Myocho,; Biography; 禪宗=Zen Buddhism=Zazen Buddhism; Japan
摘要
About seven centuries ago Ch'an (Chinese Zen) took root in Japan. A pioneer of this great cultural movement was the Japanese Zen master Daito (1282-1337), the subject of this study. Daito appeared just as the Zen institution was passing into the hands of native Japanese monks. Among the eminent masters who did not make a pilgrimage to China, Daito was the first to establish a major monastery. He also contributed significantly to the Japanese understanding of Ch'an, by writing extensive commentaries on Ch'an classics. No comparable works survive from the medieval period. Eventually Daito's religious lineage became the dominant branch of Rinzai Zen in Japan. The monastery he founded, Daitokuji, remains influential today.
Daito's commentaries reveal his willingness to interpret Ch'an from within the tradition; his understanding of the Ch'an approach to language; his esteem for koans; and his sensitivity to the dangers of scholasticism and sanctification. In these interpretive works Daito relied on a genre called capping phrases (agyo, jakugo). Capping phrases are pithy responses that express one's Zen understanding. They enabled Daito to interpret Ch'an classics without subverting them through discursive explanations.
The Zen world of Daito's period is introduced in Chapter I, "The Japanese Reception of Ch'an." The next two chapters, "Daito's Early Zen Training" and "Daito and the Founding of Daitokuji," trace Daito's career as Zen monk and Zen master. Selections from Daito's career as Zen monk and Zen master. Selections from Daito's career as Zen monk and Zen master. Selections from Daito's capping phrase commentaries are translated in Chapter IV, "Daito's Capping Phrases." That material is discussed in a final chapter, "Interpreting Daito's Capping Phrases." Patterns of capping phrase usage are analyzed in order to demonstrate aspects of Daito's Zen. A complete translation of an early and influential biography of Daito, The Chronicle of Daito Kokushi, appears as an appendix.
