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February 1, 1394 – December 12, 1481 was a Japanese Zen Buddhism monk and poet who had a great impact on the infusion of Japanese art and literature with Zen attitudes and ideals.Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, entry "Ikkyū" by James H. Sanford He is perhaps best known for his radical approach to Zen, which included breaking Buddhist vinaya and his stance against celibacy.
Ikkyū soon found a new teacher in a master named Kaso at Zenko-an, a branch temple of Daitoku-ji. Kaso was much like Ken'o in his style. For years he worked hard on assigned and made dolls for a local merchant in Kyoto. In 1418 Ikkyū was given Case 15 of the , ("The Gateless Gate", a famous set of 49 ), 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 his while engrossed in the music. In recognition of his understanding Kaso gave Shuken the Dharma name Ikkyū, which roughly means 'One Pause'.
In 1420, Ikkyū was meditating in a boat on Lake Biwa when the sound of a crow sparked . When Ikkyū told Kasō of his experience, Kasō replied, "This is the enlightenment of a mere arhat, you’re no master yet." Ikkyū responded, "Then I’m happy to be an arhat, I detest masters." Thus, Kasō declared, "Ha, now you really are a master."Crow With No Mouth: Ikkyū, 15th Century Zen Master, Versions by Stephen Berg, Preface by Lucien Stryk, page 9, Copper Canyon Press, 1989 Kasō confirmed Ikkyū's great enlightenment and granted him . 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.John Stevens, Three Zen Masters: Ikkyū, Hakuin, and Ryōkan, page 20, Kodansha International, 1993
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 strove to live Zen outside of formal religious institutions. However, the Ōnin War had reduced Daitokuji to ashes, and Ikkyū was elected to be its abbot 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.”Letting Go: The Story of Zen Master Tōsui, Translated and with an Introduction by Peter Haskel, page 133, note 81, University of Hawai'i Press, 2001 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!John Stevens, Three Zen Masters: Ikkyū, Hakuin, and Ryōkan, page 56, Kodansha International, 1993
In 1481, Ikkyū died at the age of 87 from acute fever.
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.Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyū, translated by John Stevens, pages 75-76, White Pine Press, 2003
Ikkyū frequented brothels as a means of deepening his satori and applying Zen to daily living. As Covell and Yamada point out, this resembles the tenth Ten Bulls in which Budai mingles freely with everyone, going beyond the duality between the saintly and common person. Ikkyū praised "pavilion girls" who, unlike priests whose minds were filled with philosophical dialectics, existed in a state of no-mind, facing the present moment immediately and without calculated thinking or regrets. This was to act free of the logically-structured mind.Carter Covell, Jon; and Yamada, Sobin. Unraveling Zen's Red Thread, Ikkyu's Controversial Way, pages 72-75. Hollym International Corp, 1980. Ikkyū also came to embrace the view found in Vajrayana 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.Dr. Jon Covell, and Abbot Yamada Sobin, Zen At Daitoku-ji, page 101, Kodansha International, 1974 Such a tantric attitude, which also 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.John Stevens, Three Zen Masters: Ikkyū, Hakuin, and Ryōkan, page 24, Kodansha International, 1993
In Rinzai Zen tradition, he is both heretic and saint. He was among the few Zen priests who addressed the subject of sexuality from a religious context, and he stood out for arguing that enlightenment was deepened by partaking in love and sex, including lovers, and monastic homosexuality.
Usually he is referred to as one of the main influences on the Fuke Zen 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 the Japanese tea ceremony, and renowned as one of medieval Japan's greatest calligraphers and artists.
Ikkyū wrote in -style classical Chinese, which was employed by many contemporary Japanese authors. For instance, the "Calling My Hand Mori's Hand" poem.
Ikkyū is also connected with a Hell Courtesan, who became his disciple.
(1986). 9780860083405, University of Tokyo Press. ISBN 9780860083405 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.
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Categories: 1394 Births, 1481 Deaths, 15th-century Buddhist Monks, 15th-century Japanese Poets, 15th-century Japanese Calligraphers, 15th-century Japanese Philosophers, Rinzai Buddhists, Zen Buddhist Monks, Japanese Tea Masters, Japanese Zen Buddhists, Sons Of Japanese Emperors, People From Kyoto Prefecture, People From Kyoto, Writers From Kyoto Prefecture, Writers From Kyoto, Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhists
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