Mumon Yamada
Encyclopedia
Mumon Yamada or Yamada Mumon (山田 無文), was a Rinzai roshi
, calligrapher, and former abbot of Shōfuku-ji in Kobe, Japan. Mumon was also the former head of the Myōshin-ji
branch of the Rinzai school of Japan.
His most prominent student (and Dharma heir) is Shodo Harada
of Sōgen-ji, an influential master in both Japan and the United States
.
.
Daizen Victoria writes, "[Yamada Mumon] helped establish the 'Society to Repay the Heroic Spirits [of Dead Soldiers]' (Eirei ni Kotaeru Kai). Yamada asserted that since Japan's fallen soldiers had clearly been involved in a 'holy war,' the government should reinstate financial support for enshrining their "heroic spirits" (eirei) in Yasukuni Jinga, a major Shinto
shrine located in the heart of Tokyo."
In a speech he gave on the matter, Mumon said, "Japan destroyed itself in order to grandly give the countries of Asia their independence. I think this is truly an accomplishment worthy of the name 'holy war.' All of this is the result of the meritorious deeds of two million five hundred thousand spirits in our country who were loyal, brave, and without rival. I think the various peoples of Asia who achieved their independence will ceaselessly praise their accomplishments for all eternity."
During the Second World War, while with Seisetsu Roshi, he visited many places of war, and what he saw left him with deep feelings of repentance. In 1967 he went on pilgrimages to various Southeast Asian countries to apologize to and say sutras for the war dead of all religions, and he taught this posture of repentance to his students as well. Although he knew only a few words of English, he taught many students from abroad and established many strong karmic connections. He traveled to the opening of Dai Bosatsu Zendo in New York State, to the San Francisco Zen Center, to the Mount Baldy Zen Center in California, and to Mexico. He made a pilgrimage to India and at Bodhgaya built a Japanese temple. He went to Europe and opened the East West Spiritual Exchange between Catholicism and Buddhism, himself entering and living in nine contemplative monasteries in Europe, experiencing the life of the monks there. His disciples settled all over Europe, strengthening his extensive karmic ties with the West.
room, he looked and acted like a tiny, wispy, immaterial Taoist hermit, but that inside the sanzen room, he suddenly turned into a lion."
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...
, calligrapher, and former abbot of Shōfuku-ji in Kobe, Japan. Mumon was also the former head of the Myōshin-ji
Myoshin-ji
is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan. The Myōshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism is the largest school in Rinzai Zen. This particular school contains within it more than three thousand temples throughout Japan, along with nineteen monasteries. The head temple was founded in the year 1342 by the...
branch of the Rinzai school of Japan.
His most prominent student (and Dharma heir) is Shodo Harada
Shodo Harada
, or Harada Rōshi, is a Rinzai priest, author, and head abbot of Sōgen-ji — a three hundred year old temple in Okayama, Japan. He has become known as a teacher of teachers, with masters from various lineages coming to sit sesshin with him in Japan or during his trips to the United States and Europe...
of Sōgen-ji, an influential master in both Japan and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Activities relating to Aftermath of World War II
Mumon, together with Rinzai priest Hisamatsu Shin'ichi, was on the original planning committee for the first Zen-Christian Colloquium started by the Quakers in 1967. The meeting was designed to open dialogue between Christians and Buddhists and establish peace in the wake of damage caused by World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Daizen Victoria writes, "[Yamada Mumon] helped establish the 'Society to Repay the Heroic Spirits [of Dead Soldiers]' (Eirei ni Kotaeru Kai). Yamada asserted that since Japan's fallen soldiers had clearly been involved in a 'holy war,' the government should reinstate financial support for enshrining their "heroic spirits" (eirei) in Yasukuni Jinga, a major Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
shrine located in the heart of Tokyo."
In a speech he gave on the matter, Mumon said, "Japan destroyed itself in order to grandly give the countries of Asia their independence. I think this is truly an accomplishment worthy of the name 'holy war.' All of this is the result of the meritorious deeds of two million five hundred thousand spirits in our country who were loyal, brave, and without rival. I think the various peoples of Asia who achieved their independence will ceaselessly praise their accomplishments for all eternity."
During the Second World War, while with Seisetsu Roshi, he visited many places of war, and what he saw left him with deep feelings of repentance. In 1967 he went on pilgrimages to various Southeast Asian countries to apologize to and say sutras for the war dead of all religions, and he taught this posture of repentance to his students as well. Although he knew only a few words of English, he taught many students from abroad and established many strong karmic connections. He traveled to the opening of Dai Bosatsu Zendo in New York State, to the San Francisco Zen Center, to the Mount Baldy Zen Center in California, and to Mexico. He made a pilgrimage to India and at Bodhgaya built a Japanese temple. He went to Europe and opened the East West Spiritual Exchange between Catholicism and Buddhism, himself entering and living in nine contemplative monasteries in Europe, experiencing the life of the monks there. His disciples settled all over Europe, strengthening his extensive karmic ties with the West.
Teaching style
According to G. Victor Sōgen Hori in the book The Faces of Buddhism in America, "Students of Yamada Mumon Rōshi say that outside the sanzenSanzen
, aka , means going to a Zen master for instruction. In the Rinzai school, it has the same meaning as dokusan, which is specifically a private interview between student and master, often centering around the student's grasp of an assigned koan...
room, he looked and acted like a tiny, wispy, immaterial Taoist hermit, but that inside the sanzen room, he suddenly turned into a lion."