Kangan Giin (寒巌義尹, 1217–1300) was a disciple of

Dōgen was a Japanese people, Japanese Zen Buddhism, Buddhist Bhikkhu, monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dent� ...

and the founder of the Higo school of

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 ...

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. It has been claimed that his father was

Emperor Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; ...

Emperor Juntoku (22 October 1197 – 7 October 1242) was the 84th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1210 through 1221, a part of Japan's Kamakura Period. Genealogy Before his ascension to the C ...

. He did much evangelization work in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, where he founded Daiji-ji (大慈寺) in Kumamoto. Before practicing with Dōgen, Giin started his Buddhist path as a Tendai monk. He later abandoned that school and became a member of Daruma School under Kakuzen Ekan. Along with his fellow students

Tettsū Gikai is the third spiritual leader of the Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism in Japan. He began his Buddhist life as a student of the Darumashū's Ekan, but later both became students of Eihei Dōgen's newly established Sōtō school. Gikai received dharm ...

and Gien, Giin became a student of Dōgen when Giin's teacher Ekan himself became a student of Dōgen. Dōgen died without giving

dharma transmission In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha him ...

to Giin, but he received it later from Dōgen's primary disciple,

Koun Ejō (1198–1280) was the second Lineage (Buddhism), patriarch of the Japanese Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism who lived during the Kamakura period. He was initially a disciple of the short-lived Darumashu, Darumashū sect of Japanese Zen founded by Non ...

. Giin traveled to China after Dōgen's death in order to present Dōgen's recorded sayings, the ''

Eihei Kōroku ''Eihei Kōroku'' (), also known by its English translation ''Dōgen's Extensive Record'', is a ten volume collection of works by the Sōtō Zen monk Eihei Dōgen. The bulk of the text, accounting for volumes one through seven, are "Dharma hall d ...

'', to Chinese monks in the

Caodong Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist branch and one of the Five Houses of Chán. The school emphasised sitting meditation (Ch: zuochan, Jp: zazen), and the " five ranks" teaching. During the Song dynasty, Caodong masters like Hongzh ...

lineage of

Tiantong Rujing Tiāntóng Rújìng (天童如淨; Japanese: Tendō Nyojō) (1163–1228) was a Caodong Buddhist monk living in Jìngdé Temple (景徳寺; Japanese: Keitoku-ji) on Tiāntóng Mountain (天童山; Japanese: Tendōzan) in Yinzhou District, Ningbo. ...

, Dōgen's teacher. Giin asked Wuwai Yiyuan, a primary student of Rujing, to write a foreword for the collection as well as to edit it. The text became the ''Eihei Dōgen Zenji Goroku'', an edited selection from ''Eihei Kōroku''. After returning from China, Giin practiced at a temple called Shōfuku-ji in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

connected to

Myōan Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he w ...

. Shortly thereafter, records tell us that Giin formed a relationship with a powerful samurai named Kawajiri Yasuaki who in 1269 sponsored the construction of Giin's first temple, Nyorai-ji. In 1282 Yasuaki paid for the construction of a second temple, Daiji-ji, with which Giin is now usually associated with.

References

Zen Buddhist monks Japanese Buddhist clergy 1217 births 1300 deaths Soto Zen Buddhists Founders of Buddhist sects Buddhist clergy of the Kamakura period Sons of emperors {{buddhism-stub

See also

References