Dōshō

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Dōshō ( Japanese 道 昭 ; * 629 ; † 700 ) was a Buddhist monk scholar ( 僧 学者 , sōgakusha ) in Japan during the Asuka period . He carried out the first of four traditions of the teachings of the Chinese Yogācāra school Faxiang zong to Japan, which became known there as Hossō-shū , one of the so-called six Buddhist schools of the Nara period . His lineage of Hossō-shū later became known as Nan-ji-den ( 南 寺 伝 ; "Tradition of the Southern Temple").

Studied in China

Dōshō traveled with one of the imperial embassies at the time to the Tang court ( 遣 唐 使 , kentō-shi ) in China and studied in the capital Chang'an for about seven years from about 653 to 660 Yogācāra teachings under Xuan Zang (603-664) and Kui Ji (632–682; Chinese  窺基 ).

Dōshō's career is the best-documented of the 120 participants in the 653 embassy. His father was Esaka des Kabane Fune no Muraji. He studied in China from 653 to 659 (or 661), reportedly directly under the respected Xuan Zang. He is considered the "first carrier of the Hossō" ( hossō daiichiden ), although this is historically only sparsely documented. The second Rikkokushi Shoku Nihongi is the first to describe his biography. As a result, he also studied Chan under Huiman ( 慧 滿 ), which, however, is probably an ornament on the Japanese side. Huiman was the most famous monk of his time, busy with his numerous translations, ran a monastery with about 500 monks and was asked by the government as an advisor.

Dōshō returned with a large number of Buddhist writings, including probably treatises on logic ( Skt. Hetu-vidyā ; Japanese 因 明 , immyō ), a discipline hitherto unknown in Japan.

Activity in Japan

It is certain that Dōshō had a meditation hall ( 禅院 , zen -in ) built in his home temple Gangō-ji (still called Hōkō-ji at the time ) and already held " retreats " there. In 698/11/5 he was made a Daisōzu after leading an eye opening ceremony for an Amida statue and embroidery (with more than 100 figures).

Dōshō was one of the first in Japan to promote Chinese civil engineering by helping build bridges, dams, irrigation systems, and wells and roads. This work was continued and further developed by his most famous student, Gyōgi ( 行 基 ; 668-748).

After Dōshō's death, his body was buried in a cremation according to his last will , the first time in history that this happened in Japan at his own request.

literature

  • Marcus Bingenheimer: A Biographical Dictionary - The Japanese Student-Monks of the Seventh and Early Eighth Centuries. Munich 2001, (iudicium), ISBN 3-89129-693-2
  • Hannelore Eisenhofer-Halim: Dōshō - life and work of a Japanese Buddhist. Frankfurt 1995, (Peter Lang)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dōshō
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 道 昭 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Buddhist monk scholar in Japan during the Asuka period
DATE OF BIRTH 629
DATE OF DEATH 700