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Dr. Jarosław Zapart is an Indologist and buddhologist whose research interests revolve mainly around early literature and philosophy of Mahāyāna Buddhism. He is especially concerned with origins of the tathāgatagarbha concept, its evolution in Indian sources and its earliest history in China. His second field of interest encompasses the Hindi Sant thought & literature as well as the North Indian Bhakti. He is also involved in the study of Indian aesthetics and poetics and the aesthetics of Indian & Western classical music. ([https://jagiellonian.academia.edu/JaroslawZapart Adapted from Source April 16, 2020]) +
The Most Venerable Phra Thepyanmongkol was born on 6 March 1929. While he was a layman, he worked as a research specialist at the United States Information Services (USIS) in Bangkok. Also, he was a visiting lecturer in research methodology, research and evaluation, and public opinion surveys to various academic institutions in Thailand. Sermchai began practicing meditation in 1970. After he made an attainment according to the Dhammakaya Meditation, he furthered his meditation to the advanced level with the Most Venerable Master Phrarajbrahmathera (Veera Kanuttamo), the vice abbot and head of Vipassana Meditation department of Wat Paknam in Bangkok, who studied the superknowledge of Dhammakaya directly with the Most Venerable Grand Master Phramongkolthepmuni (Luang Por Wat Paknam). After his achievement in meditation, Sermchai entered Buddhist monkhood on 6 March 1986. As a Buddhist monk, he spent years studying Buddhist doctrine and Pali language until he completed the advanced level of Dhamma study and level six of Pali curriculum. In 1991, he established Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram to be a center for Dhamma study and meditation practice in Rajaburi Province. In 1996, he became a certified Buddhist preceptor. As a recognition to his works which benefit Buddhism and the society, Venerable Sermchai was promoted for the first time to the ecclesiastical title of Phra Bhavana Visutthikhun in 1998. In 2004, he was promoted to the title of Phra Rajyanvisith. He was promoted again to the higher ecclesiastical title of Phra Thepyanmongkol in 2011. Throughout years of his monkhood, the Most Venerable Sermchai has promoted Dhamma study and Dhammakaya Meditation practice in order to create peace among human societies. With his qualified knowledge gained from the modern education system and profession as well as knowledge about Dhamma doctrine and meditation experience, the Most Venerable Sermchai has authored many books on Buddhism and meditation. In addition, as the abbot of Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram, he has organized meditation retreat and training for both Thais and foreigners. Venerable Master Sermchai initiated many projects which benefit Buddhism and the propagation of Dhammakaya Meditation which includes the establishment of Buddhist college located within the area of his temple in Rajaburi Provice. Consequently, with his work achievement and qualification, in July 2018, Venerable Master Sermchai (Phrathepyanmongkol) was granted the title of 'Associate Professor' by Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU) which is the prominent Buddhist University in Thailand. ([https://www.meditation101.org/14497024/venerable-master-assoc-professor-sermchai-jayamanggalo Source Accessed Apr 4, 2022])
A Gelukpa scholar from Chentsa Mani temple in Qinghai. He wrote a commentary on the ''Ultimate Continuum'' following Gyaltsap Je's interpretation. +
Jin Y. Park is Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Founding Director of Asian Studies Program at American University. Park's research areas include East Asian Buddhism (especially Zen and Huayan Buddhism), postmodernism, deconstruction, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist philosophy of religion, Buddhist-postmodern comparative philosophy, and modern East Asian philosophy. Park’s research in Buddhism focuses on the Zen and Huayan schools of East Asian Buddhism on language, violence, and ethics. In her comparative study, Park reads Zen and Huayan Buddhism together with postmodern thought in Continental philosophy, with a special focus on Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction. Park’s research on modern East Asian philosophy examines the dawn of philosophy in East Asia and the East-West encounter in this context. In her monograph ''Buddhism and Postmodernity: Zen, Huayan, and the Possibility of Buddhist-Postmodern Ethics'' (2008), Park discusses Buddhism and continental philosophy on the topics of, among others, self, language, and violence. In this book, Park offers the "ethics of tension" as a potential ethical paradigm drawn from Buddhism and postmodern philosophy. ''Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun'' (2014), is a translation of a book published in Korean in 1960 by Kim Iryŏp (1896-1971), a writer, first-generation Korean feminist, Buddhist nun, and philosopher. In this book, Kim Iryŏp offers a creative interpretation of Buddhist philosophy and practice. In ''Women and Buddhist Philosophy: Engaging Zen Master Kim Iryop'' (2017), Park proposes a new mode of philosophizing based on the discussion of Kim Iryŏp’s life and philosophy. Park is also the editor of volumes: ''Buddhisms and Deconstructions'' (2006), ''Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism'' (co-edited, 2009), ''Comparative Political Theory and Cross-Cultural Philosophy'' (2009), and ''Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism'' (2010). ([https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/jypark.cfm Source Accessed May 18, 2020]) +
Jingxi Zhanran. (J. Keikei Tannen; K. Hyŏnggye Tamyŏn 荊溪湛然 (711–782). Chinese monk who is the putative ninth patriarch of the Tiantai zong; also known as Great Master Miaole (Sublime Bliss) and Dharma Master Jizhu (Lord of Exegesis). Zhanran was a native of Jingqi in present-day Jiangsu province. At age nineteen, Zhanran became a student of the monk Xuanlang (673–754), who had revitalized the community on Mt. Tiantai. After Xuanlang's death, Zhanran continued his efforts to unify the disparate regional centers of Tiantai learning under the school's banner; for his efforts, Zhanran is remembered as one of the great revitalizers of the Tiantai tradition. A gifted exegete who composed numerous commentaries on the treatises of Tiantai Zhiyi, Zhanran established Zhiyi's ''Mohe zhiguan'', ''Fahua xuanyi'', and ''Fahua wenju'' as the three central texts of the Tiantai exegetical tradition. His commentary on the ''Mohe zhiguan'', the ''Mohe zhiguan fuxing zhuanhong jue'', is the first work to correlate ''zhiguan'' (calmness and insight) practice as outlined by Zhiyi with the teachings of the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'' ("Lotus Sūtra"), the central scripture of the Tiantai tradition. In his ''Jingang Pi'' ("Adamantine Scalpel"), Zhanran argued in favor of the controversial proposition that insentient beings also possess the buddha-nature (''foxing''). Zhanran's interpretation of Tiantai doctrine and the distinction he drew between his own tradition and the rival schools of the Huayan zong and Chan zong set the stage for the internal Tiantai debates during the Song dynasty between its on-mountain (shanjia) and off-mountain (shanwai) branches. Zhanran lectured at various monasteries throughout the country and was later invited by emperors Xuanzong (r. 712–756), Suzong (r. 756–762), and Daizong (r. 762–779) to lecture at court, before retiring to the monastery Guoqingsi on Mt. Tiantai. (Source: "Jingxi Zhanran." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 391–92. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Jingying Huiyuan. (J. Jōyō Eon; K. Chǒngyǒng Hyewǒn 淨影慧遠) (523-592). Chinese monk and putative Di lun exegete during the Sui dynasty. Huiyuan was a native of Dunhuang. At an early age, he entered the monastery of Guxiangusi in Zezhou (present-day Shanxi province) where he was ordained by the monk Sengsi (d.u.). Huiyuan later studied various scriptures under the vinaya master Lizhan (d.u.) in Ye, the capital of the Eastern Wei dynasty. In his nineteenth year, Huiyuan received the full monastic precepts from Fashang (495-580), ecclesiastical head of the saṃgha at the time, and became his disciple. Huiyuan also began his training in the Dharmaguptaka "Four-Part Vinaya" (Sifen lü) under the vinaya master Dayin (d.u.). After he completed his studies, Huiyuan moved back to Zezhou and began his residence at the monastery Qinghuasi. In 577, Emperor Wu (r. 560-578) of Northern Zhou began a systematic persecution of Buddhism, and in response, Huiyuan is said to have engaged the emperor in debate; a transcript of the debate, in which Huiyuan defends Buddhism against criticisms of its foreign origins and its neglect of filial piety, is still extant. As the persecution continued, Huiyuan retreated to Mt. Xi in Jijun (present-day Henan province). Shortly after the rise of the Sui dynasty, Huiyuan was summoned by Emperor Wen (r. 581-604) to serve as overseer of the saṃgha (shamendu) in Luozhou (present-day Henan). He subsequently spent his time undoing the damage of the earlier persecution. Huiyuan was later asked by Emperor Wen to reside at the monastery of Daxingshansi in the capital. The emperor also built Huiyuan a new monastery named Jingyingsi, which is often used as his toponym to distinguish him from Lushan Huiyuan. Jingying Huiyuan was a prolific writer who composed numerous commentaries on such texts as the ''Avataṃsakasūtra'', ''Mahāparinirvānasūtra'', ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa'', ''Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra'', ''Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra'', ''Shidi jing lun'' (Vasubandhu's commentary on the ''Daśabhūmikasūtra''), ''Dasheng qixin lun'', and others. Among his works, the ''Dasheng yi zhang'' ("Compendium of the Purport of Mahāyāna"), a comprehensive encyclopedia of Mahāyāna doctrine, is perhaps the most influential and is extensively cited by traditional exegetes throughout East Asia. Jingying Huiyuan also plays a crucial role in the development of early Pure Land doctrine in East Asia. His commentary on the ''Guan Wuliangshou jing'', the earliest extant treatise on this major pure land scripture, is critical in raising the profile of the ''Guan jing'' in East Asian Buddhism. His commentary to this text profoundly influenced Korean commentaries on the pure land scriptures during the Silla dynasty, which in turn were crucial in the evolution of Japanese pure land thought during the Nara and Heian periods. Jingying Huiyuan's concept of the "dependent origination of the tathāgatagarbha" (rulaizang yuanqi)—in which tathāgatagarbha is viewed as the "essence" (ti) of both nirvāṇa and saṃsāra, which are its "functioning" (yong)—is later adapted and popularized by the third Huayan patriarch, Fazang, and is an important precursor of later Huayan reconceptualizations of dependent origination (''pratītyasamutpāda''; see fajie yuanqi). (Source: "Jingying Huiyuan." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 392. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Thupten Jinpa Langri (b. 1958) is a former Tibetan monk and a Geshe Lharampa with B.A. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in religious studies, both from Cambridge University. Since 1985, he has been the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and has translated and edited numerous books by the Dalai Lama, including the New York Times Bestsellers ''Ethics for the New Millennium'' and ''The Art of Happiness''. Jinpa’s own publications include works in Tibetan, English translations as well as books, the latest being ''Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows'' and ''Illuminating the Intent'', a translation of Je Tsongkhapa's commentary on ''Entering the Middle Way''. Jinpa is the general series editor of the 32-volume ''Bod kyi tsug lag gces btus'' series, whose translations are published in English as [https://tibetanclassics.org/ The Library of Tibetan Classics]. His current projects include the editing of classical Indian Buddhist texts from Tengyur for a special anthology known as Rgya gzhung gnad che bdam bsgrigs (Selected Indian Buddhist treaties). He is the main author of CCT (Compassion Cultivation Training), an eight-week formal program developed at Stanford University, and co-founder and president of the Compassion Institute. He is the Chair of Mind and Life Institute, founder of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, and an adjunct professor at the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. Jinpa lives in Montreal and is married with two daughters. (Source: Thupten Jinpa) +
Jizang. (J. Kichizō; K. Kilchang) (549–623). In Chinese, "Storehouse of Auspiciousness"; Chinese Buddhist monk of originally Parthian descent and exegete within the San lun zong, the Chinese counterpart of the Madhyamaka school of Indian thought. At a young age, he is said to have met the Indian translator Paramārtha, who gave him his dharma name. Jizang is also known to have frequented the lectures of the monk Falang (507–581) with his father, who was also [an] ordained monk. Jizang eventually was ordained by Falang, under whom he studied the so-called Three Treatises (San lun), the foundational texts of the Chinese counterpart of the Madhyamaka school: namely, the ''Zhong lun'' (''Mūlamadhyamakārikā''), ''Bai lun'' (*''Śataśāstra''), and ''Shi'ermen lun'' (*''Dvādaśamukhaśāstra''). At the age of twenty-one, Jizang received the full monastic precepts. After Falang’s death in 581, Jizang moved to the monastery of Jiaxiangsi in Huiji (present-day Zhejiang province). There, he devoted himself to lecturing and writing and is said to have attracted more than a thousand students. In 598, Jizang wrote a letter to Tiantai Zhiyi, inviting him to lecture on the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra''. In 606, Emperor Yang (r. 604–617) constructed four major centers of Buddhism around the country and assigned Jizang to one in Yangzhou (present-day Jiangsu province). During this period, Jizang composed his influential overview of the doctrines of the Three Treatises school, entitled the San lun xuanyi. Jizang's efforts to promote the study of the three treatises earned him the name "reviver of the San lun tradition." Jizang was a prolific writer who composed numerous commentaries on the three treatises, the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'', ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'', ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa'', ''Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra'', etc., as well as an overview of Mahāyāna doctrine, entitled the ''Dasheng xuan lun''. ("Jizang". In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 395. Princeton University Press, 2014)
Joaquín Pérez-Remon was a Jesuit missionary in India who taught Oriental Philosophy and was the chair of the History of Religions at the Jesuit University of Deusto (Bilbao). He is the author of several books, including ''Misticismo Oriental y Misticismo Cristiano'' (Bilbao, 1985), ''The Self and the Production of Pleasure and Pain in Early Buddhism'' (A.E.O. 1981), and ''Self and Non-Self in Early Buddhism'' (De Gruyter, 1980). ([https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2035 Source Accessed Oct 7, 2020]) +
Edward Hamilton Johnston was a British oriental scholar who was Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1937 until his death. He was born on 26 March 1885; his father was Reginald Johnston, Governor of the Bank of England from 1909 to 1911. He was educated at Eton College before studying at New College, Oxford, switching to history after a year of mathematics and obtaining a first-class degree in 1907. He joined the Indian Civil Service, winning the Boden Sanskrit Scholarship during his probation, and worked in India from 1909 onwards in various capacities. He took the opportunity to retire in 1924 after working in India for 15 years, and returned to England. Thereafter he spent his time on the study of Sanskrit, later learning sufficient Tibetan and Chinese to make use of material available in those languages.
Although Johnston seems only to have published one article in India (on a group of medieval statues), his later works show that he had noted local Indian practices in agriculture and other areas, since he made reference to these in his analysis of Sanskrit texts. Between 1928 and 1936, he published an edition and translation of the ''Buddhacārita'' (''Acts of the Buddha'') by the 2nd-century author Aśvaghoṣa; this was described by the writer of his obituary in The Times as his "magnum opus."
In 1937, he was elected Boden Professor of Sanskrit and Keeper of the Indian Institute at the University of Oxford, also becoming a Professorial Fellow of Balliol College. He started cataloguing the Sanskrit manuscripts acquired for the Bodleian Library by an earlier Boden professor, A. A. Macdonell, helped improve the museum of the Indian Institute, and worked on the manuscripts held by the India Office Library. He published several articles on a variety of topics. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Johnston_(orientalist) Source Accessed Jan 13, 2020]) +
Chris Jones completed doctoral research at the University of Oxford (St Peter’s College) in 2015, with a thesis that explored the language of selfhood (ātman) in relation to teachings about buddha-nature in Indian Buddhist literature. The thesis was awarded the Khyentse Foundation Award for outstanding doctoral research produced in Europe, and was the foundation for his first monograph – The Buddhist Self: On Tathāgatagarbha and Ātman. Jones spent three further years researching and teaching at Oxford as a Postdoctoral Fellow of the British Academy, and is now on a UK Arts and Humanities Research Project connected to the University of Cambridge, associated also with the University of Edinburgh. His continuing research concerns predominantly Mahāyāna Buddhist thought as preserved across Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan literature, as well as the boundaries and interactions between Buddhism and other religious traditions in India and elsewhere. (Personal Communication, September 2021]) +
David Jones is professor of philosophy and editor of ''Comparative and Continental Philosophy'' (Taylor and Francis), the founding editor of ''East-West Connections'' from 2000 to 2013, and the editor of the ''Series on Comparative and Continental Philosophy''. In 2013 and 2015 he was Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at National Taiwan University and has been a visiting professor at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Visiting Professor of Chinese Philosophy at the University of North Georgia, and Visiting Professor of Confucian Classics at Emory. From 1996 to 2008 he was the director of the Center for the Development of Asian Studies, which was a Southeast regional center of the Asian Studies Development Program of the East-West Center in Honolulu. Under his direction, CDAS coordinated a number of faculty development workshops and organized conferences and programs on Asia for faculty and the public in Atlanta, the Southeast, and nationally. David Jones was the president of the highly regarded Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle for the last twelve years. ([http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~djones/index.htm Source Accessed Mar 17, 2020]) +
Sina Joos received her MA in Tibetan studies, Chinese studies, and the History of Oriental Art in 2009 from the University of Bonn, Germany. Since 2016 she has been a PhD candidate at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria, under the supervision of Prof. Klaus-Dieter Mathes. Her research focuses on the ''gzhan stong'' doctrine of the Jonang school, while her teachers are mainly from the bka’ brgyud school of Tibetan Buddhism. Apart from her academic studies, she participated in the Translation Training Program at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu and works at the Kamalashila Institute for Buddhist Studies and Meditation, interpreting for Tibetan lamas as well as translating and editing texts for the practice sessions and seminars. +
Khenpo Dr Ngawang Jorden was born in 1956 and grew up in Sikkim. He lived at Lachung, Sikkim until he was 12 then moved to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim where he began formal studies at Enchey School. At age 14 he joined Sa-Ngor-Choe-Tshok Monastery in Gangtok. After completing his monastic studies such as rituals, he then studied Buddhist Philosophy with the late Khenpo Lodro Zangpo.
In 1975 he went to Sakya College, Dehradun, India, where he studied the five branches of Buddhist philosophy under the late Khenchen Appey Rinpoche. He obtained the degree of Kachupa (equivalent to B.A.) and Loppon (equivalent to M.A.) in Buddhist Studies. Khenpo Jorden later taught at Sakya College before going to America to study at Harvard University where he completed his M.A. and then Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies.
His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and Khenchen Appey Rinpoche invited Khenpo Jorden to take up the position of Principal of IBA in Kathmandu and so he left his teaching post at the University of Chicago and joined IBA in 2009. As Principal of IBA he oversees the many projects IBA is involved in, teaches the Dharma to students from across the globe and engages in translation work. He also travels extensively to countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Europe to give teachings.
IBA has around 40 monastic scholars undertaking the five-year monastic leadership program and each year offers a summer program in Buddhist studies and practice to overseas students. IBA also has an active translation program, the Chödung Karmo Translation Group, with scholars and translators from many countries. Khenpo Jorden is currently managing a rebuilding program at IBA after significant damage to campus buildings in the earthquakes. ([http://internationalbuddhistacademy.org/about-us/khenpo-ngawang-jorden/ Source Accessed July 22, 2020])] +
John Jorgensen is a senior research associate in the Chinese Studies Research Centre at La Trobe University. A specialist in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Buddhism, he taught at Griffith University in Queensland and was a researcher at The Australian National University before taking up his current role at La Trobe University. ([http://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Books/Treatise_on_Awakening_Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Faith Source Accessed Jan 6, 2020]) +
Associate Professor Judith Snodgrass writes, researches and teaches in the areas of Buddhism in the West, Buddhism and Asian modernity, Buddhist nationalism, and Western knowledge of Asia. She is the author of ''Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West: Orientalism, Occidentalism and the Columbian Exposition'' (University of North Carolina Press, 2003). Associate Professor Snodgrass was editor of the internationally refereed professional journal ''Japanese Studies'' (Taylor and Francis) from 1997 through 2011.
In 1991, Judith was a founding member of TAASA (The Asian Art Society of Australia) and was an active member of the Executive for the first decade of its activities. She is currently President of AABS (Australasian Association of Buddhist Studies). In 2012, she chaired the organising committee of the biennial conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia. ([https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/staff_profiles/uws_profiles/associate_professor_judith_snodgrass Source Accessed June 16, 2020]) +
Prof. GONG Jun 龔隽 is currently based in the Department of Philosophy at Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou, China). His research interest covers Chan Buddhism, the intellectual history of Chinese Buddhism, and Chinese philosophy. Born in 1964 in Jiangxi, China, Gong studied philosophy and Buddhism at Wuhan University and East China Normal University in Shanghai. Having finished his PhD, Gong started his academic career at South China Normal University in Guangzhou in 1993, and then moved to Sun Yat-sen University in 2001. He stayed one year at Harvard University (2002-2003) as Harvard-Yenching visiting scholar. Being solidly trained in both Chinese philosophy and Buddhist literature, Gong has authored a number of influential monographs such as ''Dacheng qixin lun yu Foxue zhongguohua'' 大乘起信論與佛學中國化 (The ''Awakening of Faith'' and Sinolization of Buddhism, 2001), and ''Chanshi gouchen'' 禅史鈎沉 (Essays Investigating the Hidden Historical Facts about Chan Buddhism, 2006), etc. Overall, Gong’s work demonstrates a very fine combination of philosophical debates with textual analysis. He also dedicates to dealing with methodological issues, his ''Zhongguo Chanxue yanjiu rumen'' 中國禅學研究入門 (Introduction to the studies in Chinese Chan Buddhism; 2009; co-authored with CHEN Jidong 陳繼東), for instance, offers methodological guidance and is deemed a must for junior researchers in this field. ([https://frogbear.org/guest-lecture-gong-jun/ Source Accessed July 3, 2020]) +
Jörg Plassen is Professor of East Asian Religions in the faculty of East Asian Studies / Center for Religious Studies at Ruhr Universität Bochum (RUB) in Germany. His areas of research include: Early Korean Hwaom and Samnon-Buddhism in East Asian Context; Authorship and intertextuality in Tang dynasty Huayan/Hwaom/Kegon texts (combining digital text mining and traditional philological methods); Literary and Pragmatic Dimensions of Buddhist Commentaries (especially Writing and Reading as Spiritual Practice); Religious Processes of Transfer ("Sinification of Buddhism", Interdependencies between Buddhism and Taoism / Xuanxue, Buddho-Confucian Interactions in China and Korea). ([https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/oaw/roa/plassen.html Source Accessed June 15, 2020]) +
Following Dogen Zenji, the Dharma lamp was transmitted to Ejo Zenji, then to Gikai Zenji, and then to Keizan Zenji, who was the fourth ancestor in the Japanese Soto Zen lineage.
Keizan Zenji was born in 1264 in Echizen Province, which is present-day Fukui Prefecture. His mother, Ekan Daishi, was a devoted believer in Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokiteshvara), the bodhisattva of compassion. It is said that she was on her way to worship at a building dedicated to Kannon when she gave birth. For that reason, the name that Keizan Zenji was given at birth was Gyosho.
At the age of eight, he shaved his head and entered Eiheiji where he began his practice under the third abbot, Gikai Zenji. At the age of thirteen, he again went to live at Eiheiji and was officially ordained as a monk under Ejo Zenji. Following the death of Ejo Zenji, he practiced under Jakuen Zenji at Hokyoji, located in present-day Fukui. Spotting Keizan Zenji’s potential ability to lead the monks, Jakuen Zenji selected him to be ino, the monk in charge of the other monks’ practice.
In contrast to Dogen Zenji, who deeply explored the internal self, Keizan Zenji stood out with his ability to look outwards and boldly spread the teaching. For the Soto Zen School, the teachings of these two founders are closely connected with each other. In spreading the Way of Buddha widely, one of them was internal in his approach while the other was external.
After more years of practice in Kyoto and Yura, Keizan Zenji became resident priest of Jomanji in Awa, which is present-day Tokushima Prefecture. He was twenty-seven years old. During the next four years, he gave the Buddhist precepts to more than seventy lay people. From this we can understand Keizan Zenji’s vow to free all sentient beings through teaching and transmitting the Way.
He also came forth emphasizing the equality of men and women. He actively promoted his women disciples to become resident priests. At a time when women were unjustly marginalized, this was truly groundbreaking. This is thought to be the origin of the organization of Soto Zen School nuns and it was for this reason many women took refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
Keizan Zenji finally moved back to Daijoji, in present-day Kanazawa City, where he became the second abbot, following Gikai Zenji. It was here that he gave teisho on Transmission of Light (Denkoroku). This book explains the circumstances by which the Dharma was transmitted from Shakyamuni Buddha through the twenty eight ancestors in India, the twenty three patriarchs in China, through Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji in Japan until Keizan’s teacher, Tettsu Gikai.
In 1321 at the age of fifty-eight, a temple called Morookaji in Noto, which is present-day Ishikawa Prefecture, was donated to Keizan Zenji and he renamed it Sojiji. This was the origin of Sojiji in Yokohama, which is, along with Eiheiji, the other Head Temple (Daihonzan) of the Soto Zen School.
Keizan Zenji did not, by any means, make light of the worldly interests of ordinary people and along with the practice of zazen used prayer, ritual, and memorial services to teach. This was attractive to many people and gave them a sense of peace. For this reason, the Soto Zen School quickly expanded.
Even in the Soto Zen School today, while all temples have zazen groups to serve the earnest requests of believers, they also do their best to fulfill the requests that many people have for benefiting in the everyday world, which include memorial services and funerals.
Keizan Zenji died in 1325 at the age of sixty-five. In succeeding years, his disciples did a good job in taking over for him at Sojiji on the Noto Peninsula. However, that temple was lost to fire in 1898. This provided the opportunity in 1907 to move Sojiji to its present location. The former temple was rebuilt as Sojiji Soin and continues today with many supporters and believers. (Source: [https://www.sotozen.com/eng/what/Buddha_founders/dogen_zenji.html Sotozen.com])
K
Kaiji Jeffrey Schneider is a Zen priest who has lived, worked and practiced at San Francisco Zen Center since 1978. The founder of the Zen Center recovery programs, he is currently the Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator. ([https://www.sfzc.org/teachers/kaiji-jeffrey-schneider Source Accessed August 13, 2020]) +
