In a recent post I talked about how Zen imported from Song-Dynasty China found patronage with the elite samurai families of the city of Kamakura. Sometimes this was due to the cultural prestige of Zen among "country bumpkin samurai", but also the new Zen monastic community drew sincere students as well, helping it take root. #Japan #kyoto #zen #RinzaiZen

http://nembutsu.cc/2024/03/20/the-five-mountains-system-in-medieval-japan/

A Not-So Brief History of Zen and Samurai

There is a persistent image in the West of samurai being adherents of Zen, that the "way of the warrior" (bushido) and Zen are somehow one and the same. One can imagine a samurai who has practiced swordsmanship to a finely honed skill, meditating under a waterfall, and writing Zen-like deathbed poetry…. #buddhism #zen #samurai #sotozen #RinzaiZen #japanesehistory #Japan

http://nembutsu.cc/2024/02/23/a-not-so-brief-history-of-zen-and-samurai/