Great Soto masters after Dogen?

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Luke
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Great Soto masters after Dogen?

Post by Luke »

Everybody knows that Dogen was a great Zen master, but were there any other Soto Zen masters who lived after him who were almost as great?
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Astus
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Re: Great Soto masters after Dogen?

Post by Astus »

Keizan Jokin is regarded as the second founder of Soto Zen. Menzan Zuiho (1683-1769) made Dogen and his writings the central source of doctrine in Soto, and Gento Sokuchu de-emphasised the use of koans in Soto. In the modern era the most famous is probably Sawaki Kodo.

You may also look at this: History of the Soto Zen School
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Beatzen
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Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

Re: Great Soto masters after Dogen?

Post by Beatzen »

Astus wrote:Keizan Jokin is regarded as the second founder of Soto Zen. Menzan Zuiho (1683-1769) made Dogen and his writings the central source of doctrine in Soto, and Gento Sokuchu de-emphasised the use of koans in Soto. In the modern era the most famous is probably Sawaki Kodo.

You may also look at this: History of the Soto Zen School
Not attempting to nitpick, but it was my understanding that Dogen didn't emphasize Koan practice, either. To him, the world, or mind, as-it-is, is the Genjokoan. The mind is a koan that can liberate when penetrated.

Also, Taizan Maezumi Roshi was pretty famous... and he was a Soto lineage holder as well.
"Cause is not before and Effect is not after"
- Eihei Dogen Zenji
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