Daihonzan Chozen-ji (大本山超禅寺) is a Rinzai

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temple located in

Kalihi Valley Kalihi is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, United States. Split by the Likelike Highway (Route 63), it is flanked by downtown Honolulu to the east and Mapunapuna, Moanalua and Salt Lake to the west. Kalihi is th ...

on the island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...

in Hawaii. It was established in 1972 by

Omori Sogen was a Japanese Rinzai Rōshi, a successor in the Tenryū-ji line of Rinzai Zen, and former president of Hanazono University, the Rinzai university in Kyoto, Japan. He became a priest in 1945. Biography Ōmori Sōgen was a teacher of Kashi ...

and Tenshin Tanouye.

History

In 1970

and Tenshin Tanouye met in Japan. Tanouye, a music teacher at

Farrington High School Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School is a public grades 9–12 high school located in the Kalihi district of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, United States. The school is named after the late Wallace Rider Farrington, the sixth ...

, trained with Sogen in Japan during summer vacations. Together they established the framework for Chozen-ji and its unique perspective on Zen, combining meditation,

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

, and

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

. In 1976 Chozen-ji moved to its current location in the back of

. In 1979 Omori Sogen established Chozen-ji as a Daihonzan, the main temple and headquarters of a new line of Zen. This made Chozen-ji the "first Rinzai headquarters temple established outside of Japan." The temple has been popular among Hawaii's business and political elites, as well as welcoming people from all walks of life and religious affiliations.

Training approach

Spiritual training at Chozen-ji is integrated with the practice of martial and fine arts, such as archery, ceramics and kendo. It is highly physical, with an emphasis on breath and posture. Chozen-ji was established as a place to bring shugyō (the deepest possible spiritual training) to the West and cultivate

kiai KIAI (93.9 FM) is a commercial radio station that serves the areas of Mason City, Iowa and Austin– Albert Lea, Minnesota. The station broadcasts a Country format. KIAI is owned by Alpha Media, through licensee Digity 3E License, LLC, which ...

, or vibration, in every aspect of life.

Abbot

The founding abbot was Tenshin Tanouye. The current abbot is Daian Sayama.

Activities

Chozen-ji hosts daily

zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technical ...

and holds regular fine arts and martial arts classes.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.chozen-ji.org/ Buddhist temples in Hawaii