{"id":5279,"date":"2019-10-07T07:56:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T10:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jinsai.org\/en\/?p=5279"},"modified":"2019-10-07T08:03:49","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T11:03:49","slug":"takuan-soho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jinsai.org\/en\/meishu-sama\/authors\/takuan-soho\/","title":{"rendered":"TAKUAN SOHO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Takuan S\u014dh\u014d was born into a family of farmers in the town of Izushi, in Tajima Province (present-day Hy\u014dgo Prefecture). At the age of 8 in 1581, Takuan began his religious studies; two years later he entered a Buddhist monastery of the Pure Land Sect. By the age of 14 in 1587, he started studying the system of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism under the tutelage of his sensei Shun'oku Soen (<\/span>\u6625\u5c4b\u5b97\u5712<\/span>:1529\u20131611).<\/span><\/p>\n

By age 36 in 1608, Takuan was made abbot of the Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Takuan's appointment was shortened as he left for a prolonged period of traveling. Throughout his journeys, Takuan raised and collected funds for the renovation of Daitoku-ji Temple and other Zen temples.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1629, Takuan was banished to northern Japan by the shogunate of Tokugawa Hidetada due to his protest of political interference in Buddhist temple matters pertaining to ecclesiastical appointments. By 1632, there was a general amnesty after the death of Tokugawa Hidetada, and Takuan's banishment came to an end. Later, after a meeting between the two arranged by Yagy\u016b Munenori in Kyoto, Takuan was ordered by Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604\u201351), who was deeply struck by the encounter, to become the first abbot of T\u014dkaiji Temple (<\/span>\u6771\u6d77\u5bfa<\/span>) in Edo, which he had constructed especially for Takuan to ensure he could draw on Takuan's counsel at any time.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEGACY<\/strong>
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Takuan S\u014dh\u014d died in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in December 1645. At the moment before his death, Takuan painted the Chinese character <\/span>\u5922<\/span> (\"dream\"), laid down his brush, and died. Despite instructions to bury him in unmarked ground and carry on the normal routine of life without further ado or ceremony, monuments were raised, one being the tomb which may be found in the Shinagawa area of Tokyo at Oyama Cemetery of T\u014dkaiji Temple.<\/span><\/p>\n

Takuan remained largely unaffected by his popularity and famed reputation. Known for his acerbic wit and integrity of character, Takuan exerted himself to bring the spirit of Zen Buddhism to many and diverse aspects of Japanese culture, such as Japanese swordsmanship, gardening, sumi-e, shodo, and sado.<\/span><\/p>\n

His collected writings total six volumes and over 100 published poems, including his best known treatise, The Unfettered Mind. His influence permeates the work of many present-day exponents of Zen Buddhism and martial arts. He has been credited with the invention of the yellow pickled daikon radish that carries the name \"takuan\".<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the three essays included in The Unfettered Mind, two were letters<\/span><\/p>\n

Fudochishinmyoroku, \"The Mysterious Record of Immovable Wisdom\", written to Yagy\u016b Munenori, head of the Yagy\u016b Shinkage school of swordsmanship and teacher to two generations of shoguns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taiaki, \"Annals of the Sword Taia\", written perhaps to Munenori or possibly to Ono Tadaaki, head of the Itto school of swordsmanship and an official instructor to the shogun's family and close retainers.[1]<\/span><\/p>\n

Takuan's morality has become the object of scathing criticism. Brian D. Victoria in \"Zen at War\" argues that Takuan is among the chief culprits of Zen Buddhism that created a religion unrecognizable as Buddhist. It is because Takuan repeatedly makes reference to the emptiness of opponents who may be murdered without consequence. Victoria understands Takuan to have transgressed the first grave Buddhist precept of 'Do not kill.'<\/span><\/p>\n

Read here<\/a> a Master Jinsai\u2019s Teaching about Takuan Soho!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>