Zen institutions have an elaborate system of ranks and hierarchy, which determine one's position in the institution. Within this system, novices train to be come a Zen priest, or a trainer of new novices.
Soto
From it's beginnings, Soto Zen has laid a strong emphasis on the right lineage and dharma transmission.[1] In time, dharma transmission became synonymous with the transmission of temple ownership.[2] This was changed by Manzan Dokahu (1636-1714), a Soto reformer, who...
[P]ropagated the view that Dharma transmission was dependent on personal initiation between a Master and disciple rather than on the disciple's enlightenment. He maintained this view in the face of strong opposition, citing as authority the towering figure of Japanese Zen, Dogen [...] This became and continues to this day to be the official Soto Zen view. [3]
Soto-Zen has two ranking systems, hokai (four dharma ranks) and sokai (eight priest ranks).[web 1]
Hokai
The dharma ranks point to the stages in the training to become an Oshō, priest or "technologist of the spirit".[web 2] To become a dai-Oshō, priest of a Zen-temple, one has to follow the training in an officially recognized training centre, sôdô-ango, literally "monks hall".[web 1]
Joza - Ordination
Becoming a Soto-Zen priest starts with shukke tokudo.[web 3] In this ceremony, the novice receives his outfit ("inner and outer robes, belts, o-kesa, rakusu, kechimyaku (transmission chart) and eating bowls"[web 3]) and takes the precepts. One is then an Unsui, a training monk.[citation needed] This gives the rank of joza, except for children under ten years old, who are called sami.[web 3]
Zagen - Risshin and hossenshiki
The next step,after one has been a monk for at least three years, is risshin and hossenshiki (Dharma combat ceremony), while acting as a susho, headmonk, during a retreat. Risshin is "To raise one's body into a standing position":
It means to gain physical stability. Confidence in oneself and one's role as a monk. The ability to express oneself and share a wider perspective, not restricted to one's own needs only. He starts to function like a pillar that supports the sangha.[web 3]
Hosseshiki is a ceremony in which questions and answers are exchanged. After this ceremony, one is promoted to the rank of zagen.[web 3]
Shiho (Dharma transmission)
The third step is shiho, or denpo, dharma transmission.[web 4] Dharma transmission is...
...the recognition of the transmission that took place long before the ceremony itself. In fact, it has nothing to do at all with the paper, with philosophy or with mystical experience. The 24 hours of the daily life shared by teacher and student are the content of the transmission, and nothing else [...] In Antaiji, when you receive shiho after, say, eight or nine years, you will have sat for 15.000 hours of zazen with your teacher. Not only that, you also shared many thousands of meals with him, worked together in the fields for thousands of hours, spread manure, cut grass and wood together, side by side, you sweat together in the summer and froze together in the winter. You cooked for him and filled the bath tub for him, you know how he likes the temperature both of his soup and the bathing water. You also shared many drinks, probabaly. In each of these activities, the dharma is transmitted. None should be left out.[web 4]
Shiho is done "one-to-one in the abbot's quarters (hojo)".[web 4] Three handwritten documents certify the dharma transmission;
a) Shisho (the scripture of transmission, the names of the anscestors arranged in a circle - the dharma has passed on from to Shakyamuni to yourself, and now you give it back to Shakyamuni. There is a small piece of papaer, propably originally written by Sawaki Roshi, with some comments. This paper is also copied by the student when doing dharma transmission at Antaiji.)
b) Daiji (the great matter, a cryptic symbolization of the content of the teaching. Again, there is a small extra sheet of paper that explains about the meaning of the symbols.) c) Kechimyaku (the blood lineage, looks quite similar to the blood line transmission that you already wrote at the time of ordination)
d) Actually, in the lineage of Sawaki Roshi (and maybe other lineages as well) a student is told to write a fourth document on an extra sheet of paper, which is called Hisho (the secret document, which is encoded, but the code for decyphering is on the same paper, so once you hold it in your hands it is not so "secret" anymore.)[web 4]
The procedure has to take place only once in one's life, and binds the student to the teacher forever:
Dharma transmission can happen once, and only once, or never at all. Multiple dharma transmission is nonsense. If you receive dharma transmission from one teacher, from then on that is your one and only teacher, your real teacher (jap. hon-shi). The multiple lineage holders that you hear of in the West are bullshit. Therefore it is important that both sides, but especially the student, make sure that this is the right time for them to make this important step.[web 4]
If a students does not have the feeling he wants to be tied to this teacher for the rest of his life, he may refuse to take dharma transmission from this particular teacher.[web 4] Since the time of Manzan Dokahu (1636-1714), multiple dharma transmissions are impossible in Soto Zen.[web 4][1]
Dharma transmission is not the end of the road; on the contrary, it marks the beginning of the real learning:
Dharma transmission is not the last and final step in a student's practice. Quite the opposite, one might call it the real first step on the way of practice. The way has just begun, but now the student has decided which exact way he wants to follow to the end. But all the real hardships still lay ahead of him. To use the example of boy-meets-girl again: At this point of time they have decided that they are made for each other, so to speak, they want to get married and have kids. Hopefully, that does not mean that the romance is over. It just means that both are prepared for the real struggle to begin.[web 4][a]
Oshō
To become an osho, teacher, two more steps are to be taken, ten-e and zuise.[web 1]
Ten-e means means "to turn the robe":[web 1]
Unsui (training monks) are allowed to wear only black robes and black o-kesa [...] [T]en-e is the point in the carrier of a Soto monk when you are finally allowed to wear a yellow-brown robe.[web 1]
The literal meaning of Zuise is as follows:
Zui means "auspicious", se is "the world". Originally, it seems that it meant the same as shusse, i.e. to get promoted to an office, to make a carrier step. Maybe it can also be interpreted as "to make an auspicious announcement to the whole world" or something along those lines.[web 5]
Zuise is also called ichiya-no-jûshoku, "abbot for one night".[web 5] In this ceremony, one is "abbot for one night". The ceremony has to be done at both Eihei-ji and Soji-ji, the main temples of the Sotō-shu, within the timespan of one month.[web 5] After zuise one becomes an Oshō, "priest" or "teacher".
Dai-Oshō
After having become oshō one may become a dai-oshō, resident priest in a Zen-temple. It takes further training in a sôdô-ango, an officially recognized Soto-shu training centre.[web 6]
A prerequisite to become dai-oshō is to do ango, "to stay in peace" or "safe shelter".[web 6] It is derived from ancient Indian Buddhism, when monks retreated into shelter during the rain-season. Ango is a period of 90 or 100 days of intensive practice. There is no fixed stage on the training-path when ango has to be done, but ordination as a monk is necessary, and it has to been done in a sôdô-ango.[web 6] The aspirant dai-oshō has to spend at least six months there, but one or two years is the usual span of time.[web 6] Ango is necessary because it "grinds" the future dai-oshō:
The point of ango is: Sessa-takuma. I used this term a number of times in the past. It consists of four Chinese characters: 切磋琢磨 The first means to cut (a bone or elephant tusk), the second to rub, the third to crush (a stone or gem), the fourth to polish. As a whole, it describes how various hard materials grind each others and during this process are all refined [...] Ango is important exactly because it can be a pain in the ass to live with others who go on our nerves, occupy our space and demand our time, have different habits and different vies, different outlooks on life etc. They often show us a mirror because life in the monastery forces them to do so, when people in the world would just step out off our way.[web 6]
Ango helps to become a mature person:
[T]hat is the real meaning of ango. Sharing all of your time and space and energy. Does it help to balance your nerves? In my case: Not always so. But it certainly helps to mature, and in my view, practice has something to do with being an adult.[web 6]
After ango one can start to work in a temple. The newly acquired status is confirmed in the kyoshi-honin ceremony. There-after follows the first practice-period in one's own temple, with the aid of a susho (head monk). This is followd by the Jushoku-himei ceremony, which confirms one's status as dai-oshō.[web 6]
Sokai
Promotion in priest-rank depends on school education and amount of time spend in monastery training.[web 1] There are eight ranks:
| Rank | University | High School | Junior High School |
|---|---|---|---|
Rinzai
Ordination
Ordination into the Rinza-school takes place through the jukai.
Priests and monks
At Myōshin-ji, two kinds of ranking systems are being used to rank sōryo ("a member of the educated clergy, a priest, as opposed to a monk"[4], namely the hokay (dharma rank) and the Tokyū-class system.[5]
Hokay
The hokay (dharma rank) system is used to denote ranks in the Buddhist clerical career hierarchy. It has fourteen ranks and titles, starting with the shami rank.[6]
After finishing the koan-study, further practice is necessary:
[I]t would take 10 years to solve all the kôans [...] in the sôdô. After the student has solved all koans, he can leave the sôdô and live on his own, but he is still not considered a roshi. For this he has to complete another ten years of training, called "go-go-no-shugyô" in Japanese. Literally, this means "practice after satori/enlightenment", but Fukushima preferred the translation "special practice". Fukushima would explain that the student builds up a "religious personality" during this decade. I would say it is a kind of period that functions to test if the student is actually able to live in regular society and apply his koan understanding to daily life, after he has lived in an environment that can be quite surreal and detached from the lives of the rest of humanity. Usually, the student lives in small parish temple during this decade, not in a formal training monastery.[web 7]
Tokyū
The Tokyū-class system is a teacher-grade system. Up to the second grade, progressing takes place through taking exams, or through mushiken kentei, authorization without examination. Age, seniority, amount of practice in the sodo, and educational level play a part in this authorization:[6]
| Rank | Bbuddhist studies department Hanazono University |
Holding a PhD Any university |
High School | Junior High School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A 'part-time' career program is offered by the ''ange-o-system, aimed at persons wishing to become fulltime or parttime temple-priest, who don't have the opportunity to spend the required years in the sōdō.[7]
Besides the official ranking, several honorific titles are being used:
- Oshō ("virtuous monk") is being used for an educated teacher above zendōshoku rank.[b]
- Above Jūjishoku rank the term daizenji ("great master") is attached to this title.[9]
- Rōshi is used for a teacher of dai kyōshi grade, but also for older teachers. In the west the title rōshi has acquired the menaing of "enlightened Zen master".[9]
Kwan Um
The Kwan Um School of Zen (관음선종회) (KUSZ) is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.
There are four kinds of teachers in the Kwan Um tradition, all having attained a varying degree of mastery and understanding.
- A Dharma teacher is an individual that has taken the Five precepts and Ten precepts, completed a minimum of four years of training and a minimum of eight weekend retreats, understood basic Zen teaching and has been confirmed by a Soen Sa Nim (Zen master) to receive the title. These individuals can give a Dharma talk but may not respond to audience questions.
- A senior Dharma teacher is a Dharma teacher who, after a minimum of five years, has been confirmed by a Soen Sa Nim and has taken the Sixteen precepts. These individuals are given greater responsibility than a Dharma teacher, are able to respond to questions during talks, and give consulting interviews.
- A Ji Do Poep Sa Nim (JDPSN) (Dharma master) is an authorized individual that has completed kong-an training (having received inka), and is capable of leading a retreat. The nominee must demonstrate an aptitude for the task of teaching, showing the breadth of their understanding in their daily conduct, and undergo a period of teacher training.
- A Soen Sa Nim (Zen master) is a JDPSN that has received full Dharma transmission master to master.[10]
An Abbot serves a Zen center in an administrative capacity, and does not necessarily provide spiritual direction, though several are Soen Sa Nims. These individuals take care of budgets and other such tasks.[web 8]
Criticism
The hierarchical system of Zen has attracted severe criticism in the west, because of the misconception of the role and degree of awakening of Zen teachers.[3][11][12] The term rōshi has been applied to implicate a certified state of awakening, implying impeccable moral behaviour. Actual practice shows that this has not always been the case.[13]
See also
Notes
- ^ This is reflected by the Five ranks of enlightenment. The same notion can be found within the Rinzai-tradition. See Three mysterious Gates, and the Four Ways of Knowing
- ^ "which most persons acquire by having spent a time in the monastery"[8]
References
- ^ a b Dumoulin & 2005-B.
- ^ Tetsuo 2003.
- ^ a b Lachs 1999.
- ^ Borup 2008, p. 54.
- ^ Borup 2008.
- ^ a b Borup 2008, p. 57.
- ^ Borup 2008, p. 59-60.
- ^ Borup 2008, p. 180.
- ^ a b Borup 2008, p. 58.
- ^ Ford 2006, p. 105.
- ^ Vladimir K. 2003.
- ^ Lachs & Year unknown.
- ^ Lachs 2006.
Web references
- ^ a b c d e f Muho Noelke, Part 3: Ten-e and some words about Zui-se
- ^ James Ishmael Ford: Bodhisattva Ordination, Leadership Reform, and the Role of Zen Clerics in Japan
- ^ a b c d e Muho Noelke, What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal? Part 1
- ^ a b c d e f g h Muho Noelke, Part 2: Ten points to keep in mind about dharma transmission
- ^ a b c Muho Noelke, Part 4: Zui-se - abbot for the night
- ^ a b c d e f g Muho Noelke, Part 5: Sessa-takuma - ango as life in a rock grinder
- ^ Muho Noelke, Part 10: What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal?
- ^ Kwanum Zen Glossary
Sources
- Borup, Jørn (2008), Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism: Myōshinji, a Living Religion, Brill
- Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005-A), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 9780941532891
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005-B), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 9780941532907
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Faure, Bernard (1999), "The Daruma-shū, Dōgen, and Sōtō Zen", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 42, No. 1. (Spring, 1987), pp. 25-55
- Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-509-8.
- Lachs, Stuart (1999), Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an /Zen Buddhism in America
- Lachs, Stuart (Year unknown), Reply to Vladimir K.
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Lachs, Stuart (2006), The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves
- McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen. Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism, The University Press Group Ltd, ISBN 9780520237988
- Tetsuo, Otani (2003), To Transmit Dogen Zenji's Dharma (PDF)
- Vladimir K. (2003), Tending the Bodhi Tree: A Critique of Stuart Lachs' Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Cha'n/Zen Buddhism in America
Further reading
- Hori, Victor Sogen (1994), Teaching and Learning in the Zen Rinzai Monastery. In: Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol.20, No. 1, (Winter, 1994), 5-35 (PDF)
External links
Training
- Muho Noelke: What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal? Part 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
- Uchiyama Kôshô Rôshi: To you who has decided to become a Zen monk
- Married monks?
- Fr. Kevin Hunt: Becoming a Zen Teacher
- The Formation of Soto Zen Priests in the West, A Dialogue
- James Ishmael Ford: Bodhisattva Ordination, Leadership Reform, and the Role of Zen Clerics in Japan
- Sensei Training Program (Pure Land)
Criticism
- Waking up to Soto Zen Hierarchy
- Fundamentally No Hierarchy?
- Sex, sake and Zen
- Online Zen-priest ordination
History of Zen