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Buddhism in the Far East - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Jodo shinshu
        
        Shinran, an important disciple of Honen and founder of the Jodo shinshu school or True Pure Land/Shin Buddhism
        
        Shinran believed his was the only correct understanding of Honen's teaching
        
        Shinran taught that sinful humankind could do nothing to earn salvation for themselves and therefore must devote themselves to Amitabha
        
        He criticised the principle of gaining merit through virtuous actions such as performing ritual practices and claimed this only led to pride and self-importance
        
        There is no monastic tradition in Jodo shinshu, Shinran encourged marriage and employment for his followers
        
        Shinran - "Even a good man will be received in the Buddha's land, how much more a bad man"
        
        The Jodo shinshu school was particularly appealing to ordinary people, it attracted the outcast members of society, and women and those who were excluded by traditional monastic Buddhism
        
        Jodo shinshu can be seen as far removed from the Buddha's original teachings, but it can be explained as a form of upaya
        
        Cush - "For Shinran, the Pure Land was the final goal, equivalent to nirvana or Buddhahood, rather than a step on the way there"
- - - - Zen teaches that the enlightenment experience is available instantaneusly
        
        In Zen, this is seeing the non-duality of all things and is referred to as satori
        
        The 'instant' nature of satori is stressed more by Rinzai than Soto Zen
        
        Hakuin, a great Rinzai teacher, compared satori to the sudden shattering of a block of ice
        
        Harvey says that satori is "directly known as an illuminating emptiness"
  - - - As Zen believes that the truth cannot be put into words and only passed directly from mind to mind (Cush), Zen has criticised other schools' overreliance on scriptures
        
        Chinese monk Te Shan burned all the scriptures as soon as he reached enlightenment
        
        Zen believes scriptures are just symbols, even 'emptiness' or 'Buddha' are just mental concepts which can get in the way of understanding the truth directly
        
        Dogen emphasised that the Zen critcism of scriptures is not that they are useless, but that they are purely tools to understanding
  - - - Soto Zen
        
        Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, was originally attracted by Eisai's teachings but became unsatisfied
        
        He travelled to China himself and brought back the Soto/Tsao tung tradition to Japan
        
        Dogen chose to follow the example of the Buddha and led a simple life of poverty, entirely dedicated to benefitting others
        
        Soto Zen emphasises quiet meditation or zazen and a simple life of poverty and peace - Dogen taught that zazen was the best way to realise Buddhahood
        
        Simply sitting was in itself the goal of Buddhism and Zen taught that Buddha nature would gradually unfold naturally
        
        Dogen criticised the practices of Rinzai teachers - he argued eccentric behaviour and intellectual striving could become self-assertive
        
        Soto Zen teaches that one should live a quiet, simple life with faith in the Buddha and one's teacher, practicing zazen without looking for results
        
        Are there significant differences between Rinzai and Soto Zen?
        
        There are no significant differences between Rinzai and Soto Zen
        
        There are simlilarities between zazen and koan meditation in their aims and outcomes of understanding the truth
        
        Rinzai and Soto have similar attitudes towards enlightenment - they both believe enlightenment is an instantaneous experience rather than a gradual, structured one
        
        Both Rinzai and Soto are both designed to get beyond the mental formulations of language that inhibit the path to enlightenment
        
        Monastic discipline is strictly organised for both Rinzai and Soto
        
        There are significant differences between Rinzai and Soto Zen
        
        Each form of Zen originates from a different school within Chinese Chan and these reflect the masters who taught them - Rinzai originated from Lin chi and Soto originated from Ts'ao tung
        
        Original Chan masters such as Ma-tsu and Shih-tou had different teaching methods and practices, which influenced later developments in Japan
        
        Soto is closer to Bodhidharma's original wall gazing meditation and Rinzai practices are a corruption of this
        
        The differences between Rinzai and Soto Zen are not important
        
        The differences are a matter of emphasis rather than being significant
        
        The variations within Zen are less significant than the variations between Zen and other traditions, and show that there are significant areas of commanlity particularly around the teaching on mindfulness
        
        The concept of upaya can be used to explain the different teachings
        
        There are significant differences between the two traditions, but the differences are not as important as the goal is the same