Brigitte D'Ortschy

Brigitte D'Ortschy, 1975

Brigitte D'Ortschy (born May 31, 1921 in Berlin ; † July 9, 1990 in Grünwald , district of Munich ) was a German architect , translator , journalist and author. She was the first German Zen master and known under the name Koun-An Doru Chiko Roshi , Shoshike of the Sanbo-Kyodan line, Kamakura , Japan.

Life

Brigitte D'Ortschy grew up in Berlin. As an adolescent she occupied herself with reading Angelus Silesius , Meister Eckhart , Teresa von Ávila and Chuang-tzu . After graduating from high school, she studied architecture in Berlin and Graz. A focus of her studies were the sociological and psychological aspects of construction. In 1945 she received her diploma as an architect and engineer.

From 1947 to 1950 Brigitte D'Ortschy worked as a research assistant at the Technical University of Munich in the field of history of architecture and archeology. In 1950 she was sent to the USA to gain experience in the field of urban and state planning for the reconstruction of post-war Germany. She completed her postgraduate studies at the University of North Carolina and worked for the Philadelphia Planning Commission. During this time she met Frank Lloyd Wright .

In 1951 she co-founded the Bavarian Working Group for Spatial Research and worked in urban and regional planning. In 1952, on her initiative, the exhibition "60 Years of Living Architecture" on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright was brought to the Haus der Kunst in Munich. In 1953 Frank Lloyd Wright invited her to work in his architecture studio in Taliesin West, Arizona. The ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright's “Organic architecture” helped her to grasp the characteristics of Japanese culture.

When she returned to Europe in 1954, she took over the management of the organization and design of the German department of the “Triennale” in Milan . This was followed by exhibitions in Hälsingborg (Sweden), Milan, Israel, Berlin and Munich as well as building projects by private clients, lectures and articles for the trade press.

In 1960 she traveled to Israel and prepared an exhibition on the arts and crafts of Israel. In addition to her work, she maintained contacts with religious philosophers and natural scientists. At that time she read the book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel , which gave her a feeling for the value of Japan.

Until 1963 she worked as a freelance architect and wrote for trade magazines, publishers and the general press and worked for Bavaria Film GmbH Munich.

Training and action

D'Ortschy together with Yasutani Roshi

After her arrival in Japan , Brigitte D'Ortschy met the Zen master Yasutani Hakuun Ryoko Roshi (1885–1973) and began her Zen training with him in April 1964 at the Fukusho-ji temple in Tokyo and at the Mokuso-in in Kamakura . She herself taught at Waseda , Yokohama and Tokyo universities . In her essays she dealt with the ancient Japanese culture and its Zen arts. She went through the complete Koan training, completed it in 1972 and received Inka Shomei . Yasutani Hakuun Roshi gave her the name "Doru Chiko" based on the Japanese pronunciation of her surname, with the title of a Daishi and thus his Dharma successor . In 1973, the Hasan-sai ceremony took place with Yamada Koun Ken Enko Zenshin Roshi (1907-1989). She received his Dharma successor and he gave her the name Koun An Roshi, since then she has been called Koun An Doru Chiko (Daishi =) Roshi. Finally, Brigitte D'Ortschy was confirmed in 1983 by Yamada Roshi as an authentic Zen master (Shoshike) of the Sanbo Kyodan School. Koun-An Doru Chiko Roshi is the 85th generation after Shakyamuni Buddha and the 35th generation of the Japanese line from Dogen-Zenji.

D'Ortschy with Thomas Hand

In 1964 , at the zendo in Kamakura, she met her Zen companion Philip Kapleau , who was working on his Zen classic The Three Pillars of Zen . She designed the cover picture and translated this book into German. She translated the old original texts, some of which were written in Kanbun, into English in order to keep her German translation as true to the original as possible. The German translation of the book The Three Pillars of Zen was published in 1969. Another Zen companion during this time was, besides Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle SJ, the Californian Jesuit Thomas Hand , one of the first Catholic priests in the San-Un Zendo and pioneer of the Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Brigitte D'Ortschy had a long-standing friendship with him, which is documented in 20 years of correspondence.

D'Ortschy in the Zendo Grünwald

From 1973 she held the first sesshin in Germany with Yamada Koun Roshi and founded her own zendo in 1975 in Munich-Schwabing and later in Grünwald. The zendo grew into a community of Zen students from all over the world. She seemed half hidden and protected her zendo and her students from the public to ensure an intensive Zen training. According to her view, "Spiritual training is always free," she taught for free.

Brigitte D'Ortschy published a Teisho about the Koan MU under the pseudonym "Michael Mueller" . It was published under the title ZEN (1984/97) together with photos by Eberhard Grames.

Until her death in 1990, she spent the winter months in her Hanare (garden house) in Kita-Kamakura and continued to study. Together with Yamada Koun Roshi she translated the basic key texts of Zen Buddhism such as Hui-Neng (Eno) (638-713), The Sutra of the High Seat of the Sixth Patriarch , Sosan, from the Chinese and Japanese originals in the San-Un Zendo in Kamakura no hanashi and complete koan collections such as Mumon Ekai, Mumon-Kan ("The Gateless Barrier"), Setcho / Engo, Hekigan-Roku ("The Blue -Green Cliff "), Keizan Jokin Denko-Roku ("The Passing On of Light") , Wanshi Shogaku Shoyo-Roku ("The Book of Equanimity") and wrote her own Teisho doctrinal presentations on it .

Just as Yasutani Hakuun Roshi is considered to be the pioneer of Zen in the USA, Koun An Doru Chiko Roshi is considered the first western Zen master with students from all over the world.

Works

Book with audio CD / DVD

• Mumon Kan. 1-48. (2001)
• Mumon Kan. Teisho 1-4. (2001)
• Mumon Kan. Teisho 5-8. (2001)
• Mumon Kan. Teisho 9-12. (2001)
• Hekigan Roku. 1-100. (2001)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 1-4. (2002)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 5-8. (2002)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 9-12. (2002)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 3,4,5,90,91. (2005)
• The evening saying. 3 Teisho. (2002)

1 audio CD per Teisho

• Mumon Kan. Teisho 1-12. (2001)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 1-12. (2002)
• The evening saying. Teisho 1,2,3. (2004)

MP3 CDs

• Mumon Kan. Teisho 1-48. (2003)
• Mumon Kan. Teisho 1-12. (2003)
• Mumon Kan. Teisho 13-30. (2003)
• Mumon Kan. Teisho 31-48. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 1-54. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 55-100. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 1-12. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 13-26. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho. 27-40. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 41-54. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 55-68. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 69-82. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 83-100. (2003)
• Hekigan Roku. Teisho 3,4,5,90,91. (2005)

architecture

• A pleasure to live. Living Rooms, Volume 1. (1962)
• A pleasure to live. Bedroom and children's room, volume 2. (1963)
• A pleasure to live. Anteroom, balcony, terrace, garden, volume 3. (1963)
• A pleasure to live. Light, Color and Material in Space, Volume 5. (1965)

literature

• Stephan Schuhmacher: Zen . Hugendubel, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-7205-2192-3 .
• Philip Kapleau (ed.): The three pillars of Zen. Teaching - practice - enlightenment . Barth, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-502-61132-7 .
• Peregrina: The pilgrimage year with the Carthusian. Dom Marianus Marck - Friedrich Alfred Prince of Saxony-Meiningen (1921–1997) . Cordier, Heiligenstadt 2007, ISBN 3-939848-02-6 .

Supporting documents and comments

1. ↑ The title Roshi denotes a particularly experienced, authorized teacher in Zen Buddhism .

Web links

Commons : Brigitte D'Ortschy  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Brigitte D'Ortschy in the catalog of the German National Library
• Wolkenverlag
• Sanbô-Kyôdan Home Page
• Zen Buddhism: Sanbo Kyodan Harada-Yasutani School