SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

e. The Religion of Great Masters Dōgenand KeizanThe age produces the great man; the great man producesthe new age. Great Master D‡gen (1200 Ð1253 C.E.) embarkedon his journey to China at the age of 24 togetherwith My‡zen (1163Ð1225 C.E.), the disciple of Eisai, to studyBuddhism there.In China, he visited various Buddhist masters, but finallyhe became a disciple of Ju-ching (J. Tend‡ Nyoj‡,1163Ð1238C.E.) on Mt. TÕien-tÕung (J. Tend‡). He devoted himself wholeheartedlyto his search for enlightenment, and after two yearswith the master, he attained complete freedom of mind andbody (shinjin datsuraku), i.e., enlightenment. At last he wasable to rid himself of the illusions of ego with which he hadbeen so completely shackled, and he could now bask in theindescribable bliss of the Truth of Buddhism for the first time.And D‡gen, because of his deep understanding, continued hisreligious training as before. At the age of 28, four years after hehad left Japan, following the wishes of his master Ju-ching hereturned to Japan to propagate the Serene Reflection Schoolthere. For awhile after his return he made Ky‡to, then thecapital, the center of his activities and spent his time teachingand writing. Especially in the K‡sh‡-ji Temple at Uji did he130