Unborn The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693

by Bankei; Waddell, Norman; Waddell, Norman

• ISBN13: 9780865475953
• ISBN10: 0865475954
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-07-31
• Publisher: North Point Pr

Summary

In 1633, at age eleven, Bankei Yotaku was banished from his family's home because of his consuming engagement with the Confucian texts that all schoolboys were required to copy and recite. Using a hut in the nearby hills, he wrote the word Shugyo-an, or "practice hermitage," on a plank of wood, propped it up beside the entrance, and settled down to devote himself to his own clarification of "bright virtue." He finally turned to Zen and, after fourteen years of incredible hardship, achieved a decisive enlightenment, whereupon the Rinzai priest traveled unceasingly to the temples and monasteries of Japan, sharing what he'd learned. "What I teach in these talks of mine is the Unborn Buddha-mind of illuminative wisdom, nothing else. Everyone is endowed with this Buddha-mind, only they don't know it." Casting aside the traditional aristocratic style of his contemporaries, he offered his teachings in the common language of the people. His style recalls the genius and simplicity of the great Chinese Zen masters of the T'ang dynasty. This revised and expanded edition contains many talks and dialogues not included in the original 1984 volume.

Author Biography

Norman Waddell has published translations of Suzuki and Dogen, and, most recently, Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin. He lives in Japan.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction	3	(36)
Notes to the Introduction	26	(13)
The Dharma Talks of Zen Master Bankei	39	(94)
The Ryumon-ji Sermons	39	(48)
The Hoshin-ji Sermons	87	(34)
Notes to the Dharma Talks	121	(12)
The Dialogues of Zen Master Bankei	133	(30)
Notes to the Dialogues	159	(4)
Unnecessary Words	163	(30)
Notes to Unnecessary Words	187	(6)
Bibliography of Works Cited	193