Tradition

Ōbaku

Overview

Ōbaku Zen or the Ōbaku school (Japanese: 黄檗宗, romanized: Ōbaku-shū) is one of three main schools of Japanese Zen Buddhism, in addition to the Sōtō and Rinzai schools. The school was founded in Japan by the Chinese monk Ingen Ryūki, who immigrated to Japan during the Manchu conquest of China in the 17th century.

It had a strong influence on Japanese Rinzai, which partly adopted Ōbaku practices, and partly renewed older practices in response to the Ōbaku school.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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1. There had been, in very ancient times, a native religion called Shinto, and it had lingered on obscurely. But it is only during the last forty years or so that Shinto has been erected into a State religion, and has been reconstructed so as to suit modern requirements.[48] It is, of course, preferable to Buddhism because it is native and national; it is a tribal religion, not one which aims at appealing to all…

   Bertrand Russell, The Problem of China

   States what Ōbaku is.

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2. The places of the four great topes have been fixed, and handed down without break, since Buddha attained to nirvâna. Those four great topes are those at the places where Buddha was born; where he attained to Wisdom; where he began to move the wheel of his Law; and where he attained to pari-nirvâna.

   Confucius, Chinese literature

   Close in meaning to Ōbaku; the term itself is not named.

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3. Elementary education in Japan is said to be admirable from the point of view of instruction. But, in addition to instruction, it has another purpose, which is to teach worship of the Mikado—a far stronger creed now than before Japan became modernized.[3] Thus the schools have been used simultaneously to confer knowledge and to promote superstition. Since we are not tempted to Mikado-worship, we see clearly what is…

   Bertrand Russell, Free Thought and Official Propaganda

   Close in meaning to Ōbaku; the term itself is not named.

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Related ideas

• Rinzai school
• Pure Land
• Japan
• Linji school
• Zazen
• Koan
• Sōtō
• Yuan dynasty
• Pure Land Buddhism
• Sutra
• Jōdo Shinshū
• Zen
• Buddhism
• World War II
• Chan Buddhism
• Bodhisattva
• Ming dynasty
• China
• Traditional Chinese medicine

Place in the tradition

Part of Zen.

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