Shodo Harada
Encyclopedia
, 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
. He began his training in 1962 under Rinzai master and Japanese calligrapher
Mumon Yamada
, from whom he received Dharma transmission
in 1982. He frequently holds retreats at One Drop Zendo on Whidbey Island
in Island County, Washington
. Were he to take residence there, as has been planned over the years, it would mark a major step for the establishment of the Rinzai sect in the United States. Among those Western teachers that study with Harada Roshi are Hogen Bays, Jan Chozen Bays
, and Paul Haller
.
Shodo Harada was born into a Zen
temple in 1940 in Nara, Japan. While still in high school he encountered his teacher, Mumon Yamada
, while running an errand for his father to Myōshin-ji
. He was impressed by how little he knew of Buddhism at this encounter, so after college he entered Shofukuji and trained under Mumon. Sometime during the 1980s he was sent by Mumon to Sogen-ji to help an elderly abbot tend to the building and training schedules. In 1989, Harada came to the United States
to provide instruction for students and in 1995 founded One Drop Zendo (or, Tahoma One Drop Zen Monastery) on Whidbey Island
in Island County, Washington
(where the practice mirrors the practices found at Sogen-ji). Nearby the Tahoma One Drop Monastery, Harada has opened a hospice
known as Enso House in 2001.
Sesshin
A sesshin , literally "touching the heart-mind" , is a period of intensive meditation in a Zen monastery....
with him in Japan or during his trips to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He began his training in 1962 under Rinzai master and Japanese calligrapher
Japanese calligraphy
is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. For a long time, the most esteemed calligrapher in Japan had been Wang Xizhi, a Chinese calligrapher in the 4th century but after the invention of Hiragana and Katakana, the Japanese unique syllabaries, the distinctive...
Mumon Yamada
Mumon Yamada
Mumon Yamada , or Yamada Mumon , 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....
, from whom he received Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
in 1982. He frequently holds retreats at One Drop Zendo on Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
in Island County, Washington
Island County, Washington
Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. In 2010 census, its population was 78,506. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor....
. Were he to take residence there, as has been planned over the years, it would mark a major step for the establishment of the Rinzai sect in the United States. Among those Western teachers that study with Harada Roshi are Hogen Bays, Jan Chozen Bays
Jan Chozen Bays
Jan Chozen Bays, MD , is a pediatrician and Zen teacher practicing in Oregon. With her husband Laren Hogen Bays, since 1985 she has been a teacher at the Zen Community of Oregon, a Zen center or sangha in Portland, Oregon. Chozen and Hogen Bays are also co-founders of the Great Vow Zen Monastery...
, and Paul Haller
Paul Haller
Ryushin Paul Haller, a Soto Zen roshi, is the current Abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center—a position he has held since 2003. Leaving his homeland of Belfast in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s, Haller spent time in Russia, Afghanistan and Japan. He then went to Thailand for two years where he...
.
Biography
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
temple in 1940 in Nara, Japan. While still in high school he encountered his teacher, Mumon Yamada
Mumon Yamada
Mumon Yamada , or Yamada Mumon , 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....
, while running an errand for his father to 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...
. He was impressed by how little he knew of Buddhism at this encounter, so after college he entered Shofukuji and trained under Mumon. Sometime during the 1980s he was sent by Mumon to Sogen-ji to help an elderly abbot tend to the building and training schedules. In 1989, Harada came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to provide instruction for students and in 1995 founded One Drop Zendo (or, Tahoma One Drop Zen Monastery) on Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
in Island County, Washington
Island County, Washington
Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. In 2010 census, its population was 78,506. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor....
(where the practice mirrors the practices found at Sogen-ji). Nearby the Tahoma One Drop Monastery, Harada has opened a hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
known as Enso House in 2001.
See also
- Buddhism in JapanBuddhism in JapanThe history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period , the Heian period and the post-Heian period . Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools...
- List of Rinzai Buddhists
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesTimeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesBelow is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...
External links
- Video about zen, Teaching of zen, Shodo Harada Roshi in America
- Video of a public talk by Harada Roshi
- http://onedropzendo.org/
- http://www.ensohouse.org/
- Website Shodo Harada english
- Website Shodo Harada danish
- Website Shodo Harada hungarian
- Website Shodo Harada germany
- One Drop Zen Hamburg, Germany
- Website Shodo Harada germany
- Website Shodo Harada russian
- One Drop India - The International Buddhist Youth Organization, Nagpur, India
- One Drop Mazatlan Mexico