Bassui Tokushō
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was a
Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...
Zen Master born in modern-day
Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
who had trained with
Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...
and Rinzai Zen-masters. Bassui was tormented by the question "Who is the one that sees, hears, and understands?" This question was also central in his teachings, and still inspires present-day Zen-practitioners.


Biography


Birth and early childhood

Bassui was born in 1327 in Sagami (today's Kanagawa Prefecture) during a time of
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
in Japan. These were the ruling years of
Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...
, who had begun reclaiming control of the country back from the
Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this perio ...
of the
Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...
. He was abandoned by his mother and left alone in a field, after she had a dream during her pregnancy in which she had a premonition that her baby would be born a
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...
. A servant of the family retrieved the infant and raised him, though it is plausible his mother left him there knowing the servant would come to get him, making the ritual of abandoning the newborn a formality in which evil spirits were dispelled.


Start of religious quest

At the age of seven his father died, and Bassui became tormented by the question "What is a soul?", which turned into the question "Who is the one that hears, sees and understands?" These are questions he would struggle with for a good portion of his life. He would pursue this style of inquiry in
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
, one day realizing that there's nothing that can be called a "soul." This insight lifted his burden for a while, but his question was reinvigorated when he read the phrase "The mind is host, the body is guest," realizing that this host must then be the one who hears, sees and understands, but not knowing what exactly this would be then. When Bassui was twenty he undertook training at Jifukuji Temple under a Zen Master Oko, but did not ordain as a monk until nine years before becoming one. Once a monk he would not wear a monk's robes or recite the sutras as everyone was doing, but just practiced meditation. At the end of his stay at Jifukuji, Bassui sought to find the hermit monk Tokukei Jisha whom he heard lived amongst the mountains. Upon first meeting each other Tokukei appeared taken aback by Bassui's appearance (a shaved head yet regular clothing). Tokukei asked Bassui why he was not wearing his robes, to which Bassui explained he had no need for them. Bassui then expressed the true purpose of his quest, about his desire to attain enlightenment for the benefit of others. This endeared Bassui to Tokukei, and the two developed a strong friendship following this initial encounter.


Break-through and confirmation

Around the age of 30 he had a breakthrough, which was confirmed in 1358 by Kozan Mongo, when Bassui was 31 years old. Around this time Bassui finally started to wear Buddhist robes. After spending a year with Tokukei doing intensive ''zazen'', Bassui set out to meet Koho Kakumyo, a renowded teacher who had studied in China under
Zhongfeng Mingben Zhongfeng Mingben (; ), 1263–1323 was a Chan Buddhist master who lived at the beginning of Yuan China. He adhered to the rigorous style of the Linji school and influenced Zen through several Japanese teachers who studied under him. Biograph ...
, and also with the renowned Soto-teacher Kezan Jokin. Studying with Koho, Bassui had another, profound awakening, which was confirmed by Koho at the age of 32. After this, Bassui started to wander again, and built a hermitage at Nanasawa. In 1361, thirty-five years old, Bassui left for a hermitage in
Kii province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...
but was sidetracked at
Eigenji is a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple in the Eigenji-Takano neighborhood of the city of Higashiōmi, Shiga, Higashiōmi, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is the head temple of one of the 14 autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japane ...
temple, where he met the Zen master and
haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...
poet Jakushitsu Genkō. In 1362 he met the Soto-teacher
Gasan Jōseki Gasan Jōseki (峨山韶碩 1275–23 November 1366) was a Japanese people, Japanese Soto Zen monk. He was a disciple of Keizan Jokin, and his students included Bassui Tokushō, Taigen Sōshin, Tsūgen Jakurei, Mutan Sokan, Daisetsu Sōrei, and J ...
, who recognized Bassui's understanding, but Bassui declined to receive dharma-transmission from Gasan. For many years after this Bassui lived in many hermitages all over Japan, where his reputation as a clear teacher spread by word of mouth.


Final years

In 1378 Bassui settled for a bit in Kai province, but by now the audience coming to see him was growing so fast that it became hard to continue living his life as a hermit. So Bassui moved to Enzan, where he founded a temple called Kogakuan at which he lived and taught for the remainder of his life. Bassui never did like referring to Kogakuan as a temple or monastery, however, and would often just refer to it as a hermitage. At Kogakuan, ''Wadeigassi'', "Mud and water", consisted of talks to his students, was recorded, which was published in 1386, a year before his death. He developed a great faith in
Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
, the
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
of compassion. In the ''Wadeigassui'' he refers to Kannon as characterized in the '' Suramgama Sutra'': "He was a person who for every sound he heard contemplated the mind of the hearer, realizing his own nature." In 1387 (at the age of 61), as Bassui was sitting in
zazen ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...
meditation among his followers, he turned to them and said twice to his students: "Look directly. What is this? Look in this manner and you won't be fooled." He then died.


Teachings

Bassui had a preference for reclusiveness and small hermitages, avoiding the large monasteries. In this, he seems to have been influenced by teachers who had a connection with the Chinese Zen master Chuho Myohon (
Zhongfeng Mingben Zhongfeng Mingben (; ), 1263–1323 was a Chan Buddhist master who lived at the beginning of Yuan China. He adhered to the rigorous style of the Linji school and influenced Zen through several Japanese teachers who studied under him. Biograph ...
, 1263–1323). In the ''Wadeigassi'', great stress is placed on the question "Who is hearing the sound?", equivalent to seeing into ne'snature. While not part of any of the great koan-collections, it has repeatedly been treated as such. Yamada Koun, dharma heir of Hakuun Yasutani, used it for his practice after he had completed formal koan-study. It is a practice, or quest, which is also pointed to in older Buddhist sources, 'turning the light within', or'turning back the radiance', seeing one's nature, e.g. sunyata or
Buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...
. Bassui was critical of koans, warning that they should only be studied once one had gained some insight in their inherent nature.


See also

*
Buddhism in Japan Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185-1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...
* List of Rinzai Buddhists *
Hakuin Ekaku was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism, who regarded bodhicitta, working for the benefit of others, as the ultimate concern of Zen-training. While never having received formal dharma transmission, he is regarded as th ...
*
Matsuo Bashō ; born , later known as was the most famous Japanese poet of the Edo period. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as th ...
* Ryōkan


Notes


References


Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassui, Tokusho Zen Buddhist monks Rinzai Buddhists Japanese Zen Buddhists 1327 births 1387 deaths People from Kanagawa Prefecture