Paper short abstract:

This paper analyzes the practical system of Hakuin, the reviver of Rinzai Zen in Japan. His system was built upon the traditional method of Chinese Chan Buddhism and upon his own experience. It has been passed down through various modifications and is still practiced today.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyzes how Hakuin Ekaku reinterpreted previous Zen Buddhism and developed his own system of practice, and how this came subsequently to be passed on down.

Zen Buddhism originated in China during the Tang Dynasty, and in the Song Dynasty, Dahui Zonggao developed the so called “kanhua Chan,” a method of attaining enlightenment by contemplating kōan. It is said that kanhua Chan became "Hakuin Zen" through the systematization of kōan by Hakuin. D.T. Suzuki, who introduced Zen to the West in the 20th century, initially himself practiced "Hakuin Zen," which is still practiced by countless monks in the Rinzai and Obaku schools in Japan today. Therefore, it is important to analyze Hakuin's thought in order to understand the flow of Zen as it spread from China through Japan to the West.

Nonetheless, Hakuin's place in the history of Zen Buddhism remains yet to be fully elucidated. His own Zen differs neither from Dahui's kanhua Chan nor from the so-called "Hakuin Zen" practiced in contemporary Japan.

This paper makes the following three points through analysis of the relevant texts:

(1) Hakuin's system of practice consists of three key elements: initial enlightenment, further cultivation of enlightenment, and guiding people through preaching. These correspond to the three great enlightenments Hakuin attained in his own life.

(2) While Hakuin inherited Dahui's method of enlightenment, he emphasized subsequent practice in light of his own failures. This is a characteristic of Hakuin that distinguishes him from Dahui.

(3) Hakuin's practical system later became what would be called "Hakuin Zen" through various modifications. The kōan system characteristic of "Hakuin Zen" is likely to have been organized by his disciples, although its germ can also be found already in his own writings. Hakuin issued three types of certificates for the guidance of his students, but only one of these continues to be issued in the "Hakuin Zen" of today.