Hanazono University (花園大学,Hanazono Daigaku) is aprivate university inKyoto, Japan that belongs to theRinzai sect (specifically theMyōshin-ji temple complex, which it is next to). The university and the neighborhood are named forEmperor Hanazono, whose donated his palace to make Myōshin-ji.
It is a major competitor of theSōtō college inTokyo known asKomazawa University. Despite the university's sectarian affiliation, the school accepts Soto students.[1] The school operates two research centers important in Zen academia, i.e. the Institute for Zen Studies and the International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism.[2] Founded in 1872 as a seminary for those interested in the priesthood, the university carries on that tradition while offering an education to those uninterested in becoming a priest. The university's president is Dr. Kosan Abe.[3] Former presidents includeEshin Nishimura.
Since 1979, the Institute for Zen Studies has organised together with theMonastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID) the so-calledEast-West Spiritual Exchanges in which Buddhist and Christian monks or nuns take turns residing for one month in each other’s monasteries.[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
35°0′59.2″N135°43′35.7″E / 35.016444°N 135.726583°E /35.016444; 135.726583
.svg)
