Dokyo Etan

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Dky Etan (1642-1721)
 aka 
Shju Rjin (The Old Man of Shju Hermitage) 
 
 <a name="a" id="a"></a><img src="https://terebess.hu/zen/angol.gif"
width="36" height="25" border="0">
 Dky Etan (16421721) Japanese Rinzai monk from the
Myshin-ji lineage, best known as the master of Hakuin Ekaku (17681768), the
great Rinzai sect reformer. Etan was the son of a samurai and his concubine. He
was raised in the household of Lord Matsudaira Tadatomo, where he was first
introduced to Zen. On a trip to Edo in 1660, Etan became the disciple of <a
href="bunan.html" target="_blank">Shid Bu'nan</a> (16031676), having already
attained an experience of enlightenment. He received the master's certificate
(J. inka) after only one year of practice. He then returned to his native Iiyama
in Shinano, where he lived a simple life in a small hermitage called Shju-an.
From the hermitage Etan received his nickname, Shju Rji, the old man of the
Shju hermitage. None of Etan's writings were published, although some of his
teachings are scattered within Hakuin's work. 
 
DOKYO ETAN [SHOJU ROJIN] 
Richard Bryan McDaniel: Zen Masters of Japan. The Second Step East. Rutland,
Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2013.
<blockquote>
<a
href="bunan.html" target="_blank">Shido Munan</a>s only Dharma successor was
Dokyo Etan. As a young man, Etan had been a retainer in the household of Lord
Matsudaira Tadatomo of Nagano. His interest in Zen was roused when a number of
older samurai asked an itinerant monk to write down the name of the Bodhisattva
of Compassion as talismans for their safety. Etan asked for one as well, but the
monk recognized something deeper in the young man than he had sensed in the
other soldiers.
The
Bodhisattva isnt to be sought without, he told Etan. These trifles are of no
value. Seek the Bodhisattva within.
The monks
words stayed with Etan, and he became preoccupied with seeking to understand
what they meant. The matter of the Bodhisattva Within became his Great Doubt,
and he focused on it for many months with such intensity that it often
distracted him while he was carrying out his assigned duties. One day, he fell
from a ladder and was knocked unconscious. When he came to, the question was
resolved. He felt certain he now knew what the Bodhisattva Within was, but he
wanted to have his understanding confirmed by a Zen teacher.
The opportunity
came when he was assigned to be part of Matsudairas entourage during a visit to
Edo. In that city, Etan sought out Shido Munan who told the young samurai that
he had had a genuine awakening, but that it needed to be cultivated further.
Etan sought permission from his lord to leave his service and became a monk.
Matsudaira, himself a devout Buddhist, readily granted the request.
For one year,
Etan underwent strenuous training with Munan, after which the teacher gave him a
certificate of inka. Etan was twenty years old at the time. Munan then
encouraged Etan to go on the traditional pilgrimage to other temples in order to
deepen his understanding. After he completed his pilgrimage and returned to Edo,
he discovered that Munan had ambitions for him that Etan did not
share.
According to a
popular story, one evening, Munan called Etan to his quarters. The master was
seated in front of a brazier of coals that warmed the chilly room. Im old, he
told Etan, and you alone of all my disciples have the capacity to carry on my
teaching.
Etan bowed in
silence, acknowledging Munans confidence in him.
Munan brought
out a manuscript and presented it to the younger man. This is a text which I
received from my teacher, Gudo Toshoku, who received it in turn from his
teacher, and so on. Ive added some notes in which I express my understanding.
Its an important record, and Im entrusting it to you.
If its so
important, perhaps you should keep it, Etan said, gently pressing the
manuscript back into Munans hands.
Pgina 2
DokyoEtan.txt
I want you to
have it as evidence that youre my successor, Munan said, once again presenting
it to Etan.
You used no
written text when I received your teaching; I dont need one now.
Thats true,
Munan admitted, but the document has been passed from teacher to student for
seven generations, so please accept it as a symbol that youre the heir of that
teaching.
Munan placed
the manuscript in Etans lap. Etan took it up and tossed it onto the coals of
the brazier.
What are you
doing! Munan shouted, angrily.
What are you
saying! Etan shouted, just as loudly.
 
Munan did not
give up his intention to install Etan as his successor, and when his disciples
raised funds to establish a temple for him, Munan refused to serve as its
founding abbot and gave the honor to Etan. Etan, too, turned it down, and hid in
his home village until he heard that someone else was appointed to the
position.
After remaining
with Munan a while longer, Etan retired to a hermitage in the mountains known as
Shojuan. His mother, who had become a nun, joined him there. They both lived
ascetic lives. He undertook practices such as meditating in cemeteries, in one
incident remaining in meditation posture motionless while wild dogs sniffed at
his body. Contemporary accounts describe him as going about in a tattered robe
with unkempt hair. People called him The Old Man of Shoju Hermitage or Shoju
Rojin. This is the name he was known by in 1710, when one of his disciples, Doju
Sokaku, brought a proud young man named Sugiyama Iwajiro to visit
him.
 
Etan lived
eighty years. Just before he died, he assumed meditation posture and took up his
brush to write his death poem:
<blockquote>
Hurrying to
die, 
Its difficult to find a last word. 
If I spoke the wordless word, 
I wouldnt speak at all!
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Then he laid down
his brush, chuckled, and passed away.
 
 Shjuan Temple () 
<a href="http://www.iiyama-ouendan.net/en/sightseeing/2011/09/2814.php"
target="_blank">http://www.iiyama-ouendan.net/en/sightseeing/2011/09/2814.php
</a>
<blockquote>
 Lifelong home
of Dokyo Etan (Shoju Rojin), one of the great teachers of Rinzai Buddhism. 
Born and raised in Iiyama castle, Dokyo Etan first pursued his religious studies
in Tokyo. After this training, Dokyo returned to his hometown, taking up
residence at the temple constructed for him by the lord of Iiyama. The temple
was known as Shojuan for the framed picture of the characters (shoju)
given by Dokyo's teacher, which hung on the temple wall. 
The currrent main hall is a reconstruction of the original, which was destroyed
in the 1847 Zenkoji earthquake. The temple was chosen as a Nagano Prefecture
historical landmark in 1960, and has been selected as one of the Top 100 Ancient
& Historical Temples in Japan. 
 
 
</blockquote>

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