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| Tetsugen Doko (1630-1682) | ||||||
| Tetsugen
Doko was a former True Pure Land priest who broke off his affiliation
with this school in favor of Zen. Major themes from Tetsugen's writings
suggest that he was troubled by the customs of lay people and monks
of the True Pure Land school alike to marry and ate meat. As an Obaku
monk, Tetsugen wrote and preached most often on the theme of keeping
the Buddhist precepts, especially those against sexual misconduct
and killing. For example, in his Dharma Lesson in Japanese,
he promoted the benefit of celibacy and non-killing even for lay practitioners
by explaining in graphic terms the suffering that the married life
and meat eating actually entail from a Buddhist perspective. When explaining the Surangama Sutra in An Affidavit Concerning the Dharma Debate in Mori, Tetsugen argued in more direct terms against monks marrying and eating meat. Although it is not know for certain whether or not he intentionally directed his arguments against the practices of the True Pure Land sect, his repeated teaching on this theme and his life-long dedication to the Surangama Sutra suggest at the very least that his personal rejection of these customs was a basic reason for breaking with the sect. Testugen had a talent for explicating difficult concepts from the Buddhist scriptures in basic terms that the common people could grasp. His most significant contribution to the Buddhist world of his day was initiating and raising the funds for the Obaku edition of the Buddhist scriptures and project managing this major undertaking. • Source: Baroni, 2006, pp. 14-15, 39, 47. « Back |
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