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Gasan Jitō

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gasan Jitō was a Zen master in the Japanese Rinzai school. He received Dharma transmission from Rinzai teacher Gessen Zen'e, before meeting Hakuin.[1] Deeply impressed, he started koan-study with Hakuin, completing it under Tōrei Enji tutelage.[2] Gasan is considered to be a dharma heir of Hakuin, though "he did not belong to the close circle of disciples and was probably not even one of Hakuin's dharma heirs."[3][note 1] After completing his training, Gasan Jitō moved to Rinsho-in, a small temple in Edo where he had more than five-hundred students.[1] He and/or his students Inzan Ien and Takuju Kosen created the contemporary Rinzai koan-curriculum out of the "raw koan system" inherited from Gasan.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ According to Besserman, Gasan Jitō received dharma transmission from Hakuin.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Besserman & Steger 2011, p. 142.
  2. ^ McDaniel 2013, p. 308.
  3. ^ Dumoulin 2005, p. 391.

Sources

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  • Besserman, Perle; Steger, Manfred B. (2011), Zen Radicals, Rebels, and Reformers, Wisdom Publications Inc., ISBN 9780861716913
  • Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 9780941532907
  • McDaniel, Richard Bryan (2013), Zen Masters of Japan. The Second Step East, Tuttle Publishing