Mugai Nyodai
Encyclopedia
Mugai Nyodai was the first Zen
abbess and the first female Zen master
in the world. Some details of her life are not certain, but it is generally believed that she was given the childhood name Chiyono, and her father was Adachi Yasumori (1231–1285), a samurai warrior of the mid-Kamakura
period. She married and had a child (a daughter) at a young age, as was expected for warrior-class Japanese women at the time; she certainly married into the Kanezawa Hojo family, which then governed Echigo, but there is some dispute as to whether her husband was Hojo Sanetoki or Hojo Akitoki. She was highly educated in both Japanese and Chinese. When her daughter had grown up and her husband had died, she decided to become a Buddhist nun. Laywomen did not often join monasteries at the time, but dharma custom guaranteed that any woman who sought Buddhist teachings would receive them. Therefore, Mugai Nyodai shaved her head, gave up all her belongings, and came to the monastery of the Chinese Rinzai Zen monk Wu-hsueh Tsu-yuan (known in Japan as Mugaku Sogen.) She took the name Mugai Nyodai as part of her monastic vows, having previously been called Chiyono.
Nyodai received Wu-hsueh Tsu-yuan's teachings shortly before his death in 1286. At this time he conferred upon her the character "mu", meaning nothingness, from his own name. Wu-hsueh Tsu-yuan named Nyodai as his successor, and despite resistance by the monks Nyodai eventually founded and served as abbess of the Keiaiji Temple (the first sodo for women in Japan) and its subtemples in Northern Kyoto. The Keiaiji Temple was the head temple complex of the Five Mountain Rinzai Zen Convent Association. Nyodai was the first woman to successfully propagate Rinzai Zen teachings.
A poem Nyodai wrote about her enlightenment (which occurred when a water pail broke) has become one of the better known writings of its type; an English translation by Paul Reps
and Nyogen Senzaki
(from "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones") reads as follows:
As was customary for all monastic leaders at the time, a portrait statue was made of Nyodai with shaved head and monk's robes. This statue was carved toward the end of her life, around 1298; it is now enshrined in Hojiin convent in Kyoto.
Nyodai was also active in calligraphy, and her calligraphy was prized second only to Taira-no-Masako, a matriarch of the Kamakura shogunate.
In 1998 Buddhist nuns from Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Tokyo visited the United States for the first time, in order to conduct a rare Buddhist ceremony in St. Paul's Chapel in New York City in memory of Mugai Nyodai, as it was the 700th anniversary of her death. The nuns conducted Buddhist rituals never before seen outside Japan, and never viewed by the general public even in Japan. The nuns' rituals included a rare performance of the scattering of paper lotus petals in a circumambulation to gagaku
music, led by Abbess Shozui Rokujo of Domyoji Convent. Chief Abbot Keido Fukushima
of Tofukuji monastery performed a special incense burning and poetic invocation. There was also the world premiere of "Mind in Mirror: Nyodai's Dream", composed by Yuriko Hase Kojima for shakuhachi, pipa, and bass koto, and an offering of songs composed by the medieval German Catholic nun, Hildegard von Bingen, performed by members of Columbia's Collegium Musicum. Dr. Peter Haskel (First Zen Institute of America) chanted The Heart Sutra, and words and poetry were offered by Prof. Barbara Ruch (Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies Director); Dr. George Rupp (Columbia University President); Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka (Consul General of Japan in New York); Rev. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki (Buddhist Council of New York); The Very Rev. James Parks Morton (Interfaith Center of New York
); and High Priest Shunsho Manabe (Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa Bunko Museum).
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
abbess and the first female Zen master
Zen master
Zen master is an umbrella title sometimes used to refer to an individual who has been recognized by an authorized Zen lineage holder and teacher as having met his or her own teacher's standards of realization or insight. These standards vary widely in different traditions, and may vary among...
in the world. Some details of her life are not certain, but it is generally believed that she was given the childhood name Chiyono, and her father was Adachi Yasumori (1231–1285), a samurai warrior of the mid-Kamakura
Kamakura
Kamakura can refer to:*Japanese name*Kamakura, Kanagawa, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan*Kamakura shogunate*Kamakura period, a history of Japan*Kamakura , a fictional character in the G.I...
period. She married and had a child (a daughter) at a young age, as was expected for warrior-class Japanese women at the time; she certainly married into the Kanezawa Hojo family, which then governed Echigo, but there is some dispute as to whether her husband was Hojo Sanetoki or Hojo Akitoki. She was highly educated in both Japanese and Chinese. When her daughter had grown up and her husband had died, she decided to become a Buddhist nun. Laywomen did not often join monasteries at the time, but dharma custom guaranteed that any woman who sought Buddhist teachings would receive them. Therefore, Mugai Nyodai shaved her head, gave up all her belongings, and came to the monastery of the Chinese Rinzai Zen monk Wu-hsueh Tsu-yuan (known in Japan as Mugaku Sogen.) She took the name Mugai Nyodai as part of her monastic vows, having previously been called Chiyono.
Nyodai received Wu-hsueh Tsu-yuan's teachings shortly before his death in 1286. At this time he conferred upon her the character "mu", meaning nothingness, from his own name. Wu-hsueh Tsu-yuan named Nyodai as his successor, and despite resistance by the monks Nyodai eventually founded and served as abbess of the Keiaiji Temple (the first sodo for women in Japan) and its subtemples in Northern Kyoto. The Keiaiji Temple was the head temple complex of the Five Mountain Rinzai Zen Convent Association. Nyodai was the first woman to successfully propagate Rinzai Zen teachings.
A poem Nyodai wrote about her enlightenment (which occurred when a water pail broke) has become one of the better known writings of its type; an English translation by Paul Reps
Paul Reps
Paul Reps was an American artist, poet, and author. He is best known for his unorthodox haiku-inspired poetry that was published from 1939 onwards. He is considered one of America's first haiku poets....
and Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki was a Rinzai Zen monk who was one of the 20th century's leading proponents of Zen Buddhism in the United States.-Early life:...
(from "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones") reads as follows:
As was customary for all monastic leaders at the time, a portrait statue was made of Nyodai with shaved head and monk's robes. This statue was carved toward the end of her life, around 1298; it is now enshrined in Hojiin convent in Kyoto.
Nyodai was also active in calligraphy, and her calligraphy was prized second only to Taira-no-Masako, a matriarch of the Kamakura shogunate.
In 1998 Buddhist nuns from Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Tokyo visited the United States for the first time, in order to conduct a rare Buddhist ceremony in St. Paul's Chapel in New York City in memory of Mugai Nyodai, as it was the 700th anniversary of her death. The nuns conducted Buddhist rituals never before seen outside Japan, and never viewed by the general public even in Japan. The nuns' rituals included a rare performance of the scattering of paper lotus petals in a circumambulation to gagaku
Gagaku
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...
music, led by Abbess Shozui Rokujo of Domyoji Convent. Chief Abbot Keido Fukushima
Keido Fukushima
Keido Fukushima （福島 慶道, Fukushima Keidō 1933 – March 1, 2011） was a Japanese Rinzai master who has had an influence on Rinzai practice in the United States. He was the abbot of Tofuku-ji in Kyoto, Japan, where several American teachers and Muho Noelke, the German abbot of Antaiji, have trained...
of Tofukuji monastery performed a special incense burning and poetic invocation. There was also the world premiere of "Mind in Mirror: Nyodai's Dream", composed by Yuriko Hase Kojima for shakuhachi, pipa, and bass koto, and an offering of songs composed by the medieval German Catholic nun, Hildegard von Bingen, performed by members of Columbia's Collegium Musicum. Dr. Peter Haskel (First Zen Institute of America) chanted The Heart Sutra, and words and poetry were offered by Prof. Barbara Ruch (Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies Director); Dr. George Rupp (Columbia University President); Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka (Consul General of Japan in New York); Rev. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki (Buddhist Council of New York); The Very Rev. James Parks Morton (Interfaith Center of New York
Interfaith Center of New York
The Interfaith Center of New York is a secular educational non-profit organization founded in 1997 by the Very Reverend James Parks Morton...
); and High Priest Shunsho Manabe (Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa Bunko Museum).