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Copyright Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture 2008

Abstract

In his Yasenkanna and other writings Zen master Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769) relies on two seemingly conflicting analogies to speak of the art of nourishing life (yojo). On the one hand, he maintains that vital energy (ki) must be stored in the cinnabar field (tanden). On the other hand, he maintains that one must circulate vital energy in the body by engaging in labor lest it become stagnant. A similar tension can be observed in Kaibara Ekken's (1630-1714) immensely popular manual of nourishing life, Yojokun. Although Shigehisa Kuriyama points to the industrious revolution and what he calls the "anxiety of stagnation" that swept through the Tokugawa populace as a possible cause for the rise of this tension, the present article will suggest a fundamental redefinition of labor (ro) and, more specifically, reading practices that took place during this period as another possible factor behind this development. Labor, be it meditation or reading, had to demonstrate a sense of self-mastery for it to be true labor and failure to do so would result in exhaustion (ro) or what Hakuin preferred to call the malady of meditation (zenbyo). [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Details

Title
Zen and the Art of Nourishing Life: Labor, Exhaustion, and the Malady of Meditation
Author
Ahn, Juhn Y
Pages
177-229
Publication year
2008
Publication date
2008
Publisher
Nanzan University
ISSN
03041042
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
237191277
Copyright
Copyright Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture 2008