Paper short abstract:

This paper examines Musō Soseki's critique of Shingon and Zen in his influential sermon in kana, Muchū Mondōshū (1342). It argues that this critique was integral to a critical yet hitherto overlooked function of that text: Musō's bid to establish himself as the premier Buddhist teacher of his time.

Paper long abstract:

Critical to Zen's rise as a state institution was prominent Rinzai monk, Musō Soseki (1275-1351). Active during the tumultuous Northern and Southern Courts period (1336-1392), Musō enjoyed close ties to both Emperor Godaigo (1288-1339) and the founding members of the Muromachi bakufu. As the most highly sought after Zen monk in his day, Musō is said to have counted more than 13,000 disciples during his lifetime. Despite this unparalleled prominence, Musō's modern interpreters have tended to portray him in a fairly negative light, with many criticizing his accommodating attitude toward esoteric Buddhism (mikkyō) and thereby branding him a purveyor of a so-called style of "mixed Zen" (kenshū Zen).

Only recently have scholars begun to question Musō's longstanding reputation by revisiting his life and works, especially his most famous writing, a sermon in kana known as Muchū Mondōshū (1342). Though now mostly unknown, this text was, in fact, one of the most widely read Japanese works on Zen in the entire pre-modern period and one of the few medieval Japanese language texts to have been printed during the lifetime of its author. Until recently, the handful scholars who have examined this text have tended to focus on its conciliatory attitude toward other styles of Buddhism, in keeping with the accepted narrative of Musō as a proponent of "mixed Zen." Building on recent studies suggesting that Musō was, in fact, engaging in an unprecedented promotion of Zen in Muchū Mondōshū, this paper will examine his critique of Shingon and Zen therein. It will demonstrate the extent to which Musō's critique of contemporary Buddhism was linked to another critical function of that printed text: Musō's bid to establish himself as the premier Buddhist teacher of his time.