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PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

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380Pacific WorldTraité sur l’Inépuisable Lampe du Zen: Tørei (1721–1792)et sa vision de l’éveil. . By Michel Mohr. Two volumes.Mélanges Chinois et Bouddhiques, vol. XXVIII. Brusells:Institut Belge des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1997. xxii,867 pages (two volumes paginated consecutively). Indexincludes Chinese characters for entries.Richard Payne<strong>The</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Buddhist</strong> <strong>Studies</strong>This is a study <strong>of</strong> the most important work by one <strong>of</strong> the most importantearly modern Rinzai Zen teachers, Tørei Enji. He was one <strong>of</strong> the leadingdisciples <strong>of</strong> the much more widely known Hakuin, and published hisDiscourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp <strong>of</strong> Zen (the “Traité sur l’InépuisableLampe du Zen” <strong>of</strong> this publication’s title) in 1800. Standing as it does at theturning point between the premodern and modern periods <strong>of</strong> Japanesereligious history, this work is a key to understanding both the development<strong>of</strong> Rinzai Zen in the modern period and <strong>of</strong> modern JapaneseBuddhism more generally.Mohr’s work is an exemplary instance <strong>of</strong> a detailed textual study.<strong>The</strong> work is divided into three parts. <strong>The</strong> first part is a general introduction,the second part is the translation per se, together with notes to thetranslation, and the third part is appendices. (<strong>The</strong> first volume containsthe introduction and the translation, while the second contains thenotes and appendices.)<strong>The</strong> introduction provides the reader with the information needed tounderstand the place <strong>of</strong> Tørei and his work in Japanese religious history.<strong>The</strong> first chapter discusses the origin <strong>of</strong> the Rinzai school <strong>of</strong> Zen, which wasconstituted as an independent school in the middle <strong>of</strong> the Kamakura era,at the end to the twelfth and beginning <strong>of</strong> the thirteenth century. Mohr,however, goes back to introduce the precursors—such figures as Kakuaand Dainichi Nønin. Greater attention is paid to Myøan Yøsai, who hasbeen raised to the status <strong>of</strong> founder <strong>of</strong> the Rinzai tradition in Japan. Yøsaitravelled to China where he studied under a Linji master and receivedcertification to teach the school when he returned to Japan. This is followedby an examination <strong>of</strong> major figures <strong>of</strong> the Rinzai school following Yøsai.Mohr then goes on to discuss the foundations <strong>of</strong> the early modern period<strong>of</strong> Japan, and the key role <strong>of</strong> Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa.In this section Mohr introduces the political and social history <strong>of</strong>premodern Zen. He discusses issues <strong>of</strong> legitimacy and recognition by thebakufu, as well as the role <strong>of</strong> Buddhism in the conflict with Christianity. Inthe seventeenth century, various efforts toward reform were initiated,

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