Zen Buddhism in Japan comes in two primary forms -- Soto and Rinzai. This article will provide a brief history of Soto Zen in Japan.
Some background -- Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that first emerged in 6th century China as Chan. In time there came to be five distinctive schools of Zen, one of which was called Caodong.
Read More:The Caodong Chan School of China
The story of Soto Zen begins in 1224, when a Japanese monk named Dogen (1200-1253) traveled to China and became the student of a Caodong master named Tiantong Rujing (1162-1228).
Dogen returned to Japan in 1227 and founded Soto Zen.
Zen Comes to Japan
Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century, and over the years most of the distinctive schools that had developed in China were transmitted to Japan. Zen was one of the last of these. By 1227, other schools from China were already long established and influential.
In 1227, when Dogen returned to Kyoto, the dominant school of Buddhism in Japan was Tendai. The Tendai school's great monastery/temple complex on Mount Hiei, northeast of Kyoto, was the center of Buddhist learning and enjoyed the patronage of the Japanese aristocracy. Dogen himself was first ordained a monk on Mount Hiei.
Dogen first began to teach in a small Kyoto temple, Kennin-Ji. He did not feel comfortable there, however, partly because the "warrior monks" who protected Mount Hiei bullied people who strayed from Tendai orthodoxy. In 1230 he moved to a small temple outside Kyoto and finally was able to teach as he wished. Here he composed "Bendowa" ("discourse on the practice of the way" or "a talk about pursing the truth"), the first fascicle of his great work, Shobogenzo.
In this phase of his teaching career, Dogen taught both monks and laypeople, men and women, building a larger temple to accommodate the students. He emphasized the seated meditation of zazen. Like the great Caodong Master Hongzhi Zhengjue (Hung-chih Cheng-chueh, 1090-1157), Dogen emphasized that meditation practice was not about obtaining anything, but rather that through seated meditation one manifests the Buddha Nature already present. In other words, practice is not about obtaining enlightenment; practice is enlightenment.
In 1243 he moved with his monks to Echizen, a region on the northeast coast of Japan, It is believed he felt a need to get away from the sectarian politics of Kyoto. There he oversaw construction of the historic temple Eiheiji, which is the ancestral home of Soto Zen to this day. Dogen taught there until his death in 1253. After his death, his disciples published the first edition of Shobogenzo.
Soto After Dogen
Dogen's successor, Koun Ejo (1198-1280), was a devoted practitioner who did his best to lead the community at Eiheiji as his old master would have wanted. He also edited and preserved much of Dogen's work for later generations. Koun Ejo's successor, Tettsu Gikai (1219-1309), is remembered for introducing esoteric elements to Soto that some felt out of step with Dogen's teaching.
One of Tettsu Gikai's dharma heirs was Keizan Jokin (1268–1325). Keizan is considered nearly a co-founder of Soto Zen, even though Dogen had died before Keizan was born. Keizan was a strong teacher who helped Soto Zen spread outside the confines of Eiheiji. He founded many temples, including Sojiji, which became a second "home" temple for Soto Zen. He is remembered also for his encouragement of women to practice Zen.
However, as Soto spread throughout Japan Master Dogen's legacy was scattered, as his manuscripts were carried away to other temples, where they were stored and forgotten.
Dogen Rediscovered
Soto Zen today is very much Dogen's school, and Dogen's many written works are chanted and studied. They are very much at the heart of Soto Zen. However, for a very long time Dogen's original teachings were nearly forgotten.
Beginning in the 17th century, some Soto Zen teachers felt a need to reform their school and restore Dogen's work as its primary teaching. One of these was Manzan Dohaku (1636-1714), whose reform efforts were inspired by reading Shobogenzo, or what was available of it at the time.
Renewed interest in Dogen caused monks to search for the scattered Dogen manuscripts. The manuscript of "Bendowa," for example, was discovered in a Kyoto temple in about 1670. The 95-Fascicle Shobogenzo, which includes "Bendowa," was published in 1690.
The Meiji Era and After
The Meiji Era (1868-1912), beginning with the Meiji Restoration, was a time of rapid change in Japan. Buddhism was replaced by Shinto as the state religion, and many Soto and other Buddhist temples lost financial support and were closed. Because of its historic association with Dogen, Eihei-ji was relatively unaffected. Early in the 20th century, an organized central bureau managing the Soto school was established for the first time.
Both Rinzai and Soto Zen sought to secure their survival by supporting Japanese nationalism, which led eventually to support for Japanese militarism and war, culminating in the War in the Pacific of World War II.
After World War II, Soto Zen came West. Most of the early Japanese Zen teachers to come West were of the Rinzai school, but in the 1960s and 1970s Soto teachers such as Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (1904-1971), founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, made Soto available in the West.