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The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism Helen J. Baroni, Ph.D. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. New York To my students at the University of Hawai’i,past,present,and future. Published in 2002 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010 Copyright © 2002 by Helen J. Baroni First Edition All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Baroni, Helen Josephine. The illustrated encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism / Helen J. Baroni. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8239-2240-5 1. Zen Buddhism––Dictionaries––English. I. Title. BQ9259 .B37 2002 294.3’927’03––dc21 99-053421 CIP Manufactured in the United States of America Staff Credits Editors: Michael Isaac, Christine Slovey Editorial Assistant: Rob Kirkpatrick Book Design: Olga M. Vega Cover Design: MaryJane Wojciechowski Production Design: Erica Clendening, MaryJane Wojciechowski iv Table of Contents Introduction vi How to Use This Book xi Contents by Subject xii Entries 1–390 Bibliography 391–396 Index 397–425 Photo Credits 426 About the Author 426 v Introduction In the one hundred years since Zen Buddhism was introduced to the West, many of its traditions have become a part of our culture. When I tell people that I study Zen, they often tell me about their familiarity with Zen arts such as haiku poetry, martial arts, or flower arranging. At the same time, many people also learn about Buddhism by experiencing meditation. Yet despite the growing popularity of Zen arts and practices, the ancient religious beliefs that formed them remain largely unfamiliar to those in the West. In the Western vocabulary, the word zenhas taken on a broad array of meanings. The philosophy of Zen is often recast to Westerners as a freedom from social norms and ordinary religious restrictions. It may be suggested, for example, that Zen practitioners do not need to concern themselves with good and bad behavior because they have risen above distinctions such as right and wrong. In East Asia, the impres- sion of Zen could not be more different. Zen Buddhism is regarded as a religion of strict religious practice because there it is concentrated in monasteries where monks and nuns live their lives guided by a special code of conduct. This understanding of Zen is based on its tradition of scholarship and religious discipline. In Japanese, the term zen means “meditation.” Zen is an abbreviation of the word zenna, which is derived from a Chinese term for meditation, ch’anna. The Chinese term is a translation of the Sanskrit word dhyana, a term for meditation that is found in Buddhist texts. The introspective and contemplative practice of meditation is a part of many religious traditions and is a fundamental element of all schools of Buddhism. In both the Chinese and Japanese languages, one may use the words ch’anna or zen to refer to any form of meditation, whether Buddhist, Confucian, or even Christian. Most often the terms refer to the styles of seated meditation (zazen) practiced in Zen Buddhist monasteries. Zazen speci- fies the way a person should sit and includes techniques to allow one to release control of his or her thoughts. When a new East Asian form of Buddhist monastic practice centered on seated meditation took shape in China during the T’ang Dynasty (618–907) and then spread to Korea and Japan, it became known as the Meditation School of Buddhism (the Ch’an school in Chinese, the Son school in Korean, and the Zen school in Japanese). The term zen, therefore, refers not only to the practice of meditation but also refers to the many schools of Buddhism that practice seated meditation. The History of Zen Traditional Account Buddhism first arose in India, based on the teachings of Siddharta Gautama (566–486 B.C.E.), the Buddha. Born as a prince, Siddharta abandoned his regal life and began a lifelong search for religious insight. After a period of intense meditation, he arrived at the core beliefs and practices of Buddhism and established a community of followers and disciples, including pre-Hindu monks and nuns, as well as laypeople. This community was responsible for propagating Siddharta’s teachings after his death. In the centuries that followed, several forms of Buddhism took shape in India. The two largest of these schools of Buddhism are known today as Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. As Buddhist missionaries traveled east, they spread the teachings throughout the rest of Asia. The style of Buddhism that became dominant in East Asia is Mahayana, and Zen is one of the many forms of Mahayana Buddhism that developed there. According to traditional Zen accounts, the teachings of Zen are said to date back to this historical Buddha, who wordlessly transmitted them to Mahakashyapa, one of his most talented disciples. The tradition names a series of vi twenty-eight Indian patriarchs who passed the teachings on, beginning with the historical Buddha and Mahakashyapa and culminating with the patriarch Bodhidharma. In the fifth century, Bodhidharma traveled to China, where he took on Chinese disciples. From among these, Bodhidharma is said to have selected Hui-k’o to be his official successor. The tradition then traces its lineage through six generations of Chinese patriarchs, concluding with Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng. After the sixth generation, the lineage of patriarchs branches into a large and ever-expanding family tree of teachers and disciples. All forms of Zen Buddhism existing today trace their origins back to the sixth patriarch, Bodhidharma, and the historical Buddha. Historical Account Scholars have come to realize that the history of Zen is much more complicated than the story related in these traditional accounts. For example, we now know that Zen actually first developed in China as a distinctly Chinese form of Buddhism. The basic teachings of Zen Buddhism emerged in China during the sixth and seventh centuries as Chinese scholars translated Buddhist texts and began to fuse Buddhist practices with indigenous Chinese beliefs. By the eighth and ninth centuries, Zen had taken on a distinctive identity, with numerous monastic communities developing the teachings we now know as Zen Buddhism. Specifically, the emphasis in Zen is more on meditation and less on the study of texts, philosophical discussion, and other practices such as chanting texts. From China, Buddhist monks transmitted Zen teachings and practices throughout East Asia to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Today it is among the largest schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the most popular forms of Buddhism in Western countries. In Japan today, there are three large denominations of Zen Buddhism: the Sôtô, Rinzai, and Obaku sects. There are also several other smaller groups. • Sôtô Zen is the largest of the three denominations. The Japanese monk Dôgen Kigen (1200–1253) founded the Sôtô sect in the thirteenth century. He traveled to China, where he practiced with a Chinese Zen master from the Sôtô lineage, known as Ts’ao-tung. • The founding of Rinzai Zen, known in Chinese as the Lin-chi lineage, involved the efforts of several Chinese and Japanese monks over many decades. Traditional accounts usually simplify matters by saying that the Rinzai sect was founded by a single person, the monk Eisai, who was Dôgen’s teacher. • Obaku Zen is the smallest and most recent of the larger denominations. The Chinese monk Yin-yüan Lung-ch’i (1594–1673) founded the Obaku sect in the sev- enteenth century. Yin-yuan regarded himself as a descendent of the Rinzai lineage, and the two groups’ teachings and practices are closely related. In the last century, numerous Sôtô and Rinzai teachers have traveled to the West and introduced their teachings and practices to Western audiences. One of the most influential Zen movements in the West, Sanbô Kyôdan, originated in Japan as only one of many small modern groups. Harada Sogaku (1871–1961) and Yasutani Hakuun (1885–1973) founded Sanbô Kyôdan in 1954 to encourage the practice of seated meditation among laypeople outside of the monastic setting. Sanbô Kyôdan combines some aspects of both the Sôtô and Rinzai practices. While the movement remains very small in Japan, it has greatly influenced the vii development of Zen in the West through the efforts of such teachers as Robert Aitken, Philip Kapleau, Bernard Glassman, Maureen Stuart, and Richard Baker, who have written, and are discussed in, books about American Zen and American Buddhism. A large percentage of Zen teachers in the United States were affiliated with Sanbô Kyôdan at one time or studied with its teachers. Zen Teachings Zen, along with all other forms of Buddhism, is fundamentally concerned with the problem of human suffering. The Buddha determined that the root of our suffering is our desire for and attachment to things, people, ideas, and experiences. These needs are problematic because in the Buddhist view of the world, nothing remains stable—all things constantly change and will eventually pass away. We cannot possess those things to which we have formed attachments; thus all of our desires will inevitably lead to frustration and suffering. Aside from the daily frustrations that our attachments cause, Buddhism asserts that human suffering also occurs on a cosmic level. Buddhists believe that after death each being will be reincarnated into a new life, the quality of which depends on the religious merit (karma) earned in the last life. Despite the rewards one may acquire through rebirth, the unending cycle of death and reincarnation on Earth is seen as a burden and another form of suffering. This suffering will end only when a person is able to break from the cycle of reincarnation. The Buddhist solution to the problem of suffering requires a shift in our per- ception of the world. By understanding the impermanence of all things and elim- inating all desires, we can break our attachments. This means that one sees the world as a buddha, or enlightened person, would. In fact, Zen masters are fond of reminding us that we are all actually buddhas, even though most of us do not yet see ourselves or reality in that way. The ultimate goal is to attain enlightenment, or satori. This is described as a blissful state of awareness in which one has relin- quished all attachments and recognizes the underlying unity of all things. As an enlightened being, one exists in a state of nirvana, in which one is liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth. Zen Practice Zen masters say that Zen practitioners do not depend on written words to teach or grasp the Zen teachings. This means that reading and interpreting the Buddhist scriptures will not lead to enlightenment. As one Chinese master said, the scriptures are like a road map—while the map can show you where you would like to go and even set out the quickest route, you still must travel the road for yourself. Not depending on written words requires that students learn through practice and experience, with the aid of a qualified teacher. Zen Buddhism places great emphasis on the religious rituals and practices a student must perform to gain proper insight into Zen teachings. According to Zen, meditation is one of the most effective practices for attain- ing a proper understanding of reality. Meditation allows a person to experience the self as interconnected with all other things. One realizes that distinctions between one’s self and other people are not absolute and that every action one takes affects everyone else. In Zen meditation, the practitioner sits in the lotus position—cross-legged with each foot placed on the opposing thigh. Beginners generally learn to concentrate the mind by focusing on their breathing, noticing the intake and exhalation of the breath. Other meditation techniques may include focusing on a single syllable of sound assigned to them by their teacher. viii In Zen meditation, students may also concentrate on a kôan, a cryptic saying or story from Zen literature that is intended to focus one’s mind and challenge ordinary ways of thinking. Kôan often take the form of puzzles that defy logical solution, such as “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Students meditate with their assigned kôan in mind; they are said to “work on the kôan.” When they have questions about the kôan or feel that they have mastered it, they approach their teacher in a private interview. In these face-to-face encounters, Zen teachers evaluate the students’ understanding. The Zen Monastery The Zen monasteries I have visited in Japan are all places that engage the senses. The smell of incense pervades many halls, since incense is regularly offered to the images of the Buddha and bodhisattvas. Outside, one often encounters the scent of burning leaves as the novices clean the grounds in the afternoon. Colorful silk ban- ners stream down pillars within graceful wooden structures with smooth polished floors and ornately carved rafters. One may glimpse the flashing eyes of a painted dragon on the ceiling. Some of the most treasured examples of Asian painting, sculpture, and calligraphy may be viewed within temple walls, rather than in secu- lar museums. During the morning and evening services, a monk beats a hollow drum carved in the shape of a fish in time with the novices chanting verses from Buddhist scripture; hand chimes punctuate breaks during the service. Many rules govern the appropriate conduct of life within the monastery community. Life in the monastery may be described as a series of ritual acts, from bathing oneself in the morning to laying out one’s bedding in the evening. New monks and nuns must learn to behave properly, to chant the Buddhist scriptures, to offer incense, and to bow. There is a proper manner of walking into the meditation hall, a proper way to eat one’s food, and even a proper way to take a bath and use the toilet. There are also set manners for drinking tea, meeting with one’s teacher, and requesting entry into the monastery. The typical daily routine at a Zen monastery is highly structured. The monks or nuns rise early and follow a regular schedule of eating, meditating, working outside, studying, and chanting scriptures. Much of the day is spent in silence. Ritual takes several forms in the monastery. Monks and nuns participate in morning and evening services. They recite particular prayers and scriptures, make offerings, and bow down before images of the Buddha and other religious figures. Ritualizing all aspects of life serves several purposes. First of all, it allows the many people practicing within the monastery to live together harmoniously because it is always clear what one should be doing and how one should behave. Second, the constant attention to detail transforms all the activities of the day, even mundane ones such as eating and bathing, into a kind of meditation. Throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, Zen is practiced predom- inantly by laypeople in Zen centers, but in East Asia the situation is quite different. In Japan, for example, Zen meditation is most often practiced by monks and nuns. Buddhist temples do not generally offer weekly services for laypeople, as is common at Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, and Muslim mosques. Laypeople may be members of a local Zen congregation, but they rarely practice meditation in a temple or at home. In Japan, Zen monasteries provide for the religious needs of laymembers. Most laypeople rely primarily on the Zen clergy to perform religious rituals such as funerals and memorial services for deceased family members. They may also visit their local temple on special holidays, such as the Buddha’s birthday or the Festival of the Dead. ix