The article bellow was published on the webpage of the monastery of Antaiji: Ten years since the "Aum sarin attack" How the Rinzai and �baku sects defined the problem (Part II) How did Japanese Zen deal with the Sarin attack that was performed by the Aum cult in the Tokyo subway ten years ago? First I want to start to investigate how the Rinzai and �baku sects related to the problem. Today there are three different Zen sects in Japan, the S�t�, Rinzai and �baku sects. Among these, the �baku sect, which was transmitted to Japan by the Chinese priest Ingen in 1654, is the youngest and smallest. In fact, Ingen is also credited for bringing beans for the first time from China to Japan, and today every Japanese knows "Ingen" as the name of that bean, while almost no-one knows anything about the Zen priest Ingen or the school of Zen he transmitted to Japan. The Rinzai school however, which traces itself back to the same tradition as the �baku sect (�baku is the name of Rinzai's teacher), was transmitted earlier to Japan and was more succesful in establishing itself as one of the many Buddhist sects that influenced Japan culturally and spiritually. When Zen was introduced to the West first through the writings of D.T. Suzuki, this Zen was actually Rinzai Zen with its emphasis on K�ans and Satori. Unlike S�t� Zen, which is sometimes referred to degetorially as "peasant Zen", Rinzai Zen is also prominent for having expressed itself uniquely in many of the traditional Japanese arts, like the art of tea, archery, garden architecture and flower arrangement. On the other hand, many of these arts on close inspection turn out to be nothing more than a way for the bored aristocratical circles in the old capital of Ky�to to kill their time. Few Westerners seem to know that in the old days, becoming a Rinzai Zen monk was a popular way for aristocrats and Samurais to retire from their secular responsibilties and enjoy a life of leisure. So called "Zen culture" is only one by-product of this social trend and has not much to do with the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. Be that as it may, after the Sarin incident occured ten years ago, the Rinzai and �baku responsibilties gathered for a series of meetings to discuss the impact of the attack and how to react to it. These meetings took place during the course of ten months, and the results can be found (in Japanese) on the web-site of the Institute for Zen Studies(http://www.zenbunka.or.jp/03_magazine/index5_2.htm). The Rinzai and �baku officials defined the problem not just as one of a pseudo-Buddhist cult that went amok, but rather as one of the Buddhist establishment itself, that means as a problem for each individual Zen priest. Let me quote from their papers: "'WHAT do WE have to do now?' - this 'WHAT?' refers certainly not just to analysing and criticing the doctrine and practice of the Aum cult by pointing out its pseudo-religious nature, as it is done by many social critics recently. Doing this, we would do nothing more but merely justify our own point of view. Of course it is important to point out how our point of view differs from that of the Aum cult. But if that is all we do, that won't help to throw any light on the real problem, and - what is even worse - by justifying our own point of view, we will only hide the factors of the real problem which also lie in the present state of our Buddhist establishment. By pretending that the problem is only a problem of the Aum cult, we will fool ourselves into believing that there is no problem on our own side. So what is asked of ourselves now is to first have a good look at ourselves: Is that what we claim to be our own point of view, really the truth? And does that what we practice in our day to day lives have anything to do with that what we officially claim to be our point of view? When we ask ourselves then 'WHAT to do?', this 'WHAT?' must not be a self-justification, but rather a questioning of our own responsibility. Our responsibility is to give an answer to those young men and women who entered the Aum cult in search for liberation, and also to all those other people in the modern world that wander around in illusion, looking for their true selves. We have to reflect honestly on the fact that for too long we have been neglecting this responsibilty, that we haven't been able to embrace and accept the lost souls of those young seekers. The answer to the questions at hand - 'WHAT do WE have to do now?' 'WHAT are WE able to do now?' - can only come out of a deep reflection on ourselves." This statement is a little philosphical perhaps, but the point that the problem posed by the Sarin attacks is not one of the Aum cult alone, but of each single one of us, strikes me as incredibly honest. This is exactly what in Zen is called "kyakka sh�k�" - throwing light on one's own feet - or "ek� hensh�" - turning the light inwards and reflect on oneself. Next month let us investigate how this problem was developed further inside the Rinzai and �baku sects. to be continued ... (Muho) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! 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