Tetsugen Doko
Encyclopedia
Tetsugen Dōkō was a Japan
ese Zen Master
, and an important early leader of the Ōbaku
school of Buddhism
.
Tetsugen was born in the seventh year of the Kan'ei era (1630) in Higo Province
. He became a priest of the Jodo Shinshu
sect at the age of 13. When Ingen
came to Japan, Tetsugen became his follower in the Ōbaku
school.
In 1681, Tetsugen oversaw the production of the first complete woodcut
edition (consisting of around 60,000 pieces) of the Chinese Buddhist sutras
in Japan.
Tetsugen died at the age of 53 in the second year of the Tenna
era (1682). The anniversary of Tetsugen's birth is celebrated on January 1 in the Western calendar.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese 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...
, and an important early leader of the Ōbaku
Obaku (school of Buddhism)
The , is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.-History:Often termed the third sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan, it was established in 1661 by a small faction of masters from China and their Japanese students at Manpuku-ji in Uji, Japan.Today Manpuku-ji serves as the Ōbaku's head temple,...
school of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
.
Tetsugen was born in the seventh year of the Kan'ei era (1630) in Higo Province
Higo Province
Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces....
. He became a priest of the Jodo Shinshu
Jodo Shinshu
, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
sect at the age of 13. When Ingen
Ingen
Ingen Ryūki was a Chinese Linji Chán Buddhist monk, poet, and calligrapher....
came to Japan, Tetsugen became his follower in the Ōbaku
Obaku (school of Buddhism)
The , is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.-History:Often termed the third sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan, it was established in 1661 by a small faction of masters from China and their Japanese students at Manpuku-ji in Uji, Japan.Today Manpuku-ji serves as the Ōbaku's head temple,...
school.
In 1681, Tetsugen oversaw the production of the first complete woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
edition (consisting of around 60,000 pieces) of the Chinese Buddhist sutras
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
in Japan.
Tetsugen died at the age of 53 in the second year of the Tenna
Tenna
was a after Enpō and before Jōkyō. This period spanned the years from September 1681 through February 1684. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
era (1682). The anniversary of Tetsugen's birth is celebrated on January 1 in the Western calendar.
Tetsugen and the Sutras
The following story is told of Tetsugen's efforts to publish the sutras.- Tetsugen decided to publish the sutras, which at that time were available only in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous undertaking.
- Tetsugen began by travelling and collecting donations for this purpose. A few sympathizers would give him a hundred pieces of gold, but most of the time he received only small coins. He thanked each donor with equal gratitude. After ten years Tetsugen had enough money to begin his task.
- It happened that at that time the UjiUji, Kyotois a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is located between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa. As of April 1, 2008, Uji has an estimated population...
River overflowed. Famine followed. Tetsugen took the funds he had collected for the books and spent them to save others from starvation. Then he began again his work of collecting.
- Several years afterward an epidemic spread over the country. Tetsugen again gave away what he had collected.
- For a third time he started his work, and after twenty years his wish was fulfilled. The printing blocks which produced the first edition of sutras can be seen today in Ōbaku monastery in KyotoKyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
.
- The Japanese tell their children that Tetsugen made three sets of sutras, and that the first two invisible sets surpass even the last.
