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95-814: The way The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk , writer , poet , philosopher , and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan . He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), and Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師). Originally ordained as

190-530: A travelogue ; and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki 's essay " In Praise of Shadows " (1933), which contrasts Eastern and Western cultures. Following the opening of Japan to the West in 1854, some works of this style were written in English by natives of Japan; they include Bushido: The Soul of Japan by Nitobe Inazō (1900), concerning samurai ethics, and The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō (1906), which deals with

285-486: A collection of his talks), the Eihei Shingi (the first Japanese Zen monastic code), along with his Japanese poetry, and commentaries. Dōgen's writings are one of the most important sources studied in the contemporary Sōtō Zen tradition. Dōgen was probably born into a noble family, though as an illegitimate child of Minamoto Michichika . His foster father was his older brother Minamoto no Michitomo , who served in

380-484: A depression". It marked a turning point in his life, giving way to "rigorous critique of Rinzai Zen". He criticized Dahui Zonggao , the most influential figure of Song dynasty Chán. In 1246, Dōgen renamed Daibutsu-ji, calling it Eihei-ji . This temple remains one of the two head temples of Sōtō Zen in Japan today, the other being Sōji-ji . Dōgen spent the remainder of his life teaching and writing at Eihei-ji. In 1247,

475-575: A foundation for mythology , traditions and neighborhood activities, rather than as the single source of moral guidelines for one's life. A significant proportion of members of the Japanese diaspora practice Christianity ; about 60% of Japanese Brazilians and 90% of Japanese Mexicans are Roman Catholics , while about 37% of Japanese Americans are Christians (33% Protestant and 4% Catholic ). Certain genres of writing originated in and are often associated with Japanese society. These include

570-554: A lesser status, as he writes in the Bendōwa : "Commitment to Zen is casting off body and mind. You have no need for incense offerings, homage praying, nembutsu , penance disciplines, or silent sutra readings; just sit single-mindedly." While Dōgen rhetorically critiques traditional practices in some passages, Foulk writes that "Dōgen did not mean to reject literally any of those standard Buddhist training methods". Rather, for Dōgen, one should engage in all practices without attachment and from

665-423: A monastery should participate together with the main body of monks in sutra chanting services (fugin), recitation services (nenju) in which buddhas' names are chanted (a form of nenbutsu practice), and other major ceremonies, and that he should burn incense and make prostrations (shoko raihai) and recite the buddhas' names in prayer morning and evening when at work in the garden. The practice of repentences (sange)

760-687: A monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto , he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism . He remained there for four years, finally training under Tiāntóng Rújìng , an eminent teacher of the Cáodòng lineage of Chinese Chan . Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works such as Fukanzazengi and Bendōwa . He eventually broke relations completely with

855-404: A permanent, substantial inner self or ground. Dōgen describes buddha-nature as "vast emptiness", "the world of becoming" and writes that "impermanence is in itself Buddha-nature". According to Dōgen: Japanese people Japanese people ( Japanese : 日本人 , Hepburn : Nihonjin ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago . Japanese people constitute 97.4% of

950-522: A remedy for his illness. In 1253, soon after arriving in Kyōto, Dōgen died. Shortly before his death, he had written a death poem : Fifty-four years lighting up the sky. A quivering leap smashes a billion worlds. Hah! Entire body looks for nothing. Living, I plunge into Yellow Springs. Dōgen often stressed the critical importance of zazen , or sitting meditation as the central practice of Buddhism. He considered zazen to be identical to studying Zen. This

1045-609: A second wave of immigration, from East Asia to Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BC). Following a population expansion in Neolithic times, these newcomers then found their way to the Japanese archipelago sometime during the Yayoi period. As a result, replacement of the hunter-gatherers was common in the island regions of Kyūshū , Shikoku , and southern Honshū , but did not prevail in the outlying Ryukyu Islands and Hokkaidō , and

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1140-675: A strict monastic code based on the Chinese Chan codes and Dōgen often quotes these and various Vinaya texts in his works. As such, monastic rules and decorum (saho) was an important element of Dōgen's teaching. One of the most important texts by Dōgen on this topic is the Pure Standards for the Zen Community ( Eihei Shingi ). Dōgen certainly saw zazen as the most important Zen practice, and saw other practices as secondary. He frequently relegates other Buddhist practices to

1235-630: A sub-temple ( tatchū ( 塔頭 ) ) of Mii-dera, used as a retreat by its highest-ranking prelates. It was located between the Three-story Pagoda and the Kyōzō library of Mii-dera, but no structures remain today. The sub-temple was noted for its very large gardens, the Zenpō-in teien ( 善法院庭園 ) , which were commented upon in several Edo Period works on famous gardens in Japan, (including the "Omi Koshiji Sakuden" and "Tsukiyama Niwazoden") and were designated

1330-723: A teacher. Then, in 1225, he decided to visit a master named Rújìng (如淨; J. Nyojō), the thirteenth patriarch of the Cáodòng (J. Sōtō) lineage of Zen Buddhism, at Mount Tiāntóng's (天童山 Tiāntóngshān ; J. Tendōzan) Tiāntóng temple in Níngbō . Rujing was reputed to have a style of Chan that was different from the other masters whom Dōgen had thus far encountered. In later writings, Dōgen referred to Rujing as "the Old Buddha". Additionally he affectionately described both Rujing and Myōzen as senshi ( 先師 , "Ancient Teacher") . Under Rujing, Dōgen realized liberation of body and mind upon hearing

1425-481: A total of 6 rooms in 2 rows from north to south, and there is also a throne used by Emperor Mizunoo in one room in the northwest.The Kano school wall paintings in this structure were designated an Important Cultural Property in 1929; however, the painting in situ are reproductions, with the actual works stored at the Kyoto National Museum for preservation. The Enman-in teien ( 円満院庭園 ) gardens

1520-415: Is "the oneness of practice-verification" or "the unity of cultivation and confirmation" (修證一如 shushō-ittō / shushō-ichinyo ). The term shō (證, verification, affirmation, confirmation, attainment) is also sometimes translated as " enlightenment ", though this translation is also questioned by some scholars. The shushō-ittō teaching was first and most famously explained in the Bendōwa (弁道話 A Talk on

1615-446: Is a Japanese national. However, Japanese law states that children who are dual citizens must choose one nationality before the age of 20. Studies estimate that 1 in 30 children born in Japan are born to interracial couples , and these children are sometimes referred to as hāfu (half Japanese). The term Nikkeijin ( 日系人 ) is used to refer to Japanese people who emigrated from Japan and their descendants. Emigration from Japan

1710-410: Is a kind of sitting meditation in which the meditator sits "in a state of brightly alert attention that is free of thoughts, directed to no object, and attached to no particular content". In his Fukan Zazengi , Dōgen wrote: For zazen, a quiet room is suitable. Eat and drink moderately. Cast aside all involvements and cease all affairs. Do not think good or bad. Do not administer pros and cons. Cease all

1805-490: Is a state of no-mind which one is simply aware of things as they are, beyond thinking and not-thinking - the active effort not to think. In the Fukanzazengi , Dōgen writes: ...settle into a steady, immobile sitting position. Think of not thinking ( fushiryō ). How do you think of not-thinking? Without thinking ( hishiryō ). This in itself is the essential art of zazen. The zazen I speak of is not learning meditation . It

1900-753: Is a traditional, spare dramatic form that developed in tandem with kyōgen farce. In stark contrast to the restrained refinement of noh, kabuki , an "explosion of color", uses every possible stage trick for dramatic effect. Plays include sensational events such as suicides, and many such works were performed both in kabuki and in bunraku puppet theater. Since the Meiji Restoration , Japanese art has been influenced by many elements of Western culture. Contemporary decorative, practical, and performing arts works range from traditional forms to purely modern modes. Products of popular culture, including J-pop , J-rock , manga , and anime have found audiences around

1995-550: Is characterized by a relatively small number of vowel phonemes , frequent gemination and a distinctive pitch accent system. The modern Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using hiragana , katakana and kanji . The language includes native Japanese words and a large number of words derived from the Chinese language . In Japan the adult literacy rate in the Japanese language exceeds 99%. Dozens of Japanese dialects are spoken in regions of Japan. For now, Japanese

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2090-473: Is classified as a member of the Japonic languages or as a language isolate with no known living relatives if Ryukyuan is counted as dialects. Japanese religion has traditionally been syncretic in nature, combining elements of Buddhism and Shinto ( Shinbutsu-shūgō ). Shinto, a polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japan's native religion. Shinto was one of the traditional grounds for

2185-567: Is encouraged in Dogen's Kesa kudoku , in his Sanji go , and his Keisei sanshiki . Finally, in Kankin , Dogen gives detailed directions for sutra reading services (kankin) in which, as he explains, texts could be read either silently or aloud as a means of producing merit to be dedicated to any number of ends, including the satisfaction of wishes made by lay donors, or prayers on behalf of the emperor. The primary concept underlying Dōgen's Zen practice

2280-607: Is fundamentally flawed. The Kenzeiki further states that he found no answer to his question at Mount Hiei, and that he was disillusioned by the internal politics and need for social prominence for advancement. Therefore, Dōgen left to seek an answer from other Buddhist masters. He went to visit Kōin, the Tendai abbot of Onjō-ji Temple (園城寺), asking him this same question. Kōin said that, in order to find an answer, he might want to consider studying Chán in China. In 1217, two years after

2375-415: Is pointed out clearly in the first sentence of the 1243 instruction manual "Zazen-gi" (坐禪儀; "Principles of Zazen"): "Studying Zen ... is zazen". Dōgen taught zazen to everyone, even for the laity, male or female and including all social classes. In referring to zazen, Dōgen is most often referring specifically to shikantaza , roughly translatable as "nothing but precisely sitting", or "just sitting," which

2470-537: Is simply the Dharma-gate of repose and bliss, the cultivation-authentication of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the presence of things as they are. Masanobu Takahashi writes that hishiryō is not a state of no mental activity whatsoever. Instead, it is a state "beyond thinking and not-thinking" and beyond affirmation and rejection. Other Japanese Dogen scholars link the term with the realization of emptiness . According to Thomas Kasulis, non-thinking refers to

2565-473: Is the case, why did the Buddhas of all ages — undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment — find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice? This question was, in large part, prompted by the Tendai concept of original enlightenment (本覚 hongaku ), which states that all human beings are enlightened by nature and that, consequently, any notion of achieving enlightenment through practice

2660-427: Is yet not a blank void. As such, the correct mental attitude for zazen according to Dōgen is one of effortless non-striving, this is because for Dōgen, original enlightenment is already always present. While Dōgen emphasized the importance and centrality of zazen, he did not reject other traditional Buddhist practices, and his monasteries performed various traditional ritual practices. Dōgen's monasteries also followed

2755-657: The Hōryū-ji and the Yakushi-ji , two Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture . After the cessation of official relations with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, Japanese art and architecture gradually became less influenced by China. Extravagant art and clothing were commissioned by nobles to decorate their court, and although the aristocracy was quite limited in size and power, many of these pieces are still extant. After

2850-542: The Jōmon people had more ethnic diversity than originally suggested or that the people of Japan bear significant genetic signatures from three ancient populations, rather than just two. Some of the world's oldest known pottery pieces were developed by the Jōmon people in the Upper Paleolithic period, dating back as far as 16,000 years. The name "Jōmon" (縄文 Jōmon ) means "cord-impressed pattern", and comes from

2945-663: The Kondō and Hondo (the Main Hall and Buddha Hall) of Mii-dera, there are at least six statues of the Buddha , sacred personal possessions of various Emperors, including Emperor Tenji, which are hidden away and shown only on rare, special occasions, as well as one large statue of the Miroku , or Maitreya, Buddha in the center of the Hall. The Kondo was built in 1599, and is a replacement for

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3040-454: The Kyakuden . The pond contains a central island and a number of monoliths, as a grouping of stones forming a dry waterfall giving a sense of depth. The garden is planted with trees and flowers which reflect the composition of the paintings within the Kyakuden . The Kōjō-in and its gardens are open to the public only by reservation at least a week in advance. The Zenpō-in ( 善法院 ) was

3135-717: The Philippines , East Malaysia , Peru , the U.S. states of Hawaii , California , and Washington , and the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto . Separately, the number of Japanese citizens living abroad is over one million according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mii-dera Mii-dera is temple 14 in the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage . Onjō-ji was founded in the Nara period . The temple

3230-661: The Shukushin . Later, Philipp Franz von Siebold argued that the Ainu people were indigenous to northern Japan. Iha Fuyū suggested that Japanese and Ryukyuan people have the same ethnic origin, based on his 1906 research on the Ryukyuan languages . In the Taishō period , Torii Ryūzō claimed that Yamato people used Yayoi pottery and Ainu used Jōmon pottery. After World War II , Kotondo Hasebe and Hisashi Suzuki claimed that

3325-552: The Tendai school of Buddhism. Stating that his mother's death was the reason he wanted to become a monk, Ryōkan sent the young Dōgen to Jien , an abbot at Yokawa on Mount Hiei. According to the Kenzeiki (建撕記), he became possessed by a single question with regard to the Tendai doctrine: As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this

3420-590: The Tibetan plateau , ancient Taiwan , and Siberia . Beginning around 300 BC, the Yayoi people originating from Northeast Asia entered the Japanese islands and displaced or intermingled with the Jōmon. The Yayoi brought wet-rice farming and advanced bronze and iron technology to Japan. The more productive paddy field systems allowed the communities to support larger populations and spread over time, in turn becoming

3515-651: The Tōdai-ji was attacked and burned during the Genpei War , a special office of restoration was founded, and the Tōdai-ji became an important artistic center. The leading masters of the time were Unkei and Kaikei . Painting advanced in the Muromachi period in the form of ink wash painting under the influence of Zen Buddhism as practiced by such masters as Sesshū Tōyō . Zen Buddhist tenets were also incorporated into

3610-581: The Yamato people from mainland Japan ; in other contexts the term may include other groups native to the Japanese archipelago, including Ryukyuan people , who share connections with the Yamato but are often regarded as distinct, and Ainu people . In recent decades, there has also been an increase in the number of people with both Japanese and non-Japanese roots, including half Japanese people . Archaeological evidence indicates that Stone Age people lived in

3705-419: The Yayoi period , artisans produced mirrors, spears, and ceremonial bells known as dōtaku . Later burial mounds, or kofun , preserve characteristic clay figures known as haniwa , as well as wall paintings. Beginning in the Nara period , painting, calligraphy , and sculpture flourished under strong Confucian and Buddhist influences from China . Among the architectural achievements of this period are

3800-462: The haiku , tanka , and I Novel , although modern writers generally avoid these writing styles. Historically, many works have sought to capture or codify traditional Japanese cultural values and aesthetics. Some of the most famous of these include Murasaki Shikibu 's The Tale of Genji (1021), about Heian court culture; Miyamoto Musashi 's The Book of Five Rings (1645), concerning military strategy; Matsuo Bashō 's Oku no Hosomichi (1691),

3895-404: The imperial court as a high-ranking ashō ( 亞相 , "Councillor of State") . His mother, named Ishi, the daughter of Matsudono Motofusa and a sister of the monk Ryōkan Hōgen, is said to have died when Dōgen was age 7. In 1212, the spring of his thirteenth year, Dōgen fled the house of his uncle Matsudono Moroie and went to his uncle Ryōkan Hōgen at the foot of Mount Hiei , the headquarters of

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3990-605: The tea ceremony during the Sengoku period . During the Edo period , the polychrome painting screens of the Kanō school were influential thanks to their powerful patrons (including the Tokugawa clan ). Popular artists created ukiyo-e , woodblock prints for sale to commoners in the flourishing cities. Pottery such as Imari ware was highly valued as far away as Europe. In theater, Noh

4085-467: The "pure presence of things as they are", "without affirming nor negating", without accepting nor rejecting, without believing nor disbelieving. In short, it is a non-conceptual, non-intentional and "prereflective mode of consciousness" which does not imply that it is an experience without content. Similarly, Hee-Jin Kim describes this as an "objectless, subjectless, formless, goalless and purposeless" state which

4180-491: The 10,000 koku Hitachi-Futto Domain in what is now Inashiki, Ibaraki . In 1601, he sponsored the construction of this chapel within Mii-dera. The Kōjō-in is noteworthy for its Kyakuden ( 客殿 ) , or Guest Hall, which was completed in 1601. This six by seven bay structure with a wood-shingled irimoya-zukuri roof has been designated as a National Treasure as a representative example of Shoin-zukuri architecture of

4275-469: The Asai and Asakura families were closest to Mount Hiei , but these families, as well as others the temples had allied with, were rivals of Oda Nobunaga . These two families suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Nobunaga and his chief general Toyotomi Hideyoshi , so in 1571 they sought a stronger alliance with the temples. That same year, Nobunaga set to destroying everything on Mount Hiei , starting with

4370-566: The Edo Period. The Kōjō-in ( 光浄院 ) is a sub-temple ( tatchū ( 塔頭 ) ) of Mii-dera, built by Yamaoka Kagetomo ( 山岡景友 ) (1541-1604). The Yamaoka clan was a cadet branch of the Rokkaku clan native to Ōmi Province , and Yamaoka Kagetomo was one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi 's generals. He took the tonsure in 1584, becoming Yamaoka Dōami ( 道阿弥 ) . Following Hideyoshi's death, he pledged fealty to Tokugawa Ieyasu and in 1603 became daimyō of

4465-509: The Endeavor of the Path , c. 1231) as follows: To think that practice and verification are not one is the view of infidels. In the buddha-dharma, practice and verification are the same [shushō kore itto nari]. Because it is practice based on verification, the beginner's pursuit of the way is the whole substance of original verification. Therefore, in giving instruction on what to be careful of in

4560-464: The Japanese archipelago during the Paleolithic period between 39,000 and 21,000 years ago. Japan was then connected to mainland Asia by at least one land bridge, and nomadic hunter-gatherers crossed to Japan. Flint tools and bony implements of this era have been excavated in Japan. In the 18th century, Arai Hakuseki suggested that the ancient stone tools in Japan were left behind by

4655-577: The Kōfuku-ji in Nara in 1081 (avenging the burning of the Mii-dera by Kōfuku-ji monks that same year), and a united attack on Nara once more in 1117. At the end of the 12th century, the attentions of the monks of Mount Hiei were turned towards a greater conflict: the Genpei War . The Taira and Minamoto families supported different claimants to the Chrysanthemum Throne , and in June 1180,

4750-599: The Minamoto brought their claimant, Prince Mochihito , to the Mii-dera, fleeing from Taira samurai . Mii-dera asked for aid from Enryaku-ji, but was denied. The monks of the Mii-dera joined the Minamoto army, and fled to the Byōdō-in , a Fujiwara clan villa, which had been converted to a monastery by Mii-dera monks (see Battle of Uji (1180) ). Angered at the Mii-dera/Minamoto alliance, Taira no Kiyomori ordered

4845-467: The Ryukyuan and Ainu people show mixed characteristics. Mark J. Hudson claims that the main ethnic image of Japanese people was biologically and linguistically formed from 400 BCE to 1,200 CE. Currently, the most well-regarded theory is that present-day Japanese people formed from both the Yayoi rice-agriculturalists and the various Jōmon period ethnicities. However, some recent studies have argued that

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4940-523: The Sakurai-no-miya as recognition that it was a monzeki temple with an Imperial prince as head abbot. It was relocated to its present location within the precincts of Miii-dera in the early Edo Period. Its Shinden-zukuri style main residence was a gift of Empress Meishō in 1647. It was originally built in 1619 for use by Tokugawa Masako , the daughter of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and wife of Emperor Go-Mizunoo . The floor plan consists of

5035-653: The Tendai community began taking steps to suppress both Zen and Jōdo Shinshū , the new forms of Buddhism in Japan. In the face of this tension, Dōgen left the Tendai dominion of Kyōto in 1230, settling instead in an abandoned temple in what is today the city of Uji , south of Kyōto. In 1233, Dōgen founded the Kannon-dōri-in in Fukakusa as a small center of practice. He later expanded this temple into Kōshōhōrin-ji (興聖法林寺). In 1243, Hatano Yoshishige (波多野義重) offered to relocate Dōgen's community to Echizen province , far to

5130-418: The basis for more advanced institutions and heralding the new civilization of the succeeding Kofun period . The estimated population of Japan in the late Jōmon period was about eight hundred thousand, compared to about three million by the Nara period . Taking the growth rates of hunting and agricultural societies into account, it is calculated that about one-and-a-half million immigrants moved to Japan in

5225-481: The characteristic markings found on the pottery. The Jōmon people were mostly hunter-gatherers, but also practicized early agriculture, such as Azuki bean cultivation. At least one middle-to-late Jōmon site (Minami Mizote ( 南溝手 ) , c.  1200 –1000 BC) featured a primitive rice-growing agriculture , relying primarily on fish and nuts for protein. The ethnic roots of the Jōmon period population were heterogeneous, and can be traced back to ancient Southeast Asia ,

5320-636: The death of contemporary Zen Buddhist Myōan Eisai , Dōgen went to study at Kennin-ji Temple (建仁寺), under Eisai's successor, Myōzen (明全). In 1223, Dōgen and Myōzen undertook the dangerous passage across the East China Sea to China ( Song dynasty ) to study in Jing-de-si (Ching-te-ssu, 景德寺) monastery as Eisai had once done. Around the time the Mongol Empire was waging wars on the various dynasties of China. In China, Dōgen first went to

5415-539: The destruction of Mii-dera, and of many of the temples of Nara (see Siege of Nara ). The monks of Mii-dera figured once more in the Genpei War, fighting alongside Taira sympathisers against Minamoto no Yoshinaka , who invaded Kyoto in 1184, setting fire to the Hōjūjidono Palace and kidnapping the retired emperor, Shirakawa II . Following the Genpei War, there was a long period of relative peace, as

5510-448: The four chief temples charged with the spiritual guidance and protection of the capital. It was during this time also that Enryaku-ji and Mii-dera split away from one another, developing two branches of the Tendai sect, called Jimon and Sanmon . For the most part, this was more a geographic rivalry than an ideological schism, but it was an intense one nonetheless, and only grew more severe after Enchin's death. The rivalry turned violent in

5605-402: The great matter". Dōgen returned to Japan in 1227 or 1228, going back to stay at Kennin-ji , where he had trained previously. Among his first actions upon returning was to write down the Fukanzazengi (普観坐禅儀; Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen ), a short text emphasizing the importance of and giving instructions for zazen (sitting meditation ). However, tension soon arose as

5700-449: The late Muromachi period . It is decorated inside with paintings by the Kano school , notably fusuma paintings by Kanō Sanraku . These painting were designated an Important Cultural Property in 1976. The Kōjō-in teien ( 光浄院庭園 ) gardens was designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 1934. The gardens contain a large pond which extends almost to the edge of the verandah of

5795-451: The leading Chan monasteries in Zhèjiāng province . At the time, most Chan teachers based their training around the use of gōng-àn (Japanese: kōan ). Though Dōgen assiduously studied the kōans, he became disenchanted with the heavy emphasis laid upon them, and wondered why the sutras were not studied more. At one point, owing to this disenchantment, Dōgen even refused Dharma transmission from

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5890-504: The master say, "cast off body and mind" (身心脱落 shēn xīn tuō luò ). This phrase would continue to have great importance to Dōgen throughout his life, and can be found scattered throughout his writings, as—for example—in a famous section of his Genjōkōan (現成公案): To study the Way is to study the Self. To study the Self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of

5985-406: The monks of Enryaku-ji would perform services under his direction. He soon resigned. But in 993, the monks of Mii-dera took revenge, destroying a temple where Ennin , founder of Enryaku-ji's Sanmon sect, had once lived. The monks from Enryaku-ji retaliated, destroying more than 40 places associated with Enchin. In the end, over 1,000 monks of Enchin's Jimon sect fled permanently to Mii-dera, cementing

6080-546: The most notable authors included Natsume Sōseki , Jun'ichirō Tanizaki , Osamu Dazai , Fumiko Enchi , Akiko Yosano , Yukio Mishima , and Ryōtarō Shiba . Popular contemporary authors such as Ryū Murakami , Haruki Murakami , and Banana Yoshimoto have been translated into many languages and enjoy international followings, and Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature . Decorative arts in Japan date back to prehistoric times. Jōmon pottery includes examples with elaborate ornamentation. In

6175-419: The movements of the conscious mind, the gauging of all thoughts and views. Have no designs on becoming a Buddha. Zazen has nothing whatever to do with sitting or lying down. Dōgen also described zazen practice with the term hishiryō (非思量, "non-thinking", "without thinking", "beyond thinking"). According to Cleary, it refers to ekō henshō , turning the light around , focussing awareness on awareness itself. It

6270-475: The newly installed shōgun's regent , Hōjō Tokiyori , invited Dōgen to come to Kamakura to teach him. Dōgen made the rather long journey east to provide the shōgun with lay ordination, and then returned to Eihei-ji in 1248. In the autumn of 1252, Dōgen fell ill, and soon showed no signs of recovering. He presented his robes to his main apprentice, Koun Ejō (孤雲懐弉), making him the abbot of Eihei-ji. At Hatano Yoshishige's invitation, Dōgen left for Kyōto in search of

6365-451: The north of Kyōto. Dōgen accepted because of the ongoing tension with the Tendai community, and the growing competition of the Rinzai -school. His followers built a comprehensive center of practice there, calling it Daibutsu Temple (Daibutsu-ji, 大仏寺). While the construction work was going on, Dōgen would live and teach at Yoshimine-dera Temple (Kippō-ji, 吉峯寺), which is located close to Daibutsu-ji. During his stay at Kippō-ji, Dōgen "fell into

6460-399: The origin of Japanese people was not newcomers in the Yayoi period (300 BCE – 300 CE) but the people in the Jōmon period . However, Kazuro Hanihara announced a new racial admixture theory in 1984 and a "dual structure model" in 1991. According to Hanihara, modern Japanese lineages began with Jōmon people , who moved into the Japanese archipelago during Paleolithic times, followed by

6555-420: The original, built in 672 and destroyed in 1571. Mii-dera also has a Kannon-do, built in 1072. The evening bell of Mii-dera appears in many tales and legends, including one of the warrior monk Musashibo Benkei and another of a vainglorious woman who dared to touch the forbidden bell. The Enman-in ( 円満院 ) is a sub-temple ( tatchū ( 塔頭 ) ) of Mii-dera. It may have been founded in 987 AD by Prince Goen,

6650-398: The other hand, many Sakhalin Koreans who had held Japanese citizenship until the end of the war were left stateless by the Soviet occupation. The Japanese language is a Japonic language that is related to the Ryukyuan languages and was treated as a language isolate in the past. The earliest attested form of the language, Old Japanese , dates to the 8th century. Japanese phonology

6745-437: The period. According to several studies, the Yayoi created the "Japanese-hierarchical society". During the Japanese colonial period of 1895 to 1945, the phrase "Japanese people" was used to refer not only to residents of the Japanese archipelago, but also to people from colonies who held Japanese citizenship , such as Taiwanese people and Korean people . The official term used to refer to ethnic Japanese during this period

6840-461: The philosophical implications of the Japanese tea ceremony . Western observers have often attempted to evaluate Japanese society as well, to varying degrees of success; one of the most well-known and controversial works resulting from this is Ruth Benedict 's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946). Twentieth-century Japanese writers recorded changes in Japanese society through their works. Some of

6935-411: The point of this [practice], the four elements [of the body] will become light and at ease, the spirit will be fresh and sharp, thoughts will be correct and clear; the flavor of the dharma will sustain the spirit, and you will be calm, pure, and joyful. Your daily life will be [the expression of] your true natural state. Once you achieve clarification [of the truth], you may be likened to the dragon gaining

7030-506: The point of view of the emptiness of all things. It is from this perspective that Dōgen writes we should not engage in any "practice" (which is merely a conventional category which separates one kind of activity from another). Indeed, according to Foulk: the specific rituals that seem to be disavowed in the Bendowa passage are all prescribed for Zen monks, often in great detail, in Dogen's other writings. In Kuyo shobutsu , Dogen recommends

7125-422: The population of the country of Japan . Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them one of the largest ethnic groups . Approximately 120.8 million Japanese people are residents of Japan, and there are approximately 4 million members of the Japanese diaspora , known as Nikkeijin ( 日系人 ) . In some contexts, the term "Japanese people" may be used to refer specifically to

7220-644: The powerful Tendai School, and, after several years of likely friction between himself and the establishment, left Kyoto for the mountainous countryside where he founded the monastery Eihei-ji , which remains the head temple of the Sōtō school today. Dōgen is known for his extensive writings like the Shōbōgenzō ( Treasury of the True Dharma Eye , considered his magnum opus ), the Eihei Kōroku ( Extensive Record,

7315-417: The practice of offering incense and making worshipful prostrations before Buddha images and stupas , as prescribed in the sutras and Vinaya texts. In Raihai tokuzui he urges trainees to revere enlightened teachers and to make offerings and prostrations to them, describing this as a practice which helps pave the way to one's own awakening. In Chiji shingi he stipulates that the vegetable garden manager in

7410-482: The practice, we teach not to expect verification outside of practice, for [the practice] is itself original verification. Since it is the verification of practice, verification has no limit; since it is the practice of verification, practice has no beginning. In the Fukanzazengi ( Universal Recommendation for Zazen ), Dōgen explains how to practice zazen and then explains the nature of verification If you grasp

7505-468: The rebellion, they discovered Mii-dera's monks to be supported by sōhei from Enryaku-ji and Kōfuku-ji as well. A year later, another battle erupted, over comments made by the abbot of Nanzen-ji; the monks of Mii-dera, along with their allies, defeated the shogun's forces once again. In the late 16th century, Mii-dera, along with many of the other nearby temples, sought alliances, for military (defensive) strength, as well as military power. The territories of

7600-622: The right to the throne of the Japanese imperial family and was codified as the state religion in 1868 ( State Shinto ), but was abolished by the American occupation in 1945. Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century and evolved into many different sects. Today, the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran . A large majority of Japanese people profess to believe in both Shinto and Buddhism. Japanese people's religion functions mostly as

7695-399: The second half of the 10th century, over a series of official appointments to other temples, and similar slights. The zasu of Enryaku-ji in 970 formed the first permanent standing army to be recruited by a religious body. Mii-dera can be assumed to have established one very soon afterwards. In 989, a former abbot of Mii-dera by the name of Yokei was to become abbot of Enryaku-ji; but none of

7790-721: The son of Emperor Murakami in Okazaki in Kyoto, where it was called the Byōdō-in, although other records state that it was built with the support of Emperor Go-Suzaku in 1040 under the name of Enman-in. In 1052, the Kanpaku Fujiwara no Yorimichi changed his father's villa in Uji into a temple, which became the famous Byōdō-in , and the original Byōdō-in in Okazaki was renamed the "Mii-Byōdō-in" due to its connection with Mii-dera, or

7885-407: The split between the two Sects. Over the course of the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries, there continued to be similar incidents, over the appointment of abbots ( zasu ), involving many sōhei , or warrior monks. Mii-dera was burned to the ground by the sōhei of Enryaku-ji four times in the 11th century alone. There were, however, times that the two united against a common enemy, including an attack on

7980-448: The springs at the temple which were used for the ritual bathing of newborns, and in honor of Emperors Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu, and Empress Jitō , who contributed to the founding of the temple. Today, the Kondō , or Main Hall, houses a spring of sacred water . Under Enchin's guidance, from 859 to his death in 891, Mii-dera gained power and importance, eventually becoming (along with Tōdai-ji , Kōfuku-ji , and Enryaku-ji ) one of

8075-422: The temples of Kyoto and Nara, including the Mii-dera, were rebuilt. As the temples regained strength, rivalries reappeared, though little to no violence actually erupted between Mii-dera and Enryaku-ji. In 1367, when a novice from Mii-dera was killed at a toll barrier established by the temple of Nanzen-ji , warrior monks from Mii-dera set out to attack Nanzen-ji; when the shōgun ' s forces were sent to quell

8170-411: The town of Sakamoto at the foot of the mountain, and setting his sights on Enryaku-ji at the summit. Much of Mii-dera was destroyed, as the warrior monks failed against Nobunaga's large and highly trained samurai army. Following these attacks, the monks of Mount Hiei were finally granted a reprieve, and rebuilt their temples once more. Mii-dera has never been attacked or destroyed since then. Within

8265-442: The universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever. Myōzen died shortly after Dōgen arrived at Mount Tiantong. In 1227, Dōgen received Dharma transmission and inka from Rujing, and remarked on how he had finally settled his "life's quest of

8360-496: The variety of ethnic groups in Japan . While this has contributed to or reinforced the widespread belief that Japan is ethnically homogeneous, as shown in the claim of former Japanese Prime Minister Tarō Asō that Japan is a nation of "one race, one civilization, one language and one culture", some scholars have argued that it is more accurate to describe the country of Japan as a multiethnic society. Children born to international couples receive Japanese nationality when one parent

8455-500: The water or the tiger taking to the mountains. You should realize that when right thought is present, dullness and agitation cannot intrude. For Dōgen, buddha-nature or busshō (佛性) is all of reality, "all things" (悉有). In the Shōbōgenzō , Dōgen writes that "whole-being is the Buddha-nature" and that even inanimate objects (rocks, sand, water) are an expression of Buddha-nature. He rejected any view that saw buddha-nature as

8550-564: The world. Article 10 of the Constitution of Japan defines the term "Japanese" based upon Japanese nationality (citizenship) alone, without regard for ethnicity. The Government of Japan considers all naturalized and native-born Japanese nationals with a multi-ethnic background "Japanese", and in the national census the Japanese Statistics Bureau asks only about nationality, so there is no official census data on

8645-564: Was "inland people" ( 内地人 , naichijin ) . Such linguistic distinctions facilitated forced assimilation of colonized ethnic identities into a single Imperial Japanese identity. After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union classified many Nivkh people and Orok people from southern Sakhalin , who had been Japanese imperial subjects in Karafuto Prefecture , as Japanese people and repatriated them to Hokkaidō . On

8740-726: Was also significant emigration to the territories of the Empire of Japan during the colonial period, but most of these emigrants and settlers repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II in Asia . According to the Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad, there are about 4.0 million Nikkeijin living in their adopted countries. The largest of these foreign communities are in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Paraná . There are also significant cohesive Japanese communities in

8835-512: Was designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 1934. The layout of the garden is attributed to Sōami , who is also responsible by for the rock garden at Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto. Within the grounds of Enman-in is also the Otsu-e Museum ( 大津絵美術館 , Otsu-e bijutsukan ) with a collection of Otsu-e votive prints which were popular with travelers on the Tōkaidō and Nakasendō roads in

8930-487: Was founded in 672 following a dispute over Imperial succession . Emperor Tenji had died, and his son was killed by Tenji's brother, who was then enthroned as Emperor Tenmu . Temmu founded Onjō-ji in honor and memory of his brother. The name Mii-dera ("Temple of Three Wells") came about nearly two centuries later. It was given this name by Enchin , one of the earliest abbots of the Tendai Sect. The name comes from

9025-616: Was recorded as early as the 15th century to the Philippines and Borneo , and in the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of traders from Japan also migrated to the Philippines and assimilated into the local population. However, migration of Japanese people did not become a mass phenomenon until the Meiji era , when Japanese people began to go to the United States , Brazil , Canada , the Philippines , China , and Peru . There

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