Hakuin

Who is Hakuin?

Hakuin is considered one of the most influential figures of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is known for his contributions to the revival of Rinzai Buddhism––one of the two major sects of Japanese Buddhism. His full name is Hakuin Ekaku and previously known by his childhood name, Iwajiro. However, it was not until he was about thirty-three years old that he actually adopted the name, ‘Hakuin’ (Waddell, xiv). Born on January 19th, 1686, Hakuin became the third and youngest son of the Nagasawa family of Hara, which consisted of three boys and two girls(Yoshizawa, 6). His mother was a devout Nichiren Buddhist and his father had ties to the Zen sect, so he already had strong connections to both Nichiren and Zen schools of Buddhism (Yoshizawa, 7). By the age of eight or nine, Hakuin became overwhelmed by fear of the awful torments that await in a fiery hell and the feeling that there was nothing that he could certainly rely on (Yoshizawa, 8). With a troupe passing through town teaching the Lotus Sutra, he soon came to learn that the flames would not hurt him if he attained a Bodhi-mind.

At that point, Hakuin had his sight set on becoming a priest. When he was about thirteen years old, he joined the Rinzai Zen sect. That following year, at the age of fourteen, he was ordained and received the religious name Ekaku, meaning “Wise Crane” (Waddell, 155). In the spring of 1703, Hakuin began his pilgrimage, traveling to various provinces to learn from Zen masters across Japan. In 1710, Hakuin returned to Shōin-ji weakened by sickness. He consults Hakuyū, who is well versed in the medical arts, and asks to be taught Introspective Meditation also known as naikan (Waddell, 179). In addition to naikan, Hakuin devoted himself to zazen, thus “[his] life evidently continued to be focused on zazen, which he practiced in conjunction with the naikan meditation” (Yoshizawa, 15). His own devotion to these practices translated into his teachings. For his students, he stressed an assiduous practice in order to reach kenshō––initial breakthrough experience––through a zazen-centered koan practice (Waddell, 4). In 1719, he held his very first lecture was at the age of thirty-four; two monks requested Hakuin to lecture of the Praise of the True School (Waddell, 194). It was not until 1726 when Hakuin was reading the Lotus Sutra once again that he attained the final awakening.

As Hakuin’s reputation as a teacher increased, many students sought to learn from him. He continued to travel to various provinces and gave lectures to groups, some groups were as small as thirty to as large as two-hundred people. Yet, Hakuin frequently returned to Shōin-ji as it became the base for his Zen Buddhism practice (Waddell, 232). In 1736, Hakuin had the opportunity to hold his first large lecture meeting at the Shōin-ji training hall. There he gave dharma talks and use the opportunity to announce a public declaration of his determination to reform the Rinzai school (Waddell, xix). Halls would be filled with monks, nuns, laymen, and women, all of which are referred to as the four types of Buddhist disciples (Waddell, 220). Hakuin took in many disciples; he did not care where his students were from––they could be part of the lower class, a part of the elite class, or somewhere in between. Many of those disciples––like Hakuin’s successor Tōrei Enji––continued Hakuin’s teaching to focus on the meditation on the Koan. One of Hakuin’s most famous Koan was “What is the sound of one hand,” which became a notorious question used by Zen masters to check their students’ awakening.

In the final fourteen years of his life, Hakuin produced most of his writings, calligraphy, and paintings. However, his zen paintings were referred by some as comics, thus gaining less recognition (Yoshizawa, 17). Despite such an outlook placed on his works, his use of bold brush strokes and dark in colors sought to envoke the audience’s mind of his––Hakuin’s––feelings on Zen practice and the attainment of enlightenment. In regards to writing, Hakuin was considered a born storyteller; he composed countless letters and treatises of religious instruction. Many of his publications were written in a “highly rhetoric prose” with heavy use of Chinese characters to present in an epistolary format (Waddell, xx). Furthermore, his writings compiled tales told by other priests and adjusted it into a narrative to provide points along the lines of his own teaching. The most prominent characteristic of his writing became his sharp attacks on contemporary teachers (Waddell, 6). This is one major reason why his teaching style is what one may refer to as being “in your face” (Shambhala). His works were also described to incorporate the same degree of passion and care he brought to whatever he did (Waddell, 235). By the age of eighty-four, Hakuin passed away on December 11th, 1768, leaving the Dharma transmission of his revitalized Rinzai Buddhism living on through his works and the help of his students.

His Works

While many of his written works presented some of Hakuin’s teachings, the most important teachings were found within the art. Both paintings and calligraphies were major vehicles of dharma transmission within the monastic communities. Rather than communication through words with intellectual concepts, the pieces spoke directly towards the heart, thus, giving way to a new visual language for Zen (Shambhala). Hakuin also used his art to make political statements. One painting called The Urinating Pike-Bearer is by far an unusual subject not only for Hakuin but for audience members who have no context. Pike-bearers symbolized the power and authority of the Daimyo whose livery they wore as well as had a role to attract people’s attention to let them know the Daimyo was approaching (Yoshizawa, 57). Interestingly, this concept of urinating came up in an autobiographical account of Hakuin done by Enji. Within the account, Hakuin was six years old; his father invited Kyūshinbō––a practitioner of the Nembutsu––over to the family home, In the visit, Kyūshinbō left Hakuin with three secrets to help prolong your life and reach a ripe old age, one of the secrets is to “always assume a crouching position when you urinate; never while standing” (Yoshizawa, 150).

Figure 1. Urinating Pike-bearer

Interestingly, given the idea of a proper method to urinate, the pike-bearer does none of the sorts as seen in Figure 1. He is upright, aligned with his pike, urinating, and has gained the attention of the two figures to the left of him as well as Hakuin’s audience. Other than this interpretation, Hakuin’s main purpose of the pike-bearer was to reveal the “essential emptiness of the display” in addition to act as a strong criticism of the social and political actualities of the time (Yoshizawa, 61-62). Despite the lack of contextual knowledge and the ability to read most of the calligraphy, the viewer retains the experience of emptiness from the piece while understanding the objective concept of the presented situation––a man urinating to capture the attention of others.

Aside from the meanings of the paintings, his technicalities and details create interesting pieces. Looking back at Figure 1, many of the strokes in the images and writing contain a sense of quick movement as hinted within the uneven pressure. The movement takes away the sense of delicacy and fineness of detail that is unmistakable within Figure 2 located below.

Figure 2. Otafuku Making Dango

Otafuku Making Dango resembles the style of painting seen in Figure 1, especially noticeable in the depiction of the two children, taking into account the consistency of pressure in the single stroke as well as the clean and simple lines. Moreover, there is a mixture of a deep and a diluted black being used across both paintings and his other ones as well.

Some other paintings that have more details in comparison to the ones shown above are paintings of Otafuku. Otafuku or also referred to as Ofuku is a prostitute that Hakuin describes as a beautiful woman who at the same time possesses all the requites of an ugly one. The term “Otafuku Beauty” is coined from this idea of “women who seem ugly at first glance but who are discovered on closer examination to be beautiful”. Furthermore, it is a teaching that appears within the Heart Sutra which states “Ugliness is in and of itself Beauty, Beauty is in and of itself Ugliness” (Yoshizawa, 66). This is also an outlook that can be applied widely and is an important and touching topic in society today. For instance, look at society’s beauty standards before advocates begun emphasizing a new standard––a standard that puts less emphasis on particular skin color, body shape, and other physical features. It would not matter that Otafuku embodies the concept of happiness or that together with the characters written on her robe (ofuku-ju) the meaning becomes “happiness and long life” which is referred to as the universal desire for all of mankind (Yoshizawa, 72). Nor would they look at her good humor or amiability. What one would notice would be her plump moon face, a prominent forehead, and a short flat nose (Yoshizawa, 63). However, the physical features and how she is depicted does not deter her beauty, it is learning to see the beauty complementing the ugliness and vise versa.

When looking at these particular paintings of Otafuku––Old Granny’s Tea-Grinding Songs and Hotei Puffing Out Ofuku––they are very intricate. Hakuin presents Otafuku as a character within a scene. In Figure 3, Otafuku is in the process of grinding tea.

Figure 3: Old Granny’s Tea-Grinding Songs

This particular painting contains a more narrative component. The text floating behind Otafuku can be thought about in two ways. First, it is similar to the placement of a narrator’s text box in a comic book. Secondly, by referring to the title of the painting -– Old Granny’s Tea-Grinding Songs –– the writing becomes the song lyrics as the tea is grounded. Not only that, but the inking done on the painting resembles the inking that is done for comics before adding in the color and background, if there is any.

Figure 4. Hotei Puffing Out Ofuku

In this painting, Figure 4, the Ofuku presented here is quite similar to the depiction of her in Figure 3. She is wearing a robe with the Chinese character for longevity (ju) repeated all over and has the same facial features. Hotei––an incarnation of Hakuin––is “puffing out” Ofuku which is also “happiness”. The happiness is described to connotate the joy of Zen enlightenment, in other words, the joy in the Buddhist practice devoted to helping others achieve that enlightenment (Yoshizawa, 70-71). Not only does this share an experience with the practice of Zen, but the repetition of characters doing various activities creates a narrative that acts as a single panel rather than a series put together. The same can be seen with Hotei.

Aside from Hotei puffing out Ofuku, there is Figure 5 is a visual of Hakuin’s famous koan called Hotei’s Sound of One Hand (located on the left). Figure 5 presents an extremely beautiful balance of simplicity and delicacy. Each stroke has a purpose that allows for more “white” space to be present without abstracting the image too much until it is unrecognizable. The utilization of the tip of the brush and interchanging to the body of the brush gives off a lot of intention within the process––this is especially seen with the depiction of the body and the robe. The same with the writing; the control of pressure with the writing extremely clean and precise. Similarly to some panels in a comic, the scene narrative relies all on the text while Hotei is a visual aid. On the other hand, there is Figure 6––Hotei with His Treasure Bag––and Figure 7––Hotei Watching Mice Sumo––which presents a scene.

Figure 6. Hotei with His Treasure Bag

Figure 7. Hotei Watching Mice Sumo

In both of these paintings, the orientation of the character and their actions present a narrative through the use of repetition of aspects in various pieces. Additionally, how the scene is portrayed by the characters, as seen in these two pieces, generate a sense of joy and humor to the works. So, in many ways the interpretation of some of Hakuin’s paintings to be comic-like is understandable. However, the fact that something comic-like may be undermined to being capable of distributing important information is questionable. Rather there is a call for using one’s creativity, a motive to further understand, and a willingness to perceive information in a different way.

Bibliography

Yoshizawa, Katsuhiro. The Religious Art of Zen Master Hakuin, Counterpoint, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/detail.action?docID=478380.

Created from stolaf-ebooks on 2020-05-05 20:35:41.

“Hakuin.” Edited by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Jan. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Hakuin.

“Hakuin Ekaku: A Reader's Guide.” Shambhala, Shambhala Publication, 16 Sept. 2018, www.shambhala.com/hakuin-Hakuin Ekaku: A Reader's Guideekaku-c-1685-1768/.

A. “Story of Zen: Hakuin.” Hakuin: Master of the Koan, Ashoka, www.dharmanet.org/coursesM/27/zenstory32h.htm.

Organization, n/a. “PHOTOS: The Sound Of One Hand: Paintings By Zen Master Hakuin.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 26 May 2011, www.huffpost.com/entry/the-sound-of-one-hand-pai_n_745479.

Hakuin's Precious Mirror Cave : A Zen Miscellany, edited by Norman Waddell, Counterpoint, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/detail.action?docID=478906.

Created from stolaf-ebooks on 2020-05-07 11:39:11.

Images

Yoshizawa, Katsuhiro. “Urinating Pike-Bearer.” ProQuest Ebook Central, Counterpoint, 14 Apr. 2009, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/detail.action?docID=478380.

Yoshizawa, Katsuhiro. “Hotei Puffing Out Ofuku.” ProQuest Ebook Central, Counterpoint, 14 Apr. 2009, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/detail.action?docID=478380.

Yoshizawa, Katsuhiro. “Old Granny’s Tea-Grinding Songs.” ProQuest Ebook Central, Counterpoint, 14 Apr. 2009, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/detail.action?docID=478380.

“Otafuku Making Dango.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 1 Oct. 2010, www.huffpost.com/entry/the-sound-of-one-hand-pai_n_745479?slideshow=true#gallery/5bb801a4e4b0159c28b67e10/0.

“Hotei’s Sound of One Hand.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 1 Oct. 2010, www.huffpost.com/entry/the-sound-of-one-hand-pai_n_745479?slideshow=true#gallery/5bb801a4e4b0159c28b67e10/0.

“Hotei With His Treasure Bag.” The Story of Zen, Ashoka, dharmanet.org/coursesM/27/zenstory32h.htm.

“Hotei Watching Mice Sumo.” Hakuin Ekaku: A Reader's Guide, Shambhala Publication, www.shambhala.com/hakuin-ekaku-c-1685-1768.