In his spiritual autobiography, which has strong Daoist overtones, Hakuin Ekaku [phrase omitted], the Japanese
Rinzai Zen master, explained how, by pushing himself too hard, his heart fire began to rise upward against the natural course, parching his lungs of their essential fluids, leading to meditation sickness.
They were married less than a year before Sokei-an died, but Ruth would go on to helm trailblazing translations in his honor and to become the first foreigner to be the priest of a
Rinzai Zen temple in Japan.
Many accounts of Cohen's life have lingered over his extended immersion in
Rinzai Zen practice.
Soen was one of the highest ranking
Rinzai clerics in Japan at the time, and eventually gained some notoriety in the West as well.
Eisai (1141-1215), regarded as the founder of Japanese
Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism, brought powdered tea--the tea used for the present tea ceremony--and tea seeds to Japan from China.
He teaches philosophy in adult education and was ordained in both the Soto and
Rinzai traditions of Zen.
Eisai brought over the Zen called
Rinzai, whose practice is based on meditation upon a koan, an enigma leading to illumination, while his disciple, Dogen, established the Sota Zen, whose unique practice is zazen (meditation in the sitting position).
Saihoji, a
Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple near the Japanese city of Kitakyushu, was recently remodeled in order to accommodate more attendees.
The shih prologue of "On Vulture Peak" is followed by the main body of the sutra, which consists of nine numbered sections (Parts I-IX) in the form of a
Rinzai koan interview.
They went on, respectively, to found the Zen sects of
Rinzai [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] and Soto [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].
Taking his influence from the scroll paintings of Sesshu Toyo (1420-1506)--a
Rinzai priest who traveled from Japan to China where he studied Northern Song and Ming Dynasty paintings--McLaughlin sought an alternative to Western painting.