“A Dharma-Transmitter Who Traveled to Sung China”

Dōgen was the second in a succession of Japanese monks who went to China in pursuit of true Buddhism, then returned to Japan to establish Zen temples. This chapter details the route travelled by Dōgen and Myōzen to the Ch’an temples, which was patterned after the journeys of Eisai and continued on through the Five Mountains temples in China. Dōgen spent two years seeking an authentic master, almost giving up his quest in despair. He finally settled at Mt. T’ien-t’ung around the time of Myōzen’s death. During the same year, he began training under the tutelage of Ju-ching, who would become the...

Dōgen was the second in a succession of Japanese monks who went to China in pursuit of true Buddhism, then returned to Japan to establish Zen temples. This chapter details the route travelled by Dōgen and Myōzen to the Ch’an temples, which was patterned after the journeys of Eisai and continued on through the Five Mountains temples in China. Dōgen spent two years seeking an authentic master, almost giving up his quest in despair. He finally settled at Mt. T’ien-t’ung around the time of Myōzen’s death. During the same year, he began training under the tutelage of Ju-ching, who would become the master that Dōgen was seeking.