Kodo Sawaki

Sawaki Kodo (Japanese泽 木 兴 道; born June 16, 1880 in Tsu, † 21 December 1965 Shin'onsen ) was a Japanese Zen master.

Life

Kodo Sawaki's parents died early, and he grew up - by an uncle and later adopted by others - in poor circumstances. At 16 he ran away from home to become a monk in Eihei -ji, the head temple of the Soto school. In 1897 he was ordained by Koho ​​Sawada, abbot of Soshin -ji and took the monastic name Kodo. This was followed by long years of practice and wandering, later he began to lecture and teach the practice of zazen, which at that time was almost forgotten even within the Soto school, anew both laymen and monks.

He was appointed in the 1930s as a professor at the prestigious Buddhist Komazawa University, took over after the war, but at the same responsibility for the Antai -ji, a temple dedicated to the practice of zazen, who was then still located in northern Kyoto. It's nicknamed " the tramp Kodo " he earns through his incessant travels throughout Japan to teach anywhere zazen. Sawaki Kodo died on 21 December 1965 at Antai -ji monastery.

After his death

His successor as abbot in Antai -ji was Kosho Uchiyama, who collected many of his Zen Sayings and published. Sawaki had on the Zen in Europe big impact by Taisen Deshimaru, who was ordained by Sawaki shortly before his death.

Although Sawaki ordained many monks and nuns were only five monks and three nuns confirmation of the Dharma ( Shiho ) of it:

• Shuyu Narita (1914-2004) who also had some students from Europe,
• Kosho Uchiyama (1912-1998), who succeeded as abbot of Antai -ji,
• Sodo Yokoyama, a monk who is famous for that he lived whistling in a park on grass,
• Active Myoshin Sato, in Japan,
• Kojun Kishigami ( b. 1941 ), lives in Japan in Mie Prefecture, has students in Japan, France and Germany,
• Yoshin Kasai, who was familiar with the particular kesa tradition,
• Kobun Okamoto, who also instructed the kesa sewing, she is over 80 years old and still active in Japan.
• Baiko Fukuda, who often Tenzo ( cook Temple ) was in the sesshin of Kodo Sawaki. She died about 30 years ago.

Other important student of Sawaki were

• Genko Kawase (d. 1989), which had its own temple myogenic -ji in Nagoya, where Sawaki sesshin held regularly
• Sakai Tokugen, the master of acting in Germany Fumon Nakagawa ( official representative of the Soto school of Germany )
• Koun Enmyo (died 1980), worked until his death long years in Dusseldorf
• Taisen Deshimaru (1914-1982), who went to France in 1967 and a rapidly growing Sangha in Europe built. Founder of the Association Zen Internationale.
• Gudo Nishijima (1919-2014)

Works

From his books only is translated into a Western language (French ) commented that he Shodoka. However, there are many anthologies of his sayings (see literature).

• Le Chant de l' éveil: Le Shodoka Yoka Daishi commente par un de maître zen, éd. Albin Michel, 1999, ISBN 978-2-226-10727-5, translated by Janine Coursin.

In Japanese, appeared (selection):

• 禅 谈( Zendan - Zen stories ), 1938, ISBN 978-4-8046-4021-1
• 坐禅 の 仕方 と 心得( zazen no Shikata to kokoroe - findings about the way of zazen ), 1939
• 禅 に 生きる( ni ikiru Zen - The Zen life ), reprinted under the title聞き書き( Kiki gaki - Heard written down ), 1984/2006, ISBN 978-4-06-158639-0
• 道元 禅 の 神髄( Dogen zen no shinzui - The essence of Zen Master Dogen by ), 1963