Zen Buddhism

Japanese: 禅宗 - ぜんしゅう

A sect of Buddhism in China and Japan. It was founded by the Indian monk Bodhidharma in the early 6th century, and from the Tang to the early Song dynasties, along with the reorganization of Chinese civilization, it created its own doctrine and history as a religion of the people, and came to fruition in Japan after the Kamakura period. It preaches the path to enlightenment, in which one can directly awaken to the mind of Buddha through zazen and question-and-answer sessions, rather than relying on the study of sutras and treatises. All Buddhism in early modern China is called Zen, but in Japan, it ranks alongside other sects with three sects: Soto, Rinzai, and Obaku.

[Yanagida Seizan]

China

In Zen Buddhism, there is a theory that when the Buddha was preaching on Mount Vulture Peak, Brahma offered him a golden paraffin flower, and the Buddha silently showed the flower to the crowd. This caused Mahakasyapa to burst into a smile, and so the Buddha passed on the Shobogenzo to Kashyapa. This theory is the basis of the sect. Shobogenzo means the essence of Buddhism. Twenty-eight years after Kashyapa, Bodhidharma came to China and became the first patriarch, and six years later it was passed on to Huineng (638-713). Huineng was born in Xinzhou (Xingxing City, Guangdong Province), and hardly left Lingnan in his life, and he never saw a single thing, but he obtained the Shobogenzo through hard work and Zen meditation. According to the Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra, which compiles these sayings, Za is when the mind is not aroused no matter what the outside environment, while Zen is when one is awakened to one's true nature and does not become disturbed inside. Zen Buddhism seeks such everyday ingenuity and creativity. In the past, the various sects, which had boasted highly advanced academic systems thanks to the devotion of the upper classes and were centered in the capital of northern China, all declined at one time due to the social upheaval of the Five Dynasties period at the end of the Tang Dynasty. In contrast, Zen Buddhism gained supporters all over the country and reached a period of prosperity with the Five Houses and Seven Sects. That is, the Igyō sect of Isan Reiyū (771-853) and his disciple Kyōzan Ejaku (807-883), based mainly in Hunan; the Sōtō sect of Tozan Ryōkai (807-869) and his disciple Caoyama Honjaku (840-901), based in Jiangxi; and the Rinzai sect of Linzhai Gigen (?-866), based in Zhenzhou, Hebei. The Five Houses and Seven Schools of Zen represent early modern Chinese Buddhism, consisting of the Unmen sect of Unmon Wen'en (864-949) in Lingnan, the Houan sect of Houan Wen'eki (885-958) in Jinling, and the two eighth Rinzai masters, Huanglong Huinan (1002-1069) and Yangqi Fanghui (992-1049), who each founded their own sects in Jiangnan.

[Yanagida Seizan]

Japan

Zen Buddhism in Japan began when Eisai (1141-1215) of Kennin-ji Temple introduced the Huanglong sect and Dogen (1200-1254) of Eihei-ji Temple introduced the Soto sect, and the 24 schools of Song Dynasty Zen came to be established in Japan. The introduction of the Yangqi sect to Japan in particular was accompanied by early modern Chinese civilization, and influenced the development of medieval Japanese culture in areas such as neo-Confucianism, Zhu Xi philosophy, literature, art, architecture, and creativity in daily life. For example, at the beginning of the Edo period, Ingen Ryūki (1592-1673) of Obakusan in Fuzhou came to Japan with his disciples and, after receiving the patronage of the Tokugawa shogunate, founded Obakusan Manpuku-ji Temple in Kyoto. Ingen's Zen belongs to the Yangqi sect, but unlike the Yangqi sect of medieval Japan, it was influenced by many new fields of civilization, such as the literati tastes of early modern China, medicine, and social welfare, and this promoted the reorganization of the various sects of Japanese Buddhism. This led to a restoration and reform movement in the two schools of Buddhism, Rinzai and Soto, with teachers such as Bankei Yōtaku (1622-1693), Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768), Manzan Dohaku (1635-1714), and Menzan Zuihō (1683-1769).

In Zen Buddhism, it is believed that truth transcends our language and expression through letters (furyumonji), that it is transmitted directly from teacher to student through heart (telepathy), and this lineage is highly valued (shishi sojo).

[Yanagida Seizan]

"Zen Lectures, 8 volumes (1967-1969, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Zen and Japanese Culture, by Daisetsu Suzuki, translated by Momoo Kitagawa (Iwanami Shinsho)"

Zen Buddhism / Brief family tree
©Shogakukan ">

Zen Buddhism / Brief family tree

The 24 schools of Japanese Zen Buddhism
©Shogakukan ">

The 24 schools of Japanese Zen Buddhism

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国と日本の、仏教の一派。6世紀の初め、インド僧の達磨(だるま)（ボーディダルマ）が開宗、唐より宋(そう)初にかけて、中国文明の再編とともに、民族自らの宗教として独自の教義と歴史をつくり、鎌倉時代以後、日本にきて結実する。経論の学問によらず、坐禅(ざぜん)と問答によって直接に仏陀(ぶっだ)の心に目覚める、見性悟道を説く。近世中国の仏教はみな禅宗を名のるが、日本では他の諸宗に伍(ご)して、曹洞(そうとう)、臨済(りんざい)、黄檗(おうばく)の3派を数える。

［柳田聖山］

中国

禅宗では、仏陀が霊鷲山(りょうじゅせん)で説法していると、梵天(ぼんてん)が金婆羅華(こんぱらげ)を献じ、仏陀は黙って花を大衆に示すと、摩訶迦葉(まかかしょう)がひとり破顔微笑(みしょう)したので、仏陀は迦葉に正法眼蔵(しょうぼうげんぞう)を伝えた、という説があり、それが立宗の基となっている。正法眼蔵とは、仏教のエッセンスを意味する。迦葉より二十八伝して、達磨が中国にきて初祖となり、六伝して慧能(えのう)（638―713）に至る。慧能は新州（広東(カントン)省新興市）の生まれで、生涯ほとんど嶺南(れいなん)を出ず、眼(め)に一丁字(いっちょうじ)もなかったが、労働と参禅によって正法眼蔵を得る。そのことばを集める『六祖壇経(ろくそだんきょう)』によると、外ではどんな環境にいても、心のおこらぬのが坐(ざ)、内では自性に目覚めて、自性の乱れぬのが禅であるという。禅宗は、そうした日常のくふうと、創意を求めるのである。従来、華北の首都を中心に、上層階級の帰依(きえ)によって、高度の学問体系を誇った各派が、唐末五代の社会変動によって一時に衰滅するのと反対に、禅宗は全国各地に支持者を得、五家七宗の盛期を迎える。すなわち、主として湖南に拠(よ)る潙山霊祐(いさんれいゆう)（771―853）と、その弟子仰山慧寂(きょうざんえじゃく)（807―883）の潙仰宗(いぎょうしゅう)、江西に拠る洞山良价(とうざんりょうかい)（807―869）と、その弟子曹山本寂(そうざんほんじゃく)（840―901）の曹洞宗、河北の鎮州に拠る臨済義玄(りんざいぎげん)（？―866）の臨済宗、嶺南に拠る雲門文偃(うんもんぶんえん)（864―949）の雲門宗、および金陵に拠る法眼文益(ほうげんぶんえき)（885―958）の法眼宗であり、さらに臨済宗8代の黄龍慧南(おうりゅうえなん)（1002―1069）と、楊岐方会(ようぎほうえ)（992―1049）の2人が、それぞれ江南に一派を開くのをあわせて、五家七宗の禅宗が、近世中国仏教を代表するのである。

［柳田聖山］

日本

日本の禅宗は、建仁寺の栄西(えいさい)（1141―1215）が黄龍宗を伝え、永平寺の道元（1200―1254）が曹洞宗を伝えるのに始まり、24流を数える宋朝禅が日本で大成されることとなる。とりわけ、楊岐宗の日本伝来は、中国の近世文明を伴うので、新儒教の朱子学をはじめ、文学や美術、建築、日常生活の創意にわたって、日本中世文化の発展に作用する。たとえば、江戸時代の初め、福州黄檗山(おうばくさん)の隠元隆琦(いんげんりゅうき)（1592―1673）が諸弟子とともに来朝し、将軍徳川家の帰依によって、京都に黄檗山万福寺を開く。隠元の禅は楊岐宗に属するが、中世日本の楊岐宗と異なって、近世中国の文人趣味や、医学、社会福祉など、多方面の新文明を伴って、日本仏教各派の再編を促すのであり、盤珪永琢(ばんけいようたく)（1622―1693）、白隠慧鶴(はくいんえかく)（1685―1768）、卍山道白(まんざんどうはく)（1635―1714）、面山瑞方(めんざんずいほう)（1683―1769）など、臨済・曹洞2派の復古と改革運動が、これに続いて起こる。

　禅宗では、真理はわれわれの言語、文字による表現を超えているとし（不立文字(ふりゅうもんじ)）、師から弟子へ直接に心で心を伝える（以心伝心）といわれて、その系譜が重んぜられる（師資相承(ししそうじょう)）。

［柳田聖山］

『『講座　禅』全8巻（1967～1969・筑摩書房）』▽『鈴木大拙著、北川桃雄訳『禅と日本文化』（岩波新書）』

[参照項目] | 坐禅 | 禅 | 禅宗建築 | 禅宗美術 | 禅宗様建築 | 曹洞宗 | 臨済宗

禅宗／略系図

日本禅宗二十四流

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