SHINCHI KAKUSHIN
Shinchi Kakushin 心地覺心 (1207–1298) was a native of Shinshū 信州 (present Nagano Prefecture); his family name was Tsunezumi 常澄. He entered the temple at eighteen, and at twenty-nine received the full precepts at Tōdai-ji 東大寺 in the ancient capital of Nara. He then studied esoteric Buddhism on Mount Kōya 高野, headquarters of the Japanese Shingon 眞言 school, where he also met the Rinzai Zen master Taikō Gyōyū 退耕行勇 (1163–1241). He practiced Zen under Gyōyū from 1239 to 1241 at Kongōzanmai-in 金剛三昧院 on Mount Kōya and Jufuku-ji 壽福寺 in Kamakura. He took the bodhisattva precepts under Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄 (see note 86) at Gokuraku-ji 極樂寺 in Fukakusa 深草, then studied under several other Zen masters before embarking for China in 1249. After finding that Wuzhun Shifan 無準師範 (1177–1249), the master he had hoped to study under, was no longer alive, Kakushin set out on a pilgrimage, visiting various important Buddhist centers until a fellow Japanese monk named Genshin 源信 directed him to Wumen Huikai 無門慧開.
When Kakushin presented himself before Mumon, the master challenged him by saying, “There is no gate into my temple. Where did you enter?”
“I entered through no-gate (wu-men),” Kakushin retorted.
“And what is your name?”
“My name is Enlightened Mind [Kakushin]!”
Wumen was so pleased with this exchange that he composed a poem on the spot,
Mind, just this is Buddha.
Buddha, just this is Mind.
Mind and Buddha, thus, thus,
In the past and now.
(Zen Dust, p. 201.)
Under Mumon’s direction, Kakushin was introduced to koan practice. He achieved awakening after only six months in China, and won the admiration of his teacher. When it was time for him to return to Japan, Mumon presented him with a hand-written copy of the Mumonkan. It was the first copy to come to Japan.
This Master was a part of Fuke Zen, which demonstrated its enlightenment with music, mostly from their flutes (and not just good sounding music):
Do not shrink back from the unclean sound which is caused when the Great Bamboo is blown! (Hisamatsu 1823)
Q: In what way is it a Zen instrument? A: There is no event that does not have a Zen quality…following the flow of the breath it becomes your Zen practice. If it is not a Zen instrument, then what is it? (Hisamatsu 1823)
All information was from Terebess: http://ift.tt/2stosRz
Submitted July 02, 2017 at 12:03AM by Dillon123 http://ift.tt/2tcJNLY
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