The Religion of the Samurai: A Study of Zen Philosophy and Discipline in China and JapanNukariya, Kaiten
Religion
The Religion of the Samurai: A Study of Zen Philosophy and Discipline in China and Japan
Nukariya, Kaiten
Buddhism -- China; Buddhism -- Japan; China -- Religion; Human beings -- Origin; Japan -- Religion; Zen Buddhism
And he related, being asked for further information, all that had
happened there.
"Obak said: 'As soon as that fellow shows himself up here, I shall
have to give him a good thrashing.' 'You need not wait for him to
come; have it right this moment,' was the reply; and with this
Rin-zai gave his master a slap on the back.
"Obak said: 'How dares this lunatic come into my presence and play
with a tiger's whiskers?' Rin-zai then burst out into a Ho,[FN#85]
and Obak said: 'Attendant, come and carry this lunatic away to his
cell.'"
[FN#85] A loud outcry, frequently made use of by Zen teachers, after
Rin-zai. Its Chinese pronunciation is 'Hoh,' and pronounced 'Katsu'
in Japanese, but 'tsu' is not audible.
8. The Courage and the Composure of Mind of the Zen Monk and of the
Samurai.
Fourthly, our Samurai encountered death, as is well known, with
unflinching courage. He would never turn back from, but fight till
his last with his enemy. To be called a coward was for him the
dishonour worse than death itself. An incident about Tsu Yuen
(So-gen), who came over to Japan in 1280, being invited by
Toki-mune[FN#86] (Ho-jo), the Regent General, well illustrates how
much Zen monks resembled our Samurais. The event happened when he
was in China, where the invading army of Yuen spread terror all over
the country. Some of the barbarians, who crossed the border of the
State of Wan, broke into the monastery of Tsu Yuen, and threatened to
behead him. Then calmly sitting down, ready to meet his fate, he
composed the following verses
"The heaven and earth afford me no shelter at all;
I'm glad, unreal are body and soul.
Welcome thy weapon, O warrior of Yuen! Thy trusty steel,
That flashes lightning, cuts the wind of Spring, I feel."
[FN#86] A bold statesman and soldier, who was the real ruler of
Japan 1264-1283.
This reminds us of Sang Chao[FN#87] (So-jo), who, on the verge of
death by the vagabond's sword, expressed his feelings in the follow
lines:
"In body there exists no soul.
The mind is not real at all.
Now try on me thy flashing steel,
As if it cuts the wind of Spring, I feel."
[FN#87] The man was not a pure Zen master, being a disciple of
Kumarajiva, the founder of the San Ron Sect. This is a most
remarkable evidence that Zen, especially the Rin Zan school, was
influenced by Kumarajiva and his disciples. For the details of the
anecdote, see E-gen.
The barbarians, moved by this calm resolution and dignified air of
Tsu Yuen, rightly supposed him to be no ordinary personage, and left
the monastery, doing no harm to him.
9. Zen and the Regent Generals of the Ho-Jo Period.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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