Omori Sogen
| ÅŒmori SÅgen RÅshi | |
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| Religion | Rinzai |
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| Born |
1904 Japan |
| Died | 1994 |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Tenryū-ji |
| Title | RÅshi |
| Predecessor | Seki Bokuo |
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ÅŒmori SÅgen (大森 曹玄, 1904–1994) was a Japanese Rinzai RÅshi, a successor in the TenryÅ«-ji line of Rinzai Zen, and former president of Hanazono University, the Rinzai university in Kyoto, Japan. He became a priest in 1945.
Biography
ÅŒmori SÅgen was a teacher of Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryÅ« swordsmanship,[1] and a calligrapher in the Taishi school of Yamaoka TesshÅ«. He became well known for his unique approach to Zen practice integrating insights from his martial and fine arts training with traditional Zen methods; this approach has been described as a unity of Zen, Ken ("sword", referring to martial arts or physical culture), and Sho ("brush", referring to calligraphy or fine arts).
ÅŒmori founded Seitaiji monastery in Japan and Daihonzan Chozen-ji in Honolulu, Hawaii, the first Rinzai headquarters temple established outside Japan according to Rinzai canon law.
Dharma successors and descendents of Omori Roshi are active in both Japan and the West. In the United States, along with Chozen-ji, Daiyuzenji has been established in Chicago, and Korinji near Madison, Wisconsin. In Germany and Austria, there are active groups connected to Sasaki GensÅ RÅshi and Hozumi GenshÅ RÅshi.
ÅŒmori is the author of more than 20 books in the Japanese language.
ÅŒmori was also well known for his right wing ultra-nationalist[2] political activism and influence in government circles prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.
Notable students
- Hosokawa DÅgen RÅshi
- Hozumi GenshÅ RÅshi
- Tanouye Tenshin RÅshi
- Sasaki GensÅ RÅshi
- Terayama KatsujÅ
Bibliography
- Sogen, Omori; Trevor Leggett; DÅgen Hosokawa; Roy Kenichi Yoshimoto (2002). An Introduction to Zen Training: A Translation of Sanzen Nyumon. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-3247-1.
- Terayama, KatsujÅ; John Stevens; Omori Sogen (1983). Zen and the Art of Calligraphy: The Essence of Sho. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-7100-9284-9.
References
- ↑ (Japanese) Jiki Shinkage-ryÅ« Kenjutsu with ÅŒmori SÅgen. Japan, Nihon Kobudo series, filmed during the 1970s by the Japanese Ministry of Education in a series on many of the traditional koryÅ«. DVD, 2005.
- ↑ Zen war stories, Daizen Victoria, p85
Sources
- Morisawa, Jackson S. (1988). The Secret of the Target. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00194-3.
Further reading
- Hosokawa, DÅgen (1997). Omori Sogen: The Art of a Zen Master. Kegan Paul International : Distributed by Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-7103-0588-5.
External links
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