On Cultural Bias and Ideology in Western Buddhism and Buddhist Modernism
When he was approximately fifteen years old, Tominaga Nakamoto ๅฏๆฐธไปฒๅบ (1715โ1746) was expelled from the merchant academy in ลsaka, which his father had enrolled him in, for writing an essay that was critical of Confucianism. He may also have been forced to leave home, but little is known with certainty about Tominagaโs life. A few years later, he apparently found employment as a proofreader at Manpuku temple of the ลbaku Zen sect in Uji. Buddhist monks traditionally copied sลซtras by hand, and it was Tominagaโs job to check for copying errors. This allowed him to read very many sลซtras, inspiring...
Nan-in and the Professor โ A Western Zen Parable
โA Cup of Teaโ is a short Zen story that is quite famous and popular among Western (Zen) Buddhists. Itโs a bit of a peculiar story, however, as I hope to make clear in the following. Before we turn to that, letโs start with the story itself: Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitorโs cup full, and then kept on pouring.The professor watched the [cup] overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. โIt is overfull. No more will go in!โโLike this...