Zen master
Encyclopedia
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 teachers within those traditions. A Zen Master is authorized to teach Zen Buddhism to others, but may choose not to. The title may be used to refer to individuals hailing from any number of countries and traditions. There are several terms from different countries of origin used interchangeably for this title, and it is not necessarily used or relevant in every country with a Zen tradition.
(scriptural teachings) and Vinaya
(discipline and moral precepts). For example, this included several important figures who were later not considered to be part of the "Chán
school" per se, such as Tiantai
Master Zhiyi
.
In modern China, most temples belong to the Chán school in name, but also embrace other teachings including those of Tiantai
, Pure Land
, Huayan, and Yogacara
schools, often under the umbrella term "Chinese Buddhism" (中国佛教). While some see this as a move towards inclusion of various schools, it was quite likely that this was already the norm for the past 1000 years, since the Song Dynasty
. In Chinese Buddhism, neither the majority of monastics nor lay people are formally tied to a give "school" of Buddhist practice. (Which is somewhat different to the situation in Japan.) It is only those senior and experienced practitioners who receive such transmission into the Chán
school. In China, the term "Chán" (禪), being simply one of many terms for forms of meditation, is not limited to the Chán
school alone.
While there are no official organizations to regulate the use of honorary titles such as this, "chánshī" is used as a title of respect for an adept, typically a monk, who specializes in Chán. "Chánzōng Dàshī" (禅宗大师; Great Master of the Chán School) is a similar and more specific honorary term, though rather rare.
However, the more common term when addressing a Buddhist master is "Shīfu" (师父; Master), which is also used for any monk as a matter of respect. However, strictly speaking, this term which includes the relational term for "father" (父), refers more to one's own teacher or preceptor. The term "Făshī" (法师), meaning "Dharma teacher", is more generic, and is used both by lay Buddhists and also by Buddhists monastics themselves. The general term "Lǎoshī" (老师; Teacher) is also used to address a master as one's teacher, but this term is a general one, so much so that it is used for a teacher of any subject.
" (simply "teacher") is often applied in addressing the Zen teacher or "master". "Roshi
" ("old teacher") is traditionally an honorific title given to older monks and Zen teachers in Japan, though both "sensei" and "roshi" have come to denote official or semi-official ranks within some Zen schools in Japan, the United States and Europe. The term "oshō
" ("virtuous monk") is sometimes used. In Sōtō
Zen, the title "Dai-Osho" is the penultimate official rank in a clear monastic hierarchy; it is only surpassed by "Zenji" which is only applied to the founder of the school, Dogen
, and to the current or former abbots of the two head temples of the sect.
title for a Buddhist monk or Buddhist nun of any tradition, and does not denote any specific rank or qualification. It is considered respectful to refer to senior monks or nuns in Korea
as Kun sunim, and this polite way of expressing the title can also denote some sort of realization on the part of the individual being addressed. In most Korean temples, a middle-aged monk assumes the role of a juji sunim, who serves administrative functions. The eldest sunim is typically seen as a symbolic leader of the younger sunims. In the Kwan Um School of Zen
, founded by Seung Sahn
, a Zen master can be referred to as a Soen Sa Nim ("Soen" or "Son" being Korean for Chan, or Zen) — although this term usually is used only in reference to Seung Sahn himself.
In China
Until the Tang Dynasty, the term "Chánshī" (禅师; Dhyana Master) was regularly used only for a monk who was a master of chan, or meditation, versus those who specialized in DharmaDharma (Buddhism)
Dhamma or Dharma in Buddhism can have the following meanings:* The state of Nature as it is * The Laws of Nature considered collectively....
(scriptural teachings) and Vinaya
Vinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
(discipline and moral precepts). For example, this included several important figures who were later not considered to be part of the "Chán
Chan
-People:* Chan Marshall, American musician better known as Cat Power* Chan , Chinese surname; Mandarin transcription of the same name is Chen ** Agnes Chan , Hong Kong singer, also famous in Japan...
school" per se, such as Tiantai
Tiantai
Tiantai is an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra as its doctrinal basis...
Master Zhiyi
Zhiyi
Zhiyi is traditionally listed as the fourth patriarch, but is generally considered the founder of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi , linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism...
.
In modern China, most temples belong to the Chán school in name, but also embrace other teachings including those of Tiantai
Tiantai
Tiantai is an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra as its doctrinal basis...
, Pure Land
Pure land
A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
, Huayan, and Yogacara
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
schools, often under the umbrella term "Chinese Buddhism" (中国佛教). While some see this as a move towards inclusion of various schools, it was quite likely that this was already the norm for the past 1000 years, since the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. In Chinese Buddhism, neither the majority of monastics nor lay people are formally tied to a give "school" of Buddhist practice. (Which is somewhat different to the situation in Japan.) It is only those senior and experienced practitioners who receive such transmission into the Chán
Chan
-People:* Chan Marshall, American musician better known as Cat Power* Chan , Chinese surname; Mandarin transcription of the same name is Chen ** Agnes Chan , Hong Kong singer, also famous in Japan...
school. In China, the term "Chán" (禪), being simply one of many terms for forms of meditation, is not limited to the Chán
Chan
-People:* Chan Marshall, American musician better known as Cat Power* Chan , Chinese surname; Mandarin transcription of the same name is Chen ** Agnes Chan , Hong Kong singer, also famous in Japan...
school alone.
While there are no official organizations to regulate the use of honorary titles such as this, "chánshī" is used as a title of respect for an adept, typically a monk, who specializes in Chán. "Chánzōng Dàshī" (禅宗大师; Great Master of the Chán School) is a similar and more specific honorary term, though rather rare.
However, the more common term when addressing a Buddhist master is "Shīfu" (师父; Master), which is also used for any monk as a matter of respect. However, strictly speaking, this term which includes the relational term for "father" (父), refers more to one's own teacher or preceptor. The term "Făshī" (法师), meaning "Dharma teacher", is more generic, and is used both by lay Buddhists and also by Buddhists monastics themselves. The general term "Lǎoshī" (老师; Teacher) is also used to address a master as one's teacher, but this term is a general one, so much so that it is used for a teacher of any subject.
Japan
There is no standard official title for "Zen Master" across the various Zen traditions in Japan. The term "senseiSensei
' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
" (simply "teacher") is often applied in addressing the Zen teacher or "master". "Roshi
Roshi
is a Japanese honorific title used in Zen Buddhism that literally means "old teacher" or "elder master" and sometimes denotes a person who gives spiritual guidance to a Zen sangha or congregation...
" ("old teacher") is traditionally an honorific title given to older monks and Zen teachers in Japan, though both "sensei" and "roshi" have come to denote official or semi-official ranks within some Zen schools in Japan, the United States and Europe. The term "oshō
Osho
Oshō is the Japanese reading of the Chinese he shang , meaning a high-ranking Buddhist monk or highly virtuous Buddhist monk. It is also a respectful designation for Buddhist monks in general and may be used with the suffix -san...
" ("virtuous monk") is sometimes used. In Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
Zen, the title "Dai-Osho" is the penultimate official rank in a clear monastic hierarchy; it is only surpassed by "Zenji" which is only applied to the founder of the school, Dogen
Dogen
Dōgen Zenji was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there...
, and to the current or former abbots of the two head temples of the sect.
In Korea
Sunim is the KoreanKorean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
title for a Buddhist monk or Buddhist nun of any tradition, and does not denote any specific rank or qualification. It is considered respectful to refer to senior monks or nuns in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
as Kun sunim, and this polite way of expressing the title can also denote some sort of realization on the part of the individual being addressed. In most Korean temples, a middle-aged monk assumes the role of a juji sunim, who serves administrative functions. The eldest sunim is typically seen as a symbolic leader of the younger sunims. In the Kwan Um School of Zen
Kwan Um School of Zen
The Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...
, founded by Seung Sahn
Seung Sahn
Seung Sahn Haeng Won Dae Soen-sa , born Dok-In Lee, was a Korean Jogye Seon master and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen—the largest Zen institution present in the Western world. He was the seventy-eighth teacher in his lineage...
, a Zen master can be referred to as a Soen Sa Nim ("Soen" or "Son" being Korean for Chan, or Zen) — although this term usually is used only in reference to Seung Sahn himself.