Manzan Dohaku (Jap.)
| born: 1635 died: 1714 place: Japan |
| Zen master: Gesshu Soko Zen disciples: |
| stories: Osho The Original Man, ch. 6 |
| oshobob The Living Workshop |
| Zen Masters |
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| Manzan said: The ultimate way is the one real great way. The Mind of faith is the non-dualistic, inconceivable Mind. Mind and the way do not decrease when in illusion, nor increase when in enlightenment; everything is perfect reality, each particular is complete – you can't grasp or reject anything. However, even so, "If you do not practice it, it will not become manifest; if you do not realize it, you cannot attain it." It is like having a jewel hidden in your pocket and suffering for want of food and clothing... Manzan is an enlightened master. What he is saying is absolutely true, but the way he has been translated... and I cannot blame the translator either. Manzan is speaking from high on top of the mountains, snow-peaked, and the translator is translating in the dark valleys of the unconscious mind. It is almost like a conversation between a sleeping man and a waking man. The waking man says something and the sleeping man, if he hears at all, hears something else. Most probably he does not hear; he goes on weaving his own dreams... --Osho The Original Man, ch. 6 |
Manzan was in the Soto line of Zen in Japan and
was the abbot at the Daijo-ji Temple.
aka: "The Great Reformer"
Note: The first character in Manzan's name is the
swastika symbol from India, which originally denoted
the "samsara", or never-ending "wheel of life"
concept of Hindu religious thought, eventually
transferred to Buddhism. It was transplanted to
China and the rest of Asia with the expansion of
Buddhist ideas, and is seen in both the "right" and
"left" movements of the wheel, the direction having
no real significance in meaning. It was also,
unfortunately, the symbol that the Nazis of 20th
century Germany used for their political
organization. It is also interesting to note that this
symbol is one of the very rare non-Chinese derived
characters used in the Chinese/Japanese ideogram
resevoir.
was the abbot at the Daijo-ji Temple.
aka: "The Great Reformer"
Note: The first character in Manzan's name is the
swastika symbol from India, which originally denoted
the "samsara", or never-ending "wheel of life"
concept of Hindu religious thought, eventually
transferred to Buddhism. It was transplanted to
China and the rest of Asia with the expansion of
Buddhist ideas, and is seen in both the "right" and
"left" movements of the wheel, the direction having
no real significance in meaning. It was also,
unfortunately, the symbol that the Nazis of 20th
century Germany used for their political
organization. It is also interesting to note that this
symbol is one of the very rare non-Chinese derived
characters used in the Chinese/Japanese ideogram
resevoir.
Ch., Wanshan Daobai
"Samsara" Mt. Dao Pure