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*''Born: [[1141]]''
*''Died: [[1215]]''
*''Japanese'': 栄西 ''(Eisai)''
Eisai, also known as Yôsai, was the founder of the [[Rinzai]] school of [[Zen]] [[Buddhism]] in Japan.
Eisai traveled to [[Song Dynasty]] [[China]] twice. Upon his return in [[1191]], he introduced the Rinzai (C: ''Linji'') school of Zen (C: ''Chan'') to Japan, along with powdered [[tea]]. The religious practices he introduced included, prominently, the consideration of ''[[koan|kôan]]'', riddles meant to help one achieve personal, individual, enlightenment through contemplation of paradoxes and mysteries.
After a time in [[Kamakura]], Eisai moved to [[Kyoto]], where he found his heterodox ideas less welcome. He thus accommodated a number of [[Tendai]] and [[Shingon]] practices, incorporating them into his practice of Zen.
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==References==
*Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 81.
[[Category:Religious Figures]]
[[Category:Kamakura Period]]