1 / 6

Buddhism in Japan: Zen Koans

Buddhism in Japan: Zen Koans. Berger Intro to Asian Religions. The Japanese Reception of Buddhism and Zen. Buddhism introduced from Korean court in 552 Empress Suiko sends envoys to China in 607 Scholastic Buddhism of Nara Period (710-784) Kamakura Period (1185-1333) schools of Zen

harriet-raymond
Download Presentation

Buddhism in Japan: Zen Koans

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Buddhism in Japan: Zen Koans Berger Intro to Asian Religions

  2. The Japanese Reception of Buddhism and Zen • Buddhism introduced from Korean court in 552 • Empress Suiko sends envoys to China in 607 • Scholastic Buddhism of Nara Period (710-784) • Kamakura Period (1185-1333) schools of Zen • Soto (Sitting Meditation) brought by Dogen in 1227 • Rinzai (Lin-chi) brought by Eisai in 1191 • Zen a self-styled response to Buddhist corruption

  3. The Koan (公案) in Rinzai Zen • Collections of “precedents,” pivotal dialogues or “one-liners” from great Zen teachers • Rinzai’s (d. 866) method of “dharma combat,” a confrontational example of “encounter dialogue” • Koans and commentaries collected and studied by Zen masters and given to students as tests and meditational guides • Not “unansweable questions” or “riddles,” but cues for responses that reveal level of enlightenment

  4. The 1st Koan on Buddha Nature from Mumankan (無門關) of 1228 • Joshu’s answer to the question: 無 mu: “no-’ 361) • The need to reject the precedent (362( • A rejection of dualistic thinking (363) • The living negation of oneself and reality and yet the grasping of it (Hakuin’s initiation) (364) • Differing interpretations ending in negation (365) • The fundamental contradiction of human existence, having and not having Buddha-nature (365-66)

  5. A Visual Koan: Hakuin From Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) Can you guess the title and meaning of this painting?

  6. for Next Class • Prepare Questions for Exam Review

More Related