SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

The Basic Meaning of Sōtō Zen 47derived more from religious faith than from historicalaccuracy. Great Master D‡gen, who first introduced S‡t‡ Zeninto Japan, states from the standpoint of religion that theJapanese S‡t‡ School is the direct recipient of the line of theSixth Ancestor through the line of T‡zan and is not merely onemore of the many schools of Zen. D‡gen calls the SixthAncestor and T‡zan Òvenerable Buddhas,Ó but makes no suchallusion to S‡zan. Neither Ej‡ nor Gikai in Japan seems tomake use of the appellation ÒS‡t‡.Ó It probably came into useafter Great Master Keizan. According to both Great MasterKeizan and an Imperial Rescript presented to S‡ji-ji, the nameS‡t‡ was compounded from the name of the Sixth Ancestorand of T‡zan.The S‡t‡ School in China made little showing in its earlyyears of development. However, its popularity had greatlyincreased by the middle of the Sung Dynasty. Its main characteristicswere: 1) that all beings have the Buddha Nature atbirth and consequently are essentially enlightened, 2) that onecan enjoy fully the Bliss of the Buddha Nature through thepractice of serene reflection meditation (Zazen), 3) that trainingand enlightenment are identical and 4) that the strict disciplineof the religious ceremonies and temple regulations mustbe internalized and applied to our everyday activities.The line of succession from T‡zan to D‡gen is as follows:T‡zan Ry‡kai, Ungo D‡y‡, D‡an D‡hi, D‡an Kanshi, Ry‡zan