Dôgen is considered the founder of the Sôtô school of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
Dôgen was the son of Naidaijin Fujiwara no Michichika and Ishi, a daughter of Fujiwara no Motofusa. Following his mother's death when he was quite young, Dôgen was raised in his father's mountain villa, or in the Horikawa mansion (in Kyoto) of his older half-brother Minamoto no Michitomo, who had adopted him. Young Dôgen took the tonsure and became a monk at the age of 13.
Dôgen was adopted by his samurai half-brother Minamoto no Michitomo in 1205. After traveling in China from 1223-1227,[1] he introduced the Sôtô (C: Caodao) school of Zen to Japan. In contrast to the Rinzai Zen advocated by Eisai around the same time, which emphasized the contemplation of kôans, Dôgen's Sôtô Zen emphasized zazen - seated meditation.
Dôgen distanced himself from centers of religious and secular authority, building a small temple in a remote, mountainous area in Echizen province (today, Fukui prefecture); this temple later came to be known as Eihei-ji, and is today one of two head temples of Sôtô Zen in Japan.
The 2009 film Zen features kabuki actor Nakamura Kankurô VI[2] as Dôgen, and relates a fictionalized version of Dôgen's life.
References
- "Zen," Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
- Conrad Schirokauer, et al, A Brief History of Japanese Civilization, Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 81.
- Plaques on-site at the former site of the Horikawa-in in Kyoto.