The Rinzai school (, ), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of Chan Buddhism was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan Eisai (1141–1215). Contemporary Japanese Rinzai is derived entirely from the Ōtōkan lineage transmitted through Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769), who is a major figure in the revival of the Rinzai tradition.Moore (2018), p. xiii.
History
The Rinzai school is the Japanese line of the Chinese Linji school of Chan Buddhism. Although Linji Yixuan is usually credited as its founder, as Albert Welter points out, "While the inspiration for the Linji Chan faction was, of course Linji Yixuan, the real founder of the movement was, as noted previously, Shoushan Shengnian (926—993), a fourth-generation descendant."Welter, Albert (2008), The Linji Lu and the Creation of Chan Orthodoxy: The Development of Chan's Records of Sayings Literature, page 112. Oxford University Press.
Kamakura period (1185–1333) Though there were several attempts to establish Rinzai lines in Japan, it first took root in a lasting way through the efforts of the monk Myōan Eisai. In 1168, Myōan Eisai traveled to China, where he studied Tendai for twenty years. In 1187, he went to China again, and returned to Japan to establish a Linji school of Chan Buddhism, which is known in Japan as Rinzai. Decades later, (1235–1308), who also studied Linji teachings in China, founded the Japanese Ōtōkan lineage, the most influential and only surviving branch of the Rinzai school of Zen.
Rinzai Zen was established in Japan as the samurai rose to power. Along with early imperial support, Rinzai came to enjoy the patronage of this newly ascendant warrior class.
Muromachi (or Ashikaga) period (1336–1573) During the Muromachi period, the Rinzai school was the most successful of the Zen schools in Japan because it was favoured by the shōgun. The school may be said to have truly flowered and achieved a distinctly Japanese identity with and Musō Soseki (1275–1351), two influential Japanese Zen masters who did not travel to China to study.
Five Mountain System
In the beginning of the Muromachi period, the system was fully worked out. The final version contained five temples of both Kyoto and Kamakura, presided over by Nanzen-ji. A second tier of the system consisted of Ten Temples. This system was extended throughout Japan, effectively giving control to the central government, which administered this system. The monks, often well educated and skilled, were employed by the shōgun for the governing of state affairs.
+ Gozan system KyotoKamakuraFirst RankTenryū-jiKenchō-jiSecond Rank Shōkoku-jiEngaku-jiThird RankKennin-jiJufuku-jiFourth RankTōfuku-jiJōchi-jiFifth RankManju-jiJōmyō-ji
Rinka-monasteries Not all Rinzai Zen organisations were under such strict state control. The Rinka monasteries, which were primarily located in rural areas rather than cities, had a greater degree of independence. The Ōtōkan lineage, which centered on Daitoku-ji, also had a greater degree of freedom. It was founded by Nanpo Shōmyō, Shūhō Myōchō, and Kanzan Egen. A well-known teacher from Daitoku-ji was Ikkyū.
Another Rinka lineage was the Hotto lineage, of which Bassui Tokushō is the best-known teacher.
Tokugawa (1600–1868) – Hakuin and his heirs By the 18th century, the Rinzai school was challenged by the newly-imported Obaku-lineage, and by the waning of support from the ruling elites. Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769), with his vigorous zeal for koan-practice and his orientation towards common people, became the hero of a revigorized tradition of koan-study and an outreach to a lay-audience, and most Rinzai lineages claim descent from him, though his engagement with formal Rinzai-institution was minimal. When he was installed as head priest of Shōin-ji in 1718, he had the title of Dai-ichiza, "First Monk":
Hakuin considered himself to be an heir of Shōju Rōnin (Dokyō Etan, 1642–1721), but never received formal dharma transmission from him. Nevertheless, through Hakuin, all contemporary Japanese Rinzai-lineages are considered part of the Ōtōkan lineage, brought to Japan in 1267 by Nanpo Jomyo, who received his dharma transmission in China in 1265.
Tōrei Enji (1721–1792), who had studied with Kogetsu Zenzai, was a major student of Hakuin and an influential author, painter and calligrapher.Tōrei, Taibi Shaku (1996), The Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School, C.E. Tuttle Company, p. 5.Joskovich, Erez Hekigan. The Inexhaustible Lamp of Faith: Faith and Awakening in the Japanese Rinzai Tradition. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/2:319-338. Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. He is the author of the influential The Undying Lamp of Zen (), which presents a comprehensive system of Rinzai training.Cleary, Thomas (2012), The Zen Reader, Shambhala Publications, p. 150.Cleary, Thomas (2010). The Undying Lamp of Zen: The Testament of Zen Master Torei, Shambhala Publications, p. viii.
Through Torei's student Gasan Jitō (1727–1797) Hakuin's approach became a focal point in Japanese Rinzai Zen. Before meeting Hakuin, Gasan received Dharma transmission from Rinzai teacher Gessen Zen'e, who had received dharma transmission from Kogetsu Zenzai. Gasan is often considered to be a dharma heir of Hakuin, despite the fact that "he did not belong to the close circle of disciples and was probably not even one of Hakuin's dharma heirs." Gasan's students Inzan Ien (1751–1814), who also studied with Gessen Zen'e,terebess.hu, 隱山惟琰 Inzan Ien (1751–1814) and Takujū Kosen (1760–1833) created a systematized way of koan-study, with fixed questions and answers. In 1808 Inzan Ien became abbott of Myoshin-ji, one of the main Rinzai temples in Japan, where he served for a short time, while Takujū Kosen was appointed as head abbott of Myoshin-ji in 1813.terebess.hu, 卓洲胡僊 Takujū Kosen (1760–1833) All contemporary Japanese Rinzai-lineages, and their methods and styles of koan-study, stem from these two teachers, though at the end of the Tokugawa-periond his line was at the brink of extinction.Michael Mohr, Hakuin. In: Buddhist Spirituality II: Later China, Korea, and Japan
Meiji Restoration (1868–1912) and Imperial Expansionism (1912–1945) During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion, and Buddhism adapted to the new regime. Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat, but also as a challenge to stand up to.
A Rinzai university was founded in 1872, Hanazono University, initially as a seminary for those entering the priesthood. Hanazono University has grown to become the major Rinzai higher education institution in Japan.
Post-war (1945–present) Modern Rinzai Zen is made up of 15 sects or branches, the largest being the Myoshin-ji line.
Some influential modern Rinzai figures include Ōmori Sōgen (大森 曹玄, 1904–1994), Sōkō Morinaga (盛永 宗興, 1925–1995), Shodo Harada (原田 正道), Eshin Nishimura (西村 惠信; born 1933), Keidō Fukushima (福島 慶道, 1933–2011) and D.T. Suzuki (鈴木 大拙 貞太郎, 1870–1966).
Literary sources
Rinzai is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that draws from the various Indian Mahayana sutras (like the Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra) and shastras (treatises) of the Indian masters. Rinzai also closely follows the works of the Chinese Chan tradition, particularly that of the masters of the Linji school like Linji Yixuan (d. 866) and Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) and various traditional records of that school, like the Transmission of the Lamp, and the Línjì yǔlù (臨濟語錄; Jp: , the Record of Linji).
Important Japanese sources of the Rinzai school include the works of Hakuin Ekaku and his student Tōrei Enji. Torei's Undying Lamp of Zen () offers a comprehensive overview of Hakuin's Zen and is a major source for Rinzai Zen practice.Joskovich, Erez Hekigan. The Inexhaustible Lamp of Faith: Faith and Awakening in the Japanese Rinzai Tradition.Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/2:319-338. Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. A more modern overview of Japanese Rinzai praxis is Omori Sogen's Sanzen Nyumon (An Introduction to Zen Training).
Japanese Rinzai practice
Contemporary Japanese Rinzai Zen is marked by its emphasis on kenshō (見性, "seeing one's/ self nature" or "to see clearly into the buddha-nature") as the gateway to authentic Buddhist practice.Moore (2018), pp. 9-10. Rinzai also stresses the importance of post-kensho spiritual training that actualizes awakening for the benefit of all beings.
The student's relationship with a Zen teacher is another central element of Rinzai Zen practice. This includes the formal practice of sanzen, a private interview between student and master and various methods of "direct pointing" that are used by Rinzai masters to guide the student to the experience of kensho.Moore (2018), pp. 145-150
Formal Rinzai training focuses on zazen (seated meditation). Practices such as different forms of breath meditation (breath counting, diaphragmatic breathing and tanden, breath cultivation), kōan introspection, wato, and mantra practice (such as using the mantric syllable Ah) are used in zazen.Moore (2018), pp. 106-120. Other practices include walking meditation (Jp. kinhin), ōryōki (a meditative meal practice), and samu (physical work done with mindfulness). Chanting (okyo) Buddhist sutras or dharanis is also a major element of Rinzai practice.Moore (2018), pp. 126-132.
Kōans are a common object of meditation when engaged in formal zazen. Shikantaza ("just sitting") is less emphasized in Rinzai, but still used. This contrasts with Sōtō practice, which has de-emphasized kōans since Gentō Sokuchū (circa 1800), and instead emphasizes shikantaza.
The Rinzai school developed its own formalized style of kōan introspection and training. This includes a standardized curriculum of kōans, which must be studied and "passed" in sequence. This process may include standardized questions (sassho) and common sets of "capping phrases" (jakugo) or poetry citations that are memorized by students as answers.Bodiford, William M. (2006). Koan practice. In: "Sitting with Koans". Ed. John Daido Loori. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, p. 94. A student's understanding of a kōan is presented to the teacher in a private interview (dokusan, daisan, or sanzen) and the teacher's job is to guide the student to kensho, in part by judging the student's kyōgai. Kōan-inquiry may be practiced during zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and throughout all daily activities.Lachs, Stuart (2006), The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and ScarvesLow, Albert (2006), Hakuin on Kensho. The Four Ways of Knowing, pp. 36-37. Boston & London: Shambhala
In general, the Rinzai school is known for the rigor and severity of its training methods. The Rinzai style may be characterized as somewhat martial or sharp (following in the spirit of Linji Yixuan). Since the adoption of Rinzai Zen by the Hōjō clan in the 13th century, some Rinzai figures have even developed the samurai arts (budō) within a Zen framework.Mann, Jeffrey, When Buddhists Attack: The Curious Relationship Between Zen and the Martial Arts, p. 61. One influential figure was the Rinzai priest Takuan Sōhō who was well known for his writings on Zen and budō addressed to the samurai class (see The Unfettered Mind).Takuan Soho, The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman, p. xv. In this regard, Rinzai is often contrasted with another sect of Zen deeply established in Japan, Sōtō, which has been called more gentle and even rustic in spirit. A Japanese saying reflects these perceptions: .