukuji temple quickly attained a high state of development. This master worked pre-eminently in the Zen spirit, yet saw no contradic­ tion in the practice and transmission of esoteric rites. During the early years Tendai and Shingon found a haven in To­ fukuji. Shoichi had numerous disciples and extended his activ­ ity to other temples as well. His name is listed as tenth among the abbots of the Kenninji sect. Daily at the sounding of the noontime gong he left his headquarters at Tofukuji and strolled to the Kenninji temple—there to carry out his reforms accord­ ing to the principles of Zen.

The Tofukuji temple was another of the “ Five Mountains” of the Kamakura period. Built to the south of Kyoto, it is surrounded by spacious temple grounds. Zen temples are usually composed of a number of buildings, forming a com­ pound, which are dispersed, whenever possible, over a slope or

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a hill; for this reason these establishments are also called “mountains ” The layout at Tofukuji, which is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved temples of the early period, gives a clear picture of the pattern of the “ seven halls” (shichi do garan) taken over from China.9 One enters the temple area through the “Mountain Gate” (sammon), which symbolizes the purging of desires and conceptual thinking as one enters the Void, and then mounts directly toward the Buddha hall. But the adoration of the Buddha image must be preceded by cleansing and purgative exercises. In these exercises washing and the purging of bodily filth are necessary. For this purpose there are two wooden buildings between the gate and the Buddha hall, one to the right, the other to the left, namely, the bath (yushitsu, furo) and the latrine (tosu). In Zen monasteries both activities are accompanied by recitative rites.

The meditation hall (zendo) and the storehouse (kuri) and refectory (jikidd) provide for the nourishment of mind and body. These buildings are likewise located to the left and the right, but slightly behind the Buddha hall. The seventh building is the Dharma hall (hatto)f in which an enlightened monk lectures on the sutras. This hall is situated on the central ascending axis, and constitutes the focal point of the entire complex. This pattern was regarded as analogous to the hu­ man body. The realism and consistency with which the idea was carried through is indeed amazing. In Tofukuji the en­ trance gate, the Zen hall, and the Treasure House of the Su­ tras, the bath and the latrine, all derive from early times, and have been entered in the catalogue of national “ cultural treasures.” 10

The magnificent Nanzenji temple, which had been trans­ formed from a residence on the eastern hillside near Kyoto at the behest of the Emperor Kameyama (1293), also was an in­ fluential cultural and artistic center. The first abbot of the

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1. Entrance hall (sammon) 2. Buddha hall (butsuden) 3. Dharma hall (hatto) 4. Latrine (torn) 5. Bath (yushitsu) 6. Meditation hall (zendo) 7. Storehouse (kuri)

The measurements of the buildings differ according to the temples. In the Tofukuji the splendid Buddha hall is the biggest building and the center of the plan. In the Eiheiji temple (Fukui prefecture) founded by Dogen, which is the center of the Soto branch, there is, situated obliquely in front of the main entrance, a special door for the Imperial messenger (chokushimon) . The steep ascent to the three main buildings consists of a paved stone way and a stone stair­ case flanked by gorgeous cedars. The Dharma hall is the biggest and most magnificent edifice of this plan. At present, in practically all Zen monasteries the fundamental plan of the seven edifices has been obliterated by numerous additions.

Explanation:

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newly established temple, Mukan Fumon (Daimin Kokushi), had spent twelve years under a Zen master in China and there received the seal of the Mind. He was also a disciple of the master Shoichi, whose successor he became as the head of the Tofukuji temple in the third generation. The Emperor Ka- meyama appointed him Founder Abbot of Nanzenji, but he passed away during the first year of his tenure there.

In the third generation he was followed by the Chinese Zen master I-ning I-shan (Jap.: Ichinei Issan, d. 13 17 ) , a versatile artist of widespread fame. As the first purely Zen temple of the capital, without admixture of Tendai or Shingon, Nanzenji enjoyed the special favor of the Emperor. The abbots were named by the imperial court, and many of them were men of great distinction. In the following century the temple enjoyed the special favor of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and was elevated above all other “ Mountains” of Zen (1386).11

During the first century of Japanese Zen history occurred the remarkable journey to China of the monk Kakushin (Hotto Emmyo Kokushi, 1207-1298). He had early forsaken the world, was ordained at Todaiji in Nara, learned the es­ oteric doctrines in the Shingon temples on Mount Koya, and finally was introduced to Zen by a Japanese master.12 In China he became the disciple of the most eminent Zen master of the time, Wu-m6n Hui-kai (1184-1260). From the very be­ ginning the relationship between master and disciple was ex­ ceptionally intimate. Master Wu-m&n (No-gate) asked the newcomer at their first encounter, “There is no gate here whereby you can enter. Therefore where did you come in?” Kakushin replied, “ I came in by the No-gate [Wu-men].” The master now asked, “ What is your name?” “ My name is Kakushin [i.e., Enlightened Mind].” On the spot the master Wu-m&n composed the following verses:

Mind is Buddha [the Enlightened One]. Buddha is Mind.

14S ® The Transplanting of Zen to Japan

Mind and Buddha in their thusness Are in past and future alike.

On his return to Japan in 1254 Kakushin brought with him the W u-men-kuany which his master had edited and written commentaries upon. He quickly rose to eminence, built a temple in the vicinity of Wakayama, and was repeatedly in­ vited to the court in the capital at Kyoto. Under Wu-men, Kakushin had become acquainted with the branch of Zen known as the P’u-k’o sect (Jap.: Fuke), whose origin went back to Ma-tsus disciple P’u-k’o, of the Tang period. This sect cultivated especially flute-playing. Its adherents were the itinerant “have-no” monks (komuso). There had already been earlier itinerant monks in Japan, but the sect as such was first introduced by Kakushin. During the Middle Ages and the Tokugawa period these monks were able to carry on un­ molested. Early in the Meiji period, however, because of vari­ ous abuses, their sect was suppressed (1871) ,13

The transplanting of Zen to Japan did not mean a mere passive acceptance of a foreign tradition, though admittedly the admiration of the Japanese Buddhist monks for China knew no bounds. They sought religious guidance and enlightenment in an unbroken chain of voyages to the main­ land. They were likewise gratefully receptive to artistic sug­ gestions. The strongest creative impulses came from the con­ summate art of Sung paintings, and a considerable number of works of great Chinese masters such as Liang-k ai, Mu-ch’i, and Ma-yiian, escaping the Mongolian invasion, found their way to Japan. Buddhist disciples, enamored of the art of China, took scrolls, bells, porcelains, silk embroideries, and lacquer ware across the sea. Chinese influences sank deep roots into the Japanese soul.

But it was not a matter of reception and absorption only. The creative Japanese assimilation of this new cultural sub­ stance and its independent development had already begun

Rinzai Zen in the Kamakura Period ® 149

during the Kamakura period and reached its peak during the following Muromachi period. The centers of these cultural and artistic achievements were the Rinzai temples in Kyoto and Kamakura. In the religious sphere, however, one can hardly speak, within the Rinzai sect, of early attempts at further de­ velopment and adaptation to Japanese peculiarities.14 It was Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, who succeeded with creative power in giving to Zen a new form commensurate with the Japanese genius.

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