Ikkyū Sōjun | |
|---|---|
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| Title | Zen master |
| Personal life | |
| Born | February 1, 1394 |
| Died | December 12, 1481（aged 87） |
| Other names | Shūken |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Rinzai |
| Senior posting | |
| Predecessor | Kaso |
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Ikkyū (一休宗純,Ikkyū Sōjun, February 1, 1394 – December 12, 1481) was aneccentric, iconoclasticJapaneseZenBuddhist monk andpoet. He had a great impact on the infusion of Japanese art and literature with Zen attitudes and ideals.[1] He is perhaps best known for his radical approach to Zen, which included breaking Buddhistmonastic precepts and his stance againstcelibacy.[2]
Ikkyū was born in 1394 in a small suburb ofKyoto. It is generally held that he was the son ofEmperor Go-Komatsu and a low-ranking court noblewoman.[1] His mother was forced to flee to Saga, where Ikkyū was raised by servants. At the age of five, Ikkyū was separated from his mother and placed in a Rinzai Zen temple in Kyoto calledAnkoku-ji, as an acolyte.[1][3] The temple masters taught Chinese culture and language as part of the curriculum, a method termedGozan Zen. He was given the name Shuken, and learned aboutChinese poetry, art and literature.
When Ikkyū turned thirteen he enteredKennin-ji in Kyoto to study Zen under a well known priest by the name ofBotetsu. Here Ikkyū began to write poetry frequently that was non-traditional in form. He was openly critical of Kennin-ji's leadership in his poetry, disheartened with the social stratum and lack ofzazen practice he saw around him. In 1410, at the age of sixteen, Ikkyū left Kennin-ji and entered the templeMibu-dera, where an abbot named Seiso was in residence. He did not stay long, and soon found himself atSaikin-ji in theLake Biwa region where he was the sole student of an abbot named Ken'o. It seemed Ikkyū had finally found a master that taught trueRinzai Zen as Ikkyū saw it. Ken'o was sporadic in his teaching style and was a strong believer in the supremacy ofzazen. In 1414, when Ikkyū was 21, Ken'o died. Ikkyū performed funeral rites and fasted for seven days. In despair Ikkyū tried tokill himself by drowning himself in Lake Biwa, but was talked out of it from the shore by a servant of his mother.
Ikkyū soon found a new teacher in a master named Kaso atZenko-an, a branch temple ofDaitoku-ji. Kaso was much like Ken'o in his style. For years he worked hard on assignedkōan and made dolls for a local merchant in Kyoto. In 1418 Ikkyū was given Case 15 of theMumonkan, ("The Gateless Gate", a famous set of 49kōan), known as "Tozan's Three (or 60?) Blows", which depicts Tozan becoming enlightened when Ummon rebukes him for wandering from one monastery to another. One day a band of blind singers performed at the temple and Ikkyū penetrated hiskōan while engrossed in the music. In recognition of his understanding Kaso gave Shuken theDharma name Ikkyū, which roughly means 'One Pause'.
In 1420, Ikkyū was meditating in a boat on Lake Biwa when the sound of a crow sparkedsatori. When Ikkyū told Kasō of his experience, Kasō replied, "This is the enlightenment of a merearhat, you’re no master yet." To this, Ikkyū responded, "Then I’m happy to be an arhat, I detest masters." Thus, Kasō declared, "Ha, now you really are a master."[4] Kasō confirmed Ikkyū's great enlightenment and granted himinka. However, when presented with his inka, Ikkyū threw it to the ground and stomped off. Kasō retained the inka for safekeeping, but when Ikkyū learned of this, he tore it to pieces. Later, when his disciples had it pieced back together, Ikkyū burned it completely.[5]
Ikkyū came up against the jealousy of Yoso, a more senior student who eventually came to run the monastery. In Ikkyū's poems, Yoso appears as a character unhealthily obsessed with material goods, who sold Zen to increase the prosperity of the temple.
Ikkyū could sometimes be a troublemaker. Known to drink in excess, he would often upset Kaso with his remarks and actions to guests. In response, Kaso gaveinka to Yoso and made him Dharma heir. Ikkyū quickly left the temple and lived many years as avagabond. He was not alone, however, as he had a regular circle of notable artists and poets from that era. Around this time, he established a sexual relationship with a blind singer, Mori, who became the love of his later life.
Ikkyū strove to live Zen outside of formal religious institutions. However, theŌnin War had reduced Daitokuji to ashes, and Ikkyū was elected to be itsabbot late in life, a role he reluctantly took on. This firmly placed him at the head of one of the most important Zen institutions. However, Ikkyū refused to give formal sanction to any of his disciples, stating his intent thus: “I have never given inka to anyone. . . . So if after I’m gone, someone comes claiming to have my inka, you should report him to the authorities and prosecute for criminal misconduct. That’s why I’m telling everyone the facts by way of a written testament.”[6] Toward the end of his life, Ikkyū told his disciples:
After my death some of you will seclude yourselves in the forests and mountains to meditate, while others may drink saké and enjoy the company of women. Both kinds of Zen are fine, but if some become professional clerics, babbling about 'Zen as the way,' they are my enemies. I have never given an inka, and if anyone claims to have received such a thing from me, have him or her arrested![7]
In 1481, Ikkyū died at the age of 87 from acuteague.
Ikkyū felt a close connection with theChinese Chan master,Linji, for whom everyday ordinary activities expressed thebuddha-nature. Linji said, "Shit and piss and just be human; when hungry, eat; when tired, sleep; make yourself the master of every situation!"[8] According to Yanagida, this represents a recognition of the "fundamental value of the human being."[9] Ikkyū was inspired by such an attitude, taking it to include sexual needs as well. "If you are thirsty," Ikkyū said, "you dream of water; if you are cold, you dream of a warm coat; as for me, I dream of the pleasures of the boudoir—that's my nature!"[10]
For Ikkyū, sex was a form of spiritual practice. He regarded sex in light of the nonduality of desire andbodhi, and it also served as a means for him to test his own sense of enlightenment as well.[11] According to John Stevens, "For Ikkyū, the passions were the anvil on which true enlightenment is forged."[12] As such, Ikkyū wrote that sex was better than sitting in meditation and working onkoans:
Rinzai's disciples never got the Zen message,
But I, the Blind Donkey, know the truth:
Love play can make you immortal.
The autumn breeze of a single night of love is better than a hundred thousand years of sterile sitting meditation . . .
Stilted koans and convoluted answers are all monks have,
Pandering endlessly to officials and rich patrons.
Good friends of the Dharma, so proud, let me tell you,
A brothel girl in gold brocade is worth more than any of you.[13]
Ikkyū also came to embrace the view found inEsoteric Buddhism that the real Buddha is none other than one's own body. Thus, when he practiced Zen, he practiced with the body as well as the mind.[14] Such a tantric attitude, which draws on the language of alchemy, can be seen in the following:
A sex-loving monk, you object!
Hot-blooded and passionate, totally aroused.
But then lust can exhaust all passion,
Turning base metal into pure gold.
The lotus flower
Is not stained by the mud;
This dewdrop form,
Alone, just as it is,
Manifests the real body of truth.[15]
Ikkyū is one of the most significant (and eccentric) figures in Zen history. To Japanese children, he is a folk hero, mischievous and always outsmarting his teachers and theshōgun. In addition to passed down oral stories, this is due to the very popular animated TV seriesIkkyū-san.
InRinzai Zen tradition, he is both heretic and saint.[16] He was among the few Zen priests who addressed the subject ofsexuality from a religious context, and he stood out for arguing thatenlightenment was deepened by partaking in love and sex, including lovers,prostitutes andmonastic homosexuality.[2][16][17] He believed that sex was part of the human nature, and therefore purer than hypocritical organizations and worldly pursuits. At the same time, he warned Zen against its own bureaucratic politicising.[2]
Usually he is referred to as one of the main influences on theFuke sect of Rinzai zen, as he is one of the most famous flute player mendicants of the medieval times of Japan. The piece "Murasaki Reibo" is attributed to him. He is credited as one of the great influences on theJapanese tea ceremony, and renowned as one of medieval Japan's greatestcalligraphers andsumi-e artists.
Ikkyū wrote inKanbun-styleclassical Chinese, which was employed by many contemporary Japanese authors. For instance, the "Calling My Hand Mori's Hand" poem.
我手何似森手 | My hand, how it resembles Mori's hand. |
Ikkyū is also connected with aHell Courtesan, who became his disciple.[19]
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