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Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life

Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life. Presented by Chris Acon, Tracy Backes, Danny Eastman, Junko Nakamura, Carl Nygaard, Alison Ryan, and Stephanie Tan. Overview of Buddhism. Developed twenty-five centuries ago in India with the Buddha Sh ā kyamuni

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Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life

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  1. Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life Presented by Chris Acon, Tracy Backes, Danny Eastman, Junko Nakamura, Carl Nygaard, Alison Ryan, and Stephanie Tan

  2. Overview of Buddhism • Developed twenty-five centuries ago in India with the Buddha Shākyamuni • Two main aspects: “True awareness” which refers to the Buddha’s religious experience and Buddha’s teachings themselves • Various sects of Buddhism have developed from the two main schools: Theravada and Mahayana. The sect we will explore is Zen Buddhism.

  3. Zen Buddhism • Originated in China in 520 A.D. with Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist monk • Bodhidharma stressed the importance of “true awareness” instead of simply studying or lecturing on Buddhist scriptures • Founded in Japan by Master Dogen who emphasized a life’s dedication to the salvation of living creatures. He preached universal and humanistic views which were new to Japan.

  4. Representations of Bodhidharma

  5. Zen Buddhism • Zen Buddhism maintains that it is crucial to bring “man back to the center of the Buddhism that is Buddha’s religious experience, while…holding all of Buddha’s teachings in respect as being the expressions of that original experience” (Smith, vii).

  6. Japanese Zen Buddhism • Two main sects: Sōtō and Rinzai • Soto: teaches the oneness of zazen practice or meditation in a perscribed, cross-legged posture • Rinzai: emphasizes satori (enlightenment) through hard discipline of kōan exercise • Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life explores the Rinzai sect

  7. Zen Master Hakuin • Established the kōan method to bring the student to satori awareness • Instrumental in regulating monastic life in its present form • Compassion through preaching, art, and writing

  8. Zen Buddhism & the West • Unsui aims to provide Western readers with a realistic introduction to monastic life • The West’s interest in Zen Buddhism is moving from mere curiosity to a more sincere understanding • Westerners are changing from an intellectual/theoretical interest towards actual practice

  9. Zendō Life • Zendō life can be analyzed as a life of humility, labor, service, prayer, gratitude, and meditation • Japanese Zen Buddhist temples are often located close to cities which relates to the act of begging and the interdependence it represents

  10. Important Aspects of Monastic Life • Closeness to nature: Mirrored by Zen gardens and regimen geared to seasonal patterns • Begging: raises funds for the monastery while furthering awareness of interdependency of all existence • Bathing and cleansing: Bathing in silence emphasizes awareness of attachment and freedom, impurity and purity • Drinking of tea: Relates to each day and connects all time • Silence: “Wisdom comes only when men are reduced to silence.” • Gates: Suggest passageway between secular and sacred

  11. Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life • Similar formatting to a comic book • Daily life of the monastery is portrayed in ninety-seven watercolor sketches • Illustrations are by Rev. Giei Satō a Rinzai Zen priest • Comments written by Rev. Eshin Nishimura, a former monk

  12. Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life • Unsui refers to a monk undergoing Zen training • Chinese characters translate to “cloud, water” • Monks in training gather around the Zen master like clouds and they live their lives smoothly like a moving cloud or running water

  13. Sarei: Daily Tea Ceremony

  14. Sarei: Daily Tea Ceremony • 12th Century: Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Eisai visited China and brought back origins of tea ceremony • Monks drank tea to stay awake during long meditation sessions • Slowly developed into the sarei that is practiced today

  15. Sarei • Sarei is held each morning as an informal ritual • Sozarei is the longer formal ceremony held several times a year • The formal tea ceremony practiced by the public of Japan was inspired by these ceremonies

  16. Principles of Sarei • Reverence (kei) • Harmony and peace (wa) • Inner and outer purity (sei) • Quietness (jaku) • ‘WABI’ (a combination of the above) is the ultimate of the tea principles

  17. Rice in Zen Buddhism

  18. Shojin Ryori • Strict vegan diet that the Zen Buddhists followed • No fish or meat was allowed • No garlic, onions, or chives were permitted • Kelp seaweed was used to prepare the dashi stock • Vegetables were thought of as being able to provide nourishment for the body and soul, yet took nothing in return • Goals: to promote purity of both the body and the spirit. This is referred to as “advancement of the spirit” • Shojin Ryori was only practiced within the confines of the Zen Buddhist temple

  19. Breakfast • Elder monks would wake up earlier than the other monks to make breakfast • Soft cooked rice is served – each grain of rice is thought of as having the same value as Mount Sumeru (the holiest mountain in the Indian Buddhist world)

  20. Breakfast • Example of typical breakfast: three bowls of rice, pickled plums, vegetables • Vegetables were grown by the monks in their own gardens • Left over rice is then put into buckets, which are later offered to the spirits, then to the birds and fish

  21. Lunch • All monks receive a bowl of rice that is mixed in with wheat (three parts of rice, seven parts of wheat) • Also part of the meal is miso soup, vegetables, and pickles • Largest meal of the day • Leftovers are then collected and first offered to spirits, then to the birds and fish • Dinner is not viewed as a meal, rather it is viewed as being a “medicine”

  22. Feeding Hungry Spirits • A wooden platform is built and placed on the veranda of the main hall inside the monastery • Monks will chant scriptures during the evening, while scattering healing water to call out to the hungry spirit, gaki • Fifteenth of August was an important day, where the Master and monks perform a ceremony calling for the spirits, and serving different kinds of foods from nature • Rice and water is then scattered by laymen and monastic participants in the ceremony

  23. New Year in Japan • Rice cakes were a custom at the end of the year • Tasks of monks were divided into three phrases • Steaming the rice • Pounding it when steamed • Making the round cakes

  24. When hunger comes, I eat my rice When sleep comes, I close my eyes Fools laugh at me, but The wise man understands -offering teaching from Lin Chi

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